# Chapter 10: The Genin Exam
Standing before the Shinobi Academy — the institution responsible for supplying Konoha's young ninja with the knowledge they'd need to survive — the thick-browed boy breathed in the fresh morning air and slowly let go of a month's worth of memories. He was willing to admit, without any shame, that he was going to miss these days just a little. The steady rhythm of them. Busy, never boring.
Because that's how it sometimes goes for students at the end of the year — standing at graduation, you find yourself a little sad, a little wistful at how fast the time has moved. Yesterday you were solving problems at your desk, and today someone's handing you a certificate. Wasn't it just yesterday?
But no. There was no reason for sadness when everything for Rock was still ahead of him.
"Today's the Genin exam, and you're this calm? Is that even normal, Lee?"
A clear, spring-bright voice rang out from near the academy's main doors. Sweet Tenten stood there in her familiar pink jacket, watching him with warm, friendly brown eyes, a satisfied smile blooming across her flawless face. She hadn't greeted him exactly, hadn't even used his name — she was still shy about that — but she genuinely considered him both an inspiration and a close friend, someone she hoped with all her heart to end up on a team with.
"I can, I do, I practice." Lee's answer came wrapped in the easy confidence that just seemed to radiate off him. "The Hokage himself is going to be watching, but I'll just show him what he needs to see, and then I'll come find you with a headband. So what's there to worry about, hm?"
Tenten, for some reason, didn't answer that. She just stuck her tongue out at him in a playful flash, turned, and walked into the academy — whispering something soft and yielding into the wind as she went, her cheeks coloring faintly pink.
"Good luck…"
Rock blinked his long lower lashes, standing completely still at the main entrance and blocking the flow of students trying to get through, solid and immovable as a proper lamppost — thinking about how just a month ago, in this exact spot at this exact time, Tenten had left him standing here with a considerably cooler farewell, baffled by the unfamiliar treatment.
And now here they were. Was it really this… easy? To make friends, to genuinely grow close to a girl who was good-looking and good-natured both?
Was it just… ordinary? Run-of-the-mill? Unremarkable? Everyday?
How was it supposed to feel? And how many more synonyms could he cycle through?
*In my past life, every girl who liked me was into me because I was athletic, built, health-conscious — all that shallow stuff. None of them shared my central dream, my true goals, my real plans for the future. But here… here it's different. Almost everyone around me is chasing limitless strength. Which means I'm surrounded by people who could actually support me on my path in the martial arts. And that means one thing — I don't have to be a lonely fanatic anymore.*
Lee clenched his fists, feeling something that was neither quite anger nor quite joy — but some fierce blend of both.
He made his way to the classroom. The teacher was standing at the board, apparently going over the details of the theoretical portion of the Genin exam. The man greeted Lee with a smile — he'd long since recognized the thick-browed boy's genius — while the classmates around him either watched with resigned acceptance or with irritation.
Neji Hyuga, for example. You'd think a member of Konoha's most powerful clan would have no reason to compete with Rock, who had neither influence nor standing. And yet. The Byakugan user had built up an entire rivalry in his own head — something about first place and leadership — while telling anyone who would listen that he couldn't care less about Lee and didn't consider him an equal. Sure, sure. Then there was Kero Inuzuka, the boy Lee had beaten in the sparring match a month ago — beaten and thoroughly humiliated, to be more precise — who was still quietly nursing his rage and wounded pride. The conclusion was simple: young equaled stupid and emotionally unstable.
The rest of the class had settled into a sort of neutral relationship with Rock. They no longer went out of their way to poke at him or laugh at him — but they weren't falling over themselves to flatter him either, unlike right after that sparring match. Everyone had understood clearly by now that if they crossed him, he would respond, and respond with real force. That much had become obvious to all.
