Chapter 187: Sasuke VS Neji?
The joint training between Kakashi and Gai's squads.
Lee and Neji had been looking forward to this for a long time.
Especially Lee. The three members of Team 7 were all powerful peers, and he was extremely eager to challenge every single one of them.
Of course, Sasuke was the target he most craved to challenge.
However, after hearing that the "Fist of the North Star" that Neji used was developed by Haruno Sakura, he had become interested in this pink-haired girl as well.
—Obviously, not that kind of interest.
"Hn, Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, who should I fight first?"
On the training ground, Lee fell into deep thought!
It turns out that when there is someone else next to you trying to snatch something, hesitating is the worst thing to do.
Lee had only hesitated for two seconds, and Neji had already chosen his opponent and was ready to fight, pushing Lee's ranking down.
During the Chunin Exams, he had already fought against Haruno Sakura. This time, it was only natural that he chose Sasuke.
And the key was that he had interacted with her many times recently and knew what Sakura's current strength was... Of course, he wouldn't go looking for a beating.
"You can take your time choosing, Lee," Neji said, patting Lee's shoulder, and walked to the middle of the training ground with Sasuke. "We'll start first!"
This left Lee and Haruno Sakura standing on the sidelines, staring at each other...
"Ahem," the pink-haired girl cleared her throat, breaking the strange silence between the two. "Then let's wait for them to finish their spar, and then we'll go up!"
She took two steps back, found a thick wooden post used for taijutsu practice, and sat on top of it.
Looking at the silent Lee, Sakura felt the atmosphere was inexplicably awkward.
That's right. She had been confessed to by Lee to her face, and then she had directly rejected him. With this matter between the two of them, any boy would feel a little awkward, right? She was very clear on this point.
Haruno Sakura thought for a moment and felt that it was more appropriate to just get it out in the open. If she was too tactful, Lee might not understand. So she spoke to the boy who had sat down on top of another wooden post next to her.
"Lee-kun... you confessed to me before, you know."
Speaking of which, this was the first time she had chatted with Lee like this. But to start with such an awkward topic, an ordinary person would probably not be able to continue the conversation. But a desperate illness requires a strong medicine. Without such an explosive opening, the two of them would probably have to continue being awkward.
"Ah?" Lee had just been focusing on the two people on the field. Hearing this, he turned his head in astonishment.
He saw her squinting, smiling like a bright summer flower.
"Uh, yes... that did happen..."
Haruno Sakura watched with great interest as his face gradually turned red.
Seeing these familiar yet unfamiliar characters show expressions that were never in the original story is also a small, bad hobby of mine!
Like Sasuke and Naruto, they had both been teased by her in this way and that... As for Hinata, because her personality was already so different from the shyness of the original story, she could see the white-eyed girl's non-canon expressions every day, so now she was actually looking forward to seeing Hinata's blushing face again.
"You're blushing," her laugh was as crisp and pleasant as a silver bell. "Does that mean—"
"You still like me?"
Watching Lee's face turn red, it's really interesting...
However, Sakura knew that Lee did not like her now. So the words she was saying now were just a form of teasing.
She could see that Lee was very embarrassed. Sakura understood his feelings very well. After all, Lee had once confessed to her and been rejected by her. It was natural to feel a little uncomfortable when they interacted again.
And the deeper meaning was that there was another reason for Lee's discomfort, which was that he no longer had that kind of feeling for Sakura, but... if Sakura still saw him as someone who liked her, then it would be very awkward. Some girls with an excess of self-consciousness would have this kind of illusion, and then do some things that would make people not know whether to laugh or cry, and finally make the scene unmanageable.
This kind of subtle feeling, a girl might find it hard to understand, but Sakura obviously could understand his feelings. She had, after all, once been a "he"... those feelings she'd had as a "he," she remembered them very clearly.
Of course, on the other hand, if Lee really did have that kind of intention, Sakura would never have said such a flirtatious thing. Otherwise, her interpersonal relationships would be full of chaos that she couldn't cut or sort out. Sakura didn't want to turn herself into the protagonist of a teen romance drama...
Her bringing up the topic now was actually to clear the awkward atmosphere between the two of them and make friends with him. For a person like Lee, whose experiences could be written into an inspirational textbook, she still admired his spirit.
In short, he was a man worth befriending.
Although the truth behind the "effort-type genius" was a bowl of poisonous chicken soup, at least Lee had truly put in a lot of effort to get his returns. This was a result she had witnessed with her own eyes. To see a person who could make such an effort was indeed quite shocking and moving. It was a deeper feeling than what she had seen in the manga in her previous life.
Of course, if Lee's aesthetic sense could be slightly corrected, that would be even better...
And to become true friends, it was best to clear up the misunderstanding first, just like to make a wound heal, you have to squeeze out the pus first.
And so Lee, his face flushed red, said nervously, "S-Sorry, I don't like you anymore!"
"Hn, so you're saying you hate me, Lee-kun?" she said, touching her chin. The smooth touch reminded her of her own identity. Sakura dragged out her words, blinked her eyes, her voice carrying a hint of playfulness.
"Sorry, uh... that's not what I meant either!" Lee said, stammering a little.
