Zhou Cheng glanced at the target a dozen or so meters away.
Once he had confirmed his target.
He picked up three shuriken from the table.
With successive flicks of his wrist, the three shuriken flew out one after another.
Three whistles cut through the air, followed immediately by the sound of three shuriken embedding themselves in wood.
The genin keeping score in the distance glanced at the target beside him.
His eyes instantly widened.
All three shuriken had hit the bullseye.
He turned to look at Zhou Cheng in astonishment.
Raising his hand, he shouted:
"All three shuriken hit the bullseye!"
"The highest score so far!"
Whoa!
The crowd erupted.
For someone who was already a Shinobi, hitting a stationary target with a shuriken was no great feat.
But the boy before them was no Shinobi.
Yet his shuriken-throwing technique.
Was like that of a veteran Shinobi who had spent years mastering ninja tools.
Of all the children before him, very few had even managed to hit the target, let alone the bullseye.
So far, he was the only one to land all three in the bullseye.
"All three hit the bullseye? This kid must be a genin in disguise!"
"I say we investigate him. He must be a Shinobi from another village who sneaked in under a disguise!"
"I'd be happy if I could land just one on the target, never mind the bullseye."
"But he actually hit the bullseye with all three shuriken!"
"Is he even human? His strength is terrifying, and he's faster than us too. How are we supposed to compete?"
"Tch, he just got lucky. Unless you're a Shinobi, even getting a shuriken onto the target makes you a genius."
"Three throws, three bullseyes in a row? If that wasn't luck, I'll take his surname!"
While everyone was busy talking.
Zhou Cheng did not stop there.
He picked up another three shuriken.
With a flick of his wrist, one shuriken flew out.
But everyone could see that it was not heading toward the target.
The person who had mocked him just moments earlier burst into laughter.
"Look, he missed! I told you he just got lucky."
"If you're not a Shinobi and haven't trained for years, how could you possibly hit the bullseye that easily?"
"Now that you mention it, I think he just got lucky too!"
"No one can be that perfect. His strength and speed are already frightening, and now he's that good with ninja tools too? It's hard to believe."
"I thought he was so amazing, but it was just luck. Look at the shuriken he just threw. It's at least a meter off the bullseye."
Everyone turned toward Zhou Cheng, expecting to see shame and anger on his face.
But all they saw was Zhou Cheng's calm expression.
His wrist flicked again, sending another shuriken flying.
In an instant, the crowd grew restless again.
"Look, look! This one's veering off to the right!"
"So the first time really was just luck!"
"That's more like it. Otherwise, the gap between him and us would be so huge I'd feel ashamed to stand here!"
"Now I feel better. Turns out he's about as good as I am!"
Only Yuki Haku, standing behind Zhou Cheng, watched calmly, his eyes filled with trust.
He knew his big brother Zhou Cheng could do it.
Under gazes filled with either mockery or relief.
Zhou Cheng flicked his wrist a third time.
The final shuriken shot forward at incredible speed, chasing straight after the first.
With a sharp clang, the third shuriken struck the first, changing its direction.
The third shuriken also changed course, heading after the second.
Another sharp clang rang out, and both the second and third shuriken changed direction.
Then three sounds of shuriken biting into wood rang out simultaneously.
All three shuriken hit the bullseyes of different targets at the same time.
Silence. A deathly silence fell over the scene.
Even the genin keeping score froze in shock when he saw where the three shuriken had landed.
This level of shuriken technique probably surpassed even a chunin's.
This child was truly a prodigy.
Then the crowd erupted into cries of amazement that went on and on, punctuated by gasps from every direction.
"Gasp!"
"You've got to be kidding. How is that possible?"
"He changed their attack paths by making the shuriken collide, and still hit the bullseyes cleanly. That technique, that judgment, that control over his strength..."
"Can you really say he isn't a genin? He must be a genin from another village who sneaked in under a disguise."
Yuki Haku clenched his fist and held it before his chest in a small gesture of celebration.
His big brother Zhou Cheng was surely the strongest.
Outside the testing area, the Purple-Haired ANBU's eyes widened beneath her mask, her gaze filled with disbelief.
She could also change a shuriken's direction through collisions, but not with such precision or such effortless ease.
"This child really is exceptionally gifted, just as Third-sama said."
"Once he's studied at the Ninja Academy for two years and become a genin, we have to bring him into the ANBU for training!"
Inside the Hokage Office.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned over the Crystal Ball.
His aged eyes went perfectly round.
Even he was a little shocked.
This child kept giving him more and more surprises.
"If his background is clean, I'd even like to take him as my student!"
Meanwhile, after receiving a report from a Root Shinobi, Danzo could no longer sit still. Using the Body Flicker Technique repeatedly, he arrived on a rooftop outside the Square.
If a child with such talent were indoctrinated and trained from an early age.
He would undoubtedly become the sharpest blade in Danzo's hand, perhaps even the blade that helped him claim the Hokage position.
Meanwhile, in the Square.
Quite a few Shinobi had already been drawn over by the waves of commotion.
They all leaped onto the rooftops, watching what was happening in the Square with curiosity.
But by the time they reached the rooftops, Zhou Cheng's shuriken had already landed on the targets.
They had missed the process and were merely impressed by the child's accuracy with shuriken, nothing more.
The genin keeping score was about to call the next person forward for the test.
But then he saw Zhou Cheng pick up another shuriken from the table.
Everyone was puzzled. His score was unquestionably the highest.
There was no need to throw any more.
Yet this time, he had picked up only one shuriken.
What was he planning now?
Did he have another trick up his sleeve?
Zhou Cheng held the shuriken in his hand.
He circulated the chakra within his body, diverting some of it to coat the shuriken.
Then he threw it.
Immediately afterward, he formed a hand seal.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang!
Two successive bangs rang out, and two identical shuriken suddenly appeared beside the one Zhou Cheng had thrown.
The three shuriken struck three bullseyes simultaneously, even splitting the targets down the middle.
The Shadow Clone Technique was the only technique whose hand seals Zhou Cheng remembered.
The Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique used the same hand seals as the Shadow Clone Technique.
That was why he had thought to use it as his grand finale.
Whoa!
Deafening cries of astonishment erupted from the crowd.
"Gasp!"
"What just happened? Did he use ninjutsu?"
"How is that possible? How does he know ninjutsu?"
"Isn't he just a kid like us?"
"I protest! This isn't fair! He must already be a genin."
Even the jonin on the rooftops froze on the spot.
It was one thing for a boy barely in his teens, who was not even a genin, to have superb shuriken-throwing skills.
But he could actually use the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique as well.
That was A-rank ninjutsu.
Even a chunin who studied it was not guaranteed to be able to perform it.
Was he already a Shinobi?
Or was he exceptionally gifted?
The Purple-Haired ANBU, who knew the inside story, was trembling with excitement as she murmured to herself.
"With talent like that, he was born to be a Shinobi!"
The jonin all had keen senses and caught what she had said.
They could not help gathering around her.
"You know this child?"
Only then did she recover from her shock.
"This child arrived in Konoha yesterday. Yesterday, he was still an ordinary boy."
"But in a single night, he managed to mold chakra and successfully perform B-rank ninjutsu, the Shadow Clone Technique."
"And now he can even perform A-rank ninjutsu!"
"Gasp!"
The only response she received was a collective gasp from the jonin.