Rock Lee's Challenge and the Theory of "Drunken Fist"

After the Sand siblings' little interlude, the atmosphere did not stay relaxed for long.

"Please wait, you black-haired one, and... the beauty over there!"

Just as Team 7 was preparing to move on, a green whirlwind suddenly swept past and stopped on the second-floor corridor in front of them.

Looking closely, they saw a boy dressed in a green jumpsuit with a bowl cut and eyebrows as thick as two caterpillars, striking what he clearly believed was a very handsome pose.

"I am Rock Lee."

The thick-browed boy jumped down from the second floor, bounced twice flamboyantly after landing, then walked straight up to Sakura. He raised a thumbs-up and flashed his signature gleaming white teeth. "Sakura-san, please go out with me! I will protect you with my life!"

Sakura: "..."

Ye Tian: "..."

The air froze for three seconds.

"Absolutely not." Sakura rejected him without hesitation, her face full of disgust. "Your eyebrows are too thick!"

Pfft.

Ye Tian truly could not hold it in. Covering his mouth, he laughed out loud. Seeing Rock Lee's instantly petrified expression, he actually felt a trace of sympathy.

"Rejected, huh... how tragic." Ye Tian leaned against the wall and casually took out a handful of sunflower seeds he had picked up in the Land of Waves from his Storage Bag. After lightly roasting them with Spiritual Energy, the seeds were not only crisp and tasty, but could also faintly refresh the mind.

"Here, Sakura." Ye Tian generously gave half to Sakura. "Freshly roasted. I heard eating more of these can improve your complexion and make your eyebrows thinner too."

The moment Sakura heard they could improve her beauty, she immediately accepted them. Cracking seeds as she continued complaining, she said, "Who would like a pervert in a skintight outfit like this?"

Rock Lee was deeply wounded, but he quickly adjusted his mindset—or perhaps he simply had not understood at all—and turned to Sasuke.

"Actually... I came here to find you today." Rock Lee instantly switched into battle mode, his gaze sharpening. "Uchiha Sasuke, I want to spar with you."

"Right now, I want to know whether my hard work can defeat so-called genius."

Sasuke had already been simmering with anger after Gaara ignored him earlier. Now that a punching bag had delivered himself to the door, he immediately sneered. "You've got guts. Since you want to witness the power of the Uchiha, I'll grant your wish."

"We gather in five minutes. Let's make this quick."

The moment he finished speaking, Sasuke charged forward.

"So fast!" Naruto exclaimed.

However, what happened in the next second left everyone utterly stunned.

Sasuke threw a fierce punch, but it hit nothing. Rock Lee's figure appeared behind Sasuke like a ghost, and a powerful uppercut sent Sasuke flying into the air.

Leaf Shadow Dance!

Rock Lee followed close behind, twisting his body impossibly in midair. His bandages loosened as he prepared to deliver Sasuke a vicious blow.

How is this possible... I can't see his movements? Sasuke was horrified. Even with his Two-Tomoe Sharingan activated, his dynamic vision could catch Rock Lee's trajectory, but his body could not keep up at all!

This was the suppression of pure taijutsu!

"Interesting."

Ye Tian, who had been leaning against the wall and cracking seeds, stopped chewing.

A faint golden gleam flashed through his eyes—that was the sign of activating the beginner-level Heavenly Eye.

In his vision, the world seemed to have been put into slow motion.

Every movement Rock Lee made, every contraction of his muscles, even the flow of Chakra in his body, was clearly displayed before Ye Tian's eyes.

"This kid's Meridians... are simply extraordinary."

Ye Tian secretly marveled.

An ordinary ninja's Meridians existed to conduct Chakra, making them relatively thin and fragile. But Rock Lee's Meridians were as thick as steel bars. Although they had almost no capacity to store Chakra, they were incredibly resilient and could withstand extremely violent physical bursts of power.

"Without Spiritual Energy to nourish them, he has reached this level through nothing but insane physical training. He is practically a born Body Cultivator!"

In the cultivation world, Body Cultivators were a group of madmen. They did not cultivate spells, only their physical bodies, seeking to sanctify the body and break all laws with sheer strength.

But Ye Tian soon shook his head.

"What a pity. It's too crude."

Through the Heavenly Eye, he could see that beneath Rock Lee's seemingly powerful body were countless subtle hidden injuries. They were dangers left behind by prolonged overexertion without spiritual pills or medicine to restore him.

"This kind of training is completely burning away his life. What is too rigid breaks easily. Without proper guidance, this kid probably won't live past forty, and he will definitely be crippled in his old age."

Cultivation emphasized Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul—both strength and longevity. In Ye Tian's eyes, this method of cultivation that killed the goose for its eggs was a terrible waste.

Just as Rock Lee was preparing to unleash his final strike, the Front Lotus, to finish Sasuke.

Whoosh!

A brightly colored pinwheel suddenly flew over and pinned Rock Lee's bandages in place.

Immediately afterward, a massive reddish-brown ninja turtle appeared out of thin air.

"Stop! Lee!"

The ninja turtle spoke, sternly rebuking him.

Rock Lee instantly became like an elementary school student who had made a mistake, standing at attention obediently. "Yes... I'm very sorry!"

When Ye Tian saw the giant turtle, his eyes lit up again.

"Damn, a demonic beast!"

What did Cultivators like most? Naturally, heavenly treasures and exotic Spirit Birds and beasts!

In the cultivation world, turtles were symbols of good fortune. Their shells could be used to divine fortune and misfortune, their blood was a powerful tonic, and turtles that lived long enough were treasures from head to toe.

"This big bastard looks at least several hundred years old, right? If I could get some blood to refine pills..."

