Legend of the Iron Monkey

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.

Chapter 3: Rebirth

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Six weeks (six years in the cave) later

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Lee stood in front of his father, well rested and fully energized for his final test. After 10 years of training and education of his ancestors, Lee was finally ready for the last section of his test, the test to see if he was fit to hold the title and spirit of the Iron Monkey, as well as the staff of said deity. Lee knew that the staff of the Iron Monkey is unbreakable, but it possesses another ability. It is light as a feather to the wielder, but weigh much more than 200 tons to anyone else. He knew that if he had any chance of defeating his father, he would have to remove the staff from his hands. Lee had complete confidence his his skills with taijutsu, but he knew all too well that his father is a powerful master with his staff and other forms of weaponry. It's a good thing that he decided to train in the cave, or he wouldn't have unlocked his rapid healing ability. Without that, he honestly didn't know if he would even stand a chance against the Iron Monkey. In addition to his healing power, he also possessed the ability to become stronger for every time his body healed a wound. The energy inflicted on his body became added power instead of pain, a useful trait for becoming stronger in small portions of time. Now, all that was left of his kekkei genkai was the muscle mimic ability. He knew that such an ability would be invaluable to his career as the Iron Monkey and had to have it.

Hirameki glanced into the eyes of his son. He was more determined now, overflowing with confidence and well guided courage from the years of training in the cave and harnessing the inner power that lay dormant inside him. The Iron Monkey had long since awaited the day when his son would arrive to him. He waited patiently for that that day to come, and when it did, he knew that his prayers were answered. He knew that his only chance of redemption to his clan, was to train Lee to wield his kekkei genkai, and to make him strong enough to properly wield the clan's title, the spirit and the absolute power of the original Iron Monkey. Along with the spirit of the Iron Monkey, Lee's third ability would activate, allowing him to mimic anything that his opponent throws at him. But there's a side effect to losing the spirit of the Iron Monkey to another. The former wielder of the spirit would not only lose his immortality and muscle mimic abilities, but the healing ability would weaken severely. He could still heal, but only cuts and small bruises. If a fatal injury would be inflicted on him, he would surely die. He can still become stronger by healing from wounds, but the given strength will not be as great. However, Hirameki didn't care. He knew that he had lived long enough and wanted to join his wife and his clan in peace. And in order to attain such peace, he had to know that his son would be equipped with all the powers that his ancient ancestor entrusted to their clan. Hirameki nodded.

"Are you ready for your final test, Lee?" asked Hirameki. Lee nodded.

"But I have one final question before we start. You told me that you would tell me my original name. So what is it?" asked Lee. The Iron Monkey smiled, happy that his son remembered that promise that he me to him 10 years ago, before any of the training started. But there was one thing that Lee had forgotten. The promise had strings attached.

"I'm glad that you remember what I proposed to you, Lee, but you've forgotten one other thing. I'm only going to tell you once you become the Iron Monkey," said Hirameki.

"I didn't forget that, father. I'm just making sure you would remember. I'm very curious to know my true name, you know," said Lee as he prepared himself for what was to come. Hirameki smiled a little wider, showing his understanding, but immediately retreated to a serious expression. Once everything was said and done, Hirameki charged at his son with everything he has. He sent a flurry of strikes to Lee, all of which were parried or avoided. Lee loosened his hold on his staff to allow maximum dexterity, but not too loose. With that, he countered the strikes that his father sent to him. The spiky-haired teen flipped his staff to the side, allowing the circular base of his staff to face his father. When it was properly positioned, Lee performed a quick set of stabbing motions. As he figured, not a single one made connection with Hirameki's face. Lee twisted his body and swung at his father with the other end of his staff, only to have to smashed to pieces with his father's elbow. Lee held a gasp in his throat, not expecting his staff to have broken so early, but he was sort of glad for it. He was more of a taijutsu practitioner anyway. But before he was able to use his fists, Hirameki tossed his staff to Lee, who caught it by instinct. Instantly remembering the effects of the staff, Lee was pulled to the ground.

He tried to lift the staff from his crushed hands, but it was futile. The staff was so heavy that it was crushing his bones, leaving an imprint on the ground, and yet it was still sinking, as if pushing itself down along with him. Lee could feel his healing ability already kicking in, trying to heal the bones of his crushed hands, but it was no use until the staff was removed, but at least it kept the pain away. The hidden leaf shinobi knew that Hirameki would pull something like this, he expected it too, but when it came, he just took it and fell for the trap like a mouse and some cheese on a mouse trap. He looked at his father, who amazingly wasn't taking advantage of the current predicament. Lee was unable to move, so why was his father not kicking him or punching him? This is the perfect opportunity and Hirameki isn't taking it. So why? Hirameki watched in interest at how Lee was going to pull himself out of this one.

