The atmosphere was perfect.
Lee almost felt like he'd returned to his previous life, spending a rare weekend relaxing in a park. If not for his shinobi attire and the training ground setting, he could have mistaken this for one of those casual dates he'd never actually experienced.
Of course, he'd never been on a date before. Work had consumed everything.
"Here."
Tenten pulled out a small package wrapped in blue cloth from somewhere.
Inside were two rice balls and a few slices of fruit.
"I made these this morning." She handed one over with a smile that was somehow different from her usual teasing expressions during training.
"Thanks..."
Lee had barely uttered the word when his ear twitched sharply.
Something was wrong.
Almost on pure instinct, he grabbed Tenten's wrist and yanked her backward, pulling her against his chest protectively.
"Lee?"
Tenten's surprised exclamation was cut short by a sharp whistling sound.
Whoosh!
A kunai embedded itself precisely in the rock where they'd been sitting just moments before.
The handle still vibrated from the impact.
Lee's expression turned ice cold in an instant.
That wasn't a Konohagakure-style kunai.
"Come out," he said in a low, dangerous voice, keeping Tenten shielded behind him.
Rustling sounds came from the woods across the stream.
Two figures emerged slowly from the shadows.
Both wore headbands, but the symbol engraved on them wasn't a leaf. Instead, it displayed a musical note.
Sound Ninja.
"Oh? You've got decent reflexes." The taller one spoke lazily, looking at them like a predator sizing up helpless prey. "I was planning to let you die quickly and painlessly."
The shorter one was openly leering at Tenten, a disgusting glint in his eyes. "Didn't expect to run into a Konohagakure kunoichi in a place like this. She's pretty cute too."
Lee's heart sank.
This was bad.
Judging from the vests they wore, both were Chunin-level.
Two of them.
More importantly, why would Otogakure shinobi appear this deep in the Land of Fire? Had Orochimaru already dispatched advance scouts?
"We're just passing through," Lee said carefully, trying to buy time while his mind raced through options.
"Just passing through?" The tall one suppressed a mocking laugh. "Unfortunately, you've seen something you shouldn't have. I'm afraid you'll need to stay here permanently."
The moment he finished speaking, his hands flew through rapid seals.
"Sound Release: Slicing Sound Wave!"
Lee's pupils contracted sharply. He shoved Tenten away with all his strength.
"Move!"
An invisible shockwave struck instantly, carving a shallow trench through the ground where they'd stood.
Lee managed to twist away using pure taijutsu reflexes, but the aftershock still grazed his arm, leaving a stinging cut.
[Minor injury detected. Vitality Points +10.]
"Tenten, use your scrolls!" he barked.
She didn't need to be told twice.
"Twin Rising Dragons!"
Two large scrolls unfurled in midair, and countless weapons rained down on both Sound Ninja like a metal storm.
"Pathetic."
The short one sneered, pulling out a strange metal gauntlet and slamming it into the ground.
"Sound Barrier!"
Buzz!
A visible sonic wave materialized from nothing, deflecting every single projectile with contemptuous ease.
"How is that possible..." Tenten's face went pale.
Her entire fighting style had just been completely countered.
"My turn."
The tall Sound Ninja formed hand seals again, but this time his target was clearly Tenten.
"Genjutsu: Auditory Binding!"
A piercing, high-pitched noise erupted through the air. Tenten froze instantly, her eyes losing focus as she became trapped in the illusion.
Damn it!
It was a sound-based genjutsu!
Without hesitation, Lee drove his fist into his own thigh. The sharp pain kept him conscious and broke through any mental interference. He rushed to Tenten's side and delivered a precise chop to the back of her neck.
She let out a small sound and collapsed into his arms, unconscious but safe.
"Oh? To save his teammate, he just knocked her out himself? How touching." The tall one's voice dripped with mockery.
"Looks like it's just you now, bushy brow."
The two Sound Ninja began approaching from different angles, one from the left, one from the right.
