Chapter 56: Lee's Changed Fate

Just like in the original story, Rock Lee's initial attacks couldn't break through Gaara's automatically defending sand. Other than Team Guy and Team 7, no one had much regard for this genin who could only use taijutsu, lacking both ninjutsu and genjutsu.

However, when Lee removed his weighted gear, smashing the ground and kicking up huge clouds of dust, all those who had doubted him were left utterly speechless.

Naruto, in particular, was shocked into silence.

If Sasuke Uchiha had been there, his reaction likely wouldn't have been much different from Naruto's. Sasuke had been easily defeated by Lee at the Chunin Exams building, and both he and Naruto had considered Lee one of their biggest threats in the exam. They had no idea that Lee had been wearing such heavy weights.

The thought of Lee being able to move at such incredible speeds, speeds even Sasuke's Sharingan could barely track, while wearing those weights, made Naruto's scalp tingle.

Sure enough…

When Lee removed his weights and launched another attack on Gaara, his speed was so fast that one second he was in front of you, the next behind you, and in another moment, above your head. If not for the sharp, piercing sound of him cutting through the air as he moved, everyone might have thought Lee was using space-time jutsu instead of the Body Flicker Technique.

Bang!

After several rapid movements, Lee finally broke through Gaara's sand defense, landing a punch squarely on Gaara's face.

Cracks spread across Gaara's face, stunning Kankuro and Temari, who were watching from the stands.

As pieces of clay crumbled away, the sinister expression hidden beneath Gaara's sand armor was revealed.

This was the first time in Gaara's life that someone had managed to break through his sand armor.

The casual disdain he'd been feeling instantly transformed into excitement and bloodlust.

This village is full of people worth killing!

Gaara became serious. As his sand pursued Lee, the latter continuously repositioned, searching for an opening to deliver a decisive blow.

Soon, Lee found what he believed was Gaara's weak point and executed the Front Lotus.

Unfortunately, what he thought would be a finishing move failed, leaving him exhausted.

Determined to prove himself and desperate for victory, Lee opened the first of the Eight Gates, neutralizing the side effects of the Front Lotus and regaining his previous speed, once again putting Gaara on the defensive.

This time, Gaara had no way to fight back.

"Third Gate: Gate of Life—Open!"

"Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain—Open!"

Lee's speed and strength continued to increase.

The arena floor cracked as Lee's movements became so fast that he left trails of dust and debris in his wake.

In just a few blinks of an eye, thick dust clouds filled the entire arena.

Kakashi Hatake, usually relaxed, looked on in shock, his Sharingan barely able to track Lee's movements as a blur.

How could someone his age open this many gates?

What kind of brutal training did his body endure to withstand this level of chakra flow?

Yagyu, too, felt heavy-hearted.

His own weaknesses had been speed and defense, and the opponents he feared most were either incredibly fast or highly resilient. Rock Lee was a prime example of someone who could counter Yagyu.

If Yagyu had been Gaara in this situation, his only options would be to use the Hiding in Mist Technique or illusionary techniques to obscure Lee's vision or create a lake to slow Lee down.

Otherwise, his fate would likely be similar to Gaara's.

At this point, Lee's chakra had become so wild that it granted him immunity to genjutsu.

Normal illusions wouldn't work on Lee in this state.

As Lee opened more gates, his chakra would become so violent that even strong genjutsu would fail against him.

That's why, against someone like Might Guy who had opened the Eight Gates, even Madara Uchiha needed the Truth-Seeking Balls, which embodied the fusion of Yin-Yang Release, to counter him.

Lee's current speed was one of the reasons Yagyu envied the Eight Gates technique so much.

Just opening the first gate would unlock 100% of his body's physical potential, maximizing both offense and speed.

And even with just the first gate open, Yagyu could still use ninjutsu.

Before obtaining absolute defense, using the higher gates could allow Yagyu to either escape from a stronger enemy or, alternatively, turn the tables and defeat them.

Even the dynamic vision of the Sharingan could only capture Lee as an afterimage; for everyone else, their minds were blank, leaving them speechless.

Boom!

A loud explosion sent Gaara's body flying into the air.

A figure bathed in green energy followed closely behind, running through the air as if it were solid ground, treating Gaara like a soccer ball and kicking him around.

"Fifth Gate: Gate of Limit—Open!"

After a series of rapid kicks, Lee, his eyes now all white, his skin flushed red, and veins bulging, forced his aching body to open another gate. The green energy around him intensified, turning into a raging aura.

Then, Lee ended his assault, his fist cloaked in a powerful air current, preparing to slam into Gaara.

Crack!

Just as he was about to strike, the sound of bones breaking echoed faintly, causing Lee to pause momentarily.

But even with the intense pain, Lee pushed through, delivering a powerful punch and knee to Gaara's body.

Reverse Lotus!

Boom!

With a deafening explosion, a shadow fell to the ground, and the entire arena shook as if it were about to collapse.

Dust filled the air, and the violent shockwave knocked Taku and Yumiko off their feet.

Even the weakened Sakura and Ino were nearly thrown off the stands, only saved by Yagyu grabbing them just in time.

As the dust lingered, both genin and jonin alike stared in disbelief.

They had thought Yagyu's S-rank Water Release was already astonishing enough.

But they hadn't expected that, besides Yagyu, who was clearly a future master of Water Release, there was also someone like Lee in this year's batch.

The ground-shattering impact was even more spectacular than Yagyu's water vortex!

As the dust settled, Gaara and Lee's figures became visible.

Gaara lay on the ground, barely able to move, only his hand twitching. It was the first time Kankuro and Temari had seen him in such a vulnerable state.

Not far away, Lee was also sitting on the ground, completely exhausted.

By all accounts, the match should have ended in a draw.

But then Gaara slowly raised his hand, and the sand from his gourd snaked toward Lee like a serpent.

Seeing this, the barely conscious Lee tried to move away.

But his body, too weak to stand, could only squirm backward like a worm.

"Guy-sensei, are you going to let his ninja career end here?"

Yagyu's voice suddenly rang out.

His fingers twitched, and blue chakra flared around him, as if he were ready to intervene.

Hearing this, the conflicted Might Guy immediately steeled his resolve. In a flash, he appeared in front of Lee, dispersing Gaara's approaching sand with a wave of his hand.

"We forfeit!" Guy declared to Hayate Gekkō.

"Guy-sensei…"

Lee's blurry vision followed Guy's back. Before he could utter a "sorry for disappointing you," he collapsed into unconsciousness.

"You did well, Lee. I'm proud of you," Guy said softly as he carried his unconscious student.

Seeing this, Yagyu smiled.

He deeply admired the relationship between Guy and Lee.

As comrades, they were the most reliable allies, willing to sacrifice themselves for their teammates at the last moment.

That's why Yagyu didn't want Lee to end up losing an arm and a leg, as he had in the original series.

Though Lee would eventually recover from those injuries, nothing could compare to keeping his original limbs.

The slow pace of Lee's future growth could very well have been due to the lasting effects of those injuries.

Now, by changing Lee's fate, Yagyu had simply done a good deed as someone who had crossed over from another world.

Watching Yagyu's contented expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt even more elated.

Not only did Yagyu's physical abilities and Water Release skills resemble Tobirama's, but his personality was also similar to Hashirama's.

No doubt about it—Yagyu was a perfect inheritor of the Will of Fire, a true descendant of the Senju!

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