Early Graduation?

The third day of exams went much faster. After all, each class only had two participants, and there were only eight classes in each grade at the Ninja Academy.

Today was the same as the second day: non-participants could choose not to attend.

However, quite a few students had come to watch the exams today, wanting to see who would become the first top student of the Fourth Grade.

"Am I seeing things? Isn't that Obito Uchiha? Why is he standing with the examinees?" someone asked in confusion.

"Didn't you hear what happened in Class 2 yesterday?" the person beside him asked.

"No. I had bad luck yesterday and ran into the strongest person in our class in the first round. I went home after losing."

"Then it makes sense. Obito Uchiha has become really strong now. He even defeated Uchiha Tekka from his class."

The watching students eagerly discussed the contestants from each class.

Sometimes, they would even argue over who was stronger.

At times like this, even those who had previously mocked Obito and Might Guy would try their best to defend them. After all, they were representatives of their own class.

"Shisui is probably the only one who can take first place this time." After watching the first round, Mu Yue felt that Obito and Might Guy were probably out of luck.

That Hyuga Hamon had trained his Gentle Fist well, and with the advantage of the Byakugan, it would be difficult for Might Guy to win. As for Obito, there was no need to mention him.

Mu Yue could only say that Hyuga Clan ninjas had a considerable advantage in the early stages. The Byakugan was not as difficult to awaken as the Sharingan, and the clan's inherited Gentle Fist was also an excellent taijutsu.

The two had simply trained with him for too short a time. Their strengths were not strong enough yet, while they still had many weaknesses.

As time passed, the final two battles began: Obito against Hyuga Hamon, and Might Guy against a ninja from Class 4-3.

Just as Mu Yue had expected, Obito was beaten senseless by Hyuga Hamon's Gentle Fist before he could even use a single Ninjutsu.

During the final, Might Guy performed much better than Obito, but all his moves were completely seen through by Hyuga Hamon's Byakugan. He still could not escape defeat.

Obito was somewhat dejected after losing. He had been aiming for first place, yet he had not even made the top two.

Mu Yue happened to pass by and comforted him. "Don't keep dwelling on your failures. You should think about how much you've improved since last time, then work hard for the next time."

At Mu Yue's words, Obito's mood instantly improved. During the Third Grade Final Exam last time, he had only ranked around twentieth in his class. This time, he had nearly made the top two in the grade.

By that calculation, his improvement had been enormous. First place was within reach!

Mu Yue then passed by Might Guy. To his surprise, Might Guy looked somewhat dejected as well.

Mu Yue had initially thought that, with Guy's willpower, he would not care much about a single win or loss. But after thinking it over more carefully, Mu Yue found the reason.

Perhaps it was because Mu Yue had given him the Taijutsu Training Manual yesterday, making Might Guy feel that he carried Mu Yue's expectations.

"Failure runs through one's entire life. That is life. Don't let one defeat knock you down," Mu Yue comforted him.

Might Guy's body trembled. When it came to failure, he truly had plenty to say.

At first, during the entrance exam, he had nearly been unable to become a ninja. Then he had challenged Kakashi and been instantly defeated in one move. He ranked last in every subject and was called dead last...

Though he was only eight years old, Might Guy had already experienced far too many failures.

He seemed to gain some understanding of what his Old Man, Might Duy, meant when he said that youth never faded.

"I understand, Mu Yue-sensei." Might Guy's gaze became even more resolute.

What he needed to do was not brood over his gains and losses in discouragement, but train hard and win the next battle, until he became the strongest.

Mu Yue nodded in satisfaction, then went to check on Shisui.

When Mu Yue found Shisui, Shisui was surrounded by a crowd of students asking him all kinds of questions.

When they saw Mu Yue arrive, the students all greeted him.

"Teacher Hanyu, I got second place in the grade. Do I get any reward?" Anko asked with a grin as she walked over to Mu Yue.

Mu Yue smiled and rubbed Anko's little head. After thinking for a moment, he said, "How about I treat you to dango?"

"Yay! Teacher Hanyu is the best!" The moment she heard there would be dango, Anko immediately became Mu Yue's number one fan.

"Shisui hasn't even asked for a reward after getting first place, Anko. You're way too impatient," Izumo Kamizuki could not help teasing from the side.

It was not that he truly thought Anko was impatient. He was simply a little jealous of her.

He was afraid his friend would do badly, but also afraid his friend would do too well. Anko had done far too well this time.

Mu Yue cheerfully sent the students away, then took Shisui toward the Shopping Street.

"How did it feel?" Mu Yue asked.

Shisui thought for a moment before answering honestly:

"It was ordinary. There wasn't even anyone who required me to fight with my full strength."

"That's normal. Given your strength, there are not many people in the Fourth Grade who can be your opponent, let alone the First Grade." Mu Yue praised him without reservation.

"Then, Mu Yue-sensei, do you think I should graduate early?" Shisui asked as he looked into Mu Yue's eyes. Mu Yue's eye color was special, blue like the sky.

"Graduate early?"

"Because I heard that there were talented seniors before who felt they could not learn anything at the Ninja Academy and graduated very quickly," Shisui replied.

Mu Yue shook his head. "I don't recommend graduating in the First Grade. At the very least, wait until the Second Grade or Third Grade."

"Your strength may be outstanding among children your age, but once you leave the academy, your opponents will no longer be limited to your peers, especially when a major war could break out at any time."

"If you feel that the Ninja Academy's courses are meaningless, you can use Shadow Clones to attend classes for you while your real body trains according to my guidance," Mu Yue suggested.

Although Shisui had safely survived the Third Great Ninja War in the original story and earned the title of Body Flicker Shisui, Hanyu Muyue had not existed in that story. It was hard to say what the butterfly effect might bring.

Mu Yue still hoped that Shisui would stay at the Ninja Academy and develop for a few more years. What was the point of graduating if you could not even instantly defeat a chunin?

If it were him, he would not even feel safe walking through Konoha's streets without jonin-level strength.

Hearing Mu Yue's suggestion, Shisui's eyes lit up. He nodded, feeling that Mu Yue's advice was excellent.

Afterward, Mu Yue took Shisui to buy a large pile of dango before returning to the academy. Before afternoon class began, every student in Class 1-1 received a serving of dango.

Mu Yue would not truly give dango to Anko alone. However, since he had promised her, Mu Yue gave Anko an extra serving.

"Teacher Hanyu is number one in the world!" Anko was extremely satisfied. If she got a few more servings of dango, Konoha might gain a Hanyu Cult in the future.

The other students also expressed their thanks one after another. Their already high affection for him rose another notch.

The Ninja Academy was highly efficient. Two days after the exams, it had organized and announced all the results, confirming Mu Yue's guess.