Naruto: If I ask you to kill Sasuke, you will become a succubus?

Chapter 217 Reflection 1

Uchiha Madara didn't speak for a long time.

I think he might be about to emphasize to me again that this world is not a game of house.

But he asked me, "If you value the bond so much, why do you leave your companions again and again? They are so worried about you, but you ignore them."

I was stunned: "How much have you seen?"

"The Nine-Tails almost went berserk because of you. In order to comfort him, you would rather be burned by the Nine-Tails' chakra. Your relationship was not ordinary, but you still left his arms in the end." Uchiha Madara looked up at the sky, as if he was lost in memories: "Watching the person he loved disappear in his arms... That guy must be very desperate at this moment."

I am speechless.

"You seem gentle and kind, but the things you do can be very cruel."

"You think I'm hypocritical?"

Unexpectedly, Uchiha Madara said: "No... I can understand you."

"Can you..." I asked in surprise, "understand me?"

"Your goals are different from theirs. You can't confide in them because they can't understand or support you. They will only use their self-righteous 'rightness' to judge that you are 'wrong' and hinder you from moving towards your goal. At that time, their feelings for you will only become a burdensome bondage. Isn't it? It is normal to break free from the bondage and run towards freedom."

I wrinkled my nose: "What you said is so rude."

"Isn't that so?"

"That's not the case... How can you be free if you throw off all the shackles? That's not something that makes people happy." I said, "That's loneliness. No one knows you, no one recognizes you, no one cares about you, no one pays attention to you... No one is happy for you, no one is sad for you... Even if you disappear one day, no one in the world will know. Is that really good?"

"..."

I helped Uchiha Madara straighten his collar. "In the eyes of the world, you are already a person who has passed away for many years. Your family, friends, everyone you know and everyone who knows you are gone. As you said, no one has feelings for you anymore, and no one will use feelings to bind you or hinder you... You are free from all the fetters... Do you feel free now? Do you think you are... happy? When you find that your name is gradually forgotten by everyone and no one will mention it anymore... won't you be sad?"

"I'm moving forward with my plan, and nothing else matters."

"You have been hiding in the dark, and someone knows that you are Uchiha Madara. Someone saw you and talked to you. Are you unhappy? I think you are happy, because people will not frequently appear around people they hate."

I chuckled, "Even though you always deny it, we have already established a bond!"

"..."

"What are you thinking?"

"I wonder if I'm being too nice to you."

"How have you been good to me? You are too narcissistic!" I immediately retorted, "There are so many people who treat me better than you! Shikamaru, Shino, Ino, Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, Neji, Haku, Zabuza... From childhood to adulthood, I have met many people who treat me much better than you! If doing this little thing for me is considered 'too good', then it is too unfair to them!"

"You are really welcome."

"Because I'm cute!"

Uchiha Madara seemed to choke.

"Well, you can't refute it?"

He laughed: "Yeah... that's right. But... it should be more than just that."

"Besides, a bond...is a kind of restraint." I said while lying on Madara's shoulder, "It is precisely because of the bond that you can be fixed in a certain position in this world. Pain and happiness are inseparable. Something that can make you happy can also make you feel pain. A world with only happiness but no pain is just as impossible as a world with only pain but no happiness."

Even in the hopeless future where Uchiha Sasuke rules the world, there will always be someone who, at some point, smiles from the heart.

But Uchiha Madara suddenly said firmly: "It exists."

"does not exist."

"exist."

I frowned in confusion: "How does it exist?"

"It's like a beautiful dream. No one suffers in a dream."

“But dreams will wake up.”

"It's good that he won't wake up."

I affirmed, "Then it will become a nightmare in reality. Moreover, escaping into a dream will not change reality at all, so isn't that just escaping?"

"You speak very righteously," Uchiha Madara said, "but the only way to save humanity is to stop it from taking action."

"Okay, okay," I realized that I couldn't convince him, and he couldn't convince me either. It was pointless to continue arguing like this, and it was just a waste of time. "Let's change the subject."

"You said."

"Hmm..." I thought for a moment, "You just said I was cruel... I will reflect on this."

Uchiha Madara said, "No need. You are far from the point where you need to reflect on yourself."

"But I did do something very excessive to Naruto and Shikamaru."

