Ultimate Taijutsu Battle

"A fight between Lee and Shivaroku? Aw man I gotta see this," said Shikamaru.

"Yeah! It's gonna be awesome!" said Kiba.

"Those two will forever be children…" said Ino with a sigh.

"What don't tell me you're not excited to see your boyfriend in a match, hehehe," said Kiba as he poked Ino's shoulder.

Ino blushed and said, "Hey! H-He's not my boyfriend!"

"Yeah, she's not his boyfriend!" yelled Tenten with an angry face, which made Ino glare at her.

The two girls scowled at each other. It was even possible to see a little static pass between their foreheads. Choji, Shikamaru, and Kiba laughed as Neji sighed and Hinata smiled.

"A taijutsu match between two of the most skilled taijutsu Genin in the village. It's definitely one worth watching," said Shino with a mysterious stoic stare.

Just then Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi were walking over to the group. Sakura yelled and waved, catching their attention.

"What are all of you so excited about?" asked Kakashi.

"Oh hi guys," said Ino. "Didn't you guys hear?"

"Hear what? We just got back from a mission," replied Sakura.

"Lee and Shivaroku are gonna have a taijutsu match with each other in a few hours," answered Ino.

Naruto's ears perked up as he rushed over to Ino and grabbed her shoulders. "WHAAAAAT?! LEE AND SHIVAROKU ARE GONNA FIGHT EACH OTHER?!" Naruto shook Ino vigorously over his shock.

"Na-ru-to, I'm-getting…dizzyyyy," said Ino in the chaos.

Sakura growled and pulled Naruto by the collar, throwing him back a few feet. She yelled at him to calm down.

"I can't calm down! I can't believe they're gonna fight! I was supposed to fight Shivaroku first!" yelled Naruto as his eyes became bulgy and teary like a puppy dog.

"To be fair, Naruto, Lee did challenge him first. You'll just have to wait your turn," said Neji.

"Aww man! Who knows when that's gonna happen," said Naruto as he pouted.

Choji looked at Kakashi and asked, "Are you gonna watch too Kakashi sensei? Asuma Sensei said he would."

"Well, we did just finish a mission, so why not. What about Guy and Kurenai?" asked Kakashi.

"Guy sensei finished a mission yesterday so he has the day off today," said Tenten.

"Kurenai sensei is still on a mission, I think. She might miss it," said Hinata.

"That's too bad. Seems like it would be quite exciting. Where is this happening by the way?" Kakashi continued.

"At the place we had our preliminary chunin exam matches, according to Lee," answered Neji.

"Alright, I'm gonna go get some food in me, and I'll meet all of you guys there later," said Kakashi.

Naruto's stomach growled, making him ask, "Hey Kakashi Sensei, why don't we go to Ichiraku's?"

With a sigh, Kakashi said, "Fine, but you're paying for your own meal this time. Anyone else want to join us?"

Choji raised his hand excitedly and ran over. The group dispersed, and they killed some time before the match.

The time finally came. The Genin and their Jonin leaders slowly trickled into the halls and up to the spectator stands. Lee and Shivaroku were already there on the ground stretching. Asuma stood behind Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru. Naruto and Sakura stood next to Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. A few other Chunin heard about the match and decided to watch as well. Even Shizune and Anko were there too. Sakura asked Shizune where Tsunade was, to which Shizune said that Tsunade decided to finish her work instead. Her answer made Sakura a bit dejected and ashamed that she was here about to enjoy a fight while her teacher was doing important work to keep the village safe.

Guy was the last to arrive. He walked through the doors with a glint in his eyes and a wide grin. Seeing the student he always viewed like a son about to engage in a battle of taijutsu with another remarkable Taijutsu fighter made him excited. Naturally, as the most elite taijutsu user in the village, Guy was to be the referee.

"Alright! Are you two ready?" said Guy in his tough Elvis accent.

Lee and Shivaroku nodded and bowed to each other.

Tenten yelled, "Do your best you guys!"

"Yes, but remember this is supposed to be a fun match between two friends. Don't go overboard and hurt yourself," said Asuma.

