OOC: Player Contact | Lee's information page
NAME: Cager
LJ: dreamcager
CONTACT: Email : waxingrpg@gmail.com AIM : DreamCager
LOCATION/TIME ZONE: USA - Central
CHARACTER NAME: Rock Lee (Spring)
SERIES: Naruto (manga-verse)
PERSONALITY:
Lee’s most obvious trait is his hard-working nature. Although he has no talent in even basic ninja techniques, he has determined to prove others wrong and become the best ninja he can be. Even against all odds, Lee never gives in, or at least not through his own free will. When Gaara injures him leaving one of his arms and legs completely crushed, Lee still stands in readiness to fight despite having fallen unconscious from the pain. It’s a reckless type of willpower he possesses. He even trains when he should be on bed rest, even covered in casts and bandages.
Lee is also extremely energetic. He’s the poster child for the phrase “no pain, no gain.” Like his sensei, Lee can train at anytime and anywhere. Remaining idle is not an option for this boy. Even after everyone else might have gone to bed, he will be training hard, only to wake up earlier than anyone else and train again. When he loses a fight it’s never a matter of growing tired. Usually it’s his own repercussive attacks that take him down, making him an easier target for his enemies. If not for his own self-inflicted damage, most of his enemies would find him too fast to land a hit on.
Lee is also polite and chivalrous. He speaks in a formal manner; even when he’s complaining he’s generally polite. He responds to taunting with either polite remarks or silence, rarely ever rising to someone’s baited words. (However, if he’s ever inebriated he loses all politeness and becomes almost an entirely different person. Once he’s sobered up, he’s back to normal.) Lee also will save anyone in need. He comes to the rescue of Team 7 during the Chuunin exams as well as to Naruto’s aid during the search for Sasuke. He believes it’s his duty as a man to help others, and he always keeps his promises.
Lee has been taught to believe in himself, and most of the time he can do this. Gai believes in him, so Lee knows it must be true that he can become a great ninja! He shows confidence by displaying his Nice Guy pose and encouraging others, but Lee is not always completely confident. When Tsunade’s diagnosis of his injuries came back, Lee grows very unsure. It goes to show that while he may want to encourage others and give off a confident air, he’s actually got the tiniest bit of a realist in his heart.
Lee is known for taking even little things very seriously. No matter how silly or strange a challenge/rule/whatever may be, he’ll go with it. He never belittles others for their dreams or goals. This is likely a response to his own experiences as a child when other kids and teachers never took his own dream seriously.
Lee is very friendly and trusting, too. Despite their differences in ideology, Lee considers Neji a friend as well as his rival. Lee also never holds a grudge against anyone who has wronged him in the past. Despite Gaara having inflicted grave injuries and also attempting to kill Lee a few times, Lee looks past that during the fight against Kimiharu.
Lee is also easily impressed and extremely impressionable. Most people would praise Gai for his prowess in battle, but few would ever reach the hero-worship state that Lee has taken in his admiration for his teacher. He holds tight to every word and lesson imparted onto him from Gai, and even goes so far as to copy his teacher’s dress code. Other than Gai, however, Lee is also fairly mindful of his fellow ninja. When analyzing the attacks and techniques used by others, Lee often finds himself appreciating their skills and praising them. On a side note to this, it’s important to establish that while Lee is a bit gullible, he is not stupid. He’s just more willing to accept what someone says at face value rather than doubt from the get-go.
And last but not least, Lee is perhaps the most loyal and devoted person anyone could find. Lee may roll over and take all the verbal abuse anyone would throw his way with a grain of salt (he’s used to it, after years of taking insults from his peers in the ninja academy), but say anything about his friends, or especially Gai-sensei, and he will champion them for all he’s worth. He has no tolerance for anyone putting down his precious people, and it’s about the only thing that ever puts him in a real rage (other than drinking).
TIMELINE:
During the fight with Pain, after Team Gai arrives back at Konoha to find Hinata has been beaten down (middle of manga chapter 441)
BACKGROUND:
Little is known about Lee’s most early years, but from what can be gleaned from canon is his parents were most likely not ninja. Rather, they were probably civilians living in Konoha as no other ninja with the surname “Rock” have emerged from canon to this date. Lee likely began his life living normally, but growing up in a ninja village lends itself to certain opportunities. Somewhere during what we might consider early elementary school years, Lee was admitted into the academy along with probably all children in the village willing to give the ninja life a try.
As it turns out, Lee was pitiful as a ninja candidate. He had absolutely no talent in ninjutsu (the special abilities used to attack) or genjutsu (the special abilities used to confuse and stun foes), and his handle of taijutsu (attacks based primarily on a ninja’s personal physical strength and capability) was mediocre at best. His classmates made fun of him, calling him a loser, but he refused to listen to them. Instead, he practiced harder and longer than any of the rest, never giving up even when it looked hopeless. Out of all the things Lee might have wanted in the world, to be a ninja was his greatest wish of all.
He didn’t receive encouragement from anyone, not even the teachers, so he was not always confident. However, he did remember one day when a very strange man came to see him while he practiced. The man encouraged him, insisting that if Lee kept up his hard work then he would surely become an amazing ninja. Lee would later remember this encounter at a darker time in his life as one of his most precious memories of his early childhood.
