Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor any of the characters, beside the main OC. All credit for creating this amazing series goes to Mr. Kishimoto

Author's note: Thanks to everyone for reading! Answer of the reviews are at the bottom.

Right, I am SO sorry about the enormous delay in posting this chapter, but I just started the new term at university and had basically no free time at all to write or even just work a little on the story. These two weeks have just been hectic. On the bright side, I only need to edit and adjust some things right and there for next chapter, so I should update soon. At least I hope.

Oh, I almost forgot. The title is pitiful. I hate giving titles. (it probably will become my motto or something.) As last time, I didn't have time to edit properly, but I'll do it soon (I hope). Sorry for any mistakes. I hope you enjoy!

THE PRELIMINARIES END

What's the problem with these people?

"Ninth match: Rock Lee versus Sabaku no Gaara."

Gaara appeared in the arena in a swirl of sand even before the proctor had finished announcing their names. His expression was blank, but somehow very threatening as well. He crossed his arms and stared ahead.

Lee looked very eager. "Yosh!" he exclaimed. "I can finally fight with the power of my youth!"

"Go, my student." Gai placed a hand on Lee's shoulder. "Be careful. His gourd looks suspicious."

"Hai, sensei!" Lee threw his arm in the air. "I'll fight as hard as I can!" and he jumped down the right, landing in a crouched position in front of Gaara.

Rock Lee smiled and stood up straight, putting his right arm in front of him, palm upwards, in the opening stance of his taijutsu style, the Gōken. "I'm happy I can fight with you." he said to Gaara, in a pleasant tone. "Let's do our best, eh?"

Gaara didn't answer nor move. He was as still as a statue. Then, without any fore warning, Lee raised his left hand and brushed his cheek. "Don't get too hasty."

With a small bump, a small piece of wood fell on the ground. It was the cover of Gaara's gourd. Some grain of sand flew around.

"Has any of you got an objection?" Hayate asked, stepping between the two in that exact moment.

"No." Gaara coldly said.

"No, yosh!" Lee said

"Then..." Hayate raised his arm. "... begin!" and he jumped back.

The proctor hadn't even finished saying it that Rock Lee rushed forward. His speed was remarkable and superior to many of the other genin in the room. "Konoha Senpū! [Konoha Whirlwind]" he shouted, sweeping a powerful kick right at Gaara... who didn't even flinch.

As a matter of a fact, after all, Gaara didn't need to. The sand promptly rose between him and Lee, stopping the incoming attack. Not only, the hissing sand recoiled almost like a snake and, hadn't it been for Lee's amazing reflexes, it would have caught him – and crushed him.

Lee immediately jumped back, with a couple of flips in the air. The sand retreaded, suddenly docile.

"The kid has no chance to beat Gaara."

Akimi raised an eyebrow at Temari's comment, which she heard clearly as if the girl was standing near her, and not on the other side of the room.

"That girl is really bitchy." Naruto exclaimed. "I don't like her attitude."

"Suna must really have different values than us." Akimi said. "They are crueller... bloodthirsty. Take Temari-san, for example... she showed she is very afraid of her brother, but yet she seems proud and satisfied of his prowess."

"You will meet man shinobi who have a darker vision of the world." Kakashi said. "You already have encountered some: Zabuza, Orochimaru – who is really twisted. Many other are out there. Even here in Konoha there is... darkness."

Akimi and Naruto turned to look at their sensei's serious face. "What do you...?"

"Look at the match." Kakashi curtly said. "In future, you may need any intel you can get."

"Gaara's sand reacted immediately. He didn't even move." Shino commented. "If he is controlling it with chakra, he must have trained so much the sand became like an arm or leg to him."

"This isn't the most worrisome thing." Naruto said. "Can you smell it? That sand is soaked with blood."

"Is that is?" Gaara said, looking at Lee who had resumed his stance. "I am not enjoying myself enough. There isn't enough..." his eyes became larger, with a very crazed look in them. "... blood!"

And then sand rushed forward so quickly that Lee could only attempt to dodge. The sand closed in a deadly grip on his ankle then, like a whip, he raised him and thrust him against the wall.

Lee groaned and fell down. He barely had the time to recover, ducking left to avoid another attack of the swarm of sand.

What followed was an amazing display of speed, strength and skill in hand to hand combat on Lee's part. The kid was ever in motion, attacking Gaara from every possible angle, with powerful kicks and punches that would have been deadly... had they hit their target. It was even more striking the way Gaara was fighting... if you call that it.

The red-haired boy had yet to move. He was standing in the exact same spot he had first arrived in the arena, his arms crossed. Sand swirled around him, protecting him and making Rock Lee's attempts useless.

"I wonder." Shino said, observing the strange 'exchange' of blows. "Why isn't Rock Lee-san using chakra?"

Akimi narrowed her eyes and stared at Lee. "I think he can't."

"Correct, young one." Gai thundered in that moment. "My precious student cannot properly access chakra. Ninjutsu and genjutsu are beyond his reach."

Team 7 looked at the jōnin with wide eyes. They had almost forgotten he was standing near them. The man smiled proudly. "When I met him, Lee had no talent at all."

Neji scoffed a little, but only an attentive eye could see it. Akimi, Shino and Naruto of course noticed it. The blonde felt a rush of irritation. 'What is with that stuck up boy? He looks like he is better of ever one else. Man, how I hate superiority complexes.'

"Admirable." murmured Akimi, turning back at the fight.

It looked like Gaara decided to go on the offensive again. Lee had to retreat back with a long series of capers to avoid another swept of crushing sand. However, just as he had put a considerable distance between him and his foe, Gaara lowered the sand on the ground and Lee slipped on it, falling down. His eyes widened, as an even bigger amount of sand came crashing down on him.

Several surprised and startled exclamation echoed in the room.

Gai chuckled.

"Above." Naruto said. "Impressive speed."

His teammates nodded.

