Neji put his hand down, and then he said, "Then meet me tomorrow at the same spot where you kissed Tenten. I will be waiting for you," Neji gave Lee one last angry look, and then walked out the door. Lee felt very nervous about this. Since Rock Lee couldn't use ninjutsu he probably wouldn't be able to win. He heard Tenten begin to stir in her bed. So Lee quickly snuck out the door and closed it gently.
Rock Lee wondered if he should tell Naruto of what was going to happen. Maybe he could even find a way to stop this unnecessary fighting. He wasn't afraid to fight, he was just afraid he might seriously injure Neji. He planned to go to the Hall but he didn't have to. Naruto was running toward him. He said, "Well, how'd it go? What's wrong, did she reject you or something?"
Rock Lee shook his head. "No, Neji has challenged me to a duel for Tenten's hand. But I am worried about hurting him,"
Naruto laughed, "You don't have to worry 'bout hurting Neji. He's tough! Remember when I beat him in the arena?" Rock Lee nodded. "Well it took a bunch of attacks to take him down, and even after that he barely showed any sign of being seriously injured. So what I'm saying is that don't worry 'bout it. When you fight him give it your all!" Naruto Smiled and gave him the thumbs up. "I guarantee that if you go all out you can win against him!" Rock Lee gave a big smile. Naruto always found some way to cheer him up.
When Naruto left Rock Lee, Rock Lee was thinking of something dangerous. He was thinking that, as a last resort, he would use the 8 inner gates. "Only as a last resort," He said. He came to his own house and entered. He found the place very quiet. Just like Tenten's house. He grabbed a rice ball from the refrigerator and he sat down. He kept wondering about the battle between him and Neji.
He remembered what Naruto said just before he left, "I'll have Sakura near the field, just in-case Neji gets seriously injured. O.K.? Lee sighed. He would lose Tenten forever if he lost. He clenched his fist in frustration. He remembered when he had used to like Sakura, and he remembered when Naruto told Rock Lee that he liked Sakura. After that Lee hadn't tried to flirt with Sakura ever again. They were just friends now.
Lee got into his bed and closed his eyes to think. Wondered if Tenten even liked him, what if she was only happy that one day? But then why would she have done all that if it had just been a ruse? All these questions made Rock Lee sleepy. He gave a big heave of a yawn and then fell asleep.
In the morning he smelled something sweet. This gentle aroma woke him up from his sleep. He did his usual morning stretches, and then he walked into the kitchen. To his great surprise, he saw Sakura there. Naruto was also there. Sakura glanced over her shoulder and smiled when she saw Lee. "Good morning Lee, your breakfast will be coming in a moment. Did you have a good rest?"
"Yes Sakura. Would you mind telling me what you are cooking?" Lee replied. Sakura cheerfully held up the freshly made Ujikintoki Kakigori, (A special Japanese sweet) and set it on the table.
Naruto swallowed his piece of sweet and said, "You are really gonna need your energy for today so eat," Naruto motioned for him to sit down. Lee sat down and lifted his spoon, scooped up a piece of the delicacy and ate it. The flavor was so delicious it made Ichiraku's Ramen taste like cardboard. A long time ago he would have said that the sweet filled him with the power of youth, but today things were more serious. Naruto and Sakura looked puzzled and Sakura asked, "Lee are you OK? Don't you like the sweet?"
Lee held up his hand in objection, "No, this is the finest sweet I have ever tasted! Nothing is wrong with it. What, pray tell, gave you that impression?"
Sakura sighed, "Well, you just looked sad that's all,"
Lee continued to object, "Oh that was only because I am worried about Tenten. I…I do not think Neji will ever let me see her again if he wins. I just…"
Sakura interrupted by giving Lee a slap. Lee held his cheek while he got told off by Naruto, "What is with you today! What ever happened to that Bushy Brow I used to know? Are you honestly going to give up? If you give up Neji wins. Don't you understand that?" He knelt down where Lee was sitting and offered him his hand, "Are ya gonna win this or what? Are ya gonna get Tenten or aren't ya?"
Lee looked surprised. Now Lee began to realize what he had to do. So he smiled, took Naruto's extended hand and said, "Yes, will succeed in defeating Neji so that I may be able to prove to him that I am worthy of Tenten's love,"
Naruto smiled and gave him a slap on the back, "That's the Rock Lee I used to know! Now let's get moving and get over to where you need to go!"
It seems that somehow Ino managed to get ahold of the fight information and now the whole village turned out to cheer on the contestants. The village followed Lee all the way to the hill. People brought snacks, some vendors were pushing along carts, and some people were running a little betting stall. Apparently the majority voted for Neji.
It would have taken a ninja about 30 minutes to get to the hill but instead it took about 3 hours to get to the hill. Neji looked quite put out by the fact that Lee had kept him waiting. Neji approached Tenten (who was following behind Rock Lee) and took her to a spread out towel. Tenten Was wearing a pale blue dress with a yellow waist ribbon, she also wore a pale blue hat with under lace and flowers stuck in the hood. Rock Lee thought she looked beautiful. Neji smiled at Tenten and she returned the smile amiably. A man had drawn the arena with a long piece of white chalk, and the same man stood in the middle of the field and held two red flags. He raised them and lowered them signaling that the fight had begun.
Neji ran forward first. His Byakugan was activated and it was clear he wouldn't back down. Rock Lee held up his arms and moved aside experimentally. Neji aimed his gentle fist towards Lee and Lee dodged. Lee quickly retaliated with leaf tornado. Lee continued to bombard Neji with leaf whirlwind and several other attacks. Neji paused for a moment only to unleash his 8-trigrams 64 palms. Luckily Lee managed to avoid five but on the final 64 palms he got careless and his foot instead landed on Neji's chest, shooting both Neji and Lee backward. Lee dared to glance at Tenten, she looked horrified, and it made Lee feel nervous. Neji saw his opening and used his gentle fist ability. Lee was unable to escape in time and got slammed head-on. He slammed into a pine tree (which shed several needles) and Neji saw his chance. He used it rotation technique and the pine needles began to pierce Lee's suit and skin. Finding he had no choice, Rock Lee opened the first gate.
Instantly he felt himself revive immediately, Lee used his lotus and Neji was hurled into the nearest oak tree. Lee again peeked at Tenten and she had tears in her eyes. It was obvious that she wasn't expecting Lee to use his lotus on him. Neji stood up and released another assault of 64 palms. This time Lee was vulnerable and Neji was ruthless in his attack. Rock Lee was shot into a gum tree and he fell down. Finding he again had no choice he opened the second gate. Feeling his strength again revived he trudged on.
Lee was just about to open the 5th gate when Neji used his gentle fist again. People gasped in horror as Lee was bleeding. He found no other choice. He opened the next gate. He could tell Neji was hurt but not as badly as him and he continued fighting.
After an hour of grueling fighting, Lee fell to the ground. He was squarely beat. Neji stood almost on top of him and he was about to finish him off when Tenten screamed, "No! Neji please spare him!" She ran onto the field and stood in front of Neji and the Maximum powered gentle fist attack went straight though Tenten's heart and she fell to the ground.
Shizune (who was an audience member) rushed out onto the field and felt her pulse. Lee stared in shock and Neji was shaking in shame. Shizune's eyes widened, "Sakura I need you!" She shouted and Sakura came running. Shizune put her hands over the wound and Sakura did the same and the green chakra glow emanated from their hands. "Neji that gentle fist of yours cut through her bad. If she loses anymore blood she will die. Neji's eyes enlarged and Lee's heart skipped a beat. One question ran through his mind, "What would happen if Tenten died?"