Chapter 391: Chapter 391: Ichigo Kurosaki: Can I charge a copyright fee for this?
"Where’s the king?" Naruto looked at Kurama, completely confused.
Sasuke crossed his arms and floated in the sky, his Rinnegan shining with its tomoe pattern. "I think he means Madara."
Sakura tilted her head, a bit puzzled, then cautiously asked, "But... Madara’s our enemy, right? Why are we saluting our enemy?"
Kakashi stayed silent for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Maybe it’s just for the dramatic effect."
Tobirama: "..."
He felt like he was being left out.
Kurama bared his teeth. "I meant you idiots, not Madara!"
Naruto scratched the back of his head in confusion. "But... we already got the power of the Sage a long time ago?"
"Shut up, all of you!" Kurama had black lines all over his face. "Don’t ruin the mood I worked so hard to build!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
His purple Rinnegan turned slightly as he looked at Madara in the center of the group, his expression calm but pleased. "I can see it. Your chakra isn’t the full Sage level. Even though you became the Ten-Tails’ jinchuriki, the beast inside you is missing something. It’s not fully grown yet, is it?"
Madara didn’t deny it. "True. That little rat used a shortcut to create the Ten-Tails. And because it was a shortcut, the Ten-Tails isn’t complete. Its real power still falls short compared to its full form."
"You’re just telling us that?" Sakura asked, sounding a little surprised.
Madara actually laughed. "It doesn’t really matter. In terms of raw power, each of you is already stronger than me. Any one of you could kill me alone. Whether I say it or not doesn’t change anything."
It wasn’t that he was open-minded.
He just didn’t care enough to hide things that were clearly obvious.
In fact, you could say he actually *enjoyed* the feeling of being the strong one while others were weak.
It had been a long time since he’d felt that.
"Well, that’s all I had to say. Are you guys done fooling around?"
Madara’s face suddenly turned serious, cold but with a strange kind of pride.
Kurama narrowed his eyes, instinctively on guard.
"Even after everything that’s happened, you’re still this confident?"
"Tell me—what grown man *isn’t* confident when facing kids?"
Madara said it like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Of course, it’d be a different story if they were geniuses.
Too bad... I’m a genius too."
His tone was so casual, like he was just saying he had rice for lunch.
"Just from your mindset, it’s clear you really are a legendary ninja,"
Kakashi said, unable to hide his admiration.
"When someone knows they’re strong but still shows that kind of calm, quiet confidence—that’s what sets legends apart from the rest of us."
Naruto and Sasuke didn’t lack confidence.
As for the others... they could talk big, but it meant nothing.
Madara looked at Kakashi.
"For a ninja, losing the will to fight just because you know you’ll lose,
or being scared to fight because you failed—that’s real shame.
You’re supposed to fight even when you know you’ll lose,
and try to win even after failing.
Even if it kills you in the end, that’s still something to be proud of, not something to be ashamed of."
As soon as he said that, Sakura froze.
She stared at Madara like she couldn’t believe what she just heard.
Tobirama didn’t notice her reaction.
He just nodded calmly.
"I really don’t like you, but... what you said is true.
That’s exactly why the Memorial Stone in the Hidden Leaf was built—to honor people like that."
He was speaking to Madara,
but also to all the other ninjas standing there.
Back in the Warring States period, no one ever backed down from a fight just because they knew they’d lose.
In fact, it was *because* they knew they would lose that they still fought—
using their own lives, their own failure, to help others win later on.
People like that were heroes, no doubt about it.
Madara noticed the change in Sakura’s expression.
He ignored Tobirama completely and looked at her with interest.
"From that look on your face, I take it you’ve got a different opinion?"
Everyone instinctively turned to look at Sakura—
except Tobirama, who had a vein bulging on his forehead.
Sakura shook her head and said carefully,
"Not a different opinion.
It’s just... I’ve heard someone say those exact words before."
As soon as she said that, Kurama’s eyes lit up with understanding.
"Oh?"
Madara turned fully to face her.
"Someone from this era?"
He was clearly curious.
To him, most of today’s ninjas were soft and weak—
aside from the older generation and the few strong ones they trained,
this newer generation hardly lived up to the name.
So hearing that made him genuinely interested.
"Yes," Sakura nodded,
then looked nervously over at Naruto standing next to her.
Only to see Naruto’s eyes shining like lights:
"Who was it? Who? Come on, Sakura, tell me! Who said it?"
"So strong?"
Sakura: "..."
I think you’re pretending not to know.
But Sasuke looked at Sakura like he understood something. He didn’t look at Naruto—he looked at Kurama.
Kurama had a goofy look on his face. Yep, he got it.
Sakura rolled her eyes and, under Madara’s gaze, said helplessly, "Naruto, it’s you."
Kakashi: "???"
Tobirama: "???"
Naruto: "???"
"So you really forgot. You weren’t faking it." Kurama was speechless. "Damn, unbelievable."
Naruto looked completely confused.
Madara, however, nodded slowly. "I see. I think I get it now."
Even though no one was sure what exactly he understood, Sakura explained under Tobirama and Kakashi’s confused stares, "A few years ago, during the Chunin Exams in the Leaf Village, when Naruto fought Neji, he said something..."
A very serious-looking Naruto said, "Running away only makes you weaker. Being scared leads to death."
Tobirama froze. Madara froze too.
The two of them instinctively turned to Naruto—only to see him smiling happily.
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Wow, you actually remembered that."
"Well, back then, I was the only one in class still watching your match." Sakura shrugged.
Sasuke crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and gave a slight smirk. Even though Kurama had already confirmed it, that line really did sound like something Naruto would say. So this time, he wasn’t going to ruin the moment.
"So you really were faking it..." Sakura finally realized.
Naruto looked a little embarrassed, but his eyes stayed firm. "Kurama was the one who told me that line. He said it came from someone who carried the hopes of many people—just like me."
Then Naruto turned to Madara. "Just like I told Neji back then, I don’t believe what his eyes told him, and I was ready to break the ’fate’ he talked about. Even in a fight I was supposed to lose, I gave it my all."
"Because it’s the fact that we *can* lose that makes fighting meaningful. And it’s because we can’t lose that winning is so valuable."
"And now I’m telling you, Uchiha Madara—I don’t believe in the future you’re talking about, and I don’t agree with your Infinite Tsukuyomi. So I’ll stop it. I’ll stop you from casting that jutsu. I’ll stop Kaguya from coming."
"Even if it costs me my life."
"I said it, and I’ll do it."
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