Lee did a couple of rolls in the air, hunched together almost like a ball, before landing on top of the crossed finger that towered over the arena.

"Have you noticed the way Gaara didn't even have to move his eyes to parry those attacks?" Akimi asked.

Naruto nodded. "He must have incredible senses. Maybe used hearing or smelling."

"Or maybe..." Akimi started, a little hesitant. "... maybe the sand is acting on its own will."

"How is that possible?" Shino asked. "I can do something like that with m Kikai, but they are alive so..."

"Vitality is relative in this world." Akimi shrugged. "The sand could be sentient. It is soaked with chakra."

"And blood. Which is the best chakra conductor anyway." Naruto said. "One thing is certain. Gaara's control over it is almost perfect."

"LEE!" exclaimed Gai in that moment. "Take them off!"

"What?" the bobbed haired kid asked. "I thought I could only do that if I was protecting someone important to me!"

"It doesn't matter!" the jōnin shouted back. "I WILL ALLOW IT! USE THE FULL POWER OF YOUR YOUTH!"

And Lee burst in a joyful laugh. "ALL RIGHT, SENSEI!"

"Those two really have got issues." Naruto whispered.

"I must say this again: suddenly porn really doesn't seem so bad."

"Thank you, Akimi-chan." Kakashi eye smiled.

"Look... weights." Shino said.

"Like one should expect from a taijutsu specialist." Akimi nodded, as Lee slowly unfastened the rolls of weights he had tied to his ankles.

With a happy and smug smile, Lee dropped the two things from the statue. "I can finally move freely!" he yelled.

"HOLY SHIT!" Naruto shouted two seconds later, apparently without reason.

But then almost every person in the room got a similar reaction. Akimi gaped in shock. Shino appeared a little surprised – which was astonishing. Why?

The two weights had literally created two craters in the ground. There were even clouds of smoke caused by the impact.

"It must be at least a ton!" Akimi murmured. "That's... inhuman!"

"So he clearly can use chakra internally... or he would not be able to sustain such strain." Shino emotionlessly said.

Akimi nodded in agreement. "Probably it's a problem with his tenketsu or coils then."

Gai gasped. 'Kakashi... your brats are impressive.'

Lee tensed.

"This is going to be awesome. He is about to move." Naruto exclaimed, happily. "Go, Lee!"

'He sympathises with him. Probably because he used to have 'no talent' at all as well.' Akimi thought. "It'll be a good show."

"GO!" shouted Gai.

"Yes, sir!" the boy stood at attention and then... disappeared.

What followed was a replay of Lee's earlier barrage of attacks against Gaara. Only it was fast-forward. Lee speed had been impressive before... now it was simply unbelievable. Naruto thought he could surpass that speed only when influenced with Kyūbi. 'I could keep up with him with his weights on, but... like this!'

"He is even faster than Haku." Akimi said. "On par with Kakashi-sensei."

"I can barely keep up with his movements." Shino sounded impressed... which was rare. "The sand as well."

In fact, Gaara's eyes had widened. The sand was able to stop each blow, but every time it got more difficult. Lee was going to breach his defences very soon.

Lee almost hit Gaara on the head with a punch.

"Look! He is surprised." Naruto exclaimed. "This means the sand is really acting on its own. If Gaara were directing it, he would be focused, not astonished."

"Incredible." Akimi murmured. "I wonder what gave this capability... it's extraordinaire."

"Lee is going to hit soon." Naruto said in that moment.

"Hai." Shino agreed. "He has been raising his speed with each blow. Waiting for an opening..."

The taijutsu specialist rolled into the air, high above Gaara, before clashing down and kicking the red-haired boy right into the head, with both legs.

"He got him!" Tenten exclaimed, cheering for his teammate.

"An explosion of youth!" thundered Gai.

Lee retreated using the momentum from the attack, and his speed caused smoke to rise from the ground as he slid back. He smirked. He wasn't finished.

And in fact he launched another offensive right away. This time, Gaara actually moved to brace himself. He stepped forward and swept the air with his right arm. The sand reacted even faster than it did before, swiftly raising a shield in front of him. Only Lee didn't attack from that point...

Gaara turned, his expression a mixture of surprise, anger and contempt, as Lee danced around him, moving so fast one couldn't pin point his exact location. His sand flew around him, almost frantically and nervously.

"This further proves your theory!" Shino said. "Gaara doesn't know where Lee is... but the sand still shields him."

"It has a limit though..." Akimi murmured. "It can't keep up forever..."

"Over here!" Lee mocked after few second, right before he punched Gaara right into the head. He had breached though the sand defences.

Gaara was sent crashing several meters away from Lee, as the bobbed haired boy resumed his initial stance, a small smile of satisfaction on his lips. 'I know that must have hurt.'

Gaara slowly arose. His posture had changed.

"That is not pain." Akimi said, startled. "That is anger."

"How on earth was he not hurt by that punch? It would have possible knocked even Naruto out." Shino said. "Incredible."

"He probably had some kind of back up protection." Naruto said.

Gaara had his shoulder hunched down and his fists were clenched. His head was bowed down. Then sand started to fall down on the ground from his face.

Lee's eyes widened.

And as Gaara raised his head, Team 7 assumptions were confirmed. His face was... crumbling, like a broken mask of sand. And his expression was... terrifying. His mouth was opened in a crazy wide teethed grin of madness. His eyes were opened wide and bloodstained. He was trembling.

"Now, that doesn't look good." Naruto said, darkly. "He is out of it. Crazy. Completely crazy..."

Akimi tilted her head. "Self preservation." she said. "He looks more like a cornered animal. One that has nothing to lose and would do anything to bite back."

The sand started to swirl around Gaara, in what looked like a protective manner... but also a threading one towards whoever would try to attack him. It slowly recomposed Gaara's face, making him return to his usual impassable self with his arms crossed.

