Kamizuki Izumo quickly stepped forward and met Hagane Kotetsu, who was walking back. The two exchanged smiles and gently bumped fists.
"Izumo, I succeeded. Now it's your turn." Hagane Kotetsu couldn't hide the joy on his face.
Looking back on the battle just now, he couldn't help but cheer for himself.
A first-year student overcoming a fourth-year student, staying calm in disadvantage to seize an opportunity and defeat the enemy in one blow, it was simply so ninja-like.
Hagane Kotetsu believed that the Third Hokage would definitely remember the name Hagane Kotetsu.
"What a pity, I couldn't spread the fame of Brother Ebisu." Hagane Kotetsu felt a bit regretful in his heart.
Because of Ebisu's repeated emphasis, Hagane Kotetsu didn't act like he did last time.
Hagane Kotetsu thought Ebisu was good at everything, just too low-profile, unwilling to let others know how great he was.
Watching Kamizuki Izumo's battle for a while, Sarutobi Hiruzen already had a rough judgment about the outcome of this special training.
The special training did bring considerable improvement to the students. Students with fifteen points after training got a good score of twenty-four points. First-year students like Hagane Kotetsu had the strength to confront senior students after training.
Aside from that curious ninjutsu, Hagane Kotetsu's performance in all aspects far exceeded the level a first-year student should have, and Kamizuki Izumo in this round had similar strength.
"The students have indeed improved a lot in this special training." Sarutobi Hiruzen thought.
Actually, the score comparisons already visually showed the students' progress, but the actual combat score had some subjective factors, and the Third Hokage preferred to see it with his own eyes.
"Deception Jutsu!"
Suddenly, several scantily clad women appeared on the battlefield, making all kinds of suggestive motions.
Kamizuki Izumo seized the moment of his opponent's distraction and defeated him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a little moisture on his nose, thinking this visit to see the strength test came with all sorts of surprises.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, your students are quite creative." Iketani Isamu racked his brains, managing only to come up with a relatively appropriate compliment.
Others might not give face, but Iketani Isamu couldn't ignore, considering the many stand-in lessons Mokgetsu had covered for him.
"Kotetsu and Izumo are like that." Mokgetsu said with a smile.
"Actually, it's not just me and Izumo." Hagane Kotetsu sneakily moved over to Mokgetsu's side.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, this technique was developed by Izumo, Brother Ebisu, and me together. To be precise, Brother Ebisu led us in developing it." Hagane Kotetsu intentionally raised his voice a bit.
He couldn't stand Brother Ebisu, the one with the most contribution, not being known.
"Teacher Tanaka, isn't Ebisu a student in your class? I remember his grades are quite good."
"Yes, he's in my class, year four, class six." Tanaka revealed a somewhat awkward smile.
He didn't expect this peculiar ninjutsu to have anything to do with his well-performing student. He remembered Ebisu as quite a serious person.
"Ebisu." Sarutobi Hiruzen also heard Hagane Kotetsu's words, remembering this name as well.
After completing his mission, Hagane Kotetsu quietly slipped back, leaving the matter behind him.
"Kotetsu, how did I do just now?" Kamizuki Izumo excitedly asked.
"Very strong, I saw the Third Lord watching very seriously the whole time." Hagane Kotetsu said, putting his arm around Kamizuki Izumo's shoulders.
"That's great, now we're truly on the path to fame and success!" Kamizuki Izumo celebrated with a punch in the air.
"It's not just the two of us, there's also Brother Ebisu." Hagane Kotetsu gleefully shared with Kamizuki Izumo about what he just did.
"No words, if Brother Ebisu knows, he'll definitely treat you!" Kamizuki Izumo gave Hagane Kotetsu a thumbs up.
Quietly slipping into the teacher's group requires courage.
"After the test, we will share this good news with Brother Ebisu." Hagane Kotetsu eagerly said.
Meanwhile, in Group A, as Ebisu awaited his battle, he felt his nose tickling, sneezed, and suddenly had a bad feeling for some unknown reason.
"Grasp this opportunity to perform well in front of the Hokage-sama." Ebisu shook off these thoughts and tried to maintain his good condition.
...
After watching two more battles, other Chunin teachers realized that the improvement in students wasn't just a few isolated cases but all showing significant improvement.
"How on earth is this being taught? It's only been five weeks, and there's this much improvement. Could it be that all students have been training mindlessly every day?" A teacher felt puzzled.
Mokgetsu's teaching abilities were known to many Chunin teachers.
But most felt that no matter how good the teaching was, it wouldn't make a big difference, aside from maybe giving a slight advantage in theoretical exams. Practical aspects were still determined by student talent. How could teaching change the difficulty of ninjutsu?
But the improvement before their eyes couldn't be faked. Students they previously deemed mediocre or poor reached a good level within this little over a month's special training.
"Let's go see the students from other groups." After the fifth battle ended, Sarutobi Hiruzen said. Having watched ten students' battles, he had a rough idea of the entire group's level.
"This side is Group B." Mokgetsu led Sarutobi Hiruzen and others towards Group B.
Group B was testing near the river.
As soon as they arrived, they saw two students fiercely battling on the river surface.
"Most students in Group B have completed chakra mastery training. Climbing trees and water walking are no problem, and their Taijutsu and Ninjutsu are progressing faster than Group C." Mokgetsu introduced.
"They can all walk on water?" A Chunin teacher showed a doubtful expression.
If climbing trees was something generally mastered by excellent fourth-grade students, then water walking was a technique not even Genin might know, especially testing chakra control.
He gave a rough glance and noticed that Group B seemed no less than Group C, and he couldn't believe there could be so many excellent students.
But he quickly had to accept it as fact, as all students in Group B fought and even moved to the river to fight, not only walking on water but doing it skillfully.
"These students are more than qualified to graduate and become Genin." A teacher remarked.
If Group C students were excellent, then Group B students seemed directly ready to graduate without issue.
"Exactly, with this level of Clone Jutsu, even by graduation exam standards, they'd get full marks." Another teacher concurred.
Some teachers spotted their students among them, feeling a bit existential.
"This kid wasn't that good before, how did they get so strong suddenly?"
For a moment, they didn't know if they underestimated their students or if the students were just performing up to expectations now.
Seeing Group B's excellent performance, the Third Hokage began expecting Group A students to be at a higher level.
"This is Group A." After watching a few scenes, Mokgetsu led Sarutobi Hiruzen and others to Group A.