Chapter 6: Are We Burning Our Youth Together?"This consumption..."Fang Xu leaned against the table and stood up, his face somewhat pale.He had originally thought that Lightning Body Tempering primarily consumed mental energy and physical strength.Now it seemed that physical repair and reinforcement required a large amount of nutrition, and without sufficient food support, continuing to practice would overdraw his body.He immediately went into the kitchen and took out everything edible.Rice.Dried meat.Eggs.And the leftover soup from the morning.Fang Xu barely stopped, stuffing things into his mouth bite after bite.Usually a single portion was enough to eat.Today, he ate a full three portions before barely feeling eighty percent full.When he put down the bowl, he looked at the empty pot, and his heart suddenly sank."This is troublesome."Lightning Body Tempering was useful.But it burned through money too fast.Ninja cultivation inherently consumed resources.Shuriken, Kunai, explosive tags, medicine, scrolls—every single thing cost money.Now, coupled with the fact that high-intensity body tempering required a massive amount of food, the over one million ryo inheritance and pension left behind by his parents looked like a lot, but if he really let loose and trained, it wouldn't last long at all."I must find a way to make money."Fang Xu rubbed the space between his eyebrows."I also need to get enough ingredients, preferably high-nutrition meat."It wasn't that he hadn't thought about gold.Anything was possible with the Myriad Realms Exchange.If he really obtained a large amount of gold in the future, theoretically he could quickly exchange it for money.But the problem was that he was currently just a commoner orphan in Konoha.Suddenly taking out large chunks of gold to sell was too conspicuous.Konoha wasn't short on smart people.For a backgroundless Ninja Academy student to have a large amount of gold of unknown origin appear in his hands—at best, he would be targeted; at worst, even Exchange Talent could expose him to risks.Money was important.Life was even more important."I can't rush."Fang Xu put away the bowls and chopsticks, forcibly suppressing the restlessness in his heart."In the short term, I'll practice thriftily, and slowly look for ways to make money."After resting for a while, he walked back to the courtyard.The courtyard wasn't big, but it was enough for practicing basic Ninjutsu.Fang Xu took out the scroll for Lightning Release: Lightning Sphere and carefully reviewed the hand seals and Chakra circulation path.This Ninjutsu was not high-grade; the difficulty lay in the condensation and stabilization of the Lightning attribute Chakra.Previously, he didn't have the Lightning attribute, so he could only look helplessly.Looking at it again now, the feeling was completely different.Every explanation on the scroll could correspond to that bolt of lightning power within his body."I won't use the fruit ability for now."Fang Xu formed hand seals with both hands."I'll only use Chakra."The Chakra flowed along his meridians and gathered in his palms.The first time, the lightning glow dispersed as soon as it appeared.The second time, a few wisps of electric arcs burst from his palms, stinging his hands numb.The third time, a lightning sphere the size of an egg barely formed, but it collapsed after swaying twice.Fang Xu was not in a hurry.He formed hand seals over and over again, adjusting the Chakra ratio repeatedly.The habits of the Water attribute and Earth attribute still lingered in his body, and since his Lightning attribute Chakra had just awakened, controlling it was very crude and stiff.But he had the lightning insights of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.Every failure allowed him to quickly pinpoint the problem.The lightning sphere went from the size of an egg to the size of a fist.From collapsing in three breaths to being able to maintain it for ten breaths.It wasn't until the Chakra in his body was almost drained dry that Fang Xu stopped practicing.He sat in the courtyard and panted a few breaths, his palms still numb."My Chakra is depleted.""However, the progress is not slow."Fang Xu did not continue to push himself forcibly.Both physical strength and Chakra needed recovery; forcing it would only harm his body.He returned to the house and picked up the document Senju Swordsmanship Insights.Lightning, Lightning Release, and body tempering constituted his explosive power.Swordsmanship and taijutsu were the foundation.A true powerhouse could not rely solely on ultimate moves.Especially in the Ninja World, intelligence gaps could kill people, and poor