My Heart, My Actions, Clear as a Bright Mirror

Burning down a single mountain to wipe out twelve Root elites, including their highest commander—in Shiba Seika's eyes, that deal was far too good to pass up. Absolutely worth it.

Not to mention, tonight they were the side of complete victory.

Complete victory meant one thing: the dead could no longer speak.

So the next moment, he turned to Kenjiro and asked, "Kenjiro, when you were evacuating the villagers at the foot of the mountain earlier, how were their spirits? Anyone complaining?"

Kenjiro hesitated, then answered honestly, "Yes, some were furious, and others were grieving."

"Good."

The moment Shiba Seika said "good," everyone froze. How could that be good?

Until his next words made everyone present widen their eyes.

"Tomorrow morning, go tell those villagers that the evil Konoha Ninja who set the mountain on fire have all been killed by us. That the Akatsuki Organization has once again protected the peace of the Land of Rain."

Some were stunned, some stared, and some couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.

But Shiba Seika's moves weren't over. He turned to Konan next.

"Sister Nan, those two Root ninja who fled to the foot of the mountain at the end—you dealt with them, right?"

"Yes."

"Are the bodies still there?"

"They are, though one of them is a bit... fragmented."

Shiba Seika paused for a moment, caught off guard. He hadn't expected Sister Nan, usually so gentle, to be capable of such ruthlessness.

It never occurred to him that this was entirely a result of his own teachings.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat and continued as if nothing had happened.

"A bit fragmented is fine. Pick the most recognizable parts and bring them back to the village. Let the villagers see the culprits who burned down their mountain.

Then arrange a few of our members to use Transformation Jutsu and blend into the crowd. Stir up emotions, work together, and let the villagers vent their anger."

The more they listened, the more unsettled they became. Their gazes at Shiba Seika shifted from initial shock to awe, and finally to numbness.

In the end, a thousand words condensed into one: "As expected of you, Captain Seika."

No one asked stupid questions like, "Didn't we set the fire?"

If even such basic logic needed explanation, then Shiba Seika had wasted all the time he'd spent leading them.

Before leaving, Shiba Seika patted the shoulder of a Water Release ninja who had come with Nagato.

"Putting out the fire will be tough on you. Remember, if anyone asks, say it's the sin of the Konoha Ninja."

The man gave a bitter smile and said, "Leader Yahiko probably won't accept that explanation."

Shiba Seika just smiled faintly and didn't respond.

Compared to when he first crossed over, he was now a completely different person. With his strength, prestige, subordinates, and even his influence within the organization all fully elevated, he no longer needed to care about Yahiko's attitude like he used to.

Especially now that Konan and Nagato were gradually leaning toward his side, Yahiko's opinion had long ceased to matter in his eyes.

So what if he didn't accept it?

He'd already killed the men, set the fire, and burned the mountain.

He didn't believe Yahiko would actually force a fight to the death and blow things up tonight.

After giving his orders, he planned to head back and rest.

Just as they were parting, Konan suddenly approached him and said, "Let me walk you back."

Knowing Konan could fly, Shiba Seika didn't refuse.

The nearest mountain village was still quite far away. No need to make things hard on himself, right?

Flying through the air, Shiba Seika could clearly sense that Sister Nan had something she wanted to say but didn't know how to start.

He was sincere with Konan, so he took the initiative: "If there's something you want to say, just say it, Sister Nan. No need to hold back. We're comrades, aren't we?"

Only then did Konan set aside her hesitation and quietly asked, "Seika, isn't this too despicable of us? Is this really the ideal we're pursuing?"

Shiba Seika wasn't discouraged by the question; in fact, he was pleased.

Because Sister Nan had said "what we're doing," not "what you're doing."

That meant Konan already saw herself as an accomplice tonight.

That alone filled Shiba Seika with immense relief.

He spoke unhurriedly, "Sister Nan, do you remember the lesson I taught you over a month ago?"

A month ago was exactly when Shiba Seika and Konan had gone to investigate the hoarding merchant Ando.

It was also the starting point where Sister Nan's worldview was thoroughly reshaped.

"I remember."

"Then today, this is the second lesson I'm teaching you: Sister Nan, most of the time, only the victors get to write what is justice. The losers are left to eat dust.

No matter how beautiful an ideal is, without victory to support it, it's nothing but a mirage in the sky."

Persisting in kindness without purpose is meaningless.

Think back to the last Great Ninja War. Even if a few people—like your teacher Jiraiya—held fast to their principles after Konoha invaded the Land of Rain, what did it change? The suffering the Land of Rain endured was hardly lessened.

This time, we won. Even if we burned an entire mountain to ash, we still have the chance afterward to actively make amends to those villagers.

At any moment, only by staying alive do you earn the right to hold onto your ideals!"

These words were certainly tinged with sophistry, but that didn't matter.

Shiba Seika didn't truly need to convince anyone. He only needed to steady Konan's emotions.

Because he knew—Sister Nan's heart had always been with him, with the Akatsuki Organization.

She just needed an anchor to firm her resolve.

So in the end, he told Konan.

"If you feel lost, just think of the comrades beside you, think of their smiling faces, and firmly tell yourself—

My heart and my deeds are as clear as a mirror; everything I do is justice!"

"..."

For a long moment, Konan didn't reply.

She felt something was off. It seemed... particularly incongruous for Shiba Seika to say those words.

Yet after murmuring the phrase to herself a few times, her heart miraculously calmed.

She couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, thinking to herself that while this guy Shiba Seika was full of twisted logic, he really did have that kind of magical charm.

After returning, Shiba Seika, who had been busy all night, collapsed into sleep without a care, his rest utterly undisturbed by the blaze lighting up the sky for miles.

Waking up, good news came in pairs.

He received another new piece of good news—the system's observed outcomes had updated again!

This time, there was no need to wait for the ripples of subsequent effects to spread. The mere fact that Yūno Ryōma had died in battle and Root had suffered devastating losses was enough to alter the flow of the River of Fate!

This time, Shiba Seika's probability of dying of old age had broken through to an unprecedented 7.9%!

The probability of not surviving the next year had dropped below 55%!

At the same time, due to Root's massive weakening, the likelihood of him walking out of Konoha alive in his destined ending had also risen noticeably.

Before his peaceful death, a new outcome had appeared: escaping Konoha in the future, wandering the ninja world, until dying over a decade later in the Fourth Great Ninja War.

This outcome also had a probability close to 10%.

At that moment, he couldn't help but sigh.

The ninja world was truly a place where people devoured each other.

Killing your enemies—that was always the fastest way to increase your survival rate.