Legend of the Iron Monkey

by Odama Rasendori

A dying wish to save a life for the price of his own, brought Lee to the arms of death. An angel saves him and grants him the strength to protect his loved ones. What would you do with the power of a god? Lee-centered. LeexTen. Ch 15 Update!

9. Chapter 9

Legend of the Iron Monkey

Naruto Fanfiction

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

Chapter 9: Saving the Enemy

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As Lee continued his pace to the tower, he wondered why Orochimaru wanted to destroy the leaf village. For every action, there is a consequence. He has to already know the consequences of destroying a fellow shinobi nation. The others will rebel against him, especially those who are allied to the village hidden in the leaves. But more importantly, this action has to have a reason. What's Orochimaru's reason for wanting to destroy the leaf village? Was it a personal grudge? But if so, why take it out on the whole village? The only one that Lee could imagine who possessed a strong enough reason to hate the village, is Naruto. But as cruel as the villagers were to the boy, he doesn't want to take their lives. He doesn't want to destroy their town, nor does it seems like he has the intention to. Naruto wants to protect the village that beat him to near death in his childhood. So why can't Orochimaru think of it the same way? Why not forgive and forget any grudge that he has for the leaf village and live in peace? Lee shook his head slightly as he tilted his head a bit to check on his passenger. She wasn't talking anymore, but she was still breathing, so that's a good sign. She probably passed out. Right as he thought he was at peace, Anko's eyes shot open and howled into his ear.

"Ow!!! What the hell?! You can put someone's ear out with that shout!" he said. Anko placed a hand on her left shoulder, clenching it as it caused her incredible pain. Lee increased his speed even further. There had to be a reason why Anko wanted to go to the tower. "Hey, why do you want to go to the tower anyway?"

"Because that's where I keep my medicine for this shoulder pain that I have," she replied, not fully telling him the truth.

"Aren't kunoichi of the leaf village able to withstand a mere shoulder pain? I mean, you're not bleeding or anything, so it can't be that bad," said Lee, completely clueless of the entire situation. She was fine earlier, before he second portion of the exam started. But when he saw her with Orochimaru, she was gripping her shoulder like it was going to fall off. Lee scanned his surroundings for the snake man. He was no where to be found, so why was Anko still in so much pain? "Oh, I get it, you're on your period, aren't you?"

Anko flushed a new shade of red that no one had ever seen. She looked to him with steam coming out of her ears and a vein popping out of her face. That was the most perverted question anyone had ever said to her. She wanted to smack him but it might cause him to stumble, fall over, and cause her more pain than she already was in. The special jonin inhaled a few large breaths and huffed it all out. This kid definitely knew how to push a woman's buttons, and it's not funny. He's just a kid, he shouldn't have the knowledge of being able to do something like that unless his sensei was... no way. Anko shook the thought from her head and decided to beat the kid down later, once they reached the tower. Since he was able to fight off Orochimaru, she figured he could trust him with her secrets.

"No I'm not on my period and for future reference, you never ask a girl or woman that stupid question. Do you hear me?" she asked, trying to tone down her anger.

"Do I have a choice? Your mouth is two inches away from my ear. I think I'd still be able to hear your loud voice even if I was deaf," he said. Anko really didn't like being called a loud mouth, especially by kids, but she knew it was true.

"Alright, well, the reason why I'm wailing in pain right now is because of a mark on my shoulder called, the cursed mark," she said.

"Oooh, sounds creepy," Lee mocked, making a face. "Do tell."

Anko decided to ignore that little comment. "The cursed mark is something that Orochimaru gives to his followers. It imbues the user with heightened strength, speed, and overall chakra capacity, if it is used. The problem is, the more someone uses it, the more influence Orochimaru gets on that person. If I used it against Orochimaru, I might have stood a chance, albeit a very slim one, but still a chance. There are two levels of the cursed mark. The first level is noticeable when the user is covered with black comas all over his or her body. The second level unlocks the beast within that user. If you ever face off against someone with a cursed mark, defeat him before he uses the second stage, or you'll be in trouble."

"Interesting, but can I ask questions now?" he asked, acting like a student in the academy. Anko nodded. "Ok, question one, you said that only Orochimaru's followers have the cursed mark, right? Since you have it, doesn't that make you a follower as well? If so, why are you here? Shouldn't you be with him?

"That was four questions, kid, but I'll fess up. Yes, having the cursed mark does mean that you're a follower of Orochimaru but not all of his followers get that. Orochimaru only gives it to the most exceptional of his followers. As for the second one, I was once a student of Orochimaru, when I was a little girl. Why am I here? Well, let's just say that he no longer had his uses for me. Why I'm not with him? That's because I want to kill him for what he did to me," she answered. Lee nodded in understanding.

