Book Two: Awakening
The second book, Awakening, tells the story of our heroes growing stronger through different means. These means are divided by four arcs for different people with their own themes. If book one is the divergent point, the second book would talk about the kinds of adventures that people have in life and the different facets of challenges presented to them. The first arc talks about change through discovery and innovation. It talks about people who are basically pioneers and innovators, what they can bring to the table and what they can see beyond a closed box of ideas.
The progress that they go through goes without saying that they had a little help. But most of the nitty-gritty details fall on themselves.
Arc One: Metamorphosis Part One
The greatest of warriors are those who inspire others with their tales of heroism and human struggle. This group of young children, crossing into the unknown territories of adulthood, discover the struggle in their paths as they try to catch up to their ideals.
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Every day is a routine for people like Maito Gai and Rock Lee. They get up even before the sun shows its rays upon the village and they begin their day with a long distance jog.
No warm ups, no stretches, not even breathing exercises. They had gotten used to do jogs into very far distances that their bodies just seemingly obey to their will without much of a problem, more so to Gai as he had been doing his routine for most of his life. As for Lee, being in top physical form is vital to his career and his life.
Lee had been born with small chakra pathways making it impossible for him to emit chakra outside of his body but he can still manipulate it inside which is why he can still perform simple chakra exercises such as climbing trees and water walking. But even those were extremely difficult to do for him. Gai had given him chances there every step of the way and it was the reason why Lee could keep up with his peers.
They would always run by the Kurama clan property and the clan head would always watch them with eyes of contempt but would greet them nonetheless. Lee would always ask Gai what it was that the old man from the Kurama household had against them and Gai would say that the man despised those without talent. Lee would look down and he would frown but Gai would reassure him that Lee had other matters that he had to focus on and that a man who he did not know shouldn't affect him in the least.
Lee, even though he could never do a proper jutsu, and probably never will, is always at the top of his game concerning Taijutsu. Few people in his generation could match him in a battle of speed, in a test of endurance and in a show of force in hand-to-hand combat. He was proud of that feat. Even Neji had acknowledged his prowess.
After Naruto's departure from Konoha, Lee had further increased his training and he confided in Gai that he had discovered something while he was battling the supposed leader of the Sound Four. He had given birth to a new technique.
Gai had never been more proud of his student that day. For he knew Lee truly was talented and the type of talent Lee presented was far different than what others considered as prodigies like Neji and Sasuke. No, Lee was not just a master of hard work, he was a master of application. Being forced into a situation like Lee, Gai could understand WHY Lee's mind set was like that.
He was trying to improve on age old wisdom and it paid off in dividends for him.
Cue to many manly tears and an open sunset with the rage of a huge wave crashing on the shore as the two of them hugged.
Manly.
Suddenly, Lee wasn't actually a hopeless case at all. To make matters more interesting, Lee had been going to the hospital for at least once or twice a week for Shizune to check on his peculiar case. His condition was rare and the people of the medical research institute were interested to study his particular defect.
Gai was now sure that given time, Lee would surpass him in many ways and the glimmer of hope that the top leading researchers in the medical research lab would help him find a way. To Gai, this was his reward for his work. To see Lee to ascend to heights that was previously unimaginable. Lee's potential seemed to change that day.
When the rays of sunlight finally did arrive, Lee and Gai were already at the training grounds, performing intensive sets of workouts like push-ups, pull ups, curls, squats, weights, and everything that they could do. They would often be dripping with sweat by now but fatigue had yet to set in.
When they were done, they would practice punches, kicks, weapons and kata. After that were lectures. Gai had emphasized to Lee that not only were these important, it showed to Lee that Goken was not merely an art, but also a philosophy.
And Lee would listen to them intently and hung on every word he said. Lee was an eager learner and that eagerness reciprocated more energy from Gai to teach.
Now, however, Gai was teaching Lee something different. He had once opened it to Lee before and the thought of Lee discovering himself on new horizons was something that both he and his student were eagerly anticipating.
He could still recall his lecture to his student back then concerning the Goken and Lee's eventual wall.
"Goken is indeed a very forceful and powerful taijutsu to have. It emphasizes quick speed and very powerful strikes in a matter of seconds or less. It is the epitome of using the body to its limit, becoming a weapon yourself and destroying your enemies with fists alone. However, Goken is still one taijutsu art and that taijutsu art is not excused to linearity when it comes to fighting opponents. If you wish to continue the path of Taijutsu, Lee, then you must learn beyond the understandings and philosophy of Goken. You must discover your own strength, the strength of perseverance, one where you will be in a domain much different than I."
What Gai could do at this point in his current position, was to only guide Lee now. He had shown Lee everything he needed to learn about Goken and the Eight Gates. It was time to see Lee grow on his own without his help.
Gai watched as Lee clumsily sifts through a kata he had designed on his own. Gai had heard from Neji that Lee took some advice from him concerning his taijutsu philosophy and noticed that Lee did have some form of the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) within his stances and forms. Gai watched as Lee, instead of using his feet to move at high speeds in linear patterns and attacking with them, he would use them for more flexible range for movement and expanding his base and creating more power behind his blows. The similarities with jyuuken, however, end with Lee's lowered and widened stance for stability. The rest was a mix of Goken and his own style. It took Lee a whole year to even come up with a working style that he could write about in his journal logs and in scrolls as well. Gai had mentioned that he should write every progress he has made and so far, it has been ten scrolls and counting.
When they had finally stopped for the day, Gai had Lee go through a session with the medical research center for an evaluation by the Hokage's capable assistant.
Once there, Shizune and her team would run tests on Lee, seeing if he could emit chakra enough to perform jutsu. Every time that they would come here, the tests would often fail and that the furthest that Lee could use chakra aside from control exercises where on his muscles whose muscle fibers grew when fed with Lee's chakra.
For the first few days on Lee's evaluation, he would look slightly disheartened. But not overly so, he knew he couldn't use chakra and the hope that the hospital had given him was enough for Lee to keep fighting.
Today though, instead of having Lee emit chakra to perform a simple kawarimi, Shizune asked something different.
