Exam Secrets

"Teacher Hanyu, please, whatever you do, don't tell Teacher Ikeya." Obito continued pleading with Mu Yue, unwilling to give up.

"That depends on how you perform." Mu Yue smiled without giving a definite answer.

"Teacher, is something wrong?" Might Guy scratched his head, not understanding why he had been called out. It wasn't like he had done anything wrong.

Mu Yue looked at Might Guy. The man whom Madara had called the strongest taijutsu user, the one who had nearly kicked his way to the ending with a single blow, was still very immature.

Although he was already wearing that signature green jumpsuit, leaving aside his strength, even his conviction still had a long way to go.

At this point, Might Guy believed that his day-after-day training would definitely make him a taijutsu powerhouse, but he had yet to fully understand the youth and self-restraint his father had spoken of. He still needed to grow, and Mu Yue was more than willing to lend him a hand during that time.

"Your theory grades have been giving Teacher Ikeya quite a headache," Mu Yue said.

Hearing Mu Yue's words, even Obito, as carefree as he was, lowered his head in embarrassment.

"It's not that I don't want to study. The questions are just too hard to understand. Why do they put all those animals together and make us count how many there are of each..." Obito tried to defend himself.

Seeing Obito like this reminded Mu Yue of the days he had spent grinding math problems in high school. All he could say was that it was fortunate his major hadn't required advanced mathematics.

But Mu Yue knew that Obito was still the real problem. The math taught at the Ninja Academy was the simplest kind, and there were relatively few classes—fewer than history, even.

"But it's not just math that you're bad at. History, Ninjutsu theory—you're no good at any of those either." Mu Yue shook his head.

"What's the point of knowing all that history? It's all in the past." Obito felt that history should be canceled. Math might come in handy when buying groceries, but what use was history?

"I think so too." Might Guy nodded in agreement. He genuinely couldn't memorize all that history.

"You'll have to say that to Lord Third. He's the principal of the Ninja Academy," Mu Yue said, indicating that his word didn't count in that regard.

"But this can't go on. It's bad for both Teacher Ikeya and yourselves."

"Teacher Hanyu, do you have some secret for passing exams?" Obito looked at Mu Yue expectantly.

Might Guy also looked at Mu Yue with considerable excitement. If they could actually do it, who wanted to be at the bottom of the class?

"There is indeed a secret to exams: drill practice problems. Read and practice at the same time!" Mu Yue revealed his secret.

With the Ninja Academy's level of exam difficulty, he only needed to bring out a little of his past-life test-taking experience to pass easily. At the Ninja Academy, getting half of the class average was considered a passing grade.

"Practice problems?" The two looked utterly confused, unable to understand.

"You can think of it as Special Training for exams. And if you pass your exams, I'll give you a reward," Mu Yue said with a smile.

"What kind of reward? A serving of dango?" Obito asked curiously.

"I can teach you Ninjutsu or taijutsu. In short, I can give you guidance in your training," Mu Yue answered.

"Really?!" Their eyes widened. They could hardly believe such good fortune had fallen into their laps.

"The condition is that you pass the exam a month from now," Mu Yue reminded them.

"Is this youth? I'm fired up!" Might Guy said excitedly.

"I'll definitely pass this time." Obito made his promise.

Watching the two of them get fired up, Mu Yue nodded inwardly. The best hunters often appeared in the guise of prey.

The two of them thought they had struck it rich: they had gotten the secret to passing exams, along with the promise of training guidance as a reward.

Meanwhile, Mu Yue only needed to naturally become their teacher during the Special Training to make a killing.

Even if they still failed in the end, it wouldn't matter. Mu Yue could say, "You worked so hard that I'd feel bad not giving you a reward," and perhaps earn another wave of goodwill.

The reason he didn't trick them into becoming his disciples as he had with Shisui was, first, that their backgrounds didn't suit it—he couldn't really bring up repaying a favor or anything like that. Second, Mu Yue was only teaching this class once and couldn't maintain long-term contact. It would have been much easier if he were their Homeroom Teacher.

After settling the matter of Special Training with them, Mu Yue brought them back to class.

"Obito, why did Teacher Hanyu call you out? He didn't punish you, did he?" Nohara Rin asked worriedly.

"How could it be punishment? Teacher Hanyu is great. He taught me the secret to passing exams." Obito immediately spoke up for Mu Yue.

As long as Mu Yue could help him shed the label of dead last, Obito could become Teacher Hanyu's number-one fanboy.

"Rin, you should listen more carefully in class too. Don't let me surpass you on the next exam." Obito grinned.

"It would be great if you really could surpass me." Nohara Rin looked at Obito's smug expression and smiled helplessly. Although she couldn't get first place, she still ranked near the top.

After the class bell rang, Obito displayed an unprecedented level of seriousness. He had to pass this time; he had already begun considering which Ninjutsu to learn.

Seeing this, Nohara Rin was somewhat surprised. Could Obito really be serious this time?

Three minutes later, looking at Obito sprawled across his desk, Nohara Rin could only say that Obito was still the Obito she knew.

At that moment, a piece of chalk traced a beautiful arc through the air and struck Obito on the head.

Obito looked around blankly. He saw Mu Yue's face, saw Nohara Rin's face, saw Might Guy furiously writing away, and remembered what he had said three minutes ago. His face reddened, and his sleepiness vanished.

After the brief incident of Obito falling asleep, the rest of the lesson proceeded smoothly.

Lesson Complete

Evaluation: A

Reward Obtained: Konoha Hurricane

This reward was not Ninjutsu but taijutsu, and it was something Might Guy would develop in the future.

This taijutsu looked very simple, merely a kicking technique, but Mu Yue, who had already begun to grasp it, discovered that it was not as simple as it seemed. The posture of the kick, the explosive force of the muscles, the burst of Chakra—each required skill.

Mu Yue had been worrying about not having anything to teach Guy when the time came, so he was quite pleased with this reward.

After school, Mu Yue wandered through the forest south of Konoha, searching for a suitable place to train.

After all, he still had an identity within Root. Danzo definitely knew where he lived.

Given Danzo's hatred for the Uchiha, if he learned that Mu Yue had taught Shisui ninjutsu without reporting it, he would at the very least suspect Mu Yue of betrayal.

Although he had Perception Ninjutsu, he couldn't keep it active all the time. His Chakra couldn't support that.

So Mu Yue planned to take Shisui outside to train from now on.

In the end, Mu Yue found that the area by a Small River had a good environment and was quite secluded, making it suitable for training.

After memorizing the location, Mu Yue returned home.

As it turned out, Mu Yue's caution had not been pointless. The moment he entered the courtyard, he spotted a ninja wearing an animal mask standing inside.