While everyone was watching in shock, Gaara controlled his sand and moved it towards Lee! Due to the state of his body, he couldn't move properly and the sand reached his left arm and left leg!
As the only one who had seen that move in action, Shino thought, 'It's that move!'
Lee tried getting away, but the sand crawled up his fist and foot and continued moving upward. He didn't have the energy to free himself. Seeing that he had encased enough of his arm and leg, Gaara was about to clench his fist.
However, at that very moment, a wind blade suddenly cut through the sand that was holding Lee down! The winds accompanying it sent the sand around his limbs flying as well without leaving a single scratch on him. Lee, who was trying to pull away from the sand, suddenly lost his balance as nothing was holding him anymore and tumbled forward.
The sudden change once again shocked everyone. Even Gaara's eyes widened as everyone stared at Fujin. Fujin wasn't bothered by their stares and calmly said softly, "The battle is over. Gaara of Sunagakure is the winner."
At the same time, Fujin thought, 'Ah, screw it. It doesn't have any impact on me whether Lee gets injured and then healed or never gets injured in the first place. What could affect the future is if he has to stop being a ninja and Guy's team either breaks up or he has to take another teammate. However, if Hiruzen survives, all talk of the future is meaningless anyway.
Regardless, it will be a pity if someone like Lee can't continue being a ninja. Not to mention, I did benefit a lot from Guy. And unlike Hiruzen, he never tried to get anything in return except a good spar. I suppose I owe him this much.'
Baki became serious and looked at Fujin. He wondered, 'Why did he make a move? I need to ensure that he doesn't make a move against Gaara. Even though his sand will protect Gaara for a while, he can't be allowed to lose control yet. Otherwise, Konoha would eat him alive.'
Even Hiruzen wondered, 'Why did Fujin make a move? That's not like him.'
Kakashi and Guy were surprised as well and weren't sure what to say. Neither of them expected that Fujin would make a move.
Of course, the one who was the most stunned was none other than Rock Lee! Not only had Fujin involved himself in the battle, but he had also declared that Gaara was the winner. Even before he could stand on his legs, he said, "Wait! I haven't lost yet! I can still fight!"
Unlike Baki, Gaara didn't see the larger perspective. Instead, the memories of him getting injured a few years ago resurfaced in his mind. He recalled Baki and his father saying that Fujin was the one who injured him. Hence, instead of calming down, he became even more angry and sent a lot more sand towards Lee, intending to kill him for good!
Fujin had just looked at Lee and was about to speak when Gaara controlled his sand and sent it towards Lee. The Sand reached the area through which Fujin's Wind Blade had passed through and stopped moving!
Gaara's eyes widened as he observed, 'My sand stopped moving? No, there is a wind flow there. My sand is flying towards the wall instead of piercing through it. What is it?'
Even Baki looked in shock and questioned, 'How can a Wind Blade continue moving for so long? And how can it affect Gaara's sand? It's almost like a barrier!'
Kakashi observed with his Sharingan, 'His control over the wind is remarkable. The wind is flowing in such a way that anything that enters it gets thrown back. That is why the sand particles can't move to the other side. Did he develop such a technique earlier or did he come up with it to stop his sand technique?'
Needless to say, it was an application of Fujin's Wind Domain which he had applied on a very small scale to specifically counter Gaara's sand. Fujin turned his gaze towards Gaara and asked casually, "Oh, do you still want to fight?"
Suddenly, Baki flickered in front of Gaara and said, "As you said, this battle is over. Gaara has won."
Fujin dismissively replied, "Tell that to your student."
Baki frowned and thought, 'That look in his eyes… It's as if he doesn't consider me a threat at all.'
Had it been before, Baki would have been offended. He had prepared himself to stop either Kakashi or Fujin during their assault. However, he understood that he wouldn't stand a chance against Fujin after learning that Fujin defeated Orochimaru.
He looked behind and said, "Gaara, you've won. Let's head back."
