After a short while, the Sage of Six Paths, who had always called the shots between the brothers, explained, "Neither of us was thinking straight just now. Something went wrong with our heads, but we've finally come to our senses."
At that, the Sage of Six Paths nudged the deathly pale Hamura, signaling for him to say something.
Hamura paused briefly. A little earlier, he would not even have asked before striking with his palm.
But their second clash just now had instantly shown Hamura the gap between himself and Xuandou. He glanced at Hagoromo again.
Finally, under Hagoromo's encouraging gaze, he bowed deeply to Xuandou, filled with humiliation and helplessness.
"Xuandou, I'm sorry. It was my mistake."
"To make up for my mistake, I, Hamura, am willing to follow all your arrangements."
At that moment, Hamura could not help recalling Xuandou's earlier criticism: his assessment that Hamura and Hagoromo amounted to no more than this.
Previously, Hamura had thought Xuandou was merely boasting. In their last clash, he had not fully brought out the advantages of his Tenseigan.
This time, he had struck fiercely, intending to wash away his previous humiliation. Yet not only had he failed, he had instead been shown the gap between himself and Xuandou.
The gap between himself and Xuandou had been like heaven and earth to begin with, but now it had flipped, reversing the positions of the Ōtsutsuki and the Uchiha.
At this moment, Hamura could not help truly considering Xuandou's words.
Had today's ninja truly reached the point where they could not afford to take even one step back, which was why Xuandou had been angered by their choice?
Or had he and Hagoromo spent day and night dwelling on their past glory, living in comfort for so long that they had