Sticking to the advice of the man from that day, Lee persevered until at last he managed to graduate from the academy at the age of 12. This placed him in the lowest rank of active ninja, the genin level. Together with a stoic boy named Hyuuga Neji and a spunky girl named Tenten, Lee was placed under the mentorship of Maito Gai. Their teacher’s first question was an inquiry of their goals as a ninja. After his teammates had given their answers Lee proudly stood and announced that he wished to prove that someone could become a fine ninja even without the use of ninjutsu or genjutsu. Neji laughed and for a moment Lee felt discouraged, but then Gai insisted that with passion and hard work Lee could accomplish his dream. And so Lee’s admiration of his teacher began to blossom.
At Gai’s suggestion, Lee took on a rival to improve himself. He chose Neji and often challenged the other boy to sparring matches, but every single time Lee lost. Neji would tell him it was futile, that it was fate that decided he would be a winner and Lee would always be a loser. But when Lee at his worst, on the brink of tears because he couldn’t find it in himself to believe, Gai would be there to impart a special lesson to get him back up on his feet. Gai called Lee a “genius of hard work” and with that in mind Lee grew all the more determined to never give up.
Lee also was taught in his first year as a genin about his teacher’s self-imposed rule. Gai’s logic was that if someone were to make a condition on himself during a challenge then not only would that give someone all the more reason to try their hardest, but also in the event of a loss the condition would only serve to make them stronger in preparation for the next challenge. Lee took the advice to heart and from that moment determined to become a ninja as wonderful as his teacher. Gai also made a promise then; that he would devote his life to training Lee into the fine ninja he aspired to be. Shortly after this conversation Lee began to seriously copy his teacher beyond just his advice, even wearing the green spandex and fixing his hair into a bowl cut.
Through the rest of his genin year, Lee trained hard and went on various missions with his team, getting to know them more little by little. When he had reached the age of 13 and the time of the chuunin exams came around, Gai thought it was perhaps time for them to take the challenge to rise to the next level of ninja. Lee was determined to make his teacher proud and trained all the harder.
On the day the exams began Lee had already made plans with his team to keep a low profile. As it turned out, he was unable to hide behind that veil of feigned weakness for long. A couple of the examiners disguised themselves as kids and tried to turn away the competitors to test their drive. Team 7, composed of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke arrived on the scene and dispelled the illusion. Sasuke almost got into a fight with one of the disguised teachers, but Lee jumped in to stop it, mostly because he wanted to show off his strength. With the fight taken care of, Lee approached Sakura and asked her out on a date, proclaiming he would protect her until he died. He was promptly rejected and that left to sulk, but he recovered and chased after team 7.
He caught up with them and asked to fight with Sasuke (flirting with Sakura a bit on the side). Naruto tried to push his own way into a fight, but Lee easily disabled him. Sasuke was intrigued enough to give Lee a fight, but Lee proved himself to be more of a match than Sasuke anticipated. Even Sasuke’s Sharingan could not compete with the speed of Lee’s taijutsu. Lee had begun to utilize one of his forbidden techniques, but before he could complete his Front Lotus he was stopped by Gai’s familiar, a ninja tortoise. Lee tried to apologize but he was still scolded, and then Gai showed up to deliver the real punishment. He took his punishment like a man, then gave team 7 one final warning about Neji’s strength before returning to the exam. Although he had not been complete his fight, Lee was determined to face off against Sasuke again someday.
Lee’s team made it through the first section of the exam without problems. The second part of the exam, however, was a bit more taxing, especially for Lee. The objective was to make it to a tower with two scrolls-a three day trial in a locked down area called the Forest of Death. Lee’s team split up to scout the area. It was while Lee was on his own that he saw a squirrel with an exploding tag about to burst on its back. He saved the squirrel and in return the squirrel took him to the source-a clearing where Team 7 was being attacked by ninja of the Hidden Sound village.
With Naruto and Sasuke out cold, and Sakura left to fend for herself, Lee felt it was his duty to jump in a protect them. He proclaimed he would always appear when Sakura was in trouble, reminding her of the promise he made when he first met her. Lee quickly assessed the situation and realized he had to go all-out if he was going to beat all three of the Sound nin. He used his forbidden technique Primary Lotus but he was outmaneuvered and left vulnerable. His enemy used his sound magnifying gauntlet to damage Lee’s inner ear. Lee fought through the pain and did his best to continue protecting Sakura even without his balance, but another attack forced him to the ground, useless. Lee managed to stay conscious for just a few moments longer, in time to see Sakura gain a new resolution to fight with all she had, before passing out.
Lee was awakened some time later by Tenten shaking him none too gently. He realized he had failed to truly protect Sakura but was touched when she called him by his real name (not something like “creepy” or “bushy brows”) and thanked him for his help. He responded by telling her the lotus “blooms twice” and that he would be a stronger man the next time they met.
Lee went on his own way with Tenten and Neji, and passed through the rest of that portion of the exam with ease. However, it was determined at the tower that too many examinees had passed and a preliminary event was needed to further thin out the participants. The event turned out to be a one-on-one fighting competition, in which the competitors were chosen via electronic randomization.
Lee’s fight is the second to last match, and his opponent was Gaara of the Hidden Sand village. Lee’s biggest challenge was to get beyond Gaara’s sand barrier. In order to do this Lee removed the leg weights he usually kept on at all times, and with his extreme speed managed to land a hit. His attack only served to push Gaara further over the edge, and with his sand armor Gaara became all the more difficult to damage. Lee’s Front Lotus could have won him the match, but Gaara managed to switch his own body with a sand replica when Lee flinched and remained unarmed. Lee was defenseless for a while, taking hit after hit from Gaara’s sand attacked, but he managed to recover in time for one more desperate attempt.