Lee sat quietly at his desk, pulled out his notebooks and pens, and the teacher continued his explanations while making announcements. Occasionally, from the front rows, Tenten would turn around — barely perceptibly, practically in secret — and steal glances back at him, checking on Rock and watching his behavior while trying very hard not to draw any attention to herself.
Suspicious behavior from a young girl, wouldn't you say?
After half an hour of preliminary discussion, a tomblike silence descended over the room. The teacher distributed the exam forms, one per student, and announced the start of the theoretical portion of the Genin exam. Rock immediately set to work writing his answers. There were twenty questions in total — the first half straightforward, built purely around logic, and the second half considerably harder and more involved, requiring broad perspective and genuine mastery of shinobi fundamentals. Even with an adult mind behind those round eyes, Lee had to concentrate and shut out everything else — the birds chattering outside, the voices drifting through the rear courtyard window.
He'd been preparing. He absolutely was not going to blow it.
And…
An hour or so later, he had apparently passed.
"Not bad, Lee. No obvious mistakes at first glance — I'll do a second check a little later, alright? For now, stay ready. You'll be the last one, and after that I'll bring the Hokage in to observe you personally. Don't let yourself down. And don't embarrass the two of us." The teacher sent him off with a warm, encouraging smile, genuinely believing in the thick-browed boy's dream. He was already organizing the practical portion, where the twelve-year-olds would each demonstrate one E-rank shinobi technique.
And so the true heart of the Genin exam began: Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.
Precisely the things the original Lee had simply never been able to use from birth. Which meant the current Rock had no choice but to prove — in the only way available to him — that even through Taijutsu alone, a person could become a god. Could destroy invaders. Could subjugate Biju. Could defeat crowned shinobi and surpass everyone in his path — including Might Guy, who Lee genuinely admired and never stopped admiring.
When a beaming, flustered Tenten came over to him with a forehead protector already tied across her brow, Lee immediately set aside every selfish thought about his own ambitions and felt something simple and honest: happiness for his friend, and for the fact that she'd passed without hesitation.
"It suits you, Tenten! You look wonderful with the hitaiate of our Hidden Leaf Village!" He praised her appearance with warm sincerity — not flattery, but genuine — adding a thumbs-up and his best good-guy smile, which made her blush even deeper and thank him in a shy half-whisper.
In the end, every student in Rock's class passed the Genin exam. Even Kero Inuzuka, who had lost a good deal of his swagger and bravado. As for Neji Hyuga — the look of satisfaction on his face was something to behold. That arrogant smirk. Those frequent, scorching glances directed at Lee's back — because very few people present actually believed in Rock. However superior a fighter the thick-browed boy had proven himself in sparring, wasn't earning shinobi rank through a private Hokage audience an overconfident move? A recipe for embarrassment?
Lee did not think so.
When he was the only one left in the classroom — all the others had been dismissed, and the teacher had gone to fetch the leader of Konoha — Rock patted both shoulders to warm up his muscles, then called up his main system status:
*[Name: Rock Lee]*
*[Shinobi Rank: Academy Student]*
*[Health: 100%]*
*[Stamina: 100%]*
*[Chakra: 100%]*
*[Taijutsu Rank: C+]*
*[Ninjutsu Rank: —]*
*[Genjutsu Rank: —]*
*[Inventory]*
*[Hell's Training List: 2]*
*Come on, Lee. Come on. Time to live up to everything — your own expectations and theirs. I'll show Hiruzen the Rankyaku. There's no point hiding a technique I'm going to use often anyway — better to show him my real potential. And I'm hoping that when the Hokage sees my Taijutsu, he assigns me to Guy as a student rather than some other Jonin. There is no one in all of Konoha better suited for me than Might Guy. That's just a fact.*
He was mid-thought when the center of the room erupted with a deafening crack and a wall of spreading gray smoke that swallowed everything in every direction.
"So you're Rock Lee — the special boy with the talent for Taijutsu?"
A kind, elderly voice spoke from somewhere nearby in the smoke.