Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto Franchise that belongs solely to Masashi Kishimoto; I do not own Heaven's lost Property, High School DxD or any other Anime I borrow themes from. The only thing I claim is my OC's and original Story Plot.


Author's Note (A/N): Hey guys I'm back with Rock Lee vs. Gaara. I enjoyed writing this chapter. l don't have much to say so let's just get right into chapter.


Chapter 47

Sandstorm

Emotional.

That was definitely one word anyone could use to describe this year's Chūnin Exam. It was without a doubt one of the most emotionally charged exams within the last decade. Fight after fight the participants brought in an entire suitcase worth of emotional baggage with them to the battle and it was clearly evident that this trend very well may continue.

Sakura vs Ino was a fight between two former best friends turned bittersweet enemies; Naruto vs Kiba was a fight born out of both mutual affection for one girl and jealousy; Hinata vs. Neji was a bitter blood feud between family members.

No one was sure what was going to happen next with the remaining fighters but some didn't want to find out especially if it was like the last match to just end. It was particularly nasty and one-sidedly brutal. Seeing the Hyūga heiress wheeled out on an emergency stretcher because of injuries she suffered at the hand of her very own cousin left those watching shocked. It wasn't every day you see such brutality. Especially not from a leaf ninja. The Hidden Leaf has always been lauded as the most peaceful and non-aggressive out of the Five Great Nations.

"That was some battle huh Temari?" Kankurō commented with a low whistle as things were starting to calm down. "I would agree. I've read up on some of the major clans here in the Leaf Village in preparation. The Hyūga Clan is currently the strongest clan in the village and its members are all really strong especially in Taijutsu. But who would have thought not everything was picture perfect behind the scenes." Temari replied as she watched the verbal confrontation between Naruto and Neji.

"Did you notice the connection that Uzumaki kid has with the Hyūga heiress?" Kankurō asked as he looked towards his older sister. "Yeah, the boy has it bad for her. I was studying him throughout this match and during his match earlier. You'd have to be blind not to see the connection those two share." Temari declared. "The kid's full of surprises. It looks like he wants to murder this Neji guy right where he stands." Kankurō chuckled as he along with everyone else witnessed Naruto make a blood vow using Hinata's blood.

"Can you really blame him. I'm not too big on this Neji's personality. He outright tried to kill his own cousin just because she struck a nerve with him. I don't know the full story but from the stuff she was saying it sounded like she was only trying to help. He's got some really issues to deal with." Temari spoke as she watched Neji scoff before slowly walking off. He would have moved quicker if not for the numerous amounts of injuries dotted across his body courtesy of Hinata's incredible strength.

"Yep I'd say that families messed up. But it makes me curious to know just how far this Naruto fellow is willing to go in defense of the Hyūga heiress. She's certainly lived up to her title after that performance she gave but to be left in that critical condition I know it must be burning Naruto up something fierce to not just pounce the guy. I'm curious to know just how strong this Uzumaki kid really is. It was clear he went into his match against the dog boy nowhere close to his full strength yet he still managed to pull off a win against a tough opponent. I still remember that moment when we first met. He briefly flared his chakra to the point it even passed Gaara's. That was the scariest moment of my life." Kankurō spoke seriously as he took the time to really contemplate Naruto's character as a person.

"I'd agree. Seeing him at full strength is something I want to see as well. He along with that Nara kid and now the Hyūga heiress have been the only ones to truly capture my attention so far. Any one of them could be a real threat if they were your enemy." Temari concluded but before her brother could continue the conversation with his own opinion Gaara himself who was as always standing silently by spoke up for the first time.

"It does not matter how strong he is. Naruto Uzumaki will make a worthy opponent for me to prove my existence too. I will crush him." Gaara said in a deathly quiet tone that sent shivers up and down his siblings' spines. Kankurō didn't want to be anywhere near his little brother for any longer than he had to especially with the murderous look that was plastered across his face so thinking up something quick he scooted away from the short read headed boy. "I think I'm going to go make some new friends with the locals." Kankurō suggested as he moved onto the other side of Temari.

"With who?" Temari questioned although she had a pretty good idea as to who Kankurō had in mind. "With Naruto Uzumaki of course. I think we got off on the wrong foot when we met him back in that side alley. I want to see if I can gleam a little bit of his story from talking to him. Besides you got to know your enemy and all of that right?" Kankurō explained as he started to walk away. "Be careful Kankurō and don't do anything stupid while over there. You'll be surrounded by all of the leaf teams." Baki the Jōnin sensei for the sand siblings spoke up for the very first time. Baki was a very tall man wearing the traditional beige and tanned colored attire of the Hidden Sand Village shinobi. His most distinguishing feature was a white cloth that draped down the side of his face covering up one of his eyes. He was an Elite Jōnin of the Hidden Sand village and was on the same level and caliber as well as fame as Kakashi, Might Guy, and Asuma.

"Yes sensei, will do." Kankurō parted as he made his way over to the other balcony where the Hidden Leaf teams were standing. Everyone saw him coming. It wasn't hard not to notice with how wide open and visible the entire lay out of the room was but no one said a word as he climbed the stairs. The Jōnin of the leaf were watching him like a hawk discreetly just to make sure he didn't do anything suspicious and being aware of this Kankurō just smirked within his mind. He wasn't dumb enough to even twitch a muscle in front of the Hidden Leaf Village's three most powerful Jōnin. He wanted to live a long and healthy life if he could help it.

Kakashi, Might Guy, and Kurenai were all huddled up in close proximity to one another with Asuma finally deciding to get a little closer as they each lost a bunch of their students. Between the four of them they had four Genin out due to injuries.

Naruto was busy being supported by Shikamaru and Chōji when he noticed Kankurō approach. Shino was a little behind Naruto standing next to Kurenai when Kankurō walked passed them. Sakura and Ino were on the other side of Naruto in between Kakashi and Guy. Lee was also in the mix standing close by to Naruto and the others just in front of his own teacher. Neji chose to remain far from the group as possible which yet again brought a frown to Guys face but there was nothing he could do about it. Asuma was leaning his back against the wall towering over Kurenai's smaller form while having a cigarette which the by the small tick mark on the beautiful woman's face showed that this was a habit she did not enjoy from her friend.

"Hey you what's up? Mind if I join you?" Kankurō called out with a friendly casual greeting. Naruto couldn't detect a single ounce of bad intentions coming from the Sand Village Genin based on his many years of experience reading peoples body language in the casino and Iris or Chaos weren't trying to warn him of any threat either so Naruto chose to hear the boy out but that did not mean he trusted him.

