Jugo was sent flying. Speed wasn't the focus of the Berserker enhancement, but strength and endurance. So, Lee was actually faster than him now.
Still in the air, Lee appeared above him and punched with both fists, so fast that only Kakashi, with his Sharingan, could see it.
Jugo was thrown downward, only for Lee to appear and throw him in another direction, and again, and again!
Lee continued to throw him around, this time, Jugo couldn't release his force, which excited the Konoha group.
But the next moment, still in the air, Jugo threw a punch. He calculated the time between each attack and the angle at which Lee would hit him. He punched exactly where he thought Lee would be. He connected.
Lee, despite being fast, has trouble reacting at that speed, and he was sent flying away!
Lee hit a wall with a loud crash, sending up smoke. Jugo adjusted himself in midair and fell with a heavy thud. Smiling excitedly, he didn't stop and ran toward Lee through the cloud of dust.
Guy clasped his hands together, his eyes closed, almost as if he were praying.
Only he knew how much Lee was suffering now. The boy wasn't ready to use so many gates for long periods of time, he had to end the fight as quickly as possible.
Jugo, on the other hand, had only one thing on his mind now, crushing Lee.
Running with an excited smile, his smile froze as he felt something behind him. He used his arm like a whip and swung his torso in one swift motion, trying to hit it, but the next moment, he was thrown back with a blow to the back.
Jugo barely felt anything, but he couldn't dodge, making him even more furious.
-AAAAAH! - He shouted, trying to hit Lee, but the figure continued to dodge while throwing him around.
But none of the Jonin or the Hokage himself were optimistic about Lee.
-Guy...- Asuma said lightly, dragging on his cigarette. -That kid, he's not taking any damage. Lee should use a kunai.
Guy could also sense this, but he knew Lee wouldn't use weapons if Jugo didn't use them, it was his principle.
In a way, Jugo's fighting style was Lee and Guy's favorite, a hand-to-hand fight was always exciting.
But Jugo wasn't an honorable fighter and he enjoyed humiliating his opponent. Besides, he looked like a meat roach.
It was extremely frustrating to fight this kind of opponent.
Lee noticed it too, but just as he was about to open the fifth gate to try to outweigh himself, a hand clamped down on his head.
Lee was shocked, as was the audience. Kin finally breathed a sigh of relief, and Dosu relaxed his posture.
Jugo quickly changed his stance, hugging Lee's torso, pinning his arms together. Jugo only had a few light bruises from these attacks, but he didn't care and held Lee tightly before the shocked eyes of the audience. He began to squeeze like a boa constrictor, his grip gradually tightening.
-AAAAAH!- Lee screamed as he felt the pressure cracking his bones. He even came out of the four-gate state and returned to normal.
The next moment, all the fatigue and pain from his torn muscles came rushing in, Lee became even weaker, powerless to resist.
Jugo's smile deepened, his previously well-combed hair now messy. He smiled happily and ferociously, his head resting against Lee's torso. -See you later.
The next moment, he was ready to forcefully tear Lee in two, but only Dosu and Kin recognized it, knowing exactly what mess would happen next. Even so, Jugo's intentions were clear to everyone.
-LEEEEE!- Guy went crazy and ran immediately.
Kin and Dosu looked at each other, but didn't say anything to stop Jugo, nor did they try to stop Guy, they didn't think he could kill Jugo.
But the next moment, Jugo felt his body stop. In his consciousness, he felt as if there were another person there, only for that sea of darkness to drown him. Soon after, he heard a female scream in the distance. He quickly regained control of his body, but by that moment, all the Konoha jonin were surrounding him, Guy holding Lee, Jugo's arms already open at that point.
Jugo didn't care about the kunai pointed at him, instead looking at the audience, seeing Ino's fallen body with blood dripping from her lips. Sakura was holding her worriedly.
Brave girl, his consciousness was connected to the Tenebrous World. Using genjutsu is fine, it's just chakra being sent, but she went straight into his head. What courage! If she doesn't have mental problems, it'll be a good thing. If she has shattered her own mind, even he cannot help. He hoped the Yamakas could solve this.
Looking away, he looked at the examiner, Hayate, ignoring the Jonins still surrounding him.
