"Bang!"
Jokichi gently raised his right hand, effortlessly blocking the whip kick.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Lee spun his body and performed a fierce downward heel drop from above.
Jokichi crouched down, supported himself on the ground with both hands, flipped his body, and responded with a bicycle kick.
"Bang!"
Whip kick clashed against whip kick, setting off a ring of shockwaves.
The two paused slightly, then took the momentum to roll backward and retreat.
They opened up a distance of about ten meters.
The two found their footing again and stared intently at each other, trying to find flaws in the opponent.
However, Jokichi's expression remained normal, while Lee was panting slightly.
Moving at high speed with full power like this consumed a lot of stamina.
"Is this all you have?"
Jokichi asked, his eyes showing some disappointment.
"Of course not!"
Lee smiled confidently. He even leaned forward slightly, kicked off with his right leg, and his body shot out at a speed even faster than before, trailing a long dust dragon along the way.
However, he didn't charge straight at Jokichi.
Instead, he turned when he got close and ran circles around him.
Moving at high speed meant less time to observe and react to the enemy's actions.
If he charged head-on, it was highly likely he would fall into a disadvantage because he couldn't clearly see the enemy's counterattack.
"Has he opened the first gate of the Eight Inner Gates?"
Jokichi stood quietly in place, his face indifferent.
The first gate of the Eight Inner Gates, the Gate of Opening, removes the brain's inhibition on the body, allowing it to exert 100% of its strength. It can be opened voluntarily in battle.
The reason Lee's speed increased just now was actually because he had opened the first gate of the Eight Inner Gates.
"Ha!"
At this time, Lee suddenly emerged from the flank, aiming a kick at Jokichi's right cheek.
Jokichi tilted his head slightly, dodging it.
Then, he threw a punch at a speed Lee could hardly react to.
"Bang!"
The fist struck Lee's abdomen. The powerful force lifted his legs off the ground, and he flew backward uncontrollably.
Jokichi kicked off the ground with his right leg, stomping out a basketball-sized ring of cracks in the floor, and he himself burst forward to chase Lee at a speed countless times faster than before.
"Was he not using his full strength before?"
Lee widened his eyes.
While being sent flying, his body was uncontrollable. He could only cross his arms in front of him to protect his vulnerable spots.
Jokichi caught up and threw another punch.
"Bang!"
Lee's arms blocked the fist.
But before he could sigh in relief, Jokichi's fists and feet struck out madly. For a moment, Lee's vision was filled with afterimages of fists and feet, and pain constantly transmitted from all over his body.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
The sound of flesh colliding echoed throughout the hall. One missed move led to total passivity.
Jokichi's mad and continuous punches and kicks fell on Lee, forcing him backward continuously until he was beaten into a crater in the wall, without finding a single opportunity to fight back.
The people watching on the second floor all fell silent.
The strength Lee displayed was not weak at all, yet he was being completely crushed.
They were all thinking, what would be the outcome if they were the ones down there?
No matter how they thought about it, they couldn't see a chance of winning.
They couldn't even manage to hold out like Lee did.
They could only indignantly clench their fists.
"Eight Inner Gates, Third Gate, Gate of Life, Open!"
A roar once again attracted all the audience's attention.
They saw a powerful airwave erupt from Lee, who had been passively taking a beating all this time.
Caught off guard, Jokichi was actually blown away.
Fortunately, this airwave wasn't that strong. He tapped the ground twice, dissipating the force acting on his body, and successfully stopped about 10 meters away.
Stabilizing his stance, Jokichi looked up unhurriedly.
He saw Lee's body flushed red, emitting a green aura.
"No wonder he could withstand my attacks for so long. So he had already opened the second gate!"
Jokichi understood in his heart.
The function of the second gate of the Eight Inner Gates, the Gate of Healing, is to remove the limit on physical fatigue, forcibly squeeze the body's energy, and restore physical strength.
It was exactly because of the function of the second gate that Lee could hold out until now under this storm-like attack.
And now, the enhanced chakra in his body finally broke through the third gate, greatly enhancing his strength and speed.
However—
"It's still not enough!"
Lee glared fiercely, hunching his back, his fists clenched tight as he mobilized the chakra in his body.
Only by fighting Jokichi personally could he feel how strong he was. Merely opening the third gate was absolutely not enough to win.
"Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain, Open!"
Lee suddenly stood up straight, and an even more astonishing airwave erupted.
Next...
"Boom!"
Lee suddenly charged at Jokichi, his speed several times faster than before. Just the air set in motion by his movement ripped up the floorboards.
However—
"Bang!"
Lee's sure-kill punch was once again casually blocked by Jokichi. The clash of their fists erupted into a fierce airwave.
"Impossible!"
Lee looked up at Jokichi's casual face, his own full of disbelief.
He had never thought that as long as he opened the 4th gate, he would definitely be able to defeat Jokichi.
But he also never thought that an attack after opening the 4th gate would be blocked so casually.
At the very least, based on the speed and reaction Jokichi displayed earlier, he shouldn't have been able to block it so casually.
Seemingly knowing what Lee was thinking.
Jokichi shook his head slightly.
"Your secret jutsu for enhancing the body is indeed powerful, but I also have my own powerful secret."
"The human body cannot withstand 100% of its power, so it is inhibited by the brain, preventing it from exerting its full strength."
"However, when a person's body can withstand 100% of its power, the brain will no longer inhibit the body's strength."
"This secret jutsu of yours should also involve removing the brain's inhibition on the body, right!"
"But, even if the brain removes the limits on the body, it cannot change the body's tolerance limit for power. The amount of power that can be used is still limited."
"And my body possesses very strong recovery power. Even if the body is completely pulverized, it can recover quickly."
"Therefore, I can use 100% of my body's power!"
As the words fell, Jokichi struck out with a heavy punch again, his speed even faster than before, making the air explode.
Lee was startled and hurriedly retreated.
Jokichi's punch missed, but he didn't pursue.
Because the arm he punched with broke, hanging limply by his side.
However, just as everyone was wondering why he would do such a stupid thing, Jokichi's arm perfectly recovered again. The people watching above rubbed their eyes constantly, doubting if they had seen wrong.
"See, just like this." Jokichi nonchalantly stretched his right arm, wearing a faint smile on his face.
Lee was terrified inwardly.
But he quickly calmed down.
His current body couldn't withstand the burden of keeping the 4th gate open for long.
Whether the enemy is strong or not has nothing to do with me.
Whether I can win or not doesn't matter either.
I shouldn't think about anything.
All I need to do now is...
"Carry out my own ninja way."