"Well, it looks like he is in control again." Shino said. "But that moment showed our dangerous he really is. Perhaps Lee-san should forfeit."

Gai looked at him with wide eyes. "Why? Because he can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu?" he shouted. "Lee isn't to give up, he'll fight to the end."

"His... disadvantage has nothing to do with this" Akimi said. "Gaara is on a complete other level. It would be dangerous to fight him even with ninjutsu or genjutsu."

"It is because Lee is a taijutsu specialist that he can win this battle." Gai said. "I won't stop the match, if that is what you are implying."

"Incredible perceptive." Akimi murmured. "But..."

"Lee must prove something to the world." Naruto said. "And this is more important to him than everything else. Sometime you just have got to fight."

Akimi bit her lips. 'Don't bring up the forest... don't bring up what happened in the forest... wait a second! Naruto can't have forgotten about that. He is saying this despite what happened with Orochimaru.' She nodded, accepting her teammate's judgement.

"I think Lee's dream is showing the world what he can do." Naruto said. "If he can't do that, then survive would not do him a lot of good."

Gai looked at the blonde boy with a new gaze. 'This unexpected.' "Lee has still a couple of tricks in his sleeves. Just watch." and he nodded at Lee 'And I hope he can't finish it soon. Because Lotus puts an immense strain on the body.'

'What an incredible defence!' Lee thought, watching his foe with narrowed eyes. 'I have no choice but put more pressure on the sand... and I think I know exactly what will do the job.'

Lee looked above to see his sensei's approval. He smiled and started to slowly unwrap his bandaged arms. Gaara was still unmoving and unfazed looking again. Lee took a deep breath... and disappeared again. He started to run in circles around Gaara, going so quickly that a ring of smoke rose from his path.

"Is that it?" Gaara looked even more bored. "Hurry up and come!"

"As you wish!" and Lee attacked suddenly, sweeping a kick on his foe's stomach and sending him upwards.

"The sand is stopping him. He won't float." Tenten shouted. "Damn it!"

"It isn't over." Gai said. "Look."

Lee kicked Gaara again. And again. He kept going, relentlessly, each time sending Gaara higher and higher. Lee's face was contracted from the strain and concentration the combo required.

Gai closed his eyes and crossed his hands, as if praying.

The others, namely Team 7 Kakashi included, were instead keenly watching Lee's attack. They didn't miss Lee's brief cry of pain, which caused the slightest interruption in the chain attack... a break that Gaara was more than ready to exploit. However, Lee continued as nothing had happened, performing a perfect Kage Buyō. He bounded Gaara to himself with the bandages and started to spin.

"Take this!" Lee screamed, as the two became a bur of movement. "Omote Renge! [Front Lotus]"

And, without stopping the dizzying rotation, Lee crashed on the ground taking Gaara with him. The collision caused an enormous crater to form, along with a deafening sound. The whole area was covered by a high cloud of smoke.

Lee landed besides the cracked concrete, in the middle of which lied a battered Gaara. His armour of sand was cracked.

"Is he dead?" asked Shikamaru, shocked.

Hayate hesitantly approached the scene, to assess the red-haired boy's condition, when... some sand fell into Gaara's 'body', revealing it was merely a shell. Little by little, Gaara fell apart. It was only a clone of sand.

Lee's eyes widened and he trembled in shock. "What?" he exclaimed.

"It can't be! When did he switch?"

"You closed your eyes and prayed, Gai. Lee stopped for a fraction of second. From the pain." Kakashi sombrely said. "That's when it happened."

"Damn it." Naruto said. "Had it worked, it would have been..."

"... very effective, if not lethal." Akimi concluded for him. "Rock Lee-san looks, well, weary."

"The Lotus is a double-edged technique. One must use an incredible speed for a long amount of time." Kakashi said. "It puts a great strain on the body. Greater than you can imagine. He must be in pain all over."

"Oh, kami..." Akimi murmured.

"Damn it, Lee!" Tenten exclaimed.

"He should give up." Neji emotionlessly said. "He is fated to lose."

Silence followed the comment. It didn't last long... and Naruto exploded. "How dare you say this about your own teammate! TEME!" he shouted.

Lee looked with shocked eyes at the sand clone. 'Bad... very bad.' He felt a presence at his back and slowly turned, to see Gaara rise from the ground behind him. His armour was cracked and sand fall above his head like a shower. His expression was once again the terrifying crazed anger. He gulped. 'I can't properly move... damn it!'

Gaara's cruel smirk widened, as he crossed his finger in the ram seal. Three swirling columns of sand raised in the air, before crashing down toward Lee. The bobbed haired kid couldn't even react and was struck down. He was sent flying back, landing badly on the ground.

Lee groaned, trying to get up, but his legs trembled before giving it away and he fell down again. Gaara smirked even more cruelly, making the ram seal again.

This time an enormous river of sand raised behind him, before smashing down on Lee like a tsunami. The only thing the taijutsu user could do was cross his arms defensively in front of his head, bracing himself to the impact. He was swept away, right against the wall. The whole room trembled because of the collision.

Lee wasn't even given the time to respite, because another swarm of sand clashed against him, creating a blinding cloud of reddish smoke. When it faded, the battered body of Lee was seen in front of the wall, where a deep crack had formed. He had his arms stretched in front of him, palms upwards, in a desperate defensive demeanour.

Gaara smirked again and sent fort his sand again. This time, Lee was able to dodge. He made a couple of hesitant flip in the air and landed crouching in front of Gaara, who seemed to slow down a little, as if playing with his opponent. The sand was still floating around, but it was docile.

Lee stood there, helpless, his arms crossed to guard his head. He could only open one eye and was panting visibly. It was amazing he could even stand, actually.

Once again, a column of sand raised and run over Lee, crushing him. The poor boy screamed in utter agony. The sand retreated and then attacked again, this time Lee attempted to dodge – and the sand let him.

