Chapter 249: Qualifying Round Finished Ready

The fight between Rock Lee and Gaara continues!

The jinchūriki armor was able to protect him from a series of powerful attacks, and then recover in the blink of an eye. No matter how fast Rock Lee is, he still has to work hard to completely defeat the enemy! The real battle was nearing its beginning, as well as the imminent denouement...

Lotus, Heaven's Gate! Lee joined the fight to the fullest. Even if Gaara used the amazing offensive and defensive abilities of the sand, in the end it all came down to the famous confrontation of the strongest form of taijutsu genius!

The Gate of Pain went into action and Gaara began to take serious damage. In the end, Li landed a crushing attack on him - completely blowing the floor of the arena to pieces! Only the protection of the sand was able to somehow reduce the full damage of the incredible series of attacks. Even so, Gaara was no longer able to get up. The same could be said for Lee, the load of the gate had exhausted him and he couldn't fight anymore. That is why...

The jinchūriki raised a trembling hand, and following his will, the sand reached out towards the powerless Li. Gaara wasn't going to spare anyone even in this situation!

Lee's arm up to the elbow and leg up to the knee instantly fell into the sand trap. This fight has taken a dangerous turn...

Gaara growled weakly.

— Sand lo...

“Not today.” A calm voice resounded throughout the arena, and with it, blood spray flew in all directions. Before Gaara even had time to react, a boot landed on his head and slammed into the ground with a crash. Just a little more and the jinchūriki's skull would have turned into a porridge of brains and bones!

Shikamaru turned around and calmly folded his hand seal with a wave of his palm.

- Deh wind! All the sand around was immediately scattered. All the people who faced the echoes of the air wave turned pale, they were literally pressed into the walls - they could not even move!

Gaara was thrown to the side, and he, along with his sand, crashed into the opposite corner. The pressure was so great that the guy couldn't even spit out his own blood! Only Lee looked around in bewilderment, while the stronger Jonin still managed to keep a bit of balance, like the Hokage.

Shikamaru glared at Gaara and said coldly.

- Know your place! Before he could finish, Baki, the leader of Team Sand, appeared next to the jinchūriki.

- Gaara! The jonin grabbed the boy's bloody head and looked at his pale face. Surprisingly, Gaara was still conscious, clenching his teeth until he cracked - rage overwhelmed him! His eyes began to darken, and at the same moment, a terrible aura, incapable of belonging to a person, burst out in all directions ... Shukaku tried to escape even at such a moment!

Baki whirled around and glared at Shikamaru.

- You little bastard! At the same moment, he jumped up and raised his fist. Everyone in the arena was shocked. First the situation with Gaara, then Shikamaru's actions, and now this Jonin! Kakashi was about to intervene when he noticed Guy's calm expression and stopped.

“He’s not at all friendly with his head ...”

Baki had already crossed the bloody dent left by Gaara's head and approached Shikamaru. But, he just moved from his place, his face remained the same cold. In the same second, whole stones under his feet crackled and turned into fragments, a terrible silver chakra hit the sides and all the stones simply floated, completely ignoring gravity. Even the air distorted, and Bucky froze in horror! A terrible pressure, like an insurmountable grief, descended on everyone's heads. Everyone in the arena was covered with a fit of fear! None of them had ever experienced such overwhelming power in their lives!

"Wh-what is this…" Baki croaked, colliding sharply with Shikamaru's dark eyes - they terrified him! Following this, still calm, he raised his hand and waved his finger.

A terrible roar swept through the area again - an unknown power rushed to the attack! The jonin fell to its knees crushingly, shattering its own bones and the rocky floor. Blood rose to his throat, but he could not even answer, bloody tears immediately flowed from him and his skull cracked. Shikamaru glared at him and said clearly:

- I had a better opinion of you ... One wanted to make my friend a cripple, and the other imagined himself capable of fighting me? Looking at the man with a contemptuous look, Shikamaru chuckled, looking at his bloodied appearance.

“I would love to smash your skull right here. But consider yourself lucky! - Having said this, the guy abruptly moved and slammed his palm on Gaara's stomach, instantly depriving him of his connection with the bijuu and cutting off any chances of turning into a monster. Twisting his fingers, Shikamaru reached the boy's chest and drew a fuin symbol there. In the next second, the evil chakra dissipated, and the guy returned to his original place - the pressure on the area immediately began to dissipate.

Rock Lee somehow got up and returned his mind to normal, and then, completely unaware of the situation, looked around in bewilderment. Not only did the collision pass in a matter of moments, but the pressure hardly touched him. Unlike most people in the hall, he couldn't understand what was going on here?! Why do pieces of the floor float and why do all people have such shocked faces?!

The pressure finally dissipated completely and the stones crashed to the ground.

“Sorry, I got into your fight. Shikamaru smiled slightly, looking at the wounded boy.

“Um…” Lee glanced at the bloodied Baki and the defeated Gaara and swallowed loudly. He didn't even know what to say. Although, someone else knew... Guy moved to the apprentice and patted him on the shoulder contentedly. For him, what was happening seemed to be of no importance, he, chuckling, praised:

Well done Lee! Although, now it's not clear who won... - throwing a short glance at Shikamaru, the man nodded:

- Thanks guy! One thing he clearly knew was that his apprentice had been rescued, there was definitely a terrible power hidden in that Sand Trap! If there weren’t such a crowd here and an uncertain situation due to interference in someone else’s battle, Might Guy would not have remained so calm.

Shikamaru shrugged and returned to his seat. He didn't care at all about the opinions of others. Even if he was convicted for his actions with Baki, he didn't care, even if the Kazekage would come here, he was ready to teach him the mind as well. Even though Lee would heal Tsunade, Shikamaru wasn't about to let Gaara do whatever he wanted in Konoha. Even if it was a fair fight, Shikamaru didn't care, he wasn't going to look at the wounds of such a diligent shinobi with a pure heart and then act like it had to happen because Tsunade would heal him. It's all nonsense to justify, knowing the future or not - Lee did not deserve this pain, and Gaara could face worse fate for his actions. In any case, Naruto will soon fulfill his destiny. The situation with Baki came as a surprise, but Shikamaru just couldn't resist...