Speculation on Zhou Cheng's Strength from All Sides

In the Hidden Leaf's Root, Shisui stood silently, waiting for Danzo to arrive.

He had come to report on the day's events.

"You've come!"

A figure dressed in casual attire walked in.

He walked straight to the main seat and sat down, his gaze landing on Shisui with anticipation.

"Tell me, how was today?"

He already knew everything about Zhou Cheng through the Root ninja; asking again was merely a test to see if Shisui would lie.

Danzo was a suspicious man by nature and never fully trusted anyone.

Shisui nodded and spoke slowly, recounting everything that had happened that day.

Danzo nodded, quite satisfied; what Shisui said was basically consistent with the reports from Root.

At least for now, Shisui was worthy of trust.

"Is he truly that strong? Even Tsunade's super strength couldn't harm him?"

Danzo found this point hard to believe.

He knew Tsunade's strength all too well. As a friend of Hiruzen Sarutobi and an advisor to the Hidden Leaf, he had practically watched the Sannin grow up and was intimately familiar with their capabilities.

Once Tsunade unleashed her super strength, she could level a mountain if she wanted to; it was only a matter of time.

Yet, Zhou Cheng had taken that strength head-on with his own body and remained unscathed!

This shocked him and left him in disbelief. If it were true, his attitude toward Zhou Cheng would have to change.

"It is naturally true. Hundreds of people saw it today!"

"Including Hatake Kakashi."

The cunning and calculating Danzo did not reveal any expression on his face, but his heart was already in a state of turmoil!

"Are the items opened from the boxes also real?"

Danzo asked again, posing the question he cared about most.

If precious treasures like the Chakra Fruit were real, then Zhou Cheng's strength was even more terrifying.

Any one of those items, if leaked into the ninja world, would cause a massive uproar and a bloodbath.

Yet here, Zhou Cheng was giving them away casually, without asking for anything in return!

Attacking him? Did that count as a return?

In that case, Zhou Cheng's identity and background could be completely overturned.

He was not a genin, nor a member of the younger generation of the Uchiha Clan; perhaps he was an old monster with immense power and a secret technique for eternal youth.

Living within the Uchiha Clan, perhaps he was once a member, or maybe he wasn't part of the Uchiha Clan at all!

Danzo fell into deep thought. Could those Blind Boxes contain something that would allow me to seize the position of Hokage?

Perhaps I need to go there myself.

"I know everything you've said. You may go, and continue reporting tomorrow!"

Shisui nodded and turned to leave.

He had been brainwashed by the so-called Will of Fire and held unconditional trust in the Hidden Leaf and the Third Hokage.

He gave them his back without a second thought.

After Shisui turned away, Danzo's gaze toward him became greedy—a greed for power.

"How are the preparations coming along?"

He spoke languidly, unsure if he was talking to himself or questioning someone else.

A figure appeared in the spot where Shisui had been standing, kneeling on one knee with his head bowed.

"Everything is prepared. It is a strange poison with no antidote!"

Danzo nodded in satisfaction. The Mangekyō Sharingan—I am determined to have it!

Shisui, if you must blame someone, blame yourself for being born into the Uchiha Clan. Let me use your eyes to watch the Uchiha Clan fall!

Once I have fully grasped the situation with Zhou Cheng, that will be the moment I take your eyes.

"You lot, take off your Root uniforms tomorrow and go to the Arena to challenge him. Let's see what those boxes really are!"

In the Hokage's office, Kakashi pushed the door open and walked in.

"You've come!"

An aged yet robust voice drifted over. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat alone behind the Hokage's desk, holding a pipe and puffing away, the room filled with white smoke and the pungent scent of tobacco.

Kakashi frowned. Making me inhale secondhand smoke? If you weren't the Hokage, I would have beaten you up already.

He walked straight to the window, opened it, and performed a few hand seals.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

As the air in the room was sucked away and the smell of smoke faded, Kakashi turned around, satisfied, to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"I experienced it myself; everything is real!"

He then recounted the events of the day, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi as shocked as a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.

Taking Tsunade's monstrous strength head-on without a single scratch! How could that be possible!

Even he wouldn't dare to take that strength head-on.

Not to mention that Zhou Cheng had used his head, a vital part of the human body.

Even a Jonin would die on the spot if struck in the head by Tsunade's Heavenly Pain Kick.

"Unbelievable! To think there is such a person in the Hidden Leaf that we never knew about until now!"

"What kind of reward did you receive?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kakashi with anticipation; if he had obtained something extraordinary, it would be a good thing for the Hidden Leaf.

However, he didn't receive a reply from Kakashi for a long time. He looked up in confusion, only to see an expression of reluctance in Kakashi's single eye.

"You brat, what is there that you can't tell me?"

"Fine, if it's inconvenient, then it's inconvenient!"

"What do you think Zhou Cheng's true strength is, and where do these rewards come from?"

"Many of these rewards are things I have never even heard of, let alone seen!"

"And every single one is incredibly precious. Does he really just give them away so easily without asking for anything in return?"

Kakashi shrugged. Who was he supposed to ask?

"Perhaps he is truly seeking death! You can't take those rewards with you when you die, so he might as well do some good deeds and give them to others!"

"As for his strength, it is definitely no less than mine!"

"My Lightning Blade was already at seventy percent power, yet it couldn't even damage his clothes!"

Recalling this, Kakashi's gaze shifted instantly.

It became filled with extreme wariness and lingering fear!

Listening to Kakashi's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into deep thought.

For someone like Zhou Cheng, it was impossible to fully believe without seeing it with one's own eyes.

He had to find a time to meet Zhou Cheng; perhaps he could try attacking him to test his limits.

"You go first, tomorrow..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Kakashi.

"I will go again tomorrow. He still owes me something he hasn't given me yet!"

His heart was set on the follow-up volumes of Make-Out Paradise that Zhou Cheng had promised him.

The one he had opened from the Blind Box was different from the versions sold on the market—it was better, more exciting, contained more human emotion, and featured even more realistic illustrations.

If the first volume was already like this, what would the second and third volumes be like?

Thinking of the steamy scenes in the book, Kakashi's face turned bright red. If not for his mask, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have discovered it long ago.

"Tomorrow, I authorize you to use your full strength!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kakashi with burning eyes; he wanted one final test to see exactly what Zhou Cheng's strength was.

With Kakashi's current strength, even Hiruzen Sarutobi would have to back down a little if he went all out.

It wasn't that he was old, but that Kakashi knew too many ninjutsu and was far too unpredictable!

"That is exactly what I intended to do!"

"I want to obtain even better rewards!"