Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-40242313-20191028045201/@comment-40242313-20191029140312

Squinty97 wrote: Chunin are not ridiculously skilled. They are essentially an average reliable ninja.

You can expect a Chunin to know how to act in the field, and you can expect a Chunin to step up when necessary. They won't be the strongest on the battlefield, but they're consistent and reliable. Unlike Genin, who generally aren't as logical and don't make the most rational decisions in the field usually. Genin may have the power or combat ability of a Chunin, but what separates them is their experience and the ability to properly react to unique situations in a consistently logical manner. This was factually accurate, but it still fails to clear my doubts.

For instance, you have stressed on the reliability of a Chunin on the battlefield - while you don't expect him to win the war single-handedly, he can keep the threats at bay and support you well while he's at it. A chunin possesses the ability to lead a team well, and think clearly. These factors came into play when amidst heavyweights like Neji, Sasuke and Naruto, it was Shikamaru that was made Chunin in the very first exams we saw.

But then we see Shippuden, and how the average power level expected shoots up. Chunins killed here, there and everywhere. I'm not stopping at "killed" - they were slaughtered, often by enemies we were familiar with from the initial series. If they really were as cool-headed, would they have attempted the charge along the East Front in the 4th World War, that resulted in so many casualties due to the reanimated Seven Ninja Swordsmen? And then you're reminded that these were people screened after a process demanding that one should possess a calm disposition, nerves of steel, and the intent to kill, if necessary. The bar was just way too high, and I agree, to display the effect of the War we needed a lot of people under the Allied Shinobi Forces - but the resultant effect was that the sanctity of the Chunin exams was completely destroyed, and the sheer number of Chunin undermined the grueling process Genin had to go through to be able to wear the flak jacket.

Halcyonite wrote:

Threats such as Deidara, Kakuzu and Pain all lost to Genin (more or less), and a lot of the combat in those fights showed examples of great skill and strategy. It's like taking mock exams throughout the whole year and getting A grade results, but you end up bombing the final exam.

Again, you have Naruto and Sasuke as examples to show that the ranking system is hardly absolute. Perhaps this wouldn't be resolved through the 4 ranking system (as their power level can hardly be done justice to, even by a Chunin rank), but the fact that they didn't take the exams ever again (Naruto did, in a filler, and was disqualified for having used Sage Mode against Konohomaru) means nobody can be blamed, really, for the fact that the Seventh Hokage has never wore the Leaf chunin vest :D