Lee broke through five of the Eight Gates (the internal limiters used to protect one’s self from destroying their own body by using too much power) and used his ultimate attack, the Reverse Lotus, to batter Gaara around the field. Gaara’s sand couldn’t keep up with the attack, but at the last minute he disintegrated his giant gourd into sand and used that as a final barrier of defense. Lee, unable to move at all because of the repercussions the attack had on his body, was left at Gaara’s pitiless mercy. Gaara used his Sand Coffin attack to crush Lee’s left arm and leg. He almost crushed Lee’s entire body, but Gai stepped in a swept the attack away, ending the match with Gaara as the victor. Even broken and unconscious Lee showed signs of wanting to continue. He never gave up, even in the end. Lee was carted away on a stretcher and it was uncertain whether he would ever be able to fight again after being left in such a state.
Lee was done with the chuunin exams but he refused to let his new injuries get in his way. He trained even with one arm and leg in a cast, pushing himself until he couldn’t move anymore. In the hospital, Lee had at least one more close encounter with death, though he was unconscious the entire time and was never told of it (as far as we can tell from canon).
And thus the month between the prelims and the finals of the chuunin exams was spent in recovery. Lee only managed to watch Sasuke’s fight with Gaara in the finals. Then a genjutsu was used to put the whole audience to sleep, including Lee, who missed the entire battle that followed. He woke up later to find the village in shambles and their Hokage killed in battle.
About a month later, the coming of the next Hokage, Tsunade, would be a momentous occasion for Lee. Gai believed that Tsunade’s great healing techniques could heal Lee’s injuries still left over from his battle with Gaara. Gai had tried a few of his own herbal remedies but they had all failed. However, Tsunade’s diagnosis was not good. Shattered bone fragments had riddled his nerves, and even if she were to operate there was a 50 percent chance the surgery would fail. If it failed, Lee would die. Her advice was for him to quit being a ninja altogether.
Lee took some time to think over his options. To become a ninja had been his dream for so long that it had become a part of him. He feared letting that go. Gai found him on a balcony and they talked. Lee, in tears, asked for Gai’s advice. For once Lee could not control his destiny just through hard work and believing in himself. He had to rely on luck, but the consequences for failure were major. Gai encouraged Lee to take the surgery then gave himself another self-imposed rule: if Lee were to die then Gai himself would die because he had made it his nindo (his path) to raise Lee into a great ninja. Lee wept and shared a hug with his teacher.
The next day, Sasuke went missing, and a team of five was assembled under Shikamaru, the newest of the chuunin level ninjas, to find him. Lee wanted to go along but he was in no condition to help. Instead, he could only offer some encouragement to the team as they left, and a few words to Sakura. Cheered and at peace with himself, Lee went to ask Tsunade for the surgery.
Miraculously, the surgery was a success, though Lee was told to remain in bed to rest for a day or so before training. He would have none of that though, and grabbing what he thought was his medicine bottle, left to join the search for Sasuke.
He made it to the field where Naruto was blocked from moving any further. Sasuke was just up ahead, so Lee took Naruto’s place in fighting Oroochimaru’s henchman, a bone-wielding ninja named Kimiharu. Kimiharu was fast and flexible, using his own bones as weapons, and so skillful in his fighting that Lee could not land a hit either. The fight didn’t progress long until Lee called for a stop, taking a moment to drink his “medicine.” The sake in the bottle was actually Tsunade’s, and Lee, being a light-weight, was instantly drunk. In his inebriated state, Lee actually became stronger and his movements became unpredictable. Soon it was Kimiharu having difficulties keeping up with Lee.
Kimiharu changed tactics and lured Lee in, then forced his ribs to protrude out and cut at Lee. Once he was hit, Lee sobered up and lost his Drunken Fist abilities. He tried to pull out his Front Lotus technique again, but Kimiharu could not be so easily beaten. Lee was once again on the ropes, but then a surprising ally showed up: Gaara of the Sand. Lee didn’t want to give up his position as the main fighter, but Gaara would not let Lee push himself any further. Gaara managed to hold back Kimiharu, and almost defeated him, but it was illness that took its toll and killed Kimiharu before he could destroy them. Before returning to Konoha, Lee and Gaara rested and talked about Kimiharu, and Lee realized that in the end Kimiharu had been fighting for someone precious to him.
The mission to save Sasuke ended in failure, but the ninja of Konoha rested in the knowledge that Sasuke would probably not be causing them trouble again for about another three years, when Oroochimaru needed another host. Lee was returned to his training with his team, and for the next two and a half years he became stronger. He passed the chuunin exam in this time and started wearing the signature vest that went along with it.
The story picks up again with Gaara, now as Kazekage, being kidnapped. Team Gai was sent along to back up Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto in their mission to save Gaara from the group known as Akatsuki. On their way to catch up with Kakashi’s team, they were waylaid by Kisame, an Akatsuki member that fought with Gai once before. During the fight Lee, Neji and Tenten were all trapped in spheres of water. Neji managed to break them free after a time, and Lee watched in pride as Gai took out their opponent. However, it turned out this “Kisame” was just a man disguised and controlled by some of Kisame’s chakra.
