"Huh? Oh... I've been at it since six this morning. I didn't even eat lunch!"
Naruto: "..."
"Are you trying to kill yourself?!"
"Even if you're working yourself to the bone, you can't neglect your health! At this rate, you'll collapse before you even get stronger!"
Rock Lee shook his head. "I ate breakfast this morning, and besides..."
"I can't afford to waste any time."
"Graduation is right around the corner, and I don't want to keep being the dead last!"
"I'll prove that you can become an excellent, powerful ninja with taijutsu alone!"
Naruto felt a stirring in his heart.
That was true...
His own test a month from now—no, to be precise, in less than half a month—was just a test of how well he'd done in his training this year.
But for Rock Lee and the other students one year above him, the day they graduated from the Ninja Academy was already near...
Lee was working so hard because he wanted to do well on his graduation exam and truly prove himself.
"Oh! I get it!"
"With less than half a month left, I have to prove myself too. I'm never going to be the dead last again!"
"Well said, Naruto! Let's work hard together!"
"Let's burn with the fire of youth!"
"Osu!"
Just as the two of them were brimming with fighting spirit and confidence,
a figure suddenly appeared on the training ground, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Hmph. The dead last will always be the dead last."
"Do you really think hard work can change your fate?"
"What a delusion..."
Naruto was startled. "Who's there?!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Rock Lee was shaken.
"Neji?!"
Naruto looked at the newcomer's eyes and suddenly understood.
"Those eyes... The same Byakugan as Hinata's..."
"You're Neji Hyuga?!"
Neji Hyuga glanced