Inoichi Yamanaka and Nobuko Yamanaka shared a look. It seemed that the Yamanaka Clan wouldn't produce the kind of "early graduation" genius—even though their daughter was qualified—like Kakashi Hatake, who had taken the graduation exam before even enrolling, obtaining a Genin forehead protector and a formal ninja registration number at the age of five.
In fact... if Ino were willing, she could even catch this year's Joint Chunin Exams and smoothly obtain the status of a Chunin... This would be a year earlier than Kakashi Hatake!
...Even... if Ino were willing, after obtaining the status of a Chunin, with a little maneuvering, she could directly become Konoha's youngest Jonin!
Just based on "Azure Flame," a Ninjutsu akin to a Bloodline Limit, it would be enough for Ino to have a place among Konoha's Jonin.
Not to mention that Ino possessed more than just "Azure Flame." "Azure Flame" was merely a nature that hadn't reached its limit; it was also just the Fire among the Five Tones of the meridians. There were also Water, Wood, Earth, and Metal! Inoichi Yamanaka and his wife, who were familiar with Ino's first-hand theories, naturally understood—for Ino, mastering one meant mastering them all.
Having the strength of a Jonin, as long as she could prove she possessed the strategy and leadership of a Jonin, she would become one.
Unfortunately... Ino was unwilling.
"Hmm... then go to the Ninja Academy. That's not bad either; you should play more with people your age..." Inoichi Yamanaka doted on her, rubbing Ino's hair. Although he felt a tiny bit of regret, he also understood—it was currently a time of peace, and the Yamanaka Clan really didn't need such a standout genius. Letting his daughter become a Jonin or Chunin would certainly "bring honor to the ancestors," but if she had to go out on missions, danger would be everywhere.
Ino could clearly distinguish between what was important and what wasn't, without being weighed down by emotional and romantic labels like "becoming a Ninja," which saved him a lot of trouble... Even though Inoichi Yamanaka had imagined his daughter making rapid progress, becoming a Genin at five, then a Chunin, and then a Jonin a year later, with everyone around looking on with envy and jealousy, full of praise for the Yamanaka family's genius—
But, that was just daydreaming. One should be able to distinguish between fantasy and reality.
Nobuko Yamanaka said, "True... Ino is just too quiet. She should interact more with her peers at school—and conveniently, she doesn't need to learn anything. She should cherish her time at school; otherwise, after graduation, she'll be busy with affairs and won't have the chance to experience that kind of happiness..."
Inoichi Yamanaka agreed with both hands and both feet—
"Yes, my wife is right."
Seeing that it was getting late, Inoichi Yamanaka stood up and put on his outer coat. As he reached the doorway, he remembered something and turned back to say to Ino:
"There's no rush with the exam papers, Ino, take your time... Don't overwork yourself. You're so small, Daddy's heart aches for you!"
"Don't worry, Daddy... You won't even give me a mission request, yet you want me to work hard—how is that possible?"
Ino wrinkled her nose and gave Inoichi Yamanaka a Byakugan.
Inoichi Yamanaka coughed dryly. "Ino—this is a mission personally requested and issued by Inoichi Yamanaka, the Head of the Konoha Intelligence Analysis Squad and the Chief Proctor of the first stage of the Joint Chunin Exams between Konoha and Suna. Please take it seriously! Regarding this mission, I will record it as a C-rank for you..."
Inoichi Yamanaka, the Head of the Intelligence Analysis Squad and the Chief Proctor of the first stage of the Joint Chunin Exams between Konoha and Suna, looked serious.
Before leaving, he played a "mission request" role-playing game with Ino, giving the whole affair a sense of ritual.
Ino said loudly, "Mission guaranteed to be completed—but, how much is the reward for a C-rank mission? I'm just a kid, Daddy, don't trick me!"
Ino was quite interested in the "reward." She didn't lack money to spend, but she didn't have any money in her hands—
If she wanted anything, she could just go to her mother, father, or simply have Nana or Kana take care of it. As Princess Ino of the Yamanaka Clan, as long as her requests weren't too excessive, the clan would fulfill them unconditionally.
But no meant no... she was so poor she didn't even have a single Ryo in her pocket... Mrs. Yamanaka also looked at Inoichi Yamanaka, her gentle eyes holding a hint of amusement. "That's right, you can't bully our daughter... Tell us, how much do you plan to give Ino as a mission reward? I think twenty thousand Ryo would be good. For a C-rank mission, it's neither too high nor too low..."
"My wife is wise!"
While Inoichi Yamanaka said "My wife is wise," his heart was bleeding... Nobuko must have done this on purpose; otherwise, how could she have hit exactly on the figure of twenty thousand Ryo? His monthly allowance was just a bit more than twenty thousand Ryo... If he handed this money over, his pockets would likely be cleaner than his face.
"Alright, Ino. Complete my request well..."
After saying that to Ino, Inoichi Yamanaka vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
As soon as Inoichi Yamanaka left, Nobuko Yamanaka burst out laughing and said to Ino, "Look at your father, running so fast, for fear I'd say more... I was actually going to say I'd increase his allowance this month, but he missed out..."
Ino counted on her fingers. "Daddy gives me twenty thousand, and then you give Daddy a little raise. Hmm, at least the loss is a bit smaller."
"Ino, have you thought about what you want to do with these twenty thousand Ryo?"
"Hmm... I haven't decided yet. I'll tell you when I do."
Ino took the past exam papers from the Ninja Academy, the village's Chunin assessment materials, and the Joint Chunin Exam papers to her "old spot" and began researching them.
Overall, the exam questions were divided into Ninja Knowledge—common sense content for Ninjas—as well as trajectory analysis for shuriken throwing, trap setting and disarming, code-breaking, and so on.
The content of the first Joint Exam was much the same as in the manga. Conversely, the written portion of the ordinary Chunin assessment had much more content—
From basic theory to essay questions, logic puzzles, and analysis questions, nothing was missing, and the technical depth was much higher.
Ino pondered as she flipped through, circling and highlighting some of the questions and ideas she thought of, as well as some interesting exam topics she saw.
Once she had mostly prepared the various questions that might be used, she began designing the "written test"—the core of this written test was essentially a piece of "publicity." During the process, a sense of tension and suspense had to be maintained, reflecting a Ninja's talent for intelligence analysis and theft... and some even more basic abilities.
Hmm... then, the first stage of filtering Ninjas will start with the "examination hall"—if they can't even find the hall, that would be too pathetic.
Forget it, let's just stick to their original way for this... If I change it and more than half the Genin can't find the classroom, then there'd be no point in the first stage...
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