"Go ahead but why are you over here? Shouldn't you be with your team?" Naruto questioned quietly. He wasn't really in the mood for conversation. His entire focus was elsewhere thinking of Hinata and her condition. He knew if anything happened Eva would come rushing back to let him know and if nothing else she would do everything to help the indigo haired girl regardless of the consequences but that did not mean Naruto wasn't worried for his best friend now recently turned full blown crush.

"I wanted to see how you were doing. I can see that last match got you all fired up and if I recall we kind of got off on the wrong foot when we met each other the first time." Kankurō admitted with a disarming chuckle. "If that's your attempt at gathering information and trying to cheer me up then you need to quit while you're ahead." Naruto said bluntly with a harshness he wasn't known for. He truly wasn't in the mood. He's never had to go through something so complex and emotional before with his best friend and now that he has it's tearing him up inside not to be by her side now. If by some off chance Hinata didn't make it… not that he didn't think Eva would try everything in her power to prevent this, not to mention Sōkyoku's involvement in this. Naruto wasn't sure what he would do. He knew the one thing he was certain of is that he'd try his absolute hardest to kill Neji on the spot. Anything past that and he wasn't sure what would happen. There would be a rampage of that he was sure of and it would be worse than the time on the bridge.

Kankurō visibly winced at the tone Naruto took with him and all of his friends around him gave him looks of sympathy as they knew this wasn't his normal behavior. They could see it in his eyes. He was thinking of Hinata right now. It was as clear as day. "Ouch… okay you got me. I wasn't really trying but then again this isn't really the place to be doing such a thing. I apologize." Kankurō said in complete honesty and sincerity. Sensing this Naruto sighed as he looked at the foreign boy. "You're over here now and I really don't care. So, you can do what you want." Naruto relented but the very hidden threat was there. It would be suicide for Kankurō to ever contemplate doing something with three Elite Jōnin literally a yard away from him. Not to mention the Hokage who was at the end of the balcony.

"Cool… so this isn't the way to break the ice but I sense you and that Neji guy has some bad blood. I could tell he wasn't showing the full extent of his powers in that fight… although I'd say your girlfriend really gave him a run for his money. So, what's his story?" Kankurō asked with a raised eyebrow. The boy took very acute notice of how Naruto twitched when he assumed Hinata was his girlfriend. Being self-aware of this as well Naruto sighed. "Ok first of all yeah Neji and I have some pretty bad blood between us going back a couple of years. That attitude and demeanor he just showed off is what Hinata and I have had to put up with for years. Secondly, Hinata isn't my girlfriend… she's just my best friend and I suppose I should give you a point for actually putting some effort into your fishing here." Naruto responded in kind as he answered Kankurō's questions one at a time. To take his mind off of things he did acknowledge the fact the Sand Genin slyly weaseled the truth about him and Hinata out by just assuming their relationship.

"Finally, the only story about him that needs to be told is that I'm going to make him regret what he did today." Naruto finished off as a dangerous edge came to his voice at the end as he sent a quick but scathing glare over to Neji who could care less about Naruto's actions right now. 'Yep, this kid definitely has it bad for that girl.' The older teen noted with an internal amused chuckle. 'Not that I'd blame him. She's quite the looker and boy was she really strong.' Kankurō added on at the end of his thoughts as he was only one year older than Naruto and the rest of his classmates so his ability to be attracted to Hinata was well within his range.

For a reason, completely unknown to Naruto he felt a wave of annoyance, aggravation, jealousy, and overprotectiveness wash over him as he turned to give Kankurō a scathing glare unlike the one he gave Neji. "I don't know what you just thought right now but back off got it." Naruto said simply which caused a sweat drop to form down Kankurō's face. He looked skittish as he raised his hands in surrender. "Yeah, you got it dude." On the inside however Kankurō was sweating bullets. 'Holy crap! Can this dude read minds or something? This kid really has it bad for that girl!'

The others were entirely confused to this whole conversation going on between the two but before anyone else could add to the conversation Hayate coughing fit got everyone's attention once again.

"Ok, now that the intermission is over and the field has been repaired we will move on to the next match immediately." As soon as he said that the LED board on the wall lit up with the last few remaining names in the room and it soon stopped on two names.


[Rock Lee vs. Gaara]

The entire room grew quiet as a brief spike in Gaara's insanity surged out of him. His eyes were wild before they settled down and he regained control of his emotions. Without a single word or sound Gaara held up the ram hand sign and disappeared in a sand based Body Flicker Jutsu. One second he was on the balcony and the next he was down on the arena floor with his arms crossed over his chest silently waiting for his opponent. Naruto looked over to see Might Guy giving his protégé a pep talk before the match. Rock Lee looked fired up and ready to go and that worried Naruto, he's never seen Gaara fight before but a pit of anxiety was forming in his stomach yet again for this upcoming fight.

It actually took Naruto a moment but he came to realize that not all of the anxiety he was feeling belonged to him. Iris was giving off a vibe of nervousness and caution that had Naruto worried. 'Why is Iris reacting like this? Does she know something?' Naruto contemplated but he would never get the answer to that question since with the seal placed over him he couldn't properly communicate with his daughters. Chaos somehow speaking to him earlier during Shikamaru's match was unexplainable by Naruto.

"Right now, go get him Lee!" Guy cheered enthusiastically with Lee having a fire burning in his eyes. "Be careful Lee. This guy is dangerous." Naruto felt the need to warn the spandex wearing Genin as he did not want Lee walking into something he wasn't prepared for. To be honest he rather liked Lee. The boy was honest to a fault, strong, and very friendly. Not to mention he came to his team's rescue back in the forest of death all on his own without really knowing them that well. He got hurt in defense of Sakura and the rest of them. That earned him major points in Naruto's book. "Right Naruto, thank you for the advice!" Lee thanked with his infectious attitude as he gave Naruto a cheese thumbs up and blinding smile. His enthusiasm actually managed to ease Naruto's mind a bit and get him to crack a smile. It was definitely a noteworthy feat since Naruto didn't feel like himself at this time.

Jumping over the balcony Rock Lee landed across the field from Gaara with a confident but competitive smirk on his face. He was ready for his battle. "Let us have a wonderful match Gaara." Lee said with a sportsman like aura surrounding him.

