Lee's Story…
Rock Lee had just finished putting on his gown when he heard the knock at the door. When he turned around, the nurse opened the door slightly and peeked in.
"Lee-san, Miss Tenten is here to see you," the attending nurse said.
Lee smiled and nodded. "Please, let her in."
The nurse moved aside and Tenten walked in. She had been his teammate for over two years now. For over two years, they trained, studied, ate, and worked together. She often joked that she saw more of Lee and Gai sensei and Neji than she did her own family. Her specialty was in weapons. It would be disrespectful to Tenten to say that she was a good shinobi. As a weapons specialist, her talents with the average kunai far exceeded what even Sasuke could do. Her control over her weapons and her creativity to use them to compliment her excellent ninjutsu and genjutsu made her a not only a great female ninja, but also one of the most deadly of any shinobi in the Leaf village. While in terms of pure strength Lee was more powerful than she was, he was still jealous of her talents in ninjutsu and genjutsu. Because Lee specialized exclusively in taijutsu, they never competed against each other. As a result of that lack of competition, she became a closer friend to him than anyone else.
Tenten didn't say anything as she walked in. She kept her eyes on the ground as she moved to the white hospital bed in the room. She sat down on the edge of the bed and closed her hands together in her lap.
"Hello, Tenten."
The young woman looked at the bedside table and at the single sakura blossom in the vase.
"Is that from Sakura-san?"
Lee smiled and shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but I'd like to think that it is."
"Lee," Tenten looked into Lee's eyes. "How're you doing?"
"I'm fine."
"Lee, you don't have to do that," she said.
"Do what?"
Tenten reached up and took Lee's hand in hers. "We've been teammates for two years, and we've been friends for even longer than that. I know you, and I know how scared you are right now. You don't have to be brave for me."
Lee sighed. "Listen, Tenten. I'm not going to lie to you and say that this is easy for me, or that I'm not scared. It isn't, and I am. But I know I'm also ready. In that way, I am fine, and you don't have to worry for me." Lee sat down on the bed beside Tenten.
"This is something that I have to do. It doesn't matter whether I'm scared or not. I just have to be ready."
"But why?" Tears glistened in Tenten's eyes and her voice wavered. "Why do you have to do this? I know you said that your goal was to become a great shinobi, even if you can't use ninjutsu. But the truth is, you've already done that. Everyone who saw you fight Gaara in the chuunin exams, everyone who even heard about it, and anyone who knows you at all—they all know that you're already as great and brave a shinobi as anyone in this village. So why are you putting your life in danger like this? What do you have left to prove?" Tears rolled down her face freely now and she began to sob. "I just can't sit here and let you risk your life like this."
Lee smiled genuinely and put his arm around Tenten's shoulder. "I'm glad that you care about me. But I have to do this. Gai sensei once told me that being a shinobi is more than just being able to fight. It's the willingness to sacrifice your life to protect the ones precious to you. And I can't do that if I'm stuck like this for the rest of my life." Lee shook Tenten's shoulders to get her attention. "Do you remember when we were kids? We were playing ninja and we had to use ninjutsu to hide ourselves. I tried so hard do bunshin-no-jutsu, but I couldn't, so I couldn't play games with you guys.
"I've come too far to give up on my dreams now." Lee pulled Tenten in closer to him and hugged her tightly and continued. "Tsunade-same told me that there's a fifty percent chance that I might die. But if I don't do this, then separating myself from this life as a shinobi… that's like death, too. Can you understand?"
After a moment, Tenten pulled away and looked at him with eyes still moist. "Yes, Lee. I understand." She sniffled. "I'm still worried, but I understand. And I'll be here for you. Good luck."
"That's good. I want you to be here for me." Lee gave her his famous smile and wink. "And as for luck—well, I'm moved by a force much greater than just luck."
Tsunade washed her hands in the basin in preparation for the surgery. While she knew that such surgery was entirely possible, she had never personally performed anything of that difficulty. The risk was high. There was a fifty percent chance that the surgery would prove useless, even if she did everything right.
Conventional medical wisdom stated that such surgery was only worth doing if the patient couldn't get any worse as a result of the surgery or if the success of the surgery was a medical breakthrough. Neither was true in this case. It was very likely that Lee could die. And while the surgery was rarity and would be very difficult, it wouldn't revolutionize medicine in any way. But still…
Lee and his sensei, Gai, both knew what the risks were. Yet, they were willing to risk death to prove a point. For Lee, with his blind determination, the choice must have been obvious. It would have been difficult to make, but obvious nonetheless. But Gai was risking a life that wasn't his to risk. How difficult must if have been for him to advise Lee to choose the surgery— all to teach his student the meaning of becoming a shinobi. Although it must have pained him to do so, Gai chose the surgery, and at the same time, took responsibility for Lee's life.
