Konohagakure No Sato :
Central TOwer ( Forest Of Death ) :
Orochimaru leaned against the cold stone of the balcony, his slitted eyes tracking the "youthful" and honestly slightly annoying exchange between Might Guy and Rock Lee. To most, they were just Taijutsu specialists, but Orochimaru knew better than to completely write them off.
If it wasn't for the legendary Feat of Might Duy—that "Eternal Genin" who somehow managed to slaughter five of the seven Swordsmen of the Mist back in the Third Shinobi World War—he probably wouldn't have taken these green-clad clowns seriously at all.
( ....It's almost Like they are clones )
Still, despite that history, Orochimaru didn't feel even a flicker of a threat from Lee or his bowl-cut mentor. With his own Orochimaru-style: Snake Shedding Replacement, he was basically a cheat code; even if he lost his head, he'd just slither out of his old skin and keep going.
To him, an Eight Gates practitioner was certainly powerful, but they were like a single, firework. They explode with a big bang for a few seconds, and then? They're either dead or a vegetable.
Rock Lee was just a kid, and as for Might Guy? No matter how much "Youth" he screamed about, it was still just Taijutsu. Even if by some freak miracle Guy managed to obliterate Orochimaru's entire body, the Curse Mark ensured Orochimaru would live on. Meanwhile, Guy would be crippled for months or just flat-out die.
(Regardless, I need to make sure that when I finally corner Sensei, there aren't any annoying interferences... whether it's Tsunade ,Guy or anyone else )
Orochimaru thought for a while and soon his mind drifting back to the present. He began analyzing the so-called 'fight' between Rock Lee and Naruto, and from his Kage-level perspective, the conclusion was simple:
(Boring.)
Despite Naruto's claims about this being a "serious fight," Orochimaru saw through it instantly. If the blonde brat were actually serious, that very first punch would have turned Rock Lee into a meat paste or cripple on the wall.
(After all, as long as Naruto-kun uses that monster Taijutsu he picked up from Tsunade, ...Rock Lee has zero chance of winning,)
Orochimaru mused. His eyes twitched, and his tongue flickered out to lick his lips as he watched Naruto. He still had vivid, unpleasant memories of their actual serious fight back in the Forest of Death.
(In a real fight, every move is meant to end a life... or at least in the palnning of it )
Orochimaru thought, his hand instinctively moving to his neck. He remembered Naruto's opening move against him—that ridiculous Jutsu that had literally lopped his head off right from the start. If he hadn't been Orochimaru, he would have been dead before the fight even began.
Seeing that same ruthless shinobi talking about a "serious fight" while holding back made Orochimaru's eye twitch again. It felt uncomfortable, especially when his strategic mind realized exactly why the blonde was doing it.
(....To think we are so alike.)
It was a gross realization. Orochimaru remembered a time when he'd tell his "Toad" friend, Jiraiya, that they were fighting seriously, only to hold back just enough so the idiot's feelings wouldn't get hurt.
Jiraiya would challenge him over and over, get beat, and then run to Tsunade to get healed. And Orochimaru—the strongest of the three—would always indulge him. Why? Because once, they were actually friends and companions.
Remembering those days made Orochimaru's expression soften for a microsecond before he spat on the floor in disgust.
(...BONDS.)
Wiping his mouth, Orochimaru looked back at the arena. Seeing these young Genin basking in their "youth" and "friendship" while living the exciting life of a rookie shinobi filled him with a strange sense of pity. He knew exactly what kind of life was waiting for them.
(......Life is so fragile..... Annoyingly fragile...)
While Orochimaru was having his internal mid-life crisis, Naruto watched Lee and Guy finish their heart-to-heart. Seeing Lee finally snap out of it and get ready to go all-out, Naruto's thoughts shifted to his tactical plan for a 5th Gate Rock Lee.
(...The best option is to just use Monster Taijutsu combined with my reflexes..... but if I do that, considering Lee's speed and my own strength, if I actually land a hit... Lee's done for,) Naruto thought, feeling a headache coming on.
(I'd probably break his hand into pieces or just blow it off entirely. ....What a pain. Why is this so troublesome?)
Naruto watched Lee take some distance and start taking deep, heavy breaths, clearly priming the Eight Gates. Naruto checked his "mental inventory."