"The rules are simple. Only taijutsu is allowed. The first to be knocked out or yield will lose," said Guy as he raised both his arms above his head.

Shivaroku and Lee took up their battle stances. Lee took a more basic stance, while Shivaroku took a stance that his Grandfather taught him. To be honest, stances were not really important when it came to how much skill you possessed, but it was an indication of how versatile taijutsu could really be. Guy threw his hands down, signaling the two fighters to begin.

The two stood absolutely still. They stared at each other, not moving an inch. All the spectators made note of their intense concentration and refused to move as well. Everyone was perfectly focused on the two fighters. Nobody uttered a word or made a sound. A small bit of ash dropped from Asuma's cigarette. The moment it hit the ground, Shivaroku and Lee lunged at each other. Their fists collided, sending a small shockwave echoing throughout the halls. The two smiled at each other as they both tried to push each other back with their fists. When neither would give the other any ground, they leaped away from each other. As soon as they both landed, they used the momentum of the bounce to eject themselves forward again. They attempted to punch each other again, but this time, they caught each other's fists. Lee then chuckled and lifted Shivaroku, trying to subsequently slam him into the ground. Shivaroku was slightly caught off guard, but recognized what Lee was trying to do. Shivaroku changed his direction so that he could land on his feet, and then used the resulting momentum to toss Lee away. Lee was slightly surprised at the move Shivaroku made, but he wasn't going to go down that easily. Lee flipped in the air and landed back down on the ground unscathed.

This time, Shivaroku decided to attack. He threw a barrage of kicks and punches at Lee, but Lee was able to block and counter most of them. They punched and kicked each other, but neither of them were able to land any successful hits because they both kept blocking or dodging attacks. After a certain point, the two broke from each other and leaped to opposite sides of the floor. Both of them were breathing more heavily, but they were having lots of fun.

"I think it's time for me to kick things up a notch," said Shivaroku. With that, he suddenly flashed towards Lee. Lee couldn't even register Shivaroku's movements, and all the spectators were in shock too. Shivaroku landed the first attack of the match, square on Lee's right cheek, sending Lee flying towards the left.

"Impressive speed," said Kakashi.

"That's Shivaroku for ya. This isn't even close to his limit, either," said Asuma.

Naruto heard what Asuma said and clenched his teeth, realizing that if he didn't keep training, the gap between him and Shivaroku would keep growing. This must have been how Sasuke felt about Naruto before he deserted the village.

"Yeah! Go Shivaroku!" yelled Ino, while Neji yelled, "Come on Lee, get up!" The two then looked at each other and growled. Meanwhile tenten was caught in the middle and didn't know who to cheer for. Should she cheer for the boy she obviously had a crush on, or should she cheer for her teammate and one of her best friends? The pressure got to her and she sunk to the floor, making Ino and Neji look at her in confusion.

Lee got up and rubbed his cheek, complimenting Shivaroku's attack. "A respectable effort, but that won't work again," he said.

Shivaroku just smiled and then vanished into thin air. Lee was disoriented because of how fast Shivaroku disappeared. "Are ya sure about that, Lee?" asked a voice that came from behind Lee. Lee turned around in shock, and his face was met by another punch from Shivaroku. Lee was sent flying again, but he got up immediately.

"What speed and power," said Lee, still disoriented from the previous attack.

Lee lunged towards Shivaroku with a flying side kick, but Shivaroku juked him out easily, allowing Shivaroku to kick Lee in the back towards the wall. Lee flipped and caught himself, using the wall as footing to bounce back towards Shivaroku. This time Shivaroku ducked. Using his hands to push off the ground, Shivaroku then kicked Lee in the stomach straight up into the air. As Lee was still flying upward, Shivaroku flashed above him, clenched his hands together and brought both of them down hard, hitting Lee straight back towards the ground. Lee hit the ground hard, cracking it and creating a slight pit, while Shivaroku landed gracefully on his feet. Oohs and ahhs came from the spectating Genin and Chunin as Lee continued to lay there.

"Yeah, you won! Good job Shivaroku!" yelled Choji, to which Shikamaru responded, "No keep watching. Lee's not finished." Everyone else looked back at Lee.

