Shadow of Nara [97]

Rock Lee moved like a blur, his feet stirring up wind as he dashed around Gaara in a lightning-fast assault. Gaara could barely track his movements. All around him, the sound of fists and kicks striking sand echoed rapidly. His Sand Shield had drawn close to his body, struggling to keep up—it was on the verge of failing.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Lee's relentless assault finally paid off. After feinting from Gaara's left, he flashed to his right and delivered a whip-like kick. The Sand Shield couldn't react fast enough—Lee's leg crashed squarely into Gaara's face, making him stagger. Before Gaara could recover, Lee followed up with a solid punch that launched him backward, sending him flying through the air.

"Too fast…"

From the stands, Shikamaru's pupils shrank slightly as he whispered, a look of concern on his face.

Until now, Shikamaru had only guessed at Lee's true speed. Seeing it in person was a shock. Lee's movements surpassed even Shikamaru's best bursts using the "Shadow Step" technique taught by Asuma. While Shikamaru could momentarily accelerate through chakra-assisted balance and precision footwork, that only worked effectively against opponents of equal or lesser speed. Against someone like Lee, who could break in and out of any formation at will, his technique would be rendered completely useless.

Still, Shikamaru felt some reassurance. Lee couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu. So, despite his superior speed, he relied solely on taijutsu. That meant he was vulnerable to a wider range of tactics. As long as Lee didn't resort to Lotus techniques, he wasn't invincible.

But it was also a shame. If Lee could use jutsu—say, something like the Rasengan—in combination with this speed, he'd be terrifying. His incredible agility was unmatched, but his actual striking power was lacking. And so, to compensate, he relied on the forbidden power of the Eight Gates, pushing his body past its natural limits—an approach that would eventually lead to tragedy.

Back in the arena, Lee had realized it too. Gaara's body was encased in his signature Sand Armor—a dense, weighty defensive coating that nullified most normal attacks. Lee's strikes weren't enough. So, he opened the First Gate—The Gate of Opening.

His speed and strength instantly surged. One blink, and he vanished from Gaara's view, only to reappear right in front of him. Lee ducked low and delivered a powerful upper kick straight to Gaara's chin, lifting him off the ground.

But even with the First Gate open, Gaara's sand-covered body was heavy. Lee couldn't send him high enough with one kick. Gritting his teeth, he pushed off the ground, flipped upward, and unleashed a rapid series of kicks, pounding Gaara higher and higher into the air, one strike at a time.

"What a beautiful aerial combo…"

Kakashi, watching closely from the stands, couldn't help but be impressed by the elegance and control in Lee's form.

But then it happened.

Lee's muscles—especially in his legs—began to spasm from the intense strain. Even with just the First Gate open, this kind of high-impact taijutsu was taking its toll. Pain flared through his body, and in that split second of hesitation, Gaara made his move.

Using a form of Substitution Jutsu, Gaara swapped his body with a decoy hidden within his sand. He had sensed that Lee's technique had drawbacks, and seized on that brief window of weakness.

The substitution succeeded. Gaara vanished into his sand while Lee—unaware—tightly wrapped his opponent's substitute in his leg bindings and spun into a blindingly fast descent.

BOOM!

A black blur slammed into the ground like a meteor. Dust exploded in all directions, momentarily blocking the view from the stands.

The move was Front Lotus—the Primary Lotus. If Lee had hit the real Gaara, the match might have ended right there. With Gaara stunned, a follow-up with Hidden Lotus might've sealed the win.

But it was only a decoy.

As the dust cleared, the real Gaara emerged, unharmed. Lee, meanwhile, was reeling. His trump card had failed. The pain of the Eight Gates' backlash had already begun to overwhelm him. Physically exhausted and psychologically shaken, he could barely respond.

Still… Lee didn't give up.

Driven by his desire to pass the preliminaries—to earn the right to face rivals like Neji Hyūga and Shikamaru—Lee clenched his fists and pushed past the pain.

And then… he opened Five Gates.

In the observation deck, Kakashi's eyes went wide when he heard Might Guy say it aloud.

"He opened the fifth gate…?"

Kakashi didn't hesitate. He raised his hand and pulled up his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan, using it to carefully observe Lee's body and chakra flow.

"That's something even jōnin can't do…"

He muttered under his breath.

"Is this kid… a genius after all?"

The Eight Inner Gates exist for a reason. They limit chakra output to keep the human body in balance. These restrictions are the result of countless generations of natural evolution—a built-in survival mechanism, a self-preservation instinct etched into the biology of every living being.

To open them… is to go against your very nature.

It's not just about willpower. Even if someone has the courage to risk everything, the body itself resists. It's the kind of technique that even the desperate cannot simply will into action. That's why, since the time of the Second Hokage, so few have ever learned it.

Because to do so… is to fight your own biology.

To embrace pain.

To reject self-preservation.

To become… a force of pure instinct.