Magnet Release: Sand Shigure!
As Gaara formed hand seals, the sand around him instantly condensed into a claw resembling Shukaku's, reaching for Lee, clearly intending to crush him.
"Is this his Ninjutsu? What a huge claw!"
Seeing the giant claw flying towards him, Lee pushed off the ground with both feet, darting to the side.
The sand hand slammed heavily into the ground, instantly creating a large pit.
The spectators in the plaza gasped, the power of this attack could probably easily shatter even rocks.
Seeing his attack miss, Gaara's killing intent grew stronger.
Magnet Release: Consecutive Sand Shigure!
The sand hand instantly disintegrated, transforming into hundreds of spherical sand bullets that shot towards Lee like a machine gun. The sand bullets tore through the air, emitting sharp "whooshing" sounds, and even the nearby stones were riddled with holes.
Tenten anxiously shouted, "Lee, quickly hide in the trees!"
Lee immediately leaped up, climbing rapidly by stepping on the tree trunk. The dense sand bullets peppered the trunk, sending wood chips flying, and the trunk was instantly riddled like a sieve.
But before Lee could stabilize himself, Gaara formed hand seals again.
Magnet Release: Quicksand Waterfall Flow!
The ground suddenly vibrated violently. Centered on Gaara, the land for tens of meters around instantly turned into quicksand. Trees and rocks began to slowly sink, being swallowed by the earth.
"This is bad, his Ninjutsu has such a large range, even the trees are being pulled underground."
Lee's expression changed. The quicksand's suction grew stronger and stronger, making it impossible for him to stay in the trees. He could only leap down and charge towards Gaara.
A violent killing intent flashed in Gaara's eyes as he formed hand seals.
Magnet Release: Sand Binding Prison!
The quicksand instantly transformed into a giant sand net, enveloping Lee from all directions. The capture range covered the entire quicksand area, leaving nowhere to hide.
"Gaara is really strong, it seems I have to get serious!"
Lee's eyes sharpened, and the Chakra around him began to burn wildly.
"Eight Inner Gates: First Gate... Second Gate... Sixth Gate: Gate of View, open!"
Green Chakra erupted from his body, his speed instantly increasing several times. He narrowly dodged the sand net's embrace, while accelerating towards Gaara.
He threw dozens of punches at Gaara, each punch accompanied by a sound of tearing air.
"The Sand Shield was broken... The Sand Armor was also broken... Ouch..."
Gaara's pupils contracted sharply. He instinctively manipulated the sand, forming a thick sand shield in front of him. But Lee's punches were much faster than he imagined. Only a series of loud "bang, bang, bang" sounds could be heard.
The second sand shield was instantly covered in cracks and completely shattered in less than two seconds. This punch was aimed directly at Gaara's face.
"This is impossible, how can he be so fast!" Gaara roared, forming hand seals.
Magnet Release: Desert Wave!
A large amount of sand instantly enveloped him, forming a giant sand ball, known as perfect defense.
Lee's punches slammed into the sand ball. The force was dispersed by the sand, emitting a dull thud, but it was unable to break through this defense.
Lee quickly leaped back a few steps, creating distance between them. He was panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat. The previous battle had consumed a lot of his stamina, but his opponent had endured.
"This won't do. It seems I have to use my trump card."
He took a deep breath, and a faint golden Natural Energy began to emanate from his body.
Sage Mode: Activate!
Senjutsu Chakra strengthened his body, further increasing his strength and speed, and his aura instantly became more stable and powerful.
Sage Art: Morning Phoenix!
This time, Lee unleashed hundreds of fist-shaped flames. These flames actually condensed into a magnificent flaming Phoenix with outstretched wings, charging towards the spherical sand ball with a world-destroying aura.
Seeing the enemy's offensive, Gaara's eyes became much clearer.
With a loud "boom," the flaming Phoenix collided with the spherical sand ball. The flames instantly engulfed the sand ball, and the Desert Wave, known as perfect defense, was actually split in half, scattering sand everywhere.
The spectators in the plaza were instantly dumbfounded, and Rasa even stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"This... What kind of move is this... It can even break through the Desert Wave, which is called perfect defense?"
The high-ranking officials of various countries also showed shocked expressions.
Such combat power was nothing like a Genin. Even a Jonin might not be able to withstand this attack.
When Kankuro saw the Desert Wave being broken, his heart skipped a beat, and he was fortunate that Gaara's body wasn't exposed.
It turned out that just as the flaming Phoenix was about to hit the spherical sand ball, Gaara had secretly burrowed underground, thus avoiding this fatal blow.
Neji activated his Byakugan, clearly seeing Gaara moving rapidly underground, and immediately shouted to Lee, "Lee, he's hidden underground! The quicksand area is still expanding. If we keep fighting, we'll be constrained by him! Let's go to the Mist Fortress and complete the mission first!"
Looking at the empty ground, Lee took a deep breath and deactivated Sage Mode and Eight Inner Gates.
The Chakra around him instantly weakened, and a wave of fatigue washed over him.
"Damn it... I'm still not strong enough. If it were Neji, Gaara probably wouldn't have escaped."
Lee gritted his teeth, and finally retreated to Neji's side.
"Alright, let's go to the fortress first."
...
In the darkness underground, Gaara was curled up, his chest heaving violently, cold sweat sliding down his cheeks, mixing with dirt and sticking to his skin.
"Why... Why is it like this again..." He murmured in a low voice, full of unwillingness and confusion.
The consciousness of Shukaku stirred within him, but the previous rage was gone, replaced by a hint of weak mockery. "Useless. Can't even beat a human, and has to rely on hiding underground to save his life. You really are trash."
"Konoha... Rock Lee... I won't just let this go..."
Gaara uttered the name, complex emotions flashing in his eyes: anger, unwillingness, and a hint of relief at being alive.
The power of that flaming Phoenix still left him with lingering fear. If he had been one second slower, he would probably have turned to ashes.
He took a deep breath, forced himself to get up, leaned against the cold earth, and slowly recovered his stamina.
"Shukaku, if you don't want people to call you trash and useless, lend me your power. Next time I meet him, I must win."
The spectators in the plaza, however, erupted into an uproar, with discussions rising and falling.
"This is the Chunin Exams? These two are practically monsters!"
"Rock Lee's Morning Phoenix is too terrifying, and that flaming Phoenix, even a Jonin would die if they encountered it, right?"
Rasa stood in place, muttering to himself, "It's over. Can't even beat a Taijutsu ninja, and almost became an out-of-control madman. What good is a Jinchuriki like this?"
