Fang Xu walked up to them, and both recoiled in fear.
A moment ago, they had been thinking about breaking one of Fang Xu's legs. Now, never mind attacking him-they did not even dare raise their voices.
Fang Xu crouched down and looked at them.
"Break one of my legs?"
The thug on the left shuddered.
"N-no, we wouldn't dare."
The thug on the right nodded hastily.
"We were wrong! We really were!"
Their leader groggily came around just then.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the arcs of electricity dancing on Fang Xu's fingertips, and his face went white.
"D-don't hit me anymore..."
Fang Xu smiled.
"Fine, I won't."
The three had just breathed a sigh of relief when his next words made their expressions turn even uglier.
"This is a robbery."
"Huh?"
The two thugs who could still move were dumbstruck.
Fang Xu raised his hand, lightning crackling at his fingertips.
"Didn't hear me? Hand over your money."
The thug on the left stammered, his lips trembling, "W-we don't have much money..."
Fang Xu tapped a finger against the wall beside him.
Crackle!
A scorched patch instantly appeared on the wall, and both thugs went green.
"We'll hand it over! We'll hand it over!"
They dared not waste another word and hurriedly pulled out their money pouches.
One held seven hundred ryo, the other five hundred.
Fang Xu glanced at their leader, who had just woken up on the ground.
"What about his?"
The thug on the right swallowed.
"H-his too?"
Fang Xu said nothing. The arcs at his fingertips simply brightened a little.
The thug on the right immediately crawled over and fished a money pouch from their leader's clothes.
Their leader looked ready to cry, but he did not dare stop him.
Fang Xu opened it and counted eleven hundred ryo.
That made exactly twenty-three hundred ryo altogether-not much.
But it was enough for a few good meals.
Fang Xu put the money away and looked at the three petty thugs on the ground.
"Next time you come looking for me, remember to bring more money."
Up above the alley, Kakashi crouched on the wall with one hand resting on his knee. He had watched the entire scene.
From the three thugs following Fang Xu, to Fang Xu deliberately entering a secluded alley, to a flash of lightning leaving all three sprawled on the ground.
Finally, Fang Xu had even taken their money pouches.
Kakashi's one exposed eye widened slightly.
"Lightning Release?"
He quickly rejected that judgment.
Fang Xu had not formed any hand seals.
Nor had there been the chakra leakage that ordinarily preceded Lightning Release Ninjutsu.
That lightning had seemed more like something erupting from within his body, first stimulating his muscles, then accelerating his punches and kicks, and finally pouring electricity into his opponents' bodies on impact.
"Nintaijutsu?" Kakashi rubbed his chin.
Kumogakure had a similar Lightning Body-Tempering Technique, which used Lightning Release chakra to stimulate the body and increase speed and strength.
But how could Fang Xu, a Konoha Ninja Academy student, know something like that?
Stranger still, he had clearly been nothing more than an ordinary student in his class before.
Average grades, an unremarkable presence-apart from that face.
Kakashi took a serious look at Fang Xu's retreating figure.
He had to admit that this fellow's looks really were on par with his own-provided, of course, that he took off his mask.
"Interesting." Kakashi rose from the wall.
He had only been passing by and had not expected to witness such a farce.
Three bullies who threw their weight around had been swiftly and cleanly beaten by Fang Xu, then shaken down for their money pouches.
He had not hit them too hard, but it was enough to make them remember the pain. His speed, judgment, and timing were nothing like those of the ordinary student he had been before.
"I'll find a chance to test him next time."
Kakashi adjusted the short sword on his back, then vanished from the wall in a blur.
Sooner or later, he would personally find out just how much strength this fellow, whose looks matched his own, was hiding.
The Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood before the crystal ball, his pipe held in one hand, his brow remaining furrowed for a long time.
He had only been using the Telescope Technique for a routine check on the village.
With the borders unstable lately, he would make time to check on the village's young ninja and academy students.
He had not expected to happen upon three boys trailing Fang Xu.
At first, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been ready to send someone over, but before he could speak, Fang Xu had knocked all three down.
His speed had surprised even him.
"Stimulating the body with lightning release chakra?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a mouthful of smoke, his gaze still resting on the crystal ball.
"No hand seals. It doesn't look like ordinary Lightning Release."
"The Hidden Cloud's Lightning Body-Tempering Technique? Or did this child develop it himself?"
He remembered Fang Xu-or, more precisely, he remembered Fang Xu's father.
Naoto, the Jonin who had died in service, had once been a very useful ninja under his command: steady on missions, obedient to orders, and willing to shoulder responsibility.
When Naoto had fallen in battle, the village had paid out compensation according to its regulations, and he had reviewed the arrangements for the surviving family on the list.
But over the years, Konoha had had too many affairs to handle, and the shadow of war had grown ever heavier. A civilian orphan had gradually become buried beneath thick stacks of files.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked in the direction Fang Xu had left within the crystal ball, his feelings somewhat complicated.
"Naoto's child actually has such talent. I overlooked him before."
Had he not happened to see this today, he would probably still have thought Fang Xu was just an ordinary Ninja Academy student.
But what he had just done was absolutely beyond an ordinary student.
Even his basic speed and use of lightning alone warranted close attention.
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped the desk.
An Anbu silently appeared in a corner of the room and knelt on one knee.
"Investigate those three children from this afternoon."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was quiet, but it carried the weight of the Hokage.
"Warn them, and whoever has been spreading rumors behind them. Asuma's name is not theirs to use to bully their classmates."
The Anbu lowered his head.
"Yes."
Hiruzen Sarutobi added another instruction.
"Also, remind Asuma. There's nothing wrong with young people being competitive, but he mustn't let others exploit his influence."
The Anbu acknowledged the order again, then disappeared.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the documents on his desk, picked up his pipe, and took a puff.
"Naoto, I neglected your child before."
Fang Xu had no idea that two people had taken notice of him. After leaving the alley, he tucked the money pouches inside his clothes, in a good mood.
Twenty-three hundred ryo was not much, but for him right now, getting a meal's worth of money for free was already quite satisfying.
That use of Lightning Activation had consumed quite a bit of energy. On top of his classes during the day and his morning run, his stomach had long since begun protesting.
"Perfect. Time to try the legendary Ichiraku Ramen."
Fang Xu turned down two streets and soon spotted that familiar sign.
Ichiraku Ramen.
The shop was small, its entrance curtain clean, and the aroma of hot broth wafted from inside. Just approaching it made Fang Xu's stomach feel even emptier.
Back when he had watched the anime in his previous life, he had always wondered.
Just how good was the Ichiraku Ramen that Naruto thought about every day?
Now that he had transmigrated to Konoha, he really could not justify skipping a bowl.
"Welcome!"
Behind the counter, a young man looked up to greet him, a warm smile on his face.