"This child's talent is incredible. How long did it take any of us to extract chakra at his age?"
"Kakashi, even a genius like you couldn't have extracted chakra in a single night, could you?"
Off to one side, Kakashi nodded. He had a head of white hair, and his forehead protector covered his left eye, leaving only one dead-fish eye exposed.
The Jonin who had just spoken wore a full beard and had a cigarette between his lips. He continued:
"It's just a shame that ten is a little old!"
"If he'd been trained from an early age, he might have broken the record for Konoha's youngest Jonin."
"Honestly, I'd like to take him on as my student!"
A Jonin with a senbon between his lips chimed in:
"Asuma, who wouldn't want a child like that as a student?"
"But we still don't know how many chakra natures he has."
"Or whether they're compatible with our Chakra natures."
"If they're not, teaching him would only waste his talent!"
The Purple-Haired ANBU stepped forward and said:
"Third-sama ordered me to watch him. Third-sama thinks very highly of him!"
At those words, everyone fell silent.
The fact that Lord Hokage had personally assigned someone to him was enough to show how much he valued the boy. The Jonin gave up any thoughts of taking him as their student.
Then they said their goodbyes and vanished from the rooftop.
Jonin were hardly idle people. They all had missions to carry out.
Only the Purple-Haired ANBU remained on the rooftop.
And Shimura Danzō stood on another rooftop nearby.
Greed shone in Danzo's eyes-greed for a child of unparalleled talent.
"This child's talent surpasses even the most gifted Shinobi in Root."
"A child like this must join my Root, and nowhere else!"
Then he used the Body Flicker Technique, vanishing from the rooftop in an instant.
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was staring absently at the Crystal Ball in his hands.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed. A figure had appeared in his office.
"Danzo, you actually used the Body Flicker Technique to enter my office. Is something urgent?"
He naturally understood why Danzo had come. It had to be about that child.
If he could observe the boy through the Crystal Ball, Danzo could learn about him through Root's Shinobi as well.
"Hiruzen!"
"A child like that is best suited to my Root!"
"Leave that child to me to train!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him, his eyes betraying nothing of his thoughts.
When he received no answer, Danzo continued:
"He's an outsider, after all. His background and identity are unknown. If he turns out to be a spy someday, he won't be able to cause much trouble from within Root."
"So leave that child to me!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer immediately. Instead, he lit his pipe and took several puffs.
Smoke billowed around him, obscuring his face.
"Danzo, let's observe him a little longer."
"I've already sent people to investigate his background."
"We'll discuss everything once the results are in!"
Danzo grew angry. "Hiruzen, you'll regret the decision you made today!"
With that, he angrily opened the door and walked out.
Then he slammed the door behind him with a loud bang.
Only after Danzo was far away did Hiruzen Sarutobi murmur to himself.
"Danzo, he's going to become part of my direct line as Hokage. How could I possibly hand him over to you?"
"That child would be as good as ruined if he joined your Root. He'd only be trained into a machine that knew nothing but killing."
"He'd have to stay in the shadows forever. That would be rather unfair to him!"
"I need someone to carry on the Will of Fire."
"Minato is dead, Orochimaru has defected, Tsunade has developed a fear of blood, and Jiraiya doesn't like being tied down."
"There are currently no Jonin in the village capable of contending for the position of Hokage. And I'm getting old. I must train an outstanding successor right away."
"The next Hokage must also come from my direct line!"
Alone, he quietly smoked his pipe.
Only when smoke had filled the entire office.
Did he call out.
"Who's outside?"
The moment he finished speaking, an ANBU wearing a fox mask appeared before his desk.
The ANBU knelt on one knee and asked respectfully.
"Third-sama, what are your orders?"
"Go tell the Ninja Academy to place that child, Zhou Cheng, in the same class as the clan children!"
"Yes!"
The ANBU gave a brief, decisive answer, then left using the Body Flicker Technique.
Meanwhile, the children's evaluations continued in the Square.
After Zhou Cheng, Haku also hit the bull's-eye with a shuriken, though he used an ordinary method.
With Zhou Cheng's monstrous performance preceding his, he received only scattered applause.
But that was what he wanted. He had no desire to stand out. He only hoped to follow his big brother Zhou Cheng. That was what gave his existence meaning.
Before the assessment had ended, an attendant came to find Zhou Cheng.
He told him that he and Haku had qualified to enter the Ninja Academy.
They no longer needed to return to the temporary Thatched Hut.
Konoha would assign them a house of their own.
Then the attendant led them to a two-story house and told them that this would be their home from now on.
Zhou Cheng naturally had no objections. Having a room of his own was better than sleeping in a communal bed.
As for Haku, Zhou Cheng had long since considered him one of his own.
After saying goodbye to the genin, Zhou Cheng led Haku into the house.
It was a very ordinary house, with two rooms and a bathroom.
But Zhou Cheng knew that Konoha must already have this house under surveillance.
He would have to be a little more careful about everything he said and did.
As for Haku, he wasn't worried.
Haku was quiet by nature, and he trusted no one. He certainly wouldn't say anything he shouldn't.
Still, to be safe, Zhou Cheng would have to find an opportunity to explain things to him.
After looking around the house, the two of them made two simple bowls of ramen and called that dinner.
Then they took turns having a proper bath.
They washed away the grime of the past few years, formally bidding farewell to their days of wandering.
Then they changed into the new clothes Konoha had prepared for them.
Haku already had a feminine face despite being a boy, and the clothes made him look gentle and elegant.
Meanwhile, Zhou Cheng looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and thought.
Damn, is this body really this handsome?
These looks are every bit as good as Minato's, Itachi's, or Uchiha Sasuke's.
Won't Sakura and Ino go crazy when I head to the Ninja Academy tomorrow?
And my future wife Hinata already has her heart set on Naruto, so she probably won't be interested in me.
Konoha gave us a house so quickly. That means my big finale ninjutsu today really shook them.
They must already be treating me as a genius. I wonder which class they'll assign me to when I go to the Ninja Academy tomorrow.
Ideally, it'll be the Konoha 12's class. Only then will I be able to get close to them and use Talent Replication again in a month.
I wonder what I'd get if I used Replication on Naruto's talent.
Would Replication give me a Nine-Tails?