Untie the Bandages!

As he spoke, he gave Uchiha Sora a thumbs-up over his shoulder!

Then he slowly began unwinding the bandages on his hands.

Seeing this, Gaara let out a cold snort, his face full of mockery.

"That's it? And you call him your close friend? You mean that kid, Uchiha Sora, right? Forget you—even if he came here himself, I wouldn't care!"

With that, Gaara reached out into the air. Sand gathered, forming a massive hand that lunged toward Rock Lee once more!

This time, everyone present sucked in a sharp breath.

"Oh no! Hurry up and save him!"

Iruka's expression changed. He clearly thought Rock Lee wouldn't be able to withstand this attack.

But Kakashi shook his head beside him.

"It's not time for that yet! You really think everyone from Konoha is a pushover?"

Might Guy chuckled, looking mysterious.

"Young man! You probably don't know what it's like to wear bandages weighing hundreds of pounds. Did you really think Rock Lee was that slow?"

"Tenten trains with me every day. She gets up at five every morning, does two hundred handstand push-ups on two fingers, then runs around all of Konoha on her hands. When she gets back, she trains her legs..."

Everyone around them winced as they listened.

"That's insane. If that's really true, then this fight is still anyone's game."

Kakashi watched the dust swirling over the battlefield.

At that moment, sand billowed across the very center of the arena, obscuring most people's view.

But the brutal scene everyone expected never came.

After that slap came down, the arena fell silent!

Then someone in the crowd suddenly shouted.

"Holy crap! Look at that shadow!"

Everyone turned toward the voice and spotted a ghostly silhouette in the swirling sand.

It moved at an absurd speed, actually stepping on the sand in midair as it walked!

It had used its speed to run through the air, stepping on nothing but empty space!

It was Rock Lee, with his bandages removed!

Only then did everyone realize that the sand hadn't been kicked up by the giant hand. It was the shock wave created when the bandages on Rock Lee's hands hit the ground.

"Holy crap! What kind of bandages are those? How heavy are they? How does he even move around normally?"

"Yeah! It's like he's carrying two elephants in his hands. No wonder he's so fast!"

"This is getting tense! It really could go either way!"

The spectators grew more and more excited. They thought the fight was incredible.

Even Uchiha Sora's eyes widened.

Of course, he wasn't amazed by Rock Lee's fighting ability. Having seen the original story, he already knew pretty much everything.

What amazed him now was that Rock Lee was actually taking off by stepping on his own feet!

"Holy crap! Rock Lee's stepping on the sand, and with that terrifying speed and the frequency of his steps, he's actually managed to do something like a helicopter!"

Uchiha Sora's eyes gleamed. He'd never imagined that physics existed in the Naruto World.

Wasn't Newton supposed to leave foreign countries alone?

Well, there went Newton's coffin lid flying off again!

On the battlefield, Gaara stared in shock.

All he could see was a blur of afterimages flickering before him.

Rock Lee was too fast. He was like a bolt of lightning, impossible to follow with the naked eye.

Seizing an opening, Rock Lee swung a kick straight at Gaara's face!

This time, he was too fast. The sand didn't have time to form a defense.

The kick struck Gaara right in the face!

With a thud, like a sandbag hitting the ground, Gaara went flying.

Just like before, he spun through the air and crashed into the wall, embedding himself in it.

He was nearly knocked unconscious. It took him a long time to climb out of the crater.

The sight shocked everyone once again.

As for Gaara, his breathing was ragged, and murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

"Damn you... You actually destroyed my absolute defense. You're dead!"

Gaara had gone completely berserk. He waved his hand, and a huge mass of sand gathered, forming sharp, blade-like spikes.

They rained down on Rock Lee from all directions!

The barrage was so dense it looked like a downpour!

When they struck the ground, they kicked up clouds of dust.

But Rock Lee moved like a ghost, dodging every attack without fail.

As he retreated, he couldn't hide his shock.

Something was wrong. He'd realized that the guy in front of him wasn't normal.

"This isn't right! His chakra is way too vast! It feels like it'll never run out... Could he have awakened the power of a Tailed Beast?"

After spending so much time with Uchiha Sora, Rock Lee already knew about Tailed Beasts and some of the village's darker secrets.

Besides, it wasn't exactly a secret. It was practically common knowledge that the Nine-Tails lived inside Naruto.

So Rock Lee was starting to panic.

Above them, the Hokage furrowed his brow and glanced at the bald man beside him.

"I'm telling you, you're responsible for your own people. If one of them loses control, we won't hold back."

The bald man chuckled, his gaze sweeping over several corners of the stands below.

It looked like everyone had gathered. He abruptly stood up, a savage expression on his face.

"Enough! Gaara, stop holding back. Unleash your power, and let's teach Konoha a lesson!"

In an instant, deafening explosions rang out all across the village.

Flames shot into the sky. Several sections of the audience stands at the exam grounds also erupted in blazing fire.

Before the shinobi could react, a rain of white feathers drifted down from the sky.

They swept across the area, carrying a powerful hypnotic effect.

"Not good! It's a genjutsu!"

Kakashi's Sharingan eye widened. He could clearly see that someone was casting a genjutsu over the entire village!

Nearby, Might Guy gritted his teeth, forcing himself to keep his eyes open.

"Damn it... What's happening? Where's Lord Hokage?!"

The shinobi immediately fell into chaos.

The spectators in the stands had all passed out, along with some of Konoha's shinobi.

By now, most of them had also been felled by the genjutsu!

Only a few powerful people, such as Jiraiya and Asuma, were still conscious.

Rock Lee, in the middle of the match, was among them!

What was happening?!

Rock Lee looked up in alarm and saw that the Hokage, at the top of the stands, was surrounded by seven or eight people.

That's right!

Among them were Orochimaru, Deidara, and Itachi Uchiha!

It wasn't that the Hokage didn't want to help. He simply couldn't spare a hand!

"Heh heh! Weren't you so arrogant just now? Now I'll show you what true power looks like!"

Gaara sneered and controlled the sand once more, sending a massive hand crashing down toward Rock Lee!