After parting with Ayane, Hakushi retraced his original route back to the Uchiha Clan Land.
Along the way, he kept pondering the question Ayane had asked—how should he explain to Ruri that he was about to leave Konoha?
Although he wasn't sure of the exact time, Hakushi knew that at the latest, by next year, the Hidden Sand Village would launch an attack on the Land of Fire. By then, Konoha would be too preoccupied to care, and that would be his best time to leave Konoha.
If he missed this chance, he would never have such a perfect opportunity again.
Therefore, when the war breaks out, leaving Konoha is the path that Hakushi will inevitably take.
No matter who it is, no one can shake his resolve.
Ruri is very clear about his affairs, this much Hakushi can be certain of.
Whether it's the founding of the organization or secretly researching Chakra and Natural Energy behind closed doors, none of this has been revealed to Konoha's upper echelons. With just a little thought, anyone could see that toward Konoha's leaders… no, toward Konoha as a whole, he has absolutely no interest.
Hakushi didn't believe Ruri couldn't see this. When he was helping Ayane research the Caged Bird, Ruri also knew about it. As someone from a prestigious clan, Ruri understood the deep meaning behind the Caged Bird better than he did.
This matter, spoken lightly, is just family business of the Hyuga Clan, but to say it heavily, it would shake Konoha's interests.
Involving a strategic-level Kekkeigenkai like the Byakugan, even Konoha's upper echelons could never turn a blind eye—they would intervene harshly and forcefully.
Ruri, who knew about this, must have guessed long ago that one day he would leave Konoha.
Then, what does she think about him leaving Konoha? Or is she just waiting for him to come clean about it himself?
The truth is, Hakushi really didn't know how to honestly explain this to Ruri.
He could only think that, ever since they started dating, when the two of them strolled through the streets, they'd often walk hand in hand side by side; when alone at home, apart from sex, they had done almost everything else a couple could do. Embraces and passionate kisses had become a matter of course between them.
In the eyes of outsiders, even marriage and having children together in the future wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.
—But there are still things he can't confess. Maybe it's out of fear that Ruri's answer won't be what he expects.
And because Ruri was simply too important to him, he became all the more hesitant.
A trace of turmoil unconsciously arose in Hakushi's heart.
"Ugh, what a headache…"
Just as Hakushi was struggling with these issues, a head suddenly popped out of the floor, breaking his train of thought.
The Earth General's way of showing up was always unpredictable—you never knew when he'd appear and give you a scare.
This time, what he brought was a load of scrolls, of all different shapes and sizes, and in total, over a dozen of them.
What stood out was that each scroll was dust-covered, with half-faded marks, clearly antiques of considerable age.
After delivering the scrolls, the Earth General gave Hakushi a glance, then quietly burrowed back underground to amuse himself.
To him, the entire subterranean world beneath the Uchiha Clan Land, or even Konoha, was his joyful playground.
Hakushi ignored the Earth General's childlike behavior, picked up one of the scrolls he delivered, and unrolled it. The contents all pertained to Sealing Techniques—vital ancient documents from the Uzumaki Clan on Sealing Techniques.
Among the Uzumaki survivors transported back to the Land of Demons, there was one elder of high status within the clan.
When the Uzumaki Clan was massacred, though most of the clan perished in battle, there were still some who, amidst the chaos, managed to escape with crucial Sealing Technique documents. This elder was one of them.
In order to prevent those documents from being lost, the clan elder stored them in a safe location and led the survivors to wander about, so as not to risk further losses.
He was well aware that the Uzumaki downfall was a result of being coveted by other nations.
To the Uzumaki people, the research documents on various Sealing Techniques were even more precious than their own lives.
It wasn't just a matter of Uzumaki honor—these were also a critical part of the clan's history.
Forgetting one's clan history was tantamount to betraying the family.
Hakushi skimmed through the scrolls with a quick sweep and found that the research data on Sealing Techniques were incredibly diverse.
The Sealing Techniques inside covered all sorts of aspects—soul, body, Tailed Beasts, Chakra—anything you could imagine, you could find something related in here.
"Are these also documents and materials related to Sealing Techniques?"
Finally, Hakushi opened the largest scroll, much bigger than the rest—almost as long as his arm.
After unrolling it and reading through, he realized what was recorded within was different from the others: this enormous scroll contained completed Sealing Techniques, not just research data on them.
After each Sealing Technique was listed the name of its Uzumaki creator, a brief biography, when and where the jutsu was developed, and why it was created.
One name appeared multiple times—Uzumaki Ashina.
Hakushi felt this name was somewhat familiar, and soon remembered who it was.
Back when he was attending Ninja School, when looking through the history of Konoha Village's founding events, the name Uzumaki Ashina had come up.