Rock Lee
Lee Hyung was a unique ninja. More specifically, he belonged to a clan with a unique kekkei genkai. The ability to detach their souls from their bodies and possess another living thing. Of course, there were certain limitations - they could only possess other beings for a short period of time, the possessed body could fight back if their will was strong enough, and the jutsu had a range limitation. From generation to generation, a talent would emerge from the clan that could bypass some of these limits. Lee's granduncle had been able to possess living beings from extraordinary distances (he had once possessed a ninja on the other side of a large mountain). The clan head at the time of Lee's birth was famous for being able to completely suppress the soul of the being he possessed, removing the chance of being rejected by the body.
This didn't mean that the clan head could remain in a body for as long as he wanted though. Whenever the kekkei genkai was used, it would cause the chakra flow in the body to increase its speed tremendously. While this meant that the body would receive a minor power boost, the strain on the Eight Gates which limited chakra flow would grow. Soon enough, the pressure on the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death, would force the clan head's soul out of the body. If he ever chose to stay in the body, it would eventually crumble and kill him along with the original soul.
And yet, Lee really was a unique ninja. While both of his predecessors kept their true age when possessing a body, Lee would inherit the age of the body he possessed. So basically, Lee could never die from old age as long as he possessed a young body.
So Lee spent lifetimes upon lifetimes hopping between many bodies. He lived past the dying out of his clan. He lived past the emergence of the Uchiha and Senju clans. He lived past the formation of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. He lived past the capturing of the Bijuu and the annihilation of the Uzumaki clan. He lived past all Three World Wars. He had seen everything the world had to offer, from good to bad. The only thing that kept him from wanting to end his life was his desire to discover the origin of chakra. So when his most recent body was near death and he hopped into a random 6 year old child's body, he was stunned to find something he had never seen.
'This body is deformed. The chakra tenketsu are abnormally small, even when compared to a newborn. Most likely, it will never be able to release enough chakra to use ninjutsu or genjutsu. I'd better get out of this body as soon as possible.'
...
...
...
'... What the hell? I can't get out!'
He didn't need to wrack his brain to understand why. The body couldn't use ninjutsu, so obviously he couldn't use his ninjutsu to leave the body.
'Oh no... Oh no! I can't die in this body! I'm not done living yet!'
He knew that there was no way to medically heal the deformed tenketsu, but he did know of a way to increase the chakra flow in his body to the point where he could use ninjutsu.
'... The Eight Gates. That's the only choice I have. Not only that, I need to open all eight gates to have enough chakra flow to use my kekkei genkai. Ah great... I've never unlocked more than three gates, not in all of my numerous lifetimes... I'll have to train so hard now...'
Holding back his desire to cry pitifully, he calmed himself and sorted through the memories of this new body. His new name was Rock Lee, he was an orphan, and he was going to enter the Ninja Academy at age 9. He usually spent his days playing around in the orphanage garden with the other orphans, but today he had been on his way to the nearest library after reading an interesting book the day before. He promptly made his way back to the orphanage and was greeted by the sight of one of the carers ushering several children into the kitchen. When she caught sight of Lee, her eyes brightened. "Oh Lee, back so soon? Did you find an interesting book?"
Lee searched through his memories to remember her name before realizing that he usually referred to her as 'Sister'. 'Is she some kind of nun? She is dressed in all black.'
"Uh, yes sister," he replied, holding out the book in his hands. "I want to read this one."
She smiled at him as she entered the kitchen. "Well, don't forget to return it when you're done!"
He nodded absentmindedly before going to his room, which he shared with three other boys. They were all outside playing, so he didn't have to worry about being distracted as he organized his thoughts.
'Let's see: I shouldn't begin intense physical training as this body is too frail for now, but I can start a routine of light training and disguise it as playing around. Although I can't use ninjutsu it will definitely benefit me to increase my chakra control, so I'll start off with the leaf balancing exercise. Since I can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, I can now focus more on fuinjutsu. I already know enough to be considered decent, but it's more that I can draw specific seals like explosive tags and less that my fundamentals are good, I'll have to get some books on fuinjutsu. Also, can I use medical ninjutsu? After all, it doesn't require a lot of chakra - I'd only need a steady flow of chakra and high chakra control. Hmm, I'll do some work on that then...'
