Chapter 32
Naruto was frustrated. Angry and tired, too. He tried his best, but he still had a hard time controlling his chakra. And then, the other day, he noticed Sasuke copying him and doing even better than him.
Iruka-sensei still hadn't returned either. So, Naruto couldn't ask for help. Hayate-sensei was nice, but he didn't feel like he could gather the courage to ask him for help. Naruto didn't want him to look at him like he was just another annoyance.
And there was no way he could ever ask anything from Anko-sensei. That woman was something else. Even though she didn't seem to pay special attention to him or anyone else, it always felt like she was looking at him. And in a scary way, like he was a prey or something.
As scary as Iruka-sensei was, he felt approachable. Well, Naruto didn't like most people in the village, as most people didn't like him. Even he knew that he didn't know anything about social skills since he had none, so he might be mistaken.
All he knew and cared about was how to be strong so others would respect him. So, rather than looking down on him, they would look up to him. Like he looked up to the Hokage. All of them were so cool and strong, so he needed to be even better than them.
"Hiya!"
Suddenly, the tree in which Naruto was resting shook violently, and he fell off the branch he was on. He didn't mind crashing to the ground since he was used to it at this point; he could land safely nine times out of ten, but it sure pissed him off that his rest was interrupted so violently.
"Sorry! Are you alright? I didn't see you up here."
A boy with long black hair tied into a ponytail ran up to Naruto and helped him up. Dusting off the dirt and fallen leaves, Naruto glared at the one who caused him to fall. If the boy weren't sincere in apologizing, Naruto would have beaten him up.
"Well, you'd better be sorry," Naruto replied. "What were you doing anyway, hitting a tree out of nowhere?"
"Training."
"Training?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, I was practicing my kicks on this tree."
"That was a kick?" Naruto couldn't believe that the tree he was on was quite big in width and height. "Show me."
"Um, okay." The boy looked hesitant, but Naruto was adamant about seeing it; otherwise, he wouldn't believe it.
Naruto almost winced as he saw the boy kick the tree, just imagining his leg hitting this hard tree made him feel the pain, but the boy seemed fine. And true to his words, the tree shook violently after being kicked by him.
"Whoa! That's awesome! Do it again."
Naruto was only satisfied after seeing it three more times. He just couldn't comprehend how someone could hit a tree like this with his leg and not break his bones. He remembered how he punched a tree out of frustration and how much it hurt.
It was just unbelievable for him to see someone do something like this. He got so excited that he tried it too, copying what he saw the boy do. And Naruto kicked the tree, ignoring the boy's warning.
"Ah!"
It hurt like hell. The tree was hard, and his leg wasn't. So, when he put all his strength into kicking the stupid tree, he felt all that power come back to his leg. And now, he was on the ground writhing in pain, clutching his leg.
"Are you alright?"
"I am fine." If Naruto were alone, he would have cried in pain, but he had to put up a strong face, or he would not be respected. "But how come when you do it, it doesn't hurt you?"
"It does," the boy confessed. "But I got used to it. After practicing it for a long time, I can endure this much."
"Wow, you are so amazing." Naruto at first didn't think much of him, but now he saw him in a different light. "Oh, I am Naruto Uzumaki, the future Fifth Hokage! What's your name?"
"Oh, I am Rock Lee, and I will become the best taijutsu master in history!"
From the moment Naruto shook his hand with Rock Lee after introducing themselves, he knew he would like him. Not only did Rock Lee show no reaction to Naruto, but he even looked at him and smiled at him honestly; it was the first time for him.
"So, how much did you practice until you could do something so awesome?"
"Ah, every day, for about a year, right after the academy and on free days."
"That's a lot," Naruto was quite surprised. "And what else can you do?"
"Uh, punch," Rock Lee replied by punching the tree, even leaving an imprint in it.
"What else?"
"That's it."
"That it?"
"Yep."
"So, for a year, you only practice how to kick and punch, no crazy ninjutsu or anything like that?"
"Yes, since I can't use ninjutsu or anything else but taijutsu, I only practice how to kick and punch."
"That's amazing."
Naruto didn't completely understand what he meant by that. He couldn't use ninjutsu, but he didn't care. Just the fact that he, a boy the same age as him, for a whole year, every day, practiced something so simple was astonishing to him.
He couldn't help but admire Rock Lee. Naruto was already frustrated that he couldn't do something so simple as walk up a tree in the weeks he practiced. But it was just weeks. And he was already getting angry doing something like that for so long. And yet Rock Lee did an even simpler thing for a whole year.
"It's nothing special," Rock Lee replied as he scratched his neck.
"Can you teach me that, too, how to punch and kick as you do?"
"Sure."
For the first time in his life, Naruto felt comfortable just talking with someone his age. And it was the first time that someone talked to Naruto happily without any reservations. It was weird for Naruto, but nice weird.
Even when he failed to do as Rock Lee instructed him. Even as it hurt him like hell to even try to imitate him. Naruto didn't want to let go of the connection he just made. So, he tried his best to ignore the pain.
…
By the next day, Naruto was exhausted. His legs and hands hurt. He never even realized how long he was training with Rock Lee yesterday. They were just talking, and before he realized it, he was following Rock Lee and doing the same kicks and punches as he did.
It was crazy; somehow, they got a rope to tie around the tree so it would be easier for Naruto, and for the rest of the day, he just kicked and punched the tree while Rock Lee corrected his stance. And it was the most fun he had ever had.
Through all the talking they had, Naruto realized how awesome Rock Lee was. Rather than being stupid like him, who couldn't control his chakra to use any ninjutsu, Rock Lee didn't have an aptitude for molding chakra. It was difficult to understand for Naruto, but he got the idea.
