On Friday morning, Kotetsu woke up early and headed to the academy.
"Anko, good morning," greeted Kotetsu.
Although they occasionally had disagreements, the bond between the three of them was still quite strong.
"Good morning," Anko responded with a cheerful smile.
"Hehe, today's breakfast is red bean soup and sweet bread, quite nice," Anko hummed an unknown tune, sharing her breakfast plans with Kotetsu, appearing to be in a very good mood.
"Today is a good day," Kotetsu said.
"Later, we'll be able to see the results of our exams at school."
"Oh, are the results coming out today?" Anko's smile gradually faded from her face.
Even though she had been intending to revise for the exam beforehand, Anko ended up starting her revision on the final day. When she had just finished the exam, she felt confident in her performance, but the results of the previous two exams proved her feelings were not very reliable.
"Are the results not looking good? Looks like we can ask for rewards from Yumi-sensei again," Kotetsu said intentionally, a smile appearing on his face.
Although he might not match up to Anko in practical combat, in theoretical scores, he could easily surpass her.
"Anko, you seem so happy. You must have done well in the exam. When the results come out, make sure to tell Yumi-sensei. He'll definitely reward you with Dango," Kotetsu chuckled.
Anko couldn't find the words to respond. She really didn't know how she had performed in the exam. If she regressed like last time, it wasn't certain she'd get to enjoy Dango; her head would surely be knocked.
"Kotetsu, Anko, good morning," Izumo greeted as he approached.
"Sigh, I feel like I might have a decent score, but my feelings don't seem very accurate," Anko said somewhat dejectedly.
"Don't overthink it. I feel like this exam wasn't too difficult. Your score is definitely going to be higher than last time," Izumo said with a smile.
Without a doubt, he was trying to cheer up Anko. This exam was slightly harder than the previous semester's final exam. With less time for revision this time, he felt he couldn't maintain a perfect score.
'Anko, I haven't forgotten the taunting from our special training' Izumo thought to himself.
During the summer special training, there were no theoretical exams, but they had been mocked by Anko for their perceived lack of ability. It was only fair to retaliate during regular school.
Kotetsu instantly understood when Izumo mentioned the exam being simple. They exchanged a glance, and Kotetsu nodded, saying, "Yeah, this exam was actually quite straightforward. Your feeling is definitely right. You might even score in the nineties, maybe even over ninety."
"Really? You guys also think it went well?" Anko's eyes lit up.
These two tricky fellows, whenever they said they wouldn't do well, they always scored in the nineties or even a perfect score. This time, they're saying it went well, so it's definitely a perfect score. It seems this time wasn't too difficult after all.
"Hmm," Izumo and Kotetsu both nodded with a smile.
"Hehe, then let's hurry up and go check the scores," Anko said, her cheerful smile returning.
"Good morning, Yumi-sensei."
On the way, the three of them also met Mutsuki, who was heading to school.
"Morning," Mutsuki nodded in response.
"Yumi-sensei, will there be rewards for improvement this time?" Anko asked with a grin.
"Oh? So you're confident about your exam results?" Mutsuki asked with a smile.
"Kind of. I feel like I should have improved by ten points compared to last time," Anko thought for a moment and decided to be conservative with her answer.
"Alright, if you improve by five points, I'll reward you with one portion of Dango. Ten points, and I'll reward you with two. But if there's no improvement..." Mutsuki said, extending two fingers.
Anko instinctively scratched her head, instantly understanding.
However, she wasn't worried at all because she only scored seventy-eight last time. If this exam was easier, even if she couldn't score eighty-eight, getting eighty-three for a Dango reward shouldn't be difficult.
"Izumo, Kotetsu, why are you guys smiling so happily?" Anko suddenly noticed that Izumo and Kotetsu seemed even happier than her.
"Of course, we're happy for you. Maybe you'll score over ninety and get rewarded with three portions of Dango," Kotetsu said with a smile.
"Yeah, like Kotetsu and I, we don't have any room for improvement anymore," Izumo also said cheerfully.
"Yeah, getting a perfect score means there's no room for improvement," Anko was initially going to punch Izumo, who was bragging about his scores, but she let it go because she was in a good mood.
After arriving at school, the three of them went straight to the bulletin board to find their scores. With their excellent agility, they managed to squeeze to the front and began searching for their scores.
"Mitarashi Anko..." Anko muttered her name and quickly searched for her score.