At the same time, Lee stood up and said, "I can still fight!"
Fujin glanced at him and said plainly, "The match is over. You are in no shape to continue fighting. Go get healed by the medics."
Instead of backing away, Lee continued arguing, "But I can still fight! I don't want to lose in this manner."
Lee was extremely unwilling. Neji, Naruto, Sasuke and even Sakura had qualified for the finals. He didn't want to be left behind. Especially considering that he had opened Five Inner Gates!
Nearly everyone could understand Lee's unwillingness though not everyone was pleased by his attitude. Despite his impressive performance, Hiruzen, Anko and Ibiki involuntarily shook their heads.
Guy said, "Lee, yo…"
However, Fujin cut him off and said, "This is just a match. Even though you win glory for your village, that is assuming you win. Once you have lost, it doesn't matter whether you lose without injuries or you die, it makes no difference for the village.
Your body is in such bad shape that you are barely able to stand, let alone fight. That attack would have crippled you, if not killed you outright. Yet, not only did you not give up, you're arguing about wanting to continue the fight.
If you don't understand what is the best decision to take under such a simple situation, then, I'm sorry to say this but…"
Fujin paused and looked at Lee strictly. Without mincing his words, he harshly said, "Then you aren't ready to accept the responsibilities of being a Chunin."
Fujin's words left Lee shocked. He had never seen Fujin being strict. His words completely caught him off guard and he didn't know how to reply. The proctors subconsciously nodded at Fujin's words. None of them would have supported his promotion despite his incredible strength.
A Chunin was responsible for leading squads and ensuring their safety. Irrespective of how strong someone was, they wouldn't be promoted if they didn't know how to lead a squad properly and make sound decisions.
Guy frowned and wondered, 'Why is Fujin being so harsh?'
At the same time, Kakashi thought, 'Fujin is right. Lee needed to hear this. Otherwise, he would suffer in the future.'
Sakura couldn't control her tongue and said, "Hey, isn't that too harsh…" Her mouth was covered by Naruto's hand who whispered, "Shhh! Don't poke Fujin when he is like this!"
As someone who had been on the receiving end of Fujin's harmless experiments, Naruto knew exactly when not to annoy Fujin. Otherwise, the winds would become too chaotic and intense or he would be sent flying across the village.
Fujin ignored their antics and continued looking at Lee with a strict expression. Neither his words nor his expression left any room for discussion. Lee realized his mistake and said, "I apologize. I got too caught up in the battle."
Fujin nodded and didn't say anything. After all, he wasn't Lee's sensei. Guy wasted no time in appearing next to Lee at a speed that once again shocked Baki. He hugged Lee and said, "Don't worry, Lee. You fought very well."
Lee immediately broke out into tears and shouted, "I'm sorry, Guy sensei!"
Guy became teary as well and said emotionally, "Lee!"
"Guy sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Guy sensei!"
"Lee!"
The two immediately hugged each other tightly with tears rolling down their faces. Somehow, a sunset appeared in their background as everyone watched the two ninjas with disbelief and disgust.
Temari blushed due to that sight.
Kankuro couldn't help but mutter, "How did Gaara get smacked around by a loser like him?"
Sweat appeared on Baki's face as he wondered, 'What the hell is up with this village?'
Even Gaara was disturbed by that sight. He couldn't make sense of what he was seeing.
Ino shouted in disgust, "Eww! What are they doing?"
Neji just closed his eyes and turned his head away in embarrassment. He wished that everyone would forget that he was on the same team as them. Even Kakashi felt the same, as Sakura looked at him and asked, "Sensei, how did he become your rival?"
Her question left him speechless. He thought, 'He forcefully became my rival without my consent. There wasn't anything I could do...'
Finally, Guy sent Lee away along with the medics. Even though his injuries weren't life-threatening due to Fujin's action, his body suffered immense backlash due to opening the Inner Gates. He needed to be treated immediately.
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