Note: I don't own Naruto, Shonen Jump does.
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The rest of the Ninja took to the balcony, while Lee stood face to face or rather face to chest with Jirobo.
"Hmm, this man looks incredibly strong, like the type to use brute force." Lee thought to himself.
"What the hell are you staring at bowl head? I'm gonna kick your butt." Said Jirobo.
"Hmph, it is time I show you the true potential of Tai-jutsu" Lee said as he got into his fighting stance.
A demonic grin came onto Jirobo's face. "Bring it on punk." He said in a low tone.
"Begin!" said the referee
Lee attacked first delivering a leaf hurricane kick to his opponents face. Shockingly, the attack had no effect on the giant whatsoever. Jirobo merely stood there smiling. Lee persisted with his attacks, but just like the first one, none of them were having any effect. The leaf ninjas watched Lee's futile attacks from above. They all realized that Lee was holding back.
Suddenly as Lee was about to kick Jirobo to the side of the head, Jirobo blocked it.
"You finished?" Jirobo said.
Lee got back into his stance.
" Let me show you what real power is!" Jirobo said.
With that he used his chakra to bulk up his muscles. Then with extreme force, he ran at Lee, tackling him and running him right into the wall.
"Oh no, Lee!" Sakura said.
Using a front kick Lee managed to push the big man away, helping himself to gain some distance.
"Come on Lee, you gotta drop the weights now. There's no other way." Naruto thought.
"Lee!" Gai said from above.
Lee looked at him. Gai gave the signal for Lee to lose his weights. So Lee complied, stripping them off.
" Knew you were holding back." Said Jirobo.
Lee smirked. The two genin stared each other down. Then with blinding speed, Lee punched Jirobo in the stomach, pushing him back several feet. Jirobo, cradling his stomach. Gai smiled in the balcony. Jirobo's teammates of the Sound village also watched in the balcony.
"Jirobo is losing." Said the music nin.
"I know, this Lee guy is everything that the rumors boasted. If Jirobo does not take this match more seriously, he's done for." Said the female Sound nin.
Back at the match, Lee was laying a heavy beating on his large opponent. Lee was moving too fast for Jirobo to even see.
" I'm sorry, didn't you say you were going to kick my butt?" Lee said confidently.
Jirobo's anger was beginning to show.
"Lee's all over the place, that Jirobo guy can't even touch him." Sakura said.
"Bushy-brow's got it in the bag!" Naruto said with a wide grin.
Jirobo kept attempting to strike Lee. If he were to connect with one of them, he would most likely send Lee hurtling. However, due to Lee's superior speed and technique, he managed to dodge every blow.
"Gah! Stand still!" Jirobo shouted.
"I would love to believe me. But you're so muscle bound and slow, I cannot help but dodge." Lee said.
With that Lee unleashed a barrage of kicks against Jirobo, forcing him to guard his face.
"I'll crush you!" Jirobo shouted.
" You would do best to begin by avoiding my strikes Jirobo." Lee responded.
Jirobo looked at him angrily.
"You are very strong but you offer no defense, and your form is lacking. Brute strength is meaningless if you cannot hit your opponent. But enough talk." Lee said.
With that Lee took a strong stance.
"The First Gate! Gate of Opening! Open!"
The tile under Lee began to crack under the pressure of the power being unleashed. Lee then pounded away at Jirobo with a barrage of punches. Jirobo could only guard himself against the onslaught, hoping to find an opening. As Lee ran past him to deliver an elbow to his head, Jirobo saw it. After his attack Lee continued to run past him, however Lee felt a tug on his arm and fell to the ground. As Lee looked to his opponent, he saw that Jirobo had gotten a hold of the white tape of Lee's right arm.
"My turn!" Jirobo shouted.
With that he yanked Lee towards him and punched him square in the chest. As Lee went back he was again yanked towards Jirobo. The effect was similar to a paddle-ball.
"Lee can't seem to get out of that grasp. How long will the referee allow this?" Hinata thought to herself.
As Lee was being pulled in for another strike, he surprised Jirobo with a knee to the face. This allowed Lee an opportunity to free himself. Lee then rewrapped his arm and leapt in for another strike. However Jirobo grabbed his hand. Lee then attempted strike with his other hand, however Jirobo grabbed the other one as well. What happened next shocked everyone. They could all see that a blue energy forming around Jirobo's hands.
"Chakra absorption." Kakashi said.
Doing a double stomp kick to Jirobo's knee, Lee managed to free himself. However, the effects of the attack, took it's toll.
" He….he took more chakra than I originally thought." Lee thought.
" Ready to surrender?" Jirobo asked.
"Not nearly." Lee responded. " The third gate! Gate of Life! Open!"
