After chatting briefly in the corridor, Class 8 and Class 7 headed up to the third floor together, submitted their application forms, got their seat numbers, and prepared to head down to the teaching building.
In the stairwell, Uchiha Sasuke asked Izayoi,
"Izayoi, have you noticed those guys recently?"
"Yeah."
Izayoi nodded. He knew Sasuke was referring to the foreign village shinobi who had been secretly investigating them.
As the top student of this cohort, and the last survivor of the Uchiha clan, both Izayoi and Sasuke were prime targets of attention.
In recent days, quite a few people had been loitering outside Izayoi's house.
But since they hadn't crossed any lines, Izayoi hadn't paid them much attention.
"Did you run into a guy carrying a gourd?" Sasuke continued.
"No. Is he strong?"
"Yeah... he's a tough opponent."
As if remembering something, Sasuke's lips curled up slightly.
"This year's Chunin Exams are full of monsters. I can't wait to fight them."
"Then your wish might come true soon," Izayoi said with a smile, as if he'd noticed something.
Just as they arrived at the back hall of the main building, a voice called out from behind.
"Please wait a moment."
Hearing the voice, Haruno Sakura from Class 7 immediately stiffened.
"It's that bushy-browed guy again! What do you want now?!" Naruto Uzumaki shouted at Lee Rock, who was standing on the second-floor balcony.
Lee Rock leapt down from above, landed steadily, and struck a taijutsu fighting pose. Staring seriously at Izayoi, he said:
"My name is Lee Rock. I want to challenge the top-ranked newcomer of this year. Please fight me, Izayoi!"
"Challenging Izayoi?" Class 7 looked a little surprised.
"He... seems to be Brother Neji's teammate," Hinata frowned slightly, her gaze turning sharp, as if she misunderstood something.
"My bugs tell me... there's a faint scent of blood on him," Shino Aburame said calmly. "His strength isn't ordinary."
Izayoi was slightly surprised too—he hadn't expected Lee Rock to challenge him instead of Uchiha Sasuke.
Thinking of the Eight Gates technique—a legendary skill on par with the Flying Thunder God and Edo Tensei—Izayoi felt a flicker of interest.
But after glancing in a certain direction, that interest quickly faded.
If it were an all-out fight with no restrictions, Izayoi would indeed like to test the power of the Eight Gates.
But for now, Izayoi turned to Sasuke and said,
"Sasuke, you go."
"Me?"
Sasuke was momentarily stunned, then remembered how Lee Rock had blocked his kick and the gatekeeper's with just one leg. His fighting spirit ignited as he nodded,
"Alright, I'll take him on."
Seeing Sasuke step forward, Lee Rock frowned slightly and looked at Izayoi.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Before Izayoi could answer, Sasuke made a smug gesture, pointing his thumb at himself.
"Beat me first, then you can challenge Izayoi. If you can't even defeat me, then don't bother embarrassing yourself."
Lee Rock's expression shifted slightly.
"So that's how it is. You're Izayoi's little brother."
"Who the hell is his little brother?!"
Sasuke shouted furiously, his eyes turning into scarlet double tomoe Sharingan.
"Enough talk—let's begin!"
"Those eyes..."
Staring at Sasuke's eyes, Lee Rock was taken aback, then filled with fighting intent.
"So you're the last of the Uchiha clan. Fine, let me witness the famed Sharingan of your genius clan!"
He then solemnly introduced himself,
"My name is Lee Rock. Please guide me."
"Spare the talk. Let's finish this quickly."
Sasuke charged straight at Lee Rock.
Meanwhile, Class 7 and Class 8 leaned against the hall's pillars, watching the battle.
As Sasuke's figure enlarged in his view, Lee Rock's body tensed.
Just as Sasuke threw a punch, Lee Rock's figure vanished into thin air.
"Body Flicker? No… it's different..."
Sasuke was briefly confused as his punch missed.
Then, he immediately expanded his sensory range.
The next second, Sasuke seemed to sense something. He turned his head and raised his right arm just in time to block a kick aimed at him.
His expression twisted slightly, eyes filled with shock.
Such powerful strength… could this guy be—
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Just in those two distracted seconds, Lee Rock had already retracted his leg. With unbelievable flexibility, he flipped midair, landed in front of Sasuke, and, like a breakdancer, planted his hands on the ground and launched a Thomas spin, kicking upward at Sasuke's face.
Sasuke blocked with both arms but was still kicked into the air by the force.
After landing, his arms were already slightly numb.
Staring at Lee Rock, who had straightened up again and resumed his stance, Sasuke spoke:
"That was high-speed movement... and such strength. You're a taijutsu ninja."
"Yes, I am a taijutsu ninja,"
Lee Rock nodded earnestly, then praised,
"It's said that the Sharingan can see through all ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. It truly lives up to its reputation."
"But what surprised me more is that you not only saw through my moves—you even managed to barely keep up with my speed. As expected from the so-called genius clan."
"Barely, huh... heh."
Sasuke sneered as the tomoe in his Sharingan spun again.
"Then let me return that line to you."
The moment he finished, Sasuke's figure vanished.
Seeing this, Lee Rock's eyes widened in shock.
A sound sliced through the air. Lee Rock turned his head and saw a leg flying toward him. He instinctively raised his arms to block.
Bam!
As leg and arm collided, a figure flipped and landed. With his hands on the ground, he performed a Thomas spin and launched a kick upward at Lee Rock's face.
Lee Rock instinctively blocked again, but the kick still sent him flying two meters before he landed.
Seeing Sasuke mimic his earlier move and resume the same stance, Lee Rock's eyes trembled.
"You..."
Over by the pillar, Class 7 was already stunned.
"Am I seeing things?" Naruto rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"Did that smug Sasuke just copy Bushy-Brows' move?"
"Amazing… Sasuke-kun is incredible!"
Sakura clasped her hands together, swooning.
"That must be the legendary Sharingan Copy Technique," Shino said with awe.
"Just one look… and he copied the enemy's move. No wonder the Uchiha Sharingan is considered invincible in one-on-one fights."
Only Izayoi and Hinata remained calm, smiling as they watched the scene.
No one knew Sasuke's strength better than they did.
After being trained by Izayoi all these years, if Sasuke were still weak, then Izayoi—his teacher—would've already committed seppuku in shame.