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[— Manga Scene —]
"He opened five gates, and his arm and leg are torn apart… He shouldn't be able to stand…"
Lee stood unsteadily, his body trembling, blood dripping from his arm and leg.
"Lee, that's enough… It's over."
"You shouldn't stand up."
"!"
"Lee… you…"
"..."
"What a boy…"
"Are you trying to prove your ninja way… even after losing consciousness?"
"Lee…"
"You…"
Everyone's faces were filled with silence and awe.
Gai was crying as he supported Lee.
"A truly splendid ninja…!"
"..."
[— End Scene —]
As soon as the last page ended, a strange momentary silence fell over the Art Store in Konoha. It was a silence unlike that which follows ordinary defeats, nor that which is born after a clear, indisputable victory.
Gaara was the official winner, a fact no one disputed. However, the eyes inside the store were not fixed on his name at that moment as much as they were on the boy who lost consciousness yet remained standing for moments, as if his body refused to acknowledge the truth before everyone else.
In one corner, Maito Dai sat with his young son Gai. Nearby, Hatake Sakumo watched the scene with his usual silence, while young Kakashi sat next to him. On the other side, Asuma and Kurenai, along with her father, were among the attendees, just like many of the village children who were drawn to the manga as much as the adults.
Dai was the first to speak.
"This boy… is incredibly stubborn."
He said in a low voice, his eyes still fixed on Gai's image in the manga, supporting Lee with tears on his cheeks.
Young Gai quickly turned to his father.
"He lost in the end, he doesn't deserve that…"
"Yes."
Dai answered without hesitation.
"But he didn't leave the arena like any loser."
Young Gai remained silent for seconds, then looked back at the page.
His gaze shifted between the unconscious standing Lee and his future self, crying openly without trying to hide it.
"Is that really me in the future?"
He finally asked in a hesitant tone.
Dai smiled faintly.
"If it is really you, then you didn't cry for nothing."
He didn't laugh this time, nor did he try to turn it into a joke as he usually did. It was clear even to his son that the situation was bigger than that.
As for Sakumo, he was looking at the children's reactions more than the page itself. He was interested in that small distance between what they read now and what it might leave in them later.
"What do you think, Kakashi?"
He asked his son calmly, the same question he probably asked dozens of times.
Kakashi answered after a short moment:
"It's strange."
"What seems strange?"
"That he lost consciousness."
Kakashi said, keeping his eyes on the picture.
"Yet he remained standing."
Sakumo nodded once.
"Yes, that's the first thing that catches the eye."
But Kakashi didn't stop there, adding after a moment:
"And the second thing… it seems as if he won something despite losing the battle."
It was a direct observation, which made it clearer than many other words.
Hearing that, Sakumo smiled before saying, "That's true, he won everyone's admiration."
Asuma, who was listening with his arms crossed over his chest, said in a frank tone suited for his age:
"Because Gaara had already won. But this… I've never seen anyone stay standing after everything is over."
Kurenai, who was less talkative than him, looked at the shot of Gai crying and then said:
"And also because his teacher told him something important."
Asuma turned to her.
"You mean: A truly splendid ninja?"
She nodded.
"Yes. When he said it, it seemed more important than announcing the result."
Sakumo gave the little girl a quick glance, then returned to the page.
There was no exaggeration in her words, just a simple observation that captured the essence of the scene as it was.
Dai then said, patting young Gai's head:
"A good teacher knows when to stop his student, and also knows when to give him a word he will never forget his whole life."
Young Gai looked up at him.
"Is that why he said it to him?"
Dai answered, "Because he understood what Lee was trying to do."
"And what was he trying to do?" Asuma asked this time.
Dai looked at the page and then said briefly:
"To reach the absolute limit of what he can do."
No one tried to make the sentence bigger than it was, but it was enough for those who heard it.
…
Sarutobi Hiruzen adjusted his posture after seeing this touching scene, his pipe between his fingers, while Homura and Koharu were in their usual places. On the other side sat Danzo, with his narrow eyes and cold, unchanging tone.
