At that moment, Lee finally realized what his opponent really was.
This wasn't just some ordinary shinobi from Sunagakure.
This was Sunagakure's One-Tail jinchūriki.
Good thing Makoto-sensei taught them everything and stocked the dojo library with comprehensive materials. Otherwise, Lee might not even have recognized it.
Looks like he had to go all out and finish his opponent in one decisive burst. He couldn't allow Gaara to continue transforming. If he reached his complete form, things would get troublesome.
Lee was a pure taijutsu specialist. His Eight Gates training wasn't yet complete, and he had no particularly effective way of dealing with a giant tailed beast.
Taking advantage of Gaara's taunting, Lee made up his mind.
No more hesitation.
He instantly unleashed his full power and activated the Eight Gates Formation.
"Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit—Open!"
After being strengthened by natural energy, this PLUS-version Lee could already open five gates in succession.
But that still wasn't enough.
"Not enough! Still not enough! I haven't reached my limit yet! Gate of View—OPEN!"
This was the strongest state he could currently achieve.
Because his body was still immature, he couldn't maintain it for long. He had to end the fight quickly.
In an instant, tangible chakra erupted around him.
His hair flew upward.
His muscles swelled.
Veins writhed across his body like snakes.
He looked like a war god descending upon the battlefield.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he vanished.
Then he appeared beneath Gaara.
Shadow of the Dancing Leaf.
Crouching low, Lee launched a powerful upward kick directly into Gaara's chin.
Gaara never even reacted.
Like a kite with its string cut, he soared high into the sky.
Lee flashed above him.
The gourd boy's eyes filled with terror, but there was nothing he could do.
That single strike had already numbed his entire body.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't understand it.
Why could this Konoha ninja unleash such terrifying combat power?
Sixth Gate: Gate of View — Morning Peacock!
His fists blurred as they moved at incredible speed.
The force of his punches compressed the air, generating intense heat that blossomed into countless flames.
Every strike landed on Gaara.
Morning Peacock could attack from a distance. The two never made contact.
Gaara was blasted all the way from the sky back to the ground.
Under the relentless barrage, the Sand Armor covering his body completely shattered and fell away.
Then the real body took the full force of the storm-like assault.
By the time he hit the ground, he had been beaten so thoroughly that he looked like a swollen piglet.
Completely unconscious.
For once, the little panda slept peacefully.
That was only because Lee had held back.
Had he aimed for vital points instead, he could have beaten Gaara to death right in front of his entire family.
After landing, Lee panted heavily.
Opening the Sixth Gate was still pushing him beyond his current limits.
Just as both of his teachers had said, his body still needed time to mature.
Still...
He had won.
Hayate thought so too.
He was already preparing to announce the result.
Only Rasa, Baki, Temari, and the others silently cried out in alarm:
This is bad!
Suddenly, a shocking change occurred.
Massive amounts of chakra erupted from the unconscious Gaara.
The chakra transformed into tangible sand, rapidly gathering into a gigantic...
Fat tanuki?
Or maybe a giant raccoon dog?
The One-Tail, Shukaku.
Gaara's loss of consciousness had allowed it to emerge.
Though admittedly...
It looked kind of dumb and adorable.
The moment it appeared, it let out an excited cry like an overgrown husky.
"Yahaha! I'm finally out! Woohoo! And I immediately found so many people to kill! This is awesome!"
Its enormous size made the arena feel cramped.
The audience saw the monster appear and were instantly terrified.
They wanted to run.
But their legs wouldn't move.
The tailed beast's chakra became a tangible pressure that crushed down on them.
Ordinary people went weak all over, unable to move a muscle.
The shinobi immediately flashed in front of the spectators, drawing their weapons and forming a protective line.
As for Shukaku standing in the middle of the arena?
As long as the big boss stepped in, everything would be fine.
Makoto appeared before Shukaku in a flash.
He casually condensed a gigantic chakra hand and gave the frolicking beast a head pat.
"You're celebrating too early, Shukaku."
"So what's it going to be?"
"Are you going back obediently on your own..."
"...or do I beat you half to death and send you back afterward?"
Shukaku: "..."
After finally escaping the seal, of course it wanted to make the most of its freedom.
Only an idiot would willingly go back.
But when it tried to move, it discovered that it couldn't.
What was even more unbelievable was the overwhelming pressure radiating from Makoto.
A pressure so crushing it filled Shukaku with despair.
What the hell is going on?
Why does this guy's presence feel even more terrifying than the old man's?
Why do I have to face a monster like this the moment I get out?
Can this world still be saved?
I just wanted to come out and get some fresh air!
Shukaku immediately made up its mind.
Fight him?
Fight my ass.
