From the stadium above, murmurs rippled like static.
"Looks like that Ryota kid's gonna lose," one said.
"It's a shame, I bet good money on him too," another added.
Similar murmurs echoed through the crowd.
It seemed like…
In the eyes of everyone, Benimaru had already lost.
But he wouldn't accept it.
"STOP TALKING LIKE HE ALREADY LOST!"
A loud voice cut through the tense atmosphere.
"BENIMARU, IF YOU DARE LOSE THIS MATCH THEN I'LL KICK YOUR ASS MYSELF!"
A fist struck Benimaru's face as the familiar voice rang in his ear.
Even with multiple broken bones, a fractured skull, and a body that was begging to stop, he smiled, because he wasn't just fighting for himself—he was fighting for everyone else too.
And he wouldn't dare lose.
"That loudmouth doesn't know when to shut up," he muttered under his breath, but even Lee heard him.
"You have people who want you to win," the spandex-wearing ninja said solemnly, his voice soft, gentle—almost unfitting to a ninja.
"But I cannot afford to lose either…
THIS IS THE END."
The ground shattered once more as Lee vanished from his spot.
For a second, the world stilled.
No thoughts, no actions.
Everything appeared frozen in place.
The Ryota could feel it all, hear it all—understand it all.
Nothing felt out of reach for him right now.
He felt like…
A God.
He could hear the heartbeat of every single person in the stadium.
The tiniest micro movements—he felt them.
Every strike, every twitch of muscle—unfolded in his mind before they even fully began.
In his eyes, the world had slowed to a crawl—he alone moved freely within it.
Benimaru Ryota had done the impossible.
By spreading and expanding his chakra throughout the stadium—he could feel everything.
Gaining a sort of future sight to everything within his range.
With this new power, speed was irrelevant—especially when he knew what you would do…
Before you did it.
Lee's fist appeared to be moving in slow motion, never reaching its target—Benimaru, for the first time since his weights were taken off…
Had dodged.
Lee's eyes widened, but he wouldn't give up—but Benimaru was already ahead of the game.
Lee's heel turned sharply, its target—the abdomen—it struck nothing but air.
The attack registered in Benimaru's mind long before it had even been thought of; a few milliseconds was plenty to him.
He could feel the slight muscle movement and acted accordingly—flipping out of the way.
Lee was forced to move out of the way; Benimaru had pivoted himself toward a flying kick aimed at his stomach.
A soft 'tch' sound escaped his lips; he was still too slow.
This continued for multiple minutes—both fighters locked in a vicious cycle.
Both were too slow to land any decisive hits—but too fast to get hit either.
Lee came at him again—and again—and again.
Each strike sharper, faster, more desperate.
But Benimaru was already there every time,
weaving through attacks like the world itself moved to his rhythm.
Fists grazed air.
Kicks shattered stone.
Neither man yielding an inch.
The crowd could barely follow.
To them, it looked like flickers of light clashing midair—a storm of motion that ended and began in the same breath.
Lee skidded backwards, sweat dripping down his brow—breathing ragged, clothes slightly torn.
His lips curved upwards, forming a slight smile—a warrior's smile.
"You were an amazing opponent, but I cannot lose."
He clenched his fist, chakra spiraling wildly into a vibrant green glow.
"Forgive me, Guy-sensei…
EIGHT GATES—GATE OF OPENING…OPEN.
GATE OF HEALING…OPEN.
GATE OF LIFE…OPEN.
GATE OF PAIN…OPEN."
The entire arena shook violently; the weight of Lee's chakra was on a whole other level compared to before.
Veins appeared all over his body, bulging with a grotesque energy—like they threatened to pop out.
His skin changed color, mixing into a dark reddish hue.
Green chakra spiraled and twirled around him like a hurricane; his body pulsed with power.
Lee could feel it.
Benimaru could feel it.
Every leaf ninja and beyond in the stands could feel it.
Even the Hokage.
They could all tell…
—the battle was reaching its climax.
Lee's fingers twitched rapidly; he could feel his muscles being torn apart from the inside out.
The pain was excruciating—it was for this reason that the Gates were a forbidden technique.
This was the reason his master didn't wish for him to use it.
—but he had to endure.
He had only a minute or two before he collapsed from sheer pain—he would make it count.
In a blur, he disappeared from his spot, creating a massive shockwave that rippled through the crowd.
Benimaru's eyes widened; he had been launched upwards by a powerful kick to the jaw.
He could feel it shifting and dislocating; his teeth clenched shut from the sheer force.
He had seen Lee move, he knew what he was going to do, but still…
He could only slow down his perception to a specific point.
As if right now, his perception was around three to five times slower,
and his thought process over four times faster.
But even then, it wasn't enough.
Amped by the Fifth Gate, Lee's speed was unreal—surpassing his earlier limits by over seven times.
Benimaru hovered in the air, trying to think—he needed to recover quickly.
But Lee didn't give him that benefit.
In a flash of green light, he materialized behind Benimaru.
The latter didn't even realize when a fist slammed into his back from behind—spiraling him upward.
Lee continued his assault with vicious fervor—slamming and sending Benimaru up and through the air like a ragdoll.