"How dangerous is the second stage?" he asked.

"You don't want to know, but I'll tell you anyway. The second stage awakens the beast inside of the person. Every ninja has a beast within them and the cursed mark awakens that beast. When a cursed mark user taps into the second stage, he brings the beast inside, to the surface. The power of the second stage of the cursed mark is definitely something you would want to avoid," she said.

"Alright, last question. How do you get rid of a cursed mark?" he asked. Anko sighed to herself.

"There is only one person who knew how to do that, but he's dead, along with the rest of his clan. The only one with the knowledge to destroy a cursed mark is the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze," she said. Minato Namikaze... that's a name worth remembering. "Minato was a prodigy among shinobi and earned the title 'Yellow Flash' because of his very unique jutsu that allows him to wipe out entire armies in a flash of yellow light. The yellow is actually blond because of his hair. He and his clan were once famous because of their natural talent to learn and master sealing jutsus. Not only was the Fourth a master shinobi, but also a seal master. Only he knew how to get rid of these blasted cursed marks, and now he's gone. The only way for me to stop the pain is to take medications or apply mediocre sealing jutsus on myself."

"Why don't you ask another shinobi to use a sealing jutsu on you? It may not be as effective as the Fourth's jutsu, but at least it might help. I heard from Gai-sensei that Kakashi-sensei is a master of the art of ninjutsu. He also told me of Kakashi-sensei's one-eyed sharingan. I'm sure he's copied at least one effective sealing jutsu throughout his entire lifetime," he said. Anko shook her head once more.

"No, Kakashi doesn't possess the kind of power destroy the cursed mark. Maybe he does know one or two jutsus that can do the trick, but the only way to really get rid of this thing is to use a sealing jutsu that is more powerful than the one who bestowed the cursed mark," she replied. Lee nodded. He wanted to help Anko get rid of the cursed mark, but it was just as she said. The only one who knows how to get rid of those things is the Fourth, and he took his secret to the grave. As he continued his way to the tower, Anko's cursed mark started acting up again, but this time, it was worse than before. She placed her hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming in agonizing pain. Lee stopped running and looked around for any sign of Orochimaru. Learning that he was no where near them, he felt another massive surge of dark energy. It had the same chakra signal as the cursed mark that Anko possessed. Could it be that there's another person here with the cursed mark?

"Lee... someone else has the cursed mark... AAARRGGGGHHH!!!" she howled. Placing the puzzle pieces together, he learned that Anko's cursed mark was reacting to the cursed mark of another person. He secured his arms around her legs once more and darted to that direction. He didn't want to cause her anymore pain but he had to know who it was. He needed to keep a mental count of how many people had this stupid mark so he could destroy it, granted that he found another person with the ability to destroy cursed marks and had the power to back it up. When he arrived, Anko's vision was getting blurry from the loss of chakra, but she persevered through it. She also wanted to know who else had the cursed mark. Lee and Anko saw a young boy with spiky, raven hair, and a blue shirt. Lee's eyes widened.

"Is that... Sasuke?" he asked. Anko nodded.

"Impossible... when did he get it?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to try and top him," he said as he looked around for a safe spot to set Anko down. Just then, he spotted the safest spot there was. Neji and Tenten were near, standing around and watching the show. Lee approached them. Tenten sensed him and turned to face him, a little surprised that he was carrying the test proctor on his back. "Tenten, I need you to look after the test proctor for me. I'm going to try and stop Sasuke."

"Yeah, leave it to me," she said as Lee placed Anko's body down. Neji pulled out some healing ointment and placed it around the odd looking mark that he the older woman harbored on her shoulder. As he applied the ointment, he noticed it dissolving as if molten heat was venting through the mark. Lee jumped off of the tree as he saw Sasuke finishing off one of the sound genin from Dosu's squad. Kin was knocked out and Dosu was the only one who remained standing. The other guy's arms looked like they were twisted in every angle. So this is the first stage of the cursed mark... the power was frightening. Sasuke saw his next opponent and wanted to test his strength even further. Lee also noticed that Naruto was knocked out and had a towel over his head, probably to get rid of some fever. Sakura was on all fours, battered and pretty bruised. Her hair was shorter too, which he would ask her about later, when this is over.

"Sasuke, snap out of it! You're under the influence of the cursed mark," said Lee, slipping into a fighting stance in case his reasoning failed as it always did. Sasuke smirked at him and looked at his hands. He then looked to him again.

"Yeah, and it feels great. These guys haven't allowed me to experience the peak of my power. You've gotten stronger in such a short amount of time, so perhaps you will prove a better punching bag than these three.

