Rock Lee

Rock Lee was born in the Lee Clan of the Hidden Leaf Village. Other than this, the details related to his lineage is a mystery. He was born without the ability to use chakra due to which he was not able to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu whatsoever. Not much explanation is given for this, but he is unable to exert chakra out of his body. Due to this, Lee always faced hardships in his time at the NinjaAcademy. Despite all this, he was determined to become a strong shinobi even though he had absolutely no talent for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu.

He decided to refine his Taijutsu and become the best Taijutsu user alive. Although concrete details are not available regarding the matter, it is believed that Lee graduated from the Ninja Academy purely based on his Taijutsu skills. After graduating from school, he was assigned to Team Guy, where he was paired up with Neji Hyuga and Tenten, with Might Guy as their leader.

Despite not having chakra, he proclaimed that he will become a powerful Shinobi who doesn’t use Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Neji laughs at this idea and ridicules his statement. Might Guy, their Sensei, however, took a special interest in Lee. This was because Lee reminded him of his younger self. Might Guy was a master of Taijutsu himself and did not possess the talent for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu either, just like Lee. Might Guy paid extra interest in Lee’s progress and started training him in the art of Taijutsu. He taught him many powerful Taijutsu techniques including, but not limited to, the 8 Gates Technique.

Before the Chunin Exams, he challenges Sasuke Uchiha, the last Uchiha member in Konoha, to a fight. He almost defeats Sasuke before Might Guy stops him and scolds him for fighting. At a later stage of the Chunin Exam, Rock Lee is put against Gaara of the Sand Village, who was the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast. Rock Lee and Gaara have a fight that was so intense that Rock Lee became the first person who actually managed to hurt Gaara physically.

Although he showcased an incredible performance at the Chunin Exams, he failed to defeat Gaara. He gets his legs crushed, causing almost irreparable damage. This greatly hindered his progress for the rest of his life.

Later on, he learns the ability Drunken Fist, which lets him become much stronger after consuming alcohol. He gains more confidence and his moves become more unpredictable. He uses this in a fight against Kimimaro. While the battle was intense, Rock Lee was about to die when he was saved by Gaara, whom he befriends later on in the series.

In the anime, Lee's condition deteriorated and Lady Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village started to worry that he may hurt himself once more. He persuaded her to let him continue training even after she pulled him from missions. When Guy and a new pupil arrived around this time, Lee was easily defeated and hurt his ankle. Guy went on a mission with the new student while Lee was healing, leading Lee to assume that he had abandoned him. The new pupil was subsequently exposed as a forger and his plans to exact revenge on Guy were made clear. Lee tried to find Guy but got stuck in a castle made of sparring posts. He and Lee were duped into a battle by the enemy who made them seem to each other like a sparring partner. Lee and Guy recognized each other’s fighting techniques and figured out the enemy's schemes. They destroy the dummies by opening their chakra gates. They later destroy the castle and defeat their enemies.

In the Kazekage Rescue Mission, Team Guy goes up against Kisame. Lee was able to disarm Kisame but was then trapped in Kisame’s Water Prison Jutsu performed by Kisame’s Water Clones along with Tenten and Neji Hyuga. Neji was successful in his attempt to escape from the Jutsu and then he freed Lee. Lee then freed Tenten who was on the verge of suffocation. Later they witness Guy demolishing Kisame. When they finally reach the Akatsuki’s hideout, they fall into their trap and fight against their look-alikes who have the same skills and techniques as them. After a prolonged battle, Lee comes up with the premonition that the look-alikes are just as strong as they were at the moment they undid the seal, so they just have to become stronger to defeat these clones. Encouraged by Lee’s words, everyone gets fired up and they successfully defeat their respective look-alikes.

In the Twelve Guardian Ninja Arc, Lee goes up against the resurrected zombie ninja of the Kohaku clan after Furido’s 4-Man-Team invaded the Hidden Leaf Village. Lee and other members of Konoha 11 went to stop Sora, the Pseudo-Jinchuriki but were unable to stop him. In the end, Naruto goes up against Sora and is able to stop him.

