Chapter 65: Who Is the Serious Person Reviewing
On Monday, since it was already the day of the exam, Kotetsu didn't arrive at the Ninja Academy too early.
He'd spent the last two weeks reviewing, so there was no need to scramble for those extra ten or twenty minutes in the morning.
On his way to school, he ran into Izumo, who was also heading in the same direction.
"Izumo, good morning!" Kotetsu greeted him with a bright smile.
"Morning, Kotetsu," Izumo returned the smile.
"How was your weekend? Or did you spend both days reviewing?" Kotetsu asked casually.
"Review? Review my ass!" Izumo laughed loudly.
He grinned and asked back, "What about you? Did you review?"
"I'm not reviewing," Kotetsu said with a straight face. "No respectable person reviews right before the exam."
"Exactly! Do last-minute scores really reflect your actual strength?" Izumo nodded, completely agreeing.
The two locked eyes—and burst into laughter.
"Sugoroku is so fun! Kotetsu, you have to try it after the exam," Izumo said, looking like a hardcore gamer.
But in his mind, he thought smugly, This is a lock now. Kotetsu definitely didn't review, so my only real opponent is Shisui.
"I'll give it a shot when I have time. The novels I've been reading lately are really good, too. You should check them out, Izumo," Kotetsu replied with a smile, confidently recommending books he hadn't actually touched in days.
This should be safe. Izumo was gaming all weekend. My only threat now is Shisui, Kotetsu thought.
"Haha, sure! I'll read them when I get the chance," Izumo responded, laughing, clearly in high spirits.
"What are you two talking about so cheerfully?"
Anko appeared behind them, suddenly placing a hand on each of their shoulders.
"We were just chatting about our weekend," Kotetsu said with a grin.
"Playing around? So neither of you reviewed?" Anko asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course not! Wait—Anko, did you review all weekend?" Izumo asked, feigning surprise.
"No, just on Sunday," Anko said after a brief pause.
Actually, she had only reviewed for half an hour on Sunday evening… but since Izumo asked about two days, she didn't want to admit it. Saying "one day" felt safer.
"Oh, one day? That's not bad," Kotetsu said with a smile.
One day wouldn't be enough to catch up to someone who reviewed for two full weeks. If anything, he thought Anko should've reviewed for both days instead of just one.
"If you get a good score and your family gives you a reward, don't forget your brothers," Izumo joked.
"Hehe, with all the games and novels you gave me? I might consider it," Anko said, clearly in a great mood.
And with that, the three of them chatted and laughed all the way to the Academy before entering their classroom to await the exam.
---
Before long, Mugetsu and Ueda Aya entered Class 1 of Grade 1. This time, Mugetsu had been assigned to invigilate his own class.
"Teacher Mugetsu!"
The students greeted him in unison as he walked in.
Mugetsu smiled warmly in response.
"Teacher Mugetsu is invigilating this time?" Kotetsu asked, sitting up straighter.
Mugetsu gave a small nod.
"Teacher Mugetsu, if I run into a question I don't know… can I ask you for help?" Anko asked, already knowing the answer.
Tap!
Mugetsu lightly tapped her forehead with two joined fingers and said, "You can ask. But the only answer you'll get is this."
"Ow!"
Anko covered the spot and immediately quieted down.
"Everyone, please check your exam tools. The test will begin in ten minutes," Mugetsu reminded them.
A few cautious students began double-checking their supplies after hearing the notice.
"Teacher Mugetsu, you're really popular with your students," Ueda Aya said, a little surprised.
She had noticed that nearly all the students had greeted him as he entered.
That kind of response was rare. In a class of forty, there were always a few who were too shy or too reserved to speak.
And some figured, so many others are greeting him already, mine won't matter, and stayed silent.
"After all, I am their Class Teacher," Mugetsu replied calmly.
Ten minutes later, he announced the start of the theoretical exam. He and Ueda Aya began distributing the test papers.
The students of Class 1, Grade 1 didn't disappoint. Not a single one spoke during the exam. They all focused quietly, diligently working through their questions.
Mugetsu and Ueda Aya took turns patrolling the room.
While walking between the rows, Ueda Aya glanced at the students with curiosity. The silence surprised her—it was rare for a classroom to be this quiet, especially in the Ninja Academy where the kids were usually quite energetic.
But as she casually scanned a few test papers, her expression shifted slightly.
Almost all the answers looked correct.
"Teacher Mugetsu, I think your class's average score might lead the entire grade again," Ueda Aya whispered as she passed by him.
Mugetsu replied in a low voice, "Hard to say until we see the results. The other classes might have done well too."
Even though he knew the students had performed well, Mugetsu preferred to remain low-key.
---
When the exam ended and the papers were collected, the atmosphere inside the classroom shifted immediately.
"It's finally over!" Kotetsu exhaled like he'd just been released from a Genjutsu. A relieved smile spread across his face.
All the days spent pretending to slack off, while secretly reviewing and trying to keep Izumo from studying... it had been exhausting.
"Yeah. After the practical exam, it's vacation time," Izumo said with a relaxed grin.
With the written test done, he no longer had to act every day, trying to sabotage Kotetsu's study time.
"Kotetsu, Izumo, how do you think you did?" Anko leaned over and asked with a curious grin.
"So-so. This one felt pretty tough," Kotetsu sighed.
"Yeah, there were a bunch of questions I didn't understand. I just wrote whatever and hoped for the best..." Izumo added, looking worried.
"Huh? It was hard? I thought it was pretty easy. Maybe yesterday's review actually worked?" Anko scratched her head, a little confused.
Why does this scene feel so familiar...?
"Shisui, how'd you do?" Anko turned to ask as Shisui was about to leave.
"So-so," Shisui replied with a pause.
It felt about the same as the last exam. Nothing to say either way.
"Why am I the only one who thinks it was easy...? Could I actually have done really well?"
Anko could already taste the dango reward getting closer.
---
"Tomorrow's the practical exam. Everyone, we've got to give it our all," Anko reminded them, her expression serious. "We need to show that female proctor our real ninja strength."
"Definitely. This time, we have to make the school assign a proper physical training teacher," Kotetsu agreed with a firm nod.
"Actually... I think it'd be great if Teacher Mugetsu taught us," Izumo said honestly. "But that'd be too much for him—teaching so many classes at once."
Other students chimed in with agreement, one after another. Everyone promised to give 120% effort in the practical exam.
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