"I don't want to have to hurt you, Sasuke, but I will if you don't cooperate with me. I'll bring you back to your squad whether you're conscious or not," he said. Sasuke smirked wider and zipped. Lee's eyes followed, but his body didn't move. When Sasuke closed in for the attack, Lee zipped as well, effectively dodging the attack. He moved behind Sasuke and jabbed his knee into his back. Sasuke grunted in pain and fell to the ground, but wasn't finished yet. Lee charged at him. Sasuke formed a few hand seals and brought his fingers to his mouth. He inhaled a brush of air and exhaled a burst of flames. Lee narrowed his eyes and jumped into the flames. He spun his body, creating a drill-like attack that pierced straight through the flames. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as Lee passed through the fire, unscathed. Lee landed on the ground and smashed his fist into Sasuke's face, but was blocked with Sasuke's arm. Sasuke aimed a kick to Lee's stomach, but Lee pushed himself away, receiving only a small portion of what would probably have broken a bone or two. Sasuke jumped into the air and formed more hand seals, he placed the same hand as before, over his mouth.

"Fire style: Phoenix Flower jutsu!" he shouted, blasting a flurry of fire bombs to the ground. As Lee evaded them, he saw two of them about to hit Naruto and Sakura. As Sasuke realized where he aimed, he tried to reach them, but he couldn't. He was still in the air and since he shot his fire bombs from his mouth, he was propelled a little higher due to the force of the shot. Lee moved to Sakura first, being the closest one, and picked her up. He then moved as fast as he could to Naruto, but knew that he wouldn't arrive in time to get him out of the way too. Instead of avoiding the blast, he had no time, so he chose the other option. He moved to Naruto's body, placed Sakura right beside the unconscious blond, and closed his eyes as the fire bombs made contact with his body. Tenten saw the attack, her eyes filled with shock.

"Lee!!" she shouted, zipping above Sasuke and swung her foot down. Unprepared and caught off guard, Sasuke took the full force of the blow and crashed to the ground, his aura dissipating. As the smoke cleared, Neji, Tenten, and Dosu, saw Lee in one piece as well as Naruto and Sakura, safe. But what Dosu and Neji didn't see coming was the burnt marks on Lee's body, closing very quickly. The clothes that covered his back were crisped, but his body remained clean. The other wounds that he received from the fire jutsu, closed right in front of their eyes. Tenten rushed to him and cupped his cheeks, pulling him to her.

"You're okay... don't ever scare me like that again!" she said, embracing him. Lee nodded and returned the embrace.

"Hey, I'm not that easy to kill. It'll take more than just that to get rid of me," he said, nuzzling his face on her neck, taking in her scent. He pulled away and kissed her cheek. He smiled to her and looked to Naruto and Sakura. "Are you two alright?"

Naruto stirred awake, through all the action, and arose from his slumber. Sakura nodded to Lee and embraced the blond, missing him as if he was gone for years. She then looked to her savior, Lee. "Thank you, Lee. We're still taking part of the chunin exams and you decided to save us even when you didn't have to. I owe you my life and the lives of my teammates. Thank you for saving us, and Sasuke."

"Really? I saved you two but..." he trailed off as he turned around, seeing Sasuke's body planted on the ground. He looked back to the pink-haired kunoichi. "I'm not the one who did that. He was up in the air when I saved you two from his attack."

"I was the one who knocked him down," said Tenten. Lee looked to her and stood up, helping her to stand as well.

"Have I ever told you that I love you?" he asked. Tenten smiled sincerely.

"Only once, but I wouldn't mind hearing it again," she said, about to plant her lips onto Lee's when Neji jumped down from the tree, Anko on his back.

"Cut that out, we're still in the midst of battle," he said as he and his friends looked to Dosu and his unconscious comrades. Lee walked to his friend.

"Did you two manage to attain a heaven scroll?" he asked.

"Yeah," Neji nodded. "I have the heaven scroll. Tenten has the earth scroll. We figured that if one of us gets captured, at least the other squads won't get both scrolls."

"I see," he said as he looked to Sakura. "Sakura, what scroll does your squad have?"

"We have a heaven scroll, why?" Lee nodded and turned to Dosu.

"What scroll do you guys have?" he asked.

