"Elders!"
"I thought you were both the sort of people who would spare no cost for the Shinobi World. I never expected you to hesitate over something so trivial."
"If you give ground over this today, won't you give ground over something else tomorrow?"
"Retreat once, and you'll keep retreating. How can we face the crisis about to descend on the Shinobi World by following you two?"
At that moment, Xuandou turned his gaze toward the Sage of Six Paths.
He let out a deep sigh.
"Elder Hagoromo, have you forgotten the Ōtsutsuki Clan pursuers who will soon arrive from the distant stars?"
"The Shinobi World is about to face a devastating catastrophe."
"You left that prophecy yourself. Can't you two make a sacrifice for the future of the Shinobi World?"
"You've clung to life in two separate places all these years. It seems there was a reason for that..."
"The legendary Sage of Six Paths, and his younger brother, the Moon Guardian-you're nothing special after all."
Xuandou's voice grew louder and louder. Combined with his expressions and gestures, he seemed genuinely saddened by the two of them.
"Uchiha Xuantou, who do you think you are?" Hamura was beside himself with rage. "What gives you the right to judge us brothers?"
The Sage of Six Paths' face alternated between pale and flushed. Even his translucent body took on color from his agitation.
Who was he?
The Savior who had saved the Shinobi World, the Sage of Six Paths who had taught the principles of chakra.
It could be said that without the Sage of Six Paths, the entire Shinobi World would have become offerings to the goddess Kaguya many years ago.
The Shinobi World's first ninja had emerged under his tutelage, and that lineage had developed and borne fruit everywhere.