More battles! Woo!

Should I skip some of the less important fights, or should I write all of them down?

P.S. I've already got clear ideas on who I want Naruto to fight, but not for the rest of the Genin. Feel free to drop suggestions!

pharix: I don't know, to be honest. For now, she's just a 'appear in one chapter, two chapters' kind of character.

Aurora-chan: I'm glad you find her amazing! :)

Thanks to pharix, Blood-red Moonlight, Aurora-chan and The True Not Important for the reviews!

"You did a great job, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura grinned, as she walked up the stairs to see her team. Itachi smiled and nodded in agreement.

"The Mugenhoyo is not something easy to break out of. You did well, Sakura."

"I hope it's me next round..." Naruto fixed his gaze on the electric board.

"Hey, maybe you and I can fight," Sasuke smirked.

"You'll get beaten in a heartbeat!"

"Don't count on it! Heh."

Karin walked up the stairs as well, standing in the corner alone. Naruto looked over and frowned. The girl seemed lonely. His first instinct was to go up and talk to the redhead but the flickering of the electric board brought his attention back.

Finally, it stopped.

Hayate looked up.

"Gaara Sabaku vs Rock Lee."

"Alright!" Lee shrieked. "It's my turn! Please watch me, Guy-sensei!"

"That I will, Lee! Do your best and burn with the Flames of Youth!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-"

Tenten picked Lee up, and shoved her teammate to the first floor with irritation. Swiftly, the green-clad Genin did a few twists in mid-air to land on his feet.

"That was a most unyouthful thing to do, Tenten!" Lee complained.

The weapons mistress face-palmed. "Please, Lee, just shut up and focus on your battle."

Gaara observed the scene with amusement, before jumping down to the first floor to face Lee. He held a small smile on his face and nodded.

"My name is Gaara Sabaku. Nice to meet you."

"And I am Rock Lee! It will be a pleasure to fight you!"

Kankuro smirked. "That guy looks pretty energetic, but he has no chance against Gaara. His hopes will be shattered. Dreams will be crushed. Muahahaha!"

Temari rolled her eyes as her brother began laughing evilly.

Lee got into the Strong Fist stance. I know nothing about Gaara's abilities or jutsu, so it looks like I have to be cautious until I find out!

"Hwaaaaaa! Youth!" Guy shrieked. "Go on, Lee!"

"This will be interesting, don't you think, Naruto?" Sasuke looked at Lee.

Naruto agreed with a fierce nod. "Both of them look strong!"

Sakura turned to Itachi. "Say, Itachi-sensei. All the Jonin sensei are supposed to be here with their Genin teams, right?"

"Why, yes," Itachi nodded in surprise. "Why do you ask, Sakura?"

"Well..." She glanced over to Team 8. Kiba, Hinata and Shino were watching the battle quietly, only talking among themselves. "I don't see a Jonin sensei with Hinata's team."

"Oh."

"Oh?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

Itachi chuckled. "Team 8's Jonin sensei is this man called Kakashi. He's always really late for these kind of things. I presume he'll be appearing any moment now."

"He's frequently late? And he's a Jonin?" Sakura's brows furrowed with distaste.

Laughing softly, Itachi nodded. "He's a very strong ninja though."

In the arena, Hayate brought his hand down.

"Begin!"

Lee instantly disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Gaara frowned, looking around.

Swish.

Lee gasped as sand rose to defend his target. The bushy-browed boy was behind Gaara, his fist thrust forward, but instead of connecting with the back of Gaara's head, his fist was encased in sand.

Pulling his hand out, Lee jumped back. Gaara turned around.

"Good moves there," the Suna Genin commented.

"Thank you!" Lee replied, getting back into the stance of the Strong Fist. So he can manipulate sand...

Itachi studied Gaara's gourd with interest. Sand was now pouring out of it. Is this a Kekkei Genkai? I've never heard of a 'Sand Style' before. How is he doing this with the sand?

"Sand Shuriken!"

