After the nine young standouts successfully entered the Tower, the other ninja teams grew restless and began joining forces.
But there were only twelve pairs of Heaven and Earth Scrolls. Six pairs had already gone inside, and with the pair Gaara had seized and the scrolls that had yet to be paired up, they ultimately only managed to put together three teams.
These three teams were only average in strength, however. A single massive sandstorm from Gaara put four of them out of action, and the remaining five were even less of a match for him.
Not only did he defeat his opponents in a few moves, but he also took all their scrolls.
This left the remaining ninja teams seething with envy and anger, but Gaara's overwhelming strength was plain to see. They dared not voice their anger and could only watch helplessly as he entered the Central Tower with so many scrolls.
In the end, out of forty-two teams, only seven passed the second round.
Next came the preliminaries, with one-on-one matches in which only the winners could advance to the main tournament.
Ye Feng enjoyed watching matches like these up close, but he held no official position. He could only discuss it with Minato Namikaze and have the preliminary referee changed at the last minute, with Ye Feng taking on the role.
Looking at the familiar arena, Ye Feng could not help recalling his own Chunin Ninja Exams. It felt as though he had returned to those days.
Just then, footsteps approached. Ye Feng turned to look and saw Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, and Might Guy, followed by Killer B and Mei Terumi. Ye Feng did not recognize the last person, but judging by his attire, he was probably Baki.
Apart from Baki, everyone was