As always,
Rock Lee spends his day working hard...
...to achieve his dream of becoming an outstanding ninja,
despite not being able to use ninjutsu.
However...
He's also working hard in the world of romance!
This is Sakura Haruno.
She's a member of Naruto's team,
and, well, she's the target of our dear Lee's amorous affection!
What pretty flowers...
Sakura!
How about going on a date with me?!
Sorry, I, um...
I'm not into thick eyebrows.
Love is a Part of the Springtime of Youth!
Why?
Sakura turned me down again...
Get a grip.
She just said no to a date. That's no reason to be so beat up about it.
I-I'm not beat up.
My heart is just unprotected,
and she landed a critical hit...
And you're saying it was fatal.
If you ask me, this just proves that guys don't get how women think.
Who in their right mind would be enamored by...
...someone jumping in front of them and blowing a kiss?
Oh?! Then what should I do to make her swoon?!
Don't ask me.
Although my advice would be to try and play it cool.
Play it... cool?
I have no idea where you get your sense of "cool" from.
So how am I supposed to act, then?
It's not that simple to explain.
All right.
I'll set up a scenario where a woman can reveal her true feelings.
Dressing Room LNT 48 Group
Why am I doing this?
These days it's all about me...
Ah, I mean Korea!
I think Jang Tonsuk's the coolest!
Who's your favorite, Nejimi?
I-I like Mukai Bosamu.
Yeah, the "Bosamu" is kinda Korean, I guess!
And who's your type, Tenko?
Well, it's not enough for them to just look good.
What do you mean?
He's gotta be naturally kind,
give me lots of presents to keep me happy...
Oh, and be honest and open about his feelings,
but maybe a little forceful every now and then...
That's the man for me!
I see!
It was worth the trouble to cast that genjutsu!
What genjutsu?
That was just us doing a skit.
Naturally kind, keep her happy with presents,
be open and honest, and a little forceful at times.
That's what a real cool guy is like, right?
Uh... I guess so, yeah...
Understood!
I'll use your teachings to become the coolest cool guy out there!
And then I'll launch another attack on Sakura!
I hope he'll be okay...
Hey!
What's wrong, Naruto?
I'm out warning people.
Apparently there are rogue foreign ninja hiding in the outskirts of the village.
By the way, where's Bushy-Brows?
On a one-man journey of love.
Say what?
Hey, Naruto, what would you say makes a man "cool"?
That's easy!
Treating people to ramen.
Serves me right for asking.
I dunno. People who protect those who are important to them, I guess.
Maybe I'll take a break.
Hang on, Sakura.
Lee?
First part of being a cool guy: Natural kindness!
This bench is filthy. Let me clean it up for you.
If I did this a little harder it'd be great arm training!
Wow, you must love cleaning!
All set!
Lee!
Tenten?
Lee, listen—
I understand.
You're here to see me acting cool, right?
Good timing!
I'm applying the lessons on how to be cool that you taught me,
and everything's going great!
No, no, there's a rogue—
But I'm just getting started.
Watch this!
Wait— Jeez...
Second part of being a cool guy:
Keep her happy with presents!
Sakura, these are for you.
What?!
Bees!
I like the flowers, but bees!
Don't worry.
I'll pound them all with pinpoint precision punches!
He's pounding Sakura!
What on earth is wrong with you, Lee?
I'm sorry!
I wasn't trying to hit you, Sakura...
That was a complete disaster.
I'll have to move on.
Third part of being a cool guy:
Be open and honest about your feelings.
A-Actually, Sakura, I need to talk to you.
This is hard to put into words, but...
Lee?
You nasty beast!
Nasty beast?
That's what you wanted to tell me?!
It's getting worse.
My only choice is the fourth part of being a cool guy.
Maybe a little forceful every now and then...
I'll have to force a kiss on her to steal her heart!
Don't try this at home, kids.
Sakura.
Hell no!
Lee, you jerk! Stay away from me!
What in the world got into him?
Still, maybe I was a little too harsh back there...
