"Is that all?" After releasing the Sand Armor, Gaara calmly looked at Lee.
On Lee's side, after some analysis, he realized only an overwhelming attack could both break Gaara's defense and cause damage. For Lee, this meant using the [Lotus].
The so-called Lotus essentially involved opening the Eight Gates. The [Primary Lotus] opened only the first gate, [Gate of Opening]. Opening the second, [Gate of Healing], increased stamina. Opening the third, [Gate of Life], began releasing the [Reverse Lotus].
Fully opening all eight gates was called [Eight Gates Formation], a final move at the cost of one's life.
Sensing Lee's gaze, Guy instantly understood and nodded lightly.
Seeing Guy's agreement, Lee smiled, then unwound the bandages on his hands. As part of the bandages fluttered down, Lee's eyes grew even more resolute.
"Prepare yourself!" After a soft statement, Lee burst forth with even greater speed than before, rapidly circling Gaara.
Naruto and others couldn't even see him with their eyes. Even Ritsu's Observation Haki struggled to capture his figure clearly.
Then, Lee first used [Shadow of Dancing Leaf] to kick Gaara up. However, with the Sand Armor's enhancement, Gaara was only kicked up a little over a meter.
"It's not over yet!" Lee understood the weight Gaara was bearing. Placing both hands on the ground, he exploded with power, propelling himself rapidly into the air. Under Lee's continuous attacks, Gaara quickly ascended.
When kicked to a certain height, Takeru and the others saw Gaara leave Lee's attack in an extremely concealed manner. Lee, however, remained unaware, continuing to attack the Sand Armor Gaara had left behind.
Reaching a certain height, Lee's previously unwound bandages quickly wrapped around Gaara, encasing him like a mummy except for the head. Lee then embraced Gaara and began high-speed rotation.
"Take this! Primary Lotus!" Shouting, the rotation speed rivaled Kiba's [Fang Passing Fang].
Then, with this intensity, Lee slammed Gaara fiercely into the ground. The immense force created a sizable crater, and smoke rapidly billowed.
"The attack power was sufficient. But, what a pity." Sensing the situation, Ui sighed softly.
Hearing Ui, Shikamaru and the others glanced at her curiously, not understanding her meaning.
On the ground, Lee panted heavily. The earlier attack had already caused him bodily damage. This technique harmed the enemy while also damaging the user… hence its classification as a Forbidden Technique.
"Excellent!" Seeing Gaara lying motionless, his Sand Armor completely shattered, Guy excitedly shouted.
"He won?" Naruto said hesitantly.
"Great! Lee won!" Sakura excitedly cried out.
"Hey, hey, is he dead?" Looking at the motionless Gaara, Shikamaru said doubtfully.
"No, the attack didn't hurt Gaara," Takeru stated directly.
"What do you mean?" Hearing Takeru, Shikamaru was stunned, looking puzzled.
"That was just the Sand Armor," Takeru replied calmly.
The silent Kakashi, hearing Takeru, glanced at him in surprise. As an Elite Jonin, he had naturally noticed Gaara's escape earlier.
Besides Takeru, Kakashi also meaningfully glanced at Ui and Ritsu, as they too seemed to have noticed.
As Takeru's words fell, Hayate prepared to check. The Sand Armor completely shattered, revealing nothing inside. Clearly, Gaara's true body wasn't there.
"What?!" Noticing this, Lee couldn't accept it.
"When... how..." Guy, watching the match, said in disbelief.
"Just when you closed your eyes in prayer," Kakashi directly answered.
At that precise moment, Lee, perhaps due to pain, had paused his attack slightly. Gaara seized the opportunity to escape control.
Soon, Gaara's true body manifested from a pile of sand dust, looking at Lee with an extremely sinister and ferocious gaze.
"That look... has it fully awakened? That monster inside him..." Kankuro murmured, seeing Gaara's unusual state.
Kankuro and Temari's strange expressions were captured by Ui's Observation Haki, along with Kankuro's quiet muttering. She grew even more curious about the special monster she sensed. Also, she sensed that Naruto had an even more terrifying one.
Then, as Gaara formed a hand seal, the sand stirred violently, directly blasting Lee away.
Lee, however, due to the Primary Lotus attack, couldn't react with his legs yet. Standing was difficult, let alone counterattacking.
Gaara wouldn't wait for Lee's recovery. Lee's earlier attack had thoroughly ignited his bloodlust. His Chakra erupted, and the sand formed even more powerful waves crashing toward Lee.
Lee was like in a violent sea, only able to be washed away, struggling to resist.
Then, Gaara controlled the sand to attack again. Clearly, Gaara didn't intend to finish him quickly but rather toyed with him like a cat with a mouse.
As Sakura wondered why Lee didn't use his super speed to dodge, Guy could only tell her about the Lotus's aftereffects.
Lee, desperately blocking Gaara's impact, panted even more heavily.
In subsequent attacks, he could only hop slightly to dodge, appearing extremely strained.
Lee was as if driven into a corner. Unable to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, his Taijutsu was now barely better than an ordinary person's.
Just as everyone looked down on Lee, Guy showed him a gentle smile. Noticing it, Lee seemed to understand something, his eyes moistening.
Then, he stood up again. Facing Gaara's sand attacks, Lee displayed extremely agile movement, almost moving at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye to dodge.
"Lee is smiling, even when pushed to this extent!" Seeing Lee's smile, Naruto found it hard to understand.
"Now it's the other side's turn to be pressured," Hearing Naruto, Guy said calmly.
"Could it be, Guy... you!" Hearing Guy, Kakashi couldn't stay seated, looking at him in shock.
"You guessed right," Guy quickly admitted.
"So, that child, still a Genin, has already opened the later gates and learned the Reverse Lotus?" Kakashi said gravely.
"Correct," Guy nodded.
"How can this be?" Hearing him, Kakashi still found it hard to believe.
"Then, which gate of the Eight Gates has that child opened now?" Kakashi continued asking.
"The fifth," Guy directly answered.
"What are you talking about? What are the Eight Gates and Reverse Lotus?" Sakura between them couldn't hold back anymore, directly asking.
"The so-called Eight Gates are the preparations before using Reverse Lotus… it's called releasing restrictions," Guy directly explained.
"Correct. On the Chakra Pathway System, starting from the head, at various body points in order are the Eight Gates: Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Wonder, and Gate of Death. These 'gates' normally restrict Chakra Flow. The Lotus forcibly removes these limits, releasing power equivalent to dozens of times the usual..."
Kakashi took over, directly explaining to Sakura.
Takeru also pondered. Previously, he had considered learning the Eight Gates. After all, Takeru was different, and his defensive capabilities far exceeded his stamina and strength. So, even fully releasing himself, it shouldn't cause much bodily damage.
But Takeru hadn't learned Chakra earlier. As for improved versions, he hadn't seen them sold in the Reincarnation Space, and only the ordinary version was available. Thus, he had to give up this idea.
It was a pity. In the Hunter x Hunter World, there were no similar techniques like the Eight Gates that could greatly amplify Nen in a short time while also enhancing stamina. Otherwise, Takeru would have definitely tried to obtain it.
Coming to this world was somewhat unexpected, giving Takeru a more precise understanding of Chakra and making him view it more favorably than before.