"Zaku, show them the might of our Sound Village."
As Zaku stepped onto the stage, Dosu spoke to him. In the Forest of Death, the Sound Ninja Trio had suffered a setback against Naruto. Dosu had taken it badly, so he hoped Zaku's battle against Rock Lee would be a beautiful one.
Turn the situation around.
Kin also gave Zaku an encouraging look.
Zaku nodded. He did not underestimate Rock Lee, his upcoming opponent, but he certainly was not afraid either. He was not facing Naruto, after all. Zaku was confident he could defeat Rock Lee.
He stepped onto the stage and stood face-to-face with Rock Lee.
"Rock Lee, please enlighten me." When Zaku came up, Rock Lee's brows twitched as he bowed solemnly to him.
"Zaku. Please enlighten me." Zaku returned the bow.
"The contestants are ready. Begin the battle." Anko Mitarashi announced loudly.
Rock Lee excelled at Taijutsu, so naturally, he opened with a Taijutsu exchange. Rock Lee often sparred with Naruto, and his Taijutsu had improved tremendously. That was why he persisted in sparring with Naruto despite constantly getting beaten up.
Everything was for the sake of becoming stronger. What did a little beating matter?
After a period of high-intensity sparring, Rock Lee could already open the Sixth Gate. He believed that as long as he kept sparring with Naruto, the day when he could open all Eight Inner Gates would not be far off.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
With a spinning high kick, Rock Lee struck straight at Zaku's face.
"Heh, you're pretty fast. But compared to Naruto, you're still far too slow." Zaku raised an arm and easily blocked the attack. At the same time, he used the weapon on his arm to launch a sound-based attack at Rock Lee.
"Konoha Gale!"
A spinning low kick followed