The "original" setup involved using Genjutsu in a certain classroom on the second floor of the building to create an illusion, making people see the wrong room number—while intentionally leaving enough flaws:
The most obvious flaw was that the exam hall was on the third floor, not the second. If one thought about it even a little, they would notice.
But in reality, during this specific period before an exam, candidates are prone to overlooking this flaw due to nervousness and anxiety... This "common ailment" is universal. It tests a Ninja's psychological fortitude; those who can deduce the truth from the floor level naturally stand out in terms of "psychological quality."
The next flaw was the Genjutsu itself—there were six classrooms on the same floor, each with its own independent room number, yet only one "exam hall" had been tampered with.
Being able to notice this amidst extreme tension and anxiety reflects a Ninja's "observation skills"!
Furthermore... it tests a Ninja's perception of Genjutsu itself... It could be called "one question, three tests."
"However, if I follow the method in the manga exactly and have people blocking the door, it seems to lose its purpose of filtering people—as soon as one Ninja sees through it and announces the answer, then a whole group of people won't be eliminated..."
"And in the manga, this test really didn't seem to have much meaning... other than letting someone show off..."
It felt more like a "prank" instead... "So what is its purpose?" Ino was puzzled, thinking to herself: "Could it really just be to give some Ninjas a chance to stand out and get noticed, so they can be focused on during the written exam? Like screening their quality first to get a general idea?"
Still... it felt too crude.
Even if the core structure isn't changed, the details should be adjusted to make it smoother—this is, after all, a large-scale live-action show of the Ninja World... no, it's the world-class Joint Chunin Exams of the Ninja World. Roughly speaking, it involves half of the Ninja forces and is a grand event watched by people all over the world... If it's not a bit more refined, it would be a disservice to such a large audience.
Ino's "refined" changes weren't major, but they did make the whole process smoother, more seamless, and more interesting:
The Genjutsu on the second floor would remain, but after entering that "exam hall," they would be stuck waiting. Those who entered the wrong room would be delayed by half an hour before they could enter the real exam hall.
This would be the price for making the wrong judgment.
Two levels of people would be separated at this stage, creating a sharp contrast. Furthermore, those who entered the exam hall late would not receive the exam information prompts.
Those who entered the exam hall correctly would gain a "first-mover advantage," learning certain intelligence and exam rules. However, those who entered later would have to figure out these rules themselves—this naturally creates a dynamic of intelligence gathering and counter-intelligence... This way, the unqualified would naturally be eliminated, perfectly achieving the expectations for the first written exam... Perfect.
This small change aimed at the "pre-exam" phase was harmless, mostly just Ino fixing something she found eyesore. The actual test paper was the serious content—
The test paper format consisted of 10 questions for 100 points, using a point-deduction model. For Ino, the difficult part to write was the "Code-breaking" section, which she didn't understand. "I'll leave the codes to Dad. The rest of the questions are easy enough... For the difficulty level, I'll just make them up on the spot. After all, most of what look like Ninjutsu or tactical problems are essentially math problems, general geography knowledge, and so on... I know those!"
To Ino, the volume of these test papers really wasn't much—the papers she had to grind through in a single day in her "previous life" were at least twice as thick, not to mention the number of questions.
Ino easily determined a question bank for each type of problem based on the difficulty of the previous exam—
For each type of question, she selected problems where the amount of knowledge involved fluctuated by about twenty percent above or below the baseline... These were all questions from previous village exams. Some categories had over ten questions, while others had as few as two or three.
As soon as Inoichi Yamanaka returned, Ino couldn't wait to report her work results to him—
She went through everything from the small "pre-exam" details to the completion of the reference question bank and the overall grasp of the difficulty level.
"Dad... the rest is up to you—whether the difficulty of the questions is appropriate, and whether it should be adjusted up or down. Also, I don't know how to do the codes, so you'll have to create those questions yourself..."
"So fast..."
Ino's "working speed" far exceeded Inoichi Yamanaka's expectations.
Ino bragged, saying, "That's because of my serious work attitude—it's completely worth the pay for your C-rank mission. If I were just slacking off, I would have finished the questions for you in an hour..." How big of a deal could it be? If she didn't consider the candidates' level, making the questions would be done in minutes. As for whether the candidates felt they could solve them, that wasn't her concern.
"Hmm..."
Inoichi Yamanaka first flipped through the reference question bank. However, as an "experienced person," when he looked down at these questions, he actually had some misconceptions—he underestimated the difficulty of the problems.
He couldn't really see the difference between the upward and downward fluctuations in difficulty Ino mentioned... After all, he wasn't someone who had been "tested by exams" for a long time!
He just felt that any question in there could be used as an exam question.
However, the "pre-exam" setup made Inoichi's eyes light up, and he immediately made a decision—
"Yes, this change is good. It's much more interesting than during the first Joint Exams. Separating the geniuses from the mediocre to create a strong contrast and leave a deep first impression is very good, very good..."
"Just handle the written exam questions as you see fit. It's best to make three tiers, and then I'll let the Hokage decide!"
Inoichi Yamanaka actually highly approved of Ino's way of doing things, especially preparing three tiers—hard, moderate, and easy—for him to choose from; this was something he hadn't thought of before. Even if he did it himself, he would have just produced a single test paper and wouldn't have thought about reference question banks or upward and downward fluctuations in difficulty.
Inoichi asked again, "Ino, how do you plan to handle the point-deduction rules during the written exam?"
"That depends on the question!"
"Hmm?"
"It's divided into several scenarios. One is when someone knows how to do it themselves and writes with their head down—those, of course, don't lose points."
Because "knowledge" itself is also an extremely basic ability for a Ninja.
"Another is when someone doesn't know and steals answers from others through cheating. If they successfully obtain the answer without the target knowing, the thief loses no points, and the target loses 10 points. If the thief is caught by the target, the thief loses 20 points. If the target passes on a wrong answer, the target gains 5 points..."
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