Lee gently lowered Tenten's unconscious form beneath a nearby tree and straightened his body.
His expression shifted from serious concern to something that burned with almost manic intensity.
'So much for my day off.'
"Eight Gates, Third Gate, Gate of Life! Open!"
BOOM!
Red chakra steam erupted from his body like visible flames.
His aura surged dramatically.
"Hmm?" Both Sound Ninja's expressions finally showed genuine surprise. "That's... the Eight Gates? Konohagakure's forbidden taijutsu technique?"
"He only opened three gates though." The tall one regained his composure quickly. "Kill him now, before he can go further!"
Both rushed forward simultaneously.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Lee's kick came in fast, several times faster than his normal speed.
The tall Sound Ninja managed to block with his arm, but the tremendous force still drove him back several steps, shock written clearly across his face.
"This kid's strength is insane!"
The short Sound Ninja seized the opening created by his partner's distraction and attacked from the side, now wielding a poisoned blade.
Lee countered instantly, his fists and feet clashing repeatedly with both opponents in a violent exchange.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With the Third Gate active, he managed to fight both Chunin to a temporary standstill.
But it was only temporary.
The Eight Gates technique placed enormous strain on his body. He could feel his muscles screaming in protest with every movement.
And he was facing two opponents.
One focused on direct attacks while the other harassed and created openings.
Their coordination was seamless.
After several dozen exchanges, Lee's speed dropped slightly.
That single moment of weakness was all they needed.
The tall Sound Ninja landed a heavy punch that Lee was forced to block with both arms, while the short one's poisoned blade whistled toward his unprotected back.
No time to dodge!
A resolute glint flashed through Lee's eyes. He turned abruptly, completely abandoning his defense against the tall Sound Ninja, and let that devastating punch connect directly with his chest.
CRACK!
The sound of his sternum fracturing echoed sharply.
[Sternum fracture detected. Vitality Points +200.]
But using that momentum, he twisted his body at an impossible angle and kicked the short Sound Ninja's blade clean out of his hand.
"Guh!"
Blood sprayed from Lee's mouth.
"You crazy bastard..." The tall Sound Ninja hadn't expected him to use such a mutually destructive fighting style.
"It's not over yet!"
Despite the excruciating pain radiating from his shattered chest, Lee seized the moment when his opponent's momentum had fully committed and couldn't recover in time.
"Front Lotus!"
He grabbed the tall Sound Ninja, launched himself high into the air, and spun them both in a rapid spiral before driving the man headfirst toward the ground at devastating speed!
BOOM!
The impact created a massive crater in the earth.
But before Lee could even catch his breath, a dark figure appeared directly behind him.
The short Sound Ninja.
Now holding another blade.
"Die!"
Shlck.
The sound of sharp steel piercing flesh.
The blade entered through his back and erupted straight through his heart from the front.
Lee's entire body went rigid.
He looked down slowly at the bloodied tip of the blade protruding from his chest.
His vision began to darken at the edges.
His strength was fading rapidly.
The short Sound Ninja yanked the blade free and kicked Lee's body away contemptuously.
"Big brother!" He ran to the crater's edge and helped the tall Sound Ninja climb out.
The tall one was covered in injuries and bleeding heavily, but thankfully still alive.
"Cough... Is that brat dead?"
"Dead. I stabbed him straight through the heart with my own hands." The short one grinned maliciously. "What a freak though. Almost got us killed."
Neither of them noticed the cold, mechanical voice echoing through the mind of the supposedly dead boy lying motionless on the ground.
[Host has suffered fatal damage. Vitality Points +600. Absolute Persistence condition met.]
[Vitality Points Balance: 11,250.]
[Consume 1,000 points to negate death and instantly repair fatal injuries. Activate?]
Lee's consciousness struggled weakly in the encroaching darkness.
'Yes.'
The next instant, a warm current surged from his heart and spread throughout his entire body like wildfire.
