Chapter 1
"Not done yet…?"
A cold, emotionless voice rang in his ear.
"This voice… Sakura language? Am I in the Land of Sakura?"
"When did I learn Sakura language?"
"I… wasn't I just finishing overtime and heading home?"
Rock Lee felt completely lost. What the hell was going on?
The light was dim, and there was a strong smell of earth and sand.
He struggled to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as iron.
"Desert Coffin…"
Wait. That phrase sounded familiar.
A crushing pressure suddenly squeezed him from all directions. He heard the sickening sound of his own bones snapping.
Crack.
It was crisp. Like breaking a dry biscuit.
The intense pain jolted him awake.
Rock Lee saw him — a red-haired boy with a giant gourd on his back, eyes as cold as ice.
Gaara.
And he himself… was wearing a tight green spandex suit, with a bowl-cut hairstyle and thick eyebrows.
Rock Lee.
Fuck.
Rock Lee's mind went blank.
He had only been named Rock Lee by his parents. As a kid, his friends always teased him because of the Naruto character. Now he had actually transmigrated into him.
And of all times, it was right in the middle of the Chunin Exams — getting repeatedly crushed by Gaara.
Game over.
That was the only thought in his head.
He had just escaped the 996 corporate hell, only to fall into the Naruto world's tiger den?
And it was hell-mode difficulty right from the start?
"Funeral!"
Boom—!
An indescribable crushing force engulfed him.
His consciousness began to fade.
Whatever. In his previous life he had already lived long enough, and he remembered that the original Rock Lee didn't die here anyway…
Time to slack off!
No big deal. Guy-sensei would step in!
[Ding——]
A sharp, game-like notification suddenly exploded in his mind.
[Host detected to be on the verge of death. Damage threshold reached…]
[Undying Body System activating.]
[The Undying Body System grants Immortal Points through suffering damage or intense training.]
[Initial reward: 100 Immortal Points.]
[1000 Immortal Points can passively negate one fatal injury.]
[Injuries can be fully healed by spending 1–100 points depending on severity. Would you like to heal now?]
His brain short-circuited.
A system? The classic cheat for transmigrators?
Before he could even think "Yes," the force grinding his limbs into paste suddenly intensified.
[Warning! Severe injury detected! Vital signs dropping rapidly!]
[Received "Desert Coffin" attack — +500 Immortal Points!]
[Additional damage accumulated — Total Immortal Points gained: +800!]
[Current Immortal Points: 1400]
The fading consciousness was violently dragged back by the stream of numbers.
Wait…
Getting hurt… gives points?
The mind of a man who had been a corporate slave for over ten years suddenly started spinning at full speed.
The heavier the injury, the more points?
Points can heal wounds?
This…
This is basically a fucking perpetual motion machine!
The pain was still there, but it felt different now.
It was no longer deadly torture.
It was… experience points.
It was KPI.
It was this month's performance bonus!
"Harder… put more strength into it…"
He didn't know if the words actually left his mouth, but that was exactly what he was thinking.
Come on! Do it harder!
As long as it doesn't kill me, go all out!
After all… I can't die!
But Gaara, please control your strength a bit — killing me would still waste 1000 Immortal Points.
At that moment, the killing intent in Gaara's eyes had almost become tangible.
This thick-eyebrowed guy… was still alive?
How was that possible?
No one had ever survived his Desert Coffin.
"Since you're not dead yet…" Gaara's voice sounded like it crawled out of hell, "I'll send you on your way."
More sand — like sharks smelling blood — surged wildly toward Rock Lee.
Perfect! He roared inwardly.
Harder, baby.
If I can endure this, I can buy my retirement life in full cash by the end of the year!
[Warning! Lethal killing intent detected! Host is about to receive "Sand Burial" attack!]
[Estimated damage: Fatal!]
Boom——!
A towering wave of sand roared like a giant beast opening its maw to swallow everything.
But right before the sand completely buried him, a green shadow appeared in front of him at a speed the naked eye could barely follow!
