"Zhou Cheng, thank you!"
Kakashi had even changed the way he addressed Zhou Cheng.
He now regarded Zhou Cheng as his equal.
"My chakra reserves have grown by half a year's worth of training!"
The crowd erupted!
Everyone was astonished!
One fruit was worth half a year of training!
Good heavens!
Everyone looked envious.
A fruit like that was worth half a year of training.
That meant it gave you a six-month head start over your peers.
And with another six months of training on top of that, you'd be even further ahead of everyone else!
In the Ninja World, strength was everything!
Zhou Cheng smiled faintly. Thank me?
If you knew my reward was even greater than yours, and that I was breaking shields too, you might grab a knife and kill me!
"Don't mention it. You get a reward for damaging me—that was the rule from the very beginning!"
"You earned it!"
Kakashi nodded gratefully. "I'll take the Arena again tomorrow!"
Then Kakashi stepped down from the platform, left the crowd, and disappeared around the corner!
It was several minutes after he'd left before he realized he'd forgotten something.
Oh, damn! I forgot the book he promised me!
He slapped himself on the face, bitterly regretful!
Those were the other books in Make-Out Paradise!
What a huge loss!
But with so many people at the Arena, he was too embarrassed to go back and ask for them!
He gave a wry smile, shook his head, collected himself, and continued on his way.
Most of the crowd had dispersed from the Arena. The sun was already sinking in the west, and everyone needed to head home and prepare dinner.
Itachi, Shisui, and Uchiha Izumi had also left the Arena.
After Kakashi left, a few more people took on the challenge.
But none of them managed to deal damage above the white level.
When night fell, Zhou Cheng finally stepped down from the platform!
"If you didn't get your turn today, come early tomorrow!"
"I'll set up the Arena here again!"
With that, Zhou Cheng left Uchiha Plaza.
He walked out onto the street, found a restaurant, had a simple dinner, then returned to the hotel.
Standing still and letting people hit him all day had worn him out too!
He settled into the bathtub and quietly waited for it to fill with warm water.
While he waited, he opened the System Space.
He looked over the day's Harvest.
First, he took out a fist-sized Chakra Fruit and ate it for dessert.
A few seconds later, he felt a warm current flow into his veins. Then his chakra reserves surged.
They increased by roughly the equivalent of a year's training!
He looked at his palm. He'd never felt better!
So this is what power feels like. No wonder some people get seduced by it and stop at nothing to gain more!
This feeling is incredible!
My chakra reserves are already almost at Chunin level.
I should keep the momentum going. He took out a Giant Chakra Fruit from the System Space and ate it.
Another warm current swept through him, and his chakra reserves grew by another year's worth!
Judging by chakra alone, he was already at Chunin level!
Zhou Cheng nodded. But this still wasn't enough. A Chunin could serve as a squad leader in any of the villages.
But they were still no more than ants!
Without breaking shields, he was just an ant!
Even after breaking shields and gaining the Sage of Six Paths' body and power, he would still need to be cautious when facing the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
After all, the chakra in this world came from the Ōtsutsuki too!
Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten a reward today that could evolve his Sharingan.
He took the Genjutsu Manual from the System Space and began to read.
The first illusion was the Mist Servant Technique, a D-rank, close-range support technique with no distance requirement.
It created black shadowy figures to frighten the enemy. When attacked, they split apart, but they had no offensive power at all!
Zhou Cheng was only curious about it. He had no intention of learning genjutsu. With the Sharingan, he was naturally resistant to illusions; genjutsu would only be an added bonus.
But to his surprise, after he finished reading the hand signs and notes for the technique,
the page vanished into thin air, and everything about the technique appeared in his mind.
It was as if he had used the technique countless times already.
Damn, was this some kind of instant knowledge transfer?
That's a little ridiculous!
Zhou Cheng stared in surprise, then turned to the second page!
Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, a D-rank, close-range support technique.
It made anyone caught in the illusion see what they feared most deep in their hearts, dealing a blow to their mind!
This gave the caster a chance to attack!
Once he finished reading everything about the technique, the page it was written on vanished into thin air.
Everything about the genjutsu appeared in his mind, his mastery complete!
Jeez!
Zhou Cheng drew in a sharp breath!
No wonder it came from the system!
On a whim, he kept flipping through the manual, looking only at the technique names without reading their contents. But after the D-rank genjutsu, the C-rank techniques had names and nothing else; their pages were blank.
Was his strength not enough?
Would he have to become a Chunin officially registered by the Hidden Leaf before he could see the rest?
Then he'd put those aside for now!
He searched his mind for the brewing method for Six-Grain Spirit.
Jeez!
Zhou Cheng gave a wry smile and shook his head. The method was simple enough, but the ingredients would be hard to find!
If he could brew more Six-Grain Spirit, he could quickly get on good terms with someone like Tsunade if he ever met another drunkard like her!
He could check the Hidden Leaf market when he had time!
His gaze fell on the few books in the System Space, and the corners of his mouth lifted.
He'd just gotten out of the bathtub and put on a bathrobe.
After washing up, he lay down on the bed and picked up a book.
The very first page had an exciting passage and illustration. Zhou Cheng's eyes widened!
The system had modified these books. What had the original version been like?
Jiraiya was a peeping tom, but he certainly had his talents!
What expression would he make when he saw the revised edition of Make-Out Paradise?
Would he get hooked after one sip of Six-Grain Spirit?
Zhou Cheng closed the book. He couldn't keep reading, or he'd get carried away!
Leaning against the bed, he thought about what had happened that day.
After breaking shields today, word of my challenge—where I'm practically begging people to kill me—will surely spread to even more people.
Even more people will come tomorrow.
But there are only so many hours in a day, and only a limited number of people can get in line.
I hope I can attract more strong opponents. A hundred ordinary people don't measure up to one kick from Tsunade!
I'm not asking for all of them to be strong. Ten famous, named experts a day would be enough!
I should find Shisui in private and ask him to attack me.
If I can find somewhere deserted and let him unleash Susanoo at full power, the damage should be impressive!
The reward should be impressive too. Maybe I'll get something that can evolve my Sharingan.
Kakashi was probably sent by that old Third Hokage to investigate.
I hope he reports everything honestly when he gets back. Better yet, I hope he brings the old man here!
Professor of Ninjutsu, with over a thousand techniques!
Tsk, just thinking about it gets me excited!
Itachi and Shisui will tell the clan elders about what happened today too. I hope they send more powerful fighters to break my shield!
Before you continue