Soon, the Third Hokage appeared before the eagerly waiting crowd.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had not yet grown as old as he would be in later years.
Dressed in the Hokage's ceremonial robes, he looked immensely imposing.
Zhou Cheng could see awe and longing on the faces of countless children in the square.
But Zhou Cheng's attention was focused on nothing else.
His eyes were fixed on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
With so many children staring at him, Zhou Cheng was not worried about being noticed.
He silently commanded, Talent Replication.
The Purple Crystal Gourd appeared at his chest, and a dense golden aura rose above Hiruzen Sarutobi's head.
It was countless times denser than the Chunin's.
The golden aura was drawn into the Purple Crystal Gourd.
In an instant, he felt an enormous amount of information pour into his mind.
He quietly examined it, sorting through the information in his head.
This is top-tier chakra control talent!
Chakra control is an extremely important ability for a Shinobi.
The better your chakra control, the less you waste when using it, allowing you to keep more chakra in reserve than your enemy.
It not only improves how you use chakra throughout your body, but also speeds up learning ninjutsu and makes your ninjutsu stronger.
It also lets a Shinobi perform Chakra Nature Transformation with ease!
No wonder Hiruzen Sarutobi can use five different elemental techniques.
Now that I've used Replication on this ability, does that mean I can master all five nature transformations too?
But first, I need to find out how many elemental affinities this body was born with and focus on learning those.
Then I can use nature transformation to perform techniques of other elements.
Unfortunately, I only copied this one talent. The rest of the knowledge is all theory.
I didn't copy his thousand-plus ninjutsu, secret techniques, taijutsu, or genjutsu.
Otherwise, I'd really be set!
If only I'd memorized the hand seals for those ninjutsu in my previous life. Then I wouldn't have to learn them all over again.
Zhou Cheng quietly checked again.
He discovered that fully assimilating Hiruzen Sarutobi's talent would actually take a month.
That was countless times longer than the thirty minutes needed for the Chunin's.
While he was thinking, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already finished his speech.
Then he vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.
Immediately afterward, an ANBU member stepped up to where Hiruzen Sarutobi had been standing and shouted:
"Thank you for your efforts on the journey here. That's all for today!"
"Someone will come shortly to take you to your lodgings."
"Tomorrow, you'll return to this same location to be assessed one by one."
"After that, we'll decide your future paths."
"Whether you live an ordinary life as a civilian or become a great Shinobi will depend on your individual talents!"
With that, he and the other ANBU members vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
The square instantly erupted into chaos.
All the children were discussing tomorrow's talent assessment.
Some worried that they would fail and have to live as ordinary people.
Others were brimming with confidence, convinced they would have no trouble at all.
Zhou Cheng, however, was thinking to himself.
I have to extract chakra right away. Being able to do that before entering the Ninja Academy will earn me extra points!
Next, during tomorrow's assessment, I can combine chakra with shuriken throwing to make the standard target test even more challenging!
That should give me a decent score in tomorrow's talent assessment, making admission to the Ninja Academy a sure thing.
Once I'm in the Ninja Academy, will I ever have to worry about running out of talents to copy?
As he was thinking, five or six Chunin arrived and led them off in five different directions.
Konoha was probably splitting them into groups for easier management, so anyone who caused trouble could be quickly subdued.
On the way, he took Haku by the hand and asked:
"Your name is Haku, and you escaped from Kirigakure?"
He did not dare mention Yuki outright, afraid Haku might mistake him for a spy from Kirigakure.
"Yes. Both my parents were from Kirigakure. They died in the civil war."
Now Zhou Cheng could be certain that the person before him was Yuki Haku.
Should I use Replication on his Ice Release talent a month from now, then?
Wouldn't it be wrong to target one of my own?
But it's fine. Anyone whose talent is copied can't possibly notice it.
Besides, Talent Replication has no effect whatsoever on the person it's used on.
Then Zhou Cheng could barely keep the grin off his face.
He had never expected a piece of dry food to earn him a powerful, utterly loyal Shinobi.
And a powerful Shinobi with a kekkei genkai, at that.
Yuki Haku would be a formidable fighter to have on his side.
He would have to make sure he maintained a good relationship with him.
Soon, they were led to an open clearing.
More than a dozen crude thatched huts already stood there.
Zhou Cheng understood that this was probably their temporary lodging.
Once Konoha decided their future paths, they would be assigned to various places.
It was almost evening by then. After collecting the food and water distributed by Konoha, Zhou Cheng and Yuki Haku headed toward the nearest thatched hut.
The Thatched Hut had no windows at all, and the interior reeked of mildew.
Clearly, it had been used many times without anyone cleaning it.
On top of that, all the children were drenched in sweat from the journey.
The stench of sweat, feet, and mildew mingled together.
Zhou Cheng had some trouble adjusting to it at first.
Clever Haku quickly claimed two simple wooden beds near the doorway for them.
The doorway offered better ventilation, so naturally, the smell was much weaker there.
Zhou Cheng told Haku to get some rest early, while he leaned against the wall and pretended to doze.
In reality, he was secretly extracting chakra.
Once he began cultivating, he lost track of time and had no idea how long had passed.
A commotion snapped Zhou Cheng out of his concentration.
Then someone tugged at his body.
Zhou Cheng's eyes flew open.
He saw a burly child, nearly 1.6 or 1.7 meters tall, pulling at both Haku and him.
Haku had already been dragged off his bed.
"I want this spot. Both of you, get the hell to the back!"
Three or four other children stood behind him.
Clearly, they had arrived late, leaving only the beds farther inside.
Unable to stand the foul stench, they had decided to take Zhou Cheng's and Haku's beds.
At this point, Haku probably had not fully awakened his kekkei genkai yet.
Faced with a child twice his size, he could only stare.
He was at a loss and looked to Zhou Cheng for help.
Having his cultivation interrupted had already left Zhou Cheng furious.
Seeing Haku being bullied made his anger flare.
"Get the hell away!"
Zhou Cheng glared at the boy.
Zhou Cheng yanked the boy's hand off him and reached to pull Haku up.
But the boy actually backed away, dragging Haku with him.
Under his grip, Haku was dragged along the floor.
He shouted at Zhou Cheng:
"You dare stand up to me?"
"With those scrawny bodies, I could knock you both flat with one punch."
The smaller children behind him joined in the jeering:
"Our boss has killed people before. If you don't want a beating, be smart and give up the beds."
"Otherwise, you won't make it to tomorrow's assessment!"
"Because we'll break your legs!"
Zhou Cheng ignored them and walked forward.
After obtaining the Third Hokage's talent, his perception was on an entirely different level.
He could tell that none of these children had any chakra. They were just a bunch of kids who relied on their size and numbers to bully others.
During his brief cultivation session, Zhou Cheng had already extracted some chakra. Though it was not much, combined with his current strength, it was enough.
Dealing with these snot-nosed brats would be easy.
Seeing Zhou Cheng still daring to advance, one of the boy's lackeys cursed and walked toward him.
Once he reached Zhou Cheng, he raised his right hand to slap him.
The next second, he found himself moving farther and farther away from Zhou Cheng.
Then he slammed into his boss.
Only then did he realize that he had been sent flying.
Zhou Cheng clenched his fist and took another two steps forward.
"I said, let him go!"