What was the greatest fear in training? Training in the wrong direction.
Especially since the path he was taking was not an established one in the Shinobi World.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Lightning Release Chakra, the Incomplete Cloud Lightning Body Tempering Technique, Enel's experience with lightning.
None of these things was simple on its own, but combining them into a lightning body-tempering system that truly suited him was extremely difficult.
Before, he could only judge by how his body felt and the results of his battles.
If he felt stronger, he continued; if something felt wrong, he stopped. But that kind of judgment was crude.
Now that he had the Attribute Panel, however, things were completely different.
Every time he adjusted the intensity of his body tempering, changed the route the lightning followed, or optimized how he activated his body for combat, he could see the feedback on the panel.
Even the slightest movement of the progress bar was enough to show that he was heading in the right direction.
If he trained for ages without any change, that proved there was a problem with his method, and he could correct it in time.
It was like fitting his training with a measuring stick.
Fang Xu tried forming hand seals again.
Lightning Release: Lightning Ball Technique.
Chakra gathered in his palm, and blue-white lightning soon formed a fist-sized lightning ball.
As the lightning ball spun, the progress after [Lightning Release: Lightning Ball Technique: Proficient] on the screen shifted slightly as well.
Fang Xu dispersed the lightning ball, already understanding how it worked.
This panel could not make him stronger directly.
There were no free points to allocate, no quest rewards, and no shop gift packs.
But it let him clearly see every step of his progress.
For someone who truly wanted to train, this thing was incredibly appealing.
Often, hard work was not the frightening part. What was frightening was seeing no feedback after putting in the work.
Had a hundred sword swings today actually brought any improvement?
Had changing the rhythm of his Lightning Body Tempering actually worked?
Was his chakra control for the Three Body Technique steadier than yesterday?
Before, he could only make vague judgments about these things.
Now he could see all of it, and the boost to his motivation to train was immediate. Even the tiniest increase in progress made him want to keep grinding.
The longer Fang Xu looked at the panel, the more satisfied he became.
Losing this plugin really had been a massive loss for Zhou Yang.
Without the Attribute Panel, he could still level up and allocate points, but his growth would become harder to track.
Meanwhile, although Fang Xu had not obtained the experience and attribute-point core of Zhou Yang's system, getting this panel filled precisely the gap he most needed to fill.
He did not need a system to plan his path for him.
He had the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Exchange Talent, and the Shinobi World's training systems.
What he needed was a tool to verify his direction, record his progress, and quantify his condition.
The Attribute Panel was a perfect fit.
"This is only one plugin."
Fang Xu's gaze settled on [Attribute Panel], and excitement slowly built within him.
Zhou Yang's system clearly had more than just this.
Experience acquisition, leveling, point allocation, and perhaps other modules as well.
The fact that he could exchange for the Attribute Panel proved that Exchange Talent could indeed pry system plugins away.
What about next time?
If he used something else related to the Uchiha, or a more valuable item, could he exchange for other plugins in Zhou Yang's system too?
At that thought, Obito Uchiha's head of black hair immediately appeared in Fang Xu's mind.
A lock of hair had gotten him the Attribute Panel. What if he collected a few more?
Fang Xu made up his mind to keep collecting Obito's hair and try exchanging for other plugins in Zhou Yang's system.
On a street in Konoha.
Obito stood by the roadside supporting an elderly woman, his back straight and his face full of earnestness.
"Granny, don't worry. With me, Obito Uchiha, here, you'll be completely safe!"
The elderly woman paused and was just about to speak.
Obito was already thumping his chest as he continued, "I'm the man who's going to become Hokage! Helping you cross a road is a piece of cake!"
With that, he prepared to walk forward.
But the moment he took a step, Obito suddenly shuddered.
A chill crept down from the top of his head, as though someone behind him was staring at his head-especially his hair.
Obito instinctively covered the back of his head.
"That's strange..."
"Why does my scalp feel so chilly?"
He looked around. Pedestrians came and went along the street, and nothing seemed unusual.
"Could that bastard Kakashi be bad-mouthing me behind my back again?"
The elderly woman's expression grew even stranger as he supported her.
"Child, actually, I'm not..."
"Granny, you don't need to be afraid!"
Obito immediately interrupted her, his tone even firmer.
"With me here, no one will dare bump into you!"
Supporting the elderly woman, he tried to step forward again.
This time, she hurriedly pulled him back with all her strength.
"Child, I'm not crossing the road!"
Obito froze.
"Huh?"
The elderly woman pointed to the dango shop beside them.
"I'm waiting for my grandson. He went to buy dango."
Just as she finished speaking, a little boy ran out of the dango shop carrying a paper bag.
"Grandma! I've got the dango!"
Obito turned to stone on the spot.
Two passersby nearby looked over, and even the stall owner could not help chuckling.
Obito's face instantly flushed red to the tips of his ears.
"S-sorry!"
He quickly let go and bowed in apology.
"I misunderstood!"
With that, he turned and ran. After several steps, he could not help covering the top of his head again.
"Wait, why does it still feel like someone's after my hair?"
As night fell, lights shone inside the Hatake Residence.
Hatake Sakumo had just returned home from a mission, changed out of his outerwear, and sat down at the dining table.
Kakashi sat opposite him, with the Short Sword beside him.
Father and son always ate in silence.
Today, however, Kakashi spoke first.
"Father."
Hatake Sakumo looked up.
"What is it?"
Kakashi stopped picking up food with his chopsticks.
"I saw Fang Xu fight today."
Hatake Sakumo thought for a moment.
"Fang Xu? Naoto's child?"
"Yes."
Kakashi nodded.
"I used to think he was just a below-average student in our class. Average chakra, average taijutsu, and nothing particularly impressive in ninjutsu either."
"But when he taught those three little thugs a lesson, he was nothing like an ordinary student."
Hatake Sakumo set down his chopsticks.
"Tell me in detail."
Kakashi's tone grew more serious.
"He didn't form any hand seals. Lightning appeared around his body, and his speed increased instantly."
"He wasn't simply releasing Lightning Release attacks. It was more like he was compressing Lightning Release Chakra into his body to stimulate his muscles and reflexes."
"After his punches landed, lightning also poured into the other person's body, causing paralysis."
"Those three weren't strong, but he dealt with them far too cleanly."
Hatake Sakumo's gaze shifted slightly.
"Lightning-Attribute Nintaijutsu."
Kakashi nodded.
"Yes."
Hatake Sakumo pondered for a moment.
"Hidden Cloud has a Lightning Body-Tempering Technique, and the Raikage line has developed Lightning Release: Body Protection to an exceptionally high level."
"What Fang Xu used might be a move derived from the Cloud Lightning Body Tempering Technique."
"Or perhaps one of his forebears once saw similar methods on the battlefield and worked out an incomplete secret technique after returning home."
Kakashi frowned.
"Does Fang Xu's family have that kind of inheritance?"
Hatake Sakumo shook his head.
"Unlikely."
"His father, Naoto, was an excellent jonin, but Fang Xu's family isn't a major shinobi clan."
"A genuine Hidden Cloud secret technique wouldn't fall into an ordinary family's hands so easily."