The spectators began chattering again:
"Neji has activated his Byakugan. The outcome is decided!"
"No matter how fast his taijutsu is, the Byakugan's all-seeing vision will catch it!"
"Zhou Cheng is bound to lose!"
Kakashi glanced at Guy, fighting back a smile:
"Guy, it's been three minutes!"
Guy didn't answer. He, too, was staring intently at the arena.
Seeing the veins bulging at the corners of Neji's eyes, Zhou Cheng rapidly worked out a strategy:
He's activated his Byakugan, so my Clone Technique, Transformation Technique, and Hidden Mist Technique are useless now. Using them would accomplish nothing!
Sneak attacks won't work either. The Byakugan's 360-degree vision is no joke!
But the Byakugan can't tell Shadow Clones apart. I'll have to use them to break through.
With that thought, Zhou Cheng formed hand seals:
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Then two identical Zhou Chengs charged at Neji.
Their hands moved in perfect unison.
Through his Byakugan, Neji saw only two identical people. He couldn't tell which was the original!
Both Zhou Chengs threw several shuriken at Neji at the same time.
Naturally, Neji could see their trajectories clearly.
He dodged left and right, and not a single shuriken struck him.
Zhou Cheng's lips curled upward. You fell for it!
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Both Zhou Chengs formed hand seals as fast as they could. The two shuriken trailing behind suddenly multiplied into a mass of shuriken, blocking every route Neji could dodge through.
An uproar swept through the spectators. They had heard that Zhou Cheng knew the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
But they had assumed that creating one or two extra shuriken was already his limit.
Yet now Zhou Cheng had created more shuriken than they could count, giving them quite a shock.
Watching the dense barrage of shuriken fly toward him, Neji knew he had nowhere left to dodge, but he didn't panic.
"Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation!"
Chakra poured wildly out of every chakra point in his body.
Then his body began spinning rapidly.
An unbroken barrier of chakra formed around him, deflecting every last shuriken.
A mocking voice rang out among the spectators:
"Hahaha! Has Zhou Cheng lost his mind?"
"He actually thought shuriken could hurt Neji when he has the Byakugan?"
"Doesn't he know that Eight Trigrams Palm includes Rotation, a perfect defensive technique?"
The others nodded in agreement and began mocking Zhou Cheng as well.
Zhou Cheng turned a deaf ear to their jeers.
While Neji was using Rotation, the two Zhou Chengs took positions directly in front of and behind him.
If sneak attacks won't work, I won't bother. I'll blast you to death with ninjutsu!
Zhou Cheng had already decided to use ninjutsu to create an opening!
Before Rotation had even stopped, both Zhou Chengs began forming hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Zhou Cheng had already calculated the timing. Rotation would end just as he finished his hand seals.
Sure enough, by the time Neji stopped spinning, two massive water dragons were already hurtling toward him.
Neji could only use Rotation again to block the ninjutsu coming from both front and back.
As Zhou Cheng formed his hand seals, all the shinobi present, including the jonin, drew in sharp breaths.
His hands moved so fast they left afterimages, making their hearts skip a beat!
The chunin and genin in particular mentally compared their own hand seal speed to Zhou Cheng's.
The result horrified them. Zhou Cheng's hand seal speed left them in the dust.
The instant Zhou Cheng completed the hand seals for Water Dragon Bullet, Kakashi cried out:
"He left out four seals from the Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
"He can already simplify hand seals to cast ninjutsu!"
"And the Ninjutsu hasn't lost any power!"
As the Copy Ninja, Kakashi was intimately familiar with ninjutsu hand seals and keenly attuned to them.
He immediately noticed that Zhou Cheng's Water Dragon Bullet Technique used four fewer seals.
His exclamations drew the attention of everyone else present.
They cast disbelieving looks his way, and some openly challenged him.
"Kakashi, you must have seen it wrong!"
"His hand seals are fast, sure, but Simplified Hand Seals aren't just a matter of speed. Anyone can get faster with enough practice."
"Simplified Hand Seals are something even jonin struggle to do. How could a brat who isn't even a genin manage it?"
Aside from a select few, everyone had only heard that Zhou Cheng was a genius. They had no idea what exactly made him one.
Their understanding of Zhou Cheng was superficial. Naturally, they wouldn't believe that a child could accomplish something even a jonin might not be able to do.
Kakashi was certain he hadn't misread it. Otherwise, he wouldn't deserve to be called the Copy Ninja.
He looked toward Asuma Sarutobi, hoping for confirmation.
Asuma took a drag on his cigarette to clear his head:
"His hand seals were too fast. I didn't count exactly how many he used!"
"You might really have seen it wrong. Only Kage Level fighters can perform Simplified Hand Seals with ease, like the First and the Second Hokage. Even my old man has only just begun to manage it!"
While the two were talking, Guy suddenly sprang up beside them, giving everyone nearby a fright.
Kakashi fixed him with his dead-fish stare. Damn it, Guy, what lunacy are you up to now?
"What are you doing, Guy?"
Asuma also looked helplessly at Guy. That sudden outburst had nearly made him choke to death on his smoke.
"She was telling the truth! She was telling the truth!"
Kakashi and Asuma were utterly baffled.
Who was she?
And what had she said?
Could you stop freaking out over everything?
Guy then recounted what he had heard in the Hokage Office the previous night.
Kakashi and Asuma listened in stunned disbelief.
In unison, they turned to look at Zhou Cheng in the arena.
Not only could this kid simplify hand seals, but he had successfully eliminated four seals in a single night.
A prodigy. He was an absolute prodigy!
Meanwhile, Zhou Cheng's classmates were already staring in shock!
As far as they remembered, Zhou Cheng had been a little better than them, but only a little. The gap had been quite small.
But Zhou Cheng's performance today nearly made their jaws hit the ground.
He had unleashed two B-Rank Ninjutsu at once, while they were still struggling to master D-Rank ninjutsu.
And his hand seals were too fast for them to follow, while they still had to consult their ninjutsu scrolls for each individual seal.
Then there was the Simplified Hand Seals the jonin teachers were discussing, which they couldn't even understand.
Every single one of those things shook them to the core!
Naruto, Hinata, and Ino, along with the children of the great clans beside them, including Shikamaru and Choji, all stood frozen in a daze!
By comparison, they felt utterly useless!
Only Haku fared a little better, though his face, too, brimmed with excitement. Big Brother Zhou Cheng is the best!
In the arena, both of Zhou Cheng's Water Dragon Bullets had been blocked by Neji's Rotation, leaving the ground drenched in water.
Zhou Cheng didn't stop there. Instead, he began rapidly forming hand seals again. He needed more water on the field.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
This round of hand seals made those who had doubted his ability to perform Simplified Hand Seals shut their mouths.
There really were four fewer seals, and the power hadn't diminished at all.
How was this possible? A brat who wasn't even a genin!
He could actually perform Simplified Hand Seals!
Was he truly a genius among geniuses?
Their scalps tingled with shock!