Sasuke's forehead was beaded with sweat as he clutched his dislocated arm and panted heavily.
He had originally planned to end this match openly and decisively with taijutsu and ninjutsu, but he had ended up in such a sorry state. In the end, he had only barely won by using the Sharingan's genjutsu.
That was right, Sasuke had used genjutsu!
After realizing that his speed, strength, and even endurance were all inferior to Rock Lee's after he opened the Fourth Gate, Sasuke had no choice but to use the Sharingan's genjutsu. Using himself as bait and paying the price of injuring and dislocating his left arm, he had found a dangerously narrow opportunity to cast genjutsu.
At the critical moment, he had successfully subdued Rock Lee with genjutsu.
Slowly moving his head away from beneath Rock Lee's frozen fist, Sasuke let out a small sigh of relief.
In truth, Sasuke's current genjutsu skill was probably the worst among all Uchiha Clan members with Three Tomoe Sharingan, far inferior to genjutsu geniuses like Shisui and Itachi.
But he still possessed a pair of Three Tomoe Sharingan. Casting ordinary genjutsu came naturally to him, and it was more than enough to deal with Rock Lee, who had no experience countering genjutsu at all.
Only then did discussion erupt around the arena.
"What happened to Rock Lee?"
"Was he caught in genjutsu?!"
"When did Sasuke cast genjutsu?"
"That was unexpected!"
Rock Lee, whom all their fellow students had believed was certain to win, had been caught in the Sharingan's genjutsu at the very last moment, just as his fist had nearly touched Sasuke's nose, and had regretfully lost the match.
Naruto scratched his head, looking utterly confused. "Why did Rock Lee stop?"
Neji, lying on a medical bed, spoke gravely to Naruto. "Naruto,