"Come on Lee, you can do it," he said. Lee narrowed his eyes. Why was his father cheering him on? Wasn't the point of this test to beat the Iron Monkey? He knew that his father wanted him to become the next Iron Monkey, but cheering the idea like this shouldn't be the way to do it. To become the Iron Monkey is an honor that is given to someone who has proved himself worthy through years of training... right?

"Why are you cheering me on? Why is it that you aren't beating me down like you should be doing?" asked Lee. "I'm pretty much at your mercy, so why aren't you taking advantage of it? I've fallen for your trick and yet you stand there, doing nothing? You're actually hoping for me to lift this staff and use it against you? Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. This thing can only be carried by you, the wielder."

"That's not true, Lee, but if that is what you truly believe, then you will never gain the power you need to protect those that you live for, or the power to achieve your dream. Many people in your village believe in you. Are you saying that their faith is misguided? Are you honestly saying that they shouldn't believe in you?" asked Hirameki. What the hell was he trying to do? "If that is what you think, then maybe their faith is truly wasted on you after all. If you don't believe in yourself, what is the point to their believing in you?"

"Why did you stay here for so long? You could have left right after your rapid cellular regeneration ability was unlocked. You could have returned to your village so many years ago, but you didn't. You believed that you could become the Iron Monkey by training harder than anyone else ever has and surviving this hell-hole that I've given to you. Now come on, lift the staff. It belongs to the Iron Monkey, his weapon is in your hands. What's the problem? Lift it! Or maybe you've lost all faith and self belief in yourself? Perhaps you don't think you can do it anymore?" asked Hirameki, getting into Lee's head.

"Alright, don't lift it. Become the failure you've always told yourself that you are!"

"Walk out of this cave with 10 wasted years."

"Return to your village knowing you gave up on something that you endured through so long of your life."

"Return to them as a failure and tell them that you couldn't accomplish the task that you've been training for."

"Tell them that you failed because you couldn't believe in yourself!"

Belief... could it be? Lee closed his eyes and remembered everyone in the village. Gai-sensei, Tenten, Neji, Hinata, Naruto, everyone, they all believe in him. It was just at that moment that he remembered what Hinata told him before he met with his squad to start the mission. She told him to believe in himself. What if this test isn't about defeating the Iron Monkey? What if this test is actually about being able to lift the staff without being the owner of it? Lee was so sure that the weight of the staff would make it impossible for him to lift it, but if his father has faith in him, if his friends have faith in him, then the final key, the final ingredient to the stew is... belief in himself. So that's what all this is about. Lee nodded to himself as he instantly remembered the events of 10 years ago when his beliefs were misguided. He lost faith in ever achieving his dreams of gaining respect and becoming a great shinobi, when he convinced himself that he was a failure. Lee shrugged his shoulders. It's worth a shot. He gripped the staff and closed his eyes for a few seconds, gathering his strength. He opened his eyes and looked at the staff.

"I... I... I believe!" with that shout, he pulled his arms up and found himself lifting the staff of the Iron Monkey as if it was as light as air. He lowered it to his body level and carried it with one hand, twirling it around with mastered expertise. He looked to his father and smiled, who in turn returned the smile. Lee returned the staff to his father, but refused it. Lee was taken aback in confusion.

"But this staff belongs to..."

"The Iron Monkey," said Hirameki. "The final test is not to defeat me. Honestly, do you really think you can defeat someone who has trained for centuries? I would hope not. The test is to see if your belief is as strong as who you are inside. Your friends believe in your ability in becoming a great shinobi. I believe in your ability to carry out what I and your ancestors have for generations. You must believe in your own abilities to protect those that you care about. Strength doesn't make a warrior, nor does skill. One must believe he can win, so he can win. If you fail to believe, you believe to fail. Self belief is something that no one can teach you. It is something that you must find in yourself."

"I understand... thank you father," said Lee.

"Now, on to the next part," said Hirameki as he placed his right palm on Lee's forehead. After reciting some inaudible words several flashes of light exited Hirameki's body and entered through Lee. Said teen felt an incredible surge of cosmic energy, enter his body. It was as if the power of the universe was making his body its home. When the light show ended, Lee's body was glowing with golden rays of pure energy. It was at that time that he noticed the mark of a monkey's tail on his left shoulder. He had never felt so strong in his life. So this is the power of the Iron Monkey... it felt wonderful. Lee tapped the staff twice, on the ground, and watched as it retracted itself to a smaller version. He placed it inside a container on his belt and sealed it. He then looked to his father.

"So now that I'm the Iron Monkey, what will you do?" he asked.

"I'm going to continue wandering. Now that I'm mortal again, there are things that I'd like to experience for myself. Don't worry too much about my safety though. Even though you now hold the spirit of our clan's deity, I'm still a very good warrior and can take care of myself. My healing ability isn't as great as it used to be, such are the effects of passing down the spirit to another, but it's still there," said Hirameki.