In the Three-Tails Appearance Arc, Lee was part of the team dispatched by the Hidden Leaf to locate and seal the Three-Tails. When he spotted an enemy, Lee went in for the attack, realized that it was just a clone, and found himself trapped in the Hidden Mist Jutsu. After remembering his training with Guy Sensei, Lee uses his other senses and defeats Kiho. Later, while Team Three is trying to seal the Three-Tails, Lee and Tenten battle Guren and Rinji but have to retreat after the Three-Tails went berserk. Later when Team Three tries to seal the beast again, Lee and Tenten encounter their opponents from before and lose the battle after they activate their cursed seals. Meanwhile, Team 3 is unable to seal the beast for the second time. Failing in their task to seal the Three-Tails, they return to the Hidden Leaf Village.

In the Pain Assault Arc, Team Guy was away from the village on a mission. On their way back, they notice an unusual amount of birds flying away from the village and then later find a wounded Gamabunta, who catches them up with the situation. When they finally reach the village, they are informed that Naruto is fighting Pain alone and Guy insists on providing him back up, but Lady Katsuyu manages to get him to stay as Naruto did not want anyone to interfere. Later, Lee celebrated Naruto’s victory with everyone else.

In the Five Kage Summit Arc, Lee, Kiba, and Sai escort Sakura to the Land of Iron to inform Naruto of their decision to eliminate Sasuke before he involved Hidden Leaf in a war. After they catch up to Naruto, Sakura tells Naruto that she loves him, which takes Lee and the others by surprise. Despite Lee’s protest, Sakura convinces him to locate Sasuke so she can kill him herself. When Lee and Kiba try to tell Sakura that telling Naruto the truth would have been better, Sakura tries to knock them out to face Sasuke alone. Sai stops her, and then she convinces them that Sai is a traitor. While Lee and Kiba restrain Sai, Sakura knocks them out as well. After Team 7’s confrontation with Sasuke, they retrieve Lee and Kiba and return to the Hidden Leaf.

During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Lee was assigned to the Third Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces accompanied by Might Guy and Sakura. When reincarnated shinobi attack the Surprise Attack Division, Third Division is dispatched to intercept and provide aid. Lee pledges to protect Sakura from the attack. On the second day of the war, Lee accompanies Sai and provides him with protection while Sai seals the reincarnated Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Rock Lee contributed greatly to the war but had to stay on the sidelines when his Sensei, Might Guy, almost took down Madara Uchiha using just Taijutsu. After the war, in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Rock Lee serves as a Jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village. He gets married to an unknown person and has a child who was named Metal Lee.

Rock Lee has a very straightforward personality. Like Guy Sensei, he is determined, optimistic, loyal, and a hard worker. He is energetic and hot-blooded and fits the persona of a ‘Nice Guy’. He has very strict principles, like never breaking a promise. If in any case, he breaks a promise he made even slightly, he will assign himself a very difficult task to complete as a punishment, like several hand-stand loops of the village.

Lee is a determined individual. Even though he did not possess any countable talent for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, it did not waver his resolve to become an outstanding shinobi. He shifted his focus solely on his Taijutsu skills. Through his hard work, he mastered the 8 Gates technique that only 3 individuals are known to have mastered, except Kakashi who was able to open the First Gate during a cliff climbing practice. In the Fourth Great Ninja War, Lee states that he is capable of opening up to Seven Gates. In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, it is believed that Lee has mastered the Eight Gates in his adulthood.

Lee has a dignified personality. He always addresses others, even his opponents, with the appropriate respect, except for his friends as he believes that they are close enough to him to be spoken to informally. Lee puts Might Guy on a platinum pedestal and respects him the most compared to anyone else. He strongly believes in Guy’s teachings and always takes his advice to heart. He even carries a notepad to note all of Guy Sensei’s advice.

Lee never loses his composure unless it is for the sake of Guy Sensei or his friends. He is never cruel to his opponents and never holds any grudges against them. This was showcased in how he befriended Gaara even though he had crushed Lee’s arm and leg, which nearly ended his career as a shinobi.

Rock Lee has round eyes, distinguishable lower eyelashes, shiny black hair, and thick eyebrows, which is why Naruto gave him the nickname, Bushy Brows. As a child, he wore a short-sleeved white kimono-like shirt paired with gray pants and had long braided hair resembling a traditional Chinese attire with black sandals. He also wore a Hidden Leaf Headband.

