Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo both belonged to the tiny handful of top fighters in the Ninja World.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was undoubtedly Kage Level.
No one knew Danzo's true strength. It was hard to say whether he was Kage Level, but he was definitely at least an Elite Jonin.
Neither of these two powerful men had dared to take that attack, yet Zhou Cheng had stood completely still and taken it without a scratch.
A complex look flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes. He was relieved that Zhou Cheng was from the Hidden Leaf, but worried that he might turn out like Madara Uchiha.
If Zhou Cheng cared about the Hidden Leaf, it would be cause for great celebration.
But if he was like Madara Uchiha, he would pose a huge threat to the Hidden Leaf.
Hiruzen needed to meet with him and find out what he was really after, and why he had hidden himself all these years.
With strength like his, he couldn't have gained it in a short time.
Danzo gazed at Zhou Cheng with delight.
If he could recruit Zhou Cheng into Root and brainwash him for a while, turning him into a tool loyal to Danzo, then the Hokage Position would be within his grasp.
He looked at Tyranitar. This ninja beast could be a tool, too!
If he could bring them both under his command, they would be a huge asset.
A complicated look filled the one eye Kakashi had left uncovered.
I'd been buddying up to him just this afternoon. Had I gone too far?
Anyone who could tame a ninja beast like that was no ordinary fighter. Maybe he was even stronger than I'd guessed!
Zhou Cheng had no interest in dealing with them. He smiled at Tyranitar instead.
"Well, do you give in?"
A humanlike look of unwillingness crossed Tyranitar's face, followed by a flicker of defiance. In the end, it nodded helplessly.
"Good. Stick with me, and I won't let you down!"
"Maybe I can help you evolve again!"
Since he could get things from the Pokemon World, he might be able to get a Mega Stone and let Tyranitar evolve once more.
Tyranitar's eyes widened, and it chose to believe Zhou Cheng.
If Zhou Cheng could summon it into this world, then helping it evolve again wasn't impossible!
Maybe it really could become even stronger.
It nodded again!
Zhou Cheng grinned, then canceled the summoning and sent Tyranitar back to its own world.
"Everyone, sorry for the disturbance. Please forgive me!"
Zhou Cheng smiled at the crowd watching, especially the Third Hokage and Danzo.
The Third Hokage was all right. At least he wouldn't go too far.
Danzo was the real problem. He was the sort of man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.
He would even sacrifice the village's interests for his own.
Having those two set their sights on him would bring endless trouble.
But Zhou Cheng had the System Shield to protect him. He feared no one!
"Lord Third Hokage, Lord Danzo, I can't believe I disturbed you both. What a terrible mistake."
Zhou Cheng's words were polite, but he didn't move a muscle—not even a slight bow to show his apology!
There wasn't the slightest hint of embarrassment in his tone. Instead, he sounded lofty and imposing.
The Third Hokage and Danzo's expressions changed at once. Damn brat, how dare he be so arrogant!
"It doesn't matter. Fortunately, no one was hurt!"
"But you'll have to pay for the repairs to the ground!"
Danzo sneered. It wouldn't be a small sum.
He was gloating when Zhou Cheng suddenly pulled out a stack of money from who knew where.
"I was in the wrong, so of course I'll pay for the damage!"
After breaking shields for several days, he'd faced so many ordinary people. Most could only deal white damage and give him White Blind Boxes.
He'd gotten plenty of money from those boxes, and he'd earned far more than they had.
It wouldn't be wrong to call him rich now!
Danzo didn't take the money himself. He had a Root member behind him accept it instead.
With his chance to make trouble for Zhou Cheng gone, he said nothing more.
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head slightly. This kid looked like trouble.
"All right, everyone, move along!"
The Hokage had given an order. No one dared stay, except Zhou Cheng.
"What exactly is your reason for setting up this arena?"
Danzo had a feeling Zhou Cheng was playing some grand game of chess.
Zhou Cheng shrugged. What else could he be doing but breaking shields? But he couldn't say that!
"I've lost the will to live. All I want is to die."
Hiruzen Sarutobi scoffed at that excuse. If he wanted to die, he could find a cliff and jump off. That would settle it!
"It's not against the law to set up an arena, is it?"
Zhou Cheng stared straight at the Third Hokage, without a trace of fear!
Now that I have the system on my side, why should I be afraid of you?
"Lord Third Hokage, Lord Danzo, if you want to give it a try, you can get in line tomorrow, too!"
"Then I'll see you tomorrow!"
With that, Zhou Cheng returned to the hotel.
This had caused quite a stir, and the fallout was bound to be significant. He didn't want to stay in the middle of all that trouble.
Back in his room, he shut the door and paid no attention to the outside world!
I'd paid for the damage. Whatever happened after that had nothing to do with me!
He took another shower, washing the dust off himself.
Once he was lying in bed, something occurred to him. He opened the System Space and took out the ten Thunder Stones.
Could absorbing all ten at once really give my body a Lightning Style affinity?
Whatever. I should absorb them first!
He held a Thunder Stone in each hand, feeling the immense Lightning Style energy inside them.
Slowly, he absorbed the Lightning Style energy into his body.
One, two, five, ten!
Once he'd absorbed all ten Thunder Stones, he felt something new within himself.
Zhou Cheng's lips curled up. It was the power of Lightning Style.
His body had gained a Lightning Style affinity. Combined with his Fire Release affinity, he now had two.
Unfortunately, he knew too few jutsu.
The affinities were useless to him for now.
He could only hope someone would give him a Blind Box containing jutsu.
Then he might learn more jutsu and put on a better show!
After that, he went to the hotel's rooftop again. He wanted to test just how powerful the Awakened Flame-Flame Fruit was.
He snapped his fingers, and a ball of flame appeared on them.
But he didn't feel any heat from the flames.
Maybe it was because he had created them himself.
He looked around, then walked over to a corner of the rooftop.
For some reason, there was a small stone lying there.
He picked it up. As soon as the flames touched the stone, it melted instantly.
That's right—the stone melted!
It turned into a mass of lava-like liquid, ran between his fingers, and dripped onto the rooftop floor, burning a hole through it.
Hiss!
That kind of heat was close to the Sun's surface, wasn't it?
Terrifying!
The Awakened Flame-Flame Fruit was as powerful as expected.
A smile spread across Zhou Cheng's face. At least he could use the Flame-Flame Fruit's power to show off as Fire Release Ninjutsu!
As long as I kept up the impression that I was powerful, people would keep coming to break my shield!
Then I could keep breaking shields at top speed and get the Sage of Six Paths' body and strength as soon as possible.
After seeing what the Awakened Flame-Flame Fruit could do, Zhou Cheng returned to his room.
He boiled a pot of water with the hotel's electric cooker, then took a bowl of Braised Beef Noodles out of the System Space.
He opened the packaging and put the noodles in the pot. A few minutes later, he took them out and put them in a bowl of cold water he'd prepared beforehand.
That would make the noodles firmer and chewier.
Then he boiled another pot of water and added the noodles and seasoning packets. A few minutes later, an irresistible aroma filled the room.
Zhou Cheng couldn't help swallowing when he smelled it.
He hadn't expected to get to eat Braised Beef Noodles in this world, too!
Tears streamed down his face!
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