Narration system starting from Konoha

"Oygod, Kakashi, you're still so good at changing the subject."

"Boom."

The gourd stopper on Gaara's back popped out, and strands of sand flowed out from it.

With his arms crossed in front of his chest, he stood quietly, but the sand beneath his feet seemed to be constantly flowing, as if it were alive.

A swirl of sand suddenly rushed over and, in the blink of an eye, reached the spot where Xiao Li was standing.

[Controlling sand, the Third Hokage seemed to be deep in thought. The Third Kazekage controlled black iron sand, the Fourth Kazekage controlled gold sand, and now there is yellow sand. It seems that the Sand Village's Magnet Release tradition is very complete.]

"Grandpa Hokage, does that mean this guy carrying the gourd will become the Fifth Kazekage?" Naruto shouted.

The Third Hokage shook his head and said, "The selection of the Kazekage is something that cannot be discussed casually; it is an internal affair of Sunagakure."

[Naruto's guess was correct; Gaara would indeed become the Kazekage, but he died protecting the village.]

The hall became unusually quiet, and everyone focused on Gaara's body.

Kankuro couldn't believe it. Gaara, a monster like him, had become the Kazekage and even died for the village. Kankuro felt like he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

Temari looked at Gaara with concern. She was a proud older sister who deeply loved her two younger brothers, but she had never shown it. Gaara's becoming Kazekage must have been due to the approval of everyone in the village. Temari was happy for Gaara.

"Haha, if he can become the Kazekage, I, Naruto Uzumaki, will definitely become the Hokage."

Naruto could sense that Gaara was a kindred spirit. Since Gaara had earned the approval of everyone in the village, Naruto believed he could do the same. Keeping his word was his ninja way.

Xiao Li dodged and weaved, dodging the sand's attacks with lightning speed each time.

"Teacher Kai, I'm getting serious."

To train, Rock Lee also carried a weight of over a thousand pounds.

[How could that be? Sasuke has fought Rock Lee before and knows his speed. The narrator's words are a huge blow to Sasuke. He has always taken revenge as his mission, but he didn't expect to not even rank among the genin in Konoha.]

"Kai, you're being too reckless," Kakashi said.

"I believe in Xiao Li; he is a hard-working genius."

Kakashi remained silent. Having spent many years together, he understood Guy's intentions at a glance. Since Guy had taken on such a heavy burden, he must have passed on the Eight Gates technique.

Kai nodded and said, "That's right, Lee is the most suitable successor. He doesn't have the talent for ninjutsu and genjutsu, so he can concentrate all his energy on training taijutsu."

Xiao Li retreated continuously until he appeared on one of the fingers of the stadium statue, where he unloaded his weight and threw it to the ground.

"Boom boom."

Each time the load was dropped, it created a huge cloud of dust, cracked the ground, and the load sank into it.

"Shh."

Rock Lee disappeared from the statue and reappeared close to Gaara, throwing a powerful punch.

Gaara was shocked. Such speed! Even the sand couldn't keep up.

Several Jonin stared intently; even they needed to be cautious about this speed, which had already surpassed the level of Genin.

Rock Lee's speed increased, and the sand on the ground struggled to keep up, only able to follow closely behind him and compensate for Gaara's defense.

"The sand can't keep up," Kong Dao said.

The sand rushed out at great speed, but it fell further and further behind Lee's speed. Lee approached Gaara again, but the sand did not follow.

"Shadow Leaf Dance".

"Smack." Gaara's chin was slammed into Gaara's, sending him flying into the air.

Gaara appeared somewhat excited; Rock Lee's attack had caused him pain.

"The lotus of Konoha is about to bloom."

Lee leaped up, brandishing bandages in his hand, and bound Gaara together, sending him plummeting downwards at high speed.

Unfortunately, Rock Lee's bandages were in vain; Gaara's main body had already escaped, leaving behind only his sand clone.

"boom."

The massive impact cracked the ground once more. Xiao Li let out a long breath and looked towards the center of the smoke and dust.

"Click".

A crack appeared on the falling figure, which then collapsed completely into a pile of sand.

Gaara appeared in the distance, looking somewhat disheveled but uninjured.

(

Chapter Sixty-Six: Loneliness

Sasuke's eyes widened. Rock Lee had tried to use this move on him before; was he trying to kill him?

"Sakura, it seems you're quite charming. Lee even considered killing Sasuke for you." (Kudou)

"Don't talk nonsense, Lee just wants to spar with Sasuke."

Sakura could tell at a glance that Lee was an honest, somewhat simple-minded boy, but he had no intention of killing anyone.

Kong didn't refute, and continued watching the game.