After he joined Team Guy, he cut his hair short and styled it in a round bowl cut manner, resembling Guy Sensei. He changed his clothing and started wearing green stretchable overalls like Guy Sensei, which according to him gave him great mobility. Along with this, he fashioned bandages around his forearms all the way to his fingers, wore orange leg warmers which contained heavy plates for his training, a Hidden Leaf Headband, and black sandals.

Post-time-skip, his appearance remains the same with an additional flak jacket which he wears after getting promoted to chunin.

In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Lee’s attire remains mostly the same. He now has torn off the sleeves on his overalls and removed his flak jacket. He wears an orange neck warmer.

In terms of Chakra, Rock Lee had no Chakra. He was mocked a lot because of this as well. He could not perform most Ninjutsu or any Genjutsu. However, he does use the Rasengan during the war with the help of Naruto Uzumaki and his cloak of Chakra that he puts on Rock Lee.

Although he did not have chakra, Rock Lee did not lack in abilities. He mastered many abilities that are exclusive to Taijutsu. He also picked up many moves from his master, Might Guy. He could easily overpower most of his peers at a very young age thanks to these.

Since he could not use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, Rock Lee focused entirely on Taijutsu. It helped him grow incredibly; increasing his speed, power, and much more. He surpassed the limits of a human body through sheer training and hard work. His physical prowess is greater than anyone else his age in the original series.

Rock Lee also has a bunch of special abilities that he displays throughout the anime. Although he doesn’t have much screen time, the impact he left was greatly due to his abilities.

1. Taijutsu: Although this is a general term, it has to be mentioned in Lee’s case due to his complete mastery over it at a young age. He could appear and disappear before anyone’s eyes could adjust to his speed, which looked like teleportation to the naked eye.

1. Leaf Hurricane: This is a Taijutsu ability that Rock Lee uses during the Chunin exams. He gets hold of the enemy from behind after knocking them into the air. He then jumps behind them, grabs them from the back, and falls with them – only he lands pushing their head first into the ground.

1. Drunken Fist: A move exclusive to Rock Lee. After consuming alcohol, Rock Lee loses complete control over his body, becoming a pure machine of destruction. He becomes unpredictable and attacks anyone in sight – whether it is an ally or an opponent. His speed and dexterity also increase a lot, making it impossible to predict his next move.

1. Eight Gates: This is one of the most dangerous Taijutsu abilities. Although light usage of this is okay, heavy usage of this technique will definitely kill the user, unless there are special circumstances involved.

Here are all the Jutsus in Rock Lee’s arsenal:

1. Crane Wing Formation
2. Double Dynamic Entry (Anime only)
3. Drunken Fist
4. Dynamic Entry (Anime only)
5. Eight Gates
6. Front Lotus
7. Leaf Coiling Whirlwind
8. Leaf Drop
9. Leaf Gale
10. Leaf Great Whirlwind
11. Leaf Rising Wind
12. Leaf Whirlwind
13. Ninja Art: Bare-Handed Blade Block (Anime only)
14. One-Man Front Lotus (Anime only)
15. Reverse Lotus
16. Seasickness Fist (Anime only)
17. Shadow of the Dancing Leaf
18. Strong Fist
19. Youth Full Power (Anime only)

Apart from the manga and anime, Rock Lee also appears in movies, ova, and novels related to the show. Rock Lee made his debut in the novel Kakashi Hiden: Lightning in the Icy Sky. He is also part of the Naruto movies and made his debut with Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon. Rock Lee is also a playable character in the following games:

Q. Is Rock Lee related to Might Guy?

A. Although they look similar, this is only due to them wearing the exact same outfit. Rock Lee and Might Guy are not related in any way apart from having a teacher-student relationship.

Q. Are Rock Lee and Gaara friends?

A. Rock Lee is a very forgiving person. This is proven when he instantly forgives Gaara even though Gaara had made him go through excruciating pain. They become friends while fighting against Kimimaro.

Q. What clan is Rock Lee from?

A. Rock Lee is from the Lee clan. This clan only has two known members in it, namely Rock Lee and his son, Metal Lee. Details about Rock Lee’s parents are unknown.