Hearing the words of his other self, the nearby Rock Lee exclaimed, "You've been maintaining the Eight Gate all this time? Won't your body be damaged?"
Rock Lee looked at his counterpart and couldn't resist moving a bit. Then he replied, "No, there won't be any damage. Perhaps it's because of Lord Charles. This state of the Eight Gate has become my normal state."
"Face me, my counterpart! Let's have a youthful exchange of blows!" he continued enthusiastically.
However, the regular Rock Lee looked dejected and replied, "I can't activate the Eight Gates..."
He also wanted to spar with his counterpart, but considering the Rock Lee's state, it wouldn't be a sparring match; it would be asking for trouble. He lost interest instantly.
Seeing the two Rock Lees—one with overwhelming chakra surging and the other in a state of desolation—Charles asked, "Both of you are Rock Lee, but do your hearts and minds align, like shadow clones?"
Hearing Charles's question, the two Rock Lees glanced at each other and then simultaneously replied, "Our hearts and minds don't align. His/his thoughts are not the same as mine."
Hearing their response, Charles entered the system space and immediately recalled both of them. He sat down on the ground, pondering the situation.
One was Rock Lee, continuously in the Eight Gate state, while the other was the regular Rock Lee.
If he summoned them simultaneously, it would mean having two subordinates instead of one, but it would also occupy an additional battle-ready slot, which would become increasingly valuable in the future.
Moreover, Rock Lee's state was constant, maintaining a state of eruption, with both speed and power.
However, the surging chakra, bulging veins, and the terrifying aura radiating from the activated Eight Gate might be too much for ordinary people to handle. People on the streets might faint just from being near him.
Thus, wherever Rock Lee went, people on the street might faint in response.
On the other hand, if both Rock Lees were fused, it would strengthen Rock Lee's overall abilities, potentially surpassing Rock Lee's power while freeing up a battle-ready slot.
After several comparisons, Charles decided to merge the two Rock Lees.
After all, aside from Rock Lee and Rock Lee (recently summoned), there might be other types of Lee in the future. He couldn't just summon all of them at once.
Entering the system space, both Rock Lees' ninja cards were in an idle state. Charles initiated the fusion process.
A dialogue box appeared in the system interface, asking if he was sure about the fusion.
After seeing the requirements for upgrading one star Rock Lee to a three-star character—requiring the addition of fragments from both the 90 fragments of Rock Lee and the 60 fragments of Rock Lee (recently summoned)—Charles was astonished but didn't give it much thought.
Both 60 and 90 fragments were currently beyond his consideration at the moment.
Without hesitation, Charles selected "Yes" to proceed with the fusion.
A burst of light flashed, and the fusion of the two characters was completed.
Ding! Due to Rock Lee (recently summoned) being a B-rank ninja, the fusion result is also a B-rank ninja.
Charles clicked on the fused character card. The name of the ninja had changed slightly to "B-rank Rock Lee (Can activate the Eighth Gates state)," and the number of skills had increased from three to six.
Apart from the requirements for upgrading stars that has increased, what concerned Charles more was whether Rock Lee's Eighth Gate state could be maintained continuously.
Returning to the battle-ready column, Charles placed the newly fused Rock Lee in it.
Ding! Do you want to place Rock Lee in the same position as before or within three meters of Charles?
Seeing the identical options, Charles chose to place Rock Lee in the same position as before.
Ding! Placement successful.
The Rock Lee that had disappeared from the training room just moments ago reappeared.
Upon his return, Rock Lee felt his memories had been merged. He now possessed additional memories from the Chuunin Exams, including his battle with Gaara of the Sand and the injury he sustained before being saved.
At the same time, Rock Lee gained an additional set of memories from other Rock Lee's perspective.
Feeling the power surging within his body, Rock Lee clenched his fists tightly and shouted, "Eighth Gate - Gate of Opening - Open!"
In the next moment, a restriction on Rock Lee's body was lifted, and his chakra surged dramatically.
Feeling the power coursing through him, he continued, "Gate of Rest - Open! Gate of Life - Open! Gate of Pain - Open! Gate of Limit - Open!"
Rock Lee slowly activated from the first gate to the fifth gate, and his overwhelming aura burst forth once again.
This time, Rock Lee's aura was even more ferocious than when he was in the other Rock Lee state, and the green chakra emanating from him was more abundant.
Observing Rock Lee during this experiment, Charles asked, "Lee, how do you feel? Can you maintain the Eight Gate state indefinitely? Are there any adverse effects on your body from prolonged usage?"
Having felt the opening of the Eight Gates, and not closing it afterward, Rock Lee replied, "Lord Charles, I can indeed maintain the state of eight gates. As long as I don't release it, I can stay in this state continuously, and it won't harm my body."
Hearing Rock Lee's response, Charles wore a satisfied smile. This result pleased him greatly. Rock Lee, who could maintain the Eight gates state continuously, was the strongest version of Rock Lee.
"Lee, make sure to use this power regularly. You haven't activated the Eighth Gates for over a year now, so get accustomed to your newfound strength."
"Remember my previous advice—although we haven't encountered powerful enemies in this world yet, our current strength is still considered weak. Don't become complacent!" Charles cautioned.
After deactivating the Eighth Gates, Rock Lee found that he felt perfectly fine. He realized that his physical abilities had improved significantly compared to earlier, and he was now stronger than he had been when he first arrived in this world.
Rock Lee then bowed deeply and said, "Thank you, Lord Charles! Please rest assured, I will quickly familiarize myself with my current strength, surpass my current self, and use this power to protect everyone. This is my youth!"
Seeing Rock Lee's burning passion, Charles nodded in satisfaction. He couldn't help but wonder if Sasuke would be shocked the next time he sparred with Rock Lee, who had suddenly risen to prominence.
After all, for the past year, Rock Lee had been living in Sasuke's shadow, and this unexpected change might catch him off guard.
Charles found the idea amusing but ultimately decided to let things unfold naturally. As the leader, deliberately orchestrating such situations might not be the best course of action.
After giving a few more instructions, Charles left the training room, allowing Rock Lee to familiarize himself with his newfound power.
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