Konoha Village, Ninja Academy.
"Sakura-chan, you're so late!"
The blond boy waved at Sakura, who was walking over carrying a large pile of food.
"You're too slow, don't make everyone late!"
Sasuke, with his hands in his pockets, kept shooting worried glances over.
"Alright, let's go up!"
Under the incredulous gazes of Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura stuffed all the food she was holding into her mouth in one go, tossed the waste into a nearby trash bin, then reached out, wrapped her arms around their shoulders, and ran towards the classroom.
On the second floor, a large number of ninjas were blocking the passage to the third floor.
Two Ninjas had defeated members of Team Guy. One of them, the transformed Hagane Kotetsu, was about to step forward to scold these naive newcomers.
However, a sudden chill ran down his spine. He turned his head abruptly and met a pair of emerald-green eyes.
Four years ago, that pink-haired girl in Anbu Attire who dismembered a group of powerful Ninjas right before his eyes now stood before him again.
"Yo, Kot-"
"Ah, I just remembered I have something to do! You guys carry on!"
The transformed Kotetsu swiftly grabbed a similarly pale-faced Kamizuki Izumo, and the two of them vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Those two guys are really weird."
Naruto adjusted the forehead protector on his head, but his opened blue eyes reflected the image of a boy with a bowl-cut hairstyle wearing a green jumpsuit.
"Oh, could it be he's here to ask for my autograph, the great Naruto?"
Naruto began to act coy, thinking internally about what kind of signature would look cooler.
Unexpectedly, the bowl-cut boy walked straight past him towards Sakura.
"Hello, you must be Sakura-san, right? I am Rock Lee. P-please go out with me!"
As if mustering all his courage, the bowl-cut boy immediately bowed at a ninety-degree angle and shouted.
"!!!"
Upon hearing this, Naruto's whole person fell into a cycle of despair and furious shock.
Sasuke, who was standing by, also had a scarlet color gradually appearing in his pupils, and his eyes became unfriendly.
"Sorry, I don't like men weaker than me!"
Sakura refused Lee bluntly and pushed the two towards the third-floor hall.
"Wait!"
From behind the hall, Lee caught up.
"Hey you, stop pestering! Didn't Sakura already reject you?!"
The blond boy rushed forward, blocking the two behind him, and roared fiercely at Lee.
"No, I'm only here to challenge the genius of the Uchiha clan!"
Lee's dull voice sounded, but this time his gaze was fixed on Sasuke.
Since the Uchiha Clan hadn't experienced the massacre, a large number of Uchiha Clan's members were still enrolled in the Ninja Academy.
However, among this generation of Uchiha, Sasuke, the son of the former Uchiha Clan's head, had the highest talent and greatest ability, subtly embodying the demeanor of the clan's head.
"You guys are always going on about Sasuke, Sasuke! Let me deal with you!"
Naruto, who had already been provoked, rushed out with his right fist raised high.
Facing Naruto's attack, Lee brought his five fingers together, preparing to chop down on Naruto's incoming fist.
"Heh, I saw through an attack like that long ago!"
Naruto directly sacrificed his right fist, withdrawing it, and swung the fist tucked below his abdomen upwards.
"What!"
Lee was startled, and Chakra slightly overflowed from his palms.
His speed suddenly increased several times. A crouch followed by a sweeping leg kick sent Naruto flying.
Naruto spun three and a half times in the air before crashing into the wall and falling unconscious.
'This guy!'
A gleam of light flashed in Sasuke's pupils as he detected the Chakra the other had explosively released in a fraction of a second.
"How about it, Sasuke? Do you want to go up and give him a try?"
Sakura, sitting cross-legged on the ground with her fingers interlaced and resting under her chin, fanned the flames.
A cunning light shone in her emerald-green eyes, as if saying, "Fight, fight!"
"Hmph, if even you say that, it means the other guy has something worthwhile, right?"
Originally, Sasuke had his hands casually in his pockets. But after hearing Sakura's words, he instead assumed a stance, his expression turning serious.
Sakura showed a look of surprise, "Oh, you've grown!"
Sasuke felt quite pleased under the girl's gaze. He activated his Sharingan and Observation Haki, charging towards Lee.
