"What's with those thick eyebrows?"
"S-So strong... what kind of jutsu is this?!"
"..."
All the examinees were stunned as they looked at Rock Lee, whose entire body was shrouded in green energy, surrounded by blue chakra flames. The air around him distorted and rose in heat, and his hair stood on end, fluttering from the pressure.
Hyuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke, both with their Byakugan and Sharingan activated, were visibly shaken—the intensity shocked them to their core.
They never imagined that Rock Lee could be this powerful.
Even the jōnin watching were filled with horror, sensing deadly danger from Rock Lee's body.
"The Eight Gates… I didn't expect this brat to actually master that forbidden technique."
Disguised as a Sound Ninja, Orochimaru also gave Rock Lee his full attention, secretly marveling: "This generation of Konoha is truly overflowing with geniuses."
Just like the Flying Thunder God Technique, the Eight Inner Gates is one of the most renowned forbidden techniques in the ninja world.
Ordinarily, to become an all-rounder jōnin, one must master at least two chakra nature transformations. Otherwise, they'd only be classified as a special jōnin.
But Might Guy became one of Konoha's top-tier powerhouses through taijutsu alone—a taijutsu master feared across the ninja world.
All thanks to the Eight Gates!
To master this technique, one must have a body forged through relentless training, strong enough to endure the torrent of wild chakra that courses through the body.
A twelve or thirteen-year-old who can already open three gates? Even Orochimaru had never seen that before.
But soon, Orochimaru realized—he had still underestimated this boy.
Rock Lee, now radiating a storm of chakra, clenched his fists and bent low again, gritting his teeth as he roared, "Eight Gates Released Formation, Fourth Gate—Wound Gate... Open!"
With that shout, a blast of energy surged through the entire hall.
The green energy enveloping Rock Lee grew even stronger.
"He's stepped into the danger zone?"
Orochimaru and Hatake Kakashi both had a glint in their eyes.
The fourth gate—this was the true beginning of the Eight Gates.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe and watched the serious-faced Izayoi closely, trying to see if he showed any signs of fear.
If Izayoi wasn't confident enough to face Rock Lee, he would immediately call off the match.
The Eight Gates, after all, was a buff-type forbidden jutsu—it was undoubtedly unfair to others.
At this point, Rock Lee had fully adapted to the state of the Fourth Gate and took a sprinter's stance.
Seeing this, everyone became tense and focused.
Even Izayoi used his Kagura Shingan to lock onto Rock Lee's position.
Crack—BOOM!
First came the crisp sound of the floor shattering, then a deafening explosion.
Rock Lee's figure vanished in an instant.
But unlike before, when he removed his weights and moved so fast he left only afterimages, this time, his single forward step shattered the floor, kicking up a massive dust cloud as he surged toward Izayoi with wind-like force.
This level of power and speed was simply inhuman.
"So fast!"
Izayoi was quietly amazed—so this is the power of a divine technique.
Even with Kagura Shingan tracking Lee's movement, it was impossible to raise his speed to match Lee's using Lightning Chakra stimulation alone.
If opening the first gate let Rock Lee use 100% of his physical ability, then the fourth gate meant he was pushing past 200%—maybe even more.
His physical stats had already surpassed Izayoi's.
In response, Izayoi raised a hand and released a gust of wind.
The dust cloud was instantly swept away—yet there was no one in front of him.
Rock Lee's figure had reappeared behind him.
Zzzzz…
The sound of crackling electricity filled the air again. Rock Lee leaned forward slightly. Then, between him and Izayoi, a sonic boom cloud formed.
BOOM—!
A shockwave burst through the air, engulfing Izayoi in arcs of lightning.
But instead of being blown away—
—Izayoi's body turned into a puff of white smoke. A wooden log clattered to the ground.
Substitution Technique!
Looking up, Rock Lee saw Izayoi's true body floating near the ceiling, his form wrapped in swirling wind.
"I've got this!"
Seeing this, Might Guy—who had been silently praying with his hands together—cheered loudly.
The thing he feared most was Izayoi using speed and mobility to drag out the fight.
The Eight Gates' side effects were far too heavy on a still-developing body like Lee's. He couldn't afford a prolonged battle.