"An earth scroll," Lee nodded once more and reached for the earth and heaven scroll that he had in his pocket. It would be a total waste to just throw them away, so he figured he should give them to the two squads here that need it the most. He didn't want two potential squads of shinobi to be expelled from the exam just because they were missing a scroll. Besides, he wanted to see the full extent of Sasuke's cursed mark, the full power of the sound village, and whatever Naruto was packing. There was something inside him that the Iron Monkey could sense. It was pretty sinister and very diabolical, but it didn't seem to be taking control of Naruto, so Lee shrugged it off. He would deal with it if it became a problem. He pulled out the two extra scrolls and gave Dosu a heaven scroll and Sakura an earth scroll. Both ninjas caught the scroll, stared at it, then looked to their benefactor.

"Why would you give us a scroll?" asked Sakura.

"I have my reasons," he said. "Anyway, I hope to see you guys in the tower. There's still about four days and a few hours until the end of the exam. Get over there, get some rest, and be ready for what's to come next. If we have to do battle with each other, you can repay me for these scrolls by showing me the full extent of your knowledge in the shinobi arts."

When he finished, he took Anko from Neji's back. Having much more strength and stamina than Neji, he had complete confidence in his ability to carry the unconscious woman to the tower. He gave one last nod to the two other squads and leaped to the trees, Tenten and Neji right beside him. Anko began to awaken when she no longer felt the painful effects of her cursed mark. She found herself on someone's back. She thought it was the Hyuuga from earlier, but it was Lee again. She looked to her sides and saw the kid's squad members, right beside him. She was about to go back to sleep when she felt her face touching a pretty muscular back. Unable to help herself, Anko traced her finger's along the kid's back, successfully tickling him, but that wasn't her intention. Anko bit her bottom lip to keep herself from squealing like a little girl. Tenten noticed, at the corner of her eye, what the test proctor was doing.

"Hey, get your hands off of him, now!" she exclaimed, blushing deeply. Anko looked to the younger girl beside her.

"Why? He's not your boyfriend, is he? she asked seductively.

"As a matter of fact, she is," Lee answered. "I'm very ticklish on my back area so I'd appreciate it if you not do what you were doing earlier."

"Damn it, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend," said Anko, clearly disappointed. Suddenly, there was something that appeared in the Iron Monkey's mind. What was that question that she asked him earlier? Something regarding his age...?

"Hey, why did you ask earlier if I was 18 years old?" asked Lee. Tenten narrowed her eyes, unaware of that question. Neji sighed to himself. He didn't know the test proctor was that kind of woman. He knew what Anko meant when she asked Lee that question, and was fairly disgusted in her. He was a bit saddened that his friends didn't know the meaning to it, but was a bit relieved as well.

"Well for one thing, I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Second of all, I owed you a life debt. As for the third reason... you're kind of cute," she said. A vein started to pop on Tenten's temples, but it remained unseen to the others, due to her forehead protector.

"Alright, that's it. Lee, get her off of you. Neji, you take her," she said. Lee was about to question why but Neji took the woman off of his shoulders and placed her on his. Lee looked baffled, unaware of the current situation. He looked to Tenten.

"Is... something wrong?" he asked. Tenten turned away, not wanting to answer that question. Anko giggled like a little high school girl.

"Don't think too much about it, darling," she said, looking to Tenten. Said kunoichi turned to face the test proctor. "I was only joking. You can keep him for yourself but once you let go of him, he'll be to first on my list to pounce."

"I don't get what's going on here..." said Lee, sighing to himself. Neji turned to his oblivious comrade, unable to believe that someone like him didn't know what was going on. It was so obvious, it was plain as day. Anko was messing with Tenten, knowing that she had deep affections for Lee, and Tenten was falling for it. The young Hyuuga wondered what this world was coming to. He saw it easily and knew that he would never be enticed to such words that Anko gave off to Tenten. It was like Tenten was acting as the jealous girlfriend, Lee was the oblivious boyfriend, and Anko played the role as the seductive woman... wait, that's exactly how things were going right now. Neji wondered which role he played in this twisted game but immediately took it back. He wanted no part in this. Lee looked over to the young kunoichi, who still wasn't looking at him. He wanted to know what was wrong, but it was like no one would tell him and Tenten remained angry with him. He motioned for Neji to go ahead. Neji nodded and sped up as Lee slowed down. Lee tapped Tenten on the shoulder. She finally turned to him but he slowed down until he stopped. Tenten stopped as well.

"Hey, this really is my first time with this relationship thing and there's a lot of things about it that I can never quite understand. I mean, I train for fun, you know. I'm not used to have someone so much closer to me than my own training," he said. Tenten sighed and nodded.

"Alright. I should be the one apologizing. I knew that Anko was just playing around but I let my emotions get the best of me. And I know you would talk to me if there's anything on your mind. I'm sorry that I doubted you and allowed my feelings to cloud my emotions. And you're right, this is my first time too. I never really expected a relationship until I was much older and more mentally secure about the feelings that I harbored for anyone. I knew what she was talking about but I didn't know that you didn't know what she was talking about. I'm so sorry, Lee," she said. Lee nodded and embraced her in his arms.

