As the word "three" left his lips, Sasuke Uchiha bolted forward, his Sharingan spinning into life. In a single, fluid motion, he drew ten kunai from his tool pouch and hurled them toward the Hand operatives guarding the hotel entrance.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Paper bombs were wrapped around the ring of each kunai, igniting the instant they left his hand. Sasuke didn't stick around to witness the result; he simply muttered the number "ten" under his breath and vanished into the hotel lobby.
Seeing Sasuke pull such a move right out of the gate, Rock Lee didn't dare hesitate. He lunged toward the remaining targets on the perimeter.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Without the Eight Gates active, Lee's speed was immense but still shy of the supersonic levels he had achieved earlier. Even so, it was far beyond what the Hand's gunmen could track.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The paper bombs detonated simultaneously, incinerating ten men instantly.
On the other side, Lee had neutralized the remaining six gunmen within three seconds, but his tally was already four behind Sasuke's. Seeing the gap widen so quickly, Lee roared, pushing his chakra to the limit.
"Eight Gates: Gate of Joy—OPEN!"
A violent aura of green chakra erupted from his body. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his skin turned a deep, feverish red. The ground beneath his feet shattered from the sheer pressure, sending pebbles whistling into the air.
BOOM!
Instead of entering through the front door, Lee sprinted straight up the exterior wall of the hotel. Moving vertically allowed him to scan the windows and lock onto his targets more efficiently. He headed straight for the fourth floor.
CRASH!
The sonic boom from his ascent shattered the exterior glass, sending a rain of shards down to the pavement.
Inside the hotel, Bakuto and Sowande—who were leading separate teams—heard the explosions outside. Though they didn't know exactly what was coming, they knew it wasn't a standard grenade. The frequency and force of the blasts were distinct. Both masters instantly went on high alert.
Lee reached the fourth floor. Though the interior was pitch black, his senses—amplified by the Fourth Gate—rendered the darkness irrelevant.
Smash!
Lee burst through a window into the fourth-floor corridor. Without stopping, he threw a punch into the air, creating a pressurized gust of wind.
The wind-pressure hit a squad of Hand members like a physical cannonball. Those further away were thrown against the walls; those in the direct path were simply crushed. Blood and viscera painted the walls, though the lack of lighting spared the few survivors from seeing the full horror of the scene.
Lee didn't pause his momentum. "8, 9, 10... 13!"
A seven-man tactical team had been wiped out in the blink of an eye. Lee sensed more movement nearby and blurred toward it. His speed was so absolute that the Hand members died before they could even register a threat, let alone pull a trigger.
He was intentionally throttling his strength. At this speed, even a light tap could punch a hole through a human torso. He avoided simply running through them, as the resulting "red mist" would stain his clothes—a mess he didn't want to deal with (unlike the carnage seen in The Boys).
Soon, Lee encountered Bakuto. One glance at the elderly yet muscular man confirmed he was one of the targets Hayate wanted alive.
"Are you Bakuto or Sowande?"
"Doesn't matter. The result is the same."
Lee didn't wait for an answer. Bakuto felt a sharp gust of wind that stung his skin, and in the next heartbeat, the dozen men behind him were launched backward as if hit by a freight train.
Thud! Clang! Smash!
The sounds of his men hitting walls and shattering glass followed a second later, but there wasn't a single scream. Bakuto knew instantly he was facing a monster.
"Who are you?" Bakuto growled, secretly circulating his Chi.
Lee didn't answer. He simply counted: "Counting you, that's 30."
Lee appeared in front of Bakuto, aiming a punch at his shoulder. Since he needed a living prisoner, he used less than ten percent of his strength. Even so, the blow sent Bakuto flying.
Had it not been for Bakuto's mastery of K'un-Lun Chi protecting his body, his shoulder would have been pulverized. Realizing he was outmatched in raw physical stats, Bakuto used his Chi to manipulate the objects in the hallway.
Knives, shuriken, vases, and chairs rose into the air and hurtled toward Lee. Bakuto then turned to leap from the fourth-floor window—a height that was no threat to him.
Lee ignored the flying debris. With a burst of speed, he moved past the projectiles before they could reach him and caught Bakuto by the back of the head, slamming him face-first into the wall.
CRUNCH!
Bakuto smashed through the drywall and tumbled into an empty guest room. His telekinetic attack hit empty air where Lee had stood a moment before. Against a supersonic opponent, even the most refined Chi techniques were futile.
Flicker!
Lee appeared over the dazed Bakuto and delivered a precisely measured punch to the temple, knocking him unconscious.
Looking at the limp body, Lee faced a dilemma. The contest wasn't over. If he left Bakuto here, the old man might wake up and escape.
Lee reached into his pouch and pulled out a length of specialized hemp rope created by Iruka. It was incredibly durable—impossible for a normal human to break. He proceeded to hogtie Bakuto into a compact, spherical shape and hoisted the "old man ball" onto his back.
The game was still on, and he intended to win while carrying his prize.