On Thursday noon, Tanimura Toshihiro approached Mokgetsu.
"Teacher Habu, the students in Class 1 of the first year are really out of line. They're practically disrupting my ability to teach normally," Tanimura Toshihiro complained.
He admitted that he had underestimated the students of Class 1 when he previously said he didn't mind.
After teaching the whole afternoon yesterday, he was numbed by the end and just wanted school to finish as soon as possible.
He didn't have Class 1 on Thursday, but he did on Friday morning.
To prevent Wednesday afternoon's miserable experience from happening again on Friday, Tanimura Toshihiro approached Mokgetsu in advance, hoping to leverage Mokgetsu's influence among students to help him out.
"Sigh, those kids, they clearly promised me," Mokgetsu sighed, feeling for Tanimura Toshihiro.
"Don't worry, Teacher Tanimura. I'll definitely speak to them this afternoon and tell them not to oppose you."
Upon hearing Mokgetsu's words, Tanimura Toshihiro was slightly relieved but still a bit uneasy and said,
"Teacher Habu, could you possibly drop by during my class on Friday? I'm afraid they might not listen to you."
If the classes in Class 1 for the whole year were as torturous as Wednesday, he wasn't sure he could endure until the bonus payout.
Ignoring one or two students could be possible, but when a whole class does so, it's truly intolerable.
"No problem." Mokgetsu nodded, agreeing.
"With your assurance, Teacher Habu, I'm relieved," Tanimura Toshihiro said gratefully with a smile.
After finishing their conversation, Tanimura Toshihiro turned and headed back to his office.
Mokgetsu watched Tanimura Toshihiro's departing figure, thinking that he had essentially wasted three years of teaching since he couldn't grasp the students' psyche at all.
Finding Mokgetsu to forcefully suppress the students like this wouldn't make them dislike Mokgetsu but rather dislike Tanimura Toshihiro even more.
Because from the students' perspective, Mokgetsu was helping out a less competent colleague, which was admirable and even commendable.
Whereas Tanimura Toshihiro seemed oblivious to his weaknesses, lacking self-awareness, and was attempting to use the homeroom teacher to push them around.
Mokgetsu thought it over and realized he might have wronged Tanimura Toshihiro.
Because this was a Ninja Academy, and the situation was different from his previous life, Tanimura wouldn't have ended up like this if not for Class 1's outstanding performance.
Shaking his head, Mokgetsu no longer dwelled on these trivial matters and walked towards his office.
Since Tanimura Toshihiro requested it, what else could he do—refuse and be called stingy? Of course, he agreed and would comply since he was known as the perfect colleague, Habu Mokgetsu.
Returning to the office, Mokgetsu continued to practice calligraphy.
"Hey, Teacher Mokgetsu, did you change your pen?" Ueda Aya noticed that the pen Mokgetsu was holding wasn't the same as before.
"Yes, a student gave it to me," Mokgetsu said with a smile, nodding.
"That's so nice, I've taught for years and have never received a gift from a student," Ueda Aya said enviously.
Hearing Ueda Aya's words, Iketani Isamu thought to himself that he had finally found an opportunity to attack and said,
"Ueda, don't you think about Teacher Mokgetsu's level of teaching? He's very popular among students; a comparison with him would be lacking self-awareness."
Ueda Aya was momentarily speechless; lies don't hurt, but the truth is a keen blade.
Seeing Ueda Aya's dejected look, Iketani Isamu felt a sudden sense of satisfaction.
"Maybe Ueda's students are just more introverted? They want to give but don't dare to," Mokgetsu suggested.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, you really know how to talk," Ueda Aya smiled, appreciating the comforting words, even knowing they were such.
Kimura Sugihito watched this scene and felt there was a good reason Iketani Isamu was still single.
As it was almost class time, Mokgetsu left the office and headed to the classroom.
He didn't start the class immediately but instead addressed the issue Tanimura Toshihiro had entrusted to him.
"Didn't I say it before? Don't speak ill of Teacher Tanimura to his face, and definitely do not disrupt his class while he's teaching," Mokgetsu said with a pained expression.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, did the Taijutsu Teacher come to complain to you?" Hagane Kotetsu asked, somewhat speechless. It was the first time he'd heard of a teacher complaining about students, let alone exaggerating.
"We really haven't disrupted his teaching; it was only after he paused that we tried to advise him," Kamizuki Izumo felt they were being wronged.
They didn't disrupt class at all, and while the teaching was mediocre, no one criticized outright—they all paid attention, learned earnestly, and completed training seriously.
Everyone wants to get a good score on the year-end practical exam, so there's definitely no motivation to resist training.
"You mustn't interfere with Teacher Tanimura's class or speak ill of him," Mokgetsu emphasized, avoiding a direct answer to Hagane Kotetsu's question.
The effect he wanted to achieve was that he wouldn't say Tanimura Toshihiro complained, but everyone knew that Mokgetsu's admonishment was due to Tanimura Toshihiro.
"We understand," the students nodded one after another, though what they would actually do at the time was unknown.
Mokgetsu nodded, smiled, and then began teaching the class.
[Class Completed]
[Evaluation: A]
[Reward: Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bomb]
After school, Mokgetsu followed his usual routine of training disciples, and by evening, he returned to his home in the main district.
This time, it wasn't Mokgetsu's house they were crashing for a meal but Mokgetsu's turn to dine at Minato's house.
"We've eaten at your place so many times; it's a bit embarrassing. Today, Mokgetsu, you should take a break and taste our cooking," Minato said, then took Mokgetsu to his home.
Minato and Kushina joined forces, each preparing two dishes.
They wanted Mokgetsu to taste first; although Mokgetsu intended to suggest eating together, their expectant looks made him know what to do next.
Mokgetsu first took a taste of Minato's grilled fish.
Honestly, this grilled fish wasn't like the one Mokgetsu had in mind. It wasn't even a whole fish, just palm-sized pieces of fish marinated, sprinkled with salt, and grilled directly.
"It's great; it retains the original flavor of the food and is very fresh," Mokgetsu praised.
However, Mokgetsu didn't only praise but also pointed out some flaws, like not timing it well during grilling.
For the next four dishes, Mokgetsu gave about the same evaluation, although some dishes had more praise and fewer cons, and some more cons and less praise.
"Hehe, our food isn't bad, right?" Kushina asked with a happy smile.
Having her cooking acknowledged by someone of Mokgetsu's culinary prowess made Kushina very happy.
"Minato and I have been practicing making braised pork; when it's ready, you must come and try it, Mokgetsu," Kushina said.
Mokgetsu smiled and nodded, using a joking tone to say that he must try it to check their learning results.
They continued eating and chatting.
Minato also informed Mokgetsu that he recently heard about Mokgetsu from other Jonin, saying that the children complained his teaching wasn't as good as the Chunin teachers at school.
On this topic, Kushina affirmed Mokgetsu's teaching abilities. Although she hadn't seen him teach at Ninja School, she had watched him explain how to cook.
At this point, Mokgetsu wasn't excessively modest and instead praised Minato and Kushina, saying that Minato would surely be a popular teacher if he became one, and Kushina would too...
In such a pleasant atmosphere, everyone happily enjoyed the dinner session and achieved their respective goals.