Naruto vs. Rock Lee

Naruto vs. Rock Lee

Rock Lee immediately ran toward Naruto. He leaped into the air.

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

Rock Lee tried to kick Naruto. Naruto raised his right hand and blocked the kick.

The moment Rock Lee landed, he charged at Naruto at tremendous speed, and the two began an intense taijutsu exchange.

As the battle continued, Rock Lee suddenly broke through Naruto's defenses. He crouched down.

"Leaf Rising Wind!" He tried to strike Naruto with an upward kick, but Naruto managed to flip away.

As Naruto flipped, he tried to sweep Rock Lee's legs, but Rock Lee jumped away.

The instant Rock Lee landed, he vanished with lightning speed. Naruto looked around until he sensed Rock Lee above him. He looked up just in time to block a powerful aerial kick. Naruto quickly grabbed his leg and threw him toward the ground. Rock Lee spun through the air and landed steadily.

"Your taijutsu is really impressive, Naruto-kun. As expected of my eternal rival." Rock Lee spoke through tears.

This time, Naruto took the initiative and charged at Rock Lee. He threw a punch, which Rock Lee easily dodged, but that was exactly what Naruto wanted. As Rock Lee avoided his fist, Naruto planted a hand on the ground and trapped Rock Lee's head between his legs. With a fierce twist, he hurled Rock Lee toward the wall.

"Amazing!" Might Guy marveled at Naruto's precise movement. Thank goodness his student was still alive.

"I didn't expect you to use a technique like that, Naruto-kun." Rock Lee got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Rock Lee, take them off!" Might Guy shouted from the balcony.

Rock Lee smiled at those words. He sat on the ground and removed the sandbags beneath his orange leg warmers.

"Just reducing some weight won't make much difference," Sakura said. She watched as Rock Lee took off the sandbags and dropped them to the ground, making everyone shudder.

"Might Guy, aren't you going a little too far?" Kakashi asked. Might Guy gave a disdainful smile.

"Alright, now I can move freely." Rock Lee vanished as soon as he finished speaking.

Before Naruto could even blink, Rock Lee was already in front of him. A heavy punch struck Naruto in the face and knocked him to the ground.

Naruto slowly got back up, but Rock Lee had already appeared beside him and kicked him in the stomach, slamming him into the wall. As Naruto slowly rose again, Rock Lee appeared beside him once more. Rock Lee crouched down and kicked him into the air.

Before Naruto could react, he found himself airborne. He blinked just in time to see Rock Lee leap up and kick him down, smashing him heavily into the concrete. The floor cracked, and dust billowed into the air.

"That speed is astonishing," Kakashi said.

"Unbelievable, I couldn't see anything," Sakura said.

Why can't my Sharingan keep up with that speed? He's nothing but a blurry shadow. Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"Looks like Naruto's finished," Asuma said.

Naruto slowly rose to his feet. He dusted himself off and looked at his shredded jacket.

Naruto raised his right hand and formed half a tiger hand seal. "Gravity Seal, release!" His entire body gradually began to glow, then the light faded.

"Rock Lee, you're not the only one who trains with weights." Naruto rushed at Rock Lee at a dazzling speed. Before Rock Lee could react, Naruto seemed to imitate his technique, driving a punch directly into his face and knocking him to the ground.

The two launched into an intense close-range battle. To the genin watching, they were nothing more than blurred figures at such speed. Their attacks were powerful enough to shatter any bone completely.

Every punch and kick they threw was blocked by the other, sending shockwaves through the entire arena.

Rock Lee vanished in a burst of speed and quickly appeared behind Naruto, throwing a punch. Naruto caught the fist with both hands, pulled Rock Lee in front of him, then kicked him in the stomach. Rock Lee seemed completely unaffected.

"Just as I expected, I'm faster, but you're stronger," Naruto said.

"Just as I thought." Rock Lee regained his balance and untied the bandages around his arms. After vanishing, he quickly appeared beside Naruto, drove his knee into Naruto's stomach, and kicked him into the air.

Rock Lee's bandages rapidly unwound and wrapped around Naruto. Rock Lee seized Naruto, and the two began spinning rapidly as they plummeted toward the ground.

"Front Lotus!"

Boom!

Rock Lee slammed Naruto into the ground, leaving behind a massive crater much larger than before as enormous shockwaves rang out around them.

When the dust settled, Naruto lay on the ground.

Naruto barely managed to stand. As he climbed out of the crater, he rolled his neck and dusted off his clothes. Everyone wore shocked expressions.

"You can still stand?" Rock Lee asked. His teacher had forbidden that move because it inflicted too much damage on the muscles.

"I reinforced my body with chakra to lessen the impact, but even so, it hurt like hell." Naruto prepared to continue the attack.

"It's time to show you the true power of my taijutsu."

Rock Lee rushed toward him and said,

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

Naruto already knew that move. Seeing the kick come at him, he slammed his elbow into Rock Lee's leg.

Rock Lee flipped over in pain and fell to the ground, clutching his leg.

"Sorry, Rock Lee, but my taijutsu style targets the weak points of the human body. I didn't use much force just now, or your leg would've broken. Surrender. I don't want to hurt you," Naruto said.

"I can't give up. Might Guy-sensei, please forgive me for having to do this." Rock Lee stood up. He crossed his hands over his chest in an X.

Naruto watched as Rock Lee's veins bulged and his skin began to turn red.

"Rock Lee, you can't do this," Naruto said.

"I can't give up, because this is my ninja way," Rock Lee said.

"Gate of Opening, open!" Rock Lee said, the veins beneath his skin becoming even more visible.

"Gate of Healing, open!" Rock Lee said, his skin beginning to redden.

"Gate of Life, open!" Rock Lee said, a green aura beginning to form around him.

"Gate of Pain, open!" Rock Lee said.

"Gate of Limit, open!" Rock Lee said, as the air began to swirl around him from the enormous amount of chakra he released.

"You taught him to open those gates?" Kakashi said. "Are you insane?" he asked.

"Don't say that. He can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu. Taijutsu is all he has," Might Guy replied.

"I can see the chakra around his body. This is incredible." Sakura stared in amazement at the power radiating from Rock Lee.

"Kakashi-sensei, I want you to teach me that," Sasuke said.

"Absolutely not. It's extremely dangerous. There are eight gates in the human body. If all of them are opened, you'll temporarily gain power beyond Kage level, but afterward, you'll die," Kakashi explained.

"Will Rock Lee die?" Sasuke asked.

"If you open the eighth and final gate, you'll die. However, if your body can't withstand the strain of the lower gates, it's just as easy to die," Kakashi explained. Sasuke snorted.

"You really are incredible, Rock Lee. But I can't lose either. I promised to use only taijutsu, so I have no choice but to do this."

"Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, open!" Naruto said, erupting with an enormous amount of chakra.

"What?!" Kakashi shouted as he watched Naruto open five gates so easily.

"Kurenai Yuhi!" Kakashi began, "Did you teach him that?" Kakashi asked.

"No, I didn't know he could do that either."

"Relax. He knows what he's doing. Anyone can open these gates as long as they know their locations in the human body. I can open them too, up to four at most," Hinata said, and everyone stared at her in shock.

Kakashi swallowed and revealed his Sharingan, preparing to watch the coming battle.

Hinata smiled and shouted, "Go, Naruto!"

Naruto smiled in response to Hinata's enthusiasm.

"Kurama, get ready. I'm going all out." A smug grin appeared on Naruto's lips.

"Seriously, aren't you satisfied yet?" Kurama replied.

"Gate of View, Gate of Wonder, open!" Naruto said, a blue aura appearing around him.