Small bits of the sand broke off and shaped themselves into shuriken. Gaara thrust his arm forward, and the Sand Shuriken flew towards Lee, who dodged them with ease.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee leaped into the air, delivering a series of kicks.

To his shock, the wall of sand drew up to block his attack again. Pulling his legs back from the sand, Lee attacked once more.

"Severe Leaf Hurricane!"

More kicks were delivered this time, but Gaara's sand blocked every single one of them. Slowly, the sand crept onto Lee's right leg, and when he tried to pull away, the sand tightened it's grip.

Gaara raised his hand, and in turn, the sand pulled Lee up into the air. The sand-controlling Genin then jerked his hand backwards, and the sand tossed Lee into the wall.

"Come on, Lee! Youth!" Guy roared.

Getting back up on his feet, Lee charged.

"Sand Shuriken!"

Dodging the army of shuriken, Lee attacked again. He punched wildly, but the sand protected Gaara with every single punch. Frustrated, Lee vanished and appeared behind Gaara.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

Before Gaara even had time to turn, the sand had already caught hold of Lee's legs and tossed him away again.

"Sand Shower." A cloud of sand formed above Gaara. Lee got up, to see another army of small sand lumps rushing towards him from the cloud. He moved fast enough to dodge the most of it, but some hit him in the arm.

Ouch! Lee winced. The small harmless-looking sand lumps had created bruises.

"Give up," Gaara suggested. "You won't be able to win against me."

Give up? Lee glared hard at the ground. That would be the most unyouthful thing to do!

"I am not a quitter!" He declared. Looking towards Guy with a questioning look, Lee was delighted when his sensei nodded. Reaching for his ankles, he released the leg weights.

Gaara raised an eyebrow.

"It is time for me to fight you seriously!" Lee dropped the weights, and everyone within the room were stunned as the impact of the weights on the ground created a large crater.

"I-Impossible," Sakura choked on her saliva.

"If he's that fast with those troublesome weights..." Shikamaru frowned.

A moment passed, and Gaara was thrown onto the ground.

"What?!" Kankuro's eyes widened.

The next moment, Gaara was hauled into the air and punched into a wall.

His movements... Itachi thought. Even my Sharingan can't read them.

All the witnesses could only see a blurry flash as Lee attacked Gaara mercilessly.

Finally thinking his opponent was finished, Lee stopped his assault. Gaara laid on the ground, seemingly unconscious, in front of him. Smiling with glee, the taijutsu specialist pumped his fist into the air.

However, to his dismay, Gaara got back up.

The redhead's skin now had numerous cracks in it, and Lee watched closely in disbelief.

You won't be able to beat Gaara's Absolute Defence, Temari thought, folding her arms.

"You are a very interesting opponent," Gaara spoke. "The first person who has ever landed a hit on me... is you."

Itachi blinked in surprise. Who exactly is this guy?

"I accept that honor with pleasure!" Lee jumped back as sand shot forward to attack him. "Guy-sensei! It appears I must use the Eight Gates!"

Guy hesitated for a moment, but gestured towards Gaara. "Use it youthfully, Lee!"

"Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee shrieked with enthusiasm.

"The Eight Gates?" Gaara had a questioning look on his face.

"Gate of Opening, open!" Lee screamed.

Guy, you... Itachi's jaw hung open. You taught him the Eight Gates!

Immediately feeling strength in every part of his body, Lee disappeared, and in a flash, appeared right in front of Gaara.

"Hyaaa!"

The Sand Shield rose to block off Lee's kick, but unfortunately for Gaara it was three seconds late. The youngest of the Sabaku felt himself thrown into the air as a result of the kick's impact.

"This move..." Sasuke rubbed his chin, remembering Lee's short spar with him before the exams.

Reappearing behind Gaara in mid-air, Lee proceeded to wrap the bandages on his wrists around Gaara. The redhead didn't even have time to struggle.

"What are you doing?"

"Preparing a finishing move," Lee answered truthfully.

Gaara's eyes narrowed at the response.

Lee twisted Gaara upside-down.

Itachi looked on as Lee started spinning Gaara around like a top. A finishing move, alright. No normal ninja should be able to continue a fight after being hit by this technique.