D-Don't be so upset, Lee.
Sure, things went off the rails,
but that's no reason to act like a sad sack!
Sad sack...
Sad Sack (sakuran)
Sakura
Sakura...
Anyway, you just need to regroup and take another crack at it!
Crack (saku)
Crack...
Sakura...
Sakura
Come on, cheer up!
The Lee I know would bounce right back!
Back (rashiku)
Back...
(shikura)
Sak...
Sakura
Sakura...
Sakura!
It's no use, he's just getting more depressed!
Plus he kinda forced that last one!
There you two are.
Neji?
Did you forget about what Naruto told us?
Apparently there are rogue foreign ninjas hiding in the outskirts of the village.
That's right. It totally slipped my mind.
He was last spotted somewhere over there.
What did you say?
But that's where...
Sakura!
You are shock!
There's no need to strip!
Hey! Lee!
We can't let you live now that you've spotted us.
What do I do? They've got me outnumbered...
Die!
Hornet Stinger!!
Hornet Stinger!
Lee...
Give me a minute...
You made yourself dizzy!
Who's this guy? Where'd he come from?
Who cares? Take him out!
Lee!
It's okay.
Just sit tight and watch!
Hornet Stinger! Hi-ya!
Does he really need to spin?
And that takes care of that...
Lee, why did you...
I said such mean things to you...
It doesn't matter.
I don't need a reason to protect the people that are dear to me!
Let's go home, Sakura.
Oh, hell no!
Tenten...
So you blew it, huh?
Yeah...
I guess I'm just not cool.
That's not true, you're plenty cool!
After all, you protected your friend, didn't you?
Tenten!
I'm sorry!
A journey down the road of love cannot be completed in a day.
Remember, everyone, sometimes it's best to play it cool.
A great poet once wrote,
"Love makes both people do crazy things."
So, will the same happen to Rock Lee and the girl he has a crush on?
How can I get Sakura to like me?
You're just too forward, Lee.
Why don't you try a more subtle angle?
Ankle?
Angle!
Use a more casual approach,
maybe send her a present or a letter.
In fact, what about a love letter?
A love letter!
Love Makes Both Sides Crazy
This is perfect!
Now she'll—
What's this?
"Dear Sakura,
To me, you are the pickled vegetables that come with curry and rice.
Just thinking about curry without the side vegetables...
...reminds me of the time I got homesick at summer camp,
because they didn't make curry like my mom did.
It's enough to move me to tears."
What is he trying to say?
It's poetry, sheer poetry!
Who wrote me this wonderfully romantic letter?
And sent this beautiful present?
That would be me!
Lee...
No one's ever said such beautiful things to me!
Lee...
Sakura...
Lee...
Sakura...
I'm yours.
Your face, your face!
All according to plan so far.
Now to wait until she reads it...
Wha—
That's not the letter I wrote!
W-W-What's going on here?!
Someone else sent one?!
And look how happy she is.
That means she's excited about someone else's love letter!
Farewell, my youth...
Hello, crushing adulthood...
It's only the second episode and I've already lost the heroine forever.
What's wrong, Bushy-Brows?
You look really depressed.
Is that—
Yes. It's a love letter from someone else...
Someone else?!
Who is it?!
I don't know, but Sakura...
Look how happy it's made her...
That's right...
You like Sakura, too, don't you, Naruto?
Man, we're like two peas in a pod over here, huh?
We most certainly are not!
Sakura will be mine—
Excuse me? It's gonna be me who—
Look, Bushy-Brows,
fighting with each other isn't gonna help things.
So what are we supposed to do?
I think I've got an idea.
Okay, all we have to do is steal the letter before Sakura reads it.
Right.
That way she'll never know what it said,
and the truth will be "lost for words."
I think you mean "lost in translation."
No, it's "lost to the ages!"
Okay, I'll blast Sakura's bag right off her shoulder!
Wind Style:
I thought he couldn't use ninjutsu!
When did he learn...
Leaf Revolution!
