Owl of the sand

AN: Chapter is unedited.

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"The fight is over! Kankurō wins and passes on to the next round!"

With Genma's confirmation, the crowd cheered loudly, showering Kankurō with praise; The match had been the most entertaining one so far.

Sighing Kankurō didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.

'The next round...'

Looking up, his eyes met Gaara's. Feeling his scalp tingle, he sealed Mezawari walked back to the stands in a calm manner.

"Alright! The next fight, Rock Lee vs Shira! Please come down to the battlefield!"

Up in the stands, Naruto was starting to hype up Lee.

"He, Bushy-Brow! Show them what you're made of!"

Hearing this, Lee could not reciprocate the feeling. Because Neji had lost, he had lost one od the purposes for which he participated in this tournament... This left him a little hollow inside.

Just then, Guy appeared in his head, his words resonating inside of him

'If you beat the guy that beat Neji, you're stronger than him! Let your youth burn!'

"Yes! Guy-Sensei!"

His eyes turning into flemes, Lee somersaulted to the battlefield. Naruto, surprised by Lee's sudden scream, couldn't help but look at him weirdly.

Once both contestants were facing each other, the tension rose to unprecedented heights. Lee placed one hand behind his back, getting into his signature stance. Shira just stood there, making tense eye-contact with lee.

"Begin!"

Without exchanging any words whatsoever, both contestants aped towards each other and started duking it out.

Lee threw a punch to Shira's face, which he dodged easily, retaliating with a punch to the gut.

Lee saw it coming, parrying it with his palm and using Shira's arm as support to throw a back-heel spinning Kick.

Shira calmly placed his palm next to his head, stopping the kick and grabbing Lee by the heel.

"Grah!"

Shira's muscles contracted as he placed his other hand on lee's heel and lifted him into the air. In a second, he would slam him against the ground.

"Wah!"

Thinking quickly, Lee somehow managed to force his leg out of Shira's grip and backflipped away, drawing some distance.

Both of them made eye-contact, neither of them backing down.

"Shira-san, was it? I have never come across a taijutsu user of your caliber since Neji and Guy-sensei!"

"I am flattered, Lee-san. The feeling is mutual."

Both of them smiled and sped towards each other once again.

The fight was so exciting that the public's screams filled the arena. Both Taijutsu masters exchanged blow after blow, neither of them giving the other an inch.

"Shira's gaining the upper hand!"

Hearing Kiyo's words, everyone noticed that Lee was starting to lose the upper hand. He was unable to block some of Shira's hits and was starting to get pushed back.

'What! I can't see his attacks coming! No... It's more like I can't hear them!'

Watching Lee getting pushed back, Gaara crossed his arms and smiled.

Lee was now anxious. He couldn't hear Shira's movements, therefore making him unable to parry his attacks.

Inevitably, he got punched in the gut and was sent flying, hitting the wall behind.

"Awesome!"

"Good job, buff guy!"

The audience was going crazy. This fight had them all on their feet, screaming loudly.

Lee got back up, panting. He looked at Shira with complicated eyes.

"Guy-sensei... I'll have to..."

Full of resolve, lee removed his weights.

"Hmph. What's a couple of weights gonna do?"

Hearing Temar's comment, Gaara almost burst out laughing. Destiny was unpredictable sometimes... Who would've thought?

Dropping his weights to the floor, a similar scene to the anime took place. Once they fell, the ground shattered, forming two massive craters.

Seeing this, the crowd went crazy.

"Haah! I feel much better now!"

Hearing Lee's words, Shira smiled.

"You're not the only one with weights!"

He then proceeded to remove all of the weights, on his wrists and heels. Even the one on his belt. Dropping them, they created an even bigger crater. Seeing this, Lee was shocked.

Not only Lee, but the audience and the participants in the stands were also surprised. Gaara had a smile that wasn't a smile.

'Shira. You're bat-shit crazy... How much have you trained?'

"Let's go!'

Shira and Lee flickered, disappearing from their previous spots. The fight was so quick that most people weren't even able to see anything.

Strong impacts could be heard around the field, indicating that they were trading blows, but the audience couldn't see anything. only Gaara and a few others were able to.

"What speed! Was Bushy-brow always this fast!?"

Naruto's eyes were almost popping out of his sockets. This fight was crazy in all the sense of the word.

Suddenly, Lee reappeared, getting sent at full speed towards the wall once again. This time, he created a massive crater in it.

Shira appeared not far from him, letting out a powerful breath.

"Ha!"

He then flexed his arms and gave the traditional martial artist scream.

Falling to the ground, lee picked himself back up. He was now filled with bruises all over his body. The fight was one-sided.

"I... I can't lose here!"

With a burst of resolve, lee crossed his arms in front of his face and started to gather energy. Cracks started to appear under his feet.

"First gate! Kaimon! Open!"

Lowering his arms with strength, lee had expected to open the gate, but remained exactly as he was before.

"What...? I can't open the gates?!"

Lee couldn't believe what was happening. He looked at his hand, not understanding what happened.

Not far away, Shira looked at him with a serious expression.

"The legendary eight gates... You were trying to use them, right? I've heard about that technique."

"You know of the eight gates?!"

Lee was shocked. This was a secret technique passed on by his master. How could a guy from the sand know about it?"

"You want to know why you can't use them...?"

"I... Blocked your tenketsu."

Lee was in utter disbelief. Weren't the Hyūga clan the only ones capable of such feat...?

"How?!"

Shira smiled, and placed both fists in front of him, bending his knees a little.

"I'll show you my own gates! Watch!"

"GRAAAAH!"

"Daiichi-Kassei!" (First activation!)

Shira's eyes went blank... A yellow aura started appearing around him.

"Is he using the eight gates? No! It's different!"

Lee watched as Shira screamed again. This time, cracks started appearing beneath his feet as the aura grew in size.

"Daini-Kassei!" (Second activation!)

Shira's body expanded slightly and his muscles became more prominent. At this point, the pressure he emitted was so strong that people in the public could feel it.

"Daisan-Kassei!" (Third Activation!)

The tension kept building up, and Shira's skin became completely red. Lee watched in utter disbelief, unable to do anything.

"I'm not done yet! Daishi-Kassei!" (Fourth activation!)