After chatting briefly in the hallway, Team 8 and Team 7 headed to the third floor together, submitted their applications, collected their seat numbers, and prepared to descend to the lecture hall.
In the stairwell, Sasuke Uchiha turned to Izayoi. "Izayoi, have you noticed those guys these past few days?"
"Mm."
Izayoi nodded, understanding Sasuke meant the foreign ninja secretly gathering intel on them.
As this year's top graduate and the last Uchiha, Izayoi and Sasuke were prime targets.
Indeed, several figures had been lingering outside Izayoi's home recently.
Since they hadn't crossed any lines, Izayoi paid them no mind.
"Have you come across a guy carrying a gourd?" Sasuke pressed.
"No. Is he strong?"
"Yeah… a formidable opponent."
As if recalling something, Sasuke's lips curled slightly. "This Chunin Exam is packed with monsters. I can't wait to face them."
"You might get your wish sooner than you think," Izayoi said with a chuckle, as if sensing something.
Just as they reached the back hall of the administration building, a voice called out from behind.
"Please wait a moment."
At the sound, Sakura Haruno from Team 7 froze.
"You again, thick-brows? What do you want?" Naruto Uzumaki shouted, pointing at Rock Lee standing on the second-floor balcony.
Rock Lee leaped down, landing steadily, and struck a taijutsu stance. Looking at Izayoi with a serious expression, he declared, "I'm Rock Lee. I want to challenge the top rookie of this year. Please, fight me, Izayoi!"
"Challenge Izayoi?" Team 7 exchanged surprised glances.
"He's… Neji-nii-san's teammate, isn't he?" Hinata's brows furrowed, her gaze sharpening as if misunderstanding something.
"My insects tell me he carries a faint scent of blood," Shino Aburame said flatly. "His strength isn't ordinary."
Izayoi was mildly surprised. He hadn't expected Rock Lee to challenge him instead of Sasuke.
The thought of the Eight Gates, a technique on par with the Flying Thunder God and Impure World Reincarnation, piqued his interest.
But glancing in a certain direction, that spark of curiosity faded.
In an unrestricted, all-out fight, Izayoi would've loved to test the Eight Gates' power.
Instead, he turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, you take him."
"Me?"
Sasuke blinked, then recalled how Rock Lee had blocked both him and a chunin guard with a single kick. His fighting spirit ignited, and he nodded. "Fine, I'll take him on."
Seeing Sasuke step forward, Rock Lee frowned and looked at Izayoi. "What's this about?"
Before Izayoi could answer, Sasuke made a dismissive gesture, thumb pointing at himself. "Beat me, and you can challenge Izayoi. If you can't even get past me, don't bother embarrassing yourself."
Rock Lee's eyes widened in realization. "I see. You're Izayoi's underling."
"Who's his underling?!"
Sasuke roared, his eyes flashing into the scarlet two-tomoe Sharingan. "Enough talk. Let's go."
"Those eyes…"
Staring into Sasuke's Sharingan, Rock Lee froze for a moment, then his own resolve flared. "So you're the last of the Uchiha clan. Very well, let me test the power of the genius clan's Sharingan!"
With a serious expression, Rock Lee introduced himself formally. "I'm Rock Lee. Please, let's fight."
"Less chatter. Make this quick."
Sasuke charged at Rock Lee.
Team 7 and Team 8 leaned against the hall's pillars, watching the battle unfold.
As Sasuke's figure loomed larger, Rock Lee tensed.
The moment Sasuke threw a punch, Rock Lee vanished.
"Body Flicker? No, it's different…" Sasuke muttered, his fist meeting air.
He quickly extended his senses.
A split second later, Sasuke whipped his head to the side, raising his right arm to block a kick aimed at him.
His expression twisted, eyes wide with shock.
Such immense strength—this guy was…
In those two seconds of distraction, Rock Lee retracted his leg. With uncanny flexibility, he flipped forward, hands braced on the ground like a breakdancer. A Thomas spin followed, his foot arcing upward toward Sasuke's face.
Sasuke blocked with both arms, but the force of the charged kick sent him airborne.
Landing, his hands tingled with numbness.
Facing Rock Lee, who stood tall and resumed his stance, Sasuke said, "That was high-speed movement, and such power. You're a taijutsu specialist."
"Correct, I'm a taijutsu specialist," Rock Lee nodded honestly, then praised, "They say the Sharingan can see through all ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. It lives up to its name."
"What surprised me more is that you can track my movements and your body can just barely keep up with my speed. Truly worthy of the genius clan."
"Barely? Hmph…"
Sasuke's two-tomoe Sharingan spun once, a smirk curling his lips. "That's my line."
With that, Sasuke vanished.
Rock Lee's eyes widened.
A whoosh sounded beside him. Glancing over, he saw a leg swinging toward him and instinctively raised an arm to block.
Bang! As leg met arm, a figure flipped to the ground, hands braced for a Thomas spin, a foot whipping upward toward Rock Lee's face.
Rock Lee blocked with both arms, but the kick launched him two meters into the air before he landed.
Staring at Sasuke, who stood tall, mimicking his earlier stance, Rock Lee's eyes trembled. "You…"
Team 7, watching from the pillars, was stunned.
"Did I see that right?" Naruto rubbed his eyes, incredulous. "Did stuck-up Sasuke just use the same move as thick-brows?"
"So… so cool! That's Sasuke-kun for you!" Sakura clasped her hands, swooning.
"Is that the legendary Sharingan copy ability?" Shino said, awestruck. "Copying an opponent's moves in a single glance—no wonder the Uchiha's Sharingan is called unbeatable in one-on-one combat."
Only Izayoi and Hinata remained unfazed, smiling at the scene.
No one knew Sasuke's strength better than they did.
If Sasuke were still weak after years of Izayoi's training, Izayoi, as his "teacher," would've performed seppuku long ago.
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