Prelims: The Battles of the Jinchuriki

Naruto and Kiba stepped to the floor. "Yeah Akamaru! It's like we have already won" Kiba cheered.

"Shut the hell up! And don't bring your puppy here. He'll only get in the way" Naruto responded.

"Idiot, Akamaru's fighting with me" Kiba explained.

"Umm, is that even allowed?" Naruto asked the proctor.

"Yes, animals and insects are the same as ninja tools. They are allowed" Hayate explained.

"Hmph. Fine, you need the help anyways" Naruto said.

"Akamaru, you stay out of this. I can take Naruto on my own" Kiba said.

"Naruto! Don't lose to him!" Sakura called out, returning the favor for him cheering for her.

'Sorry Kakashi, but he can't beat Kiba' Kurenai thought.

"I feel bad for you, so I'll end it with one punch" Kiba said, remembering Naruto's failures back in the academy.

"Ah, is that so? Then me to" Naruto responded.

"Stop acting tough" Kiba said.

"Hehe, this will be fun. I never was a fan of dogs anyways" Kurama told Naruto.

'Wait, are you going to help me?' Naruto asked the Fox.

"Not physically. There are too many people here and you can beat him without me. I do know a trick or two that will help though. I'll tell you when the time is right."

Naruto let out a little smirk. "Begin!" Hayate announced.

"Beast Mimicry Jutsu!" Kiba called out as he began to grow claws and his appearance began slightly more canine in appearance. He charged at Naruto with unbelievable speed, sending Naruto flying back. "Proctor, he won't be opening his eyes for a little."

'Naruto?!' Ino and Chouji thought from the stands. Chouji had finally recovered from his battle with the sound ninja, although his hearing was still a little shaky.

Sakura glanced over at Kakashi and Sasuke, who gave her a smile, reassuring her that Naruto wouldn't be defeated so easily. Both Sakura and Sasuke knew Naruto could easily beat Kiba if he tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra. However, with the Hokage and a bunch of high ranking ninja present, only an idiot would do that. Though, in their eyes, Naruto was an idiot.

"Kiba…Never underestimate me!" Naruto said, standing up.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out. Although she normally wouldn't be so enthusiastic about Naruto, she wanted her teammate to win, plus she owed him for helping her face Ino. As for Sasuke, he wanted Naruto to win so that he might get a chance to fight him in the final round.

"Yosh, now that's the power of youth!" Lee called out as Gai nodded in agreement.

"Saying that as you bleed. I said to stop acting tough!" Kiba shouted out. Akamaru just barked along with Kiba.

"I let you hit me, to test your strength" Naruto said.

'I'm going to need to teach him how to do that without getting beat to a bloody pulp' Kakashi said, thinking of Naruto's specialty jutsu.

"You should stop acting tough to. Use your dog, I'll beat both of you" Naruto grinned wiping the blood off his mouth.

"Grr, you'll regret that. Let's go Akamaru!" Kiba commanded as the two charged at Naruto. He threw a few smoke balls, making Naruto un able to see. As Naruto exited the cloud, Akamaru latched onto Naruto's arm.

"Yeah, way to go Akamaru!" Kiba said as he say Akamaru sitting next to an unconscious Naruto.

"Naruto?!" Sakura called out.

Akamaru returned to Kiba, but ended up biting his master's hand, surprising everyone. "A…Akamaru?" Kiba questioned, wondering why his best friend would suddenly do that to him.

"Grr…You fell for it" Akamaru said, disappearing in a puff of smoke, revealing that Naruto had used a transformation jutsu. The unconscious Naruto stood up, holding an immobilized and wining Akamaru.

"No…That can't be Naruto. He managed to combine a transformation jutsu AND a shadow clone?" Shikamaru said, shocked at Naruto surprisingly clever plan.

"Hmph, so you've gotten a little stronger. Well that doesn't matter. Time to get serious now" Kiba said, tossing a food pill to Akamaru. Suddenly, Akamaru's fur turned red and became a bit wilder. The re-energized Akamaru kicked the shadow clone, dispelling it and freeing himself. "Let's go Akamaru. Beast Clone Justu!" Akamaru jumped onto Kiba's back and turned into a copy of Kiba. Their face had a feral appearance, similar to when Naruto was using Kyuubi chakra.

