Ayane's eyes flashed with a sly smile.
"..."
Hakushi gave a slight wry smile.
What is this supposed to mean? Am I being abandoned?
"Just making a joke. After all, when it comes to things like this, I don't want to lose to her."
Ayane suddenly perked up, her face visibly energized.
"What?"
"A second child."
"?"
"Isn't the Land of Demons encouraging second children now? I'm just answering the call."
Ayane said.
"You want a second child?"
"Depends on the situation. When Ruri had kids, she gave birth to Asuka and Ichihime at once. I don't want to lose to her."
"Don't compare these kinds of things."
"Not wanting to lose means not wanting to lose. Think about it, how many times have I lost to her? Back when we'd spar together, I basically never won. Her Illusion Techniques are just too strong, even stronger than the Sharingan's illusions."
That's because Ruri's true Illusion Techniques aren't activated using the Sharingan—they're triggered by touch.
She can even imbue her illusions into shuriken and other Ninja Tools, letting her opponents fall for them without physical contact.
Nowadays, Ruri has mastered these Illusion Techniques to an even higher level.
Hakushi wanted to say, "Just let fate take its course," because that's how he'd lived, but thinking of Ayane's personality, she'd probably never bow her head to Ruri in her lifetime.
"But I have areas where I'm better than her too. So, about the second child, you'll have to put in a little extra effort. I can't do it alone."
Ayane's face blossomed into a smile.
"We'll talk about it when the time comes."
Hakushi shook his head.
Ayane gently picked up the baby nearby and looked over at Hakushi.
"Hakushi, what do you think this child will be like in the future?"
"What sort of person will they become? What do you hope they'll be?"
The future is always too hazy and uncertain—even things that are set in stone might change because of accidents.
"Hmm... I can't really think of anything for now. Things with the Hyuga Clan are a little complicated, and I still haven't found the right chance to make a move in Konoha. But I don't really want to leave such heavy matters for my child to handle."
"Just do things the way you want to."
"You're right. Still, isn't Ruri planning to do anything about Konoha's Uchiha?"
Ayane put the baby down and looked at Hakushi.
"I don't think she intends to. After all, there was some unpleasantness in the past. Unlike you, when she left, she completely severed contact with the Uchiha in Konoha. What's more, the Uchiha issues are even more complex than the Hyuga's. It's not easy to get involved."
As for Uchiha matters, even Kakashi only has access to surface-level information. The deeper stuff has long since been locked down by Konoha's higher-ups—not even the Anbu have authority to interfere.
So, whatever kind of scheme Konoha's top brass have set up within the Uchiha, he was also completely in the dark.
But then, this had nothing to do with the Land of Demons anyway.
Konoha's upper echelons deduced there must be a spy inside the Uchiha, so they targeted the Uchiha Clan, pushing them to the edge of the village, but in fact, that was a misguided decision.
Before Ruri left, she took all her trusted followers with her and didn't leave any spies within the Uchiha, so there was no one monitoring them from the inside.
As for information on the Uchiha Clan, the Land of Demons hadn't had any updates in a long time.
In contrast, it was the more stable and proper Hyuga Clan in Konoha where Ayane had planted her people.
Some were planted from the start, others were embedded through later contacts—at the right moment, they could deal a fatal blow to Konoha.
The Hyuga Clan might not be riddled with holes from Ayane's infiltration, but it's pretty much close enough.
After all, the lure of freedom is powerful...
"All right, I'm heading out. Rest well here with the baby, and call me if you need anything."
Seeing it was almost time, Hakushi left the room of his own accord, giving Ayane space to rest inside.
◎
"Congratulations, Professor Hakushi. I heard Ayane-senpai gave birth to a boy, and both mother and child are doing well."
In the laboratory, Nohara Rin, who was working with Hakushi on Tailed Beast experiments, offered her congratulations to Hakushi.
She'd already been living in the Land of Demons for quite some time now and had gotten used to life here.
Honestly, life here was no different from what she'd had in Konoha—she wasn't burdened with combat duties, just responsible for the logistical departments, like medical support and research.
"Thank you."
Hakushi nodded.
He walked to the front of a nearby cabinet, opened its door, and took out the sterilized white lab coat inside to put on.
In this lab, they kept the Zero-tailed beast, as well as body parts of the One-tailed, Two-tailed, and other Tailed Beasts.
Except for the Zero-tailed, which was intact, the other Tailed Beasts started from free-floating Chakra forms and then evolved into semi-physical states as part of their bodies.
"By the way, how are things progressing with you and Obito?"
After putting on the white lab coat, Hakushi turned to ask Rin.
"It's going all right."
Rin thought for a moment before answering.
"Have you thought about making your relationship official with him?"
Hakushi asked with interest.
"It's not that I don't want to—it's just that I want things to go naturally. Besides, we're not really at that age yet."
"Really? I thought your heart was still with Kakashi."
"Kakashi?" Rin tilted her head, pondered a moment, then said, "That's not true, Professor Hakushi. Rather than 'liking,' what I had for Kakashi in the past was more like admiration and respect. Kakashi was always different from us, even though he'd play ninja games with us—none of us could really reach the level he was at."
"Yeah, he carried a lot of burdens that no one his age should have had to bear."