"You are my son, but you cannot come with me, nor can I live with you in the village. My time as the Iron Monkey is over, and now it is your turn, my son," he said as he picked up some food and water from the side of the cave. He looked to his son once more. "And remember, you are never alone. He who protects the clan is protected by the clan. The spirit of the Iron Monkey is now one with you. You are now a god, and I know that you will use your power for justice and to save others, just as I have and just as your ancestors have. You've made me proud, son, now you must make the clan proud. They will be watching you from the stars so try not to disappoint them."

Just as Hirameki turned to leave, Lee's voice stopped him.

"So... what is my true name?" he asked.

"Kira Hanazawa," Hirameki replied. "And one more thing. If you're going to bring someone else in his cave, you might have to knock him out first. This cave has powerful defenses that will prevent those who are not of our bloodline, from entering. And if you do allow an outsider to enter, the cave may have different effects on that person, as opposed to what it's had on you. Lastly, for the bathing part, you'll want that person to bathe under the waterfall, at the entrance of this cave, and make sure you're near him. If you and your guest walk too far from the cave, it will collapse, meaning you won't be able to use it ever again."

When Lee nodded in understanding, his father nodded as well and walked away. Lee smiled to himself as he implanted the name and information into his brain. To his clan and father, he is known as Kira Hanazawa, the name that his father and late mother, have given him. To his friends, he is know as Rock Lee... wait a second... friends?! That's right, he still had to return to them. Being an immortal deity, he wondered if he would still need food and water to live. He shrugged his shoulders and took the rest of the rations anyway. After securing it all in a bag, he swung it over one of his shoulders and was about to step out of the cave, when he saw his old spandex and forehead protector on the ground. He mentally smacked himself for almost forgetting those things and included them in the bag with his rations. He looked up the sky, and smiled above. He would only come out to bathe and so he was never able to experience as much free time under the sun as he should have. As he looked above, he remembered that he fell down, 10 years ago, from a cliff. There's a mountain above so it's probably a reasonable idea to go up there so he could resume his trek back to the village. He looked around him, making sure no one was around, and took a giant leap, landing on a tree on top of the cliff where he fell from, all those years ago. He reminded himself to work on the jump as he dropped down from the tree and walked back to the village.

On his way to the village, he heard a fairly loud and familiar voice, not too far from him. He turned to his side and saw a familiar bunch, people that he had not seen in 10 years. It was squad seven; Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and their jonin sensei, Kakashi. Lee wondered to himself as to what they were doing out of the village when he remembered that they were stepping out for a mission, all those years ago... well in this area of the world, it's actually months, not years. Must have been one heck of a mission if it took them two and a half months to accomplish. Lee decided to join them in their walk. Having some company join him on his walk would be nice. When he was within distance, Kakashi looked to his side and immediately spotted him. The silver-haired jonin didn't see a forehead protector on the young man, and didn't recognize his appearance at all.

"Hello there," Kakashi greeted. "Are you a traveler?"

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, looked to where their sensei was turned to and saw a young man, probably not far from their age gap at all. Sakura found herself blushing as she examined his physical traits. Although self-proclaiming her love for Sasuke, she couldn't help but to feel somewhat attracted to this young man. His white, leather coat showed his bare chest, which was a very appealing sight to look at. He had strong looking pectoral muscles and a rock hard looking six pack on his abdomen. His biceps also looked rather defined and very strong. His spiky hair was also an added bonus to his overall appearance. The pink-haired kunoichi found herself mentally drooling at the sight but shook it off. Her heart was for Sasuke only, but this guy easily came close to her fantasies about the raven-haired teen that she probably could never have but believed that she could some day. Naruto walked up to the stranger.

"Hey, my name is-"

"Naruto, I know your name my friend," he said.

"Huh? But how? This is the first time we've ever met," the blond curiously replied. The young man gave out a faint chuckle and looked back to Naruto. He couldn't believe that Naruto and the rest of squad seven were unable to recognize who he really was.

"Have I really changed that much?" he asked.

"Um... what?" asked Naruto.

"It's me, Naruto, it's Rock Lee," he said. Sakura's eyes widened and gasped in internal horror as well as shock. The last time she saw Lee was two and a half months ago, yet this one didn't look anything like him. Didn't Lee wear an odd spandex, had thick eyebrows, and a lame looking bowl-cut hair style? Her eyes swerved back to his six pack. For some reason, she had the urge to touch it. Even Kakashi was surprised at Lee's sudden change in appearance, but that wasn't what shocked him the most. He could feel Lee's fighting spirit had gotten a lot stronger than what it used to be. It was as if he had gone through years of training in so little time. Sasuke's fists were shaking in new found anger. He had heard of stories about a taijutsu prodigy that graduated from the academy, but he didn't know it would be someone with so much power literally radiating from his body. Lee raised his eyebrows at them.

