Back at home
After running around the village, Lee immediately hopped in the shower and then started working on his dinner.
Before long, he had finished cooking fish and sweet potato chips, which he ate at the table.
The cuisine in the Naruto world leaned toward traditional Japanese fare with an emphasis on individual servings. Lee had adapted to the local culture, but he occasionally spiced things up with food from his old world.
After eating, he cleaned the dishes and went to bed.
The next morning Lee woke up early and immediately went under three times gravity. Lee wore 10,000 Kg on both legs and arms and 12,000 on his chest while doing push-ups, sit-ups, squats, running, and shadow boxing in the chamber. He had no idea how much time had passed.
All he knew was that by the time he was done his legs were shaking and his whole body was drenched in sweat.
He gritted his teeth and pressed on.
He then switched his training to climbing, swimming through streams, and navigating all sorts of terrain.
It was brutal.
After what felt like forever, he conjured a Red Gatorade and chugged it down. But as expected, food produced inside the chamber had no taste. If it did, he wouldn't have to worry about groceries. Not that he was complaining. This system of his was already incredible for what it provided him. Asking for any more would just be greedy.
So, he left the chamber, took a hot shower, had a hearty breakfast, then rushed off to school at his top speed.
Ninja Academy.
"Sasuke-kun, you..."
"Where's Iruka-sensei?" Sasuke cut her off, his voice low and dangerous.
"Uh, Iruka-sensei isn't here yet? And he's probably um still in his office." Sakura stammered, caught off guard by the sheer intensity on Sasuke's face.
It was the first time she had ever seen Sasuke look so furious; his expression was almost predatory.
Without another word, Sasuke stormed out, slamming the classroom door closed on his way out. Sprinting down the hall toward Iruka's office.
"What the heck just happened?" Ino demanded, walking in through the rear door with a bucket of flowers in hand.
"I-I don't know."
She narrowed her eyes at Sakura. "You know what? I bet you just annoyed him again."
"Don't be ridiculous you Ino-pig!" Sakura snapped back, her cheeks burning crimson.
In the corner, Shikamaru sighed heavily and muttered lazily, "Nah, it's probably because of Rock Lee.
Word is, he just got recruited into the medical division for some special training."
"What?!" Sakura gasped, stunned.
"No way!" Kiba and Ino shouted in unison. Even Chōji, who barely cared about anything that didn't involve snacks, turned his head in shock.
"Then you're not going to believe this next part. I heard the Hokage himself came to the Academy yesterday." Shikamaru added in a neutral, almost bored tone with a smirk on his face.
At that moment, Naruto came crashing through the door, loud as ever. "Hey, hey! Did you guys hear? Lee's doing...some….something...."
Sakura facepalmed.
"Seriously, how is he like this?"
"He was recruited for special training." she said flatly.
"Right, right! He took some kind of big exam! Oh, Iruka-sensei's here!" Naruto scrambled back to his seat at lightning speed to avoid getting scolded again.
Moments later, Iruka entered the classroom with Sasuke. Sasuke sulked back to his seat, visibly tense.
Iruka scanned the class, then sighed. "I'm sure, you've all heard the news. And if there are any doubts, Rock Lee has officially been given alternative studies. But the test he took wasn't a standard academy exam. He completed a chunin-level assessment."
A collective gasp rippled through the room.
"Anyway, your own test papers are being handed out now. Get ready to start."
Iruka began distributing thick stacks of test sheets.
Originally, he hadn't intended to bring them.
He knew the results would probably crush their spirits. But Sasuke had insisted.
He had demanded the chance to take them. So Iruka thought it would be a harsh but necessary reality check for everyone.
They needed to understand just how far ahead Rock Lee truly was.
The classroom sank into a heavy silence, broken only by the scratchy whisper of pens on paper. Iruka leaned back against the desk, shutting his eyes to rest.
He didn't even bother policing for cheating, not because he trusted them, but because their attempts at cheating were so clumsy they made him want to flip a desk in frustration.
But because these weren't promotion exams, just theory papers pulled from archived chūnin materials.
So It was just better to let them struggle honestly.
Minutes dragged into an hour.
Sweat beaded on foreheads.
Sakura bit her lip as she scribbled furiously. She was uncertain about the battlefield analysis sections, which were definitely not her strongest suit, but she gritted her teeth and managed to finish.
Noticing Sakura set down her pen, Ino immediately prepared a Mind Transfer Jutsu to sneak a peek at her answers.
Finally, Iruka opened his eyes and called out, "Time's up! Pencils down!"
"What?! Already?!" several students groaned, including Naruto, who was clutching his head in despair.
Even the likes of Shikamaru looked irked.
After all, being smart didn't mean you studied hard.
Iruka collected the tests, sat down, and began grading them on the spot.
It took some time, but when he finished, he smiled faintly. "The top scores goes to Sakura with eighty points and Sasuke with seventy-six. As for the rest of you, you've all failed outright."
Silence blanketed the room.
No one even dared to protest.
Sakura glanced at Sasuke, who looked ready to explode with frustration. She then raised her hand and asked, "Sensei, is eighty points enough to pass?"
Iruka gave a wry chuckle. "Rock Lee got a perfect score of 100 points."
The class collectively gasped.
"And there's more," Iruka continued, voice softening. "Lord Third personally tested him. The second part of his exam was to force the Hokage's clone to use abilities beyond taijutsu."
