Over the next three days, Qingshui gained another 600 points of Chakra.
Adding that to the previous two days, he had gained more than 1,300 in total.
Qingshui was fairly satisfied with that.
After all, that was about as much Chakra as some ordinary Chunin had.
With only moments to spare before the deadline, Qingshui returned to the Central Tower.
That marked the official end of the Second Exam.
Of the 89 contestants who had started, only 20 had passed the Second Exam.
They were Qingshui and Kushina, the three members of Team Minato, the three members of the Uchiha team, the three members of the Hyuga team, the three members of Killer B's team, the three members of Baki's team, and the three members of Gousuke's team.
"You all performed very well in the Second Exam. Next, we'll hold a preliminary round."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, attended in person to explain why they were holding a preliminary round.
Afterward, the proctor for the preliminary round took charge of the proceedings.
"Both the preliminary round and the final Third Exam are individual competitions. So before we begin, anyone who wants to withdraw can leave now."
But nobody chose to withdraw.
Their Jonin team leaders were all watching from the Viewing Stand.
"Good. Then let's officially begin the preliminary round."
At the proctor's words, a giant screen appeared, and the contestants' names began to show on it.
The matchups were generated at random.
"First match: Hirakawa Aosui versus Mukai Yuki."
The first match was Qingshui's, and it was a Konoha-versus-Konoha bout.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the screen—except Mukai Yuki, who had drawn Qingshui as his opponent.
His face turned ashen. How could his luck be this bad?
Against anyone else, he might have stood a chance.