Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 62: The Preliminary Rounds End

This was a battle that required absolutely no skill.

Lee was already incredibly fast, but with the Eight Gates, he became so fast it was impossible to see with the naked eye. His opponents, even with their eyes closed, could always pinpoint his location and counterattack before his attacks could land. Unable to break through his defenses, and instead suffering injuries from each of Naruto's counterattacks, Lee, with Guy's approval, completely released the seals and unleashed his trump card—the last few gates.

When the first two gates opened, the battle remained unchanged. But when the third gate, the Gate of Life, opened, Lee was finally able to touch Naruto! The two exchanged blows, one being struck in the abdomen and the other in the shoulder, almost resulting in mutual injury. Lee coughed up blood, clutching his abdomen, and gritted his teeth as he got up from the ground. Naruto, on the other hand, was still standing, one arm hanging limply at his sides.

Having finally glimpsed a glimmer of hope for victory, Lee naturally intended to continue, but a chilling power suddenly emanated from his opponent. The ground cracked under the pressure of the powerful chakra flow, and a bright orange-red energy, visible to the naked eye, surrounded Naruto, whose appearance had even slightly changed. He saw that the beard on Naruto's face had become more pronounced, and his azure eyes were now covered in crimson. But those were clearly not Sharingan; they were a pair of vertically oriented beast eyes.

The first moment the beast's eyes fixed on him was terrifying. He saw a dark rage on that perpetually peaceful and sunny face, and it was as if the one staring at him wasn't Naruto, but a dangerous behemoth. But soon, that intense sense of danger vanished, the chakra receded into his body, and the beast's eyes were no longer ferocious. He saw a hint of helplessness in Naruto's beast-like face; this was the Naruto he usually appeared to be.

Naruto moved his shoulder, and after a slight cracking sound, his arm, which appeared to be broken, was completely healed. In terms of recovery and endurance, Lee couldn't possibly win, but Naruto wasn't at his best either, so he was conserving his energy, preferring to stand and work as much as possible. The power of the Eight Inner Gates was indeed more impressive when unleashed by a pure taijutsu master; he himself was somewhat lacking, unable to open even the highest three gates.

"Li, be careful." Naruto had obtained Kurama's massive amount of chakra, and he had to release it. He immediately created several shadow clones, while his main body retreated underground under the cover of smoke.

The answer is simple: if I get injured again, Nine-Tailed Fox will complain...

This was usually the norm when Lee and Naruto sparred. Naruto, equally adept at ninjutsu, was practically the bane of taijutsu ninjas. Lee had once tried to grab Naruto with his frontal lotus, but the bandages were instantly shredded by a wind-style technique before they could even be fully straightened, resulting in a counterattack. Therefore, he stopped trying to grab him with the lotus and instead sought to deal maximum damage with his fists and feet. And when he tried to get close, Naruto would use a large-scale ninjutsu to suppress him, just like now…

"Water Release..." Seeing the shadow clone forming hand seals, Li rushed forward. The way to interrupt a technique is, of course, to directly interrupt the caster's hand seals!

But Naruto is someone who can outmaneuver anyone when it comes to holding back. Lee reacted at the same pace Naruto used when he was holding back, so he had no chance of gaining the upper hand.

It wasn't the water-style jutsu that moved first, but the ground. Lee was halfway there when the soft ground restricted him. Looking closer, he saw a clone in a corner slamming its hands on the ground, turning the hard bricks into a wetland that could be churned up by the waves. Only then did the clone finish its hand seals, and a wave, comparable to a tidal wave, swept Lee headfirst. He floated for a while, disoriented like a piece of seaweed, but couldn't find anything to hold him back. A moment later, he was completely immobilized again, because the light water around him suddenly felt incredibly heavy, pressing him firmly to the center. The prolonged lack of oxygen had robbed him of some of his senses; the last thing he remembered was several Narutos watching him from across the water…

"Naruto Uzumaki wins!" The referee, who looked sickly, announced the result.

As the tide receded, Rock Lee, who had drowned on the dry land, was surrounded by doctors. After some fumbling, he coughed up the water from his lungs and regained his breathing. Meanwhile, his opponent seemed to need no treatment at all and turned back to the audience.

Naruto's Water Prison Technique was a stroke of genius; it secured victory without harming Lee, and he was quite satisfied with the result. But there were always those who weren't satisfied, such as Sasuke, who was currently pulling at the shirt on Lee's right shoulder.

"To the medical room." Sasuke tugged at his clothes without success, but didn't give up. Such a loud cracking sound, such a clear image of chakra chains breaking and then reforming—was he deaf or blind? Did he really think he couldn't hear or see?

"I'm fine now." Naruto still wanted to maintain his composure in public. "This little injury is nothing to me."

...You call a broken collarbone a minor injury? You're dreaming!

Sasuke was furious, but Naruto, to show he was alright, even stretched his shoulders 360 degrees, making Sasuke's heart pound. Before Sasuke could stop him, the assembly order was issued again. The winners stood on the battered and broken arena; ten people in total qualified to participate in the final test.

Unlike the second round, which involved no breaks, the third Chunin Exams allowed for ample rest. A month was precisely the time it would take for the Kage and Daimyo of each village to learn of the situation and arrive in Konoha. This so-called selection tournament also served as a disguised demonstration of the aptitude and strength of the younger generation from each village. The Chunin Exams were, in essence, a war without gunpowder, only the battlefield was the arena.

Naruto's luck kicked in again; he got number one without cheating at all, and was once again grouped with Neji. Sasuke, meanwhile, continued his bad luck by being grouped with Gaara. Perhaps he should practice his Sharingan's genjutsu abilities for the next month; even if he can't control the One-Tailed Beast, controlling Gaara would be good. The other groups didn't change much, the biggest variable being that Sakura was assigned the only Sound Ninja to advance, while Shikamaru and Temari were directly grouped together.

This pair really is a case of "no fight, no friendship"!

After the lengthy introduction, Kakashi took the three children to the hospital for a thorough check-up. All three were found to be unharmed. When the diagnosis came out, Sasuke stared at it for a long time, almost popping his Sharingan out. He simply couldn't understand how the broken bones he'd witnessed could heal completely in the blink of an eye.

After the check-up, there were a lot of problems. Kakashi probably didn't expect his three students to be so capable, all making it to the finals. But he couldn't possibly take care of all three students by himself, so he decisively went to ask his classmates for help.

Sakura continued to ask Kurenai to mentor her, and Sasuke could manage on his own, but Naruto was a real problem. Naruto's development was just too balanced; among Jonin and Special Jonin, there were practically no ones proficient in all five elemental ninjas, and no one else had Naruto's chakra reserves. Guy also had students to mentor, and Asuma's team had one who had advanced, so there was no need to consider anyone else. After thinking it over… it seemed that only the Third Hokage was a truly knowledgeable and versatile ninja of all five elemental ninjas…

"Hey, there shouldn't be anyone here, Kakashi."

Just when I was having a hard time, a savior appeared out of nowhere.