Hello again fellow readers and writers alike! UltimateHero10 here with the next installment of Legends of the Land of fire. We're reaching one of the major showdowns in Naruto! That's right! It's the devil of the hidden leaf vs. the demon of the sand village. But before we begin, let's get on with the previous chapter summary.

Last time, our heroes had made it into the execution room where June was to be executed for her crime of conspiring against the queen. But fate had different plans as our heroes had came bursting in at the nick of time. As our heroes begun to fight their way through countless demons and pirates, Dark Nymph had waited for the right moment for her to attack. Eventually, that moment came and she had decided to debut the rebirth of her shadow minions. A power she had before getting banished into the nightmare realm. The creature was near impervious to all other forms of attack and had hit back with powerful force. While Danny seemed like he had the upper hand on the miniature dark magic user, this had allowed the shadow minion to get a sucker punch in and effectively knock him out.

But before she had the chance to test it out on the others, someone had activated the self-destruct sequence for the base. With no more time to spend there, our heroes had made a mad dash for the exit. But on their way out, Ben had gotten separated and was trapped. With no way out he thought it was the end. But, with the help of a supposed ally in the form of a ghost girl, he still lives to see tomorrow. With the price of a kiss.. Now, our heroes head back to the chunin examination facility to continue what they started. Little did they know, they were in for one heck of a fight! Now with that said and done, lets get this show movin with….

Chapter 18: The lotus in the sand! Rock Lee vs. Garaa!

After some much needed rest, our heroes return to the chunin examination building within the forest of death via Danny's dimension door.

"Ah, took you long enough." Said Kakashi noticing them walking back into the room.

"Naruto, where did you guys run off to? Asked Sakura. You guys missed two matches."

"There was something we had to take care of. Long story short, a friend needed our help." Naruto replied.

"But, we'll tell you more about that later. Has anything interesting happened in our absence?" Asked Dexter.

"Well, the match that began after you left had pitted Tenten against Temari." Said Sakura.

"Tenten…? Isn't she the one who likes to use multiples of ninja tools?" Asked Dexter.

"Yeah, that's her." She replied.

"And, who's this Temari girl?" Asked Chiro.

"That would be me." The blond wind type user spoke up as she had approached the group.

"Hey, you're the one we met in the village a couple of weeks ago." Danny realized.

"That's right. I don't know what you all had to do that was so important, but you missing two of the matches puts you at a disadvantage. You won't know what hit you before it's too late." Said Temari.

"I wouldn't worry about that too much." Dexter replied.

"Oh? And why is that?" Asked Temari.

"You have a giant fan on your back. And yes, I can tell it's a fan even if it's folded up. And that must make you affiliated with wind chakra. And if that's the case, then I can only imagine Tenten did not last long in the fight." Said Dexter.

"Perceptive for a little kid like you. Yeah, she didn't stand a chance. And I doubt you would do any better." Temari replied.

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to test that theory. I'm not participating in the exams. I'm only here by special permission." Said Dexter.

"Heh, guess that makes you the lucky one then." She chuckled.

"If you don't mind, could you please can the gloating?! It won't be long before someone thrashes you, you know!" Sabrina spoke up.

"Yeah right. Besides Garaa, I don't have anything to worry about." Said Temari. Sabrina was about to respond, but their attention was directed to the plasma screen as an audible beep had went off signaling the stop of the randomizer.

Sixth round:

Benjamin Tennyson

Vs.

Jake Long

All right. The combatants for the next round will be Ben Tennyson and Jake Long both from the hidden leaf village!" Hayate announced.

"Well Ben, looks like it's finally your turn." Said June

"Don't expect me to pull any punches because you're a kid." Said Jake.

"Was hoping you wouldn't. In fact, that's what caught June off guard in her match remember?" Asked Ben.

"Hey! I got serious in the end. Anyway, shouldn't you two be heading down there? " Asked June folding her arms.

"Hehe, right." Said Ben as he and Jake had quickly made their way to the arena.

"So, another two of the new guys huh? Asked Shikamaru. This oughta be interesting." Said Shikamaru.

"Alright, the rules for the fight are as follows. There are no restrictions on how you defeat your opponent. The last one of the two standing will move onto the next round. But if the match goes too far, then we will be forced to intervene. Got it?"

"Yeah." Said Ben,

"Yeah, we got it." Said Jake.

"Alright then, ready….? BEGIN!" Shouted Hayete commencing the match. After it had started, Jake and Ben had jumped a distance away from each other. Ben was the first to charge and tried to get in an Ariel kick. But Jake had ducked avoiding his attack and had punched him in the back sending him a couple of yards to the right.

But he had sprung off his hand and had back flipped before landing on his feet. The minute he had landed, he had charged at him again and begun throwing punches and kicks. Most of which were easily countered.

Ben was a bit at a disadvantage since Jake had more time training than anyone else out of the heroes,

"Come on Ben, knock his lights out!" Sabrina cheered already before either of them made an inch on each other yet.

"The match only just started, but I don't think the guy in green stands much of a chance here." Commented kankuro

"Why would he? The guy's just a shrimp just like the rest of their friends, no matter who wins this round they're done for either way." Temari smirked. Garaa had just continued to watch the match proceeded.

Ben had kept trying the same punching and kicking maneuver over a multiple of times as if he was spamming on his video game controller. But none of his attacks would connect to Jake as he was easily able to read and counter each one of his moves. When Ben tried to hit Jake with a left jab, he had blocked it with his hand keeping Ben in place while he had kneed him in the gut causing him to clutch his stomach and back away.

"Come on Ben. What happened to all that talk before?" Asked Jake with a smug look.