Both of the Kibas charged at Naruto with great speed. Naruto was only just able to dodge it, by jumping in the air. "Now! Fang over Fang!" Kiba called out as he and Akamaru spun rapidly towards Naruto. Naruto landed, coughing up a bit of blood in the process.

"That's the difference in our abilities" Kiba said.

"I can't lose here. I will become Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed, forcing himself to his feet. Kiba laughed.

"You become Hokage?! You're even weaker than me! If you want to become Hokage, then I'll become Hokage." Kiba mocked Naruto's dream, big mistake. Now was time for Naruto to use his new jutsu. He flung a small amount of shuriken at Kiba, who just laughed at Naruto's desperation.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto called out as those few shuriken turned into nearly 100. Thanks to his speed, Kiba was able to dodge most of them, but he and Akamaru still got hit by a few. Fortunately for them, their wounds were only scratches

"Where did he learn that?" Asuma said, turning to a smiling Kakashi and Team 7.

"I might have showed them a thing or two" Kakahsi replied.

"But that's an A-rank technique" Asuma replied.

"It may be, but it not when you can already use shadow clones. Because Naruto could use the shadow clone jutsu, it was a C, maybe a low B rank in terms of difficulty to learn. Although he's still a long way from mastering it as the Hokage can create roughly one thousand shuriken clones" Kakashi explained.

'Hmm, if he taught Naruto that technique, then I wonder what he taught the rest of his team' Asuma thought.

"Kit, the key to defeating dogs like this is to use their nose against them" Kurama explained, finally giving Naruto that advice he promised. Naruto knew what the Fox was referring to and reached into his pouch to pull out two yellow smoke bombs.

'Please tell me those aren't…' Kakashi thought picking up on what Naruto was trying to hide.

Kiba and Akamaru charged at Naruto, hoping to pay him back for those shuriken. As they got close, Naruto took a deep breath and threw the smoke balls on the ground.

"Gahhh!" screamed Kiba. Both he and Akamaru, who had transformed back, were clutching their noses. Everyone's sweat dropped in the stands as Kakashi just let out a slight laugh.

"They don't call him the #1 unpredictable ninja for nothing" Kakashi said. Both Sasuke and Shikamaru had to admit that what Naruto just did was rather effective. "Given that he's a prankster, I've been wondering if Naruto carried any stink bombs on him."

'Right now, Kiba's sense of smell is 1000x more powerful than a human' Kurenai thought, actually impressed at what Naruto had done. Kiba and Akamaru were both rolling in pain, as Naruto's stink bombs ravaged their super sensitive sense of smell.

Naruto created two shadow clones to restrain Akamaru this time. He then created four more to knock Kiba into the air. "Uz-u-ma-ki" the four clones called out as they sent Kiba into the air. The real Naruto then jumped above Kiba, kicking his head and slamming him into the ground. "Barrage!" Naruto called out.

'He took that move from Sasuke' Kakashi thought, looking over at Sasuke, who let out a smirk.

"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki!" Hayate called out.

"Hehe! Yeah, I won!" Naruto started cheering. At that time, Hinata re-entered the room and saw Kiba lying on the ground and Naruto celebrating. She came to the conclusion that Naruto and Kiba just had a match and that Naruto had emerged victorious. While she was happy that Naruto had won, she was sad that Kiba lost. Upon seeing her re-enter the room, Naruto ran over to Hinata, hugging her and celebrating. This time she fainted, much to Naruto's confusion. Kurenai came over and picked her up and carried her up to the balcony.

"Umm…is she going to be okay, Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, she's just tired that's all" Kurenai responded, letting out a slight chuckle, as they proceeded back the stands. "He still doesn't get it…"

"Naruto! That was an excellent display of youth!" Lee shouted. "I only hope my match is next so I can show everyone my youthful powers!"

