"I haven't gone mad," Diarmuid said, rolling his eyes.
After a brief pause, he continued, "The Pure Land will definitely yield results for me."
"You are already considered the strongest in the shinobi world. I can't imagine anyone who could stand as your opponent, so there's absolutely no need to take such a risk for some so-called 'results,'" Sasori said after a moment of thought.
"You have a point, but a man must always have some ambition and obsession," Diarmuid said softly, his eyes momentarily distant. "Otherwise, life becomes empty."
"But the Pure Land is far too dangerous. Once you lose your sense of time in there, even if your physical body has reached the realm of immortality, it doesn't mean you won't die," Sasori said sternly.
Sasori was right. While Diarmuid possessed the power of immortality, that only meant his life wouldn't naturally reach an end. If he went without food or water and failed to replenish his energy for a long time, he would still die.
"He's right," Orochimaru followed up.
"Hahaha, that's why I have you two. If I truly get stuck in the Pure Land, you can help me look after my body. As long as my physical form doesn't die, I have a chance to return," Diarmuid said with a laugh.
"For a short period, it's no problem. But if you really get lost in the Pure Land for ten or twenty years, to be honest, I doubt I'd have the patience to look after you," Orochimaru said calmly, his tone ruthlessly pragmatic.
"How cruel. And here I thought we were like-minded partners," Diarmuid said with a touch of feigned indignation.
But he quickly shifted the topic. "Actually, I've been thinking about the risk of getting lost. I have an idea, perhaps we can use an external force to avoid that situation."
"How so?" Sasori asked curiously.
"It's like this: doesn't Orochimaru know Reanimation? If I stay submerged in the Pure Land for too long, Orochimaru can use that jutsu to summon my soul. I should be able to sense it. That will serve as my signal that too much time has passed, and I can return to the living world," Diarmuid explained.
Sasori looked bewildered. "The Reanimation Jutsu is for summoning the dead. You're alive, how can it summon you?"
"It can't complete the summoning, but I've read about the mechanics of this jutsu in the Scroll of Seals..." Diarmuid began.
Just then, Orochimaru interrupted, "It's worth a try."
Sasori looked at Orochimaru in disbelief. "He's gone crazy, and you're going along with it?"
"My point is to see what happens when Reanimation is used to 'summon' someone whose soul is already out of his body. If it truly works as he predicts, it would significantly lower the danger," Orochimaru said clinically.
Sasori was silent for a long time before finally speaking. "I think I understand the gap between us now. It isn't a matter of talent; it's that I'm nowhere near as insane as you two."
"Hahahaha!" Diarmuid burst into laughter.
Soon, the three arrived at Diarmuid's room.
The scene was bizarre. Diarmuid's physical body sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, hands forming a circle at his tanden. His breathing was calm and rhythmic, as if he were in deep meditation. Yet, Diarmuid's soul stood right beside Orochimaru and Sasori, watching his own body.
"Do we need a living sacrifice or something?" Sasori asked.
"No," Orochimaru and Diarmuid replied simultaneously.
Orochimaru explained, "We don't actually need to fully manifest the Reanimation Jutsu. We only need to use the medium to link with Diarmuid's soul and issue the 'summons.'"
"The summoning will inevitably fail because I haven't died, but I suspect it will create a resonance I can perceive. That resonance will be my signal. If I lose track of time in the Pure Land, you can use this method to signal me and wake me up. This reduces the risk immensely," Diarmuid added.
Orochimaru nodded. "Exactly. Though I never expected the Reanimation Jutsu to be used like this..."
"Hahaha! The utility of many jutsu isn't that they lack a purpose, but that no one has thought to use them that way," Diarmuid said.
Orochimaru didn't reply but moved to stand before Diarmuid's physical body. His hands blurred through a series of hand signs.
A moment later, Orochimaru slammed his palm onto Diarmuid's shoulder, shouting, "Reanimation!"
Instantly, a large amount of debris and ash appeared out of thin air, attempting to swirl around and coat Diarmuid's body, just as it would during a normal Reanimation. However, as the ash tried to encase him, it seemed to be repelled by an invisible force. The debris quickly sensed that this body was not "available" for use and promptly dissipated.
At that moment, Diarmuid's eyes brightened. "Indeed! I can feel it!"
His spiritual form had felt the pull from Orochimaru. The power of the summoning was illogical and felt somewhat mandatory. However, since Diarmuid's soul was conscious and not drifting in the Pure Land like a true decedent, and since his spiritual strength far exceeded Orochimaru's, he was able to reject the summons with a mere thought.
