A Contest of Misery in the Land of Ninja

Jiraiya and Tsunade had been both fortunate and unfortunate.

Fortunately, neither of their exam papers had been seen by the Land of Ninja's three hundred thousand citizens.

The one responsible for grading them was their teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Disgraceful disciples!"

"Do you know the two of you nearly made me lose all my dignity?!"

Jiraiya and Tsunade lowered their heads in silence, reflecting on exactly where things had gone wrong.

"You still don't get it? After grading your papers, do you think I can shamelessly go become the school principal?"

"Disgraceful disciples!" Clutching his chest and roaring at the top of his lungs, Hiruzen seemed to have returned to his younger days as he graded papers for an entire day and night.

Even if they passed the final exam, could they pretend this had never happened?

Even if he ultimately became principal, this would remain a stain on him for the rest of his life.

Most importantly, Shin had made him grade the papers. That was simply a dagger to the heart.

This incomprehensible malice would likely haunt Hiruzen for the rest of his life.

Although the exams had ended a week ago, the Land of Ninja's intense atmosphere of learning showed no signs of fading.

"That question truly caught me off guard. The angle was unbelievably tricky."

"Exactly. Even I was defeated by it."

Nishinodera, who had twenty years of teaching experience and had devoted himself wholeheartedly to education, was sharing his exam answers with his colleagues.

After bidding everyone farewell, a notification message arrived on his phone.

"Dear examinee Nishinodera, congratulations on passing the written examination. Please proceed to the school for an interview before August 1."

An interview for what? He had only just been promoted to dean of students.

Wouldn't the next level up be