"Gaara is toying with him." Kankurō smirked. "Then he will kill him."

Akimi and Shino gasped hearing that. They already believed Gaara had no qualms killing, but hearing his own brother saying it in such a matter of a fact way was... disturbing.

Neji shook his head and crossed his arms, looking at the enraged Naruto. "It's useless. I was just stating the truth." he said. "His only strong suit, taijutsu, is subpar even by genin's standards. He can't win."

"Why, you bast...!" Naruto stopped, fuming. "You should be supporting him, not placing him down. I would like to see you pansy self facing an opponent like Gaara! You probably would run with your head down."

Neji internally seethed, but his face didn't show it. "I couldn't care less about what a dropout like you thinks. It's no wonder you sympathise so much for Lee. You are alike. A dropout will always be a dropout."

"An ass will always be an ass." Naruto mocked. "Unless he gets his own ass kicked. That's it. I don't know what is wrong with you, but you definitely need to get your ass kicked."

Akimi placed a hand on his forehead and Shino sighed.

"... and I think I am the right person to do it." Naruto cheerfully side.

"You have a big mouth." Neji spat. "But you can't back it up. You won only because of luck, dobe."

"I'll show you my luck, teme!" Naruto shouted, rushing forwards. Neji chuckled and dropped in what looked like a defensive stance... and Kakashi appeared between them, just as Akimi grabbed Naruto from behind, from below his shoulders.

"You'll get your chance to kick his ass." Akimi whispered. "Now it's not really the right moment."

"You want to defend Lee's honour. That is fine. Just do it after he finishes fighting. He may use your support right now." Kakashi sternly said.

Naruto clenched his fists. "All right."

Akimi released him. And they looked back at the arena, where Gaara was still smirking and 'playing' with Lee. Gai was observing the scene with watering eyes, so taken by it that he hadn't even noticed his other student about to fight.

Then Gai smiled at Lee. And Naruto shouted again, as powerfully as he could (which was very loud in fact). "GO, LEE: SHOW HIM!"

Lee was surprised. He hadn't even the chance to befriend the blonde boy... and yet he was cheering on him. And Gai-sensei had smiled at him. 'I can do this.' And his expression became confident once again as he fell in the Gōken stance.

This time, he dodged the swarm of sand easily, with his normal speed. He could keep up with Gaara's sand again. The game was back on.

"JUST LIKE THAT, LEE!" Naruto shouted again. Tenten joined him in cheering the bobbed haired kid.

"Still... he can only dodge." Shino murmured.

"Oh, no!" Gai smirked. "The Lotus in Konoha blooms twice."

"Gai, you didn't!" Kakashi said, with an unusually stressed voice. "How could you...?"

"That is correct. Just as you think, Kakashi."

"That boy – a genin – is able to open the eight inner gates?" Kakashi exclaimed. "How many can he open?"

Gai looked down. "Five."

"That is amazing!" Akimi exclaimed. She stopped. "Although it's quite reckless. Very quite reckless."

"You know what the eight gates are?" Kakashi asked. "Never mind..."

"What are they?" Naruto asked. "Why do you look so worried?"

"The gates are special points in the body were a high amount of tenketsu are located. They help regulate the overall flow of chakra. By opening them, one can literally eliminate any physical limit a body has." Akimi said. "In the process one obtains an incredible source of power... that is the very definition of double edge sword."

"Correct." Gai said, impressed. "How do you know?"

Akimi ruffled her hair. "Long story. Someone told me once."

"Open gate. Energy Gate. Life Gate. Wound Gate. Limit Gate. View Gate. Wonder gate. Death Gate." Gai said. "By opening the first gate, located in the brain, someone can use the entire potential of their muscles. That is Front Lotus. The second gates temporally revitalises the body. The third gate increases blood circulations and enables someone to use Reverse Lotus. The fourth and fifth gates basically enhance one strength and speed even further... but opening them is an enormous risk."

"Even death." Akimi concluded, darkly.

"There is a limit, Gai... by all means I should have lost faith in you." Kakashi said. "However, I think I can understand why you did it." he glanced at his own students.

They all looked extremely innocent. Too innocent.

Gai sighed. "Lee has something important he needs to prove. He is ready to die for it. We must respect this."

Kakashi nodded. "And we do."

Lee sighed. It was time to use it. He crossed his arms around and focused. He felt the rush of energy completely overwhelm him. He conveyed such an amount of chakra, that air itself started to spin around him creating a visible column around him. It was impressive.

Gaara sneered. "I don't know what are you trying to do, but it won't do any good. You are going to be finished."

Lee nodded to himself. 'Yes. Either way... it's over.' He increased again the power rush. His hair became spiked, as visible chakra started to swirl around him. His skin had become reddish and brown, full of strange wrinkles – caused by the eruption of further veins appeared on the corner of his eyes, together with a faint green aura around him, just as he opened the fourth gate.

"Amazing." Naruto said. "His power is so great..."

"... but it comes at a cost." Kakashi said, sighing. "His muscles are most likely ripping right now."

Gaara looked mildly impressed as Lee shot forward and reappeared in front of him, so quick it was almost as if he had teleported. He reappeared in front of a shocked Gaara, delivering a devastating kick to his chin.

Gaara was helplessly sent flying upwards and his armour of sand cracked – the shield couldn't possibly keep up with Lee's newfound speed. In fact, the power and quickness the kid had gained even created a wind of dust that blew against the spectators, forcing them to guard their eyes.

When the cloud disappeared, Gaara was well above their heads. Lee was nowhere to be seen. The sand was desperately trying to reach its master, without success. Then, the taijutsu specialist appeared again, kicking Gaara upwards... and then downwards, as if he was playing a tennis game with himself – a game where his foe was the ball.

The audience looked in amazement as Lee flew around Gaara, hurling him back and forth, left and right. Each blow was dealt with lethal strength and speed. The armour of sand was cracking.