Gaara didn't say a word as he just waited for Hayate to start the match. "Ok now, this match between Gaara and Rock Lee may now begin." Hayate announced as he jumped far back out of the way of the coming battle. Hayate was a Special Jōnin with high clearance access to some of the village's top secrets. He was well trusted by the Hokage himself and the higher brass within the village with these secrets and being a former ANBU Black Ops member as well as a ANBU Field Training Officer made him very credible to those around him. His other notable accolade for such a young man only in his early twenties was the fact that he is currently a member of the village's Spy Bureau which leaves him very well respected even by his superiors and those who are clearly stronger than him.

With that notable pedigree under his belt Hayate was well aware of just who Gaara was. He was the Hidden Sand Villages Jinchūriki Host to the One Tailed Shukaku. He was instructed to keep a close eye on the very unstable Jinchūriki from the sand and to intervene directly in whatever match he participates in if any problems arise.

"Right here I come! Leaf Hurricane!" Lee shouted as he rocketed off from his spot with tremendous speeds. Getting in range Lee jumped into the air and preformed a picture-perfect roundhouse kick that would have knocked Gaara's head clean off if not for the timely intervention of a cloud of sand? The cork that was keeping the contents of whatever was in his gourd shot off into the air as a thick solid cloud of sand blocked Lee's powerful kick with a thunderous bang. Jumping back Lee dodged a follow up blast of sand that threatened to bury him alive. Jumping back across the field Lee got back into his Taijutsu stance as he analyzed his options. 'A sand based manipulation Jutsu. I've never seen or heard of such a thing. It's going to be difficult to get through but nothing ventured nothing gained.' Lee optimistically thought to himself as he tensed his muscles.

'Sand!? That's what he has in that gourd. Why am I not totally surprised? But how is he manipulating it? It must take a tremendous amount of chakra to constantly sustain that much sand. It's more of a cloud than a truly solid object. Manipulating water would be easier.' Naruto thought as he watched the sand retreat back into Gaara's gourd. The pit of anxiety reached a fevered pitch within Naruto as he could feel Iris trying to control herself. Chaos was showing signs of excitement that was worrying Naruto. His daughters knew something that they kept hidden from him about Gaara. Of that much he could be sure of now.

'Humm, interesting. This boys Jutsu reminds me of both his fathers and the Third Kazekage. The Third was renowned for his infamous Iron Sand Jutsu and the Fourth was known for his Gold Dust. Both are sand manipulation based Jutsu that took advantage of their Magnet Style Kekkei Genkai. In fact, they based it off of the One Tailed Shukaku's own Magnet Style and Sand Manipulation. So, this boy has fully inherited all of his attributes from being the Jinchūriki to the One Tails.' Hiruzen thought to himself with a serious gaze directed at Gaara who's sand was coming to his defense. Intelligence and information on Gaara was kept top secret by the government of the Hidden Sand Village and leaks were taken care of in a brutal fashion to keep any information about Gaara secret. It also didn't help that whoever Gaara went up against in his missions for his village always died before any word could get out.

This information was very useful to the old Hokage as he sent a discreet look towards Ibiki who was towering over him like a protective bear. Ibiki understood the message his leader was sending to him and he added that to the long mental list of things he had to take care of after the Chūnin Exams Preliminary Rounds come to an end.

Back in the fight things were heating up dramatically as Lee charged in with a fire in his eyes. Unleashing an impressive barrage of punches and kicks in a stunning fashion Lee was hammering away at Gaara's shield of sand that was taking each and every hit no matter the angle Lee came at it. Finding himself surrounded Lee quickly took out a kunai that he used to slice open the clouds of sand trying to constrict his movements. Making an opening Lee did a series of back flips with the sand trailing him on the floor until he jumped up into the air and threw a volley of lightning fast shuriken that were stonewalled by the sand that was keeping up with everything Lee threw at it.

"To have that type of control over the sand. He's using it just like a moving shield." Naruto mumbled in shock as he's never seen a Jutsu that was so flexible and responsive to target and block so many individual attacks repeatedly and only those attacks. There was no wasted effort on the sands part. It only moved where Lee's attacks were going to come from and conserved the rest of its essence until it was needed. Such a technique was unheard of. "Gaara's not doing anything. The sand is a living sentient entity separate from Gaara. It chooses to protect Gaara of its own accord. Of course, Gaara can easily exert his own will over the sand to make it do what he wants but that's only if you get him entertained in the match. Most of his offense and primarily his defense comes straight from the will of his sand." Kankurō explained with a smug aura surrounding him.

Those around him were understandably shocked at this as this was unprecedented. "It's for that very reason why Gaara's never been injured. No one's ever been able to even physically touch him for as long as I can remember." Kankurō said ominously as it looked to the others like he was remembering something from his past. "That's impossible…" Naruto mumbled to himself in disbelieve. He was coming out of his earlier funk as this match was captivating his entire attention and taking his mind off of Hinata's condition.

"Is that it? Is that all you can do to entertain me… we haven't had enough blood!" Gaara spoke up with insanity clear in his eyes and in the tone of his voice. His killing intent spiked gaining everyone's attention as his sand surged across the room going nearly three times as fast as it was when it was simply blocking Lee's attacks. Seeing this Lee tried to evade but his ankle was caught in a thin tendril of sand that held on with a vice grip like hold. The sand jerked in a sudden motion that whipped Lee across the room before slamming him violently into the concrete walls below the balconies. Tiny cracks formed on the walls as Lee fell to the ground.

Jumping to his feet Lee took off like a bullet as he through a thunderous punch that could easily break through stone at Gaara's head but the sand yet again got in the way and blocked his attack. Unleashing another tightly chained combo of acrobatic attacks Lee was pounding away at Gaara's shield yet again but was meeting the same results as before.

"I don't get it why is he only using Taijutsu to attack Gaara's sand? Doesn't he understand that something like that won't work by now? Why doesn't he get some distance and attack with either Ninjutsu or Genjutsu?" Sakura questioned aloud as she turned to Might Guy who was confidently staring down at his prized student. Grinning Guy decided to answer the question that was on everybody's mind. "That would be a very wise and tactical decision Sakura, very good. But you see Lee has absolutely no aptitude for either Ninjutsu or Genjutsu." Guy revealed which shocked most of the others around him.

"Really? No way!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, that's not even the half of it. Back when I first met the boy he had no skills in Taijutsu either. He had absolutely zero talent in all Shinobi related subject altogether." Guy admitted with a heartfelt chuckle. It was full of amusement and pride. "I can't believe it…" Sakura said as she trailed off to watch Lee do a series of consecutive backflips to get away from Gaara's sand but it was moving far too fast for him to get away from. Lee slipped on a patch of sand that had managed to catch up to him. Everyone gasped as Lee tumbled to the ground with a large mass of sand descending towards him in an attempt to completely crush him.