And yet Rock Lee didn't give up on being a shinobi. No, rather, his dream got even bigger. And he wanted to be the best taijutsu master. After meeting Rock Lee, Naruto got a second wind in his motivation, too.
He wouldn't stop until he could control his chakra perfectly, no matter how much time it would take, and he would become the best ninjutsu user in the history of the world. He would learn at least a thousand jutsu in Rock Lee's place, too.
"Naruto Uzumaki." A book fell on Naruto's head as he lay on the desk.
"I wasn't sleeping!" he yelled out as he looked at Anko-sensei's angry face.
"I have eyes," she replied. "For your punishment, I want you to read this book and write a report by tomorrow."
Naruto looked at the book. Five Element Basics. It was a thick book, and Naruto could only groan as there was no way he could finish this book in a day and write a report about it. That meant he would be harassed for all eternity by Anko-sensei and forced to do all kinds of chores for her.
And he promised himself not to get in trouble with Anko-sensei after he saw what she did to Shikamaru when he took a nap in her class. He got chills from just looking at Shikamaru sitting straight in the first row of desks in the classroom.
The real Shikamaru was long dead and was replaced by this monstrosity, who was forced to answer every question first in any lesson. His eyes were empty, and every time Anko-sensei looked at him, he would tremble in fear.
Nobody knew what she did to him. And Naruto didn't think he wanted to find out. So, there was no way out now, as he could only nod and agree, since questioning her would mean even worse punishment. OR she would do something to him, as she did to Shikamaru.
"Alright, we will end the lesson for today here. Revise what you have learned; everything we talked about will be in the test. And I mean everything."
She was even scarier than Iruka-sensei. At this point, Naruto wished Mizuki-sensei would return to replace her. Naruto missed his sneering face. But he heard that Anko-sensei killed him and took his job. And somehow Naruto could believe that.
Though there were many rumors about the academy and other things, he wasn't close to anyone to ask about any of them. And he didn't really care. Especially now, when he had enormous homework to do. Yet he still couldn't skip his training either.
Naruto followed the others outside for combat class after a short break from ninjutsu class. But he wasn't really looking forward to it either. As kind and awesome as Hayate-sensei was, there was a big problem with him and the things he taught them.
"Good day, everyone." Hayate-sensei was already waiting for them with a big smile on his face. "Today, we will continue from yesterday's lesson about swords. Does anyone have any questions?"
Hayate-sensei loved swords. And at first Naruto thought they were awesome too, but day after day of Hayate-sensei talking about them and showing off his skills wore out not only Naruto but others too.
They got it. The swords were cool, but Naruto didn't care for them even one bit. And after yesterday, he would rather learn how to punch and kick. Naruto missed Iruka-sensei and his brutal training; at least then, Naruto felt like he was training to be a shinobi and what it meant to be one.
…
Naruto barely made it halfway through the book he was supposed to read, and he was already completely exhausted. His head was spinning with words he didn't understand, and he was thinking about what would happen tomorrow, since he knew he wasn't finishing this book.
Putting his head down into the book in defeat, he didn't know what to do. Unlike any other teacher, Naruto was afraid of Anko-sensei. She didn't like jokes, nor did she tolerate antics, so if he tried something, he would probably end up dead. And he was certain of it.
It was never so hard in the Academy before. Teachers didn't care much, especially when it came to Naruto, but ever since Iruka-sensei came in, everything changed. It was hard but rewarding. As much as he complained, he wanted to go to the Academy every day now.
He felt like he was learning something every day. And he wished to improve himself too, more than ever, as he realized how scary shinobi really were, and how little he knew about this world.
The Hokage were even more awesome after he truly learned about them. How much harder it must have been to live through wars where all these amazing shinobi couldn't even survive, but they did, and they were above everyone else.
It only made him want to be up there with them. On top of that, he was not only respected but remembered long after his death. That meant he must put in even more work to do so. And he wasn't alone in wanting something similar.
Though there was one thing Naruto was curious about. What kind of shinobi was Iruka-sensei? Anko-sensei and Hayate-sensei were pretty cool, and they were Iruka-sensei's teammates, but neither of them talked about him.
He tried to look into it, but he found nothing either. All he could do was wonder, and wonder what happened to him. They said that he was injured in training and needed to rest to recover. But Iruka-sensei wasn't someone who would get injured while training, so it made no sense.
"Naruto, what are you doing?" Rock Lee found Naruto under a tree where they trained yesterday, with his head in a massive book.
"Ugh, don't even ask." Naruto just couldn't understand how he was supposed to read it all till tomorrow. "I have to finish this book and write a report by tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Because Anko-sensei told me."
"But tomorrow is Saturday, there is no class on the weekend."
Naruto looked up at Rock Lee, then at the book he was agonizing over. He had been had; she completely fooled him, and he fell for it. Never in his life did he feel so defeated. And this meant war. Nobody caught Naruto Uzumaki lacking.
A war where he probably wouldn't survive. But this was more important than his life. Anko-sensei would have to pay the price for wounding his pride. No matter what he must sacrifice, he would make sure she paid. There was no other way now.
"Anyway, want to train with me again?" Rock Lee didn't notice anything wrong with Naruto as he was too happy to have a training partner.
"Yeah!"
It was also the first time Naruto had a training partner. And someone close to him who didn't look down on him with that look in their eyes that said he was the scorn of the world. So, that was why he could ignore the pain and follow Rock Lee's teachings even when he didn't understand the difference between the stances.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.