Ye Tian stared at the ninja turtle, nearly drooling. His gaze was even more fervent than when he had looked at Gaara earlier.

Then, amid a cloud of smoke, a middle-aged man with even thicker eyebrows and larger eyes than Rock Lee, wearing the same green jumpsuit, made a dazzling entrance.

Might Guy.

Konoha's Proud Azure Beast.

"This is youth, Lee!"

Guy gave Rock Lee a thumbs-up and revealed even more brilliantly shining teeth, complete with a background sound effect of "ding."

Then master and disciple embraced and wept, with a poster-like special effect of a sunset over the sea behind them.

This sudden shift in art style left the three members of Team 7 collectively petrified.

Only Ye Tian remained calmly observant.

"This man..."

Ye Tian's gaze fell on Guy, and his expression became more solemn than ever before.

If Rock Lee was an unpolished piece of jade, then Might Guy was a divine weapon that had already been tempered a thousand times.

Under the Heavenly Eye's gaze, Ye Tian could sense the terrifying energy hidden within Guy's body, suppressed like a volcano. It was the power of the forbidden technique known as the Eight Gates.

"So this is what they call 'unlocking the human body's limiters'?"

Ye Tian muttered to himself. "This method of forcibly opening acupoints and exchanging life for strength is tyrannical, but it truly has its own merits."

"If..."

A bold idea suddenly surfaced in Ye Tian's mind.

"If I combined the cultivation world's top body-refining techniques, the Eight-Nine Profound Art or the Indestructible Diamond Body, with this world's Eight Gates and improved them..."

"There would be no need to burn life. Instead, Spiritual Energy could strengthen the Eight Gates and turn them into a permanent state..."

"Wouldn't that allow someone to truly sanctify the body and tear magical artifacts apart with their bare hands?"

At that thought, Ye Tian's gaze toward Guy became even more fervent. This was not some strange pervert in a skintight outfit—he was clearly a walking library of human experimental materials!

After the farce ended, everyone prepared to leave for the examination hall.

Sasuke, having suffered a severe blow, said nothing. His crushing defeat just now had clearly wounded his pride.

Ye Tian did not hurry away. Instead, he deliberately lagged behind a few steps and called out to Rock Lee, who was preparing to leave.

"Hey, thick-browed classmate."

Rock Lee stopped and turned around in confusion. "What is it? Do you want to challenge me too?"

"Ahem... no, no. I'm a pacifist."

Ye Tian walked forward with his cane, putting on an unfathomable expression. "After watching your skills just now, I must admit that they are fierce and unmatched. But..."

Ye Tian changed his tone and coughed lightly. "Rigid strength cannot last, while softness alone cannot hold. Your fighting style is too straightforward. It may be fast, but when you encounter a true master who uses softness to overcome strength, or enter a prolonged battle, your body will collapse first."

Rock Lee froze for a moment, seemingly unable to understand. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Ye Tian smiled mysteriously and slowly drew a circle in the air with one hand. "In this world, there is an ancient taijutsu called Tai Chi. It emphasizes using four ounces to move a thousand pounds, borrowing force to strike back."

"Your current punches are all direct, like smashing forward with a stone. But Tai Chi is like water. It can contain all things, and it can also devour all things."

Ye Tian casually made up a few theories about the Tai Chi practiced by old men in parks in his previous life, but to Naruto world natives who had never encountered Daoist thought, it was undoubtedly a Dimensional Strike.

Rock Lee only half understood, but blazing flames gradually ignited in his round eyes.

"Using softness to overcome strength... like water..."

He clenched his fists as though he had grasped some profound truth. "I don't really understand, but it sounds incredible! Could this be another secret of youth?!"

"That's right! This is the advanced stage of youth!" Ye Tian nodded solemnly. "If we get the chance, we can discuss it in depth. I also know a little about preserving one's health, and perhaps I can help you resolve some of the hidden issues in your body."

"Really?! Thank you so much!" Rock Lee was moved to tears and grabbed Ye Tian's hand. "Please teach me! In return, I am willing to teach you the passionate taijutsu of youth!"

"Uh... let's forget about that. I'm afraid my bones would fall apart." Ye Tian hurriedly pulled his hand back. What a joke. Run alongside those skintight perverts? Then what would he cultivate for?

But the seed had already been planted.

As long as Rock Lee became interested in him, it would be much easier to fool this master and disciple into becoming his thugs... no, his protectors, in the future.

"All right, see you at the examination hall."

Ye Tian waved, then turned and caught up with the main group.

Watching Ye Tian's thin yet mysteriously imposing back, Rock Lee clenched his fists tightly, his eyes burning with a flame called "striving."

"That Ye Tian... he's an incredible person too! So this is Konoha? It truly is full of powerful people!"

Not far away, Guy watched the scene with a gratified smile. "Lee! You've made another new rival—friend! This is youth!"

On the way to Classroom 301.

Ye Tian looked at the few uneaten sunflower seeds in his hand, feeling extremely pleased.

"On this trip, not only did I lock onto Gaara, my Spirit Sand supplier, but I also discovered Rock Lee, a body-refining prospect. I even came up with ideas for improving body-refining techniques."

"The Chunin Ninja Exams haven't even begun, and I'm already ahead at the starting line."

Humming an unknown tune, he walked with much lighter steps.

Ahead, the door leading to the first examination stood quietly open.

Inside were elite Genin from every nation, a battlefield of schemes and slaughter.

But in Ye Tian's eyes.

It was merely an amusement park full of experience points, premium materials, and wealthy fools delivering themselves to him.

"My little fat sheep, I'm here."