In the afternoon, in the office, the teachers discussed their observations from proctoring exams.
"Hyuga Kamon from Class 4-1 is incredible. As expected of a ninja from the Hyuga Clan, basically no one in the class can last a minute against him," said Iketani Isamu with some envy.
"I bet he'll be the top in the grade again this time."
Iketani Isamu wished he were the homeroom teacher of Class 4-1 instead of Class 4-2. That way, he could easily earn the bonus and have the money to take his match to a fancy restaurant for a date.
But that was impossible; with results that good, there was no way they'd change teachers.
"Not necessarily; I think your student Uchiha Obito is also quite strong and might put up a fight," Kimura Sugihito chimed in.
Iketani Isamu looked puzzled and asked,
"Sugihito, did you say the wrong name? You mean Uchiha Tekka, right? He is indeed quite capable."
"There's no way I got the name wrong; I meant Uchiha Obito," Kimura Sugihito insisted, asserting that he was young and not senile yet, and he was definitely talking about Uchiha Obito.
"Uchiha Obito? It can't be. What strength does he have?" Iketani Isamu looked at Kimura Sugihito with suspicion, doubting that he was being serious.
Uchiha Obito was famously known as the Uchiha underdog. If he had any real strength, he wouldn't have such a nickname.
"Why would I lie to you? Uchiha Obito's first opponent was precisely the Uchiha Tekka you mentioned, and he won decisively," Kimura Sugihito continued.
Seeing that Iketani Isamu was still skeptical, Kimura Sugihito directly pointed to Mokgetsu and said,
"Teacher Mokgetsu was co-proctoring with me. Ask him if you don't believe me."
Iketani Isamu looked over at Mokgetsu.
Mokgetsu nodded and said, "It's true, just like Teacher Kimura said. Uchiha Obito defeated Uchiha Tekka in the first match."
"Wow, that's really surprising." Iketani Isamu scratched his head, feeling quite incredulous.
He believed Mokgetsu's words, after all, Mokgetsu was a teacher who gained the recognition of all teachers within just a month of starting his job, impressively reliable.
"Why was he able to defeat Uchiha Tekka?" Iketani Isamu racked his brains but couldn't figure out how it came to this.
How did the well-known underdog defeat the previous class champion?
There couldn't possibly be a mysterious teacher descending from heaven secretly teaching him High-Level Ninjutsu, could there?
Seeing Iketani Isamu's expression, Mokgetsu thought to himself, if just Obito showing his strength puzzled you this much, if Might Guy displayed his power, you would have felt like you were under Genjutsu.
Iketani Isamu's success this time was quite effortless; Mokgetsu estimated that his bonus should be secure.
Mokgetsu thought about it, and considered that Iketani Isamu didn't exactly succeed effortlessly; he did put in some effort.
Since Iketani Isamu often asked him to substitute his classes, helping him mentor students to earn rewards, he had some credit, plus he did treat him to meals quite often, so he was well aware of his duties.
"Teacher Habu's class is the most impressive." Ueda Aya, who had been silent, finally spoke. She was proctoring Mokgetsu's Class 1-1.
"The overall level of the Three-Body Jutsu, it feels almost as good as the second-year class I lead," Ueda Aya marveled.
"Especially a super genius called Uchiha Shisui, he reminds me of that Hatake Kakashi from a few years ago. This year's first-year combat champion is definitely him."
"Comparable to Hatake Kakashi, is it really that exaggerated?" Iketani Isamu looked surprised.
The year champion was insignificant, but to be on par with Kakashi was terrifying.
It's important to note that Kakashi was recognized as a super genius by the Ninja School in recent years, with a stellar performance following that. A year after graduation, he was directly promoted to Chunin.
"It is that exaggerated. He's on a completely different level from the other first-year students," Ueda Aya nodded and said.
"That's so amazing, Teacher Habu, you're really lucky. Earning the 'Excellence' title is a piece of cake for you," Iketani Isamu said with envy, wondering why he didn't have such luck. He'd be content just to secure his bonus.
"What luck? It's because Teacher Habu is such a good teacher. The overall level, you can't just say all the talented ones happened to be in Teacher Habu's class, right?" Ueda Aya corrected him.
She didn't think Class 1-1 had this prowess because it had many geniuses, but because of Mokgetsu's exceptional teaching skills.
Otherwise, why would students from the substituted classes wish for Mokgetsu to come more often?
It wasn't just one or two classes; all the substituted classes got rave reviews.
"My mistake, my mistake, of course, I know Teacher Habu is excellent. My group of students wish I were busy all the time so that Teacher Habu would come to teach."
As he spoke, Iketani Isamu felt a bit downcast.
He only occasionally let Mokgetsu substitute, most of the time he taught himself, but the students all preferred Mokgetsu.
"It's not that great, the students are working hard on their own," Mokgetsu humbly said.
After chatting with his colleagues for a while, Mokgetsu quickly started practicing calligraphy until the afternoon exams began.
It was still at Training Ground 16, but there were significantly fewer people than in the morning.
Because the exam did not force students who had already lost to continue participating, they could decide whether to come on their own.
As time passed, the battles continued one after another. Nohara Rin, who wasn't very adept at combat, was eliminated in the first round in the afternoon.
And no matter what type of enemy he faced, Might Guy, who could resolve things neatly, finally caught everyone's attention.
"Is Might Guy really that strong in Taijutsu? His speed is incredible, he defeated Daisuke with just one kick," a observing student said in amazement.
"He's changed so much; I remember in the third grade, he was just okay, not this strong," a student who knew Might Guy looked puzzled.
"Maybe he trained extra hard during the summer and the new term?" They could only imagine it that way.
"The final match, Number 1 Uchiha Obito versus Number 40 Might Guy, would the candidates please prepare for battle," announced Mokgetsu, revealing the names for the last match of the class combat exam.
Upon hearing this, Might Guy and Obito exchanged a glance and quickly made their way to the examination ground, ready to begin the fight.
"Guy, I won't give up first place to you," Obito said, his fighting spirit ignited as he glanced at Rin watching from the sidelines.
He didn't want to lose at all in front of Rin.
"I feel the same; if I am to become the greatest, I must seize every first place I can!" responded Might Guy, filled with fighting spirit.
"They really made it to the end," said a student who had previously been critical of the both of them, feeling a bit embarrassed.
They couldn't believe it, in the third grade they were the two major underdogs, who would have thought they suddenly became this formidable in the fourth grade.
Who could have imagined before the exams started, wasn't everyone expecting Uchiha Tekka to be the class combat champion?
They couldn't fathom how hard these two had trained over the break and the start of the new term.
After finishing their pre-fight banter, Might Guy and Obito stopped talking, standing opposite each other, they formed the Seal of Opposition.
"Begin!"