The sand impacted the concrete floor like a wave crashing against a beach. The tiled floor found itself cracked yet again from another attack in a single day as it seemingly crushed Lee. Everyone held their breath at this but Guy and the rest of the Jōnin were smiling. Lee was actually high up in the air doing cannon ball like backflips until he found himself perched up on the stone statue of the hands doing the Ram hand sign. He was perfectly ok. 'I didn't even see him move.' Naruto thought to himself in mild shock as right before the impact Lee simply disappeared.

"Ordinarily a shinobi who couldn't perform Ninjutsu or Genjutsu is an extreme rarity. It's almost unheard of, but while most would consider this as a disadvantage for Lee, it's actually what makes him a winner." Guy stated as he turned to look at his student with pride shinning in his eyes. "Okay Lee its time… take them off!" Guy shouted out which made a shocked look cross the young boys face. "But Guy Sensei… you've always told me that I'm only allowed to take these off when the lives of those who are important to me or those of the innocent are at risk." Lee stated with confusion bubbling deep within his heart. "Yes, Lee you're absolutely right. But this is an exception. Show everybody here the power of your youth!" Guy exclaimed as an absolutely giddy expression crossed Lee's face. He looked like a kid in the candy store.

Sitting down on the statue Lee rolled down his orange leg warmers to reveal a tan brace of metallic leg weights. 'Leg weights?' Kakashi idly thought. "Those are a bit old fashion." Shikamaru commented. "Yes! With these off I'll be able to move freely now!" Lee exclaimed in absolute joy. 'There's something off about those weights… those markings on them. That's Fūinjutsu.' Naruto noticed as he felt an ominous chill go down his spine. Unfortunately, it was because he felt a sudden spike in Chaos's emotions. She was exuding the same amount of joy and giddiness that Rock Lee was showing off. That let Naruto know that something wasn't quite right.

'Oh, come on. Does he honestly think dropping a couple pounds of weight will make a difference?' Temari thought while rolling her eyes. She didn't think much of Lee based on the performance his teammate gave. However, what happened next made her eat her word. Lee dropped the leg weights onto the floor and the entire room shook. Two massive holes for where each leg weight fell were in the ground as dust and chunks of concrete flew everywhere. "No way…" Naruto whispered.

"Right! Now go get them Lee!" Guy shouted with Lee shouting to the heavens in agreement. "YES SIR!"

Lee simply disappeared. It actually took a few people extra seconds for them to register the fact he wasn't on the statue anymore. Lee landed on the ground for a fraction of a second as he rocketed off from his spot and drilled a hole straight through Gaara's sand with a single punch. A punch that displaced the air around Gaara's head and caused his ears to pop. By the time Gaara turned his head in the direction of Lee's attack the boy was already launching a kick at Gaara from the complete opposite direction. Gaara's sand exploded as it was displaced by the sheer velocity of Lee's momentum.

"He's so fast!" Sakura yelled in shock. She almost fell over the edge of the balcony since she had leaned so far forward. "Wow Lee. You were this fast all along?" Naruto whispered in awe. He remembered Lee from their time in the academy. He was a year older than him and the others but he was bullied relentlessly because of his inability to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. He was born with a defect that prevents him from molding his chakra properly to perform the most common shinobi arts. The most he could do were chakra exercises like Tree Walking and Water Walking. 'He's just as fast as me with my Acceleration. The only difference here is he doesn't need to waste chakra or concentration moving at that speeds.' Naruto noted in perpetual shock. Since this is all natural speed from him it would actually give him the edge against Naruto since he wouldn't have to put any conscious effort into maintaining that level of speed.

"I could see that Lee had no aptitude for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, so we skipped over those things and focused our entire efforts into improving his Taijutsu. Now Lee doesn't need those other shinobi abilities to fight or win. He's transformed himself into the world's greatest Taijutsu specialist and one day he will be the greatest Taijutsu master in history." Guy said with pride oozing out of every word he spoke. The way he looked at Lee as he fought down on the arena floor was like a father looking down at his son. Guy had the proudest look anyone could have on their faces right now.

Lee was busy blasting away at Gaara's shield which could do nothing to stop Lee's blitzing assault. Going for his finisher Lee jumped directly above the hovering sand cloud while doing consecutive dizzying front flips in a tight ball like formation. Letting loose Lee unfurled himself as such speeds that he kicked Gaara on the very crown of his head with such force the red headed boys neck almost snapped as his head was forced downwards.

"He hit him!" Naruto asked as his blue eyes widened in absolute shock. 'No way! He actually managed to touch Gaara. Was I wrong about this boy all along?' Temari exclaimed in her head as she never thought she'd live to see this day come.

"Right! Lee let the power of youth explode!" Guy shouted as his blood was pumping. "RIGHT!" Lee shouted as he blurred across the room at incredible speeds. Gaara threw his hands up in the first show of movement all match as he generated a larger wave of sand to stop Lee but the boy simply disappeared into shadows of the wave completely out of everyone's sight. "Over here! No over here!" Lee taunted as he kept popping Gaara's shield with bullet like punches. Gaara couldn't track Lee's movements and trying to turn his head in the direction he thought Lee would be in was proving to be futile. Just when he thought it was over Gaara found himself launched off of his feet by a jaw crushing punch from Lee who completely tore apart Gaara's shield to get to him.

'A direct hit!' Lee cheered in his mind. He was having an absolute blast. "Good!" Guy coached as he nodded his head at the successful hit. Everyone was showing various degrees of awe at Lee's tremendous skills but Gaara was the only one not feeling this sentiment. A spike in his killing intent got everyone focused back in on him. A psychotic deranged look was on his face as he slowly got to his feet. Chunks of sand was falling off his face which had everyone shocked. His face was cracked and chipped in several locations. The shifting sand clouds on the ground started to rise up and splatter onto Gaara's face where his injury was and repair it.

"Is he made of sand?" Naruto mumbled in complete bewilderment as he was trying his absolute hardest to figure out Gaara's abilities. "No, he's not made of sand. That is a last line of defense. In the event the sand clouds aren't able to stop an enemy's attack Gaara has a second dense layer of sand that conforms to his skin and acts like a layer of armor." Kankurō explained but the nervous look in his eyes let the others know that there was more to this than met the eye.

Once Gaara's suit of armor was repaired the killing intent he was leaking was seemingly bottled back up but everyone could still feel it leaking below the surface. "Is that all…" Gaara drawled as he was becoming more and more agitated as time passed. 'My speed isn't enough. I can't get at him for any critical hits as long as those sand clouds are there. However, if I can get him up off the ground away from that sand and hit him from above with the lotus.' Lee speculated as his sensei nodded to him in encouragement.

