[Naruto charged at the enemy, delivering a heavy blow that missed but directly shattered the huge rock beneath the opponent's feet: "You bastard!"]
[Although he didn't hit the enemy, he accidentally forced the enemy to cancel the Water Dragon Jutsu.]
["Naruto!" Lee closely followed behind Naruto, when suddenly the ground beneath his feet suddenly rose up, and a rock wall blocked his way: "What's going on?"]
["Your opponent is me!" Ittai appeared on the rock wall, his face filled with excitement as he looked at Lee and said: "Let's see how tough your fists really are!"]
[Just as the battle was about to break out, Neji called out to Shion: "Lady Shion."]
["What is it?"]
[Neji reached out and lightly tapped Shion's forehead, instantly putting her to sleep.]
["Please rest for a while." Neji caught Shion's body gently and said softly, then looked at Sakura: "While Naruto and Lee cover us, get out of the canyon. The retreat operation is very dangerous. I'm counting on you."]
["Yes!"]
["Neji's pretty good, huh? I used to think he didn't have any leadership ability, couldn't even command a few subordinates, but now it seems at least he's flexible enough to adapt."]
["Isn't this just the standard reaction any ordinary jonin should have?"]
["'Ordinary jonin'—that tone is a bit too high and mighty, don't you think? You think it's easy to become a jonin?"]
["The point is Neji's age, right? He's a jonin at this age—admitting that he's awesome isn't that hard, is it?"]
["Heh, it's just because of the Byakugan. Otherwise, do you really think—"]
["So it's just some boring bloodline hater. Must be from Kirigakure."]
[Shizuku made another strange move, a drop of water falling from his foot as he lifted it, then he stomped heavily on the ground, instantly sending a water blade along the surface: "Suiton—Suijōgiri!"]
[Naruto dodged the enemy's attack with a flash and then dashed into the forest. Shizuku followed closely behind, skating across the water like on ice, moving as easily as if on flat ground despite the rugged forest terrain.]
["Heh, brat, are you planning to use the forest's rocks and trees as your shield? How naive—how great!" Shizuku stomped again, easily slicing a huge rock in half with two water blades.]
[Seeing that, Naruto jumped and used the tree branches to move higher, but clearly the enemy's attack wasn't something he could dodge so easily.]
["So that's it—you think you'll be safe once you're up there? I love that kind of thinking." Shizuku kept chattering as he shot water blades upward, instantly slicing the branch Naruto was standing on in two.]
["Damn it! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" In midair, Naruto turned and summoned a large number of shadow clones, charging toward the enemy.]
[But the enemy had already anticipated this. Above Shizuku's head floated a water sphere, from which countless water whips shot out in all directions: "Suiton—Water Dragon Whip!"]
[In an instant, most of Naruto's shadow clones were wiped out.]
["Seriously, Naruto's shadow clones don't seem to do anything. Every time they appear, they're just wiped out immediately!"]
["That's not how you use shadow clones at all!"]
["First time I've seen someone use shadow clones as cannon fodder. Is Naruto's strategy just to exhaust the enemy by sheer numbers?"]
["In this situation, he's more likely to tire himself out."]
Naruto snorted disdainfully: "I'm not gonna get tired!"
Seeing Naruto's attitude, Kakashi as the supervising jonin couldn't help but remind him: "Naruto, even if you don't get tired, you can't waste chakra like that. Proper chakra management is one of the fundamental skills every good ninja needs to learn. When this mission is over, I'll arrange some training for you all."
"Really! Yay!" Naruto cheered excitedly, not thinking of training as a chore at all.
Sasuke also curled his lips in anticipation, and even Sakura, who usually didn't care much about improving her strength, felt the same, having already resolved to work hard toward the future.
[On Lee's side, he forced the enemy into the air with a flurry of taijutsu, then delivered a Konoha Whirlwind, slamming Ittai down hard—but was blocked by the enemy's Earth Release hardening technique.]
[Seeing this, Lee rapidly spun downward and delivered a heavy axe kick to Ittai's forehead: "This is the end!!"]
[Boom!! A heavy thud reverberated through the air, splitting the giant rock under Ittai in two. But even after taking a direct hit to the forehead, all that appeared were a few fine cracks.]
["Hahaha! This isn't a kids' fight—can't you make it a bit flashier?" Ittai looked up and taunted, then swung his rock-hardened arm at Lee.]
["Stone Harden!" Lee quickly retreated, but was still hit in the face and sent flying.]
["Are you really using your full strength?" Ittai pressed the attack, throwing a flurry of punches at Lee, who quickly adjusted and avoided them.]
["Such amazing strength and power—but I will never give up!" Lee unwrapped the bandages on his arms and charged at the enemy: "Primary Lotus!"]
[He ducked under the enemy's straight punch, got right in front of Ittai, supported himself with one hand and kicked Ittai into the air, then used Shadow of the Dancing Leaf to get behind him, wrapping him tightly with the bandages. Then he flipped upside down, spun, and slammed Ittai down at high speed.]
[But after taking the full brunt of the combo, Ittai got up like nothing had happened.]
["How boring. You're just a guy who can't use any ninjutsu." Ittai sneered, while the rocks on his body kept growing, wrapping around him and making him bigger. When the dust cleared, he mocked Lee in a weirdly mocking tone: "Did you really think you could beat me with that useless taijutsu?"]
["Man, this guy's got issues. He's using externally infused chakra for all that jutsu, so who is he to mock Lee?"]
["Didn't he just call out for 'big brother, big brother' as soon as he ran out of chakra? Seems like he's just a kid who never grew up."]
["So childish—just chasing after flashy ninjutsu. Taijutsu is an important part of a ninja's overall strength!"]
["Ha! Ever seen a genin use taijutsu to kill four and heavily injure three elite jonin? Let me tell you—I've seen it."]
["Tell us your story, please."]
Tears streaming down his face, Guy gave Lee a thumbs-up: "That's right, Lee! Even if you can only use taijutsu, you can still become a great ninja. Youth will never betray those who trust in it!"
"Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee shouted excitedly, tears streaming down his face with clenched fists.
Even though they'd seen Guy and Lee's antics countless times before, the three of Team 7 couldn't help showing complicated expressions—was there really anything here worth crying about?
Meanwhile, Neji and Tenten didn't react at all, their expressions and movements unchanged.
（To be continued）