First, let's clarify something.
The original Lee from the anime and manga is an absolute taijutsu prodigy, a one-in-a-million talent alongside Might Guy and his father. To master the ability to open Five of the Eight Gates in just a year and a half means pushing one's body to extreme limits. Granted, without his teacher, Rock probably wouldn't have achieved this level, but a natural gift for martial arts is still a fact—one that can't be denied.
Lee is a genius in taijutsu, needing only the right mentor and motivation.
However, reanimated Madara, Obito, Nagato, Kaguya, and the rest of the Otsutsuki clan couldn't care less about that. These figures don't need training when they have superior genetics and Kekkei Mora. But who said this was going to be easy?
"The Hellish Training System! With it, I'm going to tear apart the cheaters of this shinobi world! I want to devour them and not even notice! That's another one of my life goals! To become a master and the strongest among them! From rags to riches!"
A determined fire blazed in Rock's eyes, burning like a star.
Right now, Lee stood a few meters away from a wooden training dummy, his right leg raised. Time and again, he sent kicks into the air, occasionally increasing both power and speed. However, nothing significant was happening—only a faint breeze stirred from his sharp strikes. To put it bluntly, his attempts at Rankyaku were going poorly. In fact, they weren't working at all.
"Why, though?"
In the world of pirates, there was no such thing as a special internal energy flowing through the body—except for Haki, a mysterious and inexplicable force that allowed one to "observe" and "arm" themselves. That meant the Rokushiki combat style and Rankyaku were merely about creating compressed, razor-sharp air blades. In theory, it was a simple matter of learning to release them. Sounds easy enough, right? But no. It sounded easy, yet in reality, Lee was stuck in place, constantly referring back to the training method outlined in the bronze morning box.
So…
All that was left to do was to keep striking the air, attempt after attempt, straining his ligaments and muscles, drenched in sweat, kicking up dust that stung his eyes. Hoping for what, exactly?
For a moment of enlightenment befitting a true martial artist.
Fortunately for Rock, fate never forgets its duties.
Proof of that came in the form of a man passing by the training grounds where Lee had been practicing for quite some time. Dressed in a green jumpsuit with a vest over it, he had thick, curly hair styled in a peculiar glossy bowl cut.
Furrowing his thick eyebrows in deep thought, Might Guy—one of the strongest Jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village—observed the lean figure of the training youth. To an average onlooker, it might have seemed as though Lee was just playing around rather than seriously practicing, given the erratic movements and his unsteady, heavy breathing.
Guy couldn't help but shake his head before flashing his usual warm smile. He could tell that the boy was likely trying to replicate some technique he had seen somewhere. After all, Lee was known for his taijutsu dedication—even by reputation alone. They had even briefly crossed paths before, though not in any meaningful way.
"What are you doing, kid?"
Lee flinched, lowering his leg, startled by the sudden, bold voice nearby. However, when he opened his round eyes and saw the familiar thick-browed man strolling along the path in his truly legendary outfit, Lee let out a quiet chuckle to himself and relaxed, greeting him with a friendly nod before responding:
"Usually, I train by striking logs to build endurance and pain tolerance, but today I decided to work on shadow fighting. Why?"
"No reason, don't take it the wrong way," Guy replied. "It's just that I can see the Power of Youth in you—the very force that drives my soul with burning passion! And as a devoted follower of the path of taijutsu, I can't ignore the subtle mistakes that would be invisible to an untrained eye. Especially when I see you giving your all, striving to grow in skill… But where's your rhythm? You're completely lacking it! Your strikes are choppy—they'll never land a solid, forceful hit! Just move more smoothly and follow my lead, alright? Let's begin!"
With that, Guy suddenly burst into full enthusiasm, mirroring Lee's stance and raising his right leg.
"Is this even normal?" Lee wondered, utterly baffled as to how and why Might Guy had even appeared before him—let alone started teaching him for no apparent reason. After all, they weren't close. They weren't even master and student. At least, not yet.
Still, Lee couldn't look away, mesmerized. Before him, the man in the green jumpsuit struck the air with such force that each blow produced a deafening crack, as if gunshots were echoing through the field. Second by second, Guy's right leg blurred before Lee's eyes, moving at a speed far beyond any reasonable limit.
Lee's hair—including the short ponytail at the back of his head—fluttered wildly under the miniature hurricane Guy had created. The wind caressed and slashed his cheeks in turns, like a beast with an unpredictable temper.
Lee couldn't help but feel the urge to burst into applause, watching such a spectacular display of power. But instead, a realization struck him: he didn't have time for that. Guy wasn't performing these "dances" for foolish admiration. No, this was a lesson. So, shutting out all distractions—the wind's howl, the dust in the air—Lee entered a meditative state, focusing entirely on his mind and chakra as it calmly flowed through his channels.
Within his consciousness, images of Rankyaku techniques became sharper, more vivid.
Might Guy ceased his strikes and grinned widely.
His work was done. He simply flashed a thumbs-up and vanished into a puff of smoke.
Lee, meanwhile, remained deep within himself. Call it inspiration, enlightenment—whatever you will—but something had finally clicked. The fog that had clouded his understanding lifted. The barrier holding him back shattered.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed—how many days had flown by. But when the cold, mysterious moon bathed the land in silver light, Rock finally awakened, his dark eyes opening with the most serious expression yet.
His chakra core stirred. The tenketsu points in his legs nearly swelled as energy surged through the channels. With a single motion, Lee swung his leg, forming a blue aura around his lower right limb before releasing all the power he had accumulated.
A thundering, vibrating sound echoed across the training grounds. A chakra blade, wrapped in wind, shot forth from Lee's kick, instantly slicing the wooden dummy in half. The cut was flawless—clean, like butter under a master's knife. A force of raw destruction, immense danger—but at a cost. A quarter of his chakra reserves, gone.
[Chakra: 78%]
"Unlike ninjutsu and elemental transformations, I released pure, unrefined chakra—shaped only by the force of my kick. Unfortunately, it consumed a lot of energy. That's my first imperfection, proving that nothing is perfect from the start. I'll have to refine it unless I want to collapse from exhaustion after just a few Rankyakus…"
Lee's mind was already calculating his next training plan.
P.s: If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 17+ at patreon.com/c/Lucius01