Chapter 530: The Warning
"One thousand push-ups. If I can't do it, I'll jump rope two thousand times."
"Two thousand sit-ups. If I can't do it, I'll hop on one leg three thousand times!"
With Might Guy pulled away by Tsunade for research, Rock Lee was training alone in the training grounds, pushing himself to the limit with his weights on.
He couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu; all he had was his talent for taijutsu. To become an excellent ninja, he was betting everything he had—all his strength and conviction—on this struggle.
The gap between him and the other ninja of his generation had already grown quite large. He felt he could no longer catch up to his peers who had special powers, but he didn't want to be left far behind. He was afraid of betraying Teacher Guy's trust in him.
When Sakura saw this from the shadows, she was honestly very moved by the sweat-drenched Lee.
In her established impression, what did hard training mean? It meant practicing with ninja tools for half an hour, practicing medical ninjutsu for half an hour, and finally practicing standard ninjutsu for half an hour. After that, she could go out and have fun!
Sakura's idea of hard training and Lee's were on completely different levels.
This was an extremely hardworking and diligent person.
Sakura wanted him to succeed through his efforts, but thinking of Ino's words, her heart filled with pity. If she were to jump out and stop him now, would she really be doing a good thing?
"You're absolutely doing a good thing. You don't want to see Lee lose his current smile and live out the rest of his life listlessly, do you? People aren't machines. Proper rest and treatment are necessary. It's about work-life balance, not asking him to give up being a ninja. Now go!" Ino gave Sakura a forceful shove, pushing her out into the open.
Lee was extremely focused when he trained. Even when his crush, Sakura, suddenly appeared, he didn't see her. He was still doing push-ups, his face covered in sweat.
It wasn't until he finished a thousand push-ups and stood up that he saw Sakura with a slightly stiff smile.
"Sakura-chan?"
"Hi, um... um, I was looking for Tenten. Is she here?"
"Sakura-chan, I'll take you to her!" Full of energy, Lee led Sakura to look for Tenten.
Tenten and Ino were hiding in the bushes nearby, so of course, they couldn't be found.
Looking for someone was just an excuse. After searching for half an hour, Sakura made up an excuse that she wasn't feeling well and needed to go to the hospital for a check-up.
Lee cluelessly followed her. At the hospital, Sakura forcefully pushed him in for an examination.
Making Lee take off his weights was harder than making him take off his pants. He believed he shouldn't remove them; they were a heavy responsibility. Taking them off would be a betrayal to the Hokage, to Teacher Guy, and to the gate guards of the village, Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane.
Tonton, who was at the hospital delivering a meal to Shizune, looked up at him. What on earth is this guy talking about?
Shizune patiently persuaded him for a long time and finally got Lee to take off those frightening weights and obediently let the doctor draw his blood.
"Lee will be alright, won't he?" Sakura asked Ino through the glass.
Tenten, who had been running around with them, also looked over nervously.
Ino said seriously, "He'll be fine. Proper rest and a physical examination will only do him good, not harm."
Tenten was very concerned about her teammate and waited at the door for the results.
Sakura pulled Ino aside.
Ino had a strange expression. Before she could speak, Ino said first, "What? Are you going to ask again? Have you been watching too much TV? Do you think I was just trying to scare you and Tenten? It's fine. With timely treatment, he'll be fine. You have to trust in medicine."
Sakura carefully observed her expression and knew she wasn't joking. Only then did she let out a huge sigh of relief. She had been terrified earlier, thinking Lee was on the verge of death.
"If Lee reduces his training intensity, will he...?" Once Lee's life was no longer in danger, Sakura naturally thought about his path as a ninja.
Under Ino's leadership, the Konoha 12 had become incredibly competitive!
Ino was leagues ahead, with Sasuke and Neji seven or eight places behind but still in hot pursuit. Sakura wasn't too familiar with Naruto's abilities, but she knew he was not the same as before. Besides these four, everyone else was working hard. Even Sakura herself didn't think she was slacking off. If Lee were to stop his intense training now, he would definitely fall a few places in the group. For Lee, the result would most likely be cruel.
Ino felt Sakura was being a bit of a busybody, but she also sensed the kindness in the wide-foreheaded girl's heart.
"Don't worry, the village will make proper arrangements."
Half a day later, Lee's examination results came back. His body was overly fatigued, his immune system was low, and various illnesses were on the verge of breaking out. He was currently just enduring them through sheer willpower.
Might Guy rushed to the hospital upon hearing the news.
Looking at the report and thinking of the pain his beloved student was enduring, tears streamed down the tough man's face like wide noodles.
Ino and Tenten, standing to the side, felt incredibly awkward. This guy's tear ducts are way too overactive, aren't they?
Shizune and Might Guy were classmates and had known each other since they were children, so there was nothing she couldn't say to him.
She issued a solemn warning, "Rock Lee's test results are very worrying. He must stop his current high-intensity training. If possible, he should be on bed rest for three to six months to allow his body to fully recover. Only then can he continue his path as a ninja. Otherwise..."
She didn't say what would happen otherwise.
"Lee!" Might Guy was so dejected he started banging his head against the wall. No one stopped him; the wall would collapse before his head would be harmed.
It turned out that even the words of his crush, Sakura, were not very effective. Bringing him in for a check-up was the limit. Getting Lee to stop training? Impossible!
Might Guy said he could persuade his beloved student to moderately reduce his high-intensity training, but he also earnestly pleaded with the village to help Lee, to make his future path smoother. Whatever was needed, whatever the cost, he, as his teacher, was willing to bear it.
His plea was very formal, submitted in writing. In this day and age, where you could just walk in and talk to the Hokage, it seemed very old-fashioned and a bit out of place.
When the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, received the letter, he was a bit puzzled. After reading it, he felt he had to take it seriously.
"This... do you all have any good ideas or suggestions? Let's discuss it together." Minato called Kakashi, Ino, Tsunade, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado together to discuss the matter.
Kakashi had mastered a thousand jutsus, Ino didn't know as many, but hers were all extremely high-level. Tsunade was the top medical-nin of her time, and Koharu and Homura were also veteran elders of the ninja world, with vast experience.
If this team couldn't solve Lee's problem, then it truly couldn't be solved.
Koharu and Homura were quite normal when the Uchiha were not involved. They didn't think much of Lee's inability to perform even half a ninjutsu, but his hardworking spirit was worthy of praise. They also began to rack their brains, thinking about what ninjutsu could help.
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