They managed to get back on the chase, but when they reached the Akatsuki hideout it was blocked by a special barrier. Team Gai decided to take care of the barrier. Using Neji’s Byakugan, they discovered the location of the tags needed to break the barrier. Team Gai split up leaving each member to take care of one. They had planned on returning to help with the fight against Akatsuki immediately, but after destroying the tags clones of themselves appeared and attacked them. They managed to defeat them and escape the rest of Akatsuki’s traps with the help of Kakashi.
They were too late to save Gaara. After an impassioned speech from Naruto, an old woman named Chiyo worked her medical techniques and brought Gaara back to life though it would cost her her own. They said a prayer for Chiyo then the two Konoha teams left to return home.
For a long while, Lee is not mentioned again in the manga. He returns months later when Konoha is under attack by Pain. The village was almost totally demolished and a great number of people were killed. Team Gai happened to be out on a mission at the time of the invasion. They arrived late to find Hinata had been gravely wounded. Lee saw a dead frog, one that had sacrificed itself to help Naruto. Team Gai then set off to find medical ninja to help treat Hinata’s wounds.
ABILITIES:
Lee is a taijutsu specialist. Because of his inability to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu, Lee has to rely solely on his own body’s physical abilities to attack. He follows what Gai calls a Strong Fist style of fighting, which means he relies on his attacks to do external damage and to break bones. Most of Lee’s attacks are in the form of kicks, favoring the stronger muscles that can be found in the legs over those in the arms, though he has strength in all of his body. His regular taijutsu moves are:
• Leaf Gale - a spinning, low kick
• Leaf Whirlwind - a high kick followed swiftly by a low kick
• Leaf Great Whirlwind - a greater series of kicks in similar succession as the Leaf Whirlwind, this time starting lower and working the way up, ending with a heel drop
• Leaf Raising Wind - a forceful, upward kick
• Shadow of the Dancing Leaf - a move where the user follows closely to their opponent and mimics their body movements
Lee also is a user of chakra, as anyone aspiring to be a ninja must use chakra. Chakra is a mixture of both physical and spiritual energy that when manipulated correctly allows the user to perform special types of jutsu. Lee does not need chakra for his more basic taijutsu techniques, and he has no use for it concerning genjutsu or ninjutsu. However, Lee can manipulate his chakra to the extent of performing the basic Tree Climbing and Water Walking techniques.
Lee is also a master of at least five of Eight Gates. The gates are limiters on a person’s body that are usually closed in order to keep the user from exceeding their physical limits of safety. By breaking through these gates Lee has the ability to perform stronger, more dangerous techniques. In return, these techniques also take their toll on Lee himself. His techniques that require opening the gates are:
• Front Lotus - Requires opening the first of the Eight gates. Lee uses his powerful kicks to knock his opponent into the air, then follows that up with a Shadow of the Dancing Leaf. He wraps his opponent with his bandages and then sends them hurtling headfirst down to the ground. After he’s performed this, Lee is fatigued and needs a few minutes to rest before he can attack again. To an extent, he is still able to defend himself.
• Reverse Lotus - Requires supposedly a minimum of three gates but Lee uses five. Lee’s speed is increased to the point where he is nearly impossible to see, and with this increased speed he attacks by launching his opponent into the air and hits them with a succession of power strikes from all angles. It ends with one last powerful strike, sending them crashing to the ground. After this attack has been performed, Lee is left virtually immobile and defenseless.
It should also be noted that Lee’s physical appearance changes when he opens the third gate. His body color changes to a deep red, and the pupils and iris of his eyes seem to disappear altogether.
Lee’s last great ability is that of the Drunken Fist. He’s a natural fighter when inebriated, much more flexible and unpredictable, and that much more deadly. However, despite his increase in strength and greater evasion, Lee needs only to experience a little bit of pain to sober up and lose this ability. It’s not a very reliable means of attack as Lee loses himself to the fighting spirit and has no filter, just a wish to fight. He’ll destroy anything and everything, and pick fights without a qualm.
Most of these abilities require studious training and dedication to master. If Lee were to relearn them in Edensphere he would have to have some knowledge of what most of them were. Some of his taijutsu techniques might return to him through muscle memory (if such a thing is allowed in Edensphere) if Lee were to be trapped in a tight situation, but chakra mastery would require more understanding than he would have from hatching. Same goes for the Lotus techniques, as opening the gates is not a simple process. Drunken Fist is likely to only ever surface if Lee were to get drunk, which is possible since it requires very little alcohol for him to fall inebriated.
PLOT PERMISSIONS:
ES 4th Wall: Do mods/staff have permission to 4th wall your character with Edensphere's game elements? - Sure. Spring/Lee will already be so brainbroken by this place, a little 4th walling shouldn’t hurt him. He wouldn’t believe it anyway. Because, after all, he is there and real now so how could he possibly be a work of fiction? |D
Chara 4th Wall: Do players have permission to 4th wall your character with their own if s/he's capable of doing so? - Same as above.
* Note: 4th walling means your character would know s/he's a work of fiction and therefore not real.
ES Mysteries: Do mods/staff have permission to involve your character in Edensphere's back-story and world plot mysteries? WARNING: Such plots may result in character death. - Go ahead!