Gai looked at his student and gave Lee his nice-guy pose, creeping out most of the people who saw that.

"Next match: Shino Aburame vs. Fu of the Waterfall!" Hayate announced.

"Darn, I'll never get to go" Lee said as his spirits deflated.

"No worries Lee, you will get your chance" Gai said, reassuring his student.

"Alright Shino, go kick some butt!" Naruto shouted out. No one could understand how Naruto had even more energy after fighting, but this was Naruto.

Shino and Fu faced each other and the proctor announced to begin. Shino started by unleashing a few of his insects on Fu, testing out the waters of the battle. However, Fu's response was completely different than he had expected.

"B-b-b-bugs?!" Fu said, putting Hinata's stuttering to shame.

"Yes 'bugs'" Shino responded, almost insulted by Fu's calling his insects 'bugs'. "I am an Aburame and my family lives in symbiosis with these 'bugs'."

As Shino's insects crept closer, Fu backed away, almost as if she was afraid of them. Images began to flash through her mind, causing her to cower against the wall in fear.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked, confused by Fu's reaction.

"It looks like she has a severe case of entomophobia" Kurenai said.

"En-to-mo-phobia?" Naruto asked, spelling out the word. Sakura sighed.

"It means fear of insects, you idiot" Sakura responded.

"Get them away from me!" Fu called out as Shino's insects crept closer.

"Do you forfeit then?" he asked.

"Fu, remember the task the elder gave to us!" Fu's teammate called out. Her memories came to her.

*Flashback*

"For the past decade, our village has been seen as weak. The only reason we haven't been attacked is because of our secret location" a village elder said to Fu and her team. "However, for the first time in years, we finally have ninja who are ready to compete in Konoha's chunin exams. Please go and show that our village is still strong."

"We won't disappoint you, Shibiki-sama" the three Waterfall ninja said, bowing to their leader.

*End Flashback*

Fu, realizing what she promised, decided that today was the day to get over her fears. She stood up and faced Shino, indicating that she would not surrender. However, it was too late as Shino's bugs swarmed her, sucking her chakra, and Fu's screams resumed. Fu's teammate looked on with sadness at what his teammate was enduring. Suddenly, Shino's insects were repelled with a violent blast of chakra and Fu was on the floor crying out in pain.

To everyone's horror, red chakra began to bubble around her. Every high ranking ninja rushed to her. "I'm sorry, but I must do this for the safety of the ninja here" the Hokage said. "Five-pronged Seal!" he said, slamming his fingers into Fu's stomach. The red chakra receded, but everyone's expressions did not. Fu dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Hokage-sama" Shino asked. "What was that? Why did you interfere with my fight?"

"It is something I cannot talk about right now, Shino. However, I declare you the victor of this match" the Hokage said. "Just know that I had to do so for everyone's safety."

Sakura and Sasuke turned their shocked expressions towards Naruto. "N-naruto? Are you alright?" Sakura asked, seeing the same look in his eyes that they say back in the forest when Naruto told them his little secret.

"Yeah, just shocked that's all" Naruto said back to them. He then turned to Yugito, who shared the same expression of pain and sadness that Naruto had just displayed. Both of them looked up at Gaara, only to feel his desire to kill someone now. Whoever was matched up against him had better be ready for a fight to the death.

'Kurama?' Naruto said to the Fox.

"Yeah, I saw and felt it to, Kit. She's one of us. Based on the chakra cloak, I would assume that Chomei, the Nanabi, is sealed within her. However, for some reason, that appears to have manifested into a strong fear of bugs" the demon fox replied.

Shikamaru noticed that Naruto's expression was different from everyone else. "Naruto, do you know what's going on?" the lazy genius said.

"No" Naruto lied, not wanting to reveal everything right there in front of everyone. Shikamaru just shrugged it off, not wanting to put in the extra effort to question Naruto some more.

Kakashi at the same time looked at Naruto and even some of the reactions from his team. 'He knows. And based on the rest of the team's reactions, I suspect they are aware as well. I wonder what happened' Kakashi thought, knowing he would have to talk to his team once this was over.

