As Neji was carried away, the teachers returned to their places.
The big screen continued scrolling.
Dosu and Choji stepped into the arena and began their match.
Choji used the Multi-Size Technique to attack Dosu.
Dosu easily dodged, but Choji accidentally got stuck in the wall. Dosu punched him, then simply flicked the Sound Ninja Tool on his right arm, and Choji was defeated.
Choji was carried away afterward.
Gaara looked at the arena, now cleared of debris, and was just about to go down when Baki stopped him.
"Gaara, I don't care what's happened over the past few days, but I hope you still remember our plan," Baki said quietly.
"I know," Gaara replied, somewhat distracted.
"Good. Everything for the sake of the village," Baki said softly, watching Gaara's back.
Gaara used the Sand Body Flicker and vanished from where he stood, turning into sand before gathering again in the center of the arena.
Gaara looked up at Lee, the last one who hadn't fought, and said in a low voice,
"Hey, you with the bowl cut. Get down here."
"In such a hurry?" Hayate thought helplessly from the sidelines.
"Yosh! It's finally my turn!" Fire lit in Lee's eyes. He clenched his fists, excitement written all over his face.
"Go, Lee! Seize this chance and let your youth shine!" Guy pointed dramatically toward the arena and called out.
"Yeah! I'm going!" Lee excitedly vaulted over the railing and faced Gaara.
"Now then, the final match of the preliminaries... begin!" Hayate called.
After exchanging blows for a while, Lee realized he could barely get close to Gaara, let alone hurt him. He couldn't help feeling troubled.
"Lee, take those off!" Guy called.
"Really, Guy-sensei?" Lee clenched his fists, sounding excited.
"Yeah, take them off! Show them what you can do!" Guy gave Lee a thumbs-up, flashing his pearly-white teeth.
Lee cheered happily, dodging Gaara's attacks as he looked for an opening.
"Hinata is so cute," Zeyu said, looking at Hinata's sleeping face.
Zeyu sat with his back against the wall. Hinata was already asleep beside him, wearing earplugs and sleeping soundly. Her little hands held one of Zeyu's fingers, just like a baby.
Zeyu was so caught up in the moment that he hadn't realized what was about to happen.
With his back against the wall, he had a poor view and couldn't really make out what was going on below.
Suddenly, something shot into the air in the corner of Zeyu's eye. He instinctively looked over, worried something was flying toward them.
It turned out to be Lee, flipping through the air.
"Ah, it's just Lee. Nothing to worry about," Zeyu thought, then looked back down at Hinata, still grinning.
"Yosh, I can finally take these off!" Lee said excitedly, clenching both fists.
Hearing that, Zeyu suddenly remembered something. His smile gradually froze as he turned to look at Lee.
Lee was now sitting on the hand-seal statue at the front of the arena, removing the weights strapped to his lower legs.
I'm so screwed! Lee! Zeyu thought. His smile vanished, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
He gently lowered Hinata's hand and set it aside, then quickly got up and rushed along the second-floor walkway toward Lee.
"Hey, Zeyu, what are you doing?" Kurenai asked in confusion from nearby, reaching out to stop him.
Zeyu was too distracted to respond. He slid beneath her in a baseball slide and kept running.
"Sorry, sorry, coming through!" Zeyu called anxiously, squeezing quickly between the others.
Naruto had been sleeping against the wall. As Zeyu rushed past, the bubble from his nose burst, and he woke up instantly.
"What just went by?" Naruto asked, squinting as he instinctively swallowed.
"Oh, wow, it really is much easier! Yosh!" Lee said, holding up both rows of weights with ease.
Damn it, Lee! Zeyu thought, looking up at him, already sweating profusely.
As soon as Lee finished speaking, he let go and allowed the weights to fall.
Zeyu gritted his teeth, quickly stepped onto the railing, and formed a cross-shaped hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
A clone appeared out of nowhere, and the two of them rushed to either side of the statue.
They stood where the weights would land, braced themselves, and looked up, ready to catch them.