"Are you guys alright? You're staring at me like I'm some sort of monster," he said. Kakashi shook his head from the thoughts. It's impossible that someone could get so strong in such a small amount of time. But that's a question for another time. As for now, why or how was he outside the village border? Genin aren't allowed outside of the village without some sort of mission and even with a mission, genin aren't allowed by themselves, outside, without their jonin instructor. What could Gai be thinking, allowing his student to be out of the village like this? Or maybe Gai is somewhere nearby...

"Lee, is Gai with you?" he asked. Lee shook his head. "Then how is it that you are outside of the village borders? Genin aren't allowed outside of the village without their jonin instructors or without a suitable shinobi to protect them. We are are still technically in the fire country, but many things can happen out here that genin aren't properly trained for yet."

"Believe me, sensei, I can handle myself," Lee assured them. He was about to continue the conversation when he remembered something that Kakashi had just mentioned. He wanted to see Gai-sensei again. He also remembered that something bad is supposed to happen really soon and he wanted to be in the village when such an incident occurred. "Well, I'd like to stay and chat but something else came to mind. I'll meet you all back in the village."

With that, he turned away and vanished in a swirl of leaves. Kakashi was once more surprised. Lee was no where to be seen. Genin don't possess that kind of speed or teleportation ability. It was as if his energy had just vanished along with his body. Could it be that he had really gotten stronger in such a small amount of time? Can such a feat really be possible? Kakashi sighed and reopened his orange book. He would have to question Gai about his training methods when they arrived in the village. He could go there now, but his students weren't trained to remain outside the village without proper tutelage. At least the walk to the village isn't that long anymore. They were already within the borders anyway. Another hour or two of walking and the village will be in plain view. When Lee arrived near the village gates, the shinobi that were stationed on guard immediately saw him. He didn't have a forehead protector on him, so was he just a passersby? Lee looked to Genma and pulled out his forehead protector from his bag.

"My name is Rock Lee and I know I've been away for a while but I've returned home. I wish an audience with the Hokage and Mito Gai," he said. Genma looked to his partner, Raido. It's true that Lee had been missing for two months, but the Hokage proclaimed him to be dead. And now, this young man pops out of no where, claiming to be him? He didn't want to believe it, but only Mito Gai and Rock Lee carried forehead protectors with red cloths instead of dark blue. Then again, there's the chance that he could have stolen it from the body of the actual Lee, as this one looked nothing like the pupil that Gai adored like his own son. Raido nodded to Genma, who turned back to face the stranger.

"Fine, your request will be granted. But my partner Raido, will accompany you to the Hokage's tower. Our leader will decide if you are who you say you are," he said as the gates to the village opened. Lee nodded and walked side by side with the shinobi with the odd scar on his face. Tenten, Hinata, and Ino, were having a day for girls only, when they saw the gates opening. They rushed to see who was entering the village and couldn't believe it. There was Raido, one of the entrance guards, but someone was with him... someone very physically appealing. He was a young man, in a very attractive attire that exposed half of his muscular body, had spiky black hair, and the most confident pair of eyes that they had ever seen.

"Dear God... he's so hot..." said Ino. "Who is that?"

"I don't know, but I really want to touch his packs," said Tenten, trying to recover from her childish reaction over the young man that she had never met in her life. Although she had also pledged herself to Sasuke alone, she didn't mind losing him for this new guy. He felt so powerful too, which was an added bonus. Hinata found herself blushing at the amount of cleavage that this young man was showing to her two friends and herself. Something about him seemed oddly familiar though, but she couldn't place it. She examined his chakra network with her byakugan but found it it be completely different from anything that she'd ever seen before. But he definitely reminded her of someone. She just couldn't place her finger on it. Lee caught glimpse of them and bowed.

"Hello," he greeted politely.

"Hello to you too," said Tenten, blushing. "What's your name?"

"Have you forgotten me too?" he replied. Tenten raised an eyebrow. "It's me, Rock Lee."

"...what...?" she asked, dreamy expression changing to a longing one. "That's impossible. Lee has been dead for two and a half months. You can't just claim to be him. You don't even look anything like him."

"Well, at least your reaction is a little livelier than Sakura's when I met up with her and the rest of squad seven. I guess my friends don't remember me after all, but I suppose it's my own fault for disappearing from your lives for so long. I apologize, Tenten," he said as he continued his walk. "It's also very nice to see you again, Ino and Hinata."

"Wait, where are you going?" asked Tenten. Lee didn't even stop his walk but replied anyway.

"I'm going to visit the Hokage and tell him where I've been. You three should come and join me, I can use a bit of company," he said. Hinata narrowed her eyes and activated her byakugan again, checking to see if there was something about him that she had failed to catch the first time.

"He knows our names. Can it really be him?" asked Ino. "But I thought he died in a mission. That's what you guys said, right?"

"I don't know anymore," said Tenten. "Not only by the mere fact that he knows our names but it's the aura that I sense from him. He's different, stronger, faster, smarter than the Lee we used to know but I do believe that he is who he says he is. It's the way he looked at me, that's how I know." Hinata nodded.

