Last time:

"I declare Shikamaru Nara the winner of the 8th Preliminary Round," the proctor announced

Now:

Shikamaru's Perspective:

"Whoo-hoo! Way to go Shikamaru! I knew you could do it!" Ino yelled.

"Good job, Shikamaru!" Hanara cheered.

Shikamaru sighed and walked back to his team as the medics took care of Kin.

'This is all so troublesome. Now I have to participate in the hardest round where all sorts of people will come to watch. If I pass and become a chunin, I'll get even more work, but if I fail, I'll get it from everyone. Why did I agree to this?'

Beep!

"The next match is between Rock Lee and Gaara of the Sand!" the proctor announced.

"Phew! I'm glad I didn't get either of them," Choji sighed.

"Yeah... but now you're for sure up against that Dosu guy," Hanara said.

"I know his tricks, I'll find a way to counter," Choji smiled.

Hanara's Perspective:

"YES! IT WORKED! I KEPT SAYING IT WAS NOT MY TURN AND NOW IT IS!" Lee celebrated.

"YOSH! LET YOUR YOUTHFULNESS SHINE IN THIS MATCH, LEE!"

"YES, GUY-SENSEI!"

"Go down to your opponent, Lee," Neji said.

"OH YES, OF COURSE!"

"Now that both opponents are here, let the ninth match... BEGIN!" the proctor said, jumping back.

Immediately, Gaara sent his sand to Lee. Lee jumped into the air and dodged before landing back onto the ground and running back to his opponent, engaging him in taijutsu. Only, Lee couldn't land a single hit, the sand kept blocking him.

"Is that..." Sakura asked, tone filled with disbelief.

"Sand?" Ino questioned.

"Hm... seems like all the Sand shinobi are pretty strong," Shikamaru commented.

"Yeah, no kidding," Hanara agreed.

'He's an unstable jinchuriki with Shukaku's sand manipulating abilities? Yeah, no thanks, I don't want to ever go against him.'

"I'm going to go get some info," Hanara said, noticing Kankuro beside Naruto, "See ya!"

"So, what are Lee's chances in beating Gaara in taijutsu?" she asked, appearing beside Naruto in a puff of smoke.

"The sand shields and protects Gaara of its own accord. Gaara doesn't have to do anything. No one's ever broken through it, either. No matter how good this Lee guy is, he doesn't stand a chance." Kankuro smirked.

"Blood!" Gaara snarled.

"He's mentally unstable for sure," Hanara whispered to herself, "No sane person can be that bloodthirsty..."

Gaara's sand caught Lee's foot mid-attack and threw him against the wall opposite to it.

'Dammit. Lee, he's a mentally unstable jinchuriki. If things get too bad... I know it's against your shinobi way but, you should forfeit. Maybe I should tell Guy? But... most Byakugan can't tell if someone's got sealed chakra in them, I'm guessing. Otherwise, Naruto would've been found out years ago. I don't want to reveal that my Byakugan is more suited to in-depth searches than scanning large areas. The elders might make the clan do things to me or even say it's not the 'true' Byakugan and- no they wouldn't do that. Besides, Lee's life is on the line, I should tell Guy. Hm no, I'll tell Kakashi and leave it up to him. I'll ask Kankuro just to be sure, though.'

Hanara moved beside Kankuro and muttered under her breath, staring at Gaara with her Byakugan on and comparing his chakra to Naruto's, giving him one final scan to confirm her hypothesis, "He's the Sand's jinchuriki, isn't he?"

"Huh? Where'd that come from?" Kankuro asked, staring at her suspiciously.

"These eyes of mine," Hanara smiled, "Neji wasn't kidding when he said nothing can get past them. And right now, Gaara is using a bit of the One Tails' chakra subconsciously to help him manipulate the sand, making it even easier for me to detect. He's your jinchuriki. That's why you and Temari were scared of him. He's got a faulty seal too, making him more susceptible to the One Tails' influence, rendering him mentally unstable and bloodthirsty."

Kankuro's eyes widened.

Then there was a thud. Hanara saw Lee's weights in the middle of two craters. 'Guy's letting him go all out. This is going to end badly. I need to tell Kakashi now!'

And with that, Hanara body-flickered to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she exclaimed, grabbing his attention, "Gaara's the Sand's jinchuriki!"