"Would you like to learn how to heal yourself?"
That seemed to catch Lee's attention. He had heard before from Sakura that medical jutsu needed precise pinpoint accuracy of control to even be decent. Unfortunately, even though Lee has enough control to do water walking and tree climbing, he had no means of emitting chakra in the first place so the idea of healing seemed like a moot point to him.
So the best response Lee could come up with to Shizune was a flat out, "What?"
"There is a jutsu that we encountered about a year ago when Tsunade-sama and I were still on the road and we were fighting off Yakushi Kabuto and Orochimaru. It's a regenerative technique that involves restoring the basal layer of the skin up to the epidermis, the muscle fibers and even the lining walls on the stomach can completely heal. It requires very little chakra to use but it is hard to master and the control could purposely be difficult as well. You've seen it before, right? It was the same procedure we used on you. But we believe you can do it, Lee-san. It's a technique that is more in line with your current moveset. The question is whether or not you will take the risk and skip through the steps in practical application of healing and discuss more in theory with them until we deem you are proficient enough to learn the technique."
Needless to say, Gai and Lee were ecstatic to have a go at the thing.
He would be studying very hard but Lee knew the payoff was worth it.
"Uuuuoooohhh! Gai-sensei, this is an opportunity that I will not waste, all of my hard work will pay off! I will do my best and overcome this hurdle with hard work!"
"Lee! Your work has done wonders for you as a shinobi! I have no doubt that you will succeed in this task! Let your youth give you the fuel to keep burning bright!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
Cue to another manly hug with streams of tears falling down their faces as a sunset appears in the open background and huge waves crashing on the open shore.
"Please be silent and get out of my hospital quietly."
Shizune promptly kicked them out.
Shizune had also given him a form and some requirements needed for his enrolment for the course, their classes start in the next two days and he was giddy with anticipation. Unfortunately, he would also have to take into account a uniform that consists of something long and comfortable like a coat. They weren't necessarily strict on uniform they just wanted the course taker to have something that can protect them if there was spillage of something nasty.
Now Lee had to adjust his time table to meet with the demands of this new schedule.
Lee could still train, but the long hour of jogging with be terribly reduced as well as the stretches and the warm ups in favour of Gai's lectures on Taijutsu philosophy, practice and then the lectures on medical jutsu by Shizune's group.
Of course, Lee was not without his own days of downtime, though. He would do his hobby of weight lifting for one or two hours and go out with his friends for a bath in the hot springs or eat out and enjoy something.
Lee had noticed that quite a number of his peers were either on a mission or had gone out to do some sort of errand that concerns their respective clan members.
"I heard Kiba asked for a leave a few days ago and that was why no one's seen him in the village yet." Tenten remarked as she ate her bowl of cold soba noodles.
"Strange, Hinata-sama took Hanabi-sama to one of her mother's old homes to the south yesterday. She had been fretting that she had hit a wall in her training and Hiashi-sama had asked the Hokage for her leave as well. I think she is near Wave Country at this point. He had said it was necessary for Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama to learn the history of her mother's clan."
Lee had raised an eyebrow at this, "Are you not supposed to be with them, Neji? Surely Hiashi-sama would not just send anyone out with his two daughters away from Konoha like that even if Hinata-sama is a capable chuunin."
"Ko-san is with them." Neji replied before drinking his tea, "And Hinata-sama is no slouch as a fighter. I would daresay that she is more ruthless than me when it comes to fighting an opponent these days."
Tenten shuddered at that, "I saw her match at the Chuunin exam, I'm glad I didn't fight her. Her opponent from Kumo was asking for it, though."
Neji replied at that, "Kumo always asks for it. There is bad blood between Kumo shinobi and the Hyuuga in general."
"That or Hinata snapped when that Kumo shinobi insulted her boyfriend even if he didn't know Naruto." Tenten replied with a nervous smile.
Neji seemed to smirk at that, "Indeed, Hinata-sama is a lioness when it comes to him. It amuses me to think that Hinata-sama could do that to those dastardly shinobi from Kumo."
"What really surprised me was that Sasuke-kun took part in the exam too, isn't he in ANBU now?" Lee asked, looking up as he ate his spicy curry.
Tenten shrugged, "From what I've heard he's close to finishing his course as a trainee. He just needed the chuunin title to make it official on his record that he joined ANBU when he became chuunin. Apparently, if your sensei is a former member and unit commander of the ANBU, you could recommend someone even as a genin."
She frowned at that last statement and shook her head, "Team Seven and its damned connections, I swear…"
"It's not like Gai-sensei isn't keeping up, though. He's already put my name up as a nominee for Jounin." Neji said this as he took another sip of his tea.
Lee and Tenten raised an eyebrow at this with Tenten asking, "And you were going to tell us, when?"
Neji had a bead of sweat at the back of his head for this, "As soon as it came up, actually, I didn't know about it either until this morning when Izumo and Kotetsu informed about it and showed me the form Gai-sensei submitted. But to be honest, I don't think I am quite ready for it. I'm sure Hokage-sama would reject that request."
Tenten still having her eyebrow raised asked him, "What gives, though? You're plenty good enough, as it is. You think you still have to master your Raiton ability?"
Neji gave a nod, "I have yet to fully explore the abilities of Raiton chakra. Kakashi-sensei gave a demonstration a few days ago and I wish to learn from him. There are still things I need to understand. Though he has given me enough pointers and I've read some books about some of its most useful applications. I think I can do it by the end of the year."
Lee gave Neji a thumbs-up, "Go for it, Neji! You'll be a jounin in no time!"
His rival gave a smile, "While I thank you for your encouragement, Lee. I think we've had enough for today. Let's get home for some rest, shall we?"
"Yeah, and I have to go back to the research lab, I finally found the ore that we were looking for to finish that new weapon we're making."
As the three said their goodbyes with Neji going the opposite direction, Tenten looked at Lee who was looking thoughtful about Neji's predicament.
"Don't take it too hard, Lee. I'm sure Gai-sensei recommended the three of us. He's like that. But you do know that Neji is an obvious choice, right?"