The air around Lee changed as he unfurled the white bandages wrapped tightly around his fist. It looked like he was going to get serious. "Get ready!" Lee challenged as he nearly cracked the floor below him with how fast he took off. He was gone like a bullet as he started to run around Gaara at high speeds. A thick cloud of dust was lifted into the air as Lee continuously lapped Gaara at blistering speeds. "We'll get on with it!" Gaara twitched as he wanted this battle to be over.

"You asked for it!" Lee relented as he suddenly appeared below Gaara and delivered a devastating rising kick that launched Gaara nearly six feet into the air with a resounding shockwave reverberating across the room. Gaara winced in pain at this abrupt attack but with his heavy weight from having his gourd strapped to his back the red head boy was being caught in gravity's grip as he was making his way back to the ground. "Oh, no you don't! Take this!" Lee shouted as he did the impossible by sending another kick at Gaara that launched him back into the air for a second time. Another kick came that forced him further up into the air and then another. It was pretty much inhuman feats of physical prowess as Lee was kicking Gaara further and further straight up into the air at a 90-degree incline with no sign of stopping.

"What an incredible series of kicks?" Kakashi stated in awe as the physical strength needed to do such a feat was pretty much unheard of. "That's impossible…" Naruto mumbled in awe as he watched Lee go. 'Not even I would be able to do something like that.' Naruto silently thought to himself as he watched Lee wrap his bandages around Gaara's prone form. 'Was this the technique he was planning on using on Sasuke back in the Academy lobby?' Naruto questioned himself silently as the setup was very similar. Lee winced as he closed his eyes from the immense amount of pain he was putting himself through with this maneuver. At the same exact time, Guy closed his eyes to pray for his student's safety as the technique he was about to perform could kill him if executed wrong. No one noticed that Gaara had quickly made move in the split second that Lee and Guy had closed their eyes except Kakashi.

"Now take this! Primary Lotus!" Lee screamed as he and Gaara entered a steep spinning nose dive that would surely kill them both. The two hit the ground with an ear popping impact that shook the entire room and tore a huge crater into the middle of the concrete floor that was continuously taking unending punishment from the many matches it endured. Dust and chunks of concrete flew everywhere causing those in the stands to cover their eyes. Once everything settled the participants could see Lee crouched outside of the destroyed arena floor with Gaara's lifeless body in the center. "That look in his eye… he isn't dead, is he?" Shikamaru barely managed to get out as he was holding his breath while trying to process the last few seconds of what happened.

Hayate was going to call the match when everyone noticed that the body on the ground was changing colors. It soon became apparent because of the fact that the body fell apart and turned into a huge pile of sand. "A substitution? When?" Guy exclaimed in shock as he never saw Gaara react during the entire sequence of the fight. "It was when you closed your eyes to pray." Kakashi said solemnly as he sighed. He knew what was coming next.

The look that was on the real Gaara's face was downright murderous and sadistic as his killing intent finally started to leak out without restraint. The next few minutes were hard to watch as Lee was viciously battered all across the room by whips, streams, blasts, and tsunamis of sand that Gaara was now actively controlling as he was sending these attacks at Lee's defenseless form of his own volition. Lee couldn't fight back and as it was explained by his mentor and by Kakashi, Lee's body was simply under too much pain and stress for him to move with his hyper speeds.

Naruto was highly uncomfortable with this new development as Lee was getting seriously injured in the match. Another thing he had to contend with was the fact Chaos was becoming excited by Gaara's volatile killing intent. To make matters worse he could feel her trying to manifest herself out in the open due to her excitement and Naruto was taking all of his concentration just to force the tiny apocalyptic terror to calm down. Her manifested presence was causing his shadow to start to warp and distort in figure to take on more of a shape that was characteristic of Chaos's form. Her blade like wings were starting to form in the shadows shape and to remedy this Naruto quickly sent a discreet signal to Shikamaru who understood and causally connected his shadow to Naruto's using his clan's secret Jutsu.

With their shadows connected Shikamaru was able to freely manipulate the form in which it took which was perfect as he was able to mask the fact that Naruto's shadow on its own no longer matched his body. Again, Naruto was completely baffled as to how Chaos was able to even attempt to manifest herself seeing as how Orochimaru's seal was still on top of his own. It was dulling to connection he had with his daughters and Eva down to the point he could barely hear or feel their presence in the back of his mind. In hindsight Naruto also realized that Chaos somehow defies the normal laws of reality around her and he didn't even mean that in a comedic sense. He was quite serious with that statement as things just didn't add up with Chaos's actions half the time.

Bringing himself out of his inner thoughts Naruto listened in on the conversation Might Guy, Kakashi, and Sakura were having about Lee's condition. While Naruto was distracted Lee somehow put on a burst of speed and was now dodging all of Gaara's multiple attacks. His speed was back up to what it was when he first took off his weights. His movements were smooth and precise as he was now dancing circles again around Gaara's attacks. Listening to the conversation Naruto now knew that Lee had opened the Second Gate of Rest. He was getting ready to open up the third gate. The Third Gate of Life so that he could enter the Hidden Lotus.

As Kakashi explained the system of the Eight Inner Gates Naruto and the others were left stunned at this development as it was undoubtedly a massive ace in the hole but it was a power boost that was like a doubled edged sword. "By opening all 8 of the Inner Gates a user could obtain immense power even beyond that of a Kage. The only drawback is you will die once you've used up all the chakra the Eighth gate provides." Kakashi explained in a grave tone as his eyes showed nothing but absolute seriousness at the moment. 'The truth is the Eighth Gate would give you power to probably rival the stronger Tailed Beasts. And they are leagues ahead of Kage's in terms of power and chakra.' Kakashi thought privately as the power boost granted by the Eight Gates was immense; and he personally knew that Guy could open at least 6 of them. But Kakashi always had an inkling that Guy was holding out on him… that he could go further if he pushed himself.

"Guy I don't know what this boy means to you but this was completely irresponsible. We never bring our personal attachments and feelings into play. The power that boy wields will kill him long before he could ever reach the Eighth Gate." Kakashi berated his best friend as he sent a disappointing glare at the Taijutsu Master. A muscle jumped in Guy's jaw as he turned to give his closest friend and eternal rival a chilling glare. "How dare you, you have no right… you know nothing at all!" Guy snapped at Kakashi getting those around him to back up in shock. Even Kakashi's eyes widened in shock as he rarely ever sees his best friend riled up in any situation, it was exceedingly rare.

