Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 73: The Eight Gates
"How many gates can the boy open?" Kakashi asked.
"Five…" Gai replied.
"Five…" Kakashi frowned. "That could be enough to damage his body beyond repair."
"What are these gates you two are talking about?" Naruto decided to ask directly.
"In the chakra circulation system, there are eight very important spots where chakra flows through. We call those the Eight Gates, and each one has its own name. These gates act as a safety feature, preventing too much chakra from passing through and damaging your body," Kakashi explained.
"And let me guess… this technique removes those limitations," Naruto said.
"It's a necessary requirement to perform the Ultimate Lotus," Gai said.
"Lee has already opened the first gate in order to use the Initial Lotus…"
"Opening all eight gates would grant you power beyond a Kage… for a short duration of time. And then… you will die," Kakashi added.
Naruto looked back at the arena. Lee appeared to be getting ready to begin.
'A technique capable of granting you immense power before killing you...It is nothing new, but still interesting. I wonder if I could learn it?...'
Large amounts of energy were circulating around Rock Lee.
"Third Gate… Open!"
The chakra was becoming so concentrated that it could be seen clearly without the need for any special jutsu.
"Fourth Gate… Open!" Lee shouted.
The floor trembled, and the rubble next to him began to float in the air.
"Oh…" Naruto watched with interest. He didn't want to miss any details.
Lee disappeared from the spot, moving several times faster than before, and kicked Gaara into the air again.
The sand ninja had no chance to react and could only try to protect himself.
Naruto was very impressed with the results being shown by this Eight Gates technique, and Lee had only opened half of them.
'Looks like I've found something interesting…'
Gaara tried to move the sand that remained on the ground to use it as protection, but Lee appeared right in front of him and attacked once more before the sand could reach him.
One attack after another, Lee was making Gaara bounce in the air repeatedly.
The only protection Gaara had was the sand armor already on his body, as he was unable to move the rest of his sand fast enough to intercept Lee.
"Gaara's Sand Armor is cracking!" Kiba exclaimed.
"Just a bit more…" Shikamaru muttered.
"Gaara…" Kankuro and Temari were watching with wide eyes. They had never seen their brother pushed to this extreme.
"Lee… finish it already…" Gai looked on with concern. With each passing second, Lee's body was closer to collapse and potential permanent damage.
"It's over!... Fifth Gate… OPEN!" Lee screamed.
He punched Gaara with such force that pieces of his armor exploded in a shower of sand.
"Not yet!" Lee caught his opponent in the air with his white bandages and wrapped him up like before.
"Ahhhhh!" Lee screamed as he delivered the final blow, finishing the Ultimate Lotus and propelling Gaara directly towards the ground.
Gaara impacted the ground like a meteorite, leaving a large crater in the process.
Lee fell just a short distance away.
Before the dust could clear, the sand next to Lee began to move and managed to trap his left arm and leg.
"Argg!" Lee tried to escape, but his body was no longer responding properly. He had just performed the Ultimate Lotus and would need a long time to recover.
Gaara opened his eyes, and while still resting with his back against the ground, he moved his arm to manipulate the sand.
"That move!..." Kiba recognized it. It was the same one he saw in the forest.
Gaara closed his hand into a fist.
"Desert Coffin."
The sand compressed immediately, crushing the defenseless boy's limbs.
Lee collapsed, screaming in agony.
But Gaara wasn't done yet. He wanted his opponent dead, so he moved the sand again, this time aiming for his head.
'Oh no!' Naruto thought. If Lee died here, his plan to negotiate for the Eight Gates would be ruined.
Naruto had no time to waste, so he summoned as much chakra as he could and focused it on his legs.
He was about to jump into action when someone else got there first.
Maito Gai blasted away the mass of sand with one arm and stood before his disciple in a protective manner.
Gaara seemed to be assaulted by a powerful headache. He clutched at his head with both hands.
"Why… why did you save him…"
"He is my beloved disciple… I can't watch him die…" Gai seemed almost apologetic but also firm in his decision.
Gaara clenched his teeth in frustration. But even in his current state of anger, he knew there was nothing more to be done, so he recalled his sand and began to walk away.
"Winner… Gaara of the Sand!" Hayate hurried to declare.
Kakashi glanced at his side.
"Naruto… what were you thinking?..."
Naruto had recalled his chakra, but just for a second… they all felt the wave of demonic chakra emerge from him as he was preparing to intervene.
The portion of the railing in front of Naruto had been reduced to splinters, and he was standing with his feet on the edge.
The genin around him gave out noises of surprise, as none of them had even seen him move.
"You would have been disqualified," Kakashi said.
Naruto grinned.
"I couldn't let someone with such fighting spirit die like that…" His hand was pointing down, directly at Lee.
Gai turned around when he felt the movement and found his disciple standing up in a battle pose, ready to continue fighting.
"Lee?!... it's over, the match is…" Gai stopped talking because he realized that his disciple was still unconscious.
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