Chapter 126: I Accept Your Challenge on Behalf of Guy-sensei!
The night grew darker and darker.
The moon in the sky looked down upon the earth.
Uehara Naraka's figure flitted through the Forest of Death. He didn't choose to slack off, but quietly appeared in a hidden corner, observing several figures under the moonlight.
Team 3.
Neji Hyūga, Tenten, Rock Lee.
This ninja squad's plan was very interesting. During the day, they pretended not to do anything, instead only starting to act after nightfall.
No idea what they were thinking.
Didn't their Jonin instructor, Might Guy, teach them any strategy?
The leader, Neji Hyūga, flicked his wrist, throwing a shuriken to the ground, and said gravely, "Now all opponents are resting. Let's move out under the cover of darkness. We'll split up and reconnoiter in different directions. We must rendezvous here after dawn. Dismissed!"
"Okay!"
"Yes!"
The three each chose a direction and leaped away from their original spot.
The direction Neji Hyūga chose was towards the tower. Enemies encountered in this direction were likely to be fast-moving, and the chance of encountering danger was relatively high.
However, Neji Hyūga considered himself the strongest in this squad, naturally shouldering the responsibility of the strong. Besides, he could also use his Byakugan for reconnaissance.
Moreover, he was the strongest rookie of the previous year!
This year's nine rookies from Konoha were simply too poor. Even Sasuke Uchiha wasn't up to par; that guy Sasuke was even thrashed by Rock Lee.
Therefore, among all the Chunin Exam candidates, Neji Hyūga didn't believe anyone could defeat him; even a full squad of Genin might not necessarily beat him.
As Neji Hyūga was speeding along, he suddenly saw a figure on a large tree ahead. That figure seemed to be looking in his direction.
Neji Hyūga frowned; this meant he had been exposed!
However, Neji Hyūga had estimated himself to be the strongest person in these Chunin Exams, so he wasn't particularly alarmed.
The next second, the figure on the large tree abruptly disappeared.
"Byakugan, activate!"
Neji Hyūga activated his Byakugan, watching a figure rushing towards him at high speed. But the immense chakra emanating from that figure made Neji Hyūga's expression change drastically!
That person's chakra intensity was a level of power Neji had never seen before!
By the time Neji Hyūga saw the person's face clearly, his expression changed again, "It's that guy named Uehara Naraka!"
That arrogant fellow from the written exam!
Neji Hyūga had even commented that an arrogant ninja like Uehara Naraka couldn't possibly pass the second stage, the Forest of Death. Unexpectedly, the guy was arrogant because he had the capital to be.
"Hello!"
Uehara Naraka greeted while ramming his arm into Neji Hyūga's chest with a powerful blow that sent Neji flying!
This Byakugan genius clutched his chest, spat out a mouthful of blood, and looked weakly at the enemy walking towards him, able only to utter a despairing inquiry, "I... lost? How could the gap be so huge? I couldn't even withstand a single blow from the enemy..."
"Facing someone as strong as me, if you could withstand one move, wouldn't that mean there's a problem with my strength?"
Uehara Naraka chuckled lightly, grabbed Neji Hyūga's collar, and threw Neji back to Team 3's designated assembly point.
Looking at the Byakugan genius's despairing gaze, Uehara Naraka chuckled and comforted him, "Don't worry, I'll send your teammates to accompany you soon."
The despair on Neji Hyūga's face deepened. He gritted his teeth, "You fellow... you've been monitoring us all along?"
"Should be, perhaps, seems like it?"
Uehara Naraka tilted his head, then his figure flickered and disappeared from Neji's sight.
After a while, Uehara Naraka returned again, carrying the unconscious Tenten and tossing her beside Neji Hyūga, then disappearing once more.
Neji Hyūga: "..."
Wasn't this a bit too shameless?
It was one thing for Uehara Naraka to just beat him, a boy, but how could he even bully a little girl like Tenten?
Neji Hyūga sighed inwardly; Rock Lee would probably be brought over by Uehara Naraka soon enough!
Team 3 had been taken out individually before they could even scout any information!
A bit embarrassing...
But after waiting for a long time, Neji Hyūga still didn't see Rock Lee arrive.
