Chapter 20: Smiles Don't Disappear, They Just Move Away
"Good morning, Izumo."
Early in the morning, on the way to the Ninja Academy, Kotetsu greeted Izumo, whom he bumped into by chance.
"Mm, morning," Izumo replied.
Kotetsu casually threw an arm around Izumo's neck in a mock headlock, then released him with a grin.
"Why the long face?"
Izumo sighed. "Kotetsu, did you forget? The results are coming out today."
"Oh, right…" Kotetsu blinked. "You think you didn't do well, huh?"
"I've got a bad feeling about it," Izumo muttered, looking up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle like a tragic poet.
"It's alright. I didn't do well either. When the results are out, I'll probably be just as miserable," Kotetsu said, giving his friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
The two walked together toward the Academy, and before long, they ran into Anko.
"Izumo! Kotetsu! Good morning!" Anko called out energetically.
"Morning, Anko," they both replied.
"You two look like your pet kunai ran away. Did you have a nightmare or something?" Anko asked curiously.
"No… It's just that the results come out today," Kotetsu sighed.
"Neither of us did great on the exam, so we're bracing for the worst," he added.
"Hehe, is that all? I think I did pretty well. My score's probably high," Anko said with a smug grin.
"I might even ask Sensei Mugetsu for another reward."
She hadn't even seen her score yet, but her confidence was already bubbling like miso soup.
Kotetsu and Izumo's theory scores had always been decent, and she felt she had outperformed them—so surely she did well too.
"I envy you, Anko. Second in the grade for practicals, and now maybe a top score in theory too?" Izumo said with a sigh.
Hearing that, Anko puffed out her chest with pride and began walking with an exaggerated swagger, like a mini-boss strutting into a final cutscene.
Soon, the trio ran into Shisui and some classmates as they entered the building.
"How'd you do, Shisui?" Anko asked.
"Just average," Shisui answered calmly.
That response only made Anko more eager to check her score.
If even Shisui thinks he did average… could I be first?
"No, probably not first place… but maybe top five?" she thought. Despite her pride, she hadn't completely lost touch with reality—her usual scores were only mid-tier.
When they reached the bulletin board, it was already surrounded by a noisy crowd. Everyone was discussing scores.
"Class One's scores are insane! So many in the seventies and eighties!"
"There's even a perfect score! And they topped the practicals too—scary stuff."
"Well, what do you expect from Mugetsu-sensei's class…"
"Move, move!" Anko had no time for gossip. She bulldozed her way through the crowd with Kotetsu and Izumo trailing close behind, eyes locked on Class Two's board.
"Eighty points! Yes!" Anko shouted, spotting her name and score.
But a second later, something didn't add up.
"Wait… why's my rank so low?"
"Kotetsu, Izumo! Did you find yours?" she asked quickly.
"Yeah. Ninety-two," Kotetsu said with a nod.
"...How much?" Anko blinked, thinking she misheard.
"Ninety-two," he repeated.
"Konoha expletive!"
Anko slapped Kotetsu's shoulder hard, her brown-gray eyes glaring at him in disbelief.
You said you didn't do well, and you got ninety-two?!
"This is your idea of a bad score?"
"Luck! Just luck!" Kotetsu laughed sheepishly. "I thought I bombed it, but somehow it turned out alright."
"What about you, Izumo?" Kotetsu turned and asked.
"Ninety-seven," Izumo answered with a quiet smile.
"H-how much?!" Kotetsu nearly choked.
"Ninety-seven," Izumo said again.
Kotetsu's smile froze. Izumo's smile, however, grew brighter.
"I was comforting you this morning," Kotetsu groaned, "and you turn out to be some kind of genius?!"
Without another word, Kotetsu hooked his arm around Izumo's neck and dragged him away in mock outrage.
Anko watched the familiar scene unfold… then dove in and landed a few playful punches on Kotetsu.
These two were way too infuriating—acing the exam and still acting pitiful? That was emotional sabotage!
---
[Ding!]
["After a month of diligent study, Uchiha Shisui achieved a perfect score in the academic assessment. Rewards: Chakra +300, Skill Proficiency Scroll."]
["Skill Proficiency Scroll: Instantly upgrades one mastered Ninjutsu to proficient level."]
["After a month of diligent study, Uchiha Obito achieved a good score. Reward: Chakra +150."]
["After a month of diligent study, Might Guy achieved a good score. Reward: Chakra +150."]
As Mugetsu expected, there were indeed rewards from the system—and they were far more generous than those from lectures.
Even if he lectured until his throat gave out, he'd barely earn 600 Chakra. A B-rank lecture only gave 20.
The only reason Obito and Guy didn't receive more was because their theory scores dragged them down—and they didn't place first in practicals either.
Mugetsu briefly had the urge to suggest holding more exams. Normally, the Academy had only two per semester.
If they had ten exams per semester, his rewards would stack up like crazy.
That tempting thought lasted a full three seconds before he sighed and let it go.
Even if he asked, the school wouldn't agree. Ten exams a semester would break both students and teachers.
Besides, his usual class tests didn't seem to trigger system rewards.
With that in mind, Mugetsu used the Skill Proficiency Scroll on Water Severing Wave.
In an instant, a flood of memories surged into his mind—training sessions, refinements, battle instincts... Every nuance of the jutsu etched itself more clearly.
Though he had learned many Ninjutsu by now, he still believed Water Severing Wave was the most powerful one in his arsenal.
---
At noon, the office became lively.
"Mugetsu-sensei, how do you teach? Your students' theory scores are ridiculous—the average is way higher than any other class," Sugito said, stunned.
"Seriously, any tricks you can share?" Ikeya added. "Two of my boys barely passed, and next time, who knows…"
Obito and Guy had shocked him—not only did they take the top two spots in practicals, they even passed the theory exam.
Just as Mugetsu was about to reply, a teacher entered the room.
"Mugetsu-sensei, the principal is looking for you."
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