____________
This was not the first time the world had watched Rock Lee fight Gaara.
They had already read the entire battle before.
They had seen the weights fall from Lee's legs, watched his speed surpass the sand's defense, learned about the Lotus and the Inner Gates, and even the painful ending awaiting the thick-browed boy was no longer a secret.
And yet, hours before Episode 50 of the anime was scheduled to air, the major villages were filled with a completely different kind of excitement.
There were no lines in front of the Art Stores.
No one even needed to go inside.
Above every village, a massive screen of light would appear as the broadcast approached, visible from almost anywhere.
From rooftops.
From the streets.
From Academy courtyards.
From cafés.
And from open windows inside people's homes.
So long before the episode began, people had already started choosing their spots as if they were preparing for a festival.
…
Konohagakure — Ninja Academy:
"This is my spot!"
A boy placed a small cloth on the ground.
His friend looked at him strangely.
"The episode starts in three hours."
"I know."
"And the screen will appear above the whole village."
The second boy hesitated for a moment, then pointed at the courtyard.
"That's why I'm sitting here. I want to watch it with everyone."
His friend looked around.
The courtyard was still mostly empty.
He sat beside him.
"Fine. I'm not standing around alone, then."
…
Less than an hour later, almost all the empty space had disappeared.
Some children brought food.
Others carried the old manga volume that contained the fight.
And one boy had wrapped bandages around his arms and legs.
His classmate stared at him.
"What are you doing?"
"Today, I'm Rock Lee."
"You were Naruto last week."
The boy lifted his chin.
"That was a different episode."
…
Across the rest of Konoha, people were doing much the same.
Families brought chairs onto their balconies.
Some restaurants moved their tables outside.
Shopkeepers left their doors open, but turned the seats toward the sky instead of their storefronts.
Even shinobi who had finished their shifts climbed onto rooftops instead of going straight home.
No one was forced to gather together.
But watching the episode alone seemed like a terrible idea when you could hear half the village shouting along with you.
…
On top of one house, Might Dai sat beside Gai.
Food had been placed between them, but Gai had barely touched any of it.
Dai asked:
"Nervous?"
"A little."
His father smiled.
They had read the battle a long time ago.
But tonight felt different.
This time, they would not be looking at still panels.
They would see the actual movement.
And standing before Gai on that screen would be the student he had not yet met.
Rock Lee.
…
Sunagakure:
In Suna, the rooftops filled long before the broadcast began.
Children sat on walls.
Families brought food and water.
And the merchants found an opportunity they had no intention of ignoring.
"Nuts!"
"Cold water!"
"Comfortable seats!"
One man lifted a wooden chair.
"Best seat for the episode!"
A Suna shinobi stopped in front of him.
"I can stand."
"Through the entire Rock Lee versus Gaara fight?"
The shinobi looked at the chair.
Then at the sky.
"…How much?"
The merchant immediately smiled.
…
On a nearby rooftop, a girl sat holding a paper fan.
Her brother said:
"Temari isn't the focus of this episode."
She looked at him.
"I'm from Suna."
He stared at her for two seconds.
He did not understand the connection.
He decided it was not worth arguing about.
…
Inside the Kazekage building, the Third Kazekage stood beside a wide window.
The manga volume containing the fight was open on his desk.
One of his advisors said:
"We already analyzed this battle."
"We analyzed pages."
The Kazekage replied.
He raised his eyes toward the sky.
"Today, we'll see what happened between one panel and the next."
…
Kumogakure:
Five men sat around a table on a balcony.
One of them said:
"I think the anime is going to make Lee look much stronger."
Another replied:
"That doesn't change the result."
"I never said it would."
The first man lifted a coin.
"But I bet the Fifth Gate will be the best scene."
Another coin landed on the table.
"I'm betting on the Lotus."
Then a third.
"Lee standing at the end."
The table quickly turned into a friendly betting pool rather than any serious discussion.
…
As for the Third Raikage, he sat on the broad balcony of his building.
The entire village stretched out beneath him.
