"Hayate-sensei, please, please don't tell Ikegaya-sensei," Obito continued to plead with Muzuki, unwilling to give up.
"That depends on your performance," Muzuki said with a smile, not giving a direct answer.
"Sensei, is something wrong?" Might Guy scratched his head, not understanding why he had been called out; he hadn't made any mistakes.
Muzuki looked at Might Guy, this man who nearly kicked the ending into existence and was called the strongest Taijutsu user by Madara, was still very green.
Although he was already wearing his iconic green jumpsuit, his belief, not to mention his strength, was still lacking.
At this time, Might Guy also believed that his daily training would definitely make him a Taijutsu master, but he hadn't fully understood what his father meant by youth and self-discipline; he still needed to grow, and Muzuki was happy to lend a hand during this period.
"Your theoretical grades are giving Ikegaya-sensei a lot of trouble," Muzuki said.
Hearing Muzuki's words, even the usually carefree Obito lowered his head in embarrassment.
"It's not that I don't want to learn, but the problems are too difficult to understand. Why do they put those animals together and ask how many there are…?" Obito tried to argue.
Seeing Obito like this, Muzuki recalled his own high school days of struggling with math, and could only say he was lucky his major didn't require advanced math.
However, Muzuki knew that it was actually Obito's problem, because the math taught at Ninja Academy was the simplest kind, and there were fewer classes than history.
"But you're not just bad at math; you're also poor in history, Ninjutsu theory, and all those subjects," Muzuki said, shaking his head.
"What's the use of knowing all that history? It's all in the past, isn't it?" Obito felt that history class should be canceled. Math might be useful when buying groceries, but what was the use of history?
"I think so too," Might Guy nodded in agreement. He really couldn't memorize all that history.
"You'll have to tell Lord Third about that; he's the principal of the Ninja Academy," Muzuki stated that his opinion didn't count in this regard.
"But it's not good for you to keep going like this, neither for Ikegaya-sensei nor for yourselves."
"Does Hayate-sensei have some secret to passing exams?" Obito looked at Muzuki with anticipation.
Might Guy also looked at Muzuki excitedly. If they weren't truly struggling, who would want to be a dead last?
"It is indeed a secret to passing exams, and that is to do practice problems, while studying!" Muzuki revealed his secret.
Given the difficulty of the Ninja Academy exams, he only needed to apply a little of his past life's test-taking experience to easily pass, because at Ninja Academy, passing meant getting half of the class's average score.
"Practice problems?" Both of them looked bewildered, not quite understanding.
"You can think of this as special training for the exams, and if you pass the exams, I'll have a reward," Muzuki said with a smile.
"What kind of reward, a serving of dango?" Obito asked curiously.
"I can teach you Ninjutsu or Taijutsu, in short, I can guide your training," Muzuki replied.
"Really?!" Both of them widened their eyes, unable to believe such a good thing was falling from the sky.
"The premise is that you pass the exam one month from now," Muzuki reminded them.
"Is this what youth is? I'm fired up!" Might Guy was a little excited.
"I'll definitely pass this time," Obito promised.
Watching the two of them getting motivated, Muzuki secretly nodded. Advanced hunters often appear as prey.
They both felt they had hit the jackpot, getting both a secret to passing and guidance for their training.
And Muzuki only needed to naturally become their teacher during the special training process to make a killing.
Even if they didn't pass in the end, it was fine. Muzuki could say, "Seeing how hard you've worked, I'd feel bad not giving you a reward," and perhaps even gain more goodwill.
The reason he didn't trick them into becoming his disciples like he did with Shisui was twofold: first, the background wasn't suitable, making it hard to talk about repaying kindness; second, Muzuki was only teaching one class, so he couldn't maintain long-term contact. If he were the homeroom teacher, it would be much easier to manage.
After finalizing the special training with the two, Muzuki led them back to the classroom.
"Obito, what did Hayate-sensei call you out for? He didn't punish you, did he?" Rin Nohara asked with some concern.
"How could it be a punishment? Hayate-sensei is so good, he taught me the secret to passing exams," Obito immediately defended Muzuki.
As long as Muzuki could help him get rid of the dead last title, Obito would become the Ninja Academy's top Muzuki fan.
"Rin, you should also listen carefully in class, so you don't get surpassed by me in the next exam," Obito said with a chuckle.
"It would be great if you really could surpass me," Rin Nohara looked at the smug Obito and gave a helpless smile. Although she couldn't get first place, she was still ranked among the top.
After the bell rang, Obito showed an unprecedented level of seriousness. He was determined to pass this time, and he had already started researching which Ninjutsu to learn.
Rin Nohara was a little surprised to see this, thinking, "Is Obito serious this time?"
Three minutes later, looking at Obito slumped on his desk, Rin Nohara could only say that Obito was still the Obito she knew.
Just then, a piece of chalk drew a beautiful arc and hit Obito's head.
Obito looked around blankly, saw Muzuki's face, saw Rin Nohara's face, saw Might Guy diligently writing, and remembered what he had said three minutes ago. His face couldn't help but flush, and he lost his sleepiness.
After the small interlude of Obito sleeping, the rest of the class finished smoothly.
Teaching completed
Evaluation: A
Reward: Leaf Whirlwind
This time the reward was Taijutsu, not Ninjutsu, and it was even one that Might Guy would develop in the future.
This Taijutsu looked very simple, just a kick, but Muzuki, who had already initially learned it, found that it was not as simple as he imagined. The kicking posture, the burst of muscle, the burst of Chakra—all these required skill.
Muzuki was worried about not having anything to teach Might Guy later, so he was very satisfied with this reward.
After school, Muzuki wandered around the Konoha forest to the south, looking for a suitable place to train.
He still had a Root identity, and Danzo definitely knew the location of his home.
Given Danzo's hatred for the Uchiha, if he found out that Muzuki taught Shisui Ninjutsu without reporting it, he would surely suspect Muzuki of betrayal.
Although there were sensory Ninjutsu, he couldn't keep them active all the time; his Chakra wouldn't support it.
So Muzuki planned to take Shisui to train outside from now on.
Eventually, Muzuki found a nice, secluded spot by a small river that was suitable for training.
Muzuki noted down the location and went home.
It proved that Muzuki's caution was not in vain; after entering his courtyard, he found a Ninja wearing an animal mask standing inside.