"Huh, what's going on? Did I read it wrong?" Anko looked at her score with some doubts about life; it was different from what she had expected.
"Can you guys check my score for me?" Anko rubbed her eyes and asked.
"Seventy-seven," Kotetsu replied with a smile. He hadn't even checked his own score before looking at Anko's. Now that he had, he knew he was in for it.
"Yeah, I also see seventy-seven," Izumo chimed in.
"That doesn't make sense. Wasn't this test supposed to be easy?" Anko was puzzled.
"Oh no, there go the Dangos. You're definitely getting a knock on the head from Yumi-sensei when we get back to the classroom," Anko's expression turned gloomy again.
"Can't I just ask for a sick leave? I feel a bit dizzy, maybe I'm sick," Anko attempted to evade.
"I doubt Yumi-sensei will believe that," Kotetsu struggled to control his laughter, but his smirk was evident.
Just thinking about Anko bragging in front of Mutsuki and her impending fate when she returned to the classroom, Kotetsu couldn't help it.
Seeing the strange expression on Kotetsu's face, Anko glanced at Izumo again, feeling that something was off. She asked, "How did you guys score?"
"Ninety-eight," Izumo replied.
"Ninety-seven," Kotetsu answered.
"Wasn't it supposed to be easy? How come my score is lower than last time?" Anko began to crack her knuckles, clearly ready to take action.
It was obvious that they had teamed up to deceive her about the supposed simplicity and improvement.
"This exam covers this semester's material, so it's not directly related to last semester's scores," Izumo tried to explain, but as he attempted to back away, he noticed that Kotetsu had already slipped away.
"This Kotetsu is so unjust. How about you and I team up to teach him a lesson first?" Izumo asked seriously.
Anko opted to immobilize Izumo's neck with her hand and then gave him a few solid knocks on the head before sprinting towards Kotetsu.
After getting back at the two troublemakers, Anko walked into the classroom, trying to act like nothing had happened. But when she saw the exam papers on her desk, she knew it was all in vain.
"Come on, Yumi-sensei, I'm ready" Anko said, lying flat on her desk.
Smack!
Just as Anko wished, Mutsuki gave her a light tap on the head.
"You didn't study again, did you?" Mutsuki said.
"Hehe, I did study, just ran out of time," Anko chuckled, feeling better now that Mutsuki only gave her one tap.
She only got hit once by Mutsuki, but she managed to give Izumo and Kotetsu three each, so she came out ahead. Izumo and Kotetsu, seeing this, sighed inwardly at Mutsuki's lenient punishment, thinking he should have given her a good ten smacks each.
The morning was for Ninjutsu class, so Mutsuki didn't discuss the exam papers. Originally, the papers were meant to be handed out during the afternoon theoretical class, but since it was their own class, Mutsuki brought them along and distributed them in the morning.
[Disciple Uchiha Shisui diligently practiced and achieved a Perfect score in academic assessment, receiving rewards: Chakra +300, Ninjutsu Proficient scroll]
[Disciple Uchiha Obito diligently practiced and achieved a good score in academic assessment, receiving rewards: Chakra +250]
[Disciple Might Guy diligently practiced and achieved a satisfactory score in academic assessment, receiving rewards: Chakra +200]
The exam rewards were settled, with another 750 Chakra and a Ninjutsu Proficient scroll in hand.
Mutsuki glanced at the latest panel.
[Name: Mutsuki Yumi]
[Chakra: 20030]
Chakra had successfully surpassed twenty thousand!
After completing the morning classes, Mutsuki's Chakra count increased to 20050. Although the change was small, this timely feedback provided the motivation to continue striving.
During the afternoon class, Mutsuki chose to announce the scores by calling out names for people to collect their exam papers.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't do this, as it made some people uncomfortable even walking a short distance.
But this time was different. Apart from his own first-year class, the other classes were ones he hadn't taught before, and this time the scores had generally improved quite a bit.
"I scored seventy this time! My mom is definitely going to praise me when I get home. I improved by over thirty points in one go!"
"Your improvement is indeed significant. I, on the other hand, only improved by a little over ten points."
"How many points did you get?"
"Eighty-five."
"Damn you"
The classroom was filled with a joyous atmosphere as everyone discussed how much their scores had improved.
Only the students in the first-year class remained relatively calm. Among them, there were both improvements and setbacks, but overall, the average score only increased by two points, with no significant changes.