"I agree with Tenten, it's the way he looked at us that forces me to agree with what he says. I really think he is Lee, but he has changed somewhat. The aura resonating from his body is radiating with incredible power, nothing like I've ever felt before, but it's different. It's calm and soothing," she said. "I don't know where he's been but, he's changed. He's become more defined and much more different that he used to be."

"Alright. And we should tell the others," said Ino. "If Lee is really back, they'll all want to know what he's been up to, especially Gai-sensei."

"Yes, Gai-sensei will truly wish to know where his star pupil has been. He was never the same after Lee's disappearance. But now that he's returned, Gai-sensei will surely revert to his cheerful self," said Tenten, full of hope. "And Neji would be happy to see him again. Neji has been blaming himself for Lee's death, a few weeks after it happened."

"I understand," said Hinata as she looked to her friends. "Then we should split up and tell our respective squads. I'm aware that Naruto's squad has been out of the village a little bit after Gai-sensei's team departed for their mission, two and a half months ago, but they should be returning soon. They don't know what happened to Lee and it's probably best that we tell them too. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will be able to sense Lee's aura and will start to question some things."

"I bet you're right, Hinata," Tenten agreed. "Ok, he said he'll be visiting the Hokage. Let's go with Hinata's idea and tell everyone about Lee's arrival and meet back at the Hokage's tower."

The two other girls nodded as the three of them leaped into three separate directions, jumping from roof to roof, searching for their own squads. Tenten smiled at herself, feeling somewhat relieved that her teammate had returned. Maybe Gai-sensei will stop being gloomy about everything when he sees his old pupil back with him. The weapons master wondered where Lee had been for the past two months and why his aura was resonating such strange bolts of unreal energy. It was as if he fell from the sky, a god of sorts, in the shape of a human being. But such a thing can't be possible. He was probably just training somewhere, but why did he not return to the village? He caused so much worry and panic to the people he was trying to prove everything to. There were search parties consisting of elite ANBU units and they never found him. They said that they scoured the entire fire country and didn't even find one shred of evidence that would lead to Lee. Wherever he went, it had to have been far enough to elude even the ANBU squads. Tenten shook her head at the thought. Lee would never run away from his home, or run from anything for that matter. He would drag himself back to the village even if he didn't have the strength to anymore. So there must be a good reason as to why he disappeared for two and a half months and only returned now.

When she reached the Hyuuga compound, she found Neji practicing his jyuuken stance. She knew that it would be unwise to disrupt him during his practice, but this is about his long lost friend, so Neji surely wouldn't mind. When she approached him, he instantly caught sight of her, as he was using his byakugan as well. He stopped his training and pushed his anger down. He told Tenten hundreds of times to not bother him while he was training, it was one of the things that he hated from everyone. Why is it that he couldn't get any peace and quiet in his own home? He sighed and looked to his comrade, partly wishing to know what had gone inside her mind that was a good enough reason to disturb his precious training. He hoped it was good, unlike the last time where she came by to tell him that Gai-sensei was out on a mission again. That's been a pretty regular thing ever since Lee's death. Why did that idiot have to die and change everyone's lives? There's so many people in the village who were affected by his death and so many of their lives were changed since that unfortunate accident. The kunoichi and the shinobi responsible were locked in jail, serving a lifetime penalty for being caught slaying a leaf village genin. Tenten approached him and seemed to be quite out of breath.

"Neji... you have to hurry. Come with me... to the Hokage's tower," she panted. Neji placed his hands on his hips, obviously annoyed.

"And why, pray tell, should I do that and forgo my training? You know how important it is to me to increase my skills as a shi-" at that moment, he was interrupted. This better be good enough to quell the popping vein of irritation that had appeared on his forehead.

"It's about Lee, he's come back!" she shouted, placing all of her breath on the last three words. Neji's eyes widened and sped passed her. This was the first news since his disappearance and was probably worth checking out. Tenten wasn't the type to joke around either, so whatever she says is usually worth taking a look at. When Neji exited the Hyuuga mansion, he took to the roof, leaping from one area to another with Tenten closely behind him. Gai-sensei left for a mission with Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei a few days ago, so they won't be able to witness this. But they might be back soon. Neji increased his speed even further and quickly arrived to the Hokage's tower, where he found Shino, Kiba, and Hinata, already there, as well as Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. Kiba looked to the Hyuuga prodigy.

"Oh, so you heard the news too huh?" he asked. Neji nodded. "I'm a little curious as to where he's been all this time and how he eluded the ANBU squads that were looking for him."

"I wish to know that too and why he didn't return to the village sooner," said Neji, looking atop the Hokage's tower, anxiously awaiting for his friend to return. He assumed that Lee would already be in there, speaking to the Hokage like Tenten said he would. Plus, the others here doesn't seem to have seen him, or else he'd still be here, catching up on lost times. Neji sighed and waited for his friend to return.

