Chapter 7: Training
"It would be great to get together with all of you again soon, okay?"
Rock Lee said goodbye to Naruto and Tenten with this question to make them smile and nod.
Tenten seemed to like him a lot more after just one dinner as Lee could tell from the soft smile on her cute face.
In a few years, she would undoubtedly grow into a beautiful woman.
Moreover, they would soon become an official Genin team if the canon did not change.
As for Naruto...
Naruto Uzumaki was Uzumaki Naruto.
It was about as easy to make friends with him.
After treating him to ramen and some nice words a few times, you were brothers for life.
However, Lee didn't want to manipulate Naruto.
This was a disgrace for a martial arts master and for someone aspiring to become one like Rock Lee.
However, it definitely would not be useless to have the Jinchuriki of the strongest Bijuu as a friend.
A couple of hours after the pleasant dinner, Lee arrived at one of the training grounds in Konoha when there was no one there.
A clean field, surrounded by trees, with scattered shuriken here and there but nothing more.
The pleasant evening was in full swing, but the powerful sun was warming up and generously giving away some of its precious light.
Therefore, it made Rock even more motivated to protect the wonderful atmosphere of another world.
He had been through a lot in one day, but did he really have a choice?
Unfortunately, he couldn't pause his life like in games to figure out everything that had happened.
However, he still tried not to make mistakes and acted as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
Nevertheless...
'I found myself in a universe where true Shinobi run on trees and water while using an odd energy called chakra. Moreover, I received a system with increased complexity from someone unknown to me, but in exchange for decent rewards.'
'I also found out that I have a father who is always busy with missions even though I used to be an orphan. In addition, I got into a fight with a somewhat prominent Inuzuka clan member at the academy, met Naruto Uzumaki himself, and even established a relationship with Tenten. All of this in just one single day!'
Lee was ready to grab his head, but he was calm, and he began to slowly realize the madness that lasted for a day, and he couldn't remain as serene as before.
'Alright... Whoever has a strong will also has to deal with any pathetic psychosis, haha... System, status!'
Lee muttered something with a smirk that made him feel better, and then he firmly called up the holographic screen that showed all the information.
The information was a series of 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? Hmm, interesting. What have those arrogant higher beings prepared for their entertainment this time?'
'The classic squats, but with increased gravity and a huge stone on my back? Pf... Nevertheless, I hope not because I'm not entirely sure I'll handle that task if I almost collapse with just push-ups...'
Lee swung for mercy but was perfectly aware that nobody would pity him.
"Alright, let's get started."
Lee said.
[List of Hellish Training]
[Do twenty squats with a stone on your back.]
[Reward: Bronze Chest]
[Withstand five full-force blows from your holographic clone.]
[Reward: Bronze Chest]
[Do thirty pull-ups.]
[Reward: Bronze Chest]
"Damn..."
Lee cursed.
He also mentioned that the system has different kinds of reward chests to encourage growth: there are bronze, silver, gold, and platinum crates.
Lee is only shown bronze ones, and silver ones are not even mentioned, but he doesn't get particularly upset because he understands a simple and logical truth.
The better the quality of the chest, the harder the exercise.
The system said nothing about it, but was Lee a fool?
He never had trouble understanding what was going on as shown by the fact that he hadn't gone crazy from the isekai a long time ago.
'Forget it, Lee. You're not doing this now. First I'll warm up, then I'll do Rankyaku. I'll do the hellish exercises later in my spare time. It's important to maintain order in your life to avoid getting lost."
Lee concluded to himself while straightening his back and squinting his round eyes with serious determination.
Then Lee walked up to a wooden dummy that was much bigger and heavier than him.
It was in the middle of the training ground with other things used for Shinobi training.
There were long sticks sticking out in different directions from the base, but sharp shurikens and kunais were also stuck.
This made it hard for him to hit them and train.
After seeing how hard the original Lee had calloused his hands, he decided he wouldn't give up.
He started to pull out and throw weapons one by one while feeling the cold metal that was sharp with murderous intent.
"It's definitely a Chunin rank or higher."
Lee thoughtfully spoke about the shurikens and kunais and relied only on some inner intuition.
After, Lee did what was called a "warm-up." He squatted, did push-ups, and worked his abs.
He also hit the wooden dummy a hundred times with his hands and legs, hurting his hands and making him cry.
He never thought of being so masochistic in a past life, but now things are very different and are pushing down on him very hard.
'Ah... the fate of those who cannot use Ninjutsu and Genjutsu is indeed painful... I don't want to suffer, but as always, I must.'
Lee said to himself while mentally questioning himself why.
Why does he fail to perform various techniques based on chakra and release it from his body?
Lee knew that the chakra circulation through the channels was working fine and speeding up without any problems both in passive and active mode.
However, the current state of the situation will disappoint everyone.
He has an extremely low level of control maybe even too low, and Tenketsu doesn't pass chakra well.
There couldn't be a worse situation.
Lee didn't show anything when making seals for easy Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, and it didn't work.
He tried repeatedly but was a continuous failure.
What's the point?
However, it's better than it seems at first glance.
The main thing is just to reflect and break your brain by viewing everything through your potential.
For example, the original Rock could easily climb different surfaces without using his hands even water which wasn't even at all in the anime.
Moreover, they don't need to release chakra from the body for such things because that is why everything works out.
He will still check after a while.
"I can do without Rasengan. It hurts when there are Eight Gates and techniques with battle styles from the system, like powerful Rankyaku! It's important not to stop to continue trying!"
Lee was as stubborn as his steel will when fulfilling the dream of a martial arts master, or a Taijutsu master.
Then Lee returned to his warm-up while putting all his thoughts away and telling himself that he would never be able to conquer the world of Shinobi without training his body properly and doing hellish training...