Afterward, Zhou Cheng went straight home.
He did not go to sleep. Instead, he called Haku along, avoided the main roads, and leaped onto the rooftops, darting from one to the next.
Finally, they reached Rock Lee's secret training ground.
Zhou Cheng had come here to test an idea.
With his top-tier talent for chakra control, ordinary ninjutsu posed virtually no difficulty for him.
As long as he formed the hand seals and activated Chakra Circulation, the Ninjutsu came naturally.
Moreover, he could use the least possible Chakra Reserves while producing more power than other Shinobi.
That was the advantage of top-tier chakra control.
A Shinobi's degree of chakra control determined how high their ceiling was.
That was also why Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi could become the strongest of the Five Kage of his generation without a kekkei genkai.
Now, what limited Zhou Cheng's Ninjutsu casting speed was his hand seals.
Although he could already form them very quickly, he still had to complete the entire cumbersome sequence to successfully cast a Ninjutsu.
What he wanted to test now was reducing the number of hand seals without weakening the technique, just as Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had done.
As for doing what Hashirama did-clapping his hands together and conjuring whatever he called out-
Zhou Cheng did not dare hope for that yet.
He had brought Haku because he wanted him to succeed at this too.
Simplified Hand Seals offered every Shinobi benefits without drawbacks.
Take Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique, for example.
Its required seals were not only cumbersome but numerous.
If they could be reduced to around three, that would offer an overwhelming advantage in battle.
While the enemy was still forming seals, your Water Dragon Bullet would already be smashing into their face.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
The Water Dragon Bullet Technique required forty-four hand seals in total.
Zhou Cheng first tried removing three of them.
The Ninjutsu worked, but its power dropped considerably.
"Did that not work?"
Zhou Cheng's brows knitted tightly.
Beside him, Haku removed seven hand seals at Zhou Cheng's instruction.
He could not cast the Ninjutsu at all.
Zhou Cheng carefully mulled it over.
Tobirama Senju really was a monster. He could reduce forty-four seals to just three without losing any power.
No wonder he was a peerless genius who developed so many forbidden techniques!
Next, he began experimenting by removing just one hand seal.
With the aid of his top-tier chakra control talent-
He adjusted the chakra flow within his body to match the circulation speed produced by the complete sequence, despite the missing seal.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique."
The Ninjutsu succeeded without losing any power!
"It worked!"
Overjoyed, Zhou Cheng pumped his fist.
Haku's face lit up with delight too.
Brother Zhou Cheng really did it! He was the most gifted genius of all. He was the best!
"Again!"
Zhou Cheng tried removing two seals next.
This time, he clearly felt that circulating his chakra had become more difficult.
With two seals missing, his chakra had to flow faster to reach the designated chakra points sooner.
For Zhou Cheng, that was still not too difficult.
The Ninjutsu succeeded again, its power unchanged.
With three hand seals removed, the chakra flowed even faster, and his Body Meridians began to ache.
Still, it remained within tolerable limits.
Removing four hand seals while preserving the Ninjutsu's power required chakra to circulate twice as fast as with the complete sequence!
Zhou Cheng felt as though his meridians were tearing.
Although it would not damage them yet, this was the limit of what they could withstand.
"Whew. Looks like I'll have to strengthen my body if I want to remove more seals. As my body gets stronger, my meridians will grow thicker and sturdier too."
"Haku, I'll teach you the key points!"
Then he explained the method to Haku.
Once Haku went off to the side to experiment-
Zhou Cheng glanced at a distant rooftop. He knew Uzuki Yugao had to be watching him from there.
He made no attempt to avoid her surveillance and simply sat down nearby to meditate and recover his chakra.
After all, Konoha held no secrets from Hiruzen Sarutobi. Where couldn't his crystal ball see?
He planned to simplify every Ninjutsu he knew that required a complicated sequence of seals.
He also wanted to get his body accustomed to the sensation of accelerated chakra circulation.
Once it became second nature, he would be able to cast Ninjutsu more smoothly in future battles.
On the distant rooftop, Uzuki Yugao had risen from her seated position.
Her beautiful eyes, the only part of her face not hidden by her mask, were filled with disbelief.
This kid actually managed to simplify a technique's hand seals.
He was only ten, and he had only learned to mold chakra a month ago. What a monster!
He could learn any Water and Earth Release Techniques after seeing them once, and execute them perfectly.
The Ninjutsu's power, duration, range, and everything else were all nearly perfect.
His chakra control must be almost on par with Third-sama's!
After that, Zhou Cheng and Haku trained through the night.
Haku could now remove two or three hand seals.
Zhou Cheng felt that was not enough, but Haku was already thoroughly satisfied.
"My talent is nowhere near yours, Brother. I'm already happy to have come this far."
"As long as I can help you in the future!"
Zhou Cheng's heart ached a little for Haku, who was always worrying about his own worth.
"Haku, you're one of a kind. No one can replace you, not even me. You need to live for yourself!"
Whenever Zhou Cheng told him that, Haku would smile and obediently nod.
But his eyes had long since given him away.
Helpless, Zhou Cheng could only give up on changing his mind right away.
It was the weekend, so there were no classes.
Zhou Cheng and Haku did not go home. They stayed there to wait for Rock Lee.
After an anxious wait, Rock Lee finally arrived with his bowl cut, thick eyebrows, and frog-green outfit.
"Zhou Cheng, Haku, what are you doing here?"
Rock Lee looked puzzled. Few people knew about this place, and even fewer came here.
"Rock Lee, you're here early. Why aren't you running with Teacher Guy today?"
Zhou Cheng dodged the question.
"Oh, Teacher said he'd train me in taijutsu today, so he told me to wait for him here."
"I see. I'm really interested in taijutsu too. I think it can be incredibly powerful."
"Could you let me watch from the side and learn a little?"
"You know, we're outsiders. No teacher is willing to teach us."
Zhou Cheng switched into full smooth-talker mode.
"Really? You like taijutsu too?"
"Yeah, yeah! I think taijutsu is really strong too!"
"Look at Neji. He's a taijutsu genius."
"He's the strongest in our year right now!"
The moment Rock Lee heard Zhou Cheng say he liked taijutsu too, he forgot all about wondering why they were here.
He began chatting excitedly with Zhou Cheng.
"Since you like taijutsu too, and we're classmates, you can watch and learn when Guy-sensei teaches me later!"
Zhou Cheng smiled. All he needed was to be within Replication range.
Then he sent Haku to buy some breakfast. He gave Rock Lee a portion and set another aside.
He and Haku finished their own portions.
Soon, the Blue Beast of the Hidden Leaf arrived, dressed almost exactly like Rock Lee.
"Guy-sensei!"
Rock Lee and Might Guy exchanged their own unique greeting.
"Yo, Lee! Youth means training! Let's get started!"
"Hmm? Who are these two?"
"I feel like I've seen them somewhere!"
Naturally, he did not know Zhou Cheng or Haku.
Although he had heard Zhou Cheng's name, he did not know what he looked like.
"They're my classmates, Zhou Cheng and Haku!"
Rock Lee introduced them with a smile.
"They said they're really interested in taijutsu and want to learn!"
Might Guy was a little surprised.
"You're Zhou Cheng!"
"How did you find out about this place?"
Zhou Cheng frowned slightly.
Sure enough, no one who became a jonin was simple.
None of them were that easy to fool.
"Guy-sensei, we've met while out on our morning runs!"
"I admire taijutsu and want to learn it."
"I asked around and heard that your taijutsu is the strongest in Konoha!"
"So I secretly followed Rock Lee here!"
"Please don't send us away!"