Previously on Yoko no Konoha: Chuunin Exams, the preliminaries continue; one by one each of the Rookie Nine faced their opponents. Some with wins and some with losses; however, one fight had a profound effect – the fight between Hinata and Neji. For Neji, the Chuunin exams is about showing the main branch of his family that superiority did not lie in the purity of one's blood. While for Hinata, this one fight was more about saving a loved one surrounded by hate and darkness. Did she succeed in her own personal mission? And what of Lee Rock? What strength lies within this unassuming shinobi as he prepares to face his opponent, Gaara of Sand?
~Scroll 44~
"Ultimate defense?" Naruto repeated as he watched the nervous Sand Genin.
"Y-yeah, it's his sand armor." Kankuro answered; quickly explaining how it differed from Gaara's previous sand shield. While the sand shield acted as a traditional barrier between Gaara and the physical threat, the sand armor was as its name implied; covering and protecting the redhead's entire body.
"… then… there's nothing Lee can do!" The blonde gasped in worry, "It has no weakness…"
The Noh-masked Nin began worrying his lower lip. He knew that the blonde's statement was not completely accurate; the sand armor was actually riddled with weak points. However, it was not because that armor was riddled with weaknesses that worried the older Sand Genin; it was because the sand armor was Gaara's protection of last resort. Unlike the sand shield, the sand armor required a massive amount of chakra to maintain, and on top of that, the sand armor also increased Gaara's weight; making the smaller redhead to expend more physical strength just to move. In truth, the sand armor was more of a hindrance than of any real beneficial use.
Kankuro stared at Konoha ninja with a strange mix of disbelief and amazement. The strange shinobi had to be something else to be able to force Gaara to use his sand armor and force the volatile redhead to think defensively. Sand Nin would admit – only to himself – that was impressive; however, Kankuro already knew the conclusion to this fight; long before the opponents stepped into the arena. After all, the redhead was a genius.
"Is that all…?" Gaara asked as he stared at his prey… no, not prey… but not quite equal…
Lee did not flinched nor blinked. He kept his expression neutral and his body relaxed. He knew that the redhead's defense was amazing. It was a form of protection that made the Konoha Genin's speed irrelevant. Lee knew his only re-course was to pound and punish away that layer of protection, and in order to do so, he would have to use… the Lotus.
Taking his eyes off of his opponent, Lee glanced at his sensei, who gave the teen a small nod. Lee smiled. The wrappings around his wrists and forearms came undone and fluttered by his side.
Then in a blink of an eye, Lee vanished; a cloud of dust and sand surrounded Gaara.
"Come on…" Gaara purred in delight at the challenge which the other presented, "Hurry up!"
"As you wish!"
Gaara was then completely caught off guard.
Lee had come so close and beneath Gaara's senses.
The redhead's head snapped back from the force of the Konoha's kick.
"And that's not all!" Lee warned as he continued his assault against his opponent.
Gaara had barely enough time to raise his arms to protect his face and chest.
As Lee continued his barrage of punches and kicks, there a slight pause in his attack; a pause which caught Gaara's attention.
Lee pushed through his body's protest. The wrappings from his wrists and forearms then wrapped around Gaara; cocooning the redhead while Lee clutched onto the Sand Nin.
"GOTCHA!" Lee shouted, "FORWARD LOTUS!"
The pair slammed into the ground, but only Lee hopped away.
A stunned silence enveloped the arena before some of the observers cheered.
Lee huffed as he tried to catch his breath.
His eyes grew wide; stunned to see the body he had plunged to the ground was nothing more than an empty husk. When did he slip out of his shell?! The Konoha shinobi thought. For a second time, his eyes grew wide. It must have happened when I paused in pai-
Suddenly, a cold shiver ran down his spine as he heard a dreadful chuckle.
Turning around, Lee stared at Gaara, whose expression could only be described as demented. Lee could not get away; using the Lotus Technique had placed a huge strain on his body. Right now, he was a bundle of raw nerves and pain. He screamed as Gaara's Sand collided against his frame, sending him flying and against the arena's wall.
Dazed, Lee barely had enough time to bring his arms up to protect his face against a second assault.
The second attack had enough power to create a dent in the thick arena walls.
Lee had managed to protect himself from the assault's full force, but he knew he had reached his limit unless…
Lee stole another quick glance at his sensei, who just smiled; not his full sparkling teeth smile but his true smile.
Thank you… Gai-sensei… Lee sighed.
Suddenly, a third attack came hurdling at him.
It hit its mark, but its mark was no longer there.
The crowd watched in amazement for they surely had thought that the Konoha Genin was done for.
Even Gaara was surprised by his prey-not-prey's renewed energy.
"He got his speed back!" Naruto gasped in surprise, "But how?!"
"Oh man… oh man… oh man…" Shisui muttered in apprehension as he stared between the Konoha teen and Gai, "This can't be good… not good at all!"
Naruto suddenly snapped at attention; forgetting that he was in presence of another shinobi, he hissed, "What?!"
"If Gai taught that kid the Lotus Technique, chances are he also taught the kid how to open the Eight Inner Gates." Shisui explained, "And more to the point that kid might know the Reverse Lotus Technique… the fact that he bounced back from exhaustion so quickly tells me that he opened the Second Gate, the Kyumon; the Gate of Rest. If that kid opens any more Gates especially in the state he's in, it'll most likely kill him."
Naruto's eyes grew wide.
"Hey! What -", Kankuro just watched as the blonde ran toward the other Konoha shinobi. Although curious as to what spurred the smaller Genin to run, the Noh-masked Nin stayed with his teammate and sensei, both of whom bore worried expressions. It probably had not accept their notice that Gaara's inner demon had woken up. Sharing a look with Temari and Benju-sensei, Konkuro knew that there was going to be whole lot of bloodshed once Gaara's demon truly surface. It made him wonder if they would be able to escape the upcoming bloodbath.
"GAI-SENSEI!" Naruto shouted as he skidded to a stop in front of his sensei and Lee's sensei.
"Naruto…" Kakashi looked at his student in concern. It had been a while since he last saw his blonde looked so anxious.
"Please, you have to stop him!" Naruto pleaded.
"Naruto?"
"What are you talking about?" Both Kakashi and Sakura questioned, but Gai just merely looked at the petite blonde.
"Please, you know he's not ready!" Naruto continued, "If he continues, he's going to die!"
"What?!" Sakura gasped.
"What is he talking about, Gai!" Kakashi demanded.
Gai then turned his attention back to the arena, watching his precious student face against his most difficult opponent to date.
"Gai!" The silvery-haired Jounin growled.
"The Lotus of Konoha will bloom twice." Gai softly said with a pained mix of pride, fondness and sorrow.
"No…" Kakashi whispered as realization dawned on him as to what caused his blonde to plea for the other Jounin to interfere in the match… the Forbidden Technique, the Reverse Lotus.