"You are though, eh?" Lee landed on the ground for a split second, before jumping high again to reach Gaara. His movement slowed down ever so slightly, though: his muscles had rippled. Only few realised that, first of all a both worried and proud looking Gai.

"It's time to finish this!" Lee shouted. "Fifth Gate: open!"

As incredible as it sounded, Lee's speed and power were boosted again.

"That amount of chakra alone is enough to almost burn one's system!" Akimi shouted. "It's insane..."

"... and awesome!" Naruto exclaimed. "Lee is really strong. Gaara cannot keep up with him."

In fact, Lee descended on Gaara with inhuman speed, delivering a violent and lighting fast barrage of punches in his stomach. Then, he kicked him away and used his bandages to capture his foe. Thus, to finish the lethal combo, Lee dragged Gaara back and punched him in the guts again with all his enormous strength, sending him crashing down on the ground. "Ura Renge [Reverse Lotus]!"

Another cloud of dust rose, severely blocking the visual of the spectators.

"Damn it, what happened?" Shikamaru asked. "I couldn't see!"

"Gaara..." Temari murmured, with something in her voice akin to worry.

Gai paled.

"Shit." Akimi and Naruto murmured at the same time, looking at each other. A brief silent conversation followed. And a split second decision was made.

Lee landed roughly on the ground. His body was completely torn apart. As the dust faded away, Gaara's silhouette appeared little by little.

"No..." Lee said.

Gaara was very much alive and well, if not a little battered. His gourd had turned to sand, guarding him and cushioning his fall. The sand started to swirl maliciously around him. He moved his right arm forward, his hand slowly closing as if grasping an invisible object.

The sand shot forward, shaping itself like grotesque arms, approaching Lee inexorably. The bobbed haired kid could only attempt, desperately, to crawl away... with no avail. The sand reached him.

The sand made to close on Lee's right arm and leg, only...

"What the hell?" Kankurō asked to nobody in particular, as most of the sand was strangely sent flying away. The grip Gaara had on Lee's was compromise, holding barely into his hand and foot.

He didn't really bother Gaara. 'Damn him, I'll make him pay when the time comes!' he thought, having seen the strange orange loving brat using high level wind manipulation to protect Lee. "Sabaku Kyū [Sand Binding Coffin]:!" Gaara slowly drawled, his voice harsh and cruel. The sand mashed with sheer pressure whatever grip it had left on Lee.

Lee screamed in pain, as bone, flesh and muscle were literally torn apart to dust. He soon passed out, his body wore out from the strain.

"Try to stop this now..." Gaara murmured, darkly. "Sabaku Sōsō[Sand Waterfall Funeral]!"

This time, Lee couldn't move and a huge amount of sand, almost like a waterfall, descended towards him.

"Don't move." Kakashi ordered, seeing Akimi and Naruto tense.

With a blur of speed, Gai appeared in front of his student. The jōnin simply waved the sand off and stared at Gaara, as if daring him to attack again.

Gaara looked beyond shocked. His eyes were wide, his expression unbelieving. "Why..." he asked. "Why did you stop me?"

"He is..." Gai slowly said. "... a precious student I love."

Gaara almost sneered, but didn't say anything. He slowly raised and, even as the sand reformed his gourd and armour, he slowly walked back towards the railings and the platform where his team was. "I'm done."

The moment Naruto and then Gai intervened, Lee lost the match. Hayate knew it. He slowly raised his arm. 'For a second, I thought the kid was about to die. It was a close call...' "Winner, Gaa..."

The red haired boy stopped and slowly turned. Several gasps of surprise rose from the audience. Lee had risen up again, shakily, and covered in blood.

"Impossible." Kakashi said. "He shouldn't be able to stand. He opened 5 gates... he had his hand and foot crushed."

Gai started to cry and hugged the boy. Slowly, they understood why: Lee was unconscious.

"Winner: Gaara." Hayate said.

Gaara looked at Gai and Lee for some seconds, with hatred in his eyes. But both Naruto and Akimi noticed something else in his gaze... longing.

"Curious." Akimi said.

"Very." Naruto turned his gaze to Lee. "Do you think he...?"

"He doesn't look good, does he?" she murmured. "But I think Rock Lee-san has enough determination to prevail."

The watched in silent as medics rushed into the arena and examined Lee, before taking him away even more quickly, a serious looking Gai going with them.

"It's very likely he is not going to be a ninja again?" Naruto repeated what he heard from the medics. "That is..."

"Terrible." Kakashi said. "But there is still chance he could recover. And it's because you intervened. Although, you could have risked disqualification."

"I would have gladly taken it." Naruto spat back, crossing his arms.

Kakashi eye smiled. "Had it happened, I would have made your life hell." he said, taking out his orange book.

Akimi seated down again and Naruto followed her, with a last half glare to his sensei. "So?"

"It was very harsh." Shino commented. "He is a senseless killer."

"Yet, despite what we said earlier, he is very different from Orochimaru." Akimi said.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed. "His eyes are void and frightening. It's like this is all Gaara has ever known: death and blood. Orochimaru enjoys it, but Gaara... Gaara has no choice. The look in his eyes... it's frightening familiar."

Kakashi tensed at this. "What do you mean?"

"He will be our most dangerous enemy." Akimi said instead, sensing Naruto didn't want to answer. "He can manipulate sand as it were an arm or a hand. His defence is almost flawless. And he had no restrictions... he won't hesitate to kill. He wants to kill."

Naruto shrugged. "I stopped his sand with wind, but then again he didn't expect it. I wonder if I could cut through his shell."

"Mmm." Akimi pondered this. "The thing is chakra reinforced, so it's hard to say. Shino, what do your insects say?"

"His chakra is very malign. They probably could not absorb it anyway, the sand would stop and crush them. Do you think you can burn the sand? Turn it into glass?"

"It's not normal sand." Akimi repeated. "I don't think I can. Perhaps, Suiton would be the smartest element to use against it."

