Guy clenched his fists excitedly. "Lee! Yes, that's it! Burn your youth to the fullest!"
'Could Lee, in this state, possibly stand a chance against him…?' Neji thought, turning his gaze to Naruto.
But when he saw Naruto's chakra, his white pupils contracted sharply.
From the Byakugan's vision, Naruto's chakra reserves were absurd.
The sheer volume was terrifying—hundreds of times greater than his own.
He couldn't help but cry out: "Is this guy… really human?"
In that instant, he realized: no matter how hard Lee fought, he stood no chance.
Lee burst forward, vanishing from sight.
His body's movement alone mimicked a Body Flicker.
The next instant, his green-clad form appeared beside Naruto.
A Leaf Whirlwind swept toward Naruto's shoulder.
Transparent World activated.
Though Lee's speed was great, under Transparent World's perception, his movements were laid bare.
Naruto raised an arm and blocked with his elbow.
Lee had expected to send Naruto flying, but Naruto didn't budge. Instead, Lee's ankle throbbed with pain.
Sensing danger, he quickly retreated, wincing.
From that single exchange, Naruto roughly gauged Lee's current strength.
He thought back to the original story's battle between Lee and Gaara.
Naruto glanced at Lee's legs and said, "Remove your weights, or you won't stand a chance."
Lee nodded, detaching the iron weights strapped to his legs.
They crashed to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Naruto could've ended the fight easily with ninjutsu or the Breath of Wind forms.
But he didn't. Instead, he chose a taijutsu duel with Lee.
Taijutsu fights had no tricks—just pure blows, flesh against flesh.
With the weights off, Lee's speed skyrocketed.
He flickered forward once more.
Naruto, unimpressed, thought he was still too slow.
Instead of dodging, Naruto stepped forward to meet him.
Lee whipped out the white bandages wrapped around his hands, trying to ensnare Naruto before unleashing his ultimate Primary Lotus.
But Naruto didn't play along. He grabbed all the bandages in one hand and yanked hard!
Lee was dragged straight toward him.
Waiting was a merciless flying side-kick.
Lee reacted fast—since retreat was impossible, he countered by kicking as well.
Their legs collided.
To Lee's shock, it felt like he had kicked a mountain.
He was blasted back over ten meters before regaining footing.
But when he tried to stand firm, he realized his leg was fractured.
"How… how is this possible!"
Lee stared in disbelief at his twisted foot. Even in Eight Gates mode… a single kick had broken his bones?
Unwilling to give in, he forced himself up through the pain, attacking again.
It's time to end this.
Naruto unleashed the First Form, moving like a streak of blue light.
Lee couldn't even track him.
By the time he realized, Naruto had already kicked him in the jaw, launching him into the air.
In the next second, Naruto appeared above him, unleashing a Naruto-style Lion Barrage, slamming Lee back to the ground.
Lee lay sprawled, wracked with pain, eyes fixed on Naruto's golden-haired back.
The sunlight dazzled too brightly. He could barely keep his eyes open, the figure before him almost radiant.
All his moves had been read. The Eight Gates he had trained his body to endure were nothing against Naruto's natural state.
Even in his specialty, he was utterly crushed.
'So this is what a true genius is? Guy-sensei… can effort really surpass such a monster…?'
For once, the ever-energetic Rock Lee felt powerless.
Guy's expression darkened. He had expected Lee to lose—but not so completely.
"They're on different levels entirely," he thought.
"This guy… really is too strong…" Tenten murmured softly.
Even Neji clenched his fists, ashamed of his so-called genius title.
Guy knelt beside Lee, patting his shoulder warmly.
"Lee! Don't compare yourself to others—compare yourself to yourself! As long as you keep surpassing who you were, that's all that matters!"
"Yes! I understand, Guy-sensei!"
After comforting his student, Guy walked over to Naruto.