However, agreeing with Shimura Danzō's idea did not mean that Uchiha Ren approved of Danzō's methods.
First of all, Danzō's plan to drag Konohagakure and Iwagakure back into a large-scale war would undoubtedly delay the time when Minato Namikaze could become the Fourth Hokage—and that was something Uchiha Ren absolutely could not accept.
Secondly, if the goal was to make Iwagakure pay a price, all Konoha had to do was adopt a slightly tougher stance.
At the moment, Iwagakure was the defeated party.
They were the ones who should be anxious—not Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō represented two completely opposite extremes.
Neither of their approaches was acceptable.
Uchiha Ren's trip to the Land of Rain had two purposes.
First, he wanted to stop Shimura Danzō—and if possible, leave Danzō in the Land of Rain permanently.
Second, he wanted to see whether it was possible to change the fate of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
And besides that, Uchiha Obito should currently be somewhere near Nagato. Ren also wanted to see how far that kid had progressed.
In the original storyline, Obito had been chosen by Madara Uchiha, who had long been hiding in the shadows. Through a series of elaborate schemes orchestrated by Madara, Obito had seemingly died during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, eventually becoming Madara's agent in the world.
Although Uchiha Ren knew this part of the story, he had never warned Minato about it and instead allowed events to unfold naturally.
There were several reasons for this.
On one hand, Madara Uchiha's strength was unfathomable. No one knew what other backup plans he might still possess.
If the storyline were changed recklessly, even if Obito were rescued from Madara's grasp, it was entirely possible that someone else would emerge to take his place.
At that point, having an enemy lurking unseen in the shadows would create even more trouble.
On the other hand, Uchiha Ren believed that allowing Minato's team to experience these events might not be entirely a bad thing.
At the time, Team Minato had many problems.
The genius of Konoha, Kakashi Hatake, had become deeply troubled after the suicide of his father, Sakumo Hatake, and had fallen into an emotional dead end, becoming cold and detached.
If not for Obito's "death", which demonstrated to Kakashi that comrades are more important than missions, Kakashi might never have awakened from that mindset and could have gone down the wrong path.
But Obito himself had major problems as well.
Despite possessing the bloodline of the Uchiha Clan, he was the dead last in terms of ability and often served as a burden to Team Minato.
It was undeniable that Obito possessed extraordinary talent.
However, his talent was not something that could be awakened through ordinary methods.
If not for Madara's manipulation, Obito might never have unlocked his true potential.
Beyond strength, Obito's personality also had serious issues.
When the person he loved died, his first thought was not to revive her—
It was to destroy the entire world.
Such a way of thinking clearly showed that his mental state was deeply unstable.
Although both Madara Uchiha and Uchiha Obito had been manipulated and deceived, Madara's reputation among many fans was still far better than Obito's.
The main reason was that, although Obito had been manipulated, Madara never completely restricted his freedom.
For example—
On the night when his teacher's wife, Kushina Uzumaki, was giving birth, Obito seized the opportunity to trigger the Nine-Tails' Attack on Konoha, which ultimately led to the deaths of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
Those actions were Obito's own decisions.
They were stains on his record that could never truly be erased.
Because Uchiha Ren knew the entire storyline, he inevitably looked at Obito through a biased lens and could not fully trust him.
However, Ren did not want such doubts to linger in his heart.
So he decided to return the choice to Obito himself.
If, after experiencing everything that occurred in the original timeline, Obito still chose to initiate the Nine-Tails' attack, then in Ren's eyes he would already be half dead.
Moreover, Obito once blamed Minato for failing to recognize him during that very incident.
If Minato were to expose Obito's identity in advance and Obito still stubbornly refused to repent, then Uchiha Ren could deal with him without any hesitation.
But if Obito managed to turn back from the wrong path—
Then it would truly become a perfect ending.
Kakashi would walk the path of righteousness.
Obito would grow into a powerful shinobi.
And the greatest hidden scheme left behind by Madara would collapse while contributing to the future instead.
And finally, there was Rin Nohara.
Among the members of Team Minato, Rin was probably the only truly normal one.
Yet she had been used as a tool by Madara to the fullest extent.
Rin's death was the key trigger behind Obito's descent into darkness, and also the starting point of Kakashi's long period of despair.
Although Uchiha Ren had not interfered with the events of the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, he had made a small adjustment regarding Rin's death.
Now, Rin was both dead… and not dead.
At least until Obito stepped onto the stage that Uchiha Ren had prepared for him—
Rin would remain dead in the eyes of the world.
For the sake of his fellow clansman Obito, Uchiha Ren had already done everything he reasonably could.
The situation of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, however, was different from Obito's.
The three of them were truly pitiful figures.
Yahiko was a sacrifice.
Konan was a loyal follower.
There was little more to say about them.
The key figure was Nagato.
Although Nagato and Obito were both technically killers of their own teacher, the two situations could not be compared.
Nagato's parents had been killed by Konoha shinobi.
His homeland had been destroyed during wars between Konoha and other nations.
And his closest friend had died before his eyes because of a conspiracy involving Konoha.
Nagato already had deep, irreconcilable hatred toward Konoha.
Thus, when Jiraiya later infiltrated Amegakure as a Konoha shinobi to gather intelligence, the two sides were already standing on opposite fronts.
The conflict between Nagato and Jiraiya was not personal hatred—
It was a clash of ideals and allegiances.
Nagato fought to fulfill the unfinished dream of his friend.
Jiraiya fought for Konoha.
Neither side allowed personal emotions to influence the battle.
And in fact, Nagato had given Jiraiya chances.
At the beginning of their battle, Nagato had even used only the Animal Path of the Six Paths of Pain.
Since Nagato did not initially display a strong intent to pursue him, Jiraiya actually had several opportunities to retreat safely.
Yet he ultimately exhausted himself and died within Amegakure.
Because of this, Uchiha Ren did not harbor much hostility toward Nagato.
If the tragedies that were destined to occur could be avoided—
Then Nagato might never walk down that dark road.
And Akatsuki might remain what it originally intended to be:
A neutral organization striving to achieve world peace without relying on extreme violence.
"Elder Danzō's methods are too extreme."
After understanding the full story, Minato gradually calmed down.
From one perspective, Shimura Danzō truly was acting in the interests of Konoha, so Minato could not criticize him too harshly.
However, just like Uchiha Ren, Minato agreed with Danzō's idea, but could not accept his methods.
Fighting for Konoha's interests was the right thing to do.
But it could not be done through such ruthless means.
If war broke out again, Konoha itself would suffer damage as well.
Danzō's approach essentially treated his comrades as expendable tools for gaining benefits.
And Minato would never allow such a thing to happen.
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