Together, turn the world upside down

Rock Lee is shocked, horrified, disbelieving, and lost.

Numerous complex emotions envelop him.

He was born in Konoha and aspired to become a ninja.

But his lack of talent forced him to compensate through hard work.

During this time, he endured the malice of his peers.

They despised his appearance, called him dumb, and refused to play with him.

He persisted in physical training, hoping that one day he could prove that effort can catch up to genius.

Until he met Naruto.

Although Naruto had outstanding talent, he also faced malice, just like Rock Lee did.

In fact, Naruto faced even stronger and more direct animosity.

He was the person who witnessed Naruto changing himself through hard work.

He was also the person who witnessed Naruto's warmth along the way.

Rock Lee opens his mouth as if he wants to say something.

But the words get stuck in his throat, and he can't utter a single sentence.

"Rock Lee…" Naruto sheathes his sword and looks at the blue sky of the Pure Land, speaking softly.

"All along, my goals and ideals have been very simple. I wanted to create a completely fair world, without social classes, without powerful clans monopolizing ninjutsu, where everyone could enjoy equal treatment."

"I, like everyone else, hated war."

"But I know that to achieve the world I want to see, I have to pick up the sword."

"Those Hollows were just one of my experiments, and they won't be the last."

Hearing Naruto's words, Rock Lee trembles and asks with a quivering voice, "Then why did you release those monsters into Konoha?" He hopes Naruto can provide a reasonable explanation.

At least it would prove that Naruto is still the person he knows.

But Naruto just chuckles and nonchalantly says, "The location where they were released was inconsequential. I placed the Hollows in Konoha just to put them under a bit of pressure. This way, I can directly observe their potential."

Merely for this reason, he placed monsters in Konoha, causing everyone to suffer losses.

"I don't understand!!" Rock Lee shouts angrily. "The Naruto I know isn't so heartless."

"Emotionless?" Naruto shook his head and chuckled.

"Compared to the higher-ups in Konoha, I can consider myself emotional."

"Do you know why your parents died?" Naruto asked.

Upon hearing this, Rock Lee's pupils shook, and a speculation emerged in his heart.

He took a step back, as if trying to avoid it.

Naruto directly stated, "Root's ninja need to eliminate emotions and become emotionless machines."

"And as an exception with parents, you naturally need to undergo purification to fully integrate into Root."

"I didn't expect Root to be so ruthless. That was my negligence," Naruto sighed.

"Do you know how terrifying the political struggles in Konoha are? You and I are just pawns to them. Since my birth, I have been manipulated by them."

"I don't understand!" Rock Lee angrily retorted, his eyes filled with anger.

"Deep down, you've always had the answer, haven't you?" Naruto's face remained calm.

Upon hearing these words, Rock Lee clenched his fists in pain and forcefully pounded the sandy ground.

As if venting his frustration.

All this time, he had presented himself as an extremely foolish person to everyone.

Hoping to warm everyone's hearts like Naruto.

But as Naruto's closest friend, someone who grew up together with him, he must have been influenced by Naruto and couldn't possibly be a complete fool.

He would also think and reflect.

But everything remained hidden in his thoughts.

After joining Root, he came into contact with the darkness of a village.

Root's missions were the ones other shinobi couldn't undertake.

Assassinating shinobi from other villages, tarnishing the reputation of other villages.

Breaking the relationships between villages.

Due to Rock Lee's lack of trust, the missions he could take were considered relatively "kind."

If we talk about Root killing his parents.

That kind of thing could truly happen.

Rock Lee gritted his teeth, a spark of hatred flickering in his eyes.

Naruto's chakra condensed into one image after another in his hand.

Among them were displaced villagers and tragic scenes caused by the exploitation of the ninja village.

"Take a good look at the evil deeds of the ninja villages."

"The prosperity of Konoha was built upon countless bloodshed. They feast on the blood of the lower class and gradually grow into mighty trees. And now, Konoha has become even more ruthless, even the younger generation has become their nourishment."

"And your parents were just nourishment as well."

"Damn it! Shut up!" Rock Lee erupted, swinging a punch towards Naruto.

Naruto stood still without dodging or evading.

"Hmph." The fist stopped less than 10 centimeters away from Naruto's cheek, stirring up the dust behind him.

Rock Lee gasped for breath, as if he had put all his strength into that punch.

"Accept this fact: the very foundation of Konoha, where you belong, is the culprit who destroyed your family. As long as the class system exists, civilian shinobi will never have their day to rise."

