Anko introduced the Forest of Death with a grin that promised suffering. She cut Naruto's cheek to make her point, licked the blood, and moved on before anyone could truly understand it.
The rules were simple. Twenty-six teams. Two types of scrolls, Heaven and Earth. Each team got one. You needed both to pass. Reach the tower at the center of the forest within five days or you're done. Lose a teammate, you're done. Open your scroll early and find out the hard way why you shouldn't have.
No food provided. No quitting. No rescue.
Half the teams were guaranteed to fail by numbers alone. The forest would handle the rest.
Everyone signed their waivers and Team 3 collected their scroll and made their way to gate 41, all of them ready to go. As the gates opened, and the teams surged into the forest, a question hung in the air.
"Can I hold onto the scroll?" Lee asked, his voice suspiciously casual.
Neji's sharp eyes narrowed in suspicion, while Tenten's widened in disbelief. "Why?" Tenten demanded, her hand instinctively moving towards her weapon pouch.
"It would be quite safe with me, don't you think?" Lee countered, flashing his trademark grin and giving a thumbs-up.
Neji didn't even dignify the request with words. He simply snatched the scroll out of the air before Lee could reach for it.
"Oh, come on! I wanted to hang it out in the open so that anyone who wanted to fight me would have a reason to target us!" Lee whined, his shoulders slumping in disappointment.
"Idiot," Tenten muttered, rolling her eyes skyward.
"I just wanted to see if there was anyone out there who could help me push my taijutsu to the next level!" Lee explained, his voice filled with a familiar, unwavering determination.
"Enough," Neji said, his voice brooking no argument. He casually bisected a falling poisonous slug with a precise flick of his wrist, the two halves thudding silently to the ground behind him.
"We should prioritize establishing a secure base with food and water before engaging other teams for their scrolls," Tenten figured.
"Aye, aye!" Lee saluted, his earlier disappointment forgotten in the face of a clear objective.
"With my Byakugan and Lee's unnatural hearing, securing our necessities shouldn't be too difficult. Let's get this done quick and correctly." Neji added, already formulating a plan.
"Unnatural…? Was it really necessary to add that part, Neji-kun?" Lee asked.
He didn't dignify Lee with a response sadly.
Team Guy spent the first day adhering to their plan: gathering supplies, constructing a somewhat well-hidden shelter, and avoiding unnecessary confrontations. Their teamwork was already amazing after a whole year of being together, this was nothing. Finally, when they were well-prepared, Neji addressed his teammates.
"It'll probably start to get light in the next hour or so. Most of the teams will be resting now... making this the best time to act. Let's split up and reconvene for the next half hour. But whatever you find, when the time is up be sure you're back here. Got it?" Neji asked, his gaze sweeping over his teammates.
"Okay," Tenten affirmed, a predatory smile playing on her lips.
"Roger!" Lee saluted, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Good. Let's move," Neji said, a rare, confident smile gracing his lips. Team Guy dispersed into the pre-dawn darkness.
Lee, unable to contain his restless energy, moved through the forest with a series of acrobatic feats – flips, spins, and gravity-defying leaps. Upon landing on a tree branch, a bunch of leaves fell from the tree. Lee's eyes took that as an opportunity. As a man who creates his own training exercises, wherever he may be this was one such time!
'If I can catch all 20 of these leaves before any of them hits the ground…' A blush appeared on his face. 'Then Sakura will fall in love with me! But if I miss even one…' It didn't need to be said.
With flames of youth blazing in his eyes, Lee leapt from the tree branch toward the falling leaves. "YAHHH!!!" His body twirled, whirled, and spun as his hand shot out twenty times before perfectly landing on the forest floor. Then a strange smell wafted up his nose.
He turned to see a squirrel on fire?! Lee dove toward the innocent animal, snatching up the explosive tag attached to its back before crushing it, stopping it from exploding.
"Just in the nick of time!" Lee carefully caressed the agitated rodent biting his hand in fear. "Who could do something so cruel?" he murmured, his voice filled with a rare, cold fury as he stroked the frightened rodent whose teeth found no purchase with his flesh.
Suddenly, his enhanced hearing picked up voices in the distance.
"Hehe… Up all night?" a gruff voice asked.
"But it's no longer necessary. Wake up, Sasuke," a second, chillingly smooth voice demanded.
"We want to fight him," a third voice explained, its tone laced with sadistic anticipation.
