Bloom! Konoha Lotus

"Naruto!"

In the stands, Sakura cried out anxiously.

Hinata Hyuga, beside her, covered her mouth in terror.

As the dust cleared, Naruto rose to his feet again, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said coldly:

"Is that all?"

"What a tenacious opponent."

A trace of respect flashed in Lee's eyes as he gave a serious assessment.

"Then..."

Lee slowly unwound the bandages from his hands, lowered his stance, and raised his fists before his brow, poised to strike.

"Prepare yourself!"

Lee shot forward, beginning to circle Naruto at high speed.

Naruto, meanwhile, had no intention of waiting to be defeated. He quickly formed the Ren hand seal once more, brought his hands together, and crossed them into a plus sign.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

In an instant, an army of over a thousand Narutos filled the entire arena.

Damn it. This means I can't use the Hidden Lotus, which is meant for single targets!

Lee thought bitterly.

At the moment, he had two choices: eliminate every Shadow Clone again and again, drag Naruto into a battle of attrition, and see whose vitality was greater.

Or—

As he fought the Shadow Clones, Lee's mind raced.

"Bang!"

The moment his attention slipped, Lee was struck by one of the clones.

The next second, every Naruto surged forward, their faces fierce as they bore down on Lee like a sky-covering tide.

"Leaf Rising Wind!"

Earlier, when he had prepared to use the Hidden Lotus, Lee had already opened the first gate, the Gate of Opening, removing the brain's limitations in order to unleash one hundred percent of his body's power.

At the Critical Moment, Rock Lee used Leaf Rising Wind at a speed close to the human limit. He sprang off the ground, rose into the air, kicked upward with both legs, and unleashed a rapid series of kicks at the nearest Naruto.

"POOF!"

Just as expected, it was another Shadow Clone.

Lee leaped back onto a tree, panting heavily.

When it came to stamina consumption, he might not necessarily be worse off than Naruto, but in terms of room for error, he seemed to be at a disadvantage.

Naruto's clones could be defeated countless times, while finding the original body depended entirely on luck.

On the other hand, if he made even the slightest mistake, he would be caught by that army of Narutos and beaten down by their combined assault.

Just as he was about to leap down, a wave of pain suddenly ran through his body.

As expected, the backlash from overexerting my body after opening the Gate of Opening has already begun?

I can't drag this out any longer.

"Looks like Naruto is going to win after all. As expected, Kakashi's student is stronger."

In the stands, one ninja saw through the situation.

"No. Next, Naruto will be the one forced into a corner. Konoha's lotus will bloom once more!"

Might Guy said confidently.

"Could it be, Guy...?" Hearing that, Kakashi suddenly realized something, his expression turning startled.

"That's right. Just as you think," Might Guy replied.

"Don't tell me this Genin has already opened the Eight Gates Formation and learned the Reverse Lotus?"

Kakashi asked.

"Yes. Exactly."

"Guy! How many gates of the Eight Gates Formation has this child opened now?"

Kakashi asked urgently.

"Five."

"What are you two talking about? My lords, I don't understand any of this at all."

The ninja who had spoken first could not help interrupting.

"The Eight Gates Formation is the preparation required before using the Reverse Lotus," Might Guy explained.

Kakashi also lifted his mask in a rare gesture, revealing his Sharingan as he observed Rock Lee's Chakra within the arena.

"That's right. Along the meridian system through which Chakra flows, beginning at the head, there are eight major acupoints throughout the body known as the Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Wonder, and Gate of Death."

As he observed, Kakashi continued:

"Each of them contains an enormous amount of Chakra. Under normal circumstances, these eight gates restrict the flow of Chakra, but the Lotus forcibly removes those limits, releasing power dozens of times greater than normal."

"The Hidden Lotus opens the first gate, the Gate of Opening, removing the brain's restrictions and allowing the body's muscles to exert their strength to the utmost," Might Guy added.

"Then what about the Reverse Lotus?" the man asked again.

"By opening the second gate, the Gate of Healing, one can forcibly restore stamina and eliminate fatigue."

Within the arena, Rock Lee's speed returned to normal once more as he defeated Naruto's clones one after another.

"Then, starting from the third gate, the Gate of Life, one enters the Reverse Lotus."

Might Guy explained.

"But the Hidden Lotus is already the limit. If he keeps going..."

"That's right." Kakashi's expression was grave. "If all Eight Gates are opened, the user will gain power greater than even the Hokage's for a short time. But at the same time, the user will certainly die."

"You're being far too reckless, Guy!" Kakashi rebuked him sharply.

"What do you know about that child?!"

For once, Might Guy did not back down. Instead, he shot back head-on.

In the arena, Lee returned to the tree once more, panting heavily.

On the other side, the Narutos filling the arena were also exhausted.

"After all the hardship it took to get this far, I will not fall before I have fought a true genius!"

Rock Lee shouted at Naruto.

Hundreds of millions of punches, hundreds of millions of push-ups, hundreds of millions of kicks—all of them converged within Lee at this moment.

He did not want to fall, and he could not fall.

"I have one too! A reason I must keep moving forward!"

All the Narutos answered in unison.

At this point, Lee said no more.

Defeating Neji Hyuga, the genius, had been the dream in his heart that he had refused to abandon for years.

A month ago, he had watched Neji be defeated by Sasuke, another genius, with his own eyes. Since then, an unquenchable fighting spirit had blazed within him.

Beyond the realm of geniuses, could there be an existence even more powerful?

What, exactly, was the limit of this world? And how could he, with the body of an ordinary man, reach it?

During team training, Neji had knocked him down countless times.

Everyone told him to give up. Neji was a genius.

But Lee had always refused to accept that.

He persisted stubbornly. He believed.

If he lacked talent, he could make up for it with his own sweat.

If he lacked inherited secret techniques, he still had blood and flesh to nourish his path.

I can go without sleep, without rest, without play, without friends.

I will turn my body into a sword and forge myself into the sharpest weapon and secret technique.

My body will not deceive me.

My body will not abandon me.

Even if I cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu, with nothing but this body of flesh and blood, I, Rock Lee, can still become an incredible ninja!

This is My Ninja Way!!

"Third Gate, Gate of Life, open!"

Lee's entire body began to flush a deep red, and the energy radiating from him made every strand of his hair stand on end.

His overwhelming aura whipped up a storm, and everyone in the stands was shocked by the sudden change.

"W-Where did he come from? A mere civilian ninja can actually reach this level?"

"It's not over yet! Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain, open!!"

Veins bulged all over Lee's body. In some places on his arms, his flesh had already split open, while the energy around him grew even more powerful.

Whoosh!

Lee vanished from where he stood. Naruto's army became like balloons pierced by bullets, bursting apart one after another.

In an instant, they exploded.