So… what happened to Lee afterward? Chapter 20: Xia Li's Question
Xia Li searched his memories. As far as he could recall, Lee had never seemed depressed—but most of his memories were from after Lee's graduation. There was almost nothing about Lee's childhood.
Wasn't this part already covered in the original story?Xia Li rubbed his temples. He had skimmed past those chapters back then.
His head hurt a little. I'll keep reading tomorrow.
Still, it seemed that Might Guy had noticed something as well. If Lee was still in a low mood tomorrow, Xia Li decided he should ask him directly what had happened.
Xia Li wanted to help if he could.
After all, a teammate who could freely发挥 himself in battle was extremely valuable. Even though Xia Li himself was also a "combat-type" ninja, there were very few who could keep up with his rhythm. Lee was one of the rare ones—especially in taijutsu.
Taijutsu wasn't the core of Xia Li's overall plan, but that didn't mean he thought it was unimportant. The only reason taijutsu wasn't emphasized was simple: within the limited time he had, he couldn't reach the required level.
After making his decision, Xia Li didn't waste any more time.
Although it looked like he had just been casually training earlier, in reality his body had already recovered sufficiently. Today, he didn't plan to use Shadow Clones to push his limits. His chakra reserves were still abundant, enough to continue practicing shape transformation.
The next day, however, Lee's condition didn't improve.
It got worse.
He stopped training early and sat there blankly, his eyes unfocused.
"Lee, what's wrong with you?" Xia Li finally asked. "You've been acting strange lately. This really doesn't feel like you."
A tool teammate couldn't just stop functioning like this.
"Xia Li…"Lee lifted his head. Loneliness filled his expression."It looks like… I can't be a ninja anymore."
Xia Li frowned. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"The teacher taught us the Three Basic Techniques," Lee said quietly. "But I've never felt any change in my chakra—not even once. No matter how hard I practice, nothing works."
As he spoke, he looked at Xia Li with unconcealed envy.
"You can use them perfectly. We're the same age, yet I don't even have the slightest hope of mastering them."
Suddenly, realization struck Xia Li.
So this is it.
He vaguely remembered this scene from the original story, though he hadn't paid much attention back then.
Am I the trigger?
Xia Li quickly dismissed the thought.
Even without him, Lee would have encountered this problem sooner or later. The only difference was that Xia Li's proficiency had accelerated the moment of impact.
Still… something felt off.
When did you start considering us the same level?
Xia Li glanced at Lee, thought for a moment, then nodded internally.
He probably didn't focus much on academics. And since Xia Li's cultivation level was higher—and he could use the Three Techniques—Lee naturally treated him as a peer.
Still, Xia Li couldn't help complaining inwardly. They'd known each other for so long, yet he hadn't even realized this much.
Well… he was Lee, after all. At least his future team leader would be Neji.
"Alright," Xia Li said calmly.
He knew Lee couldn't use ninjutsu, so he didn't try to persuade him to keep practicing it.
Instead, he said, "Lee, even if you can't use ninjutsu, you can still become a ninja."
"Really?"Lee stared at him. Beneath his thick eyebrows, his eyes shone with hope.
"Yes," Xia Li nodded. "I read in the library that before our generation, Konoha once had a 'lifelong genin' who specialized in taijutsu. But he was incredibly strong. During one mission, he traveled thousands of miles alone to rescue a Konoha squad—and killed seven subordinates of the Mizukage."
"And do you know about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist? Let me tell you about them…"
In truth, Xia Li didn't know all the details. He wasn't even sure whether those seven were killed or merely defeated. He had only glanced over the records while researching Guy.
He exaggerated a bit.
After he finished speaking, he realized Lee was staring at him without blinking.
"…That should have some effect," Xia Li thought, then continued.
"And there's another ninja in our village. His ninjutsu isn't outstanding at all—but he still became a jōnin."
"A jōnin?!"Lee exclaimed in shock. The title carried enormous weight for him.
"Of course it's true," Xia Li said seriously. "So even if you only train taijutsu, you can still become a jōnin. But the road will be extremely hard."
"I'm not afraid of hardship!" Lee shouted.
"It will also be very painful."
"I'm not afraid of pain!"
"And perseverance will be even harder."
"I'll persist until I become the strongest taijutsu ninja!"
Flames seemed to ignite in Lee's eyes.
"Then keep going," Xia Li said, smiling faintly. "Don't give up."
"Yes!""My youth—let it burn once more!"
Lee was completely back to his old self, shouting even louder than before.
Seeing this, Xia Li finally relaxed.
Thankfully, Lee was simple-minded in the best possible way. Easy to persuade.
Still, Xia Li sighed inwardly.
Lee and Might Guy were actually different. Guy only found ninjutsu difficult—he could still use simple ones. Lee, however, truly couldn't use ninjutsu at all.
After graduation, with Guy's guarantee, that wouldn't be a problem. But surpassing Guy in the future would be incredibly difficult.
That's a problem for later.
Xia Li had no right to worry about someone else's life path when he hadn't even finished walking his own.
