The thought of taking a vacation vanished like a kite with a broken string.
Rock Lee collapsed onto the ground, his bones protesting and his muscles feeling like they were being pricked by countless red-hot needles.
The aftereffects of the Fourth Gate were as fierce as debt collectors coming for payment.
He panted heavily, looking at Tenten, who lay unconscious not far away, and then at the two twisted corpses of the Sound ninja.
The scene was a complete mess, as if it had been plowed by a herd of rampaging cattle.
"Ugh... This is troublesome..."
He covered his face and let out a pained groan.
It wasn't because of his injuries. It was because of this disaster zone he'd created.
The hole in his chest, pierced clean through by that short blade, had torn his clothes apart, but thanks to the system's intervention, his skin and flesh were completely healed beneath the fabric.
How was he supposed to explain this?
He couldn't exactly claim his pectoral muscles were thick enough to block a blade, could he?
No, he had to fake it properly.
Gritting his teeth, Lee summoned his last bit of strength and mobilized his chakra, forcibly creating bruises and bloodstains on his chest to resemble a genuine wound. Then he adjusted his ripped clothes to make the whole thing look like the gruesome aftermath of being stabbed through the heart.
After finishing this performance prep, he was completely exhausted, and his vision blurred dangerously.
'My vacation... my date...'
Just as he was about to give up and pass out, several dark figures silently dropped from the surrounding treetops.
Like ghosts materializing from shadow.
All three wore white animal masks and standard gray tactical vests.
ANBU.
The one in the lead had cat patterns painted on their mask.
Without a word, the operative scanned the scene and immediately locked onto Rock Lee's position.
In a flash, the cat-masked ANBU appeared at Lee's side and crouched down to check his condition.
Cold. Professional. Efficient.
"Can you still speak?" The voice from behind the cat mask was deliberately neutral, neither male nor female.
"Cough... cough cough..." Rock Lee coughed up two mouthfuls of blood, his eyes unfocused, looking as if he was moments from death. "Sound ninja... two of them... Chunin level... ambushed us..."
His voice came out broken and weak, barely audible.
Another ANBU member had moved to check on Tenten's condition and made a hand signal indicating she was "just unconscious."
The third operative was examining the two Sound ninja corpses.
"You took care of both of them by yourself?" There was a hint of genuine surprise in the cat-masked ANBU's tone.
The extent of the damage scattered across the scene wasn't something a genin could have caused.
Especially that corpse with every bone in its body shattered completely. The death was extremely gruesome.
"There was no other way..." Rock Lee raised his hand with visible difficulty, pointing weakly at himself. "I opened... the Fourth Gate... the Gate of Pain..."
He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. "They... thought I was dead... so I... I tricked them..."
If you were going to put on a show, you had to commit completely.
One of the essential skills for corporate workers was knowing how to present their work results in the best possible light.
Package nine parts luck and one part actual skill as ten parts foresight and a desperate calculated gamble.
The cat-masked ANBU fell silent.
Opening the Eight Gates to the Fourth Gate... wasn't this thick-browed kid Might Guy's student?
That reckless style definitely matched the teacher's reputation.
"Inspect the bodies," the cat-masked operative ordered.
"Captain, confirmed as Sound Village shinobi," the ANBU officer in charge of investigation quickly reported. "Fatal wounds... one appears to be from a broken neck using a technique similar to the Front Lotus, the other... complete skeletal fractures throughout the entire body. Killed instantly by pure taijutsu."
The cat-masked ANBU's attention returned to Rock Lee.
Trading injury for life, facing certain death to find a way out, and finally turning the tide with a desperate burst of power from the Fourth Gate...
Logically, the story held together perfectly.
But the sheer danger and decisiveness involved weren't things a typical genin would demonstrate.
This kid was ruthless.
"Take them both back to the village and straight to the hospital," the cat-masked ANBU stood up. "I'll report the situation here to the Hokage immediately."
"Yes!"
Konohagakure Hospital.
The smell of disinfectant was always so pungent and overwhelming.
