The audience and the participants grew slack-jawed at what they just witnessed. They did not think that Tenten's attack would bring her victory but they also did not expect it to be casually ignored by her opponent. Temari came closer to Tenten after the projectiles fell on the floor every step she made made the 'weapon expert' of Konoha step backwards.
"Are you out of toys to throw around sweet pea?"
Tenten's anger made her want to just rush forward and engage in reckless fistfight but her rational mind made her refrain from such foolish actions.
"This is getting old. Goodnight sweet pea!"
Temari took out her twin daggers and twirled them on her hands.
"Our onee-sama's quirk is acting up again. What's her problem with her fellow kunoichi anyway? She goes mental when facing them on a one on one."
Kankuro comented on the sidelines.
"Scorched Earth: Fire Storm!"
A slash from the red and then from the green dagger sent a combination of fire-wind technique which headed for Tenten who stood like a statue facing a huge tidal wave. There's no doubt that she will be burned to crisp if she is hit by that attack. Guy was about to jump in to rescue her when Kakashi from the side shook his head. The attack then vanished out of thin air like an illusion as Tenten almost fell to the ground from the mental overdraft of a near-death experience but was caught by Guy.
'That...' -Hokage
'Interesting... I didn't know Suna had a similar technique to Tobirama-sama's flying raijin.'
"I'm not sure what happened. But I'm sure that kid who seems to be the team leader of Suna saved Tenten with some kind of technique."
"He teleported the attack to the forest outside."
Neji spoke from the side. He has been observing the fight with an active byakugan from the very beginning and he managed to see what Gaara do to the attack.
'I was right. It is indeed similar to the flying raijin of the second Hokage. How did Sunagakure lay their hands in such a kinjutsu?'
"Temari of Suna wins the match!"
Naruto looked at Gaara with some mixed feelings, their previous dealing is facilitated by the belief that both parties are on the same stage but it seemed now that he thought wrong.
"You didn't have to do that you know... I know what I'm doing."
"I'm just making sure we don't mess up."
Temari nodded and stood silently by the side. The next matches are won by Shikamaru, Neji, and Naruto like how it went in canon. Naruto's match in particular looked more like a comedy show featuring pee and fart while Neji-Hinata on the other hand resolved their personal differences with their palm techniques. Shikamaru's fight mostly involved himself oneupping his foes like usual.
"Gaara of Suna vs Rock Lee!"
Guy encouraged his student with his ever energetic display before whispering something to Lee to which seemed to bring a pleasant surprise to the boy. having a technique without using them is the dilemma only the strong ones often encountered. Like any normal kid Lee liked to show off to the rivals he acknowledged. Or to his crush.
Gaara and Lee came face to face in the middle of the fighting venue waiting for Hayate's go signal. Gaara wore a similar styled cloak with his siblings except the colors of his are matte red while his helm's visor is black.
"FIGHTO!"
Lee came forward as soon as Hayate announced the beginning of the match. He twirled in the air for a spinning kick but was blocked by a cloud of iron sand that can be seen accumulating under Gaara's feet. Lee felt like he is punching solid rocks and disengaged temporarily to gather his wits. Gaara is yet to make a move and simply let Lee attack him without batting an eye.
Lee attacked once more and sent a series of punches towards Gaara only to feel pain from his own bleeding fists. It seems like spiked plates are mixed in together with the iron-sand, his unprotected hands will not be able to do any damage if this continues like this. He jumped back and landed on top of the big hands that formed a seal. He fiddled with his legs much to the wonder of the spectators until he decided to drop them leg weights onto the floor and in the process induce a quake in the earth.
'Guy you are too much.' -Kakashi
"Get him Lee!"
Guy and his students cheered on the spectator stand. Perhaps now Lee stood a chance against his opponent. Guy is fascinated with this student of his, the little guy know no fear and followed his every instructions to the letter. His dedication and heart to persevere also made him feel like they are long lost brothers.
Lee's attacks now came faster and sharper, he flickered in and out without the use of chakra but with mere physical strength. It however is insufficient, Gaara's literal iron defense seemed impregnable. He needed more strength to pierce the sand with his attacks. He glanced towards his teacher who seemed to have understood what he is thinking when their eyes met. Guy nodded his head and lifted his hand where an outstretched thumb can be seen next to his shining smile. This gave Lee more motivation.
His spirit burned as he initiated the technique which will allow him access to the strength of Gods the eight gates release formation. He shouted like Goku activating his Kaioken as he brought destruction to the surrounding floors. His pupils vanished and his skin turned red from the overflowing amount of power under his skin.
"Guy you... Are you mad? Why didn't you stop him?"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Just believe in Lee."
'How is he even blocking those attacks?'
Guy asked inwardly. Lee's attacks can now pierce through the defence but the problem is that Gaara can actually match Lee's taijutsu. Not match in a sense that they are just on the same level but more like Gaara can cope and defend against Lee's level of taijutsu. What's more is Gaara's strength, although he lacked refined techniques in hand to hand combat he made up for in raw power and speed. If he had a proper taijutsu teacher to teach him then this match would have been over earlier.
That was what Guy believed but had Gaara wanted it, the match would have ended already. Any form of wound caused by his sands transmits deadly poison to the enemy. This poison lies dormant inside the person attacked and can only be activated or controlled through Gaara's chakra.
'I knew it... time to end this match.'
Gaara became faster as he alternated between moving and flickering as he dished out attacks to punish Lee. Lee who is very durable to physical damage spat out some of his teeth and blood from all the attacks he took. He felt weirdly peaceful despite all the furious beatings he took before his conscous drew to a blank.
'That is nostalgic... Shusui Uchiha used to fight like that as well.' -Hiruzen
'I didn't think I'd see a genin at this level of strength.' -Kakashi
'Lee!' -Guy
"Gaara of Suna wins the match! Ahem, Ahem, please prepare for the final match for this preliminary round. The participants will be called right after some maintenance is done to the fighting venue."
Guy helped Lee stand after regaining his wits with a dousing of cold water. He wasn't truly damaged that much but when Gaara got rid of the poison that accumulated in his body his consiousness grew faint. Soon the fighting venue was given a quick-fix and the fighting continued. The last fight is a comedic battle between Choji and Dosu where Choji showed his gentle personality and inexperience in combat which led to his immediate loss.