"To them, you are just a disposable tool. Do you believe it? If you die, they won't regret it. They will only feel a little pity, losing a good weapon."

Naruto's words pierced deep into Rock Lee's heart like a sharp sword.

"Naruto!!" Rock Lee threw a punch with all his strength.

"Boom." The punch created a gust of wind, but it hit only an afterimage.

His vision twisted, and Naruto appeared beside Rock Lee, his voice filled with mockery.

"Did you punch me because you were angry that I uncovered the blindfold covering your eyes? If self-deception is your quality, then maybe I misjudged you."

"Enough, Naruto!" Rock Lee twisted his waist and delivered a side kick with a rushing sound.

However, he kicked only the afterimage.

"Hadō #1: Shō."

A white light flashed, and the next moment, Rock Lee was sent flying like a bullet, his cloak torn apart, and blood spraying from his mouth.

Rock Lee collapsed on the scorching desert ground.

The high temperature roasted his body, blurring his vision.

In theory, this kind of injury was minor, and he should have been able to stand up immediately.

But for some reason...

At this moment, his body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, completely devoid of the strength to move.

He saw his vision twist once again, and Naruto was already standing in front of him, looking down at him with a superior gaze.

"See, little Lee, you never had the intention to fight me because deep down, you accept all of this. What you can't accept is simply not wanting to enter this cruel world."

"If you want to be someone who knows nothing and sells their life for enemies, then go ahead. I will use means to make you forget everything that happened today."

Lying in the scorching desert, Rock Lee's gaze gradually became blurred.

He was born into an ordinary ninja family.

His parents were just average lower-level ninjas.

He had extremely poor talent.

Almost every week, his parents took turns going on missions.

The missions were not difficult, and there was usually no danger to their lives.

But the rewards were meager, and their lives were always scraping by.

After he was born, he began to yearn to become a ninja.

He aspired to become a great ninja like the Hokage, someone who could stand on his own and be respected by everyone.

To achieve this goal, he trained hard.

However, he was found to have no talent for ninjutsu.

He could only learn taijutsu.

His parents kept seeking help from various major clans, hoping to get some simple ninjutsu or secret techniques to assist Rock Lee in his training.

They always believed.

Rock Lee wasn't a mediocre person; he must have some talent for ninjutsu.

As long as there are secret techniques, perhaps he can awaken some latent talent.

Unsurprisingly, they were turned away.

No clan gave them a friendly face.

Even the children from the same village started to mock Rock Lee as useless, trash.

In the eyes of those clans, his family was worthless.

"Just a mere genin, what are you even dreaming of? Your son is a waste," he vaguely remembered the scolding of an unruly scion from a prestigious clan that day.

That night, the atmosphere at home became tense.

His parents had an emptiness in their eyes that he couldn't understand.

"Secret techniques are precious treasures of the major clans. How could they help us, ninjas without strength or influence?" his parents' voices were bitter.

Back then, Rock Lee didn't understand and foolishly tried to console his parents, saying:

"It's okay, even without ninjutsu or secret techniques, I will become a ninja relying on taijutsu! I will prove that hard work can surpass genius."

Tears streamed down Rock Lee's face as he choked on his own words:

"Just relying on hard work is too difficult."

"I shouldn't have become a ninja. Then they wouldn't have died."

Now he understood, but his parents were already gone.

He wiped away his tears in a disheveled manner and thought of Naruto.

Back then, on that afternoon.

Sunlight spilled over Naruto's warm smile as he said to him, "Your greatest talent is your hard work. I believe in you."

He believed that he could surpass geniuses.

He worked hard as he had hoped, wanting to stand by Naruto's side.

Now, Naruto had chosen a path he had never considered before.

And he...

Would face a choice.

Rock Lee raised his head, tears blurring his vision. He saw that Naruto's face remained gentle, but his eyes were different from before—sharp and cold.

"To overthrow all classes and rules means inevitably becoming enemies with everyone," Naruto's tone was calm.

"As I said, I want to stand in the sky, becoming the creator of new rules."

"That, is the real me!"

Rock Lee looked at Naruto.

After his parents' death, following Naruto became the source of strength in his heart.

He hoped and yearned to truly help Naruto.

He wanted to become Naruto's most trusted comrade.

"Why did you choose to tell me now?" he asked.

"Because the plan is about to begin, and you are the person I trust the most."

Naruto's words brought tears to Rock Lee's eyes once again, igniting a surge of hot blood and passion in his chest.

He stood up abruptly, dusted off the sand from his body, and spoke word by word:

"Naruto! I will help you! Together, we will overthrow this world!"