"It's useless, you can't defeat me. Among the current Genin, I am the strongest!"
Lee stood tall, making a bold declaration.
He then engaged in a fierce battle with the charging Sasuke, and the two fought intensely.
Sakura leaned against the stone pillar in the hall, slightly lowering her eyes.
"Guy-senpai, such arrogance doesn't seem like your style."
"Well... I just wanted to encourage that child's confidence at first. I didn't expect to overdo it in the heat of the moment."
Hidden on the other side of the pillar, the green-spandex-clad man hung his head in shame.
"So, my rival's student, could you help me correct that child a little?"
"No need. The current Sasuke is enough!"
Sakura waved her hand and turned her gaze back to the center of the battlefield.
Sasuke's perception was extremely sharp… he didn't fall for any of the several deceptive openings Lee deliberately revealed.
However, during the fight, Sasuke gradually realized-
Even though his Observation Haki could capture every one of Lee's offensive intentions, there were still several attacks he failed to block.
'Still couldn't dodge it... Could it be...?'
He was hit in the side of the face by Lee's fist again, sliding a short distance on the wooden floor.
Sasuke couldn't hold back and coughed up a mouthful of saliva.
'Yes, his technique is Taijutsu!'
Lee turned into an afterimage, instantly appearing in front of Sasuke.
A kick bypassed Sasuke's hastily organized defense, striking his abdomen and sending him flying into the air.
'So that's it... My perception ability and my body's reaction speed don't match. Couldn't that Sakura just say it directly!'
Enlightened, Sasuke glanced back, sensing Lee, who had already chased behind him and was preparing to use Shadow of the Dancing Leaf.
"Guy-sensei, today I will prove to you that a genius of hard work will not lose to a genius of talent!"
Lee unwrapped the bandages from his hands and flung them out.
"Talent? Dismissing someone else's hard work as mere talent is an insult to the sweat I've shed!"
Recalling the countless days and nights of hellish scenarios where Sakura chased him with her fists, Sasuke's eyes turned red with urgency.
Burning will dominated his body, pushing past its limits. He forcibly executed Geppo in mid-air.
By kicking off the air, he dodged the bandages of the Front Lotus, formed the Tiger hand seal with his hands, and gathered Fire Attribute Chakra in his mouth.
Sasuke's chest swelled: "Fire Release..."
"Not good!" Lee's pupils constricted, his face pale.
"That's enough."
An illusory light of Space-Time that surpassed the flow of Chakra appeared, and then Sakura, with one hand, crushed the half-formed fireball Sasuke was about to spit out.
With her other hand, she pressed down the bandages Lee had flung out, pinning both of them to the ground.
"Sakura, what are you doing? Didn't you see he was about to lose?!"
Yin Chakra in Sasuke's pupils began to interfere with his brain, but then Sakura knocked him on the head with her fist. The gloomy aura instantly vanished, and he became clear-headed again.
Nearby, Lee was also punched by Guy. After the master and student exchanged some words, they tightly embraced each other, crying tears of emotion.
"Don't use the Rokushiki recklessly before they are mastered. Do you not want your career as Ninja anymore?"
Sakura grabbed Sasuke's leg and took off his shoe. Sure enough, his ankle was red, swollen, and deformed from forcibly using the Rokushiki.
Her fingers formed hand seals, and the faint light of the Mystical Palm Technique bloomed in Sakura's hand.
"I know... I'll intensify my Taijutsu Training from now on..."
Watching Sakura seriously treating him, Sasuke's face slightly reddened as he turned his head away.
After finishing Sasuke's treatment, Sakura walked into the distance, picked up Naruto, and used Medical Ninjutsu to wake him.
"You damn bowl-cut! I..."
The blond boy started shouting and making a scene the moment he opened his eyes, wanting to step forward and fight again.
"Naruto, the exam is about to start. Stop dawdling here!"
Sakura grabbed the back of Naruto's collar with one hand. Her height, far exceeding the boy's, lifted him off the ground, his legs flailing in mid-air.
"And Guy-senpai, we'll take our leave now."
"Oh, such youth! Good luck on your exam, boys and girls!"
Guy gave Sakura a thumbs-up, his exposed white teeth gleaming.