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Chapter 19 - Lee vs Gaara.

Li Shang watched from the stands, his white eyes with a faint hint of blue reflecting the light from the arena. 'This is just physical strength... his body has been meticulously refined, layer by layer. A true physical cultivator, even without knowing it.'

Gaara, motionless, surrounded by sand, slowly looked up. The serious, disdainful look he'd previously held vanished. The air around him began to vibrate. "Interesting..." the jinchūriki murmured, the sand floating in slow circles, as if it had a mind of its own.

Lee advanced. The ground cracked beneath his feet, and the figure disappeared. Only a line of cut air betrayed its path.

"Too fast!" shouted one of the spectators.

Gaara's body was thrown backward, the dull sound of the blows echoing like thunder. With each impact, Lee disappeared and reappeared somewhere else, his kicks and punches hitting the sand before she could even react.

Sakura watched in astonishment. "He's… winning?"

"He was always amazing…" Tenten replied, her eyes shining with emotion.

But Li Shang remained silent, watching intently. 'The sand instinctively defends him... even if Gaara doesn't want it to. This means his control is nearly autonomous. And Lee... is paying a terrible price for every move.'

In the arena, the sound of blows echoed in succession, each impact resounding like thunder. Rock Lee moved too fast for the naked eye to follow. Only the most experienced ninjas and a few dōjutsu users could grasp what was happening—and even then, they could barely predict his next move.

Gaara's sand rose, forming walls and shields in the blink of an eye, but Lee had already vanished before the defenses even closed. The thick-browed boy seemed like a shadow, the energy emanating from his body leaving trails in the air.

"Impossible... he's overcoming the sand!" Temari exclaimed, clenching her fists.

Kankurō's eyes widened, taking in the scene. "His sand has never been surpassed before."

High above the arena, Li Shang watched intently, his silver eyes gleaming. 'He's not just fast... he's nullifying his opponent's reaction time. Gaara's body is automatically protected by the sand, but Lee is surpassing even that.'

And then, a sure blow.

The rising kick hit Gaara squarely, lifting him into the air before slamming him into the arena wall.

For a moment, silence.

"You did it!" Naruto shouted, standing up and celebrating.

Even Sakura smiled in relief, her hands trembling.

But the celebration was short-lived.

Gaara's body began to slowly disintegrate, grains of sand scattering through the air. His true form appeared a few meters behind him, untouched, his eyes emotionless.

Kankurō gave a half smile, but his voice sounded worried. "It was just the armor... he never got hit."

Lee stopped, sweat pouring down his face. 'So until now... I haven't landed a single blow. This whole fight, it's all just been against a shell of sand...'

The sand rose in spirals around Gaara, who now wore a slow, dark smile.

"Is that all?" His voice was low, but it echoed throughout the arena. "It's not enough. There's still something missing… there's still blood missing."

The words made the air heavy. Even the onlookers felt the weight of that killing intent.

Li Shang narrowed his eyes. 'This boy... doesn't fight for victory. He fights for pleasure. For destruction.'

On the field, Lee clenched his fists.

His body trembled with exertion, but the flame in his eyes burned even brighter. "So that's it… speed alone isn't enough."

The image of his master, smiling with a thumbs up, crossed his mind.

'Gai-sensei... looks like I have no choice.'

He took a deep breath, feeling the energy circulate in his body, the flow of chakra intensifying in his muscles.

"Then I... will open the Lotus!"

Rock Lee, motionless before Gaara, slowly lowered his gaze.

Without saying a word, he began to untie the long white bands wrapped around his wrists.

"Is he going to do it?" Tenten muttered, her face pale.

Gai closed his eyes for a moment, a serene smile on his face. "Yes… it's the best choice."

The strips fell to the ground, slithering like white snakes.

And then Lee disappeared.

A roar echoed through the arena.

Gaara, who still had that cold, empty look in his eyes, was struck squarely in the chin. His body was thrown into the air like a sand doll.

The audience held their breath.

In an instant, Lee was no longer on the ground. His body streaked through the air, leaving white trails as he appeared behind Gaara. His kicks were so fast they seemed like a continuous sequence, a single strike repeated thousands of times in fractions of a second.

Each impact pushed Gaara higher, further away, breaking the sound barrier with sharp cracks.

Li Shang watched everything with his Byakugan activated. 'Impossible...'

Inside his mind, Lee's chakra flows were like boiling rivers.

'He just overloaded and ruptured an internal meridian!'

But then something made him hold his breath.

'No... he did it on purpose.'

Li Shang narrowed his gaze, fascinated.

'You have broken the natural seal that restricts the flow of your body's Qi... you are forcing your body to function beyond human limits.'

The chakra Lee released expanded like a green flame, dancing around his body.

Each movement created a pressure wave, a physical shock that distorted the air.

As the first gate opened, Li Shang could see the fine cracks forming in Lee's chakra pathways—tiny cracks that spread like veins of glass under stress.

'This... this is what cultivators call Stagnant Qi Explosion.'

In their old world, only the most desperate attempted such a thing. It was a suicidal method, used to free the dormant lifeblood and break through internal blockages.

'But this boy...'

Li Shang could hardly believe what he saw.

'Without a dantian, without stabilizing spiritual Qi... he's using only physical strength and willpower to maintain circulation! It's insane!'

Lee's chakra shaped itself differently.

It wasn't just energy... it was pure, fiery, raw vitality.

'This is refined Vital Qi...' he thought, his eyes widening.

'He's refining the body in real time, through pain and effort. What a brutal method...'

An almost nostalgic smile crossed Li Shang's lips.

'In my world, a technique like this would be called Forced Opening of the Eight Primary Meridians.'

In midair, Lee spun his body around, the loose bands on his arms wrapping around Gaara like chains.

Both began to spiral, descending at breakneck speed.

"PRIMARY LOTUS!"

The scream echoed like thunder.

The impact was devastating.

The arena floor cracked, fragments of stone and sand scattering in every direction. A cloud of dust covered everything, silencing the audience for what seemed like an eternity.

Naruto and Sakura stood still, feeling their hearts race.

And Li Shang... just watched.

'That boy...' he thought, with a serious expression.

'...is a genius. A natural physical cultivator born into a world that knows nothing of cultivation.'

The dust began to settle, revealing Lee kneeling, panting. But his gaze... his gaze still burned.

[Author's Note:This story was originally written in Portuguese, so there may be some translation errors. If you notice any, please let me know so I can fix them. Thank you for reading!]

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