Chapter 840

At this moment, hearing the term "bandage guy," his face instantly twisted strangely.

His teacher, the Second Tsuchikage.

This Second Hokage wasn't just revived—he'd become a young man; no one knew how his teacher would feel upon learning this.

But he probably wouldn't find out anyway, since their village had no ability to resurrect the dead.

"Kakashi, does Iwa have any grudges against our Konoha? Why do I feel there's so little?"

Under the travel method of stopping and starting, occasionally pausing for a big meal before moving on, they arrived at the gates of Iwa Village.

"That's enough."

Throughout this journey, Da Ye had clearly seen: this quiet little kid was cunning as hell.

Now that something had caught his eye, he grew deeply anxious.

To prevent the Second Hokage from fixating on anything else, he had no choice but to say grandly that it was nothing.

"That stone—I can't stand the sight of it—so, Hokage-sama, I'll take only that!"

After entering the village, Lin Cheng pointed a finger and fixed his gaze on Iwa Village's longstanding symbol of Shi Zhi: a massive stone.

Looking at that giant stone, Da Ye Mu felt conflicted.

The stone wasn't valuable or troublesome.

But the problem was, it represented the Shi Zhi Will of Iwa Village; if he gave it to this brat, the village's ninja would surely be devastated.

"Let's forget the bloodline technique—we don't want it, or it'll scare the Tsuchikage. I still think this stone's fine. But I'd like to take a closer look; if after seeing it I suddenly dislike it, I might just leave it alone."

Senju Tobirama, seeing Da Ye Mu about to refuse, spoke up beside him, directly urging Lin Cheng to change his target—and he proposed something even more unacceptable to Da Ye Mu.

This stone isn't just any ordinary rock—it's just like your Konoha's Hokage Rock.

Da Ye Mu instantly flew into the air, hovering midair as he glared at Senju Tobirama—he couldn't let him say another word, or the brat might truly fixate on it.

Dust Release was an ability he would never pass on to anyone; it was his teacher's painstakingly developed technique, which he had only mastered after multiple evolutions.

As for the stone.

The First Tsuchikage had once told him: it's just a stone; what matters isn't the stone itself, but the will within the hearts of Iwa's ninja.

If it's taken, he'd simply replace it with another.

"We'll pass on the bloodline technique. It'd frighten the Tsuchikage. I still think this stone's fine. But I'd like to take a closer look—if after seeing it I suddenly dislike it, I might just leave it alone."

Lin Cheng looked at Da Ye Mu, who hovered beside him, and signaled for him to lead everyone forward.

As for whether Iwa's ninja would be upset.

Lin Cheng glanced at his group—including the three Sunagakure siblings—and realized none of them felt it mattered.

After all, along this journey, Da Ye Mu had been so routinely bullied by Senju Tobirama that he dared not make a sound.

"This is it—this is our Iwa Village's…"

As Da Ye Mu led them to the stone's side and began explaining its importance, he hadn't even finished when he realized the stone was dissolving in the wind.

"I haven't even touched it."

Lin Cheng held his hands open—he had merely approached and drawn out the power clinging to it, without touching the stone.

But once the power of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo was extracted, the stone's special force vanished; since Hagoromo's power had long ago used the giant stone as a vessel, the vessel without a soul turned directly to dust when the wind passed over it.

"Tsuchikage-sama, I see many stones outside your village—why don't you go pick another one now?"

Kakashi, watching the giant stone scatter in the wind, felt compelled to remind the Tsuchikage for the sake of Iwa's dignity.

If they waited any longer, the giant stone would vanish completely.

"Damn brat."

With an angry glare, Da Ye Mu shot off outside the village and returned in an instant, shouldering a similarly sized giant stone.

He didn't wait for the old one to fully dissolve—the new giant stone was already placed down.

As the dust scattered, Iwa Village's iconic symbol was restored once more.

As for any difference between the two stones.

Here, Da Ye Mu wasn't even the first to replace this revered giant stone; without being told, his people had already devised and released an explanation.

Moreover, it had further strengthened Da Ye Mu's cohesion with his people, as everyone now said this was all because the Tsuchikage had done this for the village's sake.

In short, the outcome was excellent—except for Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Izuna, who had hoped for a spectacle and were left disappointed.

"Guests, our giant stone replacement ceremony is complete. Would you prefer to dine first or rest first?"

Akatsuchi, as the Tsuchikage's guard, appeared and respectfully invited them to leave.

Previously, inviting Konoha and Suna to witness the stone replacement could be justified—but if this stone had another problem, it would be impossible to explain to the villagers.