"It's alright. We both messed up so it's easy to forgive. But you have to tell me some of these relationship meanings that Anko used. I take a lot of things literally and I got really confused when she said what she said," said Lee. They both broke from the embrace. Tenten nodded and smiled. "Well, we should get going. I'm sure Neji is pretty far by now. Besides, we can't leave him alone to care of Anko."

"Yeah, let's go," she said. He was about to go when Tenten held him by the wrist and pulled him back to her. She spun him to face her and captured his lips onto his. Lee faded into the kiss as both ninjas closed their eyes. Tenten didn't know why she did that, but it's not like Lee minded at all. When they pulled away, Lee cupped her cheek with his hands, caressing them ever so softly. He smiled at her, finally accepting the fact that love really can bloom in a battle field. This is a pretty odd place for their first of second kiss, but neither minded. They were together now, and that's what mattered. Without knowing what he was doing, Lee swept her off of her feet and carried her, bridal style. Tenten was a bit surprised but played into it. She wrapped her arms around her neck and snuggled her head into his chest. Lee bent down to kiss her on her forehead before leaping into the trees once more, catching up to Neji and Anko to complete the second portion of their exam.

Tenten smiled at herself, never feeling so safe and so much happier in her whole life. She wished that she had done this before, so her happiness could be prolonged. But they were still kids, they still had time, and Tenten vowed to herself that she wouldn't waste it. She would do whatever it took to make him happy, he deserved it. Throughout his childhood, few, if no one, had ever been there for him. Tenten knew him since childhood but never paid much attention to him, and instantly regretted it. His past wasn't as bad as Naruto's, but his time in the academy was one of the worst childhood pasts that anyone could ever have. Everyone constantly made fun of him for being unable to learn ninjutsu or genjutsu, and his taijutsu was just as bad... but he had something that they didn't have and wouldn't have in a million years. He had and still has determination and that allowed him to rise into the shinobi that he now is. She never helped him, never observed him, but that's probably why she never noticed how much stronger he was becoming. The young kunoichi felt slightly ashamed that it took so long for her to notice who he was inside, not who everyone claimed him to be.

Lee looked down at his significant other. Although they had only become an unofficial couple for a mere few hours, he felt so attached to her, like he didn't want to leave her side. He knew that she knew of his healing ability being much more potent than hers, so why was it that she reacted so defensively when he was shot down by one of Sasuke's Phoenix Flower fire bombs? She should know that he would almost instantly heal from something as weak as that, but she ran to him anyway and knocked Sasuke out in the process. In a way, he sort of felt relieved that she cared so strongly for him. She was really the first person, besides Gai-sensei and his father, to ever love him. No one else did, the academy students, most of his peers, Neji probably didn't care for him too much at all. And in such a sense, he wanted to protect her. He's aware that he trained her well enough for her to take care of herself, but it was as if he had an odd sensation flowing about him. The sensation told him to protect Tenten with everything he was and that's what he planned to do. As he ran, Tenten's hand slipped down to his back, feeling his bare skin.

"You should get that fixed," she said.

"Yeah, I'll sow it back when we get there," he said. In the time that he trained with his father, in the cave of the Iron Monkey, he was forced to learn to sow so he could fix his clothing. At first, he royally sucked at it, but he got better. Without prior knowledge, his father was actually pretty skilled at sowing, having forced to learn it by his wife, Lee's mother. He also learned that his own mother wasn't the type to be pushed around by anyone, especially his father, and that's why he loved and married her. Lee smiled at that thought as those very qualities reflected upon Tenten. She didn't like getting pushed around by anyone, that's why she asked him to train her. She wanted to become stronger so she could protect herself from those who thought that kunoichi couldn't perform as well as shinobi. It was a true intention, so Lee was attracted to it.

"Did you bring an extra sowing kit with my colors? I'm not sure if I have enough on me," he said, hoping for the best.

"Come on, Lee. Have a little faith in me, will you?" she chided, giggling along the way. It kind of surprised her that he knew how to sow, as not many men took the time to handle that ability. Most men were the macho types and would just buy new clothes if theirs became too damaged or worn out. But Lee liked his clothing so much that he would sow it back on whenever it was broken, and she figured that to be a great quality in a man. She herself wasn't too good at sowing, being much better in crafting weapons for other ninjas. It was really a good trade off between them. He sowed her clothes while she made his weapons. It was really a bit unfair though, as he was a taijutsu specialist and had little use for weaponry, but she helped in any way she could. It was actually her who crafted his kunai blades, and he even took time to properly get used to them, like he got used to his staff.

