A Taijutsu Master

"Ye Fan, you..."

Naruto's eyes were filled with worry. Sasuke was a genius, a prodigy who had inherited the Sharingan.

Ye Fan, on the other hand, was descended from the Uchiha Clan, but he was an "outcast" with no Kekkei Genkai. How could he possibly stand up to Sasuke?

Wasn't he just asking to get beaten to a pulp?

Besides, Sasuke didn't look like he was joking. He really wanted to kill Ye Fan!

"Naruto, don't worry. Sasuke's nothing. I could crush him with one finger."

"Today, I'm going to teach this foolish little brother a good lesson and make him learn to keep his head down!"

"Ye Fan! Die! You Plague God! You have no right to have anything to do with me. You're not worthy of being an Uchiha!"

Sasuke didn't waste his breath on Ye Fan. He charged at him as fast as he could.

The hatred he'd been bottling up for so long completely took hold of him.

He wanted nothing more than to kill Ye Fan—to avenge his parents and his clan!

"Heh."

To Ye Fan, Sasuke's movements were painfully slow.

His attacks were full of openings, too.

Ye Fan was confident he had at least a thousand ways to kill Sasuke as he was now!

Sasuke swung a powerful kick at Ye Fan's head. Ye Fan leaned slightly to the side and dodged it with ease.

Then he lightly tapped Sasuke on the waist, sending him flying three or four meters.

"You're too slow, too weak, and your attacks are too predictable!"

Ye Fan shook his head. Against Sasuke, he had an overwhelming advantage!

When Ye Fan was just over three years old, he'd managed to escape from Uchiha Itachi, who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan. Sasuke, with only the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, was no match for him now!

Sasuke retreated four or five meters, staring at Ye Fan with a grim expression.

That casual tap from Ye Fan had nearly made him lose consciousness. His kidney still throbbed with pain.

How is he so fast? Even my Sharingan couldn't catch his movement!

Sasuke was shocked. Ye Fan gave off a dangerous aura, just like Itachi had back then!

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Sakura called out worriedly. She hadn't seen how Ye Fan had struck him at all.

By the time she realized what had happened, Sasuke had already been sent flying!

"Ye Fan, how... how did you get so strong? I thought you couldn't gather Chakra?"

"Could it be... Could it be that you're relying on nothing but your physical strength?!"

Naruto was astonished. He hadn't expected Ye Fan to repel Sasuke, the genius of Konoha, so effortlessly!

"A Taijutsu Master!"

The sight of Ye Fan dodging the attack brought those four words to Rock Lee's mind at once.

He was a Taijutsu practitioner himself, so he understood how difficult that seemingly casual movement had been!

"Ye Fan has no Kekkei Genkai and can't gather Chakra, so he chose the hardest path: Taijutsu!"

"Looks like he's endured a lot of hardship, too!"

Rock Lee admired Ye Fan. Only those who trained in Taijutsu could understand what he'd gone through.

Sasuke's face turned dark as a storm cloud.

His pride wouldn't let him take mockery from Ye Fan, the Plague God of the Uchiha Clan!

Sasuke swept his gaze around, anticipating every way Ye Fan might attack.

Without hesitation, he charged at Ye Fan again!

Just then, Rock Lee moved with incredible speed and blocked Sasuke's path.

"Sasuke, I'm your opponent!"

Rock Lee had challenged Sasuke here in the first place to show off in front of Sakura. He wasn't about to pass up such a good opportunity.

"Get out of my way!"

Sasuke was already in a foul mood, and Rock Lee blocking his path only made him angrier.

He clenched his right fist and swung it at Rock Lee's head, hoping to knock him out as quickly as possible.

Rock Lee didn't flinch from Sasuke's tricky attack. He simply lifted his leg and launched a side kick.

He'd practiced that move countless times. He'd lost count of how many wooden training posts he'd kicked apart—at least several dozen.

Smack!

