Lee, Who Couldn't Use Ninjutsu

As usual, Naruto was training in Taijutsu at the training ground, experimenting with moves by himself. Hui watched for a while as he formed a Clone Technique and created another version of himself. Naruto heard a puff, and two Huis appeared in front of him.

Naruto pointed at Hui in surprise. "Hui... Hui... Was that the Clone Technique?!"

Hui ignored him. One of her clones walked over and said coolly, "Let's spar. For someone like you, actual combat is the most important thing."

" spar? You never sparred with me before..." Naruto sounded a little aggrieved, though there was a hint of anticipation in his voice.

"Stop talking and get started!" Hui said, taking up a stance. Naruto scratched his head and got ready to fight, too.

Seeing that Naruto and her clone were ready, Hui took out her book and began reading beside a tree. It had been getting harder and harder for Kabuto to find books for her lately. Most of them were beyond her. And ever since Nonō left the Orphanage, Kabuto had grown even quieter. Hui didn't dare disturb him.

Hui could more or less guess why things had turned out this way. Danzo had probably visited the Orphanage, hoping to gain Kabuto's support, but she had happened to miss it.

She didn't know if everyone at the Orphanage blamed her. After all, she had shown up uninvited. Though she couldn't do much for them, Hui still wanted to help as best she could.

Kabuto really was a genius at Medical Ninjutsu. The things that seemed so difficult to her came to him at the drop of a hat. Now he could even use Medical Ninjutsu over a wide area, and he had started making his own medicine. She could only treat minor injuries. She wondered when she would reach his level.

Maybe I should try it on Naruto a few times next time. Hui turned her gaze to him, only to find him still circling around her clone.

Naruto chased after her, trying to land a hit, but he couldn't reach her at all. Instead, her clone struck him several times.

"Could you at least look before you swing? You're flailing around like you're just playing," Clone Hui complained coolly, her eyes full of exasperation. How was he supposed to improve like this?

"I... I'm not!" Naruto protested innocently. He was trying hard to train, too.

Clone Hui seized her chance and struck him on the shoulder, shoving him backward. Naruto staggered a few steps and fell onto the ground, then looked at her indignantly. "You sucker-punched me!"

Clone Hui smiled. "I told you to be careful. Don't let what I say distract you."

Watching from the side, Hui chuckled. He gets hurt all the time anyway. He'd make a good test subject!

"Hui... Hui-kun..." A barely audible voice called from behind her. It sounded familiar. Hui stood and turned around, only to see an ugly guy covered in bruises. Startled, she recoiled a step.

Hui stared at him for a while before recognizing him by his clothes. "...Lee?"

He couldn't walk anymore and sat down, looking at her. Hui could just make out a helpless look in his swollen eyes. What happened to him?

"Lee, what happened to you? Did..." Hui left her book where it was and walked over to Rock Lee. But his gaze wasn't fixed on her. He looked dazed.

"Hui-kun can use the Clone Technique now?" He looked away and lowered his head. "As expected of you, Hui-kun..."

Though he was praising her, Hui could hear how dejected he sounded. She had a pretty good idea what was wrong. Had he finally realized his problem?

"Lee?" Hui sat down beside him. A breeze swept through the trees, flipping open her book with a soft rustle of pages.

Lee looked up at Hui. She gazed at him calmly, her eyes earnest and serious. He couldn't help glancing toward the Hui fighting Naruto. A faint sense of disappointment and regret still lingered in his heart.

"Lee, can you tell me what happened?" Hui asked, drawing his attention back to her. His face wasn't as swollen as before, and Hui could see the confusion and resentment in his eyes.

Lee stared at the ground in silence, his eyes filled with turmoil and sadness. Hui said nothing, simply watching him. After a long while, he finally spoke. "Hui-kun, is it really impossible for me to become a ninja? I can't use any Ninjutsu, and I can't learn Genjutsu at all. And... no matter how much I train in Taijutsu, I can't beat Ninjutsu!"

Lee shouted the last words so loudly that even Naruto, far away, heard him. As he spoke, tears streamed down his face, soaking the dirt in front of him.

Hui frowned at the tearstains, feeling utterly helpless. A sense of loss seemed to close in around her.

It was true. She really couldn't change anything. She had encouraged Lee to train in Taijutsu, even telling him he could become the best in their class, to distract him from his problem. But someone would always make him face the truth: he was hopeless at Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. That was something she couldn't change. Reality was reality. Avoiding it couldn't spare him from pain.

Hui felt a little down, too. She knew that Lee would become the greatest Taijutsu ninja in the future, and his teacher would show the world that Taijutsu could surpass Ninjutsu in battle. As Guy's disciple, Lee would become even stronger. But... Lee didn't know that yet!

Lee spoke haltingly. "I fought him... but it didn't matter... My Taijutsu couldn't beat him at all."

"...Hui-kun... I don't know what use I am anymore... What can I even do?" Lee wept silently, looking at Hui as though pleading with her.

