Chapter 56

— Lei —

Naruko, Satsuki, and I made our way to the Shinobi Academy, where the Chunin exams would be held this year. All the while, I kept my senses up, ensuring that no one would get the slip on me.

I had a bad feeling about all the participants this year. The Cloud, the Stone, and the Sand. They all reacted to my sudden appearance and practically locked onto me as their main threat

Which means they at least had some knowledge of me.

And if they know anything about my Wood Release, then I'm likely to be their primary target, not just for the exams but for the sake of their villages.

Another Hashirama existing in the world would be catastrophic to the other villages. I could strong-arm them if I ever reached Hashirama's level-

And they know that.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were ordered by their Kage to prioritize dealing with me over passing the exam.

… Perhaps I'm getting too ahead of myself. Such a thing is a possibility, but for them to actually put it into action-

"Lei!" Naruko shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Say something!"

"Eh?" I asked, my eyes scanning from Naruko to Satsuki and back to Naruko. "Were you two arguing again?"

They both huffed and looked away from each other. I had been so caught up in my thoughts and focused on outward sensing that I had pretty much dulled any close-range perception.

Honestly, with the way they argue, it's for the best.

As we turned a corner, the Academy came into view. Several different shinobi from other villages were waiting outside, eyeing the building before turning to us. We didn't care for their looks and made our way inside immediately, the people outside the Academy walked in and started following us.

Weird. Were they just waiting for some Konoha shinobi to come along and lead them to the examination room? These guys were definitely on edge; maybe they just didn't want to go anywhere without knowing they wouldn't get attacked.

Ties between the villages were paper thin after all, and to the other villages, Konoha must be some sort of evil superpower to them.

We made our way up the stairs. Our destination was room 311.

Upon reaching the third floor, we saw a group of people who were likely exam applicants sitting around the door.

"A blockage?" Satsuki asked.

"Looks like it." I shrugged and, gently but firmly, pushed through the crowd until I reached the front. The girls followed behind me, and upon reaching the front, we saw two young boys standing in the way.

As I saw their faces, the memory of an event before the chunin exams in canon flashed in my mind. I had completely forgotten about it until now since it had been relatively insignificant.

I stretched out my sensory chakra, and lo and behold, Izumo and Kotesu were both under transformation jutsu, and the room was under genjutsu.

This room was displayed as 311 by the genjutsu, but in reality, it was 211. The exam room was up one floor.

"No passing." Izumo's child-like form grinned at me.

"That's fine." I shrugged, turning around and gesturing for Naruko and Satsuki to follow me up the stairs. They both looked confused for a second before Satsuki looked back for a few moments, I could sense the chakra in her eyes, signifying her sharingan, before she looked back at me, realization in her eyes and a firm smirk tugging at her lips.

"Why are we leaving? This is the exam room!" Naruko huffed. I gave her a quick pat on the head, which calmed her down greatly, but I didn't provide any verbal answer as we released the genjutsu and made our way up the stairs.

Upon reaching the third floor, Naruko's eyes widened, seeing the room number was 311.

"How 311 was downstairs-" Naruko screamed before pausing. Her body visibly relaxed as she looked at me, defeat filling her eyes. "Genjutsu?"

"Genjutsu." Satsuki grinned, stepping past us and opening the door.

We walked in to see an empty room with a large amount of space. It looked like a room tailor-made for sparring and training.

"So, I'm guessing that's the waiting room." Satsuki pointed at a lone door to the left of us.

"I would assume you are correct." I nodded and started walking to the door-

"Wait!"

All three of us paused and turned to the sudden voice of a boy standing in the middle of the room.

Yeah, I should have assumed this would happen.

"We meet again, Lei Senju! It is our destiny to trade blows in a battle of youth!"

Oh god, yes!

"I accept, Rock Lee!"

"Please don't." Tenten groaned as she walked through the door we had entered, followed by their other teammate, Neji Hyuga.

"Tenten, I ask you to stay out of this." Rock Lee waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, which only made Tenten look more annoyed. "Lei, let us begin!"

"Whenever you're ready, Lee!" I grinned madly and took strong strides toward the green jumpsuit-wearing boy. "Naruko, start us off."

"This is so stupid." Neji turned away and headed toward the exam's waiting room.

