"Alright then! I'll use you, the genius of the Uchiha clan, as my warm-up!"
"Jerk! How dare you underestimate me!" Sasuke roared, charging straight at Rock Lee.
Constantly overshadowed by Kazama, Sasuke was already frustrated with nowhere to vent. Now, seeing this guy in a tight green suit with bushy eyebrows daring to look down on him, Sasuke was absolutely livid.
"Not bad spirit, but your moves are too slow!"
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
Rock Lee spun into a high kick, sending Sasuke flying into the air.
"Konoha Gale!"
A follow-up low kick knocked Sasuke flat on the ground.
Just those two moves left Sasuke, no slouch in combat, battered and bruised, completely unable to fight back.
"This guy's taijutsu is even better than Kazama's!" Sasuke thought, stunned but refusing to give up.
He immediately activated his two-tomoe Sharingan.
"If he's that fast, I'll just use my Sharingan to track his attack patterns!"
But even with the Sharingan active, Sasuke kept getting pummeled in the fight that followed.
Sakura and Naruto could hardly believe their eyes. They knew how strong Sasuke was. Aside from Kazama, no one had ever beaten him this badly.
"You "You're too weak. There's no point in continuing this," Rock Lee said, turning to Kazama.
"You're up. Otherwise, your teammate won't be in any shape to take the Chunin Exams."
"Why did this happen? The Sharingan's supposed to see through taijutsu! Why couldn't I beat him?"
"Because he's too fast. Even if your Sharingan can track his attacks, your body can't keep up," Kazama explained, helping Sasuke to his feet.
"Now it's my turn."
"Finally, I've been waiting for this!" Rock Lee said, practically buzzing with excitement.
He launched into the Konoha Great Whirlwind, an all-out spinning attack.
But Kazama didn't even dodge. He stood his ground, summoning the Mysterious Yellow Flame, which swirled around his body.
The flame's incredible defensive power made it perfect for countering Lee's taijutsu.
"Using Katon to defend? Is this guy out of his mind?" The onlookers, clueless about Kazama's strategy, started mocking him.
In their minds, Katon was for attacking, not defending. But they didn't know Kazama's flame wasn't ordinary—it was a devastating, otherworldly fire.
*Boom!*
Just when everyone thought Rock Lee would crush Kazama, Lee's spinning kick couldn't even break through the fiery barrier around Kazama's body, let alone touch him.
"What?! What kind of Katon is this? Its defense is insane!" the crowd gasped.
Even Rock Lee couldn't believe it. The moment his kick hit the Mysterious Yellow Flame, it felt like slamming into solid rock. Not only could he not break through, but his right foot was throbbing with pain.
"No way! I refuse to believe I can't break your defense!"
"Konoha Rising Wind!"
"Dynamic Prelude!"
Lee unleashed two even stronger techniques in quick succession.
But the result was the same—Kazama's Mysterious Yellow Flame held firm, completely unshaken.