Lee nodded, his right hand clenching as he looked at it, "I know."
"Even so, I do not wish to fall behind." Lee continued as he gave a punch forward, it was fast and the air gave a sound to his fist surging forward before he retracted it back just as quick.
"You're not the only one." Tenten remarked as she looked up, thinking of the days of their training when they were genin.
"Lee-san?"
The two looked to their left to the source of their voice and found a girl with long brown hair wearing a pink kimono with a sash around her waist. Tenten could tell there was a thin layer of armor underneath her dress and raised an eyebrow.
'A kunoichi? But she doesn't have a headband.'
"Yakumo-san? What can I do to help you?" Lee asked, Tenten glanced at Lee suspiciously then back to the girl as she nudged Lee slightly with her shoulder.
Seemingly taking the hint, Lee introduced her to Tenten.
"Ah, do mind my manners, Yakumo-san, I apologize. I forgot to introduce you to each other. This is my teammate Tenten." Lee gestured to Tenten who gave a slight wave and Yakumo bowed deeply.
"It is an honor, Tenten-san."
Tenten seemed to wave it off, "Ah don't worry about manners, Yakumo-san. From the crest on your shoulders, you're from the Kurama clan, correct?"
Yakumo gave a slight smile, "Indeed, I am. I am here for Lee-san's tutoring to help me with my stamina. I was born with a frail body, you see. I do not wish to fall to illness or lay by the side lines. I wish to become a shinobi."
Lee gave a nod, "Yosh, now that you're here, we can walk to the training grounds!"
That was when Tenten decided to take her cue, "Nah, I'll pass on this one, Lee. I need to get by the R and D department. They've got some sick weapon designs that I need to go over and see what we can make from there."
Tenten waved her hand as she left the two who looked at her confused before deciding to going for the training grounds.
This was Lee on his resting periods, always training or at least exploring areas of training when discussing with his teammates. This was his dedication, his determination.
Now, he was being presented with something that will change his life and he was diving headfirst in it.
As Lee watched Yakumo do light exercises around the training ground such as jogging and stretches, Lee instructed her on some of the breathing techniques he used while on the run. She complied and tried to do the same as she ran. Yakumo made small progresses since her start over a year ago, her current physical ability was right about for an academy student about to graduate, bordering close to genin. He had asked her once if she needed help in Taijutsu, she replied that indeed she needed help in that part, but what she needed more was an evasion ability enough to avoid opponents and cast her arsenal from afar.
Lee was rather confused at first as to what Kurama meant by her arsenal one time until she demonstrated her frightening ability to cast genjutsu that can virtually trick the mind and cause enough pain that her illusions could trigger an organ malfunction and cause death.
That was something Lee shuddered to think about. Yakumo had the potential to cause harm with just her illusions, a scary feat in itself.
If Yakumo had that much potential, then why was she restrained to this point of weakness and be left into decay? It certainly didn't make sense to have her side lined as a civilian. Did her weak constitution have something to do with it? That would certainly be the case, but a weak constitution could be overcome even with enough training. Maybe it was time for Yakumo to consult a doctor by the hospital in order to see her condition?
Yes, that would probably be for the best. Just being here and adding small increments to her slowly growing constitution would not do well if the root of the problem was not discovered.
"Yakumo-san, I would like to discuss with you that if you wish to continue with the training I'm giving you, a new proper schedule is needed for our training as I am about to undergo a program myself with the Medical Research lab."
Yakumo tilted her head sideways, curious as to what Lee was talking about, "What are they going to do?"
"Apparently, they have found a loophole in my condition. Although I cannot emit chakra to perform jutsu to affect everything around me, I can actually perform any jutsu that concerns my body, in theory anyway. They wish to test it by having me learn about medical jutsu to heal any injured part of my body. It is very useful for someone like me and I wish to take this opportunity to grow stronger. During this time, I will still be in the hospital, attending lectures and studying until I am fit by their standards to learn about the jutsu. I apologize for any inconvenience that this might cause, but can you be awake at four in the morning? I want to help you in your condition but I cannot be present during times like this."
Yakumo looked down, sullen from the news "The clan is very strict on time tables. I would have to find the proper time to escape and go back home without raising suspicion. I am not allowed to leave the compound, you see."
Silence reigned in between them as the wind quietly whistles in the training ground.
"I see. Then I shall help you sneak out in the morning! I cannot deny someone who is willing to put the effort in being a shinobi!" Lee declared loudly and as his right hand closed into a fist and shaking furiously.
"I will not abandon someone who wishes to be in the prime of their youth!"
Lee then gave Yakumo a thumbs-up, his nice guy pose, "I swear to you, Yakumo-san, I will make you into a shinobi! On the honor of the mighty green beast! Uuuuooohhhh!"
And so, Lee swore to himself that he would improve both Yakumo and himself as he prepared to enter what was essentially a school for medics.
He woke up on the day of the first lecture seminar, training as usual early in the morning, this time, starting earlier with Yakumo for about an hour after helping her sneaking out of the compound before joining Gai in one of their crazy runs. Although their sessions had gotten shorter except for the lecture with Gai, their exercises were much more intense.
When he got home to prepare for the seminars at the hospital, Lee took a shower to wash away the sweat and to smell fresh on his first day. After finishing up, he wore a black v-neck sleeveless shirt over mesh wire armor and dark green long pants that were loose fitting and tapped just below the kneecap to where his weights and sandals were. He grabbed the black changshan style shirt with white outlines and buttons that would serve as his protective gear once he's inside the building. The changshan reached just behind his knees and grabbed a big leather belt to wrap it around his waist.
It was a shame that he would not be able to use his beloved jumpsuit anymore now with the building holding proper decorum to its own staff and students. Gai had almost, almost, declined their offer if not for Lee's willingness to learn more. So Gai resigned to himself when Lee was forced to wear normal clothes for once, although Gai insisted that Lee wore his jumpsuit whenever it came to training.
The morning sessions became gruelling but Lee persevered through and through it all, he trained Yakumo and even advised the girl to seek help once more in an improved hospital now with Tsunade as Hokage.
