At the thought that in the end, there might be only one team that gathers the scrolls and reaches the Central Tower, Inuzuka Tsume felt numb from head to toe.
"It seems that if nothing unexpected happens, the second stage of the survival exam is definitely going to have an 'unexpected' outcome." Ino spoke with a certain tone, casting a sympathetic look at Inuzuka Tsume, and casually offered a suggestion. "First, gather the candidates from the eliminated teams—organize a separate individual Revival Round! Make a contingency plan; no matter what, there must be eight people for the final exam..."
"Revival Round..."
Inuzuka Tsume immediately seized this lifeline; these words instantly opened up her line of thinking.
Originally:
If these proctors held a collective meeting to find a solution, they could have eventually come up with the idea of a "Revival Round" as well—it was just hard to say how long it would have taken to "think" of it. Fortunately, Ino's mind was quick, and she provided the answer directly.
"That's right, we can hold a Revival Round... Ino, tell me in detail, how should this Revival Round be organized?"
"As for the specific rules, it should be a one-on-one duel testing comprehensive Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu abilities; the one standing wins, and the one on the ground loses. The standard for being 'on the ground' is the complete loss of the ability to resist—one being a voluntary surrender, and the other being a referee's decision. Other than that, the match ends with death... Therefore, during the matches, the referees must be quite powerful..."
"Ideally, a double-referee system should be adopted, with two referees jointly responsible for the match to facilitate timely and accurate judgment and rescue."
The ideal candidates for the "double-referee" system in Ino's mind were Kakashi and Guy. Kakashi had sharp eyes, a great reputation, and accurate judgment, while Guy was fast enough—
It was just a Genin arena; even in a Jonin arena, there was no one he couldn't rescue. This was a fierce man who literally "simulated" the Body Flicker Technique through pure Taijutsu!
Of course... there was no need to "suggest" this; Inuzuka Tsume and the others would naturally have their own judgment on who to use as referees.
"We can promote this Revival Round in advance. Keep the details slightly vague, with the general content being that many of the failed Ninjas are still quite good—give them another chance. The location should be the Stadium. As for exactly how many people will advance or be eliminated, that will depend on whether one or two teams emerge victorious from the second stage."
There were only two Heaven Scrolls left—it was absolutely impossible for three teams to pass the second stage.
Inoichi Yamanaka nodded and said, "This is actually quite good."
Furthermore, an extra match would not only build hype for the third stage individual exams in advance but also bring in additional income for Konoha.
Inuzuka Tsume marveled, "Inoichi, your little Ino's head is really something. I'll finish this contingency plan in a bit and submit it to the Hokage..." Once it was settled, she picked up Ino and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Ino, you've done me a huge favor! Tell me, what reward do you want? Do you want a big teddy bear? Should Auntie get you one?"
"No... I don't want a big bear. How about..." Ino thought for a moment and said, "Auntie, why don't you give me a Tanto!"
..."A Tanto? Of course. Auntie will give you a good one..."
Inuzuka Tsume said this while glancing at Inoichi Yamanaka for confirmation; seeing Inoichi agree, she finished her sentence. If Inoichi hadn't agreed, the word "toy" would have been added after "good."
"How about leaving the proctoring of the Revival Round to me? It just so happens that as the chief proctor for the third stage, I can warm up in advance..."
Uchiha Fugaku interjected.
He felt out of place in the atmosphere—a little girl like Ino could "mingle" with everyone, yet his presence naturally carried a chill that kept everyone at a distance... Inoichi Yamanaka and Inuzuka Tsume had no objections.
Afterward, Inuzuka Tsume began to draft the plan, pulling Ino along to pick her brain for ideas... The members of the Inuzuka Clan weren't very suited for paperwork; Inuzuka Tsume's handwriting wasn't pretty, and her sentences lacked logic, with the entire text written in plain language that was just barely understandable. Ino contributed a large number of optimized fragments to her.
Finally, the document was finished.
"Ah, done..."
Inuzuka Tsume felt a sense of relief—luckily Ino was by her side, assisting her so capably, otherwise she estimated she would have been stuck on this piece for several days.
While it was still early, Inuzuka Tsume left Inoichi Yamanaka and Uchiha Fugaku to watch the monitors and ran to the Hokage Building herself.
She returned just twenty minutes later, looking quite smug.
Everything was perfect:
The Third Hokage praised her flexibility and encouraged her to handle the competition well, expressing full approval for the contingency plan.
"It's actually a good thing that problems which didn't surface in previous exams have come to light this time—only when problems arise can we perfect the system. Your plan is well-made; proceed according to this proposal."
...Night.
The five surviving teams in the forest settled down one after another to camp. The monitoring room also became quite dull.
Inoichi Yamanaka took Ino to a nearby sofa to rest, covering her with a thick blanket and promising repeatedly—
"Ino, sleep peacefully. If there's a battle, Daddy will wake you up to watch..."
"Mm, I know, Daddy."
Ino obediently closed her eyes.
Inoichi Yamanaka sat nearby and entered a light sleep—Ino could sleep, but the proctors could not. During the second stage of the exam, they had to maintain their state at all times, keeping a constant eye on every corner of the Forest of Death. Fortunately, this kind of "vigil" was already a simple basic skill for Ninjas.
The night passed extremely peacefully; nothing happened until the next morning.
The proctors in the monitoring room had watched all night, but they were "lucky" after all, since they had sofas to sit on, walls to lean against, and could even take short naps.
The outdoor emergency teams weren't so lucky—they had to stay alert in the cold night air, ready at a moment's notice.
However, Ino didn't sleep very well either.
She had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds.
It wasn't as peaceful or comfortable as sleeping at home.
"Ha... yawn—"
Ino stretched out and, upon opening her eyes, saw the food Inoichi Yamanaka had brought her—a fresh, warm Chicken roll.
Inoichi Yamanaka doted on her, rubbing her head and saying, "Eat first... I went home to get this for you. You can wash up after you eat."
As a father, Inoichi Yamanaka was completely different from Mrs. Yamanaka. If it were Mrs. Yamanaka, she would definitely have made Ino wash up first before eating breakfast. But as a father, he was afraid that even that little bit of time would leave his daughter hungry.
---------------------------------
I hope you enjoy this fanfiction! If you're having fun and want to read 30 chapters in advance, feel free to check out my Patreon: patreon.com/TLScarlet
Your support means a lot so if you like the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone.