Kankuro didn't know what to reply.
He couldn't say Shukaku was Gaara's friend since they were both monsters. But after all, Gaara was his little brother.
So, he simply chose to ignore Naruto's words. He didn't think Gaara had any other kinds of power to protect him.
It must've been Shukaku's power.
And the battle below only got more intense. With Lee trying to find a single blind spot to attack Gaara, the fight became dangerous.
But Might Guy quickly realized doing this would only exhaust Lee and not have any substantial effect in this battle.
So, he raised his thumb and said.
"Lee, I give you permission to remove those weights."
Hearing that, Lee did several backflips before coming to a stop on top of a large piece of rock.
He looked at Guy and said.
"But Guy-sensei, you should we should only use this when our friends are in danger."
"It's okay, Lee. Today is the day for you to prove your Ninja Way."
'I know just how hard you worked for this, Lee. I can't take this away from you. Prove it to them, Lee! Prove it to everyone that you can still become a powerful ninja with just Taijutsu.'
When Guy met Lee, he hadn't even graduated from the academy. But Lee did waste four or even five years of his academy in a wrong path.
Lee couldn't use Genjutsu or Ninjutsu, but he wanted to become a Ninja, so he trained.
He trained and trained. He also trained in Taijutsu, but it wasn't like he was super serious about it.
It was only after he realized he couldn't do anything about Ninjutsu and Genjutsu that he started focusing more on Taijutsu.
And, this focus brought him the attention of Might Guy.
Unlike Lee, Guy started Taijutsu training with his father. He was able to use Ninjutsu, but he wasn't good at it.
So, in order to be Kakashi's rival and thanks to Dad's effort, he put all of his efforts into Taijutsu and became stronger than Kakashi in Taijutsu.
Kakashi was a genius. On top of that, he was also trained by his father, Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang.
So, his Taijutsu was stronger than most Chunin. But Guy was constantly fighting him, which was why he didn't need any kind of approval.
He knew he could become equal to a Genius with just hard work.
But Lee didn't have a situation. Not only was he mocked like Guy, but he also didn't have a teacher to help him get better at Taijutsu.
So, Lee had a big mental block in his mind. He must prove that he was stronger than a genius through hard work.
That became his life's mission.
And, what better time than now to overcome that mental block?
That's when Lee heard Guy's words; he became excited. He laughed and took off his weights.
While Temari and Kankuro scoffed at his performance, others were still surprised as Lee threw the weights onto the ground.
Boom!
Suddenly, dust rose, and the ground cracked. Everyone couldn't help but look at the scene with shock while Kakashi thought.
'Isn't that a bit much, Guy?'
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Lee disappeared. Nobody was able to capture his speed as he instantly appeared behind Gaara and punched him in the head.
But a small layer of sand appeared behind him and blocked the attack.
Of course, Lee didn't stop there. He immediately appeared from the side and kicked Gaara, but he got blocked once more.
"He can't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. That's why he spent all of his time on Taijutsu. He worked hard and concentrated everything on Taijutsu."
"Even if he can't do any other Jutsu, he won't lose to anyone. Because he is a Taijutsu Specialist."
As Guy spoke, Lee suddenly appeared next to Gaara, punched, only to be blocked by the sand, but with a small push against the ground, he jumped.
Then, he landed a solid right foot against Gaara's head.
"Lee, Explode!"
Guy shouted with all of his passion.
"Yes, Guy Sensei!"
Lee shouted excitedly as he ran behind Gaara, only to appear in front of him before his Sand could even move.
Bang!
He punched straight at Gaara's face, knocking him away.
At this moment, the cracks started appearing in Gaara's face.
"This is bad." Kankuro murmured.
At this moment, Gaara started collecting his sand to repair his Sand Armor.
At this moment, Kankuro and Gaara began to reflect on Gaara's Sand Armor.
Unlike his Sand Shield, Sand Armor used more of his Chakra, and since it added weight to his body, it would also consume more stamina.
This did mean Lee managed to push Gaara towards a defeat, but it wasn't enough, as Gaara wasn't just a normal person with abnormal sand defenses.
He was also a Genius.
"Hurry up and come!"
As Lee uncovered his bandages, Gaara muttered.
Lee suddenly increased his speed and rushed towards Gaara. Even he understood that having to kick Gaara would be much more difficult now.
Lee hurriedly appeared in front of Gaara and kicked him in the chin, sending him flying into the air while wrapping him with his bandages.
[Front Lotus]
He caught Gaara in his hand and started spinning rapidly as he came down with extreme speed and crashed against the ground.
Bang!
But just before he landed, Lee jumped away while Gaara collided against the ground.
Just when Sakura, Naruto, and Guy were about to celebrate, they noticed that Gaara's Sand Armor was empty.
"When did he leave the sand? There's no way Lee could've missed that." Might Guy shouted.
"It was when you closed your eyes to pray, Guy. Lee stopped his body for a moment because of the pain, and that was when he used Sand Substitute."
Kakashi explained.
At this moment, Lee couldn't believe that Gaara was able to escape his Front Lotus.
But before he could even get time to think about it, Gaara appeared behind him, surrounded by a large amount of Sand.
"Hehehe!"