Escape from Konoha.

Therefore, it's better to collect Ayane's body data outside.

Shiraishi had already decided on the location: his old home.

Taking the scroll containing the sealed instruments, Shiraishi went to buy some natto first, just in case he forgot it on the way back.

Next, they went to the Hyuga clan's territory to find Ayane.

It's impossible for someone to infiltrate the Hyuga clan and find Ayane. Putting aside the fact that she has the Byakugan, the Hyuga clan's territory is close to the village center, which is completely different from the Uchiha clan's territory. The village there also has the strongest defenses.

Despite both being bloodline ninja clans, the Hyuga clan can live closer to the village's core, while the Uchiha clan has to live in an area slightly behind the middle of the village.

Incredibly, the Uchiha clan also possessed the authority of a security force. Living in the center of the village made it easier to mobilize the security force's operational capabilities.

This approach is riddled with contradictions and defies normal logic in many ways.

Having lived in the Uchiha clan's territory for years, Shiraishi didn't actually know the Uchiha's core secrets. Ruri hadn't explained it to him either, but he knew that the relationship between the Uchiha and the village's higher-ups was only superficially improved; in reality, the relationship was a complete mess, with mutual wariness and hostility.

Thinking this, they had already arrived at the Hyuga clan's territory. It must be said that the Hyuga clan's ninjas, compared to the Uchiha clan's ninjas, paid more attention to the word "civility." They were polite and refined in appearance, and spoke in a calm and unhurried tone. Although they had the pride of being from a wealthy family, they did not have an arrogant feeling.

Of course, this is from an outsider's perspective. If we look at it from the perspective of the Hyuga clan members themselves, it is very likely that things are not always like this.

After all, the Caged Bird Seal, even if explained as protecting the Byakugan, is hard to justify.

If the goal is to protect the Byakugan, it would be sufficient to simply change the Caged Bird's function so that the Byakugan ability is disabled when a member of the branch family dies.

However, this is not the case. The Caged Bird Seal also has the ability to kill with curses, and can cause branch family ninjas who do not obey the main family to suffer unbearable pain.

Using the excuse of protecting the white eyes is really hard to believe. In Shiraishi's view, adding the curse killing function to the Caged Bird Seal is a superfluous and unnecessary act.

If the Byakugan is only sealed when necessary, it can be said to be for the purpose of protecting the Byakugan. Even branch family ninjas might not harbor such deep resentment towards the main family.

"Shiraishi-kun, what brings you here? Is there some new arrangement from Sakumo-sensei?"

Ayane was dressed in neat white clothes, and her long black hair was also neatly draped behind her. When she saw Shiraishi coming here to find her, a slight look of doubt appeared on her face.

"That's not how it is. I need to buy some herbs to make some medicine that I can use for future missions. But I'm a bit too busy to handle it all by myself, so I wanted to ask you for help."

"I see." Ayane tapped her snow-white chin with her finger, considered for a moment, and then said with a pure smile, "Alright then, but you'd better hurry, I have to be back before dinner."

"enough."

Next, Shiraishi took Ayane to a pharmacy in Konoha to buy various herbs with different medicinal effects.

Speaking of which, most of the pharmacies in Konoha are run by the Nara clan, because this clan is skilled at raising deer, and deer antlers are an extremely precious medicinal material. Therefore, pharmacies run by the Nara clan offer deer antlers of various qualities, which is a major feature.

Even merchants from afar would travel great distances to Konoha to purchase Nara clan deer antlers, demonstrating the superior quality of the Nara clan's antlers. Furthermore, their fair prices and their reputation for never taking advantage of customers, coupled with their reputation for being powerful, made it a preferred necessities for many medicine merchants to do business with the Nara clan.

Furthermore, this clan, together with the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans, formed the so-called "Ino-Shika-Cho" alliance. The three clans are all ninja clans that inherit secret techniques and have a great reputation in Konoha.

In addition, the position of Jonin squad leader in Konoha has always been held by a member of the Nara clan, and with the strong support of the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans, the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance has risen in status in Konoha. Since the First Hokage took office, they have never been excluded from the center of power and have been trusted by successive Hokage.

