As the exam drew to a close, Jugo was still studying the Bunretsu no Jutsu, but progress wasn't rapid.
Not that he didn't want to speed up the process, but messing with his soul was stupid, he preferred not to try it on himself.
In the anime, it became clear that the Tsuchikage's division wasn't 100% accurate, he couldn't use Dust Style, and Jugo was certain it wasn't a chakra shortage issue.
If it were chakra, it would only reduce the number of times he could release that Jutsu, not completely block its use.
Thus, Jugo came to the conclusion that the division didn't just divide the physical body and soul, but probably also divided chakra attributes.
It's as if someone has an affinity with both water and earth, and when they are divided, one of them gains water and the other gains earth.
Of course, that was just a guess, but based on Muu's knowledge of Jutsu, it was quite possible.
As for why Mu was still able to use Earth Release with the two clones, for example, Jugo also had a theory for that.
Learning a new chakra affinity is entirely possible, one thing is innate, and the other is acquired.
Someone can be born without water chakra and learn to use it, it's just much more difficult and complicated. Mu, for example, might be so familiar with using earth chakra that even without the "innate" earth chakra, he could still use it as an "acquired" earth chakra.
But the earth chakra he "acquired" wouldn't have enough control to use Dust Style.
One side has Earth and the other has Wind and Fire, so neither side would be able to use that ability.
It was complicated, but that didn't matter much to Jugo, he initially possessed water, yang, earth, and wind, but now he had unlocked all nature transformations, possessing all seven innate types.
He also didn't care much about elemental kekkei genkai, so splitting them didn't bother him, but it could disrupt the balance of his body with the Chained Pathway. However, he didn't think it would be a big problem, because his path is the representation of containment, even without parts of his body and soul, he would still survive.
Even so, Jugo wasn't willing to risk it himself, so he turned to the werewolf prisoners and made them all try to learn the Jutsu, Jugo wanted to see what it would be like.
In fact, he even dragged Ukon and Sakon along for the ride, he wanted to see how the Jutsu would affect them.
He had work to do, he was very excited about it, if it worked out... hehe.
//-//
(General POV)
On the other side, Dosu calmly watched the teams arrive, he had followed the exam from beginning to end, so he knew exactly who would pass.
Most of the participants returned alive, except for Kusa's team, who were killed, all the others were only injured, but there were no deaths.
Dosu noticed that there were still some teams that wanted to make a move at that moment, trying to get the Tag from one of the teams present.
He sighed and said in his hoarse voice. -Quiet, the exam is over.- Dosu released part of his cursed seal and pressed the candidates with his chakra.
Except for Kimimaro's team, who could have won against Dosu, the others were clearly intimidated.
However, there was another exception, Fuu, who seemed as cheerful as ever, pestering Team Kurenai to be her friends.
Dosu ignored the brat and spoke. - Hand over the Tags.
The teams started to close the gap towards the end, just as Dosu expected, with 6 teams advancing.
3 from Konoha, 2 from Oto and one from Taki.
All the teams that didn't advance looked at Taki's team with clear displeasure. Konoha advanced, which makes sense, Oto advanced, also making sense since they were the team from the village hosting the competition, but what about Taki?
Nobody was very convinced.
Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do now, they could only get angry.
(A/N: My plan was to create a small challenge tournament at this point, where individuals could challenge other individuals to take their places, but honestly I think I've already prolonged this arc too much and I feel that many people prefer to focus on Jugo, so I gave up. I'm sorry to those who were enjoying the Chunin Exams.)
-Now, when we return, the six teams that passed can seek out their jonin leaders to understand the third exam. It will take place in exactly one month, giving you time to prepare and learn new things, as well as time for the nobles from each village to arrive.- Dosu put away the tags and wrote down the numbers in his notebook, speaking slowly.
-Hey, that's not fair! Why can those guys from Taki pass and we can't?! We should be able to replace them if we beat them!- Kurotsuchi shouted angrily.
Dosu simply glanced at her, the other teams also looked at her with varying expressions. The most bothered were Taki's "genin", except for Fuu, who tilted her head in confusion.
-You want to fight? That's fine with me.- Fuu said, smiling, unconcerned.
-Hey, Fuu, be quiet!- One of the "genin" from her team pulled her back.
Kurotsuchi became excited and spoke to Dosu. -See, she wants to fight, why don't you let her? That way we can let the stronger ones pass.
Many teams that didn't make it seemed to echo this sentiment, sensing that it made sense.
If this had happened in another great ninja village, it would have been unlikely, but Otogakure was just a "small village", so these ninjas gained even more courage. Not even Jugo's earlier vision of using wood style could stop the ingrained prejudice against small villages.
Dosu said nothing, the next moment he released the first stage of the seal and appeared behind Kurotsuchi, his kunai just centimeters from her throat.
The entire clearing fell silent, even Kurotsuchi's companions were shocked, especially the Jonin, who hadn't even seen Dosu move.
-You want to fight your way through? Fine, why don't you fight me? If you survive, I'll let you pass.- Dosu spoke calmly, his single eye fixed directly on Kurotsuchi. The girl swallowed hard, feeling that opening her mouth might result in a pierced throat.
-Hey! Calm down! Remember you're an instructor!- Akatsuchi said quickly, afraid Dosu would let his hand slip.
Dosu ignored him, looking at the Genin around him, he spoke. - The exam is over, whoever has problems next time I can help them solve them, the kind of definitive help.
The teams swallowed hard, Suigetsu laughed and seemed amused by it, Karin pursed her lips but didn't comment, and Ranmaru just calmly observed.
Dosu's Genin, on the other hand, were thrilled, their sensei is so cool!
Dosu snorted slightly, pulled out the kunai and the curse mark, and then, in the next moment, he returned to his hunched posture. - Follow me.
Saying this, he entered the tunnel without waiting for anyone.
The teams exchanged glances, Kurotsuchi still caught between anger and fear, but in the end, they all continued on without saying a word.