Rock Lee

This was a young man with thick eyebrows, wearing a black vest, his appearance utterly unremarkable.

If his eyebrows were a bit more normal, he would have completely disappeared into a crowd.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to peek. I saw your training earlier—it was really impressive." Exposed, Rock Lee scratched his head awkwardly, then spoke with an excited expression.

Naruto noticed that Rock Lee's hands were wrapped in bandages, his gait was slightly limping, and there were even small cuts on his face from sharp objects.

The black vest Rock Lee wore was washed to the point of fading, his ninja sandals were somewhat worn, and calluses could be seen on his exposed toes.

It wasn't hard to tell that this was likely a commoner, yearning to become a ninja and change his fate.

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"Not at all, just daily training. To change your fate, you have to put in the effort." Naruto showed a gentle smile and nodded amiably at Rock Lee.

"Yeah, only through hard work can you become a great ninja." Rock Lee empathized, nodding firmly.

"I think so too."

With an initial topic established, the two began to chat casually.

During their conversation, Naruto learned about Rock Lee's background.

He was born into an ordinary family and would enter the Ninja Academy next year to become a ninja.

Rock Lee longed to become an excellent ninja, so he had been doing some rough training on his own.

But most of his training was aimless, leaving many hidden injuries on his body.

Rock Lee's background seemed too ordinary to Naruto, but his desire to grow stronger and his hard work were quite satisfying.

"Little Lee, you're the hardest-working person I've ever met." Naruto first praised Rock Lee, then shifted his tone.

"But do you know that the direction and method of effort are even more important?"

"Direction and method? Naruto, what do you mean?"

"Find the right direction, and your training will be twice as effective with half the effort. You're at the age for growth and development, but I see you're covered in injuries. Clearly, you haven't protected yourself well in your daily training, and overtraining will drain your body's potential."

"You're right, Naruto. My arms often hurt so much I can't sleep." Rock Lee said with a convinced expression.

Completely clueless about training, Rock Lee only knew how to throw punches, learning Taijutsu through trial and error.

As for ninjutsu, there was no point even thinking about it—his family had no way to let him access Chakra early.

Through deeper discussion about training, Rock Lee was even more impressed by Naruto's demeanor and elegance.

No matter the detail of any training, Naruto would share it all without reservation.

Strength training, stamina training—many details that had left Rock Lee baffled suddenly became clear.

He also understood what scientific training methods meant.

"No one's success happens overnight. This world has no shortage of talent; without the accumulation of time, talent will only go to waste. But if you choose the wrong direction for your efforts, it will backfire instead." Finally, Naruto quoted a famous saying someone had taught him just yesterday, adding a small twist of his own.

"Thank you, Naruto." Rock Lee said, deeply moved.

All along, his thick eyebrows and foolish training methods had been the target of ridicule from the village kids. Every time he went out, he was pelted with stones.

He had even doubted himself, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and persevered.

Naruto was the first person to seriously share his training methods with him.

Though not necessarily absolutely correct, he could feel the sincerity.

Rock Lee bowed deeply to Naruto, a spark of passion burning in his eyes. "Please let me train with you."

"I'd be delighted." Naruto immediately broke into a smile.

The strong are destined to be lonely, but on the path to becoming strong, one needs many subordinates.

In the training ground, Naruto quietly watched Rock Lee, who was running continuously.

Under the blazing sun, Rock Lee was drenched in sweat, his face full of exhaustion, his lips dry, and his chest heaving like a broken bellows.

Yet even so, his gaze was resolute, and his steps never stopped.

Naruto's eyes were calm. He lowered his head and carefully assessed Rock Lee in his mind.

Ordinary looks, hot-blooded and naive personality, easy to fool, talent unknown, but definitely a genius of hard work.

"Naruto, I've finished my run." Rock Lee's voice suddenly rang in Naruto's ears.

Naruto looked up and saw Rock Lee, panting heavily, sitting across from him in exhaustion.

He immediately put on a gentle smile.

"Good job. Let's call it a day for now. Rest up—your body needs it."

"I'll treat you to some Ichiraku Ramen." Naruto patted Rock Lee on the shoulder.

Rock Lee—a guy terrifyingly dedicated to hard work.

On the way to Ichiraku Ramen, walking alongside Naruto, Rock Lee also received some pointed remarks from malicious villagers.

"Look, that thick-eyebrowed kid is walking with the Nine-Tails Fox Demon."

"Disgusting."

"Ugly and stupid on top of that."

Naruto had grown used to these vicious words, so he maintained his composure and grace, but Rock Lee was hearing this kind of commentary for the first time.

He remembered his parents once telling him about the Nine-Tails Fox Demon.

The Nine-Tails Fox Demon was guilty of heinous crimes, twisted in nature, and loved eating children.

But he simply couldn't equate the gentle and refined Naruto with the Nine-Tails Fox Demon.

He turned his head to look at Naruto.

Faced with curses so venomous that even Lee felt anger just hearing them, Naruto responded with a faint smile and instead apologized to him:

"Sorry, Lee. If it weren't for me, they wouldn't be cursing you either. How about we split up and meet at Ichiraku Ramen?"

Rock Lee felt anger and confusion brewing inside him.

He even felt a sense of shared pain.

He and Naruto were both targets of bratty kids' mockery, but the difference was that even the adult villagers sneered at Naruto.

Under these circumstances, Naruto still kept his composure and even thought of him first.

How could someone like this be the Nine-Tails Fox Demon that others claimed destroyed the village and committed unforgivable crimes?

So he stepped forward, eyes blazing with fire, raised his fist, and roared: "Listen up, all of you! Naruto has never done anything wrong from start to finish. It's you, it's you—"

Before he could finish, a rotten egg exploded across his face.

He wiped the egg residue off in a daze.

Seeing this, Naruto stepped in front of Rock Lee and shouted at him:

"You go first."

Naruto had thought that changing his temperament and how he treated others would stop the villagers from taking their anger out on him.

It had worked for a while.

But when Rock Lee stepped up to voice his discontent, it stirred up the deep-seated resentment in the villagers' hearts.

We all know Naruto has never done anything evil since birth.

But he is the Nine-Tails Fox Demon, so he deserves to be cursed, he deserves to die.

You should join us in condemning him, not play the hero.

So now Rock Lee also bore the brunt of the villagers' fury.