"Get real. I'm only getting warmed up!" Ben replied as he had charged at him again. But he was quickly countered and knocked aside. Ben had still refused to stay down.

"Listen man, if you want to get past me, you're going to have to try harder than this." Said Jake as he folded his arms.

(Crud…I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this so early. But…I can't beat him as I am now. Time for a little speed boost.)" Ben thought to himself as he had pulled up his pants leg revealing some kind of metal attached to his ankle with Japanese writing on them.

"Huh? Are those weights?" Asked Sakura. Ben had unclasped the parts that held them together and tossed them aside. They had hit the floor with a large clang that had echoed throughout the room.

'I don't see what difference a few pounds is going make." Said Temari.

"All right Dragon breath, here I come!" Said Ben as he had gotten into battle position. As Ben had charged, he had left a small dust cloud behind him. Jake's smug grin had disappeared as it was time to get serious. The drop of weight had increased Ben's speed. It was now a bit more difficult to keep up with him, but Jake managed to counter his moves still. As Ben was prepared to fire a left hook, he had tricked Jake into defending against the left hook.

Ben had grinned as his left fist had suddenly turned into a hand sign. As he had charged wind chakra into his right hand, he had clenched it as he was going to strike.

WIND STYLE:CYCLONE PUNCH!

He shouted as he had punched Jake with his chakra infused hand. Jake had attempted to block with his arms. But the punch had broken through his defense and had sent him hurling backwards in a strong gust of wind. Jake had landed hard on his back as he had landed.

"Alright! That's what I'm talking about!" Shouted Sabrina.

"Don't get too excited." Said Dexter. Even though the punch did manage to do a great deal of damage, Jake was still able to get back up on his feet.

"Well, looks like you got a lucky shot in. Said Jake as he stood back up. Whaddaya say we quit with the warm-up and give these people a show?" Ben had smirked as he knew what he meant.

"Yeah. Time to go all out!" Said Ben as he had reached for a smoke bomb in his ninja pack.

"Hey, what do they mean by that?" Asked Temari.

"You're about to find out.' Dexter replied. As Ben had pulled out a smoke bomb, Jake had performed a hand sign while shooting a large fire ball into the air which then proceeded to fall back down.

TRANSFORMATION JUTSU! They shouted in unison as the fireball had landed impacting on Jake while the smoke bomb had dropped covering Ben.

"Wha-? Did…did he just hit himself with his own attack?!" Asked Kankuro referring to Jake letting himself get injured by his own fireball. But that wasn't the case as the two combatants had transformed under the cover of these attacks. Jake had used the cover of his fireball to emerge as his dragon self in a blaze of glory letting out an ear-piercing roar. Ben had emerged from the smoke cloud as Diamondhead slashing apart the smoke clouds with his arms turned into make-shift swords.

"What the-? They-they changed form?!" Asked a shocked Kankuro.

"I guess it shouldn't be surprising. Two of their friends did the same thing earlier." Said Temari. Garaa had only continued to watch in silence.

As soon as their transformations were complete, Jake had charged at the now petrosapian ten-year old with incredible speed. It was going to be hard to make a dent on that diamond-like skin, so Jake had used his dragon claws to cut him. However, Diamomandhead managed to repair whatever damage he had inflicted on him in seconds. He had begun firing shards trying to ground the dragon that was flying around. Though it wasn't exactly easy to hit him as Jake had constantly maneuvered to dodge his attacks. After he had missed again, Jake had hit the petrosapian with a blast of fire.

Diamondhead had raised both his arms and blocked the stream of fire. At this rate, he wasn't going to get any damage on the lizard as long as he had remained grounded. So he decided to even up the field a bit by creating a large pillar comprised of petrosapian crystals to raise him into the air just within striking distance of Jake. As he had came near the pillar, he had manipulated the crystals in the column and created another about halfway down that had managed to hit Jake knocking him back. As the dragon was now disoriented, Diamondhead had leaped of the column and was now above the dragon. He had then preformed a hand sign and charged wind chakra into his right hand.

WIND STYLE:CYCLONE PUNCH! He shouted as he had delivered a diamondhead plus cyclone punch to the dragon sending him crashing to the ground in a gust of wind. The crash had created a huge crater leaving a dust cloud behind. As the smoke cleared, Jake had reverted to his normal form. It was clear to see that he couldn't continue.

"Jake?" Diamondhead asked as he had stood over the felled dragon.

"It's over, dude. I'm out." Jake said nonchalantly.

"That's it! Jake can no longer continue. The winner of this match is Ben Tennyson! Shouted Hayate. At that moment, the omnitrix had timed out and Ben had reverted back to his human form.

"The…the runt won? How?! Asked Kankuro.

"It was that transformation jutsu they pulled. Obviously. Said Temari. That blue creature thing he had turned into gave him way more defense and lasted longer. Had they remained in their normal states, I'm pretty sure the guy with the crazy haircut would have won. Oh well."

"You know you wouldn't have won if you hadn't transformed into that rock dude, right?" Asked Jake.

"Doesn't matter. I'd still kick your butt." Said Ben. The two had returned to the stands to meet with the others.

"Nice work out there guys. You did great. Sorry you didn't make it further, Jake." Said June.

"Pfft. Whatever. Who wants to be a chunin anyways?" Asked Jake as he held his arms behind his back.

"Actually, there are quite a few benefits that come with being a chunin." Said Dexter.

"Dude, rhetorical question." Jake replied.

"Hey look! They're getting ready for the next match!" Said Sabrina pointing to the plasma screen as the randomizer had soon stopped on the next two names. Everyone had looked shocked while Lee's eyes had grew wide as dinner plates and was about ready to burst with excitement.