You're a better person than I am, Gai, to be able to take such responsibility for another life.
Tsunade finished getting ready and walked out into the hallway. Gai was waiting for her outside the operating room.
"Gai, before we walk into that room, I want you to understand to full risks of this operation. Even if I am su—
"Tsunade-sama, I am fully aware of the risks, as is Lee. This is the choice we made, and we won't back down from it."
I won't go back on my word. That is my ninja way.
Tsunade smiled. "Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way." She opened the door to the operating room. "Wish us luck, Gai."
"Tsunade-sama, we have a force much greater that mere luck on our side." Gai smiled and gave his characteristic thumbs-up sign.
Tenten walked with Lee to the operating room. He gave her a thumbs-up and a smile. She watched him go in.
Few people in the village are as brave as you are Lee. If heaven has any sense of justice, then this operation will be a breeze.
She turned around and walked down the hallway to the waiting room. When she got there, the sight of Sakura at the door surprised her.
"Sakura, what are you doing here?"
The girl with the big forehead and pink hair smiled weakly. "Sasuke is gone and Naruto's looking for him. Kakashi-sensei is also on a mission. Lee saved my life once. I thought this is the least I could do for him," she said.
"Well, I'm sure Lee will be very happy to see you here." Tenten said.
"Hey, hey! Did Lee-san start his surgery yet?"
Tenten and Sakura turned to the new voice and saw Ino running down the hallway.
"Ino, you're here, too?" Sakura asked.
Ino shrugged. "Well, my team's out on a mission and I was bored, so I thought I come down and show Lee my support." She stared back at Sakura. "Shouldn't you be worrying about Sasuke right about now?"
Instead of retaliating, Sakura just looked down at the floor.
"Listen, I'm sorry, Sakura," Ino said. "I didn't mean…"
Sakura shook her head. "No, it's okay. Naruto promised he'd bring Sasuke back. Besides, he's not here right now. Lee is. And I'm here for him."
Sound of footsteps interrupted the girls. Hinata was walking down the hallway.
"Hinata! You came!" Tenten said.
"Of course." Hinata smiled. "I heard about the operation, and I thought it would be nice to be here to support Lee."
Tenten mirrored her smile. "Good. Lee will be glad."
Gai sensei's booming laughter filled the hallway. "Lee will be very happy to see the Leaf's four prettiest flowers here to support him."
Tenten and the girls bowed toward the eccentric sensei. "Hello, Gai-sensei."
"It's no surprise that my protégé would be so popular with the girls." Gai laughed proudly.
Sakura smiled while Hinata blushed. "We're all here to wish Lee luck."
Gai shook his head slowly. "I don't know how many times I have to say it. We have a force greater than luck on our side."
Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Lee said the same thing. What does that mean?"
The older half of the Leaf's brightest duo winked.
"Faith," he said, as he opened the door to the waiting room.
Inside, the room was filled with dozens of people, from genin to jounin, regardless of rank or age.
Tenten gasped. "Gai-sensei, are they all…"
"Here for Lee? Yes." Pride filled Gai's voice. "They're all here to cheer on the bravest shinobi in Konoha."
In the operating room, Lee lie on his stomach, with his head resting upon a pillow. Tsunade walked over to him and bent down so she could see him eye to eye. As far as she could see, there was no fear on the young ninja's face, but she knew he was extremely nervous.
"Ready?" Tsunade asked.
Lee nodded, but a tremor in his voice belied his anxiety. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade smiled bravely at him. "You'll be fine."
She gently kissed the boy on the forehead, causing him to blush. Before Lee could say anymore, the beautiful sennin caressed the back of his neck, putting him into a deep sleep. She straightened up and faced the other medics in the room.
"All right. Let's get started."
The Fifth Hokage concentrated chakra to her eyes and focused on Lee's spine. The technique was not very far removed in its origin from the Hyuga Byakugan. Although she could not see the chakra vessels and opening points, nor did she have a 360-degree field of vision, Tsunade still could choose what she would or wouldn't see. In this case, she needed to see the spinal column, where much of the damage was done. Her vision shifted and she could see through the flesh and muscles to the spinal column, and there she saw exactly what she expected.
