The Chunnin exam is an annual three-part rigorous test that determines which genin (rookie) ninjas would be considered chuunin (intermediate) ninjas. Villages all over the country would send their rookie ninjas to participate. There isn’t any age limit to participate in this test, the only way you could enter is if they are recommended by their instructor. This test holds many surprises for the genin ninjas. The chuunin exam would test the wits, courage, skill, speed, and persistence of all participants…
The first part of the Chuunin exam is lead by the ANBU’s torture and interrogation squad leader Morino Ibiki. This test alone wipes out many determined Genin teams, this part is the written portion of the exam. For many ninjas, this will test your geniality to the limit. The test has a total of 10 questions…the tenth being the most important. There are many ninjas that would attempt to cheat on this test, using ninja skill and techniques so there is always a minimum of ten guards watching the students at all times. The tenth question is optional and the Genins do not have to take it. But if they choose not to then the points that they accumulated during the exam will be reduced to zero and not only will they fail the test but their teammates will as well. If they do choose to take it and answer it incorrectly they will lose the privilege to take the Chuunin exam forever. This final question is essentially the entire test, it is there to determine whether or not the Genins have what it takes to become a Chuunin. Many of the hopeful graduates bottled out and quit because they did not want to risk answering it wrong and never have the chance to be Chuunin again. The ones that did stay were informed of the true meaning behind the question and told that they had passed the written part of the exam.
The second part of the test is a survival game. Each ninja team of three that passed the first part of the exam are the only people that are allowed to participate. In the survival game, they are taken to the “Forest of Death”. There are two scrolls, the book of heaven and the book of earth. Half of the teams would be given the book of earth and vice-versa. The objective of this test is to obtain both the book of heaven and the book of earth, and make it to the tower in the center of the forest. This way, they have no clue which opponent has which book, so everyone is their enemy there is also no exceptions to reading the book, before you make it to the tower with both scrolls. In this forest, anything goes. The only rule is to survive. They are given no food, or drink, there are many poisonous and dangerous creatures in the forest. So not only do they have to pay attention to the other teams, it is also vital to watch-out for the creatures. When the teams have both scrolls, and have made it two the tower with in 5 days, then they will move on to the next and final part of the chuunin exam.
The third part of the exam. All the ninja’s that have made it through the survival game, will fight against each other. The match-ups are random, so you have no idea if you will fight a friend, foe, or even a member of your team. Before this part of the chuunin exam, they are given one month to train for the upcoming battles. The tricky part is that he, the hokage, doesn’t look for who wins or loses the match. The hokage looks for who is chuunin material. He needs to know how they would act in a real life situation, so it isn’t guaranteed that all the people that have won their matches would become chuunin.
The end of the match-ups indicates the end of the exam. After about a week or so, the hokage would declare which ninjas he believes have the qualities of a chuunin ninja. Now that the select few have been chosen as chuunins, they have more privileges, but a much higher respect and responsibility as they for live their lives as the next generation of shinobi.