"Konoha Whirlwind!"
With a roar brimming with youthful passion, Rock Lee traced a sharp arc through the air, his right leg sweeping viciously toward Gaara's head like a battle-axe, the wind howling around it!
The kick was so fast that it even left a faint afterimage in the air. An ordinary Genin faced with this sudden strike would have had their neck snapped on the spot.
Yet Gaara did not even lift his eyelids.
He still stood quietly in place, his arms folded across his chest, without the slightest ripple in his hollow eyes.
Just as Lee's leg was about to strike Gaara!
Whoosh!
A stream of fine yellow sand suddenly surged out of the enormous gourd on Gaara's back! As though alive, the sand moved at an incredible speed, instantly forming a solid sand shield beside Lee's leg and body!
Bam!
Lee's powerful kick slammed into the sand shield with a dull boom. The shield merely dented slightly before completely dissipating the force of his leg.
"What?!" His attack thwarted, Lee immediately used the rebound to flip backward, landing steadily several meters away. He stared in surprise at the sand that had defended automatically. "This guy didn't make any hand seals at all. The sand moved on its own?"
Up in the stands, Shengu Xuan yawned in boredom.
Automatically defending sand, infused with his mother's will? Sounds touching, but ultimately, it's nothing more than a low-level defense mechanism triggered passively. Against truly absolute speed and strength, this sand is as flimsy as paper, Shengu Xuan silently assessed.
He possessed the Dog Talisman's indestructibility, the Horse Talisman's healing, the Ox Talisman's strength, and the Rabbit Talisman's speed. In his eyes, Gaara's fighting style, which relied on external objects and a tailed beast's power, was riddled with openings.
The battle below continued.
Refusing to accept it, Lee attacked again. He moved around Gaara at high speed, unleashing punches, sweeping kicks, and elbow strikes like a raging storm. Every attack targeted Gaara's vital points.
Yet no matter which angle Lee attacked from, Gaara's sand always formed a shield first, blocking every strike perfectly.
Bam, bam, bam, bam!
The rapid impacts echoed through the arena. Lee was panting with exhaustion, his forehead covered in sweat, yet Gaara remained completely unscathed, without having moved so much as half a step.
"It's useless." Gaara looked coldly at Lee. "Your physical attacks can't break through my absolute defense. You're too weak."
As he spoke, Gaara slowly raised his right hand.
"Sand Binding Coffin!"
The sand on the ground instantly seethed, turning into several enormous sand pythons that opened their gaping maws and coiled toward Lee!
Lee paled in alarm and hurriedly used the Body Flicker Technique, frantically dodging as the sand pythons pursued him and cut off his escape routes. But the sand kept multiplying, its attacks covering an ever-wider area. Lee's room to maneuver steadily shrank, leaving him in constant peril.
"Damn it! This can't go on!" In the stands, Might Guy clenched his fists. Watching his beloved student being driven into a corner, a trace of resolve flashed through his eyes. "Lee! Take them off!"
Hearing those words amid his desperate struggle in the arena, Lee abruptly raised his head, his eyes lighting up with delighted surprise.
"Guy-sensei! Can I really?! Didn't you say I could only take those off when I was protecting someone important?"
Guy gave him a thumbs-up and flashed his signature gleaming smile. "It's fine! Now is the time to prove your youthful passion! Go! Lee!"
With permission granted, Lee immediately stopped dodging. He leaped onto an enormous statue at the edge of the arena, then slowly rolled up his pant legs.
Under everyone's gaze, Lee unfastened the weights strapped to his calves.
Thud! Thud!
Lee casually tossed down the two seemingly unremarkable weights.
BOOOOM!!!
The instant the weights hit the ground, the entire arena shook violently as though struck by an earthquake! Those two seemingly lightweight objects smashed two enormous craters, each over two meters across, into the hard flagstone floor! Clouds of dust shot skyward!
The entire arena instantly fell deathly silent.
Everyone stared at the two craters, dumbfounded, their jaws practically dropping to the floor.
"Y-you've got to be kidding! Bushy Brows was fighting with things that heavy strapped to him the whole time?!" Naruto stumbled back repeatedly in fright, looking at Lee atop the statue as though he were a monster.
Shengu Xuan raised an eyebrow, a glimmer of appreciation flashing through his eyes.
"Forcing out the body's potential through extreme weight training? The method is primitive, but that perseverance deserves recognition." Shengu Xuan stroked his chin. "Unfortunately, flesh is weak. The human body has limits. Training that drains your life force like this will ruin your body sooner or later."
Atop the statue, Lee felt lighter than ever with his weights removed.
He gave Gaara a confident smile.
"Now, here I come!"
The moment he finished speaking, Lee vanished from where he stood!
No afterimage, no sound of rushing air. He simply vanished into thin air!
"What?!" Gaara's pupils contracted sharply. His eyes could not track Lee's movements at all!
Bam!
In the instant Gaara froze, Lee had already appeared behind him and slammed a heavy punch into the back of his head!
Before Gaara's sand could even react, the tremendous force sent him stumbling several steps forward.
Bam, bam, bam, bam!
What followed was a completely one-sided slaughter by Lee!
With his weights removed, Lee's speed had surpassed the limits of the sand's automatic defense! He became a bolt of green lightning in the arena, unleashing a storm of attacks on Gaara from every direction!
Like a rag doll, Gaara was kicked back and forth through the air, completely unable to fight back. Under Lee's terrifying Taijutsu attacks, the Sand Armor he took such pride in began cracking and peeling away piece by piece.