In comparison, the Uchiha clan's position in Konoha is truly awkward.

They are said to be one of the two great ninja clans that founded Konoha, but at this moment they have no significant connections in Konoha, not even comparable to the Hyuga clan, let alone the Ino-Shika-Cho clan, which are deeply trusted by the Hokage.

It was almost 3 p.m. when I came out of the pharmacy.

After going through such a long and winding road, now is the time to get down to business.

The place where Shiroishi used to live was quite a distance from the center of Konoha, and he had only returned a handful of times over the years, so it had long been deserted.

"Shiraishi-kun, does this count as us having a secret rendezvous?"

After entering the room, Ayane put her hands behind her back and turned slightly to the side. A faint smile could be seen on her clean face.

"We are doing serious business now."

"I was wondering what Shiraishi-kun would do if Ruri found out about this. The person he spends every day with is secretly meeting with another girl behind his back. Maybe the shock will cause his Sharingan to evolve further and become the three-tomoe form."

"How could the Sharingan evolve so easily? You're overthinking it."

"That's not necessarily true. After all, Ruri is a genius of the Uchiha clan, and intense emotional fluctuations are indeed the best catalyst for the evolution of the Sharingan."

"You know I risked my life to come out here. So getting down to business is the priority. Okay, hurry up and take off your clothes."

"Clothes...take them off? Take them all off? Shiraishi-kun, these are for my future husband..."

Ayane hugged her chest tightly, a shy blush rising to her face, and she bit her lip, looking quite embarrassed.

"What are you thinking? Haven't we done this many times before? Putting aside the fact that it's just a matter of taking off your coat, even if you took them all off, I would still uphold the professional ethics of a doctor and treat everyone equally."

Shiraishi gave Ayane a very serious answer.

"So, you mean it's okay for me to take all my clothes off for the examination now?"

Ayane's fingers had already unzipped her top, freeing her chest, and some of her muscles seemed to be starting to bulge. A hint of a smile lingered deep in her eyes.

"No need. Let's finish quickly, I'm in a rush."

"Honestly, this was clearly a great opportunity."

"Are you really only twelve years old?"

"Don't you know girls mature earlier? There's a fourteen-year-old girl in our clan. Since she's not a ninja, her only purpose is to give birth to new members for the clan. She's pregnant now and will be a mother this year."

Shiraishi sighed. In an era of frequent wars, population was indeed a problem that could not be ignored.

However, Shiraishi knew that the success rate of childbirth in this world was very high, not only because of the widespread use of chakra, but also because of various miraculous medical ninjutsu.

Shiraishi wasn't very clear about the other places. The records of female fertility at Konoha Hospital showed that only a very few women had problems during childbirth, but they all survived in time.

The issue of early childbirth in women also needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

However, Shiraishi still doesn't really support this kind of thing, not because of a person's physical condition, but because of his values ​​in life.

Whether it's going to war early or having children early, it can lead to various hidden dangers and deviations in the individual's future values.

But in a war-torn era where even basic human rights lack concrete legislation, talking about these things is just wishful thinking; those in power can say whatever they want.

Whether it was because he hadn't thought of this problem, or because he had thought of it but dared not do it, or because he didn't want to give up his own interests, it has nothing to do with Shiraishi.

He was just a medical ninja, and being a doctor was his job.

Shiraishi opened the scroll and began forming hand seals, freeing the instruments used for body analysis from them.

It must be said that sealing scrolls are very practical. As long as the object is not alive, it can be filled with something, but the price is a bit expensive.

Ayane lay quietly on the cold operating table, no longer teasing Shiraishi, and waited patiently for Shiraishi's analysis results.

She knew the gravity of the matter, as it concerned the cursed mark on the caged bird.

The test didn't take long; it was done in ten minutes.

Ayane stepped off the operating table and asked, "Is this all there is to it?"

"Yes, I have a solution to the Caged Bird Seal, but I'll tell you the specific methods and steps when we go on our next mission. For now, we'll need to live under Konoha's protection. In the meantime, I'll also look for a suitable base to settle down in later."

