Fukasaku and Elder Shima exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
Why?
After all, the education they had received since childhood taught them that the Six Paths Sage was an ally of Mount Myōboku, and that the Six Paths Sage represented justice, being the person with the greatest boundless love in the entire Ninja World.
But what about now?
The Six Paths Sage said that Konoha was rotten to the core and that Konoha had destroyed the balance of the Ninja World.
Under normal circumstances, shouldn't they represent justice, choose to help the Six Paths Sage, and launch a thunderous strike against Konoha?
And...
Little Jiraiya had fought on behalf of Mount Myōboku for the sake of justice and ultimately sacrificed his life at the hands of Konoha.
One must know that because of this, the couple hated Konoha to the core.
Just now, when they heard the conversation between the Six Paths Sage and the Great Toad Sage, they had even secretly prepared themselves to fight to the death with Konoha.
But then what?
The Great Toad Sage actually said to let Mount Myōboku defect to Konoha?
They couldn't understand it, and they couldn't accept it!
Fukasaku couldn't help but speak up: "Great Toad Sage, I..."
"That's enough, Fukasaku." Gamamaru interrupted him, speaking in a serious tone: "Listen to me!"
"For the survival of Mount Myōboku, you two must do this."
"Forget about rhetoric like justice and evil from today on; those things are just slogans."
"To be blunt, what does the survival of the human world have to do with us toads?"
"Hagoromo represents justice? Konoha represents evil?"
"Who said so?"
"It was just that Hagoromo was powerful before, so he represented justice, but now the powerful one is Konoha."
"Mount Myōboku only sides with the winner!"
"Last time, Mount Myōboku chose the right side, thus gaining a thousand years of prosperity; although this time Mount Myōboku chose wrong, at the very least, we must ensure our survival."
"As long as we are alive, there is hope!"
"Remember to let Mount Myōboku lie low from now on, unconditionally follow Konoha's commands, and then quietly wait for the next change in the situation."
At this moment, Gamamaru had lost his usual muddled appearance.
His expression was terrifyingly calm, his eyes were terrifyingly deep, and he looked at Fukasaku and Elder Shima with great seriousness.
Clearly.
Having already accepted his death, he no longer spoke empty words or pleasantries, only cold calculations and schemes.
Silence!
Following Gamamaru's words, the atmosphere in the great hall was deathly silent.
A moment later.
Elder Shima took a deep breath and couldn't help but ask: "Great Toad Sage, will the Six Paths Sage really fail?"
"Yeah, Great Toad Sage!" Fukasaku couldn't hold back either.
However.
He suddenly seemed to think of something and couldn't help but ask: "Did you dream of a new prophetic vision?"
Gamamaru let out a soft sigh.
After pondering for a while, he slowly spoke: "When Uchiha Jin was rising, two years ago, I dreamt that a force of change existed in the Ninja World, but this person of change was just too damn cautious."
"Even in the dream, I only saw a back view. Even if I wanted to have little Jiraiya go look for them, I didn't even know what to have him look for. Helpless, I could only choose to remain silent for the time being."
"But, I never expected!"
"The speed at which this person of change rose was too fast. In just two or three years, they developed so rapidly. By the time I found out that the person of change was Uchiha Jin, it was already too late."
"This wave of change, no one can stop it!"
"In the dream, I saw the death of Hagoromo, and I saw Hamura, who had fused with the power of the Shinigami, easily annihilated by a single slash from Uchiha Jin."
"That is a strange power that can instantly annihilate the soul. Even Kaguya, who was released later, is simply no match for Uchiha Jin."
"So, give up."
"It's useless!"
"Only an unconditional surrender can barely preserve the heritage of Mount Myōboku."
Following Gamamaru's words, Fukasaku and Elder Shima completely gave up.
There was no other way!
The Great Toad Sage had already spoken to this extent; what else could they, these little toads, say?
Just as the Great Toad Sage said, even if the two of them weren't afraid of death, they had to think about the other toads!
Fukasaku asked doubtfully: "Since you know that the rise of Uchiha Jin is unstoppable, why are you, Great Toad Sage, unwilling to surrender and instead insist on seeking death with the Six Paths Sage?"
"This is the price!" Gamamaru said.
His tone was very calm, as if he had seen through everything: "The thousand years of glory that Mount Myōboku enjoyed before was because we were one with Hagoromo. In fact, I was Hagoromo's summoning beast back then."
"There is no way to cancel a contract of the Six Paths level."
"So, it's useless!"
"I can only stand with Hagoromo; even death cannot change that."
"But you little toads still have a choice, so there is no need to ask too many questions. Hagoromo's actions will likely be very fast. Although he said it would take a month, based on my understanding of him, it will take at most fifteen days."
"You must take all the toads and head to Konoha as soon as possible before Hagoromo returns."
"There is no time left, act quickly!"
After speaking.
Gamamaru waved his hand with difficulty, the aura of death in his eyes growing more and more intense.
And, regarding this.
Fukasaku and Elder Shima's faces were filled with sorrow, but they also knew that the Great Toad Sage was right, and there was not much time left for them.
Therefore.
They left the palace and began to gather all the toads.
Two days later.
Accompanied by the constant urging of Fukasaku and Elder Shima, all the toads and even the tadpoles were gathered together. Under the leadership of the two Great Sages, they began to pack up all the foundations and resources of Mount Myōboku and started to head towards the Ninja World using a special passageway.
Among their belongings, there was also a gift for Konoha.
The Sage's Talisman!
A talisman that even the Six Paths Sage did not know about; this was a gift that the Great Toad Sage had accumulated over long years.
The Sage's Talisman that Jiraiya had before was also from Mount Myōboku, and it was the one that Hagoromo knew about. From this, it is enough to see that Gamamaru was indeed a person of character, capable of making such far-reaching plans and arrangements in advance.
...
Land of Fire, Konoha Village.
Uchiha Jin was sitting in the Hokage Office, bored, when an Anbu from the Uchiha clan knelt on one knee before him and began to recount the strange scene he had witnessed today.
Even when reporting, the expression on his face was quite strange.
Actually, not to mention him, even Uchiha Jin was completely confused at this moment.
"What the hell?"
"All the snakes from Ryūchi Cave, including the White Snake Sage and the Three Snake Princesses, all want to join our Konoha?"
"And even—Mount Myōboku is coming too?"
"I can barely understand Ryūchi Cave, but what the hell is going on with Mount Myōboku?"
"Aren't they part of Hagoromo's faction? Why would they join our Konoha?"