As he mulled over his options, a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Food's ready!" He made his way to the large living room, finding that roughly 15 children were already seated. The ceaseless chatter subdued a little when the food was brought in by a couple of carers.
"Remember everyone," began one of the carers, the young brunette that had greeted him earlier, "give your thanks that you were able to find a meal today when there are many who can't."
A chorus of agreements and prayers rang out as the children proceeded to eat. Most finished within 10 minutes and immediately ran out to play, while a few of the older kids stayed behind to help with the cleanup. Lee approached one of the carers. "Please may I have some more food?"
She looked at him, surprised. "Oh? Is our little Lee finally growing? You've never asked for seconds before!"
He smiled a little. "Well, if I want to grow then I need to eat a lot."
She smiled back. "That's definitely true. There's only a little left though, so you'll have to cope with this."
As Lee settled back into his chair, he reflected on how peaceful this life was. 'If only I could live this peacefully, only having to think about the origin of chakra. All these wars I've been through, in the end, have been meaningless. Sadly, very few people realize this...'
He thought about the time he had seen the Fourth Hokage, Minato, in a battle with Iwa ninja. At the time he had been an Iwagakure ninja, and he had seen the hatred that Minato had evoked. Then he remembered the terror of being a user of a kekkei genkai in Kirigakure, and he recalled the time he had come face to face with the Mizukage. He remembered the slight flash of sorrow in the Mizukage's eyes as the young man had wiped him out. When Lee had possessed a body behind Yagura to survive that attack, he remembered seeing the young Mizukage sighing sadly. There were so many memories like these that he had lost count.
Yet every time he possessed a new body, he regained the desire to fight against this brutality. When he saw his comrades being ripped apart by Minato, he was filled with hatred as well. When he saw Yagura's remorseful side, he pitied the Mizukage for having to bend to the will of the council because the council was more powerful than the Mizukage at the time. When he saw his distant cousin, Hizashi Hyuuga, volunteering to be sacrificed, he hated how powerless he had been to stop it.
And now, he was filled with the desire to protect this peaceful orphanage. War was never far off, no matter how peaceful the world seemed. So he knew he would have to fight once more. But he didn't mind violence as much anymore, because he had become numb to how meaningless it was a long time ago. As long as he didn't have enough power to do anything about it, he'd keep silent and continue fighting for whatever village he lived in.
...
"C'mon Lee, show us how you do that thing again. The leaf thing!"
Lee smirked as he gazed at the rabble of children in front of him. No matter how many times they saw him balance the leaf on his forehead, they could never get over it. He placed yet another leaf on his head.
"Like I said, just imagine your chakra going into one end of the leaf, flowing through it, then coming back into your body from the other end of the leaf."
"But what the hell, when I try doing that, the chakra just spazzes out!" cried one of the older boys.
"Language!" called out one of the carers, and the boy rolled his eyes.
"Well, that's probably because you need to concentrate harder," explained Lee.
"Argh! I'm focusing as hard as I can! Oraah!"
Giggles ran through the group as they watched the boy's face go red. A couple of carers were watching the group with smiles on their faces.
"Lee really has changed the past few weeks, hasn't he?" one of the carers commented.
The other sighed. "I'm afraid he'll have to go to the academy with skill like that. It always hurts me, having to send a kid off to be a ninja." She snorted. "Although he hardly acts like one."
Having to wait until his body was strong enough to handle intense training, Lee stuck to simple exercises to build up his stamina and speed. He visited a library and borrowed some books on fuinjutsu and medical ninjutsu, and practiced leaf balancing and tree walking. His peculiar actions attracted the attention of the other orphans to the point where some joined him as a joke, but he didn't mind them for the most part. Indeed, he enjoyed watching their amazed reactions and seeing them trying to compete with him. Nevertheless, he progressed steadily, specifically in fuinjutsu. One day, he made a particularly important breakthrough.
'... So this means that some seals are universal and never need to be changed because they always produce the same effects, like the explosive tags, while some have specific functions so are unique to the person that made them. That makes sense, I guess. The only problem is that, to know which seals are unique to me, I'd have to experiment with a ton of seals before I feel a connection with a particular seal...'
