"Pffft—!"
The technique was broken, and Hagoromo suffered a fierce backlash. A huge mouthful of blood gushed out as his aged body flew backward like a kite with its strings cut, slamming into a crumbling mountain peak. The peak collapsed instantly, burying most of him beneath the rubble.
He struggled to open his eyes, blood continuously spilling from the corners of his mouth. The Rinnegan's light had gone completely dim, and the power of his Sage Body was rapidly fading. It felt as if every bone in his body had been shattered; he couldn't even lift a hand. Yet he still stared fixedly at the Black Susanoo Armor, his eyes full of unwillingness and resolve.
Nearby, Indra's Six Magatama Rinnegan turned slowly as he watched it all with cold detachment. His face showed no emotion, but the barely perceptible satisfaction in his eyes grew ever more pronounced.
He watched Hagoromo's wretched state, saw how all his desperate efforts had come to nothing, and finally felt some of the resentment that had built up over countless years ease. This was the price of favoritism. This was what happened for ignoring him.
At that moment, a silent observation was taking place in the Three Great Sage Regions of the Shinobi World.
Inside the toad temple on Mount Myōboku, Gamamaru, who had lived for over a thousand years, sat coiled atop the highest stone seat in the hall. Time had left its mark on his aged body. His cloudy eyes were fixed on the crystal ball floating before him, his expression so grave it seemed utterly still.
The crystal ball showed the Shinobi World's devastation in stark detail: the Black Susanoo Armor blotting out the sky, Hagoromo Otsutsuki battered and on the brink of death, Indra watching with cold indifference, and the Shinobi