Rock Lee's kick caught Sasuke on the chin and sent him sprawling!

"Sasuke!"

Sakura immediately ran toward him, but then she slowed to a stop and stood frozen in place.

Sasuke's eyes frightened her.

They'd spent so much time together, but this was the first time Sakura had ever seen him like this.

His gaze was icy, and his killing intent was unmistakable. He was nothing like his usual self.

At that moment, Sasuke seemed like a completely different person!

"Rock Lee!"

"Ye Fan!"

Sasuke wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glared at them, his expression dark.

Being sent flying again and again filled him with rage.

His pride wouldn't let him fail like this. He couldn't accept being this weak!

"Sasuke, you can't beat me."

Rock Lee struck what he thought was a cool pose and spoke calmly.

As he talked, he couldn't help sneaking a few glances at Sakura, hoping to see if his coolness had won her over.

Seeing Rock Lee face off against Sasuke, Ye Fan was happy to relax. He pulled out two handfuls of sunflower seeds and started cracking them, looking just like a spectator.

He wasn't the least bit annoyed that Rock Lee had intervened. In fact, he was rather pleased.

If Rock Lee hadn't stepped in, Ye Fan felt the fight would've been frustratingly one-sided.

He was worried he might accidentally slap Sasuke to death!

"Heh. I can't beat you?"

"A useless cripple who can't even train in ninjutsu thinks he can defeat me, the one with the Sharingan!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A blast of flame poured from Sasuke's mouth, carrying all his fury!

"Not being able to train in ninjutsu doesn't mean I can't become a great ninja."

"Sasuke, this ends now!"

Rock Lee dodged the flames, quickly circled behind Sasuke, and performed the Front Lotus!

The bandages wrapped around his hands unwound rapidly, circling Sasuke as they prepared to bind him.

Just as the bandages were about to tie Sasuke up completely, a red turtle appeared out of nowhere. It snapped the bandages and separated the two of them.

Then Might Guy appeared, dressed just like Rock Lee and striking a pose with his backside thrust out.

"How can you just attack your comrades like that, you idiot?!"

Might Guy shouted and punched Rock Lee in the face, leaving him bruised and swollen.

"Teacher Guy, I only wanted to challenge the genius who inherited the Uchiha Clan's abilities. I wanted to prove that even without a Kekkei Genkai, I could still become a great ninja!"

Rock Lee, his face bruised and swollen, gazed at Might Guy with tears in his eyes.

"You can't train in ninjutsu, yet you still challenged the genius Sasuke without hesitation."

Might Guy was deeply moved. He gazed at Rock Lee with the same heartfelt intensity, tears welling in his eyes.

The master and student exchanged a look, then embraced. "That's right. That's the spirit of youth!"

Huh???

The sudden change in Might Guy and Rock Lee's attitudes left the Chunin baffled.

They had no idea what was going on. How could there be such strange people?

Naruto, however, was stunned. He couldn't believe Rock Lee had beaten Sasuke so easily!

Watching Might Guy suddenly appear, Ye Fan laughed quietly.

Who would've thought that a man who didn't look very serious could be strong enough to nearly cripple Madara Uchiha with a single kick?

Ye Fan glanced at Sasuke, completely unmoved. He couldn't be bothered to explain to anyone that he wasn't a Plague God.

He'd never cared what other people thought of him.

"Naruto, the Chunin Ninja Exams are about to start. Let's hurry."

Ye Fan patted Naruto on the shoulder and headed toward the Chunin Ninja Exams registration desk.

"Hm? Why does that kid look so familiar?"

"Teacher Guy, that's Uchiha Ye Fan. He's a Taijutsu Master!"

"Uchiha Ye Fan?!"

"He's still alive! And he's a Taijutsu Master, too!"

Might Guy was astonished. Watching Ye Fan walk away, he suddenly felt that this year's Chunin Ninja Exams would be different from the past—and much more exciting.

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