Yakumo said she would take it into consideration as they went by every day. He had yet to realize of how distrusting she was of the Hokage and the village as a whole.
Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, now Lee had a stable understanding of his new taijutsu style and had enough knowledge on medical jutsu but couldn't practice them. He still couldn't perform a jutsu by emitting chakra to the outside world beyond sticking to walls and walking on water. But he knew he was making progress.
When Shizune entered the room of the classroom, she was reading the report given to her by one of the doctors concerning Lee's performance.
"Lee-san, good job in impressing the doctors here in the hospital, they can be very passionate about their work and to see someone working so hard and doing well, showing interest to their line of work is making them impartial to you. Over the course of four and a half months, you have understood some of the most complex healing theories concerning chakra very well. Are you sure you don't want to be a medic-nin?"
Lee gave a salute and replied, "No, I do not, Shizune-san. I am not fit for something so complicated and time consuming. Let those with far greater talent in the art flourish like Sakura-san. I am sure she is well on her way to become a true successor to Godaime-sama."
Indeed it had been four and half months, and during those months, Lee maintained his routine. However, something stopped.
Near the end of the third month, Yakumo stopped sneaking out of the compound. Lee had wondered why, though he couldn't just ask the hostile Kurama clan head for that question that was just asking for trouble. He could not see hide nor hair of her since then. But he would wait for her every day on that same spot for about an hour before he would go his way. Lee was saddened by this, why wasn't she seeing him now again? His thoughts were cut off when Shizune spoke.
Shizune smiled, "That she is. She improves by leaps and bounds and that is with her learning about combat as well. I heard your friend Neji is being considered for Jounin again and this time, Hokage-sama is actually considering it. I'm not surprised if she considers your entire team now, as well."
An image of Neji appeared on Lee's mind and his doubt of being a jounin just because he had yet to discover his true potential "I appreciate your praise, Shizune-san! Though I am still nowhere near to be considered a jounin, at least not until I have the chance to learn and master the jutsu you are going to teach me!"
Shizune gave a thought at this and hummed to herself, "I guess. We should head to the training room and have you hooked up with the equipment. We can begin teaching you about the jutsu today."
"You mean…?"
Shizune gave a nod, "You are now deemed able to learn this jutsu. We'll proceed further as we discuss this to you in the training room."
Lee was ecstatic. He was utterly floored when his hard work was finally paying off. He was finally catching up.
When they finally made it to the training room, Shizune had her associates prepare all the necessary equipment as Lee was asked to remove his black Changshan coat and Lee complied by slipping out his coat and letting it fall to his waist. Lee then removed his black sleeveless shirt and mesh armor as the medics began plugging him with multiple wires, two on the side of his head, several on his chest and abdomen as well as his arms and feet.
One of the medics then prepared an intravenous infusion set. Lee could see it in the background and saw just below it was a small cooler, Lee guessed that it has a pack of whole blood in it.
"Lee-san, for this jutsu to work, you will have to endure some pain as we inflict small injuries to you by a scalpel. Why we have the IV line prepared now is because we are afraid that you might bleed out. Anesthetics will not work, you won't respond well enough even with proper stimuli if we sedate you. I apologize but we need to see this jutsu perform in its intended environment." Shizune said this as she held up a clip board while Lee gave a silent nod.
"I am prepared." Lee said as he closed his eyes and imagined his chakra flowing throughout his body.
"Subject's brain waves are normal, chakra levels are fluctuating based on his level."
Shizune noted and said, "Let's begin the experiment."
And then, the scalpel had cut flesh as it spilled blood.
Lee winced.
For three days, Lee endured the pain. He had forgotten how much pain was a great motivator to do well. Every time he was cut, he would let his chakra convert to healing chakra inside his body and then with the flow in his system, settled them to a specific site and let the healing chakra do its thing.
For the first day or first trial, it failed, horribly. The first cut on his shoulder ended up being stitched back and healed by Shizune.
Lee was still not used to convert chakra to healing chakra. It was why it backfired. Shizune anticipated this and was prepared to heal Lee. It was messy. Lee had asked for one more trial and Shizune relented. This time, the cut was on his arm, the chakra never even once converted to healing chakra. It was a setback and Lee had to be healed again.
By the third week, Lee had scars on his body now courtesy of the training methods. But he would not be deterred. This time, he would succeed
"We can't keep doing this, Lee-san. Pretty soon we'll have to drop the Intravenous set in favour of placing you in the hospital."
Lee was adamant, "No! Please! I need to keep going, my chakra is finally starting to adapt of it. I wish to continue!"
Lee focused again and let his chakra fluctuate and turn into healing chakra. This time, Lee remained calm, he thought of many peaceful things. He thought of friends, his sensei, and his home. And they all felt calming to him.
His thoughts were now interrupted by the sudden jolt of pain on his right shoulder. This time however, instead of bleeding out, the wound slowly closed on its own giving off a wafting steam as the wound closes. Lee looked at it peacefully.
Shizune, who was looking at the clipboard and at the different machines, she smiled.
"Congratulations, you've made progress."
Lee nodded with a dumbfound expression and then looked at Shizune.
"Not just that, Shizune-san. I think there's something else happening." Lee said this as soon as his right shoulder bulked up a little as veins gorged and formed from them.
"WOAH!"
A few minutes later, the hypertrophied muscle returned back to its former size and shape while smoke still wafted out from them.
Shizune dropped her clipboard and pen after what she just saw and immediately picked it up to put it in her journal notes.
"Jutsu performed had an unknowing side-effect of muscular hypertrophy at the site of injury after healing. Tests are a success. However, a new problem has emerged."
Just as she was about to ask Lee, Shizune suddenly fell to the ground unconscious.
"Shizune-san!"
"Shizune-sama!"
Lee caught her just in time before she fell on her head and suddenly felt the world spinning around him with the image of a grotesque and demonic looking Yakumo encircling him and giving a dangerous giggle. Her hand reached out to his face but was suddenly stopped when he heard a voice.
