In Uchiha Itachi's room, Sasuke and Naruto's Wood Release Clone sat close together, carefully watching the battle reflected in the mirror.
Neither spoke, for the battle in the mirror was growing increasingly tense.
Before the match began, Sasuke had been fairly confident in his own strength. But after seeing Rock Lee unleash Lotus and Gaara demonstrate his ability to control sand, his gaze instantly grew grave.
The Wood Release Clone simply watched quietly beside Sasuke, saying nothing.
"What a shame. Rock Lee's Lotus actually hit Gaara's Sand Clone. Was it during that instant when Rock Lee paused?"
Sasuke truly was a genius of the Uchiha Clan. When Gaara slammed heavily into the ground in the mirror, only to turn out to be a Sand Clone, Sasuke immediately worked out when he had escaped Lotus's relentless assault.
"That's right. It was that brief pause after Rock Lee kicked Gaara into the air," the Wood Release Clone agreed with a nod.
"Rock Lee's probably in trouble now. Performing a continuous Taijutsu attack like Lotus must put an enormous strain on his body, and Gaara managed to evade such a heavy blow."
Sasuke's gaze was piercing as he stared at the utterly exhausted Rock Lee in the arena and Gaara, whose expression was gradually twisting into a vicious grimace.
"If Rock Lee can't withstand Gaara's next outburst, there won't be any suspense left in this match."
"Yeah."
Sure enough, no sooner had they spoken than Gaara's sand began giving Rock Lee a one-sided beating in the mirror.
Yet Sasuke was even more puzzled now.
"Why doesn't Rock Lee use Ninjutsu to dodge? Come to think of it, he hasn't used any Ninjutsu since this fight began, has he?"
At that moment, Naruto shifted the Telescope Technique's view to Sakura's side, just in time