A knot of unease tightened in Lee's stomach. But it wasn't until he heard one of the voices mention their intent to harm Sakura that Lee's restraint shattered. A surge of protective fury coursed through him, overriding all caution. In a burst of speed that left a trail of disturbed leaves in his wake, Lee dashed towards the sound of the voices. He arrived just as the three figures were about to converge on Sakura from three different angles. With a thunderous cry, Lee launched himself into a spinning whirlwind of limbs – a Severe Leaf Hurricane that sent all three Sound shinobi flying through the air. They crashed into the dense foliage with sickening thuds, leaving Lee standing protectively in front of the cowering Sakura.
'And Sasuke and Naruto too, I guess…'
"Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast, Rock Lee, has arrived!" Lee announced, striking a dramatic pose with one arm behind his back, and a squirrel on his shoulder.
"W-Why are you here?" Sakura's voice trembled as she asked the question, her wide eyes fixed on the green-clad figure standing protectively between her and the scattered Sound ninja. Her mind was still catching up with what had just happened, one moment she'd been facing certain death, and the next bushy-brows had appeared like a hero.
"I will always appear when you are in trouble." Lee replied with absolute sincerity, carefully setting down the small squirrel he'd been carrying. The injured creature scampered away quickly, disappearing into the underbrush to safety. Lee watched it go with satisfaction, at least one innocent life had been saved today.
It was actually thanks to that squirrel that he'd been able to intervene at all. If he hadn't stopped to help the poor creature, and hadn't been in exactly the right position at exactly the right time, who knows if he would've managed to hear Sakura in danger...
"I don't know how to thank you. You're a lifesaver." Sakura managed, her voice still shaky but carrying genuine gratitude.
"I would do it in a heartbeat. Because I'm willing to protect you with my life, Sakura-chan." Lee responded immediately, his smile bright and genuine. Inwardly, he was absolutely praising himself for how perfectly this had worked out. Not only had he saved his crush but he'd done it with style! The way that all girls dreamed their beloved would do.
Guy-sensei would be so proud. This was exactly the kind of youthful heroism that defined what it meant to be a true shinobi of Konoha!
Behind him, Sakura already had a relieved look on her face. She trusted him. Trusted that he could protect her and would protect her.
The Sound ninja were surprised by the interruption but ultimately not affected by the strange eyebrows in green.
"It can't be helped. Zaku, little Sasuke is all yours." Dosu tossed their scroll toward the sound ninja named Zaku. "This freak is as good as dead!" He ran forward.
'It looks like Sakura-chan is out of it too. Well, it doesn't matter. I wasn't expecting to have her do anything more than watch me.' Lee smiled despite the serious glare his opponent was giving him.
Dosu struck with his right arm toward where he believed Lee would be. Only to see that Lee was nowhere in sight for some reason…
"Where did…" Dosu's eye widened in confusion and shock. He was right there!
"Leaf Whirlwind!" Lee's leg made contact with Dosu's.
Dosu felt his control over the world be taken away from him without his consent. The world began to spin uncontrollably fast. What was happening? Did he fall into a genjutsu meant to make him sick and vomit?! No wait, that's impossible, because there was a very real and terribly painful feeling in his left leg.
Then his eyes spotted his initial target again. Lee stood straight up after crouching low on the ground. His fingertips pressed against Dosu's torso rather gently as he continued to spin, somehow not falling. Then seemingly instantly, he closed his fist and his entire body jolted forward.
Dosu wasn't quite aware of anything anymore at that point.
"Oh crud." Zaku realized the predicament they were in.
"You can beat him with your sound, can't you?!" Kin shouted.
"Shut up, woman! Of course, I can beat him! Just take care of Dosu!" Zaku turned his attention toward Lee who suddenly wasn't where he should have been.
"You can beat me?" Lee's voice appeared behind him.
"What?!" Zaku leaped forward while turning around toward Lee's voice.
He suddenly crashed into something behind him. Which should've been impossible considering he was in a clearing. "If I was a less honorable shinobi, you would have been dead two times already." That weird eyebrowed freak was behind him again! Without him noticing!
"But I'll give you a chance. Help me look good in front of my crush, friend." Lee whispered.
"I'LL SHOW YOU GOOD, YA BASTARD! YOU WANNA LOOK DOWN ON ME?! DIE!" Zaku turned toward Lee. "SUPERSONIC SLICING WAVE!!!"