Chapter 14: The Underachiever Will Eventually Prevail

"This is our first exam, I'm a bit nervous. I wonder if the questions will be difficult."

"Hopefully not. If I fail, I'll get a beating when I get home."

"It shouldn't be too bad. Yashiro-sensei gave us practice exams. Passing should be easy."

It might be because it was their first exam, but many students in Class 1, Grade 1 were feeling nervous.

They were worried about difficult questions and bad grades leading to scoldings at home.

"Anko, Izumo, are you guys nervous?" Kotetsu asked Izumo.

"What's there to be nervous about? It's just a small exam. Watch me ace it," Anko replied with a laugh.

"Of course I'm nervous. This isn't like our regular tests. The results will be posted for everyone to see," Izumo answered.

"I'm a bit nervous too. I only got an 80 on the practice test from Yashiro-sensei. The real exam might be harder, so I'll probably get a 60 or 70," Kotetsu nodded.

"My practice test score was a bit better, 87, but I feel like I'll only get a 60 or 70 this time," Izumo said with a bitter expression.

"What? You guys scored that high?" Anko was a bit stunned, as she had only gotten in the 60s on the practice test.

"Practice scores are misleading. They don't really count," Izumo sighed.

"Let's just try to do well. I heard if our scores are too low, they might change our teacher. We wouldn't have Yashiro-sensei anymore," Kotetsu shared a piece of gossip he had heard.

"Change teachers? As long as it's not Yashiro-sensei, anyone else is fine," Anko did not want Yashiro to leave.

Although Yashiro-sensei was their homeroom teacher and taught most of their classes, there were still other teachers for different subjects.

"Yeah, other teachers are boring. Only Yashiro-sensei's classes are interesting and easy to understand," Izumo agreed.

"Let's tell the whole class about this to motivate everyone," Izumo suggested, thinking it was a good idea. He remembered how novels always had a motivational speech before a big battle.

Anko thought it was a good idea too, so she stood up and announced the news to everyone.

Her announcement caused quite a stir in the classroom, as Yashiro-sensei was their most beloved and respected teacher.

"Everyone, do your best on the exam. If Yashiro-sensei leaves and we get a boring teacher, it'll be a disaster," Kotetsu took the chance to add.

"Do your best! We can't let Yashiro-sensei be replaced!"

"I'll just say it: anyone who fails is disappointing. Yashiro-sensei has taught us so well."

Shisui didn't join in; he was confident he would take the top spot in the entire grade. With such high scores, the teacher would naturally stay.

"Everyone, quiet down. The exam is about to start. Just do your best," Ryuto voice suddenly silenced the room. Everyone looked toward the door and saw Ryuto standing there.

"I believe everyone will do well," Ryuto said with a smile. Without lingering, he left and went to the class he was assigned to proctor.

Seeing so many students trying their best to keep him as their teacher made Ryuto happy.

But he knew their worries were unnecessary. Even if teachers were changed, it would be based on the entire semester and school year.

Plus, Ryuto had made the practice tests harder than the actual exam.

Walking into the classroom of Class 2, Grade 4, Ryuto went straight to the podium and announced, "Everyone quiet down, the exam is about to start."

Teacher assignments for proctoring were random, and Ryuto happened to get Class 2, Grade 4.

"Yashiro-sensei," several students greeted him, and Ryuto smiled and nodded back.

Class 2, Grade 4 had a few of his students, like Obito and Might Guy, and he taught many of their classes, so they were familiar with him. Compared to Ikeda, they much preferred Ryuto.

"With Yashiro-sensei watching, I must pass this time!" Might Guy took a deep breath, ready for battle.

Given a choice between a theory exam and a real combat test, Might Guy would choose to fight real ninjas any day.

He was graduating next year, and he'd rather risk a real battle than struggle with theory questions.

"Rin, just watch. This time, I'll totally surprise you," Obito whispered confidently.

"You'll pass this time, right? I believe in you, Obito," Rin smiled encouragingly.

Though Obito had said this many times before and failed, Rin still chose to believe and encourage him.

"Focus on the questions you can do, check your answers multiple times, and leave the hard ones for last," Rin gently reminded him.

As a good friend, she truly hoped Obito could shed his reputation as the class dunce.

"Got it," Obito nodded.

Soon another proctor, Kimura, entered the classroom. He and Ryuto were from the same office, and two teachers proctored each exam.

When the bell rang, Ryuto and Kimura handed out the exam papers.

Afterward, they began to monitor the exam, occasionally sitting on the podium and chatting.

"MIkeda must be having a hard time. With those two underachievers, his bonus for this semester is probably gone," Kimura sighed quietly.

"We'll see. Maybe they'll surprise us this time," Ryuto smiled and shook his head.

He was sure that Obito and Might Guy's performance would shock everyone.

"Three years without passing a single theory test. If they were going to pass, they'd have done it by now. The higher the grade, the harder the course material," Kimura believed Ryuto was too optimistic.

"At least they'll graduate after this school year. Otherwise..." Kimura thought if he had students like them, it would be tough.

After a brief chat, Ryuto continued to patrol the classroom.

He missed teaching. Because of the exams, the whole school had three days off—one for theory exams, and two for practical exams to determine rankings.

These three days off meant less time for practicing ninjutsu and refining chakra for him.

Fortunately, he could still use his teaching rebate. After the theory exams, Ryuto gave Obito some shuriken, which netted him 50 chakra points.

"Just watch, Ryuto. I'll use the shuriken you gave me to beat everyone and take first place!" Obito said gratefully.

The practical exams were about to begin.

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