(Hmm, trying to out-Taijutsu a 5th Gate Lee in this condition would be pretty dumb... let's switch it up. Let's try some Ninjutsu first.)
Naruto quickly cooked up a plan.
"3rd Gate...GATE OF LIFE.... OPEN!"
Lee was in motion, but Naruto wasn't just going to stand there. Letting Lee use the Gates and actually trying to tank them head-on were two very different things. Naruto slammed his hand onto the ground with a focused hand-seal.
[Earth Release: Earth Spikes] (Lv 5)
This was a Jutsu Naruto had picked up after Maxing out the Twin Earth Wall—a super practical move that forced jagged spike up from the ground.But Ofourse what he was gonna use woould be different .
The crowd's jaws dropped as the ground began to erupt. Naruto wasn't targeting Lee directly, though but what they saw was ridiculous , Chunins directly sweated and Jonins could only envy .
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
"Are you kidding me?!"
"Just how much chakra does this Blonde have? "
"This is ridiculous!"
" That's definetly Not a genin "
Dozens—no, at least fifty—thick earth spikes jutted out around Naruto. Each one was two meters tall and looked more like a heavy pillar with a pointed end. They weren't just sticking straight up; they angled outward from Naruto's position in a 360-degree circle with an 10-meter radius.
Looking closely , THe crowd Understood bt still felt ridiculous .
Technically , Anyone trying to charge at Naruto would have to face a wall of jagged stone "anti-tank" pillars.
On the balcony, Kakashi squinted through his mask. "...He's wasting time and limiting Lee's speed."
Sasuke's head snapped toward his teacher. "What do you mean, Sensei?"
Kakashi took a breath, glancing at Guy, who had also realized the situation. As someone who sparred with Guy constantly, Kakashi knew the strategy well. "Those pillars are there to kill Lee's momentum."
"But there are gaps," Sasuke pointed out, his Sharingan spinning. "Can't he just weave through them?"
"Exactly," Kakashi replied. "And if Lee takes those specific paths, he's going to walk straight into Naruto's traps."
( But Lee won't have the same flexibility as before after opening 8 gates )
As Kakashi spoke, he gestured for Sasuke to keep watching. Naruto was moving again. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. (Basic Clone Jutsu?)
Indeed, Naruto was deploying hundreds of E-Rank clones throughout the pillar forest. But he wasn't done.
"Shadow Clones?" Sasuke muttered as more solid figures appeared.
Kakashi actually smiled a bit, proud of the blonde's brain. "He's mixing basic clones with Shadow Clones across the field to keep Lee confused. I'm willing to bet his main body is going to keep swapping positions, too."
Sasuke finally got it. With the earth pillars blocking the view, no straight paths, and a sea of clones, finding the real Naruto was going to be a nightmare. Even the Sharingan could easily spot a basic clone, but a Shadow Clone? No chance. Plus, the pillars made it impossible for Lee to use any wide-area attacks to clear the field.
( That Lee is also only Taijutsu Ninja .... not chakra sensor or anything either )
But one question bothered Sasuke. "Why?"
"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.
"Why is he playing defense? With his strength, he could just crush Lee head-on.... Why go through all this trouble?"
Kakashi paused for a second before answering with a little smile "...Maybe because they're friends...!"
Sasuke stared at him, blank-faced, then just scoffed and looked away as Lee's shout heard .
"4th Gate... GATE OF PAIN... OPEN!"
Lee's skin was now a dark, bruised red, steam hissing off his body as violent chakra swirled around him. But Lee wasn't satisfied. He crouched low, a roar ripping from his throat.
"NOT ENOUGH! 5th Gate... GATE OF LIMIT... OPEN!"
Even Kakashi's eyes went wide. He looked at Guy's student with genuine astonishment. (What an incredible kid... effort alone couldn't & didn't make this happen.)
The entire tower felt the vibration. The air itself seemed to tremble under the weight of Lee's power, his veins bulging like they were about to pop. Seeing Lee ready to go, Naruto decided it was time for the finishing touch.
[Wind Release: Soot Cloud Jutsu]
Suddenly, Naruto and his army of clones vanished into a thick, oily GRAY smoke that swallowed the spike forest. The crowd groaned in frustration.
