The battle between Rock Lee and Gaara was incredibly intense!
After a cautious opening attack, Gaara and Rock Lee fought fiercely, trading blows back and forth.
When Rock Lee found himself at a disadvantage, he removed his weights and boldly activated the Eight Inner Gates Formation. With this powerful technique, he overwhelmed Gaara, the One-Tail Jinchūriki, who couldn't fight back against Rock Lee's incredible strength.
Any other contestant in this Chūnin Exam would have been defeated by Rock Lee long ago, but unfortunately, he faced his toughest possible opponent in Gaara.
As a Jinchūriki, Gaara possessed the natural advantages of thick blood and abundant chakra. Despite taking several powerful attacks from Rock Lee, Gaara stubbornly survived. Of course, the protective sand on Gaara's body played a major role in his survival.
Rock Lee unleashed tremendous power with the Eight Inner Gates, but ultimately failed to defeat Gaara within the limited time he could maintain the technique. Worse still, Gaara managed to crush Rock Lee's left hand and left foot with his sand.
If Might Guy hadn't intervened personally to stop the fight, Rock Lee might have died during the battle.
"Naraku..." Might Guy cried as he held the unconscious Rock Lee in his arms. As a taijutsu expert, Might Guy understood exactly how serious Rock Lee's injuries were. If anyone could save Rock Lee now, it would only be Shihouin Naraku.
Other shinobi from Konoha gathered around, all amazed by the power of the Eight Inner Gates. No one wanted to see Rock Lee lose his bright future as a ninja.
"Everyone, please step back. The match isn't over yet, don't crowd here," Shihouin Naraku said as he approached, waving his hand to disperse the crowd. He then began examining Rock Lee's injuries.
"His physical strength and chakra are severely depleted! Many muscle fibers are torn, and there are signs of bone fractures throughout his body. These problems aren't the most serious concern, but in the final attack, Rock Lee suffered comminuted fractures in both his left arm and left leg!"
Shihouin Naraku assessed Rock Lee's condition while directing the medical staff to bring a stretcher.
"Guy, Rock Lee is not you. His body was already taking an enormous risk to handle the explosive power of the Eight Inner Gates. Opening the Fourth Gate was already extremely difficult for him, and opening the Fifth Gate—the Limit Gate—completely disrupted the balance within his body, causing severe injuries."
"What we can see now are just the surface problems. Rock Lee must go to the hospital for detailed examination before we can determine if he can recover."
"From what I can tell now, the worst possible outcome is that Rock Lee will lose his chance of ever being a ninja again!"
Might Guy stood silently to the side, crying uncontrollably.
Tenten and Hyuga Neji were also deeply upset. Lee was their teammate and friend, someone they spent every day with. Despite their occasional rivalries, neither wanted Lee to lose his dream of becoming a great ninja.
"You've got to be kidding. He can't be a ninja anymore..." Uzumaki Naruto stared at the unconscious Rock Lee in disbelief, still remembering the incredible power of the Eight Inner Gates in his mind.
Would they never see such powerful and impressive physical skills again?
Rock Lee was carefully placed on the stretcher and immediately rushed to the hospital.
Shihouin Naraku left the Exam Tower with Might Guy, Tenten, and Hyuga Neji. With only one match remaining, there was no reason for them to stay.
In this somber atmosphere, the final qualifying match concluded.
This final battle was between Akimichi Chōji and another Genin from Konoha Village. Toss, who was originally scheduled to compete, was directly given a bye into the next round.
As for the Konoha Genin who fought against Akimichi Chōji, it was Yakushi Kabuto, who had stepped in as a replacement. Being Orochimaru's spy, he might have deliberately lost to Akimichi Chōji to avoid revealing his true strength.
...
At Konoha Hospital, after a series of detailed examinations, the full extent of Rock Lee's injuries was confirmed.
Shihouin Naraku studied the examination results, thought for a moment, then spoke: "The situation is serious, but recovery isn't impossible."
