My chakra is water and earth-Wood Release is just the product of combining their nature transformations

Seeing that Zhou Cheng had not responded for quite some time, Hiruzen Sarutobi assumed he was overwhelmed with excitement at meeting him and did not rush him.

"Oh, Third Grandpa."

Only then did Zhou Cheng come to his senses, hurriedly pulling Haku along to bow with him.

"Yes, that's more like it."

"Live well here in Konoha from now on. This is your home!"

Then, remembering something, he asked tentatively:

"Zhou Cheng, who taught you the Shadow Clone Technique?"

If he could perform B-rank ninjutsu through self-study alone, without anyone teaching him, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have to raise his assessment of Zhou Cheng's talent yet again.

Zhou Cheng remained composed on the surface, but inwardly cried out in relief.

Good thing I thought of this beforehand and already came up with an explanation.

"During Kirigakure's civil war, many Shinobi were fighting in the chaos. I saw the Shinobi closest to me use the Shadow Clone Technique and memorized the hand seals."

"Unfortunately, I was too stupid to remember anything but that one Ninjutsu!"

"The day before yesterday, I tried refining chakra on my own. Luckily, I succeeded on my first attempt."

"My parents taught me the Chakra Refinement Method when they were still alive."

After hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips curled upward, and the delight in his eyes deepened.

That meant this child, Zhou Cheng, had learned entirely on his own, yet could still channel ninjutsu through ninja tools to perform an A-rank technique.

His talent truly was monstrous.

Even the Second's talent had not matched his.

"Today is your first day of school, and I have a gift for you both."

As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out two sheets of paper.

"This is Chakra Paper. It can test your chakra affinities."

"One sheet each. Give it a try now!"

"The human body's chakra has five possible affinities."

"Fire, wind, lightning, water, and earth."

As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi led them into the courtyard.

"When you test with the paper..."

"Fire release chakra will make it burn."

"Wind release chakra will split it down the middle."

"Lightning release chakra will make it wrinkle."

"Water release chakra will make it wet."

"Earth release chakra will make it crumble."

"All you have to do is channel chakra into the paper. Try it!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi maintained a kindly smile throughout, making Zhou Cheng feel a little sick.

Still, he was eager to find out his own chakra affinities.

Holding the Chakra Paper, Zhou Cheng slowly channeled chakra into it.

The Chakra Paper changed immediately.

The left half grew wet, while the right half crumbled into many small pieces.

"Zhou Cheng, your chakra affinities are water and earth."

"Very good indeed!"

Zhou Cheng nodded, thinking to himself.

This body belonged to someone from Kirigakure in the Land of Water, so having water chakra is perfectly normal.

But I really didn't expect an additional earth affinity.

Can't water and earth combine to produce the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai?

I wonder if my top-tier chakra control talent can fuse these two nature transformations.

If it can, could I really produce Wood Release?

Hmm, when I head to school later, I'll create a shadow clone and leave him at home to experiment!

With that thought, he turned to look at Haku.

If he remembered correctly, Haku's chakra affinities were wind and water, which ultimately produced Ice Release.

Haku began channeling chakra.

The Chakra Paper split into two parts, indicating wind chakra.

Then one half grew wet, indicating water chakra.

"Haku, your chakra affinities are wind and water. That's very good too!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was pleased with both of them, especially Zhou Cheng. Having two chakra affinities was far better than having only one.

Then, after a moment's thought, he took out several scrolls.

The moment Zhou Cheng saw the scrolls, his eyes locked onto them.

He knew those were ninjutsu scrolls.

They were the main way Shinobi learned ninjutsu.

Hiruzen Sarutobi first pointed to two of the scrolls.

"This is Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique, D-rank."

"This is Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique, C-rank."

"You two can study Water Release together."

Hiruzen Sarutobi then pointed to the scrolls on the other side.

"This is Wind Release: Vacuum Palm, C-rank."

"This is Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, C-rank."

Finally, he looked at Zhou Cheng, anticipation in his eyes.

"This is Earth Style: Rampart, B-rank."

"This is Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet, B-rank."

In his mind, Zhou Cheng was far more talented than Haku, having managed to perform A-rank ninjutsu through self-study alone.

That was why he had specifically brought out B-rank ninjutsu.

He wanted to see how long Zhou Cheng would take to learn the B-rank Ninjutsu.

"As for ninjutsu below C-rank, you can learn those at school, so I haven't prepared any additional scrolls for you."

"It's getting late. Off to school with you."

Then he departed using the Body Flicker Technique.

Next, a genin arrived to guide them to the school.

After all, neither of them knew where it was.

With the genin present, Zhou Cheng had no opportunity to use the Shadow Clone Technique.

He could only obediently follow him to school.

A Shinobi with a scar running across the bridge of his nose stood at the school entrance.

Zhou Cheng recognized him at once as Umino Iruka, the man who had changed Naruto's life.

Without his patient guidance, Naruto might truly have gone down a dark path.

"Iruka, these are Zhou Cheng and Haku, your new students."

"I'll leave them with you. I have a mission, so I'll be going."

"All right. Thanks for your help!"

After saying goodbye to the other ninja, Iruka walked over to Zhou Cheng and Haku.

"Hello, my name is Umino Iruka."

"I'll be your teacher during your time at the Ninja Academy."

"Now, come with me to the classroom and meet your classmates!"

Iruka kept a warm smile on his face.

Seeing it, Zhou Cheng could not help marveling inwardly.

No wonder Naruto asked him to stand in as his father at his wedding.

That warm smile really is infectious.

He's gentle and positive. He really is well suited to being a teacher.

After walking for five minutes, they arrived outside a classroom.

Chattering and shouting came from inside. Clearly, the students were letting loose while their teacher was away.

Iruka's face darkened as he pushed open the classroom door.

The noisy classroom instantly fell silent.

Iruka walked up to the lectern and swept his gaze around the classroom before speaking.

"Today, we have two new classmates!"

As he spoke, he looked outside the classroom. "Come in!"

Hearing him, Zhou Cheng walked into the classroom with Haku.

The moment the two entered, they heard girls gushing over them.

"Wow, so handsome! They're both handsome!"

"Yeah, they're even more handsome than Sasuke!"

"Especially the one in front. I don't think even Neji is as handsome as him!"

Zhou Cheng and Haku walked up to stand by the lectern.

Zhou Cheng kept smiling. Looking at those familiar faces, he was positively delighted.

Hehe, I really did get assigned to the Konoha 12's class.

Now why would I ever worry about running out of talents?

Give me enough time, and I can copy every last one of their talents!

Iruka gestured for them to introduce themselves.

"My name is Zhou Cheng, and I'm ten years old. I look forward to learning alongside all of you."

Haku was even more concise. "My name is Haku. I'm ten!"

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Hey, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the man who's going to become Hokage!"

Zhou Cheng's smile grew even brighter.

"Hello, Naruto. I'm sure you'll become Hokage!"