They had been teammates for a long time, and this was the best Little Lee could do when going all out.
"Don't worry. If it's just about breaking through this sand, Little Lee can handle it," Neji said confidently.
After all, Little Lee hadn't even removed his weighted ankle bands or opened any of the Eight Inner Gates.
If not for his own reincarnation into this world, Neji had no doubt that Little Lee would be the strongest among them.
Boom!
The sand beneath Gaara's feet suddenly stirred and lashed out, grabbing Little Lee and hurling him into the wall.
"Is that all you've got?" Gaara looked down into the pit with disdain in his voice.
Then, the gourd on his back cracked open as sand surged into the air, preparing to crush Little Lee once and for all.
Boom!
A deafening impact erupted as dust blanketed the arena. Neji's gaze immediately shifted to the statue at the center.
That moment caused Orochimaru's pupils to contract. Following Neji's line of sight, he saw Little Lee standing unharmed by the sculpture.
Neji had seen it before even Orochimaru did.
At the same time, Neji turned to look at Orochimaru. A subtle, almost imperceptible smile curled at the corner of his mouth one that said clearly, "I know it's you."
"This brat..." Orochimaru's expression shifted drastically, and for the first time, he began to doubt whether his plan could still succeed.
"Lord Kazekage, are you alright?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, noticing Orochimaru's reaction, asked with concern.
With a tight smile, Orochimaru replied, "Konoha truly has raised a fine student."
Sarutobi laughed, thinking he meant Little Lee. "You flatter us. Gaara is the impressive one."
On the statue, Little Lee furrowed his brow in frustration. Things were getting tricky.
At that moment, Might Guy called out to him. "Lee, take them off!"
His sudden shout drew the attention of many. All eyes turned toward him.
"But Sensei, didn't you say I could only use them when my teammates' lives were at risk?" Lee asked tentatively.
Even Neji, at this point, stopped paying attention to Orochimaru and waited quietly for the coming battle.
"I give you permission!" Might Guy declared, flashing his brilliant smile.
Hearing that, Little Lee's eyes lit up with joy. Without hesitation, he reached down to unfasten the heavy iron bands tied around his legs.
"What? Just two leg weights?" The crowd was visibly let down. Could removing two ankle bands really be enough to defeat Gaara? What kind of joke was this?
Gaara watched coldly. In his eyes, no one could defeat him not even Neji. That had just been luck.
"Pathetic," Temari muttered with disdain.
As soon as Little Lee removed the iron weights, a smile of relief spread across his face. Then, he let them drop.
Boom!
An earth-shattering explosion followed, silencing everyone who had been ready to mock him.
Temari and Kankuro stood frozen in disbelief. They could hardly trust what they were seeing.
"What?!"
For a brief moment, the entire arena fell silent, then erupted into chaos.
Was this what he had been wearing during the entire Chūnin Exam?
Even Orochimaru's lips twitched. If he were the one wearing something like that, he'd have trouble moving too.
Of everyone watching, only Might Guy and Neji remained completely calm.
Seeing Little Lee now so light on his feet, Neji felt a twinge of emotion. Lee was one of those rare characters whose very first entrance was already a peak moment.
He could already open five gates, but in the future, he would only reach six. All because of the injury he would suffer during this Chūnin Exam.
Lee was a genius a genius of taijutsu.
"Guy, what have you done to this child?" Kakashi's gaze was sharp enough to cut.
He was still just a kid. Training was one thing, but this? Kakashi was already considering inviting Guy in for a friendly chat with the Konoha Military Police.
"Hmph! Lee is different from the rest of you. Just watch," Guy said confidently.
"Lee, go!" Guy shouted.
"Yes, Sensei!"
With that, Little Lee leapt from the statue and vanished.
Almost in the same instant, a section of Gaara's sand defense in front of him shattered.
"What?!"
Gaara's expression finally cracked, the stiff, corpse-like face showing signs of alarm.
He was reminded of Neji the first to break through his sand defense. And now, another person was matching that speed.
"This speed... It's exactly the same as Neji's."
"Is everyone in Team Nine a monster?" Naruto gulped dramatically.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Blow after blow landed on Gaara's sand, though not yet on Gaara himself. He couldn't see a thing.
He wasn't the only one. Most spectators could only see Gaara spinning around, surrounded by bursts of broken sand.
"So fast," Kakashi murmured in awe.
A genin, yet capable of moving this quickly?
Speed?
"Wait... Sakura, Naruto, what did you just say?" Kakashi suddenly caught on.
Had they just said something about Neji?
"We said his speed is pretty much the same as Neji's."
"Yeah. I hate to admit it, but that guy's the real deal. He broke through that sand with one punch!" Naruto exclaimed.
Neji, the one who shattered Gaara's defense.
All eyes turned to Neji, especially Hinata.
Even she hadn't known her cousin had done something like that.
"Neji, can you really move as fast as Little Lee?" Guy asked, astonished.
"Yes."
In truth, Neji could go even faster. But in a situation like this, it was better to stay low-key.
Hearing this, Guy was overcome with emotion. His Strong Fist style had finally found its torchbearers.
He made up his mind right then: Neji's training intensity would be doubled. This this was what youth was all about!
Below, Gaara stood in place, helpless. He couldn't touch Lee at all.
Lee was too fast. He simply couldn't be seen.
"Incredible..." the other young prodigies exclaimed.
Guy looked around at them proudly. "Lee can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu. That's exactly why he could focus all his energy on perfecting taijutsu."
"Even relying on taijutsu alone, he won't lose to anyone. He's a taijutsu specialist."
As if responding to his sensei's declaration, Little Lee soared into the air and brought his heel crashing down on Gaara's head.
A deep gash appeared across Gaara's face.
"What?!"
Gaara's defense had been broken again.
Another person had surpassed the speed of his sand and struck him. More importantly, Gaara had been hurt truly hurt.
"Impossible!" Kankuro was in shock. The so-called absolute defense of Sunagakure was crumbling under repeated assaults in Konoha.
"Incredible... Is this the power of Konoha? No wonder they're the strongest of the Five Great Villages," Temari whispered in awe.
But her gaze was not on Little Lee it was fixed on Neji. For some reason, she felt that he was the more terrifying one.
"Lee, go!" Might Guy shouted with burning passion.
"Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee grinned as he charged at Gaara once more.
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Please read my new book: Becoming a Pirate Begins with Refusing Shanks' Invitation
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