From afar, Might Guy let out a quiet sigh of relief.
He had been planning to investigate in his own way, but Xia Li had already comforted Lee.
And the examples Xia Li mentioned—the lifelong genin and the taijutsu jōnin—were familiar to him.
They were his father… and himself.
Xia Li had used them deliberately to help Lee feel closer to that path.
Still, Lee's situation required careful attention. Becoming a jōnin through taijutsu alone wasn't impossible—but no one understood the hardship better than Guy.
More importantly, being a taijutsu specialist didn't mean abandoning ninjutsu entirely. Even Guy would never teach that.
Xia Li, however, didn't encourage Lee to keep practicing ninjutsu—because he knew from the original story that Lee truly couldn't use it. He didn't want Lee to waste time.
While Guy was deep in thought, Xia Li suddenly approached him.
Guy was already used to this. He'd been discovered before.
"I asked around," Xia Li said directly. "You're Might Guy, the jōnin best at taijutsu in the village. Could you help guide our training?"
"No."
Xia Li froze. He hadn't expected such a blunt refusal.
"It violates regulations," Guy said seriously. "And you shouldn't be doing intensive physical training right now."
Realizing the misunderstanding, Xia Li quickly explained,"I don't mean teaching techniques. Just guidance—training intensity, appropriate limits, how far we should push ourselves for optimal results."
"…That's all."
Guy hesitated.
That kind of guidance wasn't a big issue.
He looked at Lee, training diligently in the distance, and saw his younger self—same thick eyebrows, same lack of talent, same relentless effort.
After a long pause, Guy nodded.
"Alright."
Xia Li's eyes lit up.
With Guy's guidance, physical training would no longer be a problem.
Chapter 21: Shape Transformation and the State of Silent Emptiness
Over the next few days, Might Guy's guidance proved invaluable.
First was controlling training intensity. Previously, Xia Li had no clear sense of how much his body could endure. Now, he could reach his goals in much less time.
Second was regulating training volume. Even increases in workload were carefully calculated, saving enormous amounts of time.
Guy wasn't present every day. He mainly observed during the initial phase. After that, Xia Li and Lee mostly trained through sparring.
Xia Li trusted Guy's understanding of physical combat completely. After all, Guy had nearly won the finals relying on taijutsu alone.
As for the silent Sage-like state, Xia Li couldn't enter it again for several days.
He wasn't anxious.
He had reached it once—that meant he was on the right path.
Eventually, a few days later, Xia Li entered that quiet state again. This time, he didn't push past his limits, and the duration was much longer.
Yet even then, he still couldn't sense natural energy.
Only emptiness.
Over the following days, he found it increasingly easy to enter that state—though it still seemed useless.
Xia Li wasn't disappointed. This was only the initial stage of Sage Mode. Expecting combat value now would be unrealistic.
His goal was simple: keep lowering the threshold until he could enter it even in peak condition.
In real combat, there's no time for extreme training or preparation.
So—practice was enough.
Then, something strange happened.
While in that state, Xia Li found that he could think. Observe. Analyze.
Observe what—he wasn't sure yet.
Perhaps… natural energy someday.
Then one day, while Lee approached him, Xia Li suddenly opened his eyes.
He froze.
He could see it.
More precisely—he perceived the flow of chakra within Lee's body, and the chakra naturally dispersing outward.
Is this like the Byakugan?
No.
Not at all.
He wasn't seeing with vision—he was sensing chakra flow and reconstructing the meridian structure in his mind. The Byakugan's range far surpassed this.
Still, this state clearly had more potential.
As for Lee's chakra—this wasn't strange. Lee couldn't use chakra, but he still possessed it. Otherwise, even the Eight Gates would be impossible.
After recovering from the state, Xia Li resumed practicing chakra shape transformation.
This time, something felt different.
Even when chakra left his body, the connection felt stronger.
That was odd.
Yesterday hadn't been like this.
He stared at the chakra in his palm—a perfect sphere—then reshaped it into a cube.
The next attempt failed; the chakra dissipated silently.
Did I really improve this much in one day?
No.
It was the silent state.
That state enhanced his perception, allowing him to maintain control even after chakra left his body.
The realization strengthened his resolve to pursue senjutsu.
Now, all he needed was to extend that state's duration.
One day, while maintaining calm focus, his perception sharpened further.
He still couldn't compare to the Byakugan—but it was more than enough for close combat.
Within this range, opponents' chakra conditions were fully exposed. The timing of their techniques became clear.
Unfortunately, the effective range was still small.
Then, suddenly, Xia Li realized something.
He should have noticed it earlier—when he detected Guy's presence.
He had assumed this state was only for sensing natural energy.
That assumption had blinded him.
Chakra was far easier to sense.
And within the smallest range—
There was one target he could always observe.
Himself.
For the first time, Xia Li turned his perception inward.
He saw chakra flowing through his own meridians—clearly, vividly, without effort.
Clear beyond expectation.
And within that flow, he saw it.
Wind.
Lightning.
They had always been there.
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