"Let's get together like this again sometime soon, alright?"
With those words, Rock Lee bid farewell to the blond and the chestnut-haired girl, earning a cheerful nod from both. Tenten, for example, had noticeably warmed up to him over the course of a single dinner—at least, that's what Lee gathered from the gentle smile gracing her delicate face, her raspberry lips curling at the corners. In a few years, she would undoubtedly grow into a stunning beauty. More importantly, they were soon to officially become a team of Genin—assuming the usual course of events remained unchanged.
And as for Naruto...
Naruto Uzumaki was, well, Naruto Uzumaki.
Making friends with him was about as easy as getting lost in a forest without a map. Offer him ramen, say a few kind words, and just like that—you're sworn brothers for life. Not that Lee had any intention of using the boy; manipulating those younger than oneself was a disgrace for a true martial artist—or for someone striving to become one, like Rock Lee.
Still, befriending the Jinchuriki of the strongest Bijuu was far from useless.
Now, a couple of hours after their pleasant dinner, Lee arrived at one of Konoha's training grounds—just as it had emptied out. A clear field lined with trees, scattered with a few broken shuriken here and there, but otherwise undisturbed. The warm evening embraced the world, the mighty sun lingering just beyond the horizon, generously bestowing its last rays of golden light. Taking in the tranquil beauty of this different world, Lee only became more determined to preserve it.
So much had happened in just one day. But was he given a choice? The thick-browed boy—formerly a self-taught karateka—unfortunately couldn't press pause on life like in a video game to process everything that had transpired. Still, he did his best to keep himself from making mistakes, acting as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
And yet…
"I've been transported into a world where shinobi run up trees and across water, wielding a mysterious energy called chakra. On top of that, I was given some kind of system by an unknown force—one with a brutal difficulty level but promising rewards in return. I also found out that I suddenly have a father, always busy with missions, whereas before, I was a complete orphan. Plus, I got into a sparring match at the academy with a member of the well-known Inuzuka clan, met Naruto Uzumaki—the protagonist of the anime itself—and even managed to get on friendly terms with the proud Tenten. And all of this happened in a single day! Madness!"
Lee was tempted to clutch his head in disbelief. Even though he was naturally a calm person, fully realizing the sheer absurdity of everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours made it impossible to remain as composed as before.
"Alright… A man with a will of steel can handle a little insanity, ha-ha… System, status!"
Muttering to himself with a self-mocking chuckle, Lee then called out firmly, summoning a holographic interface filled with neatly arranged letters, numbers, and percentages.
[Name: Rock Lee]
[Shinobi Rank: Academy Student]
[Health: 100%]
[Stamina: 100%]
[Chakra: 100%]
[Taijutsu Rank: C]
[Ninjutsu Rank: —]
[Genjutsu Rank: —]
[Inventory]
[List of Hellish Exercises: 3]
"Three exercises, huh? Hm… I wonder what those arrogant higher beings have cooked up for their amusement this time. Classic squats, but with increased gravity and a massive boulder on my back? Pfft… Still, I hope not—I barely survived those push-ups…"
Lee silently prayed for mercy, though deep down, he knew no one was going to take pity on him.
[List of Hellish Exercises]
[Perform twenty squats with a boulder on your back]
[Reward: Bronze Chest]
[Endure five full-power strikes from your holographic clone]
[Reward: Bronze Chest]
[Do thirty pull-ups]
[Reward: Bronze Chest]
"Damn…" Lee muttered under his breath.
As if the system wasn't cruel enough, it even categorized reward chests by quality—clearly pushing him to grow stronger. There were bronze, silver, gold, and platinum chests. For now, Lee was only being offered bronze ones; silver wasn't even on the table. But he didn't mind too much—there was a simple truth to be understood:
The better the chest, the harder the exercise.
The system hadn't explicitly stated this, but Lee wasn't a fool. The fact that he hadn't lost his mind from all these drastic changes was proof enough of his ability to grasp reality. After all, considering he had died under a falling wardrobe yesterday and now found himself in an entirely different world, he was handling things rather well.
"Forget it, Lee. You're getting sidetracked. First, a warm-up. Then Rankyaku. The hellish exercises can wait until later. Order is important—otherwise, you'll just get lost, like a traveler in unfamiliar mountains."
With that resolution, he straightened his back and narrowed his round eyes with unwavering determination.
He approached a wooden training dummy standing in the center of the field, surrounded by various shinobi training equipment. It towered over him in size, its wooden arms extending outward, but the embedded shuriken and kunai—abandoned by their owners—ruined the otherwise inviting challenge.
However, glancing down at his calloused hands, toughened by the relentless discipline of the original Rock Lee, the boy had no intention of backing down. He methodically pulled out the weapons, feeling the biting cold of the metal, steeped in the intent of their past users.
"Chunin level or higher, definitely," Lee noted to himself, sensing the experience behind the weapons' placement.
Once done, he finally began his warm-up—not just with squats, push-ups, and sit-ups, but by striking the wooden dummy a hundred times with both fists and feet, each blow sending a sharp, punishing pain through his limbs.
He had never engaged in such masochistic training in his previous life. But this was a different world—one where too much was at stake. The weight of it all pressed down on him, relentless and merciless.
"Haah… Life isn't easy for someone who can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu… I don't want to suffer, but I have to, as always… Haah…"
Speaking to himself, Lee pondered the question that had been gnawing at him: Why? Why was he completely incapable of using chakra-based techniques? His chakra circulation was fine—he had tested that much. It flowed properly through his channels, accelerated smoothly both passively and actively.
And yet…
His chakra control was abysmally low. Worse than that—his tenketsu barely allowed chakra to pass through at all. The worst possible scenario. As a result, when he attempted to form hand seals for even the simplest ninjutsu or genjutsu, nothing happened. Nothing at all.
But it wasn't all bad. There was always another way, if one was willing to look for it. After all, the original Rock Lee could climb walls and even walk on water—without using his hands. Maybe that was because he never had to release chakra externally at all… Something to test later.
"Who needs Rasengan anyway? I have the Eight Gates and the system's combat techniques—like the powerful Rankyaku! The important thing is to keep pushing forward!"
With a renewed fire in his eyes, Rock Lee resumed his training, knowing that without relentless effort and sheer determination, he would never conquer the treacherous world of shinobi…
P.s: If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 17+ at patreon.com/c/Lucius01