I’m convinced he knew from day one he was going to leave the project like he did.
So how did he leave? I only know that he left, not the reason. Sure, CIA must have put some pressure as pooya87 pointed out, but that's not how he justified it. From the last conversation he had with Mike Hearn, he said
he's moved on to other things. Completely unknown, though.
Full conversation here:
https://plan99.net/%7Emike/satoshi-emails/thread5.html