Even after all these years, he still could not claim to have grasped the basics of the hand-to-hand combat techniques Xia Le had created.
Hand-to-hand combat really was not his strong suit.
"You and your student are both lunatics!"
Kakashi sighed.
"Hahahaha! See that, Kakashi?"
"Lee's strength won't let all his hard work go to waste!"
Guy planted his hands on his hips and laughed.
A moment later, he abruptly stopped laughing, his voice turning low.
"You'll see soon enough."
"The power of the Eight Gates combined with the Six Powers!"
At those words, Kakashi turned sharply toward Guy, his face filled with shock.
Then Kakashi turned back to look at the arena.
Lee was stepping rapidly through the air, closing in on Gaara.
He moved so fast that he was overhead almost instantly, then plunged down.
But just then, Gaara's eyes sharpened. Standing on the ground, he spread his right hand and swept it sharply outward.
Whoosh!
Sand surged like the wind, rushing into the sky toward Lee.
He swiftly dodged it and closed in on Gaara.
Both his feet lashed out in a relentless barrage.
"Tempest Kick: Storm!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
In an instant, a vast barrage of slashing attacks howled downward, engulfing Gaara.
Gaara's pupils contracted. He spread his hands, and the sand on the ground shuddered violently before swiftly wrapping around him to form a shield.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
An unbroken series of explosions erupted as the storm of slashes hammered the sand.
"There was a time when I thought my life held no hope!"
"I had no talent for ninjutsu. All I could do was work hard to make this body stronger."
"Countless times, I worked until I passed out. Countless times, I worked until I couldn't move."
"All that sweat, all those