Steady Progress

Asuma continued, "He told me not to associate with people like that again, and not to let them keep using my name to cause trouble outside."

At that, he paused, his voice dropping lower.

"So... I apologize for what happened yesterday."

The apology came out awkwardly, but it was sincere.

The anger on Kurenai Yuhi's face eased slightly, and Rin Nohara also let out a breath of relief.

Fang Xu looked at Asuma for a while, then nodded.

"Alright, I accept."

Asuma froze.

"That easily?"

Fang Xu asked in return, "What else? Did you want me to beat you up?"

Asuma's mouth twitched.

He had expected Fang Xu to take the opportunity to mock him a few times. He had not expected him to be so straightforward.

Instead, the knot in his chest eased considerably.

Kurenai Yuhi, however, was not so quick to let it go. She turned to Fang Xu, concern in her voice.

"Did they hurt you? Do you need my help?"

After saying that, she shot Asuma another glare.

Asuma felt his chest tighten under her glare, but this time, he had no way to argue back.

Fang Xu smiled.

"No need. I already taught them a lesson."

"You already taught them a lesson?"

Obito Uchiha could not help leaning closer.

"You drove them off by yourself?"

Fang Xu answered casually, "More or less."

Obito's eyes lit up as he immediately pressed on. "How many were there? How did you fight them? Did you use ninjutsu? Was it cool?"

Fang Xu glanced at him.

"You want to learn?"

Obito immediately puffed out his chest.

"I'm Obito Uchiha, the man who'll become Hokage one day. I don't need to learn your tricks!"

Fang Xu nodded.

"Then stop asking."

Obito's expression stiffened.

Rin Nohara could not help laughing.

Seeing that Fang Xu was indeed unharmed, Kurenai Yuhi finally relaxed as well.

She had just thought Asuma had truly sent people after him, so her tone had been harsh. Now she looked at Asuma again, with a trace of apology in her eyes.

"Asuma, I misunderstood you just now."

Asuma had still been holding back his frustration.

Hearing Kurenai Yuhi say that, his mood immediately improved quite a bit.

"It wasn't really a misunderstanding."

He scratched his head, lowering his voice.

"They did go to trouble Fang Xu because of me. I'm responsible too."

Kurenai Yuhi nodded gently.

"It's good that you see it that way."

Asuma looked at her, his face flushing slightly, before turning to Fang Xu again.

"But Fang Xu, let me make this clear first."

"There won't be any more messy nonsense like yesterday."

"But I'm still going to compete with you for Kurenai Yuhi."

Kurenai Yuhi's face instantly turned red.

"Asuma!"

This time, Asuma did not back down.

"I'll compete with you fairly. At the next assessment, I'll beat you."

Fang Xu looked at his serious yet awkward expression and smiled.

"Alright. Fair and square."

Asuma snorted and turned back to his seat.

As he sat down, the resentment he felt toward Fang Xu had inexplicably faded quite a bit. At least this guy had not kicked him while he was down or deliberately humiliated him in front of Kurenai Yuhi.

That left Asuma still unconvinced, but no longer as eager to cause Fang Xu trouble.

The following week passed quickly, and Fang Xu had nearly every day packed full.

He ran in the morning, attended class during the day, practiced swordsmanship, Lightning Release, and the Three Body Technique in the evening, then studied the incomplete Cloud Lightning Body Tempering Technique at night, comparing and refining it with his experience using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's lightning.

His efforts soon paid off.

He could now reliably cast the C-rank Lightning Release: Lightning Ball Technique.

At first, the lightning ball could only last for a few breaths and would disperse if he was even slightly distracted.

Now, once he finished his hand seals, he could condense a blue-white lightning ball the size of a fist in his palm.

The lightning ball crackled as it spun. When fired at the wooden posts in the yard, it could blast blackened cracks into them. Its power was not especially impressive.

But this was genuine Lightning Release within the ninja system, and that meant a great deal to Fang Xu.

He had also successfully gotten started in swordsmanship.

He repeatedly broke down and practiced the basic movements from the Senju Swordsmanship notes: downward chops, horizontal slashes, diagonal cuts, and thrusts.

At first, he merely copied the movements. Later, he gradually began to sense the coordination of force between his footwork, waist, back, and arms.

When the wooden sword came down, he no longer relied solely on brute arm strength. Instead, he could link his entire body's power into a single line.

He was still far from a true swordsmanship master, but at least he was no longer a complete novice.

The effects of lightning body tempering were even more obvious.

After obtaining the incomplete Cloud Lightning Body Tempering Technique, Fang Xu no longer crudely used electric currents to stimulate his body as he had at first. He divided his training into much finer stages.

Fingertips, wrists, forearms, ankles, calves, thighs.

He gradually adapted each area to increasing intensity.

He still did not touch his internal organs or brain.

This steady method did not bring such dramatic gains, but it was safe.

After a week, both his physique and stamina had changed noticeably.

When he ran in the morning, he had initially been gasping badly after two laps. Now, he could run much farther.

His arms also began to ache later when he practiced with the sword.

The energy consumption of lightning activation had also dropped significantly.

What pleased Fang Xu most was the duration of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's elementalization.

It had increased from the initial ten seconds to fifteen seconds.

Though it was only five additional seconds, those five seconds were far too crucial in battle.

In a life-or-death fight, fifteen seconds of elementalization would be enough for him to evade a fatal attack, perhaps even complete a counterkill.

Of course, Fang Xu did not get carried away. Fifteen seconds was still very short, and stamina remained his weakness, but he was heading in the right direction.

His practice with the Three Body Technique went just as smoothly.

The Transformation Technique, Clone Technique, and Substitution Technique were the foundations taught at the Ninja Academy and the things Genin used most often.

After his spiritual power improved, Fang Xu's Chakra control became far more precise than before.

The Transformation Technique no longer easily revealed flaws, and his clones were more stable in form.

The Substitution Technique was the hardest, because it required timing and Chakra coordination, but he could already perform it successfully in practice.

He also successfully mastered tree climbing and water walking training.

The original Fang Xu's Chakra control had been crude. The output beneath his feet was always either too much or too little; he would either crush the tree bark or fall straight down.

Now, Fang Xu could stably adhere Chakra to the soles of his feet and walk all the way up a tree trunk.

When walking on water, the surface beneath his feet had initially still wavered. By the third day, he could stand balanced on the river's surface. By the fifth day, he could even walk slowly across it.

These improvements might not have looked as explosive as the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, but they rapidly filled in the gaps in his ninja fundamentals.

Fang Xu knew very well that cheats determined the upper limit, while fundamentals determined whether he could survive long enough to reach it.

On the night of the seventh day.

Fang Xu shut the doors and windows, then sat at his desk.

The cooldown on the exchange talent in his mind had finally ended.

[Exclusive Talent: Exchange LV1.]

[Cooldown complete.]

Fang Xu looked at the message, his breathing growing slightly heavier.