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The last day!!
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A burst of raw chakra exploded from his feet, and he vanished once more, appearing in front of Gaara in an instant.
He swung his arm, and the straight punch smashed through Gaara's weakened defenses, sending him hurtling backward, bouncing across the stone floor like a discarded doll.
Lee landed on one foot, fists raised, chest heaving.
"I got him... good," He murmured between breaths.
But across the field, amidst the dust and debris, a twitching form began to rise.
Gaara, with his skin cracked and ragged breath, stood up. His eyes burned with murderous rage.
He didn't scream but just seethed, and the sand gathered around him like a beast unchained. It snarled and climbed his body, forming armor once again as it repaired his wounds in defiance of the damage dealt.
Above, Temari shivered.
"That... was the Sand Armor," She whispered. "He's seriously using it."
Lee's brows drew tight. "That wasn't enough. His defense will only get stronger. I'll need something more..."
His hand reached to his forearm and unhooked the bandages.
Only one option left.
He gritted his teeth, pulled the bandages loose, and crouched low into a combat stance that compressed every muscle in his body to the limit.
His veins bulged and his body trembled. The coiled tension was that of a drawn bow, about to release the deadliest arrow it had ever fired.
"Prepare yourself!" Lee shouted internally.
Then, he moved.
The wind screamed as Lee blurred into motion, circling Gaara at a speed the human eye couldn't track with dust spiraling in his wake.
Gaara's sand swung wildly, trying to anticipate, trying to strike.
But it was too late.
Lee appeared above him with a devastating uppercut sending Gaara flying into the air like a leaf caught in a whirlwind.
The stadium held its breath.
But Lee wasn't done. He launched himself into the sky after Gaara, the white bandages still unfurling in long arcs as he reached his opponent mid-air.
The cloth snapped tight around Gaara's torso, binding him like a fly caught in a spider's trap.
"Primary Lotus...!!"
Lee spun, faster and faster. They tore through the air, a green and gold spiral of motion and power.
And then, they slammed into the ground like a falling star. The floor cracked, erupted in dust and debris, and the earth quaked beneath the force of Lee's ultimate technique.
Gai's eyes trembled with tears. "That was it... his best shot."
Lee rolled away from the crater, body shaking, lungs burning.
But Gaara stood up, even though his form was not gracefully at all.
And his face, half-covered with blood and sand, was contorted in a hideous expression of rage.
The cork on his gourd exploded.
A great tide of sand poured out, alive with killing intent.
"AAAAARGHHHH!!!" Gaara screamed.
A monstrous hand that was twenty feet tall rose from the sand mass behind him, stretching into the air like the claw of a demon.
Lee's eyes widened.
"I can't move... My muscles... they're locked up..."
The sand hand crashed down toward him like a falling mountain.
Time slowed for a moment.
Lee, unable to move, closed his eyes and whispered.
"...Gate of Rest... OPEN!"
BOOM!!
The green chakra flared around him like an explosion. The pressure vanished and his muscles surged back to life.
Lee vanished from his spot, avoiding the attack.
Lee had already darted left, sprinting again with staggering speed. He was even faster than before.
"No way… Gai, don't tell me you..." Kakashi's voice trailed off, his single visible eye narrowing as he turned to his old rival.
"It's exactly as you've imagined," Gai said calmly, confirming Kakashi's suspicion.
Kakashi's brow furrowed. "So that boy… he can open the Eight Inner Gates and use the Hidden Lotus?"
"The Hidden Lotus?" Sasuke repeated, eyes narrowing as he glanced at Neji.
The Hyuga prodigy also turned toward the two jonin, his curiosity clearly piqued.
"That's right," Gai said, his expression unusually serious. "Lee has been trained in a forbidden taijutsu technique... one that draws out unimaginable power at a heavy cost."
Kakashi kept his eyes on the battlefield, his Sharingan glowing faintly. "How many gates can he open now?"
"Five," Gai replied, folding his arms across his chest. "He's mastered up to the Fifth Gate, the Gate of Limit."
"The Eight Inner Gates?" Sakura asked, blinking. "What are those?"
Gai turned toward the younger shinobi like Sasuke, Neji, Sakura, and Karin now fully focused on him. With deliberate calmness, he began to explain.
"The Eight Gates are points within the body that regulate the flow of chakra. Normally, they limit the body's strength to prevent damage… but if you force them open, even temporarily, you can push past the body's natural limits."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed in concentration. Neji frowned, his Byakugan instinctively analyzing Gai's words.
Gai continued, "The First Gate unlocks power. The Second increases stamina. Each gate adds to your strength, but it comes at a steep price. The muscles tear. The bones crack. The pain is unbearable. And the more gates you open, the closer you walk toward death."
"Why teach him something so dangerous?" Karin asked, her tone low.
Gai's gaze lingered on Lee. "Because Lee has no ninjutsu or genjutsu. All he has… is his heart, his spirit, and his fists. And that is more than enough."
The atmosphere turned heavy. On the field, Lee's stance shifted, his aura beginning to grow fiercer.
Kakashi narrowed his eye. "This is about to get real."
The arena floor trembled, scattered with broken tatami tiles and dust kicked up from the furious exchanges of fists and sand. Rock Lee stood alone, his body ragged and trembling, chakra flaring violently around him like a flame refusing to go out.
Across from him, Gaara rose from the ground. Blood trickled down the side of his face. His expression, normally impassive, was twisted into something far more primal. His pale jade eyes locked onto Lee like a predator denied its prey.
Gaara was no longer fighting to win. He was fighting to kill.
Without a word, Gaara raised his hand.
A ripple spread beneath Lee's feet as an avalanche of sand surging upward.
'Hidden Jutsu – Sand Coffin!'
The grains wrapped around Lee's body with serpentine precision, grasping limbs, curling around his torso, rising like a grave that sought to bury him alive.
But Lee didn't panic and breathed. calmly
And then, with quiet resolve, he whispered.
"Third Gate… Gate of Life… OPEN!"
BOOOOM!!
The sand cocoon exploded violently as a shockwave surged out from Lee's frame. Dust was blasted into the air as a crimson aura enveloped him. His skin flushed red. Veins swelled and pulsed with blood accelerated by chakra surging beyond human limitation.
Lee screamed with a guttural roar..
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The wind howled around him. The floor cracked beneath his feet. His body, trained under the weight of mountains and the gaze of his eternal rival, was now a weapon of living flame.
And through it all, Lee endured the pain with clenched teeth and bloodshot eyes.
"This... this is the moment I protect my nindō—my Way of the Ninja!"
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