Trying to move on, Hayate quickly announced the next match. "Yugito Nii vs. Takaru Rigito."

Yugito and the remaining Waterfall ninja stepped forward. Yugito took a look at Takaru, who was still shaken by the previous event. She knew the easy way to win this would be to let a bit of her demon chakra flare, as she and the Nibi were on friendly terms with one another, but even Ibiki and Anko would see that as cruel.

"Begin!" Hayate called out.

"Katon: Flaming hellcats!" Yugito said as she unleashed two tiger-sized flaming cats on her opponent.

"Sution: Water Wave!" the still shaking Taigakaru ninja called out, just getting the attack off in time, dousing the flaming cats. Despite being at an elemental disadvantage, Yugito could see her opponent faulting with his moves. All she had to do was keep the pressure up and he would eventually slip.

After a few minutes of battering the Waterfall ninja, Yugito unleashed her final attack. "Fiery Claws!" she said, swiping at her opponent with a flaming cat-like claw and sending him back against the wall with severe burns to his torso and arms.

"Winner: Yugito Nii!" Hayate announced. Her team cheered and Team 7 even joined in a little.

"Lee, now it will be your turn for sure!" Gai shouted.

"NO!" Lee replied, much to everyone's surprise. "It's come this far, so I might as well go last!"

Everyone looked at the score board in anticipation for the next match. Gaara disappeared in a whirl of sand, appearing on the floor. "Get down here" he said, sending a death glare towards the Konoha ninja.

"Next Match: Gaara vs. Rock Lee!" Hayate called out. Everyone, especially Team 7 was shocked at the matchup, and some of the other Konoha ninja saw their faces.

"Yosh! It fell for it!" Lee exclaimed. "If you don't want to go last, then say that you do want to go last!" Gai sent him a thumb up as he saw Team 7's worried faces.

"Haha, do not worry. Lee will win this for sure" Gai said.

Kakashi tapped Sasuke on the shoulder. "Activate your Sharingan and watch the fight with that". Sasuke instantly knew why Kakashi wanted him to do that.

Lee jumped down to face Gaara. "To be able to face you this early…I could not be happier!" Lee said. The cork in Gaara's gourd shot towards Lee, only to be caught. "Now don't get antsy."

"Begin!" Hayate announced.

'Lee, be careful' Gai thought observing the match.

"Spinning Leaf Whirlwind!" Lee shouted, launching a sweeping kick at Gaara's head. The sand around Gaara blocked it, much to Lee's surprise. The sand then lashed out at Lee, who flipped backwards to avoid it. Lee attacked again, only to be blocked by the sand.

Kankuro arrived next to Naruto, having been released from the medics after his loss to the 'little leaf brat'. "Heh, physical attacks are useless against Gaara. Regardless of Gaara's will, the sand acts on its own to protect Gaara. That's why, up until now, no one has ever been able to put a single scratch on him." Naruto was shocked upon hearing those words.

"Gai-sensei, why is Lee only using taijutsu attacks at close range?" Sakura asked, observing the battle. "Why doesn't he just use ninjutsu?"

"It's not that he doesn't use ninjutsu" Gai explained. "It's that he CAN'T use ninjutsu."

"What?!" Team 7 said in unison, although Sasuke was silent, his attention on Lee and the match.

"Lee has no skill for ninjutsu or genjutsu. In fact, he can't even conjure a single clone" Gai explained.

"B-but how did he get so far?" Sakura asked.

"When I met him, he was a complete failure. The only techniques available to him were taijutsu. That's why he can win." Gai said, turning his attention to Lee. "Lee! Take them off!"

"But Gai-sensei, that's only for a time I must protect my precious people" Lee said.

"It's alright. I'll allow it this once" Gai said. A smile quickly worked its way onto Lee's face as he sat down to reveal a set of training weights underneath his leg warmers.

'Pfft, there is no way some measly weights will make a difference against Gaara' Temari and Kankuro thought.

"Ahh, much better. Now I can move free" Lee said, dropping the weights from the top of the statue in the room.

