Just then, a furious shout rang out from the end of the corridor.
"Stop!"
The voice exploded through the corridor like thunder. Shattered windowpanes rattled, and plaster sifted down from the walls.
A figure in green charged in from the far end of the corridor at an unbelievable speed.
Might Guy.
The Blue Beast of the Hidden Leaf.
His student Rock Lee lay on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling. His lips were gray, and his breathing was so faint it might stop at any moment.
Might Guy snapped his head up, his eyes blazing as he fixed them on Zuo Hao.
"Release him."
Zuo Hao tilted his head. His crimson Sharingan betrayed nothing.
"Why should I?"
Might Guy rose to his feet.
"I'll say it again. Release him from that technique."
Zuo Hao pulled his hand out of his pocket.
"Might Guy. Do you know what just happened?"
Might Guy's thick brows drew together.
Without waiting for an answer, Zuo Hao pointed at Sasuke behind him.
"Your student, that kid with the thick eyebrows, nearly gave my little brother a concussion with one kick."
He paused. The lazy smile finally vanished from his face.
In its place was killing intent cold enough to seep into the bone.
"My little brother."
Zuo Hao spoke slowly, each word driving into the corridor walls like a nail.
"He's the line no one crosses."
"No one gets to touch him... No one..."
Might Guy's expression changed. It wasn't anger, but something far more complicated.
He glanced at Sasuke, then at Rock Lee lying on the floor.
He knew his student.
Lee could get carried away and act on impulse, but he would never deliberately strike to kill.
He must have pulled his Konoha Whirlwind at the last moment.
Otherwise, with Lee's speed and strength, Sasuke could not still be standing.
But Might Guy said none of that.
He knew it would do no good now.
"Lee is my student."
"As his teacher, I'll always protect him."
He took a step toward Zuo Hao.
"Just as you protect your brother."
Zuo Hao narrowed his Sharingan slightly.
But the next moment, he smiled.
There was no mockery in that smile, no contempt, not even anger. Only a bone-deep calm.
"You're right. It's only natural for a teacher to protect his student."
"But your student nearly injured my brother."
Zuo Hao's voice rose sharply, and the corridor seemed to turn to ice.
"If that kick had actually hit Sasuke's head, do you think you'd still be standing here talking to me?"
"Where were you, his teacher, when he kicked my brother?"
"Where were you, a Konoha Jōnin, when he beat my brother so badly he couldn't fight back?"
"And now that I've stopped your student, you come running to demand answers?"
Zuo Hao's Sharingan stopped spinning. Three Tomoe settled around each pupil like cold eyes staring at Might Guy.
"Might Guy, tell me why. Why did no one step in when your student bullied my brother, but I'm in the wrong for stepping in?"
Something seemed to catch in Might Guy's throat.
He knew Lee would never truly have struck to kill.
But he also knew that, however he explained it, Lee had hurt Sasuke.
And Zuo Hao could hardly be blamed for standing up for his little brother.
"I apologize to you and your brother on Lee's behalf." Might Guy lowered his head and bowed deeply.
"And then?" Zuo Hao's voice remained cold.
"Then please release him from the technique." Might Guy straightened and met Zuo Hao's eyes. "I'll bear any consequences on Lee's behalf."
Zuo Hao looked at Might Guy in silence for a long time.
The air in the corridor seemed to freeze. Everyone held their breath; even Naruto didn't dare make a sound.
Then Zuo Hao moved.
He walked over to Rock Lee, crouched, and pressed his right hand to Lee's chest.
Snap!
The black chakra vanished in an instant, as though it had never existed.
Rock Lee's body jerked. Focus returned to his vacant eyes, color came back to his gray lips, and his breathing grew steady and strong.
He coughed hard twice, pushed himself up from the floor, and looked around at everyone in confusion.
"Wh-what happened?"
Might Guy let out a long breath. He walked up to Zuo Hao and suddenly bent so low that his forehead nearly touched the floor.
"Thank you."
A full ninety-degree bow.
It was not the courtesy of a Jōnin to a Genin. It was a teacher thanking a young man for his student's sake.
Zuo Hao stood, brushed the dust from his hands, and slipped them back into his pockets.
"Don't thank me. I just don't want Sasuke thinking his big brother is a murderer."
He turned and walked toward Sasuke.
Might Guy suddenly called after him.
"Zuo Hao."
Zuo Hao stopped.
"Sasuke won't have taken that hit for nothing." Might Guy straightened, his voice solemn. "I'll discipline Lee properly."
Zuo Hao didn't turn around. He merely waved a hand.
"Just keep your own student in line."
He walked up to Sasuke and ruffled his hair.
"Does it hurt?"
Sasuke kept his head down. "No," he muttered.
"Then let's go. We'll be late for the exam."
An hour later, in the examination room.
Ibiki Morino stood at the front of the classroom.
He surveyed the packed room of examinees, a chilling smile tugging at his lips.
"Before the exam begins, I'll announce a few rules."
"First, the exam is scored out of ten, with ten questions worth one point each. One point will be deducted for every wrong answer. The tenth question will be revealed in forty-five minutes."
"Second, your results will be based on your team's total score."
"Third, you'll lose two points each time you're caught cheating. Get caught five times, and you'll be disqualified. Your two teammates will be eliminated with you."
As soon as he finished, the classroom erupted.
Naruto shot out of his seat, clutching his head with both hands, his face turning green.
"Scored out of ten?! And we lose points?! What kind of messed-up rules are these?!"
Sakura's lips trembled too. The hand gripping her pen was slick with cold sweat.
The tenth question hadn't even been revealed, and the rules so far were already suffocating.
Sasuke sat beside her with his hands clasped beneath his chin. He looked fairly composed, but the fine beads of sweat on his temples gave him away.
While everyone else was caught up in nerves and anxiety,
Zuo Hao leaned back in his chair with one leg crossed over the other and his hands laced behind his head, utterly at ease.
His Sharingan was inactive, but something flickered in his slightly upturned eyes.
At the front of the room, Ibiki Morino took in every examinee's reaction.
He had seen this scene many times. Every class reacted much the same way when they heard the penalty for cheating: panic, anger, despair.
But this year, one person struck him as odd.
Sahiro Uchiha.
Before you continue