Flesh-to-Flesh

"To think the final match would be between our two students!"

Might Guy looked at Naruto and Rock Lee as they entered the arena, giving Kakashi a thumbs-up. "This must be fate, my eternal rival, Kakashi!"

"Ah, yeah."

Kakashi let out a vague, perfunctory sound; after all, he couldn't imagine a scenario where Naruto lost. "You know something of Naruto's strength, don't you? Have you considered having your student forfeit?"

"I believe in my student, I believe in Rock Lee!"

Might Guy looked at Rock Lee, his expression softening. "He is a genius of hard work!"

At this moment, on the arena floor, Naruto and Rock Lee stared at each other in silence.

"Actually, I wanted to face Uchiha Sasuke from your team more. If I could defeat him, I could prove that hard work can surpass genius."

Rock Lee suddenly spoke up. "But I've changed my mind. Sakura Haruno from your team is very cute, and I like her very much! So, I'm sorry, but I will give this my all to fully demonstrate my strength and manliness!"

"Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Sakura already likes someone—the very Uchiha Sasuke you wanted to challenge—so she won't accept your feelings."

Naruto said with a serious face, "Besides, have you ever thought about what you would do if a genius worked just as hard as you? How would you surpass them then?"

"As long as I become more excellent than that Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura will surely turn her gaze toward me!"

Rock Lee remained unmoved. "I firmly believe that hard work can surpass genius. So, if a genius is also working hard, I just have to work even harder!"

"That's a fine conviction. I hope you can keep it up."

Naruto smiled. "Besides, I've actually been wanting to spar with you."

"With me?"

Rock Lee was stunned. "Why?"

"Because many people I know say that Team 3 is a squad specialized in taijutsu, and in terms of pure taijutsu skill, you are the strongest among the genin in Konoha. As it happens, I'm quite confident in my own taijutsu level."

Naruto: "So, I have a small doubt about whether you are truly stronger than me in that regard."

"I see."

Rock Lee said solemnly, "I will use my strength to dispel your doubts!"

Naruto looked at Rock Lee's feet. "Then you should probably take off those weights first."

"Huh?"

Rock Lee was startled; only Might Guy should have known about the weights he wore. "I'm sorry, this is a promise I made with Might Guy-sensei. I cannot remove them easily."

Naruto: "Then ask him now. I think he'll agree."

Rock Lee hesitated for a moment, then shouted toward the spectator stands: "Might Guy-sensei, may I remove my weights?"

Might Guy looked at Kakashi, who said, "Let your student give it his all, unless you want to see the match end in an instant."

Might Guy trusted Kakashi, so he gave Rock Lee a thumbs-up. "No problem! Your opponent is worthy of your full strength!"

"Oh!!"

Rock Lee took two weighted bands off his legs and dropped them to the ground, creating two deep craters in the hard stone floor. "That's much easier to move around in."

Hayate Gekko looked at the two new craters with a look of awe, then stepped closer and asked politely, "Are you two ready?"

Naruto & Rock Lee: "Ready!"

Hayate Gekko: "Ninth round, begin!"

Rock Lee appeared in front of Naruto as if teleporting and threw a swift punch.

Naruto extended his left hand with even greater speed, using the back of his hand to press against the inside of Rock Lee's wrist and deflect it.

Seeing this, Rock Lee decisively changed his tactic, lowering his body, retracting his fist, and extending his leg to sweep at Naruto: "Leaf Gale!"

Naruto silently concentrated a large amount of chakra into his feet, and without lifting them, he stomped directly through the floor tiles to anchor himself.

Their legs collided, their shins testing each other's hardness.

So hard! His body is trained no worse than mine!

Rock Lee was secretly shocked, but he remained confident. Taijutsu isn't just about raw physical stats!

He changed his move again, supporting himself on one leg while the other aimed a kick at Naruto's chin: "Leaf Whirlwind!"

Naruto did not dodge or parry; he raised his right hand and smashed it down with a fist!

Fist and leg collided, then recoiled from each other.

Naruto took two steps back to steady himself.

Rock Lee rolled twice on the ground before quickly standing up.

"Let's end the warm-up here."

Naruto pressed his palms together. "You should have tested me enough by now."

In the spectator stands, some people wore expressions of horror: That was just a warm-up?!

Rock Lee nodded, clenching his hands as the flow of chakra within his body suddenly turned violent. "First Gate: Gate of Opening, open! Second Gate: Gate of Healing, open! Third Gate: Gate of Life, open!"

There had been no obvious change to Rock Lee during the first two gates, but as the third gate opened, his skin turned red, and the continuously surging chakra within him generated a layer of green energy around his body.

As for Naruto, only black spiral patterns appeared on the surface of his body; there were no other special effects, making him look remarkably plain.

Rock Lee wasn't finished yet: "Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain, open!"

The green energy radiating from his body intensified further, but his physique seemed unable to bear the strain, and a trickle of blood leaked from his nose.

Hayate Gekko wore a grave expression, silently stepping back several meters to leave the entire arena to the two combatants.

The battle was on the verge of erupting.

Naruto and Rock Lee vanished from their spots simultaneously, and at almost the exact same moment, an impact exploded in the center of the arena, shattering the floorboards and whipping up a gale that sent debris flying in all directions.

In the spectator stands, some were unable to even open their eyes against the fierce wind, let alone watch the match.

As for those who could keep up with the speed of Naruto and Rock Lee, they were completely captivated by the contest between the two, unable to tear their eyes away.

Fist to flesh—nothing could describe the scene of Naruto and Rock Lee's battle better than those four words.

Two fully conditioned bodies, driven by massive amounts of chakra, engaged in a brawl with an intensity that transcended human limits:

Naruto: "Ora ora ora ora!"

Rock Lee: "Atatata atatata!"

There were no complex techniques, no flashy ninjutsu, only the constant acceleration and repetition of throwing punches.

Their fists struck, rebounded, struck again, and rebounded again without a moment's pause... the sound of their fists colliding echoed throughout the arena, making one's heart race uncontrollably.

"Go for it, Naruto!"

Sakura couldn't help but shout out loud.

"Don't lose, Rock Lee!"

Tenten also couldn't help but cheer on her teammate.

However, Rock Lee's body was nearing its limit. While he could still hold on, he gritted his teeth and focused all his strength into the next strike: "Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit, open! Hidden Lotus!"

Naruto had no named technique to shout; he lowered his center of gravity as if rooting his feet into the ground, then threw a simple, unadorned punch that collided with Rock Lee's fist.

The arena floor shattered at that moment, and the spreading shockwave shook the foundation, causing the entire building to tremble violently.

As the dust settled, Naruto stood in place, maintaining his punching posture. In front of his fist stood Rock Lee, who remained motionless, his bowl-cut hair blown backward as if struck by a powerful headwind. The bandages on his right arm had completely burst apart, and his arm was covered in lacerations, blood seeping out continuously.

Rock Lee turned his head with great effort to look behind him, where a straight trench extended to a fist-shaped hole in the wall, and said in a trembling voice, "I... lost."