Chapter 82
Gaara vs Lee! One of my favorite battle in the series begins!
Seeing that Lee will not get anywhere as he currently is, Gai tells Lee to "take them off".
Chapter 83
Gaara reveals that his body is coated in a layer of sand which has absorbed the impact of Lee's attacks.
Lee uses Front Lotus on Gaara!
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Lee, who is just a Genin is able to open the eight inner gates. Gai wanted to help Lee become someone who'd be able to stand up for his ideals. Kakashi believes that Gai should not have taught him something so dangerous. He should shut up as he is being a hypocrite.
Unfortunately, Gaara had a last defense. His gourd is also made of sand, so he used this to protect himself against Lee.
With Lee unable to move after the attack, Gaara, using his sand, methodically breaks Lee's limbs as punishment for thinking he could defeat him.
Since Lee is unable to defend himself, Guy steps in.
We already know that, but Gaara can manipulate sand. By manipulating the sand he keeps stored in the gourd on his back, Gaara is able to block all of Lee's attacks.
Lee tries to hit Gaara but fails to touch him. The sand forms a shield to protect Gaara's body and is independent of Gaara's will. That's why to this day, there's not one person who has ever wounded Gaara.
Sakura asks why Lee doesn't try to use Ninjutsu, but Gai explains that Lee can only use Taijutsu.
Everyone doubts the likelihood that their removal will make much of a difference, but find that, when dropped, the weights create large craters in the ground.
Lee was always nerfed because of his weights. But he still managed to easily beat Naruto and Sasuke just before the first part of the exam. Tenten said that Lee could have defeated Team Dosu by himself. It makes much more sense now!
Lee devoted himself exclusively to Taijutsu. All the time. All his energy. All his focus. So that even if he lacks any other kind of abilities at all, he'd still be unbeatable.
For the first time of his life, Gaara has been wounded. Lee, a guy who can't even use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu and has no talents, manages to hit him!
Gai already gave a warning that Lee was strong. But no one (including the readers) believed that Lee could give Gaara a good fight!
The Sunagakure representatives are shocked that Lee has managed to strike Gaara.
Lee is so fast that Gaara's barrier can't keep up. Lee hit Gaara a second time!
Gaara is scary, very scary!
Kankutô begins to grow concerned, as Gaara is becoming increasingly more interested in the fight.
But Gaara's ultimate defense has several flaws! What is Lee going to do against it?
Knowing that there is nothing he can do about this defence, Lee opts to attack in such a way that not even Gaara's armour can protect him.
But Lee had a brief series of pain, which gave Gaara the chance to escape his grasp!
That's an asspull. As TV Tropes perfectly says: "Gaara managed to get away from Lee's Initial Lotus by creating a stupidly perfect sand replica of himself, pulling a Replacement Jutsu with it, and burying himself in the ground A.) while rather high in midair, B.) while he was getting the crap beat out of him, C.) in the time it took the person hitting him to wince for a second."
With Lee's movements being slowed after using the Front Lotus, Gaara attacks him.
Flashback! Gai asks the goals of his students. Neji doesn't want to answer. Tenten wants to become a great kunoichi like Tsunade (first time she is mentionned in the manga!). And Lee wants to prove that a person who can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu can still become a splendid ninja. Neji laughs at Lee because he is a jerk.
Lee trains so hard to become a great ninja. He (and Gai) are the embodiment of hard work that can surpass talents.
Lee is training hard, but he is sad of his lack of talents. Gai then tries to comfort Lee.
"You know. You really are very different from Neji. You're no genius at Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. And you really aren't a Taijutsu virtuoso either. Nevertheless, Lee. There's one area where you completely surpass Neji. You're a genius of another kind with great hidden potential. I'm not trying to be nice. I'm just saying that you are a genius of hard work." Gai to Lee
Lee tried multiple times to defeat Neji but he never won. Neji and Tenten say that no matter how hard he tries, he can't hope to beat Neji because Neji is a genius and not Lee. So, Lee is afraid that his hard work would prove to be useless.
Gai is the best Sensei. He helps Lee through many of his problems, praising him and admiring his resolve when Lee pushes himself past his limits!
Gai used to be like Lee. A failure. But with hard work, he managed to become one of the greatest ninja of Konoha and a rival to Kakashi the genius!
Even if Lee is being pushed around so brutally, Sakura asks why he is smiling. It is because Lee will start to use his secret weapon...
Lee is so impressive, Kakashi can't believe Lee has no talents! Kakashi thinks Lee is genius.
So some people may ask why there isn't many user of the Eight Gates. Well the drawbacks are huge. The user's body is destroyed. And it is implied that it takes a lot of hard work to manage to do it. The only users of the Eight Gates are people who can only use Taijutsu.
Lee wants to prove that hard work can beat talents. So he compares himself with Neji, Sasuke and Gaata who are all seen as geniuses. But he also compares himself with Naruto, another failure who is starting to be acknowledged by the others.
Lee is now using the fourth Gate!
Lee is so fast that even Kakashi can barely keep up with him!
Every observant is now impressed by Lee, a guys without any talent who was looked down by everyone because he can't use Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. I'm 100% sure that Lee could defeat Neji with the fifth Gate.
Chapter 86
Lee destroyed much of Gaara's sand armor. The sand shield can't keep up with Lee's moves!
Lee uses his final attack against Gaara! REVERSE LOTUS!
Gaara doesn't see Temari and Kankurô as his siblings, so he must have bad relationship with his brother and sister. Kankurô is afraid of him for instance. Gaara doesn't understand love, so he asks why Gai is helping Lee.
Gaara wins the fight. But despite everything, Lee manages to stand up! No one expected him to do it. Even his own teacher didn't think Lee could stand up.
Lee has lost consciousness, but he stands to continue the fight. Even if he's been knocked senseless, he's still trying to stay true to his Shinobi path. Gai is moved to tears, and so I am.
Lee vs Gaara is undoubtedly one of the best fight of the whole series. You have to remember that Gaara is hyped to be far stronger than any Chûnin. His team passed the second part of the exam in only 97 minutes and uninjured, a feat believed to be impossible for a Chûnin. He brutally and easily killed three ninjas from Ame. Kiba advised Hinata to give up if she is against Gaara (or Neji). His own teammate Kankurô is deeply afraid of Gaara, yet Kankurô is far from weak. And Gaara is said to have a "demon" inside him.
On the other hand, you have Lee. A talentless ninja who can't even use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. He appeared a lot during this arc, and he was a good comic relief for the series. While he had some impressive feats (he easily defeated Sasuke before the exam), no one would think he can beat Gaara. Lee lost against Team Dosu and said many times that he was weaker than Neji. And Kankurô thinks there are two geniuses in the Exam: Gaara and Neji.
Pretty much everyone expected Lee to perform like he did before he dropped his weight. Then he took them off and he started to hit Gaara multiple times. The same Gaara who has a perfect defense and has never been wounded in his life. And Lee became even stronger and faster when he unlocked the fifth gate. Even Kakashi thought Lee was a genius because he mastered the Eight Gates! And with Lee's flashback, Kishimoto made us believe that Rock Lee could do the impossible: win against Gaara!
Lee ultimately lost the fight. His body was destroyed by the fifth Gates. Gaara broke his arm and his leg. He lost consciousness. But Lee still stood and wanted to continue the fight. Lee is a hero and deserves to be remember as a splendid ninja.
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