Chapter 10: Chapter 9: Masochist
Lee easily walked through Konoha as if he were a winner in life.
He hummed and walked towards the Ninja Academy where there would be an important Genin test today that would decide a lot about the kids' futures.
However, Lee was not worried because he had something different in mind, something completely different...
The demonstration of Rankyaku!
Rock decided to achieve his Genin rank in a slightly different, alternative way.
It's strange, but it works well for very popular people.
Moreover, Lee did not stand still unlike the result a month ago, and refined the Rankyaku technique to make it less energy-consuming and easier to use.
This technique currently uses up roughly ten percent of his chakra reserve.
This is much less than before, and it's not as clear that the Tenketsu is being strained.
However, Lee can't expect anything better, and all he can do is wait, watch the clock, and play with time.
Nevertheless, it would be worth briefly determining what results Lee achieved in Taijutsu after a month of extremely brutal training...
He did push-ups five hundred or nearly a thousand times while biting his tongue until it bled.
He did squats until the sound of creaking joints, sit-ups on rocks, bruising his back.
He also slammed his head against a tree whenever he wanted to give up and lie down for a few minutes to deceive himself but relaxed on the weekends.
He had nasty doubts, but they weren't as bad as an enemy's Genjutsu.
Lee would be a weak-willed idiot instead of a martial artist who passed a series of tests if he didn't push away such annoying mental negativity.
However, Rock succeeded in the end and proudly decided not to stop at what he had achieved but to continue to conquer the peaks of the Shinobi world...
Tenten and Naruto often watched him while he was training.
They were the only people who really knew him well since his father Son Lee was always on missions.
They looked on in admiration because Lee tortured himself in ways that they wouldn't even do to their enemies.
Rock learned to coordinate his movements extremely well and reached a high level of overall body flexibility.
He began to do push-ups and run on his hands while also attaching purchased weights to his legs, like ankle weights.
There were a few times when Lee almost twisted his back in this way, but things worked out for the best.
Tenten couldn't help but think about what she was seeing as she watched Lee suffer day after day.
It was during one of the lessons that she finally realized she was looking next to a real monster who had no mercy for himself or his enemies.
However, Tenten also couldn't help but realize that she herself wasn't trying hard enough.
Lee was a monster, but he was still human just like Tenten. This meant that she had no reason to be lazy and helpless.
Seeing Rock's determination, she also began to devote more time to her studies.
Moreover, she also used to think she wasn't in any hurry and didn't want to accept things like that, but Lee always seemed to be getting ready for something dangerous and threatening her peaceful life, which made her want to train too...
As for Naruto...
Naruto was just happy to talk to Lee and Tenten while being extremely joyful about his friendship with Lee.
"I'll become Hokage, dattebayo! And everyone will recognize me as a cool ninja!"
Naruto always said these things around with laughter, and when he and Rock had dinner at Ichiraku Ramen in the evening.
"When I become Hokage, I'll give both of us an endless supply of free coupons for any ramen we want! We'll be together every day, Lee, isn't that awesome, hahaha!"
Rock smiled when he thought about these wonderful memories.
He felt like he was taking care of his younger brother or training a martial arts student with a lot of potential.
They weren't related but just friends, and that was enough as long as they shared similar tastes, and Lee didn't want to spend his whole life without friends.
However, the unforgettable days during the training's dark weekdays when Lee finally decided to tackle one of the system's three hellish exercises, or to be more specific...
[Withstand five full-force blows from your holographic clone.]
It's hard to say exactly when, but he stopped at the training ground and went to the corners closest to the thick trees and the river.
There were no dummies there and Might Guy might pass by but wouldn't notice anything strange.
Therefore, a semi-transparent bluish-like double, perfectly copying his appearance and height, appeared in front of him.
"I can't let my guard down. This is the Hellish Exercise System, damn it! I think this clone isn't just hitting at full force because it's probably stronger than me! There's clearly no room for laziness in my life anymore, and I'll have to work to a laboring devil!"
Lee took the first hit with these thoughts in mind.
He stood up and put up a block while covering his head with one hand and his torso with the other.
Nevertheless, Lee didn't expect the holographic clone to hit him so hard that giving him a straight punch made his body numb and feel like a lingering crack.
After the second blow, the clone's leg struck his head which terrified him, and his attempt to squat was interrupted by an even faster lunge into his stomach, almost vomiting.
Two.
Three.
Four.
The last one blow remained.
Rock had a split lip and a bruise growing around his liver and on his leg just below the knee because he couldn't block it all the time, and it was simply impossible.
The weight and pressure were too much for his arms to handle.
Moreover, the clone had struck him so that Lee couldn't even lift his arms, and the clone's expressionless face and empty eyes made him even angrier.
In the end, the final charge of the enemy.
Lee gathered his will into a fist with his black eyes gleaming, his teeth clenched, and his thick brows furrowed.
The clone pushed off the ground with its fist raised, and Rock took its blow to the forehead.
He hit his forehead directly, with sweat dripping down with blood and a slight concussion.
It's also worth mentioning that Lee walked around with a very noticeable bump for a long time afterward.
Fortunately, the healing ointment had helped all of this to disappear by the time of the Genin exam.
Lee was now healthy and energetic and had learned a new technique from the bronze chest. It was more of a stance and was based on pure Taijutsu.
Lee liked it because it was easy to use and worked well.
"Right hand, right leg, right stance."
This stance involves tensing all his muscles and putting his right hand, shoulder, thigh, and leg in front of him.
They strike quickly at a point far behind their opponent to increase the chances of hitting even if they move away or back away.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone