In the distant, deathly silent expanse, the Sage of Six Paths opened his eyes atop a mountain peak, a long-lost smile appearing on his face.
Behind him, Otsutsuki Hamura emerged from the stone house at some unknown moment and said calmly, "You've already released Momoshiki?"
The Sage of Six Paths shook his head. "No. I haven't completely undone his seal. At most, I've allowed him to send power into the Main World—probably no more than thirty percent. But he created a puppet named Otsutsuki Kinshiki. Its strength is quite decent, and it should be able to reach the Main World as well."
"Seeking the tiger's hide is not wise. I do not believe he will act as you expect," Otsutsuki Hamura said calmly, though his tone still revealed his dissatisfaction with the matter.
The Sage of Six Paths glanced at him with a half-smile and said meaningfully, "Of course I know he won't act according to my will. That was never my intention from the start. I don't believe a single word of his promises, and I imagine he feels the same way about me."
"Then why did you still..." Otsutsuki Hamura asked in surprise.
The Sage of Six Paths shook his head with a smile. "Hamura, your thinking is sometimes too simple. You never consider the more complicated matters. Why would I need Momoshiki to act according to my will? I only need to use him to get rid of Uchiha Shin. Do you understand the principle that one mountain cannot hold two tigers? Once he is released, whether he wishes it or not, he will inevitably clash with Uchiha Shin, because their conflict cannot be reconciled. Momoshiki wants to regrow the Divine Tree and fulfill the long-unfinished ambition from over a thousand years ago, but the price is