Even Shinji looked at Rock Lee differently after that.
Sasuke's attack just now hadn't had any obvious flaws. His speed and timing had both been impeccable. The only thing he lacked was his Sharingan; his split-second perception was a little worse than it would have been at his peak.
Even so, he should have been more than enough to handle Rock Lee.
Yet Sasuke had been sent flying in a single exchange, defeated far more cleanly and decisively than anyone had expected!
Shinji looked the tipsy Rock Lee up and down, and the smile slowly faded from his lips.
After training in the Twelve Palaces, Shinji's speed, strength, reflexes, and everything else had improved across the board.
That had made his Taijutsu style more suited to head-on clashes. His moves were direct and powerful, brimming with force and ferocity.
Rock Lee, who trained in Konoha's Steel Fist style, was much the same—if anything, he was even more straightforward than Shinji.
But after getting drunk, Rock Lee's Taijutsu style had changed completely.
His eyes were half-closed and his gaze unfocused, yet he always seemed to see his opponents' moves coming and evade their attacks with incredibly nimble, bizarre movements.
It was almost as if Rock Lee had some kind of precognitive ability!
Of course, Shinji knew that was impossible.
It seemed more like being drunk had freed Rock Lee from all the rules and restrictions holding him back, allowing him, with his exceptionally solid Taijutsu fundamentals, to let his body move as it pleased!
Ultra Instinct, huh.
Somehow, the words surfaced from the depths of Shinji's memories.
Cast aside every distracting thought. Let the muscles and nerves take over from the brain. Let instinct control the body, and intuition read the enemy!
Sakura covered her mouth, her face full of disbelief.