"If that's all the strength you've got, there's no way you can challenge Izayoi."
Noticing the shock on Rock Lee's face, Sasuke Uchiha gave a confident smile, as if finally getting his turn to bask in the spotlight.
Lee, however, slowly lowered his head, letting his forehead and eyes fall into shadow. Quietly, he began unwrapping the bandages around his hands, murmuring, "Guy‑sensei… I'm sorry. I might have to break our rule, because—"
Suddenly, he looked up, eyes filled with fierce determination.
"I have to prove myself—to the person right here in front of me!"
In that instant, Rock Lee's aura shifted dramatically.
Just as they were about to start a new round, there was a poof of white smoke by Lee's side.
As the smoke faded, a man wearing Lee's trademark green jumpsuit—only with an added green flak jacket—showed up standing on a red turtle. He struck a very in‑your‑face pose, smiling brightly.
"Now, now… you're simply brimming with youth!"
"E‑even bushier eyebrows!?"
At the sight of him, Naruto and Sakura immediately stiffened. Sasuke's battle spirit fizzled, his face twitching uncontrollably. Even Hinata and Shino stared in disbelief, momentarily suspecting Rock Lee and Might Guy might be father and son.
Izayoi alone stayed calm, looking Might Guy over. In Izayoi's "view," two purple "bubbles" floated around Guy:
[Taijutsu Master (Purple)]
[Jonin-Level Aptitude (Purple)]
Just like a scaled‑up Lee, Guy's stats were a grade higher. Both were double‑purple, same as Deidara. But Izayoi was well aware that normal‑form Might Guy wasn't exactly Kage‑level.
However, the system's rating still placed him at that tier, indicating he'd reached that strength at some point—namely when opening the seventh gate. Indeed, the Eight Gates could defy fate itself.
"Ah, you must be Kakashi's and Kurenai's students. Such energetic youths!" Guy exclaimed, turning from Lee to greet Teams 7 and 8.
Team 7 was still fixed on those ridiculously thick eyebrows, faces twitching. Meanwhile, Izayoi politely said,
"Guy‑sensei."
Seeing that, Hinata and Shino also followed with, "Guy‑sensei."
"Oh, you know me?" Guy grinned even wider. "Heh heh, guess that makes sense. Kakashi and I are known as 'Eternal Rivals' in this village!"
"A Jōnin on par with Kakashi‑sensei?"
"No… no way, we can't tell at all!"
Team 7 was staggered. Guy's outlandish behavior and getup really didn't seem to match any notion of "Jonin." They all looked skeptical, especially since none of them had actually witnessed Kakashi's real skill. They only had some sense from stories or from Izayoi's offhand comments about Kakashi's feats.
"You're being rude. Everything Guy‑sensei says is true!" Rock Lee shouted, annoyed by their looks.
"Guy‑sensei is one of Konoha's heavy hitters, famed across the ninja world for his taijutsu. He, Kakashi, and Kurenai were classmates and indeed are rivals," Izayoi said calmly, then pointed to the clock on the wall. "Also, the exam is about to start. If we stand around any longer, we'll be late."
"Oh, right—the Exams!"
Guy had wanted to show off, but now he just patted Lee on the head, smiling. "Lee, you broke our rule, so normally I'd have to punish you. But this is a special case. Once you're done with the Chūnin Exams, we'll talk about your punishment then."
"Yes, Guy‑sensei!" Lee stood at attention.
Watching this bizarre teacher‑student duo, Team 7 was too stunned to react. Izayoi and Team 8 simply said polite farewells and left the building, with Team 7 close behind.
On the way to the testing building, Naruto sneaked up beside Sasuke, smirking mischievously. "Hey, Sasuke—since when'd you become Izayoi's underling?"
"Dead last, do you have a death wish!?"
All Sasuke's earlier excitement about demonstrating his newfound lightning‑chakra technique to Izayoi vanished. A vein throbbed on his forehead, glaring at Naruto.
Totally unafraid, Naruto just pointed ahead. "Go on, Sasuke—you handle it!"
Face turning red with anger, Sasuke lunged at Naruto, while Naruto fought back, the two of them brawling as they trudged forward.
"Stop it, don't fight!" Sakura yelled anxiously, trying to break them up, while a voice in her head screamed gleefully for Sasuke to teach Naruto a lesson.
Shino sighed. "Let's walk faster."
With that, Izayoi and Hinata agreed silently, stepping away. Sticking around those three in such a state was mortifying. Soon they arrived at the hallway outside the exam room.
There, three people sat on a bench: Kurenai, Kakashi, and a man obviously craving a smoke—Asuma Sarutobi.
"Hey, sensei… and Kakashi‑sensei."
Izayoi, Hinata, and Shino went over to greet Kurenai and Kakashi, also glancing at Asuma, who was enduring nicotine withdrawal and looking fed‑up with everything.
"Glad to see everyone from your teams arrived," Kurenai said with a small smile. Then she introduced the third man to Team 8, "This is Asuma Sarutobi, the Jonin in charge of Team 10. You can call him Asuma‑sensei or Asuma‑senpai."
"Asuma‑sensei," Izayoi led his team in politely greeting.
"Pleasure," Asuma replied cheerfully. "Heard from Ino and Shikamaru that we've got this year's top rookie and two who've stayed near the top. Kurenai, you're lucky."
"Asuma‑sensei flatters us." Izayoi offered a modest smile.
Meanwhile, Kakashi was explaining to Team 7 why all the Jonin teachers had gathered. Shino, eavesdropping, spoke up quietly:
"So if only two of us or just one had come, we wouldn't be allowed to take the Exams?"
Kurenai nodded. "Exactly. And remember during your first introductions, I said something important—'Until someone in your squad attains Chūnin, I'll be the one leading you in missions.' Once any of you officially become Chūnin and earn the recognition of your Jonin leader and the village, you can step up and lead your squad. But if you fail to gain your teammates' trust and show them you can command them, there's no point calling yourself a leader. In that sense, the Chūnin Exams began as soon as you grabbed your application forms."
Hearing that, Shino and Hinata seemed a bit enlightened, while Izayoi looked calm, half smiling.
Kurenai rose from the bench and personally opened the door for Team 8. "Well then, go ahead and do your best. We're counting on good news from you."
"We won't let you down, sensei." Izayoi's lips quirked confidently as he led Hinata and Shino into the classroom. With that, Team 7, having snapped out of their stupor, followed them inside.
~~~
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