Seventh round:

Rock Lee

Vs.

Garaa

"The next round will pit R ock lee of the hidden leaf vs. Garaa of the hidden sand.

"Huh, So bushy brow is up next huh?" Asked Naruto.

"YAHOOOO! Shouted the taijutsu genin after seeing his name appear getting everyone's attention! Finally! I knew if I had just pretended not to care, fate would have me fight sooner! He had literally jumped from the stands, front flipped several times and had landed on the arena eager to begin.

"Well, someone's eager. Said Chiro . What did he mean by not pretending to care?"

"Earlier, After waiting so long to get his chance to fight, Lee said the he didn't care anymore. Even if he had to go last. I thought he was sulking then." Sakura answered.

"Well he doesn't seem to be skulking now. Who's the Garaa he's facing?" Asked Chiro.

"That's him. The kid with the red hair." Sakura answered pointing to the sungakure ninja as he had made his way on to the arena.

"Something doesn't feel right about this guy…." Said Chiro as the malicious aura surrounding Garaa was almost latent as visible chakra. Hyate had raised his hand before bringing it down.

"You two know the rules. Whoever remains standing is the winner. If the match looks like it's getting out of hand, then it will be halted with the last one standing the winner. Alright, BEGIN!" He said beginning the match. Seconds after he said the starting word, Lee had rushed for Garaa who remained still and had his arms folded.

"LEAF HURRICANE!" Lee shouted as he had jumped into the air and tried to strike Garaa with one of his signature moves. But he was instantly blocked with a stream of sand. As he had landed, he had saw that he had to back away fast or get consumed by the wave of sand that was about to strike. He had back flipped a couple of times before landing and skidding to a halt. The sand that was used to attack had retreated back into the gourd on his back.

'What is that stuff?" Asked Ino.

"It's sand." Said Sakura.

"(That's an unusual jutsu.)" Thought Kakashi.

"(So that's what he's got in that gourd!)" Thought Naruto.

"(That…that sand….)" Thought Shino as he had flashed back to the moment in the forest of death where he witnessed the full use of Garaa's sand first hand as he watched the advisory that tried to ambush him die in his sand coffin. Reliving the memory as if it were a nightmare.

"(That sand manipulating jutsu. It will not be easy getting through that. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained!") Lee thought as he had charged at him again with the sand providing a near impenetrable wall blocking his attacks. When the sand had tried to consume him, he had cut some out of the way with a kunai knife. When another wave of sand was about to hit, he had dodged rolled out of the way and had jumped into the air and tossed to shuriken at him. But the sand had blocked the shuriken as well.

"Geez, that sand must be alive or something. He's blocking all of his attacks and aint even moving a finger!" Said Johnny.

"Even with as fast as he is, Lee can't get through to him!" Said Sakura.

"The sand…he's using it as some kind of shield." Said Marutp.

"Heh, it's not Garaa doing it, it's the sand." Chuckled Kankuro. It's protecting him of it's own accord. It defends without him doing anything. That's why he hasn't been injured. Not even once." Kankuro explained.

"(Grrr, how is he doing it? He's blocking my attacks without moving a muscle!)" Lee thought as he grew frustrated with trying to find a way around Garaa's defensive sand.

"Well? Is that all of you've got? Asked Garaa breaking Lee's train of thought. I certainly hope not. I've haven't had enough fun yet. Not enough...blood." He said as the sand had charged at Lee again. He tried to avoid it by jumping in the air, but the sand had caught him by the ankle and had begun swinging him around like a rag doll until finally tossing him into the side of the wall. Lee had groaned in pain, but had no time to lick his wound as the sand came charging towards him again. He had dodged the sand and had charged at Garra trying to hit him with a right hook.

But the sand had blocked the punch. He had begun constantly bombarding him with punches and kicks. But no matter how hard he hit, he wasn't fast enough to out speed the sand.

"Lee's only using taijutsu. Can't he see that's not going to work? Why doesn't he get some distance and try genjutsu or ninjutsu?" Asked Sakura.

"Yes, that would be a good idea. That is, if Lee had any." Said Guy.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Asked Sakura.

"Lee has no ninjutsu or genjutsu whatsoever." Guy replied.

"You're kidding!" Said Sakura in disbelief.

"That's nothing. You should have seen how hopeless he was when I first met him. No talent whatsoever." Guy continued.

"Really? I can't believe it!" Said Sakura. Lee still continued to dodge Garaa's sand and attack. While he was back flipping, he had slipped on some of the sand that managed to seep under his soles.

"That's not good." Said Danny.

"Come on Bushy brow, get up!" Shouted Naruto. Looking up, Lee saw that another wave of sand was about to crash down on him. The sand had hit the ground with a crash presumably hitting it's mark.

"Oh man! Said Choji.

"It's over!" Said Shikamaru. While everyone thought it was over, Guy still wore a grin on his face. Taking a second look, they saw that Lee was okay as he dis several backflips upwards into the air and had landed on the tip of the finger of the hand sign structure at the far side of the arena.

'A ninja who can use neither genjutsu or ninjutsu is certainly a rarity. Began Guy. Lee only has his taijutsu to rely on. Some ninja may consider that a disadvantage. But, that is the very thing that makes him a winner. Guy then glanced over to Lee and had gave a thumbs up. All right Lee, take 'em off!"

"Uh…but Guy sensei, you said that would only be used as a last resort." Lee replied.

"Huh? What's he talking about? What exactly is he planning to do?" Asked Ben,

"Looks like we might just found out." Said Danny.

"That's the idea! But this is an exception!" Guy replied.