The weights fell, and the two caught them securely. The paving stones beneath their feet shattered, and their legs sank deep into the ground. Fortunately, there was no loud noise or major tremor.
Holding the weights in their arms, the two of them both breathed a sigh of relief, their expressions easing.
The clone slowly set down the weights in his arms, then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Zeyu, what are you doing?" Lee asked from above.
Zeyu was so angry he could barely contain himself. He looked up and glared fiercely at Lee, the veins in his forehead bulging.
Lee felt a chill run down his back under Zeyu's glare. He instinctively straightened up and apologized.
"I'm sorry!"
Everyone who saw this found it rather baffling.
"What's going on? Are those two rows of weights really that precious?" Temari asked, puzzled.
Kakashi glanced at the ground beneath Zeyu's feet, then turned to Guy.
"Hey, Guy, don't you think you went a little overboard?"
"Not at all. If an ordinary person wants to surpass a genius, he has to work twice as hard," Guy replied, looking up at Lee.
"And Lee is an expert at exactly that," Guy added with a smile.
Hayate walked over from nearby and urged Zeyu to hurry back.
Zeyu could only suppress his anger, set down the weights, and hop onto the second floor, hurrying back to Hinata.
"Guy-sensei, what would happen if Lee's weights hit the ground?" Sakura asked curiously.
Guy stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then gave a thumbs-up with a smile.
"Hmm, it'd probably cause an earthquake!"
Sakura was so shocked that her face turned green.
"Maybe Zeyu rushed to catch them because of that," Kakashi said, pointing toward Hinata, who was sleeping soundly behind them.
The others looked over, speechless.
But now that Zeyu was no longer beside her, Hinata felt uneasy. She frowned and reached around beside her.
Just then, Zeyu returned. Seeing this, he quickly offered Hinata his hand, then sat down.
Feeling something familiar in her grasp, Hinata relaxed. Her expression softened. She reached up and grabbed Zeyu's arm, then rested her head on his hand, nuzzled it with her cheek, and went back to sleep.
"Hehe, good thing she has earplugs to block out the noise. But it would've been bad if those things hit the ground and caused an earthquake," Zeyu thought, looking at Hinata's sleeping face.
Unable to resist, he poked her cheek with his finger.
"Soft, smooth, and so~ cute. Hehe," Zeyu thought, grinning.
Kakashi looked at Zeyu, eyes full of confusion, and thought,
He learned the Rasengan on his own at such a young age, taught Hinata to defeat Neji in such a short time, and has an outstanding physique too. What kind of monster is he?
After Lee took off the weights, he became much faster and was able to go toe-to-toe with Gaara for a while. But aside from his Sand Shield, Gaara also had Sand Armor covering his body.
Lee's attacks couldn't break through Gaara's defenses. Then, with Guy's permission, he used the Eight Inner Gates. Even after opening the fifth gate, Gate of Limit, and unleashing the incredible Hidden Lotus, he still couldn't defeat Gaara.
As everyone watched in shock, Gaara, who had been knocked to the ground, turned toward Lee. Lee's body had suffered backlash from the Eight Inner Gates and was almost completely unable to move.
In the stands, Guy watched this with his heart in his throat, silently praying that Gaara would spare Lee.
Just as Lee opened the gates, Zeyu had been unable to stop him, and Hinata had been woken by the noise. The two of them had no choice but to watch the match, and Zeyu had made a point of warning Guy.
"Guy-sensei, can I ask you something?" Zeyu said, coming over to Guy.
"What?" Guy replied at once, watching the fight below.
"Lee is a tenacious man. He'd never give up, right?" Zeyu asked.
"Of course," Guy replied happily, turning around with a smile.
"But if Lee's body were in danger—if it threatened his future, or even his life—would you make the decision for him?" Zeyu asked solemnly.
Guy's smile gradually faded. He stared at Lee below and said nothing.
"I understand... Thank you, Zeyu. I'd never thought about that before," Guy said after a moment of silence.
Back to the present.