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"... And that's my story," said Lee.

Sarutobi, who was smoking his pipe when the boy entered, had dropped it on his desk. According to the young man, when he fell from the cliff, he landed in a large body of flowing water and was taken somewhere to a very distant land, where shinobi don't dwell in. He said that he had also received amnesia from hitting his head while unconsciously drifting through rocks and boulders that were probably waiting for him along the river rapids. He also said that he was taken in by a peaceful family until he regained his memory and was able to return to the village. But the one thing he couldn't get out of his mind was how different the boy looked. When he left for his B rank mission with his squad, two and a half months ago, his appearance resembled that of his very own sensei. However, he was now different in terms of physical appearance. He looked stronger, more defined, as if he had gone through hell on earth and survived to tell the tale. And it didn't seem like he was someone on genjutsu either, or else the Hokage would be able to tell easily. And plus, he was able to give the old man substantial information about his own back ground and life in the leaf village. Sarutobi picked up his pipe and placed it back in his mouth. He pulled out the documents about Lee and returned it to him, as well as signing more documents that reinstated his rank as a shinobi of the hidden leaf village.

"Thank you, lord Hokage," said Lee.

"It's good to have you back, Lee. Your jonin instructor is out on a mission with two others and won't be back for a couple of days. But when he returns, I'll see to it myself that he learns of your arrival," said the old man. Lee nodded politely and bid him farewell. Sarutobi slouched on his chair and walked Lee walk out of his door. He wondered how the rest of the village would react to Lee's sudden arrival, and at a good timing too. He was just in time for something very important that only comes once per year. How he got the timing down was unheard of, but it is fortunate that he's here anyway. Once the three other jonin return from their mission, said event would commence. The old Hokage only hoped that Lee's new found power is enough for what is ahead of him.

When Lee exited the Hokage's room, he looked over his papers. Each of them were signed by the Hokage himself and at the end, there was a large stamp in black ink that said "diseased." Lee's eyebrows twitched when he saw that. So the village actually thought that he was dead, huh? Well, what a big surprise they'll be in for when they realize that their village flunky is back and stronger than ever. Upon walking out of the Hokage's tower, the Iron Monkey caught a glimpse of his friends, the other genin, down there, waiting for him. Lee sighed to himself. Explaining a bunch of lies to them would be a huge pain. He would tell them the truth in their expressions. When he finished walking down the stairs, he eyed them all, taking note to explain where he'd been... to a certain degree.

"Hey guys," he started, waving his hand to them. They all looked at him with bewildered expressions. The very person they once thought of as dead and away from their world, is finally back, in arms reach. So why could they not move? Many of the girls blushed at Lee's new physical appearance. The males, save one, wondered where he'd been and how much stronger he'd become. Neji was now laying eyes on the friend... the brother, that he never had in his family. The first person to ever treat him as a normal person and not as someone of the branch side of the Hyuuga clan. There he was, Rock Lee in all his glory. He had changed, grown stronger probably, and was over all different. Lee looked at them all and deduced that none of them could find the strength to speak to him. Understandable, he had been gone for a while after all. Lee inwardly sighed to himself and began speaking instead.

"Okay... seeing as though you guys aren't talking at the moment, I suppose I should start. I'm going to explain where I've been and why I didn't return sooner. I assure you all that I actually have very good and believable reasons," he said. He felt bad about having to lie to his friends, but he would tell them all in due time, when everything else was straightened out. He wondered how they would take the news of his periodical disappearance. They'd probably have a lot of questions, but then again, he probably owed it to them to answer all of the questions that they might have been planning for him. He would try to cover everything so as to give his friends some sort of idea as to where he's been. "First of all, when I--"

"Forget it man, we don't want to know where you've been or why you decided to pop out here now of all times and not sooner," said Kiba, allowing Akamaru to jump down from his jacket. He looked to Shino and Neji, who both nodded to him. "We want to know how much stronger you've gotten while you've been away. You can tell your story to the girls. Some of us actually want to know if you're still as sharp as you were back then."

Lee smiled and placed his sack and papers down. He placed his sack above the documents so they wouldn't fly off from the action that was about to take place. He took a head count of how many there were at the moment. There's Neji, Shikamaru, Shino, Tenten, Hinata, Ino, Kiba, and Choji. He chose to keep his staff in its secured location, not wanting to give his friends a terrible disadvantage. If there was anything that Hirameki taught him, it was the absolute mastery of many choices of weaponry, especially the staff, the primary weapon of the Iron Monkey. He wondered if his friends got any stronger as well. He slipped into a personal fighting stance that he and his father worked on together. It was a mix of his own fighting style, along with the unstoppable stance of the Iron Monkey. The new stance looked relatively unfamiliar to the other genin, just as Lee had hoped. Of course none of them would have known the secret fighting stances of his clan, because his clan's name was removed from the world a long time ago, at least according to his father. Before someone was able to step in, Neji and Tenten stepped forward in front of them all, apparently thinking the same thing.

