"This time, my strategy won!"
Standing on his head, Rock Lee easily supported his body with one hand and flashed a thumbs-up with a grin.
"I have to say, whenever I saw him and Might Guy walking on their hands, I thought they looked like freaks. But now, somehow, he looks so natural and cool!"
Tenten smiled.
"Hmph. Not bad."
Neji also breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.
"D-does he?"
Karin froze beside them. Seeing that Tenten seemed entirely sincere, she tried hard to study Rock Lee in the arena and find something cool about his pose...
Ugh, I can't see it! What's cool about that?
"Crack... snap..."
The Black Ant puppet lying in the huge crater was cracked beyond recognition. Even its body, made from special materials, had failed to withstand Rock Lee's blow and collapsed into a heap of parts.
"See? Rock Lee can do it."
Naruto raised his head and smiled at Gekko Hayate.
"...Impressive."
Gekko Hayate had to admit that he had misjudged the situation. Had he intervened earlier, Rock Lee would have been automatically eliminated.
"That's it! Keep the momentum going and finish him, Rock Lee!"
Tenten cheered happily from the spectator area.
"You. Are. Quite. Good."
Kankuro suddenly spoke to Rock Lee.
"Hmph, of course! Did you think hurting my leg would stop me from attacking?" Rock Lee chuckled. "Take this!"
Rock Lee planted both hands on the ground and ran upside down, moving more nimbly than most people did on their feet. He charged straight at Kankuro, making for a decidedly bizarre sight.
Kankuro seemed unable to deal with Rock Lee for the moment. Under the Crow puppet's control, he began fleeing around the arena.
"Leaf Single-Leg Kick!"
"Konoha Dynamism!"
"Leaf Toe Attack!"
"Leaf Spin... ow! That hurts!"
Rock Lee chased his