Battle Against Rock Lee

After the discussion, Rock Lee gathered his courage and approached Sakura.

"Miss Sakura, I'm Rock Lee from Konoha Village. Would you... be willing to be my girlfriend?"

He gazed at Sakura affectionately, his eyes brimming with sincerity and passion.

Sakura froze. She had not expected this strange boy to confess to her.

She looked Rock Lee over, from his thick eyebrows to his tight green outfit, then to his somewhat comical hairstyle. The discomfort in her heart grew stronger.

"Sorry, I can't accept."

Sakura rejected him decisively, with a trace of apology in her voice. "I... don't like boys with such thick eyebrows."

Rock Lee's face immediately fell, like a puppy abandoned by its owner.

He lowered his head, trying hard to conceal his disappointment. "I understand. I was too abrupt. I'm sorry, Miss Sakura."

Seeing this, Sakura felt a little sorry for him, but she understood that giving someone false hope would only cause greater hurt.

"No, I should be the one apologizing. You're a good person, Rock Lee. It's just that I already like someone in our class."

As she spoke, Sakura discreetly glanced at Su Bai.

Rock Lee forced up the corners of his mouth, revealing a bitter smile. "It's all right, Miss Sakura. I'm lucky even to have been rejected by you. I'll keep working hard. One day, I'll become a man worthy of you!"

Sakura sighed helplessly. Faced with this persistent suitor, she had nothing left to say.

At this moment, Su Bai just wanted to quickly end this boring registration process.

After all, there was no experience to pick up here.

Gaining experience, improving his strength, and changing his uncle's fate were what truly mattered.

Just then, Neji and Tenten walked over to Su Bai.

Neji looked Su Bai up and down. "What's your name?"

"Sorry, but until you introduce yourself first, I have no obligation to tell you."

Su Bai answered blandly and turned to leave.

"What an arrogant guy... but he's so handsome!"

Tenten's cheeks flushed as she watched Su Bai's retreating figure.

After handing in their application forms, everyone was about to leave when Rock Lee blocked their path again.

"Su Bai, please spar with me! I want to see the gap between myself and a genius!"

Seeing this, Naruto strode forward and stood in front of Su Bai.

"Hey, Thick Brows. If you want to challenge Su Bai, you'll have to beat me first!"

Rock Lee assumed a fighting stance. "Then let me see what you can do!"

"Hmph, don't regret it!"

Naruto grinned and formed hand seals. "Shadow Clone Technique!"

In an instant, several Narutos charged at Rock Lee, fists and kicks flying as they descended into a melee.

[ Ding! Ninja battle detected nearby. Obtained 2,000 experience points. ]

While the two fought, Su Bai happily collected the experience points.

Since someone had brought experience points right to him, there was no rush to go back and train.

However, Rock Lee suddenly vanished. The next second, Naruto felt a whirlwind rush toward him.

Before he could react, a fierce kick sent him tumbling to the ground.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

Rock Lee landed on one knee and looked down at Naruto from above.

"Damn it..." Naruto clutched his stomach and barely pushed himself up, but he no longer had the strength to fight back.

Sasuke frowned and stepped forward. "I didn't expect you to have some skill."

He focused his chakra, and blood-red tomoe gradually appeared in his eyes as the Sharingan activated.

Seeing this, Rock Lee stopped holding back and launched a flying kick straight at Sasuke's face.

Sasuke barely dodged it, inwardly startled. So fast!

He used the Sharingan to track Rock Lee's movements, only to discover that his own speed was far inferior.

Rock Lee threw punch after punch, driving Sasuke back step by step.

In the end, Lee struck him under the chin with an upward flying kick, sending him flying before he crashed heavily to the ground.

"This... this is impossible..."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, unable to believe that he had lost to such an odd-looking ninja.

"Your eye technique is indeed impressive, but against pure taijutsu, it amounts to nothing."

Rock Lee looked calm, without the slightest hint of disdain.

Su Bai watched coldly from the side, unsurprised by the result.

