"So..."
Guy was still hesitating.
No one would teach someone who wasn't their own student.
"Youth has no regrets."
Seeing that Guy still couldn't decide, Zhou Cheng could only bring out his trump card.
"Whether you teach us or not, Guy-sensei, we won't regret coming here today."
"Oh! So this is your youth, young man!"
Guy immediately grew fired up and melodramatic, his wariness toward Zhou Cheng and Haku fading considerably.
"You two can stay!"
"I'll coach Rock Lee first. Watch from the sidelines, and then I'll teach you from the beginning!"
He had taken Zhou Cheng and Haku for complete Taijutsu novices.
The moment Guy turned and walked toward Rock Lee, Zhou Cheng acted.
Talent Replication, target: Might Guy!
Buzz!
Zhou Cheng briefly felt dazed, and then a warm current flowed through his entire body.
An enormous amount of Taijutsu knowledge flooded his mind.
This is...
Zhou Cheng closed his eyes and carefully examined the new knowledge.
These are the technical fundamentals of Konoha Whirlwind.
These are the technical fundamentals of Leaf Great Whirlwind!
These are the technical fundamentals of Violent Leaf Adamantine Whirlwind.
Uncontainable excitement shone in Zhou Cheng's eyes.
He felt that his understanding and insight into Taijutsu had been raised straight to Guy's level.
But what delighted him most was the most crucial piece of knowledge in his mind.
The Perfect Eight Gates Released Formation!
Opening the Gate of Death still causes severe bodily damage, but it won't threaten my life.
However, compared to Guy's version, it's harder to train in and more powerful!
If Guy learned the perfect version, he really could kick the whole story straight to its ending!
Zhou Cheng glanced at Might Guy, who was teaching Rock Lee, then continued sorting through his new knowledge.
The damage the Eight Gates Released Formation does to the body is permanent. To eliminate it, I either need to make my body so tough that even the Eight Gates of Life can't damage it...
Or master Yin-Yang Release.
While opening the Eight Gates of Life, I can circulate Yang Release through my body. Any damage sustained one moment will be repaired the next.
Yin-Yang Release is a technique that creates all things from nothing and grants them life.
But mastering yin and yang nature transformations isn't easy. I'll have to take it slowly!
The most pressing thing right now is to familiarize myself with Taijutsu.
Hmm, fully assimilating Guy's talent will take twenty days!
Then he began familiarizing himself with Taijutsu.
He worked to turn the theoretical knowledge and practical experience he had gained through Replication into something of his own.
Only what suited him was truly best.
Then he noticed that his surroundings had fallen silent.
It was as though he were the only person there.
Puzzled, Zhou Cheng turned his head.
He found Guy and Rock Lee staring at him as if he were a monster.
Haku, meanwhile, wore an expression that said he was already used to it.
"Zhou Cheng, are you sure you've never learned Taijutsu?"
"Those movements just now-the power, the angles, even the speed-were flawless."
"Some Jonin can't even manage that."
"It's hard to believe you've never learned Taijutsu."
Guy fired off several questions in succession, and the way he looked at Zhou Cheng changed.
His gaze was even more eager than when he looked at Rock Lee.
If Zhou Cheng had a talent for Taijutsu, he had to take him as his student, no matter what.
Was there anything more thrilling than raising a Taijutsu powerhouse?
In the future, he could have Rock Lee on his left and Zhou Cheng on his right, both Taijutsu masters.
Just imagining it excited Guy.
"Guy-sensei, I really have never trained in Taijutsu."
"Unless you count the punches and kicks they teach at school!"
Hearing Zhou Cheng's answer, Might Guy flushed with excitement.
"Would you like to become my student?"
Zhou Cheng was dumbfounded!
Might Guy wants to take me as his student?
What the hell is going on?
If I become your student, the only thing I can learn is Taijutsu.
My current grasp of Taijutsu is already every bit as good as Guy's.
Of course, that doesn't mean I'm as strong as Guy.
Besides, Guy is a civilian-born shinobi with practically no backing.
If I ever run into a political problem, all Guy could probably offer me is encouragement.
No, no. I can't become Guy's student!
After thinking it over, Zhou Cheng put on a troubled expression.
"Sorry, Guy-sensei. Someone else has already beaten you to it."
Guy looked bitterly disappointed.
"Who?"
Zhou Cheng pretended to hesitate.
"Third-sama!"
"What? The Third Hokage wants to take you as his student?"
Guy and Rock Lee were shocked once again.
Even Uzuki Yugao, who was watching from a distance, was stunned.
"I didn't realize you'd already become the Third Hokage's student."
Guy looked rather forlorn. How could he not regret missing out on a genius like this?
"No, I haven't agreed to Third-sama's offer!"
"Wh-what?"
Guy and Rock Lee looked as though they had heard something earth-shattering. Their eyes went wide, and their mouths opened so far their jaws nearly hit the ground.
The Hokage wanted to take him as his student, and he had refused?
Had his head been caught in a door?
That was the Hokage-the leader of a village, one of the handful of people standing at the very pinnacle of the Shinobi World.
Even Haku was looking at Zhou Cheng curiously now.
He couldn't understand why his big brother Zhou Cheng would turn down such a wonderful opportunity.
By becoming the Hokage's student, he could shed his outsider status and rise to the top in a single bound.
Just look at Third-sama's three students.
They were all renowned figures in the Shinobi World.
Meanwhile, Uzuki Yugao no longer knew what to say.
There had to be something wrong with this brat's mind.
Otherwise, he couldn't possibly have rejected Lord Hokage.
That was the Third Hokage, the man known as the Professor of Shinobi.
Never mind what his future standing would be.
The Ninjutsu alone that he could learn numbered in the thousands.
Then becoming a Jonin, or even an elite Jonin, wouldn't be out of the question.
Jonin held a very high standing within a shinobi village.
Even across the Shinobi World, they belonged to the top tier.
None of the Five Great Shinobi Villages had many Jonin.
Yet this brat Zhou Cheng had actually given up such an opportunity.
She really wanted to crack his head open and see just what he was thinking!
Zhou Cheng offered no answer. He couldn't exactly say that the Third Hokage was a scheming old bastard.
The moment those words left his mouth, he would be killed.
Through his sensing, he knew that Uzuki Yugao wasn't the only ANBU nearby.
Then Zhou Cheng excused himself on the grounds that he had something else to do and left with Haku.
The longer he stayed, the more excuses he would have to make up.
He was better off finding a reason to leave early.
That way, the ANBU wouldn't notice anything amiss.
Soon, Zhou Cheng returned home with Haku.
He could let loose a little more in his own courtyard.
He planned to continue deepening his assimilation of Taijutsu there.
With Guy's Taijutsu knowledge, Zhou Cheng felt completely confident about fighting Neji tomorrow.
First, Neji definitely isn't my equal in Ninjutsu.
I'm confident I can blast him to death with Ninjutsu.
As long as I thoroughly integrate Guy's entire Ninjutsu system tonight and make it my own...
Then I won't be at a disadvantage in Taijutsu!
The biggest problem is Neji's Byakugan.
I'll need to watch out for his Pressure Point Strike when exchanging Taijutsu blows with him.
Tonight, I also need to familiarize myself with how to open the gates of the Eight Gates of Life.