Shikamaru placed his hand on Choji's shoulder and sighed. -Choji, give up.
Asuma, nearby, nodded in agreement he wasn't the least bit interested in encouraging Choji at this point.
Even Ino sighed and shook her head.
Of course, Choji wasn't unhappy about being underestimated instead, he raised his hands and feet in agreement.
Just kidding, that sand man looks even more sinister than Jugo he didn't want to get anywhere near him.
So, hiding behind Asuma, he shouted. -I give up, I give up, that's it!
Asuma's eyes twitched and he sighed, but he still looked at Gaara with apprehension, feeling his bloodlust rising.
Hayate felt it too he glanced at the Hokage, who nodded subtly. -So Gaara of Sunagakure is the winner.
The sand around Gaara seemed a little agitated and Choji, the target, nearly shit his pants, hiding deeper.
Finally, Baki spoke. - Gaara.
Gaara shivered slightly, but stopped, then walked slowly back upstairs, his irritation hidden by his indifferent face.
Now that he hadn't yet seen Guy's love for Lee, he could still control himself better, so he simply left after calming down.
Jugo watched, feeling a little regretful. He wanted to see Lee and Gaara's fight.
But whatever, he doesn't know why that changed. Why would they pit Gaara against Choji? Isn't that basically throwing in the towel?
But it doesn't matter. There were only two more matches left, and Jugo hadn't been called yet. That changed when the next pairing was announced.
Jugo raised an eyebrow curiously as the excited shouting rang out from the other side.
-Ooooooooooh! Finally!- Lee shouted excitedly.
Neji, standing next to him, looked at Lee, then at Jugo, and finally at Hinata. Only the two of them remained. Hinata also seemed to have figured this out, because she looked at Neji with obvious apprehension and fear. This only made Neji even angrier.
But he didn't pay much attention to it.
Neji watched as Jugo walked past Dosu and Kin, then past the sand group. All three of them stared at him but didn't move.
When he got there, Lee was already there, practically jumping with excitement.
Jugo, still with his hands in his pockets, looked at Lee curiously. Orochimaru wasn't there he'd left a long time ago. Jugo wondered if Konoha had already associated them with him.
Unfortunately, he couldn't use his curse, but there's something he's always wanted to use.
If he were an ordinary guy, he probably wouldn't be able to handle it, right? But what about Lee with five gates open?
Smiling slightly as Lee stood in the starting position with one hand open in front of him and the other behind his back, the pair looked at each other with interest.
-Begin!- Hayate waved and walked away.
Everyone watched as Jugo maintained a distracted posture with his hands in his pockets and a nonchalant smile.
Jugo felt like Hanma Yujiro being faced by Baki.
Perhaps the feeling was similar his opponent was still weak, but he could still amuse him a bit.
Thinking about it, he gave a typical Yujiro grin. He didn't even have to force it, he simply stopped restraining himself with his prisoner powers and let the Lunatic's curse of madness take effect.
Of course, he still controlled himself from killing Lee, but that was all he had.
Lee attacked with all his speed. He was unconscious when Jugo appeared in the second exam, but he'd heard from Neji about Jugo's strength, so he prepared to attack with all his might.
With a burst of momentum, he lunged toward Jugo. He started with a straight punch, but was surprised the next moment. This was supposed to be just a test punch, but... it landed!
Lee's fist landed squarely on Jugo's face, his cheek slightly deformed with the fist still stuck there, smoke billowing from the cheek. Jugo had to admit, it hurt a bit, but that was it.
Lee's chakra-enhanced fist stung a bit, hardly a bruise.
The pair stood there, Lee still a bit confused by the fist in Jugo's face.
Jugo smiled slightly, without moving.
The next moment, he raised his hand slightly, but Lee took it as an attack. Jugo only rubbed his mouth lightly and spat some blood on the ground. Looking at Lee, he returned his hand to his pocket, glaring down at him.
-Tsk! You pretended bastard!- Naruto shouted angrily, but inside, he was filled with envy.
Most of the other ninjas narrowed their eyes, somewhere between interest and confusion.
Jugo's lack of evasion wasn't just a little strange, it was incredibly strange!
This isn't Baki's universe ninjas here are glass cannons, high attack and low defense. No dodging? Death.
Even for Kage-level ninjas and above, those who choose to take attacks head-on can be counted on one hand, most of them from Kumogakure (Cloud).
-Hey, brat, haven't you had your milk yet?- Jugo said mockingly.
Up above, Kin and Dosu had question marks in their heads. Where's "end the battle quickly instead of talking"?
The pair felt funny for a moment, wanting to complain, but thinking about Jugo's fists, they decided to ignore it and pretend they were stupid.
Lee's eyes widened, feeling both irritated and excited.
-I see, then I'll get heavier now.- The next moment, Lee charged forward at full speed, leaving an afterimage behind him. A punch was thrown again, this time with all his strength, but Jugo didn't move again. The punch hit his chest, but it didn't move Jugo an inch.
The surrounding group grew increasingly awkward. Lee continued to unleash a flurry of blows, landing attack after attack, but Jugo didn't move, still sneering at Lee.
No one spoke for a moment, all shocked by what they were seeing. Even Guy, who knew the strength of Lee's blows, felt strange. The next moment, Jugo moved. The eyes of the Jonins and the Hokage widened, but it was too late to stop him.
Guy shouted hurriedly. -Leeee!
But it was too late, but just when they thought Jugo was about to finish Lee off, he grabbed Lee's cheek with his thumb and forefinger, then squeezed.
Lee, in tremendous pain, began to scream as Jugo gripped his cheek tightly and lifted him off the ground. He grabbed Jugo's arms and tried to pull them away, but it was no use his hands were still stuck there, as if by glue.
-Aaaaaaah!- Lee screamed as he tried to free himself.
Guy gripped the steel guardrail, leaving angry marks. This wasn't a fight, this was dishonorable, this was pure humiliation!
If it weren't for Lee's fight, he would have liked to go in and punch Jugo.
Most of the Jonin narrowed their eyes, looking heavy. This was different than expected it no longer felt like a ninja fight, but torture and humiliation.
Jugo smiled with satisfaction at the screams, his eyes shining with a lunatic light. The next moment, he suddenly let go. Rock Lee, still screaming, lost his balance, falling forward and quickly adjusting himself, clutching his face.
He was shocked to feel a presence at his back. He thought he heard Guy-Sensei scream before he felt a sharp pain in his butt.
Behind Lee, Jugo opened his large hand and waved it forcefully, slamming it into Lee's buttocks and sending him flying back against the wall.
Boom Crash Crash Clang Clang~
Lee hit the wall so hard that it cracked and rocks fell around it. The ninjas stared in shock at Jugo's figure in the center, still in position after slapping Lee's butt and then at the cloud of dust Lee sent up as he hit the wall.
Is this still a ninja duel?
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--x--
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Hey everyone, there was construction going on at the house next door all day today. A darn jackhammer was running from morning until late afternoon. I posted a chapter before this one saying I couldn't do a good translation and forgot there was already a translation ready for the webnovel, lmao, anyway... it's the headache that's making things difficult.