The chapter was open to the page showing Gai supporting Lee, and the last sentence still echoed clearly in their minds.
"A truly splendid ninja."
Hiruzen muttered it once, then put the pipe back on the table.
"A fitting word."
Homura said.
"It almost summarized the entire chapter."
Koharu didn't object, but she looked at the picture a bit longer before saying:
"The problem is that the village won't only remember the bravery of that boy. They will also remember that he was pushed to this limit."
"The boy has become, in the eyes of the readers, a clear model of determination, but the means that brought him to that are not something that can be ignored." Danzo said with an admiration he couldn't hide.
Hiruzen let out a short sigh.
"I understand what you mean."
He said.
"But what happened in these pages won't make people hate Gai. On the contrary, it will make many see him as an honest teacher with his student until the end."
"And perhaps a reckless teacher too."
Koharu added.
"That depends on the reader."
Homura said, then looked at the picture again.
"But in any case, the name Rock Lee will not remain an ordinary name after this volume."
Danzo moved his cane slightly over the floor.
"And this is a point worth noting."
He said.
"A boy of this kind, even as a loser, can force himself into the village's memory. This means his future impact won't be measured by match results alone."
Hiruzen looked at Danzo, then said calmly:
"And Gai's impact as well."
A short silence followed this sentence.
It was clear that the chapter didn't only elevate Lee, but also reintroduced Gai, not just as an eccentric Jonin as some might imagine, but as a man who knew his student to the point of giving him the right word at the right moment.
Hiruzen then said, looking back at the volume:
"The younger generations in the village will be affected by this chapter."
"And that's what I don't like."
Koharu replied.
"Children tend to see the final result, not the full price."
"No."
Hiruzen said, shaking his head slowly.
"This chapter in particular showed the price very clearly. What will stay with them is not just that Lee stood, but that he paid for it with his whole body."
Homura nodded slowly.
This was as close to a balanced summary of the whole scene as possible.
As for Danzo, he summarized his position in one sentence:
"In the end, Konoha gained a new name within these pages."
No one answered him directly, but no one said this assessment was wrong.
At this moment, Mito smiled, saying: "What a future full of brave boys this is."
…
In the Art Store, the silence didn't last long.
A few moments after the reading ended, whispers began to rise from all sides, then turned into clear comments, some from adult shinobi, some from children, and some from readers who weren't even from Konoha.
"That boy is amazing."
Someone said, still slowly turning the last page.
"He lost consciousness and stayed standing!"
Another replied, as if still in disbelief.
"And more importantly, his teacher didn't call him a loser."
A third said.
"Instead, he told him: A truly splendid ninja."
On the other side of the hall, another group was repeating the same discussion in different words.
Some were comparing Rock Lee to the rest of the Genin who had appeared so far, some focused on Gai, and some were content to say that this was one of the heaviest endings since the beginning of the manga.
Behind the bar counter, Rob watched all this without intervening.
He didn't need to say anything. The scene before him explained itself.
A smile slowly crept onto his face as he looked at the readers who were no longer talking about the outcome of the fight as much as they were talking about Lee himself.
Gaara won, yes.
But the pages gave Lee something else, something more useful in such a world.
They gave him recognition.
Rob knew this kind of chapter well. Chapters that don't just move the plot, but rearrange the readers' perception of the characters, and push all the villages to recalculate their stances.
"Good…"
He muttered softly, his eyes on the faces scattered around the store.
The more people grew attached to these names, the greater the manga's impact on the real world.
And the greater that impact, the less clear and more reshapable the future became.
Rob wasn't the type to get carried away with the emotional enthusiasm of the readers, but he never minded investing in it.
In fact, seeing the praise for Lee, even though he lost and fainted, was in his eyes another sign that the manga was beginning to achieve something broader than mere entertainment.
It was beginning to create the values that people would move by later.
And when the villages get confused in interpreting such pages, that's better for him than any rigid certainty.
