"Sizzle!" — Ocular Technique: Demon Hour!
"Crack!" Rock Lee's full-speed charge came to an abrupt halt, and he fell stiffly to the ground.
Scorching smoke rose from his flushed skin. Rock Lee struggled to get back up, but he could not muster even a shred of strength.
His rolled-back eyes stared fixedly at the young man whose right eye glowed red—Masato.
Gritting his teeth, he asked, "What... did you do to me?"
Masato's lips curled into a sinister arc as his effeminate voice rang out. "Nothing. I merely helped you reclaim your true self."
"Urgh, aaargh... It hurts, my head hurts so much!" Rock Lee clutched his temples with both hands, his head splitting apart.
The world before him turned into a dark swamp, and Rock Lee's spiritual will was imprisoned at its center.
A vortex suddenly emerged, and black water surged up from its depths, gathering into a figure!
It was another Rock Lee, dressed in a black skintight outfit. Savage blood-red light shone from his eyes, and his aura was utterly ferocious.
"Who are you?!"
"I am you—the dark self that truly exists within you, yet one you refuse to acknowledge. Lord Masato used his supreme ocular technique to awaken me!"
"What nonsense! How could I have a dark self? I am Guy-sensei's disciple! I believe that through my own hard work, I can defeat geniuses! I am Rock Lee, a Konoha ninja who sings loudly of youth soaked in sweat and who would not hesitate to give his life to protect those important to him!"
"Heh heh heh, how laughable. The moment you need so-called effort to prove yourself, it proves that you are already inferior to others."
"If given the choice, who would want to be a passionate dead last instead of a born genius?"
"As