Rock Lee was nine years old when he learned that in order to pass the academy, he needed to master the three academy jutsus. Rock Lee was the third strongest in his class, behind Sasuke and Tenten. It seemed unfair to him that he might not pass just because of these three seemingly worthless jutsus.

Lee's mother worked in a club and often served men in special ways. Lee was extremely ashamed of her occupation, and he never talked to anyone about his mother. However, he was also proud of her and loved her deeply. He knew how much she loved him and cared about him. Rock Lee was sure that if his mother hadn't taken care of him, she would have stopped her job years ago.

Most of the men who visited his mother were shinobis. These shinobi had very hard and busy lives, making relationships and friendships extremely difficult for them. As a result, many of these shinobi shared multiple stories about their missions and deeds with his mother.

Lee grew up hearing about these great heroes who kept the village safe. He learned everything about their magical powers, incredible speed, and heroic deeds. He couldn't even remember when he had decided that his life's goal was to be a hero like them.

His mother encouraged his dream. She was a simple woman with almost no education, but she truly believed that the shinobi were heroes. After the Nine-Tails attack and the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage to save the villagers, she held their status in even higher regard.

When Lee learned about his medical condition, he fell into depression. All his dreams and hopes were instantly shattered. His dream of becoming a great hero who could provide for his mother and give her a comfortable life seemed impossible.

He stopped eating for five days and didn't want to leave his room. It was his mother, once again, who saved him. She told him a story about a ninja she had once met. That ninja was special; he didn't use any special powers apart from his kicks and fists. His friends considered him crazy for the insane amount of daily training he performed. That ninja proclaimed that even without talent, one could achieve anything with hard work. He loved to proclaim himself as the most 'youthful'.

Rock Lee decided to believe in the words of this unknown ninja. His mother, who had met so many shinobi, said that he was special, and Lee didn't doubt that. Since that day, he gave everything he had to training.

Lee suffered numerous losses in sparring against Neji. However, with his insane amount of training, he was slowly closing the gap. But then Sasuke appeared. Not only did he lose to Sasuke every time, but the gap between them also kept widening. When Neji joined Sasuke in his training, he grew too strong too quickly. Rock Lee wasn't sure anymore if he could ever catch up. After six months, Neji had moved up to the fifth-year class, and at the end of the year, Neji graduated from the academy and became a genin. Lee completely lost sight of him.

However, the surprises were not over. His female classmate, Tenten, grew extremely strong. Apparently, she was a prodigy in chakra control and medical ninjutsu, and their sparring sessions grew more challenging. Eventually, her greater talent won, and Lee could not keep up.

Every loss only fueled his determination. The words of the unknown ninja kept repeating in his mind. Nobody would stop him. No matter how long it took, his insane training and his youthful spirit would prevail in the end.

It had been one week since Lee learned that he wouldn't be able to become a genin, and he didn't know how to handle it. He was extremely frustrated and didn't want to dwell on it further. He threw himself into an extreme training program like never before.

He was using 90 kilograms of extra weights and training all day. His morning training started at 4:00 before the academy, and after the academy, he trained until 22:00. His body was a complete mess, but he couldn't give up. With every punch, he kept repeating, "My youthfulness will prevail, my youthfulness will prevail..."

His mother was extremely worried. Her son was pushing himself to the limit, and she blamed herself for leading him down this path. She just wanted to help her son become a great hero and live a happy life. She never expected the situation to end up like this.

In her working career, she had never asked anything from a shinobi. She knew that they were heroes and had their own serious problems to deal with, so she didn't want to be a burden. However, this time was different. She couldn't let her son destroy himself.

She approached a regular shinobi customer and said, "Ryoma-san, can I ask you for a favor?"

Ryoma looked at her strangely. He knew all the women of this place, and he knew that Hinami was different. Most women had tried to get into a serious relationship with him or find other ways to get close to his wallet. However, Hinami was an extremely simple woman, and Ryoma and his friends often wondered how such a good soul ended up working in a place like this.

"Of course, Hinami-san, how can I help you?" he finally said.

"Please, if it is possible, I wish for you to help me arrange a meeting with Gai-san."

A smirk appeared on Ryoma's face. "Hinami-san, I really misjudged you. Did his youthfulness leave such a great impact on you? Is the self-proclaimed beast really a beast?"

Hinami's face turned completely red for a second. "It's not like that, Ryoma-san. This is about an extremely important personal matter."

---

It was 4:30, and Rock Lee was training in training ground 23. He had finished his warm-up, and now he was punching and kicking a training dummy at specific marks. He had tied 20 extra weights to each hand apart from the ones on his seals, and with every punch and kick, he was shouting, "MY YOUTHFULNESS WILL PREVAIL."