"You're leaving?" Tenten asked before letting out a sigh once he ignored her. "Fine, I'll get Lee out of trouble. The brown-haired girl's eyes looked over to me, and I enjoyed the warmth that filled her eyes. The look she was giving me was that of seeing an old friend after a long time, Which applies to our situation.

I sent a warm smile at her in return before looking over to Naruko.

"You're really going to fight bushy-brows?" Naruko scrunched her nose for a second before shrugging. "Whatever, begin."

— Rock Lee —

The moment Naruko declared the beginning of their match, Lei rushed him with speed Lee hadn't expected out of him. Lei's leg came up to kick Lee, but the bushy-eyebrowed boy blocked the kick with his forearm. Wind pushed off their bodies from the speed and impact of the attack.

In an instant, Lei spun his body and used the same leg to kick Lee's forearm again; this time, he pushed Lee back several feet before rushing him again. They engaged in an intense taijutsu brawl with Lee on the defense; all the while, so much flowed through Lee's mind.

Was this the true power of Lei Senju?

A smile tugged at Lee's lips as he blocked a punch and counter-attacked with his own, only for Lei to duck under it and throw another punch that Lee blocked.

Seeing that he was being pushed back, Lee launched a flurry of punches at Lei, which the Senju Head blocked with ease, which further spurred Lee to go faster.

It was at this moment Lee realized that Lei was special. Not only was he born with talent and the strongest kekkei genkai in history, but he also worked hard. It didn't matter how much talent you had; the amount of hard work someone puts in could always be measured by their physical strength- and Lei's strength rivaled Lee's- no, it surpassed it!

Even though Lee still had his weight on, it was still obvious that Lei worked very hard to reach the power level he had attained.

Such a fight between two hard workers…it was exciting! This was taijutsu! This was youth!

Lee jumped backward and spread out his arms with an excited smile on his face.

"Lei, you are as strong as I thought you would be!" Lee crossed his arms, his smile turning into a fierce grin. "Here and now, I declare you my rival; let us show our youth in a burning green dance!"

Lei's eyes widened minutely, almost unnoticeably, before a shit-eating grin tugged at his lips. "Then, shall we dance, Lee?"

"Yes, we shall! First Gate, Gate of-"

"Dynamic Entry!"

*BOOM*

— Lei —

A man's shout followed by a massive explosion forced the room into silence as we waiting for the dust to clear.

I personally was on the verge of shedding tears due to the sheer amount of laughter I was holding back.

The dust started to clear, and standing where Lee had once been was another green jumpsuit wearing man. His foot was on the head of a dazed and damn near unconcious Lee, and he struck a pose.

"It is I, the mighty Blue Beast, Might Guy!"

"It's you!" Naruko shouted while pointing at Might Guy. "The bushy-brow guy."

"Yes, it is I." Might Guy sent a sparkling grin at Naruko that she had to shield her eyes from.

"How are your eyes even bushier than bushy brows?!"

"Maintenance, dedication, and YOUTH!" Guy placed his hands on his hips and laughed before looking down at Lee. "Lee, we both know what you were about to do."

"I apologize, Guy-sensei-"

*BANG*

Lee's body went flying from a kick that Guy gave him. His body rolled several meters before stopping.

"Lee, my boy." Guy walked over to Lee and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I can understand your need for a youthful battle of blossoming beauty, but do not forget what I've taught you!"

"Yes Guy-sensei, I am sorry!" Rock Lee declared, tears trailing out of his eyes. Might Guy hugged him tightly.

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"LEE!"

"GUY-SENSEI!"

"Yeah, I've seen enough, I'm out." Satsuki deadpanned before walking to the door. Tenten, and Naruko sped walked after her and within a few moments, they were gone.

I stayed and watched as Guy and Lee hugged each other. Honestly, it was kinda heartwarming, especially since I knew how much Lee meant to Guy and vice versa.

Guy finally looked at me and in an instant he let go of Lee.

"Lei!"

"Guy-sensei." I nodded and stood my ground as the hyperactive yet very powerful man approached me.

"I watched your spat with Lee, to think you have grown so much, it warms my heart and gets my blood boiling!" Guy laughed before pointing at Lee. "Lee!"

"Yes, Guy-sensei?"

"You have declared Lei your rival, work hard to surpass him, and then work even harder!"

"Yes Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

Yeah, I'm out.