Lee slowly picked himself up and stood up straight. He had scratch marks all over him, but he wasn't seriously injured. He popped his neck and grinned. "I think it's time for me to kick it up a notch as well," he said.

Shivaroku smiled, already aware that Lee had more power inside him. Lee bent down and reached towards his ankles. He unbuckled the two belts around each of his ankles. He then picked up the belts and held them up to Shivaroku. It turns out Lee was wearing weighted training gear for his legs.

"Shivaroku wasn't here during the Chunin exams, so he had no idea about Lee's weighted gear. Now Lee can move unimpeded by the weight of those belts," said Shikamaru.

Lee dropped the belts to the floor. When they collided with the ground, a large thud echoed throughout the building and a good amount of dust was displaced into the air. When the dust settled, Shivaroku looked down to see two pits made by the weights. He then looked back up at Lee, who had his game face on. "Weighted training gear, huh?" asked Shivaroku as he smiled.

"You don't seem surprised," said Lee.

"I've used similar methods in my training before."

"I see. No matter, I will show you what real speed is like."

Lee bent to the ground, taking a position as if he was about to start a race. Suddenly he pushed off the ground and zoomed in front of Shivaroku, slightly catching the new Genin off guard. However, instead of attacking, Lee decided to show off a little bit more. Lee began running in circles around Shivaroku. He kept getting faster, and eventually Shivaroku could only see a blur and a tornado of dust surrounding him. Shivaroku struggled to keep up and clenched his fists, trying to ready himself for an attack. It was futile, however. Lee was too fast for him to keep up. Shivaroku felt a blow in his back, causing him to stagger forward, but before he could stand up straight, he was hit in the face, making him fall backwards. Shivaroku quickly got back up, but then immediately got kicked in the side, then in the chest, then in the face, then in the arm. The rate of Lee's attacks were steadily increasing, and Shivaroku could only kneel down and put his arms up in an X to try to block as many attacks as possible.

"Lee seems to have him on the ropes. If Shivaroku can't respond, he will lose this battle," said Kakashi.

Suddenly the pressure in the air changed. It got just a bit more intense. All the shinobi present could feel it, and they focused directly on Shivaroku. Shivaroku started to leak out a blue aura that surrounded him. Once it fully coated him, Shivaroku stood up calmly. Lee's attacks were hitting but were doing no damage at all. They seemed to have been just bouncing off him.

"What? He's not taking any damage?" asked Kiba. "What the heck did he just do?"

Asuma squinted his eyes a bit as he looked at Shivaroku and then smiled. "I see. Smart move."

Lee realized that his attacks were no longer doing any damage, so he stopped zooming around Shivaroku and stood in front of him.

"Asuma sensei don't just act all mysterious like that. Tell us what happened!" said Ino irritably.

"Shivaroku just pulled off a pretty complex chakra-based taijutsu technique," replied Asuma.

"I need more explanation than that," said Neji.

"Do you guys see that thin blue coating around him?" asked Asuma. Everyone nodded, and he continued. "That coating is chakra."

"Mhmm. What this move does is use chakra to form a sort of forcefield that takes the user's shape. It's a defensive taijutsu move that allows you to sustain less damage. It also covers him completely, so he can defend himself from all directions," said Kakashi.

"Wow that's incredible!" said Choji.

"So he made an impenetrable shield for himself?" asked Shino.

"No. This move is only temporary, since it continuously uses chakra. Use it for too long and you'll run out of chakra. Also, it can still be broken if an attack is strong enough. It can defend against ninjutsu, taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, and kenjutsu, but not against genjutsu," answered Asuma.

The barrier around Shivaroku dissipated, while Lee complimented Shivaroku's actions. Shivaroku retook his battle stance, and so did Lee. They stared at each other again, not moving a muscle, just like the beginning of their fight.

Naruto got a bit annoyed and yelled, "Aw man not this again! Just fight already!" as he slammed his fist on the bars in front of him.

