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Chapter 7 - CHAPTER 7

Chapter 7 – Wildfire and Claws

The battlefield shimmered into place: a circular arena suspended over a bottomless pit of swirling chakra. Stone tiles floated midair, loosely connected by thin bridges. There was no fence. Fall, and the system would catch you—but only after confirming defeat.

Two shinobi faced each other under the white sky.

On one end, Rock Lee, standing tall in his green jumpsuit, knuckles taped. His expression was calm, but focused like a lit fuse.

On the opposite side, Yugito Nii, kunoichi of the Cloud. Blonde hair tied back, two tails of flickering chakra dancing behind her like smoke. Her pupils had thinned to slits.

The system voice echoed:

"Group A – Match 3.

Rock Lee vs. Yugito Nii.

Begin."

Lee didn't wait.

He disappeared with a sharp crack—breaking the tile beneath his foot. In a blink, he was already mid-punch.

Yugito dodged sideways, claws extending from her fingertips with a puff of blue fire. The tails of chakra behind her flared wide.

Claws of the Two-Tails.

She slashed, Lee ducked, kicked upward—and missed as she leapt to another platform.

But he was right behind her again.

"Fast," Yugito muttered, spinning midair. "But predictable."

She landed and pressed a hand to the tile.

Flame Style: Ghost Scatter.

Blue fire burst from the floor in a wide arc. It wasn't hot like normal fire—just… hungry.

Lee's jacket caught flame at the edges. He rolled, shrugging it off, eyes sharper than before.

He slid into a stance. "I can't hold back."

"Permission granted," the system spoke suddenly, "to activate the First Gate."

Yugito raised an eyebrow. "You've been holding back?"

Lee exploded forward with Gate of Opening.

His next strike caught her clean in the gut. Not lethal, but enough to lift her off her feet and send her skidding across a tile bridge.

She wiped blood from her lip.

Her tails snapped back into full form.

"You're faster," she admitted. "Then I'll stop holding back too."

Her feet dug into the tile. The chakra cloaking her flared into a glowing veil—two jagged tails curving behind her like serpents.

Partial Transformation: Matatabi's Flame Mode.

They clashed again—fire and fists, taijutsu and feral power. Lee ducked, spun, and struck, but Yugito twisted and countered with brutal palm strikes backed by beast chakra.

One blow knocked him straight back into a pillar.

But he didn't fall.

The tile beneath his foot cracked—again.

"Permission granted. Gate of Healing."

Lee roared.

His speed doubled. Each step shattered ground. Yugito struggled to track him—until she let instinct take over.

Blue fire spiraled around her body as she entered her feral state completely. Her skin burned with symbols, her eyes glowing.

They collided again midair. Fist met claw.

Neither gave ground.

Until—

Lee dropped low and swept her feet. She twisted in time—but it was enough. He rose into a Leaf Rising Wind, caught her mid-chest, and flung her backward.

She slammed into a floating pillar. Chakra burst from her body, wild and unstable.

But she landed on her feet.

Breathing hard.

Both of them were burning chakra fast.

And both were smiling.

Yugito crouched. "Let's end this."

Lee nodded. "Yes."

Final exchange.

A blaze of blue chakra streaked toward him—wild and spitting.

Lee ducked under it, appeared in front of her, palm cocked.

Leaf Hurricane.

A direct hit.

Yugito dropped.

The system pulsed in gold.

"Winner: Rock Lee.

Chakra and Skill absorption commencing.

Reset will begin in 30 seconds."

Lee stood silently, breathing hard. His gates closed. His pulse slowed.

Yugito blinked up at him.

"You're stronger than you look."

"You too," Lee said, offering her a hand.

She took it.

As the battlefield dissolved, the sky above pulsed once again.

Only two more matches left in Group A.

Then… eliminations.

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