"BOOM!" was heard when the weights made contact with the floor, creating large craters in the floor, startling everyone, and waking up poor Hinata. Everyone had to pick their jaws up off the floor.

"Isn't that a bit much Gai?" Kakashi said to the Blue-Beast of Konoha.

"Hehe" Gai said, letting out a smile. "Go Lee!"

"Yes!" Lee exclaimed, taking off with unimaginable speed. He appeared behind Gaara, before anyone could see what was happening, everyone except Sasuke, who was following the fight with the Sharingan. Lee's attack was stopped just inches away from Gaara's head, closer than anyone had gotten before.

"He can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, so we focused all his time and effort on taijutsu" Gai explained. "Even if he can't do nin or genjutsu, he won't lose to anyone. He's a taijutsu specialist."

As Gai said that, Lee spun above Gaara, lashing out his foot and kicking the back of Gaara's head. Lee had just become the first person to land a blow on Gaara.

"Heh, I warned you. Lee won't lose to anyone" Gai said. "That kid is strong."

"Now we are just getting started" Lee said, facing his opponent. Lee disappeared again using his speed. He landed a series of blows to the sand wall around Gaara, confusing it until finally he made his move, throwing Gaara into the floor with his next punch.

"What?!" Lee said as sand began to peel away from Gaara's face. Suddenly a wave of killing intent shuddered throughout the room.

'Damn, ever since this chunin exam started, Gaara's slowly been losing control' Kankuro thought to himself.

"This is getting bad Kit. I am even beginning to feel that damn raccoon trying to worm his way out" Kurama said.

'What?!' Naruto yelled inside his head.

"It's true Naruto" the Nibi said, coming into his head. Naruto had not noticed Yugito come behind him. "I can feel the blood lust of that badger. Out of all of us, he was the most unstable. All he ever thought about was mindless killing. Unlike most of the Tailed Beasts, who tried to keep their distance from humans, the Ichibi would just waltz up to the nearest village and destroy it. I guess you could say the Ichibi is a true monster."

'Shit, THIS Gaara is awake' Kankuro thought. 'If he gets caught by this Gaara, there's going to be nothing left of him besides blood soaked sand.'

"What the hell is that?! How did he block Bushy-brows' attack with that?" Naruto said, coming out of his quick conversation with the Nibi.

"It's the armor of the sand." A look of fear could be seen in his face by both Naruto and Yugito.

"Armor?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, it's a thin layer of sand that covers Gaara's body at his own will. It's different from his sand shield that acts on its own" Kankuro explained. "That's Gaara's ultimate defence. There are no weaknesses."

'What do we do?' Naruto asked his demonic counterpart.

"For now, hope your friend doesn't get himself killed" Kurama said. "Only if that badger gets out of control will we step in. If worse comes to worse, the seal on Yugito and Matatabi has already been released and she can transform into her tailed beast."

'Transform?! Into her tailed beast?!' Naruto said.

"Yes. For you, that is what happens when the chakra cloak you gain from me reaches nine tails. You effectively turn into me. Although, since you and I are on friendly terms with one another, you will not die and you would be able to revert back to your own form at will" Kurama explained.

"That is the case with Yugito and I" the Nibi said, creating a slight connection with Naruto so that she and Kurama could discuss the fight. "You need to release that seal on you to complete your transformation beyond the chakra cloaks. However, my seal has been released already and the two of us work in conjunction with one another and she can even transform into my true form."

'If I can transform into you, then I really am a demon!" Naruto began to cry, pointing at the Fox.

"Haha. It's not like that, Kit. I'm the demon. You are human. However, because you and I are on good terms, I won't take control and try to destroy you. That's what happened with the Nanabi, until the Hokage suppressed the chakra with that seal. The Nanabi was trying to escape and would have destroyed that girl's body and mind. You and Yugito on the other hand would retain your minds and be able to transform back into your original body. You follow?" Kurama explained some more.

'Err, sort of' Naruto said.

"That's good enough for now. Just remember that I am the demon and you are human. We are separate entities, but we work together, lending each other our powers. The same is true for Yugito, but not for the sand kid and that waterfall girl. If their beasts broke free, they would be dead and the demons inside them would go on a rampage."