When they reached the tower, Neji was right outside, leaning against a wall. He explained that Anko already went inside but wouldn't allow him to follow. She said that if he entered without his squad, he would be disqualified. He also said that Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, were already inside, having just entered a couple of hours ago. Lee nodded at this fact, knowing from Gai-sensei that Kurenai-sensei's squad is a specialist in survival missions and other such tasks. When all three were ready, they entered the tower together. When they were inside, Tenten noticed a plaque on the wall before them. She read it out loud but noticed a few words missing in the paragraph. It was then that Neji remembered about their scrolls and how they were instructed to open them when they set foot in the tower.

"I think we're supposed to open our scrolls now. Anko did say that we're supposed to do it when we reached the tower and here we are," said Neji. Lee and Tenten nodded as Tenten reached inside her shuriken pouch, having placed her earth scroll in there. Lee pulled out his kunai blades, ready to defend himself and his squad from anything that might happen to them, should there be anything dangerous within the scroll. Tenten and Neji dropped the scroll on the floor as smoke filled the area. Although the smoke nearly blinded them, Lee saw right through it. A man appeared from the smoke and charged at Neji. He threw something which resembled a kunai knife, at Tenten. Tenten caught the kunai by inserting her index finger on the circular base of the knife. She ran to the left side of the man and blocked his kunai on his left fist, as Lee ran to the right and blocked the kunai on his right fist. When both were in position, Neji had his byakugan activated and his fingertips on the man's torso, ready to seal his tenketsu points. When the smoke cleared, Asuma Sarutobi was seen smiling. He backed away from the young genin squad and took another puff at his cigarette.

"Good, very good. You guys are prepared. Gai has taught you well," he said.

"Asuma-sensei? What are you doing here?" asked Tenten.

"Well, I'm the one assigned to this pair of scrolls to knock out the squad who was foolish enough to open the scrolls too early," he said. "But seeing as how you three were able to defend yourselves rather adequately, I'll admit that even I would have had a bit of trouble with taking you three down. But before I tell you what else I'm doing here, I'm curious to know why you three didn't knock me down. I attacked you, you defended yourselves, but why did you stop?"

"I can answer that one," said Lee. Asuma, Tenten, and Neji, turned to him. "You're the only shinobi that I know in the leaf village who smokes a cigarette and wouldn't mind doing it when minors are around. Seriously though, Asuma-sensei, you really should quit doing that. I saw the lit end of your cigarette even through the thick smoke and I knew instantly that it could only be one person."

"Good eye," he said, nodding at him. "Anyway, I'm here to congratulate you for completing the second portion of your chunin exam. If you've read the plaque behind me, you'll notice that there are a few words missing from it. Those can be found by reading the earth and heaven scrolls that you guys picked up in the forest of death from other squads. If you're confident in your physical ability, follow the heaven scroll to achieve spiritual and mental enlightenment. If you're confident in your mental and spiritual ability, follow the earth scroll to achieve the peak of your physical skills. Both must be in balance to create a powerful shinobi. Always bear in mind that you can't outbalance the scale or nothing will fit. You as a shinobi or kunoichi won't be able to function to your fullest extent."

"I see, that makes perfect sense," said Lee. "Back then, I thought that if I had a good body and the ability to react to anything, I would be successful in all of my missions with my squad. But when I met a special someone, he taught me that I was wrong for thinking that way. I trained my mind and spirit by meditating under a waterfall. When I honed that part of myself, nothing was really impossible for me. I became more aware of things and no longer rushed into battle without having a strategy in mind."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about, Lee," said Asuma. Tenten nodded and smiled, knowing who it was that Lee met. Neji was a bit curious, but would probably ask him later. "Anyway, the third part of your chunin exam, since there's so much you who are left from the second part, will be an event that hasn't been held in years. Normally, you're supposed to face off against each other in front of a lot of people, in the chunin stadium, but as I said before, there's more candidates here than last year, or the years before. The third part will be a preliminary round."

"A preliminary?" asked Neji. "For what?"

"It's an elimination round where you fight against whoever passed the test, once. If you win, you proceed to the finals. If you lose, the game's over for you. This is to eliminate the ones who possibly passed by a fluke or by leeching on from the work of their squad or passed just by mere luck. This part will take individual skill. There will be a machine that chooses who you are pitted against and is 100 percent random. I'll warn you now though, there is a chance that you may be pitted against your own group," he said. Neji slowly looked to his companions. He knew that they were both much stronger and faster than him, from what he witnessed in this overall exam. But he had confidence in his techniques. It was really only Lee that he worried about. Not only Lee's speed, but also that quick healing ability that he witnessed earlier, when he healed from the Uchiha's fire jutsu. There must be a weakness to that. Tenten grinned at the thought of being pitted against her boyfriend. At first, she was a bit afraid, but she had nothing to lose. Even if she failed this exam, she would still be there for him, no matter what. They were one now, and one defeat from him wouldn't change anything.

