Zhou Cheng ambled toward the arena and found it already packed with people. All he could see were heads as far as the eye could reach.
His arrival caused an immediate commotion.
"Mr. Zhou Cheng is here!"
"Mr. Zhou Cheng is here!"
"Sir, we've been waiting for you for ages!"
The crowd automatically parted to make way for Zhou Cheng, allowing him to step onto the arena.
"Wow, quite a turnout today!"
Zhou Cheng smiled faintly, looking every bit the master, and hopped onto the arena with ease.
He was in a great mood. As he passed through the crowd, he spotted several familiar faces.
Itachi, Shisui, Uchiha Izumi, and Tsunade.
Tsunade had come too?
And Little Sasuke hadn't gone to class at the Ninja Academy. He was standing among the people waiting in line as well.
"Let's begin!"
"You're first!"
Zhou Cheng pointed at the person standing by the arena steps and crooked a finger, inviting him up.
The man's face flushed with excitement as he imagined his dream coming true.
Unfortunately, both hits dealt only white damage, and he still failed to get a high-tier reward from the Blind Box.
"Next!"
"Can you at least not disappoint me?"
"A bunch of ants!"
If I didn't provoke you a little, you'd all keep holding back.
"Hey, who are you calling ants?"
"That useless piece of trash doesn't even have any chakra. I don't know how he tricked so many people into wasting their time here."
"He's scamming people with ordinary Ninja Tools and money!"
A few hot-tempered ninja who had come to the arena for the first time couldn't help questioning Zhou Cheng.
How could an ordinary person talk so big?
It was ridiculous that all those people were flocking here, practically clawing each other's eyes out to get in.
"Hey, don't talk nonsense if you don't know what you're talking about!"
"Yesterday, the second son of the Uchiha Clan head awakened his Sharingan here."
"The eldest son of the Uchiha Clan head, the genius ninja Itachi, got a treasure that increased his affinity for Fire Style chakra and made Fire Release Ninjutsu easier to learn."
"Even Body Flicker Shisui got a treasure that increased the power of his ninjutsu."
"As for those who only got ordinary items, that's because they weren't strong enough to deal high damage!"
The few ninja who had been shouting earlier lifted their chins and retorted again:
"Sasuke only awakened his eye because the time was right for him. It just happened to happen here!"
"And that stuff about Fire Style chakra affinity and ninjutsu power is all vague and intangible. You can't even see it, so there's no reason to trust it!"
"We came here today to expose him for what he really is!"
"He's just a Genin, a worthless nobody with hardly any chakra. What makes him worthy of being called 'sir'?"
Seeing the two sides getting more and more heated, Zhou Cheng shook his head with a wry smile.
Haters are fans too. As long as they help me break the shield, they're good people!
"Ahem! What are you arguing about?"
"You're wasting time!"
"I didn't mean anything by what I said just now. I was only saying that everyone here is trash!"
"Can't take it? Then get up here and hack me to pieces!"
The Uchiha Clan's plaza erupted in a deafening chorus of curses.
Those who hadn't received rewards and had no idea what Zhou Cheng was capable of glared at him, shouting that they'd beat him so badly his own mother wouldn't recognize him.
Only those who had received rewards yesterday and firmly believed in Zhou Cheng lowered their heads in shame.
That's right. To someone like sir, we really are trash.
He stood there and let us attack him without even putting up a guard, yet we still couldn't hurt him at all.
And even so, he gave us rewards!
A good man like that deserves our respect!
Itachi and Shisui exchanged a glance, each seeing the resolve in the other's eyes.
We have to give it everything we've got so our senior won't look down on us.
If we can get something from the box that will resolve the conflict between the clan and the village, then Senior Zhou Cheng will be a benefactor to the entire Uchiha Clan!
Nearby, Sasuke kept a serious face and quietly clenched his fists. Big brother, I won't let you down.
Tsunade stood among the crowd, watching Zhou Cheng with a complicated look. This kid—I can't even get a read on his strength?
He was only a Genin?
Then where did he get the nerve to let ninja attack him?
That box was interesting, though. It looked like an ordinary box, yet all kinds of items could come out of it.
How did he know what was inside each box?
They all looked exactly the same!
The more she watched, the more she wanted to get up on the arena right away!
Kakashi had arrived early but hadn't joined the line. He quietly walked to the back of it.
He hadn't been interested in Zhou Cheng at all. Deep down, he'd thought Zhou Cheng was just a charlatan putting on a show.
But the scene before him suggested otherwise. No one could tell how strong Zhou Cheng was, and he had only enough chakra to qualify as a low-level Genin.
How could a Genin be so confident that he could withstand so many attacks?
He really did seem intent on getting himself killed!
But why couldn't those ninja hurt him?
Perhaps only a close-up, personal observation would reveal the reason.
The people waiting their turn kept going up and down. More than a dozen had tried, but not one had dealt more than 100 damage.
Zhou Cheng gave a helpless, bitter smile. Most of them were Genin, so it made sense that their damage was low.
He hadn't expected ordinary ninja to deal much damage in the first place.
Come on, hurry up and let Jonin like Itachi have a turn!
A few dozen points at a time? How long would it take to break the shield at that rate?
Soon, someone Zhou Cheng knew stepped up: Uchiha Izumi.
She was said to be Itachi's beloved, though at this point in the timeline, the two of them hadn't gotten that far yet!
"Hello, Zhou Cheng!"
"This is my first time challenging you, so please go easy on me!"
Zhou Cheng smiled faintly. I'm not attacking you, so what would I go easy on? One-night stand?
"Use your full strength!"
"Remember, the higher the damage, the better the reward!"
Zhou Cheng said this not only to remind Uchiha Izumi, but everyone present!
Most people were still holding back, afraid they might actually kill me!
As long as the shield lasts, I'm invincible for the day—though only defensively!
Uchiha Izumi stopped smiling, her face turning solemn.
Use my full strength?
What if I hurt him?
I probably won't. Even geniuses like Itachi and Shisui couldn't hurt him, so I certainly won't be able to either.
Then I'll use all my chakra!
She began forming Hand Seals, chakra surging rapidly through her body.
"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"
She spat out a small fireball. The moment it reached Zhou Cheng, it exploded.
Surging flames swallowed Zhou Cheng in an instant, setting the ground beneath him ablaze as well.
Whoa!
The crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted in shocked cries.
"That's a B-rank ninjutsu! How old is she?"
"What matters is its power. If it's that strong, then she must have a lot of chakra!"
"Who is she? Does anyone know?"
No one answered.
Itachi's eyes gleamed. As expected of Izumi—she really was a genius too!
Itachi clearly remembered that the last time he'd seen Izumi, she'd only been a Genin.
But the amount of chakra she'd demonstrated today was clearly at a Chunin's level!
And in such a short time!
Shisui nodded, approval in his eyes.
"Her control over Fire Style chakra is very precise. Looks like she's another ninja who specializes in fire!"
"But her overall strength probably hasn't reached Chunin level yet."
"If she's already awakened her Sharingan, then that's another matter!"
Tsunade was surprised too. Hazuki's daughter had quite a talent!
"I told you, he's a fraud. That should've burned him to a crisp!"
"Heh, that's what he gets for pretending to be some kind of master!"
Just then, the flames around Zhou Cheng vanished in an instant, as if something had absorbed them!
-1567.
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