User blog comment:ShonenChicoBoy/Start: Official 2016 Chuunin Exams/@comment-3087943-20160619232031/@comment-2185383-20160620142843

From what I remember, I think Jounin are promoted from among Chuunin by the village's council or/and village head when they think their abilities warrant such promotions, so it isn't uncommon to see child geniuses like Kakashi and Itachi becoming Jounins at a very young age, though these are usually recruited for the ANBU.

I think this project could work and indeed it offers a different spin on things, but honestly I feel like if we're going to be promoting Chuunin at the end instead of Genin, I think it would be cooler and more "in-canon" to have the teams perform several missions like regular Chunin instead of the exams, as that's how Chuunin prove they're ready to become high-ranking shinobi, while Genin are still trying to prove they are ready for life as full-fledged shinobi. In short, I think we should build an adventure instead of the usual trials and tournaments in mostly controlled environments.