Gamamaru offered his earnest advice, his eyes filled with sincerity.
Clearly, if he had a choice, he wanted to live too!
Especially after he caught glimpses of the future, learned of the choices made by Shikkotsu Forest and Ryūchi Cave, and discovered that the toads of Mount Myōboku had not been targeted by Uchiha Jin, his desire to surrender grew stronger by the day.
Don't let his usual posturing as the holy Mount Myōboku fool you.
But when it actually came down to life and death, he, the Great Toad Sage in the eyes of the world, wanted to kneel and beg for mercy more than anyone else.
But, unfortunately.
Hagoromo's expression remained calm after hearing these words.
He certainly knew the accuracy of Gamamaru's prophecies. Back in the war between himself and his mother, hadn't Gamamaru predicted his brother's success early on, and then eagerly offered to become his summoning beast?
But...
What a joke!
What was Uchiha Jin supposed to be?
To put it nicely, he was a descendant whose lineage was separated by who knows how many generations; to put it bluntly, he was just a leek growing in his own nursery.
Wanting to snatch his nursery? That was an affront to the heavens!
If he could tolerate this, no one could!
Therefore, looking at Gamamaru before him, Hagoromo's tone remained flat and indifferent.
"Gamamaru, you must remember!"
"The Ninja World is the nursery of me, the Six Paths Sage, Otsutsuki Hagoromo!"
"Even if I have to destroy the entire Ninja World, I will not let others easily take it."
"Otherwise..."
"I might as well release my mother!"
These words were quite resolute.
Especially that last murmured sentence, which made Gamamaru's scalp tingle.
Holy crap!
This guy Hagoromo was crazy; he was actually going to release Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?
At this moment, he felt his scalp tingling.
It was one thing to have Black Zetsu, that guy who wanted to save his mother, but he was at most just a pawn in Hagoromo's hand. In reality, Gamamaru, who understood prophecy, had long since sensed Black Zetsu, but he had never taken him seriously before.
Because he knew very well that he was just a turd-stirrer causing chaos in the Ninja World.
Black Zetsu's actions were all within Hagoromo's plans, and at the critical moment, Hagoromo would naturally step out to stop him.
But what about now?
This damn guy Hagoromo actually wanted to release Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?
Gamamaru was so shocked he couldn't speak, and he murmured in utter bewilderment.
"Hagoromo, you..."
"How about that? Didn't see that coming, did you?"
Looking at the stunned Gamamaru, the mockery at the corner of Hagoromo's mouth became even more pronounced.
Indeed!
He was very sure that Gamamaru definitely couldn't have predicted this, because he had never had such a thought before. It was just a thought that popped up out of despair after hearing Gamamaru's warning and knowing the accuracy of his prophecies.
"I... sigh!"
"Hagoromo, I cannot persuade you."
"All I can tell you is that since I am your summoning beast, I will live and die with you."
"Mount Myōboku flourished because of Ninshu, so it should naturally fade away with the end of Ninshu!"
Gamamaru took a deep breath, his eyes slowly becoming lifeless.
He knew he couldn't change Hagoromo's mind, and he understood that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Since Mount Myōboku had flourished with Ninshu, now it was naturally time to pay the price.
It would be good to live, of course, but when the day of death came, he could face it calmly.
In fact, he had profited!
After all, Mount Myōboku had basked in the glory of Ninshu for thousands of years, and when it fell, it only cost the life of one toad.
What more could he ask for?
On the other side.
Looking at Gamamaru who looked ready to die heroically, Hagoromo's expression turned ugly for the first time.
He certainly wasn't stupid!
Gamamaru's attitude clearly stated that even if his mother were released, Gamamaru still felt that Uchiha Jin had the upper hand.
For a Great Sage skilled in prophecy to show such an attitude, even for the arrogant Hagoromo, it was deeply unsettling.
"Enough, it's time to go."
"Gamamaru, listen to me."
"I will let you know that you predicted wrong this time."
"The Ninja World is my nursery, and no one has the right to take it away."
"I am not even afraid of the Ōtsutsuki Clan from the distant stars, so why would I be afraid of a leek grown in the Ninja World?"
As if trying to boost his own morale, Hagoromo turned and left after speaking.
To this, Gamamaru just let out a sigh, shook his head, and couldn't be bothered to say anything more, following directly behind Hagoromo as they left.
The elderly Gamamaru, as he slowly walked forward, began to grow younger and younger.
By the time he reached Hagoromo's side, he had transformed into his younger self.
Hagoromo glanced at Gamamaru, not even bothering to waste any more words.
With a casual wave of his hand, accompanied by a fluctuation in space-time, the two left Mount Myōboku directly.
When Gamamaru opened his eyes again, he found that the place they were in was the Mountains Graveyard, where Uchiha Madara had stayed for twenty years!
Hagoromo extended his fingertip and pointed casually into the void.
In the blink of an eye, the earth tore open!
A huge fissure was opened, and Hagoromo and Gamamaru jumped down.
About five kilometers below the Mountains Graveyard, there was a massive underground space, filled with endless layers of White Zetsu.
They had not been awakened and were still in a dormant state!
At this moment.
Black Zetsu's so-called biggest secret was easily found by Hagoromo.
From this, it was clear that Black Zetsu's so-called hiding in the Ninja World for a thousand years and his secret plotting to rescue his mother were essentially a joke in Hagoromo's eyes.
Every move he made was under Hagoromo's surveillance.
Subsequently.
Hagoromo waved his hand casually, and a massive Sealing Jutsu instantly enveloped the entire underground space.
'Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu!'
Hagoromo simply pressed his hands together, and large amounts of ash submerged the White Zetsu, replaced by a large number of Edo Tensei Strongmen.
However, it was a pity.
Just at the moment the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu succeeded, the Edo Tensei bodies of the many true powerhouses completely crumbled in an instant, turning into piles of scattered ash in the blink of an eye, thereby revealing the original White Zetsu bodies once again.
"This, how is this possible?"
Hagoromo froze on the spot, his mind going blank.
Subsequently.
He immediately used his authority in the Pure Land to take a brief look, and his expression instantly darkened.
Damn it, they were all gone!
The souls qualified to be called strongmen were all gone. The Pure Land now appeared empty, and the number of true strongmen he could summon was pitifully small; most were those whose remains had completely dissipated in the Ninja World, the batch that even everyone in the Ninja World couldn't find.
Konoha's Impure World Reincarnation required the remains of the strongman during their lifetime.
Hagoromo, however, did not!
As the absolute controller of the Pure Land, he didn't need remains as coordinates, which allowed him to Edo Tensei this batch of strongmen.
Otherwise...
He wouldn't be able to get even one strongman, at best he would get a batch of real cannon fodder!
"Bastard, damn it!"
"Why did that guy Uchiha Jin suddenly Edo Tensei these people?"
"Ga! Ma! Maru!"
"Did you do this?"
At this moment, Hagoromo had truly broken down.
He could no longer maintain his previous disdain and indifference, and he roared directly at Gamamaru behind him.