Might Guy's expression changed from bitter to hopeful.
Before Might Guy could speak, Shihouin Naraku looked directly at him, "Recovery is possible, but I can't give you a 100% guarantee. I can only say that I'm very confident in ensuring his recovery, but there are always unexpected factors."
"For Rock Lee, if something unexpected happens during treatment, it means he will never be able to become a ninja again."
Might Guy looked at Shihouin Naraku with hope in his eyes. "Naraku, you're the best medical ninja we have!"
Shihouin Naraku shook his head firmly, his face serious. "Guy, the most critical problem is that Rock Lee's body isn't strong enough to withstand the power of the Eight Inner Gates."
"If Rock Lee had your physical constitution, the outcome would have been very different. After Rock Lee's full-strength activation of the Fifth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates, his body was in an extremely fragile state. When he was attacked from the outside at that moment, it caused devastating damage."
"Simply put, Rock Lee should never have opened the Fifth Gate—the Limit Gate! Even if he did open it, he shouldn't have maintained it for so long. Once the burst of power ends, he shouldn't continue fighting and taking attacks."
"All these factors combined led to Rock Lee's current condition!"
Hearing this, Might Guy's shoulders slumped. He looked frustrated and at a loss for words.
Did Might Guy not know that Rock Lee at his current stage couldn't handle the backlash of the Eight Inner Gates?
Of course he knew!
But when Might Guy saw that Rock Lee was just like himself as a child—with no talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu, forced to focus all his efforts on taijutsu—his heart had softened.
Shihouin Naraku patted Might Guy on the shoulder and advised, "We should tell Rock Lee about this situation and let him make the decision himself. If he doesn't insist on continuing his life as a ninja, he doesn't need to undergo the most dangerous surgery."
"I understand," Might Guy replied with a gloomy expression as he headed toward Rock Lee's hospital room.
Watching Might Guy walk away, Shihouin Naraku had more thoughts he kept to himself.
Rock Lee had good talent for taijutsu, but there was still a gap compared to Might Guy in his youth. Additionally, Might Dai, Guy's father, had trained Might Guy intensively since childhood, which had made him Konoha's taijutsu expert.
In simple terms, no one was better suited to master the Eight Inner Gates than Might Guy!
Might Guy had trained his entire life precisely for the most brilliant explosion of power from the Eight Inner Gates!
Shihouin Naraku didn't wait for a response and began preparing for the operation.
Rock Lee's choice would definitely be to continue being a ninja. Even if only for the hard work and sweat he had shed in the past, Rock Lee would never give up.
However, Rock Lee's surgery couldn't be completed in one session. It would take considerable time and depend on the patient's recovery rate.
It was clear that Shihouin Naraku had a very good relationship with Might Guy, otherwise he wouldn't go through so much trouble to perform such a difficult surgery.
Much of Shihouin Naraku's time over the next days was spent preparing for the operation.
After the preliminaries, Uzumaki Naruto and the others came to visit Rock Lee in the hospital. Although Rock Lee didn't show any major emotional problems, everyone knew he must be suffering inside.
No matter what they said at this time, it would be best for Rock Lee to recover at his own pace.
...
Even in the dark of night, Konoha Village remained lively.
In a secret, quiet courtyard, Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto stood face to face.
"Sunagakure's preparations have been completed. We are now beginning to invade the Land of Fire. Due to the need for secrecy, our progress is very slow!"
Hearing Yakushi Kabuto's report, Orochimaru smiled sinisterly. "It doesn't matter, as long as we arrive before the third exam begins. Where are the supplies we prepared?"
"After opening the base, I checked everything carefully. All kinds of ninja tools and equipment are complete and well preserved. The base prepared by Orochimaru-sama in advance has been extremely helpful."
"Hehehe..."
"It was just a random thought at the time..."
Orochimaru knew Konoha Village intimately. As a former high-ranking official of Konoha, no one knew how many traps he had laid throughout the village...
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