Memory Rec'v: Do mods/staff have permission to give your character others' memories and/or past logs via crystals, events, etc? - Y
Memory Distrib: Do mods/staff have permission to share your character's memories and/or past logs via crystals, events, etc? - Y
Dream Distrib: Do mods/staff have permission to share your character's dream(s) via Revolving Reveries and other plots or events? - Y
Your Wilderness: Do mods/staff have permission to transform the Wilderness into a place, setting, or environment that exists in your character's canon? - Y
LJ: dreamcager
CONTACT: Email : waxingrpg@gmail.com AIM : DreamCager
LOCATION/TIME ZONE: USA - Central
CHARACTER NAME: Rock Lee (Spring)
SERIES: Naruto (manga-verse)
PERSONALITY:
Lee’s most obvious trait is his hard-working nature. Although he has no talent in even basic ninja techniques, he has determined to prove others wrong and become the best ninja he can be. Even against all odds, Lee never gives in, or at least not through his own free will. When Gaara injures him leaving one of his arms and legs completely crushed, Lee still stands in readiness to fight despite having fallen unconscious from the pain. It’s a reckless type of willpower he possesses. He even trains when he should be on bed rest, even covered in casts and bandages.
Lee is also extremely energetic. He’s the poster child for the phrase “no pain, no gain.” Like his sensei, Lee can train at anytime and anywhere. Remaining idle is not an option for this boy. Even after everyone else might have gone to bed, he will be training hard, only to wake up earlier than anyone else and train again. When he loses a fight it’s never a matter of growing tired. Usually it’s his own repercussive attacks that take him down, making him an easier target for his enemies. If not for his own self-inflicted damage, most of his enemies would find him too fast to land a hit on.
Lee is also polite and chivalrous. He speaks in a formal manner; even when he’s complaining he’s generally polite. He responds to taunting with either polite remarks or silence, rarely ever rising to someone’s baited words. (However, if he’s ever inebriated he loses all politeness and becomes almost an entirely different person. Once he’s sobered up, he’s back to normal.) Lee also will save anyone in need. He comes to the rescue of Team 7 during the Chuunin exams as well as to Naruto’s aid during the search for Sasuke. He believes it’s his duty as a man to help others, and he always keeps his promises.
Lee has been taught to believe in himself, and most of the time he can do this. Gai believes in him, so Lee knows it must be true that he can become a great ninja! He shows confidence by displaying his Nice Guy pose and encouraging others, but Lee is not always completely confident. When Tsunade’s diagnosis of his injuries came back, Lee grows very unsure. It goes to show that while he may want to encourage others and give off a confident air, he’s actually got the tiniest bit of a realist in his heart.
Lee is known for taking even little things very seriously. No matter how silly or strange a challenge/rule/whatever may be, he’ll go with it. He never belittles others for their dreams or goals. This is likely a response to his own experiences as a child when other kids and teachers never took his own dream seriously.
Lee is very friendly and trusting, too. Despite their differences in ideology, Lee considers Neji a friend as well as his rival. Lee also never holds a grudge against anyone who has wronged him in the past. Despite Gaara having inflicted grave injuries and also attempting to kill Lee a few times, Lee looks past that during the fight against Kimiharu.
Lee is also easily impressed and extremely impressionable. Most people would praise Gai for his prowess in battle, but few would ever reach the hero-worship state that Lee has taken in his admiration for his teacher. He holds tight to every word and lesson imparted onto him from Gai, and even goes so far as to copy his teacher’s dress code. Other than Gai, however, Lee is also fairly mindful of his fellow ninja. When analyzing the attacks and techniques used by others, Lee often finds himself appreciating their skills and praising them. On a side note to this, it’s important to establish that while Lee is a bit gullible, he is not stupid. He’s just more willing to accept what someone says at face value rather than doubt from the get-go.
And last but not least, Lee is perhaps the most loyal and devoted person anyone could find. Lee may roll over and take all the verbal abuse anyone would throw his way with a grain of salt (he’s used to it, after years of taking insults from his peers in the ninja academy), but say anything about his friends, or especially Gai-sensei, and he will champion them for all he’s worth. He has no tolerance for anyone putting down his precious people, and it’s about the only thing that ever puts him in a real rage (other than drinking).
TIMELINE:
During the fight with Pain, after Team Gai arrives back at Konoha to find Hinata has been beaten down (middle of manga chapter 441)
BACKGROUND:
Little is known about Lee’s most early years, but from what can be gleaned from canon is his parents were most likely not ninja. Rather, they were probably civilians living in Konoha as no other ninja with the surname “Rock” have emerged from canon to this date. Lee likely began his life living normally, but growing up in a ninja village lends itself to certain opportunities. Somewhere during what we might consider early elementary school years, Lee was admitted into the academy along with probably all children in the village willing to give the ninja life a try.
As it turns out, Lee was pitiful as a ninja candidate. He had absolutely no talent in ninjutsu (the special abilities used to attack) or genjutsu (the special abilities used to confuse and stun foes), and his handle of taijutsu (attacks based primarily on a ninja’s personal physical strength and capability) was mediocre at best. His classmates made fun of him, calling him a loser, but he refused to listen to them. Instead, he practiced harder and longer than any of the rest, never giving up even when it looked hopeless. Out of all the things Lee might have wanted in the world, to be a ninja was his greatest wish of all.
He didn’t receive encouragement from anyone, not even the teachers, so he was not always confident. However, he did remember one day when a very strange man came to see him while he practiced. The man encouraged him, insisting that if Lee kept up his hard work then he would surely become an amazing ninja. Lee would later remember this encounter at a darker time in his life as one of his most precious memories of his early childhood.
