The days that followed alternated between the smell of disinfectant and the aroma of rice balls. Aunt Harui brought Feiliu over almost every day, each time with two steaming hot rice balls wrapped in a clean cloth. Sometimes they were simply salty, sometimes they'd be extravagant with a small piece of dried salted fish or pickled plums.
Fei Liu always watched Chi Chen finish his meal with eager eyes, and then vividly described the "big things" that had just happened in the village - whose ninja dog gave birth to puppies, which Genin half buried himself while practicing earth escape, or how he secretly ran to the back mountain to practice swinging his small kunai and almost hit a passing patrolling ninja.
"Chen, get well soon!" Fei Liu lay on the edge of the bed, his chin resting on his arm, his amber eyes sparkling.
"When you get better, let's go to the back mountain together! I know a new place where the stones glow! You will definitely like it." He lowered his voice with a little excitement.
Chi Chen chewed the rice ball slowly, feeling the sweetness of the rice grains melting in his mouth.
He looked at Fei Liu's face, then looked down at the tiny, almost invisible pinhole on the back of his hand. The reality of this world had never been so strong.
The vague memories of his previous life seemed no longer important, and the noisy red-haired kid in front of him, Aunt Chunjing's gentle but tired eyes, and the earthy wind outside the window belonging to the Hidden Rock Village were the soil where he took root.
He needed strength, not for any vague ambition, but just to protect this hard-earned bond that grew tenaciously in the cracks of the rocks.
"Well, let's go together." Chi Chen swallowed the last bite of rice ball. His voice was not loud, but very clear.
A few days later, the medical team confirmed that the violent energy in his body had completely subsided and he was no longer in any danger.
Chi Chen was finally allowed to leave the hospital. Fei Liu was as happy as if it were a holiday, chattering all the way home with him.
Because she was worried that Chi Chen had not fully recovered, Aunt Chunjing took Chi Chen to her home for easy care.
During the last few days of recuperation, Chi Chen was not idle. He tried to sense the power in his body. Unlike the dying outburst by the valley that day, the power at this moment was like a mineral vein buried deep underground, quiet, heavy, and carrying a pulsation like the earth.
When he gently pressed his palm on the ground, he could "hear" sounds from farther away - the sound of water as Aunt Harui next door was washing clothes, the sound of wind breaking as Feiliu was practicing swinging in the yard, and even further away, the dull roar of earth escape coming from the training ground deep in the Iwagakure Village.
He could feel the textures within the rocks, as if they were living veins. He even tried, with a faint trace of his will, to "soothe" the imperceptible stress points within a small stone on the windowsill.
The stone remained unchanged, but he could sense a fleeting, ever-so-slight "obedience" beneath his fingertips. This wasn't destruction, but understanding and communication. Dust Release... perhaps it wasn't just about disintegration? Chi Chen murmured.
On the morning when his body fully recovered, Chi Chen changed into clean clothes that were washed until they were white, and carefully tied the wooden amulet around his wrist.
He did not disturb the still sleeping Fei Liu, closed the door gently, said goodbye to Aunt Harui, and walked towards the tallest rock building in the center of the village - the Tsuchikage Building.
The guard at the entrance of the building had obviously received instructions. When he saw Chi Chen approaching, he did not stop him and instead pointed the way to Chi Chen.
Entering the building, Chi Chen followed the instructions of the guardian ninja and walked to the third underground floor. Huge rock columns supported the towering dome.
He was then led by a taciturn Iwagakure ninja to a heavy stone door with an intricate Iwagakure crest carved on it.
The ninja who led the way knocked on the door, and a steady and familiar voice came from inside: "Come in."
Chi Chen pushed open the door.
This is not the Tsuchikage office as imagined, but more like a huge training ground.
The dome was extremely high, and the surrounding walls were made of unpolished, pristine rock. They were covered with marks of varying depths and shapes—sharp cuts like knives and axes, spider-web-like cracks left by huge impacts, and some extremely smooth, mirror-like, strange depressions, and...
In the center of the venue, a short but steady figure like a mountain was suspended in the air—Two Heavenly Scales Ohnoki.
At this moment, Ohnoki was wearing a dark grey suit that wrapped around his sturdy body.
He clasped his hands together, palms facing each other. A tiny white cube halo emitting soul-trembling fluctuations slowly rotated, collapsed, and reorganized within it. Every subtle change tore the surrounding air apart.
Dust Release: Original Realm Separation Technique!
Chi Chen's pupils suddenly shrank. The halo contained a power that was enough to reduce everything to nothingness.
He could feel Ohnoki's almost inhuman control, his absolute mastery of Dust Release.
Ohnoki didn't look back, completely focused on the dangerous and extremely beautiful being in his palm.
Only when the white cube stabilized like the purest crystal did he slowly close his hands. The halo dissipated silently, but the lingering, soul-decomposing aftertaste in the air still caused Chi Chen to feel a tingling sensation.
He turned around and fell back to the ground, his gaze fixed on Chi Chen at the door.
