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Tenten reluctantly withdrew her hand from Neji's abs, trying and failing to act casual.
"That tattoo is incredible," she muttered as if she hadn't just been blatantly admiring his body. "It looks so real!"
"I was just curious, that's all!" she added quickly. "No other reason!"
Neji stared at her, deadpan.
He tugged his shirt back on, catching the faint look of disappointnt on her face. Subtle but not subtle enough to slip past him.
"Anyway," he said, redirecting, "Lee's still trying to open the First Gate."
Across the field, Lee's chakra was spiking violently and erratically.
With his Byakugan activated beneath his headband, Neji could clearly see it: torrents of chakra swirling inside Lee's body, pressing hard against the barrier of the Gate. It looked like a siege his chakra acting like a relentless army, pounding away at the inner seal.
It was close.
Very close.
Just as Neji spoke, the final surge hit.
BOOM.
Like a dam bursting, Lee's chakra roared forward piercing the gate in a single, glorious strike.
The First Gate snapped open.
A torrent of energy exploded outward, enveloping Lee in raw power. The air itself seed to shift around him.
His body jolted from the shock.
His chakra spiked uncontrollably.
This wasn't like Neji's earlier display calm, refined, mastered.
Lee's chakra was chaos.
A storm with no reins.
Tenten gasped. "This is bad! If he loses control, he could hurt himself—"
"And Guy-sensei's off reporting to the Hokage..."
She clenched her fists, worry creeping into her voice. "What do we do?"
Before she could panic, a silver-gray blur stepped in front of her.
"Step back," Neji said calmly, his voice low. "I'll handle this."
He wasn't about to let Lee hurt himself.
Not on his watch.
Across the field, Lee blinked in confusion.
"Did I... do it?" he murmured, stunned by the power coursing through him.
It felt incredible like every fiber of his being had been supercharged.
But then Neji's voice cut through the high.
"Lee, listen carefully. The First Gate amplifies your chakra and strength beyond normal limits but if you can't control it, it will tear your body apart."
"You need to try to shut it. Right now. Or at least, don't move."
Lee looked up at him, surprised. "Wait... I actually opened it?"
"Yes. Now focus."
Lee nodded seriously. "I'll try to close it!"
He glanced around no Guy-sensei in sight.
Was sothing wrong?
Still, Lee clenched his fists. "I'll give it everything I've got!"
His voice rang loud and true just a syllable short of shouting "YOSHA!" and transforming into an Ultra vegi— Ninja.
Neji exhaled slightly.
At least Lee wasn't panicking.
But his relief didn't last long.
A mont later, Lee looked up and grinned. "Neji... I think I can't close it!"
He said it like he'd just passed the Chūnin Exams.
Neji's eye twitched. "...Why do you sound proud of that?"
"Because it's YOUTHFUL"
Lee's grin only widened.
Neji sighed. "Alright then... I'll help you burn off so energy."
Lee's eyes sparkled with childlike joy. Then, he jumped.
Not leaped launched. Two ters into the air, easy. The burst surprised even him.
But all those years of relentless training kicked in he adjusted midair and landed clean.
He looked at Neji with stars in his eyes. "Please spar with !"
'Oh great,' Neji thought, 'now I'm sure you just wanted to fight. The whole 'can't close the gate' thing was just an excuse.'
Still, he nodded.
"If you're really stuck in open mode... then I won't go easy on you."
He slipped into Gentle Fist stance, a quiet storm gathering behind his calm expression.
"And if you're lying you're going to regret it."
Lee laughed gleefully then charged.
His foot hit the ground — CRACK — splintering it from the sheer force.
In a flash, he was airborne again, soaring toward Neji like a cannonball.
But Neji didn't budge.
Inches before impact, he pivoted smoothly sidestepping Lee's attack like a breeze slipping past a blade.
Lee rocketed past him.
"You're not going to hit like that," Neji said flatly. "Not until you control that power."
Despite himself, he was impressed.
He'd always hoped Lee would break through.
There weren't many people out there who could challenge him anymore and Lee was finally becoming one of them.
Tenten had retreated to a safe distance, watching the two boys spar from afar.
She leaned on her elbows, swinging her legs lazily and resting her chin in her hands.
Watching them fight, bickering, and training like they always had, she couldn't help but smile.
"Sa old Lee," she whispered. "He's shouted that promise a hundred tis... but maybe, just maybe... I'm actually looking forward to the day he finally beats Neji."
---
anwhile, at the Hokage's Office...
Guy burst through the doors like a green whirlwind, nearly knocking over a stack of mission reports.
The Third Hokage raised an eyebrow, calmly reaching over to cover his crystal ball with a cloth a faint shimr of mist disappearing beneath it.
"Guy," he said with a hint of amusent, "what's got you in such a rush?"
"Lord Hokage!" Guy barked, still catching his breath. "Sothing huge just happened with Neji!"
Hiruzen exhaled slowly and lit his pipe, drawing in the smoke as Guy gave him the full report tattoos, chakra control, dical ninjutsu, and everything in between.
By the end of it, Hiruzen sat in quiet thought, smoke drifting through the air like fog.
"Tattoo seals that suppress Eight Gates chakra..." he murmured, eyes narrowing slightly. "And dical ninjutsu to counteract the damage. Fascinating."
He looked up.
"And did you ask Neji what specific thod or training he used to develop this?"
Guy blinked.
"...Ah."
It hit him. In his excitent, he'd never actually asked.
"And... he may have been trying to tell when I left."
Hiruzen sighed, tapping ash from his pipe.
"Then go back. Bring Neji here. I want to hear it from him myself."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
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