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Sakumo arrived, and just as quickly, he left.
Their conversation was brief, with many things left unsaid, understood without the need for words. Before departing, however, Sakumo gave Hayashi a mission, retrieve the Byakugan.
For one commander to assign a mission to another sounded unusual, even inappropriate, but under the current circumstances, it was the only choice Sakumo had.
The letter from Hiruzen Sarutobi had been clear. They were to abandon the Byakugan, maintain the blockade toward the Land of Hot Springs, and prepare for a full offensive against the Land of Water.
It was not a suggestion. It was an order.
Everything from the command center had to align with that directive.
Yet at this critical moment, Hayashi, one of Konoha's commanders, intended to head alone toward Kirigakure. Whether his goal was to retrieve the Byakugan or to strike at the Hidden Mist, either path was dangerously reckless.
It went directly against the Hokage's command.
If one had to describe it, it was like dragging heavy artillery into a battlefield for the sake of personal resolve, ignoring the larger strategy.
By assigning the mission himself, Sakumo was shouldering part of that responsibility. If anything went wrong, it would not fall entirely on Hayashi. The burden would be shared.
Sakumo might not have been politically sharp, but as a comrade, as a leader, and as a shinobi, he was someone worthy of absolute trust.
And yet, a man like him, praised alongside the Sannin, would one day fall to rumors and pressure.
That thought lingered heavily.
It revealed something unsettling beneath the surface of the village.
Even a place as grand as Konoha carried shadows beneath its brilliance. No matter how strong it appeared, decay often began quietly, from within.
After standing by the sea for a while, Hayashi pulled out a blank scroll from his ninja pouch and began to draw precise markings across it.
He was preparing.
Facing an entire hidden village alone was not something to take lightly. Even with stealth, detection was inevitable. Without proper preparation, failure would come swiftly.
He needed something reliable. Something powerful that would not drain his chakra in battle.
Sealing techniques provided that solution.
Through them, ninjutsu could be stored within scrolls, released instantly when needed. Whether elemental techniques or even forbidden jutsu, they could all be sealed and unleashed at the perfect moment.
In battle, a single throw could turn the tide.
The concept was simple, overwhelming force delivered instantly.
It was proof of a straightforward truth, mastery of sealing techniques could elevate a shinobi beyond ordinary limits.
However, such methods were not widely used.
The reasons were clear.
First, powerful techniques required skilled users to create them. High level ninjutsu were typically known only to jonin, limiting access from the start.
Second, sealing techniques themselves demanded expertise. Few possessed both the skill to perform advanced ninjutsu and the knowledge to seal them properly.
Even within Konoha, such individuals were rare.
For most shinobi, this path remained out of reach.
Even for those capable of creating these scrolls, there were drawbacks. The scrolls were large, inconvenient, and difficult to carry in large numbers during combat.
For a close combat fighter like Hayashi, this posed a serious limitation.
Still, he found a way around it.
Rather than carrying them directly, he would store the prepared scrolls within summoned snakes. When needed, he could retrieve them instantly using the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands technique, turning them into unexpected weapons in the middle of battle.
It was efficient. And deadly.
The process of creating these scrolls was not easy. It consumed both chakra and stamina, leaving him mentally and physically exhausted over the past few days.
Even so, he continued.
By the end, he had created more than a dozen scrolls, each containing high level techniques. Though the seals were temporary and would not last forever, they would endure long enough for the mission ahead.
That was all he needed.
As he worked, he failed to notice someone approaching.
"Hayashi, there's a letter for you from the Land of Hot Springs. I brought it here."
The voice was gentle.
Turning slightly, he saw Mikoto Uchiha seated nearby.
"A letter?" he replied, taking it without hesitation.
He opened it and quickly recognized the handwriting.
It was from Minato Namikaze.
Minato had already moved to the Land of Hot Springs alongside Jiraiya. In the letter, he asked about Himeji's condition and briefly described the situation on the battlefield.
At the end, he included several questions regarding the Flying Thunder God Technique.
After reading, Hayashi held the letter between his fingers. A small flame flickered to life, reducing it to ash in seconds. He let the remains scatter into the wind.
"Minato will master the Flying Thunder God Technique soon," he said quietly. "The questions he asked go straight to the core of it. He really is a genius."
Mikoto said nothing.
She simply watched him.
For years, her gaze had followed him, from the time they were children until now. What once was a girl watching a boy had become a young woman watching a man.
There was a quiet warmth in her eyes.
If time could remain like this forever, she thought, it would be enough.
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