The slam, however, acted as a trigger for the two fighters. Lee and Shivaroku flashed towards each other and their fists collided. The resulting shockwave was much bigger than the first one that the spectators could actually feel the wind on their faces this time. The two kept punching each other, and the punches kept colliding, causing multiple shockwaves. A green aura began to appear around Lee and a golden one around Shivaroku. Each collision was stronger than the last, and the ground began to slightly tremor.

"Uh oh," said Shikamaru.

The other Genin and Chunin looked at him, and Sakura asked, "What's wrong?"

Shikamaru answered, "They're too immersed in the battle, and they're starting to go overboard. Look at them."

Sakura looked at the two, noticing more intense auras forming around them, and gasped. Lee and Shivaroku punched each other once again, but this time the shockwave sent them in opposite directions. The two immediately stood up simultaneously. Shivaroku's hair was slowly flowing up, slowly flashing between yellow and black, as the golden aura became thicker. Lee's hair also started flowing up, as veins began to become more visible on his forehead and neck, and his green aura become even more violent. The sheer powerups from them were making dust rise into the air and the ground shake. Everyone had to hold onto the bars in front of them so that they wouldn't fall over.

Shivaroku and Lee both stepped back and planted their feet. They cocked their arms back and bent down. With a yell, the two spectacular fighters jumped at each other, attempting to end the fight with one final punch. They flew toward each other with great speed and ferocity, and they pumped their fists forward. Lee's eyes went white and Shivaroku's hair spiked up and fully became blond. Their attacks landed, and a huge flash of light appeared. Everyone was so focused on the fight, but they couldn't see what happened because of that light. The light faded away to reveal that both of their fists made contact. However, the fists were not in contact with each other. Instead, each of their punches landed on the other fighter's cheek. They simultaneously punched each other in the face.

Each of their respective auras disappeared. Lee's pupils were visible again. Shivaroku's hair went back down and turned back to black. The force of their punches finally had an effect, as they both flew back from each other speedily towards the wall. Asuma teleported behind Shivaroku and caught him, while Guy teleported behind Lee and did the same. The fight was over.

Asuma and Guy helped their respective students up, who were pretty injured and exhausted. They walked over to the middle of the ring and shook each other's hands. The spectators jumped down and surrounded them.

"So…who won?" asked Naruto.

"It's a draw. They were both equally matched in the end," said Guy.

"Shivaroku you idiot, Lady Tsunade told you not to use that form until you mastered it!" said Shikamaru.

"Yeah I know, but the battle was so exciting. It was like my body was powering up on its own," said Shivaroku.

"Wait was that the form Shikamaru was talking about the other day? The one you used during your A-rank mission?" asked Kiba.

Shivaroku nodded and said, "I actually didn't really use my full power even in that form either, but it was a good thing. Otherwise, I may have lost control."

"Lee didn't I tell you not to open your gates so recklessly?" asked Guy.

"Like Shivaroku, I too was very excited and my body was doing it on its own, haha," responded Lee, making everyone sigh. "However, I believe that if this battle went on longer, Shivaroku would have bested me."

"Why do you say that, Lee?" asked Neji.

"Opening my gates puts a severe strain on my body, and I cannot keep it up for long. Shivaroku still had much stamina and power and could have merely just outlived my technique."

"Regardless, this was supposed to be a friendly match. I told you guys not to go overboard," said Asuma as he reprimanded the two.

"Sorry sensei, we'll show restraint next time," said Shivaroku as he scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.

"Hey! Next time, you're fighting me! Let's do it tomorrow!" yelled Naruto.

Sakura punched Naruto in the head. "Ow! What was that for Sakura?"

"Stop being so annoying! Let them at least rest first! You'll get your chance when it's your turn!"

"Okay fine, but you don't have to be such an angry jerk about it," said Naruto.

Ino covered her mouth in shock, realizing that Naruto just poked the bear.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?! ANGRY JERK?! I'LL SHOW YOU ANGRY!"

Naruto cowered in fear and jumped up quickly, running away from Sakura. Everybody couldn't help but laugh at the two. Shivaroku smiled and thought to himself, "One day we will fight, Naruto. We'll see who wins."