"I'm sorry guys, but I think it's best that we fight him," said Tenten, getting her weapons ready. Neji nodded and formed his casual jyuuken fighting stance.

The other genin, especially Kiba, remained silent and backed away, giving the three the space that they needed to have a proper combat. Neji started with a flurry of gentle fist attacks while Tenten readied her newest technique. Neji winced, not in pain, but in surprise. Lee was dodging every attack that was being thrown at him. He noticed Lee looking up, probably watching Tenten perform her jutsu. The spiky-haired shinobi blocked Neji's attacks with one hand, not even looking at him. He stomped at the ground below, pushing a large boulder to the air. He glanced to Neji for a quick second, caught his wrists with one hand and drove a foot into the Hyuuga's abdomen. Neji's eyes widened at the massive surge of pain as he was sent back several feet. Lee then gave his attention to Tenten, who had launched an innumerable amount of weapons of every shape, at him. Lee kicked the boulder to his comrade, causing all weapons to hit the large chunk of gravel. Tenten quickly flipped her body backwards, performing a sommersault to avoid the boulder. She landed on the ground in shock.

The other genin watched as Lee was single-handedly thrashing his two comrades. Hinata looked to her cousin, Neji. Never had she seen him in such a beaten state. She always thought of her cousin as an unstoppable wrecking machine. But here he was, on his knees, trying to stand with his hand on his stomach. The young heiress moved her eyes to Lee. His eyes were moving from one opponent to another but there was something different. It wasn't his new stance or anything like that. It was the look in his eyes. The look in his eyes seemed like a courageous lion, roaring into the night. There was so much confidence, so much improvement in his fighting spirit. His legs weren't quivering, but strong like steel. His fists weren't shaking, but gripped tightly yet softly. His eyes weren't that of a scared individual, but the eyes of one who left his village a boy and returned a man. Lee looked to the ground and grinned, picking up a staff that Tenten threw as a part of her odd jutsu. He twirled it around masterfully, attracting Tenten's attention.

"That's how you want to play, huh?" she asked as she stood up and pulled out a staff of her own. Both shinobi and kunoichi ran to each other, exchanging a flurry of quick but accurate blows. Tenten aimed to stab Lee in the face with the tip of her staff but Lee blocked with such precision that Tenten's attack was stopped, using the narrow body of his staff. The stabbing motion, added with a guard, caused a chain reaction. The bottom of Lee's staff was propelled upwards, hitting Tenten's knee with as much force as she placed into her stabbing attack. She bent her knee to strengthen it, causing less damage on her bone. Lee quickly stabbed her in the abdomen, causing her to lose grip of her staff and clutched her stomach in pain. After which, Lee swept his staff down her feet, sweeping her off balance. Her body landed on his foot as he picked her up lightly with it, tossing her to Neji, who caught her out of instinct. The kunoichi looked to her partner.

"Tag... you're it," she said. Neji nodded and set her down. He quickly slipped into his family's jyuuken style stance and also activated his byakugan. But something was a bit different about his stance that no one else knew, except for Hinata. She was surprised that Neji would use that technique, much less even knowing it. Hyuugas weren't supposed to be taught that until they were a little older and had a more advanced chakra control. She always knew that Neji was the prodigy of her clan, but now she was more sure of it than ever.

"Eight trigrams, 64 palm!" Neji shouted as he began his assault on Lee. To the Iron Monkey, Neji's attacks were coming in at slow motion, but he allowed it to happen. He figured that this would be a great way to test out his muscle mimic ability. Lee stood still, taking it all in. He felt certain points of his body being locked and found himself unable to move through it all. When it ended, Lee was still standing but felt very numb, an odd feeling that he had never felt before. Neji sighed, hoping this new Lee would be able to dodge such an assault but was proven wrong. He looked to his comrade with confident eyes.

"I have just sealed your tenketsu points, which are certain areas of your body that allow you to move and produce chakra. But someone such as yourself who is incapable of performing jutsu, has no need for chakra anyway. But you probably feel weakened by now so I believe my efforts weren't in vain," he said. Lee smirked, already feeling those areas of his body, which were closed before, beginning to reopen due to his healing ability. When everything was healed and back in order, he felt a surge of power, coursing through his veins. In addition to the increased strength and overall abilities, he felt something else, something like a shred of knowledge, going into his body. It was truly an odd feeling because knowledge is held in the mind, but this one was flowing through his body, mainly the hands.

"I've been wanting to try this out," said Lee. Neji's eyes widened and examined his chakra network again. Every point that he sealed had reopened somehow, but that wasn't what was shocking him to the core. Lee slipped into the jyuuken stance, the stance known only to the Hyuuga clan. "Eight trigrams, 64 palm!"

