"Who's there?!"
In the Forest of Death, Karin jolted awake at the rustling from deep in the bushes. She quickly focused and sensed the area around them.
Naruto and Sasuke weren't greenhorns anymore, either. At Karin's shout, they immediately drew their kunai and stood back-to-back, watching their surroundings.
"Your guard is far too lax."
Three figures slowly emerged from the bushes. The one in front was a handsome, long-haired young man dressed in white, his eyes pale and pupil-less.
Behind him followed a boy and a girl. The boy had a bowl cut, thick eyebrows, and large eyes, and wore a green, skin-tight outfit. The girl wore a white qipao, her hair styled in two buns. She looked delicate and cute.
They were Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and Tenten of Third Squad.
"It's you!" Sasuke recognized the boy in green at a glance. An outfit that painfully garish was hard to forget.
Rock Lee stepped forward, his large, bright eyes sweeping over Sasuke and Naruto. "I'm Rock Lee! I've come to challenge you!"
"Challenge us? You're not here to steal our scroll?" Naruto eyed the Ninja Headbands worn by Lee and the others. Once he confirmed they were from his own village, he relaxed a little.
Scroll?
Lee blinked his dark, lacquer-black eyes twice, then said, "If you can beat me, I'll give you our team's scroll!"
Smack!
Tenten immediately pulled out her fan and whacked Lee hard on the head. "Don't go making decisions on your own, Lee!!"
"Ow, ow, ow..."
Lee rubbed his head, grimacing, but his eyes remained unwavering. Finally, he bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle. "No matter what, please accept my challenge, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Namikaze!"
Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other.
If Lee and the others had charged at them and tried