"Really? Really?! Asked Lee as a smile was visible on his face. He had then sat down crossing his legs and had begun to remove the orange legwarmers he had on. As he took them off, it was revealed that he was wearing lightweights around his lower legs similar to what Ben had used.

"Huh? Lightweights again? Like Ben used?" Asked Ino. As Lee had removed the weights, he had stood back up on his two feet.

"Ah, that's better. Now I can move freely." Said Lee as he had let go of the weights and had let them fall to the ground.

("Come on, that kid barely managed to beat the dragon kid doing this. You really think you can get past Garaa's defense by just dropping a couple of weights?") Thought Temari. But her smirk had suddenly disappeared as the weights had touched down with a large crash that shook the whole room. The weights Lee had just took off must have been the equivalent of dumbells. Everyone's eyes had gotten the same dinner plate expressions except for the higher up ninja.

"H-how much did those things weigh exactly?" Asked a stunned Sabrina.

"The force of that crash must have been at least over two tons! There's no way someone could move regularly with all that weight on their legs!" Said Dexter as he had straightened his glasses which were knocked loose from the tremor.

"Why do I get the feeling we're about to get a reminder of our blue, spikey friend?" Asked Danny.

"All right, Lee! Now go! Shouted Guy.

"Yes, Sensei!" Shouted Lee. In seconds, Lee had disappeared without a trace which had finally caused Garaa to change his stoic expression as for the first time he looked shocked. Seconds later, he had reappeared tossing a punch that Garaa could barely see coming. Lee had begun moving so fast that even the somewhat sentient sands had trouble keeping up with him as it was getting slightly more difficult to protect him.

"You see, he had no ability to use ninjutsu or genjutsu. So he spent all his time and energy into taijutsu. That way, we turned his disadvantage into a blessing. Now, he doesn't even need those skills. Because now, he's transformed into the world's greatest taijutsu specialist." Said Guy with a prideful look on his face. The next time Lee appeared, he had done several flips in the air before he had landed a sharp kick onto Garaa's face being the first one to ever get past his wall of sand.

"Haha! Alright, he got him!" Shouted Ben.

"Looks like that sand defense isn't so perfect after all!" Said Johnny

"AAAALLLLL RIIIIGHT! Shouted Guy triumphantly. Now go Lee! Go and explode with the power of youth!" He shouted as twin streams of flames had shot out of his nostrils.

"Right! Lee replied as he charged forward still moving too fast for Garaa or his sand to keep up with him. He tried to keep Lee away by launching a stream of sand in the direction he was approaching from. But Lee had easily dodged the attack and begun striking from multiple angles. By this point, Lee was practically invisible and the only traces of him that could be spotted were the sections of Garaa's sand wall that seemed to block multiple punches. But the sand eventually was too slow and Lee had got in a mean right hook knocking Garaa to the ground.

"All right, Lee! You totally nailed him!" Cheered Sakura.

"He's been this fast all this time? This is unreal!" Said Naruto.

"All right! Looks like Mr. sandman is going down!" Cheered Sabrina.

'No, take another look." Said Danny with a look of intensity.

"Huh? Why? It's obvious that Lee just knocked the sucker for a…." Sabrina had stopped in mid-sentence as she now had a horrified look on her face.

'"Uh-oh, this isn't good." Said Kankuro as he saw Garaa get back up on his feet.

"Uh-oh is right! You're buddy down there just had his lights punched out!" Said Naruto with a wide grin on his face.

"Not that, idiot! Kankuro replied. Take a closer look at Garaa." As Naruto had took another glance at the sand ninja, he had now gotten the same expressions that everyone else had. Garaa's appearance had changed. His body turned light brown and fragile like sand. Almost his entire body was light brown and cracked while sand had begun attaching to his face. Only the region around his mouth and nose remained the same. He wore a somewhat demonic grin showing off his pearly whites and had begun weezing.

"What the-? What exactly is he?" Asked June.

"What's the deal? That guy's face is falling off!" Said Naruto.

"There's your nightmare fuel for ya." Said Danny.

("It's like a shell made out of sand.") Thought Kakashi,

("He encased himself in sand huh? Things must be bad. I haven't seen that look on his face in a long time.') Kankuro thought dreadfully.

(I knew it. I sensed it more as more as the chunin exams progressed. ) Thought Temari.

"I don't get it! Is he made of sand or something?" Asked Naruto. All those blows and kicks the Lee hit him with. Didn't any of them get through?"

"No. It's like a suit of armor." Kankuro answered.

"A what?" Asked Naruto

"Ordinarily, those shifting clouds of sand are enough to block any form of attack. But, in the event that shield is penetrated, Garaa can build a sand-like armor as a last line of defense." Kankuro explained.

"This guy is too much! He's got armor now?! Does he have any weakspots?!" Asked Naruto.

('Hmph, if only you knew kid. Actually, that sand armor is one big weakspot. Unlike the sand shield, the armor can be broken. And the amount of chakra needed to regenerate and keep the armor in place is a toll of it's own.") Thought Kankuro.

("Garaa has to be feeling the pressure. He wouldn't have resorted to the armor otherwise. This Lee is good, there's no doubt about it. It's obviously going to be tougher than we thought. But the outcome is a given. Garaa won't lose.) Thought Temari.

"I will win this battle." Garaa uttered.

("Grr. My speed won't be enough! He is impossible to get behind with those sand defenses! If I can get him up off the ground, away from the sand, and hit him from above…Yes. That'll work!) Thought Lee as he had planned his next move. HHe had then proceeded to unwrap some of the many bandages that had adorned his arms.

