On the day the first written exam of the Chunin Exams ended, there was news throughout the Village about many candidates failing.
Sato Fan didn’t pay much attention to this.
The second exam took place in the Forest of Death and lasted for a full five days.
The atmosphere in the Village changed noticeably.
There were more Anbu on patrol, fewer pedestrians on the streets, and even business at the ramen shop had slowed down.
The Logistics Area remained quiet as always; no one came to collect equipment, and Sato Fan went to work and clocked out on time every day.
Rock Lee had passed the first written exam and was preparing for the second.
When he sparred with Sato Fan, he was even more serious than usual, putting fierce effort into every punch and kick.
“There will be candidates from other Villages in the Forest of Death, and there might be experts among them,” Rock Lee said.
“I must be prepared.”
Sato Fan didn’t say “You’ll definitely pass,” nor did he say “Be careful.” He simply showed up every day, sparred with Rock Lee for two hours, and fought until both of them were exhausted.
Five days later, the second exam ended.
Not many passed.
From Konoha, there were Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Rock Lee, Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino.
From Sunagakure, there were Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari.
There were also some people whose names Sato Fan couldn’t recall.
The third preliminary round was held immediately after the second exam ended.
Sato Fan didn’t go to watch; he only advised Rock Lee not to gamble his career as a Ninja for a momentary victory.
But it seemed to have no effect.
On the day of the preliminaries, Rock Lee faced Gaara of Sunagakure.
Sato Fan didn’t go to the arena, but he heard the whole story from others later—Rock Lee had used the Eight Gates, opening the fifth gate, and his speed was so fast that even the sand couldn’t keep up.
He had even managed to suppress that red-haired monster for a time.
But in the end, his body couldn’t hold out.
Gaara used his sand to crush Rock Lee’s left leg and left arm.
Rock Lee lost, and he lost badly.
When he was carried out of the exam venue, he was covered in blood, and his left arm and left leg were already mangled.
When the news reached Sato Fan’s ears, he was organizing shelves in the warehouse.
He stopped what he was doing and stood before the empty shelves, silent for a long time.
As expected, he thought, if he gave up, he wouldn’t be Rock Lee.
It still followed the original plot.
Sato Fan locked the warehouse door and headed to Konoha Hospital.
The hospital was filled with the smell of disinfectant.
The hallways were quiet, with nurses occasionally pushing carts past, their wheels making soft sounds on the floor.
Sato Fan found Rock Lee’s room; the door was ajar, and he pushed it open to enter.
The room wasn’t large, with two hospital beds, the other one empty.
Rock Lee lay on the bed by the window, wrapped in bandages.
His left leg and left arm were encased in thick plaster casts, suspended in the air by frames.
His face was pale, almost devoid of color, his lips were chapped, his eyes were closed, and his breathing was shallow.
That face, which usually wore a bright smile, was now as still and blank as a sheet of paper.
Sato Fan placed a bag of fruit on the bedside table and sat down in the chair next to the bed.
He didn’t speak, just watched Rock Lee.
The room was very quiet, with only the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor.
About ten minutes passed when a set of footsteps echoed in the hallway.
They weren’t a nurse’s footsteps.
Nurses walked quickly, and their carts rattled.
These footsteps were slow and soft, as if something was being dragged across the floor.
Step by step, they drew closer.
The footsteps stopped at the doorway of the patient room.
Sato Fan turned his head and saw someone standing in the doorway.
Red hair, dark circles under his eyes, and the character for “Love” carved into his forehead.
He carried a large gourd wrapped in bandages on his back and wore a gray robe.
His eyes were fixed on Rock Lee on the bed, devoid of any emotion—no anger, no hatred, just pure killing intent!
Gaara!
Sato Fan’s heart rate accelerated.
So, this was when Gaara came?
he thought.
When you care too much, you get flustered; I had completely forgotten this part of the plot.
Seeing that red-haired boy standing at the door with his own eyes, the sense of oppression was completely different from what he had read in the books.
The temperature in the air seemed to drop a few degrees, and an indescribable chill crept up from the soles of his feet.
Gaara walked into the room and headed toward Rock Lee’s bed.
Sand flowed out from the mouth of the gourd at his side, crawling on the floor like a snake.
“Stop,” Sato Fan said, standing up and blocking Gaara’s path.
Gaara stopped and looked down at him.
The eyes beneath those dark circles were like two bottomless black holes.
His voice was soft but carried an unquestionable coldness.
“You’ve already won.
He’s lying here and can’t move.
What more do you want?”
Gaara tilted his head, as if sizing up an ant blocking his path.
“He made me feel pain,” he paused, “so, he must die.”
The sand suddenly erupted, rolling toward Rock Lee’s bed like a wall.
Sato Fan used the Body Flicker Technique—his figure vanished from where he stood and reappeared in front of the hospital bed.
He slammed his hands onto the floor, and a wall of earth rose up, blocking the sand’s path.
The sand collided with the earth wall with a dull thud.
The wall developed a few cracks, but it didn’t collapse.
“Earth Release?” Gaara’s gaze finally shifted from Rock Lee and landed on Sato Fan.
At that moment, the door to the room was pushed open again.
“Gaara!
What are you doing here!”
Naruto stood at the doorway, his face full of anger.
Behind him was Shikamaru.
Both of them were panting, as if they had run all the way here.
“Naruto?
Why are you here?”
“Sakura said she saw Gaara walking toward the hospital, and I knew what he was coming to do!” Naruto rushed into the room and stood next to Sato Fan.
“What do you want to do to Rock Lee!”
Shikamaru leaned against the doorframe, looking lazy, but his eyes were sharp.
“Gaara of Sunagakure, the preliminaries are already over.
