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"What's with that bushy-browed guy?"
"Such powerful chakra… What kind of Jutsu is this?!"
"…"
All the examinees stared in shock at Rock Lee, whose entire body radiated green energy, surrounded by blue chakra flames. The air around him distorted from the sheer force, and his hair stood on end, fluttering in the pressure.
Hyuga Neji, with his Byakugan activated, and Uchiha Sasuke, who had his Sharingan open, both trembled as their eyes locked on Lee. Their hearts pounded violently.
They never imagined Rock Lee could be this strong.
Even the watching Jonin felt horrified, sensing a fatal threat emanating from him.
"The Eight Gates… I didn't expect this kid to actually master that forbidden Jutsu," one murmured.
Hidden in disguise among the Sound Ninjas, Orochimaru's expression darkened slightly as he took Lee seriously. This generation of Konoha… it's overflowing with monsters!
The Eight Gates, like the Flying Thunder God Technique, is a legendary forbidden Jutsu known across the Ninja World. While most aspiring Jonin must master at least two nature transformations, there are exceptions—like Might Guy.
Guy, a Taijutsu-only specialist, rose to become one of Konoha's ace combatants, earning respect across nations. He relied entirely on the Eight Gates.
To open these gates, the body must endure brutal training, becoming strong enough to withstand the violent chakra surging through the meridians.
Orochimaru had never seen anyone—let alone a twelve- or thirteen-year-old—open even the Third Gate.
But he realized now… he had still underestimated this boy.
Rock Lee's fierce aura surged as he clenched his fists, crouched low, and shouted through gritted teeth, "Eight Gates, Fourth Gate: Pain Gate… Open!"
With a thunderous roar, a shockwave swept through the entire hall.
The green aura surrounding Lee flared brighter, wilder.
"Has he already entered the danger zone?" Orochimaru and Kakashi Hatake exchanged glances, both sensing that Lee was now beyond normal human limits.
The Fourth Gate was where the Eight Gates technique became truly dangerous.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pipe, fixing his eyes on Izanami. He wanted to see—was Izanami afraid?
If Izanami showed even a hint of hesitation, Hiruzen was ready to intervene and stop the match. The Eight Gates offered an unfair advantage; it wasn't something Genin should face casually.
Lee, now fully adapted to the Fourth Gate's state, bent low into a runner's stance.
The atmosphere in the hall tensed instantly.
Even Izanami, calm and analytical, activated his Mind's Eye of the Kagura, locking onto Lee's fluctuating chakra signature.
Crack—Boom!
The ground shattered beneath Lee.
Then—an explosion of movement. His figure disappeared in an instant, propelled forward like a missile. Unlike earlier, when his speed only created an afterimage, this time he obliterated the floor as he launched, leaving behind a storm of dust and a sonic boom.
It was no longer human speed.
"So fast!"
Izanami's eyes narrowed. His Kagura Mind's Eye could barely track Lee's trajectory. Even with Lightning Release-enhanced reflexes, matching Lee's speed was impossible.
If the First Gate gave Lee 100% of his physical potential, the Fourth Gate pushed him to 200%—maybe more.
His power and speed were now beyond Izanami's own.
Izanami clapped his hands.
A violent gust of wind blew away the dust cloud—but Lee wasn't in front of him anymore.
He was behind.
Buzz buzz buzz…
Electricity crackled.
Lee leaned forward slightly, energy humming around him. Then—BOOM!—he launched a punch, air detonating with a shockwave that roared toward Izanami.
But Izanami wasn't hit.
A puff of smoke—and a log dropped to the ground.
Substitution Jutsu!
Lee looked up—there he was! Izanami hovered near the ceiling, wrapped in swirling wind.
"He's got this!" Might Guy, who had been praying silently, shouted in joy.
His only fear had been that Izanami would keep dodging, dragging things out. The side effects of the Eight Gates were far too intense for a Genin like Lee. He had to end fights quickly, or his body would give out.
Now that Izanami had taken to the air using Wind Release—he was a perfect target.
Lee saw it too.
He bent his knees, fists trembling with tension.
"Eight Gates, Fifth Gate: Limit Gate… Open!"
BOOM!
Another explosion of force erupted.
This time, the air wave didn't just sweep the hall—it obliterated the second floor, shattered the remaining tiles, and kicked up such a dense dust cloud that even some Jonin lost sight.
At this level, the weak no longer had the right to watch.
Kakashi, along with other senior Jonin, tensed. They watched Izanami closely, ready to intervene and save him.
But then, every elite Ninja in the room—including Hiruzen Sarutobi—suddenly changed expression.
Izanami extended both hands downward.
A blue vortex formed beneath his palms.
Then more—rapidly multiplying and merging—until a massive energy sphere hovered between his hands.
Some Jonin gasped.
"Is that… Rasengan?!"
"Impossible! How does he know the Fourth Hokage's technique?!"
"No… Wait. That's not just Rasengan…"
The energy sphere continued growing, larger than a human head.
Then, within it, two smaller spheres formed—one white, one blue.
The white glowed like lightning. The blue shimmered like ocean water.
The Jonin realized: this wasn't ordinary chakra. These were nature transformations—Lightning and Water!
Rasengan was originally a pure shape transformation with no nature element. Adding nature transformation turned it into something far more powerful, like how Chidori evolved into Lightning Cutter—an S-rank move capable of slicing through anything.
Now Izanami had fused two nature transformations into a Rasengan variant?
They suddenly felt that Rock Lee might be the one in danger now.
BOOM!
Lee launched himself upward with another sonic boom, green light blazing.
He blurred through the air, stepping on air currents—impossible movement, but real. The sheer pressure left a trail of sound and distorted space in his wake.
Izanami closed his eyes, tracking him with Kagura's insight.
The Super Hurricane Serial Spheres in his hand spun furiously, the inner lightning and water spheres now rotating like Sharingan tomoe. Then one started spinning counter to the other, clashing violently.
Instead of exploding, the clashing elements fused into dazzling blue-white lasers, filling the sphere.
"Judgement!" Izanami shouted.
The sphere shot downward, releasing a pillar of condensed laser energy.
Lee, unable to dodge in the confined space, launched his finishing move.
"Reverse Lotus!"
A final sonic boom erupted as his punch—covered in blinding green chakra—struck upward toward the pillar of light.
The shockwave of impact shook the entire tower.
Secret Skill VS Secret Skill.
The raw Taijutsu force of Reverse Lotus clashed with the laser-condensed Storm Release—an elemental fusion of water and lightning.
Most Genin couldn't even comprehend what they were seeing. Even Special Jonin and some elite Jonin couldn't counter either technique.
But the outcome was clear.
Lee's shockwave began to crumble. The laser slowly overwhelmed his attack and engulfed him.
"LEE!!" Might Guy roared.
Just before the laser hit the floor—
"Lightning Cutter!"
A figure appeared from nowhere, slicing into the laser pillar with a blade of crackling lightning.
Kakashi Hatake.
His S-rank technique—designed to cut through lightning itself—successfully severed the part of the pillar that struck Rock Lee.
Then another blur—Gekkō Hayate—appeared with a Body Flicker, catching the unconscious and heavily wounded Lee before vanishing.
BOOM————
The remaining laser hit the floor.
The entire tower shook violently.
Examinees who didn't brace themselves were thrown to the ground. They clung to railings and support beams, wide-eyed, as the pillar gradually shrank and then vanished.
In its place—was a gaping black hole. Bottomless.
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