Lee App: Soul_Campaign
[ CHARACTER INFORMATION ]
Name: Rock Lee
Age: 17
Gender: male
Fandom: Naruto
Timeline: CH 488, after the meeting of the Konoha 11, when they’ve headed back to Konoha.
History:
The beginning of Lee’s life can be sorted into two different periods - pre-Gai, and post-Gai. Lee, for reasons not clearly explained, is unable to use chakra. That made him unique among his peers, who were all able to do amazing things with ninjutsu and genjutsu. He received no encouragement, even from his teachers, and was teased and harassed as a worthless dead last.
Lee didn’t let that get him down. Despite his lack of talent, he threw everything that he had into honing what abilities he could use- taijutsu. It paid off. He graduated from the Academy, the first person to ever do so using taijutsu alone, and became a ninja. He was sorted into Gai’s team. Gai believed in him - believed that he could be a splendid ninja through taijutsu alone. Empowered by that belief and inspired by Gai’s strength, Lee began to emulate his Sensei, and passionately worked to further increase his skills. It was here that Lee met Neji, his genius team-mate.
Overcoming Neji and proving that hard work was the equal of genius became one of the major goals of Lee’s life. His dedication to this is proven in the Chuunin exams, a test to see which of the shinobi are suitable to pass onto the next rank as ninja. Lee seeks out the person who is rumored to be the strongest rookie, Sasuke, and challenges him to a fight. The spar itself was brutally one-sided in Lee’s favor, and was ended by Lee’s sensei(‘s turtle) when things got too rough, but Lee’s decision to initiate it in the first place shows his eagerness to prove himself.
This point in the story is also when he met Haruno Sakura, who Lee quickly declared his affection for. She wasn’t interested. Despite her obvious disgust over his appearance and attitude, Lee continued in his attempts to court her. During the second portion of the Chuunin exams he saved her life in white-knight style, with the squirrel on his shoulder firmly ruining any chances he had of managing to come out of the situation looking at all cool.
Lee’s battle with Gaara, (at that point, a blood-thirsty solipsistic murderer) in the third portion of the Chuunin exams was one of the changing points in his life. The fight was fast-paced and furious, requiring Lee to pull out every stop and push his body as far as it could go. He unveiled the forbidden Ura Renge, a fast-paced move he’d learned specifically for defeating Neji, during this fight. He made a good showing and actually managed to hit Gaara- something that had never been done before-, but in the end, he was defeated, crippled, and nearly killed. If it hadn’t been for the timely intervention of his teacher, Lee would’ve been killed- but even after ripping his muscles to shreds and having his left arm and leg crushed, and despite being unconscious, Lee pulled himself to his feet in an attempt to keep fighting.
Rehab wasn’t easy, and Lee had to face the fact that he wouldn’t be able to continue as a ninja, until the new Hokage - a brilliant medic named Tsunade - arrived in the village. She offered him a choice. He could live as a civilian, or go through a dangerous, experimental surgery with only a 50% chance of survival in hopes of repairing his broken body. It was a difficult decision and one that Lee agonized over, until Gai told him that Lee was a fool who couldn’t live without his dream- and that Gai was the same way. His teacher promised him that if the operation failed, he’d follow Lee into death. Bolstered by Gai’s encouragement, he accepted the surgery.
Lee made a full recovery, and continued on his path with as much enthusiasm and vigor as before, proving once again that nothing short of death will stop him. In a remarkable display of Youthful Enthusiasm over brains, he pulled himself out of his hospital bed post-operation during the Sasuke retrieval arc, charging to the aid of his allies. He took over for Naruto in the battle against Orochimaru’s prior choice for body, Kimimaro. Despite his injuries, he managed to hold his own against Kimimaro. This was in large part aided by Lee mistaking Tsunade’s sake for his medicine, and pausing a short way in the battle to drink it.
Inhibitions loosened by the alcohol, Lee threw himself at Kimimaro whole-heartedly, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the large disparity in their skill levels and his own injury. Just as things were getting grim, Gaara came to the rescue, displaying the new status of Suna as allies of Konoha and his own shift in personality as a result of his battle with Naruto. The two battled Kimimaro together (though Gaara did the majority of the work and Lee mostly made a good attempt at getting in the way), but in the end it was Kimimaro’s illness, not their battle, that claimed his life.
