This time, even Shinji's gaze toward Rock Lee shifted.
Sasuke's earlier move had no glaring flaws. His speed and timing were spot-on. The only thing lacking was that he hadn't activated his Sharingan, making his split-second perception slightly inferior to his peak state.
Even so, it should've been more than enough to handle Lee.
Yet, in just one exchange, Sasuke was sent flying, defeated with shocking decisiveness!
Eyeing the drunken Lee up and down, Shinji gradually wiped the smile from his face.
After training in the 'Twelve Palaces,' Shinji's speed, strength, and reactions had all improved comprehensively.
This made his taijutsu style lean toward direct confrontation—his moves were straightforward, powerful, and ferocious.
Rock Lee, trained in Hidden Leaf's Strong Fist style, shared a similar approach, even more direct than Shinji's.
But when drunk, Lee's taijutsu style transformed completely.
Despite his half-closed eyes and unfocused gaze, he consistently anticipated attacks, dodging them with eerily fluid and unpredictable movements.
It was as if Lee had mastered some kind of precognitive ability!
Of course, Shinji knew that was impossible.
Lee's ability stemmed from his drunken state, which freed him from all constraints. With his rock-solid taijutsu foundation, he let his body act freely!
"Ultra Instinct, huh…"
For some reason, Shinji recalled this term from deep within his memories.
Casting aside all distractions, letting muscles and reflexes take over for the brain, allowing instinct to control the body and intuition to read the enemy!
Sakura covered her mouth, stunned. "How… how is this possible?!"
Neji's brow furrowed, and he attacked again. Kimimaro, stirred by the challenge, also stood and lunged at Lee.
At that moment, a furious Sasuke returned through the hole in the wall, silently charging at Lee.
Being surrounded by Neji, Kimimaro, and Sasuke was a treatment few could claim. Seeing the trio attack together, the peers previously knocked down by Lee breathed a sigh of relief.
In their minds, no matter how bizarre drunken Lee was, he couldn't possibly match Neji, Kimimaro, and Sasuke combined.
But the outcome defied their expectations.
Amid a cacophony of crackling sounds, the already chaotic private room became even more disheveled.
Despite being surrounded by three opponents, Lee always managed to redirect their force, using nimble positioning to avoid being overwhelmed. Coupled with Neji, Kimimaro, and Sasuke holding back—since this wasn't a life-or-death fight—the battle reached a stalemate.
Thud.
Moments later, with a muffled sound, Sasuke, eager to prove himself, exposed another opening. Lee's hook sent him flying out of the fight.
Sasuke's sudden defeat caught Neji and Kimimaro off guard, and Lee struck them both, forcing them to retreat as well.
Tenten, who had backed away, said in confusion, "What just happened? Is that really Lee?"
Shion was equally dazed. "Kimimaro, Sasuke, and Neji together couldn't take him down? That's… that's too much!"
Ino and Hinata nodded in agreement.
The scene was simply too bizarre, too shocking!
By now, a crowd had gathered outside the barbecue restaurant. In Hidden Leaf's heightened state of alert, their response time was impeccable. Not long after the commotion began, ANBU and other shinobi arrived nearby.
But upon learning the chaos was caused by drunkenness, the shinobi who had rushed over held back from intervening.
Still, watching Lee single-handedly dominate his peers in the private room—even overpowering the Hyuga clan's genius Neji, Mangekyo Uchiha Sasuke, and the renowned prodigy Kimimaro—left them with strange expressions.
"What kind of taijutsu is that?"
"That kid in green—could he be someone in disguise?"
"Those moves are… too weird!"
The crowd pointed and murmured.
Shikamaru, who had been kicked out of the room, stood on the street rubbing his backside, muttering, "Should've skipped this gathering. What a drag!"
Inside the room, Neji, Kimimaro, and Sasuke prepared to charge at Lee again. Just then, Shinji stepped forward, stopping them.
Before Neji or Kimimaro could speak, Sasuke shouted, "Shinji, I don't need your help—I can handle this!"
Shinji replied, "By the time you're done, this whole place will be wrecked!"
Only then did Sasuke and the others glance around, realizing that not only the private room but the entire second floor of the restaurant was in shambles. If Shion hadn't reserved the place, who knows how many bystanders would've been hurt or what chaos would've ensued.
Shinji approached Lee.
Having observed for a while, he had a rough grasp of Lee's 'Drunken Fist.' No matter how strange Lee's moves or footwork, they couldn't exceed the physical limits of his body. By expanding his predictions to assume every move could reach Lee's physical maximum, Shinji could avoid being caught off guard like Sasuke.
Whoosh.
Activating the 'Twelve Palaces,' Shinji dashed forward, closing in on Lee.
Almost simultaneously, Lee reacted, swinging both fists while leaning back to keep Shinji at the edge of his punching range. This not only allowed his fists to reach Shinji but also maximized his space to dodge Shinji's attacks.
"Heh!"
Shinji grinned, thrusting both hands forward and meeting Lee's fists head-on!
Shinji's strength clearly exceeded Lee's expectations. In the clash, Lee came up short, stumbling back several steps and hitting the wall. The pain sobered him up considerably.
As Shinji prepared to press the attack, Lee shook his head, bewildered. "Wh-what happened?"
Shinji stopped, feeling a pang of regret.
Honestly, he'd wanted to spar properly with drunken Lee. Unfortunately, Lee's strength and speed were noticeably inferior. Even with his body's efficiency boosted in his drunken state, the gap was too wide. The moment Shinji got serious, Lee couldn't keep up.
Seeing the chaotic room, Lee snapped to attention, shouting, "Is it an enemy attack?!"
Tenten rushed over and smacked his head. "Enemy attack, my foot! You did all this yourself!"