"You are lucky. This Joint Chunin Exams is somewhat different from the first one. Those who were disqualified in the second stage, the survival exam, will have a chance for a Revival Round—"
"The Revival Round will take place at the school's sports field, scheduled for one week from now. Now... everyone can line up in order to draw your respective number plates from the drawing station. There are a total of fifteen Genin participating in the Revival Round, numbered 1 to 15. The first and last numbers will face each other, and number 8 will get a bye in the first round... then the second round, the third round..."
Inuzuka Tsume's voice echoed in the hall, and the Genin below couldn't help but feel a sense of joy.
Inuzuka Tsume only gave a faint glance... this "Revival Round" was an opportunity, but it was only an opportunity for Konoha—the other three small hidden Villages were completely unqualified to compete with Konoha for this chance at revival.
"After the final four narrows to two, those two will automatically gain the qualification for revival. I hope that within this week, you all can work harder..."
Revival... this was a mechanism that didn't exist in the first Joint Chunin Exams—
One could even say:
If not for the "accident" that was Ino, and if the first exam hadn't been adjusted and perfected, then the second exam wouldn't have reduced so many people. With a large enough base, the loophole of the Heaven and Earth Scrolls wouldn't have been a loophole... Of course, it was also because of this "accident" that this year's exam was particularly exciting.
The candidates lined up for their numbers one by one, their expressions exceptionally devout—regardless of the outcome, this was an opportunity they couldn't have dared to hope for.
The lead teachers from Kusagakure, Amegakure, and Takigakure also mobilized, securing training grounds from Konoha and conducting combat training day and night.
As long as they didn't train to death, they would train themselves to the limit, trying to improve the combat level of their Village's Ninjas as much as possible within this week.
Konoha's two teams were also taken away by their respective lead Jonin for targeted intensive training. Resources were especially concentrated on the Genin in each team who were best at combat, with constant sparring and even a readiness for death—Medical Ninjas were on standby nearby, ready to save them at any time. After being saved, they would risk their lives again.
When close to death, people always mature at the fastest speed—all nutrients beneficial for survival are absorbed.
All useless burdens are discarded... The combat Videotapes of the three hidden Villages—Kusagakure, Amegakure, and Takigakure—were sent back to the Yamanaka Clan. Inoichi Yamanaka had originally left a copy for the archives, but the archives thought the battles of Genin were useless and that these recordings had no value, so they didn't want them.
Inoichi Yamanaka could only "reluctantly" accept them... Although he also felt these things weren't of much use—since Ino said they were useful, he brought them home.
"The battles of some Genin are quite unremarkable; what is there to see?"
...Ino put the Videotape into the VCR and started playing it. She first chose the video from Amegakure.
In the video, Ninjas from Amegakure appeared wearing raincoats and masks. As the battle began, a large number of phantom images of the Amegakure Ninjas appeared, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake. The mix of real and fake phantoms made it seem as if one were in another world.
"Using a large number of phantoms to fight; when our eyes receive a lot of repetitive information, they become fatigued and then overlook the real body among them..."
Ino's single sentence hit the core of the Amegakure Ninjas' fighting style.
"This is the fighting style that Amegakure Ninjas are accustomed to. And during the battle... Dad, look, did you notice those mists? It should be a toxin that can slowly paralyze a person's nerves. As long as they continue to use phantoms to confuse people and cause mental fatigue, combined with these toxic gases... the scales of victory will quickly tilt."
Inoichi Yamanaka nodded and said, "Mm, not bad."
Ino said, "In every region, people's thoughts and concepts are influenced by the local environment. So their fighting style reflects a core concept of Amegakure's education."
"Oh, that's true."
"So, as long as I understand this style—not only can I utilize it, but I can also grasp the opponent's core philosophy of combat upon encountering Amegakure Ninjas. If he releases a Ninjutsu, I'll know what he's going to do next... While I might not think of the specific method, I can understand the logical level of his way of thinking."
In this way of life and death, not a single detail can be overlooked or uncalculated. One must plan all five factors—the Way, Heaven, Earth, Command, and Law—in one's heart.
The fighting styles of different regions and hidden Villages, their habitual Ninjutsu and methods, and especially their thinking patterns... these are all precious treasures.
"Although a Ninja can naturally and subtly gain some abilities through rich combat experience."
"But this passive absorption is far too slow and difficult. So, it's best if we can break it down and crush it, extract some of the unbreakable principles, and find a framework. Then, train specifically according to the correct framework—training with the correct method this way will be faster!"
...Inoichi Yamanaka nodded, settling the matter, and said, "In all future Joint Exams, this information will be collected."
...Early that morning, Ino was lying there bleary-eyed, caught between waking and sleeping, when she heard a "Woof" from outside.
Then came the sound of Kuro Maru speaking—
"Little Ino, are you up yet?"
..."I'm up, I'm up..."
Ino hurriedly dressed. As soon as she left the bedroom, she saw Kuro Maru lying on the Konoha bonsai in the living room. She greeted Kuro Maru and said, "Wait a moment, Kuro Maru. I still need to eat, wash up, and do some exercise..."
Kuro Maru's mouth curled into a grin, making an expression like a "Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King," and he lay down comfortably, saying, "It's fine, I just came here to slack off... Heavens, Tsume asked me to babysit for her. That brat Kiba is more of a dog than a dog..."
Ino: "..."
He didn't seem to be at the age where everyone and every dog hated him yet... "What did he do?"
"He pulled my—" Kuro Maru said half a sentence, then suddenly shut up, remembering Ino was a girl; it was simply the shame of a dog's life.
Others might be afraid of him, but Kiba was Inuzuka Tsume's own son. No matter how fierce he looked, he couldn't scare that little brat.
Kiba was curious about everything, especially interested in his dog whip. What had he just experienced? Being pulled was light; he had been bitten by that kid.
It scared the dog to death... and for the rest of the morning, Kuro Maru lay there obediently, accompanying Ino all morning. While Ino played the Guzheng, he listened nearby.
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