Clearly, his theory was correct. Through this method, Orochimaru could maintain a tether to Diarmuid from the outside. This tether would serve as an alarm; the moment it was triggered, Diarmuid would be forced to recall the concept of "time" and exit the Pure Land.
"It seems it really is useful," Orochimaru remarked, clicking his tongue.
"In that case, letting you go to the Pure Land isn't entirely unacceptable," Sasori said after a period of silent contemplation.
There was still danger, of course. They didn't know if the summoning would reach him once he was deep within the Pure Land. But the risk had undoubtedly been mitigated.
None of the people present were the type to be timid, neither Sasori, Orochimaru, nor Diarmuid himself. They all understood one principle: to gain something, one must bear the corresponding risk. Since the danger had been lowered, there was no longer a reason to stop him.
"Alright," Diarmuid acknowledged.
Then, Orochimaru asked the vital question: "So, how exactly do we get to the Pure Land?"
"Does it not say in the Second Hokage's notes?" Sasori asked.
Diarmuid and Orochimaru shook their heads in unison. "No. In fact, he didn't make any specific records regarding the Pure Land."
Sasori: "???"
"Are you two joking? You can't even find the door to the place, yet you want to go there?" Sasori complained.
"Hahaha, don't worry. I've already thought about that," Diarmuid laughed. After a pause, he continued, "We don't know the way, but we can just find a guide to lead us."
"You mean... Reanimating the Lord Second?" Sasori asked suddenly.
Orochimaru froze, then frowned. "That's a good idea. If he's willing to discuss more research topics with us, that would be even better... But we don't have a DNA medium for Lord Second. We'd have to go to Konoha to find one."
Diarmuid: "???"
He was momentarily stunned, then said, "No, no, that's not what I meant!"
How did this escalate to Reanimating Tobirama?
Orochimaru and Sasori looked surprised. "Is that so? Then what did you mean?"
"I mean, we get a death row prisoner, kill him right here, and then use Spirit Vision to observe how his soul enters the Pure Land. Then, I'll see if I can catch a ride..." Diarmuid smiled.
"...Catching a ride? That is quite a literal way to put it," Sasori said, rolling his eyes.
Catching a ride to the Pure Land? Is that how a normal person thinks?
But despite their urge to criticize Diarmuid's idea, Orochimaru and Sasori realized his logic was sound. The Spirit Transformation Jutsu allows one to manifest their soul; that was why even Sasori, who hadn't mastered the jutsu, could see Diarmuid's spirit. Normally, spirits are invisible.
Since Diarmuid and Orochimaru had both trained in the technique, they possessed Spirit Vision. They could see other people's souls if they chose to. By killing a prisoner and observing the soul's departure, they could find the "pathway."
Diarmuid suspected that Tobirama had likely discovered the way to the Pure Land using a similar method. It was far more efficient than searching blindly or digging through archives.
Before long, Kabuto received his orders and personally escorted a death row prisoner to Diarmuid.
"Diarmuid-sama, Orochimaru-sama, Sasori-sama," Kabuto greeted them quickly. "I have brought the prisoner you requested."
He led the prisoner, gagged, blindfolded, and bound hand and foot, before them.
Diarmuid and the others had no intention of asking what crimes the man had committed. Orochimaru's eyes began to glow with a faint spiritual light as he activated his Spirit Vision. Diarmuid, already in soul form, needed no such preparation.
"Begin," Orochimaru commanded.
Kabuto was still a bit confused, unsure of what was about to happen.
Suddenly, Sasori flicked his hand. The forearm of his puppet body flew out from the elbow, trailing a chain covered in razor-sharp blades. The blades swept across the prisoner's throat, and blood instantly sprayed across the floor.
The man's eyes bulged as he struggled briefly, but it was futile. His strength ebbed away, and soon, he fell silent.
Kabuto looked at the pool of blood and the fresh corpse. Then he looked at Orochimaru with his glowing eyes, Sasori who had just committed the murder, and the mysterious Diarmuid.
He was terrified.
What kind of monsters are these three? Why did they just kill him? Was it out of boredom? Just to kill someone for a bit of fun?
He had assumed the prisoner was for some experiment, as Orochimaru did that often. He had grown used to that over the last five years. But this was different. They just killed him instantly. What were they researching?
Kabuto decided then and there that his three superiors were all mentally unstable... they were total psychopaths!
While Kabuto was lost in these thoughts, Orochimaru and Diarmuid spoke in unison:
"It's starting!"
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