Uehara Naraka hadn't managed to catch Rock Lee because Rock Lee happened to encounter Kosuke Maruboshi. This elderly Genin was currently asking around for news about him.
Kosuke was even badmouthing him.
"This is a fellow with a very vile personality."
While chatting with Rock Lee, Kosuke Maruboshi described Uehara Naraka's various misdeeds somewhat subjectively, "I suspect he might be targeting you little fellows, perhaps purely to gain psychological pleasure by defeating you."
Uehara Naraka: "..."
How did old man Kosuke come to that conclusion? Although bullying Konoha rookies was indeed quite pleasurable, his main purpose was for the missions!
"Huh?"
Rock Lee quickly struck a pose, "Facing any strong enemy, I must rise to the challenge! Especially an enemy with such a vile personality and great strength! If I encounter him, I will definitely use my youth and passion to show him what the true way of the ninja is!"
"Truly wonderful..."
Kosuke Maruboshi looked at the jumpsuit Rock Lee was wearing and sighed softly, "Seeing you, little fellow, reminds me of another guy who was a Genin for many years, just like me!"
Unfortunately, that Genin named Might Duy died in the war.
It was said that before he died, he unleashed his power and single-handedly defeated Kirigakure's strongest squad, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
"Youth, ah, must be filled with burning passion!"
Rock Lee fiercely clenched his fists and said gravely, "Senpai, I can't delay my youth any longer!"
"Leaving already?"
Kosuke Maruboshi nodded with emotion, "Alright then, be careful on the road. If you encounter that ninja named Uehara Naraka, you can fire this signal flare..."
After speaking, Kosuke Maruboshi handed Rock Lee a signal flare.
However, before Rock Lee could take the signal flare, a rapidly flying card suddenly sliced the signal flare in two!
"Senpai, be careful!"
A look of alarm instantly appeared on Rock Lee's face!
Kosuke Maruboshi's expression also turned serious. He abruptly drew a shuriken and threw it towards the direction the card came from, "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Countless, densely packed shuriken appeared in the air, practically covering a large area. If anyone were in that area, absolutely no one would survive!
Rock Lee looked at the countless shuriken that appeared in an instant and couldn't help but praise, "Senpai's ninjutsu is truly amazing!"
Before Kosuke Maruboshi could reply, a young man's voice sounded, "The Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu is a ninjutsu researched by Konoha's Lord Third Hokage. Of course, it cannot be underestimated."
A figure walked out from the depths of the forest. His face bore a kind smile as he waved towards the two of them, "Old gentleman, I treated you so well, yet you like to speak ill of me behind my back so much?"
Kosuke Maruboshi shook his head and sighed, "Although I know your nature isn't bad, what you're doing is indeed not very proper... Of Konoha's nine rookies and Sunagakure's three rookies, only Team 7 should have been spared, right?"
"Them, ah, I have other arrangements for."
Uehara Naraka smiled and shook his head, extended his finger towards Rock Lee, and said softly, "Kosuke-senpai, can you let me fight this little friend first?"
"I've always heard that Konoha's Might Guy is a taijutsu master, the strongest taijutsu master in the ninja world, so I've always wanted to challenge him."
"Unfortunately, I've never had the chance. Now, being able to challenge his disciple is also very fortunate for me. Rock Lee, are you willing to accept my challenge?"
Kosuke Maruboshi frowned and said gravely, "Uehara Naraka, go to the tower..."
However, before Kosuke Maruboshi could finish his words, Rock Lee, whom he was protecting beside him, leaped high into the air, spun three hundred and sixty degrees, and landed before Uehara Naraka!
Rock Lee fiercely gave a thumbs-up, his eyes almost blazing with fiery passion. He revealed a hearty smile with full confidence, his teeth faintly gleaming in the moonlight!
"Alright, I accept your challenge on behalf of Guy-sensei! Before you fight Guy-sensei, let me first experience your youth!"
After saying this, Rock Lee even extended a palm.
Uehara Naraka found this smile somewhat hard to look at directly. His forehead couldn't help twitching. He slapped Rock Lee's palm, sealing the agreement to fight.
Thinking back, when he himself first joined Akatsuki, he smiled just as heartily as Rock Lee did now. No wonder none of those Akatsuki rogue ninjas liked him...
Damn it, he really looked like a hot-blooded idiot!
(End of Chapter)
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