"Lee's already opened the third gate, which can only mean that he's trying to end this match quickly. That technique Jirobo used must have seriously drained him." Gai thought.
"GET READY!" Lee shouted, with sweat dripping from his forehead.
Lee then moved all across the arena striking Jirobo on all areas of his body. It almost looked as though there were multiple forms of Lee in the arena but the fact of the matter was Lee was moving so fast they were merely his after images.
" Jirobo can't even see the kid, this Lee guy is incredible…….Jirobo may have to resort to "it" if this keeps up." The female Sound nin said.
Lee appeared out of the air, striking Jirobo so hard against the pavement that he bounced several feet in the air.
"How is he doing this?" Jirobo thought.
Before Jirobo had a chance o blink, Lee appeared right in front of him while in mid-air.
"Time To Finish This!" Lee shouted. With that, Lee delivered a spin-kick that sent Jirobo to the ground with a boom. Causing the tile to break apart. Lee landed beside the crater he had created, he was sweating profusely. The referee walked over by the crater to observe the damage.
"Lee! You kicked his ass!" Naruto shouted.
" This winner of this match is……" But before the ref could finish he saw a growling, dark figure rise from the debris. Everyone was shocked at what they saw.
"I see, so he is using it after all." The music Sound nin said.
As Jirobo rose from the debris, everyone could see his appearance had dramatically changed. His Mohawk had now become a Maine which was long enough to reach his back. His skin had become a dark red, and his eyes had become pitch-black. Jirobo now looked nothing less than demonic. Lee was surprised but did not lose his composure.
"The match will continue." The referee said.
Jirobo walked up from the crater. His new demonic appearance was complemented by a devilish grin. Lee got back into his fighting stance showing no signs of fear. The two then clashed in a barrage of punches and kicks. However Jirobo managed to get his arms around Lee and deliver a crushing powerbomb.
" Whoa, this is weird. What the heck happened to that guy?" Naruto said.
Lee managed to gain some distance as he back-flipped away.
"This is it, I cannot go beyond this point, not like last time." Lee said to himself.
"The Fourth Gate! Gate of Pain! Open!" Lee's skin was now turning red as well.
Jirobo charged Lee attempting to deliver an uppercut but Lee evaded it. Lee jumped back but noticed Jirobo had once again grabbed Lee's arm strap. Jirobo smiled as he yanked on the strap. His smile quickly faded however when he noticed that Lee had also grabbed the strap. Lee began to pull Jirobo towards him.
" This is impossible! How can I be losing in a power match against someone as small as him?" Jirobo thought.
Jirobo then stopped himself by digging his feet into the ground. As he began to tug o the strap. Lee then charged Jirobo but was stopped by a clothesline. Jirobo then grabbed Lee's face and began the chakra absorption technique again. Lee grabbed Jirobo's arm trying to free himself. But Jirobo's strength was too much to stop. The referee decided to stop the match before Lee lost his life.
" Stop! This match is over!" The referee shouted.
Gai, Naruto, Hinata and Sakura jumped down to Lee to make sure he was still alive.
"LEE!" Naruto shouted.
As they got over to Lee, Gai checked his pulse.
" He's alive, but just barely. We need a medic now!" Gai said.
As the medic nins came over. Naruto turned to face Jirobo.
" What kind of technique is that? feeding off someone else's strength." Naruto said.
"I did what I had to do to win. In a Ninjitsu battle, there's no such thing as a dirty technique. I had an advantage, I took it." Jirobo responded.
" Oh yeah, well why don't you try using that technique on me and see what happens." Naruto said.
" Not a bad idea." Jirobo said.
Naruto got into a fighting position ready to take the big man on.
" Naruto!" Kakashi shouted from the balcony.
Naruto looked up at Kakashi. He simply shook hi head "no" signaling for Naruto to stand down. Naruto reluctantly complied.
"The winner of this match is Jirobo." The referee said.
" Took him long enough." The music nin said.
As Lee was being carried away, the other ninja returned to the balcony to see who the next participants were going to be. The electronic board began to speed through names at random.
Temari
Vs.
Akane Taga
" Ha, so it's my turn huh?" Temari said as she jumped down.
The female Sound Kunoichi jumped down facing Temari. Temari set down her fan and leaned on it.
" Sorry for you to come all this way just to walk home empty-handed Sound nin." Temari said in a cocky tone.
Akane smiled at her, ready to start the match.
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Next time
Naruto: Temari looks stronger than last year. Hope that'll be enough to take on this mystery girl.
Kankuro: Hurry it up Temari, I wanna go next.
Naruto: Next time! Sand Kunoichi vs. Sound Kunoichi! Teamri vs. Akane.