"Primary Lotus!"

Lee slammed Gaara's head straight onto the ground.

A cloud of smoke was the result of the impact, and it covered the arena. Naruto squinted to see if Gaara was defeated yet.

So that's what he was going to do to me, until that big turtle stopped him, Sasuke shivered. Thank my lucky stars the turtle showed up. Whew!

When the smoke cleared, Lee was in the corner, panting wildly. He collapsed to his knees. The strength in his body had turned to pain. Guy watched on in worry.

"I... I did it..."

Guy smiled.

"I... I... I beat..."

The last of the smoke disintegrated, and to everyone's shock, Gaara still stood. His body now had cracks everywhere.

The cracks broke off to reveal sand underneath. As the sand poured away, the real Gaara emerged.

"You've done well to completely break off the Sand Armor," Gaara commented.

"What? T-This is impossible!"

Kankuro grinned. "This match is Gaara's."

"He's still an impressive kid," Temari looked down at Lee, who was staring at Gaara in disbelief. "To be able to bypass the Sand Shield, and break the Sand Armor. I think it'll be a long time before anyone repeats that feat."

Gaara waved his hand and more sand came rushing out of his gourd. "Unfortunately, since my armor has been broken, I'll be forced to finish this quickly."

The sand took the shape of a giant hand.

Guy had a grim look on his face. Itachi turned to him.

"Guy-san," he started politely.

"Please! I have told you a hundred times! Just call me Guy!" Even in his pupil's dire situation, Guy couldn't resist showing off his 'nice guy' pose to Itachi. Team 7's captain resisted the growing urge to roll his eyes.

"Guy-san," Itachi repeated. "How many of the Eight Gates did you teach him to open?"

Guy had a sheepish look on his face. "Uh... five?"

"Right... wait, five?" Itachi frowned. "... Nevermind."

Guy-sensei! Lee stared at the sand-constructed hand flying towards him. You said to only use the rest of the Eight Gates when I am trying to protect my precious people, or in a life-or-death situation!

Willing himself to move, Lee jumped away as the hand slammed into the wall behind him.

I want to prove myself! To prove I can become a capable ninja without the use of ninjutsu! Lee forced himself to the ground. The hand flew over him, and he desperately crawled away. That is my precious dream, and I want to protect it!

"Gate of Rest! Open!"

Gaara blinked, but continued his assault on his opponent. Lee felt re-energized within a matter of seconds, and easily avoided the hand. He charged towards Gaara, dealing a punch to his face.

"It's my turn!" Lee roared. "Severe Leaf Hurricane!" Launching into a series of kicks, he was rewarded with the sight of Gaara's bloodied face. His final kick sent Gaara crashing into the wall.

There was an explosion of rubble and smoke.

"Gaara!" Temari yelled.

His mouth wide open in shock, Kankuro couldn't say a word.

"Go, Bushy Brows!" Naruto cheered.

Emerging from the smoke was three Gaaras. All three were equally bruised and bloodied. One was lodged into the wall, looking weak, and the other two in front got into a stance, ready to defend the original.

"It's Gaara's Sand Clone Jutsu," Temari noted.

"A youthful strategy!" Lee remarked. "You send your clones at me so you can rest and recuperate while I'm occupied with these two." He looked over at the two Sand Clones. "But I'm not letting you have the chance!"

Gaara made no attempt to reply, instead panting heavily.

"Gate of Life! Open! Gate of Pain! Open!"

Sasuke looked on, feeling a little fearful as green chakra poured out from Lee's body. The taijutsu expert's skin had turned red, and his bowl-shaped hairstyle was flaring up.

"What did he do to himself? What is this power?"

This was the exact same question that passed through the minds of everyone present, except for Lee's teammates of course. Neji had an emotionless look as usual while Tenten felt the slightest bit of worry for her teammate.

"Gate of Closing! Open!"

That's the last gate I can open. It's time!

In a flash, Lee had gotten past the two Sand Clones, and forcibly dragged the original Gaara out from the wall.

