"Fire Release: Mighty Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Obito quickly formed hand seals, his entire body's Chakra gathering in his mouth. At the fastest speed, he completed both nature transformation and form transformation, spitting out a fiercely burning dragon of fire that charged rapidly towards Uchiha Tekka.
Uchiha Tekka was increasingly surprised during his close combat with Obito.
He hadn't expected that just over a vacation, Obito had grown so much, improving far more than he had in third grade.
Seeing Obito forming seals to release Ninjutsu, Uchiha Tekka immediately began forming seals to use Ninjutsu against Obito head-on. He didn't believe that Obito's Taijutsu had improved so much, and that his Ninjutsu couldn't possibly have improved as well.
He didn't believe he'd lose to Obito in a Ninjutsu competition.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Uchiha Tekka erupted with Chakra, blowing out a person-sized fireball towards Obito.
On one side was a menacing fire dragon with a mouth full of fangs, on the other was an imposing blazing fireball, the two Ninjutsu were about to collide.
"I really envy them, having already learned offensive Ninjutsu."
Many of the watching students were a bit envious. Some of them hadn't even mastered the Three-Body Jutsu yet, let alone had the opportunity or resources to learn new Ninjutsu.
"You're calling this a 'dead last'?" Other class students were surprised. They originally came to see Uchiha Tekka's strength, only to discover that Obito could use such a competent Fire Release Ninjutsu.
This level can hardly be called 'dead last', more like honors student.
"But I still feel that Uchiha Tekka is a bit stronger. His fireball seems quite a bit larger than Uchiha Obito's fire dragon." Someone commented.
They felt that in a Ninjutsu clash, the bigger Great Fireball would surely win.
"Just as expected of the Uchiha. I didn't realize that Uchiha Obito had hidden his capabilities so well. Even if he's not as good as Uchiha Tekka, with this strength, he would have a shot at taking first place in my class. It's a shame his theoretical scores are too low." Kimura Sugihito muttered while scoring the two, remarking on the skill of students from noble ninja clans.
Even if they only demonstrated Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, even if they were eliminated in the first round, he would give Obito a decent score.
Just as the two Ninjutsu were about to collide, the fire dragon suddenly rose upwards, avoiding the Great Fireball collision, continuing towards Uchiha Tekka instead.
Meanwhile, Obito quickly moved, dodging the Great Fireball while controlling the Mighty Dragon Fire.
Uchiha Tekka did not expect Obito to play so unfairly, not continuing the Ninjutsu clash, but he had no solution at that moment. The Great Fireball couldn't turn after all.
Seeing the fire dragon continually approaching, Uchiha Tekka realized he wouldn't be able to dodge it, and braced himself for an impact, ready to get injured.
Just then, Mokgetsu, who was already prepared, intervened. He used Instant Body Jutsu to get to Uchiha Tekka's side and took him away, out of the battlefield, before setting him down.
"Thank you, Sensei." Uchiha Tekka thanked Mokgetsu. Without Mokgetsu's intervention, getting injured was inevitable.
Mokgetsu nodded in acknowledgment, then announced the battle's result:
"The winner of the first round, Uchiha Obito."
The watching students hadn't even reacted, the situation had changed too rapidly.
They had been ready to watch a Fire Release clash, but suddenly Obito pulled a cunning move, ending the fight in an instant.
If the teacher hadn't intervened, Uchiha Tekka might have been injured.
"This Uchiha Obito is not to be underestimated." Some of the onlookers remarked, casting a wary glance at Obito.
Uchiha Tekka's person-sized Great Fireball certainly looked imposing, but it generally wasn't that easy to hit.
On the other hand, Obito's Mighty Dragon Fire Jutsu was different, although it did not have a large attack range, it was very flexible and more likely to hit the target.
"Well done, Obito." Nohara Rin congratulated Obito with delight.
She was genuinely happy for Obito, having won against Uchiha Tekka in a real battle exam. This meant that even with low theoretical scores, no one would put the label of 'dead last' on Obito anymore.
In the end, a ninja must still rely on strength to speak for themselves.
As Obito walked over, he heard Nohara Rin's praise, and a pleased smile instantly appeared on his face. With pride, he said:
"Hehe, I told you it's no problem."
At this moment, Obito felt immensely grateful to Mokgetsu.
He knew that all of this change was due to becoming Mokgetsu's apprentice, receiving his careful guidance daily.
If it had been his former self, he feared he would have been pounded senseless by Uchiha Tekka during the Taijutsu phase.
[Apprentice Uchiha Obito's trust level has increased, current trust level three]
While Mokgetsu was reading through the exam list, a system message popped up.
He glanced at Obito, who was currently smiling broadly, chatting with Nohara Rin.
"Seems like being love-struck isn't without its benefits." Mokgetsu thought internally.
A trust level is very difficult to increase, as even raising it by one grade gives a significant boost, effectively doubling the returns from teaching.
Don't be fooled by the seemingly small returns from an apprentice, as Shisui and the others have not yet reached a period of rapid growth in their strength.
When that time comes, if Shisui gains ten thousand Chakra, having a higher trust level would add another ten thousand Chakra.
Mokgetsu's expectation was to have one apprentice reach trust level three within a semester.
Obito reaching level three in just a month was an unexpected harvest.
The subsequent battles were not as intense as the first one; there were basically no situations requiring teacher intervention. Mokgetsu sat back, scored based on students' performance, and chatted intermittently with Kimura Sugihito.
If not for the need to proctor the exam, Mokgetsu would have wandered around with an appraisal, checking if any overlooked talents had been missed.
He had four apprentice slots, with only three currently filled, leaving one vacant.
Not knowing if he could increase the number of apprentice slots, Mokgetsu was not prepared to fill this slot with someone with potential below S.
The higher the apprentice limit, the more rewards he would gain in the future.
Konoha has many geniuses, and the Ninja World is vast, so there's no rush to fill the position; adding another apprentice wouldn't bring immediate benefits.
Mokgetsu opened his stats panel and glanced at his attributes.
[Name: Habu Mokgetsu]
[Age: 18]
[Chakra: 5300]
[Skills: Water Release: Water Cutting Wave, Fire Release: Mighty Dragon Fire Jutsu, Water Release: Water Array Wall, Wind Release: Pressure...]
[Evaluation: You have mastered many Ninjutsu, including various high-level ones, allowing you to handle a variety of situations. Ordinary Jonin are no match for you]
His rate of improvement in strength was quite fast, increasing his Chakra by a thousand points in a month, and going from knowing only two Ninjutsu to mastering dozens, including the powerful Water Cutting Wave, which, looking at his panel, allowed him to completely outclass his former self upon transmigrating.
Around mid-morning, the first two rounds of battles passed quickly.
However, Might Guy was unable to clear his name like Obito, as his opponents were relatively ordinary. Although Might Guy resolved the fights cleanly, it wasn't enough to change everyone's perception.
But Mokgetsu knew it was only a matter of time because by the afternoon, they would wrap up the class internal real combat exam, where the first in the class would be decided.