How does one become a Jounin?

Question

It is said in the wiki that:

...there was mention of a Jōnin Exam in the anime's Kurama Clan Arc.

Does anyone here know what are the stages/steps/missions in order to be a Jounin?

Answer 1

I think recommendation to become Jōnin ninja are send by villagers and the hokage has the final decision of a making a one.

I'm not sure about this but I think that the candidate has to create a new jutsu in order to become a Jōnin (like Kakashi with Chidori, Minato with Rasengan).

We don't get any other details other than this. Same for the exam. I think that the created jutsu will be examined.

My answer is based on the anime.

Answer 2

From the wiki

Jonin are generally highly-experienced shinobi with great individual skill who serve as military captains. They are often sent on A-rank missions, and experienced jōnin may even be sent on S-rank missions (which are considered to be the greatest difficulty). It is not unusual for jōnin to go on missions alone. Jōnin are generally able to use at least two types of elemental chakra, proficient genjutsu, and decent taijutsu skills.

We can deduce that to become Jounin a ninja needs to meet certain requirement such as:

1) Must be highly experienced and skillful

2) Able to participate in multiple A- Rank Mission and some S-Rank missions

3) Capable of handling at least two types of elemental chakra, proficient genjutsu, and decent taijutsu skills

Once this criteria is met:

The villagers may send their recommendations for a jōnin appointment. The Kage reads said recommendations and may consider appointing an individual a jōnin if his or her qualities are recognized as adequate by enough people and himself.

About the exam, I'm not sure since I don't follow well the anime. About creating a new jutsu, I have found out that each technique is well classified according to their rank. The link shows list of A-rank Techniques. This may support a theory that a Jonin is required to have at least a few A-rank jutsu's and may be S-rank Jutsu's.

Answer 3

From an answer to a similar question :

In the Road to Ninja movie, Naruto tried to get a recommendation from Iruka for promotion to Jōnin, but was refused. Iruka said that Naruto had to become a Chūnin before he could become a Jōnin.

Iruka: so, what did you want to talk about?

Naruto: Um, Iruka-sensei, uh, listen, you think you can submit a Jonin application for me?

Iruka: What?

Naruto: It's just that all of my other classmates are going to have their parents fill out applications for them, and, well, I, uh...

Iruka: Nope, sorry. I won't.

Naruto: But why not?

Iruka: Because that step is supposed to come after you become a chunin. Sure you saved us from Pain, and everyone calls you the "Hero of the Hidden Leaf", but I can't give you special treatment. I mean, even your Dad worked his way up through the ranks - from Genin, to Chunin, to Jonin, to become Hokage. Then he went on to became a Hero.

Naruto: hmm, to become just a face carved into a rock.

Credits to Remy Lebeau.

So we know that being a Chunin is essential , combined with the other factors from the other answers given here.

Answer 4

Real late replying to this, but wanted to throw in my two cents and just point out that it’s difficult to be specific due to retcons and not really being discussed outside of filler episodes. That being said I agree with most of what’s already been said however, I don’t think creating a new Jutsu is that strange of a requirement.

Like “Pi” mentioned all Jutsu are ranked. It isn’t until Shippuden that an emphasis is put on how difficult/rare it is for a new Jutsu to be created. Even then it’s really only mentioned when regarding the Rasengan and the creation of S rank or higher Jutsu. Prior to that you had Naruto, Kabuto, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and to an extent Neji all creating new Jutsu. Sexy Jutsu, Cell Activation Jutsu, Hundred Healings Jutsu, Immortality Jutsu, and technically Rotation respectively.

If the requirement is simply to create any new Jutsu then it’s an easy requirement however, that seems unlikely. So, going based off what we’ve already talked about and what’s been seen in the cannon episodes, I would guess that part of the Jonin exam requires you to create a new Jutsu which must then receive a rank of B or higher to pass. The reason I think it’s B or higher and not C or A is because B rank contains not only the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but several release Jutsu and it’s the catagory with the most Jutsu overall. This would explain why the B rank has the most Jutsu because there’s a 51.6% chance that a new Jutsu will be given that rank every time there’s a Jonin promotion.

Now going off of the previously discussed criteria and using the Chunin exams as a base here is how I believe the Jonin exam would be conducted/laid out:

Entrance: In order to be allowed to take the Jonin exam you must first be a Chunin level Ninja and be recommended for the exam by at least one member of the village.

Stage 1: Record Review

During this stage the Hokage conducts a review of the Ninja’s record looking at things like the number of successfully completed missions, how many of each rank there are, why certain missions failed, and whether or not the Ninja in question has been a successful leader. This stage concludes with the Ninja being given a small number of basic knowledge questions and the opportunity if necessary to answer any questions put to them by the Hokage.

Stage 2: Demonstration of Skills

During this stage the Ninja must demonstrate a certain amount of proficiency in a series of specific skills. The Ninja must be capable of using at least two or more chakra natures, be able to break a genjutsu without any outside interference, and demonstrate Taijutsu skills at a level above most Chunin. It may be required to demonstrate these skills against an already Jonin class Ninja.

Stage 3: A New Jutsu

For the final stage of the exam the Ninja must demonstrate a new Jutsu and receive a Jutsu rank of B or higher from the Hokage.

Results: As with the Chunin exam, passing each stage does not guarantee the Ninja’s promotion. After the completion of each stage the Hokage will review the results and make a final decision on whether or not to promote the Ninja to Jonin class.

Lastly just to clarify a few things:

I laid out the Jonin exam as a solo/as requested exam because as leaders Chunin have more variables in their schedules causing them to progress at different rates. I found it unlikely that you would have multiple Chunin all reaching the same specific skill level and getting villager recommendations at the same time. So a group exam didn’t make much sense since you could have one examinee one year and five the next.

I included the knowledge questions in Stage 1 because Kakashi told Naruto that while he had skills beyond a Jonin he lacked the required knowledge. I also made Stage 1 a review because Chunin typically lead their own squads and so the Hokage would probably want to ask them questions about what they had learned.

As for why the Genjutsu requirement isn’t higher I believe Jiraiya told Naruto something along the lines of not everyone can use Genjutsu and it’s not worth teaching him but all Jonin and most Chunin can break Genjutsu. I also included the possibility of demonstrating against a Jonin because while most of the skills can be shown without an opponent the Hokage would probably want to compare the skill level.

Finally I put showing off the new Jutsu as the last stage because it has the potential to be the biggest demonstration of skill which is the same as the third stage of the Chunin exams.