foundations could also kill people.Fang Xu opened the scroll and read it word by word.The swordsmanship insights of the Senju Clan had no flashy nonsense.Footwork, force generation, breathing, distance, and timing of attacks were all written very practically.The more he read, the more serious he became.Many places weren't considered profound, but they were just right for him to build his foundation now.Before his Chakra recovered, studying the swordsmanship insights happened to not waste time.One night passed.Early the next morning, just as dawn broke, Fang Xu went out.He wasn't in a hurry to practice Lightning Release, nor was he in a hurry to do Lightning Body Tempering again.He had to eat, figure out a way to make money, and couldn't let his physical foundation fall behind either.Therefore, today's first training item was morning jog.Jogging around the outskirts of Konoha.Not striving for speed, only training endurance.Fang Xu knew very well that his biggest problem right now was that his physical foundation was too poor.The Rumble-Rumble Fruit gave him an upper limit, but his physique determined how much of it he could unleash.After running two laps, his breathing began to grow heavy.On the third lap, his calves began to ache.Fang Xu slowed down his pace and maintained his rhythm.Just at this moment, a loud voice came from ahead."Might Guy! Youth is about running and never stopping!""Yes! Father! Today I must run twenty laps around the village!"Two green figures rushed over from the other end of the street.Bowl cuts.Thick eyebrows.Green spandex suits.Fang Xu paused his steps and immediately recognized them.Might Duy.Might Guy.This father-son duo wasn't dazzling in Konoha right now, and were even often looked down upon.One was an eternal Genin.The other was a passionate youth who couldn't use Ninjutsu or genjutsu.But Fang Xu knew better than anyone else where the true terror of this father-and-son pair lay.Eight Gates.Might Duy would later use his life to kick the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to near extinction.Might Guy was even more terrifying, nearly kicking away the final boss with a single kick.On the path of taijutsu, they were the most worthwhile people to contact.Might Guy also saw Fang Xu and immediately waved."Fang Xu! Are you also out for a morning jog?"Fang Xu stopped his steps and smiled, nodding."Yeah, my stamina is too poor, so I want to start practicing from running."Hearing this, Might Guy became even more excited."That's great! This is youth! Do you want to have a competition together? Let's run laps around the village, and whoever can't hold on first has to walk back on their hands!"The corners of Fang Xu's mouth twitched slightly.As expected.This invitation was so very Might Guy.If any other peer had said that, he could still give it a try.But competing in running laps with Might Guy?With his current bit of stamina, rushing up there would just be serving himself on a platter.Moreover, his goal today wasn't to act tough, but to get in touch with this father-son pair.Fang Xu resolutely shook his head."Not today."Might Guy was slightly stunned."Why? Isn't it great to burn our youth together?"Fang Xu said seriously: "I've only just started recovering my physical strength, and my foundation is too poor. If I stubbornly compete with you in running laps, it will only injure my body. Training needs to be step by step; once my stamina improves a bit more, I will definitely find you to compete."Upon hearing this, Might Duy nodded heavily."Well said!"He raised his thumb, revealing a row of white teeth."Recognizing one's own body and then breaking through limits step by step—this is also youth!"Might Guy also followed suit by raising his thumb."Fang Xu, you're right! Then we'll compete next time!"Fang Xu seized the opportunity to say: "Racing in running isn't urgent, but in the future, I'd like to ask you both for guidance on taijutsu. Is that okay?"Might Guy immediately patted his chest."Of course you can! As long as you're willing to work hard, we'll burn our youth together!"Might Duy also shouted: "Taijutsu isn't afraid of a low starting point; what it fears is a lack of persistence! Young Fang Xu, you are welcome to come find us anytime!""Thank you, Senior Might Duy, thank you, Might Guy."Fang Xu thanked them sincerely.The father and son Might Duy nodded simultaneously, then accelerated and rushed out like two green whirlwinds."Might Guy! Speed up! Let youth continue to burn!""Yes, Father!"Watching the two green figures rapidly recede, Fang Xu mentally checked off this chance encounter: initial contact with the target, successfully completed.