"NO! DON'T TOUCH LEE-SAN!"
"FOOL! I AM RIDDING YOU OF YOUR PROBLEM, YAKUMO! HE HAS BEEN FILLING YOU WITH NOTHING BUT FALSE HOPE IN ORDER FOR KONOHA TO GET RID OF YOU!"
"HE'S NOT LIKE THAT!"
"Gah! Stubborn girl!"
Just then, Lee snapped out of the genjutsu and saw everyone evidently knocked out in the room.
He frowned.
That was genjutsu. Possibly Yakumo's, but what could have caused this?
He went out after getting dressed and putting his Changshan back on, seeing people on the floor of the village completely knocked out. He scowled and jumped towards the place where he knew Yakumo would be most likely at, the compound.
When he arrived, he saw familiar faces knocked out as well. Sakura, Ino, Chouji and even Shikamaru were down for the count. He tried to wake them, but they were under the genjutsu to no avail. With clenched fists, he barged inside the clan compound of the Yakumo clan and destroyed the door. Inside was the clan head and he was peculiarly fighting Kurenai.
"What on earth is going on?" Lee asked out loud, Kurenai and the man turned to him.
"So you're the one responsible for my niece's insolence as of late! You were the one giving a dangerous person like her ideas!" The man shouted as he turned his attention to Lee and was about to charge at him.
"I won't let you!" Kurenai was about to perform a genjutsu when Lee stopped the man cold in his tracks by catching the man's fist.
"Yakumo-san has as much right to spread her wings as anybody! Caging her like some animal is a very cruel thing to do! She wants to be a strong shinobi yet you would deny her of that right! What makes you decide what is good for her!?"
It was then that Lee felt pure anger for the first time. He reeled his fist back and smashed it on the man's face as he was sent flying to the opposite side.
"I am angry that someone would deny them of the youth that they should be living! No one should decide to imprison someone outside of the law! If it is your decree to cage her, then it is my responsibility to set her free! Free from your tyranny!" Lee removed his changshan and let it fall by waist showing off the black sleeveless undershirt with the mesh armor on and then proceeded to enter in his new stance.
The man gave a hollow laugh, "You? Set her free? You do not know what kind of monster she is. She will bring the village to ruin. She will destroy everything."
Lee responded, "I have met your niece and all I saw from her was her earnest wish to become a shinobi. You, who only saw her weakness, have no right to speak that against her."
"What does a fool who only knows one thing know?" The old man spat at the boy.
"You only have one thing that you are good at and a complete zero on the rest. You do not know what kind of power she can bring! You're just a one trick pony!"
Lee closed his eyes as he remained in his stance.
He remembered the times when he struggled to become a shinobi, he remembered the days where he trained constantly only to be berated by a then cruel Neji. He remembered losing again and again against him and being left in the dust by the new rookies like Naruto and Sasuke. All of them were memories he would rather forget. But now, now it was different.
"I used to believe that mastering Goken alone would make me a stronger ninja. But I was a fool to think so, I would be so linear and predictably, my opponents will learn to adapt to my skills. Gai-sensei has taught me that and it took me a year to finally establish the basics right. This is my new Taijutsu, prepare yourself, for this name echoes through my soul, burning with fury and passion, for it is here I have finally gained my enlightenment and it is in this place that you will hear the cry of the savage green beast! For I will forever etch it into your mind as I drive my fists into your face!"
Lee opened his eyes, sharpened and steeled with full of resolve and anger. With a single step forward, Lee disappeared before anyone could blink.
'He improved his speed!' Kurenai thought and then, she could swear she could hear a loud whistle dropping in tune when she suddenly heard a crash coming from Kurama Unkai's direction.
CRASH!
Kurenai turned around and saw Unkai flying as Lee vanished once more and jabbed Unkai this time, coming from the other side.
"I have learned two taijutsu styles to make my movements become difficult to read and unpredictable. Whereas Goken has allowed me to attack in linear formations at high speed, this new taijutsu emphasizes movement and mobility attacking with simple but effective ways in punching."
Lee then appeared just behind Unkai and appeared as if he had split in two before forming behind him.
'Genjutsu!? No! I did not sense his chakras fluctuate! Then it's pure speed!?' Unkai noted as he was slammed down with an axel kick hitting the ground. Unkai had no time to recover as Lee kicked him forward and vanished once more.
"From my enlightenment, I dubbed this taijutsu style, 'Rakanken' (Achiever of Nirvana Fist)! Now you are witnessing one of its newest moves! Bakuryuuken (Burst Dragon Fist)!"
Unkai wanted to clasp his hands together to perform a jutsu but every time he would do so, Lee would intercept him and deliver blow after blow like a streaking meteor. He struck his opponent just as he would bypass their guard and vanish only to punish his opponent again completely dismantling whatever form of physical defense he had against the taijutsu user.
Lee then became like a streak of green and black all over the place as he hit Unkai multiple times to sides where he was vulnerable. Unkai had no time to perform any genjutsu due to Lee's devastating blows. Lee appeared at his front, teeth clenched in constrained anger as he walloped Unkai square in the face and sending him flying once more and Lee reappeared once more this time, performing a spinning kick directly to his back.
Unkai skidded on the wooden floor as it gave way and was entrenched by several meters away from Lee. When the dust, debris and splinters settled, they saw Unkai down for the count, unconscious and unresponsive but still alive.
Kurenai nodded at this, "Good job Lee, now we need to go after Ido and stop her from getting out of control."
"Out of control?" Lee asked as Kurenai nodded.
"Yes. Yakumo has a fearsome talent in genjutsu. Her alignment for it is so strong that her talent destabilizes her mind and creates a monstrous personality within her. This personality is sadistic and brutal and presents Yakumo's resentful attitude towards Konoha and her clan. It was the reason why we had to seal her powers. She cannot control that personality. If anything, Ido controls her."
Lee then asked, "Ido is the personality's name?"
Kurenai nodded. Now things made more sense. But still, for him, it was far too cruel to have clipped the wings of one person out of fear. He had heard enough of such a treatment being given to Naruto. He didn't want others to feel the same.
