[ A/N: Hey Everyone!
So, about the Gaara vs. Lee fight—I decided to keep it mostly faithful to the original, just added my own little flavor here and there. 💥 I mean, come on… this was the fight that made us all fall in love with early Naruto, right? The emotion, the animation, the taijutsu madness—it's legendary. I couldn't bring myself to change it.
Now, about the late release—yeah, I know 😅In the last A/N, I asked whether I should keep dropping 3 chapters a day or slow it down to 1 or 2… but I didn't get any responses. Not even one.
So I was kinda stuck thinking, "Should I wait? Should I keep going?"That's why today's update was a bit delayed. Just being real with you all.
I'm doing this story with love—and I really want your feedback. So before we hit 150 chapters (and trust me, we're gonna get there 👊), please drop a comment, let me know what you think. Even a single word means a lot. 💚
Let's grow this story together! ]
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The second match ended without a victor.Both Neji and Tenten, drained and unmoving, were gently carried off the field and laid to rest for medical attention. There was no celebration—only awe. A draw that screamed of strength and willpower.
Now, it was time for the third match.
A hush fell over the arena. All eyes turned to the battlefield. This wasn't just a match—this was the match.
Gaara vs Rock Lee
On one side stood the stoic enigma of Sunagakure, arms folded, eyes heavy with indifference. Gaara didn't even bother to assume a stance. It was as if the outcome was already carved into stone—his stone. No tension, no readiness. Just chilling calm, like the eye of a storm.
On the other side, Lee cracked his knuckles, eyes burning like green fire. Determination radiated from every inch of him. There was no trace of doubt.
He was the shinobi who couldn't use ninjutsu. Couldn't use genjutsu.But he could fight.
And today, he would prove that pure hard work could match even the monsters born of sand and chakra.
He bowed with respect, the kind only Lee could give.Then, with clenched fists, he declared silently through his gaze:"I'll win... no matter what it takes."
Might Guy stood above, arms crossed, the sun catching the shine of his legendary bowl cut. He wasn't just a teacher. He was a flame. A blazing fire of passion and taijutsu that had lit the torch Lee now carried into this storm.
It was because of him—because of Might Guy—that Rock Lee was even able to stand tall in a world that had turned its back on shinobi like him.
"Lee!" Guy called out, raising his clenched fist high, a beacon of ridiculous inspiration. "Show them the true power of youth!"
"Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee shouted back, that iconic sparkle in his eyes shining brighter than the sun itself.
He dropped into his stance—low, sharp, precise. Every muscle coiled like a spring.
Hayate Gekko, with his signature raspy cough, raised his hand and called,"Begin."
Lee didn't wait.
He blurred forward in a flash of green, dust exploding behind him.His first kick tore through the air toward Gaara's head—
But it didn't connect.
Without so much as blinking, Gaara's sand spilled out of his gourd like a living creature. It twisted upward, blocking the kick effortlessly.
Lee flipped back, eyes narrowing.
Gaara hadn't moved.
Not a twitch. Not a blink. Arms still folded, expression unchanged.
It was like kicking a wall that didn't even acknowledge you existed.
But Lee wasn't shaken.No, he was just getting started.
Lee threw kicks, punches, even spins from every angle—left, right, above, behind. But no matter where he struck, the sand moved before Gaara did. It blocked everything. Like it wasn't just reacting—it was alive, acting on its own will. A guardian born from malice and instinct.
Even when Lee tried to catch Gaara off guard from behind, the sand curled up like a snake and blocked it effortlessly.
Naruto, watching from the stands, didn't even blink.This fight... this fight was everything.
He remembered watching this battle in his previous life. It was the moment so many fell in love with Naruto. Not just the character—the entire series.
He'd cheered for Lee. Felt the fire in his punches. The agony in his struggle.
But in Shippuden, he couldn't help but feel let down.Both Gaara and Lee—so full of potential—felt nerfed, just so the main characters could shine brighter.And don't even get started on Boruto. Everyone got nerfed.Not powered down—nerfed into oblivion.
He clenched his fist.Maybe… maybe this time, in this world, things would be different.
The fight raged on—Lee on the offensive, relentless and blazing with youthful energy, while Gaara just stood still, arms folded, letting the sand do all the work.To the crowd, it looked one-sided.
But in Lee's mind, a storm was brewing.Should I open the gates?Or… is there another way?
He hesitated. Torn.
Then, like a bolt of lightning, Guy's voice rang out—his voice always cutting through doubt like a kunai through silk.
"Lee! Release it all!"
