Rock Lee didn't lose his cool from Gaara's provocation.
Instead, after a calm analysis, he used the even more powerful Front Lotus.
Although he successfully caught Gaara and blasted a huge crater in the arena, when the dust settled, the figure in the pit slowly dissipated, it was revealed to be just a sand clone.
The real Gaara had already moved behind Lee.
The scene seemed to replay itself from the original story.
Lee's body, overloaded from the Front Lotus, couldn't dodge quickly enough. He was sent flying by a wave of sand summoned by Gaara.
In this situation, to fulfill his dream of becoming an outstanding ninja, so that Teacher Guy, to whom he owed so much, wouldn't be disappointed, he could no longer affor to hold back.
Defying the entangling sand, he began to open the Eight Gates.
"Natsuki, Sasuke, Choji, Hinata, Neji..." Lee's face was filled with determination. "You guys are all recognized geniuses. I haven't had a real match with any of you yet, so I absolutely can't fall here!"
Eight Gates!!
Boom!!
The sand wrapped around him exploded.
Chakra surged throughout his body. Lee's skin turned crimson, and blue veins bulged. The force radiating from him was visible to the naked eye, even lifting small pebbles off the ground.
His hair fluttered wildly.
If Natsuki wasn't familiar with the original story, he might have thought Lee was turning into a Super Saiyan.
Thankfully, Lee's hair didn't turn gold, otherwise the entire Naruto world would be doomed.
"What happened to him?" Sakura gasped.
Kakashi, widely experienced and an old classmate of Might Guy, recognized the technique:
"That's the Eight Gates technique! This isn't something that can be achieved through hard work alone. Could it be that Lee is also a genius?"
Gaara's eyes narrowed, but his face remained fearless.
He formed a seal with two fingers of his right hand. "I don't know what you did, but this match will be over soon." His words barely concealed a boundless killing intent.
"Yes," Lee replied slowly, arms crossed. "After this move, everything will be over. Teacher Guy, these are the results of my training.
"Natsuki, thank you for recognising me and accepting me into your Genius Club."
Lee clenched his fists, even more chakra surging wildly, the force around him exploding.
His entire being seemed to become more ferocious.
"Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain, Open!!"
Vast blue chakra soared, creating a hurricane that forced even the audience to squint.
In the next instant, his right foot slammed into the ground, shattering the huge stone slab beneath.
He vanished.
Gaara's eyes widened. He could feel himself locked onto by Lee's lethal intent, the hairs on his skin standing on end.
For the first time, he felt a sense of impending crisis. Before he could react, he was struck by an attack so fast it was invisible, sending him flying into the air.
"So fast!"
"Lee disappeared."
"Can you see his movements?"
"Too fast! I can't capture his movements."
The audience was filled with astonishment.
If it weren't for the occasional exploding floor tiles and Gaara being sent flying, they wouldn't have known what was happening.
They almost thought Rock Lee had left the arena.
Every time a cloud of dust erupted somewhere in the field, the ground cracked like a spiderweb, and Gaara suffered another heavy blow.
The sand in his gourd had all dispersed automatically, trying to counterattack, but it couldn't keep up with Lee's speed at all, only able to grasp afterimages.
"That's it, Lee! That's what youth is all about!
"Years of relentless training, all for this crucial moment of burning passion!" Might Guy was also overflowing with excitement, itching to jump down and help Lee land a few more punches.
Lee's attack hadn't stopped yet.
Before the airborne Gaara could land, Lee caught up to him, sending him flying higher into the air again.
After reaching the peak, Lee reappeared even higher above, smashing another fist down.
The aerial combo continued relentlessly, making Gaara bounce around like a ball. The sand armor that encased Gaara's body started to crumble.
"How is this possible?!" Kankuro and Temari were completely dumbfounded.
They had never seen Gaara in such a sorry state. Even their team leader, Baki, wore a look of shock. Forget these Chunin Exam candidates, even he, a Jonin, couldn't beat Gaara this badly.
"Just how many monsters does Konoha have?" Kankuro gulped.
After the final rounds began, every ninja from Konoha had displayed unprecedented power.
Even that seemingly weakest Shikamaru was incredibly cunning.
If he hadn't given up, Temari would have most likely lost.
Should I just forfeit the next match? Otherwise, at this rate, I might not even get a chance to surrender before I'm killed.
"Is this really the Chunin Exams?"
"Did we go to the wrong place and end up in a Jonin-level competition?" Temari trembled.
Luckily, her opponent wasn't the combat type.
"Don't be ridiculous. Jonin don't need to take exams. They're directly assessed by the village leaders based on their strength and the number of high-difficulty missions they've completed." Baki, their Jonin leader, explained with a deadpan expression.
"Sand Armor? Your turtle shell is really tough, huh?" After pummeling Gaara for a while, a slightly tired Lee couldn't help but complain as he continued his assault.
At this point, Gaara's face, or rather his entire body of Sand Armor, was covered in cracks.
However, relying on the rapid regeneration provided by his massive chakra reserves, it stubbornly clung to his body, not yet completely broken.
"Your technique can't last forever," Gaara said, his eyes filled with killing intent.
Even Natsuki, whom he considered his rival, hadn't injured him this badly.
This bowl-cut dared to be so arrogant! Later, he would use his sand to crush every single bone in Lee's body into powder. "When you tire out, it will be your death."
"We'll see if you get the chance," Lee responded. "How about this move?"
With the Eight Gates enhancing his power, Lee unleashed a Leaf Whirlwind, kicking Gaara away like a cannonball.
He crashed into the ground, embedding himself in the surface.
The next moment, a roar echoed from the front: "Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit, Open!!!"
As this gate opened, everyone saw the blue chakra steam around Lee disappear, replaced by a visible distortion of the air around him.
'I'm going to die!
'I can't block it!!'
Lying on the ground, Gaara instinctively sensed the threat of death.
He no longer hesitated to use the technique he had originally planned for Natsuki. He closed his eyes and intertwined the fingers of his right hand.
Feigned Sleep Technique!
A terrifying and sinister chakra erupted, seemingly boundless! It instantly swept across the entire arena, shocking even the Hokage and Kazekage on the viewing platform.
A massive sandstorm, whipped up by the immense chakra, concealed Gaara's figure.
By now, Lee had finished adjusting his stance.
Without fear, he plunged headfirst into the sandstorm.
Along his path, the rock floor exploded and cracked.
Reverse Lotus!
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