"What's he doing now? Don't tell me he's got weights on his arms too?!" Said Chiro.

"No, he's preparing for his signature attack." Said Kakashi.

"Signiture attack? Asked Chiro. Suddenly, he had realized what he was talking about. You mean-!" Chiro began as he had remembered the move that he was about to use on Sasuke when they first met. As Lee had finished removing a good amount of bandages, he had crossed his arms.

"GET READY!" Lee said just before dashing off. He begun to run a rapid circle around Garaa. He was moving so fast that he had stirred up a large dust circle that surrounded the sand ninja completely.

("That's right, Lee. That tricky wall of sand is no match for your signature technique.") Thought Guy. Lee had soon emerged from the circle of dust and kicked Garaa square in the chin sending him a couple meters off the ground. But just barely as Garaa wasn't going any higher.

"He's not floating!" Said Sakura. The opponent Lee was attacking had to be much higher off the ground for the primary lotus to work. But Lee wasn't one to give up so easily. He had sprung off his hands and begun extending the power of the lotus by kicking Garaa further into the air.

"What an incredible series of kicks." Said Kakashi.

"How is it even possible for him to stay airborne for that long?" Asked June.

("Come on Lee! You've got to finish this now!" Guy thought as he had closed his eyes and had clasped his hands together. The primary lotus done normally puts an enormous strain on the body. Let alone this…..") The strain had showed as during one of the last kicks, Lee had closed his eyes wincing in the pain that he was enduring for pushing the lotus like this. But he kept going and finally got Garaa to the appropriate height he needed.

Lee had then wrapped the loose bandages around Garaa preventing any movement. Once that was done, they both begun hurdling towards the ground while beginning to spin rapidly.

"Now, take this!...PRIMARY LOTUS! Lee shouted as he and Garaa had crashed into the arena floor raising a huge dust cloud. Lee appeared to have made it out fine, but there was still too much dust to figure out Garaa's condition. As the dust had fully cleared, it had showed Garaa laying on his back in a pile of rubble that was uplifted from the stadium floor. Yes! I got him!" Said Lee with a smile.

"Alright! Way to do it!" Said Guy.

'No way…" Said Kankuro is disbelief.

"All right, Lee! Way to go!" Cheered Sakura.

"Is he…? That guy isn't dead is he?" Shikamaru asked not believing that the sand ninja had been felled just yet. But with the proof sprawled across the arena floor, or at least what was left of it, it was pretty hard not to believe it. Hayate had then approached the comatose Garaa to check his condition. But he had stopped when he saw a piece of him chip off. Lee, Naruto, as well as everyone else except for the visitors from Sungakure were shocked and surprised to see that the Garaa that was damaged by Lee's primary lotus was not Garaa at all. But more like a shell. The shell from his sand armor.

"It…it's just a shell!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise.

"The heck?! What just happened? How did he do that?" Asked Ben slamming his hands on the rail bars.

"I don't get it…How did he avoid Lee's attack?!" Asked Guy.

"It was when you closed your eyes to pray. Kakashi answered him. When you had closed your eyes to pray, Lee had closed his eyes too because of the pain from the lotus. That's when he did it. He shed the armor he wore and let it take the hit."

As Lee was now taking time to catch his breath, Garaa had appeared behind him in a lump of sand. After he reappeared, he began chuckling in a fashion that was similar to a madman.

"Oh no…..it's…" Temari began with a hint of terror in her voice.

'So it's begun. Said Kankuro. That look in his eyes….it's a sign that the demon inside of him has been awakened." As Garaa's grin grew more maniacal, the sand he controlled had expanded into a giant tsunami.

"GAH! June exclaimed as she had clutched her right arm.

"June? What's wrong?" Asked Sabrina. As June had soon removed her hand, she saw that her bracelet was going haywire as it was vibrating and shining so brightly that it begun to burn the wrist it was attached to.

"Geez, what's up with your bracelet?" Asked Ben.

"I..i don't know. It's never done anything like this before!" June replied lying to keep her identity as the te xuan ze a secret. It wasn't long before the bracelet had calmed down and had shut off for the moment. ("What exactly is this guy? The bracelet has never flipped out like that whenever a monster is lose. Is….is he some kind of demon?") June thought as she eyed the sand ninja in the arena. Soon Garaa as on the offensive as he had motioned a wave of sand to crash down on lee. Lee had attempted to block it, but he had ended up getting knocked off his feet and smashed into the side of the wall. He had struggled to get back up, but the strain from the primary lotus he used earlier was hindering his movements. He could barely move let alone get up.

"RUN, LEE!" Naruto shouted as another wave of sand had came crashing down on Lee. With him unable to run, he had no choice but to get tossed around like a rag doll by Garaa's sand. As Garaa had continued his merciless onslaught, he had licked his lips savoring the moment.

"Why is Lee just standing around? Asked Sakura. With his speed, he should be able to dodge those attacks no problem!"

"For a very simple reason. Guy answered her. It's because….he can't dodge his attacks."

"Huh? Why not?" Asked Sakura.

"The primary lotus is what you might call…..a double-edged sword." Said Kakashi.

"Wha-what does that mean?" Asked Sakura.

"The primary lotus is a forbidden technique. Why do you think that is?" Asked Kakashi.

'Well…." Said Sakura unsure of what to tell him.

"He means that the consequences of using such an extreme technique are as great as the benefits. Dexter answered. The primary lotus is a forbidden technique for a reason. It must put some sort of immense strain on the user. Any normal taijutsu user probably wouldn't be moving right now. Isn't that right, Guy?"