"It would make the sand heavier and more difficult to manipulate." Kakashi observed. "But it's not likely there will be a great water surge in the arena."

"Yeah, but that's what seals are for..." Naruto smirked. "Can you pull it off, 'mi-chan? A seal that pours water?"

"Possibly. It depends how much time of respite we are given between this and next exam."

"The tenth and final match will between Hyūga Neji and Kinuta Dosu. Please come down."

"Arrogant bastard." Naruto spat, watching Neji walk down. "And he is even going to win."

"You should be happy." Akimi replied. "It means there is a chance you'll fight him in the main matches."

"I hope so." Naruto gritted his teeth. "He really pissed me off."

"He needs a reality check." Akimi shrugged. "Although, something must have made him this way. Nobody is born that arrogant. Possibly it's his clan way."

"His clan?"

"Has any of you got an objection?"

"No." was the answer.

"Then, begin!" Hayate jumped back.

Neji sighed. "Byakugan!" he shouted, as the veins around his eyes thickened and became visible. He had startling, piercing white pupils.

"Really, to-kun, you don't remember who the Hyūga are?"

"Wait a sec, are they that noble stuck up clan with the crazy 360 degree vision?"

"Yeah, and they can see chakra." Akimi said. "Which is why Hyūga-san is going to win very quickly. Dosu doesn't stand a chance."

Naruto smirked. "He probably still hurts for your Fire Style's blows."

"You should give up." Dosu said in that moment.

"You are fated to lose." Neji replied, blankly. "Spare yourself the effort."

"Maybe they should compete for which one is more arrogant." Naruto sighed. "Really, what's wrong with these people?"

"You said it." Shino answered. "They need their ass kicked."

"With Dosu it didn't seem to work." Akimi giggled. "But maybe this time Hyūga-san will do the job."

Just then, Neji shot forward, with an impressive speed – not as great as Lee's, but superior to the average genin, maybe even chūnin. He hit Dosu in the right arm before the sound genin could even react.

"Now, I closed the tenketsu in your arm. You cannot use that strange gauntlet anymore. What are you going to do now?"

"What? How?"

"I could see the chakra flowing in it. I decided nothing good would come out of it, so I disable it. What are you going to do now?"

"You bastard!" Dosu tried to hit Neji straight in the guts, enraged. It was a pitiful attempt.

Neji lazily dodged and hit Dosu another couple of time, his hands delivering quick and almost delicate strikes all around his body. Two second later the Sound genin fell down, unconscious.

"You should be happy I didn't kill you." Neji said, with contempt. "You were fated to lose."

"He really needs to get his ass kicked." Naruto exclaimed.

"Winner: Hyūga Neji." Hayate coughed. "The Preliminary ends here."

The losers remained on the platforms, along with the jōnins, while the winners were lined once again in front of the crossed giant hands.

Hayate stood flanked by Ibiki and Anko, the Hokage behind him in the same position he was before. "To those of you who have passed to the Third Exam... congratulations!" Hayate said.

The Hokage fixed his hat. 'Mmm... there are Seven Konoha... including five rookies, and three Suna. Mmm. Every member of Team Kakashi passed. I should have guessed it.' "I will now explain the Third Exam to you." he said. "You will fight in front of everyone. We wish you to show your abilities, as your country representative power. Therefore, the main matches will be held in one month."

"What?" Naruto asked, a little deflated. "They are not going to be right now, right here?"

Hiruzen smiled at the blonde's enthusiasm. "No. This time will allow us to make the suitable preparations. We are going to announce to the Counties' Daymōs and Head Ninja of the villages that the preliminaries have ended. One month will be needed to gather them here to see you fight. It will also allow you candidate to prepare."

"What do you mean? Explain better!" Kankurō shouted.

"You can use the time to prepare... to know your enemies and yourself better. The preliminaries that just fought were instead like real life combat: both parties didn't know anything of each other. But there are those of you who have revealed everything in these matches... to make things fair, you need to work hard and improve in this month: you may learn new tricks, think of a strategy against a specific ability that your opponent has shown, or to cover a specific weakness you have revealed." The Hokage looked seriously at the genins, puffing out smoke "So, I want to let you go to relax and prepare, but before that, we need to do something important..."

Anko moved towards them. "You all need to take one piece paper from this box." she ordered.

"Everyone got one?" asked Ibiki in his roaring voice, after a while. "Tell me what you have got, starting from the left."

"Ten." Temari said.

"Five." Kankurō answered.

Next was an impassable Gaara. "Six."

"Two." Neji curtly said.

Tenten looked determined. "Eight."

"One, dattebayo" Naruto screamed.

Akimi raised an eyebrow. "Seven."

Shino was up next. "Three."

"Nine. Troublesome." Shikamaru yawned.

"Four." Sasuke replied, darkly exited.

Hiruzen nodded. "Good. We will now tell you the matchups for the next tournament."

"Nani?" Naruto yelled.

"That's what we drew for?" Shikamaru exclaimed. "What a drag."

Ibiki showed them the plan for a tournament. First match: Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyūga Neji. Second match: Aburame Shino vs. Uchiha Sasuke. Third match: Kankurō vs. Sabaku no Gaara. Fourth match: Katora Akimi vs. Tenten. Fifth match: Nara Shikamaru against Temari. The winner of match one against the winner of match two. The winner of match three against the winner of match four. The winner of match five against the winner of the second semi-finals. And then the final itself.

"It's unfair! Why did my brothers got paired up together! That will lessen our chances of promotion!" Temari shouted.

"I am sorry to break it to you, Temari-san." Akimi spoke up. "But beside the fight between you and Shikamaru-san, the other matches are all Konoha genin against a Konoha genin. I don't see it as unfair."

Temari huffed, as Shikamaru raised his hand. "Besides, I have a question." he said. ""If this is a tournament it means there is only a winner, right? So only one person can become a Chūnin?"

