[It's a deliciously fine tightrope he's walking here, but once he realizes Ren believes him... it's a rush of power like he hasn't felt in a long time. Finally, finally he has the upper hand, and it makes it hard to feel bad for the lying. The more lies you tell, the easier it gets, and the less it hurts to tell.

He exhales and shakes his head.]

I don't know, [he says, and again that's an honest answer, because he was in prison. He wouldn't know the full details of what Maruki had given Ren, other than him.] I can tell you that after they released me, I realized that somehow Maruki had erased our records completely. Not just deleted from records, but made it so that you and I had never committed any crimes. Erased it all from reality.

[Okumura, Wakaba Isshiki, and who knows how many others of Akechi's victims Maruki had brought back to life? All people Akechi would see dead once again if it meant freeing himself from that manipulative bastard's clutches.]