"So strong!"
Blown back by the gust of wind, Rock Lee anchored his feet onto the wall and stared excitedly at Izayoi, who remained calm and composed.
As the wind pressure weakened, Lee vanished once more—only this time, he didn't reappear around Izayoi.
Instead, he became a black blur, circling rapidly around Izayoi.
He moved so fast that his residual image stirred up a cloud of dust, forming a white whirlwind that enveloped Izayoi.
In the next second, Lee appeared in front of Izayoi and launched a punch.
Izayoi, however, didn't move at all.
Just as the punch was about to land, it suddenly stopped.
Upon closer inspection, both the fist and Lee himself were only afterimages.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
With a shout, a wind vortex appeared to Izayoi's right and turned into Lee's figure.
A fully charged 360-degree spinning kick came swinging at Izayoi.
If this were any of the current rookies—besides Aburame Shino who could use bugs to substitute himself—they'd probably be knocked out if hit.
But once again…
Lee was fast, but Izayoi was even faster.
Just like earlier with the Leaf Whirlwind, the kick hadn't even landed before it was blocked.
This time, it wasn't a Wind Release technique—it was Izayoi's forearm.
Bang!
A shockwave exploded at the point of contact between Lee's shin and Izayoi's arm.
Even after directly blocking a kick that could probably send a boulder flying, Izayoi's arm didn't budge—like it was made of steel.
Covered by his sleeve, no one could see why.
Under Lee's wide-eyed gaze, Izayoi transitioned from blocking to grappling, grabbed his ankle, and spun to slam Lee into the ground.
Relying on tremendous arm strength, Lee braced with both hands to block the impact, pushed off, and flipped mid-air to land safely.
Izayoi didn't follow up. He simply withdrew his hand and stood there, silently watching Lee.
From beginning to end, Izayoi hadn't moved a single step.
The rookies watching were stunned.
"He can even use Earth Release nature transformation?" Kakashi's Sharingan spun rapidly—he was one of the few who could see how Izayoi blocked the kick.
To others, Izayoi's taijutsu seemed monstrous—he completely overwhelmed a weight-wearing Rock Lee.
But in Kakashi's eyes, Izayoi was a true ninjutsu prodigy.
He'd taught Sasuke and Hinata Lightning Release nature transformation. There was the Fire Dragon Tornado in the Forest of Death, and now Wind and Earth Release as well.
That made four nature transformations already.
This kid… Could he be… an all-nature type?
Kakashi thought to himself.
Even for an all-nature user, it would take extreme dedication to master nature transformations at this level!
No wonder the Hyuga Clan didn't stop their heiress from dating him—they must've recognized and invested in this hidden gem early on.
"Outstanding… With chakra like that and ninjutsu talent of this level, it must be a skipped-generation bloodline awakening… Senju or Uzumaki?" Orochimaru grinned sinisterly, having the same suspicions as Kakashi.
Boom, boom, boom…
As the clash continued, Rock Lee—though constantly suppressed—showed no signs of discouragement. On the contrary, his eyes sparkled with excitement as he fought Izayoi harder and harder!
Izayoi stopped using ninjutsu to block and instead activated Kagura's Mind Eye to sense Lee's movements, while stimulating his cells with Lightning Release chakra to boost his speed—meeting Lee head-on in pure taijutsu combat.
Inside the hall, the two became spinning tops of high-speed movement, colliding repeatedly.
Every time they struck, their silhouettes flashed briefly before vanishing to a new position for the next exchange.
At the point of contact, invisible shockwaves—either from raw force or chakra—erupted outward.
Gradually, their speed increased, and their fight expanded beyond the ground—sometimes leaping into the air—making it dizzying to watch.
Sasuke could barely keep up with his Sharingan. Naruto and the others were completely lost.
Even some special jōnin who weren't good at sensing were wide-eyed with astonishment.
They never expected this batch of genin to have not one—but two—absolute monsters.
Elite jōnin and versatile upper-rank ninja watched in awe. Though Izayoi wasn't known for taijutsu, his speed rivaled Rock Lee's, and they couldn't help but murmur:
"Such refined nature transformation… and chakra control!"
Sasuke and Hinata had used Lightning Release chakra to boost speed too, but compared to Izayoi, they fell short.
Not just in speed.
But in how Izayoi instantly mastered his speed boost, while they needed time to adapt or suffered from poor stamina control.
