After Hayate Gekko officially announced the result, Rock Lee's body, which had been holding on by sheer force of will, finally relaxed. The moment his resolve loosened, he collapsed limply to the ground.
Might Guy, who had long been unable to hold himself back, immediately rushed into the arena. He pulled the exhausted Rock Lee tightly into his arms and burst into loud sobs, hot tears spilling onto his student's jumpsuit.
"Lee—! Did you see that?! Everyone witnessed your youth—!"
Although many present understood that these were tears of joy and pride, Guy's excessively passionate, waterfall-like way of expressing emotion still left quite a few spectators unable to handle it.
Respect... but no understanding.
It was not until the medical team arrived that they finally managed to pull the emotional Guy away. They carefully placed the unconscious Rock Lee and Neji, who was likewise unable to move due to his injuries, onto stretchers and sent them to the treatment room.
The discussions in the stands did not die down for a long time. Almost everyone was shaken by the match they had just witnessed—could taijutsu alone really unleash such earth-shattering power?
It seemed Rock Lee's promotion to Chunin was already a certainty... though the strength displayed by both Lee and Neji had long surpassed that of normal chunin, perhaps even reaching the level of Jonin.
Even the usually aloof Satsuki now wore a grave expression. She had never imagined that Rock Lee, one half of the "youthful master-and-student duo" she had always looked down on, had hidden such terrifying strength.
With her Three Tomoe Sharingan, she could clearly see Rock Lee's movements after he opened the Fifth Gate, but she had to admit that her own physical speed might not be able to fully keep up with that kind of