Quite a few people thought Gaara had been taken down in a single move the moment the match started, but those with sharp eyes could tell the kid was still fine.
The Hokage, Raikage, and Mizukage remained expressionless.
Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage, mocked, "That Gaara is the Kazekage's youngest son, isn't he? He certainly looked imposing, but to be caught off guard like that... it seems his combat experience is rather lacking."
Rasa snorted.
"Hmph. He merely lost the initiative. Gaara will win."
"Is that so? Then I suppose I have something to look forward to."
Inside the arena, Hayate did not declare Lee the winner, because his opponent was already being lifted back to his feet by a mass of yellow sand.
Gaara felt his head buzzing, but he wasn't seriously injured. Only the skin on the right side of his face had cracked open, with sand constantly spilling from the fissures onto the ground.
Only then did many people realize that he had been wearing a layer of sand over his body the entire time, using it as armor to protect himself.
Gaara's emotions were clearly unstable. He hunched slightly, staring at the ground. His teeth trembled, his expression twisted, and he continuously muttered vicious words under his breath.
"I'll kill you... I'll definitely kill all of you!"
Lee didn't care.
Makoto had taught them long ago that the greatest respect one could show an opponent was to keep beating them until they were completely down.
He increased his speed once more and rushed in front of Gaara, throwing a fierce straight punch.
Whether Gaara had learned his lesson or his sand's autonomous defense had improved, a much thicker sand wall rose farther away from his body this time.
The moment the wall shattered beneath the tremendous force of Lee's punch, the sand hidden behind it transformed into a curtain and swept rapidly toward him.
Lee twisted aside and changed direction, avoiding the sand curtain while launching a continuous barrage of kicks around Gaara, moving so fast he was nearly a blur.
Gaara's Shield of Sand was shattered again and again, only to reform again and again.
Meanwhile, the sand curtain behind the shield reshaped itself under Gaara's control into a thick, flexible tentacle. It relentlessly chased after the constantly moving Lee, trying to catch the annoying fly buzzing around him.
One side continuously attacked while evading pursuit. The other remained rooted in place, defending while controlling the sand tentacle to counterattack.
After several exchanges, neither could do much to the other.
Gaara couldn't catch Lee, whose speed was simply too great.
Lee, meanwhile, couldn't break through Gaara's defensive perimeter and reach his actual body.
After shattering the sand shield once again, Lee performed several backward flips, widening the distance between them.
He knew this wasn't sustainable.
As a pure taijutsu specialist, he was at a disadvantage.
Before Gaara ran out of chakra, his own stamina would likely fail first.
His opponent could freely manipulate sand for defense, and the Sand Armor covering his body greatly reduced the force of Lee's attacks.
He needed to break through with even greater speed and deliver even more devastating blows.
From the spectator stands, Guy shouted loudly, "Lee, release yourself!"
"Yes, Guy-sensei!"
Lee flashed a dazzling grin and, in a few swift motions, removed the heavy training weights strapped to his arms and legs.
They crashed to the ground with a tremendous thud.
Only then did many people realize that he had been wearing absurdly heavy training equipment the entire time.
What the hell kind of monster was this?
With the weights removed, Lee felt as light as a swallow.
After bouncing in place a few times, his figure blurred and vanished.
Not even a shadow remained visible.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of Gaara.
Leaf Whirlwind!
One kick sent his opponent flying.
Only after Gaara had already been launched did the Shield of Sand begin to form. It was completely incapable of keeping up with Lee's attack speed.
It had protected absolutely nothing.
But Lee wasn't finished.
Moving even faster than before, he overtook the airborne Gaara, intercepted him mid-flight, and delivered another vicious kick that sent him hurtling in a different direction.
Then he repeated the process over and over.
Within the arena, Gaara bounced through the air like a ball, kicked back and forth repeatedly by his opponent.
He couldn't even catch a glimpse of Lee's afterimage.
The Shield of Sand trailed behind Gaara the entire time, always one step too late.
Like a useless husband, it couldn't protect anything.
The Sand Armor covering Gaara's body began crumbling away under the relentless barrage.
Large sections fell off one after another.
Before long, it would lose its protective function entirely.
With one final vicious upward kick, Lee launched Gaara high into the sky.
Then he leapt after him.
Leaf Rising Wind!
Positioning himself beneath Gaara, Lee unleashed a series of spinning kicks.
Using the momentum, he vaulted even higher than his opponent—and brought down a devastating axe kick from above.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion rang out.
Gaara slammed into the ground like a cannonball. The gourd strapped to his back had completely transformed into a mound of sand, cushioning the impact beneath him.
Even so, Gaara suffered heavy damage.
