Warm Up First

"Rock Lee..."

Yinsen glanced at Rock Lee in the distance. The guy looked incredibly excited, celebrating with his teacher, Might Guy. Anyone who did not know better would have thought they had already won.

But anyone familiar with the two of them knew they were happy because Rock Lee had encountered the opponent he had hoped to face.

"This is pretty interesting... But if Rock Lee and I face each other, I wonder which unlucky bastard will end up fighting Panda Eyes."

It would most likely be some unfortunate Sound ninja. The Third Round would be displayed before countless spectators and even important figures. This was not a stage prepared for some minor ninja village. If someone truly capable managed to make it through, that was one thing, but if even the geniuses of the major villages could not divide up the available spots, then those from smaller villages would undoubtedly be sacrificed.

But that had nothing to do with Yinsen. Right now, he was only focused on what was in front of him.

A match against Rock Lee? It would definitely be interesting!

"Contestant Rock Lee, please enter the arena immediately!"

"..."

Because he had been so enthusiastically discussing things with Might Guy, Rock Lee had completely forgotten that this kind of match began right away. Only after Gekko Hayate reminded him did he hurriedly jump down and apologize to Yinsen, who had already been waiting for a while.

"I'm very sorry!"

"It's fine."

They were both from Konoha and saw each other often enough. Besides, Rock Lee was not someone people found annoying. Yinsen smiled and waved a hand, indicating that he did not mind.

"That kid has a good personality!"

As Rock Lee entered the arena, Guy walked over to Aoba Yamashiro and began chatting with the