First Friend

I couldn't believe it! 4 weeks after transmigrating into the body of Sosuke Aizen, I met with one of the most powerful characters in the Naruto series, Rock Lee! Granted right now, Rock Lee was still very weak, unlike his future self, but his talent was astonishing! Without the ability to change his chakra shape or nature, even while using hand seals, Lee dedicated his entire being to the art of Taijutsu!

Taijutsu is the aspect of a ninja in which they use their body or utilize close combat techniques. Basically, it is a person's body aspect and all things that come with that including martial arts and overall body strength. Situated as the personal student and disciple of Might Gai, the strongest taijutsu user in the entire series, Lee flourished and became one of the strongest characters by the end of the series.

And now, he was here right in front of me, currently playing around with his friends. I remembered that even though Lee is part of the Rookie 12, he isn't part of a clan and is instead an orphan, which explains why I saw him here at the public playground.

I didn't know how to approach him yet, so I just continued my routine while watching him go about his day. He seemed to be enjoying playing with his friends a lot, that is until something happened. Right now Lee should have started attending the academy since he is part of the class above Naruto's, and well mine's, and the fact that he can't manipulate his chakra is probably coming to light.

I imagine that Lee wanted to use ninjutsu, the weaponized version of chakra, like every other kid, me included. It's really just too cool. But unfortunately, Lee was born with a defect that didn't allow him to change his chakra shape or nature, meaning he couldn't use ninjutsu.

In the future, this aspect didn't faze him one bit as he poured his soul into taijutsu, but now, as a little kid, this probably impacted him more than anyone ever knew. And one of these moments seemed to be why...,

"Hey loser. I heard you can't use chakra!"

"Yeah loser!"

"I'm in his class, and he can't use chakra at all even after months!"

"What a loser"

"Is he defective or something?"

"He's not even good at taijutsu!!"

I heard them start chanting...

"Dorkk leee!"

"Dorkk leee!"

"Dorkk leee!"

At this point, Lee seemed to be on the verge of crying, but he didn't let them earn that privilege and instead started running away from the playground. What was even sadder was that no one attempted to stop him, not his so-called friends, not the matrons in charge of him, and not even the adults on the side, nobody.

It seems that Lee went through a tougher time than I ever thought. Being isolated and still possessing the will to work harder than ever on something his talents didn't seem to include, was a feat I'd probably never be able to accomplish...

While I was even wondering whether I could become a ninja, and used any sign of progress as motivation to keep going on this path, I couldn't help but question if I didn't have this talent, would I still have the will to become a ninja? It seems that even if I become a powerful shinobi in this world, if I don't learn to dedicate myself to this path then I'll never be able to truly stand at the top. I mean, look at those who stood atop the shinobi world. Sasuke, who was ready to give everything up for power. Naruto, who despite his entire world being against him persevered in his ways. Even Madara and Hashirama, who had to break their ties with each other and watch as family members died, had to have the will to continue despite all consequences.

Compared to all these figures, I only had the potential of a chunin at best, relying on my talent to continue down this path instead of my own will. At this point, my impression of these figures grew tremendously, and I found myself admiring all these figures, Lee especially. At least all of them had a reliance of their own, Naruto with his shadow clones that reassured his talent, Sasuke with his lineage and hatred, but Lee, all Lee had was his will. He didn't even display great talent in taijutsu, the only option he had, yet he never stopped.

This was what a true ninja looked like. He was only 6 years old, but he was already showing the true spirit of a ninja, amazing! A 6-year-old had a stronger will than me, someone who is supposed to be decades older than him. At this point I knew I had to change my ways, and truly become allow myself to fall in love with the path of the ninja instead of constantly holding myself back! There was something else that took my attention away from this transformation, however. I wasn't particularly planning on making myself stand out, especially when my orphanage was also here, but thinking about the unfairness Lee was going through right now, my body started moving on its own as I chased after Lee. I heard the orphanage kids exclaim behind me, and the Matron shouting,

"Aizen where are you going! Get back here right now young man!"

I paid no attention to them and just kept running in the direction Lee went in until I arrived in a forest. I saw him standing at a tree, one with a noticeable amount of bark gone from the side, repeatedly kicking at it. He seemed to be crying as he did it, but knowing Lee, it wasn't from the pain from kicking. He also kept shouting things like,

"I will show them. I will become the greatest taijutsu fighter in the world! I will not stop! If I can't do one thousand kicks in one hour, I will do five thousand punches in one hour! If I can't do five thousand punches, then I will do ten thousand squats!"

Even without anyone pushing him, Lee kept pushing himself. This was how he could become one of the central figures even among the most talented Clan kids, and how he could earn the acknowledgment of Gai, the greatest taijutsu user present in the world. My admiration for him kept growing in my heart, and I eventually stopped myself from just watching him and approached,

"Rock Lee?"

"Ah! Who are you?" he proceeded to turn to me with a confused face

"My name is Sosuke Aizen, I was at the playground too"

At this point, Lee's face froze over and he said to me,

"What do you want from me! Are you here to continue making fun of me!"

"No, not at all! I was here because I wanted to tell you Lee that I wanted to be friends with you"

"Friends? With me? But why? Did you not hear the other kids, I am defective, I cannot use chakra".

He seemed to be in a pretty wrecked emotional state, understandably. He was only 6 years old, and it already felt like the path ahead of him was crumbling. He was only holding on through sheer will and stubbornness. I thought to myself that no matter who, they would admire Lee if they knew him well enough.

"I don't care about that. Frankly, I don't think you should either Lee! I believe in you, and I know you believe in yourself! As long as you have that, you will become strong Lee"

I tried my best to give him some encouraging words, but I don't know exactly how well I did. It seemed my efforts were appreciated, however, because he seemed to get a little fire back in his eyes.

"Really? Can I really become a powerful shinobi as long as I believe in myself?"

"Of course you can Lee, in fact, I guarantee that you will be stronger than all those kids combined!"

His eyes at this point seemed to turn into two blazing suns,

"Yes! As long as I work hard and believe in myself, I do not believe that I will not become a strong shinobi!"

I knew at this time that Lee had found his ninja way, the way of the will. He didn't exactly know it yet, considering how he didn't even know what a ninja way was, but today he found the motivation to keep working as hard as he is.

"Thank you, Aizen! Your encouragement has been very helpful! Since you want to be friends with me, Rock Lee, then allow me the privilege to be friends with you!"

And as Lee extended his hand to give me a thumbs up along with a gigantic grin on his face, I couldn't help but return the gesture and reveal one of the first genuine smiles I've had since I came to the Naruto world

"You got it Lee!"