Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help laughing when he heard the last sentence.
Fang Xu smiled too.
"Lord Hokage, I'm not saying everything about Konoha is perfect. There must be problems in the village, and unfairness too. But the fact that an orphan could grow up safely here and still think about becoming stronger in the future shows just how much the village has given me."
"So I've been pretty happy living here."
That wasn't an act.
Fang Xu was indeed cautious, and he certainly had secrets of his own.
But he couldn't deny that Konoha's support for orphans had helped this body's original owner survive until now.
Compared to the many small countries in the Shinobi World ravaged by war, where refugees were everywhere and children couldn't even get enough to eat, Konoha could already be considered safe.
He could stay wary of the higher-ups and hide his cheat, but there was no need to paint the village as utterly worthless.
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent for a few seconds.
Only steam from the tea rose slowly in the living room. Then he nodded gently.
"It's good that you can think that way."
His voice was softer than before.
"The Will of Fire has never been an empty phrase. It needs people who understand it, and people to pass it on. Fang Xu, you've done your father proud."
Fang Xu said quietly, "I still have a long way to go."
"That's all right."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "What matters most for young people is having a direction."
With that, he reached into his robes.
Fang Xu immediately focused his attention.
A moment later, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out a scroll, set it on the table, and pushed it toward Fang Xu.
The scroll's outer covering was dark, its edges worn, with Konoha sealing paper affixed over its closure.
One glance was enough to make Fang Xu's heart skip a beat.
A scroll the Third Hokage had brought with him was definitely no ordinary thing.
Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "This is an Incomplete Cloud Lightning Body Tempering Technique from the village's collection."
Fang Xu's pupils contracted slightly.
The Cloud Lightning Body Tempering Technique!
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit had given him his upper limit, and he could practice Lightning Release: Lightning Ball too.
The Cloud Lightning Body Tempering Technique was a systematic method of tempering the body.
Enel's experience included ways to stimulate the body with lightning, but those were more like methods a Devil Fruit User had worked out on his own: crude, direct, and dependent on physical toughness.
Fang Xu's physical foundation was far too weak right now. What he feared most was going too far in training and injuring himself with electricity.
Hidden Cloud's Lightning Body-Tempering Technique was different.
It formed a foundational approach to the Shinobi World's top-tier Lightning Release Nintaijutsu.
Even incomplete, even without the core secret methods, it was a treasure to him as he was now.
Noticing his reaction, Hiruzen Sarutobi explained, "This isn't Hidden Cloud's true core secret inheritance. It doesn't contain the highest-level secret methods of Lightning Release: Body Protection, nor the key training material passed down through the Raikage's line."
"But it does contain the basics of stimulating the body with lightning release chakra, training the muscles and bones in stages, and briefly activating the body during combat."
"For your current situation, it's enough."
Fang Xu stared at the scroll, excitement already warming his heart.
He wanted it badly. With this scroll, he could avoid many wrong turns in the trial-and-error Lightning Body Tempering he had attempted last night.
But the more he wanted it, the less he could afford to seem too eager.
Fang Xu looked away from the scroll and shook his head.
"Lord Hokage, this is too valuable."
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled.
"You don't want it?"
Fang Xu was perfectly honest.
"I do."
He didn't pretend otherwise.
"I've only just awakened lightning release chakra, and I'm also trying to strengthen my body with lightning. This scroll would definitely help me a great deal."
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched him, waiting for what he would say next.
Fang Xu took a deep breath.
"But I haven't earned any merit."
"The compensation is the village's way of caring for the orphans of fallen shinobi, so there's nothing wrong with my accepting it. But a technique like this, even an incomplete version, isn't something an ordinary student can just receive."
He spoke very slowly.
"I shouldn't accept something I haven't earned. I wouldn't feel at ease taking it now."
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't answer immediately. As he watched Fang Xu, his opinion of him rose another notch.
Having desires was perfectly normal.
Remaining completely unmoved by a ninjutsu scroll that suited him would hardly have been like a young boy.
But wanting it so clearly, yet suppressing that impulse and thinking first of the rules and the cost-that degree of restraint was rare.
Hiruzen Sarutobi pushed the scroll a little farther forward.
"You're right. One shouldn't accept what one hasn't earned."
Fang Xu didn't reach for it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, "But when the village trains shinobi, it doesn't only consider past achievements. It also considers future potential."
"If we waited until someone earned merit before giving them anything, many promising children might die on the battlefield before they ever had a chance to grow."
Fang Xu remained silent.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone grew more emphatic.
"Fang Xu, this isn't a reward."
"It's an investment."
Looking at Fang Xu, he said each word distinctly, "I've seen your potential, and I've seen your character. That's why I'm willing to give you a little help in advance."
"You don't need to repay me now."
"Grow well. Become a shinobi who can protect his comrades and his village. That will be the best repayment."
Fang Xu knew that these words were both an attempt to win him over and an expression of expectations.
But he had to admit that the Third Hokage's investment had come at exactly the right time.
Continuing to refuse wouldn't be restraint. It would be failing to appreciate a kindness.
Fang Xu stood and bowed solemnly to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Since you put it that way, Lord Hokage, I'll accept it."
He picked up the scroll with both hands, his tone earnest.
"I'll work hard to become stronger. I won't let down your expectations or the village's efforts to nurture me."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction.
"Remember, you must progress gradually when practicing the Lightning Body-Tempering Technique. If the lightning release chakra stimulating your body is too intense, it will damage your chakra pathways and internal organs."
Fang Xu nodded.
"I understand."
Hiruzen Sarutobi rose and put his hat back on.
"It's getting late. I should head back."
Fang Xu saw him to the door.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi reached the courtyard gate, he looked back once more.
"Fang Xu, if your father could see you today, he would be very pleased."
Fang Xu's grip on the scroll tightened.
"I'll keep working hard."
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled, and his figure soon vanished into the night.
The courtyard grew quiet.
Fang Xu stood in the doorway without closing the door immediately. He could sense that there were still eyes on him.
They weren't very obvious, nor were they hostile.
It was more as though someone was hiding in the shadows, checking his reaction after the Third Hokage's departure.
Fang Xu understood that the Third Hokage couldn't have visited in person without leaving any follow-up measures in place.
Especially after giving him a Lightning Body-Tempering Technique scroll, someone would certainly observe his attitude after accepting it.
Fang Xu showed no sign of anything unusual.
He looked down at the scroll in his hands, his face filled with irrepressible excitement and gratitude, just as an ordinary boy should look after suddenly earning the Hokage's regard.
Only after a long while did he murmur to himself.
"Lord Hokage is willing to believe in me. I mustn't let him down."
With that, he carefully cradled the scroll against his chest and bowed earnestly once more in the direction Hiruzen Sarutobi had left.
The gesture wasn't exaggerated. It was just right for a Ninja Academy student who had received encouragement from the Hokage.