Watching Yemu leave for a moment, Hinata Hyuga couldn't help praising Qingxue beside her. "Qingxue, you're really popular."
"Hmph~"
Qingxue Uchiha gave a soft snort and brushed back her long black hair, her eyes teasing. "Now you know how formidable I am, right?"
"There's still time to give up, if you don't want to end up the loser."
Hinata Hyuga shook her head, her expression resolute. "I won't give up."
Although she didn't know what Qingxue meant by "the loser."
Still, the Hinata of today certainly wouldn't give up so easily.
"You actually came!!"
Rock Lee had been doing push-ups when he saw that Yemu had really come to the Ninja Academy's sparring arena.
His eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
"Fight me, Yemu!! I challenge you!"
Rock Lee clenched one fist and took a Jeet Kune Do stance.
Yemu nodded slowly, an amused smile on his face.
Jeet Kune Do?
So it really was a tribute to that martial arts master who existed in my previous life.
Still...
Yemu hopped easily onto the platform and cupped his fist in his other hand. "I look forward to learning from you."
"All right."
Although Rock Lee didn't know what Yemu's gesture meant,
he felt that Yemu had truly acknowledged him before their fight.
With that thought, Rock Lee didn't hesitate for a moment. He vanished from his spot.
He launched an airborne spinning kick straight at Yemu's head.
"Konoha Whirlwind!!"
Bang!!
Yemu didn't dodge. A simple elbow strike was enough to block Rock Lee's Taijutsu attack.
He could have used ninjutsu or his Tenseigan's abilities to suppress Rock Lee outright.
But against a challenger like this,
Yemu preferred to defeat him in the field he excelled at most.
Whoosh!!
Rock Lee used the Body Flicker Technique to return to his original spot.
"What? You're a Taijutsu ninja too!!"
Rock Lee's eyes trembled.
He knew better than anyone how difficult training as a Taijutsu ninja was.
Yet Yemu had blocked his attack with his arm. Could it be that Yemu wasn't some genius at all, but had also gained his strength through grueling training?
At that thought,
tears welled in Rock Lee's eyes, as though he had found a kindred spirit.
"Don't get distracted during a fight."
Yemu paid no attention to what Rock Lee was thinking.
If his opponent could still get distracted while fighting him, that only meant he wasn't putting on enough pressure.
His punches burst like thunder, his body and spirit moved as one, and his speed rivaled lightning!!
"What the hell!!"
Pinned down by Yemu's storm of punches, Rock Lee's eyes filled with shock.
Especially when he met Yemu's indifferent blue eyes, Rock Lee felt as though his own movements grew slower.
Pressure!
Suffocating pressure that coiled around him like a python!
"Did we get here too late?"
"They've already started fighting."
Neji Hyuga looked helplessly at the two figures on the platform, whose movements were almost impossible to see.
Only after activating his Byakugan could he barely keep up with their attacks.
"Neji, that guy seems to be a Taijutsu ninja too. Is he really that strong?"
For the first time, Tenten sensed an emotion called worry from Neji.
As far as she was concerned, Neji was the strongest ninja of their generation.
"Taijutsu?"
Neji froze briefly, only then realizing that Yemu had been using Taijutsu to fight Rock Lee the whole time.
"Now we're really in trouble. I just hope Lee can handle it afterward." Neji shook his head.
He had been completely overwhelmed by Yemu himself.
Being crushed beneath a mountain like that certainly didn't feel good.
Neji also knew that Rock Lee desperately wanted to prove himself.
He wanted to prove that hard work mattered more than genius.
But Yemu wasn't a genius. He was a walking cheat.
Challenging a walking cheat was just asking to suffer, wasn't it?
"Huff, huff, huff~"
Sure enough,
in just a few breaths,
Rock Lee and Yemu had exchanged over a hundred blows.
Rock Lee was panting heavily, his chest heaving.
For a Taijutsu ninja who ran laps around Konoha every day, that showed just how much energy their exchange had consumed.
"You really are strong!!"
Rock Lee gave him a thumbs-up, acknowledging Yemu's strength.
"You're pretty good too, but those weights are holding you back quite a bit."
Yemu said it simply.
By Genin standards,
Rock Lee was certainly impressive.
Unfortunately, he still wasn't much in Yemu's eyes.
With that thought, Yemu stopped holding back.
Power erupted from one foot in an instant, making the entire platform tremble.
"What!!!"
Rock Lee watched Yemu vanish in an instant.
He hadn't expected this guy to be capable of moving even faster.
Then what had their earlier fight even been?
An old master toying with a child?
"You lost."
Yemu clenched one hand into a fist and held that sandbag-sized fist right in front of Rock Lee's face.
The blast of air from its terrifyingly abrupt stop swept Rock Lee's hair back and even distorted his face.
"Still, you'll have another chance. You are wearing weights, after all~"
Yemu patted Rock Lee's shoulder.
"No, I can still fight! I haven't lost!"
By the time Rock Lee snapped out of it,
he found that Yemu had already stepped off the platform and was heading toward Qingxue Uchiha, who stood by a large tree.
"Lee, you really did lose that brief exchange."
"Look behind you."
Neji's helpless voice rang in Rock Lee's ears.
Rock Lee turned in confusion. When he saw a fresh hole several meters wide in the nearby wall, his eyes shook with shock.
He instantly understood that if that punch had landed on his face,
he would have been sent flying off the platform.
"His Taijutsu is even stronger than Lee's? What's the deal with that guy?"
Tenten watched Yemu's departing back, curiosity and interest glimmering in her eyes.
"Would you believe me if I told you Yemu could shatter a five-meter boulder with a single Taijutsu punch back in his second year?"
Neji sighed, stepped onto the platform, and patted the shoulder of Rock Lee, who sat slumped on the ground in a daze.
This blow would surely have a profound effect on Rock Lee.
He had wanted to prove that hard work could catch up to genius, or even defeat it.
Instead, reality had proved so cruel and merciless.
Bang!!
Just then,
as a cloud of smoke dispersed, a man wearing the same green outfit as Rock Lee appeared before Neji and the others, standing atop the Red Turtle.
"Now that's youth!!"
Might Guy struck a pose, flashing his white teeth and giving them a thumbs-up.
"Lee, what's wrong?"
Might Guy noticed Rock Lee's dejected state.
He stepped onto the platform as well.
He looked at the marble platform nearby, deeply dented by an explosive burst of Taijutsu power.
A few suspicions arose in his mind.
"Teacher Guy, Lee lost. Someone beat him at Taijutsu!"
"Someone? Was it Yemu?" Might Guy caught on immediately.
A Genin who could leave Rock Lee in this state through Taijutsu alone-
as far as he could recall, Yemu Hyuga was probably the only one.
"Teacher Guy, you know Yemu?" Neji hadn't expected Yemu to have caught their teacher's attention.
"Him? He came to see me before. We even had a Taijutsu match."
Might Guy reminisced for a moment.
Still, that had been several years ago. Although Yemu hadn't been his match back then,
the strength he displayed had earned even Might Guy's praise.
"What??"
Shocked, Tenten immediately turned her head, only to find that Qingxue, Yemu, and the others had already disappeared from beside the large tree.
He had actually sparred with Teacher Guy in Taijutsu.
Just how powerful was that mysterious Yemu Hyuga's Taijutsu?
Before you continue