It was Might Guy — Konoha's Blue Beast and the original Rock Lee's teacher.
He stood between Rock Lee and the sand wave, arms spread wide, forcefully blocking the violent power.
"That's enough!" Guy's voice was filled with unprecedented seriousness and anger.
The sand was blasted away by an invisible force and scattered.
Examiner Hayate Gekko also appeared instantly, stepping in front of Gaara and announcing:
"The match is over! Winner — Gaara!"
The entire arena fell into dead silence.
All eyes were focused on the figure lying in the arena.
Or rather, on what looked like a pile of mangled meat.
His limbs were twisted at unnatural angles. The green spandex suit was soaked in blood, turning a dark brown.
His consciousness began to blur — not because he was dying, but because it hurt like hell.
The pain he had ignored earlier while chasing points now flooded back like a tidal wave.
[Current Immortal Points: 1400]
[Would you like to spend 100 points for 100% injury recovery?]
"Yes…"
Rock Lee was about to silently confirm, but he suddenly stopped.
No!
Healing right now in front of everyone? Performing an instant full recovery?
He didn't want to become a freak. He just wanted to lie low and grow stronger quietly.
If he was exposed now, Orochimaru would probably drag him away for experiments until he died.
He had to play dead.
Yes — pretend to be unconscious, wait for the medical team to carry him away, then secretly heal.
Perfect.
His corporate-slave brain worked extremely fast in moments like this.
Medical ninjas rushed over. One knelt down and placed fingers on his neck.
Moments later, he looked up in horror and shook his head at Guy.
"Guy-san… his injuries are too severe… even if we save him, he probably won't be able to work as a ninja anymore!"
Might Guy's body trembled violently. The face that was always burning with youthful passion instantly filled with tears.
He lunged forward, embracing Rock Lee's bloodied body and cried like a child.
"Lee…!"
His sorrowful cry echoed throughout the entire venue.
On the stands, Neji and Tenten's expressions froze.
"Come on, guys… the show's over. Hurry up and carry me away… please!"
Rock Lee muttered inwardly, ready to fully "pass out."
However—
At that very moment, this body — the original Rock Lee's body — moved on its own!
A deep-seated obsession, not belonging to the modern Rock Lee but engraved into this flesh and soul, erupted from the depths.
"I… I can still…"
Rock Lee heard his own hoarse, broken voice speak the line:
"I… want to prove… that even without ninjutsu or genjutsu… I can still become… an outstanding ninja…"
Fuck!
Stop it already!
Your bones are shattered into pieces — what the hell are you trying to prove?!
Rock Lee screamed internally, but the body's instinct was like a hardcoded loop — it wouldn't stop!
Under the shocked gazes of tens of thousands of spectators,
Rock Lee used his twisted, mangled arm to push against the ground.
Then the other arm.
Crack… crunch…
The sounds of bones grinding and realigning echoed clearly in the deathly silent arena, making everyone's scalp tingle.
With excruciating slowness but unbreakable determination, he struggled to stand up.
"Is that guy… a monster?"
"You've got to be kidding… with those injuries…"
"Third Hokage, this…"
On the Hokage viewing platform, the Third Hokage's pipe fell to the ground with a clatter.
Kakashi's perpetually half-closed dead-fish eyes were now wider than anyone's.
And Gaara, standing in the arena, watched the green figure rising from the pool of blood. For the first time, the killing intent and cruelty on his face… faded.
Replaced by a feeling he had never experienced before — confusion.
Finally.
Rock Lee stood straight.
Though his body swayed like a candle in the wind, ready to collapse at any moment.
He raised his head and looked forward.
Driven by the original Rock Lee's obsession, he forced the body into a fighting stance.
"Enough… really enough…"
"Today's overtime… ends here…"
"Please… just let me clock out…"
That was the modern Rock Lee's final thought.
The next second, darkness swallowed everything.
He collapsed straight backward.
But in that moment as he fell, he seemed to see the entire arena — everyone — rising to their feet.
For him… this supposed failure who should have died.