Chen in Naruto

In Konoha, Chen was revered as a hero. He once had a pupil who, like Rock Lee, was unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu and who committed himself to mastering taijutsu. The Third Shinobi World War was fought by Chen and his pupil, and his student was killed because he was unable to acquire ninjutsu. Chen was deeply moved by the passing of his student, so the shinobi pretended to die and then gave up his shinobi identity.

Over the years, his granddaughter Azami, the only one who knew he was still alive, would periodically leave rice balls for her grandfather. One day, Rock Lee, Naruto Uzumaki, and Tenten showed over to pay their respects to the "late" hero while his granddaughter brought rice balls to his gravestone. They decided to wait for Chen when Azami informed them that he was still alive.

Chen did show up later. Lee and Tenten were perplexed, but Naruto saw him as an impostor who was fooling Azami into preparing food for him. As a consequence, the three genin assaulted him, causing him to drop his final rice ball. That really enraged him, so he used his special method to attack them.

Lee urged Chen to teach him the technique after realising that he was the genuine hero and became awed by it so he could pursue his ambition of becoming a master of taijutsu. He ferociously attacked Lee after being horrified by how similar Lee was to his deceased pupil. He then urged Lee to give up on his dream and walked away.

However, Lee remained there and waited for Chen to acknowledge him every day. In the end, Lee assured Chen that he doesn't mind if Chen declines to teach him his skill as long as he insists on getting the old master to recognise him as a ninja. Chen accepted after Lee's begging to try his method on him. After that, Chen most likely passed away from old age. Later, for future use, Kabuto Yakushi bought a DNA sample from Chen.

Kabuto Yakushi revived Chen to participate in the Fourth Shinobi World War. He was tasked with attacking the Allied Shinobi Forces on the second day of the war. He quickly defeated a number of ninja before going up against Might Guy. Guy formally challenged the reborn shinobi to combat, excited by the prospect of taking on the renowned hero.

The first battle between the two taijutsu experts was closely matched, but Chen's tenacious resurrected body quickly defeated Guy. Chen was surprised to see Rock Lee come to Guy's aid during the battle. Guy was horrified to learn Chen attempted to convince Lee to stop being a shinobi after hearing the tale of how Chen and Lee first met. He acknowledged Chen's opinions weren't incorrect, but they were still Lee's personal dream.

The instructor and student were assaulted by Chen's Leaf Dragon God after he felt the need to definitively establish his argument. Chen was surprised to find that Lee had discovered Chen's technique's vulnerability and had successfully countered it. Chen acknowledged his own shortcomings with his pupil, feeling guilty for not having more trust in him.

Chen was astounded at how far Lee had come simply via taijutsu and the relationship he had with Guy as a teacher. Chen broke the summoning contract and returned to the afterlife, finally letting go of his sad past and repenting to Lee for what he had said as he remarked that his burial will be useful after all. Lee assured him that he would serve rice balls to him at his grave.

Chen was a carefree and proud man who seemed to take great joy in his legendary position. However, he was very saddened and filled with regret on the heart for not being able to save his final pupil. Chen finally came to the conclusion that one who is unable to perform ninjutsu cannot genuinely be a shinobi and should not even pursue such a way of life, feeling that it was his fault for the student's passing.

Chen was a shorter-than-average-height man with tan complexion. He had a manchu moustache, a trimmed chin beard, and grey dreadlocks as he grew older. He was also missing an upper right tooth.

He wore red square-framed sunglasses, an open-toed sandal with a green sweatband, and a yellow jumpsuit with black stripes. When he was younger, his dark hair was pulled back into a high ponytail.

Chen was a renowned shinobi and admired as a Konoha hero during his lifetime. His skills were so exceptional that Kabuto Yakushi resurrected him to participate in the Fourth Great Shinobi War despite his advanced age. Given that his final pupil had received sufficient instruction from him to become a fully-fledged shinobi using just taijutsu, he was probably also an effective instructor.

When he was still a shinobi, he gained notoriety for inventing the unusual taijutsu move known as Leaf Dragon God. This move began with a spinning kick and then turned the wind into a whirling dragon that struck the opponent repeatedly, capable of slicing flesh, and could defeat up to three foes at once. He also had the ability to perform the Sage Transformation, which enabled him to change his body using the natural energy he received.