Hiruzen Sarutobi did not speak immediately. He picked up his pipe and slowly took a few puffs of tobacco, the smoke spreading beneath the lamplight.
Danzo watched his expression, his tone growing more forceful.
"Sakumo's reputation is already too great."
"His battlefield achievements, his standing in the Anbu, and that half-sleeved Hokage robe."
"It's not as though no one in the village has said that White Fang would make a better Hokage than you."
Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his eyes.
"Danzo."
"I'm stating facts."
Danzo did not back down.
"Now he's taken Fang Xu as his student, too."
"A Senju descendant."
"A child with a chance of becoming a powerful shinobi."
"Aren't you afraid that this child will stand firmly at Sakumo's side someday?"
The darker Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression became, the more assured Danzo felt.
The thorn had already sunk in.
Even if Hiruzen refused to admit it aloud, these words would leave their mark.
Danzo continued, "Hand Fang Xu over to me."
"Root will train him."
"I'll erase the mark Sakumo has left on him."
"Make him loyal only to the village, only to the Hokage."
Hiruzen Sarutobi set his pipe down heavily.
"Enough."
Danzo's gaze cooled slightly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood. His voice was not loud, but it carried considerable weight.
"Sakumo is a hero of the village, and he has rendered great service to Konoha."
"Without evidence, you are not to make baseless accusations against him."
"Fang Xu is a shinobi orphan and a student of the Ninja Academy."
"He became Sakumo's student because his talent for Kendo was recognized."
"That is not a crime."
Danzo said coldly, "Hiruzen, you always put too much faith in feelings."
"And you always treat everyone as a tool."
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at him.
"Fang Xu will not be handed over to Root."
"And the Ninja Academy is not a place for Root to select its tools."
"This is a line you cannot cross."
The office fell silent.
Danzo looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi. A moment later, he tapped his cane lightly against the floor.
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this."
With that, he turned and left.
After the door closed, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood behind his desk, remaining on his feet for a long time.
He looked in the direction Danzo had left, his temples faintly throbbing.
Root was expanding too quickly, and Danzo's reach was growing ever longer.
First it had been clan shinobi, then orphans, and now he had actually set his sights on children in the Ninja Academy.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a mouthful of smoke.
He could rein things in elsewhere gradually, but the line at the Ninja Academy had to hold. He absolutely could not let Danzo interfere.
Meanwhile.
In the backyard of the Hatake Residence.
The swish of bamboo swords cutting through the air sounded again and again.
Fang Xu stood in the center of the training ground, slashing repeatedly with the long sword in his hand.
It was not a bamboo sword, but a real blade.
Hatake Sakumo stood nearby. Originally, he had only wanted to see how Fang Xu's fundamentals had developed over the past few days.
But the longer he watched, the more the smile faded from his face, his gaze growing increasingly serious instead.
Downward cuts, horizontal slashes, thrusts, turning slashes, changes in footwork.
Fang Xu's movements were not particularly flashy.
But every application of force was far smoother than it had been a few days ago.
Shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, legs.
Power traveled from his feet to the blade without any obvious breaks.
More than half the problems that had required his constant correction a few days ago were now gone.
Hatake Sakumo looked at Kakashi beside him.
Kakashi had stopped practicing, too.
Holding his short sword, he stared fixedly at Fang Xu with his one exposed eye.
There was something wrong with this rate of improvement.
Yesterday, Fang Xu's Kendo had still shown plenty of signs of a beginner, but today it was as though someone had thoroughly polished it.
No, it wasn't just as though it had. He really had improved. Kakashi tightened his grip on his sword.
He could tell that Fang Xu's current level of Kendo had almost caught up with his own.
If he considered only the fundamentals of generating force and linking movements in combat, some aspects were even smoother than his.
"Father."
Kakashi could not help speaking.
"He wasn't like this yesterday."
Hatake Sakumo nodded slightly.
"I can tell."
He was just as surprised.
He had seen plenty of geniuses.
Kakashi was one himself.
But Fang Xu's way of improving still caught him somewhat off guard.
It was not simply a matter of practicing diligently.
Rather, with every practice session, he could absorb and resolve the problems from the previous one.
What did that mean?
High comprehension, quick absorption, and, more importantly, a body that could keep up with what he wanted to do. Many people understood something in their minds, but their bodies could not execute it.
Fang Xu was different. His mind and body seemed to be improving at the same time.
Just then, Fang Xu's feet paused, and his breathing suddenly changed.
It was no longer the ordinary breathing of sword practice, but deeper, faster, and more rhythmic.
The next instant, fine blue-white arcs of electricity lit up along his arms.
Lightning Release Chakra crawled along his wrists to the hilt, then gradually coated the blade.
The blade trembled slightly.
Crackle!
Lightning burst forth.
Kakashi's pupils contracted.
"Lightning Blade Attachment?"
Hatake Sakumo's expression changed as well.
This was not simply pouring Lightning Release Chakra into a weapon.
That would only increase its destructive power.
What Fang Xu was doing now was connecting lightning with his footwork, breathing, and the rhythm of his sword swings.
When he pushed off, lightning stimulated his calves. When his waist and back turned, lightning boosted his explosive power.
Only just before the blade fell did Lightning Release Chakra gather to coat it.
This consumed less chakra, increased his speed, and concentrated his power.
Fang Xu slashed.
Blue-white lightning clung to the blade as it swept through a wooden post.
Crack!
The wooden post was sliced through diagonally, a ring of black scorch marks appearing along the cut.
He did not stop.
A second slash, a third, a fourth. His blade flashed faster and faster.
The lightning no longer merely glowed on the surface, but flowed with the path of his sword.
Sometimes it clung to the edge, sometimes it sank into his arms, and sometimes it erupted beneath his feet, driving his body sideways.
On the training ground, Fang Xu's entire body was like a blade wreathed in lightning.
Kakashi had stopped completely.
He watched Fang Xu, an unmistakably stunned look appearing on his face for the first time. Yesterday, they had still been evenly matched.
What about today?
If Fang Xu used this Lightning-Attribute Ninja Swordsmanship in actual combat, could he still reliably withstand it?
Kakashi had no answer, and that made him very uncomfortable.
Hatake Sakumo's eyes, however, grew brighter the longer he watched.
"So that's it."
He spoke quietly.
"No wonder he could create his own Lightning Activation mode."
"This child isn't simply using lightning to strengthen his body."
"He's understanding lightning."
"Making lightning part of his body, then part of his swordsmanship."
Watching Fang Xu, Hatake Sakumo could not help marveling.
"A true genius."
At those words, Kakashi's eyelid twitched.
His father rarely praised anyone like that.
Especially in front of him.
But this time, Kakashi could not argue.
In the center of the training ground, Fang Xu practiced for another ten-odd minutes before slowly drawing his sword back.
The lightning dispersed.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his breathing had grown somewhat heavier.
He had not unleashed his full power during that sequence.
Nor had he directly called out the actual techniques of Thunder Breathing.
Even so, the expenditure had been considerable.
Hatake Sakumo walked over and looked at the long sword in his hand.
"Fang Xu."
"You've created a system of Lightning-Attribute Ninja Swordsmanship right under my nose."
Fang Xu immediately shook his head.
"Teacher, you're exaggerating."
"This doesn't count as creating something out of nothing."
"The swordsmanship insights at home, the fundamentals you've taught me these past few days, and some Lightning Body Tempering ideas I encountered before all helped me a great deal."
"I just tried putting these things together."