"What?!" Sakura blurted out.
Sasuke's fists clenched on the desk, trembling slightly. Forcing a shadow clone to use actual ninjutsu sounded simple, but it was insanely difficult. Especially since even a mere clone of the Hokage was terrifyingly strong.
And yet, Lee had succeeded.
"Why…" Sasuke seethed. "Why does someone like Lee get so far ahead while I, despite everything I've lost, still feel stuck?"
For the first time, the gap between himself and a true genius felt like an impassable chasm.
Sasuke's fingers drifted unconsciously to his wrist, thumb brushing the faint scar hidden beneath his sleeve. His only remnant of that night.
The night that everything was taken from him.
His Sharingan flared for the briefest instant–a sharp red glint that made Sakura stiffen beside him. Sasuke forced it down immediately, his jaw clenching so hard it ached.
No, this wasn't over. Not yet.
Everyone else stayed quiet, thoroughly humbled.
Meanwhile, similar discussions were playing out in Nera Hyūga's and Tenten's classes.
Nara sat motionless in the back row, her pale Byakugan eyes fixed on the empty training field outside the window.
Mizuki had just confirmed the rumors. Rock Lee, the boy who had trained until he collapsed, had forced the Third Hokage's clone to use more than just taijutsu.
A few seats away, Tenten slammed her scroll down on the desk hard enough to make the ink bottles rattle.
"Chūnin-level practical exam? A perfect score on the theory exam?" she muttered, gripping her pencil until it creaked.
"I've been training in weapons mastery for years, and yet that taijutsu freak just outlaps us all?"
She exhaled sharply, a competitive fire sparking in her eyes.
Nera finally turned her head, her voice quiet yet cutting through the whispers. "He didn't 'outlap' us. He bled for it. While most of you complained about sore muscles, he kept going long after sunset."
The entire class fell silent. Even Tenten looked away, her cheeks flushing.
Later that day.
"Honestly, Hokage-sama is being way too generous," sighed Kitayama Sho, one of the senior instructors in the medical training division.
She flipped through Lee's files with a bemused expression.
Early graduation was rare enough.
But a personal recommendation from the Third Hokage for 'advanced studies' was unheard of.
"Alright, what field do you want to study?" Kitayama asked.
"Medical knowledge ma'am." Lee replied immediately, bowing respectfully.
"Good answer," Kitayama said approvingly, adjusting her glasses with a faint smile.
"Theory is the foundation of all ninjutsu. You're wiser than most kids who barge in demanding to learn flashy healing techniques right away."
She ducked into her office briefly and came back with a thick, well-worn book.
"Here. This covers the basics. It's dense, but if you're serious, you'll want to study it carefully. You might not master medical ninjutsu anytime soon, but knowledge never goes to waste."
Lee accepted the heavy tome.
The author's name gleamed in gold lettering:
[Tsunade]
The medical class was ending for the day, so Lee headed out, reading as he walked.
He was utterly engrossed.
The diagrams of chakra pathways didn't just lie flat on the page.
They glowed, rotating in his mind's eye in the third dimension. The orb's light pulsed in sync with his understanding.
What should have taken weeks to memorize was falling into place in mere minutes.
In fact, he had already devoured almost all the books in the academy library, which only made him hungrier for more.
Now, with Tsunade's teachings in hand, he felt that same exhilarating hunger once again.
When Lee was this focused, he tended to lose all environmental awareness.
This caused him to turn a corner too fast and crash into someone.
"Ah! Sorry, sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" Lee apologized, jumping to his feet.
The person Lee collided with stood calmly with his hands in his pockets.
He was a silver-haired ninja with his headband tilted to one side and a mask covering half his face. His one visible eye curved in faint amusement.
"You alright, kid? What's got you so distracted?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lee hurriedly held up the book. "Oh yeah, it's just this book is amazing! The way Lady Tsunade explains everything. It's simply incredible!"
Kakashi leaned over to glimpse the cover, curious.
When he saw it, his one eye widened in disbelief.
Medical Theory: [Tsunade]
...Seriously? This kid is entranced by medical theory?
At first, Kakashi thought the boy might be sneaking a peek at something inappropriate, like the orange book he kept hidden away.
But no.
Instead, the kid was a genuine bookworm, lost in medical texts.
Incredible, Kakashi mused, covering his amusement with a lazy nod.
"Uh, Good job, kid. Keep it up, and you might just become a legendary ninja someday. But next time, maybe watch where you're running, yeah?"
"Yes, sir!" Lee beamed, bowed again, and took off down the corridor, still reading.
Kakashi watched him go, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yo! Kakashi!" called a loud, energetic voice called from down the hallway. "Care for a youthful, passionate spar?!"
"Busy studying. Maybe next time," Kakashi deadpanned without missing a beat.
Guy scowled, noticing the book Kakashi was casually holding.
"Studying? With Icha Icha Paradise in your hands?!" Guy barked, appalled. "Kakashi, you're wasting the springtime of your youth! Come on and fight me instead!"
Later that afternoon, long after classes had ended, Sasuke stood alone on the farthest training ground.
Kunai tore through the air, embedding themselves into distant targets with brutal precision. One after another. Each throw carried more force than the last, chakra cracking faintly with every impact as frustration bled into motion.
Even as his arms trembled, he didn't stop.