BSWS CH-51 The Chunin Exams XIX - Preliminary Fifth Match

Lee and Gaara came face to face in the sparring area. Gaara with his usual nonchalant expression on his face, while Lee was burning with excitement, nervousness, and need to prove himself to Sakura.

While he did believe Sakura's explanation to a certain extent, he wanted to see if Gaara was worthy of the wariness Sakura treated him with.

"Both participants ready? *cough* Begin!!" Hayate signaled the beginning of the match.

Lee immediately rushed towards Gaara for testing just how much of Sakura's claim was true. As he attacked with Leaf Hurricane, Gaara immediately unleashed his Sand and tried to capture Lee's leg. Breaking off from the Sand's contact with a jerk of his leg, Lee flipped back mid-air to escape it.

'Okay, so he can manipulate sand that he has in that Gourd.' Lee thought 'It makes things trickier, but not to that extent that Sakura claimed. Let's see what else has he got.'

Lee then started a flurry of strikes to test Gaara. Kicks, Punches, Feints, Swift Kunai, and Shuriken attacks, nothing worked on Gaara. The sand was always there to protect him, no matter what. It was as if the Sand was alive and wanted Gaara to be safe.

'Alright, I have affirmed Sakura's claims. Gaara is a worthy opponent. With my restrictions, I can not even put up a struggle against him.' Lee looked at Guy and made a subtle gesture to ask for his permission. Guy nodded in agreement and allowed Lee full control over his abilities.

At that moment, Gaara's sand rushed in like a wave to catch him. Dodging it with a couple of somersaults, Lee crouched on the ground before jumping with all his might.

While he was mid-air, Lee somersaulted and landed on top of the hand sign statue. Removing his shin-guards, Lee displayed the weights that were bound to his legs. Removing them, he tossed them into the air.

'Why would removing weights make a difference at this point, was the thought that ran through the minds of nearly everyone in the stands. The only people who smiled knowingly were Guy and Sakura. Guy glanced and Sakura from the corner of his eye and realized something.

'She already knew about Lee's weights? I guess her talk of being a Chakra sensor and knowing more than others might be true after all.' Guy thought.

Right at that moment, Lee's weights finally crashed to the ground, creating giant dust columns. They were embedded in the place they landed, creating cracks on the ground and creating a mini-tremor that shook the whole hall.

As everyone looked at Lee in shock, he disappeared from the spot he was standing at. The next moment, Gaara was peppered by super fast kicks and punches from all sides. While the sand tried to protect him, it was no longer a match when facing the faster and stronger Lee on its own.

Soon within a few moments, Lee scored his first blood on Gaara, throwing him back with a kick to the stomach. Gaara flew through the air, before catching himself with sand and setting himself down on the ground, a few meters away from Lee.

As he got up, People saw Gaara's outer sand shell flaking off into pieces, revealing the rage-filled Gaara with a mad expression. However, Gaara immediately restored the armor, making it as if it had never been broken.

"Are you done?" Gaara asked Lee tauntingly.

"Nope, it was just playtime so far. The real match begins now!" Lee said as he clenched his fists and took a Horse stance "First Gate: Gate of Opening, Open!! Second Gate: Gate of Healing, Open!! Third Gate: Gate of Life, Open!!"

Lee's skin turned red from the intense pressure of chakra and blood rushing through his body. The very air around him was pulverized with the amount of pressure released by him.

Once he was in his prime state by unleashing these three gates, Lee rushed towards Gaara, seemingly disappearing in a blink.

The next moment, Gaara felt an incredibly strong kick on his back. As he flew forward, yet another kick got him flying diagonally upwards. Before he reached the peak of the distance from the impact, yet another kick sent him off careening to the side.

Soon, Gaara was being sent flying all around the hall by a Lee that was damn near invisible due to speed. Even if they were able to barely catch a glimpse, it was only the afterimage.

Soon, Lee's attacks started taking their toll on Gaara. While he still had chakra, his body was accumulating a lot of damage despite the sand armor, which was on the verge of completely falling apart.

Satisfied with the damage that had been accumulated on the armor, Lee started the sequence for Hidden Lotus. Ramping up his speed even more by opening Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain, Lee kicked Gaara up, high into the air.

Lee then started bouncing off the floor, walls, and ceiling, attacking Gaara in a Five-Pointed Star like formation to keep him mid-air. At the peak of his momentum, he kicked Gaara senseless before finally sending him down like a missile with Hidden Lotus, raising a gigantic dust cloud that covered up the entire hall.

Initially, as he was executing this maneuver, Lee wanted to open Fifth Gate too. But right as the thought came to him, Sakura's words echoed in his mind. As such, lee decided to hold off on using Fifth Gate, so that he will have some strength left to respond to any sudden unexpected changes.

As it is his muscles were being torn and he was barely holding on. It would be better if he didn't disable himself by opening Fifth Gate.

As he landed on the ground, Lee closed Fourth Gate to reduce some of the pressure on his body. He could feel his body's wear and tear more clearly with this, but at least they would not be worsening drastically.

As the dust cleared, he saw Gaara floating midair, encased with a ton of sand. The gourd on his back had disintegrated into the sand, which he was now using to manipulate his body like a puppet. Lee saw an expression of rage and complete madness on Gaara's face.

'Sakura was right, this guy is still able to fight, but he is no longer in the right mind. If this goes on, I really might be forfeiting my chances of ever being a ninja, as the Gates themselves will tear me apart, let alone whatever Gaara can pull off.' Lee thought with clenched teeth

'Meanwhile, as Gaara is gathering chakra for a Ninjutsu, I am barely standing on my feet due to aftereffects of the Gates. The moment I let go of the Gates, I probably will not be able to move.' Lee said as he looked at Gaara's sand gathered around him.

As Gaara spread his sand to prepare for a giant move, Lee looked at Guy and Sakura. Reaffirming his decision, he turned to Hayate and declared, "I withdraw!"

Immediately, Guy and Sakura came in front of Lee while Hayate flickered right in between both Lee and Gaara's positions. Seeing that the match was over, Baki, Kankuro, and Temari arrived around Gaara to restrain him, in case he decided to attack Lee despite him surrendering.

"The match is over. Winner: Gaara of the Sand." Hayate gestured towards Gaara. Immediately, Lee was supported by Sakura and Guy and was taken to the stands. As they helped him sit, Lee deactivated the Gates, bringing his pain back in full effect.

Sakura immediately scanned his body with a combination of Medical Analysis and Chakra Sensing for injuries and started using Mystical Palm to heal him. His wounds and muscles rapidly recovered as a result of Sakura's Jutsu.

Kakashi and Guy were surprised at seeing Sakura use Healing Jutsu. They had no idea a Genin could even master a Jutsu with such precise control requirements.

"Sakura, you can use Healing Jutsu?" Kakashi asked in surprise.

"I can now. I picked it up while watching the Medics heal Sasuke after the mishap in the Second Phase." Sakura commented as she continued healing Lee.

'That is not something you just pick up though!!' Kakashi and Guy exclaimed inwardly at the same moment.