So with that, when they finally arrived inside the mansion, Lee stopped for a moment as Yakumo's form turned to him.
The form was repulsive and frightening in a way. Her skin were not as soft as he had seen before, now they were wrinkled, almost scale like. Two long horns protruded beside her temples giving her that intimidating look that would scare anyone away.
"So you've come, eh Kurenai?"
Lee looked at Kurenai who looked in trepidation as the girl seemed to float sideways and tilting her head to the side in a disturbing manner as she giggled.
"Always the obedient kunoichi. Have you come to finish the job that the Sandaime Hokage had set out to do?"
"Yakumo, whatever it is you're thinking, the Sandaime only wanted what was best for you. You couldn't possibly control your power at that age."
"Silence! After all this time, I trusted you yet you betrayed me by sealing my powers away! Why? So you could torment me before finally killing me?"
"I would never kill you, Yakumo. The Sandaime would never give out such an order!"
"Don't give me that, Kurenai-sensei, you grew scared of my abilities. It was why you stopped training me. You didn't think I could use this power very well!" Ido rambled, with a hint of venom when she said the word 'sensei' to Kurenai.
Lee looked at Kurenai who was silent and then turned to Yakumo with a thought, 'Ah, now I see. Kurenai-sensei didn't have enough faith in Yakumo-san to keep trying. If she did, then things wouldn't have gotten up to this point.'
"Yakumo-san, I understand your situation. However, Kurenai-sensei has shown her sincerity earlier by fending off your uncle who was planning to kill you. I do not know the circumstances of the bond between you and Kurenai-sensei but what I do know is that I have to put my faith in you as a friend. I must believe that you can control your power."
For a moment, the apparition known as Ido paused and then they heard a shout coming from her as Ido shouted, "Stubborn girl! What does it matter that some fool would believe in you? You are nothing without me!"
It was then that Kurenai finally spoke, "The night I talked to Sandaime, we discussed your situation and he thought it best to seal away your memories of that night along with your power. We couldn't predict what would happen if you remembered that you were the one who killed your parents with your power unchecked."
"No." Yakumo muttered
Ido seemed to gain control from Yakumo's despair and she grinned as a figurative hand slowly inched their way on Yakumo's neck.
"No…" The seal was now broken, and memories of a time gone by entered her mind, she could remember the day her father and mother died in an illusion of flames. She clutched her head as her sanity began to slip.
"NO!" Yakumo shouted as she escaped from the clutches of Ido who writhed in pain as Yakumo separated from her.
Lee and Kurenai went beside her checking to see if she was fine.
"I killed them…" Yakumo mumbled. Tears were threatening to fall down from her face as she did so, her right hand in a tight closed fist as it was shaking in anger, mortification and sadness.
Yakumo then surprised kurenai by grabbing one of her kunai and then proceeded to jam her throat with the blade.
Blood was spilled.
But it was not her blood. She looked down, not expecting there to have any pain until she saw Lee holding the blade with his bandaged left hand as blood dripped from it.
"In order for sin to be considered as sin, then you must have full intent in doing so. Accidents happen, Yakumo-san. What happened to your parents was not your entire fault."
He then turned around to the monstrous looking form of Ido.
"So live, Yakumo-san. Be enthralled with youth! Appreciate your life and live it to the fullest! And if you cannot move on, I will be there with you to pick you up! If you make mistakes, I will be there through your failures and I will share your joy in your successes! For that is youth!"
He gave Yakumo a thumbs-up with his bloodied arm for his nice guy pose.
Kurenai smiled, envious of the way Gai teaches his students. Perhaps she should do the same for her own students from now on, to have faith in them. Yakumo watched in awe as she stared at the back of Lee, reassuring her that for all of her faults, he would be there for her as a true friend.
"To have a loyal friend to the end, now you don't have to watch your back." Kurenai mentioned with a smile as she helped Yakumo up. In turn, Lee went to another stance of his new taijutsu, the Rakanken (Achiever of Nirvana Fist).
"Pitiful monster from the depths of darkness, you have plagued Yakumo-san enough of your delusions. Now I will send you back to those depths and forever shall you be sealed there. Yakumo-san is strong. She doesn't need your help."
"Shut up! I am a part of Yakumo and Yakumo is a part of me! We are two sides of the same coin! To kill me means to kill Yakumo herself!" Ido cackled as flames suddenly sprouted from all around the compound with Lee being flash burned as well.
Lee screamed at the top of his lungs as he was sent on the ground, rolling and writhing in agony. He was trying to put out the flames as best as he can but Ido did not let up.
"Lee! This is a genjutsu! This entire compound is under the jutsu of Yakumo's power! Calm yourself and you can dispel this genjutsu without much problem!"
"It's useless. Without Yakumo to control me as she did earlier, I can do whatever I wish now and none of you can ever hope stop me. Welcome to my world, Kurenai, and burn in hell for all I care."
It was then that Unkai had appeared from the entrance of the room staggering and battered beyond all recognition. He had a hand up into a seal and shouted to Ido.
"I knew that a demon like you would be too much to control one day. I will rid this world of you and maybe then we can all live in peace. The Kurama clan will be great again!"
Focusing all chakra outwards, Unkai dispelled most of the miasmic chakra around him.
"KAI!"
Just then, the sound of shattering glass was heard from above and an ANBU member with a hawk mask had a sword drawn and it headed towards Ido just as Unkai collapsed on the floor from exhaustion.
Ido managed to evade in time but the three tomoed sharingan spun madly, dispelling the genjutsu around them. Lee stopped rolling on the ground, groaning as he did so. His skin looked untouched.
Smoke wafted off from him still.
"Lee, get up. We know you're not injured." The masked ANBU member said this as he pointed the sword towards Ido.
"It's time we put an end to this non-sense."
Kurenai frowned, "You were watching us this whole time, weren't you? Why didn't you intervene?"