It wouldn’t look good if word got out that you came to the hospital to attack someone from our Konoha Village, would it?”
Gaara didn’t look at them.
He stared at Sato Fan, staring at the cracking earth wall.
“Why are you standing in my way?” Gaara asked.
“Are you not afraid of death?”
Sato Fan didn’t speak.
Of course he was afraid of death, but he couldn’t abandon a friend.
If he hadn’t blocked that attack just now, Rock Lee would already be dead.
What was the original plot again?
Damn it!
He only remembered that Gaara came to kill Rock Lee but didn’t succeed.
Naruto rushed forward and threw a punch at Gaara.
The sand automatically protected its master, solidifying into a shield in front of Naruto’s fist and blocking the attack.
Shikamaru circled around from the side and threw a shuriken at a tricky angle, forcing Gaara to take a step back.
But it was only one step.
Sand surged out of the gourd like a tidal wave, instantly filling the open space of the room.
Sato Fan’s earth wall was squeezed by the sand, and the cracks grew larger.
He gritted his teeth to maintain the wall, his Chakra depleting rapidly.
“You cannot defeat me,” Gaara said, his voice still calm.
“I am a monster.
The sand my mother left inside me will protect me.
No one can defeat me.”
His eyes were fixed on Sato Fan.
“Your Earth Release cannot stop me.”
The sand erupted again, surging from three directions simultaneously.
Sato Fan’s earth wall finally couldn’t hold on and shattered with a boom.
He took two steps back, preparing to weave hand signs again—
But the sand was faster than him.
Just as the sand was about to engulf Rock Lee’s bed, Gaara suddenly stopped.
He turned his head and looked toward the hallway.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway.
They weren’t a nurse’s, nor a patient’s.
The footsteps were heavy and steady, like a wild beast slowly approaching.
Then, a green figure appeared in the doorway.
Might Guy.
He was wearing his green bodysuit, his hair still as messy as ever, but the expression on his face was completely different from usual.
That face, which always wore a smile and shouted about “Youth,” was now as cold as iron.
“Guy-sensei!” Naruto shouted.
Might Guy didn’t speak.
He walked into the room, stepping toward Gaara one step at a time.
With every step, his aura grew stronger.
It wasn’t the pressure of Chakra, but killing intent—the killing intent of a Jonin who had been tempered on the battlefield for decades.
Gaara’s sand automatically retracted, forming a defensive wall around him. The source of this chapter is g.com.
He took a step back.
“You are…”
“Might Guy, Lee’s teacher.” Might Guy stopped in front of Rock Lee’s bed and looked down at his disciple.
His expression changed in that instant—not anger, but heartache.
Then he raised his head and looked at Gaara.
“What do you want to do to my disciple?”
Gaara didn’t speak.
The sand flowed slowly around him, as if probing, or perhaps defending.
Might Guy didn’t weave any hand signs, didn’t strike a battle stance, and just stood there.
But his aura made the temperature in the entire room drop to freezing.
“Lee is my disciple,” Might Guy said.
His voice wasn’t loud, but every word felt like a nail driven into the ground.
“As long as I am here, don’t even think about touching a single hair on him.
Lee is someone I will protect with my life.”
He took a step forward.
“Try it.”
Gaara stared at Might Guy for a few seconds.
The speed at which the sand flowed around him slowed down, as if he were hesitating.
“…Is that so?
Then next time, I will kill you too,” Gaara said.
“I’ll be ready anytime.
But today, you are leaving here.”
Silence.
The sand slowly retreated back into the gourd.
Gaara turned and walked toward the door.
When he passed by Naruto, he paused for a moment.
He stepped out of the room and left without looking back.
The footsteps gradually faded away in the hallway.
Naruto stood where he was, clenching his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms.
Shikamaru leaned against the wall with a complex expression.
Might Guy didn’t chase after him.
He turned and walked to Rock Lee’s bedside, looked down at him, and pulled his blanket up.
“You should all go back,” Might Guy said.
“Leave this to me.”
Naruto opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.
He glanced at Rock Lee on the bed and turned to walk out of the room.
Shikamaru followed behind him.
Sato Fan was the last to leave.
When he reached the door, he looked back.
Might Guy was sitting by Rock Lee’s bedside, his head bowed, his shoulders trembling slightly.
He gently closed the door.
In the hallway, Naruto leaned against the wall, head tilted back, wondering what he was thinking.
Shikamaru stood next to him, hands in his pockets.
Naruto glanced at Sato Fan.
“Sato, how do you know Earth Release?
When did you learn it?”
“I taught myself,” Sato Fan said.
“Old Tanaka left a scroll behind when he left.”
“You can learn it just by teaching yourself?” Naruto widened his eyes.
“You’re much more amazing than I thought.”
“It’s nothing amazing.
I just practice every day.”
Naruto was silent for a while, then suddenly said, “I want to become stronger.
Strong enough to defeat that guy.”
Naruto: “By the way, are you here to see Rock Lee?
Do you know him?”
Sato Fan looked at him and nodded.
“We’ve trained together.”
The three of them parted ways at the hospital entrance.
Naruto and Shikamaru headed toward the Hokage Building, while Sato Fan headed toward the Logistics Area.
The setting sun stretched his shadow long, but what he was thinking about now was the sight of Rock Lee lying on the bed, Gaara’s black-hole-like eyes, and Might Guy’s back as he stood before the hospital bed.
This world was cruel.
Rock Lee worked so hard and nearly died in the exam venue.
Gaara was so powerful, yet lived in loneliness and slaughter.
He needed to become stronger—not to be some so-called hero, but so that the next time someone tried to kill him or the people around him, he wouldn’t be limited to just stalling for time.