When Ling returned to the hall from the abandoned warehouse, Kakashi immediately approached him, scrutiny and lingering concern in his lone eye.
"What did he say to you?" Kakashi asked quietly.
"Just some vague remarks, probing where my Water Release came from. And... he mentioned that Kusagakure girl named Karin." Ling skirted the important details, carefully keeping a trace of lingering fear and confusion on his face. "He seemed very interested in the Uzumaki bloodline."
Kakashi's brow furrowed even deeper. Orochimaru's greed for unusual kekkei genkai was common knowledge. He glanced at Karin, who was talking quietly with Sakura nearby and looked somewhat uneasy, and inwardly sighed at the trouble ahead.
"I'll handle this. What matters is that you're all right." Kakashi asked no further questions and simply patted Ling's shoulder. "Go rest and prepare for the matches ahead. The prelude to the third exam will probably begin soon."
Sure enough, before long, all the Genin who had passed the second exam were gathered in the center of the hall. More than half the original participants had been eliminated, but every remaining candidate was an elite. The atmosphere had grown even tenser and more combative.
Mitaraishi Anko stood at the front beside several Konoha Jonin examiners. She surveyed the candidates, her gaze lingering on Sasuke and Naruto, who were clearly in poor condition, before announcing, "Congratulations on passing the second exam! However, more candidates passed than expected, so we cannot proceed directly to the official matches of the third exam."
She pointed toward a newly opened door nearby. "Next, we'll hold the preliminaries for the third exam! The rules are simple-one-on-one combat! The winner advances, and the loser is eliminated! We'll continue until we have the required number of candidates! Now, everyone, enter the preliminary arena next door!"
The candidates