Lee had several reasons for studying fuinjutsu, but ultimately it was his desire to master Hiraishin that convinced him to take it seriously. After all, he had seen first hand Hiraishin's devastating effects. Combined with the Eight Gates, it would provide Lee incredible speed.
As for medical ninjutsu, as Lee had suspected, since it only required a steady flow of chakra and not a large amount of chakra released in a single instant, he would be able to perform it as long as his control was high enough. 'When I can comfortably walk on water, I think I'll start on medical ninjutsu.'
...
"Good luck on your first day!"
Lee waved the carers good bye as he made his way to the academy. He had never attended a school in his numerous lifetimes, so he had no idea what to expect. He got there a little before the starting time of 8 o'clock, but he found several others already there. He found a seat around the middle of the class and looked around, examining all the people in his class.
Most seemed top be civilian children. There was only one boy that stood out.
'A Hyuuga...'
Having lived through the Warring Clans period, Lee had a kind of reverential fear of the major clans, including the Hyuuga. The boy seemed to notice his gaze and glared at Lee. Lee nodded in respect before averting his gaze. There didn't seem to be any other interesting people, so he settled his head on the table and waited for the teacher.
As he soon found out, school was useless for him. He already knew virtually everything that was being taught, and what he didn't know was simply the specifics of the history of Konoha - not that he cared. So during the lectures, he simply ignored the teacher and focused on balancing his pencil on his fingertips using chakra.
"Whoa, how are you doing that?" whispered the boy next to him. Lee smiled at him in greeting.
"I'm pouring my chakra into it to make it stick to my skin."
The boy's eyes widened. "Wow, you must be from a clan."
Lee smirked. "No, I'm actually an orphan."
The boy was about to ask Lee to teach him when the teacher noticed them chatting. "Hey, you two! Talking in class on your first day? You must want to be punished!"
The boy gulped nervously, but Lee put his hand up calmly. "Sorry, but I was just explaining to him something that he had misheard from you."
The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What did you say?"
"Well, he thought that the ANBU was a rank below jounin that every ninja had to go through to become jounin, but I explained that they are a separate group that only geniuses are invited to join."
The teacher turned to the boy. "Really?"
The boy nodded a little frantically. "Yessir! But I understand it now!"
The teacher was still suspicious, but he continued the lesson nevertheless. After the lesson, the boy thanked Lee. "You got me out of trouble!"
Lee smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'm Lee."
The boy smiled back. "I'm Hayato. Nice to meet you!"
As Hayato proceeded to ask him how to use chakra like he had, Lee noticed the Hyuuga staring at them from a distance away. Choosing to ignore him, Lee explained to Hayato the basics of making an object stick using chakra. Of course, Hayato failed on his first attempt, but he still thanked Lee for showing him.
On the way back to class after lunch was over, Lee was finally approached by the Hyuuga. "Your chakra network is deformed." His voice was ice-cold. "You will never be able to perform ninjutsu."
Lee frowned. "As I expected, the Byakugan really can see through everything."
The Hyuuga said nothing else, simply turning away and walking back to the class.
"However, you're not quite correct," Lee called out, causing the Hyuuga to stop. "I do have a way to use ninjutsu, but it is extremely difficult to pull off."
The Hyuuga snorted. "Whatever. Your fate is already determined."
Lee smiled gently. "No one's fate is determined. I have no idea what you're talking about."
The Hyuuga whipped his head round angrily. "Oh yeah? Then tell me your genius plan to heal a deformity that has never been healed in the history of Shinobi!"
Lee was startled but the boy's sudden ferocity. "Whoa, calm down boy! No need to get angry!"
The boy snorted. "It's Neji. And I'm angry at your useless practice of chakra control."
Lee nodded slowly. "Oh, I see. Well, did you know that I can still perform medical ninjutsu? Do my actions seem so useless now?"
Neji thought for a moment before understanding. "Well, whatever the case, you'll never be able to be a powerful ninja. You'll only ever be a support-type ninja."
