Chapter 17: Examination

"Li... What happened to you?" Tenten asked in shock, covering her mouth with her hand when she saw the condition her friend was in as he showed up on the training ground that morning. He looked battered, half-asleep, sleep-deprived, with bruises under his eyes, and his usually shiny black hair now resembled damp straw that had not quite dried after the rain, at least not dirty.

"Huh? Oh, Tenten! Hello! What happened to me, you ask? Heh-heh-heh. Nothing much! I just became a bit, but stronger!" Rock Lee confidently declared, and his black eyes truly sparkled with energy and life, as if his appearance as a haggard zombie today belonged to someone else.

"You... Are you really a masochist or something?" the chestnut-haired girl blurted out in confusion, every time thinking she understood Lee, but no, no, no, no, he never ceased to amaze her, just like the first time.

"What? Darn it, no! That's nonsense! I'm not like that at all!..." Rock started to justify himself but his hungry-to-the-brink stomach let out a thunderous growl, making Lee feel awkward and Tenten burst into laughter.

"You know, I knew you'd show up here without having eaten. Would you like to have breakfast with me?" she said, handing a slightly embarrassed Lee one of the two bento boxes she had taken from her bag.

Of course, Lee was taken aback by this gesture, and how could he not be? If a girl offers a guy a meal she made for him for free, without any ulterior motives, doesn't it mean she's confessing her feelings and hinting at them? Hm-m...

"No-no. My logical chain is definitely broken after staying up all night studying and training my tendons. It's a bit too early for me and Tenten to delve into love and romance. But, how can I refuse when I'm so hungry, I swear, I want to devour an entire elephant!" Without much thought, Lee produced chopsticks from somewhere and began devouring rice, meat, and other delicious items.

"By the way, I should mention that I made all of this last night myself. So, what do you say? Do you like it?" Tenten asked with a concealed curiosity and an eager expectation of a compliment from him.

"Very much! Thank you, Tenten! You're the best!" he fervently confessed, which embarrassed his sweet and blushing teammate even more before he turned away from her to continue stuffing himself with marinated vegetables, fish, and spices, in short, to gain the much-needed fat he lost during his night training sessions.

However, after a few minutes, the rather intimate and sensuous circle of conversation between Lee and Tenten was calmly disrupted by the arrival of Neji Hyuga. He had instantly noticed Rock Lee's pitiful appearance and couldn't help but sneer condescendingly, then followed up with a cold, provocative remark characteristic of him:

"Someone's destined to win, while others look like losers and play the part."

"Hey, Hyuga, my dearest friend, how's life treating you? Not afraid of failing in Guy-sensei's test? By the way, our universe doesn't favor the overconfident and arrogant, so if needed, you might have to lose in a fight to me, Rock Lee, the most magnificent fighter on the path of Taijutsu, heh..." The burly youth didn't fall for the bait and replied with a smirk, continuing to fill his stomach with the excellent warm food while sitting on the ground in the shade of a tree with Tenten, who was quite pleased with his response.

"Well done," Tenten whispered to the smiling Rock, relieved that she could finally breathe without extra stress and didn't have to pray for Neji and Lee to start fighting each other when they met in person again. She definitely didn't want to be a mere observer of another conflict between her newly appointed teammates. Fortunately, it seemed to be avoided this time, and Neji remained silent for what seemed like a better time.

However, the brief period of tranquility for the trio was short-lived. For about ten to twenty seconds, and then, an obvious end. After all, they couldn't forget about the energetic individual, Might Guy, who didn't miss the opportunity to disrupt their newfound calm with loud shouts and boisterous exclamations. He quickly rushed to the group, not on his feet as normal people do, but on his hands, yes, on his hands:

"From what I hear, you're exchanging pleasantries and competing again? Ha-ha-ha! Is this the Power of Youth, guys?"

...

But what was Rock Lee really doing last night when he was released after taking that white pill?

Of course, first and foremost, Lee got himself together. At the very least, he trimmed his nails and gathered his strength, preparing to seriously tackle Kami-e, a technique that Lee had significantly underestimated, thinking he could master it in five or six hours. However, it wasn't like that at all, upon further reflection, perhaps even Impulse would have been trained sooner. Why?

Because Kami-e required development in the direction of tendons, flexibility, joint elasticity, and ligaments. So it was hardly possible to manage such an extensive approach in just one day. Only someone with a boneless snake-like body, but what would Orochimaru need that for? After all, he pursued immortality...

Nevertheless, Rock never backed down and didn't plan to be lazy. Even though he knew it wouldn't work right away, Lee kept training in Kami-e and stretching for several hours in a row using a special method. So by morning, he may not have achieved any particularly impressive results, but he had learned one thing: his body had become even more flexible and agile than before!

That's why, when the carefree Guy suddenly pushed off with his hands halfway to the ground and began to throw shurikens in the air, Rock effortlessly moved into a sitting position and even pulled a frightened Tenten along with him.

As for Neji, he didn't need any help. He deflected the flying projectiles with his Gentle Fist and took a battle stance.

"Sensei Guy, why are you doing this to us? Besides, I just ate, so I'm not supposed to move so briskly, actually!" Lee complained, looking at the confident man in the green jumpsuit who had just landed in front of them. He finally let Tenten go, who had finally realized what was happening.

"Is this an attempt on us? Although, with your abilities as a Jonin, you could have killed us in a second, isn't that right?" Neji Hyuga squinted suspiciously, but after a moment, he activated the Byakugan, which manifested as veins protruding from the sides of his head.

"Haha! What are you talking about, Neji? I'm just testing you; don't be such a pessimist. Your energy should be overflowing no matter what! And what about you, Rock... it seems you didn't sleep all night, but trained, right? Excellent! Very commendable! In the spirit of Youth, no doubt! I assume you decided that it's better to overdo it than to fall short? Haha! Good! Let's see just how much stronger you've become!" exclaimed an enthusiastic Might Guy, both advising Neji and supporting the sleep-deprived Lee.

"I sense some serious action coming up..." Lee exchanged a glance with Tenten, who was slowly backing away, and Neji, who was standing slightly to the side. Then he quickly addressed both of them:

"Disperse! Tenten, attack him with shurikens and kunai from a distance! Neji, you and I will go for close combat! And this is not an order, but a request," Rock added at the end, just in case, to prevent the determined user of the Byakugan from asking too many questions.

The arena soon turned into a whirlwind as Might Guy sprinted towards Lee and Neji, who had not yet managed to get ready. Nevertheless, their instincts worked perfectly. The fists coming at them were not lethal and did not carry peak speed and strength, but they seemed to be everywhere. However, the newly flexible Lee had no trouble dodging the attacks at the last moment, sometimes twisting like a snake, just like Neji, who was more experienced than he was, and quickly adopted a Gentle Fist defense.

Then the projectiles whizzed. Shurikens and kunai from Tenten, attached to threads, were directed at Might Guy, who was a blurred silhouette moving at high speeds. However, he didn't even bother to dodge them; he simply waved his hand, and they deviated due to the rising wind.

"Distract him, Tenten! Keep it up!" Lee shouted and, using his right hand, right leg, and right stance, leaped toward Guy, while Neji, with blue chakra on his palms, approached Guy from behind.

The battle promised to be incredibly intense...

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