It wasn't because they hadn't studied hard, but because their average score was already quite high. Eighty points, which were rare in other classes, were quite common in their class.
"I envy you guys in the first-year class with Yumi-sensei as your homeroom teacher. He's really good at teaching and so skilled." During the break, someone recalled the combat performance scores posted on the bulletin board and started chatting with their friends from the first-year class.
Before attending Mutsuki's classes, even though they had heard about his reputation, they didn't expect his teaching to be so effective. As soon as they started his classes, the overall performance of the class skyrocketed.
Moreover, this time, the combat scores of the first-year class were unbelievable. Just a glance at them would make one question their accuracy. Almost everyone scored over thirty points, while the total score for the combat exam was only forty points.
In terms of Ninjutsu, the scores were uniformly high, leading people to suspect that the first-year class was graded on a different scale altogether.
"Yumi-sensei is indeed strong, but it also depends on the students themselves. Some individuals have been taught by Yumi-sensei every day and have regressed twice in a row," Kotetsu replied quietly.
"Oh, who are these individuals?"
"Of course, it's Anko..."
Kotetsu stopped halfway through his response, realizing that something was off with the voice. He looked beside him and saw that it wasn't Izumo sitting there but Anko. Then, he glanced at Izumo, who was smiling at him from five seats away.
"Kotetsu, you shouldn't have rushed ahead this morning," Izumo said with a smile.
Since Kotetsu was unjust, there was no need to blame Izumo for being unkind.
"I actually wanted to say that Anko's soup is really delicious," Kotetsu attempted to explain.
"Do you think I'll believe that?" Anko said, looking at him as if to say, "Do you think I'm stupid?"
Kotetsu thought to himself that if he didn't think it was possible, he wouldn't have said it. However, considering that it might only add fuel to the fire, he didn't voice this thought.
"Let's start the class."
Ultimately, the bell signaling the start of class and Mutsuki's voice temporarily saved Kotetsu. Anko wouldn't dare to cause trouble while Mutsuki was teaching.
"Actually, this morning it was Izumo who gave me the hint with his eyes..." Kotetsu directly reported his good friend in order not to be alone after school.
Anko nodded, listened to the class, and then cleaned up together after school.
"At Konoha's call, the Kage of the other four major countries have gathered together. This is the first time since the era of the ninja villages that the five Kage have convened, and this grand occasion has not occurred again until now."
"At the Five Kage Summit, Konoha proposed the equal distribution of the Tailed Beasts. The Five Kage collectively signed a peace treaty, marking the temporary entry of the shinobi world into a phase of comprehensive peace..."
As Mutsuki finished explaining the content and significance of the Five Kage Summit for future generations, the bell signaling the end of class rang.
[Completed one major teaching session]
[Evaluation: B]
[Rewards: Chakra +40]
Under Mutsuki's gaze, the Chakra on the panel changed to 20,090.
Mutsuki announced the end of class and then went home to cook before heading to the Southern Boundary Forest to teach his students.
"Next, you will learn how to concentrate your breath for more explosive bursts on top of the regular Breathing Technique," Mutsuki said to Shisui and Obito.
"This is a regular breath." Mutsuki performed Fire Nature Transformation with Chakra on his palm, instantly erupting a basketball-sized flame.
Then, Mutsuki released the Chakra, adjusted his breathing, and condensed the Chakra again, forming a fireball twice as large as the previous one on his palm.
"And this is the Total Concentration Breathing," Mutsuki explained.
"In fact, your current breathing can also be considered Total Concentration Breathing, but to reach my level, you need to concentrate further on the explosive aspect of your focused breath," Mutsuki explained.
"Completing this step of training, you will truly have learned Flame Breathing. Not only can it significantly enhance Ninjutsu, but it can also rapidly improve physical abilities in a short period."
Finally, Mutsuki reminded them, "You need to pay attention to the consumption of stamina and Chakra. Don't use Total Concentration Breathing indiscriminately; save it for crucial moments."
Great improvement also means great consumption; exerting concentrated breath will put significant pressure on the body.
Both nodded.
"Yumi-sensei, what happened to your hand?" Shisui pointed to the bandage on Mutsuki's finger and asked.
Actually, he noticed it during Mutsuki's demonstration, but he didn't want to interrupt.
"Just practicing some things recently, nothing serious. Don't worry about it," Mutsuki replied with a gentle smile.
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