'Hmm, if Gaara's forced to use the armor, then that means he's in a defensive pinch as it actually takes up chakra' Kankuro said to himself. 'That means that kid is actually pretty good.'

"Is that all?" Gaara asked Lee.

'What? If that sand is protecting him, then I must do some damage above the sand's reach…' Lee thought, coming up with a risky idea. 'The lotus'. Lee looked up at Gai-sensei and got a nod of approval. He unwrapped the bandages on his arms.

"The lotus smashes down at high rates of speed" Gai said, catching everyone's attention. "That thin layer of sand is useless."

Lee then began to dart around Gaara at high speeds, creating a vortex-like effect. Suddenly, Gaara was kicked into the air, his altitude increasing with each of Lee's subsequent blows. Gaara's ascension was too fast for the sand and Gaara soon broke away from it. Lee then wrapped his bandages around Gaara and began the downward spiral at an extremely high velocity.

'Even the primary lotus puts an extreme strain on the body. All of those kicks are extra dangerous as well' Gai worried. 'Please let it end with this!'

"Primary Lotus!" Lee shouted as the vortex collided with the ground, leaving a large crater with Gaara lying in the middle. Lee had disengaged at just the right time and was standing, facing the crater; however, he was severely fatigued from the assault.

"Lee won!" Sakura shouted.

"What?!" Both Gai and Lee said as they saw Gaara's body crumble away, leaving a hollow shell of sand. "When did he switch?" Gai said.

"It was when you closed your eyes to pray Gai. Lee hesitated for a moment because of the pain and that's when he switched" Kakashi explained, catching it with his Sharingan.

"Hehe! This is turning out to be fun" Gaara said sinisterly. "I am going to enjoy killing you!"

'The demon inside Gaara has finally awakened' Kankuro thought.

Lee was thrown back into the wall by a wave of sand. He was barely standing after recovering himself.

"Why didn't he dodge it?" Sakura asked.

"The primary lotus is a double edged sword. It's a forbidden technique that puts massive amounts of strain on the user's body and legs" Gai said.

"Right now, he's feeling so much pain that he can barely move, right Gai?" Kakashi asked as Gai nodded.

"Lee, don't forget, you are a genius of hard work!" Gai called out as Lee remembered his days just out of the academy.

"Thank you, Gai-sensei" Lee said, before a wave of sand fell on top of him. Lee moved out of the way. 'With that, I am revived.'

"Lee is smiling even though he's getting pushed around?" Sakura asked. If anyone was as much into this battle as Gai, it was Sakura.

"No, now the tables will turn" Gai said, confusing Sakura a little. "The lotus of the leaf blooms twice."

"You are finished here" Gaara said to Lee.

"This will end now!" Lee proclaimed.

'The lotus of the leaf blooms twice…' Kakashi thought on Gai's words. "Wait! No! You don't mean?!"

"Yes Kakashi, I do" Gai replied as everyone wanted to know what they were talking about.

"Then the eight inner gates?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, he will open them" Gai said. "He has the ability."

"Even so, such a dangerous technique…" Kakashi tried to argue.

"The extreme lotus!" Gai said. "That kid has a precious thing he wants to prove. So I turned him into a man that could accomplish it."

"How many gates can the kid open?" Kakashi asked.

"Five" Gai said, astonishing Kakashi.

"Wait, what are these gates?" Sakura said. Unlike everyone else, who was focused on the fight, Sakura had managed to get caught in between Gai and Kakashi's conversation.

"Sakura, the chakra coils of the body flow through eight inner gates that limit the flow of chakra through the body. They are the Gates of Opening, Healing, Life, Pain, Limit, View, Wonder, and finally Death, in that order" Kakashi explained. "The lotus forcibly releases these restraints. It increases your power tenfold, but destroys the body in the process. The initial lotus is done by opening the first gate."

"You release your brain's restraints with the first gate. Then you use the second gate to revitalize your stamina. After opening the third gate, you enter into the ultimate lotus" Gai explained.

