After settling their business, the group sat down for a meal.
Surprisingly, Sasori, despite being a Human Puppet who had no need for food, was an excellent cook. Since arriving at the Land of Birds base, he had handled the meals for Diarmuid and Kakuzu. No matter how busy he was, he would set aside his work to prepare a meticulous meal and watch them eat in silence, seemingly in a good mood.
Orochimaru found it strange. Two living people who didn't cook, and a chef who didn't eat?
"The matter of the Third Raikage is settled," Orochimaru said while eating. "Diarmuid, about your blood..."
Diarmuid was also curious about his own state. "As long as you don't vivisect me, I'll cooperate. I'm curious about it myself."
"Oh? You don't know why you're like this?" Orochimaru asked.
Diarmuid swallowed a bite of food. "I do. Since we're partners now, I won't hide it. Kakuzu and Sasori have achieved a form of immortality, but unlike them, I don't use jutsu or need to replace parts or hearts. I am the embodiment of immortality itself!"
Orochimaru's eyes flashed as he continued to eat. Kakuzu and Sasori glanced at Diarmuid with looks that said, I knew it. Knowing Diarmuid's true age made this a logical conclusion.
"Eternal life! To think such a thing truly exists in a person! Is it an isolated case? What is the method?" Orochimaru asked eagerly.
"It's not an isolated case. I know at least twenty people with eternal life," Diarmuid smiled. He paused and corrected himself, "Actually, on this world, there should be at least three others besides me."
"Twenty?" Orochimaru was stunned. That was far too many. Then he caught the phrasing. "What do you mean, 'on this world'?"
Diarmuid raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Don't let mundane perspectives limit your vision. This world is quite large..."
Diarmuid didn't plan on telling them he was a "transmigrator," but it was obvious he didn't fit this world's system. Lying to a scientific genius like Orochimaru about his immortality was a bad idea, so he decided to reframe his identity. After all, aliens weren't exactly unheard of in this universe.
"I've been suspicious since you first mentioned that 'Haki' power," Kakuzu noted. "I've traveled the whole shinobi world for decades, and there's no mention of Haki in any records or ancient secrets. Even your height. You went from over two meters to your current size. So, you're not from this world?"
Sasori realized the truth. Not only was Diarmuid not his peer in age, he wasn't even from the same planet.
Orochimaru was fascinated. "What other worlds are there?"
"Technically, they are planets," Diarmuid explained. "The Shinobi World is a planet. Like the stars in the sky, the universe is full of countless planets with their own life and civilizations. I come from a world of vast oceans. You might find it hard to believe, but before I came here, I was a righteous Marine Admiral..."
"What is a Marine Admiral?" Sasori asked, curious.
However, Kakuzu and Orochimaru had no interest in the background. Kakuzu didn't care if Diarmuid was an alien as long as he could make money. Orochimaru only cared about immortality.
"Forget the Admiral stuff for now," Orochimaru interrupted. "Tell us about the immortality."
"Fine," Diarmuid said to Sasori. "I'll tell you about my legendary status there later. In my world, the ocean is vast, larger than this planet. There are many treasures, including the Fountain of Youth. Legends say those who drink from it gain eternal youth and life. It turns out the legends are true, because yours truly drank from it."
"I see..." Orochimaru looked like he accepted the explanation, but Diarmuid could see the doubt in his eyes. Anyone would doubt a guy claiming to be an immortal alien who drank from a magic fountain.
Diarmuid chuckled. "You have your doubts, but let me tell you, there's a much more powerful alien in the Shinobi World named Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. Have you heard of her?"
Sasori and Kakuzu shook their heads. Orochimaru thought for a long time. "The name sounds familiar. A mythological figure from the era of the Sage of Six Paths? The 'Rabbit Goddess'? I don't know much else."
Kaguya had been scrubbed from history, with only Black Zetsu remembering her. Her story had faded into fragmented myths.
Diarmuid nodded. "Correct. The Rabbit Goddess, Princess Kaguya, is Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. She's not famous now, but you definitely know her son: the Sage of Six Paths."
"The Sage of Six Paths!?" Orochimaru exclaimed. "Isn't that just a myth too?"
The Sage's story was much better known, and Kumogakure even possessed some of his "Treasured Tools." But his actual existence was still debated among scholars.
"No, Kaguya and the Sage were real. Kaguya arrived as an alien thousands of years ago. Unlike me, she once ruled this world as the Rabbit Goddess. She had two sons, Hagoromo and Hamura. Due to conflicting ideologies, the brothers eventually fought and sealed her away."
"Sealed her? Where?" Orochimaru asked, looking like he wanted to go on an archaeological dig.
Diarmuid pointed upward. "The Moon. You might not believe it, but the moon in this world was created specifically to seal Kaguya. It has been her prison for thousands of years."
"She's still alive?" Kakuzu asked.
"Yes. There is no power on this world currently capable of killing her. Like me, she is immortal. It's quite pitiful, being trapped there for millennia," Diarmuid said.
"How do you know all this?" Orochimaru asked sharply.
"That's a secret," Diarmuid replied.
Orochimaru didn't push. Everyone had secrets. Even if Diarmuid's story sounded detailed, there was no physical evidence yet.
"The Senju, Uchiha, and Hyūga clans all share a common ancestor. They are branches of Kaguya's lineage. If you study their bloodlines, you might find evidence," Diarmuid added.
This caught Orochimaru's attention. "I'll find a way to verify that."
"Oh, and there's the Kaguya clan in Kirigakure. They inherited her name and her bloodline," Diarmuid added with a smile.
Sasori pondered this. "So you're saying they are all one big family?"
"Exactly," Diarmuid said calmly. "I'm telling you this because it's the truth. Time will prove it. The current state of the Shinobi World is just the beginning of the chaos... In the years to come, things will get much more interesting."
"And more dangerous, right?" Kakuzu noted.
"Is this why you seek power?" Orochimaru asked. He realized that if Diarmuid were seeking power to face future threats, his story became much more credible.
Diarmuid was surprised by their intuition but nodded. "Yes."
"Interesting..." Orochimaru murmured. He decided not to obsess over the Rabbit Goddess for now. "Forget the ocean world or the goddess for a moment. You are far more interesting. The Fountain of Youth... do you have any left?"
"No," Diarmuid shook his head. "I had some, but my arrival here was an accident, so I didn't bring it."
Orochimaru felt like he had just lost a billion ryo.
Of course, that was an excuse. Diarmuid hadn't intended to bring anything that might fail in a new world or make him a target before he understood the local power levels.
"A pity," Orochimaru sighed. "I'll have to study you instead. After dinner, please cooperate with me. I'd like to draw another tube of blood. And if possible... some tissue samples."
"I'll give you a few ounces of flesh, no problem," Diarmuid said, waving his hand as if his body belonged to someone else.
Orochimaru nodded, satisfied. He loved Diarmuid's cooperative attitude!