Its instincts were screaming that it would die.
Anyone who possessed power beyond that old man's could kill tailed beasts like them with ease.
Time to bail.
Without saying a word, Shukaku shrank back into the seal on Gaara's body.
As it left, it even took a moment to gloat.
Poor stinking fox. Living in the same place as a monster like that must be miserable.
...
Shukaku's enormous body collapsed into cascading quicksand.
Before it even reached the ground, it had already dispersed.
The sand was formed from the One-Tail's chakra.
With a casual wave of his hand, Makoto gathered up all the scattered tailed-beast chakra and sent it to the giant tree in his dojo as a snack.
When the audience saw the giant monster suddenly disappear, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. It's Lord Makoto. We're saved.
Before long, under the enthusiastic recommendations of those who knew better, all the visiting shinobi and civilians from outside Konoha learned the identity of the man floating above the arena—the one who had turned a tailed beast into a pet with a single hand.
The legendary figure of Konoha.
The shinobi world's universally acknowledged Second God of Shinobi.
Konoha's younger generation had never seen Higashino Makoto fight before.
Only now did they finally realize that the teacher who had been instructing them all this time...
...was operating on a completely different level from them.
Shinobi weren't supposed to be like this.
The moment Shukaku appeared, Rasa knew there was trouble.
But he found himself trapped between a rock and a hard place.
If he intervened, this was Konoha. Acting on someone else's turf was already awkward. More importantly, if he could quickly suppress Shukaku, it would be a perfect opportunity to display the Kazekage's strength before everyone.
But if he failed to suppress it?
Then he wouldn't be showing off his skills.
He'd be showing off his ass.
If he didn't intervene, things weren't any better.
The One-Tail belonged to Sunagakure, and the jinchūriki was his son. It would look very much like Sunagakure had brought a jinchūriki to Konoha to cause trouble.
The Raikage, Mizukage, and Tsuchikage, however, remained completely at ease.
None of them believed Shukaku could accomplish anything.
Just looking at the calm expression on the Hokage's face was enough.
Sure enough, Shukaku merely came out, took a couple breaths of Konoha's sweet air, and was promptly chased back into its seal.
What surprised everyone wasn't the result.
It was the process.
There had been no battle.
No destruction.
The tailed beast hadn't even resisted.
It had been petted like a household animal and then immediately fled.
The whole thing had been absurdly easy.
A shadow settled over everyone's hearts.
If even the tailed beasts—the so-called ultimate weapons of the villages—could be treated like this...
What purpose did they still serve?
The current Konoha—or rather, Higashino Makoto himself—was becoming absurdly powerful.
The balance of power among the Five Great Shinobi Villages had already been shattered.
It felt like the world had returned overnight to the era before the villages were founded.
No.
It might actually be worse.
Makoto was far too young.
And unlike Senju Hashirama, he didn't exactly look easy to talk to.
...
As the yellow sand dispersed, the unconscious Gaara was revealed.
The gourd boy was sleeping soundly.
In all twelve years of his life, he had probably never enjoyed a night's sleep as peaceful as this one.
So how should the match be judged?
Hayate had no choice but to look toward the main viewing platform.
Minato asked, "What do you all think? How should the outcome of this match be decided? The tailed beast is part of the jinchūriki, but Lee wasn't the one who defeated it."
Rasa immediately spoke up.
"Gaara was already unconscious before Shukaku emerged. Therefore, victory should rightfully belong to the genin named Rock Lee."
Ōnoki nodded.
"That's correct."
The Raikage said, "Agreed."
The Mizukage added, "No objections here."
What objection could Terumī Mei possibly have?
If she wasn't mistaken, the taijutsu Lee had just used was the very technique that had turned Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen into a complete joke during the last war.
Minato nodded to Genma behind him.
Genma immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared in the arena, relaying the decision to the chief examiner.
After hearing the verdict, Hayate announced: "The winner of the first match of the third round of the Chūnin Exams is—Rock Lee of Konoha!"
"Huh? Hahaha! Makoto-sensei, I did it!"
Makoto smiled.
"Yeah. Well done. Go get some rest."
Lee happily ran off to celebrate with Guy.
Meanwhile, Temari came to collect her younger brother.
Without that murderous aura surrounding him, the sleeping Gaara looked strangely peaceful.
The sight felt unfamiliar to her.
But it also made her wonder.
If my little brother could always be like this... that would be wonderful.
With the first match concluded, the audience erupted into enthusiastic cheers.
The very first fight had already been this incredible.
How amazing would the matches after this be?
If the rest of the tournament stayed this exciting, then even if they got caught in the crossfire and died—or if another giant monster appeared and swallowed everyone whole—it would still be worth the price of admission.
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