"No, that's not how it is." Hiruzen replied. "In the matches there will be judges – including me, Kazekage-dono, the Daymōs and other Head Ninjas – and you will be graded depending on your performance. So you could be promoted even if you don't pass the first round."

"So we can all become Chūnins?" Temari asked.

"Or none of us." Akimi observed.

"Exactly." The Hokage nodded. "Winning only gives you more time and chances to show your abilities. Do you understand? It there any other objection?"

Temari nodded, gulping. No one else dare to speak up.

"That's it." Hiruzen smiled. "We are adjourned until next month."

Later on, Katora Residence

Kakashi sat on the single armchair in the vault, his arm crossed in front of him, as he watched his genins eat. He had bought them takeaway dinner to congratulate them on their victory, but he wanted privacy to discuss something with them.

"I am sure Shino must go to his family very soon, so I would like to get this over quickly."

Akimi smiled tiredly. "Something is up. Too many things happened in one simply exam."

"You mean Orochimaru, right?" Kakashi looked serious. "It's very likely. I have a meeting with the Hokage later on."

"You planning on getting there late, sensei?" teased Naruto.

"It depends." Kakashi looked at them. "Are you three all right?"

"We didn't get hard fight." Shino said. "And the only serious match was Rock Lee-san's one. We discussed it there, didn't we?"

"Akimi, there is a possibility you are gonna face Gaara in the matches..."

"Yeah." she shrugged. "I have a couple of thinks I want to do, without letting a maniac killing me in a tournament. My goal is to become a chūnin, not to win the bloody thing. I'll try to fight him, but..."

"You are gonna forfeit if he gets crazed, or I'll step in." Naruto shouted.

"I am sure, 'to-kun. Likewise with you."

Kakashi chuckled a little, to loosen the tension up. "So that is clear, right? What happened yesterday nigh, Akimi?"

"Ah, right." she sighed. "I had almost hoped you forgot about that. It was a... well, some kind of nightmare."

"Some kind of?" Shino asked. He knew she had haunting dreams time to time, but they never seemed to affect her like this.

"Kaera-chan woke me up." Akimi said. "She seems to think the nightmare was true."

"True? What do you mean true, dattebayo?"

Akimi didn't answer immediately. "I mean, I was in my bed, physically, but it was like my... subconscious was really over there... with him."

"Him? That Kuroken person?" Kakashi asked.

She nodded.

"So it was like a genjutsu?" the jōnin asked.

"Perhaps. I think he somehow felt my distress over what happened in the forest. And he was able to reach to me."

Kakashi sighed. "It looks serious. I never heard of such an ability before. I'll spoke to the Sandaime about this, but... you shouldn't really sleep alone."

"Kaera is with me."

"Still. Drop the privacy seal from your room. Let Naruto help you."

Akimi just smiled. "Oh, that's no problem."

"Well then." the jōnin raised up. "Hokage-sama is waiting for me. Relax for today and tomorrow, you'll have plenty of time to train later. I'll see you tomorrow at sunset, usual place." and he left the room.

Hiruzen had a headache. A piercing one for that matter. Not even his pipe had the usual effect on him. He spent the last few hours discussing with his Intelligence Department, especially about that Kabuto kid, and then with his ANBU commander and with Shikaku, the Jōnin Commander, about the repercussion of Orochimaru's reappearance.

Then, the Elder Council had to bother him about Sasuke's cursed seal and the look in Danzō's eyes promised nothing good. And now this...

He looked at the letter on his table. 'Well, if this is true, it's probably got to be the only good news today. Man, I hope it's true...'

"Hokage-sama." a lazy voice said, startling him.

Hiruzen turned to the window. "What did I tell you about using the door, Kakashi?"

"To do it?" the jōnin shrugged, turning a page on his porn. "It's more fun like this. You look bothered, Hokage-sama."

"How can I not be?" Hiruzen said. "With everything that is going on..."

"I have a couple of things to tell you about." Kakashi said.

"My headache is going to get worse." Hiruzen mumbled. "Go ahead."

"First thing is quick." the jōnin eye smiled. "The genin who faced Naruto in the preliminaries, Tsurugi Misumi. Apparently, Orochimaru could move his body like that as well. I thought it was a kekkai genkai, but perhaps is one of his 'experiments.'"

"And if you consider Kabuto was his teammate..."

"It's suspicious all right. I suggest you question him and possibly the other kid as well... he is the one who fought Sasuke, Akadō Yoroi."

Sarutobi breathed in another intake of smoke from his pipe. "I'll sic Ibiki and Anko on them. Hopefully they are still in the infirmary or at least around."

"Kabuto disappeared?"

"Hai." Sarutobi sighed, crossing his arms. "ANBU tailed him as he left the tower. He met with Orochimaru... and then he disappeared."

"He knew he was being followed then." Kakashi crossed his arms. "ANBU didn't hear what they talked about?"

"No." the Hokage sighed. "But something tells me Kabuto is still in the village. I am about to ask you something you won't like, Kakashi..."

"Rejoin ANBU?"

"Just for a while. I have the council on my neck. They want Sasuke protected and this Kabuto smoked out and possible hunted down as well. You'll command a specific tracking team."

"I want time to spend with my team."

"Fair enough. One day per week. Don't worry, I'll take care of trainers for them. I am sure Shibi will be happy to take his son under his wing... if nothing else for clan's pride. And I have something special in mind for Akimi and Naruto."

"I trust in you, Hokage-sama... is this person powerful?"

"More powerful than me."

Kakashi eye smiled, gasping in understanding. "This is good, Hokage-sama... because the second thing I need to tell you is about what caused Akimi to come here in the first time. He is not dead."

Hiruzen sighed. "Damn it. What can you tell me about it?"

April, 19th 214 - Training grounds 7, Sunset.

"Thank you for coming here, my students."

