User blog comment:Chrono Nexus/The Chunin Exams/@comment-3087943-20130425202719/@comment-3454557-20130426095241

That sounds like an excellent idea, but as Njalm said I'd prefer to enable the Chunin exams to follow through to completion.

That said, I have absolutely no problems with you using your characters between phases for things other than the Chunin exams (roleplaying, eating, talking, having fun, and of course dueling). If you have other characters with ulterior motives moving a plot, it must be external to the exams themselves (it won't influence the results of the exam), but it can still be related.

One idea: Many patrons of the ninja villages attend the chunin exams in order to spectate and to see the relative strengths and skill of the villages; the winners and highlights of the chunin exams determine how their money is spent, and who receives it. These lords are prime targets for assassination, political maneuvering, and spying.