It’s no secret that the Chunin exams arc is by far one of the most popular arcs in the entire Naruto series, focusing on character development, world-building, and showcasing some of the best one-on-one fights so far. While the series may have nailed down every aspect of the arc in terms of storytelling, the Chunin exams itself are riddled with inconsistencies and incongruous elements that barely make sense from an in-universe perspective.
The exams are meant to test shinobi in every way possible, from wits and judgment to strength and skills, and while the first and last part of the Chunin exams are perfectly in-line with this concept, the Forest of Death seems rather extreme in testing a group of rookie Genin. Moreover, the structure of the exams gives way to several plot holes that have never been addressed in the series. Analyzing the exams in detail reveals how risky and concerning the Chunin exams can be, despite being a celebrated aspect within the series.
High Risk of Fatalities
While the written examinations and one-on-one battles pose no threat to any of the participants, the Forest of Death is certainly a cause of concern considering its unsupervised nature. With no referee or supervisor, every single participant has to fend for themselves in a free-for-all battle royale, meaning casualties are bound to occur. The participants are even forced to sign a waiver before the initiation of the exam, indicating that the Hidden Leaf Village will not be responsible for any of the participants’ deaths.
Considering how valuable of a resource shinobi are for a nation, it seems rather odd that any of these villages would be willing to send their young ninja directly in the face of death. Testing their skills and capabilities is a plausible reason for such an exam, but only till a certain extent, especially considering the gruesome events that follow once the exam initiates.
The context of the exams seems even more out-of-place considering the Third Hokage’s kind-hearted nature, who only sought to nurture his village’s young ninja. This begs the question of why such a person would be willing to send his own shinobi in a literal death-trap, while being aware of the fact that nine of the total participants are still rookies. However, this was never addressed in the series, with Hiruzen himself approving the structure of this radical exam.
Perfect Opportunity for Infiltrators and Spies
The Forest of Death also serves as a perfect opportunity for infiltrators to set their plots in motion, as the unsupervised structure of the exams allowed any spy from the participating villages to wreak havoc with ease. This glaring mistake became all the more apparent with Orochimaru capitalizing on this opportunity, venturing into the Forest of Death unnoticed. Though Orochimaru only focused on his own goals of targeting Sasuke, he could have slaughtered every single Genin with ease, leaving no trace of his own presence.
Such an opportunity could have been easily exploited by the invading Sand Village, as their participants could have targeted every single Hidden Leaf Genin, weakening their numbers before the initiation of the Konoha Crush. With Gaara already butchering a team of Genin from the Hidden Rain Village, such an event could have been highly plausible, something the Hidden Leaf clearly overlooked.
Another glaring issue with the Chunin exam’s structure is the lack of verification of the participants, since other villages could send their Chunin or Jonin to the exam under the guise of being a Genin. This was witnessed during the second Chunin exams that took place in the Hidden Sand Village, where Jonin from the Hidden Waterfall village took part in the exam yet remained largely unnoticed by the examiners. Though the second Chunin exams were mostly presented as filler content, the events that preceded clearly showcase the extent of how inconsistent the Chunin exams are.
The Forest of Death Does Not Fulfill the Exams Purpose
The Chunin exams primarily serve two purposes; testing the limits of the village’s own shinobi, and showcasing their strengths in front of potential clients that could hire the shinobi, in-turn generating more revenue. The last part of the examination serves the latter purpose of showing off the ninja from each village to potential clients, while the Forest of Death serves no such purpose, further making its addition to the Chunin exams all the more incongruous.
The previous format of the Chunin exams in the Forest of Death seemed much more feasible, where only Leaf Shinobi participated, and the test remained entirely supervised. With the current format, the Genin remain largely at risk of potential death from opposing belligerents, while the host village quietly lets the horrid events transpire within the forest. Though the Chunin exams are a fan-favorite, and rightfully so, these glaring inconsistencies have somewhat tainted the legacy of the arc, a mistake on the author’s part of leaving many aspects of the arc unaccounted for.