[Hanabi's out here hyping up her own big bro way too hard]
[Neji: Don't jinx me, dammit!]
[The brother-in-law felt a chill run down his spine]
[Hey, not my fault my wife's a jinx]
Hanabi: ???
What's going on?
When did I become a jinx?
It had never once occurred to Hanabi that she'd somehow picked up a strange new "attribute."
Looking closer, it seemed to be a meme that had slowly grown out of all her failed attempts to treat people to a meal.
"…Is it really that ridiculous?"
It was just a few times she'd failed to land a dinner invite, that's all.
She was a fresh, lovely young beauty—the jinx persona didn't suit her at all.
Right. One of these days she'd figure out a way to treat Naruto to a bowl of Ichiraku ramen, and the rumor would fall apart on its own.
Down on the arena floor, Lee had already opened the Third Gate, then the Fourth.
"Here I come!"
Lee rushed in.
There was no more chance to dodge.
But—
"Revolving Heaven!"
Revolving Heaven.
Absolute defense, of another kind.
Even Lee with four gates open was still flung aside by Neji.
But Neji lost his own balance too, nearly toppling over.
"What was that!"
Even Neji didn't quite understand it.
"Incredible! Even with the Sharingan I can barely keep up…" Sasuke had activated his Sharingan, trying his best to track the movement, but he could only just barely follow their speed.
"The Reverse Lotus. That's a move even Neji has never seen." Guy spoke from the side. "Neji can force a few gates open too, but in pure taijutsu, Neji can't compare to Lee."
Neji couldn't even learn the Front Lotus—though that was less a matter of talent than of compatibility.
"Nani?!"
Neji was still off-balance, yet Lee had already reappeared right beside him.
"Neji, this is the move I prepared specifically to take you down—the Reverse Lotus!"
Lee sent Neji flying with a kick, but this time Neji couldn't even resist!
By now Lee had turned completely red, steam pouring off his body, his whole figure like green and red lightning braided together.
"Then I'll just… take it!"
Can't block it? Then don't block.
Spread chakra across the whole body and just eat the hit.
"He's so solid…" Lee felt that terrifying intensity.
"Looks like Naruto's instinct was right." Kakashi marveled. "Indeed—it's like waves crashing against a great boulder."
"In that case—Gate of Limit, open!"
Lee opened the Fifth Gate.
"Reverse Lotus!"
"Come on, Lee!"
"Hm?!" Kakashi noticed something off.
The Neji who'd been rock-solid a moment ago was now different.
"Neji has pulled his chakra in," Hanabi said. "He's using chakra to guard only the body's most critical life-support systems, and everything else he's already given up on."
"Why would Hanabi's brother do that?!" Naruto found it baffling.
"When a person is cold, blood drains from the limbs to protect the torso and the brain. And if the temperature keeps dropping, the body's instinct will protect only the brain and the heart—and as for everything else, all of it is expendable." Kakashi said. "Neji has already judged it: there's no way at all he can block Lee."
"—In other words, for Neji, as long as he can still maintain the most basic combat capacity after Lee's attack ends, that's his victory." Guy saw it too. "Truly worthy of being my subordinate, Neji—you burn with the same youth as Lee!"
"Within the arena only, of course," Hanabi added. "On an actual battlefield, Neji wouldn't do this, because it would mean certain death from offering no resistance."
"—But if it were a real battlefield, that Neji would've gone straight to ninjutsu from the start." Sasuke spoke up too.
A real battlefield and an arena were different things, so in the arena you could show off, but on a real battlefield—not necessarily.
Lee's speed was extreme. Sand and stones flew across the field, a fierce wind howled, and the whole exam hall seemed to tremble for their battle.
And this was merely the airflow stirred up by Lee's tremendous speed.
A move like this had already surpassed Genin level—even an ordinary Chūnin would struggle to withstand it.
"Boom…!"
In the end, Neji was struck down to the ground by Lee, and Lee was bounced off into the wall by the sheer recoil.
"Cough, cough… cough, cough…"
Neji looked utterly wretched, but in the end he still hadn't lost consciousness.
"What a shame, Lee…" Neji panted as he climbed to his feet.
"As expected of Neji, still able to stand…"
Lee, too, struggled back up.
But whether it was Neji or Lee, their movements grew slower and slower, their breathing ragged and feeble, their stamina utterly spent.
By this point, their fight no longer had anything to do with ability itself—it was a pure test of spirit and will.
"Lee!"
"Neji!"
Their chakra was completely exhausted; their fight had become nothing but wild, desperate punches.
In this state, whoever won and whoever lost wouldn't be a surprise.
It came down to who could hold out to the very end.
"So this is… the resolve and determination of Hyuga Neji and Rock Lee…?"
Naruto's eyes brimmed with tears.
In the end, both sides had nothing left but grit.
With every inch of strength and every clash of techniques, they expressed the toughness and the creed of the ninja.
Then Neji landed a punch on Lee, and Lee landed a punch on Neji, and afterward the two slumped against each other—and neither of them moved.
"Uh… they've both passed out." Gekko Hayate approached. "I declare this match—a draw!"
[And They Both Lived Happily Ever After]
[Grass (a type of exclamation), they even managed to meme THIS]
[A draw means both get eliminated, or both advance?]
[It's an elimination round to begin with, fewer people the better—obviously both are out]
[The sakuga episodes are just the best to watch, and the ending killed me too]
[Stop with the sappy stuff! Hurry up and bring out the next pair!]
"Lee, Neji, you did well—you did so well!"
Guy rushed onto the arena, then gathered the two of them into an embrace.
"This is what a ninja's battle should be!" Naruto pumped his fist, a little fired up.
To put your whole body's strength on display and clash with your opponent over ideals—it was just too magnificent!
"But with this, there's hardly any capable opponent left on the floor."
Sasuke was thinking it over.
For now, aside from Gaara over there who still hadn't gone up, everyone else seemed to be a bit player, nothing worth fearing at all.
"Don't go underestimating your opponent, Sasuke." Kakashi pointed at the bulletin board.
"Uchiha Sasuke VS Dosu Kinuta."
The Block-of-Wood against "Six Paths Dosu"?
Hanabi tilted her head. Seemed kind of fun~