-What does this mean?- he asked calmly, his Berserker state fading as he returned to his normal size. He had to hold onto his widened pants to keep from falling.
-You win.- Hayate said simply.
Seeing the unfriendly looks on the Konoha ninjas faces, Jugo shrugged and left. In fact, Ino had helped him recover a little while ago. Otherwise, he probably would have started fighting those guys. That would have revealed the power of the curse in his body, which would have made everything more complicated.
Besides, the Hokage is still right there, his chance of victory is practically zero.
Jugo gave one last look at the weak Lee, looking at him full of fear, and at Guy, who seemed to be holding back from hitting him. Finally, he shrugged again and walked past them, ignoring the weapons at his neck. Grabbing his pants, he said. -Well, since I'm through, I'll go change my clothes.
He walked straight out, Kin and Dosu jumping right behind him, following quickly.
Just kidding, didn't you see the murderous glare the Konoha people were giving them? You better get out of here while you still can.
The entire Sound team passed by, surprising many with the strength of this small village.
At the very least, their age was easily discernible, they were all teenagers, so even if they were hidden Jonin, it didn't matter, they still demonstrated their combat prowess.
Kin was still far behind, but Dosu was already a good chunin and Jugo was clearly a Jonin.
Lee's current strength is likely that of a special Jonin, as only his speed and taijutsu truly reached the Jonin level, but everything else leaves something to be desired.
Even so, with the gates he can open, facing a Jonin isn't a problem for him.
In terms of explosive strength, Lee is currently the strongest rookie in Konoha.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes watching their match, his gaze fixed on Jugo.
Jugo, on the other hand, didn't care about that anymore. Holding up his pants was annoying and he was ready to buy some stretch pants, of course, with Kin and Dosu's money.
Kin looked at Jugo's strong back with admiration and desire. She hid her face in Jugo's vest, still a little embarrassed, but took the opportunity to sniff a little.
Even without chakra, Dosu's hearing was still very good. Seeing the woman fussing with Jugo's clothes nearby, his lips trembled and he pulled away slightly.
But Kin's luck is that Jugo doesn't reject her completely, but he still flirts with her a bit. So Dosu, unlike the original, doesn't treat her lightly, being able to consider her a sacrificial lamb at any moment.
Jugo didn't have a change of clothes, so he had to borrow one from Konoha or he'd have to run, holding his pants, to the shopping district.
Of course, he had to pay.
When he says he, he means Dosu.
Dosu had a bitter expression and felt like all the money he'd saved over the years would be taken by Jugo.
Putting on new pants and retrieving his clothes from Kin, which secretly made the woman very unhappy, the group returned only to find it was gone.
Hinata was carried out on a stretcher, clearly injured and Neji looked ready to explode.
Jugo looked around, the looks were varied, but Konoha was practically glaring at him. Even Kakashi's dull look seemed to be annoyed.
In the Sand area, Temari and Kankuro looked at him with fear, but they tried to hide it, but their posture was clearly ready for combat at any moment.
Baki hadn't shown anything so far, only Gaara stared at him, expressionless but with infinite curiosity, so much so that his own chakra seemed to ripple, affected by Shukako, his chakra clearly filled with negative energy.
Jugo glanced at them briefly, then sighed and approached the center with the winners.
Jugo, Dosu, Kin, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kankuro, Gaara, Neji and the absent Sasuke—these were the nine who passed.
Three from Oto, two from Suna, and four from Konoha.
If it weren't for the tie between Sakura and Ino, Konoha would have had half the spots.
Kin and Dosu's victories were unexpected, otherwise, Konoha would have had two more spots.
Jugo, clearly the leader and looking strong, was pitted against the strongest genin, Lee, yet Lee lost.
This time, Konoha had planned poorly, otherwise, they would have had eight of the ten spots.
Suna had truly been humiliated this time. Losing to Konoha at home is perfectly acceptable, but losing to a small, newly-emerged village—Baki could foresee how furious the Wind Daimyo would be.
If it weren't for the imminent attack and likely the start of the fourth ninja war, he would have been more concerned about this.
-Sah... let's talk about the third test.- the Hokage began, his voice still soft and aged.
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