Little bits and pieces of bone had chipped away from the walls of the spinal column. Some of them were lodged in the cartilage between each segment of the spine—the gliding joints. Some of them floated freely through the spinal fluid. Still others, and those causing most concern, floated dangerously close to the spinal cord, threatening to slice into the delicate nerves that lie there. The problem was threefold. First, the pieces stuck in the joints restricted full movement of the spine. Second, the pieces closest to the spinal cord, if they cut into the nerves themselves, could cause irreparable paralysis. And third, the pieces floating around could dislodge even more pieces from the walls of the columns.
The tasks were clear. Tsunade would have to go through and pick up all the loose pieces of bone and return them to their original spots, much like a jigsaw puzzle—one with very small pieces, some smaller than the eye could see. Then, she'd have to remove the pieces lodged in the cartilage and replace those as well. She'd have to check for any actual nerve damage, but she doubted there would be any; Lee hadn't shown any signs of paralysis or loss of motion due to nerve damage. Finally, she'd have to reinforce the linings of the walls with chakra, to assure that the pieces wouldn't come loose again.
In the simplest sense, it was just a clean up job. However, simple did not mean easy.
Tsunade, the medical specialist, and the best of her kind, took a deep breath and went to work. She began first by collecting chakra to her hands. Since she could not physically go into Lee's spine and work, she needed the chakra to manipulate the pieces of bone. Such a task didn't require much chakra, but Tsunade did need minute control. The greatest difficulty lie in concentration, not power.
After concentrating sufficient energy to her hands, she placed them at the small of Lee's back. I might as well start from bottom to top, she thought. After a moment of deliberation, Tsunade decided on the best course of action. Stretching out with her senses, Tsunade spread out little threads of chakra—hundreds of them—and meshed them into a fine web. She sent out small tendrils of chakra along the walls, sensing the tiny divots and potholes where the bone chipped away. With the web, she swept across the spinal fluid like a fisherman drags along a fishing net. The pieces of bone were too small to distinguish by eye. Instead of trying to determine their shape by looking at them, Tsunade decided to get a feel for their mold. The errant pieces of bone all got caught in the web, making indents of their outline. Tsunade carefully examined each piece, the imprint it made in the chakra-web and matched them with the holes in the walls. Then, she selected the ones that fit and placed them to their respective niches.
Half an hour had passed, and she had completed only the first segment.
The danger of such an operation was how the procedure would take. Already, the time spent was too long compared to the progress. At this rate, Tsunade would need the entire day to repair the length of the spine. Sooner or later, fatigue would become a factor. While Tsunade wasn't worried about running out of chakra, maintaining such a high level of control would take a toll mentally. It didn't help that the task, as difficult as it was, would also be unbelievably tedious. Tsunade shuddered at the prospect of repeating the process twenty-six more times.
But still, I can't give up. Gai and Lee are counting on me. They believe in me even though it's more likely that I won't succeed. They believe in me because they have no choice otherwise.
Tsunade recalled the first time she'd met Naruto, when he bet all his money that he'd learn the Rasengan in a week, even though the Fourth Hokage himself had needed over three years to learn the same technique. Still, he made that bet with no doubt in his mind. There was no consideration of failure because failure was not an option.
Gai and Lee had made the same bet, and assumed responsibility for it with their lives. Still, they refused to even consider what would happen if the operation was unsuccessful. There was only one way to achieve their nindo, and they followed with fierce courage and determination.
'Someday, I'm going to become like grandpa and inherit the Hokage name. That is my dream.'
'An idol that protects everyone—that is Hokage, my dream.'
'I really want to succeed the Hokage name, and I will, because that is my dream.'
'Everything in my life was to prove that someone like me can become a respectable ninja. That is my dream.'
Nawaki, Dan… now Naruto and Lee… I am the Fifth Hokage, and I will do everything in my power to protect your dreams…
Tenten sat next to Gai-sensei in the waiting room. The operation began at ten in the morning, and it was well past midnight. The villagers had left a long time ago, some staying longer than others, but all of them eventually having business of their own to take care of. Most of them had been thoughtful enough to say some words of encouragement to Gai and Tenten before they retired for the night.
Half-empty containers of ramen, rice, and other meals, supplied to them by the local restaurant, Ichiraku, were left forgotten on the small tables. Tenten had tried to finish her meal, but simply couldn't get up enough of an appetite, despite the delicious food. Gai-sensei had likewise failed to finish his meals, so worried was he of Lee's condition.
