Three days later, the Chunin Ninja Exams officially began.
In the corridor outside the exam room, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura of Team 7 were ready. Candidates from various ninja villages packed the area, and the atmosphere was tense and restless.
Naruto stood on tiptoe to peer over the crowd, then scratched the back of his head impatiently.
"Seriously, where did Zuo Hao run off to? He's not even here for something as big as the Chunin Ninja Exams!"
Sasuke leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, his tone unhurried.
"Stop complaining. He said he'd come, so he'll show up."
That only made Naruto more anxious. He turned and glared at Sasuke.
"How can you be so sure? What if he overslept? What if he forgot? If he misses the entry deadline, it's over!"
"What if Zuo Hao's just slacking off and never came at all? Hey, Sasuke, say something!"
Sakura stood beside Sasuke with her arms folded. She couldn't help rolling her eyes.
"Naruto, can you be quiet? Zuo Hao will come."
Though she said that, her gaze drifted toward the end of the corridor.
Just then, crisp footsteps sounded from the other end.
It wasn't Zuo Hao.
Three people were coming.
Leading them was a thick-browed boy in a green bodysuit with a bowl cut and a Konoha Forehead Protector tied around his waist. He walked with headlong enthusiasm.
Behind him came a girl with her hair in two buns and an exasperated look on her face.
Neji Hyuga brought up the rear. Dressed in white, with pale eyes and his arms folded, he walked steadily, his gaze as still as a stagnant pool.
It was Team 3, Might Guy's squad.
The thick-browed boy flexed his wrists as he walked, muttering things like "Youth demands everything we've got" and "Today, my passion will burn!" loudly enough for the whole corridor to hear.
Rock Lee scanned the crowd as though searching for a target.
Then he saw Sakura.
For an instant, time seemed to stop.
Rock Lee halted. His round eyes widened beneath his bowl cut, reflecting Sakura's long pink hair and green eyes.
His mouth fell slightly open. Color rushed visibly up his neck and across his face, all the way to his forehead, until he was so red his Forehead Protector looked ready to pop off.
"Hea... hea..."
His voice shook, and his lips trembled.
Tenten, walking behind him, knew trouble was coming the moment she saw his expression. She reached for the back of his bodysuit. "Rock Lee, wait. Calm down."
But she was too late.
Rock Lee sprang forward, leaving a green blur in the air, and landed squarely before Sakura on one knee.
Everyone in the corridor turned to look.
"Please go out with me!"
Rock Lee looked up, his face brimming with passion, sincerity, and resolve. His eyes sparkled beneath his thick brows, and his teeth flashed like a star in the corridor lights.
"I'll protect you with all my youth! Until the day I die!"
The corridor fell silent for three whole seconds.
Naruto's mouth dropped open. He pointed at Rock Lee, looking both stunned and annoyed.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's with this guy?!"
Sakura went from confused to shocked, then from shocked to disgusted in a second and a half.
"No." She stepped back and crossed her arms in front of her chest, refusing without hesitation.
It was a clean, decisive rejection, with no room for doubt.
Rock Lee remained on one knee, frozen as if struck by lightning. The light vanished from his eyes, and his lips trembled even harder.
"Wh... why..."
Tenten covered her face behind him and let out a despairing groan.
"I knew this would happen... Rock Lee, come back. You're embarrassing yourself..."
Neji still stood behind them with his arms folded, his expression unchanged. But his pale eyes flicked almost imperceptibly toward Sasuke.
Rock Lee suddenly stood.
His disappointment lasted less than two seconds before fiercer fighting spirit took its place.
Fire blazed in his eyes. He turned, his gaze sharp as a blade as it fixed on Sasuke Uchiha by the wall.
"You!"
Rock Lee thrust a finger straight at Sasuke, his voice loud enough to make the corridor windows hum.
"Sasuke Uchiha! I challenge you!"
Sasuke remained against the wall, hands still in his pockets. His black eyes swept lazily over Rock Lee, and his voice was cold as ice.
"Not interested."
"Why?!" Rock Lee's thick brows knitted together, and the finger he pointed at Sasuke trembled with agitation. "You're a genius of the Uchiha Clan! I want to defeat you right here!"
Naruto watched from the side with shining eyes and clenched fists, plainly eager for them to fight.
"Sasuke, he challenged you. You're not scared, are you?"
Sasuke still didn't move. He looked away from Rock Lee, his voice as infuriatingly indifferent as ever.
"Boring."
"What?! Boring?!" Rock Lee's face flushed even redder. "Are you looking down on me?!"
Sasuke glanced sideways at Rock Lee. The corner of his mouth lifted, his face full of arrogance and certainty. "Do you know what the name 'Uchiha' means?"
Rock Lee paused and scratched his head. "What?"
Sasuke's gaze suddenly sharpened, his voice carrying an almost feverish conviction. "It means strength! It means being unbeatable!"
"Being unbeatable?"
Rock Lee repeated Sasuke's words, his eyes narrowing beneath his thick brows.
Instead of flying into a rage as he had before, he smiled.
"I see."
Rock Lee stepped back twice, opening roughly ten meters between himself and Sasuke.
He rolled his ankles, then his wrists. Under the corridor lights, his green bodysuit seemed to shine with sheer stubbornness.
"Sasuke-kun, you said Uchiha means strength. Then let me tell you something."
He raised his head, a blazing smile spreading across his earnest face beneath the bowl cut.
"My name is Rock Lee! Everything I do is to prove one thing!"
His body suddenly vanished.
It wasn't the Body Flicker Technique. There was no chakra fluctuation—only pure Taijutsu speed.
"Hard work can surpass genius!"
Rock Lee's voice came from behind Sasuke.
Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply.
Where is he?
His Sharingan activated in that instant, the Two Tomoe spinning furiously as he tried to track Rock Lee's movements. But all he saw was a blurred green afterimage.
Too fast.
Too fast for his Sharingan to follow.
The next moment, a vicious kick swept in from his left.
Sasuke crossed his forearms to block almost on instinct, but the force of the kick was astonishing. It struck his arms like an iron rod.
Bang!
A dull impact burst through the corridor. The kick sent Sasuke flying sideways, and his back slammed hard into the wall, sending flakes of plaster cascading down.
"Sasuke!" Sakura cried, covering her mouth.
Naruto's jaw nearly hit the floor. His bright blue eyes bulged.
"Wh-what just happened?! I didn't see anything!"
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