"Hey! How are we supposed to see the match now?!"
"Are you serious? This is some coward stuff!"
Naruto used his MindHub to sync with his Shadow Clones, broadcasting Lee's exact location using his chakra sensing and Kagura's Mindeye.
(Once those Gates are open, Lee, you're basically a ticking time bomb,) Naruto thought, feeling a bit guilty.
( You either win in that tiny window of time and make your enemy explode , or you explode yourself .... Even stopping midway leaves you crippled. That's why this is a Forbidden Jutsu...)
Opening just 5 Gates doesn't make you some Supehuman , so that you can disregard shuriken and Kunai , The Body takes all the pressure and may break in middle , another reason why Naruto made those Earth spikes as thick as pillar . If In that state Lee tried to bruteforce Then his body may break first before finding Main Body .
Naruto locked onto Lee's chakra signature, apologizing silently. (.....With only Taijutsu, how are you going to tell the difference between me and the clones in this maze of stone and smoke? 5th gate can't punch the air, Lee.)
Lee stared at the dark cloud of smoke in front of him. "Huh?"
But He didn't hesitate. He launched himself into the forest with terrifying speed, the floor beneath him shattering into dust. But the moment he hit the smoke, he came face-to-face with a massive, pointed earth spike.
BOOM!
Lee smashed it out of the way, the shockwave clearing a small pocket of smoke, but it just swirled back into place instantly. Lee realized he'd only destroyed a tiny fraction of one pillar, and there were dozens more surrounding him.
(...What is this?!)
Lee knew he was on the clock. He could crush the pillars, sure, but that would waste the precious stamina he needed to finish Naruto. He decided to navigate the "maze" instead, but his 5th Gate speed was so explosive that it was actually a handicap. He couldn't make the tight turns needed to stay at full speed & and he is not some tank either who can bulldoze thorugh it .
( ..... My control over my increased speed and strength In 5th gate is diminished ....explosive dashes are ok ....but this kind of situation forces me to limit my speed and also the momentum )
Suddenly, Lee saw 'Naruto.' Without a second thought, Lee threw a full-power fist.
*Puff*
"Huh?"
The clone dispersed into smoke, and a cold sweat broke out on Lee's back. Suddenly, more Narutos appeared from the soot cloud, all of them giving him a thumbs-up and a sparkling white-teeth smile.
"YOUTH!" "YOUTH!" "YOUTH!" X 100
A hundred voices echoed through the maze. Lee jumped onto the top of a pillar, looking down at the dense forest of stone and smoke. He bit his lip, trying to find a solution.
(I can't waste my time & stamina one by one.... I'll just clear the whole field with this )
Lee grabbed all twelve explosion tags from his pouch and hurled them in every direction.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The smoke finally cleared, and the crowd got a good look at the arena. They were flabbergasted. Rock Lee—the "Green Beast"—was huffing and puffing, his skin a deep scarlet. The explosions had cleared the smoke, but the field was still a mess of pillars, and every single one was covered in Naruto clones looking at him with genuine appreciation.
Naruto's main body watched from the shadows. He used this strategy not just to win, but to teach Lee a hard lesson. Lee had become arrogant because nobody his age could match his 8 Gates speed, but that advantage disappears the second you face a Ninjutsu specialist who knows how to use basic tricks to toy with a pure Taijutsu fighter.
Technically against Genins it's an advantage but against Chunins , the gap shortens very fast . an experienced one may even toy with one easily .
(Sorry, Lee, but you need to see this now rather than later ) Naruto thought. He signaled his clones.
"Not bad, Lee!"
"But who's the real one?"
"Can your body even hold out until you find me?"
" Feel My YOuth "
Forty-five clones spoke in perfect sync. Lee looked at their feet, trying to spot shadows. (.....Basic clones don't have shadows... but why do ALL of these have shadows?!)
It was like a bucket of ice water to the face. He couldn't even tell which one was real, let alone hit him.
(Is this a real shinobi fight? Tactics, traps, treachery... doing anything to win?)
Suddenly, a wave of agony ripped through Lee's muscles. He was running out of time. He couldn't just stand there. If he gave up now, he'd be letting down Guy-sensei and his own ninja way.
