Hatake Sakumo walked over to Fang Xu and raised a hand to adjust his fingers.
"Grip too tightly, and your sword will be slow."
"Too loosely, and it'll fly out of your hand."
"Keep your wrist flexible and your shoulders relaxed."
Tap.
The bamboo sword tapped Fang Xu lightly on the shoulder.
"Don't hunch your shoulders."
Fang Xu adjusted immediately.
Hatake Sakumo then walked over to Kakashi.
"You have problems too."
Kakashi stiffened.
Tap.
The bamboo sword struck his wrist.
"You're too used to fast swordwork. You rush your opening move."
"True speed isn't moving recklessly to get ahead. It's getting straight to where you need to be when it's time to move."
Kakashi pressed his lips together and reset his stance.
For the next two hours and more, the backyard held nothing but the swish of bamboo swords and Hatake Sakumo's corrections.
"Steady your feet."
"Let your waist lead your hands."
"Cut down. Don't smash down."
"Withdraw your sword."
"Again."
Fang Xu swung his sword over and over.
His arms ached, and so did his shoulders.
But after every correction, he could feel his movements growing a little smoother.
The Attribute Panel didn't appear before his eyes, but he could clearly feel the foundations of his swordsmanship being corrected bit by bit.
Kakashi didn't slack off either.
He had been a little unconvinced at first, but as practice went on, his expression grew even more serious than Fang Xu's.
Because Hatake Sakumo was right.
In the past, his talent and speed had covered up problems in many of his movements.
Rebuilding his foundations now instead made him realize how many gaps he still had.
As the sky darkened, Hatake Sakumo finally spoke.
"That's enough for today."
Fang Xu lowered his bamboo sword, his arms aching and swollen.
There was sweat on Kakashi's forehead too.
Hatake Sakumo looked at the two of them and nodded in satisfaction.
"Good."
"Go wash your hands. Time to eat."
Fang Xu had intended to say goodbye.
But his stomach betrayed him by growling first.
Kakashi glanced at him.
"So you really did come to mooch a meal."
Fang Xu was perfectly unashamed.
"Replenishing your energy with food after training is part of practice too."
Hatake Sakumo laughed aloud.
"That's right."
Dinner was a lavish spread.
Grilled fish, pan-fried meat, rice, miso soup, and a plate of vegetables.
Fang Xu had initially wanted to show some restraint.
But over two hours of sword practice had taken a lot out of him.
On top of that, Lightning Body Tempering had already increased his appetite, so he soon began eating without holding back.
Hatake Sakumo showed no displeasure at all. Instead, he kept encouraging him to eat more.
"When you're training your body, you have to eat enough."
"Whenever you come to practice swordsmanship, stay for dinner too."
Fang Xu's chopstick hand paused.
The words were simple, but they warmed his heart.
In his previous life, he had spent a long time away from home.
After he transmigrated, this body had been an orphan too.
He ate alone, trained alone, and figured out how to survive alone.
It had been a long time since he had felt this kind of genuine care from an elder.
Kakashi sat beside him, eating with his head lowered. He said nothing, but didn't object either.
Hatake Sakumo placed another piece of fish in Fang Xu's bowl.
"You're building your foundations now. Don't rush to pursue power."
"Kendo is like ninjutsu. The steadier your foundations, the stronger you'll be later."
Fang Xu nodded earnestly.
"I understand, Teacher."
Fang Xu ate his fill that evening.
And he ate with a sense of ease.
By the time he left the Hatake Residence, the night had deepened.
Hatake Sakumo saw him to the door.
"Be careful on your way home."
Standing beside him, Kakashi said flatly, "Don't be late tomorrow."
Fang Xu smiled.
"Don't worry."
As he walked home, his thoughts were anything but calm.
Someone like Hatake Sakumo shouldn't meet the fate he had in the original story.
Driven to suicide by rumors, brought down by his title as the village's hero-that was far too bitter an end.
Fang Xu glanced up into the night and silently made up his mind.
Now that he had become Hatake Sakumo's student, he would change whatever he could from now on.
He absolutely couldn't let the White Fang of the Leaf walk that road to death again.
When Fang Xu reached his front door, he suddenly stopped.
Someone was inside.
He had checked all the doors and windows before leaving.
Yet now, a faint sound came from the living room, like a wrapper being crumpled.
The relaxed expression vanished from Fang Xu's face.
Rather than opening the door immediately, he took a kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch and held it in a reverse grip.
The lock hadn't been damaged, but there was definitely someone inside.
Anyone who could enter his home without a sound and leave no obvious traces was no ordinary thief.
Fang Xu gently pushed the door.
It opened.
The room was dark. He reached for the switch on the wall.
Click.
The light came on.
A blond woman sat at the table in the living room.
A pale green robe hung loosely over her tall figure, and she had a commanding presence.
She propped her face on one hand while the other held the snacks Fang Xu had hidden away, with half a piece still between her teeth.
The diamond-shaped mark on her forehead was particularly striking.
Tsunade.
Fang Xu recognized her at once.
One of the Three Ninja, the First Hokage's granddaughter, and a true princess of the Senju.
But he didn't immediately reveal that. Instead, he tightened his grip on the kunai and deliberately put on a stern face.
"Who are you?"
"Breaking into my home and stealing my snacks."
"Don't you think that's going too far?"
Tsunade crunched through the snack and looked up at him.
She looked Fang Xu up and down a few times, then suddenly smiled.
"Drop the act, brat."
"The moment you came through the door, you reined in your killing intent faster than anyone."
"When you saw the mark on my forehead, even your fingers loosened a little."
"And you're still pretending you don't know me?"
Tsunade tossed the remaining half of the snack into her mouth, her tone teasing.
"Brat, your acting is terrible."
Exposed to his face, Fang Xu didn't insist on keeping up the act.
With a turn of his fingers, he returned the kunai to his Ninja Tool Pouch, pulled out a chair, and sat across from Tsunade.
"Since you've already seen through me, Lady Tsunade, I won't bother acting anymore."
Fang Xu glanced at the opened snack wrappers on the table.
"You didn't come looking for me this late just to steal snacks, did you?"
Tsunade swallowed her last mouthful and said with complete assurance, "Is there a problem with an elder checking on a junior's living conditions?"
"No."
Fang Xu nodded.
"So what did your inspection find?"
"Not enough snacks, and the taste is average."
Tsunade casually tossed the wrapper aside and looked up at him.
"You've got some nerve, brat, talking to me like that."
Fang Xu didn't take up that line of conversation.
He already had some idea of what was going on.
The Third Hokage had only visited last night, and today Fang Xu had become Hatake Sakumo's student.
Given the Third Hokage's personality, he would surely go through Fang Xu's file again.
His identity as a descendant of a branch family of the Senju had most likely already come to light.
Combined with the lightning and Kendo talent he had shown over the past few days, it was no surprise at all that the Third Hokage had called Tsunade over.
Fang Xu looked up and asked directly, "Lady Tsunade, if there's something you need, just say it."
Tsunade raised her eyebrows.
"You certainly are straightforward."
She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms.
"The old man wants me to take you as my student."
After saying that, she deliberately paused, staring at Fang Xu's face to see how the brat would react.
Delight? Excitement? Overwhelmed by the honor?
After all, she was one of the Three Ninja, the First Hokage's granddaughter, and one of the truly top-tier fighters in Konoha.
Any other child at the Ninja Academy would probably have jumped on the spot upon hearing that.