"Alright, get some rest and be ready in four days. Enter through the door behind me and there will be medical ninja who will show you to your temporary quarters. Later!" he said as he vanished in the same puff of smoke that he appeared in. They nodded and entered through the door. There were indeed medical shinobi and kunoichi there, awaiting their arrival.

"You must be the third group to pass. Right this way then," said one of the representatives, walking away. Team Gai nodded and followed. Upon arriving at their quarters, the medical ninjas stepped to the side, allowing the squad to gaze at their temporary room for the next few days until the second part of the exam comes to a close. It didn't look too bad and seemed like it could house a good several others. It was equipped with everything that would accommodate anyone, ninja or civilian. There was also a private restroom beside the main closet, providing a jacuzzi for three people, a shower, a toilet, and a sink.

"As you can see, this room is equipped with everything a 3-man squad would need. We understand that three are participating in this year's chunin exam, hosted by the leaf village. To help you train, we've fitted a much larger room, downstairs, with most of the accessories that a shinobi or kunoichi would need to to accommodate his or her training. You may relax in here if you wish, or you could go downstairs and train. The choice is yours. As for us, we have to wait downstairs, in the lobby, for any other squad that may be coming in early," he said as the medical squad bowed to the shinobi squad before them and proceeded to their destination. Tenten and Lee stepped further inside the room to have a better look around. Neji wasn't sure what his teammates would do, but he had to train, in case he was partnered up with either of them.

"Alright, I'm going to go downstairs and train. I have to prepare myself for any battle that will be coming up," he said.

"You should relax a bit too," Tenten suggested. "You and I fought off three squads today, just to get the right scroll that we needed."

"Perhaps, but look at you. While we were looking for a heaven scroll and met up with other squads, you jumped in my place whenever a jutsu was about to hit me that I couldn't block. And look, your clothes may be a bit tattered but you look fine, not a single scratch on your body. You were really acting like my human shield, Tenten, do you know how bad that makes me look?" he asked, trying to contain his humiliation. Tenten nodded and looked away, feeling a little guilty that she was over-using her healing ability. But she knew in her heart that she had good intentions. Most of the attacks that she took probably would have injured him really badly, but she realized that men have their pride. "Look, I'm not trying to beat down on you, Tenten. I appreciate that you were just trying to help me, but I have to get stronger too. And... I have to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"Can you heal... like Lee can?" he asked. Lee's eyes narrowed a bit but returned to normal almost as quickly. He figured that Neji saw him heal after he took that Phoenix Flower to his back and ended up unscathed. Tenten looked to Lee, unsure if she should reveal the secret that has only remained between them and one other person. During their time inside the cave, Lee told her that he mentioned his abilities to Iruka-sensei, but no other. If their old teacher can be trusted, why not an old friend? Lee nodded to her and handed her one of his shuriken. Tenten took it with one hand and raised it to her opposite shoulder. She plunged it inside and dragged it down about three inches, creating a small wound. Neji narrowed his eyes and watched as the wound bled for about a second and then closed. Tenten picked up a towel from a nearby table and wiped the blood from her shoulder. Neji nodded.

"I see. Well, I need to train. I don't know how it happened but you two have gotten much stronger than I have in such a short amount of time. And it appears that you two are capable of rapid healing. If I'm to be pitted against either of you, I have to find a way to get around your healing abilities," he said.

"I'm not sure you can," said Tenten, looking apologetic. "Our healing ability is passive, and that means no chakra involved. It's not a jutsu, that's why Lee can do it. There's no hand signs or chakra manipulation required. Our bodies heal when they are damaged, against our own free will. And another thing is, it provides us with a constant stream of stamina regeneration as well, to help us to last in battles longer. Lee's healing ability is more potent than mine, as his activates upon taking damage and allows him to fight for a much longer time than I can. Mine activates a little later, heals a little slower, and provides a little less stamina."

"But that still comes in handy during tight situations, or any situation at all. If yours is less potent than Lee's, then that must mean..." he said, looking to his other comrade. He quickly picked up a kunai, from his pouch, and tossed it to Lee. Said shinobi allowed the kunai to travel to wherever it needed to. It wasn't because he knew he could survive it. It was because he knew that Neji's aim was true. The kunai scratched a wound on his cheek. Blood was about to come out but it was pulled back inside the cheek as the wound closed entirely. "That's what I thought. Hence, I have to train. I refuse to fail this exam."