Sticking to the advice of the man from that day, Lee persevered until at last he managed to graduate from the academy at the age of 12. This placed him in the lowest rank of active ninja, the genin level. Together with a stoic boy named Hyuuga Neji and a spunky girl named Tenten, Lee was placed under the mentorship of Maito Gai. Their teacher’s first question was an inquiry of their goals as a ninja. After his teammates had given their answers Lee proudly stood and announced that he wished to prove that someone could become a fine ninja even without the use of ninjutsu or genjutsu. Neji laughed and for a moment Lee felt discouraged, but then Gai insisted that with passion and hard work Lee could accomplish his dream. And so Lee’s admiration of his teacher began to blossom.
At Gai’s suggestion, Lee took on a rival to improve himself. He chose Neji and often challenged the other boy to sparring matches, but every single time Lee lost. Neji would tell him it was futile, that it was fate that decided he would be a winner and Lee would always be a loser. But when Lee at his worst, on the brink of tears because he couldn’t find it in himself to believe, Gai would be there to impart a special lesson to get him back up on his feet. Gai called Lee a “genius of hard work” and with that in mind Lee grew all the more determined to never give up.
Lee also was taught in his first year as a genin about his teacher’s self-imposed rule. Gai’s logic was that if someone were to make a condition on himself during a challenge then not only would that give someone all the more reason to try their hardest, but also in the event of a loss the condition would only serve to make them stronger in preparation for the next challenge. Lee took the advice to heart and from that moment determined to become a ninja as wonderful as his teacher. Gai also made a promise then; that he would devote his life to training Lee into the fine ninja he aspired to be. Shortly after this conversation Lee began to seriously copy his teacher beyond just his advice, even wearing the green spandex and fixing his hair into a bowl cut.
Through the rest of his genin year, Lee trained hard and went on various missions with his team, getting to know them more little by little. When he had reached the age of 13 and the time of the chuunin exams came around, Gai thought it was perhaps time for them to take the challenge to rise to the next level of ninja. Lee was determined to make his teacher proud and trained all the harder.
On the day the exams began Lee had already made plans with his team to keep a low profile. As it turned out, he was unable to hide behind that veil of feigned weakness for long. A couple of the examiners disguised themselves as kids and tried to turn away the competitors to test their drive. Team 7, composed of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke arrived on the scene and dispelled the illusion. Sasuke almost got into a fight with one of the disguised teachers, but Lee jumped in to stop it, mostly because he wanted to show off his strength. With the fight taken care of, Lee approached Sakura and asked her out on a date, proclaiming he would protect her until he died. He was promptly rejected and that left to sulk, but he recovered and chased after team 7.
He caught up with them and asked to fight with Sasuke (flirting with Sakura a bit on the side). Naruto tried to push his own way into a fight, but Lee easily disabled him. Sasuke was intrigued enough to give Lee a fight, but Lee proved himself to be more of a match than Sasuke anticipated. Even Sasuke’s Sharingan could not compete with the speed of Lee’s taijutsu. Lee had begun to utilize one of his forbidden techniques, but before he could complete his Front Lotus he was stopped by Gai’s familiar, a ninja tortoise. Lee tried to apologize but he was still scolded, and then Gai showed up to deliver the real punishment. He took his punishment like a man, then gave team 7 one final warning about Neji’s strength before returning to the exam. Although he had not been complete his fight, Lee was determined to face off against Sasuke again someday.
Lee’s team made it through the first section of the exam without problems. The second part of the exam, however, was a bit more taxing, especially for Lee. The objective was to make it to a tower with two scrolls-a three day trial in a locked down area called the Forest of Death. Lee’s team split up to scout the area. It was while Lee was on his own that he saw a squirrel with an exploding tag about to burst on its back. He saved the squirrel and in return the squirrel took him to the source-a clearing where Team 7 was being attacked by ninja of the Hidden Sound village.
With Naruto and Sasuke out cold, and Sakura left to fend for herself, Lee felt it was his duty to jump in a protect them. He proclaimed he would always appear when Sakura was in trouble, reminding her of the promise he made when he first met her. Lee quickly assessed the situation and realized he had to go all-out if he was going to beat all three of the Sound nin. He used his forbidden technique Primary Lotus but he was outmaneuvered and left vulnerable. His enemy used his sound magnifying gauntlet to damage Lee’s inner ear. Lee fought through the pain and did his best to continue protecting Sakura even without his balance, but another attack forced him to the ground, useless. Lee managed to stay conscious for just a few moments longer, in time to see Sakura gain a new resolution to fight with all she had, before passing out.
Lee was awakened some time later by Tenten shaking him none too gently. He realized he had failed to truly protect Sakura but was touched when she called him by his real name (not something like “creepy” or “bushy brows”) and thanked him for his help. He responded by telling her the lotus “blooms twice” and that he would be a stronger man the next time they met.
Lee went on his own way with Tenten and Neji, and passed through the rest of that portion of the exam with ease. However, it was determined at the tower that too many examinees had passed and a preliminary event was needed to further thin out the participants. The event turned out to be a one-on-one fighting competition, in which the competitors were chosen via electronic randomization.
Lee’s fight is the second to last match, and his opponent was Gaara of the Hidden Sand village. Lee’s biggest challenge was to get beyond Gaara’s sand barrier. In order to do this Lee removed the leg weights he usually kept on at all times, and with his extreme speed managed to land a hit. His attack only served to push Gaara further over the edge, and with his sand armor Gaara became all the more difficult to damage. Lee’s Front Lotus could have won him the match, but Gaara managed to switch his own body with a sand replica when Lee flinched and remained unarmed. Lee was defenseless for a while, taking hit after hit from Gaara’s sand attacked, but he managed to recover in time for one more desperate attempt.