"Have you found one yet?"

"The Kingdom of Ghosts and the Kingdom of Iron."

When Shiraishi mentioned the names of the two countries, Ayane was slightly taken aback.

"The Land of Demons and the Land of Iron are permanently neutral countries in the ninja world. The wars that have been raging for years have not affected these two countries much. In addition, their remote locations make them less likely to be targeted by major powers. The rich land of the Land of Fire is the fundamental reason for the outbreak of the Ninja World War."

"If that's the case, then those two countries are indeed suitable for living. As for the specific time to leave Konoha?"

"The next Shinobi World War is coming."

"The next Shinobi World War? Won't that be too long?"

The First Shinobi World War was more than a decade apart from the Second Shinobi World War, and whether the Third Shinobi World War will break out is still unknown.

"Don't worry. The next Shinobi World War won't be long after this one ends, and it will still be a conflict over the rich lands of the Land of Fire. That will be the best time for us to leave Konoha. They will be too busy fighting on all sides to deal with us missing rogue ninja."

Shiraishi's inference is based on facts.

The moderate diplomacy meant that the other four major ninja villages would not feel awe or fear because of Konoha's strength; on the contrary, it would be easier to arouse their jealousy and robbery.

During the current reign of the Third Hokage, although there were more victories than defeats in foreign wars, each time it was a passive counterattack.

Whether it was the war in the Land of Rain or the recent invasion of the Land of Fire by the Sand Village, both were forced counterattacks.

Even if you win, you can still call it a defeat, because you won't gain any benefits after the war ends.

The defeated enemy did not demand reparations, gaining only a victory in reputation, without any real benefit.

What appears to be a victory is, in Shiraishi's view, merely exploiting the legacy left by the previous two Hokage.

Ayane looked at Shiraishi with a mixture of understanding and confusion. Although she wanted to believe Shiraishi's guess, Konoha was the leading village among the five great ninja villages and had always been the strongest in terms of military power. After this Shinobi World War, even if the next great war were to come, it would be many years before it happened. How could she say that the interval would not be too long?

Shiraishi smiled slightly, looked at the peaceful scene outside the window, and said something:

"Peace will survive if we seek it through struggle, but it will perish if we seek it through compromise. As the embodiment of the strongest nation's military power, Konoha's foreign policy is so lukewarm and weak, which will only result in it being surrounded by wolves. The more we want peace, the more we will be forced into war."

"But in the past..."

Shiraishi knew what Ayane wanted to add. Having studied Konoha's history, he also knew something about the First Hokage, so he interrupted, "The Will of Fire only suited the First Hokage. This will to seek peace through compromise is not suitable for later generations. After his death, no one was willing to share his naive dream. The two Shinobi World Wars are proof of this. This is also the basis for my speculation."

"Was the First Hokage the root of all this trouble?"

This was the first time Ayane had heard this statement.

"In a sense, that's true. Even if Konoha is destroyed one day, they might not understand why they were destroyed. So-called admiration is the emotion furthest from understanding. If you idolize someone too much, you can easily overlook the essence of things."

The statement that Konoha is in its current predicament is not entirely accurate, as the seeds of trouble were sown as early as the time of the First Hokage.

The Third Hokage was merely there to take the blame for the First Hokage and clean up the mess.

Therefore, the outbreak of the Third Shinobi World War was inevitable, and the short interval between it and the Second Shinobi World War was also inevitable.

Leaving Konoha at that time would be the safest option.

Konoha, beset by crises on all sides, was already overwhelmed with dealing with the war, and had no time or energy to focus on eliminating rogue ninja.

"Really? I've always admired Shiraishi-kun like that. But I also really want to know everything about Shiraishi-kun. So... when we're alone together, please be gentle with me."

Ayane's face revealed a pure and innocent happy smile, with a touch of shy blush.

Shiraishi was slightly taken aback, unsure of what to say for a moment.

'Be gentle with me'... So, what exactly does Ayane mean by 'be gentle'?

This summer is so hot it's making people feel irritable.

Chapter Forty-Nine concerns the matter of the party involved voluntarily cooperating with human experiments.