["You're saying my taijutsu is useless against that body of yours?" Lee retorted to Ittai as he dodged his attack. Ittai kept attacking while belittling Lee: "I don't know who your master is, but he's probably just some hack!"]
[Even though his body was heavy and covered in rock, Ittai's speed wasn't as slow as expected. Lee let his guard down for a moment and got hit hard, sent flying.]
[Lying on the ground, Lee's voice grew angrier: "It's fine if you talk bad about me, but if you talk bad about Guy-sensei, I will never forgive you!"]
[Curling his body to dodge another attack, Lee stepped on Ittai's face to get behind him, then made up his mind and muttered to himself: "Guy-sensei, in order to uphold my ninja way, please allow me to use that technique—Third Gate, Gate of Life, open!"]
[Lee's skin turned red as he spun, slammed down, and cut through the air with his body: "Next, Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain, open!"]
[His body turned into an afterimage, and he landed a heavy punch directly into Ittai's chest.]
["What the hell?!" The stone armor on Ittai's body shattered under Lee's punch, but Lee wasn't done yet: "This is just the beginning! Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit, open!"]
[Lee leapt high, his right hand wreathed in chakra as he brought it down hard, shattering the ground beneath Ittai along with the blow.]
["Alright, alright, more Konoha intel from the Sky Curtain, please!"]
["Does anyone know what that move was? Lee's taijutsu must be at jonin level now, right?"]
["Come on, you really think villages would just share this kind of intel on the Sky Curtain for free? They'd definitely keep it for themselves."]
["...I recognize that, but I'm not gonna say."]
["Then what's the point!"]
["I don't know the exact principle of the technique, but at least now I know Lee's taijutsu level. That way, if I run into him on a mission, I won't be fooled by that harmless face of his!"]
["That's the value of the Sky Curtain! Thanks, Konoha!"]
["Hahaha! That's gotta be sarcasm. Why would you thank Konoha? They're probably losing their minds over this!"]
Neji didn't pay any mind to the intel-leak-related bullet comments—that was a problem for the higher-ups. He was more focused on Lee's taijutsu on the Sky Curtain.
'That's the Eight Gates Formation that Guy-sensei taught us. I can't believe Lee's using it so skillfully.'
Thinking that, Neji turned his head to look at Lee, who happened to be looking back at him. With a serious expression, Lee said: "Neji, that technique was originally prepared for you. I wanted to prove that my effort could surpass your genius, so even if it's exposed now, I don't mind. In this year's Chunin Exams, I'll make you admit that even with only taijutsu, I can still become a great ninja!"
Although he was surprised by Lee's strength, Neji also had his own pride. He gave a cold smile: "Then let me see if your steel fists can beat my gentle fists."
The three members of Team 7 watched silently as the fighting spirit rose between Neji and Lee, each lost in their own thoughts.
Sakura: 'It feels kind of like the relationship between Sasuke and Naruto.'
Sasuke: 'That bushy-browed guy actually has that kind of power!'
Naruto's eyes sparkled with tears, clearly moved by Lee's words.
Kakashi also looked at Lee in some surprise and praised him: "Opening the Fifth Gate at fifteen or sixteen—if we were the same age, Lee, you'd already be stronger than me or Guy."
Guy proudly stroked his chin: "Hmph, hmph, hmph! If that's all that surprises you, Kakashi, then just wait until the Chunin Exams begin—I'll really show you something!"
[But even after going all out, Lee's attacks still couldn't finish Ittai off. Ittai stuck his head out from a hiding spot in the rocks, his tone filled with surprise and uncertainty: "Interesting… You suddenly got a lot stronger, but I've got a similar move too!"]
[Ittai emerged from the rock defense, tensed the muscles in his arms, and forced out the snake-shaped tendrils that had burrowed into his body. Then he grabbed one with the other hand, squeezed out its fluid, and drank it straight.]
[Immediately, an even more powerful chakra erupted from Ittai, shooting straight up and forming a giant purple pillar in the sky: "Hahaha! It's full! It's full!"]
[In the distance, Setsuna and Kusu, who were hunting down Shion, turned around to look at the pillar. Kusu, sounding unimpressed, said: "That idiot, drinking the chakra straight up like that." Even so, he didn't go back to stop him; he just urged Setsuna to keep chasing their target faster.]
["Whoa! So those tendrils weren't just for injecting chakra, huh?"]
["Now this is interesting!"]
["That dark medical ninjutsu's boost is insane! After taking hits like Lee's, he's acting like nothing happened—and now he's powered up even more!"]
["Just from the shape of those tendrils you can tell they're bad news. There's definitely some hidden flaw to that jutsu!"]
In a secret base in the Land of Fields, Orochimaru watched the Sky Curtain with great interest, licking his lips: "An interesting method, but it's still far inferior to the Curse Mark."
Thinking about it, Orochimaru sent an order to his subordinates to search for Yomi's whereabouts.
["It worked!" Ittai shouted triumphantly, his voice high-pitched. Originally able to use only Earth Release, now he had gained the ability to turn rocks into explosive magma.]
[Lee dodged the flying debris, his expression serious as he watched Ittai's body transform again—he'd grown three heads, six arms, and his legs had become a snake's tail: "His body changed again!"]
["Take this!" Ittai, filled with immense power, excitedly attacked Lee. He pressed both hands to the ground, and multiple streams of magma shot from underground toward Lee.]
["Is that… Lava Release?"]
["No, it's just making the rocks explode—like a combination of Earth and Fire Release."]
["The boost in ninjutsu power is pretty solid, but the most ridiculous part is his body transformation! He actually grew six arms and three heads!"]
["I once saw a guy like that while on a mission in the northern part of the Land of Earth—he could change his body structure too, but he was mentally unstable, always screaming about killing people. We took him out pretty quick."]
["Hmm? Could Yomi be hiding in the Land of Earth?"]
Orochimaru's eyes glinted thoughtfully at those bullet comments—surely they weren't referring to his own northern base's test subjects, right?
（To be continued）