"Lord Xuanyu, we have come to confess our crimes!"
Xuanyu remained seated in the gazebo, sipping tea. The moment Shimura Chūrō entered, he forced Shimura Dansan to his knees.
The expression on his face
was one of utter sincerity.
It was as though they had truly come to apologize
and had truly realized their mistakes.
Xuanyu said nothing. He merely gazed calmly at Shimura Dansan, who was being held on his knees, then at the utterly sincere Shimura Chūrō and the others behind him. A smile actually appeared on his face.
But that smile was only skin-deep.
"Lord Xuanyu, this man, Shimura Dansan, is Shimura Danzō's younger brother. He participated in every evil deed Danzo committed in the past. We specifically brought him here to confess his crimes!"
Seeing that Xuanyu remained silent, Shimura Chūrō continued with the same sincere expression. "We ask Lord Xuanyu to spare the Shimura Clan!"
He still sounded incomparably earnest. As he spoke, he nudged Shimura Dansan with his foot, signaling for him not to let Chūrō do all the talking and to say something as well.
Shimura Dansan looked at Xuanyu's faintly meaningful smile. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke. "They are right. I am Shimura Danzō's younger brother. I knew everything Shimura Danzō did back then, and I carried out all the things Danzo did not do himself. I hope Lord Xuanyu will punish only me!"
"The blame lies entirely with me. It has nothing to do with my clansmen!"
With that, Shimura Dansan pressed his forehead to the ground, admitting his guilt.
Seeing this, Shimura Chūrō, who had been anxiously fearing that Shimura Dansan might turn on them, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Shimura Dansan had taken all the blame. The Shimura Clan could finally weather this crisis