Lee looked back, surprised.
"But Guy-sensei… you said I should only use it when my friends are in danger…"
Guy raised his fist, eyes burning with pride.
"Yes. But now—show them your youth."
Lee nodded, understanding in his eyes.
"Yes, Sensei."
He calmly leapt onto a nearby stone pillar, sitting cross-legged like a monk about to enter battle meditation.
Naruto muttered under his breath, grinning:
"Here it comes…"
Lee rolled up his pant legs.Unstrapped the weights around his ankles.The crowd blinked in confusion. Just weights? Really?
But Naruto's grin only widened.He knew what was coming.
Lee dropped the weights.
BOOM.
The entire stadium shook.The ground cracked.Dust exploded into the air like a bomb went off.
Even Gaara, stoic and unmoved until now, visibly flinched.His eyes widened in shock—his first emotion in the entire match.
The entire arena stared in disbelief."What… what did they put on that kid?" someone whispered.
Even the usually composed Kakashi sighed, shaking his head with a crooked smile.
"Typical Guy…"
Lee stood up, newly light, as if his body was made of wind.
He took a step.Then vanished.
He appeared behind Gaara, foot raised in a blur—kick!
The sand couldn't keep up.
Another blur. Another kick. Another dodge. Lee was everywhere.He blitzed Gaara's sand defense like it was nothing.
For the first time in forever—Gaara looked afraid.
His eyes—usually cold, lifeless—shimmered with shock and panic.
From the stands, Kankuro was frozen.This… this wasn't supposed to happen.When they came to the Chūnin Exams, they expected an easy win.
But Konoha kept pulling wild cards.One team already passed ahead of them.Temari lost badly, without even balance in the fight.And now… now a kid who couldn't even use ninjutsu or genjutsu was breaking Gaara's ultimate defense.
Then it happened.
A clean kick. Right to Gaara's face.
SMACK.
Gaara's body flew.The sand couldn't stop it.The undefeated warrior of the Sand—hit the ground.
The crowd was silent.
Gaara slowly rose from the ground, a rare sight—his composure shattered.But more than that, his face...It wasn't bleeding.It was cracking.
Like stone breaking.Like something unnatural coming undone.
That's when they realized—He'd been wearing an armor of sand.
Not just a floating shield. Not a defensive cocoon.But a second skin. A solid shell of chakra-infused sand, layered across his entire body.
And now it was falling apart—shards dropping like broken pottery.The invincible boy of the Sand had been hit so hard, his armor gave way.
His eyes burned with rage, twisted with something feral.No more standing still.No more letting the sand defend him.
This time, Gaara attacked.
He raised a single hand—fingers curled, clawed like a predator.
The sand moved—not floating, not drifting, but lunging.
It shot towards Lee like a living beast, a wave of suffocating death.
Lee tried to dodge, flipping, rolling, launching from pillar to pillar like a green blur.
But the sand was faster now. It adapted, coiled, cornered him.
Then—CRACK.
It caught him.
Like jaws snapping shut.
The sand engulfed his entire body, wrapping him head to toe like a tomb.
The crowd gasped. Some turned away.It was over… wasn't it?
Even Naruto tensed up, fist clenched.
Gaara's eyes gleamed. The predator had caught its prey.
But then—
BOOM.
The sand exploded outward in all directions.Chunks flew like shrapnel, a shockwave rippling through the arena.
And there, at the center—
Lee stood.
Not crushed.Not even scratched.
His body glowing with vibrant green chakra, pulsing like a wildfire.His fists trembling—not from fear, but from the power now flowing through him.
The very air warped around him.His skin flushed. His muscles flexed beyond normal limits.
His eyes had changed.
No longer wide-eyed and youthful.
But fierce. Determined. Deadly.
Kakashi's visible eye widened.Guy's smile faded into awe.
"He's opened the Hachimon…"
Rock Lee had activated the Hachimon.
One… two… maybe more.
And now, he wasn't just fast.He was beyond speed.A green hurricane. A force of will made flesh.
Even Gaara—yes, even Gaara—took a step back.
He opened the Fourth Gate: Shōmon.The Gate of Pain.
But for Lee—pain wasn't a warning.It was permission.
A roaring surge of chakra exploded from his body like a green typhoon.The arena rumbled. Even the air felt heavier.
His veins bulged, his skin glowed with life and fury.
This wasn't just chakra—It was pure willpower, unfiltered and unleashed.
Lee didn't move.He vanished.
"Let's have Round Two," he whispered—And then he was gone.