Tenten glanced out the window at the dark night. The entire day became undistinguishable in her mind. It just became a blur of sounds and emotions. The room was filled with energy and anticipation early on, but as the day and the operation continued, all the emotion had faded. Excited and continuous chatter became intermittent and hushed, as if a blanket had been placed over the room to smother the sounds. Tenten spoke with the girls at first—with Gai-sensei unavailable for comments other than "sure" and "maybe"—but even that diminished to subdued monosyllabic exchanges. She couldn't even remember what they had talked about. They carried on the conversation half-heartedly, dismissing most of what was said as inconsequential. As the day turned to night, the positive atmosphere shifted to quiet introspection and feelings of doubt.
So in the end, there were only three of them left, Tenten, Gai, and Sakura. The pink-haired girl from Team Seven sat opposite Gai and Tenten. The day's exhaustion had taken its toll on her as well—she gave up trying to stay awake and lay on her side across three seats, her head resting on her hands, and dozed off. Tenten was surprised that the other girl had stayed so long. As far as she knew, Sakura had eyes only for Uchiha Sasuke, as many other girls did. Although Tenten found Sasuke to be attractive—and she could fondly reminisce about the times she had hopeless crushes—she was never really interested in him. Immune as she was, she categorized all the other girls who bought into the whole mysterious prodigy allure as airheads. She had likewise assumed that Sakura was just another superficial girl. But seeing her like this gave Tenten a whole new perspective about the younger kunoichi. It was clear that Sakura's interest in Sasuke wasn't as transient as the other girls, but she also showed genuine concern for Lee's well being. Instead of pining over Sasuke's return—which to this point seemed uncertain, even hopeless—she chose instead to support Lee and care for him, even though it would not be the same way she cared for Sasuke. This added a depth to her, and made Tenten realize that Sakura's passion for Sasuke was rooted in something deeper than a mere adolescent crush.
Tenten screwed her eyes shut against the fatigue that burned them. Rubbing away the tears that leaked out, she shook her head and brushed loose hair away from her face. She walked over to wear Sakura was sleeping and shook her gently.
"Sakura," she said quietly. When the pink haired kunoichi opened her still-heavy eyelids, she continued, "It's really late. You should go home."
The younger girl gave her a drowsy half-smile. "Is the operation over?"
Tenten shook her head. "Not yet. That's why I'm saying you should head back."
Sakura wiped sleep from her eyes and pushed herself up on one arm. "No, it's okay. I've already stayed this long. I might as well stay until the end."
There was really no reason for Tenten to ask this next question, but she couldn't restrain herself. "But, why?" When the other girl raised an eyebrow, she elaborated. "I mean, you haven't even known him for that long. No one's making you stay. So…"
Sakura stared at the hospital floor and smiled sadly. "What else am I going to do? If I stay home, all I'll be doing is worrying about Sasuke. What's the point? Even if he needs help—my help, even—there's nothing I can do for him now. I've asked Naruto to bring him back, and all I can do, all I should do, is just be patient and wait.
"My energy is better spent here. Orochimaru and the Sand-nin have left a mess here with their stupid war. We all need to support each other. I may not be able to be there for Sasuke, but I can be here for Lee. Besides, I owe him a lot, and he'd do the same for me."
Tenten nodded. "I understand, and I'm grateful. I'm sure Lee will be excited, too. But won't your parents worry?"
Sakura crinkled her nose and chuckled. "My parents know where I am. They're even relieved that I'm finally getting out of the house, instead of moping around, obsessing over Sasuke. My mother says it's unattractive, even."
The girl's conversation was interrupted by the opening of the door. Gai-sensei jerked around and the girls were likewise startled. At the doorway, Tsunade-sama leaned against the frame. Her hands were trembling and faint wrinkles at the corners of her usually youthful face belied her fatigue. When she looked at them, tears glistened in her eyes.
"Tsunade-sama." Gai said. "Is…is he…" His voice was choked off, as he couldn't bring himself to finish the question.
Tenten stood from her seat and walked over to sit next to her sensei and took his hand in hers and braced herself for the answer.
Tsunade didn't speak, but merely shook her head from side to side.
Tears welled up in Tenten's eyes, but it was Sakura who spoke.
"Did the operation go well?" she asked.
A heavy sigh escaped the Hokage's lips. "From a structural point, the operation was a success."
What does that mean? Tenten asked silently. Her lips were frozen in their place and she couldn't have asked out loud even if she wanted to. Instead, it was Sakura who spoke up again.
"What does that mean, exactly? Is Lee okay?"
"I was able to get all the loose pieces of bone and put them back in their spots. There were some pieces, a lot, actually, which were lodged in his neural network, and I was able to get those, too. But removing them must have shocked his nervous system." Tsunade's next words were almost too quiet to hear. "He's in a coma. If he doesn't wake up in the next 24 hours, he will die."