His speed was so great that all anyone could see were afterimages.
But—
"I can see him!"
Whether it was because of his Rinnegan, his frequent absorption of Sasuke's chakra, or the eye exercises he had done since childhood, Naruto Uzumaki couldn't say.
His dynamic vision was excellent, no worse than that of a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
He could see Rock Lee's path perfectly clearly.
And—
"I can react in time, too."
The reflexes he had inherited from Minato allowed Naruto Uzumaki to turn his head and precisely evade Rock Lee's kick to his chin.
At the same time, he thrust both fists out, driving them into Rock Lee's chest.
Bam!
Like a torn punching bag, Rock Lee crashed through several trees before finally coming to a stop.
"Both Naruto Uzumaki and Rock Lee—they're so strong!"
Neji's face was full of shock.
Naruto Uzumaki was one thing—Neji had fought him before and knew his body was like a monster's. Gentle Fist didn't work on him.
But Rock Lee—
Having lost early in the preliminaries, Neji hadn't seen Rock Lee unleash his full strength.
This was Neji's first time witnessing it, and his shock was easy to imagine.
Then something even more shocking happened.
"Eight Gates, fifth gate: Gate of Limit, open!"
Rock Lee stood up and opened another gate.
His presence, speed, and strength rose another notch, and he launched a ferocious assault.
For a while, even Naruto Uzumaki struggled to fend him off.
Watching with his Byakugan active, Neji discovered to his astonishment—
He couldn't beat Rock Lee in this state!
"The Eight Gates are actually this powerful? Then Guy-sensei—"
For the first time, Neji realized that his Jonin instructor might be an exceptionally powerful fighter.
With his wealth of experience, Jiraiya knew the old story of Might Duy crushing