The girl chuckled lightly.
"I know what you mean..." she said, turning her head to look at Sasuke and Neji, who were talking in the center of the field, a smile flowing in her eyes. "It's not that kind of 'like' anymore, right?"
She watched as Lee visibly relaxed, his face also calming down a lot, and then said.
"So let's get to know each other again. Let's be friends."
Lee then saw the girl turn her head back, her eyes curved in a bright and sincere smile, as she extended her hand to him.
Her features... were too exquisite and delicate, and didn't really fit his aesthetic. But when the girl smiled so genuinely, it made him feel a sense of heartfelt beauty.
Now Lee also had to admit that this kind of very exquisite face could also smile very beautifully...
So after only a moment's hesitation, Lee also smiled and extended his right hand.
The two hands, one smooth and one rough, clasped together.
"I'm Sakura. I'm good at Water Style and Ice Style, and my taijutsu isn't bad either. Please take good care of me!" the girl said, her lips pursed in a smile, the corners of her mouth curved in a happy arc.
"I'm Rock Lee. Just call me Lee. I'm good at taijutsu. Please take good care of me too!"
The boy with the thick eyebrows said with a wide grin.
Shaking hands like this, it seemed as if the two had really become friends. A wonderful feeling arose in Lee's heart.
Then he subconsciously tried to judge her taijutsu level through the handshake.
Like many kunoichi, she had no hard calluses on her hands. When shaking her hand, one could feel that kind of feminine softness.
However, it was not that kind of delicate, boneless touch. Lee had always despised that kind of soft feeling, feeling that it was just too sickening.
Fortunately, the other party was not the type he hated the most. On the contrary, when he squeezed firmly, he could feel her strength, a strength hidden deep within her body.
Is this the Monstrous Strength that Gai-sensei said she inherited from the Fifth Hokage?
"Sakura-san, your Monstrous Strength, what kind of taijutsu is it?" Lee was not the type to hide his questions. He took this opportunity to ask.
Haruno Sakura showed an unsurprised expression.
As expected of a question that a taijutsu maniac would care about.
"The Monstrous Strength Technique, rather than calling it taijutsu, it's more like nin-taijutsu," she said slowly. "Lee-kun, I remember that your chakra can't be used to cast ninjutsu, but it can be used to enhance your body, right?"
Lee nodded. If his chakra couldn't be used to enhance his body, then what was the difference between him and an ordinary person?
"Then have you ever thought about what the result would be if you were to refine this technique of enhancing your body with chakra to an extremely deep level?"
"That's the Monstrous Strength Technique?"
"That's right. So the so-called Monstrous Strength Technique is, in essence, a kind of particularly exquisitely designed method of enhancing the body with chakra. It can make the muscles exert extremely powerful strength in an instant. Using it on the legs can make one's speed explode and become extremely fast. Using it on the hands can give the fists the power to shatter the ground with a single punch!"
"Is it that strong?" Lee looked at his own hands, feeling that the strength he had worked so hard to train had been surpassed by a single ninjutsu in an instant. He suddenly felt a sense of disappointment, questioning his life.
"It is indeed like that, but the Monstrous Strength Technique has only ever had two users, my master and I. It has an extremely high requirement for chakra control..." Sakura said, keenly sensing Lee's emotions, and added, "If taijutsu requires the user to desperately train their body, then the Monstrous Strength Technique requires the user to desperately train their chakra skills. It's actually the same. I've been training my chakra skills for seven or eight years without a break!"
"Oh, so that's how it is..." This explanation made Lee feel much better. Sure enough, whether it was taijutsu or ninjutsu, one had to work hard to train to become strong. In this world, there was no such good thing as gaining strength without effort!
—No, unfortunately, this world does have this kind of good thing, called a "cheat"... It's just limited to RMB players.
"Then what about Neji's Fist of the North Star... uh, no, I mean, the Farmer's Three Punches?" he asked, pointing at Neji and Sasuke on the field. After a round of probing, these two had already started to use some of their true skills.
Hearing this name, the pink-haired girl burst out laughing.
Neji, your image is completely ruined!
"The real name is actually Fist of the North Star," the girl said, holding back her laughter. In the end, she chose not to mess with Neji again, but to correct Lee's pronunciation.
"Actually, the thinking behind this move is the same as your Eight Gates, just that it uses tenketsu points with a gentler effect. This way, the chakra produced will not be so violent that it can't be used to cast the Gentle Fist, and the pressure on the body is not as high as the Eight Gates."
"Of course, as a trade-off, its effect is also much worse than the Eight Gates."
She turned her gaze to the two on the field.
In this short time, Neji and Sasuke had already exchanged many blows.
In the first round of feints and probes, the two had fought to a 50/50 draw.
"As expected of last year's number one genius. Your taijutsu is indeed very strong!" Sasuke praised faintly.
The opponent was indeed not a weakling. He could see that Neji had not yet used his full strength, but he could still defend against his attacks with ease.
Of course, he was also holding back...
"Same to you!"
Neji once again took the opening stance of the Gentle Fist.
After a moment of confrontation, the two's eyes narrowed at the same time, and then they rushed towards each other again!
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