"We've already defied her and tried to stop her time and again. We've exhausted the last of Mother's patience."
"With how cold and obsessive she has become, recklessly defying her again won't save anyone. We'll only throw our own lives away and die by Mother's hand."
Pain surfaced in Hagoromo's eyes as he said this.
Hamura shuddered, his eyes instantly bloodshot with anguish, his face filled with disbelief and despair.
"But... Brother! Are we really supposed to just stand by and watch?"
"Watch countless innocent people die, watch Mother sink deeper into darkness, watch the entire world be hollowed out and destroyed?"
He could not accept such helpless cowardice. He could not watch his own mother descend into evil while innocent people were slaughtered.
Hagoromo gently shook his head again and gazed into the distance. His eyes held a restraint and ambition others could not fathom, and his voice was utterly resolute.
"We won't just stand by and watch."
"We're only... lying low for now. Biding our time."
"Right now, we're far too weak. We have no means to turn this around, no power to stand against Mother."
"So we must lie low, build ourselves up, and grow stronger in secret."
"We need to amass enough power to overturn everything. When the time is right, we'll put an end to all this darkness in one fell swoop!"
From that moment on, Hagoromo Otsutsuki cast aside his innocence and softness completely.
He had seen through his mother's cold obsession, recognized the absolute gulf between their strength, and set the course of his future destiny.
Atop the mountain, Hamura was filled with grief, outrage, and helplessness, while Hagoromo coldly endured and plotted. Both brothers had made up their minds.
They would not rush recklessly to their deaths. For now, they would lie