"So strong! Too strong!" Haruno Sakura stood frozen, her face pale with shock.
Tōsu was the strongest among the Sound Village trio, even comparable to Uchiha Sasuke. Yet, Rock Lee had rendered him powerless with a single strike. It was a display of strength far beyond anything she had expected.
"What just happened?" Sasuke muttered, his Sharingan fixed on Lee. Unlike Sakura, who watched with amazement, Sasuke's eyes picked up the finer details. At that crucial moment, he had seen a faint aura shimmer across Lee's body. It was this mysterious energy that had neutralized Tōsu's sound-based attack entirely.
"Is that his ability? Or something else?" Sasuke wondered. His fists clenched tightly. Even with his newfound strength, facing Lee felt like standing before an insurmountable mountain.
"Ah!" Tōsu screamed, his right arm hanging limp and blood soaking his clothes.
"How is this possible?" Tōsu stammered, his face pale with disbelief. "My sound-based abilities have always worked! No one's ever stopped them!"
"Why not?" Lee asked, his voice calm. "No technique is invincible. Yours is no exception."
"How did you do it?" Tōsu demanded, his voice shaking. "Tell me! I won't rest until I know!"
Lee smirked faintly. "Do you really want to see what true mastery of sound can do?"
Without waiting for an answer, Lee opened his mouth and released a powerful, deafening roar. The sound wasn't ordinary—it carried a force that shook the ground and sent vibrations coursing through the bodies of everyone nearby.
Sasuke, Sakura, and Tōsu all froze as the sound pierced their ears and stirred their very cores. It felt like their internal organs were being twisted, their blood rushing at an unnatural speed. Their faces turned pale, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
"Enough," Lee said, his voice returning to its usual calm tone. The roar ceased, and the suffocating pressure lifted.
Sasuke, Sakura, and Tōsu gasped for air, exchanging bewildered glances. All of them stared at Lee in awe and fear.
"That… that power," Tōsu whispered, his voice filled with despair. "Compared to you, my sound-based abilities are nothing but a joke."
With a bitter smile, Tōsu reached for a kunai. Before anyone could react, he slit Zaku's throat, the lifeless body falling to the ground.
"What are you doing?!" Sakura cried, horrified.
Tōsu turned the blade on himself, his expression grim but resolute. "I've seen true strength today. I have nothing left." With that, he took his own life, collapsing alongside Zaku.
Sasuke and Sakura stared at the three lifeless bodies in stunned silence.
"Sasuke," Lee said firmly, breaking the quiet. "Showing mercy to enemies on the battlefield can be a death sentence for yourself."
Sasuke's fists tightened as he processed Lee's words. "I understand," he said softly, his voice carrying newfound determination.
"Good," Lee replied. "The next time I see you, I expect you to have grown stronger—not just in body but in mind."
Sasuke nodded. His Sharingan burned with resolve as a familiar image of his brother flashed in his mind. "I won't let you down."
Lee gave a small nod and turned away, leaping into the trees.
"Sasuke…" Sakura hesitated before speaking, her voice shaky.
"Pick up the scroll," Sasuke said abruptly, his tone sharp. "Then carry Naruto. We need to get to the tower immediately."
"Right," Sakura said quietly, following his orders.
Meanwhile, high above the forest, Lee moved swiftly from tree to tree. His mind wandered briefly to his comrades. "I wonder if Neji and Tenten have succeeded in collecting their scrolls," he thought.
Lee wasn't worried. Neji's abilities were unmatched among the Chūnin candidates, and even Tenten's precision and skill made her a formidable ally. Still, he considered acquiring another scroll himself, just in case.
As he planned his next move, a faint sound reached his ears.
"Help… help…"
The voice was weak, barely audible—like the whisper of a dying breeze. If not for his heightened senses, honed by his martial discipline, he might not have heard it at all.
"Where is that coming from?" Lee murmured, stopping to listen closely. The voice came again, but it was weaker this time, as if the person was on the verge of losing consciousness.
Lee's eyes sharpened as he located the source of the sound. Without hesitation, he shifted into his "Heavenly Step" technique, his speed doubling as he moved like a blur through the trees.
Soon, Lee reached a clearing. What he saw made his blood boil.