"But…but that means…." Sakura began as she glanced back to Lee who was breathing heavily, but still ready to defend against Garaa's attacks. When Garaa had attacked again, Lee had forced himself to move and barely dodged the next few of Garaa's attacks.

'No ninjutsu….or genjutu…" Said Sakura.

'All he's got is taijutsu. And he doesn't even have much of that." Said Ino.

"There's no way he can win this." Said Choji.

"I gotta say, I feel bad for the kid. Garaa's just gonna toy with him until he begs for mercy." Said Kankuro.

"Well then Garaa's in for a long fight cause that's never gonna happen. Said Guy. Lee doesn't know how to give up." Lee had gotten struck with another stream of sand that hit him in the back causing him to scream in agony.

(Lee will go far beyond the point where anyone else would have given up.") Guy thought as he had flashed back to all the times he found Lee training by himself to get better at being a ninja. Lee would punish himself whenever he had failed to complete one of his self-instructed training regimens. In the past, he thought that if he had trained twice as hard as a normal ninja would, he would gain the strength he needed to overcome his rival, Neji. But that simply wasn't the case. Added to his little knowledge in taijutsu, and his lack of both ninjutsu and genjutsu would permanently keep him from achieving his goal. But Guy had told Lee that he had a gift of his own. Not as flashy as Neji's, but just as important.

He told Lee that he was blessed with the gift of perseverance. Being able to cross physical boundaries that nobody else could. It was from that point on that Guy had took Lee under his wing as his pupil.

("Sensei…thank you. Thought Lee. I….i will..persevere!) Lee had managed to get a smile on his face as he had found new resolve. Garaa had wasted no time in attacking again. But it seemed like Lee had recovered from the primary lotus from earlier as he had regained his super speed effectively dodging Garaa's attacks again.

'How can he still move like that?" Asked a surprised Shikamaru.

"Hey….he…he's smiling! Exclaimed Sakura. He's running for his life, but he's smiling!"

"Yes. But now it's Garaa's turn to run. You see, the hidden leaf lotus blooms twice." Said Guy.

"Wha-? Oh no…Guy, you didn't…" Said Kakashi as if Guy did something he never was supposed to.

"Yes Kakashi, I did." Guy replied.

"So, you're telling me that genin….that boy…is able to open the eight inner gates?! Asked Kakashi. And now he's able to use the hidden lotus?"

("Hidden lotus?") Pondered Neji.

"That's correct." Guy replied.

"Well if that isn't the most…ngh! Kakahsi growled but calmed himself as much as he could. Okay, so exactly how many can he open right now?"

"Five gates." Guy replied.

"Okay, what exactly are these inner gates you keep talking about? And the hidden lotus?" Asked a curious Sakura.

"Gates are like vows. Or better known as chakra limiters to limit the control of chakra in the body if one wishes to use the hidden lotus.

"I'm still not following." Said Sakura.

There are eight gates located in specific spots in your chakra network where chakra is most heavily concentrated. Starting off with the head, there are the gate of opening, the gate of rest, the gate of life, of pain, of closing, of joy, of shock, and finally, the gate of death. Kakashi explained as he revealed his sharingan eye. These are what are known as the eight inner gates. Their purpose is to limit the flow of chakra through the body. But the use of the lotus increases the pressure put in these gates . Eventually, forcing the gates open. This results in loosening the restraints on the chakra. Allowing a person's strength to be increased tenfold.

"The primary lotus opens the first gate, the gate of opening. Said Guy. Releasing the brain's restraints on the muscles. Forcing the body to bring its speed and strength to it's full extents. You've seen the results.

"And the…hidden lotus?" Asked Sakura.

"Once the second gate, the gate of rest which increases strength even further, and the third gate, the gate of life opens, that's when it becomes the hidden lotus." Guy continued

"But wait a minute….just the primary lotus almost destroyed him. He could barely move. What happens if he takes it further.?" Asked Sakura.

"Exactly. Said Kakashi. By opening all eight gates, you could obtain power beyond all hokages. But the drawback is…DEATH. Kakashi finished causing Sakura's face to go pale. I don't know what this boy means to you, Guy, but I shouldn't have to tell you that we never bring our personal feeling into play. I'd never take you to be one capable of this."

"You don't know Lee. You don't know anything about me! Guy stated. You don't know anything at all! That boy down there is a splendid ninja. And he'd do anything to prove it! And I'm determined to help him reach that goal. Not for my sake, but because it's a goal worth reaching. As Lee had stared down Garaa, he had a flashback of Guy teaching him the very technique he and Kakashi were talking about.

"Now Lee, this technique is even more forbidden than the primary lotus. And you are only allowed to use it under one condition. And that condition…is…" Guy cut off as Lee's flashback ended.

"And that condition is…." Lee began as he had folded his arms. Suddenly, some sort of invisible pressure was surrounding him.

"I don't know what you think you're planning right now, but this match is over for you." Said Garaa.

"You're right. It is over. Lee replied. One way or another. Neji…and Sasuke….and…Lee cut off as he had saw an image of Naruto. Soon, the force Lee was emiting began to shake the room to it's core. I will not be the only one to lose here today! Guy sensei, please let this work! It is now…or never!" Lee said as his hair begun to stand up on end. As his skin begun to turn a dark shade of red, multiple veins became visable on his head as a sign of increased blood flow. The one condition….is…."

"TO PROTECT AND MAINTAIN ONE'S OWN NINJA WAY!" Lee and Guy shouted in unison. An aura of blue chakra had now manifested and was surrounding Lee.

'He looks…..different." Said Johnny. What happened to him?"

"His chakra…it's completely visible!" Said Kakashi.

