With the tree-climbing exercise complete, Lee decided to dedicate his energy to the next stage of chakra control: walking on water.
He had to admit, the results of this training were surprisingly effective. Beyond just reducing waste, there was an unexpected benefit: chakra refinement. As his control grew more precise, he found that the time required to refine his chakra had dropped from ten minutes to seven.
Even better, the number of times he could utilize the Six Powers had increased from four to five!
To anyone else, such a minor improvement might seem negligible, but Lee was ecstatic. Whether in the world of pirates or the world of shinobi, he firmly believed that true strength was built one step at a time—unless, of course, you were blessed with "protagonist's luck."
Walking on water was significantly more difficult than climbing trees. A tree was static, but water was fluid and ever-changing. If the chakra at the soles of his feet wavered for even a second, it would be swept away by the shifting currents.
As it happened, the end of the year was approaching in Konoha, and the village was hosting its second Chunin Exams—the Winter Exams. A massive number of shinobi had been mobilized for proctoring and administrative duties, and Might Guy was among them. This gave Lee plenty of time to focus on his water-walking practice.
By the end of the first day, he had already grasped the basic trick to it. He was confident he would be walking across the river in no time.
Returning to the shore, Lee stripped off his soaked green jumpsuit and changed into fresh clothes. He sat by the riverbank, lost in thought.
He had found a way to enhance his Six Powers through chakra control, but the Six Powers were only one piece of the puzzle. He needed other ways to evolve. He didn't think the old method of simply pushing his body to its absolute breaking point was sustainable anymore.
That path suited Might Guy and the original Rock Lee, but he didn't want to be a mere carbon copy. He wanted to maximize his unique advantages.
Maybe it's time to consider the Eight Gates, he mused.
The timeline of his transmigration was quite fortuitous; he had occupied this body shortly after the original Lee had mastered the basics of the Eight Inner Gates. At this stage, Lee could already open the Gate of Opening, the Gate of Healing, and the Gate of Life to perform the Hidden Lotus. Even his heavy-weight training had been completed two months prior.
He recalled that by the time of the original Chunin Exams, Lee had reached the Fifth Gate, the Gate of Limit, during his fight against Gaara, the One-Tail Jinchuriki of the Sand. Although he had lost that fight, the sheer combat power of the Fifth Gate was undeniable—it was enough to pressure a standard Jonin. Lee had simply been unlucky to go up against a Jinchuriki.
However, he quickly shelved the idea for now.
The Eight Inner Gates placed an excruciating burden on the body. Each gate opened brought agony beyond description. By the Fifth Gate, the user's bones and muscles began to tear and shatter under the strain. It wasn't the right time to dive deeper into that particular well.
Wait... am I forgetting something? A spark of inspiration flashed in his mind.
The Hidden Lotus!
No, not the technique itself, but the memory associated with it. Two months ago, when Lee had completed his weight training and mastered the Hidden Lotus in a single week, Guy had taken the team out to a tavern to celebrate. Lee had accidentally taken a single sip of sake and ended up completely trashing the place in a drunken stupor.
He then remembered the mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. Lee, having just recovered at the hospital, had rushed to assist the team against Kimimaro. In his haste, he had grabbed a bottle of sake, mistaking it for medicine.
"That's it... Drunken Fist!"
His eyes lit up. If he could find a way to harness the explosive power of the Drunken Fist while maintaining his conscious awareness, it could become a terrifying ace in the hole.
With the sun still hanging in the sky, Lee engaged in a brief Taijutsu workout. As dusk fell, he packed his gear and left the riverside.
Following the paths in his memory, Lee first stopped at a small restaurant to pick up dinner before heading down a narrow street lined with the neon glow of the entertainment district. At the end of the alley stood a tavern marked by two large lanterns. He watched as several inebriated patrons stumbled out the door.
He hesitated for a moment before stepping inside.
The tavern was packed and rowdy, the air thick with the smell of smoke and alcohol. A young waitress at the counter noticed him and gave a friendly greeting. "Are you looking for someone, sir?"
Lee glanced at the woman—she was pleasant enough—and shook his head. "I'm here to pick up some drinks for the adults at home. Do you sell bottles to go?"
"Buying alcohol?" The waitress blinked, eyeing him up and down.
Konoha had regulations prohibiting anyone under eighteen from drinking. However, she noticed the Konoha forehead protector wrapped around his waist and smiled knowingly. "We certainly do. How much does your 'adult' need?"
"Five bottles of refined sake," Lee said without hesitation.
"One moment."
The waitress was efficient. In less than a minute, she had five small bottles of sake packed and ready. In the ninja world, most people stuck to sake; the alcohol content wasn't particularly high. High-proof spirits were usually reserved for hospital use as disinfectants or anesthetics.
After paying, Lee carried the sake back home.
He lived in government relief housing—a small place in a remote area, which, coincidentally, was not far from the old Uchiha district. This house was the only asset left to him after his parents' deaths. Eleven years ago, during the Nine-Tails' rampage, Lee's parents—both civilians—had tragically perished.
Because so many civilians and shinobi had died in that disaster, the Third Hokage had treated them equally in the aftermath to maintain village morale. Not only were the families compensated, but the survivors were provided with these relief homes. Because of the proximity to the Uchiha district and the infamy of the massacre that had occurred there, most residents had moved away. By this time of night, the streets were hauntingly silent.
He arrived at his "home"—a simple but neat two-story house.
After eating dinner, Lee lined the five bottles of sake up on the table. His expression grew grim.
After a moment of hesitation, he steeled his nerves, grabbed a bottle, and downed it in one go.
The sake hit his throat with a mellow, slightly sweet fragrance. As it settled into his stomach, his vision began to swim. He tried to suppress the urge to let go, fighting to maintain his conscious mind.
As it turned out, he had vastly underestimated the effect of alcohol on this specific body.
Whirr!
His consciousness shattered instantly. An overwhelming wave of drowsiness crashed over him.
The next morning, Lee's eyes snapped open as he bolted upright.
He looked around his house, and his jaw dropped. The place was a disaster zone. Furniture was overturned, and the walls looked like they'd been through a hurricane. It looked like the house had been ransacked by a gang.
"I'm going to go broke..."
Lee began calculating the repair costs as he searched for the other four bottles. He finally found them tucked away in a corner; the bottles and caps were intact, and the sake was still inside.
He stared at the remaining alcohol with a very complicated expression.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
A frantic pounding at the door startled him. He wondered who could possibly be visiting this early.
He went to the entryway and pulled the door open to find Tenten standing there, her face pale and her eyes wide with anxiety.
"Tenten? What's going on...?"
Tenten's voice was hoarse as she grabbed his arm. "Lee! Something happened to Neji! We have to get to the hospital, now!"