Gaara's escape from Rock Lee was not easy. His opponent's performance excited Gaara. He was a self-centered demon who enjoyed sacrificing himself with the blood of the strong. Since he couldn't feel love, he made others feel pain.

Lee's breathing became heavy. The Lotus Technique had exhausted too much of his strength. After all, it was pure taijutsu, not ninjutsu or genjutsu. Now, even moving slightly required a great deal of energy.

The sand kept pounding down relentlessly, giving Xiao Li no chance to catch his breath.

Gaara was somewhat disappointed. Was this all there was to it? Then death was the only option.

The stone-paved arena resembled a desert, with surging sandstorms attacking the fleeing Lee Locke wave after wave.

"This is Gaara's true strength. He didn't even show his full power before," Kankuro said proudly.

Kong smiled and said, "I heard you two are brothers. I wonder who scared their younger brother so much that he doesn't even dare to speak."

"You... Hmph, talking big is useless. Rock Lee's defeat is only a matter of time."

Countless grains of sand gathered and swirled around Gaara, forming several enormous, tail-like sand whips that meandered and writhed.

“Let’s stop here,” Gaara said calmly.

The sand, which blocked out the sun, gathered and rushed towards Lee Rock, as if to bury him.

"Shh."

Lee Rock, who was originally like a lamb to the slaughter, dodged the sand attack as if he had teleported.

"It really has to end here. Teacher Kai is still watching me, and I don't want to disappoint him."

Rock Lee wasn't particularly talented; he only reaped the rewards of putting in ten or even dozens of times more effort than others. He simply wanted to prove that even without ninjutsu or genjutsu, one could become a remarkable ninja by focusing solely on taijutsu.

"The gate of life, open."

A violent current of air swirled around Lee Rock's body, making him look like a completely different person from his previous listlessness.

Neji looked surprised; Lee's performance was somewhat unexpected. Even Neji didn't know that Lee could open the Eight Gates.

"Open the wound gate."

The burden of the Eight Gates Formation is too heavy; Lee intends to finish this quickly.

A violent airflow swept through the arena, and even standing behind the overhead railings, one could feel the intense wind.

The veins on Lee Rock's forehead bulged, and his face turned purple from the rush of blood.

[Impressive! This was the thought in the minds of all the ninjas present. Even the Third Hokage had to admit that Rock Lee, who had opened the Eight Gates, was comparable to some Jonin in terms of combat strength.]

"Little Lee, I, Uchiha Sora, am willing to acknowledge you as the strongest Konoha genin present here. Defeat Gaara."

[Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura simultaneously covered their faces, wishing they could disappear into a crack in the ground. How could they say such embarrassing things without batting an eye?]

Sasuke quietly distanced himself from Uchiha Sora, and even Kankuro, who was standing next to him, took two steps back, as if afraid of catching some strange disease.

"bang"

The earth shattered, and a small, flat training ground was reduced to broken stones.

Before Gaara's sand could react, Rock Lee had already appeared beside Gaara.

"Bang!" A huge impact slammed into Gaara's body, dust billowed up, and countless grains of sand stretched into the sky, but they couldn't keep up with the speed at which Gaara was kicked away.

Rock Lee propelled himself forward with his legs, disappearing into the dust like an arrow released from a bow, and reappeared face-to-face with Gaara.

"Bang!" The loud impact continued to ring out, and Gaara floated around in the sky like a broken ball.

Uchiha Sora had to squint to barely catch a glimpse of Rock Lee's fleeting shadow.

Kakashi even raised his headband, revealing his three-tomoe Sharingan.

Sasuke's expression was the most unpleasant; Sora could tell what he was thinking at a glance.

Naruto and Sasuke accomplished nothing until they were twelve years old, but in the next three or four years they both reached the Six Paths level.

Perhaps Konoha protected them too well, keeping them in a state of accumulating strength for a long time before they finally began to blossom.

"Don't underestimate yourselves. The Uchiha clan's survival to this day is not due to luck."

The fierce battle continued, and Gaara's sand armor gradually shattered and fell off.

Xiao Li threw another punch, feeling the pain in his body; he had reached his limit.

"Open the door."

Lee's consciousness began to fade, but he always remembered his ninja way and Guy's teachings. Even if he died, he would win this battle.

"boom."

A powerful punch landed on Gaara's abdomen, like a falling meteor. The ground shattered, and the gourd behind him automatically split into sand to protect him.

The Eight Gates Formation closed instantly, and Xiao Li fell to the ground, unable to move.

A clump of sand suddenly rushed over, enveloping one of Xiao Li's legs and one of his arms, and gripped him tightly.

Accompanied by screams, bright red blood seeped from the sand.

"Die!" Gaara silently chanted in his heart. As a reward for making him feel pain, Gaara granted Rock Lee his death.