Every part of his body ached as though it had been torn apart, and his face was filled with disbelief.
He had actually been beaten so badly that he couldn't fight back at all?
Unforgivable.
Absolutely unforgivable.
"AAAAAH—!"
With a shrill roar, the sand around Gaara rapidly flowed back and condensed into a massive, hardened sphere, sealing him safely inside.
Countless sand tendrils extended from beneath the sphere and burrowed deep into the ground, like the roots of an ancient tree. It stood as immovable as a mountain.
Lee rushed forward and delivered several heavy kicks in succession, but he couldn't break through the sand sphere.
Not only that, the sphere automatically retaliated.
Long, sharp sand spikes erupted from its surface, forcing Lee to retreat and widen the distance.
His opponent had hidden himself inside a turtle shell.
How was he supposed to fight that?
The battle reached a stalemate.
The atmosphere grew increasingly strange.
...
An ominous chakra spread throughout the arena.
On the main viewing platform, every Kage except Rasa wore a grave expression.
None of them had expected Sunagakure to send a Jinchūriki to participate in the Chūnin Exams.
How shameless could they be?
It was just a Chūnin Exam. Was that really necessary?
By now, they had naturally figured out Gaara's hidden identity.
Ōnoki remarked pointedly, "Who would have thought Sunagakure's Jinchūriki would be the Kazekage's youngest son? You're quite the father, Kazekage-dono. You've got nerves of steel, bringing him all the way to Konoha. Aren't you afraid you'll lose him?"
Minato: "..."
The ever-gentle sunshine boy looked somewhat awkward.
Not because Ōnoki was subtly trying to sow discord and imply that Konoha might steal the One-Tail. Everyone knew that was highly unlikely.
No, it was because his own son was also a Jinchūriki.
By that standard, he wasn't exactly Father of the Year either.
Rasa replied, "There's no need for Tsuchikage-dono to concern himself with that. Konoha is Sunagakure's ally and worthy of trust. If it were Iwagakure, however... that would be another matter."
"Hmph. Do you really think we'd be interested in a mere One-Tail?"
Nobody believed him.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, aside from Konoha, the credibility of the other four combined wasn't enough to buy a single popsicle on credit.
The Kage turned toward the Fourth Hokage.
This was Konoha, after all. They wanted to see whether the host had any objections.
Minato said, "As long as they're genin and have met the minimum mission requirements, they're qualified to participate in the Chūnin Exams. Jinchūriki are no exception. It doesn't violate the rules."
Konoha voiced no opposition and made no attempt to halt the match.
They seemed entirely unconcerned about a Jinchūriki appearing in the exams, nor did they appear worried about the safety of their own genin.
Minato's thoughts were simple:
Calling off the match was impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
Everything was within the rules, and he was merely enforcing them.
More importantly, Naruto was a Jinchūriki too.
If Jinchūriki were prohibited from competing, he probably wouldn't even be allowed back into his own house.
...
At that moment, the sand sphere surrounding Gaara suddenly exploded.
Something inhuman emerged from within.
The cold, relatively handsome boy had completely transformed into a half-human, half-monster existence.
The entire upper-right side of his body, including part of his face, had become a grotesque beast made of yellow sand.
A massive tail swayed behind him.
The sand covering his body was etched with mysterious violet Wind God markings.
One-Tail Shukaku — Possession Mode.
In this state, Gaara became even more violent.
Drool dripped from his mouth as he stared fixedly at Lee, the person who had forced him into such a hideous form.
Then he lunged forward.
Before he even reached his target, his right arm—now transformed into a massive claw—suddenly stretched outward and smashed into the ground.
Boom!
The impact was like a shell exploding.
Broken earth flew everywhere.
Dust billowed skyward.
A huge crater appeared where the strike landed.
Lee reacted instantly, leaping high into the air to evade it.
Landing inside the crater, Gaara swept his right arm and tail in a crossing motion, launching a dense barrage of sand projectiles at Lee while he was still airborne.
Sand Shuriken!
Lee pulled out two kunai and gripped them in reverse.
His arms blurred as he swung them, shattering every Sand Shuriken in front of him.
Even so, the tremendous force behind the attack pushed him all the way to the edge of the arena.
There was nowhere left to retreat.
If Gaara continued using this technique, he could wear Lee down to death.
But in this state, Gaara's mind was no longer functioning normally.
Seeing that his opponent could do nothing but defend himself filled him with exhilaration.
He laughed maniacally.
"Come on! Keep going!"
"Is that all you've got?"
"Not enough. Not even close."
"If you can't give me more enjoyment..."
"I'll kill you."
"I'll kill everyone connected to you."
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