Chapter 27: Rock vs Neji

"Tenten, Watch closely and remember. You should literally capture in your memory how two geniuses fight each other."

Might Guy spoke deeply, even very solemnly.

He didn't take his eyes off of Rock and Neji, who were standing facing each other as if they were afraid to lose even a simple staring contest.

In fact, the competitive spirit was so strong that even Tenten could feel it.

She couldn't see it but mentally felt the air was filled with a heavy aura and pressure.

"You used to be more sharp-tongued. Why are you silent now? Are you scared? Do you not feel as confident as before? Well, what could be expected from a loser..."

Neji sneered with disdain while considering himself the winner.

With the Byakugan activated, Neji thought he could see everything in front of him including his emotions and thoughts, but...

"Are you laughing? There is no lie in silence and that's all. That's the answer to why I'm silent."

Lee took one but fiercely confident step, causing all unnecessary questions to disappear instantly.

 A powerful aura enveloped Lee's figure while a brighter spark of blue chakra lit up in Neji's palms and tightly enveloped his hands. 

It turned out that they were completely ready, and all that was left was to hear one thing from their sensei...

"Begin!"

They both instantly moved from their positions leaving barely noticeable but still striking imprints on the ground beneath their feet. 

Neji quickly jumped and started aiming at the Tenketsu points on Lee's body. 

However, Lee quickly blocked Neji's attacks with his palms and dodged in a battle dance. 

He was clearly faster than Neji when it came to agility.

However, this didn't mean much because Neji pressed and lunged at him.

Nevertheless, Lee's body was much more slender than Neji's. 

Lee's muscles had not become as strong as anyone might think.

He had been training for about a month since his transmigration, but rather faster, more agile, and more dexterous! 

This is how Rock had planned it.

He knows his body much better than anyone else. He could clearly say that regarding body condition because he had a greater idea of agility and acrobatics.

However, what about Neji's defense?

Neji also blocked Rock's attacks. Rock hadn't put all of his power into his strikes yet, but he was still amazed at how good Neji was at fighting.

He completely lived up to being the prodigy of the largest clan in Konoha. 

Neji easily blocked Rock's attacks with his chakra-enhanced and energized hands, and he was able to counterattack when necessary. 

"Ha-ha!"

Neji quickly let out a sharp breath, turned slightly to the left, and let Lee's strike pass by. 

He then aimed straight for Rock's chest to hit the Tenketsu point closer to his heart.

Neji's behavior showed that he was taking things very seriously.

However, no one wanted to lose. 

Lee spun in place and used the Kami-e to avoid the straight hit to the chest. He then tried to get close to Neji and finished with a throw over the shoulder.

However, these kinds of plans rarely work out on the first try in a sparring match with an evenly-matched opponent. 

That's exactly what happened now. 

Rock took the first steps toward Neji. Neji frowned and did a sharp somersault backward while planning to kick him in the face with his legs. 

Lee quickly pulled his head back and dodged the kick.

"Damn it!.." 

Rock muttered to himself, and he never even thought about retreating when energetic Neji decided to give ground.

On the contrary, he kicked down while roughly knocking down Neji's somersault. 

Afterwards, Lee immediately changed his stance to switch to the other side of the body and use his right leg, right hand, and right stance. 

This style didn't work against a Might Guy, but against a Genin? 

"Feel this!" 

Lee exclaimed fiercely through clenched teeth and sped up even more. 

He made sure that each of his next strikes was aimed at the invisible, intangible point that happened to be behind Neji's back.

The technique turned out to be truly sharp.

After stepping back and standing up, Neji wanted to dodge to the side because there was no more going back. 

After all, the line was already behind him. 

Nevertheless, Lee's strike was very different from what Neji had encountered before. 

Neji reluctantly avoided the kick in the somersault with nervousness and just barely crossed the line.

However, there was a fist filled with anger and steely determination, swiftly flying towards him with the knuckles aimed at his nose.

"Damn it!.."

Neji's eyes widened in fear and confusion because he knew that a strike with a lot of chakra flowing through it could not only break his face but also break someone's bones into tiny pieces.

At this moment, Neji felt like never before, and he would completely lose himself with one single blow...

Nevertheless, Lee stopped forcing energy to flow through his body before his fist collided with Neji's face. 

He also slightly changed the direction of the strike, going for the nose and hitting Neji in the cheek and temple.

"It's understandable."

Guy nodded when Neji quickly tilted backward, and Lee lost his balance while barely managing not to fall flat on his back.

However, the shocked expression on Neji's face said it all. He couldn't continue fighting.

"This... I can't put into words how they are on a higher level than me... And I can't describe in words how strong Rock is..." 

Tenten muttered in shock under her breath and filled with even greater respect and admiration for Lee.

"How... How is this possible?! Why me?.. Why did I miss the strike and lose?.. And why?.. Why did you hold back at the end?!" 

Neji spoke too emotionally for himself, with dry lips while looking down.

He lost all his strength and could not contain himself while falling to his knees and breathing heavily. 

He couldn't even raise his gaze at Lee who was standing in front of him...

The very fact of such a defeat cruelly struck him in the mind while hitting his pride much harder than any fist to the face.

It appeared to Neji that everything was falling apart. 

"Don't think I just spared you. After all, we're teammates, and would it have been normal for me to beat my comrade near to death? I simply showed what I was capable of. You missed the strike because you assumed you'd be given the opportunity to calmly roll away and retreat, pff." 

Lee explained and snorted while approaching the tired Neji with an outstretched hand while continuing in a serious tone and confidently looking straight into him.

"I can't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, and I don't even have the legendary Doujutsu. How did I defeat you? The answer is simple because I trained like hell."

"In the past month, I did push-ups so many times that it's hard to give an exact number. I squatted until my legs fell off and cramped up. I even broke all the thick branches on the trees nearby to do an extra hundred pull-ups."

"Yes, something else helped me a bit, but I did most of it myself. I wouldn't have gained this strength if I had just sat idly and not trained. Well, fate is a complex thing. It's our decisions based on our actions, or it's just plain luck or misfortune. However, giving up because of that or melancholically complaining about fate... That's the same as declaring shortsightedness. I heard that a Hyuga from a side branch of the clan receives the cursed seal of control on their forehead at a certain point..."

"What?! Where did you get that from?!" 

Neji interrupted him and was genuinely surprised by such knowledge. 

The information about the seal wasn't exactly top-secret, but not everyone knew about it, and how could this clanless boy know?

"Konoha's library. It has all sorts of things, and the key is knowing how to look for them."

Lee shrugged while lying, but he didn't even bat an eye and continued to talk no jutsu.

"So, what will you choose? Arrogance or fairness? A loner in a full-fledged team of Genins and one Jonin? That can't be and don't fool me! Come on, take my hand, and stop crying about your fate. We'll understand and support you."

Karate is an art for virtuous people.

It's not about winning or losing but about perfecting yourself or others.

...

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