With Rock Lee's Taijutsu prowess, if that kick landed squarely, Sasuke passing out on the spot would already have been the best outcome.
But Sakura and the others were far from Sasuke and Rock Lee, while Rock Lee's descending foot was only a dozen or so centimeters from Sasuke.
Seeing Sasuke about to take a heavy blow, Sakura anxiously ran toward him. At her speed, she clearly could not reach him in time to save him, but that was all right, because someone was faster than Sakura.
In her anxiety, Sakura merely felt a sudden gust sweep past her side, as though something had brushed past her. The next instant, her vision blurred, and then she discovered in surprise that a third figure had appeared beside Sasuke and Rock Lee, reaching out to firmly block Rock Lee's descending kick!
Sakura, Neji, and the others were aghast, because the person who had stopped Rock Lee was none other than the perennial dead last, Naruto!
How was that possible?! Sakura had not noticed, but Neji and the others had seen it clearly. Sakura had already run some distance while Naruto was still standing where he was, yet in the blink of an eye, Naruto had vanished from that spot and appeared beside Sasuke to block Rock Lee's attack. Even Neji had not been able to make out that speed!
Rock Lee and Sasuke, who were directly involved, were even more dumbfounded. Rock Lee was stunned that his attack had actually been blocked-his opponent was so fast! What stunned Sasuke was that the one who had intervened was Naruto!
Then Naruto exerted force with the hand blocking Rock Lee and flung him away. Rock Lee somersaulted in midair before landing steadily on his feet.
Naruto said, "Bushy Brows, there's no need to hit