The very next match had Saul up against the Genjutsu focused Sound Ninja, Tsuchi Kin. She was pretty much cannon fodder however. The only thing of note about her was her Genjutsu, supported by her bells. Unfortunately she had no skill even in her specialty. She stuck to the technique exactly as it was presented, never able to use it for anything more.
Saul reversed the Genjutsu connection using her own Chakra as the medium, and then promptly sent the woman into unconsciousness. He took her bells as his 'prize' for his own use. No one stopped him. After that the next match was quickly announced.
"The next match! Kankuro Vs Rock Lee!"
A man dressed in all black stood in the arena. His face was covered in purple paint, on his cheeks, around his lips, his eyes. Kankuro was expressionless, staring at the man facing him with dead fish eyes.
Lee on the other hand was jumping up and down, shadow boxing with his fists and flashing a wide smile back at his sensei. He was a seemingly thin man with a bowl cut, black hair, and a green jumpsuit. Baggy orange bands covered his shins, while his hands and arms were wrapped up completely in gauze.
"As some of you might know," Hiruzen spoke loudly, addressing the crowd, "Kankuro is the last of the three children of the Kazekage. Based on the thing he carries upon his back, the ninja might showcase Sunagakure's legendary mastery of puppets!
On the other hand, Rock Lee is the spitting image of Might Guy, Konoha's Green Beast!"
The crowd was completely silent. No one had really ever heard of this guy. Was he a strong Ninja or something? Guy's Taijutsu was both extremely deadly and explosive. Once he fought, whoever he was fighting would be quickly obliterated. And the price of opening the inner gates of course would result in him being unable to fight for a long time, leaving the periods of action he saw few and far in-between.
Even though these periods of strength were very strong, nobody was left alive to tell the tale. In comparison, Kakashi drew much more attention due to his unique appearance, his ability to quickly copy and utilize the opponent's ninjutsu against them, and the fact that he was a 'draw' specialist. A lot of times the enemy was able to leave before Kakashi could finish them if it wasn't an assassination, simply because they both had all the same cards. Thus he earned his reputation as the 'copy' ninja.
Literally everyone was betting on Kankuro. The odds were 10 to 1 against Lee's favor. Saul was sure to make a ton of money on this one.
*Ahem.* "Anyway... Let the match begin!"
Kankuro scratched his neck. Small movements like this were part of how he tricked people into believing what stood before them was the puppeteer and not the puppet.
"So what's your deal, huh? You gonna try and punch me or something? Hold on just a moment."
'Kankuro' got down on one knee, unwrapping the 'puppet' that was attached to his back. Any self respecting ninja would take advantage of an opportunity like this, exposing themselves immediately to his trap. This guy looked and acted like an idiot, Kankuro thought he'd fall for it pretty easily. However, Lee wasn't biting.
Rock Lee stood with his back ram-rod straight, staring forward with a frown on his face.
"Let me know when you're ready, Kankuro-san."
This guy. Was he even more of an idiot than he thought? What kind of guy would let his opponent fully set up like this?
"Thanks, I appreciate it. You're a good guy Lee. I'm ready now."
Before them was revealed a puppet with long, messy, shaggy hair. It was covered in a black cloak that obscured the rest of his body. Guess there was no point in continuing to hide it. His real body couldn't really fight, after all.
"Listen... Since I like you, I'll tell you a secret Lee. Want to hear it before we start?"
"What?"
Smoke surrounded the 'puppet's' body as it dashed forward, turning back into the real Kankuro. Blue threads extended out from his fingertips as he swung his whole body around, sending the real puppet bursting through the smoke. It clattered as it showed up directly in front of Lee, a blade sticking out of its hand.
"You were talking with a puppet this entire time, idiot!"
The puppet swiped down at him, but a powerful strike shattered the puppet's forearm before its hand could even graze him. Lee followed up in silence, dodging the puppet's counter attacks while simultaneously striking at different parts of the puppet. Once all its limbs lay scattered and broken on the ground, he made a powerful punch to its abdomen!
The puppet doubled over as the hard wood that made up its body cracked under the monstrous pressure. But then it opened up its mouth. Dozens of Senbon fired at the Lee who was mere inches away!
Still, his reaction was lightning quick. He tried to kick himself away to dodge, but the sand beneath his feet slowed his movements.
Rock Lee had no choice but to block with his bandaged up arm and backflipped away from the shattered puppet. But then he hissed in pain. His left arm was soaked in blood where the needles pierced into his skin.
"I would forfeit if I were you. Those needles were laced in a nasty poison. You'll need to quickly get that looked at and treated before it spreads."
Lee however, glared at Kankuro with fury.
"You think I'm going to forfeit!? After all I've done just to get here!?"
A gigantic cloud of Sand was kicked up as he blasted forward towards the Sand ninja at speeds so fast Kankuro could barely react! He slammed his right fist into his face, breaking the Ninja's nose and sending him flying into the sand below. But then suddenly, Lee felt two white hot sensations on his back!
The blue chakra threads, connecting from Kankuro's fingers to Lee's back, disappeared. The broken limbs from the puppet fell to the ground. The sand ninja had lost consciousness from a single punch.
"Rock Lee wins!"
The bushy browed ninja's head was lowered in pain, but he raised his arm and gave a thumbs up to the crowd. Then he fell to one knee.
"LEE!"
A big, muscular man wearing a green flack jacket body flickered down into the arena. He held Lee up by the chest, scanning over his wounds.
"I did it, guy sensei! I'm moving onto the second round!"
"Well done... Lee."
"Guy sensei!"
"Lee!"
The two hugged directly in the middle of the arena. Saul however, body flickered down to interrupt the idiotic pair.
"Excuse me!"
Guy looked up, hugging Rock Lee to him protectively. Then he saw the Konoha headband clearly displayed on Saul's forehead and relaxed.
"What can I do for you, young man?"
"Actually, I came down to have a look at Lee's wounds. I've learned quite a bit of medical Ninjutsu after all, and... I want to make sure he can fight at his full strength in the next match."
"Do you hear that, Lee! This is YOUTH!"
"YOUTH!!!" *Cough cough*
"LEE!?" Guy practically shrieked, seeing him grow weak in his arms, "Don't give up yet, this kind Konoha Ninja is going to save you!"
"Yes, guy sensei!"
Author's Note: Lee vs Kankuro was an interesting fight to write. Of course a full power Rock Lee would stomp Kankuro without even a question, but... Just like Dragon Ball Z, there is a massive difference between a full power Rock Lee and a 'base form' Lee.
He would foolishly wear extremely heavy weights wherever he went, treating it as 'training'. Even in serious fights where he could die, there were no exceptions. So his normal speed was just 'exceptional' among the Genin, not something insane or too superhuman.
Only when faced with a seemingly impossible opponent would Lee even think about getting rid of such weights. This gave Kankuro a unique chance to fight back.
Lee's foolish nature and inherent lack of caution results in him taking quite a lot of damage from Kankuro's tricky attacks. He'd still push through the pain and win if given the opportunity, because he's just that kind of guy, but he'd be wounded for sure. The question is, would such wounds be fatal? Likely not.
Regardless of whether he could use his insane speed and strength, Rock Lee's reaction speed honed to handle his actual speed would allow him to avoid any immediately fatal wounds if he saw them coming. Still, he does not possess a special Dojutsu. Lee was unable to detect Kankuro's final gambit of attacking him with the arms of the puppet he broke. Thus the result was as you all saw. He won, but with heavy wounds that needed treatment.