Rock Lee lay on the pristine white hospital bed, feeling like a lump of battered mud.
This time it wasn't an act.
The side effects of the Fourth Gate were devastatingly real.
Every single muscle fiber was screaming in absolute agony, as if each one had been forcibly torn apart and then haphazardly stitched back together with rusty wire.
But internally, he felt very calm.
He was even a little... excited, if he was being honest.
He was gambling.
Betting that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old man known as the "Professor" and "God of Shinobi," wasn't senile yet.
In the very heart of the Land of Fire, two Chunin-level shinobi from Otogakure had appeared, carrying out missions of unknown purpose.
What kind of signal was this sending?
This was blatant provocation and infiltration.
If the Third Hokage were perceptive enough, he should be able to detect the venomous stench of Orochimaru all over this incident.
Now, it remained to be seen how Konohagakure's leadership would respond.
If they valued him properly, his status as a hero who "risked his life to bring back critical intelligence" would naturally rise accordingly.
Perhaps this opportunity would allow him to access more resources and improve himself even more quickly.
If they didn't take it seriously...
Then this village was finished. The Third Hokage really was too old. In that case, according to the original timeline, Lee might as well cause Orochimaru some trouble before the invasion and start planning his escape route sooner rather than later to find some beautiful, secluded place to settle down for early retirement.
Creak.
The door to his ward was pushed open.
Light from the corridor streamed in, outlining an aged yet dignified figure.
It was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He walked in slowly, a pipe dangling from his mouth, followed by two bodyguards.
Rock Lee struggled to sit up and bow, but was stopped by the Third Hokage raising one hand.
"Lie down, child."
Hiruzen Sarutobi walked to his bedside, his cloudy but shrewd eyes carefully examining the boy whose body was wrapped almost entirely in bandages.
"I've read the report from the ANBU." He took a long drag from his pipe, slowly exhaling a smoke ring. "Excellent work, Rock Lee."
"For... for the village... for the Will of Fire," Rock Lee's voice was still hoarse, but his eyes revealed perfectly calibrated determination.
"Mm." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, seemingly satisfied with his attitude. "Could you tell me the specifics of what happened? Don't overlook any details."
Lee's heart skipped a beat.
'Here we go.'
He took a deep breath and began his carefully prepared "report."
He didn't embellish the story. He simply recounted the events of the battle exactly as they'd happened.
But he cleverly shifted the focus of his narrative.
He emphasized describing the two unusual techniques the Sound ninja had used: the air-slicing shockwave attack, the sonic barrier wall, and the sound-based genjutsu.
These weren't conventional ninjutsu from any of the five major villages.
He then described the enemies' confidence and arrogance, as if they'd been strolling through their own backyard rather than deep in enemy territory.
Finally, he recounted how he'd been driven to the brink of despair, and how he'd had no choice but to open the Fourth Gate and fight to the death to protect Tenten, who was trapped under genjutsu.
"...They were very strong, their teamwork was excellent, and... the tall one could create shockwaves out of thin air, while the shorter one could generate some kind of barrier using sound..."
Lee's voice grew softer and softer, finally dissolving into a violent coughing fit.
Hiruzen Sarutobi listened quietly, the flickering glow from his pipe illuminating the deep wrinkles carved into his aged face.
He didn't say anything immediately.
But Rock Lee knew the Third Hokage had taken every word to heart.
Those air-slicing shockwave techniques were signature moves of Zaku, one of Orochimaru's subordinates.
This experienced shinobi couldn't possibly be unaware of what that connection implied.
"You did well." After a long, contemplative silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke, his voice carrying a trace of weariness. "The village will remember your contribution. Rest and recover properly. That's an order."
After saying that, he turned and left the ward.
Watching his departing figure disappear through the doorway, Rock Lee slowly closed his eyes.
The bait had been cast into the water.
Now it all depended on whether the fish would take it.
After an unknown amount of time, Rock Lee was awakened by muffled sobbing.
He struggled to open his eyes and saw that the girl in the bed next to his had already sat up.
