Sakura watched the conversation between Tenten and Naruto, a strange, uncomfortable feeling suddenly welling up in her heart.
She grabbed Sasuke's sleeve and called out to Naruto's side, "Let's go! Sasuke, Naruto, the exam is important, don't waste time here!"
Naruto nodded to Tenten as a farewell, then he, Sasuke, and Sakura passed through the crowd that had returned to normal and headed up the stairs toward the third floor.
At this moment, Rock Lee broke out of his petrified state. He looked in the direction where Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had left, his lips moving. Then he clenched his fists and straightened his back.
After passing through the second-floor, the corridor was noticeably much quieter. Most of the candidates who had truly passed the illusion identification had already gone in.
Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the corner of the stairs behind them.
Naruto's footsteps paused slightly. He swept his perception backward, and the corners of his lips curved slightly.
"Wait a second."
The next moment, a green figure dashed from the corner and stopped behind the three of them.
Rock Lee stood in the middle of the stairs, his voice full of vigor. "Sasuke, I want to challenge you."
His gaze passed over Sakura and Naruto and landed on Sasuke. "It wasn't convenient on the second floor just now, but now that no one is disturbing us here, I want to confirm one thing for myself: just how much strength does Sasuke, the number one rookie of this year, really have?"
Sasuke turned around, looking down at Rock Lee.
This thick-browed guy had caught his and the gatekeeper's leg on the second floor just now... he was fast.
Sasuke's lips curled up slightly. "Sure."
Having said that, he walked toward Rock Lee and launched the attack first. He pushed off the ground with his right foot, charging straight at Rock Lee.
This punch had no feints, no probing. He simply pushed his speed to the limit, testing just how fast Rock Lee really was.
Rock Lee tilted his body slightly. Sasuke's fist missed, brushing past the tip of his nose.
Before Sasuke could retract his arm from the missed swing, Rock Lee's right foot sprang up from the ground.
Konoha Whirlwind!
Sasuke only had time to turn his body slightly at the moment of contact to use his shoulder to absorb some of the impact force, but his whole body was kicked away, his back slamming into the corridor wall and creating spiderweb-like cracks on the wall before he bounced onto the ground.
"Sasuke..."
Seeing this, Sakura's face instantly turned pale.
Sasuke stood up, supporting himself with the ground. His breathing wasn't ragged, but the corner of his eye twitched.
The speed of that strike just now... let alone seeing it clearly, he hadn't even had time to activate his Sharingan.
Sasuke shook his right shoulder, which had been kicked numb and raised his head. In his eyes, two black tomoe were rotating within the scarlet irises.
These eyes could see through the opponent's muscle exertion, Chakra flow, and movement trajectory. Theoretically, any Taijutsu would be predicted in advance in front of these eyes.
"Sharingan?"
Rock Lee was clearly stunned when he saw the scarlet eyes, then he excitedly smiled.
"The Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan? Let me experience it, Sasuke—your Taijutsu after activating the Sharingan."
Sasuke began to charge again, his speed greater than before.
After activating the Sharingan, his dynamic vision was elevated to a higher level. He could clearly see every tiny sway of Rock Lee's shoulders, every pre-exertion of his calf muscles, and could even capture the pattern of his footwork as his center of gravity switched between his left and right feet.
Sasuke chose to cut in from the side the moment Rock Lee changed direction from the front, tapping his left foot on the ground and suddenly shifting his center of gravity.
However, Rock Lee was still faster than him. His lower-body evasion didn't rely on fancy footwork, but on pure speed dominance.
At the same instant Sasuke cut in from the side, Rock Lee's body had already sunk into a lower stance in advance, and his right leg kicked out diagonally from Sasuke's visual blind spot.
Sasuke's Sharingan captured the kick, but Rock Lee was too fast.
Bang!
Sasuke flipped half a turn in the air before falling to the ground, his forehead protector sliding to one side.
"How is that possible? Sasuke has clearly already activated the Sharingan!" Sakura covered her mouth.
When Sasuke stood up again, his legs were already a bit weak.
This thick-browed guy was so fast that even the Sharingan couldn't fully keep up.
Moreover, Sasuke could feel that the opponent hadn't even used his full strength yet.
He gritted his teeth and assumed a fighting stance again.
Rock Lee sprang from the ground again. This time, he was even faster, appearing directly behind Sasuke.
He pulled his right hand back and pressed his left hand downward. The next move would be the Shadow of the Dancing Leaf, followed by a series of aerial combos.
Just then, someone grabbed Rock Lee by the back of his collar. The next moment, an arm reached over from behind, lifting Rock Lee, who was preparing to attack. Then, a fist slammed onto the top of Rock Lee's head.
Thump!
"Ouch!"
Lee clutched his head as a bump swelled up, tears welling in his eyes.
Standing right behind him was a man wearing a green bodysuit, sporting a bowl cut, and eyebrows even thicker than Lee's.
Might Guy.
Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey.