Rock Lee vs. Gaara

His hands became countless afterimages, every strike aimed precisely at Hinata's chakra points.

The technique was incomparably fierce, each blow targeting a vital point. If struck, an opponent would lose the ability to fight in an instant.

Hinata barely raised her arms, trying to block the fierce assault.

Everyone present held their breath, watching as this hopelessly uneven match was about to reach a brutal conclusion.

Hinata was already seriously injured and lying on the ground.

Yet Neji still wanted to strike again!

"Stop!"

Several jonin flashed into view at once and stopped him.

Chief Examiner Hayate Gekko announced loudly, "The match is over!"

Su Bai leaped down from the stands.

He hurried over to Hinata, who was lying on the ground, and crouched down to examine her injuries.

Hinata weakly opened her eyes. When she saw Su Bai, she barely managed a smile.

"Su Bai..."

She called softly, her voice so weak it was nearly inaudible. "I'm sorry... I... I couldn't..."

Su Bai gently shook his head, interrupting her.

"You did very well, Hinata."

His voice was low and gentle, completely different from his usual coldness. "You have already shown your ninja way well."

Hinata wanted to say something, but a violent coughing fit cut her off.

Seeing Hinata covered in wounds and feeling her faint breathing, a trace of chill flashed through Su Bai's eyes.

He slowly rose to his feet, his fingers brushing the Zanpakuto on his back.

In an instant, flames surged up, and scorching waves of heat swept across the entire arena.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden development.

Su Bai had not released Ryujin Jakka's Shikai.

But Ryujin Jakka seemed to sense its master's will, and an alarming heat suddenly radiated from its blade.

The air warped from the heat, forming visible heatwaves that spread in every direction.

This sudden scene plunged the entire examination hall into deathly silence.

Everyone's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the sword in Su Bai's hand, as though they were intimidated by some invisible force.

Gaara stood in the stands, his usually indifferent eyes narrowing slightly as rare interest appeared on his face.

He sensed a power that was both familiar and unfamiliar, a power that made even Shukaku within him restless.

Gaara murmured, "Interesting... What kind of power is this?"

A trace of concern appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged face.

He frowned slightly, his gaze shifting back and forth between Su Bai and the sword in his hand.

How much strength is that boy from the Moonlight Clan hiding? This power... is it ninjutsu? It's actually this terrifying.

Chief Examiner Hayate Gekko and Kakashi the Copy Ninja exchanged a glance without a word.

Both were experienced jonin, yet a trace of shock flashed through their eyes.

Kakashi quietly said to Hayate, "Hayate, your nephew... I'm afraid he has already surpassed anything we imagined."

Hayate nodded, his eyes filled with both pride and a hint of worry.

Even Orochimaru, who was hiding in the shadows disguised as a Sound jonin, was drawn in by this scene.

The corners of his pale lips curled up slightly, and greed and excitement flashed in his eyes.

"Hehe... Interesting. Very interesting."

Orochimaru licked his lips. "It seems Konoha has produced another little one worth watching."

The atmosphere throughout the examination hall instantly became tense.

Everyone could feel the terrifying aura emanating from that sword. Even experienced jonin could not help tensing their nerves.

Just then, a green figure suddenly flashed forward and stood in front of Su Bai.

It was Rock Lee.

His eyes burned with blazing fire, and his clenched fists trembled slightly, whether from excitement or nervousness.

Lee stared directly at Su Bai, his voice firm and passionate.

"Wait, Su Bai!"

He said loudly, "I understand that you want justice for Hinata, but..."

Lee paused and took a deep breath. "Neji has always been my goal. I train desperately every day so that I can defeat him. You can't just get there before me!"

A determined light shone in Lee's eyes. His tone was both pleading and faintly impossible to refuse.

"Please let me deal with Neji! This is my ninja way, and I will never back down!"

The entire examination hall fell silent once more. Everyone held their breath, waiting for Su Bai's response.

"Fine."

"Whether you can do it or not, I'll beat him up anyway!"

With that, Su Bai returned to the stands to continue watching.

The ninth match began: Gaara versus Rock Lee.

At the chief examiner's command, the entire arena's atmosphere instantly became tense.

Rock Lee launched the first attack. His speed was astonishing, his figure leaving trails of afterimages across the field.

His fists and feet struck toward Gaara like a raging storm, every blow containing immense force.

However, Gaara's sand defense was like an impregnable wall, easily neutralizing Lee's attacks.

"Sand Binding Coffin!"

Gaara shouted coldly as a massive amount of sand surged toward Lee like a tide.

Relying on his astonishing speed and agility, Lee barely evaded the deadly blow.

The battle continued for some time, and Lee realized that ordinary taijutsu could not break through Gaara's defense.

After an inner struggle, he made a decision that shocked everyone.

"Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain, open!"

Lee shouted, and astonishing chakra erupted from his entire body.

His skin turned bright red, and his eyes filled with fervent fighting spirit.

Lee's speed and strength instantly rose to an unbelievable level.

His attacks finally broke through Gaara's sand defense, even sending Gaara flying into the air.

However, Gaara did not panic because of it.

He formed a massive arm out of sand and tried to grab Lee.

The two began a thrilling aerial pursuit, every collision drawing cries of shock from the audience.

In the end, Lee decided to risk everything and opened the fifth gate, the Gate of Limit.

His speed rose again, tearing even the air apart with piercing shrieks. Lee unleashed his ultimate technique, "Reverse Lotus!" A continuous barrage of violent attacks rained down on Gaara like a raging storm.

But just as everyone thought Lee was about to win, Gaara revealed his true strength.

His sand formed a massive cocoon that not only completely absorbed Lee's attacks, but also rebounded part of their force.

When the smoke and dust cleared, everyone was shocked to find that Gaara was completely unharmed, while Lee was utterly exhausted and unable to move on the ground.

Gaara raised his hand coldly, and sand began winding around one of Lee's arms and legs.

"Sand Burial!"

Gaara said softly as the sand began to tighten.

Rock Lee screamed as his arm and leg were crushed.

Gaara still wanted to continue hurting Rock Lee.

At that critical moment, Might Guy suddenly appeared and stopped Gaara's attack.

This spectacular match provided Su Bai with a great deal of experience.

He could feel his fusion rate approaching 11%!

His strength was still constantly increasing!