Lee broke through five of the Eight Gates (the internal limiters used to protect one’s self from destroying their own body by using too much power) and used his ultimate attack, the Reverse Lotus, to batter Gaara around the field. Gaara’s sand couldn’t keep up with the attack, but at the last minute he disintegrated his giant gourd into sand and used that as a final barrier of defense. Lee, unable to move at all because of the repercussions the attack had on his body, was left at Gaara’s pitiless mercy. Gaara used his Sand Coffin attack to crush Lee’s left arm and leg. He almost crushed Lee’s entire body, but Gai stepped in a swept the attack away, ending the match with Gaara as the victor. Even broken and unconscious Lee showed signs of wanting to continue. He never gave up, even in the end. Lee was carted away on a stretcher and it was uncertain whether he would ever be able to fight again after being left in such a state.
Lee was done with the chuunin exams but he refused to let his new injuries get in his way. He trained even with one arm and leg in a cast, pushing himself until he couldn’t move anymore. In the hospital, Lee had at least one more close encounter with death, though he was unconscious the entire time and was never told of it (as far as we can tell from canon).
And thus the month between the prelims and the finals of the chuunin exams was spent in recovery. Lee only managed to watch Sasuke’s fight with Gaara in the finals. Then a genjutsu was used to put the whole audience to sleep, including Lee, who missed the entire battle that followed. He woke up later to find the village in shambles and their Hokage killed in battle.
About a month later, the coming of the next Hokage, Tsunade, would be a momentous occasion for Lee. Gai believed that Tsunade’s great healing techniques could heal Lee’s injuries still left over from his battle with Gaara. Gai had tried a few of his own herbal remedies but they had all failed. However, Tsunade’s diagnosis was not good. Shattered bone fragments had riddled his nerves, and even if she were to operate there was a 50 percent chance the surgery would fail. If it failed, Lee would die. Her advice was for him to quit being a ninja altogether.
Lee took some time to think over his options. To become a ninja had been his dream for so long that it had become a part of him. He feared letting that go. Gai found him on a balcony and they talked. Lee, in tears, asked for Gai’s advice. For once Lee could not control his destiny just through hard work and believing in himself. He had to rely on luck, but the consequences for failure were major. Gai encouraged Lee to take the surgery then gave himself another self-imposed rule: if Lee were to die then Gai himself would die because he had made it his nindo (his path) to raise Lee into a great ninja. Lee wept and shared a hug with his teacher.
The next day, Sasuke went missing, and a team of five was assembled under Shikamaru, the newest of the chuunin level ninjas, to find him. Lee wanted to go along but he was in no condition to help. Instead, he could only offer some encouragement to the team as they left, and a few words to Sakura. Cheered and at peace with himself, Lee went to ask Tsunade for the surgery.
Miraculously, the surgery was a success, though Lee was told to remain in bed to rest for a day or so before training. He would have none of that though, and grabbing what he thought was his medicine bottle, left to join the search for Sasuke.
He made it to the field where Naruto was blocked from moving any further. Sasuke was just up ahead, so Lee took Naruto’s place in fighting Oroochimaru’s henchman, a bone-wielding ninja named Kimiharu. Kimiharu was fast and flexible, using his own bones as weapons, and so skillful in his fighting that Lee could not land a hit either. The fight didn’t progress long until Lee called for a stop, taking a moment to drink his “medicine.” The sake in the bottle was actually Tsunade’s, and Lee, being a light-weight, was instantly drunk. In his inebriated state, Lee actually became stronger and his movements became unpredictable. Soon it was Kimiharu having difficulties keeping up with Lee.
Kimiharu changed tactics and lured Lee in, then forced his ribs to protrude out and cut at Lee. Once he was hit, Lee sobered up and lost his Drunken Fist abilities. He tried to pull out his Front Lotus technique again, but Kimiharu could not be so easily beaten. Lee was once again on the ropes, but then a surprising ally showed up: Gaara of the Sand. Lee didn’t want to give up his position as the main fighter, but Gaara would not let Lee push himself any further. Gaara managed to hold back Kimiharu, and almost defeated him, but it was illness that took its toll and killed Kimiharu before he could destroy them. Before returning to Konoha, Lee and Gaara rested and talked about Kimiharu, and Lee realized that in the end Kimiharu had been fighting for someone precious to him.
The mission to save Sasuke ended in failure, but the ninja of Konoha rested in the knowledge that Sasuke would probably not be causing them trouble again for about another three years, when Oroochimaru needed another host. Lee was returned to his training with his team, and for the next two and a half years he became stronger. He passed the chuunin exam in this time and started wearing the signature vest that went along with it.
The story picks up again with Gaara, now as Kazekage, being kidnapped. Team Gai was sent along to back up Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto in their mission to save Gaara from the group known as Akatsuki. On their way to catch up with Kakashi’s team, they were waylaid by Kisame, an Akatsuki member that fought with Gai once before. During the fight Lee, Neji and Tenten were all trapped in spheres of water. Neji managed to break them free after a time, and Lee watched in pride as Gai took out their opponent. However, it turned out this “Kisame” was just a man disguised and controlled by some of Kisame’s chakra.
They managed to get back on the chase, but when they reached the Akatsuki hideout it was blocked by a special barrier. Team Gai decided to take care of the barrier. Using Neji’s Byakugan, they discovered the location of the tags needed to break the barrier. Team Gai split up leaving each member to take care of one. They had planned on returning to help with the fight against Akatsuki immediately, but after destroying the tags clones of themselves appeared and attacked them. They managed to defeat them and escape the rest of Akatsuki’s traps with the help of Kakashi.