The ANBU member replied, "I'm not a genjutsu expert and whatever I could decipher, it took me considerable time to do especially a genjutsu of this complexity. Lee was lucky enough that Yakumo's mind wanted to protect him and that Ido can't do anything against him until this very moment. It was thanks to Unkai's dispelling technique that I could finally destroy this genjutsu in the compound."
The hawk masked ANBU then turned to Ido as he slid his sword down on the floor catching fire on the blade as he performed a Half-moon stance.
"No, Sasuke-kun. Ido is mine." Lee finally stood up and smoke wafted from him. His muscles had become more defined and bulky but not overly so. The scar tissue he had all over his body were now disappearing as he finally said.
"For I must thank her in finally giving me the chance to use this jutsu, properly."
Sasuke looked at Lee and noticed the chakra was not leaving his body but instead, it was circulating within him. Due to the small pathways that Lee presented, it was almost invisible but Sasuke could tell that there was a thin veil of chakra surrounding Lee but never actually expelling from him.
"An interesting healing technique, what is its name?"
Lee shook his head, "There is still no name for this technique. But if it did, I would name this Kongosho (Diamond Way), Sasuke-kun."
He noted as he gave a nod.
"Very well. But you will refer to me by my codename of 'Taka'. Whenever I am wearing this mask, I am an operative of ANBU."
With that, Lee charged like a rampaging bull. He smashed through Ido with his fist on her stomach and drove her to the wall making a hole behind her as Lee then dragged the monster by the collar and dragged her body on the wall like a ragdoll before he kicked her in the face sending her flying upwards.
Lee didn't stop as he switched his combat style this time and used his reliable taijutsu style, the Goken as he unfurled all the bandages in his arms wrapped them around Ido.
"Hachimon Tonko, daichimon kaimon kai! (Eight Gates opening, the first gate, the limit gate, open!)"
Lee then began spinning like a drop as they descended to the ground as air began to pick up with Lee creating a vacuum force, increasing the speed of their drop.
"OMOTE RENGE (Initial Lotus)!"
Crash!
And then, a shockwave soon followed.
Lee stood up as he recovered. He saw as his bandages unwrapped themselves with Ido falling on the ground back first. Yakumo now stood before her.
"Ido, throughout most of my life, I thought that you were the only one I could completely trust. You made it clear that everyone around me was an enemy and even those that I idolized were not prone to betraying my trust."
Ido was unresponsive as she looked at Yakumo who was looking pitiful at him.
"Yet you were the one I shouldn't have trusted. I let you feed me with your paranoia and your fear. You made me afraid of what you were afraid. And even then, you made use of my powers against people that I care about down to the point that you would use it on Lee-san someone who has been honest ever since we met him."
Ido clicked her tongue and soon noticed that she was vanishing.
"No more. I have had enough of this. Enough of the fear from you, I wish to be who I am. I wish to follow my dreams to become a ninja and like Lee-san, I will overcome all the hurdles presented to me. That is because I have seen what his hard work had accomplished and now I want to see just how far I can go."
"You will never get rid of me. I am you. I am your instinct, the one who will stop at nothing for self-preservation."
"I know. But I will continue to move forward. One day, I will learn to control you and you will see."
With that, Ido disappeared from the physical world. And all over Konoha, the rest of the villagers and ninja soon awoke from the temporary nightmare that was Ido.
Three months later:
One.
Two.
One.
Two.
One.
Two.
It was four in the morning again in Konoha and a pair of joggers was running by the village and got out by the village gate, though if anyone were to look closer, the other half of the runners wasn't the usual Maito Gai that was running with Lee today in the morning at this ungodly hour. Gai had been assigned on a mission and wouldn't be back for another three days. This time, Lee is accompanied by Yakumo, who was now wearing a track suit as she and Lee gave a light run around the village.
This would be Yakumo's second long distance run after being given with a clean bill of health. After the whole fiasco considering the Kurama clan a few months back, Yakumo had complied to Lee's recommendation and had to undergo a check-up at the hospital. It was perfect timing too, because the one who was reading the discharge notes for shinobi to be released for active duty was Tsunade herself. She had a look at Yakumo within a mere few minutes and soon ordered Sakura to grab the necessary herbal plants for her to create some medicine for her condition.
Needless to say, after about a week of medication and check-ups from Tsunade or Shizune, Yakumo never felt better that day onward.
Tsunade even remarked that the small exercises to improve her stamina certainly helped. Causing the busty Hokage to nod at Lee and gave him some praise as well as some money for his hard work.
Granted, her physique would take a while to match a chuunin or even a jounin for that matter, but Yakumo was making great progress.
As for Lee though, he had returned to routine as soon as he was out of the Medical Research lab. Gai had given him enough pointers to learn for about more than a week's time if ever he would be missing. But Lee now would practice with Yakumo instead of Gai. Only instead of learning, Lee would teach Yakumo tips on exercising and some basic taijutsu moves to help her in the academy.
Of course, but when it came to downtime, Lee would drag Yakumo along to introduce to his friends and teammates. Lee introduced Yakumo to Neji while Tenten looked amused by the two.
Though, a peculiar thing remained, Lee never went back to his jumpsuit and kept the changshan style shirt out of the fact that it was the symbol of his progress.
Lee had become much more proficient in his newly dubbed technique, Kongosho. And like the name suggested, Lee was near impervious to damage. Not only that, it amplified his muscle strength by several fold it was why they enlarge like that.
When Gai had found out, he was ecstatic to see it first-hand. When Lee showed it to him, Gai was crying manly tears of joy and his fists shook passionately as he did so.
"KAAAAAHHHH! Lee! All your hard work has finally paid off! I can see your ability rising to greater heights! I am so proud of you! Lee!"
Now it was Lee's turn to burst into tears, "Gai-sensei! Thank you for always putting your faith in me! I swear to you that I will continue to move forward with the path I have chosen and I will continue to do you proud, Gai-sensei! Uuuuuooooooohhhhhh!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
Then, the manly hug came as did the sunset on an open shore with the loud waves of the sea crashing on them.
"Does this often happen with them?" Yakumo asked.
Neji and Tenten stared at each other and then gave a sigh of exasperation.
"You'll get used to it." Tenten replied.
