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Lee exhaled slowly, the burning sensation in his lungs mixed with the metallic taste of blood bringing him an odd sense of satisfaction.
Perfect.
Anko Mitarashi held a position of moderate importance within Konohagakure's upper ranks. More significantly, she was Orochimaru's former disciple.
The testimony of someone who'd witnessed genuine madness and forbidden experimentation firsthand carried substantial weight that couldn't be easily dismissed.
Having her report his "insane" training methods to the Third Hokage would prove far more effective than Lee himself declaring "I'll work harder" a hundred times over.
The plan was proceeding perfectly.
He rolled his shoulders experimentally. The joints produced a series of grinding pops that would have made most people wince, but the actual pain from his earlier fractures had long since vanished thanks to the system's repair function.
"Still too inefficient," he muttered with dissatisfaction.
Pure solo training generated Vitality Points at a painfully slow rate. The process was tedious and the returns minimal compared to what he needed.
Real combat remained the ultimate solution.
Only life-or-death battles where actual mortality hung in the balance could maximize the system's value and accelerate his point accumulation to acceptable levels.
But there was no need to rush things. Rome wasn't built in a day.
Retirement funds had to be accumulated gradually, one careful deposit at a time.
He glanced toward the dark depths of the Forest of Death, allowing himself a slight smile, then disappeared in a blur of movement.
The Hokage's office was still brightly lit despite the late hour.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood before mountains of paperwork stacked across his desk, his weathered brow creased with concern. The upcoming Chunin Exam finals and the Kazekage's impending visit should have been routine matters, but his experienced instincts screamed warnings that something was fundamentally wrong.
Orochimaru's presence loomed over everything like a poisonous shadow.
A figure materialized without warning in the center of the office, dropping to one knee in a fluid motion.
It was Anko Mitarashi.
Her breathing came slightly rapid, and genuine shock was written clearly across her features.
Hiruzen set down his pipe immediately, his eyes sharpening with focused intensity. "Anko? What happened?"
For this normally fearless tokubetsu jonin to lose her composure so visibly meant the situation was serious.
"Lord Hokage!" Anko looked up, her voice carrying an edge of disbelief. "I witnessed something tonight. A monster."
"A monster?" Hiruzen's frown deepened.
"Yes. A monster even more insane than Orochimaru-sama ever was. Something I can barely comprehend." Anko seemed to struggle finding adequate words to describe what she'd seen.
She proceeded to recount in precise detail everything she'd observed at the training grounds. The violent surge of chakra that had first caught her attention. Rock Lee activating the Eight Gates technique. His methodical destruction of his own body by repeatedly slamming himself into trees with what appeared to be genuine pleasure.
The temperature in the office seemed to drop several degrees.
Hiruzen listened in complete silence, his aged face remaining carefully neutral. Only the faint glow from his pipe betrayed any reaction.
When Anko described how Rock Lee, after sustaining injuries catastrophic enough to permanently cripple any normal genin, simply stood back up with a smile and called it "training," and how his body was healing those wounds at an impossible speed...
Hiruzen's pupils contracted sharply.
The memories clicked into place.
During the Chunin Exam preliminaries, that thick-browed boy who'd been declared effectively dead by Gaara's Sand Binding Coffin had somehow dragged himself back to consciousness and stood to fight again.
Just days ago, ANBU had reported that same boy killing two Sound ninja outside the village despite suffering life-threatening injuries himself.
Rock Lee.
Might Guy's student. The one who could only use taijutsu.
All the scattered puzzle pieces suddenly formed a coherent picture.
"You're certain he appeared to be enjoying it?" Hiruzen's voice came out slightly hoarse.
"Absolutely certain!" Anko answered without hesitation. "That wasn't any kind of act or performance. I could feel it in my bones. He was genuinely savoring that pain, relishing that sensation of being pushed to the edge of complete destruction. The look in his eyes..." She trailed off, suppressing a shudder. "It was terrifying."
Hiruzen remained motionless for a long moment.
He took a deep drag from his pipe, exhaling a cloud of smoke that wreathed his face in gray shadows.
A teenage boy who enjoyed pain?
Someone who treated the Eight Gates, a kinjutsu designed exclusively for life-or-death combat, as nothing more than a casual warm-up exercise?
This transcended any reasonable definition of "hard work" or "dedication."
This was something twisted. Pure. Disturbing.
An iron will that sent chills down even his spine.
Orochimaru's madness stemmed from an insatiable hunger for forbidden knowledge and immortality.