"No way, the initial lotus does so much damage, does that mean?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, after opening all the gates, for a short period of time, you will gain more strength than the Hokage, but you will most certainly die afterwards."

'Neji, Sasuke, and even Naruto, I will not lose here!' Lee thought. "Third gate, Gate of Life open!" Lee said as power began to surge out from him. Lee's skin turned red and his eyes turned white as everyone was now paying 150% attention to the fight. "Fourth gate, Gate of Pain open! Fifth gate, Gate of Limit open!"

"K-kakashi, what is this?" Sasuke stammered out.

"The power of the eight inner gates" Kakashi told his student. "Sasuke, just know that this power is considered forbidden for a reason."

Before Gaara even knew what was hitting him, he was hit multiple times, in the air, in rapid succession. His sand armor was being ripped off him by Lee's assault.

'Neji, this technique was going to be for defeating you. But I will show it here and now'. Gaara was thrown into the floor, sending a massive shockwave echoing throughout the building. Some of the people present were afraid the arena was even going to collapse. With his bandages still wrapped around Gaara, Lee reeled him in for one more blow. "This is it! Extreme Lotus!" Gaara was slammed into the ground just as the pain became too much for Lee.

"No way! The ground turned to sand!" Gai said, utterly shocked that Gaara had survived that.

The sand crept close to Lee, who couldn't move. It wrapped around Lee's left arm and leg. Gaara clenches his fist as Shino and Hinata saw the horror that was about to come. "Desert Coffin!" The sand surrounding Lee's arm and leg imploded, crushing them. "Now, die!" Gaara called out as more sand made its way to Lee. Suddenly, Gai jumped in the way, dispersing the sand.

"Why? Why did you save him?" Gaara said, clutching his head as everyone looked onto Lee, saddened by the damage he had received. Some of them knew that Lee's career as a shinobi was most likely over.

"Because, he is my beloved student and comrade" Gai responded. Gaara got up and walked away, obviously in internal strife with the demon inside him.

"Winner, Gaara" Hayate announced. To everyone's disbelief Lee stood up, unconscious and with a crushed arm and leg, not to mention having opened the five of the eight gates. Gai turned to Lee.

"Lee, you shouldn't be standing. The fight is over, I'm sorry" Gai said, realizing that Lee was actually unconscious. "Lee…you really have become a spectacular ninja" Gai cried as Lee collapsed into his sensei's arms. Naruto and Sakura both rushed to Lee's side. Naruto sent a look of death, even managing to let a little of Kurama's chakra slip out, giving him the demonic eyes for just a moment. However, it was long enough for Gaara to get Naruto's message.

"Medical team, please get here quick!" Hayate called as the stretchers were brought.

"You're his jonin instructor? Please come here for a second." one of the med-nins said to Gai. "There were torn mussels and broken bones throughout his entire body. We could do something about that if that wasn't the only problem. The damage sustained by his left arm and leg are severe. I'm sorry to say this, but he will never be able to live as a shinobi again."

To say everyone who heard that was shocked to the core would be an understatement. Even inside Naruto, Kurama was beginning to release his anger. For the demon, that was probably the most entertaining battle he had seen in a long time, and he was truly rooting for Lee. What really enraged the Fox was the fate that Gaara had left him with. The next time he and the Ichibi met, heads and tails would be flying.

"No…it just can't be possible. It can't be over for Bushy-brows" Naruto started to tear up. "If that's so, then what is he supposed to do? He wanted to fight against Sasuke and Neji to prove himself, can't you do anything about it?!" Kakashi was doing everything he could to restrain the screaming boy as the medics carried Lee away.

To say everyone was shocked to the core by that match would be an understatement. Neji just looked at Lee. 'You never realized it Lee, the heavens will never allow a pawn who puts their own body at risk to advance…' he thought.

With most of the field trying to regroup, the last two matches were getting underway. Only Temari, Neji, and Omoi and Karui of Kumo remained.

"Next match: Neji Huyga vs. Karui"

"Heh, a Huyga. This should be interesting" Karui said quietly.