Lee shouted his attack. Neji was about to dodge but Lee vanished into thin air. The taijutsu master appeared right in front of the Hyuuga and began his copied assault on his opponent. Every strike hit Neji's body with perfect accuracy, as if Lee had been practicing for years. Hinata couldn't believe what she was witnessing. First Lee's miraculous recovery against Neji's fiercest attack, and now he was doing it too? What in the world was going on here? How can Lee perform the same technique that Neji just used on him? When Lee finished his assault, Neji felt his body go numb and collapsed on the ground. He found that he was unable to mold chakra at all and also couldn't move an inch. It was as if all the energy in his body had been completely drained by an unknown force. The other genin looked down at Neji's defeated form, and then back to Lee. So it's true then, he really has changed after all. He had just defeated Tenten and Neji and came out of it without so much as a scratch. They thought that Neji's previous attack would have at least drawn some blood from Lee's mouth, provided what he said about his own technique is the truth. But as they saw him, it was like he didn't have a single injury on him. In fact, his aura actually grew stronger and brighter than it was before. Lee looked down at Neji.

"Pretty nifty attack you've got back there. It's a shame I won't be able to keep it. It would be very useful against other shinobi that I face in combat. Stopping chakra flow truly is a very unique technique and one that will be very handy if used on the correct opponent." he said as he stood up and looked to the other genin. "If you guys wish to fight me, I'll just take you all on because there's something I have to do that I just remembered."

No one answered.

"Okay..." he said as he picked up his sack of rations and his documents. He waved goodbye to his friends and vanished in a swirl of leaves. Hinata approached her cousin, as Ino approached her friend. Neji looked to be in bad shape but looked like would pull through. Tenten merely looked exhausted but also appeared to be out of life-threatening danger. The blond Yamanaka picked up her friend and motioned for Hinata to do the same for Neji. Both kunoichi made their way directly to the nearest hospital. As the other genin followed their two friends, Shikamaru looked at the very direction where Lee was standing, before he vanished. Lee had truly changed. Not just physical appearance, but his skills in combat were unreal. The lazy genius actually believed that this new Lee would be more than a match for them all, even if Kakashi's squad was here with them. Sasuke, who seems to be a very good shinobi, may be no match against Neji, so what more against Lee? Sakura is just... well, she's like Ino, so not much to be said there. Naruto, although a bit of a goofball, has earned the right to be called the most unpredictable shinobi in history. He might be able to pull something off, but no one can really tell for sure. Shikamaru nodded and followed his friends.

Sarutobi sat back down on his chair, after witnessing the small skirmish between Lee, Tenten, and Neji. Lee was able to defeat them like they were nothing, and those two are definitely no pushovers. Tenten comes from a family of weapon masters and is skilled with all forms of shinobi weaponry. Neji is pretty much the pride of the Hyuuga clan, although coming from the branch family. How he was defeated fairly easily by Lee is unheard of. Gai would be so proud of his pupil at his accomplishments. The old Hokage wondered if Lee was ready for what was coming up in a couple of days. But even if he is ready, it would be Gai's choice to allow him to participate in the little event that was going to take place in the leaf village. If it were up to Sarutobi, he would allow Lee to enter without a single doubt in his mind. This new Lee is definitely different from the one that walked out of the village gates, two and a half months ago. He didn't know what it was, but he knew that Lee is hiding something... something big. He decided that Lee would tell everyone when he is ready and allowed himself to let that case slip aside for the time being. He sighed an took another whiff of his pipe. This year's event will definitely be interesting to watch.

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Wow, this was a pretty long chapter, but expect my chapters to be this long or somewhere close to this length from now on. Before someone says it, yes the cave is kind of like the hyperbalic time chamber in Dragon Ball Z. And to clear out something else that may confuse someone, the healing ability is not part of Lee's kekkei genkai. It is earned after training inside the cave for a random amount of time, it's different for everyone. Also, the muscle mimic isn't a part of Lee's kekkei genkai either. Only the Iron Monkey may possess it. And one last thing, those who pass down the spirit of the Iron Monkey to another person, do not get their abilities removed from them, except for the muscle mimic and eternal youth. Hirameki's is still capable of rapid cellular regeneration, but it has been drastically slowed to a massive degree. His kekkei genkai remains the same, however. He now lives a normal life and will age slower than other humans because of his healing ability, but will eventually die of old age. Well, with that out of the way, I have nothing else to mention. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and chapter 4 will be coming up in a few days. I still have some work to do, chores to take care of, friends to keep up with, and blah blah blah.

Oh and I did forget to mention one other thing. The original Iron Monkey was a true god, but since he passed down his powers to another, the immortality was slightly tainted. Although a very difficult feat to achieve, the following Iron Monkies after the original, can die. The only way for the Iron Monkey to die completely is if the head is severed from the torso, much like the immortals in the movie, Highlander. Ok, time for me to go. See you guys in the next chapter!

Ja ne!