Sakura received an introductory Medical Ninjutsu tutorial from the First Hokage. Although no one supervised her, she still practiced for nearly half a year, and now she has basic medical abilities.
She could understand many of the things Ino and Kabuto discussed in their exchange.
The more she read, the more she felt she was gaining knowledge.
Kabuto's methods for treating mental illnesses were relatively traditional, basically involving incense, meditation, medication, and training that pushed the body beyond its limits. Ino's methods, on the other hand, were very diverse, ranging from electroshock to lobotomy, from cryotherapy to a blunt blow to the head, with a total of over forty different approaches.
Sakura felt like she had found a treasure. If she had to think of them herself, she wouldn't have come up with a single one. Now it was convenient; she could start with the simplest ones and try them out one by one.
Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke were all born in Konoha Year 51.
If you disregard Shino Aburame, who was born in January, then Sakura, born in March, was the oldest. Hinata, born at the end of December, was the youngest. Ino and Shikamaru's birthdays were only one day apart. In the same year, Uchiha Madara, Minato Namikaze, Uzumaki Kushina, Sarutobi Biwako, and others all died.
Their class graduated in Konoha Year 63 and passed the Chunin Exams in the same year.
The following year, Konoha Year 64, the first theoretical exam of the Chunin Exams was held on January 1st.
Genin from Sunagakure, Grass Hidden Village, and Takigakure Village all flocked to Konoha Village to participate.
Homura Mitokado once suggested that the Village host a competition independently, without inviting Ninja from other Villages.
Jiraiya refused. With him, the old man, holding down the fort in the Village, and core forces like Kakashi present, and the younger generation like Ino having grown up, what was there to fear? Did one Orochimaru scare the courage out of you all?
He proceeded as usual and even expanded the scale.
Jiraiya sent Shikaku with his personal letter to Hidden Mist Village, convincing Gengetsu by arguing that Hidden Mist Village needed to prove its strength to the Ninja World.
Gengetsu agreed to dispatch a small team to Konoha Village to observe the Chunin Exams, learn from the experience, and deepen relations between the two sides.
The Ninja leading the team was Ino's old acquaintance, Haku.
The familiar face from Sunagakure was none other than strongman Temari.
Upon seeing Haku, with his calm demeanor and beautiful face, many young Konoha Genin wore eager, pig-like expressions. Naruto went around spreading the word that this 'Big Brother Haku' was actually a man, and the hearts of the Konoha Genin were shattered.
This Ninja, wearing heeled sandals and with beautiful feet, was actually a man?
"Is he really a man?" The tomboy Temari still had a deep impression of her uncle Yashamaru, who had passed away many years ago, and wasn't too surprised to see another man as gentle as water. Her tone was still relatively normal at this moment.
After receiving a definitive answer, she nodded, thinking, "Hidden Mist Village is quite terrifying too."
The two pot points Ino held still didn't accumulate.
Haku had a very good personality and also liked the environment of the Yamanaka Flower Shop. The two had fought before, and could somewhat be considered to have a mutual appreciation.
Ino asked Haku about the technique of single-handed hand signs. This was an ability Haku developed himself and had nothing to do with Hidden Mist Village.
The serene Haku did not hold back, explaining in detail his experience and training methods for single-handed hand signs.
He hadn't deliberately practiced this himself, nor had anyone taught him; it was merely a technique that evolved to complement his Ice Release Bloodline Limit.
Ino felt that learning this technique with 7 points in "Seals" was a bit difficult, so she had to spend two pot points to increase "Seals" from 7 to 8 points.
Even with "Seals" at 8 points, it was still impossible to release large-scale Ninjutsu, such as Water Release: Burst Water Wave, with single-handed hand signs, as Chakra simply couldn't be gathered. After several days of hard training, she found that if she used single-handed hand signs, she could only release some C-Ranked Ninjutsu.
Although it was a C-Ranked Ninjutsu, this technique was still extremely valuable.
Next time she encountered a Ninja as fast as Yugito, she could use Taijutsu to create distance while simultaneously releasing Ninjutsu with one hand!
Ino and her team were already Chunin, so they could not participate in the Chunin Exams in their original class teams.
The original classes were all disbanded.
Choji and Hinata knew the exam content in advance, but others did not.
Just before the exam, when the consent forms were being signed, Iruka vetoed Naruto's participation in the Chunin Exams.
According to him, Naruto had just started his remedial classes. Go straight to the exam? What the hell would he test?!
Despite his strong reluctance, Iruka's position in Naruto's heart was currently the highest.
Jiraiya didn't have the three years of constant companionship, and even he, now tied with Kakashi, wasn't as important as Iruka in Naruto's heart. This was like his father. Naruto knew Iruka was doing it for his own good, so no matter how unwilling he was, he could only give up participating in the exam and continue to be a Genin.
Choji, Kiba, and Lee formed the 'Guys' team, while Hinata, Sakura, and Tenten formed the 'Girls' team. Both teams passed the first round of the theoretical exam.
The next day, they arrived at the training ground for the second exam.
Ino came today wearing a standard Chunin vest to act as an examiner.
This bright green vest completely clashed with her usual style.
It felt awkward to wear, but there was no choice; she had to wear it for this occasion.
Ino mimicked Tsunade, placing her hands on her hips, sinking her Chakra to her dantian, and declared loudly, "You have a total of ten teams, thirty Genin, who have reached this stage. I am required to eliminate half of the Genin. Now, come up and receive your scrolls."
The Heaven Scroll and Earth Scroll were distributed.
Ino instructed those who received the Heaven Scroll to stand on her left and those with the Earth Scroll to stand on her right.
"In a moment, you will form teams according to this order. Remember, no matter which Village you belonged to before, at this moment, those holding the same scroll are teammates."
Aside from Choji and Hinata, who had already received the exam questions, the other Genin were all apprehensive. This kind of exam completely depended on the examiner's whim; the randomness was too great, and often, even strong individuals might not pass.
Ino waved her hand, and a giant map appeared before her. She pointed at the map and spoke.
"You will enter through ten entrances on the outer side of this canyon. The canyon has a radius of approximately twenty kilometers, and inside there are five resource points: an animal pen, a mine, a lumber mill, a blacksmith shop, and a farm. Use your Heaven and Earth scrolls to change the flag within the resource point to your team's color to accumulate resource points. The team that accumulates 2000 resource points first wins. Alternatively, if you can gather more teammates in the initial stage, eliminate the Ninja of the other side, and accumulate more resource points, you can also win. If anyone has questions, ask now."
The numerous Genin thought carefully. The rules of this competition were not difficult, which was good news. They were worried the examiner might come up with a highly complex and trap-filled set of rules.
All the Genin believed they understood and nodded in unison.
"Since you all understand, then enter the arena. The competition will begin in thirty minutes."
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