An insane amount of sweat covered his whole body, his fists were extremely bruised, full of scratches and blood, and tears welled up in his eyes, but he didn't stop. "MY YOUTHFULNESS WILL PREVAIL... MY YOUTHFULNESS WILL PREVAIL... MY YOUTHFULNESS WILL PREVAIL."

Gai, who was watching him from the shadows, couldn't take it anymore. Tears had appeared in his eyes, and he couldn't hold them back.

When he first saw the kid, he was flabbergasted. His eyebrows, his eyes, his mouth... It couldn't be... It couldn't be... Hinami-san, why didn't you tell me? Gai was paralyzed and didn't know what to do. Instead, he kept watching the kid and his training.

Gai couldn't believe his eyes. 'What a great spirit... And he can't use chakra... He is exactly like my father.' Gai didn't care anymore if this kid was his son or not. This boy was the living embodiment of everything he believed in and admired in life.

Gai suddenly appeared next to Lee and stopped his punch with his palm.

"Boy, what is your name?" Gai asked with a huge smile, showing all his teeth.

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Rock Lee was shocked by his sudden appearance and replied automatically, "Rock Lee."

"ROCK LEE, THAT'S A YOUTHFUL NAME, BUT YOUR TRAINING IS NOT YOUTHFUL AT ALL. SHOW ME YOUR PUNCH," Gai said without breaking his smile.

'Youthful? Can it be? Can he be the special ninja that my mother talked about?' Rock Lee thought with excitement.

Lee followed his instructions with high hopes and threw a fist towards the target.

"Flex your knees slightly for stability, and keep your weight centered. Again," Gai instructed.

Lee nodded and threw another punch.

"Your elbow is the fulcrum of destruction. Keep it close to your body, tucked in tightly. This will amplify the force behind your punches. Again," Gai continued.

Lee threw another punch.

"A steady and controlled breath is essential. Exhale forcefully as you strike. Again."

The instructions kept going for hours, and Lee was so focused that he lost track of time.

"Oh no, the academy..." Rock Lee finally realized.

"Don't worry about it; I will take care of it," Gai said. He immediately performed several hand signs and summoned a small turtle.

"Kameko, go and inform the academy that Rock Lee will not attend for the next week. I will take care of his training."

The cute turtle nodded and left.

Rock Lee suddenly realized that he had been so focused on the training that he didn't even ask the name of this great shinobi.

"Shinobi-san, what is your name?"

The man used his iconic smile and said, "I am Maito Gai, Konoha's most youthful green beast!"

Rock Lee looked at him with admiration.

---

Four months had passed since the beginning of the training with Gai-sensei. The man had accepted him as his student and promised him that he would pass the academy without taking the 3 jutsu tests.

However, Gai-sensei had done much more than that. He brought him and his mother to an apartment next to his own and took care of all their expenses. He even called in some favors and managed to find a new job for his mother as a clerk in the Inuzuka pet store.

Rock Lee had a tremendous amount of respect for Gai-sensei. His mother was right; he was special. He was the hero that Lee aspired to become, a hero who helped and saved people. Lee's new dream was to become a shinobi like Gai-sensei.

Today, Gai-sensei was extremely happy. He and Lee ran for hours around Konoha, and Gai-sensei couldn't stop smiling.

Lee couldn't hold his curiosity anymore and asked, "Why are you so happy today, Gai-sensei?"

"A good friend of mine finally decided to accept treatment from a psychologist. I was trying to persuade him for years, and after the Hokage's pressure in the last year, he finally accepted."

"Is he strong?"

"He is extremely strong and talented. His talent is at the same level as the Fourth Hokage. He was so talented that he became a chunin when he was six years old," Gai said proudly.

"Is he stronger than you, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked with hesitation.

"No, but he could be. In the last few years, he had given up on his training because of his trauma. That's one of the reasons I'm so happy that he's finally decided to take action. In order to grow stronger, I need a capable rival!" Gai proclaimed.

"What happened to him and made him give up on his training?"

Gai's expression became complicated with a hint of sadness.

"Lee, I know that Hinami-san told you several stories about shinobi and their heroic deeds. However, that is only one small aspect of being a shinobi. There is also a much darker side... because, in the end, we shinobi are killers... My friend lost his father, his sensei, and both of his teammates. He even had to take the life of one of his teammates himself, and this really broke his heart... Most shinobi are strange and eccentric because they try to find ways to deal with death and pain... However, my friend lost too much even for a shinobi. That is the true reason I'm so happy that he is getting better."

