As Aburame Aoi explained, black insect swarms had already begun to burst forth from the ground.
They moved silently, methodically clearing away small rocks and dust from the gaps.
Soon, what was once a seamless surface beneath Aburame Aoi's feet became an opening, which then grew larger and larger.
The dust removed by the insect swarm also gradually formed a small mound not far away.
As the opening grew larger, faint sounds of conversation drifted out from inside the cave.
Aburame Aoi and Tamayo Nara leaned in, pressing their ears close to the gap, barely able to make out the voices coming from inside.
Aburame Aoi's insects continued to carve out the opening; it grew wider and wider, even beginning to reveal a dim, yellowish light.
Immediately after, they heard voices they both recognized.
It was Senju Wakama's voice.
"…Alright… let me see where it is, hmm, found it, it's this book, my sister wrote it for me a long time ago…"
At this very moment.
Inside the cave.
Just after they entered, Uchiha Yuki, blushing, said there were too many animals here and she didn't want to be seen by them while engaging in intimate activities with Senju Wakama.
They wouldn't have felt anything about it before, when they didn't know.
Now, both the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan knew that the Senju Princess had a malicious nature, and all these animals were her spies.
The Uchiha clan had now almost been driven insane by the Senju Princess; whether going to the restroom, bathing, or engaging in marital relations, they had to use Fire Release to purify the environment and drive away the observing animals.
Because the Princess was truly shameless, she would have animals observe their private lives, then vividly and emotionally describe them in writing, periodically airdropping these reports to the Uchiha clan, allowing everyone to recall their embarrassing daily lives through the text.
Those writings described their expressions while defecating.
The writings also described the shape of their feces.
They described what foods everyone ate; these foods were described in varied and diverse ways. If it was a delicious meal, that was fine, but the Princess's writing was so good that just reading the description could evoke hunger.
But if the food was something the Princess disliked, her writing could make you clearly feel how disgusting it was. What's worse, those passages were in the past tense, meaning the people who had eaten that disgusting thing had consumed it a long time ago, only realizing much later what horrible stuff they'd been eating for so long, making them feel utterly unwell.
Furthermore, some written descriptions of marital relations were truly terrifying, so detailed and precise that they made the readers feel as if they were there.
No matter what they did, they could be spied upon by the Princess.
This was too much.
But no one could defeat the Princess, so resistance was impossible.
During the Princess's time with the Uchiha clan, a large number of clan members awakened their Sharingan due to immense mental pressure, a true blessing in disguise.
Many clan members believed the Princess deliberately provoked them to help them awaken their Sharingan.
But a small fraction of clan members believed the Princess was naturally mischievous and unruly, and that helping them awaken their Sharingan was merely a coincidence.
As for Senju Wakama's current situation, the Hot Spring Villa was already rented out and unusable, his own residence was occupied by Madara and Tsukuyo, making it difficult to return, and his temporary lodging was filled with animals, making Uchiha Yuki shy.
Not just Uchiha Yuki, even Senju Wakama feared he would appear in Tsukuyo's handwritten "private imperial writings"; it would be utterly mortifying.
Moreover, this wouldn't be a temporary social death; it would be treated as the Senju Princess's personal writings, passed down through generations.
In this way, "private imperial writings" featuring them would be immortalized.
Just thinking about it sent shivers down Senju Wakama's spine.
Uchiha Yuki was right to be afraid, because he was afraid too.
But was it really a rare opportunity for them to meet, only to sit silently looking at each other in an empty cave until nightfall?
That would be too boring, wouldn't it?
So, Uchiha Yuki suggested they study together.
"Good idea," Senju Wakama thought, and went to look for books in the cabinet placed in the cave; he often came alone to self-study for some peace and quiet.
The cabinet was filled with study materials Tsukuyo had specifically written for him.
However…
"…Wakama, what kind of writing is this? It's all square-shaped, and I can't understand many of the characters."
Uchiha Yuki looked distressed.
The scrolls Tsukuyo wrote used "Kanji."
Senju Wakama had studied this writing system for a long time.
It started because Senju Wakama and Tsukuyo exchanged information, but he couldn't understand what Tsukuyo sent him. After consulting Tsukuyo, she told him to record it character by character.
While recording knowledge, he also learned the writing system along the way.
He started by learning "Scopolamine."
Later, as he learned more and more, Senju Wakama became proficient in more and more characters.
Now, without realizing it, Senju Wakama recognized thousands of "Kanji." Aside from a few obscure characters he didn't quite understand, he could already read most of Tsukuyo's handwritten books.
The more he learned, the more Senju Wakama found this writing system to be extremely subtle and profound.
Moreover, whenever he saw others in the ninja world unable to understand it, Senju Wakama would recall his former "illiterate" self, and an inexplicable sense of superiority would arise.
Seeing Uchiha Yuki with a distressed look on her face.
Senju Wakama sat beside her, opened the notebook, and began to explain it to her.
"…These are my sister's handwritten notes. It says here: 'In any interaction, if you start to belittle yourself, the other person will look down on you, and you will receive more and more malice. Your worth depends on the worth of your principles.'"
Hearing this, Uchiha Yuki looked at Senju Wakama curiously, "Is this… knowledge the Princess taught you when you were little?"
"Yes." Senju Wakama picked up the notebook, flipping through it with emotion. "Below are all little stories she wrote for me to read, small stories to illustrate this very statement."
"When I was little, I truly couldn't understand or read them. She said it was perfectly normal, and that I needed to record them and review them repeatedly."
"She told me that people change. A person's growth lies in the accumulation of experience and wisdom, not merely in events."
"Some people endure much hardship, yet remain fools until death, never improving, constantly deceived by the same tactics, or always failing for the same reason."
"Therefore, growth lies in experience and wisdom, which are insights gained from events."
"As my experience and wisdom accumulate, the way I view the world will change, and then, looking back at the principles she taught me, I will also gain new insights."
Uchiha Yuki naturally leaned into Senju Wakama's arms, pointing at the text in the notebook. "So what's next… What's the content below? Can you teach me?"
Senju Wakama smiled faintly, "Okay."
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