"I guess Lee still had a trump card up his sleeve." Said Dexter.

"What's it mean? What's happening?" Asked Kankuro.

"THE THIRD GATE….GATE OF LIFE…OPEN!" Lee shouted as his chakra had became denser and had increased his power.

"The third gate…now comes the attack!" Said Kakashi.

"No…not yet." Said Guy.

"GYAAAAAAAAH! THE FOURTH GATE…GATE OF PAIN! OPEN!" Lee shouted as his power intensified once more.

"He's already opened half of the gates?!" Asked Sakuro. After opening four of the eight gates, Lee had blasted off leaving a shockwave in his wake even faster than when he had dropped the weights. The next kick Lee delivered to Garaa's chin had uplifted chunks of rubble from the arena floor and stirred up a powerful dust storm forcing the people in the stands to cover their eyes.

"Dang! Lee's not playin' around! You think he might be able to beat him now?" Asked Jake.

"Depends if Lee doesn't kill him first! Speaking of which, where'd they go?" Asked Danny as Lee and Garaa seemed to have disappeared completely from the arena floor.

"Ah! Up there! Shouted Shikamaru directing everyone's attention upwards towards the ceiling where Garaa was found rising from a dust cloud trying to repair his sand armor.

"There's Garaa, but what happened to Lee?" Asked Ino.

"I don't know! He just….disappeared!" Said Choji. While his opponent was nowhere to be seen, Garaa took this chance to repair the immense damage that had been done to his armor. Suddenly sensing danger, a cloud of sand had risen to protect him.

("The sand isn't fast enough to protect him!") Said Sakura.

'Hiding behind that sand armor again?! Well we will see about that!" Lee shouted as the minute he reappeared, he had dealt a devastating blow to Garaa. Only seconds later, the sand ninja was reduced to a ping pong ball as Lee was moving so fast that he was continuously striking Garaa while keeping him airborne.

"This is crazy! That Garaa dude can't move an inch! Lee's really pulling out all the stops!" Shouted Ben.

"Ngh….my armor…can't withstand this pounding…it's crumbling away." Groaned Garaa as Lee's constant attacks were destroying his armor. If something wasn't done and fast, Garaa would finally be on the loser's side of the battle.

"You are too slow! TRY THIS!" Shouted Lee as he had appeared above Garaa and had tightly clenched his fist.

"His muscles are tearing themselves apart!" Said Kakashi.

("Is….is this really Lee? Where did he acquire such power?") Thought Neji.

"One more should finish it!" Said Lee as he prepared to attack.

("No one can move this fast….it's impossible!") Thought Garaa.

Before Lee had attacked, he had glanced over to Neji. ("Neji…I was originally saving this ace in the hole for you! See what you have to look forward too?") Thought Lee. He had once again disappeared before delivering a devastating punch to Garaa's mid-section sending him hurdling towards the ground. But before he could descend any further, Lee had caught him by one of his white straps.

("Oh no! The sand shield can't keep up!") Thought Temari.

("This is trouble!") Thought Kankuro.

("The hidden lotus….a taijutsu combination of great power and blinding speed. No one can defend against it. Not even Neji. Garaa's sand shield is useless.") Thought Guy. Lee had arched back his right arm and leg before smashing them into Garaa.

HIDDEN LOTUS!" Lee exclaimed as the attack itself had stirred up a large cloud of dust and sand. After the attack was done, Lee's right arm and leg had began coursing with a bright orange electrical current. As Garaa had descended to the ground sure to meet his defeat upon landing, he did the only thing he could think of and turn the very gourd on his back into sand. After the crash, Lee had came rolling out of the dust cloud on the floor.

"Well, looks like it's over. There's no way he could have defended against something like that!" Said Ben. But as the dust cloud cleared, it showed that Garaa was somewhat alright. Though he could barely move after such an attack, the fact that he was still conscious was trouble.

"No….no way!" Said Ben in disbelief. As Lee had gotten up, he saw that Garaa was still moving. He had struggled as he had raised his right arm.

"Oh no. I know what's coming next." Said Shino as he had a flashback pertaining to what Garaa was going to do next. The words.."Sand Burial"…were implanted in his mind as he witnessed it's horrific results. Lee tried to get up, but once again, the damage from preforming the lotus was preventing him from moving. Two sections of sand had covered his left arm and left leg.

"….Sand..Burial…" Garaa said as he had clenched his hand turning it into a fist and in turn effectively crushing Lee's arm and leg bones.

"Gaaaaah!" Lee screamed in pain.

"Lee!" Shouted Naruto/

("I…I cannot be the only one to lose here…..i will…win…") Lee thought as he finally gave out and was knocked unconscious. Everyone was at a loss for words. But that wouldn't last long as Garaa sought to kill Lee for inflicting so much damage upon him. He had raised another wall of sand as he was seeking to finish the job.

"Now you die!" Said Garaa as he had commanded the sand to crash down on him. But before it could hit it's mark, the sand was repelled. By Guy. As Garaa had got up, the look on his face had reminded Garaa of the only people that were brave enough to even get close to him.

"Why…why did you protect him….? He failed!" Said Garaa not being able to understand the man's action for this.

"Why…? Because…he's precious to me." Guy replied.

("Because he's precious to him? That's something Garaa couldn't even begin to comprehend.") Thought Temari. Garaa didn't even bother to question it and just decided to walk away as he begun repairing the damage dealt to him in the fight. "I don't care….I quit." Said Garaa as he begun to walk away.

"Did you hear that? He just quit." Said Sakura.

"But it's already too late. Said Kakashi. It was over the minute that Guy intervened. Garaa had suddenly stopped and looked back noticing something. And everyone else noticed it too.