Gaara looked at the weakened Lee, his face twisted into a grimace. He slowly raised a hand, and the sand beside him formed into a wave that rushed straight toward Lee.
"Damn it! He's already won, and he still won't leave Lee alone?" Guy thought, gripping the railing tightly with his head bowed.
He was torn over whether he should break the rules and intervene.
Watching the sand rush closer and closer to Lee, Guy finally made up his mind.
"No! I can't stand by and let my beloved student get hurt like this. Even if Lee blames me afterward, I have to stop this!" Guy thought through gritted teeth, preparing to go down.
Gaara continued sending the sand toward Lee. Just then, a little figure made of sand was carried along with it, its surface marked with several cracks.
The little figure fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
"Hm? That's... from back then," Zeyu thought.
Noticing the object, Gaara pushed himself up on one elbow and looked over.
When he saw what it was, his pupils widened and he trembled slightly.
Remembering what Zeyu had said, and remembering that the sand had been his mother's protection, he struggled to suppress the urge to fight that had been stirred up. The grim expression on his face softened considerably.
With a wave of his hand, the sand wave that was about to crash into Lee scattered right in front of him.
Lee gasped for breath, too weak even to stand. His arms trembled as he held them up in front of himself. When he realized the danger hadn't come, he felt relieved, though confusion lingered on his exhausted face.
Gaara slowly stood up. The sand beneath him rose continuously, gradually returning to the gourd on his back.
Gaara walked over to the shattered little figure, picked up the pieces, and looked at them in his hand before putting them back in his gourd.
As everyone watched in astonishment, Gaara took a deep breath and spoke slowly.
"Give up, Rock Lee. I admit you're an excellent opponent, but you can't defeat me. Stop struggling for nothing."
"Thank goodness Gaara didn't go too far. Lee..." Guy said quietly. He felt relieved at the sight and looked toward Lee.
At that moment, Lee used all his strength to stand up. Even though he could barely move, he still assumed a fighting stance, his body trembling as he spoke.
"I... I can still fight."
"Lee... you..." Guy didn't know what to say. He felt something he couldn't put into words, and tears shone in his eyes.
"Honestly, what a pain," Gaara said impatiently. He walked straight toward Lee, suddenly wanting to try knocking him out the way Zeyu had.
Lee watched Gaara steadily approach. His exhausted face was full of unwillingness as he gritted his teeth and tried to clench his fists.
But every movement sent pain through his entire body. He swayed unsteadily, feeling as though he could collapse at any moment.
"Ah, that's the downside of the Eight Inner Gates. I know how to use them, but I don't even want to," Zeyu thought as he watched Lee.
Hinata clung to Zeyu's arm and held his hand. Seeing this, she hugged him a little tighter.
"Zeyu-kun, Gaara isn't going to change his mind again, is he?" Hinata asked in Zeyu's ear.
"He probably won't," Zeyu replied, looking toward Guy.
Guy watched the arena below and silently made up his mind. He clenched his teeth and vanished from where he stood.
Just as Gaara was about to reach Lee, Guy appeared in front of him and held out an arm to stop him.
"Enough! We forfeit. This ends now," Guy said sternly, his expression dark.
"Guy-sensei, I can still..." Lee laboriously raised his head and looked at Guy's back.
Guy interrupted him at once.
"Don't say another word, Lee. I know how you feel," Guy said, slowly turning to face him.
He stepped forward and supported Lee by the shoulders.
"Lee, you have a long life ahead of you. There's plenty of time to enjoy your youth. There's no need to rush. We'll try again next time, all right?" Guy said, looking at Lee's exhausted face, his heart aching as tears glimmered in his eyes.
Lee didn't answer right away. He buried his head against Guy's chest, holding back his tears as he spoke softly.
"But... I... I can't accept this..."
"I... I let you down, Guy-sensei..."
Guy gently patted Lee on the back.
"It's all right, Lee. You did well. If you want to cry, then cry. That's part of youth too."
Lee could hold back no longer. He burst into tears in Guy's arms.