"That boy has something important to prove. Something so important he's ready and willing to risk his very own life to achieve it." Guy stated as he looked at Lee with love and pride shimmering in his eyes. He was remembering a famous quote Lee stated on the very first day he met his new team. ['I want to show that I can be a splendid ninja as well; even if I don't have Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. I want to prove it to the whole world!'] That one statement echoes throughout Guy's mind each and every time he thinks about Lee. It has stuck with him ever since he first heard it a little over a year ago, and it has been something he's never once forgotten.

"I am determined to help him reach that goal, not just for his sake alone. But because it is a goal that is worth achieving." Guy said as the others could feel the passion and conviction within Guy's voice. "I gave him one and only rule that he must obey if he's to ever open the Eight Inner Gates and enter the Hidden Lotus… and that is…" Guy ominously said as the air inside the entire room suddenly became extremely dense.

Everyone turned their attention down to the floor where the very air itself was shimmering and becoming distorted around Lee. The huge chakra spike that followed nearly had people floored as a large aura of chakra shrouded Lee. "To protect and maintain my own Ninja Way!" Lee shouted as his skin turned red from the blood rushing beneath his skin. His pupils disappeared from his eyes as the intensity of the chakra blew everything around him away. "Incredible… that's more chakra then…" Naruto began to say but he tapered off as he thought of when he uses his Accel Turn. The amount of energy he releases just with the first level of the technique is massive but this amount of chakra that Lee was using blew passed it. It even blew passed the amount of chakra he receives when he taps into the Nine Tails Chakra.

"He's opened the Third Gate, he's going on the attack now." Kakashi spoke as he noticed Lee tense. "Oh no. Lee isn't ready just yet." Guy countered with a chuckle. "The Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain! Open!" Lee yelled as his chakra spiked to new heights. "Impossible. No one could force open a gate like that!" Kakashi exclaimed as he briefly lost his composure. The very next second the entire arena floor seemed to explode as Lee took off with such force that no one saw where he went. Gaara found out exactly where Lee went as he suddenly found himself more than 3/4ths the way up to the ceiling as he was kicked in the chin so hard that his neck surely would have been broken if he hadn't already reinforced his body with chakra on top of the chakra that was already keeping his shell of armor in place.

"Where did he go!?" Shikamaru shouted as everyone was nearly blown off their feet by the tremendous force in which Lee moved. Everyone's attention was brought up into the air when they saw Gaara's body flailing through the air. "Still hiding behind that armor of sand, are you? Well we'll see about that! Take this!" Lee shouted as he slammed into Gaara with such force that a resounding shockwave tore through the large room as Gaara was flung through the air like a ragdoll. Lee didn't stop there, he kept repeating the process as he literally blew away chunks and chunks of the sand armor on top of Gaara's skin. This process went on for close to 30 seconds which seemed like an eternity for Gaara and those watching as Lee completely stripped the redheaded Jinchūriki of his ultimate defense.

Just when Gaara thought it was over Lee went in for his final move as he briefly panned over to look at his teammate Neji who wore a shocked look on his face. Lee slammed a gut-wrenching punch into Gaara's stomach that sent the boy towards the ground but Lee wasn't quite finished. Hoisting Gaara up by the white sash around his waist Lee pulled the boy back as his chakra skyrocketed. "The Fifth Gate: Gate of Closing! Open!" Lee roared as put everything he had into this last attack.

"HIDDEN LOTUS!" Lee roared as he slammed his fist and leg into Gaara with such force that everyone was slammed into the wall by the immense shockwave that cracked all of the walls around the room. Naruto could barely concentrate and he almost missed it but he felt a brief surge of a person's chakra that under normal circumstances would have had him shocked if not for the craziness that he's already witnessed. It was Hiruzen Sarutobi, The Third Hokage himself that had flared his chakra for a brief moment as he held up a hand sign. Taking one look Naruto could understand why, the room couldn't hold itself together anymore. It has taken too much of a beating. It was ready to collapse on everyone inside if not for the Hokage himself spreading his chakra across the room like a glue and holding the crumbling concrete together.

A lone figure crashed onto the floor I a deep crater while Lee flopped and bounced across the floor like a ragdoll. Hiruzen carefully reinforced the walls and ceiling with his chakra as he used his Affinity for Earth Nature Chakra to actually put all of the concrete back into place. It was a close call to be sure. 'That boy is incredible.' Hiruzen thought with pride as another young Genin was produced in his village with such tremendous power and talent. Not to mention the heart and determination to walk down the right path.

Everyone was understandably shocked when Gaara started to move. His sand had cushioned his fall, especially his gourd that had decomposed and turned into sand; while it said little for the amount of pain he was in, at the end of the day Gaara could still move while Lee could not.

Sand started to creep across the floor to a struggling Lee who was trying his hardest to move but the arm and leg that he slammed into Gaara were broken. The muscles inside those limbs were shredded and strained beyond believe. "I know what's coming next." Shino said with fear leaking into his voice. The others heard him as they saw the sand wrap itself around Lee's other arm and leg that was undamaged. "Sand Coffin!" Gaara intoned with murderous intent leaking out of him. "SAND BURIAL!"

The sand brutally crushed Lee's arm and leg to the point where blood and gore flew out of Lee's limbs, the crushing force behind the attack was so powerful that it nearly amputated the limbs off all together. Lee screamed out in excruciating pain as he felt his body undergo the brutal attack. Everyone gasped in shock at this as it was an uncalled-for cruelty that did not need to happen. The crazed look in Gaara's eyes increased as he sent a large wave of sand shaped like a hand at Lee's defenseless form. He was going to kill Lee plain and simple.

Naruto felt his heart racing as he was certain Gaara was going to kill Rock Lee right here and now but at the very last second Might Guy intervened in the way of Gaara's last attack by dispersing the powerful wave of sand with a single hand. "Why are you interfering? He lost?" Gaara questioned as he gritted his teeth in aggravation at the fact Guy saved Lee. "It's because he's my student. Also, because he is precious to me." Guy answered truthfully with a defensive edge to his voice as Gaara gripped his head in psychological pain. This was a sentiment he couldn't even begin to understand. 'These Leaf Ninja and their sentimental values. These are concepts Gaara couldn't even hope to begin to understand.' Baki thought with a negative shake of his head.