(Forget it.... I'll just hit every single one of them!)
Lee blurred into motion again.
Thwack!
Thump!
Bang!
Lee began systematically destroying clones, but Naruto's army wasn't going to make it easy.
As Lee lunged for one group, a clone performed a quick [Wind Release: Breakthrough], blowing a gust of air that didn't hurt Lee but knocked him slightly off-balance mid-air, forcing him to waste extra energy to correct his landing.
"Over here!" another clone shouted, throwing an explosion tag at Lee's feet. Lee flicked his body away to dodge the blast, only to realize the tag was a dud—it was just a piece of paper with "Youth!" written on it. He'd wasted a massive burst of speed to dodge nothing.
Another pair of clones used
[ Earth release : Earth Flow River ], coating a small patch of the ground in sticky Mud , Lee's foot hit it for a microsecond, dragging his momentum down and forcing his muscles to work twice as hard to break free.
Suddenly Three Naruto's clone actually engaged him in Taijutsu, parrying a blow and then immediately using Body Flicker to swap places with a fallen earth of the earth spikes , leaving Lee to punch solid rock. Every time Lee dodged a "trap" or parried a "feint," his heart rate climbed higher, and his 5th Gate began to flicker.
Suddenly The Shadow Clones that were far from lee , made hand seals and then
[ Earth Release : Earth Spikes ]
The crowd watched as the earth spike rose again and coverd the field again ,The are where lee cleared with tags was once again filled with earth spikes , and soon New Naruto's shadow clone came around lee and started making him busy .
( .....*sigh* I feel Bad Doing this .....but everything's for Greater Good ) Naruto's main body used Kagura's mind Eye and his clones senses to see lee's predicment .
Winning against lee , by any means , and at his 100% , doen't mean Naruto himself will also use his 100% and expose his cards or anything more , The goal was to defeat lee and Teach him a lesson and respect all shinobi's and even his enemies .
and using this strtergy to humiliate or to make show Lee's own shortcoming was the best way .
Naruto wasn't trying to beat him with these moves; he was just making Lee "busy." He was forcing Lee to react, to dodge, and to burn through his dwindling stamina until the Eight Gates inevitably shut themselves down.
And just like that, the Youthful fire of the Eighth Gates finally flickered out. The surge of chakra that had been keeping Lee's body together stopped as suddenly as a severed wire, and reality hit him like a ton of bricks.
Lee started wobbling, his legs turning to jelly, and even the simple act of standing on his own two feet seemed like a mountain he couldn't climb.
( It's over .....*sigh* )
Seeing his friend reach his limit, Naruto let out a small sigh and started walking over to put an end to the match. But Lee wasn't done being incredible. In a desperate, near-miraculous display of willpower, he forced his body back into the 3rd Gate for one final, explosive ambush. His fist moved with everything he had left, and connected with Naruto's face—
PUFF
The air hissed as the "Naruto", Lee just punched dispersed into a cloud of white smoke.
The entire tower went dead silent. There was no mockery, no cheering, and no one calling Naruto a coward for using decoys.
( Alas ) X Crowd
Instead, there was just pure, unadulterated shock because everyone realized they had just watched a powerhouse like Rock Lee get absolutely toyed with. It was a tactical eclipse; Lee had given everything—literally his life force—and he couldn't even locate the main body.
Forget the Genin; even the Chunin and Jonin watching from the sidelines were struggling to think of a quick solution to the way Naruto was manipulating the battlefield with his absurd chakra reserves.
( .....Time to finish this ) Naruto thought as he made his clones move .
What followed was a beatdown that was hard to watch. Despite losing his trump card, Lee's spirit refused to break, and he tried to swing again & again
Tried to get up again & again
But every time, he was surrounded by at least 20 Naruto clones. Five of them were up close, delivering ruthless sequence of strikes, while the other fifteen just stood in a circle, watching the whole thing with a calm, cold indifference .
Thwack!
"Urgghhh..."
Thump!
"Arghhh..."
Bang!
"Gahh..."
The crowd watched the Green Beast get pummeled, and they watched him drag himself back up again and again. They saw effort meeting the cold wall of futility. It felt like déjà vu, a brutal echo of the Kunoichi duel earlier where one blonde had dismantled another.