"I don't know what surprises me most." Akimi observed. "That you aren't reading your porn, or that you are in time."

Kakashi chuckled. "It's good to see you have so faith in me, Akimi-chan."

"What's wrong, sensei?" asked Naruto instead. "You seem tense."

"I'm afraid I can't train you this month." Kakashi sighed. "The sudden reappearance of Orochimaru has all of us on an edge. Hokage-sama has asked me to temporally return in ANBU... and to keep an eye on Sasuke-san, because of the cursed seal. However..." Kakashi stopped. "I'm not about to turn back on my own beliefs. Hokage-sama has assured me he will arrange for a special trainer for you two, Akimi, Naruto... and, Shino, I personally spoke to your father, who has consented to help you with particular regard. Moreover, I wish for us to meet each Saturday for a team training session. If I can't be there in person, I'll send a Kage Bunshin. I hope you are not disappointed."

"Maybe a little." Akimi said, smiling warningly at Naruto, who looked very much put out. "But we understand, Kakashi-sensei."

"I'm glad." Kakashi turned and eye smiled at them. "I'm very proud of you. You all performed very well in the exam – without counting your encounter with a Sannin. You were ready to face an S-rank nin only to help your comrades... you exceeded my expectations by far. You know, there was a time when I thought I would never take a team on. Nobody ever worked together."

"We are happy to be your genins as well, dattebayo." Naruto shouted, his teammates nodding at his statements.

"I think you won't be my genin for much longer. This said, Naruto, Akimi, you are going to fight the rest of Gai's team..."

"Oh, don't worry, sensei! We are not going to make you look bad in front of your rival." Akimi teased.

"I'm not even going to ask you how you knew about that..." Kakashi sighed. "I want especially Naruto to be careful. Neji-san is very strong. Akimi, I'm somehow convinced you are already thinking strategies over your head. Just don't waste too much chakra with Tenten-san. Shino, Sasuke is going to be a tough opponent for you, any ideas?"

"Well, he can use his Sharingan to predict my movements. I need to think about some technique to disrupt his sight. But I am used to fight with you, sensei so..."

"If he activates his cursed seal..." Kakashi started.

"I'll forfeit." Shino reassured.

"You won't need to. I'll stop him personally. And he will get disqualified. Hokage-sama was clear about it."

"I will help you as best as I can on Saturdays. You will know how to stand your own against the Sharingan, don't worry." Kakashi eye smiled. "I am just sorry I cannot help you more."

"Sensei, are we going to be invaded?" Akimi asked, worriedly.

"It's possibility." Kakashi admitted.

They all pondered in silence the consequences an invasion could cause... right before the most energetic of the three jumped, throwing his punch in the air. "Well, it's just looks to me as an extra reason to train hard, dattebayo!"

JUTSU NOTES:

Konoha Senpū [Konoha Whirlwind]: D rank, offensive, short range. This technique consists in a powerful kick swept suddenly at the opponent.

Suna no Tate [Shield of Sand]: A rank, defensive, short range. This is an unique technique of Gaara. He has sand protecting him from its own will. The sand will shield him without him needing to move.

Suna no Yoroi [Armour of Sand] A rank, defensive, short range. Gaara covers his whole body in sand to absorb and deflect any kind of attack. He technique is extremely effective but also requires an extremely high amount of chakra. It breaks upon contact.

Omote Renge: [Front Lotus]: B rank, offensive, short range. After opening the first of the Eight inner Chakra Gates, then the user launches the opponent into the air and then uses Kage Buyō to shadow his ascent, before retraining the opponent and spinning furiously before sending him crashing on the ground.

Ura Renge: [Reverse Lotus]: A rank, offensive, short range. This is an enhanced version of Front Lotus. The techniques is a one way shot, because it's very likely to leave the user unable to move, react or fight back.

Sabaku Kyū: [Sand Binding Coffin]: B rank, offensive, short to mid range. Gaara uses his advanced control over sand to bind his opponents and immobilise them.

Sabaku Sōsō [Sand Waterfall Funeral] A rank, offensive, short range. After immobilising his opponent, Gaara makes the sand implode, crushing whatever is within its grasp. Gaara can control the pressure used in the attack. This technique likely causes a fountain of pain.

REVIEW ANSWERS:

xxOMGgalxx: thank you a lot! I think I myself am crying thinking about you 'crying' because you like my story. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Neo Amon: yes, I think Minato and Kushina were very close as well. It's a pity we don't know much from canon apart the way the met/fell in love (I mean Minato rescuing Kushina etc.). Naruto and Akimi will talk more thoroughly about the nightmare next chapter. I am glad you liked the fights and I hope this ones are good as well. You also were almost right about the reason for Kakashi not training Team 7.

Trishi: thank you again! I'm still enjoying writing I am just a little busy and have less time to do it. Hope you liked the chapter.

Wizardmon: I am glad you thought the fights were consistent. You also completely got me about Akimi and Sakura fighting: I wanted to show Sakura's hidden potential. Thank you a lot for your suggestion. I corrected them right away. =) I am also trying to give Konoha I&T department some credit in this chap. Tell me if you want me to write some scene about it (like interrogation or something)

CHAPTER NOTES

Just two quick words. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was kind of difficult to write Lee vs. Gaara and I tried to do it more from Akimi and Naruto's point of view. I hope the PO V switches weren't too difficult to keep up with.

Also, Neji is a little OOC. Namely he speaks more than he does in canon, and is also more arrogant and, well, bastard. It's mainly because I think he is more troubled than in canon, and also more stressed, because he hasn't fought with Hinata. On the same topic, I hope that Neji's fight wasn't too quickly. But I think it was believable.

About the main matches set up, just know that I may change it, because I am still undecided whether to make a Naruto vs Sasuke or a Naruto vs Gaara. Just so you know.

Well, I can't think of anything else. Next time up... the month of training starts.

Until next time...