"What a drag," grumbled Shikamaru. "Temari, care to do the honours?"
"What, not much of a public speaker?" she teased him.
A sizeable crowd had assembled at the base of the central tower in the Demon Desert. The atmosphere buzzed with frustration and curiosity— not surprising, given the abrupt cancellation of the second phase of the exams. A freak sandstorm had swept in near the end of the first day, bringing the entire affair to a grinding halt before the three days were up.
"No, no," Temari added before he could answer, "it was your brilliant idea, so I'll leave the explaining to you."
Unlike the Hidden Leaf, the Hidden Sand simply couldn't afford to host month-long Chūnin Exams— even a week was stretching the village's budget to its fraying edges. Precious few dignitaries or foreign sponsors would bother to make the long journey into the heart of the desert just to watch Genin knock each other senseless, and there was little hope of tourism filling the gap.
As such, it was in the Hidden Sand's best interests to wrap up the finale swiftly— though they still had to stage a proper spectacle for the Land of Wind's daimyō and his court: men and women who'd far rather spend their ryō in any other hidden village than their own.
"Hem, hem," coughed Shikamaru. "If I could have everyone's attention, please…"
The crowd's murmuring gradually died down.
"As you might've heard from the proctors who came to fetch you, the second phase of the exam has been cancelled," Shikamaru announced, raising his voice slightly. "To keep things fair— since not all teams were reached in time— any group that can be battle-ready by the start of the finals, one week from today, will be eligible to compete."
The crowd began to buzz with excitement.
For those who'd thought themselves eliminated, hope had sparked anew— they still had a chance to win and impress the audience. The better they performed, the more glory they brought to their villages— which, in turn, meant more commissions… and more ryō.
Money made the world go round, whether in this world or the next!
"As is traditional for the Chūnin Exams' finale, the format will be one-on-one duels in a single-elimination knockout tournament," Shikamaru continued. "However, due to time constraints, I've added a small twist to the rules."
As expected, things were never quite simple when Shikamaru was involved.
"Unlike a normal tournament, you'll enter as a team of three," Shikamaru said calmly. "However, only one person from each team will be sent out to fight… and a single win is all it'll take for a team to move on to the next round. In other words, it's best-of-one, not best-of-three."
Immediately, loud shouts of protest erupted from the Genin gathered before him, and Sakura resisted casting a sidelong glance at her own teammates. Ino, and especially Chōji, weren't Genin Corps levels of weak by any metric… but they were far from her level. If it came down to it, she'd much rather entrust her life (and her shot at a promotion) to her actual teammates, Naruto and Sasuke…
"That's not fair!" a Sand Genin shouted. "If my teammate's knocked out in his fight, I'm out too? How am I meant to get a chance to show what I'm capable of if we lose in the very first round?"
"Yeah, the new rules suck!" shouted another.
Temari unslung her large metal war fan from her back and slammed it violently into the sand, the sharp clang ringing out like a gong and sending up a small cloud of dust. Almost instantly, the angry shouts dissolved into murmurs of reluctant disapproval.
"Shut up and let him finish!" she roared.
Shikamaru bowed his head slightly in thanks and resumed speaking.
"Naturally, everyone will have at least one chance to show their worth, even if they lose in the first round," he announced. "Let me explain…"
To begin with, each team would submit the order in which their combatants were to enter the fray. This sequence would be made public on the tournament bracket, visible to all contestants. Yet, there was a catch: no one could be sent out to lead twice in a row. Otherwise, any abnormally strong contestant could just steamroll through the competition all the way to first place without giving their teammates a chance to fight.
Let's see an example, shall we?
Team Asuma might choose the order: Sakura → Chōji → Ino.
In the first round, Sakura would be the first member of her team to fight. Should she win, Team Asuma would advance in the bracket, and then either Chōji or Ino would have to step up as the lead fighter in the second round. Then, she would be free to lead in the third round.
That being said, the main mechanic Shikamaru was adding— or rather, the gimmick— was the right to tag out. At any moment, even if a fighter was on the brink of being knocked out (or worse), they would be able to tag out and swap places with the next teammate in the turn order.
"However, you don't get to tag out unlimited times," said Shikamaru warningly. "You only start out with two opportunities to tag out, but with each victory, you get one more. If you don't use 'em, you get to keep 'em for the next match!"
This way, a well-balanced team would advance fairly easily through their first few matches, accumulating tag-out opportunities for more flexibility against stronger foes later on. But if a team was unbalanced, they'd be forced to spend all their tag-outs to keep their strongest fighter in rotation to avoid getting eliminated— and even worse, the upkeep cost would keep increasing, seeing as that person wouldn't be allowed to lead in the next match…
"I see, so that's what Shikamaru is trying to teach us…" said Ino slowly. "He wants us to learn how to think for ourselves…"
Indeed, what sequence would best allow them to conserve their tag-outs without risking elimination along the way?
"You should go first, Sakura," said Chōji. "You're about as strong as me when I'm in giant form, but you can use your max power whenever you want to."
"I don't think it matters," said Sakura, her elbow jostling her chest as she scratched her head thoughtfully. "But whichever sequence we choose, Ino would have to go immediately after me."
"Eh? Why?" asked Chōji in confusion.
"Because I'm the weakest among us," said Ino reluctantly. "Sakura's planning around never using her tag-out opportunity."
After a quick talk, the three of them quickly realised that whether Sakura or Chōji was sent out to lead in the first match, the most optimal sequence was the following: Sakura → Ino → Chōji.
This way, Chōji and Sakura could take turns leading. If Sakura faced an opponent she couldn't beat, then no rock-paper-scissors matchup type advantage would save them from elimination. But if Chōji came up against an opponent he couldn't defeat, he would at least survive long enough to shout, "Tag out!"— after which the next person in the lineup would be Sakura. Either way, Ino would never have to fight.
"Remember, you have one week to prepare!" shouted Shikamaru. "Use that time wisely… or don't, if you think it's a drag."
Sakura, Ino and Chōji exchanged a knowing glance.
It was intel gathering time!
First they'd check the tournament bracket and pool their information with the other teams from Konoha— and then they'd spy on whoever they might be up against!