For the remainder of the series pre-Shippuden, Lee appeared in a number of filler arcs (ranging from setting up his own dojo in an attempt to train more to the infamous Curry of Life arc, where his intolerance to alcohol was highlighted again), in which he primarily served the role of comedic relief.
Lee was part of the team sent to rescue Gaara when he was kidnapped at the beginning of Shippuden, battling against Kisame and a clone with his own abilities. He also played a minor role in the Three-tails arc, where he demonstrated that despite having achieved the Chuunin rank, he is no more prone to elaborate plans than when he was a Genin. In the Pain invasion arc Lee made a brief appearance after Konoha was all but destroyed, and his team focused on getting medical help for the injured.
Currently, Lee is on a mission with Sakura and Kiba. Due to Sasuke’s actions against Konoha, Shikamaru has decided that Sasuke must be killed, and the rest of the Rookie 9 + 3 have agreed- all except for Naruto. On meeting up with Naruto, Lee watched as the girl he’d had a crush on for four years confessed her love- in detail- to another. Naruto refused her advances, citing that Sakura was lying to herself, and Sakura stormed away, taking Lee and Kiba with her to track Sasuke down.
When Sai confronted Sakura about her intention to go after Sasuke alone, Lee and Kiba came to Sakura's defense. Sakura manipulated Lee into creating an opening for a sleeping bomb while defending her from Sai, and Lee, Kiba, and Sai were knocked unconscious. They were awoken after the battle with Sasuke, and accompanied Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi back to Konoha. The Konoha 11 met en route to discuss the situation with Sasuke, and Lee returned to his own team.
Character Personality:
One of the core tenants of Lee’s personality is his work ethic. He tries his best in every possible situation, and when his best isn’t good enough, he keeps trying until he becomes good enough. His life is built on hard work. He’s had to strive for everything he’s ever gotten, and the skills he does have are won through the sweat of his brow. In a world filled with geniuses, Lee has stood alone as a good-for-nothing dead-last, the only ninja ever to graduate the Academy without being able to use chakra.
Lee is fiercely competitive, and he always strives to prove his nindo - that it is possible to be a splendid ninja through taijutsu alone. He feels the need to test himself constantly, both alone, through grueling challenges, and against others. He views those stronger than him as rivals to be overcome, but there is no hostility in that view. Rather, he is friendly and gregarious to even those he deems as competition.
For all that he will challenge anyone strong enough to a spar, Lee goes about it with a smile on his face. He doesn’t hold grudges, even when he has ample reason to (Gaara crushed his arm and leg, nearly killed him ((twice)), and forced him to go through a surgery with only a 50% chance of success. The next time Lee saw him after all of this, all he had to say to the negative was “I’ve gone through quite a bit of hassle because of you.”). At times his good nature can be frustrating to those around him.
Lee is painstakingly polite at all times. He speaks formally, to the point of not using contractions, and is far less casual than the rest of his generation. He is respectful, especially to those older than him, and is well-mannered. He never curses, and rarely refers to even long-time friends without a suffix.
For all of this, though, Lee, at the end of the day, is a complete and utter goofball. He believes strange things - for example, before his fight in the Chuunin exams with Gaara, he claims that he wants to go last, and when their match is next-to-last he celebrates that his act worked - he tricked the Universe into thinking he wanted to go last, so he got what he really wanted. He worships his sensei, Gai, and assiduously follows all of his instructions. He’s obsessed with working out, and he sets impossible challenges for himself with grueling punishments tacked on for failure. This results in a constant cycle of overworking himself. He takes copious amounts of notes and then never uses them, has a crush on a girl who at first hates the sight of him, and his antics are more often a reason for laughter than sympathy.
Character Abilities:
Chakra Manipulation:
Lee is pretty much fail with chakra, but he can manage enough to stand on water or walk up a wall.