"So fast! He's too fast! Even my Sharingan can barely follow his movements!" In the stands, Sasuke stared fixedly at Lee, filled with shock and frustration. "This guy I've always considered a dead last was hiding such terrifying strength!"
"Nice going, Bushy Brows! Beat that poser flat!" Naruto shouted excitedly.
Yet Shengu Xuan frowned slightly.
"He looks like he has the upper hand, but he hasn't actually inflicted any fatal injuries." Shengu Xuan's gaze pierced through the surface of the battle. "That guy with the gourd still has a layer of high-density Sand Armor covering his body. Lee's attacks may be fast, but they aren't powerful enough to break through that defense completely."
Sure enough, things went just as Shengu Xuan had predicted.
Knocked to the ground, Gaara slowly climbed to his feet. His formerly cold face was now covered in cracks, like shattered porcelain. His eyes, however, had become more frenzied and bloodthirsty than ever.
"Blood... my blood..." Gaara touched the cracks on his face and saw a streak of bright red on his fingertips.
It was the first time he had bled since birth!
"I'll kill you... I'll kill you!!" Gaara let out a beastlike roar, chakra erupting from his body like a volcano! The sand on the ground instantly became a terrifying sandstorm that engulfed the entire arena!
"This is bad! He's getting serious!" Kakashi's expression changed.
In the arena, Lee felt that suffocating killing intent. He knew ordinary Taijutsu could no longer defeat the monster before him.
He drew a deep breath and crossed his arms before his chest, his gaze becoming utterly resolute.
"Guy-sensei, it looks like I have to use that."
The chakra within Lee began surging wildly in reverse, battering the points in his body that restricted its flow!
"Eight Gates Release! First Gate, Gate of Opening, open! Second Gate, Gate of Healing, open! Third Gate, Gate of Life, open! Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain, open! Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit, open!!!"
With each of Lee's roars, his skin instantly turned red and his veins bulged. A visible wave of green chakra erupted from his body, forcibly scattering even the surrounding sandstorm!
"What... is that power?!" Everyone was horrified!
Even the Third Hokage rose to his feet in shock. "Guy! You actually taught him that forbidden technique?!"
"So this is... Eight Gates Release?" As Shengu Xuan watched Lee below, who resembled a blazing green flame, a trace of seriousness finally flashed through his eyes.
"Removing the human body's limits and forcibly squeezing the life force from its cells in exchange for hundreds or thousands of times more power. This fighting style burns life itself, seeking life through death..." A complicated smile curved Shengu Xuan's lips.
"It's foolish, but... I have to admit, it really is dazzling."
With five gates open, Lee's speed and strength had reached a horrifying level. He kicked Gaara high into the air, then unleashed his strongest finishing move!
"Reverse Lotus!"
In midair, Lee bound Gaara tightly with his bandages, then hurtled toward the ground with him at a terrifying speed beyond sound, crashing down like a falling meteor!
BOOOOOM!!!
The entire tower shook violently! An enormous meteor crater was blasted into the arena floor, and endless dust swallowed everything.
"Did he win?" Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at the deep crater.
The dust cleared.
Lee lay on the ground covered in blood. His muscles had been severely torn from overusing Eight Gates Release, and even moving a finger was difficult.
Not far from him, Gaara lay quietly on an enormous gourd-shaped cushion formed from sand. Although his Sand Armor had shattered completely, he had not suffered any fatal injuries.
At the last moment, Gaara had turned the sand in his gourd into a cushion, blocking the Reverse Lotus's fatal impact!
Gaara slowly raised his hand and aimed it at Lee, who lay on the ground.
"Sand Burial!"
The merciless sand instantly wound around Lee's left arm and left leg, then violently contracted!
Crack! Crack!
The chilling sound of shattering bones rang out. Lee let out an agonized scream and passed out on the spot.
"Stop!"
Might Guy instantly appeared in the arena, scattering the sand with a sweep of his hand and shielding Lee behind him. Looking at his beloved student's completely twisted left arm and left leg, his eyes filled with anguish and self-reproach.
The match ended. Gaara won.
The medical team quickly entered the arena and carried the gravely injured Lee away.
Watching Lee being carried away, Shengu Xuan shook his head slightly.
"A fleeting moment of glory bought by burning away your life ultimately can't overcome cruel reality. Flesh and blood are far too fragile." Shengu Xuan touched the spot over his heart, where the Dog Talisman's power slowly circulated, granting him eternal life and an Indestructible Body.
"Only immortality is the one path to truth."
With the final match over, the preliminaries officially came to a close.
The Third Hokage stood up, announced that the Third Official Exam would be held in a month, and dismissed everyone.
Shengu Xuan stretched, slipped his hands into his pockets, and prepared to leave this boring place.
"Xuan! Wait for me! Let's celebrate with Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto caught up from behind.
"Ramen? Forget it. I want something good today." Shengu Xuan curled his lip. "Let's go to Yakiniku Q. My treat."
"Awesome! You're the best, Xuan!" Naruto cheered and bounced with excitement.
The two walked out of the tower side by side, heading toward Konoha's bustling streets.
However, just as they were about to reach the entrance to Yakiniku Q...
A tall, sleazy middle-aged man with long white hair, wearing a red kimono and wooden sandals, suddenly darted out of a nearby alley, binoculars still in hand as he furtively looked around.
Bam!
Apparently not watching where he was going, the white-haired man walked straight into Shengu Xuan.
"Ow! My back!" the white-haired man cried out exaggeratedly, landing on his backside.
Shengu Xuan stopped and looked down at this man with his terrible acting, a mocking, amused sneer curling his lips.
"Hey, old man, at least pick a better place to stage an accident. Besides... that toad stench on you is getting to me."
Before you continue