The third day of exams went much faster, as only two students from each class participated, and there were only eight classes in total for that year at the Ninja Academy.
Today, just like the second day, non-examinees could choose not to attend. However, quite a few students came to watch the exam today, curious to see who would be the first-place student in the fourth-year class.
"Am I seeing things? Isn't that Uchiha Obito? Why is he standing with the examinees?" someone asked, puzzled.
"You weren't paying attention to Class Two's news yesterday, were you?" his companion asked.
"No, yesterday I was unlucky and met our class's strongest in the first round, so I went home after losing."
"Then that's normal. Uchiha Obito has gotten very strong now; he even defeated Uchiha Tekka from their class."
The onlookers discussed the contestants from each class with great interest. Sometimes, they would even argue about who was stronger. At this point, even those who had previously mocked Obito and Might Guy would try their best to defend them, as they were representatives of their own class.
"This year's top student will probably only be Shisui," Muyue thought after watching the first round, feeling that Obito and Might Guy's chances were slim. Hyuga Homura's Gentle Fist was well-practiced, and combined with the Byakugan's advantage, Might Guy would have a hard time winning, not to mention Obito. Muyue could only say that ninja of the Hyuga clan had a significant advantage in the early stages; the Byakugan wasn't as difficult to awaken as the Sharingan, and their inherited Gentle Fist was also an excellent taijutsu. Both of them had trained with him for too short a time; now, their strengths weren't long enough, and they still had many weaknesses.
As time passed, they entered the final two rounds of battles. Obito faced Hyuga Homura, and Might Guy faced a ninja from Class Three, Year Four.
As Muyue expected, in front of Hyuga Homura, Obito didn't even get to use a single ninjutsu before being thoroughly disoriented by the Gentle Fist. In the final match, Might Guy's performance was much better than Obito's, but his moves were completely seen through by Hyuga Homura's Byakugan, and he still couldn't escape defeat.
Obito, having lost the match, was a bit dejected. He had been hoping to contend for first place but unexpectedly didn't even make it into the top two. Muyue happened to walk by and comforted him, saying, "Don't always dwell on your failures. You should think about how much you've improved since last time and strive for the next time."
As soon as Muyue said this, Obito instantly felt much better, because in his last third-year final exam, he was only ranked twentieth in his class. This time, he almost made it into the top two of the entire grade. Thinking of it that way, his improvement was immense, and first place was just around the corner!
Next, Muyue walked over to Might Guy. Unexpectedly, Might Guy also looked a bit dejected. Muyue had originally thought that with Guy's willpower, he wouldn't care about a single win or loss, but after a closer look, Muyue found the reason. It might have been because he had given him the taijutsu training manual yesterday, causing Might Guy to feel burdened by Muyue's expectations.
"Failure always runs throughout life. This is life; don't let a single failure defeat you," Muyue comforted him.
Might Guy's body trembled. When it came to failure, he certainly had a lot to say. In the very first entrance exam, he almost missed out on becoming a ninja. Then, he challenged Kakashi and was defeated in one move. He was always last in every class and called a "dead last"... Although he was only eight years old now, Might Guy had already experienced too many failures. He seemed to have a faint understanding of what his father, Might Duy, meant by "youth never fades."
"I understand, Teacher Muyue." Might Guy's eyes grew even more determined. What he needed to do was not to dwell on his gains and losses in dejection, but to train hard and win in the next battle, until he became the strongest.
Muyue nodded with satisfaction, then started walking towards Shisui.
When Muyue found Shisui, Shisui was surrounded by a group of students asking all sorts of questions. Seeing Muyue arrive, the students all greeted him.
"Teacher Hanyu, I got second place in the grade, you know. Do I get a reward?" Anko walked cheerfully to Muyue's side and said.
Muyue smiled, patted Anko's head, and thought for a moment before saying, "How about I treat you to dango?"
"Yay! Teacher Hanyu is the best!" Hearing there was dango to eat, Anko immediately became Muyue's number one fan.
"Shisui, who got first place in the grade, hasn't even asked for a reward yet, Anko, you're too impatient," Kotetsu Hagane, who was nearby, couldn't help but retort. It wasn't that he truly thought Anko was impatient; it was simply because he was a little envious of her. You fear your brother might not do well, yet you also fear he might do too well. Anko was currently in the "too well" category.
Muyue chuckled as he sent the students away, then took Shisui towards the commercial street.
"How do you feel?" Muyue asked.
Shisui thought for a moment and honestly replied, "It was quite ordinary. There wasn't even anyone who required me to fight with all my strength."
"That's normal. After all, with your strength, there aren't many people in the fourth year who are your match, let alone the first year," Muyue praised without reservation.
"Then, Teacher Muyue, do you think I should graduate early?" Shisui asked, looking into Muyue's eyes. Muyue's eye color was very unique, a sky-like blue.
"Graduate early?"
"Because I heard that some very talented seniors in the past felt they couldn't learn much more at the Ninja Academy and graduated quickly," Shisui replied.
Muyue shook his head and said, "I don't recommend you graduate in your first year. You should wait until at least your second or third year." "Your strength might be outstanding among your peers, but once you leave the academy, your opponents won't just be your peers, especially now with a major war potentially breaking out at any time."
"If you feel that the Ninja Academy's curriculum is meaningless, you can use a Shadow Clone to attend classes for you, and your main body can train according to my guidance," Muyue suggested. Although Shisui safely survived the Third Great Ninja War in the original story and earned the moniker "Shisui of the Body Flicker," the original story didn't have him, Hanyu Muyue. The butterfly effect is unpredictable. Muyue still hoped that Shisui would stay and develop in the Ninja Academy for a few more years. What was the point of graduating if he couldn't even instantly defeat a Chunin? If it were him, without Jonin-level strength, he wouldn't feel safe walking on the streets of Konoha.
Hearing Muyue's suggestion, Shisui's eyes lit up, and he nodded, feeling that Muyue's advice was excellent.
Afterward, Muyue took Shisui to buy a pile of dango and returned to the school. Before afternoon classes, every student in Class 1, Year 1, received a portion of dango. Muyue wouldn't actually just give it to Anko alone, but since he had promised, Muyue gave Anko an extra portion of dango.
"Teacher Hanyu is the best in the world!" Anko expressed her great satisfaction. If there were a few more portions of dango, perhaps Konoha would have a "Hanyu Cult" in the future. Other students also expressed their gratitude, and their already high favorability increased even further.
The Ninja Academy was very efficient. Two days after the exam, all the results were compiled and announced, confirming Muyue's suspicions.