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At the gates of the Ninja Academy.
Rokuro waited for quite a while.
Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. A tide of children poured out of the building.
He stared intently at the students flooding through the gates, scanning their faces. For a long time, he didn't recognize a single one.
He wasn't in a hurry. He just sat by the wall and kept watching.
Students were still trickling out.
He waited. And waited.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
He spotted a familiar figure. Or rather, a familiar pair of eyes.
No one who had seen the anime could ever forget those pale, pupil-less irises.
Neji Hyūga.
One of the Konoha 11.
Right now, Neji's expression was relaxed and cheerful. His father, Hizashi Hyūga, hadn't died yet.
Neji walked out of the gates chatting and laughing with another Hyūga child, and the two walked off down the street together.
Watching the young genius walk away, Rokuro couldn't help but sigh.
What a tragic guy.
If Rokuro remembered the timeline correctly, this was the exact year the Cloud Village (Kumogakure) envoy incident would happen. Neji's father would soon be forced to die in place of the Clan Head, Hiashi.
Wait.
Could I use that incident to my advantage?
If he could somehow intervene or build a strong relationship with the Hyūga Clan during the fallout, he might be able to get his hands on a Byakugan later down the line.
As Rokuro let his imagination run wild, plotting long-term heists, another student walked out of the Academy.
This one snapped Rokuro right back to reality.
He had a shiny bowl cut, thick eyebrows, and an aura of absolute depression. He looked miserable, walking with his head down as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
Rock Lee!
By the time Lee walked out, the crowd at the gates had mostly dispersed. He was essentially the last student to leave.
Rokuro watched the dejected boy for a moment before waving his hand.
"Hey! Bowl-cut guy! Are you a student at the Academy?"
Lee stopped walking, his head still lowered, and looked around in confusion.
"Are... are you talking to me?"
Rokuro smiled.
"Is there anyone else here besides the two of us? Of course I'm talking to you!"
Lee looked Rokuro up and down, then shook his head sadly.
"I have things to do. I need to go."
Not so fast.
Rokuro channeled Chakra to his feet and triggered the Tyrant Step.
Whoosh!
In a fraction of a second, he crossed the distance and materialized directly in front of Lee.
The sudden, explosive movement made Lee freeze in his tracks.
Initially, Lee hadn't paid Rokuro much attention because the kid looked to be four or five years old—younger than him.
But now!
This kid's strength was clearly not normal. That burst of speed was faster than some of the instructors at the Academy!
Lee's depression momentarily lifted, replaced by intense curiosity.
He stared at Rokuro.
"What's your name? Are you from the village?"
"Kanda Rokuro," Rokuro replied smoothly.
"I just wanted to ask you... what exactly are the graduation requirements for the Academy?"
Lee blinked, still analyzing the younger boy.
"Kanda Rokuro... you haven't even enrolled in the Academy yet, have you? How are you so strong? Are you from a major clan?"
Rokuro scoffed.
"I wish. I'm just an orphan. Grew up in an orphanage. But I have an amazing master. He's the strongest Taijutsu Jōnin in Konoha."
Taijutsu Jōnin?
The strongest?!
Hearing those words, Lee's eyes widened with excitement.
Because he was completely incapable of molding Chakra for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, Lee had been desperately training his Taijutsu, praying it would be enough to become a real ninja.
Meeting a Taijutsu specialist right now was like a starving man finding a feast. He couldn't let this opportunity slip away.
"If he's the strongest... your master's Taijutsu must be incredible!" Lee asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Rokuro smirked proudly.
"Of course it is! My master can easily beat other Jōnin using only Taijutsu. I've only learned a fraction of his skills, and I already have the physical strength of a Chūnin!"
Lee's eyes practically glowed in the dark.
He grabbed Rokuro's arm.
"Please! Tell me more about your master! I need to know—can someone really become a great ninja using only Taijutsu?!"
Rokuro feigned surprise, looking at Lee in confusion.
"As long as you have Chakra, you can become a ninja, right? Why are you asking that? Do you not have any Chakra? If you don't, how did you even get into the Academy?"
Hearing the question, the light in Lee's eyes dimmed.
He kicked a small pebble on the ground, his voice dripping with frustration.
"I do have Chakra... but I can't use it to cast Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. I don't know what's wrong with me!"
"Uh..." Rokuro hesitated, playing the part of a blunt, straightforward kid perfectly.
"Well... what's the point of Ninjutsu anyway? It's just for fighting, right? As long as your Taijutsu is strong enough to beat the other guy into the ground before he can even weave a hand sign, who cares if you can't cast Jutsu? If you knock them out, you win. Not knowing Ninjutsu doesn't matter!"
Lee stared at Rokuro, stunned.
Then, he started nodding vigorously, his bowl cut bouncing.
"You're right. You're absolutely right! Kanda Rokuro, you truly understand! I've decided! From this moment on, you are my good friend!"
Rokuro smiled inwardly.
Hook, line, and sinker.
He had deliberately approached Lee for this exact reason. His ultimate goal? Building a bridge to Might Guy so he could eventually learn the Eight Inner Gates.
Keeping his inner scheming hidden, Rokuro smiled back.
"You still haven't told me what the graduation requirements are!"
Lee snapped back to reality.
"Oh! To graduate, we need the stamina to run twenty kilometers without stopping, and we have to demonstrate proficiency in the Three Basic Jutsu (Clone, Substitution, Transformation)!"
Rokuro curled his lip in feigned disappointment.
"That's it? That's so easy! I thought it would be a real challenge!"
Lee looked at him in disbelief.
"What? Can you already do all of that?"
Rokuro gave Lee a sidelong glance, then raised his hands and formed a single seal.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke erupted, and a perfect, intangible Clone of Kanda Rokuro appeared right next to him.
Lee stared at the clone, his jaw practically hitting the floor.
"You're younger than me..." Lee muttered to himself, "and you're already this strong? You're amazing..."
Rokuro dispelled the clone, turned around, and started walking away.
"I came here because I wanted to see how high the standards of the Ninja Academy were. I didn't expect them to be this low. How boring!"
Seeing his new "good friend" leaving, Lee panicked and called out,
"Rokuro! Are you going home?!"
Rokuro didn't look back. He just waved a hand over his shoulder.
"Yep! Going home to train! The Academy's training is too weak. I'm better off training myself!"
Lee stood frozen by the gates, staring blankly as Rokuro disappeared into the crowd.
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