Though Naruto and Sasuke were exceptionally talented, they still lacked experience and skill when facing an opponent accomplished in taijutsu.

"Looks like you still need more tempering."

Having collected quite a bit of experience, Su Bai also planned to step in and have some fun.

After all, fighting personally would also earn him plenty of experience.

He smiled faintly and walked forward at an unhurried pace. "Let me face you and see how much real skill this 'hardworking genius' has."

Lee's speed was indeed very fast.

But it was not as fast as Su Bai's intermediate Flash Step.

Lee's movements were perfectly clear in Su Bai's eyes.

"Your speed is fast, but you're still not faster than me."

Su Bai snorted coldly and used Flash Step to appear before Rock Lee.

With a kick as swift as lightning, he struck Rock Lee in the stomach and knocked him to the ground.

Rock Lee lay on the ground, clutching his heavily struck abdomen and coughing in pain.

He raised his head and stared at Su Bai in disbelief.

"How is this possible... My speed is actually inferior to his?"

Rock Lee was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

He remembered his past—the boy with no talent for ninjutsu, mocked by his companions.

To prove himself, he had put in effort beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

Every morning, while the people of the village were still asleep, he had already begun long-distance running and strength training.

Every night, while his companions played to their hearts' content, he had still been sweating on the training grounds.

He had fallen countless times and risen countless times, improving his taijutsu step by step through sheer refusal to admit defeat.

Gradually, his speed surpassed that of the ninjas in his year, and he could even contend with jonin.

He had thought that his efforts had already narrowed the gap between himself and geniuses.

Yet before Su Bai, he finally realized just how unfathomably deep that chasm was.

"Is this... what they call a genius?"

Rock Lee gave a bitter smile and shakily rose to his feet.

"No, I can't admit defeat! Even if he's a genius, I'll catch up to him!"

He clenched his fists and stared at Su Bai with unwavering determination.

He knew that in his normal state, there was nothing he could do against Su Bai.

So he assumed the starting stance for the Eight Gates, preparing to release the forbidden technique.

"Teacher Guy, I'm sorry. I'm going to use that move!"

Su Bai also grew serious.

He knew that Lee had a trump card: the Eight Gates.

But he also wanted to know whether Lee's Eight Gates was faster, or his own intermediate Flash Step.

"Come on!"

Su Bai readied himself.

Just then, an ill-timed voice rang out.

"Stop, Lee!"

A green figure appeared out of nowhere. A fierce gust swept through the area, sending leaves dancing through the air.

He was a tall, muscular young man.

His face was resolute and weathered, while his thick eyebrows were identical to Rock Lee's, like two lively caterpillars.

The man wore a green jumpsuit similar to Rock Lee's, with a dark green ninja vest over it.

Orange leg warmers wrapped around his legs, and he wore a pair of standard ninja sandals.

His voice was loud and powerful, carrying an air of authority.

At the sound of it, Rock Lee immediately withdrew his stance and bowed respectfully. "Teacher Guy!"

This unexpected visitor was none other than Rock Lee's teacher, Konoha Village's Azure Beast, Might Guy.

"Lee, didn't I tell you? That is a forbidden technique. Do not use it lightly unless absolutely necessary."

Guy approached Rock Lee, his stern tone tinged with concern.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Guy! I acted on impulse and nearly went down the wrong path."

Rock Lee lowered his head in apology, looking ashamed.

Guy sighed and patted Rock Lee on the shoulder. "It's all right. Making mistakes isn't scary. What matters is learning from them and continuing to work hard."

As he spoke, he flashed a dazzling smile, his white teeth gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.

"You idiot!" He delivered a powerful flying kick that sent Lee crashing into the wall.

"This is your punishment. Go run five hundred laps around the field later."

"Yes, Teacher Guy!" Tears welled in Lee's eyes as he slowly climbed up from the ground.

"Lee!" Guy roared.

"Teacher Guy!" Lee answered in the same fashion.

Then the two locked eyes before tightly embracing each other and bursting into tears.

It was an incredibly moving scene.