Chapter 19: Graduating Early?
The third day of the exam moved faster, as only two students came from each class, and there were just eight classes in each grade at the Ninja Academy.
Today followed the same rule as the second day—non-examinees could choose not to attend.
Even so, many students still came to watch, eager to see who would claim the title of top student in the Fourth Grade.
"Am I seeing things? Isn't that Obito? Why is he standing with the examinees?" someone asked, confused.
"You clearly weren't paying attention to Class 2's news yesterday," his friend replied.
"No, I had bad luck. I got matched with the strongest guy in our class during the first round. After losing, I just went home."
"Well, that explains it. Obito's gotten really strong—he even beat Tekka from their class."
The watching students buzzed with gossip, discussing the contestants from each class with growing excitement.
Sometimes, they even started arguments over who was stronger.
Even those who had once mocked Obito and Guy were now doing their best to defend them—after all, they were their class representatives.
"This time, the top student will probably be Shisui," Mugetsu thought after watching the first round. He figured Obito and Guy were in trouble.
Hyuga Homura's Gentle Fist was refined, and with the Byakugan's advantage, Guy would have a hard time, let alone Obito.
Their time training with him had still been too short. Their strengths weren't quite polished yet, and they had too many openings.
As time passed, the matches narrowed to the final two rounds: Obito versus Homura, and Guy versus a student from Class 3.
Just as Mugetsu expected, Obito was thoroughly overwhelmed by Gentle Fist. He didn't even get the chance to use a single jutsu.
In the last match, Guy performed better than Obito, but his moves were still completely read by the Byakugan. He too couldn't avoid defeat.
Obito walked away from the match, clearly disheartened. He'd aimed for first place—yet he hadn't even made the top two.
Mugetsu happened to pass by and stopped to comfort him.
"Don't dwell too much on failure. Think about how much you've improved since last time—and aim for the next challenge."
Obito's mood visibly lifted.
Last time, in the Third Grade finals, he had only placed twentieth in class. Now, he had almost reached the top two in the entire grade.
Seeing it that way, his progress had been huge. First place wasn't far off anymore!
Next, Mugetsu walked over to Guy. Surprisingly, Guy also looked somewhat downcast.
Mugetsu had assumed that someone with Guy's willpower wouldn't be bothered by a single loss. But thinking more carefully, he understood why.
Maybe it was because he'd given Guy the Taijutsu manual yesterday. The expectation might have weighed heavily on him.
"Failure is a part of life. That's what life is—don't let one loss defeat you," Mugetsu said softly.
Guy trembled.
When it came to failure, he had a lot to say.
From almost failing the entrance exam, to losing to Kakashi in one move, to coming in last in every class and being labeled a dead last…
Even though he was only eight years old, Guy had already faced more setbacks than most.
He now began to understand what his father, Dai, meant by "youth never fades."
"I understand, Sensei," Guy's eyes burned with renewed determination.
What he needed wasn't to linger over defeat—it was to train harder and win next time, until he became the strongest.
Mugetsu nodded in satisfaction, then moved on and spotted Shisui.
Shisui was surrounded by students, all excitedly throwing questions at him.
When Mugetsu approached, the students quickly greeted him.
"Sensei, I got second place in the grade! Is there a reward?" Anko asked cheerfully as she bounced over to him.
Mugetsu smiled and patted her head. After thinking for a moment, he said, "How about I treat you to some dango?"
"Yay! Sensei is the best!" Anko beamed, instantly becoming Mugetsu's number one fan.
"Shisui got first place and hasn't even asked for a reward yet, Anko. You're too impatient," Kotetsu muttered nearby.
He didn't really mean it—he was just jealous. He didn't want his friends to do poorly, but he also didn't want them to do too well.
And now, Anko clearly fell into the "too well" category.
Mugetsu laughed and dismissed the students, then walked with Shisui toward the shopping street.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
Shisui thought for a moment, then answered honestly,
"Pretty ordinary. I didn't even have to go all out against anyone."
"That's not surprising. With your strength, there aren't many students in Fourth Grade who can match you—let alone First Grade," Mugetsu replied, praising him without holding back.
"Then… Sensei, do you think I should graduate early?" Shisui asked, looking up at him.
Mugetsu's eyes were a striking sky-blue, like the endless sky.
"Graduate early?"
"I heard that some really talented seniors in the past graduated quickly because they felt the Academy couldn't teach them anything," Shisui said.
Mugetsu shook his head.
"I don't recommend graduating in First Grade. At the very least, wait until Second or Third.
"Your strength might be impressive among your peers—but outside school, your enemies won't just be kids your age.
"Especially now, with the threat of war looming, you need more preparation."
"If you feel the Academy curriculum isn't useful, just use a shadow clone to attend classes. Your real body can train under my guidance," Mugetsu added.
In the original timeline, Shisui survived the Third Great Ninja War and earned the name "Shisui of the Body Flicker." But things were different now—Hayate Mugetsu existed.
And the butterfly effect could change everything.
Mugetsu still hoped Shisui would remain at the Academy for a few more years.
What's the point of graduating if you can't even take down a Chunin in a flash?
If it were him, he wouldn't feel safe walking through Konoha without Jonin-level strength.
Hearing his advice, Shisui's eyes brightened. He nodded, fully convinced.
Later, Mugetsu took Shisui to buy a huge batch of dango and returned to school. Before the afternoon classes started, every student in Class 1, Grade 1 received a portion of dango.
Of course, he didn't really intend to give it only to Anko—but since he promised, she got an extra helping.
"Sensei is the best in the world!" Anko declared joyfully.
If there had been just a few more portions, Konoha might've ended up with a full-blown Mugetsu cult.
The other students also expressed their gratitude, and their already high opinion of him rose even further.
The Academy worked fast. Just two days after the exams, the full results were posted—confirming exactly what Mugetsu had predicted.
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