So what drove Rock Lee's madness? What was the source?
"Did you observe his regenerative abilities directly?" Hiruzen asked carefully.
"I saw everything clearly with my own eyes. It definitely wasn't medical ninjutsu or any form of healing chakra. It looked more like... his life force itself was boiling and surging. Very strange. The speed wasn't particularly fast, but his wounds were continuously repairing themselves in real time." Anko provided her professional assessment as a trained shinobi.
Hiruzen's fingers began tapping rhythmically against the desk.
One tap. Then another. Then another.
When had Konohagakure produced such an anomaly without anyone noticing?
"Who else knows about this besides you?"
"No one. I came directly to you the moment I confirmed what I'd seen."
"Good." Hiruzen nodded, his expression becoming deadly serious. "Effective immediately, Rock Lee's threat assessment is raised to A-rank classification. However, do not assign anyone to actively monitor him. More importantly, do not interfere with his activities in any way. Everything concerning him is now classified as village top secret."
"Understood!" Anko accepted the orders despite her obvious confusion about the decision.
"You're dismissed."
After Anko vanished, Hiruzen sat alone in his chair, completely motionless for what felt like an eternity.
He retrieved Rock Lee's personnel file from the stack of documents on his desk.
Nothing about it seemed remotely special or noteworthy.
Exceptional taijutsu skills aside, the boy possessed no other remarkable qualities. No Kekkei Genkai. No prestigious clan backing. Just an ordinary civilian-born shinobi from an unremarkable background.
Yet this supposedly "ordinary" boy displayed characteristics that genuinely unsettled even someone with Hiruzen's decades of experience.
"Self-destructive training methods... inexplicable regenerative abilities... a fundamentally twisted willpower..."
Hiruzen muttered the words to himself like an incantation.
Was this Konohagakure's future "sharp blade" waiting to be properly wielded, or an uncontrollable "madman" who would eventually become a threat?
He ground out his pipe against the ashtray with deliberate force.
It seemed a personal meeting with this boy had become absolutely necessary.
The following morning arrived with clear skies and pleasant weather.
Rock Lee reclined comfortably in his hospital bed, humming a cheerful tune while carefully peeling an apple with practiced precision.
Last night's "high-intensity training session" had earned him another thirty Vitality Points, which was better than nothing at all.
More importantly, his carefully constructed advertisement had been successfully deployed exactly as planned.
Now he simply needed to maintain his carefully cultivated persona of being "passionate, hardworking, and slightly simple-minded" while patiently waiting for the fish to take his bait.
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone rapped on his door.
"Come in!" he called out cheerfully.
The door swung open to reveal Tenten carrying a fruit basket, her expression showing barely concealed worry mixed with obvious frustration.
"Lee! You snuck out again last night, didn't you? I heard from the nurses that you didn't return until almost midnight, and you were covered in fresh injuries!" Her voice carried an accusatory edge.
"Ah, haha, Tenten." Lee scratched the back of his head sheepishly, displaying his trademark honest smile. "I just felt like I was mostly recovered, so I went out to stretch my legs a little bit!"
"Stretch your legs a little?" Tenten slammed the fruit basket down on the bedside table with enough force to rattle the contents, her eyes fixed angrily on his arm, which was wrapped in a fresh cast. "You call this stretching your legs? Lee, have you completely lost your mind?"
"Like Guy-sensei always says! Youth is—"
"Stop!" Tenten cut him off sharply. "Don't use Guy-sensei as an excuse anymore! Your body is made of flesh and blood, not steel! If you keep pushing yourself like this, you're going to die!"
Seeing the tears beginning to well up in Tenten's eyes, Lee felt something stir in his chest.
He understood that this girl genuinely cared about his wellbeing. Her concern was completely authentic.
But still...
"I understand, Tenten." His casual smile faded, replaced by an expression of quiet seriousness and gentle sincerity. "Thank you for worrying about me. But I have to do this. I don't have Neji's natural talent. I don't possess the ninjutsu capabilities that other shinobi take for granted. If I can't even match everyone else's effort and dedication, then I truly have nothing at all."
His heartfelt words struck Tenten speechless for several long moments.
He was right, she realized.
This was Rock Lee. This had always been Rock Lee.
A fool who had the concept of "hard work" carved into his very soul.
That was precisely why it was impossible to look away from him.
The atmosphere in the ward grew increasingly awkward as neither of them seemed to know what to say next.
Just then, a figure wearing a distinctive straw hat appeared silently in the doorway.