The streets were crowded.
The rooftops were full.
Children ran from one place to another.
A shinobi asked:
"Raikage-sama, would you like us to prepare a more comfortable room?"
He shook his head.
"No."
Then he smiled.
"I want to hear the village's reaction when that boy starts opening the Gates."
…
Iwagakure:
Ōnoki ended his meeting half an hour before the broadcast.
He did not explain why.
Then he turned his chair toward the window.
His advisors noticed.
One of them asked:
"Tsuchikage-sama, are you going to watch the episode?"
"I'm just sitting here."
"And your chair happens to be facing the sky."
"A coincidence."
Another advisor entered carrying a chair.
Ōnoki raised an eyebrow.
"And that?"
"Another coincidence."
A few minutes later, several extra chairs had appeared in the office.
Ōnoki said nothing.
…
Kirigakure:
The mist over the village was thick.
But the giant screen of light remained perfectly visible regardless of the weather.
Young Zabuza sat on the roof of his home.
Genma stood behind him.
"You came out early."
Zabuza replied:
"The house is boring."
"And it has nothing to do with waiting for the episode?"
Zabuza said nothing.
Genma smiled to himself.
…
As the broadcast drew closer, the noise across all five villages slowly began to fade.
Children lifted their heads.
The merchants stopped shouting.
Conversations quieted across the rooftops.
Then the light appeared.
A massive screen stretched above each village.
The words appeared first.
NARUTO
Then the episode number.
Episode 50
And finally, the title.
The Fifth Gate: A Splendid Ninja Is Born
Konoha erupted in cheers.
Voices rose from the rooftops of Suna.
In Kumo, the final coin was placed onto the betting table.
And in Iwa, Ōnoki said:
"Quiet."
One of his advisors replied:
"We haven't said anything yet."
Ōnoki stared at him.
"Then keep it that way."
…
No one was watching to discover the ending.
For the manga readers, that part had been settled long ago.
But when the images began to move, everything felt different.
…
[— Anime Scene —]
Rock Lee stood before Gaara, his body trembling under the pressure.
Chakra surged around him.
His veins bulged, and his skin flushed red.
Then he vanished.
In the next instant—
BOOM!
His foot slammed into Gaara.
Before the sand could catch up, Lee appeared from the side.
Then from above.
Then from below.
Gaara was sent flying from one direction to another as, for the first time, his defense began falling behind.
But Lee's own body was starting to break down.
Even so, he pushed further.
He opened another Gate.
The Fifth Gate.
Chakra exploded from his body.
Gaara lifted his eyes.
And for the first time, fear appeared clearly on his face.
[— End Scene —]
…
The Ninja Academy courtyard shook with cheers.
"The Fifth Gate!"
"Did you see that speed?!"
"That's insane!"
One of the children jumped to his feet.
"I knew it would be good, but not like this!"
Even some of the instructors were staring at the sky more intensely than they intended.
…
On Dai's rooftop, Gai stood up without even realizing it.
His fists clenched.
Dai said:
"In the manga, we understood that he was fast."
Another strike flashed across the screen.
"Here, we can feel the difference."
Gai did not answer.
He was watching Lee with wide eyes.
…
In Suna, every blow Gaara received seemed to make the village move with him.
"Oooh!"
BOOM!
"Ooooooh!"
A man on one rooftop tilted his head along with one of the strikes.
His wife noticed.
"Are you trying to dodge it for him?"
He quickly straightened himself.
"No."
Another blow came.
He moved again.
She stared at him.
"…Don't say anything."
…
Karura was not watching the speed.
She was watching Gaara's face.
"He's afraid."
Rasa stood beside her.
"For the first time, he feels that the sand might not be enough."
Karura's expression changed slightly.
"On the page, it was only a brief moment."
Gaara's face appeared again.
"Here, it stays in front of us longer."
…
The Third Kazekage, meanwhile, was studying the gap between Lee and the sand.
His advisor said:
"Our estimate of his speed was too low."
"That's natural."
