Chapter 366: Where Did This Great Buddha Come From?
She had anticipated countless possibilities: a polite rejection, a serious evasion, an awkward silence, or even flustered confusion...
But she never expected it to be this understated "I figured it out," as if he were merely stating an objective fact he had known all along!
This was even harder to deal with than a direct rejection.
He "figured it out"? When did he figure it out? How did he figure it out? Since he knew, why hadn't he shown any reaction? Saying it in such a flat tone now, what on earth did it mean? Did it mean he knew but didn't care? Or did he think this wasn't a big deal at all?
Countless question marks exploded in Sakura's mind like fireworks, causing all the courage she had just mustered and the emotions she had brewed to instantly get stuck in an awkward, suspended state.
Naruto looked at Sakura's choked-up expression and seemed to finally realize that his response might have been too "unexpected."
He blinked, a somewhat troubled yet helpless smile appearing on his face, and scratched the back of his head.
"Um... what I mean is... well..."
He was rarely at a loss for words, but it seemed he was struggling a bit now.
"I can... sort of feel your feelings. It's just... if you don't mind."
Naruto thought of his past life.
It was probably just a regular break time, with sunlight streaming in through the classroom windows.
A few male classmates he was on decent terms with were gathered together, chatting, and somehow the topic drifted to aimless fantasies about the future.
"Hey, Old X."
A classmate had his arm draped over Naruto's shoulder and asked with a mischievous grin,
"If, in the future, when you get married, would you choose the person you like, or the person who likes you?"
"Why would I choose?"
"Just imagine it, don't be so serious."
At that time, Naruto was still full of thoughts about how to pass exams and how to raise his damn English scores. He had no concept of distant things like "marriage," and his understanding of "liking" someone was still vague and naive.
But he still frowned and thought about it very seriously.
"If I had to say..."
Naruto rubbed his chin, wearing an expression that said, "I am conducting a serious strategic analysis."
"I would choose someone who likes me and whom I don't hate."
"Why?"
The classmate became interested.
Naruto looked matter-of-fact as he raised a finger to analyze,
"The person I like might not like me back. Chasing them is such a hassle, and it might not even work out."
"But the person who likes me..."
His eyes lit up as if he had discovered some remarkable truth,
"She definitely likes me, and as long as I don't hate her, then why not give it a try!"
This analysis, based on "efficiency" and "success rate," immediately made his classmates burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
The classmate who asked the question grinned wickedly, suddenly hooked his arm around Naruto's neck, shook him vigorously, and laughed until he was out of breath,
"'The one you like might not like you, but the one who likes you definitely likes you'?"
"Yeah~ Damn, are you messing with me?"
"Spring is here, it's that time again... Hahahaha!"
The small classroom was filled with the carefree laughter of teenagers.
Naruto also giggled along, never feeling that there was anything wrong with his logic.
Success?
My confession... actually... succeeded just like that?!
How to describe the feeling at this moment?
Sakura felt like she was dreaming.
Her confession had actually succeeded just like that.
In the Pure Land.
The Six Paths Sage maintained the vision looking down at the Ninja World, with Hashirama and Madara behind him.
Hashirama raised an eyebrow and handed the mirror in his hand to Madara, who was beside him.
This mirror was the Six Paths Sage's treasure, the Mirror of the Seven Sins. The Seven Sins values of anyone reflected by the small, pinky-finger-sized circular mirror on the back would appear on the front.
"Madara, look, Naruto's Lust value just spiked by fifty points!"
The mirror displayed Naruto's portrait, with seven values below it.
Pride: 120, Envy: 6, Wrath: 30, Sloth: 20, Greed: 21, Gluttony: 31, Lust: 67
Madara took it and was slightly surprised after seeing Naruto's Seven Sins values; he hadn't expected the other's Pride value to be so high.
Then, he aimed the small mirror on the back at Sakura, who was opposite Naruto.
The portrait on the mirror changed to Sakura's, and her Seven Sins values appeared as well.
Pride: 27, Envy: 52, Wrath: 60, Sloth: 55, Greed: 30, Gluttony: 42, Lust: 75
"Tsk." Seeing the "Lust" value as high as 75, Madara made a sound of contempt without hiding it.
What are young girls thinking about these days!
Thinking this, Madara was curious about what Hashirama's panel would look like, so he aimed the mirror at Hashirama.
Soon, Hashirama's Seven Sins were displayed.
Pride: 50, Envy: 0, Wrath: 50, Sloth: 77, Greed: 0, Gluttony: 50, Lust: 0
Madara:...
Where did this Great Buddha come from?
He looked at those three striking "0"s on the mirror, then looked up at Hashirama's guileless, brightly smiling face in front of him, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
This guy Hashirama... is he really human?
For once, Madara had such a doubt in his heart.
No heart of envy? No desire of greed? No disturbance of lust?
This just doesn't seem like a normal person!
No wonder Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands is a Buddha statue.
Even the Six Paths Sage, who had been maintaining the vision, was drawn over at this moment.
He floated closer slowly, his gaze falling on the Hashirama values displayed on the mirror, and his aged, wise face rarely showed a hint of surprise and inquiry.
"Hmm?"
The Six Paths Sage stroked his long beard and said thoughtfully.
"I have lived through long ages and observed the hearts of countless living beings, but this is the first time I have seen such a'strange' distribution of Seven Sins values like Hashirama's."
"No envy, greed, or lust..."
The Six Paths Sage's gaze, filled with scrutiny and curiosity, was cast toward Hashirama, who was also feeling a bit curious about his own values and was scratching the back of his head with a silly smile.
Is Hashirama really a normal human?
Even the Six Paths Sage couldn't help but have a doubt similar to Madara's.
The Six Paths Sage and Madara both focused their gazes on Hashirama.
Madara's look was one of disbelief, while the Six Paths Sage's gaze was one of pure research interest.
Hashirama felt a bit embarrassed by their stares, laughed loudly, and slapped his own chest vigorously.
"Hahaha! What's so strange about this? I think it's quite normal. Why be jealous of others? Isn't it good for everyone to live in peace and become stronger together? Greed? There is gambling... Ah no, having Hidden Leaf Village and everyone is enough! Lust? Uh... anyway, I think this is great!"
His explanation was just like the Hashirama that Madara knew when he was young: simple, direct, and full of idealism and a certain degree of "insensitivity."
Looking at Hashirama's matter-of-fact, unclouded appearance, although Madara still looked disgusted, the sense of absurdity in his heart caused by the values gradually subsided.
The Six Paths Sage also nodded slightly, a flash of understanding in his eyes.
However, looking at Hashirama's performance during his lifetime... this is actually quite reasonable.
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