One of the clones descended upon Lee, but he responded with a swift kick to his face, and the clone disappeared into sand.

"What... what are you going to... do now?" Gaara questioned.

"I'm going to win!" Lee screamed into his face, overwhelmed by the massive power running throughout his entire body. "Take.. this!" He flung Gaara into the air.

Gaara felt someone punching him in the abdomen. He was flung backwards and a fist connected with his face and chest. He was being tossed around in mid-air like a rag doll.

"At this rate, Gaara's going to...!" Kankuro turned, to see Baki watching the match.

If Gaara was defeated now, the original plan couldn't continue.

Sensing his student's thoughts, Baki nodded reassuringly. "Don't worry. Gaara won't be defeated."

The sight of the arena told a different story though. Lee's inhuman speed was assisting him in beating Gaara up with a flurry of punches. Finally ready to execute the final part of his move, Lee wrapped his bandages around Gaara once more.

Pulling the battered Gaara towards him, Lee struck his opponent with a punch and a kick.

"Hidden Lotus!"

Gaara instantly slammed into the ground, conjuring up a crater larger than when Lee had dropped his weights.

Landing on the ground as well, Lee felt his energy and strength leaving him, to be replaced by immense pain. Groaning, he collapsed onto his knees once more.

I... can't... go unconscious... not now! He looked forward. I... I hope he's not... dead... he was a most youthful opponent...!

"Sand Coffin."

"What?" Lee looked down, to see sand creeping up his legs. Feeling too tired to move, the Leaf Genin could do nothing to resist, as sand encased his entire body, leaving only his face on the outside.

Gaara stood before Lee, his hand held up.

"No... why are you... how are... how are you..." Lee gasped.

His eyes flew towards the gigantic crater, and his eyes widened in horror.

Instead of Gaara, was a large puddle of sand, lying in the middle of the crater.

"T-Then you are...!" Lee turned back to the Gaara in front of him.

"Yes. I'm the original!"

"But... how?"

Gaara had a victorious smile on his face. "The Sand Clone was the one lying against the wall. Me and my other clone stood in front. I knew you would assume the one in the wall was the original!"

Baki smiled, as both Kankuro and Temari sighed in relief.

"No... way..." Guy was stunned.

"So... that's... why..." Lee panted.

"Yes. Your finishing blow was dealt to a Sand Clone." Gaara raised his arm, and Lee felt the sand around him flying higher up, leading in his trapped body going upwards as well.

Sasuke nodded, understanding. "So he did it while he was covered by the smoke."

"This guy's a genius!" Naruto yelled.

Gaara heard the compliment, and grinned. He then looked up at Lee. "Give up."

Lee hesitated.

"Once I ball this hand into a fist..." Gaara explained. "... you'll be crushed."

"Lee!" Guy screamed. "It is most unyouthful, but please, give up!" He did not want to see his precious student getting killed. Lee stared at Guy for a moment, and a tear leaked down his eye.

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-"

"So do you give up, or not?"

"Oh... uh... I..." Lee sighed. "I... give up."

Smiling, Gaara relaxed his hand. The sand disappeared, and Lee was about to fall to the ground, but the redhead caught his Konoha counterpart and laid him carefully on the floor.

"You put up a good fight."

"Thank... you... uhhhh." Finally succumbing to the pain, Lee passed out.

"Medic!" Guy roared, as he leaped down into the arena, carrying Lee up.

"Winner: Gaara Sabaku!"

And that is Gaara vs Lee. I tried to make the battle go off-canon as much as I could. If you didn't notice in Chapter 11 - Arrival: Ninja from the Sand, Gaara is not as bloodthirsty as he is in canon for reasons I will reveal later on in the story. That's why he doesn't try to kill Lee this time, and that's good, isn't it? We all love a non-bloodthirsty Gaara.

In the next chapter, the preliminaries continue, as usual. I will try to make two matches per chapter if I can, just to reduce the amount of chapters I'm going to use for the preliminaries. Everyone is free to give suggestions on who should fight who.

Until next time.