"How is this even possible?" Sakura covered her mouth, shaking her head in disbelief. "Given a ninja's physiology, such an injury shouldn't result in cerebral hemorrhaging. At worst, he might suffer a concussion, but nothing serious enough to be a real problem!"
"Not a big deal?!" Temari felt her heart sink. Her younger brother already struggled with his wits—what if this concussion ruined him for life?
"Hey, Ino has stopped fighting."
Sakura pointed toward the battlefield below. Temari quickly leaned forward and looked, only seeing a dark mass lying face-down in a corner.
"Kankuro!" Temari immediately leapt down and ran over to her brother, flipping him onto his back.
"Don't worry too much," Haku said gently after taking a closer look at Kankuro. "Your brother will be alright. He just has a few broken bones, some internal organs displaced due to inertial impact, and a minor concussion. Other than that, everything looks okay—he's definitely not dying!"
Temari couldn't help but glare. *Wait, does something have to kill him outright before it qualifies as "not serious"?* She almost wanted to throw Kankuro straight into the face of this masked doctor. With multiple fractures, a concussion, and displaced organs, how could he say it wasn't serious?!
"According to the competition rules, our village will cover your brother's medical expenses. You don't need to stress about it. If you want to visit him, come to the hospital after the match ends!"
Haku patted Temari on the shoulder, stood up, and gave Zabuza a subtle signal. "Take him back to the operating room and set those bones!"
"You don't have a stretcher?" Temari looked around in confusion. Without one, how were they going to get Kankuro to the hospital?
"What stretcher? That's just a waste of manpower. He's light enough to carry—we don't need to go through all that trouble."
Zabuza waved off her concern casually. Then, with his left hand, he grabbed Kankuro by the waist and slung him over his shoulder, head dangling downward, before walking off.
...
As Kankuro remained unconscious, Temari seemed to faintly hear another sickening crack, and now he drooled even more foam from the corner of his mouth.
"Cough cough... According to the tournament regulations, the winner is Ino Yamanaka of Konoha!"
Hayate Gekko calmly walked over to announce the match result, then gently nudged a still-dazed Temari back to the spectator stands.
"The next match will be between Rock Lee of Konoha and Nagare of Sand Village!"
Once Ino returned to the stands as well, two new names appeared on the electronic screen.
"Mr. Guy!" Lee suddenly clenched both fists tightly, tears streaming down his cheeks in thick lines.
"Lee!!" Guy also had tears streaming down his face, staring at Lee with deep emotion.
"Guy!" "Lee!"
Two guys dressed in matching tight suits, sporting the exact same bowl-cut hairstyles — even their thick eyebrows looked alike — hugged each other tightly and started crying joyfully. The vivid green body suits paired with their Kappa-like watermelon-rind haircuts and big, expressive eyes made the sight of them sobbing together utterly unbearable to watch.
That's pure visual torture!
"Guy, did you hear? This time it's finally my turn to shine!" Lee cried while speaking, his tears flowing as freely as his passion. "Our youth has NOT been wasted!"
"Lee, well done! I always knew you could do it!" Guy wept openly, his large eyes sparkling with tears. "Now is finally your time to shine — like a dragon rising from hiding!"
"Guy, although I'm not very talented, I'll definitely strive to demonstrate my youth!" Lee sniffled loudly, shouting with full fighting spirit.
"Lee, what nonsense are you talking?" Suddenly Guy punched Lee in the face, sending him flying backward. "Youth has absolutely nothing to do with talent! You're a hardworking kid and your youth has already been seen by me. Now all you need to do is show everyone here — your youth, your Ninja Way — letting them know that even without talent for Ninjutsu, we can still shine brightly in our own way."
"Guy, I understand! I'll definitely make the [Lotus] blossom in Konoha once again!"
Lee rushed forward, embracing Guy as they both burst into tears.
Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Four: The [Lotus] of Konoha Will Bloom Again [Middle]
"Lee!" "Guy!"
A grown man and a ten-year-old boy sobbed in each other's arms — it was already an eye-catching spectacle on its own. What made it even more unsettling was that they looked uncannily like father and son — complete with those creepy bowl cuts that sent chills down anyone's spine. In no time at all, Guy and Lee had completely drawn everyone's attention toward themselves.
"Are all people from Konoha like this?" Temari stood beside Sakura, thinking hard before finally choosing 'weird' as her descriptor, the only word appropriate enough not to sound overly impolite. Truth be told, she was dying to ask if Guy and Lee were just plain nuts.
"No, only these two are like that!" Sakura turned away expressionlessly, unwilling to witness the painful sight any further. "Please don't lump us together with those two freaks of Konoha!"
"The freaks of Konoha, huh?" Temari mused for a moment, realizing indeed this pair might perfectly fit such a title. "Actually, that has a nice ring to it!"
Meanwhile, their weeping continued unabated. At this point, Guy and Lee were fully immersed in self-emotional indulgence, having already begun discussing where they would continue training after the match concluded to pursue their youthful ideals.
"You two, shut up right now—I mean it!" Hinata finally snapped. She gave each of them a punch and pointed toward a group of onlookers, saying, "You're making Konoha look like a joke! This is a match—get your act together and go fight already. If I catch you slacking off again, I swear I'll shove every last herring can I bought from the Land of Water right down your throats!"
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