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The last day!!
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BEEP!
The next match flashed across the large screen in bold, glowing letters.
Gaara vs Rock Lee
A quiet hush swept over the hall.
Lee turned his head upward, eyes catching the names just as the murmurs began to rise around him. His mouth stretched into a determined smile, and he looked back at the railing where Naruto stood.
"It's my turn, Naruto-kun!" Lee announced with unshakable confidence.
He lifted one leg and was about to vault over the railing when Naruto stepped forward and grabbed him firmly by the arm.
"Wait!" Naruto's voice had a sharpness to it.
Lee turned, slightly puzzled, his thick brows raised.
"The guy you're going to fightā¦" Naruto began, but the words were still finding their shape.
Lee, however, spoke first.
"He uses sand clones," He said plainly, his tone calm but sharp.
Naruto blinked. "Huh?"
Lee patted Naruto's shoulder with an encouraging firmness. "I got it, Naruto-kun!"
Before Naruto could clarify, Lee had already turned and dropped down beside his teacher.
At the far end of the floor, Gaara stood silently with his arms crossed, head slightly tilted, and isr eyes unwavering. The cork from his gourd had already loosened, resting just beside his feet as if it had slipped off on its own.
The heavy gourd loomed behind him, casting a long, curved shadow.
His eyes were calm. But there was a subtle twitch in his fingers.
"Lee!" Gai called, motioning him over.
Lee jogged to his teacher's side.
"Probably no one has noticed this yet," Gai whispered in a tone lower than usual, "but that gourd of hisā¦ it's really suspicious."
Lee's eyes widened. "I see!"
From the stand, Naruto's eyes twitched. He thought as he rubbed his temple.
'I forgotā¦ Lee and Gai are simple-minded fools.'Ā
Lee quickly fished out a tiny pocket notebook and began scribbling intensely.
Gai frowned and smacked him on the head.
"Quit with the notes! You're not going to have time to read them during the match! Fool!"
"I see!" Lee nodded with earnest and jotted that down too. "No time to read notes in battle."
Gai took a long, deep breath and raised a clenched fist to the sky.
"All right!"
"Go! Lee!"
"Let the power of youth explode!!" He shouted with all his being.
The sheer intensity of Gai's pose made several nearby Genin recoil instinctively.
Lee mirrored the pose with equal enthusiasm and then, without hesitation, dropped onto the battlefield with a clean flip. He landed directly across from Gaara, his expression serious now.
"I am pleased to be squaring off with you so early in the match," Lee said with genuine respect.
Gaara didn't answer and only stared at his opponent.
The sand at his feet slowly stirred as if responding to something unspoken.
"Tch." Temari narrowed her eyes.
"I don't know what kind of moves that bowl cut guy hasā¦" She smirked, folding her arms.
"But he will never beat Gaaraā¦"
Kankuro stood beside her, expression neutral. "That's for sure."
In his head, though, there was unease.
Naruto leaned forward, his arms on the rail, eyes locked on the floor.
'Bushy browsā¦ I gave you what little warning I could. Now it's all up to youā¦ how you face himā¦ in that moment... But don't worry, I will not let anything happen to my friend...'
A moment later, Sasuke stepped up beside Naruto. His eyes were trained on Gaara, thoughtful.
His mind drifted back to the intel Kabuto had provided before the exam beganā¦
"Next is Gaara of the Sand," Kabuto's voice echoed in memory.
"His mission experience is eight C-Ranksā¦ and one B-Rank as a Genin. Impressive, huh?"
"He's from the Wind Nation. Not much else is recorded. Butā¦"
"He's returned from every mission uninjured."
"B-Rank as a Geninā¦ but uninjured?!" Shikamaru had whispered at the time, shocked.
Sasuke turned slightly to Sakura now.
"That Gaaraā¦ the one you mentioned before. He's not an ordinary genin, is he?"
Sakura's expression darkened slightly. She folded her arms across her chest. "Naruto and I ran into him once before. His teammates tooā¦ they're allā¦ dangerous."
Sasuke didn't respond but in his head, he formed a simple thought.
'Hopefully, Lee can force him to show his trump cardsā¦'
Tap!
Lee blinked as something bounced into his palm. He looked down and saw the cork from Gaara's gourd landing perfectly in his hand.
He stared at it, then looked at Gaara.
"Please don't be in such a hurry," Lee said politely, and let the cork roll from his hand to the ground.
The sand at Gaara's feet rippled like the surface of still water disturbed by wind.
Hayate stepped forward, cough in hand, gaze focused.
"Now thenā¦ the Ninth matchā¦ BEGIN!"
The air in the room thickened.
Lee dropped into stance, left leg forward, palms open.
For a moment, it felt like the entire arena had paused in breathless anticipation, eyes locked on the two figures facing each other like statues carved by tension itself.
With a sudden burst, Lee dashed forward, the ground behind him cracking slightly under the sheer force of his speed.
He leapt, twisting mid-air as his foot snapped outward in a roundhouse blur of movement.
"Leaf Hurricane!"
Bang!
The kick collided withĀ a wall of shifting sand that rose instantly, coiling up like a serpent and shielding Gaara effortlessly.
The impact was powerful, but the sand merely shifted and absorbed it.
Lee landed and retreated in one clean somersault, skidding backwards across the floor until he came to a smooth stop.
Up in the stands, eyes narrowed and thoughts turned quickly.
'What an unusual jutsuā¦' Kakashi's brows furrowed beneath his forehead protector.
'Is the sand just a technique? Or is itā¦ reacting on its own?' Sasuke's eyes followed the movement precisely, trying to gauge the subtle shifts.
Every grain moved with a purpose. But Gaara had yet to move a single limb.
It made the unease in the room rise steadily, like mist thickening before a storm.
Down below, Lee steadied his stance again.
'That sandā¦' Lee narrowed his eyes. 'He hasn't even moved. And yet, the sand moves for him.'
A memory stirred to a moment not long ago asĀ Naruto's voice echoed in her head.
"He can make clones out of sand. Don't let your guard down, Bushy Brows."
'Is this his real body? Or is it another sand clone?' Lee wondered, but there was only one way to find out.
He charged again, attacking Gaara relentlessly with his fists swinging, feet a blur, and his attacks sharp.
But the sand moved with terrifying precision, shifting into place before every strike, blocking and deflecting every attack.
--- ā¦ ā¦ ā¦ ---
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