Lee didn't get angry at Neji. He could tell that something had happened to the boy to make him so bitter. So he just shrugged and made his way back to class.
The next day, the teacher took the class out to the training ground and lined them up.
"Now I'll have you pair up and spar so I can see what your level of taijutsu is at. After that, we'll go to the targets so I can measure your bukijutsu skills. For now, pair up with who I tell you to."
Lee ended up getting paired with a boy he didn't know. While they waited for their turn, Lee watched the spars with a slightly pitying look. 'Wow, this is really low-level...'
Neji's spar was incredibly one-sided. His smooth Gentle Fist easily dismantled the civilian he faced up against. After he won, he glanced in Lee's direction before snorting and looking away. Lee suppressed a smirk. 'Let's see how much I can surprise him.'
Soon it was Lee's turn. After a quick bow to his opponent, Lee rushed at him, channeling chakra through his body to increase his speed. At this point, he was far faster than the average 9 year old, so when he swung a fist at the boy there was hardly any reaction. The fight was over practically instantly as the boy found himself on the ground, dazed from the strike to his temple. This time, Lee glanced at Neji, a smirk on his lips. Neji grit his teeth as he clearly understood that Lee was challenging him.
"What the hell Lee? Since when were you that fast?" Hayato exclaimed.
"Yeah, you must have been trained by a taijutsu master!" A girl called out as Lee was surrounded by his classmates. Lee chuckled softly.
"Not quite. I just exercise in my spare time."
"No way!"
The class couldn't quieten down for quite a while, and Lee was introduced to virtually everyone else as they all immediately admired him.
"Okay class, let's move to the targets!" called out the teacher.
Although he was in a new body, Lee had incredible experience handling weapons, so after warming up a bit he was soon hitting the targets with unnerving accuracy. Every time he or the bullseye (which was quite often) he would glance at Neji with a smirk, and Neji would narrow his eyes in response.
"What the hell? How are you even better than me?" a girl complained.
Lee smiled. "I train in my spare time."
"Yeah, well so do I! My dad's a ninja and he trains me! But you're still better than me!"
Lee studied her face more carefully. He recalled her introducing herself as Tenten. She seemed like she was genuinely eager to improve, so he didn't mind helping her out. "Well Tenten, it seemed too me like you had good form but you lacked strength. When you get home, it would be a good idea to ask your father to help increase your strength."
Tenten's eyes widened before she nodded rapidly. "Okay, thanks for the advice!" Lee smiled in return.
Lee spent his days in school like so. Either he was amazing his classmates with his incredible skill, or he was wordlessly challenging Neji whenever he got the opportunity. The Hyuuga would be infuriated to no end, but Lee found it too amusing to stop. However, it took a few months for them to be finally matched up in a spar, and by this point they had made it clear that they were on a different level to the rest of the class.
"Lee! I'll finally put you down!" Neji seethed. Lee chuckled in return.
"I see. Tell me when you wake up from your dreams then."
The class guffawed as Neji rushed away Lee. Neji's strikes were fast and sharp, his battle style enhanced by the accuracy of his Byakugan vision. Since all he needed was a tap, his palms flowed faster than if he had his fists clenched to punch. His movements were like water, switching direction seamlessly.
And yet still, he couldn't even brush against Lee's body. As Neji grew agitated by the second, Lee switched from only dodging to striking back. Neji was able to deflect or block some of the blows, but several landed on his body painfully. As Neji was focused on blocking the strikes, he was unable to react in time to Lee's sweeping leg, which tripped him over. Lee held his fist in front of Neji's face until the teacher called an end to the match. He got off Neji and offered to help him up, but Neji slapped his hand away.
Lee sighed. "You did well Neji. However, you're not taking advantage of those eyes of yours."
Neji froze. "... What do you mean?" he asked reluctantly.
"Well, your eyes give you near 360 vision. Use it by analysing your opponent's body language to predict their moves, instead of only reacting to moves."
Neji seemed to understand as he silently contemplated Lee's words. His eyes flickered at Lee before he sighed and mumbled, "Thanks."
Although Neji continued to be angered by Lee's antics, ever since that day he also began holding some respect for the first boy to defeat him.