For a split second, neither side budged.
They locked gazes, assessing each other—testing each other
Then…
They disappeared.
The arena crackled with energy as they materialized at the center
The crowd waited with baited breath, this was the match they had been waiting for
The silence was deafening, no one dared speak.
This would be a match no one would forget—not now, not ever
And then, the silence shattered
Lee lunged forward, fist aimed to the side—but with no real force beside it
Benimaru shrugged off the blow, not even attempting to dodge
If there was anything he was confident of, it was his physique
He would never lose in that regard
Lee was startled slightly but didn't give up.
He tried again, and again, and again.
Punch
Kick
Grab
Hold
Benimaru didn't blink, tanking them as his lips curved upwards
He was enjoying this—embarrassing his opponent
He reveled in the fact that his opponent could do nothing to him
Lee's fist lunged forward once more—the floor cracked beneath its force
It echoed like a gunshot
Benimaru didn't move
He didn't have too
Lee's fist was caught with ease,
"I thought you'd be stronger"
Benimaru pulled him forward, channeling chakra into his fist and decked him in the face
Lee was sent crashing into the wall.
Mouth agape, his opponent was strong—very strong
The chakra he had shown a few moments prior should've told him that…
He can't afford to hold back
Lee jumped to the pinnacle of the arena, face etched with guilt
He would be going against his master's wishes.
That guilt was gone in an instant.
"DO IT LEE, TAKE OFF YOUR WEIGHTS!"
A loud boisterous voice echoed from the stands.
The entire arena froze
Lee's chest tightened
"Guy sensei, are you sure"
Guy gave him a thumbs.
"I taught you to only use that power to protect your friends. But in this case it's different"
He hesitated, but then smiled lightly
"This is your chance to show the world how amazing you are. So make me proud Lee"
Lee could feel tears trickling down his eyes.
He quickly wiped them aside, crying would do him no good—he had a battle to focus on
His heart skipped a beat in anticipation, he had been training this hard to face Neji
But now…
Someone even stronger had appeared, he would be sure to give it his all
He removed the weights on his legs and tossed them aside.
"Now I can move freely"
Someone scoffed from the crowd
"He thinks removing a few pounds a weight will make a difference"
But their doubts were instantly shut down.
The weights landed on the ground with a force that seemed to defy gravity.
They were so small, how could they be that heavy—at least that what everyone thought
They created a massive crater in the middle on the ring.
Eliciting a huge dust cloud which spiralled upwards to heights, that towered even the stadium
They stuck into the ground below them—seemingly unwilling to move
A precession of gasps followed.
"How the fuck was that even possible"
One muttered
No one answered, too focused on the fight to care
"Don't blink"
Lee said under his breath, but everyone heard him.
He could feel a hint of a smirk creeping at the corner of his lips—this would be fun.
Benimaru stared at the still form of Lee, he had let him be on purpose
'Don't disappoint me now Lee'
In an Instant, Lee vanished
A sonic boom crackled through the pinnacle of the arena.
Dust exploded outward but nothing was seen but a spiraling streak of green.
Benimaru's eyes darted forward as his grin faltered for the first time—there was a problem
He couldn't see him
Afterimages and blurs plagued his vision as he was unable to react
BANG!
The first hit was clean.
Benimaru was sent skittering backwards, a thunderous blow had crashed into his abdomen
He tried to focus, but he couldn't see anything
Nothing but faint ghosts and shadows were noticed, Lee moved faster than anyone to ever imagine
To the average ninja in the stands, and to the civilians, it looked like he had been teleporting
They couldn't even trace an image
And Benimaru was in the same boat
He tried to recover, to gain his bearings—but his opponent wouldn't allow that
A double drop kick slammed into the back of his head like a freight train.
The amount of spit and blood spewing from the Ryota's face was a reminder…
This fight would push him to the brink
Lee took a stance,extending one hand forwards—as if inviting Benimaru to try to attack
A grin quickly formed at the curvature of the blond's lips
He got into a stance as well, a mix of different martial art styles he had copied from different people
None truly his own, none truly mastered
But still, they were effective
However, in this case—it was a useless endeavor
Lee was just too fast
A spinning kick to the side of his head, followed by a uppercut that sent him airborne
Benimaru's jaw clenched tightly, he could feel his body aching for rest—about to give out due to the non stop battle
Between their tag team battle against Orochimaru
The large chakra he had released upon Neji and the others
Coupled with his current fight against Lee, he was at his wits end
BANG!
A sharp pain echoed through his body.
Lee had materialized above, fists clasped—smashing them downward
Benimaru's body flew to the floor like a rocket on steroids.
With the amount of damage he had taken he wasn't even sure if he could activate perfect copy
A fist grazed past his head—Lee was relentless
He had barely tilted his head to dodge, otherwise he would've lost then and there
He was beginning to lose hope.
He could feel every trickle of sweat that traces the contours of his face.
Like they were the countdown to his defeat
He was force to his feet as Lee continued his assault.
Barely dodging and blocking what he could on instinct, our protagonist was being put on the back foot
'Come on. Visualize it, visualize winning'
As hard as he tried, he couldn't find a single scenario in which he would win this match
On this day, Benimaru Ryota would lose against Rock Lee
All he could visualize was…
DEFEAT
-CHAPTER END
POWER STONESSSSSSS