Strong Fist:
Lee specializes in the Strong Fist style of taijutsu, or hand-to-hand combat. This style is focused primarily on breaking bones and dealing external injury, as opposed to dealing internal injury. One of his signature moves in this style is the Konoha Whirlwind, which is a whirlwind kick that is devastating to the opponent if it lands. The power of Lee’s kicks has been shown to be enough to shatter through rock. He is extremely strong and fast.
The Weights:
Though not necessarily a specific move, Lee wears incredibly heavy weights around each ankle. When he took them off and dropped them in the Chuunin exams, the weights were heavy enough to leave large craters in the stone floor. With the removal of the weights, Lee becomes extremely fast and agile, to the point where he is a green blur. Removing the weights, for Lee, is a sign that he’s taking things up to the next level. Like all of his special attacks, this comes with a special caveat - Lee is only supposed to remove his weights “to protect many important people”.
Lee is trained in using nunchaku and a bo staff, both of which he makes out of his weights. Though he does not usually use these weapons (they appear only in one of the movies), he appears to be proficient with them. In the same fight, he also uses his weights as a whip.
Drunken Fist:
Lee has a unique reaction to alcohol. He is extremely sensitive to it, getting roaring drunk off of even a small sip (or the amount held inside a liquor-filled chocolate). When he is drunk he is a belligerent fighter, and his movements become extremely unpredictable. Stumbles and drunken falls quickly turn into graceful twists and practiced ducks. In this state, Lee’s natural awareness of danger becomes much more pronounced. This is shown clearly in the fight with Kimimaro, where Lee dodges several lethal attacks from a short range while apparently sleeping.
Initial Lotus:
The Lotus is one of Lee’s special attacks. It requires opening the first of the celestial gates. The Lotus is self-damaging because of the amount of movement involved, and use of it results in muscle tears. The attack itself consists of kicking the opponent up into the air, then repeatedly kicking the opponent over and over again until they are at a sufficient height. At that point, Lee will appear behind them, and shadow their movements as they fall. The bandages around his arms, unwrapped, encircle the opponent in a cocoon, and Lee spins toward the ground with them. The end result is crashing into the ground with intense speed and force.
The Gates
Though he is unable to use chakra, Lee is able to unlock five of the eight Chakra gates. In essence, this is a basic powerup. His speed and strength are greatly increased. This allows Lee to use the reverse lotus. The consequence of opening the gates is that it is extremely damaging to the body, and the power gained comes with a built-in time limit due to the damage done.
Reverse Lotus
The Reverse Lotus is Lee’s ultimate move. Accessible only after opening four Chakra gates, the Reverse Lotus involves bouncing the enemy through the air with multiple physical attacks (much like a ping-pong ball) faster than the eye can see, then allowing them to fall. When the opponent falls, Lee catches them with his bandages, which wrap around the torso of the opponent. Then Lee delivers a powerful kick to his opponent, sending them spiraling to the ground. It is similar to Lee’s other taijutsu moves in concept, with the primary difference being the level of speed and power used.
Character Weaknesses:
Lee’s primary weakness as a fighter is his inability to use chakra. In-verse, this makes him particularly vulnerable to the use of genjutsu, as he has no defense against it. He also does considerable damage to his own body with his more advanced attacks, installing a natural limiter and required healing time after intense battles. He’s also very, very, VERY allergic to alcohol. The amount in a liquor-filled chocolate is enough for him to go completely loopy. See the above section on Drunken Fist.
Personality wise, his determination to prove himself often lends to foolhardiness. He pushes himself beyond his limits, especially when injured, to the point of damaging himself. Lee has been shown to be incapable of assessing an enemy’s strength and making the logical leap that maybe he shouldn’t charge in head-first when they’re five times stronger than him. His view of what is normal is out of scale- Lee sees nothing wrong with the idea of running for four days straight.
His enthusiasm, strange looks, and odd method of dress often lead to others having difficulty taking him seriously. Lee is extremely attached to his teacher, hero-worshiping him to the point of copying his hairstyle and outfit, and will follow anything Gai tells him, no matter how outlandish or strange. His strong bond with Gai makes it difficult for him to be apart from his teacher.
