Chapter 283: Destroy the Mind First, Then Kill the Man!

"Make Shimura Danzō… become merciful…"

Shikaku Nara  felt somewhat speechless. He simply could not associate Danzō with the word merciful.

However, from Uchiha Ren's explanation, Shikaku had also come to understand just how terrifying the technique Izanami truly was.

Simply put, if one wished to break free from Izanami, they had to accept their original fate and sincerely repent.

At first glance, that might not sound particularly frightening.

But what if someone who had done nothing wrong became trapped in Izanami?

What exactly were they supposed to repent for?

Would they have to turn what was right into something wrong?

Thus, although Izanami had been created as a technique to correct mistakes, its true nature was something far more frightening—

a technique capable of reshaping a person's beliefs.

And this transformation was not something that happened instantly.

Instead, it forced change through endless repetition and cycles.

Time itself was something capable of altering everything.

Under the torment of an infinite illusion, how many people could truly maintain their original convictions?

The technique Izanami was sinister beyond words.

Thinking of this, Shikaku's wariness toward the Uchiha clan deepened even further. Changing the subject, he asked:

"So then, Clan Head Uchiha… have you decided how to deal with Shimura Danzō?"

"According to our original plan, killing him directly would have avoided a lot of trouble. But now that you've only restrained him, if we want to execute him, the village will have to conduct an investigation and a trial first."

Shikaku's meaning was simple.

If Danzō had died during the arrest—perhaps from someone failing to hold back—everyone could have simply turned a blind eye.

Afterward, they could take their time gathering evidence and formally condemning him.

But now that Danzō had been captured alive, killing him directly would violate the village's procedures.

Even if people wanted to overlook it, there would be no proper justification.

No matter what, the order of the village had to be maintained.

Danzō would need to be investigated, judged, and sentenced before he could be executed.

And that meant many more variables could arise.

"It's fine," Ren replied calmly.

"There's no shortage of evidence for Danzō's crimes. It won't be easy for him to turn the situation around."

In truth, Ren had only just decided to spare Danzō's life temporarily.

If Danzō simply died like this, it would be far too easy for him.

At the moment of death, Danzō might even believe that his entire life had been spent fighting for Konoha—

That he had died while striving for the village.

A glorious end.

In the original timeline, hadn't Danzō died with exactly that kind of conviction?

That was why Ren had made a different decision.

He would let Danzō live.

Let him suffer total disgrace.

Let him be nailed to Konoha's pillar of shame, his entire life's work denied.

And only then—

kill him.

Let him die with resentment and despair.

First destroy his spirit.

Then destroy his life.

Shikaku naturally saw through Ren's intentions.

He hadn't expected Ren to be so ruthless.

His wariness toward the Uchiha clan grew even stronger.

As if sensing Shikaku's thoughts, Ren smiled.

"Clan Head Nara, please rest assured. The Uchiha clan may be as cold as winter when dealing with enemies…"

"But when it comes to our comrades, we can be as warm as the spring breeze."

Uchiha…

Spring breeze?

Once again, two words that seemed impossible to connect.

Shikaku shook his head.

"You're right, Clan Head Uchiha. But what should we do with Danzō now?"

Ren answered:

"For the moment, he'll be detained by the Konoha Military Police Force. The Military Police will also begin collecting evidence of his crimes."

"After the Fourth Hokage takes office, we'll handle the matter properly."

After a pause, Ren continued:

"Speaking of the Fourth Hokage… after everything that just happened during the election ceremony, perhaps we should—"

"Clan Head Uchiha."

Shikaku interrupted quickly, clearly worried about where the conversation was heading.

"Although there were… some unexpected incidents during the Fourth Hokage election, the result of the vote is already obvious."

"Earlier, Namikaze Minato's vote count surpassed Shimura Danzō's by a wide margin. It was practically a landslide."

"Danzō had absolutely no chance of turning the situation around."

"Isn't that exactly why he launched a rebellion?"

"Besides, there were only two candidates to begin with—Minato and Danzō. And now that Danzō has committed such crimes, the result of the election is beyond dispute."

"Namikaze Minato is the Fourth Hokage of the village."

Shikaku's concern was clear.

He was worried that Ren might seize this opportunity to claim the position of Hokage.

It wasn't that Ren absolutely couldn't become Hokage.

But the current Konoha simply could not endure further turmoil.

Shikaku didn't know Ren very well.

From what he had seen so far, Ren appeared calculating and ruthless.

There were too many unknown variables.

At this moment, Shikaku only wanted stability.

Compared to Ren, it was far better for the more familiar Namikaze Minato to ascend to the Hokage position smoothly.

Ren chuckled softly.

"Clan Head Nara, I never said Minato shouldn't become Hokage."

"Besides, this isn't something I—or even the Uchiha clan—can decide alone."

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"In a hurry?" Shikaku replied calmly. "I'm merely stating the facts."

Even if Ren couldn't accomplish something—

he could certainly ruin it.

Even if Ren couldn't remove Minato from the Hokage position, delaying the process would still be possible.

That was why Shikaku wanted to finalize Minato's position as Fourth Hokage as quickly as possible.

Ren shook his head.

"Please rest assured, Clan Head Nara."

"The Uchiha clan fully supports Namikaze Minato becoming Hokage."

"In fact, our earlier cooperation with Shimura Danzō was merely a façade. The Third Hokage and the others were informed in advance."

"Otherwise, Danzō wouldn't have received so few votes."

Shikaku froze for a moment, looking at Ren with surprise.

Then he silently mourned Danzō for three seconds.

He didn't believe Ren was lying.

This kind of matter couldn't remain hidden forever.

Which meant there was only one truth:

Ren—and the entire Uchiha clan—had been toying with Shimura Danzō from the beginning.

From start to finish, Danzō had never had any real chance of becoming the Fourth Hokage.

Danzō really was… pitiful.

Ren continued:

"In that case, the Military Police Force will take Shimura Danzō away now."

"We'll leave the cleanup here to you, Clan Head Nara."

"If anything else comes up later, just send someone to notify us."

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