The moment Muyue announced the start of the exam, Obito swiftly retreated, forming hand signs and preparing his ninjutsu as he moved. He knew Might Guy was skilled in taijutsu, so he naturally wouldn't try to go head-to-head with him in close combat.
"Clone Jutsu!"
Poof! Poof!
After he completed his ninjutsu, two identical clones appeared beside Obito. The three Obitos constantly crisscrossed, trying to confuse Might Guy.
"Leaf Hurricane!"
However, Might Guy's speed was faster than Obito had anticipated. He instantly caught up, and a lightning-fast spinning kick instantly dispersed two clones. Obito's real body was also sent staggering back more than a meter.
"Such strength!" Obito's arm trembled uncontrollably a couple of times. He had used his arm to block the kick, and now it was throbbing with pain.
Might Guy, capitalizing on his advantage, pressed forward immediately, forcing Obito into continued close-quarters combat. But in a pure taijutsu confrontation, Obito was no match for Might Guy and quickly fell into a disadvantage.
"Who do you guys think will win?" the surrounding students began discussing the eventual victor.
"Might Guy, probably. It feels like Uchiha Obito will be defeated soon," one student analyzed the situation on the field.
"Not necessarily. When Uchiha Obito fought Uchiha Tekka before, he also fell behind in taijutsu, but in the end, he won with his Fire Release," another student countered, believing that Obito, with his powerful Fire Release, hadn't unleashed his full strength yet. After all, Obito had genuinely defeated the former top student, Uchiha Tekka, so his track record was quite impressive.
"Teacher Muyue, who do you think will win?" Kimura Sanjin suddenly asked.
"Might Guy, I guess," Muyue thought for a moment before answering.
"Right. Although that Uchiha Obito possesses powerful Fire Release, this exam venue isn't suitable for him to fully utilize it," Kimura Sanjin agreed.
Muyue nodded. In truth, their strengths were quite similar. However, Obito was currently like a "cannon mage" with limited close-combat ability and no means of casting without incantations. In such a flat, open area, he found it difficult to defeat Might Guy, a high-speed warrior.
As expected, in the very next moment, Obito was caught off guard by Might Guy and sent flying with a direct Leaf Hurricane.
"Might Guy wins," Muyue announced the final result of the exam.
The student who had thought Obito would win couldn't help but slap their forehead. They felt that Obito never disappointed when it came to being disappointing. When you thought he would lose to Uchiha Tekka, he won. When you thought he would win against Might Guy, he lost.
"Might Guy, you're amazing! How do you train?" A classmate couldn't help but ask Might Guy for tips on getting stronger.
"How do I train? Well, I wake up at 5:30 AM, run around the Hidden Leaf Village until class, then practice taijutsu against a wooden dummy all night, and on weekends..." Might Guy pondered his daily schedule before answering.
"I'm out!" The student who asked was immediately filled with immense admiration for Might Guy upon hearing about waking up at 5:30 AM. When he mentioned practicing taijutsu against a wooden dummy all night, the student no longer wanted to listen. He felt that even official ninja probably didn't train like that every day.
"Obito, are you okay?" Rin walked over to Obito and asked with concern.
Obito patted the dust off his clothes and said easily, "Of course I'm fine! I just narrowly lost this time. I'll definitely win next time."
When he was in front of the girl he liked, even if something was wrong, he had to act as if nothing was amiss. However, Nohara Rin wasn't so easily fooled. She grabbed Obito's arm, rolled up his sleeve, and saw several bruises. She then glared at Obito and said, "Do you think acting tough is useful? Injuries won't heal just because you're pretending. Hurry up and go to the infirmary to put some medicine on them."
With that, Rin pulled Obito towards the infirmary. Obito mumbled about being fine, but he didn't resist and followed Rin. His mouth might have been rebellious, but his body was certainly honest.
The practical exam for the class's first and second place winners concluded today. Tomorrow's exam would feature the top two students from each class in a practical exam to determine the top student of the entire grade.
With the exam over, Might Guy was ready to thank Muyue and say goodbye before heading home. He wanted to share this good news with his father, Might Duy. Might Guy could already imagine his father shedding tears and shouting about youth.
However, Muyue didn't let Guy leave immediately. Under the pretense of having something to give Guy, Muyue led him to a secluded spot. Muyue smiled and said, "Guy, congratulations on getting first place."
After speaking, Muyue took out a small booklet and handed it to Might Guy: "This is a taijutsu training manual I wrote casually in my free time recently. It also includes some of my ideas for further developing the Leaf Hurricane. Consider it a gift for getting first place in your class."
Might Guy saw the manual, but he also noticed Muyue's hand holding the manual. Muyue's hand appeared clean at first glance, but the sharp-eyed Might Guy noticed some faint smudges of gray on Muyue's palm, like ink stains that had been scrubbed hard but not entirely removed. After looking at the contents inside, Might Guy instantly understood everything.
This wasn't something casually written in his free time; it was likely something he had painstakingly pondered and written for him. Even if he hadn't gotten first place, he would have found another reason to give it to him. The ideas for the further development of the Leaf Hurricane within the manual made Might Guy feel as if it were tailor-made for him. If this hadn't taken time, Might Guy wouldn't have believed it.
"Teacher Muyue, I will definitely not let your efforts go to waste! I will become the strongest taijutsu ninja in the future!" The emotional Might Guy was instantly moved to tears.
Muyue pulled out a tissue to wipe away Might Guy's tears, patted Might Guy's shoulder, and smiled, "It's good that you think that way. For a teacher, a student getting stronger is the best reward." As he said this, Muyue's expression was incredibly sincere.
"Mhm!" Might Guy nodded heavily. At this moment, his resolve to grow stronger deepened even further.
Watching Might Guy's retreating figure, Muyue looked at the system message on his screen, a smile gracing his face.
[You have gifted your disciple a taijutsu training manual. As your disciple is extremely grateful, you have received a major crit reward: Mastery of Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation.]
[Disciple Might Guy's Trust Level has increased. Current Trust Level: 3.]
"Good luck," Muyue felt the new memories flooding into his mind, and his mood was excellent. Generally, the rewards returned from teaching disciples were related to their strengths. For example, Shisui and Obito tended to give more Fire Release rewards, while Guy gave more taijutsu rewards. However, there were exceptions, and sometimes unrelated rewards would appear.
Compared to a mere taijutsu proficiency, a chakra nature mastery was undoubtedly much better. Muyue was very satisfied; if he accumulated enough of these, he might even be able to develop his own Kekkei Genkai. As for the trust level increase, that was an added bonus.
Muyue felt that in the future, for high-quality items, he should plan how to give them out to maximize the emotional impact, making it easier to get good rewards. For instance, this time, if he had just given it to Might Guy casually, he would probably have only gotten a small burst, like a proficient-level ninjutsu or taijutsu.
However, by giving it to Might Guy when he was excited about getting first place, and then subtly letting Might Guy see the indelible ink stains on his hand, and finally adding some encouraging words, the effect was completely different. Giving the gift after he got first place reminded Might Guy of Muyue's teaching kindness; without Muyue's guidance, could he have achieved this first place? This initially stirred his emotions. Then, letting Might Guy see the ink stains on his hand made him realize the effort put into this gift, fantasizing about Muyue's dedication, which amplified his emotions. Finally, a bit of "chicken soup for the soul" instantly ignited his emotions.
"The exam ends tomorrow, and the results should be out in a couple of days," Muyue mused, wondering if the system would issue exam rewards. Logically, if the students performed so well, the teacher should be rewarded.