Before long, they arrived at the entrance to Konoha.
The children gasped in wonder at the magnificent Konoha Gate.
They had never seen a structure like it.
Every one of them marveled at it. This truly was the greatest ninja village.
Then, under the Shinobi's direction, they formed a long line and submitted to inspection at the gate one by one.
Just then, Zhou Cheng sensed that the talent inside the Purple Crystal Gourd had finished refining.
He immediately focused his mind on his chest.
A purple-and-gold gourd emerged from his chest, visible only to him.
Its mouth opened, and two crystal-clear drops of rainbow-colored liquid flew out.
Was this talent original liquid?
Then he turned his attention to the other gourds.
He knew he had to choose. Which gourds should receive Qian Jiang's talent original liquid?
At that moment, he could finally see the other gourds' abilities.
The Vermilion Gourd-increased strength.
This included arm strength, leg strength, muscular strength, and so on.
These were a Shinobi's basic physical capabilities.
The Orange Sun Gourd-increased sensory perception.
Sensory-type Shinobi were indispensable in war.
For example, members of the Yamanaka Clan could close their eyes and sense their surroundings during a battle, determining the enemy's location, numbers, and characteristics.
They could also share this sensory information with their teammates.
The Dark Yellow Gourd-improved physical constitution, including body density, bone hardness, and so on.
Simply put, it increased a Shinobi's physical defenses.
The Jade Green Gourd-increased speed, including movement speed and mental reaction speed.
The Indigo Gourd-increased physical energy.
A Shinobi's chakra came from physical energy.
The amount of physical energy affected a Shinobi's Chakra Reserves.
As for the sixth gourd, the Blue Gourd, Zhou Cheng still could not see its ability, so he could not allocate anything to it.
Perhaps his own abilities were too low, or perhaps the talent he had absorbed through Replication was too low-level.
Looking at the two drops of talent original liquid, Zhou Cheng fell into thought.
To become a powerful Shinobi, I need to develop in every area.
If I had enough talent original liquid, I'd definitely put some in every gourd.
But I only have two drops right now, so I need to use them where they'll count.
The upcoming talent assessment will just test these orphans' physical abilities and aptitude for ninjutsu.
Although I have the Chakra Refinement Technique, I haven't learned the hand seals for any ninjutsu.
That means using ninjutsu is out of the question.
So I don't necessarily need more Chakra Reserves right now.
I'll leave the physical energy gourd alone for the time being.
As for strength, constitution, and speed, I need all three right now.
But with only two drops of talent original liquid, I have to make a choice.
If I want to make a splash at the talent assessment, I can only work with the Shuriken Throwing Technique I've already learned.
The Shuriken Throwing Technique I learned is at Chunin level.
If I'm just throwing at targets, accuracy won't be a problem.
That leaves improving my range and destructive power.
With that thought, Zhou Cheng unhesitatingly allocated the two drops of talent original liquid to the Vermilion Gourd and the Jade Green Gourd.
In an instant, the Vermilion Gourd and the Jade Green Gourd shone with dazzling light.
But only Zhou Cheng could see that light.
Immediately afterward, Zhou Cheng felt some kind of change occur in his body.
Though he looked the same as before, his muscles felt a little firmer. Previously, he had barely had the strength to clench his fist.
Now, when he clenched his fist, veins bulged along his entire arm.
He had no idea how many times stronger he was than before.
However, he had never seen real Shinobi fight.
He still had no way of knowing what level his strength had reached.
Then he felt his steps grow lighter, too. He felt as though he could now break the hundred-meter sprint record on Blue Star.
His wrists and fingers had also become considerably quicker and more nimble.
With faster wrists and fingers, he would be able to form hand seals much faster when using ninjutsu in the future.
He grew more confident about the talent assessment.
If he could not enter the Ninja Academy, he was destined to remain a civilian. He might get killed any day.
Never mind approaching the characters from the original story and using Replication on their talents.
Reaching the pinnacle of the Shinobi World would be even further out of reach.
As he pondered this, his turn for the preliminary inspection arrived.
He saw two familiar Shinobi.
Kotetsu, with bandages wrapped around his face.
And Kotetsu Hagane, whose bangs covered half his face.
Both were outstanding Chunin of Konoha.
The sight of them nearly made Zhou Cheng drool.
So desperate was he to grow stronger that any Shinobi he saw made him want to use Talent Replication on them.
But he quickly calmed down. While a talent was being refined, the Purple Crystal Gourd could not use Replication on anyone else's talent.
Since he would soon have a chance to meet the Third Hokage, he naturally wanted to use Replication on the Third Hokage's talent.
He did not know how long it would take to refine the talents of these two Chunin.
If the talent was still being refined when the Third Hokage came to visit them, he would be unable to use Talent Replication again.
Then he would lose his chance to use Replication on the Third Hokage's talent.
As both a war orphan and an outsider, getting close to a village's Kage would be extremely difficult.
Unless he was within a certain distance, the Purple Crystal Gourd would not react, and he would be unable to use Talent Replication.
The Chunin Kotetsu gave him a quick search. When his hands reached a private area, Zhou Cheng instinctively raised a hand to stop him.
That single movement made Kotetsu pause, surprise appearing on his face.
Then Kotetsu stopped searching, took out a notebook, and said in a somewhat astonished tone,
"You look scrawny, kid, but you're pretty strong!"
"What's your name?"
"Zhou Cheng!"
"Zhou... Cheng. Strange name. Go on in!"
Kotetsu wrote as he repeated the name, gave Zhou Cheng an odd look, then pointed behind himself with his pen to indicate that he could enter.
Zhou Cheng distinctly noticed that Kotetsu spent longer writing his name than he had anyone else's.
He wondered about it.
Is he illiterate? Impossible. Someone who became a Chunin couldn't be illiterate!
Then did he add a few words after my name?
Did he note that I'm strong?
Zhou Cheng had barely walked two meters when he heard Kotetsu questioning someone behind him again.
"Name!"
"I... I'm Haku!"
Zhou Cheng abruptly turned around and saw the child he had picked up standing there, his face full of fear as he timidly gave his name.
Zhou Cheng was astonished.
Haku?
That Yuki Haku?
How is that possible? Wasn't Zabuza supposed to pick him up?
While he was still reeling, Haku caught up and came to his side.
Haku simply watched Zhou Cheng quietly, neither speaking nor moving.
Zhou Cheng was about to ask him a question when a Konoha Shinobi interrupted.
"Hey, keep moving!"
Helpless, Zhou Cheng could only follow the line forward.
Soon, they arrived at a spacious square.
The square was already filled with orphans from various countries.
Yet despite there being so many children without any formal training, not one made a sound.
That was because one or two Shinobi wearing animal masks stood on every side of the square.
The killing intent radiating from them left these children, all around ten years old, too frightened to move.
They feared those Shinobi would kill them with a kunai at the slightest displeasure.
The instant Zhou Cheng saw those Shinobi, his gaze sharpened, and shock filled him.
That's the ANBU.
What a powerful presence. Even after being strengthened once, I wouldn't last half a move against them.
Zhou Cheng followed the crowd into the middle of the square.
The gourd vine on his chest began to grow hot.
Hiruzen Sarutobi hasn't appeared yet.
Had an ANBU entered the range for Talent Replication?
Hold back. If I'm going to use Replication, it has to be on the strongest person!
The ANBU are strong, but compared with Hiruzen Sarutobi, they're worlds apart.