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Rock Lee somersaulted and leapt, landing firmly on the massive seal sculpture in front of the examination room.
"What should I do?" Lee frowned.
At the moment, he really had no effective way to break through Gaara's defense.
Suddenly, a loud voice echoed from the stands—"Lee, take it off!"
"What?!" The nearby genin looked at Lee in confusion.
"But, Guy-sensei!" Lee hesitated. "Didn't you say we could only take it off to protect someone important?!"
"Oh, it's finally happening!" Haruto's hands trembled with excitement. This was the moment he had long been waiting for.
"What?" Naruto asked curiously.
Sasuke and Sakura also turned to Haruto, surprised—they'd never seen him so thrilled before.
"It's alright, I approve!" Guy declared, giving a dramatic thumbs-up. "This is your most important moment!"
"Hahaha!" Lee's face brightened with joy. "I'm finally allowed to take these off!"
He sat down on the statue and began removing his leg weights.
"Tch." Gaara scoffed with a disdainful smile.
"What's the big deal?" Kankuro said flatly. "It's just some weights."
"No matter how hard he tries, he's not going to beat Gaara," Temari added coldly. "He can't possibly keep up with the speed of his sand."
"Haha." Haruto chuckled. "Ignorant fools… you know nothing about weight training!"
"Yosh!" Lee shouted as he lifted the two weights in his hands. "This should make things a lot easier!"
Then, without any hesitation, he dropped them.
"Hold onto me!" Haruto suddenly said to Ino and Hinata beside him.
"Huh?" Both girls looked confused but instinctively grabbed his arms.
BOOM!
The moment the weights hit the ground, the examination room shook as if dozens of explosive tags had gone off at once.
Naruto, standing nearby, was knocked off the guardrail by the shockwave.
"What?!" When the tremors subsided, everyone stared, stunned.
Was that sound really caused by those two weights?!
Impossible!
The floor had cracked under the impact. How heavy were those things?!
Temari stared at Lee in disbelief.
Kankuro's face twisted like he had just swallowed something rotten.
"It's just two weights?!" Haruto mocked. "Shows how clueless you are."
"Aaah…" Naruto gaped, unable to speak.
Did Lee really fight like that—with those weights on?!
How strong was he really?
Sasuke's face darkened.
He recalled their brief sparring session at the Ninja Academy. Lee fought him while wearing those?
And he'd been smug about it back then?
"…Tch." Sasuke clenched his fists tightly in frustration.
"You're insane!" Kakashi said as he glared at Guy. "He's just a kid! How could you put him through that kind of training?!"
"Hmph!" Guy scoffed. "Don't underestimate him!"
"I've said it before—Lee is a taijutsu genius. You people can't even begin to understand!"
He remembered the fierce, determined look in Lee's eyes when they first met—the very reason Guy had chosen to take him as a student.
No genin could survive the training regimen of a jōnin… except Rock Lee.
And despite all the pain, Lee never once complained. He trained harder than anyone else, all to prove that he didn't need ninjutsu or genjutsu to be great.
Tears welled in Guy's eyes.
"Go, Lee!" he roared. "Show them all what hard work can do!"
"Right, Guy-sensei!" Lee shouted and lunged at Gaara with all his might.
Bang!
The sand protecting Gaara exploded from the sudden impact.
"What?!"
Gaara's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't even seen Lee move—how had the sand been hit?
In truth, no one could follow Lee's movement anymore.
Only Haruto and Guy could truly see what was happening.
All the others saw were footprints and fist-shaped dents forming in the sand surrounding Gaara, accompanied by sudden gusts of wind.
"So fast…" Sasuke muttered, activating his Sharingan.
Even with it, he could only barely keep up.
"I've hit my limit!" Sasuke shouted as his eyes shut in pain. Blood trickled from the corners—his Mangekyō had been overworked.
Lee was simply too fast.
"Heh." Guy smirked proudly. "This is Lee's true power!"
"Who needs ninjutsu or genjutsu?"
"If Lee pours all his time and effort into taijutsu, he can surpass any of your so-called geniuses!"
"He's a specialist. A master of hand-to-hand combat!"
Guy's booming voice echoed throughout the arena, filled with pride and conviction.
Hearing those words, Lee's heart burned even brighter. With renewed determination, he shot forward, leaping into the air.
"There you are!" Gaara spotted him and raised a wall of sand in defense.
But Lee spun mid-air—hard and fast—and slammed his foot directly into Gaara's head.
Boom!
Shock filled the arena.
Gaara's defense had been broken.
Lee had actually struck Gaara… and it was brutal.
"Yes! Nice one, Lee!"
Naruto jumped up, cheering wildly from the stands. If he had a banner, he'd be waving it by now.
End of the Chapter.