"Are you... actually serious?"
Ren Uchiha's expression darkened instantly. He stared at Minato, whose face showed no sign of deceit, only a terrifying, immovable resolve.
"Do you have any idea what the consequences are?" Ren questioned in a low, heavy voice. "Assassinating a Daimyo is a high crime, one that no nation on earth will tolerate. Doing it on the stage of the Five-Nation Talks is suicide!"
"Have you even considered that you will become a rogue ninja?! Minato, wasn't your dream to become the Hokage?!"
"Are you really going to abandon your dream?"
It was true—Minato Namikaze was the only person with the capability to pull off an assassination right under the nose of the Third Raikage and escape unscathed.
But Ren had hoped this was merely a heat-of-the-moment impulse, a reckless act of revenge fueled by the belief that Ren had died. He hoped that seeing him alive would change Minato's mind.
Unfortunately, it didn't.
Minato didn't offer his usual confident, gentle smile. His expression was calm—a specific kind of calm that only comes after one has analyzed everything and reached a state of absolute enlightenment through pain and meditation. He looked like the Naka River flowing at dusk, reflecting a martyr's resolve.
"Ren, you know Konoha's original plan," Minato began. "With Lord Orochimaru's surprise attack, we only need to protect our interests and watch from the sidelines. Konoha would remain invincible and unscathed against the Cloud in this Third Great Ninja War."
"But the ultimate outcome wouldn't change! The Land of Fire sits on the most fertile soil; it is the target of everyone. The other nations will never allow Konoha to continue growing stronger."
Minato stepped toward the map, pointing to Konoha's central position, surrounded by enemies on all sides.
"Even if Konoha survives this war, the next one, and the one after that... war will eventually find us again. This is an inescapable fact!"
He looked directly into Ren's eyes. "Danzo Shimura may have many faults as the Hokage's Assistant, but his vision is correct! To change this cycle, someone must make a sacrifice!"
Ren couldn't take it anymore. He was convinced Danzo had strapped "Little Sunshine" to an electric chair and brainwashed him. How else could this genius be so thick-headed?
He stepped forward, grabbed Minato's collar, and jerked his head down until their eyes—Ren's still closed—were level. He glared at Minato with a suppressed, frantic irritation.
"Sacrifice? What sacrifice?! What does any of this have to do with sacrifice? Minato, listen to me—don't let Danzo deceive you!"
"That old man doesn't care about the village. He only wants the Hokage seat; he wants a Konoha that belongs to him. He's egging you on so you can never become Hokage, to eliminate you as a competitor!"
"The Daimyo is just a position! Even if you kill the man sitting there, a new one will take office the next day. The system of the shinobi world will persist, and you... you will have buried your dream and become a common rogue ninja!"
"You'll spend countless nights regretting this mindless act! You don't understand how insignificant an individual's power is against the machinery of society. You don't have the strength to flip the table and sweep everything away yet!"
Ren gritted his teeth, slamming his forehead against Minato's protector in a frustrated headbutt. "Wake up! Can you just wake up for one second?!"
Even Ren, who had resolved to change the world for those he cherished, hadn't acted immediately. He chose to stay hidden, to sharpen his fangs and gather enough power to truly flip the table when the time came. Because he understood the weight of the system.
Yet, even with blood trickling down from his forehead, past his nose and to his jaw from the impact, Minato didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled gently, looking at Ren with a gaze of profound certainty and joy.
"As I thought... you are exactly that kind of person."
"Ren Uchiha," Minato said softly. "You see things more clearly than anyone. You know that for ninjas—the Daimyo is the disease."
He pulled Ren toward the large map, pointing at the location of Unming City.
"But Ren—even if you want to escape it, the greatest shift the shinobi world has seen in a thousand years has already begun because of you!"
"Unming City is currently a whirlpool of dark currents. Everyone is targeting the Daimyo! Some are hesitating, some are failing, and some are still calculating. But the intent to kill has been born! The Daimyo is no longer untouchable!"
Minato reached out, dipped a finger in the blood on his face, and drew a bold, crimson line across the map, connecting the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth! The bloodline crossed the ocean like a bridge of slaughter.
"In the current situation, the Cloud and the Stone are destined to clash! If we kill the Daimyo now and place his son, Sugaya Ryuzoji, on the throne, we can cripple the Land of Lightning in the aftermath of their war!"
"With the classified intel Lord Orochimaru gathered—information the Cloud hasn't had time to update yet—"
Minato's finger moved to the border of the Land of Fire, specifically the Land of Rice Fields. He drew another line, physically connecting the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning on the map.
"At that moment—Konoha should cross the Land of Rice Fields and seize the 'Land of Thunder and Fire'!"
"We will bring the lands of Rice, Steam, and Frost under our banner! Once this territory is secured, we will have the Five Small Nations—Iron, Waterfall, Grass, Rain, and Hidden Valleys—as our shield to the North and West! And we will have the Land of Water as our support to the South!"
"With this land, we only need to face enemies from the West. We can establish a stable, secure nation that will last for a hundred years!"
Minato's breathing grew heavy as he traced the vast territory in blood. "Our next generation, and the generation after that, can live in peace here. They will never have to step onto a cruel battlefield at your age... or Kakashi's."
Looking at the blood-stained, redesigned map, Ren fell silent.
Even with his cynical eye, he had to admit: this was, indeed, a god-given opportunity.
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