After Naruto vows revenge on Neji, Shikamaru taunts Choji that only strong fighters are left. He vows to forfeit, but Asuma bribes him with food. Meanwhile, the smell of Hinata's blood has excited Gaara's inner demon. Kankuro takes the opportunity to go talk to Naruto about the last match... Neji's in a higher league than Naruto, and was definitely holding back against Hinata.
The next match is Lee vs. Gaara. Gai gives Lee some last minute prepping, and Lee heads down to the arena floor. Gaara pops the cork out of his gourd and soon sand particles surround him. Soon, Lee attacks with Konaha Senpu (Leaf Wind) as Gaara's sand prevents any attack from penetrating. Kankuro explains that Gaara's sand would protect him even if Gaara didn't want it to.
Gaara, hungry for blood, sends his sand to attack Lee and throw him against the wall. Gai explains from above that Lee has no ninjutsu or genjutsu. He can only use taijutsu. Watching Lee's attacks have no effect on Gaara, Gai instructs Lee to take off his weights. Lee happily removes his leg weights which crash to the floor, catering it.
Soon Lee is on the offense, this time breaking through Gaara's sand shield and landing blow after blow. Gaara's siblings can't believe he was actually touched. Lee's incredible speed soon wears away at Gaara's protective armor, but his siblings sense that the inner Gaara is awakening. Normally, sand from his gourd will protect him, but if that doesn't work, he relies on his sand armor, which has a lot of weak points. It uses quite a bit of chakra and stamina, and is weaker than his outer sand protective barrier.
Feeling pretty confident, Lee decides to use Initial Lotus to finish him off. Gai signals his approval, and Lee begins his assault with numerous upward kicks. Gaara flies upwards. Lee then binds Gaara and does front Lotus as the two soar towards the floor head first. Lee jumps out of the way before he hits, and a shattered Gaara lies motionless on the broken ground...
The sand then breaks up to reveal gaara wasn't there.
