"Gaara vs. Rock Lee" announced the examiner. At this, Gaara disappeared from the top with a whirl of sand and reappeared ready at the bottom. "Lee! I will give you some advice!" said Gai, rather loudly. "No one has noticed yet but that gourd looks suspicious!" he continued, in a loud whisper.
"HAI!" yelled Lee, as he enthusiastically leapt over the railing to meet his opponent. On the other top platform, Kankurou thought, 'I don't know what this Lee guy can do but he won't be defeating Gaara.'
"You may begin." Said the examiner. Slightly annoyed at the loudness of the two green clad shinobi, Gaara purposely popped his gourd cork at Lee's face. Easily evading it, Lee said, "I'm glad I get to fight you early. Lets begin."
Gaara only nodded his affirmation. Immediately, Lee burst forward in a blaze of speed and started with his signature attack. "Konoha Senpuu!" However, the attack was completely neutralized by the automatic Suna no tate. 'I have to get used to actually having to manipulate that. Before, Shukaku did it for me.' Thought Gaara, as he retaliated with a wave of sand, forcing Lee back a few steps.
Seeing this strange jutsu, Lee dashed forward to test Gaara's defense. With quick kicks and punches, he attacked Gaara who defended against it with his sand, blocking all the blows. 'Good thing we've been working on defense eh, Shukaku-Sensei.'
'Yes indeed. However, this guy's speed is quite good and, I'll let you know now, he's wearing many many weights.'
'Nani! He's this fast with weights!'
'Yes. It will be a great test of your defensive skills. Hehehe!'
Gaara's concentration slipped for a second during their mental conversation and Lee's kick was blocked by a scarce centimeter. Up on the top level, the remaining two of the sand trio discussed their brother's recent change. "Oi, Temari. What do you think of Gaara now?"
"I don't know what to think… He seems more content and he can sleep now. I feel great for him but I hope his inner de-, I mean youkai, isn't tricking him. He's been through enough."
"I agree. But there's one more problem. Remember the plan? What will we do? Gaara owes the chosen of the blood a tremendous debt, and he's a konoha nin. Will we stick with the plan? What are we going to do!"
"I don't know… but I'm staying with Gaara. Whatever he decides to do, I will go with him. He is our brother after all."
"I understand." Replied Kankurou, as they turned back to the match. Meanwhile, their jounin sensei, Baki, was troubled. 'Gaara is not himself. He hasn't done much attacking and his defense is slower than usual. How will this effect the plan?' He thought.
Back to the fight, Gaara had adjusted to the pace of Lee's attacks and had begun to counterattack. With wave after wave of sand, the tables seemed to have turned against Lee. Rolling and flipping, Lee evaded the sand until finally, one tendril caught his leg. Gaara hurled him against the wall, waiting for his next move.
Lee recovered quickly and dashed at Gaara again, engaging in taijutsu. 'What's wrong with this guy?' thought Gaara, as he pushed him back with sand attacks again. 'He's not using ninjutsu or genjutsu. He's only attacking with taijutsu. Powerful as that is, I've already proven that ineffective…could it be that he can't use anything else?'
Seeing the ineffectiveness of his physical attacks, Lee retreated to the top of the fingers on the statue. "Lee! Take them off!" yelled Gai. Naruto looked up at this, 'Please tell me he's not referring to the jumpsuit…'
'Baka! The weights on his limbs.'
'Oh right… hehe. This should get interesting. How will you fare now Gaara?'
As the twin towers of dust settled, the crowd, with few exceptions, held blank stares on their faces. "H-holy … Gai-san! H-how heavy are those!" exclaimed Naruto. He had expected maybe a dent or a crack, but there were craters in the floor.
"Umm… I think it's 300 pounds if I recall right." Answered Gai.
"Nani!" yelled most of the crowd. "That's 300 pounds in total there!" yelled Naruto.
"No. 600 pounds in total. 300 each leg." Replied Gai, as if it were the commonest thing in the world. Many jaws hit the floor at the updated number. Down on the battleground, Gaara thought, 'Shit…'
'Oi, kid.' Said Shukaku. 'Don't panic yet. I think now's a good time to try IT.'
'Are you sure? If I screw up, it'll be the end.'
'Yes. Do it!'
'Hai, Sensei.'
Jutsu:
Konoha Senpuu Konoha Whirlwind
Taijutsu technique where user kicks at the enemy in a fast sweeping kick.
Suna no Tate Shield of Sand
A shield made of sand.
