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"This boy forced Gaara to take him more seriously. That alone is an undeniable truth."
It was a weighty statement coming from Rasa.
Especially since he was not the kind of person who gave recognition easily.
Yet he was not looking at Lee with admiration.
He was looking at him with wariness.
For every moment that boy held on meant the battle was sliding toward a territory no one in Suna liked.
The territory of uncalculated possibilities.
Karura, by contrast, was watching the scene from an entirely different angle.
She did not see only technique.
Nor calculations of victory and defeat.
She saw a child by a tree.
Then she saw a child in the arena.
And both times, the most obvious thing was his need for someone to anchor him.
"That boy is not alone…" she whispered.
Rasa turned slightly, but said nothing.
Karura continued, her eyes fixed on Lee:
"When he said his teacher sees him and smiles at him… I understood why he doesn't fall."
Her tone was quiet.
But it carried a hidden ache.
"He has a place to return to," she said in a lower voice.
"Even while he stands in the middle of the arena."
She did not mention Gaara's name.
But the silence she left after her words did it for her.
As if she already knew that Gaara had never possessed what Lee had.
In Konoha, the picture was different.
There, most of those who had watched the chapter saw Guy and Lee as an example of a bond that created meaning before it created power.
In Suna, however, eyes kept returning to Gaara, again and again.
Not because Lee was unimportant.
But because an opponent like this exposed something no one wanted to say aloud.
An opponent who fights because someone believed in him.
And Gaara, who fights because he has known nothing but being shielded by sand.
That is why the chapter weighed heavily on both sides, in different ways.
In Konoha, it stirred pride and anxiety together.
In Suna, it stirred caution and unease.
Even Guy himself, despite his smile, knew that Lee had now reached a point where admiration could no longer overshadow fear.
He was the one who had once told him that trust was essential.
And he was the one now watching that very trust push his student to the edge of death.
'Lee…' he whispered once more inside himself.
'Show me that you will also know when to stop.'
But Lee, in the manga pages, was not thinking about stopping.
He was only hearing an old voice telling him that his path was real.
That his fear was not his master.
That his teacher's smile was not pity.
It was recognition.
And so, after this chapter, the real question was no longer: Does Lee have the strength to strike Gaara again?
But rather: Does he have enough physical limits left to bear the faith that has finally awakened inside him?
Because the child who wept by the tree and asked, "What am I supposed to do?"
was no longer the same boy who stood in the arena after all that pain.
That child had been searching for an answer.
But this boy…
had already found it.
And the trouble with real answers…
is that they sometimes push you forward even when retreating would be the kinder choice.
That was what Jiraiya believed as well, but in this moment he had no time to sink into such thoughts, because the final, long-awaited moment of this breathtaking battle had arrived at last.
"What?! Rock Lee can open the Eight Inner Gates? Impossible!"
Seeing Guy confirm it to Kakashi in the manga pages nearly made Jiraiya's eyes pop out of his head from sheer shock.
It was not just him, every elite in the art store who understood what the Eight Inner Gates meant was equally stunned.
'He can open five gates?! Unbelievable…'
Even the Third Hokage's expression changed in that moment, as he thought to himself:
"Hiruzen… it seems I was wrong about Lee and his teacher… they are absolutely insane."
Even Danzo could not maintain his composure and was compelled to speak in that moment.
"Five inner gates… can he truly do that??"
"Why couldn't he?! Let's watch the rest of the scene… and we'll see."
"But he's so young… the ability to open five gates doesn't necessarily mean he can survive afterward."
Uzumaki Mito was worried about Rock Lee's safety, but she had no choice but to watch the rest of the scene.
Beside her, both Hamura and Koharu were completely stunned.
The shock was not confined to the members of the Elder Council alone, Maito Dai and his son Gai were drowning in the shock of a lifetime in that moment.
Beside them, Sakumo and Kakashi were also left speechless, as the future Gai had gone so far as to train this untalented little boy.
[— Manga Scene —]
"Within the chakra of the circulatory system… there is a gate in every part of the body, from top to…"
"The Opening Gate: Gate of Opening."
"The Healing Gate: Gate of Rest."
"The Life Gate: Gate of Life."
"The Pain Gate: Gate of Wound."
"The Closing Gate: Gate of View."
"The Joy Gate: Gate of Wonder."
"The Wonder Gate: Gate of Death."
"These eight locations in the body where chakra apertures exist are known as the Eight Gates."
Kakashi explained calmly, while Sakura continued to listen in astonishment.