Lee was shocked by the emotion in Gai-sensei's voice. He knew nothing of the death and pain that Gai-sensei talked about. This was the first time that he thought about this aspect of being a shinobi.

---

After one more year, Gai-sensei finally managed to persuade his friend to come and train with him.

The mysterious friend was a really handsome man, but for some strange reason, he was constantly wearing a mask.

He also was extremely serious, and all his answers towards his sensei were simple and monotonous. However, his sensei kept making extremely silly jokes and ridiculous declarations. Some of them were so extreme that Lee couldn't help it anymore and asked,

"Gai-sensei, do you like men?"

Gai-sensei was so shocked that his eyebrows shot up, and his mouth hung open.

The serious man looked at Lee's face and then at Gai's face, and then he suddenly started laughing like crazy. The image of seriousness that he emitted broke down completely, and he was on his knees, laughing like a maniac for several minutes.

Watching the spectacle, Gai-sensei approached him and whispered in his ear. "Well done, Lee. I was trying to make him relax like this for years."

---

Rock Lee was twelve years old, and in one week, he would finally graduate and become a genin. He was extremely excited to begin his ninja career.

Gai-sensei had only one rival, but Rock Lee had several. This year, four new students skipped a year and came to his class.

He could win his fights against Sakura and Ino with moderate effort. They were both skilled kunoichi but weren't as good as Tenten.

Shikamaru was not a nice opponent. Lee sought a youthful fight with fists and kicks, but Shikamaru used tricky ways to trap him in his shadows and move him outside of the fighting ring.

The most surprising opponent of all was Naruto Uzumaki. He had great endurance and tenacity and only fought Lee using taijutsu. Naruto refused to use his jutsus against Lee because he knew about Lee's inability and wanted a fair fight. Most of their matches ended in a draw, and he and Naruto became great friends.

Naruto and Sasuke refused to spar during the academy. They both proclaimed that they were rivals and would have their fight after reaching the rank of genin. However, Rock Lee had very low hopes for Naruto.

Sasuke was unfathomable, and he could defeat Lee in seconds. Even his girlfriend, Tenten, was an amazing kunoichi who could now beat him with moderate effort. Rock Lee was sure that he could match and maybe win against Tenten by opening the gates, but he knew that Sasuke was in a league of his own.

Rock Lee could accept that somebody had better talent than him, but he could not accept that somebody trained harder than him, so he kept increasing his training.

---

Gai-sensei's friend, Hatake Kakashi, had completely recovered by now. In the last few years, he had been training and sparring with Gai-sensei several times a week, and his sensei had to open the first four gates to be able to keep up with him.

The previous week, Gai-sensei told him that he was now an S-rank ninja and that if he keep this up, he could become the Hokage. However, Kakashi said that his personality wasn't fit to be the Hokage, and he would only do it as a last resort.

Today, Lee, Gai, and Kakashi decided to change their normal path around Konoha and run through the forest of death in order to increase the difficulty. The three of them were using extra weights, and each of their steps left a deep footprint on the ground, especially Gai-sensei's.

It was 5:30, and they were running next to the river while heading towards the waterfall to perform a new special training that Gai-sensei had suggested. However, before reaching the waterfall, they all stopped in surprise. There was somebody already there.

A handsome teenager had hung himself from his legs under the waterfall and was performing upside down crunches with a giant boulder tied to his back. There were also several of his clones around.

One clone was under the waterfall and trying to keep a small fire in his hands alive under the water by constantly providing chakra.

One clone had lightning sparks in his hands and was moving his hands quickly against the wind.

One clone was trying to shape raw chakra around a katana and give it form.

Three other clones were using a leaf and trying to manipulate something with their palms.

Two clones ware on the water completely covered in leaves, rocks and metal marbles.

The final two clones were in a meditation stance.

"Who is this kid? Is he insane? How much weight is he lifting? How many elements is he training at the same time? Unbelievable... Unbelievable... He is using fire under the water, and he is using lightning sparks against the wind. What a tremendous affinity! Kakashi isn’t this the step before developing Chidori?" Gai said, completely flabbergasted.

"This kid! This is very high-level nature manipulation... He isn't trying to create a technique; he's just training his elemental manipulation. My level wasn't as high as this when I developed Chidori... And look at what he's doing with the sword. He's also training his shape manipulation. It's obvious that this sword is resistant to chakra. Just how high is his shape manipulation?" Kakashi wondered.

'There is only one kid who is so capable in Konoha,' Kakashi thought, and Rock Lee's voice confirmed it.

"I thought that I trained the hardest and that in the future, I could close any gap in power. Uchiha Sasuke, just how hard do you train?"