Kakashi stared at Zhou Cheng in astonishment. This boy really was like Obito-well, aside from his talent.
"Those words... you said them?"
Zhou Cheng laughed inwardly but kept a serious expression. Let's see you resist this.
"Yes, I've thought that way for a long time!"
Kakashi's eyes widened a little more at his words. Could such a coincidence really exist?
The ninja way of someone he had lost over a decade ago had appeared in a child more than a decade later.
Could Obito want me to take him as my disciple, too?
Kakashi fell silent for a while. Perhaps it really was fate.
"I can take you as my disciple, but I have a condition!"
"You have to pass my test!"
Zhou Cheng's eyes lit up. Whatever the test is, I'll take it!
"Then what is the test?"
Kakashi rose from his cushion and headed outside.
Zhou Cheng hurried after him, brimming with curiosity.
Once they reached the yard, Kakashi glanced sideways at Zhou Cheng. I hope he can keep up.
"Follow me!"
The moment he finished speaking, he leaped onto the roof, then jumped toward another rooftop.
Zhou Cheng was startled. Could you not make it so sudden? Looks like he wants to test my speed and jumping ability.
Zhou Cheng jumped onto the roof as well and followed Kakashi.
It was daytime, and Kakashi was something of a celebrity in Konoha.
So no one came out to stop the two of them from jumping from roof to roof.
Before long, they reached their destination.
After landing, Zhou Cheng recognized the place. It was Rock Lee and Guy's secret training ground.
Zhou Cheng glanced at Kakashi. Guy must have told him about this place. Did he bring me here to test my strength?
Jingle, jingle, jingle!
Kakashi held a cord between two fingers, with a bell hanging from it. This method was originally meant to test students, but a disciple was a student, too.
"Snatch this bell within thirty minutes, and I'll agree to take you as my disciple!"
Zhou Cheng looked excited on the outside, but inwardly he was rolling his eyes.
Wasn't this method meant to train teamwork among the three shinobi in a squad?
Zhou Cheng was alone. How am I supposed to get the bell?
But since Kakashi had already set the challenge, Zhou Cheng could only grit his teeth and try.
Zhou Cheng formed hand seals and used the Shadow Clone Technique, giving himself a helper.
Both Zhou Chengs threw shuriken at the same time, then rapidly formed more hand seals.
Both Zhou Chengs used the Clone Technique, and now there were four Zhou Chengs on the field.
Although the Clone Technique could only confuse the enemy, it wasn't entirely useless in this situation.
As long as Zhou Cheng could touch the bell, he would win.
The four Zhou Chengs charged at Kakashi together behind the flying shuriken, hoping to take advantage of the confusion.
Kakashi's mask hid his expression, but Zhou Cheng could see no emotion in his eyes.
Zhou Cheng narrowed his eyes as he ran. As expected of an elite jonin. He can stay this calm in a fight!
Kakashi dodged left and right, avoiding every shuriken.
Then he jumped and swept his leg across, catching all four Zhou Chengs within range.
All four Zhou Chengs immediately crouched, ducking beneath Kakashi's sweeping kick.
As he crouched, Zhou Cheng formed hand seals again.
"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"
Zhou Cheng wanted to obstruct Kakashi's vision. Kakashi would never use his Sharingan just to deal with a child like him.
Then Zhou Cheng spread out his sensing ability.
He detected Kakashi's position at once.
He sent his shadow clone around the other side.
He approached from the front with his illusory clones.
Kakashi stood quietly in the thick mist, unable to see more than a meter around him.
At last, a trace of emotion appeared in his eyes. To produce mist this dense, the boy's chakra control had to be quite good.
He began taking things a little more seriously. He had no intention of letting a child turn the tables on him.
Hearing Zhou Cheng's footsteps, Kakashi immediately grew alert and used the sound to determine his position.
Jingle!
Three Zhou Chengs suddenly appeared in front of Kakashi, all reaching for the bell in his hand with the same motion.
To evade their sudden appearance, Kakashi jerked backward, making the bell ring for the first time since the test began.
As he retreated, he ran straight into Zhou Cheng's shadow clone.
Kakashi was startled. When did he get there?
A smile appeared in the shadow clone's eyes as he reached for the bell. Got it!
The shadow clone's hand touched the bell, and his expression turned ecstatic. I touched it! I won!
But the next second, Kakashi vanished in a puff of white smoke. He was only a shadow clone.
Zhou Cheng froze on the spot. When did he use the Shadow Clone Technique?
Bam!
Kakashi appeared behind Zhou Cheng's shadow clone and dispersed him with a kick, making him vanish in white smoke.
Realizing that he had kicked a shadow clone, Kakashi visibly paused as well.
Zhou Cheng used his real body to attack head-on and made his shadow clone the main force for snatching the bell. Clever!
Kakashi lost sight of Zhou Cheng again, then returned to standing quietly.
He was waiting for Zhou Cheng to appear again.
Elsewhere, Zhou Cheng felt the pain in his back relayed by his shadow clone, and a sense of helplessness rose inside him.
He still knew too few kinds of ninjutsu. Against a shinobi whose strength far surpassed his own, he could only end up completely on the defensive.
If he had learned a wider variety of ninjutsu by now, he would have had far more options.
Now I can only catch him by surprise!
He formed hand seals and created another shadow clone.
Once again, they crept toward Kakashi on tiptoe, one behind the other.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Before Zhou Cheng could reach Kakashi, a fierce gust blew toward him. Kakashi had used wind release ninjutsu.
The wind blasted an area clear of the white mist, leaving Zhou Cheng standing in the open.
"Found you, kid!"
Kakashi's voice was teasing, but he did not attack. Today's test was for Zhou Cheng to snatch the bell, so he would not take the offensive.
Even the wind release ninjutsu he had just used did little damage.
Now that he had been discovered, Zhou Cheng stopped crouching and creeping around and stood straight.
He stopped maintaining the Hidden Mist Technique, and the thick mist gradually thinned.
After several exchanges, Zhou Cheng knew that the Hidden Mist Technique posed very little threat to Kakashi.
He decided to stake everything on a direct taijutsu attack against Kakashi.
Even brushing against the bell would count as his victory.
Zhou Cheng and his shadow clone threw several more shuriken, then immediately formed hand seals, pouring as much chakra as possible into their ninjutsu.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Countless shuriken suddenly appeared and flew toward Kakashi.
These shuriken were all solid.
Unlike the Clone Technique, they were not mere illusions.
With his astonishing powers of observation, Kakashi dodged one shuriken after another. The bell in his hand swung wildly, ringing melodiously.
Just then, Zhou Cheng threw two more shuriken. The first struck a shuriken near the bell, changing its direction.
Then the second struck that same redirected shuriken, sharply increasing its speed.
Whoosh!
The shuriken shot past, slicing through the cord that held the bell.
Kakashi's eyes instantly widened!