If he couldn't finish it quickly, Lee's body would give out first.
Now that Izayoi had floated into the air using Wind Style, he'd basically made himself a target.
Sure enough...
Once Lee confirmed that the Izayoi above was the real one, he crouched, clenched his fists, and once again growled, "Eight Gates, Fifth Gate—Limit Gate… Open!"
BOOM—!
Another wave of violent energy burst forth.
This time, the blast didn't just sweep the entire hall and second floor—it shattered the ground, kicking up another dust storm that blinded all non-sensory ninjas.
This level of battle wasn't something the weak could even witness.
The Konoha jōnin like Hatake Kakashi all tensed up, staring at the airborne Izayoi, ready to jump in and rescue him at a moment's notice.
But in the next second, even Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other high-ranking observers changed expression.
Izayoi extended his hand, and a blue spiral formed in his palm.
Then more spirals appeared, merging into one large blue-white energy sphere.
To some of the jōnin, this technique was all too familiar.
"Is that... the Rasengan?!"
"How?! Why does this kid know the Fourth Hokage's Rasengan?!"
"No... That's not the Rasengan…"
Just as they were about to cry out in shock, they realized something was off.
The energy ball in Izayoi's hand was growing—larger than an adult's head.
Inside it, two smaller energy spheres emerged.
At first, both were the same blue-white color as the main orb.
But soon, the two small orbs changed—one turned white, crackling with lightning; the other turned blue, like the ocean.
Seeing these nature transformations, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, and Hatake Kakashi all grew tense.
The Rasengan was already an A-rank, chakra shape manipulation jutsu with no nature affinity.
If one could add nature transformation to it—like Chidori being enhanced into Raikiri—it would leap to S-rank.
Raikiri was an S-rank Lightning Style secret technique.
And now, Izayoi's orb wasn't just imbued with one nature—it had two!
What kind of jutsu level would this become?
Perhaps… the one who needed saving wasn't Izayoi—but Rock Lee!
BOOM—
The sonic boom rang out as the green-light-wreathed figure tore through the sky, a spiraling updraft in his wake, charging toward Izayoi near the ceiling.
Mid-air, his body flickered—Lee was literally stepping on air, using chakra to move at high speed in the sky.
Izayoi slowly closed his eyes. Kagura Shingan locked on to Lee's every move.
In his hand, the Super Hurricane Sphere spun wildly. The two internal spheres rotated like tomoe in the Sharingan—at first clockwise, but then one reversed direction and collided with the other.
The collision of the two nature transformations didn't cause an explosion.
Instead, they fused—forming a blinding laser light that filled the Super Hurricane Sphere.
"Judgement!"
With Izayoi's shout, the energy sphere transformed into a beam of laser light, violently expanding downward.
"Hidden Lotus!!"
With the laser beam expanding toward him and no room to dodge in the small hall, Rock Lee had no choice but to unleash the attack he had prepared—aimed right at Izayoi.
His green-glowing fist punched the air, sending a terrifying shockwave straight up to collide with the laser beam.
Secret Technique vs. Secret Technique—the ultimate clash played out before every examinee and jōnin.
Whether it was taijutsu or a fusion of Water and Lightning into Storm Style—neither were moves a mere genin should possess.
Even special jōnin and some full jōnin lacked the ability to counter these attacks.
Before anyone could guess which move would win out, Lee's shockwave began to break apart, overwhelmed by the laser beam—he was engulfed.
"Lee!!"
Might Guy immediately cried out in alarm.
"Raikiri!"
Just before the laser beam could hit the ground and blast a hole of unknown depth through the hall, a figure appeared out of thin air—lightning gathered in his hand.
Hatake Kakashi.
With his Lightning Cutter, he sliced through the portion of the beam that had engulfed Lee.
In a flash, Moonlight Gekkō caught the unconscious and near-death Rock Lee, then vanished.
BOOOOOOM—
The remaining laser beam slammed into the ground.
The entire central tower shook violently.
Those who didn't grab a handrail or use chakra to anchor themselves fell to the floor.
But no one cared about appearances anymore—they clung to the railings, wide-eyed, staring at the beam as it shrank, then finally disappeared.
When the light faded, the hall had almost no safe ground left.
All that remained—was a bottomless black crater.