"These eight gates steadily control the flow of chakra through your body…"
"But the Lotus forcibly breaks that control…"
"And grants its user ten times greater power."
"That is the source of its strength…"
"The Secondary Lotus is the technique of opening the First Gate, the Opening Gate…"
This time it was Gai who spoke.
"...!"
"What about the Primary Lotus?" asked Sakura.
"It releases the brain's control, allowing the person to use their muscles to their absolute limits…"
"As for the Primary Lotus, it opens the Second Gate, effectively doubling one's power. And after opening the Third Gate, the Gate of Life, the Primary Lotus will be executed."
"But the Secondary Lotus alone already exhausts his body…"
"If he launches any more attacks, he might…" Sakura was worried.
"Yes. The remaining eight gates can gather power greater than that of the Hokage."
"But that person will… die."
Kakashi declared with a shocking bluntness.
"Die!" Sakura was stunned.
In that moment, the ground beneath Lee cracked.
'Neji… Sasuke-kun… and Naruto-kun…'
'I cannot… be the only one who can lose here.'
'Gai-sensei… please acknowledge this…'
'Now is the time to commit and protect my path as a ninja!!'
"Third Gate, Gate of Life, open!!!"
Having declared his reasons, Rock Lee's aura transformed completely, as the chakra around him began to burst outward in visible sparks.
"His body color has turned red!!"
'He has opened the Third Gate, the Gate of Life.'
'He is going to perform his technique…'
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaa—"
"Now, Fourth Gate, Gate of Wound, open!!!"
"....."
'What a boy…' Kakashi was stunned.
[— End Scene —]
Silence fell after the scene ended.
The information alone was enough to freeze the blood.
Power greater than the Hokage's. And then death follows.
This was no longer merely a chapter about a match in the Chunin Exams.
Nor simply a surprise about a boy with no talent but iron stubbornness.
It had suddenly become a revelation of a door that leads to a place no one likes to stare at for long.
The territory of power that begins after the body stops being an ally.
"This… is not a combat style," said Hiruzen after a brief silence.
His voice was low. Heavier than usual.
"It is a temporary permit for a human being to shatter himself with his own hands."
He was not exaggerating.
For even as he watched Lee, he saw no hesitation in the boy's eyes.
And that disturbed him more than the technique itself.
"The child knows the price," said Mito slowly.
"And yet he chose to pay it."
"That is the part that makes it unacceptable."
Homura finally spoke.
"What kind of teacher allows his student to reach a point like this?"
"The kind of teacher who knows what kind of world a ninja lives in."
The reply came from Danzo. Cold and direct.
"The question is not why he taught him this. The question is: why did the boy need to use it now?"
Everyone looked at him.
He continued without wavering:
"Because his opponent forced him to."
Koharu narrowed her eyes.
"And are you saying that with admiration or as a warning?"
"Both," said Danzo. "A boy this age capable of opening four gates is a dangerous asset. And an opponent this age capable of pushing him to that point… is even more dangerous."
Hiruzen did not like the characterization.
But he did not object.
Because the analysis was harsh… and correct.
As for Jiraiya, he let out a sharp exhale as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Damn… I thought Gai was exaggerating when he talked about his youth."
Then he added, staring at Lee:
"But this isn't youth. This is organized suicide."
Orochimaru, by contrast, did not appear disturbed.
He appeared interested.
And his interest was worse than concern.
"Fascinating."
He said it with a thin smile.
"A limited body… yet it forces itself to surpass its natural design."
Jiraiya turned to him immediately.
"Don't start."
But Orochimaru did not look at him.
His eyes remained on the screen.
"Ordinary bodies are usually boring. This body is not ordinary because it is willing to tear itself apart in response to a single will."
"He is a child," said Mito, with unmistakable coldness.
Orochimaru smiled a little more.
"That is precisely why he seems so interesting."
"He's destroying himself…"
Not far away, Minato was left speechless as he stared at the scene of Lee exploding with the power of the Fourth Gate in that moment.
"The Gate of Wound… he must be in tremendous pain…"
Kushina placed her hand over her mouth as she saw the trickle of blood sliding from Lee's lips while he was in that state of eruption.
From both their perspectives, Lee was stubborn, but in some way, they admired his unyielding spirit, which made him exactly like Naruto.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 194: Sand Coffin!
Chapter 195: Lee, You Are Truly a Splendid Ninja.
Chapter 196: The End of Lee's Journey as a Ninja?
Chapter 197: The Final Battle: Choji's Loss.
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