SiNguyen

Very nice tree Sasori. I am not an expert, but I don't think you need to be one to work on this tree. Your plant is a good pre-bonsai material that needs to be grown out for a few more years to be presentable. I would recommend throwing out the rocks, then put the tree into a bigger pot and let it grow freely for 2-3 more years before any styling can be done. I would choose the first pic as the front because the ugly trunk-chop scar can be hidden in the back. As a pre-bonsai, there are always a few bad branches, but they were left on there intentionally by the grower (the seller) in order for the tree to grow faster and for you the buyer to work with in the future. So for this tree, I would keep all of the branches for now. In the future, when it is strong and full, you can remove some of the badly placed branches. Here's a sketch of how I see it in a few years.
Good luck!
Si

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