It was Tenten.
She'd woken up and appeared physically fine, though she still looked mentally drained and exhausted.
At that moment, she sat on the edge of her bed, staring at Rock Lee covered head to toe in bandages, tears streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls.
A medical ninja was trying to comfort her nearby.
"...I just stood there, completely motionless..." Tenten's voice trembled with barely suppressed tears, filled with crushing self-reproach. "If I hadn't been caught in that genjutsu, Lee... he wouldn't have had to..."
She choked up completely and couldn't continue speaking.
The thought of standing there like a useless wooden statue, watching helplessly as Rock Lee risked his life to protect her, made her heart ache unbearably.
"Alright, alright, he's fine now, isn't he?" the medical ninja said gently, trying to soothe her. "He's a hero of Konohagakure, you know."
Rock Lee blinked slowly, deciding to continue pretending to be asleep.
Being awake during a moment like this would be far too awkward.
He could feel Tenten's gaze fixed intensely on him.
In that gaze, there was worry, guilt, and something more complex, something he didn't want to examine too closely right now.
After a while, the medical ninja finished her rounds and left the ward.
Only the two of them remained.
Rustling sounds of movement.
Tenten had gotten up and walked to his bedside.
Rock Lee could smell a faint, pleasant scent of soapberry emanating from her.
"...Lee?" she called tentatively, her voice soft and still thick with emotion.
Rock Lee continued playing dead.
"I know you're awake," Tenten said quietly, sniffing.
Rock Lee: '...'
Did this girl have some kind of supernatural intuition?
He slowly opened his eyes, managing a weak smile. "Ah... Tenten, you're awake..."
"You idiot! You complete and total idiot!"
Looking at his pale, drawn face, tears welled up in Tenten's eyes again. She reached out wanting to hit him, but was terrified of accidentally touching his wounds. Her hand froze in mid-air, trembling slightly.
"Why did you open the Fourth Gate?! Are you completely out of your mind?!" she hissed, sounding like an angry cat protecting its kittens.
"Cough cough..." Rock Lee coughed twice weakly. "If I hadn't opened it... we would've both died there..."
"That still doesn't..." Tenten bit her lip hard, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. "Do you have any idea what the doctor said? Your muscle tears were extremely severe. You almost... you almost became permanently paralyzed!"
She didn't know how to properly describe the tangled mess of emotions churning inside her chest.
Lingering fear. Heartache. And a strange sense of... safety and security.
The thick-browed boy who always talked endlessly about "youth" and "passion" in her ear had shielded her from everything with his not-particularly-broad back during the most dangerous moment of her life.
That scene would probably be burned into her memory forever.
"It's alright." Rock Lee looked at her, his eyes completely serious. "I promised Guy-sensei... that I would protect my comrades with my life."
He was reciting his scripted lines again.
But this time, Tenten didn't complain or roll her eyes.
She just stared at him intently, as if trying to etch his image permanently into her heart.
"Don't do it again next time," she whispered, her voice almost pleading.
"Mm." Rock Lee nodded obediently.
'I'll definitely do it again next time if necessary.'
Although he thought that way internally, his face showed nothing but a docile expression that said, "I'll listen to you."
"Are you... hungry?" Tenten suddenly remembered something and hurriedly wiped away her tears. "The rice balls I brought for you got ruined during the fight... Should I go buy you something else to eat?"
"No need." Rock Lee shook his head slightly. "I... don't have any appetite right now."
He just wanted to sleep.
The overwhelming feeling of complete physical exhaustion was crashing over him like a tidal wave.
"Then you should rest well." Tenten gently pulled his blanket up higher, tucking it around him carefully. "I'll... I'll stay here and watch over you."
She moved a stool over and sat down beside his hospital bed, clearly not planning to go anywhere else.
Rock Lee closed his eyes and sighed inwardly.
'Well.'
'This damn irresistible charm of mine.'
His vacation had been completely ruined.
But it didn't seem like... a total loss, all things considered.