Benimaru could barely hold on—but Lee wasn't faring any better; muscles visibly tearing and bones shifting out of place.
Lee ricocheted off the walls and floor, gathering momentum and charging his fist for one more attack.
"FIFTH GATE: GATE OF CLOSING…OPEN."
His fist descended and implanted itself deep into the Ryota's gut, causing him to spew out massive chunks of blood.
He was hurled to the ground at breakneck speeds, creating a sonic boom and a large crater upon impact.
Everyone gawked at the result of the match—this was not a match befitting a genin.
This was what they'd expect if two Jonin fought.
The Konoha Twelve stared at the crater, Benimaru laid in.
They couldn't believe it.
Benimaru, the strongest of their generation, had lost to someone with no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu talent.
It was surreal.
But it was reality.
Lee landed next to Benimaru's body.
"You were an amazing fighter; I hope to fight you again someday."
Harare came closer, preparing to declare Lee the winner, but something stopped him—he had a feeling this match wasn't over.
Benimaru turned to lay on his back; he could feel his organs screaming at him—it felt like he was going to die.
'You have two major weaknesses. The first is that you rely on your sense of sight too much, which is a disadvantage if you opponent is faster than you
The second is that your attacks follow no pattern, which makes you a unpredictable fighter which is good.
But it also slows down your reaction time when attacking, making you slower to chain moves together
Always remember, Perfect copy is a fake. It's true name is…
Perfect adaptation'
Benimaru remembered his master's words, they finally made sense to him.
All this time he had been fighting wrongly, but now…
He knew what he needed to do.
By using his chakra sense he could negate his first weakness.
And he had a decent idea of how to fix his second one.
Benimaru got up, clutching his side tightly in pain—but he refused to utter a word
On shaky legs, he stood—determined eyes gazing deep into Lee's.
A searing crash sound echoed through the stadium.
Benimaru's body embedded itself into the wall.
Lee gripped his fist tightly—his arm had been broken.
In that split second between the impact of his blow…
Benimaru had pushed himself to the limit, infusing Chakra into his brain to increase his perception even more.
He had lunged his heel into Lee's arm and broken it—all in less than a few milliseconds of impact.
But he was still too slow to dodge.
CLICK CLACK
Benimaru's feet hit the floor once more, even with blood leaking—he refused to falter.
'NOT YET'
With every step, the distance between him and Lee shrank ever so slightly.
'I CAN FEEL IT'
A monstrous grin plastered itself on his face, he stood only a few meters away
The hairs on Lee's neck stood at attention, he felt a dark aura pulsating from Benimaru's body.
But as soon as it came—it left.
Startled by the sudden stimulation, he surged his foot forward.
Using all the power he could muster.
But…
The blow struck nothing but air
Benimaru, with just two fingers, shifted the course of Lee's punch—preventing collision
In that same breath, he curled his right hand into a fist—striking cleanly against his left ear—disorienting him.
With no wasted movement, he inflicted a flurry of punches and kicks that rained down on Lee like wildfire.
For the first time since the gates had been opened…
Lee was injured.
By use of the perfect copy, Benimaru had internally analyzed every taijutsu move and skill he had ever witnessed.
The slippery movements of Orochimaru
The Uchiha clan taijutsu from Sasuke
The brawler style of Naruto
The cruelty and efficiency of that man
The calculated and sophisticated movements of Chandler
Even Lee's own fighting style.
All perfectly encompassed into one form
By perfectly adapting to his enemies movements, he could reach of state of taijutsu equilibrium
Where he could flow like water, and crush like rock. Hence the name;
Formless Flow: Flowing water, Crushing rock
The eyes of Lee widened as he was being beaten to a pulp.
He had trained in taijutsu all his life—ever since he gave up on genjutsu and Ninjutsu.
And through that training he had reached a level where he could appreciate true skill.
Benimaru's movements, were cold, calculating, and above all—beautiful.
He perfectly targeted the opponents weak spots with such a grace.
His body twisting and turning in miraculous ways to both attack, and defend.
All in the same breath.
It was perfect, no that's wrong
He is perfect
Lee's body lay bloodied and beaten, gates instinctually deactivated from the damage he had sustained.
"So this…is your strength, Benimaru"
A soft mutter escaped his breath as Benimaru stood over him—his body not in any better shape.
This fight had helped him evolve, he would always remember it.
Turning his back to leave, waiting for him to be declared the winner but…
CLICK
Lee stood up, body broken but still willing to fight.
His fist raised in an offensive stance, preparing to continue the match.
Benimaru switched into a stance, preparing to strike—but was stopped by Hayate.
Who stepped forward, checked Lee's pulse—a low whisper proceeded from his mouth.
"He's unconscious"
Benimaru's eyes widened, lowering his guard—a look of admiration welled up from within him.
'Even while unconscious he still fights. What a man'
"Rock Lee"
He paused slightly, not knowing how to continue.
"You alone have earned my respect in these exams…I will never forget this fight for as long as I live"
Lee was carried by the medical ninja for treatment.
They attempted to treat Benimaru, who just waved them off.
His injuries had already started healing so there was no point.
One of the perks of being a demon he supposed.
All he needed now was a long nap—he was fucking exhausted.
CHAPTER END
POWER STONESSSSSSS