A dark look came to Gaara's eyes as he stared down Lee before growling in aggravation. "I quit." Gaara seethed as his gourd of sand began to reform on his back. "He quits?" Sakura comments incredulously, after that intense fight… he quits? "It doesn't matter, it's too late for Lee. He lost the match the minute Guy intervened." Kakashi regretfully stated as he sighed in disappointment. He was very impressed with the performance Lee put on.

Hayate was about to call the match in Gaara's favor when he looked behind Guy's to see a sight he had never seen before. Lee was back on his feet and feebly attempting to get back into his Taijutsu stance. "That shouldn't even be possible… oh Lee you've done enough, the match is over." Guy said with sadness in his eyes as he went up to Lee to comfort him. Guy managed to catch a glimpse at Rock Lee's eyes and what he saw rendered him speechless. Lee's eyes were blank and vacant. He was unconscious.

"Oh Lee… Lee… oh god what have I done?" Guy choked out as tears started to pour down his face. "You're not even conscious and yet you're still determined to show the world what you can do." Guy sobbed as he stared down at his unconscious student who was on his feet still ready to fight. The others were shocked into silence at this as most of the participants felt a tug at their heart from this. Naruto felt tears pooling in his eyes as he could feel the anguish coming off of Might Guy and the painful determination that even in his unconscious state Lee was still giving off. It was painful and heartbreaking to watch. Lee had a heart of gold, there was no denying it.

"You've already proven it… oh Lee… you are a splendid ninja." Guy sobbed as he pulled Lee into a tender embrace. "I'm so sorry Lee, god please forgive me." Guy prayed for forgiveness as he gently laid Lee on the ground whose right arm and leg was bleeding profusely.

Sakura wanted to jump down to see if Lee was ok but Kakashi held her back with solemn words as he slid his headband back down on his face. "The winner of the match is Gaara." Hayate announced as he wasted no time in running over to Lee's side to check on the young fighter's condition. He called for the on standby Medical Corps team to come to Lee's aid immediately. The same three Medical Ninja from before plus another full team can running out from the entrance to room with packs of medical equipment and gear on their beige colored full bodied suits.

Seeing so many medics rushing into the room broke Naruto's heart, he jumped over the railings before anyone could react. Rushing over to where Lee and Guy were, Naruto ran by Gaara who wore a stoic expression on his face as he stared down Naruto as he passed. Unknowingly to Naruto his eyes changed from there bright blue to color to Sōkyoku's powerful emerald green for a split second. Naruto never noticed or felt the change but Gaara saw this happen and it caused him to stop and look at Naruto's retreating back with shock flaring to life in his eyes. 'Lee lost to him!' Was Naruto's disbelieving thought as he made it to Lee's side and could now see the full extent of the Taijutsu specialist injuries. It was bad, very bad. "Lee…" Naruto whispered in shock and disbelieve. He couldn't believe it.

The medics were hard at work stabilizing Lee's body so that it could be properly moved and while they were doing so Naruto saw Might Guy barely holding his composure together. The man was clearly beating himself up over the fate of his student. "Guy sensei." Naruto called out as he placed a hand on the taller man's shoulder. The Taijutsu master looked down towards Naruto who was giving him a look of sympathy. "I know you probably don't want to hear this right now but it's not your fault. If there is one thing I've learned so far about Lee and his overall character, then it's that he will follow his path and what he believes in to the end. He's incredible and you should be proud. It looks really bad right now, but I think he can pull through." Naruto said in the gentlest tone he could pull off. The sentiment and sympathy was laced into every word he spoke and he meant everything he said.

Guy understood what Naruto was trying to say and he appreciated the sentiment and heart that he had in order to say the words he said. Guy placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and simply shook his head positively with gratitude in his eyes. He didn't say a word which is pretty rare considering the type of man he was. He was always the life of the party and always had something to say.

"Excuse me but are you his teacher?" One of the medics asked as he interrupted the moment between the two. "Yes, I am, how is Lee. Is he going to be ok?" Guy asked as he stared into the man's eyes. "Could you step away over here for me please so we can talk in private?" The medic asked with a sympathetic tone in his voice. Having a nervous pit growing in his stomach Guy followed the medic away from the others.

Naruto stayed behind as he watched the medics load Lee up onto a stretcher. Lee looked really bad and in Naruto's opinion he looked like he had a long road to recovery ahead of him. That statement was right on the money. Listening in with a small dosage of chakra in his ears Naruto was able to overhear what the lead medic was telling Guy and what he was hearing was tearing at his heart. "I can only imagine how much this must mean to the both of you… but I'm sorry. He will never fight again… his days as a shinobi of the leaf are over." The lead medic said as he bowed in respect to Might Guy who had a shell-shocked look on his face. Lifting his stretcher up the two medics were ready to leave with Lee's body.

"He's wrong… he's so wrong. It can't possibly be true." Naruto whispered to himself as he refused to face the reality of the situation. He's never actually seen a shinobi suffer an injury that would cost them their career before. It was a completely new experience for Naruto and one he would never forget. 'Iris is there anything you can do for Lee?' Naruto questioned desperately within his mind, but he received no answer. Iris wasn't responding back to him. That didn't surprise him much since he was supposed to have a very hard time communicating with his daughters but this was the one time in which he really wanted to hear her voice.

'Oh Lee… forgive me. I couldn't bear the thought of you losing. I wanted you to achieve your goal. I wanted you to prove your ninja way was the right way.' Guy silently grieved as his body shook ever so slightly. His eyes were tearing up but he wouldn't let them fall. 'It's all my fault. I should have seen the signs. I should have stopped it. Forgive me Lee. LEE!' Guy gritted his teeth in anger and remorse. He's never felt failure on this level before. He was ashamed of himself and what his obsessive actions no matter how noble have caused. It cost his protégé who he saw as his son his entire future as a Shinobi and at such a young age as well. He was only a year and a half into his tenure as a Genin and it was all over now. This was without a doubt his greatest shame and failure.

Gaara watched with a dead look in his eyes as Lee and his entourage of medics walked passed him and left the room. While his eyes looked dead, there was a spark of curiosity and hunger in them. Without a doubt Gaara could say he's never had a battle like that before and the curiosity that stemmed from that was intoxicating and so was the killing intent he was feeling washing over him from Naruto who was glaring a hole into the back of his head. The killing intent was both massive and potent but it was focused in on Gaara and him alone.

