Rock Lee

Quote "I will protect my ninja way"

Background
Rock Lee is a supporting character in Naruto. He is a member of Team Guy, which includes him, Tenten,Neji Hyuga and their Jounin sensei, Might Guy. He is a hard-working person, and is very proficiant in taijutsu, though he is unable to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu. Because he is unable to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu, he trains his body very hard. His dream is to become a great ninja despite his handicap. In the beginning of the series, he was Neji's rival, because he doubted that he would ever amount to much using only taijutsu, which just made him work harder to prove him wrong.

He idolizes his sensei, Might Guy,and has picked up many of his traits, such as extreme training regimes, and goes as far to dress exactly like him, making them look nearly identical. Might Guy has taught Lee many powerful techniques, such as unlocking the first five chakra gates, making him many times stronger, but also severely strains his body if used too much.

Chunin Exams
Lee's attempts to prove and better himself are recurring themes for his actions throughout the series. He is generally optimistic and believes that with hard work and passion, he can surpass natural genius, but can be prone to depression when faced with setbacks. His drive to succeed is initially most evident with his rivalry with Neji Hyuga, having learned from Guy that having a rival will provide incentive to succeed. Neji, a "genius," finds Lee's efforts of bettering himself to be in vain, believing Lee to be stuck as a "failure" for the rest of his life. As such, Lee resolves to prove Neji wrong, and confronts another "genius," Sasuke Uchiha in an attempt to test his worth.Shortly after his introduction, Lee reveals that he likes Sakura Haruno, asking her to be his girlfriend and vowing to protect her immediately after they meet. While she does not seem to share these feelings for him and considers him weird, Lee maintains these feelings throughout the Chunin Exams.

At one point, he distracts himself from looking for resting his group,and saves a endangered squirrel, leading him to find Sakura, also endangered. He comes to her rescue, against three to one odds and uses forbidden techniques in an attempt to protect her, considering her someone dear to him.

During his battle with Gaara during the Chunin Exams, Lee's attempts to prove himself have terrible consequences for him. Gaara's abilities render Lee's attempts to damage him futile, and Lee's attempts at using his more powerful techniques to defeat Gaara leave his body broken. After Gaara's attacks further damage his body, crushing his left arm and leg, Lee is left injured so badly that he can no longer pursue life as a ninja. When Tsunade offers him an operation that carries a fifty percent chance of returning him to his former state, and a fifty percent chance of killing him, Lee is hesitant to accept the operation. While he can't stand the thought of not living as a ninja, he is scared by the possibility that he will die before he can fully prove himself. Through Guy's encouragement and words of dedication to him, Lee goes through with the operation and survives, causing his resolve to get stronger to only increase.

Other Media

 * Rock Lee is a playable character in all the Naruto games.As he cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu techiques, moves such as the Front and Reverse Lotuses and opening chakra gates serve as the equivalent of other characters' special ninjutsu moves.


 * He appears in Naruto the Movie 3: The Animal Riot of Crescent Moon Island Lee acts as the third member of Team 7 for the movie's duration. During his battle with Kongou, Lee shows proficiency with nunchaku and a bo, both of which are made from his ankle weights. He is also seen using two movie-exclusive jutsu: Leaf  and Naruto: Shippūden the Movie,