There was some insight to be gleaned from the library, of all places, about previous exams. In the past, most Kirigakure Chuunin exams were short and bloody. The village maintained a high standard, and the numbers never grew or shrank. Just as there were always Seven Swordsman, there were only a few thousand Chuunin and a thousand Jounin. The way you got promoted is those days was by killing someone who had that rank. Ever since the Fifth Mizukage, that had to change.<br/><br/>Jin-Ryu had picked up a lot from word of mouth and a little time spent combing through records and documents on the internet. The exam would be split into three stages, modeled off of the Konoha Chuunin exams. The first was a written exam, and they all tended to follow a certain theme. Last year, it was integrity... the genin were tempted to cheat but in reality, all of those temptations were traps. The year previous, it was cohesion. The questions were tailored for each individual, asking about their team mates' lives and history. Judging by the data they were collecting and the selection of the proctors, if Jin-Ryu had to guess... he'd wager the theme of this exam was 'international cooperation'.<br/><br/>The second stage would be a test of the competitors' practical mission-oriented abilities. Judging by the way Kirigakure was prepping one particular site in particular, it looked like the area would be an enclosed circle, twenty kilometers wide, around the fork of a river not far from the village. The river itself was a kilometer wide at its base, and sprawled out into dozen smaller tributaries. Some parts were completely submerged in swamp lands, and others perpetually misty. Furthermore, ruins of an ancient pre-shinobi civilization were scattered throughout. Other parts were thick rainforests... It gave the Kirigakure shinobi an exceptional home field advantage.<br/><br/>The third stage, predictably, was going to be a tournament- of which there could be only one victor.<br/><br/>Azuki had learned of the three stages, the general theme of the whole exam, but even with all her charm- not too many people were willing to tell her about the second stage. She tried to pull information out of them about where it might take place, but had no luck.<br/><br/>Yuki, unfortunately, had quite a bit of trouble in the library. There weren't any books about past Chuunin exams, and looking through historical documents that mentioned it in passing had gotten frustrating.<br/><br/>All three of them, however, did find information on the proctors. It wasn't hard... if they didn't come here as Jounin sponsoring their students, then they must have been here for another purpose. It was indeed an international effort, from what they could tell.<br/><br/>Jin-Ryu had learned of two proctors, Ruka of Kirigakure, who was proctoring and also providing emergency medical services during the second stage. She was a Jounin of her own team, but they were too young to take the exams. Even so, one of the kids had accidentally told Jin-Ryu that she was spending the afternoon at the clinic organizing materials and supplies needed for the second stage. By the sound of it, she needed some help. The other was Tenten of Konoha, a weapons expert. She would be proctoring the third stage and as such didn't have a whole lot to do. Apparently she owned a weapons shop back in the leaf, and spent pretty much all of her money on rare and exotic weaponry in Kirigakure, trying to get one of the seven swords. Unfortunately, it seems like she spent more than her wallet could handle...<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Yuki had learned that the famed Sarada Uchiha would be helping to proctor the first stage of the exam. Despite her young age, she was still a Jounin. Rumor had it she took her duties very seriously, and was working with the other proctors to write the questions as tough as possible. This led to some conflict with the others, many of whom groaned openly about the young woman's... enthusiasm. She was spending her time training herself in a park on the fringe of the village. The other was Samui of Kumogakure, who was proctoring the third stage. Said to be perpetually cool, even cold, she was uncharacteristically anxious. There wasn't much for her to<em>do</em>at this point, considering that they only needed her as a judge for the tournament. He spotted her leaving her hotel in sandals and a bathing suit under a unbuttoned shirt, carrying an umbrella and a bag. Apparently Samui was headed to the beach to work on her tan.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Azuki picked up rumors about an Amegakure proctor, Fuyō, that would be a proctor for the second stage. A skilled sensor, she would be responsible for monitoring the situation during the second stage. Since most of the work setting up the network had been done, she was enjoying herself in the hot springs. One of the other Amegakure ninja said she grew up back when it always rained in that village, so she probably missed the moisture. Kirigakure's famous 'Tranquil Mists' spring was so thick with fog that you couldn't see your hand if you extended it out all the way. The other proctor was Kiri, from... Kirigakure. He would be evaluating the written portion of the exams and was said to be too soft. Or at least, that's what Sarada Uchiha said. Though the young Jounin came with the rest of the Konoha delegation, she didn't bring any genin with her. In one of her talks with Mira, she singled out Kiri in particular as being too 'easy' with the questions. At least, according to Mirai, he was easy on the eyes... not that Sarada cared much about that.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Jin-Ryu gains a +4 bonus on Knowledge checks for the first stage of the exam.<br/>Azuki gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge checks for the first stage of the exam.<br/>Poor Yuki</div></div>