Seeing him like this, Hui furrowed her brow, her eyes filled with guilt and heartache.

She had tested Lee's skills before. He wasn't that weak. He could at least beat the kids who had just entered the Ninja Academy, unless they came from a clan and had been learning Ninjutsu for a long time. The only person Hui could think of was Neji...

That genius. She had thought she could save him, too. She had been too naive. Though she suspected the answer, Hui still asked, "Lee, who were you fighting? You shouldn't be that weak."

Lee froze at her words, and his tears stopped. He looked at Hui, his face streaked with tears. "...It was a genius in my class... I... I wanted to challenge him... Just like you said, I can't use Ninjutsu yet, but no one in class can beat me at Taijutsu... I thought... But he said... I could never become a ninja..."

Hui could imagine what Neji had said. His taunts really were hurtful. That guy... Hui sighed inwardly.

She still couldn't think of a solution. Of all people, it had to be Neji—the boy who was hurting and struggling himself, tormenting himself while hurting others.

Hui sighed inwardly. She couldn't change Neji, so she could only change Lee. "Lee, you've always trusted me. Can you trust me one more time?" Hui asked with a smile. Her sternness had faded, replaced by the familiar warmth she shared with the others. Lee looked at her and nodded.

Seeing that something was wrong, Naruto came over from a distance. As he passed the tree where Hui had left her book, he slowed to a stop. He stepped forward and picked it up, then looked up at Hui.

Just how strong was Hui? Ever since she came back, she seemed to be surrounded by secrets. But Naruto didn't want to go looking for them. He felt as if he might lose something if he did. That was why he had never opened the book, even though he'd had plenty of chances to find out.

He put the book down and closed it, then walked over to them.

"Yes... Yes!" Lee quickly replied after Hui asked him that.

"Lee, even if all you can do is Taijutsu, you can still become the greatest ninja. Even if all you can do is Taijutsu, you can still fight those geniuses. So, to reach that goal, you have to train even harder in Taijutsu. Show those geniuses how powerful Taijutsu can be, because that's your mission, Rock Lee! The path to training that Heaven alone has given you!"

As she spoke, Hui's smile grew wider, and her eyes shone with hope. At the end, it was as if flames were burning in her eyes. She stared straight at Lee, seeming ready to leap up at any moment.

Lee stared at her, his mind in a whirl. A path to training given by Heaven? His mission?

Wasn't being unable to use Ninjutsu proof that Heaven had robbed him of his talent? But why was Hui-kun so excited, her eyes shining as if she had discovered a treasure? Could he really be favored by Heaven? Was this truly his mission?

Seeing the confusion in Lee's eyes, Hui smiled. "Lee, remember this: Heaven only gives you more pain than others when you have a mission. It's to strengthen your heart and, more importantly, to set you firmly on your path!"

"Lee, all the hardships you endure today are for the sake of becoming stronger in the future. Every indignity you suffer today is so that when you finally shine, others will look at you in a whole new light!"

"Staying true to your heart matters far more than wallowing in self-pity here, because you carry a mission that belongs only to you!"

Naruto stared blankly at Hui. She had never been this passionate before. Her burning enthusiasm seemed to affect him, too. Did he have a mission given to him by Heaven? Still, he suddenly envied Lee for having one.

"Lee! You really have a mission like that!" Naruto cheered.

Lee looked up at Naruto in surprise. Naruto's eyes burned with even brighter flames, filled with envy, happiness, and encouragement. Lee hadn't seen that kind of feeling in a long time. Like a little sun, Naruto dispelled the gloom around him.

Hui glanced at Naruto, amused. That was a pretty good assist. Unlike the excitement and passion she was putting on, Naruto was genuinely excited and happy. The fool's enthusiasm was real—and more contagious than anyone else's.

Sure enough, a new light appeared in Lee's eyes. He turned to Hui and nodded solemnly. "I understand. This is Heaven's test for me, because I have a mission to show everyone that a Taijutsu ninja can become the strongest!"

"Exactly! These are all tests from Heaven. Only by overcoming them can you emerge from your cocoon as a butterfly!" Hui agreed happily, a faint smile still on her lips.

"Okay! I understand now. I'm going to train my Taijutsu right away!" Lee jumped to his feet in excitement and turned to leave. But after a few steps, he came back and bowed to Hui.

"Thank you so much, Hui-kun. I'll keep getting stronger, and then I'll beat you!"

Lee seemed to remember their last fight. He still wasn't satisfied with having lost to her. That was all the better, Hui thought with a smile.

"Haha, all right. I'll be waiting. I want to see the day you fulfill your mission!"

Lee smiled, too, looking at Hui with determination and confidence. "I won't let my mission down!" With that, he turned and left. He still had plenty of training to do, and plenty of hardships to face. He couldn't let himself be defeated before then. These were all part of the training Heaven had given him, the mission Heaven had entrusted to him!

Hui watched him go, the corners of her mouth lifting. More than her words, it was Lee's own resilience and perseverance that had truly saved him. Those who save themselves will always be saved by others.