I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

On the banks of the Naka River, Hashirama Senju sat on the riverbank, throwing a stone shard in his hand. The shard bounced across the river's surface, finally stopping on the opposite bank.

"Sigh~"

After throwing the toss several times, Hashirama Senju suddenly sighed. Perhaps life is like this: when you do something you loved as a child, you find that the joy you once had is long gone.

"Lord Shodaime."

Just then, a voice came from behind. Hashirama Senju turned around and saw Yamato with a somewhat simple-minded expression. Hashirama Senju suppressed his worry and asked with a smile:

"Yamato, why are you here instead of working in the Hokage Building?"

"First Generation Lord, are you leaving now?"

Yamato asked, and Hashirama Senju nodded, saying, "We ultimately do not belong to this ninja world; it is indeed time for us to leave."

Yamato nodded, sat down near Hashirama Senju, and after a long pause, said, "First Hokage, I will not forget your teachings, and I will strive to restore the glory of the Wood Release ninja."

"Haha~ There's no glory to be had, just some empty fame."

Hashirama Senju waved his hand, then said seriously, "What you should do is not to rebuild the glory of Wood Release ninjas, but to do what you believe is right."

Perhaps times change, what was right will become wrong, and perhaps you will overturn your own decisions, but that doesn't matter, as long as you believe that you are right "at the moment".

Madara and I have both undergone many changes in ourselves, but no matter what, I am still Hashirama Senju and he is still Madara Uchiha. The so-called betrayal of each other or even betrayal of ourselves are just different "present moments" and what we think is right.

Always do what you believe is right, even if you are wrong in fact. After all, regret and remorse are also part of life.

Sorry for rambling on about some old, tired things, but you probably already know what I'm thinking.

"I understand, First Generation Lord."

Yamato nodded vigorously. In fact, very few people had said these things to him. He himself was also thinking about what it meant to believe that something was right.

Ever since he was found, he has been doing what others think is right, but perhaps he should leave some trace of his own existence.

"A hundred years have passed in ruins, and old friends stand like trees in a forest. I am not a towering tree, how can I stand aloof for a thousand years? Alas, I only ask that this passing be free from coming and going."

Hashirama Senju sighed, and then his body disintegrated, transforming into branches and roots that grew towards the sun.

At the ruins of the Senju clan's territory, Tobirama Senju sat quietly on a dilapidated old wooden chair in his study. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, looked at Sasuke who had appeared out of nowhere, and said:

"Didn't you say you were planning to leave the village?"

"I've come to say goodbye."

Sasuke looked at Tobirama Senju and said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Second Hokage. I haven't figured out how to walk my future path yet. I hope to explore it with my own two feet."

"I will return to the village and serve Konoha when I have a clear understanding."

"Alright, it's not like you're betraying the village. Do you think I can stop you?"

Tobirama Senju waved his hand, a slight movement that made the wooden chair beneath him seem about to lose its balance and break, emitting an unpleasant creaking sound.

Sasuke nodded, turned and stepped forward, asking, "Does Master have any advice for me?"

Tobirama Senju did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned around, looked at the rows of empty bookshelves, and said, "What people leave behind after they die is not what they have gained, but what they have given to others."

Be a generous person.

It's not that there are too many unforgivable sinners in this world, but that you are the only one who can't forget those bad things.

Be someone who doesn't hold grudges against yourself.

Sasuke kept his head down for a long time before raising it with a smile and saying, "Thank you, teacher. I'm leaving now."

There was no more sound from Tobirama Senju behind him. Sasuke didn't turn around for a moment, but instead pushed open the door and walked out into the sunlight.

On a distant telephone pole, Itachi lowered his hand, looked at the binoculars in his hand, and smiled. Then he transformed into a flock of crows and disappeared.

Inside a private room at a small tavern, Minato, holding a wine glass, bowed slightly and smiled at Iruka and Jiraiya in front of him, saying, "Jiraiya-sensei, Iruka, thank you."

"Please make sure Naruto's father isn't absent while I'm away. I hope you can continue to do so in the future. Thank you."

After saying that, he drank the wine in his cup. Jiraiya nodded with a smile, while Iruka raised his cup with some trepidation and said, "Fourth Hokage, I was just doing what a teacher should do."

I believe anyone else would have fallen for Naruto and felt an instinctive liking for him; I'm not that special person.

"Please, no matter what."

"Knock knock knock~"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Iruka quickly got up and used the excuse of opening the door to avoid Minato's bow. But when he opened the door, he saw Naruto instead.

Naruto's eyes were bloodshot. He first nodded to Iruka, and after Iruka stepped aside to make room, Naruto walked in, looked at his father, opened and closed his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Minato remained silent for a long time, then awkwardly poured himself a glass of sake, slowly walked to Naruto, handed him the glass, and said:

"Naruto, you're not a child anymore. Although you still need to remember the three ninja prohibitions, you should learn to have a drink occasionally, just like your Uncle Tatsuma."

But most importantly, you can't cry anymore. Adults need to give others courage, so you must be strong yourself. Besides, you're much more handsome with a confident smile than a mournful face.

Naruto took the wine glass, looked at his father with a bright, sunny smile, and then hugged him tightly, saying in a thick nasal voice, "Dad, I will become a handsome man like you."

"Good boy."

Minato stroked the back of Naruto's head, his touch becoming lighter and lighter until Naruto's hands suddenly reached for nothing.

"Aren't we going to ignore those kids? They've been waiting outside for ages."

At the hot spring inn, Yokura, soaking in the hot spring, looked at Tatsuma. Tatsuma shook his head, swirled the sake glass in his hand, and said, "I'm not good at saying goodbye."

"But even if we're together, don't we still have to say goodbye?"

"You are different."

"oh."

Yekura fell silent. The two of them stood there awkwardly, seemingly unsure of what to say. After a while, Yekura pointed to the wine glass in Tatsuma's hand and said, "You've already thrown all the wine away. You don't have to waste it like that if you're not going to drink it, right?"

"Um, I just wanted to try a wine bath."

"Heh~"

Ye Cang forced a convincing smile with his stiff acting, then picked up a bottle of liquor and chugged it down. After emptying the bottle, he said:

"Goodbye. Don't use other people as substitutes anymore, even the same person. It makes me very uncomfortable."

"Um."

Tatsuma nodded with his eyes closed, feeling the hot spring water getting increasingly scalding, and the clothes that didn't belong to him floating onto him. He sighed.

"I'm leaving, go back!"

He spoke loudly, and outside, Gaara and Neji exchanged a glance, then turned and left.

In another ninja world, Shikaku, walking along the corridor of the Hokage Building, suddenly stopped, frowned, and looked at a door. He sensed a powerful and strange chakra.

Without hesitation, he pushed open the door, saw the Sharingan and Byakugan on Tatsuma's face, sneered, and said:

"I knew it."

Tatsuma seemed to have just come to his senses, rubbed his eyes, and said, "Shikaku, give me a week off, I'm not feeling well."

"I'll give you three days at most to resolve this issue. I don't want to deal with the public opinion surrounding the Hokage's alleged murder of Konoha ninja members."

After saying this with disdain, Shikaku took a step back, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then put his hand on the doorknob to close it, when he heard Tatsuma say:

"Long time no see, Shikaku."

"baffling."

"Bang!"

Shikaku slammed the door shut. (End of Chapter)