Izayoi could stimulate his cells with Lightning chakra and immediately control the resulting boost, maxing his speed at will.
That required not just strong nature transformation, but insane chakra control.
And the latter was the real key.
At his age, to possess this level of chakra control—it was no wonder he had already mastered two—or rather, four—nature transformations.
Everyone there could practically see the future where Konoha gained another versatile elite jōnin.
But they still underestimated Izayoi.
After exchanging countless blows like spinning tops, Izayoi and Lee finally came to a stop.
Lee panted heavily, sweating as he stared at Izayoi.
Izayoi, still composed, smiled and said, "Your taijutsu is impressive. But if that's all you've got, this match will end soon. Do you have anything stronger?"
Hearing this, Lee instinctively glanced toward Guy-sensei.
Seeing his teacher grin and give him a thumbs-up, Lee's expression lit up.
As he unraveled the bandages on his hands, he said, "I do have a stronger move. But it's a forbidden technique, one that I'm not allowed to use against comrades. The last time I used it against Sasuke, I was punished by Guy-sensei."
"But against you, Izayoi… I believe you can withstand the power of the Lotus."
With his bandages trailing to the floor, Lee looked at Izayoi with steely resolve.
"Izayoi, with this next move, I will prove that hard work can defeat genius!"
The examinees held their breath.
Even the jōnin focused intensely on Lee.
Kakashi, who knew Guy best, had a bold suspicion:
"Don't tell me Guy taught him that forbidden technique too?"
And in the next second, his suspicion was confirmed.
From the perspectives of the Byakugan and Sharingan, chakra suddenly surged in Lee's brain, then coursed through his entire body—as if releasing some internal limiter.
His aura changed.
Even the jōnin watching could feel an oppressive pressure—something capable of overturning odds.
Izayoi sensed it too. For the first time, his expression grew serious.
Without using Tenseigan powers, he was genuinely curious about the true might of one of Shippuden's three legendary taijutsu techniques: the Eight Gates.
Then, he saw Lee flash forward—crossing several meters in an instant—and throw a punch.
Izayoi reacted quickly, trying to counter by striking Lee's wrist.
But in the blink of an eye, Lee disappeared—this time without even leaving a trace—and reappeared behind Izayoi, aiming to capture him with his bandages.
Zzzzt…
Electric crackling echoed.
Blue-white arcs of lightning appeared around Izayoi, coiling like snakes around him.
Before Lee's hands even touched him, he was shocked and had to withdraw, quickly pulling away.
"Is that… Cloud Village's Lightning Release Chakra Mode?"
"No, it's only… shape transformation!"
"Incredible. Not just nature transformation—his shape transformation is amazing too!"
"Such Lightning Release talent… it's just like Kakashi!"
These amazed voices rang out from the second-floor spectator stands.
All of them came from the jōnin.
To Kurenai, those words were hard to hear.
She gave a bitter smile, thinking the Hokage had placed Izayoi in the wrong squad.
With his talent, he should've been Kakashi's student.
If he were, he might already know a wide range of elemental techniques—or even mastered Chidori and developed the S-rank fusion technique: Raikiri.
As for the genin, most of them didn't even understand nature transformation—let alone shape transformation.
Only Uchiha Sasuke's eyes lit up: "So Lightning chakra can be used like this too!"
Unbeknownst to him, this technique would be what he'd develop in the future: Chidori Stream.
Boom!
With Chidori Stream active, Izayoi's speed increased again. He flashed before Lee and launched a punch.
Lee instinctively crossed his arms to guard—and the next moment, his eyes bulged in pain.
A kick struck his stomach, sending him flying and crashing into a wall, leaving a dent and spiderweb cracks.
Izayoi didn't chase after him. He stood calmly, lightning dancing around him, and smiled:
"This is just a 20% speed boost. Hardly forbidden. You can still go further, can't you? Show me your real trump card!"
Lee slid down from the wall like a hanging scroll, head lowered, saying nothing.
But the dojutsu users and sensory-type ninja in the stands all widened their eyes in shock.
"The Eight Gates: Third Gate—Gate of Life… Open!"
Lee crossed his arms, and the air around him began to twist and rise.
When he lifted his head, his eyes were all white—no pupils in sight.
His face flushed red, veins bulged on his forehead, and steam billowed from his body.
With a loud shout, green energy erupted like a storm.