"Eventually." Neji continued.
In these months, several things happened.
Neji had finally been promoted to Jounin. His performance during missions had exponentially risen after his mastery of his newest jutsu. Team Gai went out to celebrate that day and Lee, having found confidence and trust within himself, never grew bitter about it. The two grew as better friends and rivals about it. To which Yakumo found amusing much to Tenten and Neji's own embarrassment.
Tenten had just finished her arsenal and had changed her wardrobe entirely. Whereas she always wore a cheongsam as her upper attire, she had changed it for a black long sleeve shirt with her flak vest on top. She also wore a pair of white gloves on her hands with multiple seals written on them complemented with her long black pants with two holster belts that had scrolls on them. Her outfit was then complimented by a short pink cape that reached to her back lapelled around her shoulders hiding her arms and connected in place by a single rope along with a pair of sandals that reached up to her thigh.
Kiba had finally arrived home looking shaggy and hairy like he was a vagabond with tattered clothes but with a pelt on his shoulders while Akamaru was wearing some light armor.
Hinata and Hanabi followed suit, now with Hinata holding a scroll in her hands and wearing robes meant for nobles on a delegation trip. If anyone were to notice, her hands were wrapped in numerous amounts of band aid.
Sakura had just finished her course with Tsunade, she had been asked to help Shizune in the hospital, and she had also been training with elemental manipulation under Kakashi's tutelage. So far, she had been learning well with her earth chakra and had also been helping out in the research and development department.
Sasuke had been out on ANBU missions now. His training with the ANBU had been officially complete when he filed his papers. He had also discovered that he had the Mangekyo Sharingan along with Kakashi. But less out of that, Uchiha Sasuke also learned about combining his fire and lightning elements. Something also woke up within Sasuke one day on a specific mission and it was the day that would forever change his life.
Chouji had finally come home after several months of disappearances as well on his own from the fire temple, with nothing but a monk's robe donning him as well as a single wooden staff and wearing a pair of geta sandals. In his staffless hand was a small scroll.
Shikamaru had been working in the strategic center and logistics division for some time now and had been looking through his family log journals for appraisal. Due to the nature of his work, he had been very busy had not much time to spend around with his teammates.
Ino had finally gotten been inducted to the intelligence department. She was assigned with Ibiki in the interrogations unit along with Anko. It took her awhile as she had a lot of preparations to do before entering the department as Kurenai can attest, but it was a long time coming.
Shino had come home from a mission and did so by coming to the village on board his new summon, a giant horned beetle. He had jumped down from his summon as it dispelled and landed on top of the Hokage's office with an unconscious girl in his arms.
Shino stormed through the office front, barging in through the Hokage's door with a chilling message as to what had just happened.
"Taki has been destroyed. Akatsuki has struck the small country and the only survivor left is this girl."
Tsunade stood up, alarmed of this message. Had Jiraiya's informants been wrong? What on earth happened?
"Call for an emergency meeting. I want to get the best messenger hawk that could get to Jiraiya as soon as possible as well as one for Suna, we're going to need to have a discussion on our hands right away!"
Metamorphosis: Part One
END
As you may have guessed the side stories of part two make up the span of three years inside and outside Konoha and involves major happenings that the characters experience differently.
The reason I decided to start with Team Guy is that they are the group ripe for character developments being one year older than most of their peers, to have some sort of team dynamic before going over to Part 3 and also because I am in totally no way biased that I like Lee's character and his interactions with his peers and especially Gai.
I mean, they are basically Sanada Yukimura and Takeda Shingen in Sengoku Basara. Maybe I'd like to add more extreme interactions between these two when I get to write them again next time. That would be hilarious.
Also, you're probably asking why Tenten's wardrobe change? Well, I wanted Tenten to have that Hajime Saito feel (Rurouni Kenshin). To be more precise, that Meji era officer/shinsengumi look. I think the look fits her especially when she holds one of her weapons.
The side stories are a way for me to flesh out characters and give reason as to why this person has what. It's probably best that way so that the reader won't be confused once part 3 rolls around.
Also, you won't get me to update this fast again until the foreseeable future. The reason why I've done so is because I've got enough room to write and this has been on my mind ever since I've been writing part one. Enjoy it, folks.
Jutsu list:
New Jutsu for Lee!
羅漢拳 Rakanken (Achiever of Nirvana Fist)- Taijutsu style- A style that emphasizes footwork and firm, powerful strikes as opposed to Goken (Strong fist) that uses powerful strikes with momentum and speed as its edge. This style of taijutsu emphasizes the use of the hands more than feet but it does not exclude kicks in its repertoire of offensive moves. Although high speed combat isn't the emphasis for this style, it certainly isn't a bad thing to have when attacking. (As an author's note, I've based Rakanken on Tekken's resident badass kung fu user, Feng Wei.)
幻竜拳 Genryuken (Illusion Dragon fist)- C-rank- Using very good footwork, Lee manages to get to his opponent's most vulnerable side and strike from there be it backhand or straight jab to the face.
爆竜拳 Bakuryuuken (Burst Dragon Fist)- B-rank- An evolved form of Genryuuken in which Lee rushes to the enemy aggressively and using his momentum and speed, debilitates an opponent with a punch destroying his opponent's defence entirely and Lee lets loose a bombardment of fists left and right before ending it with a spinning kick.
金剛杵 Kongosho (Vajra/diamond way)- A-Rank- Due to Lee's inability to emit chakra from his body, he cannot use an effective form of ninjutsu to affect the environment around him. However, even though Lee's chakra pathways are small, it doesn't mean that nothing actually flows through them and it is a dead organ. Chakra does flow to them, just not enough to be malleable for external use. That doesn't mean that he can't learn any jutsu, there is a jutsu for him to learn and Kongosho seems like a perfect jutsu for him. It regenerates injured or damaged organ tissue and even enhances them for short periods of time. An indication of the jutsu being used is the effect of steam rising out of the user's body. When under influence of this jutsu, the user becomes almost impervious to damage and his physical parameters are increased.
Anyways, as always, read and review!
