Refining talents takes time. I have to be extremely careful when choosing whose talents to copy. I should definitely start with people who might give me powerful talents.
If I copy Shikamaru Nara, will I get his intelligence or his clan's secret techniques?
Forget it. I'll stop thinking about that and spend this month getting on good terms with the Konoha 12 first.
Once I've copied Hiruzen Sarutobi's ninja knowledge, I'll know everything the Ninja Academy teaches, so there won't be much point in going to school anymore.
Then I'll use the classic method: my real body goes to school, and a shadow clone heads to a river to practice walking on water.
After a busy day, both he and Haku were rather tired.
So they both went to bed early.
Meanwhile.
At the Yamanaka Clan.
Ino Yamanaka, who had already blossomed into a graceful young girl, returned home from school.
Her mother had already prepared dinner.
When Ino Yamanaka stepped through the door, her father, Inoichi Yamanaka, was already sitting at the dining table.
The family of three ate dinner together.
"Ino, two transfer students will be joining your class tomorrow."
Ino Yamanaka continued eating, responding with nothing more than a hum.
Transfer students were perfectly normal, so she certainly wouldn't pay much attention to them.
"They're both geniuses, orphans from outside the village."
"Geniuses?"
Ino Yamanaka had food in her mouth and couldn't speak easily.
Her mother asked the question instead.
"Word has already spread through the village. Apparently, it took only one night to extract chakra for the first time."
"Pfft!"
Ino Yamanaka was so shocked that she couldn't help spitting out her food, spraying it all over the table.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
"Father, did I hear that right? Successfully extracting chakra for the first time took only one night?"
"You're joking, right? How could anyone like that exist?"
Inoichi Yamanaka helplessly picked the grains of rice off his face.
"When are you going to grow up?"
"Pretty much every major clan in the village has heard the news. It should be true!"
Then something else occurred to him, and he looked at his daughter teasingly.
"I hear they're both very handsome!"
Ino Yamanaka's eyes immediately lit up.
"Handsome boys!"
"How handsome?"
"Are they more handsome than Sasuke?"
Inoichi Yamanaka wore an expression that said he had expected exactly this.
"When are you going to put your mind to training?"
"I haven't seen them, so I don't know whether they're handsome. See for yourself tomorrow!"
"Also, someone with that kind of talent is bound to have limitless prospects. Get on good terms with him!"
Elsewhere.
At the Nara Clan.
Shikamaru Nara was playing a board game with his father, Shikaku Nara.
"Shikamaru, two transfer students will be joining your class tomorrow!"
"Really? What a drag!"
"Word has it they're both quite talented geniuses!"
Shikamaru Nara's expression remained unchanged, as though nothing could interest him.
"Geniuses? That'll be a drag!"
"Apparently, it took him only one night to successfully extract chakra for the first time."
Only then did Shikamaru Nara pause his move and glance at his father.
"One night?"
"Impossible!"
Shikaku Nara smiled. He rarely saw his son react like this.
"All the major clans are talking about it. It should be true!"
Shikamaru Nara returned to his usual indifference toward everything.
"Got it!"
At the Hyuga Clan.
Hinata stepped through the door.
Neji Hyuga followed behind her.
He had come because, after dinner, he still needed to spar with Hinata to help her train.
That also allowed him to eat with members of the Main Family.
Hyuga Hiashi always wore a stern expression, no matter when or where.
He was someone they all feared, including Neji.
He looked at the three children expressionlessly.
"Two geniuses will be transferring into your class tomorrow."
"Geniuses?"
Hinata was merely a little surprised and didn't think much else of it.
Neji's eyes, however, blazed with an intense fighting spirit.
He was a widely acknowledged genius.
Hyuga Hiashi had called him the most gifted genius in the Hyuga Clan's history.
Coupled with his hatred of the Main Family, that had made him highly aggressive.
Now that he had heard about two others being called geniuses, he naturally wanted to defeat them and prove himself worthy of that title.
"I'm the one everyone recognizes as a genius!"
Neji Hyuga's face was full of fighting spirit.
Hyuga Hiashi glanced at him.
"He extracted chakra in a single night!"
Neji Hyuga, Hinata Hyuga, and Hanabi Hyuga were all startled.
What did it mean to extract chakra in a single night?
That level of talent already qualified someone as an extraordinary genius.
They couldn't help being shocked.
"So what? The Byakugan combined with the Eight Trigrams Palm is invincible!"
Neji Hyuga wore a proud, defiant expression.
The Hyuga Clan's Main Family forbade the branch family from learning the Eight Trigrams Palm.
Neji Hyuga had essentially created his own Eight Trigrams Palm, which had also made him extremely proud.
Hyuga Hiashi continued.
"The Hyuga are the strongest in Konoha. Don't disgrace our clan's reputation."
The other two didn't react much to those words.
But Hinata lowered her head in deep guilt.
As the Main Family's eldest daughter, she was nevertheless the least talented.
That often left her feeling helpless and miserable.
News of the transfer students arriving the next day spread among Konoha's clans, and everyone was shocked by Zhou Cheng and Haku's talent.
Some clans even wanted to take them in as live-in sons-in-law.
Others dismissed them. They were only commoners and had no access to advanced ninjutsu, so what use was all that talent?
And so the news continued to brew among Konoha's clans throughout the night.
Early the next morning.
At first light, someone knocked on Zhou Cheng's door.
Accustomed to rising early, Zhou Cheng was already awake.
He quickly opened the door.
He saw a vigorous, robust old man standing outside.
The instant he recognized the man, Zhou Cheng's pupils contracted sharply.
His visitor was none other than the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Zhou Cheng was deeply shocked. He hadn't expected the Third to come in person.
What's this old bastard doing here?
Has he come to brainwash me because I'm talented?
To preach his so-called will of fire?
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Zhou Cheng with a kindly expression.
"You must be Zhou Cheng!"
Just then, Haku came over after hearing the noise.
When he saw the person standing at the door,
his body abruptly froze as well.
"Greetings, Third-sama!"
Zhou Cheng bowed to him respectfully.
However much he disliked the Third,
for now, he was little different from an ant in the man's eyes.
He wasn't in any position to act out.
"Hahaha, no need to call me lord. Call me Third Grandpa!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was trying to use the same approach on Zhou Cheng that he had used on Naruto.
Zhou Cheng silently grumbled.
Grandpa? Grandpa my ass!
You scheming old bastard, don't even think about brainwashing me.
In my eyes, you're a schemer through and through.
When White Fang got into trouble, you didn't say a single word in his defense.
That led to White Fang's suicide and nearly sent Kakashi down the wrong path.
When you discovered Orochimaru was defecting, you didn't do everything you could to stop him.
During the Nine-Tails' attack ten years ago, you didn't choose to give Minato your full support, either.
Throughout the Uchiha Clan's massacre, you chose to stay silent and let Danzo direct everything.
If Naruto hadn't been around, Uchiha Sasuke would have sided with Obito long ago.
And then there's how you handled Naruto's childhood. If he hadn't had plot armor, he would've fucking turned evil ages ago!
With someone like you, would I dare get close?