The Subtle Contrast between Naruto & Madara

There’s a real cool contrast I noticed with how Kishimoto displayed how Naruto & Madara perceived their back.

For Madara, he’s fearful with the thought of people behind him. Which is a metaphor for relying on others for help.

While for Naruto, he perceives others standing behind him as strength. And a lot of his power has always been symbolized as coming from help. Whether it be shadow clones, Kurama or his friends.

I’ve seen people discuss how Madara’s fear of his back was used to foreshadow how he’d die, but never seen anyone bring up how it was meant to contrast Naruto as well. Just thought it was an interesting detail to share.

(Sidenote: it’s also cool how Itachi reinforces this belief in Naruto, then Naruto turns around and reinforces it into Sasuke.)