As Lee is a weapon, he’ll require a Meister with a firm, dominant hand to be effectively wielded. He’s hotheaded, impulsive, and deliberately seeks out challenges. If his Meister isn’t strong enough in personality, Lee’s natural bullheadedness won’t allow him to be utilized.
[ WEAPON SECTION ]
Why your character should be a Weapon: I could see Lee equally well going with either side, but am placing him as a Weapon in part because of his hand-to-hand combat skills. He tends to be one for leaping directly into the fray, and despite being skilled with tonfa, chains, and staves, 90% of the time he attacks with his bare hands. I see this translating well into literally being a blunt object. He’s also accustomed to taking and following orders, which I could see working well with the submission required from a Weapon, if his Meister is dominant enough to keep Lee from just rushing in and punching things.
What is your character's Weapon form?: A weighted, convertible three-section staff. Three heavy iron rods connected by chains, that can be screwed together to be utilized as a bo staff.
If properly wielded by someone with enough knowledge of the forms standard to the weapon, and with good resonance, the natural protectiveness will solidify into an impenetrable barrier while in three-section form. How long this lasts is dependent on the endurance of the wielder and how long they can keep the staff moving. If wielded with high resonance as a bo staff, attacks will hit considerably harder.
[ SOUL INFORMATION ]
Soul Description:Determined, Youthful!, Energetic, Passionate, Adorkable, Derp
Soul Appearance:
[ SAMPLES ]
Third Person:
Lee's fists struck against the wooden training post in a steady staccato, punctuated by the sharp bark of his voice counting out repetitions. He had two hundred punches to go, but after so many years it was automatic. The burn and ache in his muscles was familiar and soothing, but it wasn't enough. He needed more than the challenge offered by a wooden training post, but opportunities to spar in the aftermath of a large-scale attack were rare. The majority of Konoha's attention was on repairing the damage done by Pain. And then, of course, there was the time.
It worked well for Lee, though. Focusing on helping to rebuild the village and the missions that he received was a good distraction. It helped keep his mind off of things, and he knew that it was better not to brood. When the last punch was finished, Lee braced one bandaged hand against the ground and flipped backward, landing easily on top of the other training post. He moved to balance on one foot at the slender top, not exerting what little chakra he could channel to stay in place- that'd make the exercise in balance pointless.
The problem was that it wasn't enough to keep him distracted. He threw himself whole-heartedly into every single day, but there was still a part of his mind that worried over what had happened. Sakura had confessed her love to Naruto. And even if Naruto hadn't accepted that, even if he'd seen through it to the manipulation that it was... Lee wasn't certain that it wasn't true. He wondered on some level if it even mattered. Sakura might not love Naruto, but that experience had made one thing painfully clear.
She didn't love Lee. Not only that, he didn't even register as a blip to her. She didn't stop to think that it might hurt him to hear the girl he'd been in love with for years confess her feelings to someone else.
He knew that she'd had a lot to think about. There was the situation with Sasuke, and Naruto himself, and everything else. Sakura was under a lot of stress, and he didn't blame her. He didn’t resent Naruto, either. Naruto was his friend.
It just... made him think. Made him wonder, if she'd ever actually look at him. He'd persevered through the years, hoping that at some point she'd look beyond the bowl cut and his spandex and inability to use chakra, and maybe she'd see something that she'd like. But he was starting to lose faith that day would come. Lee's life was built on hard work and determination. He firmly believed that if he worked hard enough, he could accomplish anything, because if he didn't believe in that then he lost everything. Lee had proven time and time again that limits on what he could and couldn't do didn't matter.
He was starting to wonder, though, if maybe love was different. Maybe it wasn't something that could be earned with hard work. The Chuunin sighed and dropped down to the ground, looking up at the stars. He needed to talk to Gai-sensei. Gai always knew what to do; he always encouraged Lee when his faith grew thin, and reminded him of exactly what it was he was striving for. Bolstered by having a plan, Lee nodded to himself. He'd talk to Gai-sensei in the morning, he resolved. Then everything would be better.