The feeling of powerlessness. The same feeling… he was feeling this numbness earlier with Hinata, and it was coming back with a dark vengeance and Naruto was helpless to its influence once again. He couldn't do anything for Lee when he obviously needs it the most and that frustrated Naruto more than he ever thought possible. The boy did not deserve to have his career crushed right alongside his own body. He was to noble and righteous of a person to suffer such a fate. He was a good boy and someone Naruto was hoping to one day soon call his friend, after all he went out of his way to try and protect Sakura and by proxy Naruto and Sasuke when they were out in the Forest of Death. If he hadn't intervened and stalled the Sound Genin Team for as long as he did the end result for the fate of all three of them could have been a lot different.

Naruto felt his body move on its own and this time it wasn't because of the usual tampering by either Iris or Chaos. He was being fueled by his overworked nerves and feelings and right now he was ready to snap. Before he could take a step, Naruto felt himself pulled back by Kakashi who had a look of sympathy in his eyes. "Don't do it Naruto. Control yourself." Naruto gritted his teeth in anger but he felt himself complying with his teachers demands. "Sensei… it isn't fair. Why does such a cruel fate have to strike someone so good?" Naruto quietly asked as Kakashi embraced his student in a comforting hug.

"That is just the world we live in Naruto. Lee is one of the good ones and he gave up his entire future just so that he could achieve his goal and prove himself to the rest of the world. In my opinion his goal is something truly worth fighting for and it's a shame to see him not be able to complete it. There were several people in this competition that he wanted to prove himself against. People who he saw had a lot of talent and power. I can tell deep down that you were one of those people Naruto. As his fellow comrade and shinobi of the leaf you must honor him and be worthy of his outstanding sacrifice. Don't let it go in vain." Kakashi said as he closed his eyes for a brief moment. He was sending his condolences and prayers to Lee for a safe recovery.

'Lee, you just don't get it. Fate doesn't grant you victory for trying to escape your own limitations. We are all little birds trapped within our own little cages and we are not allowed to escape. Those that try end up suffering a fate much like your own.' Neji thought with a disappointed shake of his head. He would never admit it but Lee's overwhelming display of power shook Neji deep down. It even roughed up his own beliefs which was something he couldn't allow.

With his student gone Guy turned his back to the entrance of the room as he was still silently caught up within his own world of grieve. Seeing his best friend in such a state caused Kakashi to reconsider his words from earlier. Approaching the distraught man Kakashi laid his hand on Guy's shoulder. "Hey guy… about what I said earlier. It was way out of line. I was acting like a self-righteous fool. If I had been in your shoes I would have done the same thing. Come on… let's go up, they can't start the next match with us standing around here." Kakashi said gently as he manned up and apologized for his words earlier which he didn't know would now become so insensitive. He wanted to comfort his long time best friend and while his mood hadn't improved my much he could sense that Guy was touched by his words that he would rarely say.

"Yeah… you're right Kakashi… let's go." Guy said in a dull tone as he, Kakashi, and Naruto all made their way back up to the balcony above. The atmosphere was more melancholy than anything else. This year's Chūnin Exams were brutal.


Jutsu Library

1.) Leaf Hurricane - A taijutsu where one launches a succession of high kicks and low kicks. Firstly, the opponent's evasion margin is restrained upon seeing the high kick, thus augmenting the chances for the low kick to hit the mark. So originally the high kick is little more than a feint. The technique can also be used in the form of a spinning-roundhouse kick through the air, either alone or in unison with another user for more efficiency.

2.) Primary Lotus - The Primary Lotus is a technique that requires the user to open the first of the Eight Gates, giving the user five times their normal strength. The user kicks their opponent into the air and then uses Dancing Leaf Shadow. Once behind their opponent, the user restrains them and pile-drives them into the ground head first while rotating at a ferocious speed. Due to the use of one of the Eight Gates, the user is left extremely fatigued, making this technique a (double-edged sword). It may also be used on multiple people at once.

Eight Inner Gates - The Eight Inner Gates are eight specific tenketsu on a person's Chakra Pathway System. They limit the overall flow of chakra within a person's body. The basis for the idea of the chakra gates comes from the body's limits on the functions within it. This makes the body much weaker, but it keeps the body from expiring too soon. By undergoing intense training, one can learn how to open these gates allowing the user to surpass their own physical limits at the cost of extreme damage to their own body.

3.) Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain - The Fourth of the Eight Inner Gates, it is located on the spinal cord, it increases the user's speed and power. May cause muscle tissue to tear on use.

4.) Fifth Gate: Gate of Closing - The Fifth of the Eight Inner Gates, it is located in the abdomen, it further increases the user's speed and power.

5.) Hidden Lotus - This is a more destructive version of the Primary Lotus that requires at least three of the Eight Inner Gates be opened. Once enough gates are opened, the user kicks the target into the air and continues to strike them at inhuman speeds. They then deliver a final, powerful open-handed strike and kick at the same time, sending the target crashing into the ground; this is usually fatal due to the speed and power behind the attack. Opening so many gates at the same time will likely leave the user unable to stand afterwards, and for that reason the Hidden Lotus can only be performed once.

6.) Sand Coffin - With his ability to control sand, Gaara encases his opponents in a large amount of the special chakra-infused sand kept inside his gourd, immobilising them. It can be used to suffocate an opponent or in preparation for a deadlier technique, the Sand Burial. This appears to be Gaara's signature technique.

7.) Sand Burial - After wrapping an opponent with sand with either Sand Coffin or Sand Shower, Gaara will cause the sand to implode and crush whatever is within it. According to Gaara, when used to kill a person, the death is so quick that there isn't even time for the victim to feel any pain. The pressure also produces a sizeable fountain of blood. Gaara can control the pressure used in the attack, which allows him to either break bones or completely liquefy an opponent.


Author's Note (A/N): Hey guys I decided that I wouldn't alter the Gaara vs. Rock Lee fight much if not at all. The fight itself was authentic to the cannon and I did so out of respect for one of my all time favorite fights in the entire series. The amount of emotional background we got from that fight and for Rock Lee and to a small extent Gaara was amazing and it still resonates with me even after all of these years. So I decided not to change anything. Everything else was obviously handled a bit differently but that was to be expected.

As you can see Kankuro tried (and failed epically) to weasel his way over to the Leaf Genin. Naruto wasn't having any of that. This tremendous amount of stress that Naruto is under that's caused by the Chunin Exam and how brutal and emotionally taxing it is will take its toll on Naruto and help shape him for the future. He's seen and experienced a lot of stuff since this arc began and it will pay off with emotional and physical growth on his part later on down the road.


Next Chapter - (Elimination Match 11-13: Supremacy) {This will mark the end of the Preliminary Matches. The one month break is upon us everyone, and we all know what that means...}


That's the end of Chapter 47 I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it.

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Published: 6/17/2017