The next morning, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji met up at a sweet shop right beside the Ninja Academy. This place was a favorite of theirs back when they were still students. Even though they had graduated quite some time ago, coming here again still made them feel nostalgic.
"I think we got here a little early," Ino muttered, glancing at the time with wide, annoyed eyes, glaring at Shikamaru, who was the one who suggested this meeting.
"Not really early," Shikamaru said with a shake of his head, casually. "We'll just hang around outside for now. No need to rush to sign up just yet."
At that moment, Choji came out from inside carrying a big pile of sweets. He sighed quietly to himself, "I wonder what the Chūnin Exam is going to be like this time." Even though Asuma-sensei's encouragement—or maybe it was temptation—had convinced Choji to join and aim for a good result, now that he thought about it calmly, a little worry started creeping in. Asuma had warned him that this exam could be dangerous.
Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully and cut in, "It's not that hard to guess, really. If we combine what we already know and the clues we have, it's pretty straightforward to figure out the purpose and locations of each exam stage. Fundamentally, it's about testing teamwork and individual skill. After all, being a shinobi is about practical execution."
"Yeah, ninja are warriors, not just individuals," Shikamaru continued. "You always need to work with your comrades, but at the same time, personal strength sets a ninja apart from a regular person."
He paused, then added, "Remember the Genin Exam Asuma-sensei gave us?" Shikamaru smiled as he recalled it. "In my opinion, the Chūnin Exam won't be all that different from Asuma's test."
Choji and Ino listened seriously as Shikamaru explained further. "The main difference is that Konoha's Chūnin Exam has a bigger stage, more people involved, and lasts longer."
"Konoha, as the host village, has two key priorities," Shikamaru held up his index and middle fingers to emphasize. "First, the Genin from other villages shouldn't face danger outside the exam itself. It means if any higher-level ninja attacks Genin for reasons other than the exam, Konoha will issue a strict warning. Otherwise, no other villages would send their best Genin here."
"Second, they want to protect the Genin who make it to the later stages—especially Konoha's own. Konoha is strict and believes in survival of the fittest, but they won't hesitate to eliminate those who aren't strong enough. Still, those who survive past the initial rounds are the most promising young ninja from every village. Even if they fail, they'll get a chance to try again. Since Konoha is the organizer, protecting their Genin comes first."
Seeing Choji and Ino looking a little puzzled, Shikamaru clarified, "Because of this, the exam location will likely be inside Konoha to maintain control. But the later stages won't be completely safe. If there are too many participants, even Konoha can't control everything alone—it would require too many people."
"This exam is a stage for the best Genin from all villages to show their strength. Face-to-face battles will be inevitable. This way, Konoha can monitor everything better and protect their promising Genin while using fewer resources."
"Think about it," Shikamaru said, "missions like intel gathering, survival in the wild, ambushes, escorting items, or direct combat—they all require a large area. These tasks can eliminate a lot of candidates at once, making it an efficient way to test their abilities before the final battles."
"There are only about three places inside Konoha that could host such tests," he added, "and many of these tasks overlap, so the organizers will likely combine them to save time."
"How do you combine them?" Choji asked, munching on sweets, clearly curious.
Shikamaru pointed at the sweets in Choji's hand. "Imagine the goal is to snatch food from others while protecting your own. If your food gets taken, you're out. This mixes ambush tactics with escorting items. The exam area would be big and secretive, so you'd need survival skills just to keep up."
"I'm guessing the exam will have three parts: a written test, a survival mission with ambush and escort elements, and then final one-on-one battles among the best candidates."
"There might be some differences, but with what we know and the setting, this is my best guess," Shikamaru concluded, relaxing and shrugging.
Ino and Choji exchanged looks, amazed by Shikamaru's detailed analysis.
"I better bring some extra food," Choji said after a pause.
"Buying more now wouldn't hurt," Ino replied seriously.