"And how do you know this?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

Hanara looked away, "My Byakugan. It doesn't work the same as normal ones do, I think. It's got a slightly smaller range than Neji's, for an example, but I can see more details, like seals and sealed away chakra. When I scanned Naruto for the first time, I saw his normal chakra but if I focused more, I could see a blurred seal design and a blurred image of a huge red chakra. I didn't put it together at first, but the more I looked into it, the more the pieces came together. When I looked at Gaara just now, I saw the same thing but it was less blurred. When I questioned Kankuro about it, he confirmed my suspicions. I think the seal's less effective or something because the One Tails' chakra is clearer." when she saw Kakashi's widened eye she quickly added, "Yes, I know about Naruto, but that's not the point! You know Guy-sensei better than anyone else here, so it would be easier for you to tell him if you think you should. If he's going to let Lee go all out, he should be confident that Lee can go against a mentally unstable, bloodthirsty, jinchuriki with a faulty seal!"

"I will have to speak to the Hokage and the Hyuga Clan Head about this later, but yes, I will inform Guy," Kakashi said, before softening his tone, "But thank you for letting me know. It might just save Lee's life."

Hanara sighed, "Yes, I suppose it is fair that you mention it to the Hokage and my Clan Head. I just ask that you make sure that it stays between the three- or four if you tell Guy -of you. I would rather Lord Hokage did not let this become a discussion with the council."

Kakashi smiled, "Yes that's fair."

"Thank you, Kakashi-Sensei," Hanara said as she walked up to Guy, Kakashi following her.

"YES LEE! SHOW HIM THE POWER OF YOUTH!" Guy cheered as Lee landed a blow on Gaara that sent him flying.

"Guy, how capable do you think Lee is of taking on a jinchuriki?" Kakashi asked.

From beside Guy, Neji scoffed, "Lee? Against a jinchuriki? He wouldn't survive!"

"Sadly, I must agree. My youthful student is not at that level yet. He knows that even his bright flames of youth are not enough against someone with a tailed beast," Guy smiled.

"Then you should let him forfeit," Kakashi said seriously.

"What do you mean? Lee is doing amazingly! He is showing off his youthfulness this very minute!" Guy exclaimed.

Sure enough, Lee was. At that very moment, he had trapped Gaara with his bandages and was in the middle of sending Gaara to the ground with the Primary Lotus.

"Gaara is the host to the Sand's tailed beast, the One Tails. You just said that Lee could not take on a jinchuriki. Sure, Lee is doing okay right now, but soon, he will exhaust himself and Gaara will be out for his blood," Kakashi said, "You can allow him to show off his skills but if he is in a bad position, you must interfere."

"How do you know he is a jinchuriki," Guy asked, oddly serious.

"Hanara had a suspicion and his teammate confirmed it," Kakashi answered.

Hanara shot Kakashi a grateful look, she didn't want Neji to know of her weird Byakugan just yet.

"Gaara's just toying with him!" Hanara realized as Lee was forced to the ground by the sand. It seemed like the Primary Lotus took a lot out of him.

'He had so many chances to just trap him and be done with it but he isn't! This is the type of opponent I hate the most and no doubt the type of opponent that Lee faces most. How does he handle it?'

"Yes! Lee's able to move as fast as before now!" Sakura exclaimed.

Kakashi's eye narrowed, "That boy can use the Eight Inner Gates, can't he?"

Guy nodded, "That's right!"

"That's amazing! If he had been up against anyone else..." Hanara trailed off, amazed. Anyone who was interested in becoming a taijutsu master at one point and was serious about it had heard of the 8 Inner Gates.

"Guy-sensei! Please allow me to-"

"No, Lee!" Guy interrupted, before closing his eyes and sighing, "I am afraid that you cannot use that-"

Guy's eyes widened. Gaara had sent his sand towards Lee, who was focusing on his sensei. Hanara looked to where Guy's eyes were and gasped. Gaara's sand was making it's way to Lee's legs.

"Sand Co-"

Guy was in front of Lee, blocking the sand.

"But why save him?" Gaara asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Because he's- he's my student," Guy replied, "And also because he's precious to me."

"Guy-Sensei, why? I have not finished, I have more inside me than that!" Lee exclaimed.

The proctor, realizing that Guy might have wanted to answer that in private, interrupted the conversation, "Due to outside interference, Rock Lee is disqualified. Gaara of the Sand is the winner of the 9th Preliminary Round. Please clear the area."

Gaara walked back to his sensei while Guy and Lee were conversing in hushed whispers. Hanara thought she'd never see the day, but it came.

Hanara sighed as she walked back to her team, 'Lee has lots of potential. If he were up against anyone else it would have been an immediate win. I'm sorry I caused Guy to cut in, Lee, but I think, that if you had gone all out, Gaara would've ruined your career or even killed you.'

BEEP!

Dosu Kinuta vs Choji Akimichi