"As a ninja, if you can't even endure this little pain, you'd better retire and farm as soon as possible."

"...Then how far do I have to go before I need to reflect on myself? Don't lead me astray."

Even I feel that what Uchiha Madara said was a bit too unreasonable.

I fell into deep thought and didn't speak for a long time.

After a while, Uchiha Madara asked me, "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about bonds... and love."

"like?"

"Yes." I said, "Do you know the story of the Sage of Six Paths?"

"Six Paths Immortal?"

"The Sage of Six Paths has two sons. The elder one is called Indra. He is a genius. He is stronger than everyone else. Therefore, he is extremely arrogant and conceited, and looks down on others. The younger one is called Ashura. He is a person of average talent, but he can empathize with the pain and difficulties of others. He has helped many people and received help from many people, so he has many friends."

"…Who told you this story?"

What Shikamaru-sama wrote on the scroll.

He commented that we should remember this story well. But I never understood what was so special about this story.

It's like a bedtime fairy tale for little kids.

"I don't remember where I saw it." I evaded the question and continued, "That's not the point! The point is that later, the Sage of Six Paths let Ashura inherit his position, and Indra was very dissatisfied, so he started a fight. In the end, it was the weak younger brother who defeated the genius and powerful older brother. Do you know how he did it?"

Uchiha Madara cooperated and asked, "How did you do that?"

"Because everyone helps him!"

"Wow——" Uchiha Madara said exaggeratedly: "It's really unexpected."

I was dissatisfied with his disrespectful attitude: "You don't understand, this story is teaching us the principles of life!"

I finally understood why Lord Shikamaru carefully selected this story and put it in the scroll.

It's not a fairy tale, it's a fable!

Indra is the ancestor of the Uchiha clan. After the Uchiha clan opened their Sharingan, it was easy for them to become as arrogant as Indra because of the powerful eye power they gained.

Lord Shikamaru is reminding me that I must never ignore the power of bonds and companions by thinking that I am powerful after opening the Sharingan.

I happily hugged Uchiha Madara's neck and shook him: "I finally figured it out! If it weren't for you, I still wouldn't understand it!"

Uchiha Madara let me get excited on his back and asked curiously, "What do you know?"

"Bonds are chains of love! If you keep running away from them, you will feel that they are restraining you! However, as long as you face them and call them out, they will become a force to help you!"

"What do you mean?"

"That's right! If I go alone to find the scorpion, and you keep following me and monitoring me, I will feel constrained. However, if I tell you if you can help me find the scorpion, you will go with me! Right?"

"..."

"You're silent, but I've figured it out!" I said happily, "Well... I did something really cruel before... After this is over, I'm going to go find Naruto and Shikamaru to apologize."

Lord Shikamaru has always prepared such a powerful force for me, but I am so stupid that I only realize it now.

Uchiha Madara retorted: "Love is not such a simple thing. Love can be mixed with impurities. Just because someone loves you doesn't mean they won't hurt you. Sometimes love is as bitter as hate. If one day your companions want to kill me, or I kill your companions, what will you do?"

"I'm not saying that if you understand that love can help you, you won't feel pain." I felt that Uchiha Madara's brain didn't seem very flexible. "Didn't I say that a world with only happiness and no pain, or a world with only pain and no happiness, can't exist. However, when I'm in pain and despair, love can help me face reality, keep me from getting lost in the darkness, and give me the strength to keep going... That's a very precious power."

I asked him, "Since you know Itachi is helping me, Akatsuki won't do anything to him, right?"

"What does Xiao's matter have to do with me?"

"But I heard that you are the mastermind behind Akatsuki."

"Tsk." Uchiha Madara said unhappily: "Uchiha Itachi told you?"

If I guard against Uchiha Madara, I will always be worried that he will endanger Uchiha Itachi. What if I tell him directly?

"Could you please not hurt him?"

"Why?"

"Because of your love for me." I said directly: "Although you don't want to admit it, you are willing to help me, which means you love me."

"…Has anyone ever told you that what you say sometimes sounds scary?"

"Huh? Why?"

"No, nothing." For some reason, Uchiha Madara gave up explaining: "What if Uchiha Itachi wants to kill me?"

"Then reflect on yourself."

"……Hello!?"