Chapter 10 – The Birth of a Rogue Shinobi
Page 1: The Roads That Led Them Here (Flashback – Rock Lee & Sasuke Before Their Defection)
The night was quiet.
Too quiet.
The air above Konoha had a weight to it, pressing down on the village like the slow tension before a storm. Somewhere in the distance, a wind chime swayed gently in the breeze, its soft ringing almost eerie in the silence.
Lee stood alone in the middle of Training Ground 3, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. He had been standing there for hours.
Alone.
Waiting.
And then—footsteps.
Slow. Measured. Purposeful.
Sasuke Uchiha stepped into the clearing, hands in his pockets, his face half-hidden beneath the shadows of the trees. His eyes, sharp and unreadable, studied Lee carefully.
Neither of them spoke.
Because they both already knew why they were here.
It wasn't a fight.
It wasn't an argument.
It was a moment that had been waiting to happen.
And neither of them wanted to be the first to acknowledge it.
Finally, Sasuke exhaled through his nose, tilting his head slightly. "You're leaving."
Lee didn't respond right away.
He could still hear Naruto's voice from earlier. The desperation. The disbelief.
"You don't have to go!"
"We can fix this!"
Lee had wanted to believe him.
But the truth was—Naruto did not understand.
Because Naruto had never been discarded by his own people.
Not like this.
Lee lifted his head slightly. "And so are you."
It wasn't a question.
Sasuke scoffed, looking away. "Took you long enough to figure that out."
Lee's hands twitched at his sides. Not in anger.
Not even in hesitation.
But in understanding.
Because they were the same.
They had always been the same.
Even if they had never admitted it before.
Sasuke's Road to Betrayal
Sasuke had known he would leave Konoha long before tonight.
He had known since the moment he had lost to his brother.
Since the moment Itachi Uchiha had looked him in the eyes and told him, in that cold, emotionless voice—
"You are still too weak."
That had been the moment something inside Sasuke had snapped.
It was not rage.
Not grief.
Not even hatred.
It was acceptance.
Because Itachi had been right.
Because Sasuke was weak.
And no amount of training under Kakashi, no amount of teamwork with Naruto and Sakura, no amount of progress within Konoha—would ever be enough.
Because this village was holding him back.
Telling him to be patient.
Telling him that revenge could wait.
Telling him that power wasn't everything.
They were wrong.
Sasuke knew better.
And he was done waiting.
Lee's Road to Betrayal
Lee had spent his whole life fighting to prove he belonged.
To prove that even without ninjutsu, even without a bloodline, even without the gifts the other shinobi had been born with—he could be their equal.
For years, he had believed that hard work would be enough.
That if he trained harder than anyone, if he pushed himself past every limit, if he simply refused to quit—
The world would have no choice but to accept him.
But that had been a lie.
The moment he had proven them wrong—they had turned on him.
His own village.
His own people.
The same shinobi who had once pitied him, who had once dismissed him as nothing, now feared him.
And Konoha did not tolerate what it could not control.
Lee had been erased from the village the moment he had won against Gaara.
Everything after that—the whispers, the rejection, the assassination attempt—had only been confirmation.
Konoha would never truly accept someone like him.
Because they were never meant to.
So now, he was done fighting for their approval.
Because he had nothing left to prove.
The First Time They Saw Each Other as Equals
Lee and Sasuke had always been opposites.
One born with everything. The other born with nothing.
One a prodigy. The other a failure.
One a shinobi of talent. The other a shinobi of effort.
But now—
None of that mattered.
Now, they stood on the same ground.
Two shinobi abandoned by the village that had once defined them.
Two warriors walking the same road, for different reasons—but toward the same destination.
Sasuke studied Lee carefully, his red Sharingan flickering in the dim moonlight.
"You're different now," he murmured.
Lee did not argue.
Because it was true.
Because they both were.
The Moment They Chose to Leave
The wind blew softly through the training ground, rustling the trees.
For a long time, neither of them spoke.
Then—
"I won't stop you," Sasuke said, his voice quiet. "But don't get in my way."
Lee's lips curled slightly. Not a smile.
But something close.
"I could say the same to you."
Sasuke scoffed, rolling his eyes.
But he did not argue.
Because for the first time—
He saw Rock Lee not as a rival.
Not as a nuisance.
Not as the loud fool who had once thrown challenges at him in the middle of Konoha's streets.
But as something equal.
As something dangerous.
The Uchiha turned. "We leave before dawn."
Lee nodded once. "Understood."
And just like that—
It was decided.
The Last Night in Konoha
Neither of them slept.
Because there was no peace left in this village for them.
Sasuke stood on the rooftops, staring down at the quiet streets. At the homes of people who still believed in Konoha's safety, still trusted in the Hokage's protection.
Lee stood near the village gates, staring at the walls he had once dreamed of protecting.
Neither of them hesitated.
Because hesitation was for those who had something to lose.
And they had already lost everything.
The moment the sky began to lighten, Sasuke appeared beside him.
No words were exchanged.
They did not need them.
Because they had already said everything that mattered.
With a single step—they left.
And Rock Lee and Sasuke Uchiha, two warriors who had once been defined by Konoha—
Became its greatest threats.
Final Scene: Orochimaru's Arrival
The forest was dark.
The path ahead was uncertain.
And then—
A figure emerged from the shadows.
Golden eyes gleamed in the dim light, filled with amusement, with hunger, with triumph.
"Well," Orochimaru purred, his lips curling into a slow, dangerous smile.
"Look what we have here."
Neither Lee nor Sasuke spoke.
Because they already knew.
This was the moment they had been waiting for.
Orochimaru's smile widened.
"Welcome, my dear students."
And just like that—
Their new path began.