His damaged heart was rebuilt and healed in seconds.
The vitality that had been draining away came flooding back like a tidal wave.
"Let's go finish off that girl too."
The two Sound Ninja began walking toward Tenten's unconscious form.
Suddenly, a calm voice spoke from directly behind them.
"Hey."
Both froze completely and whirled around.
The bushy-browed kid who should have been dead was slowly rising to his feet.
He glanced down at the wound in his chest with complete indifference. The hole had sealed itself completely, leaving only the torn fabric of his training suit as evidence.
Both Sound Ninja's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
"You... you... are you human or ghost?!" The short one's voice trembled uncontrollably.
With his heart pierced completely through, how could anyone possibly still be alive!
Lee didn't bother answering them.
He simply raised his head, but the passionate determination that usually burned in his eyes had vanished entirely.
In its place was a chilling emptiness that sent genuine fear crawling down the spines of even these battle-hardened Chunin.
Like he was looking at objects instead of people.
"You've really made me angry."
His voice came out soft and terrifyingly calm.
"Eight Gates, Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain! Open!"
BOOM!
An even more violent explosion of green chakra steam erupted skyward!
The very air vibrated with raw power!
Beneath Lee's skin, his muscles bulged unnaturally and veins stood out like cables. His entire body radiated an aura of pure destruction.
"No! Retreat!" The tall Sound Ninja finally felt genuine terror and grabbed his companion, trying to flee.
Too late.
Lee's figure vanished from sight.
When he reappeared, he was directly in front of the short Sound Ninja.
No fancy techniques. No wasted movement.
Just a simple, perfectly executed straight punch.
Impossibly fast.
The short Sound Ninja didn't even have time to register what was happening. All he saw was a fist growing larger and larger in his vision.
BANG!
The punch connected squarely with his jaw.
He flew backward like a broken puppet, losing consciousness before he even hit the ground.
Lee didn't pause for a single moment.
His body moved like a phantom, appearing in the path of the tall Sound Ninja before the man could complete his hand seals.
Intercept.
A devastating side kick struck his wrist with surgical precision.
SNAP!
The hand seals shattered along with the bones in his wrist.
"AHHH!"
The tall Sound Ninja screamed in agony, but Lee's assault didn't end.
His movements had completely abandoned the powerful, sweeping strikes from before.
Every action was precisely calculated now.
Strike vital points. End it quickly.
One-inch punches, knee strikes, elbow strikes delivered with mechanical efficiency.
No shouting. No unnecessary movements.
Only the dull thuds of fists meeting flesh and the sickening cracks of breaking bones.
This was Jeet Kune Do, the martial art he'd practiced obsessively from videos during countless sleepless nights in his previous life.
Now, empowered by the Fourth Gate's overwhelming strength, it had become the most lethal killing technique imaginable.
Less than three seconds passed.
The fight was over.
The tall Sound Ninja collapsed like a discarded ragdoll, his bones shattered throughout his body, barely clinging to consciousness.
Lee stood there, breathing heavily.
The side effects of opening the Fourth Gate were beginning to manifest.
His muscles felt like they were being torn apart from the inside.
But he forced himself to walk over to the short Sound Ninja first, confirmed he was dead, then returned to the tall one.
The tall Sound Ninja used the last remnants of his strength to look up at Lee with pure terror in his eyes.
"What... what are you... some kind of monster..."
Lee crouched down beside him, his expression completely blank.
"Me?"
He paused, then a tired smile mixed with something almost manic crossed his face.
"I'm just an ordinary person who wants to retire early."
After saying that, he snapped the man's neck without hesitation.
Once both threats were eliminated, he finally allowed himself to collapse.
He glanced at Tenten's unconscious form, then at the two corpses and the destroyed landscape surrounding them.
"This is such a pain. I can't heal this scene completely or there'll be no way to explain what happened here."
He covered his face and let out a groan that was equal parts pain and frustration.
"So much for my day off..."