The Pokémon World had far too many good things.
All the different Pokémon were themselves enormous treasure troves.
Electric-type Pokémon, Psychic-type Pokémon, Fighting-type Pokémon, and even all sorts of special items.
Any suitable one of them would be a huge improvement for him.
But Fang Xu quickly adjusted his mindset.
"Being able to connect to the Pokémon World is a good thing in itself."
He recalled the reactions on the other side earlier.
The Pokédex couldn't identify the wild boar.
The people around it hadn't reacted to the ordinary wild boar as though they had seen ordinary wild animals before, either.
This suggested that ordinary wild animals were most likely very rare in the Pokémon World, or even practically nonexistent in many places.
Live animals might be very valuable in that world.
"A wild boar got me Berry Seeds."
"Next time, using deer, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese, or even fish might let me connect there consistently."
Looking at the bag of seeds, Fang Xu felt increasingly that this avenue was worth exploring further.
The Berry Seeds themselves weren't useless, either.
Berries in the Pokémon World had all sorts of effects, such as restoring stamina, curing status conditions, and replenishing energy.
Even if these were only seeds, as long as he could grow them, they would become a steady resource in the future.
More importantly, his Exchange Talent's progress had already reached nine uses.
"One more, and it'll reach LV2."
Fang Xu was looking forward to it.
Right now, he could use it once every seven days. The cooldown was too long.
If leveling it up could shorten the cooldown, even by just a day or two, the difference would be considerable over time.
He took the Berry Seeds to the backyard.
The yard wasn't large, but there was still an empty patch in a corner.
With a small shovel, Fang Xu loosened the soil, then buried the seeds separately according to their size.
Once he finished, he formed hand seals with both hands.
"Water Release: Water Sprinkling Technique."
Fine droplets sprayed from his palms, falling evenly over the soil.
There wasn't much water, but the flow was very gentle.
This little technique had little combat power, but it was perfect for watering the ground.
Looking at the damp soil, Fang Xu nodded in satisfaction.
"Whether you survive is up to you now."
After planting the Berry Seeds, Fang Xu returned his training focus to chakra manipulation.
During this time, he had already learned the B-rank Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique his parents had left behind.
The technique required many hand seals and precise shaping of a large volume of water, making it grueling to practice.
But precisely because it was grueling, the improvement was also clear.
He had also grasped the basics of the B-rank Earth Release: Earth Spear Technique.
Covering his body in earth-nature chakra strengthened his defense and strength, demanding considerable precision in chakra coverage.
Together with the Water Release: Water Wave Technique Tsunade had given him, Fang Xu's water and earth natures were finally more than mere decorations.
Lightning nature was his main focus.
Water nature trained control.
Earth nature trained stability and defense.
Pursuing all three paths together actually made his progress steadier.
However, Fang Xu knew very well that if he wanted finer control over Water Release, large-scale shaping techniques like Water Dragon Bullet alone wouldn't be enough.
Medical Ninjutsu was what truly tested fine chakra control.
Sending chakra precisely into a wound.
Avoiding blood vessels, meridians, and internal organs.
Repairing tissue, stopping bleeding, and stimulating cellular recovery.
This kind of manipulation required far finer control than ordinary Water Release.
If he could learn Medical Ninjutsu, his chakra control would certainly reach another level.
And there was only one person in Konoha best suited to teach him Medical Ninjutsu.
Tsunade.
Early Saturday morning.
After finishing his morning training, Fang Xu took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and headed straight to Konoha Ninja Hospital.
There were quite a few people at the Ninja Hospital.
Injured Chunin, family members holding medical records, and nurses hurrying back and forth made the lobby look busy.
As soon as Fang Xu reached the front desk, a young nurse noticed him.
Her eyes lit up, and she immediately came around the counter.
"Little one, where does it hurt?"
"Are you injured? I'll take you to register."
The nurse crouched down, her voice excessively gentle.
Looking at the hand she held out, Fang Xu silently took half a step back.
This enthusiasm is a little hard to handle.
"Miss, I'm not here for treatment."
The nurse was very pleased by his form of address and asked with a beaming smile, "Then what brings you to the hospital?"
Fang Xu said, "I'd like to see Lady Tsunade."
The nurse paused.
"Lady Tsunade?"
She looked Fang Xu up and down.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No."
Fang Xu was quite frank.
"But Lady Tsunade told me before that if I ran into a problem I couldn't solve, I could come find her at the Ninja Hospital."
"Sorry for the trouble, but could you let her know I'm here?"
Hearing how clearly he spoke, the nurse's expression softened further.
"What's your name?"
"Fang Xu."
"Fang Xu, is it?"
The nurse reached out and ruffled his hair.
"What a good boy. Wait here a moment, and I'll go ask for you."
Fang Xu stiffened slightly.
My head got patted again.
But she was helping announce his arrival, so he couldn't very well dodge too obviously.
The nurse turned and went upstairs.
Before long, she hurried back, her smile even wider.
"Fang Xu, Lady Tsunade says you can go up."
"Come with me."
Fang Xu nodded.
"Sorry for the trouble."
"No trouble at all."
The nurse led him up to the second floor.
Along the way, quite a few nurses looked over at Fang Xu.
A little boy of about six, with short silver hair, pale white eyes, and delicate features, following the nurse with an utterly serious expression.
He was endearing no matter how one looked at him.
At the end of the second-floor corridor, the nurse stopped outside an office.
"Here we are."
Looking down at Fang Xu, she suddenly couldn't resist reaching out to pinch his cheek.
"Oh, you still have a little baby fat on your cheeks. So cute."
Fang Xu's face was pulled slightly out of shape.
After pinching him, the nurse let go, thoroughly satisfied.
"Go on in. Lady Tsunade is inside."
With that, she turned and left cheerfully.
Fang Xu rubbed his pinched cheek, inwardly reflecting helplessly that being too charming had its troubles too, then stood before the office door, ready to enter and meet Tsunade.
Fang Xu rubbed the cheek the nurse had pinched, raised his hand, and knocked.
"Come in."
Tsunade's voice came from inside the office.
Fang Xu pushed the door open and went in.
Then his steps faltered.
The office was a little messier than he had imagined.
Medical records and documents were piled on the desk, with several empty liquor bottles beside them.
Tsunade sat behind the desk, a pale green outer robe draped loosely over her shoulders, propping her chin on one hand while holding a drinking cup in the other, drinking quite leisurely.
The sunlight outside the window was lovely.
Below the hospital, people came and went, while nurses and doctors were run off their feet.
Yet Konoha's strongest Medical Ninja was actually drinking during working hours.
Fang Xu fell silent for two seconds.
Tsunade looked up at him.
"What are you standing in the doorway for?"
Fang Xu closed the door and walked over to the desk, glancing at the bottles, then at the cup in Tsunade's hand.
"Lady Tsunade."
His tone was very serious.
"May I ask you something?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"Ask."
Fang Xu pointed at the cup.
"Is drinking during working hours really appropriate?"
The room went quiet for a moment.
Tsunade stared at him, first taken aback, then almost laughing in exasperation.
"You little brat, you're trying to police me the moment you walk in?"
Fang Xu said, "I'm simply curious."
"There are so many people in the hospital busy treating the injured, while you, a top Medical Ninja, are sitting in your office drinking."
"From a management perspective, isn't that a little unprofessional?"