Barely a Match

After greeting Might Duy and Might Guy, father and son, he jogged another half-circle around the village. Once he felt his legs beginning to ache, he decisively called it a day.

He knew very well that training was not about crippling himself.

Especially not now.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit had raised his ceiling, and Lightning Body Tempering was useful too, but his physical foundation was what it was. If he forced himself to imitate Guy's suicidal training style, he would only be unable to get out of bed the next day.

After returning home, Fang Xu took a quick shower and finished breakfast.

Rice, eggs, and jerky.

Twice as much as before.

By the time he finished eating, he looked at the empty bowl with some helplessness.

"My appetite's growing way too fast."

Lightning Body Tempering was indeed effective.

But it really did burn through money.

Still, there was no rushing this.

For now, the most important thing was to keep the Rumble-Rumble Fruit hidden, establish himself at the Ninja Academy first, then see if he could exchange for something more suitable once the next cooldown ended.

Fang Xu packed up his things, closed the door, and headed to school.

Konoha was as lively as ever in the early morning.

Breakfast stalls lined the streets, ninja flitted across the rooftops, and several children ran toward the Ninja Academy, chasing and playing with backpacks on their shoulders.

It looked peaceful.

But Fang Xu knew better than anyone that this peace would not last much longer.

The shadow of the Third Shinobi World War already hung over everyone's heads.

It was simply that most students had yet to truly feel it.

By the time he entered the classroom, several people were already seated inside.

Kakashi Hatake had arrived early, sitting by the window.

His silver-white hair was eye-catching, and a black mask covered half his face, leaving only one dead-fish eye exposed. He looked utterly listless, as though nothing could interest him.

The instant Fang Xu entered, Kakashi glanced at him.

Just once.

Then he quickly looked away.

Fang Xu.

Somewhere in the middle to lower ranks of the class.

His ninjutsu talent was average, his chakra reserves were average, and his taijutsu showed nothing remarkable either.

He was not usually a dead last, but he was definitely not the kind of strong person anyone would remember.

By Kakashi's standards, someone at that level was not worth paying attention to.

But...

Though Kakashi had looked away, a thought still surfaced in his mind.

This guy's face was admittedly a little too handsome.

If they were judged solely on looks, Fang Xu could barely be considered an even match for him.

Of course.

That was assuming he took off his mask.

Kakashi calmly gave his assessment in his heart.

At the Ninja Academy, Fang Xu could not compare to him in strength.

Nor could Fang Xu compare to him in talent.

But when it came to looks, this guy was indeed one of the few opponents in class worth taking even a little seriously.

That was probably one of Fang Xu's few notable qualities.

Fang Xu did not notice what Kakashi was thinking.

Even if he had, he would probably only have replied: You sure know how to make yourself the star of the show.

He walked over to his seat and set down his backpack.

His deskmate, Kurenai Yuhi, had already arrived.

The girl had long black hair and distinctive red eyes, and her sitting posture was far more proper than that of most boys.

Rin Nohara, seated in front of them, was also organizing her textbooks.

Fang Xu smiled and greeted them.

"Morning, Kurenai."

Kurenai looked up, a hint of surprise on her face.

"Morning, Fang Xu. You came really early today."

Fang Xu then looked toward the front row.

"Morning, Rin."

Rin turned around with a gentle smile.

"Morning. It really is rare. Didn't you usually arrive right on time before?"

Fang Xu pulled out his chair and sat down.

"Before was before. Things are different now."

Kurenai blinked.

"What's different?"

Fang Xu thought for a moment, his tone calm.

"I realized something."

Rin asked curiously, "What?"

Fang Xu said, "War might be coming soon."

At those words, both Kurenai and Rin fell silent for a moment.

The students at the Ninja Academy were not ordinary children.

They all understood what the word "war" meant.

Recently, the atmosphere in the village really had been different from before.

More ninja had been coming and going from the mission hall.

Mobilizations toward the border had become more frequent as well.

It was simply that the teachers would not lay these matters out in the open.

Some of the ease faded from Kurenai's face.

"Why are you suddenly thinking about that?"

Fang Xu leaned back in his chair, speaking softly.

"It's not that I only just thought of it. I was just too lazy to think about it before."

He raised a hand and tapped the desk.

"We're still in school, so the battlefield seems far away. But after graduation, we'll be Genin, and Genin have to carry out missions too. If war really breaks out, civilian Genin will be the easiest to send in as cannon fodder."

Rin lightly pressed her lips together.

It was not pleasant to hear.

But it was true.

Fang Xu continued, "My talent is average, and my chakra reserves aren't particularly high either. I used to think I could just train slowly, but war won't wait for me to take my time."

Kurenai looked at him, her tone turning more serious.

"So you went out for morning training?"

"Yeah."

Fang Xu nodded.

"I'm starting with the most basic physical training. If my strength isn't enough, then I should slack off less. At least if I really run into danger, I'll have a slightly better chance of surviving."

Rin said softly, "It's good that you can think that way."

Kurenai smiled as well.

"Indeed. Fang Xu today feels much more dependable than before."

Fang Xu raised a brow.

"Was I that unreliable before?"

Kurenai nodded very seriously.

"A little."

Rin could not help laughing.

"It's not that you were unreliable. You just didn't seem as tense before."

Fang Xu sighed.

"Nothing I can do about it. People have to grow up eventually."

At those words, the corners of Kurenai's lips rose slightly.

"Then you'd better stick with it. Don't fish for three days and dry the nets for two."

"Don't worry."

Fang Xu said, "I don't plan to slack off this time."

The three chatted casually.

Fang Xu did not mention the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, nor did he mention last night's Lightning Body Tempering.

Those things absolutely could not be exposed yet.

The only thing he could mention was his changed attitude toward training.

That was also the most reasonable explanation.

A civilian student had begun working hard because he sensed war approaching.

No one would find that suspicious.

Just then, the classroom door was shoved open forcefully.

With a bang.

Several students who had already arrived looked over.

Asuma Sarutobi walked in.

At a glance, he saw Kurenai and Fang Xu sitting together, and the two had clearly been chatting happily just moments ago.

Even more glaringly, Rin had turned around in her seat and joined the conversation.

Asuma's face immediately darkened.

He had always liked Kurenai.

Quite a few people in the class could tell.

But Kurenai had never given him any special response.

Now, seeing Fang Xu chatting so naturally with Kurenai, the jealousy of a teenage boy instantly surged within Asuma.

He strode up to Fang Xu's desk and slapped it with one hand.

"Fang Xu!"

The desk shook from the impact.

Kurenai immediately frowned.

Fang Xu looked up at him, his tone flat.

"What is it?"

Asuma gritted his teeth. "I challenge you to a duel!"

The classroom instantly grew a little quieter.

Several students immediately turned to look.

At that age, Ninja Academy students loved watching conflicts.

Especially when one was the Third Hokage's son, and the other was Fang Xu, usually inconspicuous but exceptionally handsome.

There was no reason to miss this show.