"Ah man, come on…." Said Jake.

"Bushy brow…" Said Naruto. Everyone was at a loss for words as they saw Lee was back up on his feet ready to finish his fight with Garaa.

"How? After all that, the guy shouldn't even be standing right now!" Said Shikamaru.

"Lee, it's okay. It's over now. Said Guy. You don't have to-." Guy had stopped in mid-sentence after he had gotten a good look at Lee now. It had brought tears to his eyes. …Oh Lee… Guy whimpered. Lee wasn't even conscious at this point. The soulless look in his eyes was proof of that.

..Not even conscious, and your still wanting to prove yourself to the world. But, you've already proven it… Guy continued as he embraced Lee.. You're a splendid ninja." After deciding when to speak, Hayate had announced the final result.

"The winner….is Garaa." He said motioning to the sand ninja who was walking away. But he had turned and growled as he saw guy embrace his student.

"Lee!" Said Sakura as she was about to jump from the stands and rush to his side.

"Sakura! Said Kakashi stopping her in her tracks. There is nothing you can do for him right now. Sometimes sympathetic words, are the worst possible thing you could give someone." Sakura had stayed, but glanced back at Lee who as now lying unconscious on the ground.

"This….this can't be right….Ben said not being hardly able to contain himself. After all that….he…still lost?"

"Hmph…I knew he couldn't beat Garaa." Said Temari with a satisfied smirk.

("Still, the match as a lot tougher than we thought.") Thought Kankuro. Not being able to hold himself back, Naruto had did what Naruto didn't and had jumped from the stands and rushed to his friends side.

("Naruto…) Thought Kakashi. Without warning, Sabrina had did the same as she had leapt from the stands and rushed to see Lee.

"Hey! Sabrina!" Said Danny trying to get her attention. But to no avail. As Naruto had kept running, he had passed Garaa in slow motion. He couldn't help but feel the deepest of rage right now. If it wasn't for the seal Orochimaru placed, some of the fox's demon chakra may have been leaking out right now.

("I can't believe it. Lee lost…to him?!) Naruto asked mentally as he and Sabrina continued to rush to Lee's side.

"Hurry, this boy needs attention." Said one of the medics that was surrounding him. Suddenly, one of the medic ninja had a look of distraught on his face.

"You're…his teacher right? The medic asked turning to Guy. Will you…come with me for a moment?" He asked leading Guy a good distance away from the others.

"Careful with him." Said another medic ninja as they had put Lee on a stretcher and proceeded to take him to the infirmary.

"The boy's breathing is slow…but steady. Said the medic ninja who was talking to Guy. There are muscle tears and bone fractures all over his body. He's facing a long and difficult rehabilitation process. But I'm afraid…that's not the worst of it. His left arm and left leg in particular have suffered massive damage. Suddenly, Naruto had flashed back to the moment where Garaa used his sand to crush Lee's arm and leg.

"I'm sorry. I know how much it means to you both…but I'm afraid that he'll never fight again. His days of a shinobi are over." The medic ninja finished.

"No….no, he's wrong, it can't be true." Naruto said in disbelief.

("Lee, forgive me. It was all my fault…I should have stopped it.) Thought Guy.

"It's not true…it can't be true! EASY FOR YOU TO SAY IT'S OVER! What about bushy brow? What's he supposed to do now?! Naruto shouted. Failure?! I Thought you were gonna show us how we could win! I thought you could….it was all a lie, wasn't it?! Before Naruto could continue, Kakashi had appeared behind him and stopped him from saying anything else.

"That's enough Naruto. Said Kakashi.

"Why sensei?! It's not fair! All he wanted to do was prove himself to Sasuke and Neji." Said Naruto.

"He strived so much for that goal that he sacrificed his body, his future to obtain it. And now that goal is unattainable. But you're wrong about one thing Naruto. It wasn't just Neji and Sasuke he was thinking about. It was you too." Said Kakashi. Hearing this made Naruto's eyes shrink in realization. That's right. He sacrificed everything just for the hope of meeting you in combat. Remember that. Be worthy of his sacrifice. He finished as he had placed a hand on Naruto's head.

("Lee, you didn't understand. No matter how hard we try, fate will never smile on the fortunes of a ninja who falls on his own sword. Or demanding that others fall on theirs.") Thought Neji. After Lee was gone, Garaa had disappeared in swirl of sand and reappeared next to his comrades from sungakure."

("So…the worst didn't happen after all.) Thought the sand chunin who was standing there as well.

"Glad to have you back, Garaa." Said Temari which only got a glance from Garaa as a response. After seeing Lee get carried off, Sabrina had turned to where Garaa was and shot a glare at him.

Well everyone, that's the end of the chapter. Even after going beyond the forbidden limits, it seems that Garaa's versatile sand manipulation was what won him the battle today while also taking away Lee's ability to fight in the process. Will Karma strike a lightning bolt down on Garaa and make him pay for what he's done? And if even Lee wasn't able to beat him, then who can? Next time, the chunin exams continue with the next three matches and the one starting it off will be the slacker of konoha, Shikamaru.

"Hey! Why do I have to fight?! Asked a irate Shikamaru.

"Sorry dude, I have to include some of the major fights while cutting some of them." I replied.

"But you cut the fight between Ino and Sakura. And Kankuro's as well." Said Shikamaru.

"Hey, yeah, he's right! What's the deal?! Asked an irate Ino and Sakura.

"Uh…oh look at that! We're all out of time! Catch ya later!" I finished before vanishing using instant transmission.

Next time on the Bssc,

Chapter 18:The Genius slacker of Konoha!