The Kazekage replied.
"The page gave us the beginning and the end of the movement."
His eyes narrowed.
"The anime gives us what happened in between."
…
In Kumo, the Third Raikage slammed a fist against the railing.
"Hahaha!"
His men looked at him.
"That boy is insane."
Chakra erupted around Lee.
"He's forcing his body to give him power it can't endure."
One shinobi said:
"That's an extremely dangerous method."
"Of course."
The Raikage grinned.
"That's why it looks incredible."
…
The episode continued.
And as the scene everyone had been waiting for approached, the noise slowly began to disappear.
…
[— Anime Scene —]
Lee's bandages stretched out and wrapped around Gaara.
Then the final assault began.
One strike.
Then another.
Then a third.
Gaara was thrown through the air while Lee appeared around him in rapid succession.
His muscles were beginning to fail.
But the attack continued.
Then came the final blow.
Gaara was driven toward the ground.
BOOOOM!
The arena shattered.
Dust rose into the air.
Then the sand moved.
Gaara used the sand from his gourd to soften the fall.
He survived.
Lee, however, had almost nothing left.
Sand wrapped around his leg.
Then his arm.
CRACK!
He screamed.
The sand advanced again.
But Gai appeared.
One strike scattered the attack.
He looked at Lee.
"Lee… it's okay. The match is over."
At that moment, Gai froze.
Tears began running down his face.
"Lee… you… even after losing consciousness, do you still want to prove your ninja way?"
[— End Scene —]
…
Konoha did not erupt this time.
The noise vanished from the Academy courtyard.
The children who had been imitating Lee before the episode sat completely still.
Eyes reddened.
Tears began falling almost instinctively as the soundtrack accompanying the scene played.
Rock Lee was standing there while unconscious.
Even those who had already read the scene could not stop their tears in that moment.
That was the difference between anime and manga.
The anime was showing them the world as it truly was.
Completely alive.
…
Gai stared at his future self.
At the man who had stepped in without hesitation.
Then he felt his father's hand rest on his head.
Dai said:
"Looks like you became a good teacher."
Gai lowered his head slightly.
Then a small smile appeared on his face.
A smile mixed with tears and a running nose.
Beside him, Dai looked exactly the same.
Tears.
Snot.
Everything.
…
The ending music began.
The glowing screens remained above the villages.
For several seconds, no one moved.
Then the debates started.
"The manga was better!"
"The anime was better!"
"Lee's speed was insane!"
"Gai's scene was stronger!"
"No, Lee standing at the end while unconscious!"
"The Fifth Gate was the best moment!"
From one street to another, from rooftop to rooftop, the villages dissolved into endless arguments.
Some children started imitating Lee.
Others reenacted the strikes.
And somewhere, one boy tried to open the First Gate simply by clenching his fists and screaming.
His mother grabbed him by the ear.
"Home."
"But—"
"Now."
Everyone around them laughed.
…
Then the screen vanished.
The sky returned to normal.
Inside Konoha's Art Store, Rob sat behind his desk.
The place was nearly empty.
But the sounds of the village reached him clearly from outside.
Laughter.
Arguments.
Children talking about the Gates.
And some distant man stubbornly insisting that the manga was still better.
Rob smiled.
Everyone had entered the episode already knowing the outcome.
But that did not matter.
They had not watched to discover what would happen.
They had watched to see how it would happen.
Rob lifted his eyes toward the ceiling, almost as if he could see the sky beyond the roof of the store.
The episode was over.
But the conversation about it…
Had only just begun.
____________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
____________
Chapter 238: Volume Thirteen!
Chapter 239: From Young Gai's Perspective!
Chapter 240: Sasuke's Teacher.
Chapter 241: I Want to Fight You Too!
____________
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____________
Announcement:
After a hiatus of more than five months, I've decided to return to Creating Manga of One Piece with Book II, published as a new book! Thank you to everyone who's been waiting for this series to return. I'll share the link when the second book launches. It's time to set sail again! 🏴☠️