Tejima Shinichi stepped back into the ring; opposite him, Rock Lee was already in stance.
"Shinichi!" Lee shouted, his voice drowning out the surrounding noise. "I've finally waited for this chance! Today, I'll prove that even with taijutsu alone, I can live my ninja way!"
In the stands, Might Guy shot to his feet, his eyes brimming with tears.
"Lee—! Well said! Let your youth burn to the fullest!!"
At the center of the field, Lee spun toward the voice. Seeing the green figure high above giving him a tearful thumbs-up, the flames in his eyes roared higher.
"Gai-sensei—!!!"
Lee's voice cracked with emotion.
"Lee! I give you permission—remove every limit! Go all-out! Use everything to prove your ninja way! Because your opponent is Shinichi!!!"
"Yes, Gai-sensei!!!"
Lee howled back.
Without hesitation, he crouched, his hands flying to unfasten the deceptively plain black weights strapped to his legs.
Boom!!! Boom!!!
Two thunderous impacts followed; the hard earth caved, gravel and dust erupting to reveal two craters with cracked rims.
The discarded weights lay at the bottom of the pits. From the devastation that their landing alone had caused, most Genin—and even many Chunin—shuddered.
The arena fell deathly silent.
Every cheer, murmur, and shout was crushed beneath those twin booms and the resulting pits.
Countless stunned eyes dropped to the holes, then snapped back to the green figure at center-field who now looked almost weightless.
"Y-you've got to be kidding..." A noble's fan slipped from limp fingers in the stands.
"T-that are a Genin's...weights? That much..."
"Monsters... Are all of Konoha's ninja monsters?!"
Awestruck whispers rippled through the silence.
In the contestants' rest area, Uchiha Sasuke's folded arms tightened instantly.
He'd always known Lee's taijutsu was formidable, yet he never imagined the guy trained while hauling such insane poundage.
Kankuro swallowed; Temari forgot to flutter her fan.
Gaara's gaze flicked from Lee to the calm profile of Tejima Shinichi, his lips pressing thinner... In the VIP section beside Might Guy:
"Gai," Kakashi's sleepy eye seemed to widen a fraction as he glanced at the twin craters, "aren't you a bit rough on your student? Making him carry those things all day."
"Hahaha! Kakashi! That is youth!"
Might Guy spun toward Kakashi, his white teeth flashing in a sparkling glint, tears still wet but his smile radiant.
"Without such weight, how could he forge a body that breaks limits! Lee answers my hopes with every drop of his sweat!"
Beside them, Yamato couldn't help interjecting, exasperated:
"But this training style really is... too intense; they're still so young. Still..." He rubbed the back of his head as he looked down at Tejima Shinichi. "Facing Shinichi, maybe removing the weights and going all-out really is the only option..."
Kakashi's gaze drifted back to the field. His tone regained its usual laziness, yet his words made Yamato stiffen:
"True. After all, thanks to Shinichi, a new codename for you has been circulating among the Anbu and other Jonin lately, Yamato."
Yamato's heart thudded; his face reddened. "Th-that..."
The awkward exchange drifted to nearby Sakura and Ino.
Ino leaned in, blinking curiously. "Codename? What codename? Kakashi-sensei, what's Yamato-sensei's new title?"
Sakura looked puzzled too, noticing Yamato's sudden embarrassment.
"Ah..."
Kakashi's dead-fish eye rolled as he spoke in a flat tone. "Seems to be... 'benevolent wood.' After comparing someone's Wood Release demonstrations, everyone decided Yamato's style looks especially, well, gentle and life-giving. Fitting and rather nice, don't you think?"
"B-benevolent wood...?" Ino echoed, then burst into a stifled giggle, her eyes curving into crescents.
At that, Yamato's shoulders slumped; his face turned pale and fossilized at record speed... Gekkō Hayate, sensing the two fighters' surging fighting spirit, didn't hesitate: his arm swept down.
"Match—begin!"
Whoosh—!
Before the word "begin" had fully faded, Rock Lee vanished from where he stood!
Not the Body Flicker Technique, just the explosive speed granted by shedding his weights—pure physicality.
Only a ring of dust remained.
Instead of his usual head-on assault, Lee chose distance, back-flipping to the edge of the field.
Eyes locked on the still-motionless Tejima Shinichi, his face bore no fiery grin—only grim resolve.
"Shinichi!!" Lee called, his voice graver than ever. "I know the gap between us! My last defeat showed me plenty! So—"
He inhaled sharply, arms crossing before his chest as chakra surged along a wild, violent pathway.
"—so to face you for real, to prove my ninja way..."
Lee's skin flushed; visible green vapor rose, fierce gales scattering pebbles around him.
"...I must use this technique!!"
"Eight Gates—"
"First Gate: Gate of Opening—OPEN!"
"Second Gate: Gate of Healing—OPEN!"
"Third Gate: Gate of Life—OPEN!"
"Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain—OPEN!!"
With each roar, the green steam blazed hotter, his aura skyrocketing.
The crushing pressure thrilled the crowd.
"Fifth Gate—"
Lee's head snapped up, his eyes glowing with chakra, temples bulging, face twisted in pain.
"Gate of Limit—OPEN!!!"
BOOM—!!!!
Even denser green energy erupted like a volcano!
The ground beneath cracked, stones hovering in the shockwave. A fearsome pressure far beyond what it was before loomed over Tejima Shinichi.
"What?!"
"Wh-what technique is this?!"
"Such terrifying chakra... Is that really a Genin?!"
"Eight Gates... Fifth Gate..." Kakashi's Sharingan eye was fully open, his voice heavy. "Gai, you've... taught your student something outrageous."
Might Guy folded his arms, all jest gone, his eyes fixed on the field. "This is Lee's own choice, his resolve to risk everything! Shinichi... how will you answer?"
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