"Neji, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," said Lee, walking up to him.

"It's nothing that you have to feel sorry for. If anything, I should be the one who's sorry for not helping you two when you needed it. I think karma has finally caught up to me, and allowed you two to attain levels of power that I couldn't even dream about. I guess this is what I get for always saying that one's destiny can never be changed," he said as he walked away and closed the door, leaving two very guilty genin to themselves. Lee sighed sat down, taking out his sowing kit from his pouch, as well as some other materials. He took off his hard-leather armor and undershirt, exposing his bare chest. Lee noticed that he had to fix the back-side of his hard-leather armor, and his long sleeve garment. He was about to start sowing back together, the back-side of his long sleeve shirt, knowing that it was probably easier to start with that first, when Tenten sat down on the same couch, leaned in and kissed him on the neck, removing the needle from one of his hands and the garment from his other hand. She took them both and placed them on the floor below.

"Tenten? Um... something on your mind?" he asked. He didn't admit it but he actually liked how she was making him feel right now. It really did do him a lot of good, seeing as though he had to deal with Orochimaru, Anko's nonsense, and Sasuke's cursed mark. Oh what was he thinking? He needed something like this to calm him down. Lee inhaled her scent, allowing the sweet aroma of her skin to intoxicate his senses. Tenten placed her legs beside his, locking the position, and smiled.

"I can sense your tension, sweetheart, and that's not something that your body can heal. I'm not sure how much I can do for you, but let me try and remove at least a little. For now until later, let's just be ourselves," she said, snuggling into his neck and allowing her breath to cascade down his chest. Lee returned the smile.

"Can I do the same to you? You took quite a beating for Neji and those muscles of yours must be at least a little sore. You said it yourself, your healing ability isn't as potent as mine," he said, bending down to suck on the flesh of her neck.

"Mmm... that feels... pretty good..." she said.

"Is that a compliment?"

"No, it's a warning."

"A warning? Why?"

"A warning because if you keep doing it, I'm really going to lose control. I might go totally insane with you and I prefer to keep my sanity," she said. As Lee continued, hearing her moans and all, he began to weigh his options. Did he want a girlfriend to lose her sanity for one night and show him a good time so he wouldn't have to think about all his stress for a while? ... sounds like a plan. For a few more seconds, Lee's mouth moved to her ear, nibbling a bit of the flesh as well.

"Lee... oh god... are you sure you... really want to keep doing that?" she asked through moans.

"Is that another warning?" he asked, stopping a bit and allowing his exhalation to warm her up.

"No, it's a dare."

"Let me guess, you're daring me to keep going but if I do so, it'll blow your mind. Am I about right so far?"

"Right on the nail."

"Is there a double dare option?" Lee asked, as he moved to her lips and kissed her again. Tenten smiled to him as he allowed himself to lay down properly, his girlfriend on top of him as she started devouring his lips into another passionate kiss. They knew their limits, it's not like they were drunk or anything. Lee inwardly smiled to himself, achieving his first snuggling session. His eyes moved to a clock that hung just above the door where they came through from. It's almost midnight, but he didn't feel all that tired at all. It's probably all the adrenaline from today's events. He ran through the forest for hours, faced off against Orochimaru, had to carry Anko all around, fought with Sasuke for a while as he had his cursed mark activated, saved Naruto and Sakura from being human marshmallows and... fell in love. Oh yeah, he needed this alright. His attention diverted back to Tenten and returned the kiss with enhanced passion. Tenten pulled away softly and grazed her lips onto his, teasing him a bit.

"The night is young," she said.

"And tonight, you're all mine," he replied as they smiled to each other.

"Just the way I like it," they said simultaneously as they kissed each other again.

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Alas, another update. You know, honestly speaking, I wrote this chapter about two months ago and when I read over it, before posting, I saw so many grammar errors that I almost puked. Well, aside from that, I hope you guys liked the little LeexTen that I added in the end of the chapter. There's a lot more to come, regarding those two, but you'll just have to stay tuned for further chapters. As of now, I've almost finished typing out the first part of this story, which consists of 23 chapters. What do you guys think about me starting a shippuuden series? It was on my mind while I was writing chapter 22 but I want to know what you guys think. Man, my story will be long. I know the ending but even I don't know how long it's going to take to actually get to that phase of my story. Well, it was bound to be long. The title does say "Legend of the Iron Monkey" after all. It's Lee's legend and uhh... you'll find out more if you keep reading.

Ja ne!