They were too late to save Gaara. After an impassioned speech from Naruto, an old woman named Chiyo worked her medical techniques and brought Gaara back to life though it would cost her her own. They said a prayer for Chiyo then the two Konoha teams left to return home.
For a long while, Lee is not mentioned again in the manga. He returns months later when Konoha is under attack by Pain. The village was almost totally demolished and a great number of people were killed. Team Gai happened to be out on a mission at the time of the invasion. They arrived late to find Hinata had been gravely wounded. Lee saw a dead frog, one that had sacrificed itself to help Naruto. Team Gai then set off to find medical ninja to help treat Hinata’s wounds.
ABILITIES:
Lee is a taijutsu specialist. Because of his inability to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu, Lee has to rely solely on his own body’s physical abilities to attack. He follows what Gai calls a Strong Fist style of fighting, which means he relies on his attacks to do external damage and to break bones. Most of Lee’s attacks are in the form of kicks, favoring the stronger muscles that can be found in the legs over those in the arms, though he has strength in all of his body. His regular taijutsu moves are:
• Leaf Gale - a spinning, low kick
• Leaf Whirlwind - a high kick followed swiftly by a low kick
• Leaf Great Whirlwind - a greater series of kicks in similar succession as the Leaf Whirlwind, this time starting lower and working the way up, ending with a heel drop
• Leaf Raising Wind - a forceful, upward kick
• Shadow of the Dancing Leaf - a move where the user follows closely to their opponent and mimics their body movements
Lee also is a user of chakra, as anyone aspiring to be a ninja must use chakra. Chakra is a mixture of both physical and spiritual energy that when manipulated correctly allows the user to perform special types of jutsu. Lee does not need chakra for his more basic taijutsu techniques, and he has no use for it concerning genjutsu or ninjutsu. However, Lee can manipulate his chakra to the extent of performing the basic Tree Climbing and Water Walking techniques.
Lee is also a master of at least five of Eight Gates. The gates are limiters on a person’s body that are usually closed in order to keep the user from exceeding their physical limits of safety. By breaking through these gates Lee has the ability to perform stronger, more dangerous techniques. In return, these techniques also take their toll on Lee himself. His techniques that require opening the gates are:
• Front Lotus - Requires opening the first of the Eight gates. Lee uses his powerful kicks to knock his opponent into the air, then follows that up with a Shadow of the Dancing Leaf. He wraps his opponent with his bandages and then sends them hurtling headfirst down to the ground. After he’s performed this, Lee is fatigued and needs a few minutes to rest before he can attack again. To an extent, he is still able to defend himself.
• Reverse Lotus - Requires supposedly a minimum of three gates but Lee uses five. Lee’s speed is increased to the point where he is nearly impossible to see, and with this increased speed he attacks by launching his opponent into the air and hits them with a succession of power strikes from all angles. It ends with one last powerful strike, sending them crashing to the ground. After this attack has been performed, Lee is left virtually immobile and defenseless.
It should also be noted that Lee’s physical appearance changes when he opens the third gate. His body color changes to a deep red, and the pupils and iris of his eyes seem to disappear altogether.
Lee’s last great ability is that of the Drunken Fist. He’s a natural fighter when inebriated, much more flexible and unpredictable, and that much more deadly. However, despite his increase in strength and greater evasion, Lee needs only to experience a little bit of pain to sober up and lose this ability. It’s not a very reliable means of attack as Lee loses himself to the fighting spirit and has no filter, just a wish to fight. He’ll destroy anything and everything, and pick fights without a qualm.
Most of these abilities require studious training and dedication to master. If Lee were to relearn them in Edensphere he would have to have some knowledge of what most of them were. Some of his taijutsu techniques might return to him through muscle memory (if such a thing is allowed in Edensphere) if Lee were to be trapped in a tight situation, but chakra mastery would require more understanding than he would have from hatching. Same goes for the Lotus techniques, as opening the gates is not a simple process. Drunken Fist is likely to only ever surface if Lee were to get drunk, which is possible since it requires very little alcohol for him to fall inebriated.
PLOT PERMISSIONS:
ES 4th Wall: Do mods/staff have permission to 4th wall your character with Edensphere's game elements? - Sure. Spring/Lee will already be so brainbroken by this place, a little 4th walling shouldn’t hurt him. He wouldn’t believe it anyway. Because, after all, he is there and real now so how could he possibly be a work of fiction? |D
Chara 4th Wall: Do players have permission to 4th wall your character with their own if s/he's capable of doing so? - Same as above.
* Note: 4th walling means your character would know s/he's a work of fiction and therefore not real.
ES Mysteries: Do mods/staff have permission to involve your character in Edensphere's back-story and world plot mysteries? WARNING: Such plots may result in character death. - Go ahead!
Memory Rec'v: Do mods/staff have permission to give your character others' memories and/or past logs via crystals, events, etc? - Y
Memory Distrib: Do mods/staff have permission to share your character's memories and/or past logs via crystals, events, etc? - Y
Dream Distrib: Do mods/staff have permission to share your character's dream(s) via Revolving Reveries and other plots or events? - Y
Your Wilderness: Do mods/staff have permission to transform the Wilderness into a place, setting, or environment that exists in your character's canon? - Y