And most importantly, Art Coins were accumulating unimaginably due to these exact emotional scenes!
…
In Sunagakure, the impact of the chapter was different, but it was no less clear.
In the seating area of the Kazekage and his entourage, the Third Kazekage sat with Elder Chiyo and her brother Ebizo next to him, while Rasa sat in his usual place not far away. Karura was among the attendees beside him, and nearby, young Sasori watched with a childish silence that couldn't hide his curiosity.
The last page was open before them as well, but this time it didn't raise the same question it did in Konoha. Here, the question was simpler and sharper:
How did a battle end where Gaara won, yet all the talk almost goes to his opponent?
The Third Kazekage was the first to speak.
"This man from Konoha is smart."
He said, looking at Gai's picture in the manga.
Ebizo raised his eyebrows.
"You mean that boy's teacher?"
"Yes."
The Kazekage answered.
"He ended the scene in the right way. The boy lost, but no one will leave the Chunin Exams seeing him as just a loser."
Chiyo nodded.
"True."
She said.
"The words he said to him were enough to fix his image in the minds of the attendees."
Rasa didn't seem comfortable with this kind of talk.
"But the victor is Gaara."
He said in a clear tone.
"That hasn't changed."
The Third Kazekage replied calmly.
"But memory doesn't always follow the result to the letter."
"Seriously, Rock Lee tortured Gaara."
It was a simple sentence, but it summarized the reason for the annoyance of some in the place.
Gaara emerged victorious from the arena, but Lee emerged from the battle with a greater amount of sympathy and praise.
Ebizo then said, pointing to the page:
"Even Gaara himself seemed in the end as if he was just watching the scene. There's nothing to add after the opponent's teacher said that sentence."
Chiyo looked at Gaara's silent shot at the bottom of the page.
"And that's normal."
She said.
"The scene is no longer about attack and defense. It has shifted to the meaning Lee's teacher gave to what happened."
Karura, who was calmer than everyone, kept staring at the picture for a short time before saying:
"That's why the battle felt heavier in the end."
She didn't speak much, and didn't try to explain further.
But no one found the need for more explanation.
As for young Sasori, he looked at the adults in turn and then asked simply:
"If Lee lost… why are they praising him like this?"
The answer came from his grandmother Chiyo this time.
"Because people don't always look only at who remained standing in the end."
She said.
"Sometimes they look at someone who showed them something they didn't expect."
"Like what?"
Sasori asked.
Chiyo thought for a second, then said in a short sentence suited to his question:
"Like his body still standing despite losing consciousness; he has an amazing determination not to lose implanted in his subconscious."
Sasori nodded slowly.
This answer was enough for a child his age.
Rasa kept his eyes on the page, then said after a short silence:
"If this chapter will elevate Lee in people's eyes, it will raise expectations of Gaara as well."
The Third Kazekage turned to him.
"And this is a matter that must be taken seriously."
He said.
"Because the winner who defeats an opponent who became beloved in this way, won't be left without comparison afterward."
Ebizo understood the meaning quickly.
"You mean the upcoming chapters will make the readers watch Gaara more carefully."
"Exactly."
The Kazekage answered.
"He won the battle, but his name from now on won't be read alone. It will always be read next to the name of that boy from Konoha."
Silence prevailed in the Art Store after this phrase.
Everyone there realized that the manga doesn't just distribute power, it also distributes reputation, and reputation in the shinobi world is not a simple thing that can be ignored.
And that night, every party left the chapter carrying the meaning that concerned them.
The impact of those pages didn't end at the battlefield.
Rather, it only started from there, then extended to the villages, to the leaders' offices, and to the eyes of the children who read the scene in their simple way, before the adults understood all that might entail later.
____________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 196: The End of Lee's Journey as a Ninja?
Chapter 197: The Final Battle: Choji's Loss.
Chapter 198: First, I'll Enjoy Killing That Old Man!
Chapter 199: Kakashi vs. Kabuto!
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