That blows!
There's not nearly enough wind.
Leave this to me!
Naruto, what are you...
If you're gonna snatch someone's purse,
you need the heat of the sun,
Please don't imitate Naruto, kids!
not a gust of wind!
At least I remember reading that somewhere.
Boy, it's hot all of a sudden.
Sakura put her handbag down!
Nice work, Naruto!
With both your hands busy, that was all pointless.
Hang on, hang on.
I still have my secret backup plan—
Why didn't my alarm go off?
I'm gonna be late for the first day of school!
Keep it up, Bushy-Brows!
Jeez, watch where you're going.
Transfer Student Sakura Haruno
You!
I call this my,
"Smash into her while running to school and eating toast...
...on the morning of the first day of school...
...then see her again in homeroom and point and shout 'You!'"
back-up plan!
I'm sorry, ma'am!
Are you hurt?
Hold on tight, I'll get you to the hospital!
Bushy-Brows, you're killing me...
This is getting us nowhere fast.
All we've done is put her on guard even more.
At this rate, she won't even want to open her handbag.
Open her handbag...
That's it, Naruto!
Huh?
We'll have her open it for us!
Yo, Haruno!
We need to inspect your bag.
What?
Wait, who are you?
We're guidance counselors who're here...
...to put a stop to un-ninja-like behavior in our village.
Err, ninjas, not counselors.
Guidance... ninjas?
We need to take a look in your bag,
because we've had a lot of problems with people...
...carrying around items unrelated to their missions lately...
Like... Like...
Like chicken wings!
Sorry for the trouble, now let's see here...
H-Hey!
Nope...
It's not in here, Naruto!
What're you doing, Bushy-Brows!
Hurry it up!
I'm trying to tell you—
Are we done here?
J-Just a m-moment...
Faster, Bushy-Brows!
Wait, just a bit more.
A-Are these...
Sakura's...
...panties?!
No, no, this isn't the time!
I have to find that love letter!
But this may be the only chance I ever have to see them in all their glory...
What the heck is wrong with me?
Naruto would be disgusted with me!
I'm sure that even with these panties staring him right in the eye,
Naruto is completely focused on finding that love letter!
He's completely focused on the panties!
Naruto!
R-Right...
Can you hurry up?
J-Just another moment or two...
It looks like you need some guidance.
Haruno!
You're hiding something from us!
L-Like what?
That reaction just proves it.
If you've got black panties in there,
you must have a black bra, too.
You're only a chunin.
You're much too young for that sort of thing!
The hell did you say?!
Oh, no, I sent them flying!
A stomach wrap?!
That's so misleading!
Wait, why does she have a stomach wrap?!
Actually, she said her stomach had been bothering her lately...
Well, forget the panties, even if the plan was a bust,
we've finally got her handbag!
Now...
All that's left is to grab the love letter that other guy wrote!
Are those slices of naruto rolls?
Pickled vegetables for curry?
Wait, that's mine!
What're you two doing over here?
We, uh...
Did you see any letters fly over here?
I got two love letters today!
No idea who sent them, though...
I wanted to read them later, too...
Don't tell me...
The other person was you, Naruto?
Bushy-Brows, you...
Let me explain.
Actually, both of them snuck a love letter into Sakura's handbag!
Man...
So they had no idea and ended up destroying both letters?
They're so dumb.
Did it hurt their friendship at all?
No, apparently just the opposite.
Why do you say that?
Because now they're both working hard on a single, brand-new letter.
We need to put more emphasis on curry in this section.
No, no, no. I'm telling you, a sentence about ramen fits perfectly here!
"Love makes both people do crazy things."
That was certainly true today... for Lee and Naruto.
A Competition with the Genius Ninja, Neji Tenten's Must-Win Battle
Next week, "A Competition with the Genius Ninja, Neji,"
and "Tenten's Must-Win Battle!"
Now, let's do this, Neji!
Wait—
Leaf Whirlwind!
Wait!
Eight Trigrams Rotation!
The fight is next week!