"Are you kidding..."
Naruto Uzumaki couldn't believe it, he thought of Rock Lee opening the fifth gate of the Eight Gates Jutsu, the Limit Gate, with such overwhelming excitement: "Lee, that guy is so strong..."
"..."
Uchiha Sasuke had to marvel at the strangeness of fate.
Uchiha Sasuke recalled the real world's Rock Lee.
In the real world, Rock Lee was stripped of his exam qualification, allowing his opponent Gaara to advance directly without a fight, but Lee quickly made a name for himself in Konoha...
It seems...
Maybe the real world's Rock Lee isn't such a pitiful guy...
If you were to compare this world's Rock Lee with the real world's, maybe the real world's Lee is the lucky one!
"Kabuto."
Uchiha Sasuke actively sought out Yao Shidou, inquiring if Kabuto's medical skills were sufficient to treat Rock Lee, only to receive a negative answer.
"I can't do it."
Kabuto was self-aware; he wouldn't take on tasks he knew he couldn't complete: "Perhaps there's only one person in the entire ninja world who can, and that's Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, known as the strongest medical ninja in the world."
"But then..."
"Pardon my bluntness..."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses, being modest yet extremely confident about his medical ninjutsu: "If Tsunade's medical skills are within my understanding, or she hasn't developed any more advanced techniques, she might not be able to do it either unless her skills surpass the ninja world's current understanding, creating a miracle unknown to me..."
"..."
Uchiha Sasuke could only place his hopes on Tsunade, hoping that the future Fifth Hokage of Konoha had a medical expertise that defied understanding.
"Sasuke-kun seems quite concerned about Rock Lee's injuries..."
Kabuto brought up Lee's situation, using it as an entry point to probe for information from Uchiha Sasuke: "It looks like in Sasuke-kun's world, you should have a good relationship with Lee..."
"So-so..."
Uchiha Sasuke replied indifferently.
Alright.
He was indeed a bit concerned about Rock Lee.
Because both he and Lee were part of Konoha's new generation of ninjas, plus Lee is Might Guy's disciple, both master and student are highly skilled in the Eight Gates Jutsu, a forbidden jutsu that can make a significant impact even against Six Paths-level ninjas!
If it weren't for the tragedy of this Chunin Exam...
If everything unfolded according to the real world's story, Rock Lee would just miss this Chunin Exam, his future still holds great promise...
Just as Uchiha Sasuke and Kabuto were discussing Lee's odd fate, another tragedy unfolding made Sasuke suddenly realize that Lee's fate changing wasn't a coincidence!
"Sasuke..."
"Someone in the village was sacrificed..."
"Recently, let's all be careful and watch for anyone who might be suspicious..."
"Did someone sacrifice themselves?"
"It seems to be our proctor for the third exam..."
"The one who's always coughing, looks quite ill..."
When Uchiha Sasuke received the news, he couldn't believe his ears. The proctor for their third exam, Gekkou Hayate, was assassinated one night!
Wait a minute...
Something about this seems off!
This world doesn't have Akihara Kagura; it should be a good thing for Gekkou Hayate, right?
Uchiha Sasuke felt that the incidents with Rock Lee and Gekkou Hayate were unlikely to be coincidences, because these two didn't have any special connection with Akihara Kagura in the real world—for Lee, he was just a teammate of Tenten, and Gekkou Hayate was merely a typical Special Jonin...
In fact...
In the real world, Gekkou Hayate merely had a brief encounter with Akihara Kagura during the Chunin Exams, during which he was severely humiliated by Akihara. How could Hayate's fate change so drastically between two worlds?
Clearly...
Rock Lee and Gekkou Hayate...
In the real world, they were just a bit unlucky...
Why in this world did it lead to more dreadful tragedies?
Uchiha Sasuke no longer believed it to be just coincidence, as everyone even slightly connected to Akihara Kagura had their destinies changed without exception...
In this world...
The destinies of most ended in tragedy.
Whether it is me and the Uchiha Clan, or Kabuto and Karin, or even seemingly insignificant figures like Rock Lee and Gekkou Hayate...
In comparison...
In my world, despite the chaos Akihara Kagura caused in the ninja world being somewhat unsettling, the endings weren't that bad...
"Akihara Kagura..."
Uchiha Sasuke sat by the Nankai River, dreading his own speculations about Kagura. Suddenly, a fear arose in his heart: "Could he have been silently observing our destinies all along, subtly changing something..."
To verify his conjecture, before the third Chunin Exam began, Uchiha Sasuke quietly observed the differences between the two worlds, finally discovering the most terrifying fact!
In the history before Akihara Kagura appeared in the ninja world, there were no differences between the historical views of the two worlds, not even the people; both worlds were identical...