But this time, the silence was different. No one had the heart to mock Lee.
Why? Because Rock Lee was undeniably stronger than 90% of the people in that room, and yet, facing Uzumaki Naruto, Forget Lee , even they didn't feel a single flicker of hope for victory themselves.
Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru were dead serious, their minds racing.
Dosu from the Sound and Temari and Kankuro from the Sand were visibly shaken.
Even Gaara was locked in, his focus intense and his thoughts Unkonwn.
The raw prowess and the monstrous chakra Naruto had displayed left every Genin and Chunin in the building feeling completely outclassed.
Seeing Lee try to wobble to his feet one more time, Naruto finally decided enough was enough. The wall of clones parted as the main body slowly stepped out from behind one of his jagged earth spikes.
Naruto stood in front of his friend—a man whose body had already failed him but was still being dragged forward by pure, stubborn will. But Naruto knew the harsh truth: in the grand finale of the shinobi world, if Uzumaki Naruto didn't have Kurama or the Sage's power, willpower alone wouldn't change the result.
( will ALONE can not change everything .....this is the reality of this cursed world )
Seeing Lee still conscious, Naruto decided to drop some final words before the finishing it .
"Lee," Naruto said, his voice echoing in the rafters.
"...huf..f...huff./.."
"Let me tell you something, and I really hope you remember these words," Naruto continued as the crowd leaned in, hanging on every syllable of the Blonde
"Your enemy will fight you with their strongest... not yours."
"....huff... Is... huff... that so?" Lee wheezed.
"And," Naruto added, leaning in closer, "your enemy will always target your weakness."
"...*huff*....Huh?? Wha—"
[Genjutsu: Binding Paralysis]
Suddenly, Lee's world froze. He felt his limbs turn to lead, his body refusing to respond to his brain's commands. With his physical and mental defenses shattered, Lee's balance vanished.
Naruto watched as Lee fell forward, face-first toward the floor with zero resistance. Having a low score in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu didn't just mean Lee couldn't use them; it meant he had no resistance to them.
It was his ultimate Achilles' heel.
its not that Lee is totally helpless , as long he uses his speed so which Genjutsu user can't lock on him or uses & opens First gate located in brain , Lee is almost Immune to these Genjutsus unless a Jonins Makes a move .
( but right now? No chance )
The crowd watched in a daze as Naruto used a basic D-rank Genjutsu to finish the legendary Green Beast. Then, Naruto leisurely pulled a kunai from his pouch and tossed it. The blade whistled through the air, cutting a few strands of Lee's bowl-cut hair before thudding into the stone ground right next to his head—pinning him there without a scratch.
Naruto glanced over at Gekko Hayate and gave him a silent nod. Hayate, catching the hint immediately, stepped forward and looked down at the unconscious Lee.
"The winner of the final round of the preliminaries is.... Uzumaki Naruto!"
Even with the declaration, the tower remained under a spell of silence. His friends didn't cheer. No one moved. They were all replaying the match in their heads: the Ninjutsu, the Taijutsu, the masterful tactics, the crushing chakra, and finally, the Genjutsu.
And Naruto had done all of that while "injured" and using only one hand against an opponent who was basically a human hurricane.
As the Genin stood there wondering how someone their age could be this monstrously powerful, the Chunin were doubting reality itself, and the Jonin were left deeply impressed.
Naruto didn't say another word; he just turned and walked back toward the stands in a silence without caring for any cheer , despite being the Winner .
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Author's notes :
Well , I am sorry if you felt disappointed at these cheap tactics but Our Mc is someone who uses his brain .....mostly .
And with everything in front and clear , if he didn;t use it then , he is just a fool , that's why I wrote that defeating Lee at His 100 % ( meaning in 5th gate ) doesn;t mean NAruto will go all out either .
The Limited time of 8 Gates is it's biggest bane , Naruto utilising it and not confronting Lee was to show his mind and also his nature to win at any cost .
and the cost , never giving his life or showing his cards as much as possible , never taking any loss of any kind ,
If there is easy way... why chose the hard way . Just Shadow clone and earth jutsu to finish it . mainly 5th gate though .
Well that's all .
Also the skill suggestions were good but not compatible with central tower Sign-in location reward theme , i will still utilise some in future though .
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