"Why did both of us lose in the first round, but Shiomizu became a Chunin and I didn't?" Inuzuka Midori noticed Nara Shiomizu's Chunin waistcoat during special training.
"There are a few reasons here and there, I guess." Nara Shiomizu thought for a moment and said tactfully.
He couldn't just bluntly say to Inuzuka Midori that her skills weren't outstanding and she didn't demonstrate battle wisdom, after all.
Actually, Nara Shiomizu thought he was a little lucky to have become a Chunin himself.
This Chunin Examination was a lot more difficult than the previous ones. The likes of Obito and Kisame, who didn't even make it to the finals, would have easily dominated in a regular Chunin Exam.
If Nara Shiomizu had faced any of the finalists, he felt he might not have been able to become a Chunin.
Because in front of them, Nara Shiomizu's strength was too weak. When there's a big gap in strength, even great battle wisdom is useless; they'd defeat him in an instant, especially since he couldn't pre-setup traps during the Chunin Exam.
"In a few months, Midori will definitely become a Chunin too; the special training has made her stronger." Inuzuka Midori looked at another teammate, Aburame Naoya, hoping he would also work hard with her to prepare for the next Chunin Exam.
The Chunin Exam is held twice a year, but of course, the next one won't be jointly organized by two villages, nor will it invite officials or merchants.
Aburame Naoya's expression didn't change; he just nodded calmly.
Inuzuka Midori let out a chuckle; Aburame Naoya wasn't one to easily express his emotions, so a nod meant agreement.
Not just Nara Shiomizu, but Asuma in his Chunin waistcoat among a group of Genin and Ninja School students also stood out.
Since the special training was only for Genin and Ninja School students, Nara Shiomizu and Asuma were the only two Chunin present.
Because there were only two Chunins, and since Asuma's performance in the Chunin exam was decent, some quite sociable students approached him for advice.
"Brother Asuma, you're really amazing to have learned two types of ninjutsu attributes. Among the candidates, only besides Hatake Kakashi who came first, there's only you, right?" Hagane Kotetsu said with admiration.
Previously, his only good big brother figure was Ebisu, but now he's decided to increase the number of his role models.
"Two attributes aren't enough; I still lost to Obito's Fire Release." Asuma looked a bit frustrated.
That combined ninjutsu loss to Obito's Fire Release did bother him; two ninjutsu couldn't beat Obito's single-attribute ninjutsu.
"Don't worry, Brother Asuma. If you keep improving to use combined ninjutsus of three or four attributes, can he still block it with just one attribute?" Kamizuki Izumo quickly analyzed.
Asuma had to admit that Kamizuki Izumo had a point, but managing to master that many attributes was a challenge. Practicing multiple Nature Transformations isn't easy.
"Actually, there's no need to go that far. Here, we have a ninjutsu that has defeated Konoha's strongest taijutsu ninja. If Brother Asuma can learn it, you might not be guaranteed to beat Obito, but the chances of winning would increase a lot." Kamizuki Izumo came up with a good idea.
"Oh, defeated Konoha's strongest taijutsu ninja, what kind of ninjutsu is it?" Asuma's interest was piqued immediately.
Not to mention anything else, just the title of having defeated Konoha's strongest taijutsu is quite impressive.
"It's..." Kamizuki Izumo was about to say something, but realized that the break time was over and it was time to resume cultivation.
"Everyone, continue your training," Mokgetsu's voice reached all the students.
"We'll explain it in detail to you tomorrow, Brother Asuma." Kamizuki Izumo stood up and said.
This was already the last training session of the afternoon; it would soon be time to go home for dinner.
"Brother Asuma, this ninjutsu will definitely surprise you!" Hagane Kotetsu said with a confident smile, and then walked back to the C group's training area with Kamizuki Izumo.
"Then I'll look forward to it." Asuma replied with a smile.
Actually, he didn't hold much hope that Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo really knew any particularly strong ninjutsu. It's not that he underestimated them, but truly powerful ninjutsu are hard to learn and have certain requirements for the learner. Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo were still too young.
When Asuma was in his second year, even if Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to teach him the Fire Dragon Flame Bomb and Cyclone, Asuma wouldn't be able to learn it, due to lack of chakra and insufficient level of nature transformation.
But since they were small fans of his and spoke nicely, Asuma was happy to cooperate with them.
Then Asuma began to train in Wind Attribute Chakra Nature Transformation. Currently, he focused mainly on the Wind Attribute, and only practiced the Fire Attribute when he hit obstacles with the Wind Attribute.
After training for a while, seeing Yuhi Kurenai still practicing with sweat streaming down her face, Asuma walked up to her and said:
"Kurenai, why don't you take a break for a bit? Overworking might lower your training efficiency."
Asuma had seen Yuhi Kurenai training non-stop even during the break just now.
Upon hearing Asuma's suggestion, Yuhi Kurenai paused and stayed where she was, panting heavily to catch her breath. It would indeed be troublesome if her efficiency got affected.
"Are you facing any issues lately? It seems like you're pushing yourself too hard in training," Asuma asked with concern.
Being diligent in training is good, but Asuma felt that Yuhi Kurenai was overdoing it now, which made him a little worried.
"Because I don't want to be left too far behind," Yuhi Kurenai said seriously, looking into Asuma's eyes.
The previous year during special training, she was held back by Shisui, a first-year student, but Shisui was indeed an exception among exceptions, something Yaekyu Kurenai could accept in her heart.