That sharp gaze still seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, but at this moment, there was a nearly scorching light burning in it that Chi Chen had never seen before. It was not an examination, but a confirmation, it was the excitement of discovering a rare uncut gem, and it was a strong desire that had been silent for too long and finally saw hope!
"It seems like you've recovered well." Ohnoki's voice echoed in the empty and silent training ground.
Chi Chen walked to the center of the venue and looked up at the pillar of Yanyin.
The suspended body drifted forward, shortening the distance between the two people. The invisible pressure carried an urgent sense of guidance.
"Little guy, it's Chichen, right?" Ohnoki spoke in a deep and powerful voice.
"The power you unleashed just now is the key. It is the key to unlocking the bloodline elimination of 'Dust Release'." He paused, his eyes sweeping across the heart-wrenching traces of destruction on the rock wall, and his tone suddenly became heavy as lead.
"This road has been in my hands. It has been stagnant in the village for far too long. So long that I thought I would die on the battlefield one day and the Land of Earth would completely disappear from the world."
He looked at Chi Chen again, his scorching gaze mingled with an almost tragic determination. "It's too dangerous. Dangerous enough to instantly wipe out geniuses who aspire to succeed in their cultivation, and destroy everything around them. Over the years, almost every genius has thought of touching it, but the result..."
His gaze once again swept over the most terrifying gaps in the wall, his voice bitter as rust, "They have all become part of these scorch marks, or their bodies have been mutilated, reduced to useless people. Practicing Dust Release has also been considered 'impossible' and 'suicidal'. I... have almost given up hope of finding a successor."
Ohnoki's floating body moved closer, almost to Chichen's eye level. The scorching light in his eyes almost set Chichen on fire:
"But you showed up. That attack proved you had the hope of success, the Dust Release you unleashed to save your comrades! And that red-haired brat's unleashed will, that pure, rock-hard 'protective heart'!"
Ohnoki's voice was filled with an uncontrollable excitement. "It is this heart! This heart that is willing to shatter itself and stand up for something important! It has given me a glimmer of hope, a faint but real ray of hope! The hope that will allow the Land of Earth to stand up and not fall behind!"
He took a deep breath, his small body seemed to contain infinite strength and determination. His voice was like a rock falling to the ground, hitting the empty training ground and also hitting Chi Chen's heart:
"Chichen! I'm not asking if you're willing to learn! I see the potential in you to inherit Dust Release and continue this bloodline! This power needs to be passed down, and the future of Iwagakure needs it! And so far, you're the only one who gives me a glimmer of hope!"
"This road is a life-or-death journey! Every step is on the edge of a knife, and every step may lead to eternal damnation! It requires enduring inhuman pain, and it will make you bear a responsibility heavier than a mountain! Even so..." Ohnoki's gaze was like a real flame, locking tightly into Chichen's eyes, with unquestionable majesty and a heaviness that was almost a trust.
"Even so, Chi Chen, do you dare to accept this inheritance? Do you dare to become my disciple and embark on this thorny road that may lead to destruction or even to the peak of protection?!"
Chichen's heart pounded in his chest, and Ohnoki's words resonated like thunder in his mind. Chichen knew that if he agreed to Ohnoki's request, he would become the Fourth Tsuchikage in the future, and with his foresight, he could even become the number one in the ninja world.
He didn't answer immediately. His small hand slowly lifted, his fingertips gently brushing against the rough wooden talisman on his wrist, feeling the lingering warmth. That warmth seemed to connect him to Fei Liu's anxious face in the hospital room, to the gentle aroma of Aunt Chunjing's rice balls, and to the tenuous roots he had planted in this rocky land.
He raised his head, and in his silver-gray eyes there was no fear or retreat, nor ecstasy after being chosen, but only a kind of settled determination, like the ore buried deep underground.
Chi Chen met Ohnoki's burning and heavy gaze. His voice was not loud, but it had a penetrating power that could break through rocks:
"I dare."
It's not because of power but to protect more ties in this world.
Just two words.
The burning fire in Ohnoki's eyes suddenly grew stronger, and he was no longer floating. His feet were firmly on the solid ground, as if they were rooted in real rocks.
"Very good!" Ohnoki's voice echoed in the training ground like a huge bell, carrying a solemnity that opened a new era.
"So, from this moment on, Chichen, you are my disciple, Dayun Scale Ohnoki! You are the strong shield protecting the Land of Earth in Iwagakure. You must dare to stand in front of the millions of people in the Land of Earth and guide them!" As he said that, he picked up a stone and handed it to Chichen.
"Remember your choice today, remember the weight of this power. It is not meant to destroy, but to protect the 'Jade' of Iwagakure, and the 'rock-like bond' in your heart!"
He stretched out his right hand, palm facing up. An extremely tiny, yet extremely condensed, ochre-colored light dot condensed and spun in his palm, emitting an aura as thick, steady, and all-embracing as the earth.
This is not Dust Release, but the ultimate transformation of Earth Release's chakra form. It is the starting point for understanding and integrating into the earth.