Regarding the matter of finding a way into the Pure Land.
Diarmuid had entertained several theories previously. Perhaps, upon death, a soul was naturally guided to a place invisible to the living, entering the Pure Land from there. Or perhaps King Yama or a Reaper acted as a psychopomp, ushering them back to the world of the dead. It felt like there were many possible methods.
But seeing it with his own eyes, he realized it wasn't nearly as flamboyant as he'd imagined.
After Sasori finished off the death row prisoner, Diarmuid watched through Spirit Vision as a bewildered soul drifted out of the body. In this moment, the soul appeared to be in a mindless state, suspended in the chaos between life and death.
It hovered over the corpse for a few moments. Then, abruptly, a void appeared above the soul. This aperture was invisible to the naked eye; even Orochimaru could only see it faintly, but Diarmuid saw it with perfect clarity.
The lost soul, as if caught in a current, began to drift helplessly toward the void.
"Spirit Restraint Jutsu!"
Orochimaru's hands blurred through a string of signs before he slammed his palm onto the corpse. Instantly, the soul that had been drifting toward the void was violently yanked back and shoved into the body, where it was held fast.
The void remained, neither vanishing nor reacting to the interference.
"It seems this void appears automatically upon sensing a dead soul; it must be the entrance to the Pure Land. Since it hasn't reacted even after I restrained the soul, I can conclude the void possesses neither consciousness nor a defensive mechanism," Orochimaru said, stroking his chin as he analyzed the aperture.
Diarmuid nodded in agreement. "I thought the road to the Pure Land would be complex. I didn't expect it to be this simple."
Kabuto watched the scene with total confusion. What's happening? What void? What soul? Why can't I see anything? Is this the world of the elites?
However, he quickly glanced at Sasori, who remained silent. Realizing Sasori also seemed unable to perceive anything, Kabuto felt a small measure of comfort. Well... at least I'm not the only weakling here. That's enough for me.
Sasori finally spoke. "That Spirit Restraint Jutsu... is that the Second's technique?"
"Yes," Orochimaru replied. It was an unexpected find within the Scroll of Seals, recorded among Tobirama's research data.
After a moment of thought, Diarmuid said, "No time to lose. The Spirit Restraint Jutsu won't hold that soul forever. Since the entrance to Pure Land is found, I won't delay. Let's stick to the plan, wake me up at the appropriate time. I'm going in for a look."
Without further hesitation, Diarmuid's spiritual form rose into the air and dived straight into the pitch-black void.
It was only then that Kabuto fully processed what was happening.
The Pure Land???
What Pure Land? The one from legend? The world of the dead? Diarmuid-sama just... went in?
After all that, they were just looking for a path to the Pure Land? What kind of move is this? Is this just a proactive way to seek death? Are these people insane?
In the eyes of Sasori and Kabuto, Diarmuid's spirit simply flew toward a specific point in the air and vanished. They couldn't see the entrance to the Pure Land; even after utilizing their sensory techniques, they couldn't detect a trace of it.
Orochimaru, however, watched Diarmuid enter the void. He felt a slight pang of apprehension. That was the Pure Land, the realm of the dead, after all.
But just then, Sasori and Kabuto saw a head manifest out of thin air. It was Diarmuid.
"Oh? How much time has passed?" Diarmuid asked, poking his head back out of the void.
Orochimaru: "..." Wait, you can just take the road back?
"Fifteen seconds," Sasori said solemnly.
"Then it seems I haven't lost my sense of time yet. Good. That's all, farewell," Diarmuid replied, before vanishing once more.
Sasori: "???"
Kabuto: "???"
Orochimaru: "???"
After waiting a few more minutes, Orochimaru and the others confirmed Diarmuid was truly gone. Orochimaru then released his Spirit Vision. In his sight, the bewildered soul of the prisoner reappeared and was quickly drawn into the void. Once the soul disappeared, the aperture vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.
"The entrance to the Pure Land has closed," Orochimaru said deeply.
Sasori snapped out of his daze and walked over to Diarmuid's physical body, checking his condition. His breathing remained steady, his rhythm normal, and his aura was unchanged. Had they not witnessed him enter the Pure Land, they would have assumed he was merely in a state of meditative cultivation.
"This is truly... miraculous!" Sasori said, his voice tinged with excitement. Even if this didn't provide him with direct help, simply witnessing it was an eye-opening experience.
Kabuto asked tentatively, "Orochimaru-sama, Sasori-sama... Diarmuid-sama, he..."
"He's interested in the Pure Land, so he went there on an expedition," Orochimaru said calmly.
Kabuto now had confirmation that his suspicions were correct. But this... this was just too absurd. Interested in the Pure Land, so he went on a trip there?
Rumors in the outside world always said Diarmuid was wild, unrestrained, and slightly mad. Before joining the Yorozuya, Kabuto had been genuinely worried. If your boss is a lunatic, the subordinates are in constant danger, especially when that boss possesses world-shaking power. You never know if he'll blow your head off just because you entered the room with your left foot first.
But over the last five years, Kabuto had spent significant time with Diarmuid. He realized the man wasn't the rambling madman the rumors described. On most days, Diarmuid was gentle, methodical, and very kind. Even when Kabuto made mistakes, Diarmuid wouldn't punish him. Kabuto had long since concluded that the world was simply demonizing the man.
Until today. His worldview was shattered once again.
The rumors were right. Diarmuid is absolutely a madman! Who in their right mind thinks the Pure Land sounds like a fun place for an adventure?
Perhaps Diarmuid's madness was just buried deep in his bones. He wasn't "crazy" on a daily basis simply because there weren't many things that piqued his interest enough to trigger it.
Inexplicably, Kabuto's awe of Diarmuid intensified. Before, he feared his power; now, he feared his audacity.
He didn't dare speak. Orochimaru and Sasori were lost in their own thoughts, neither saying a word.
After five or six minutes, Kabuto found the heavy atmosphere of the "elites" unbearable and considered asking for permission to leave. But before he could speak, Orochimaru suddenly said:
"Should we try summoning Diarmuid? We don't know if he can still sense our signal once he's inside the Pure Land. If it doesn't work, we need to find another way as soon as possible."
Sasori nodded. "I agree. We can't wait until too much time has passed to test it. Now is the perfect time."
"Good." Orochimaru nodded, forming a hand seal. He aimed at Diarmuid's body and whispered, "Reanimation Jutsu!"
He slammed his palm onto Diarmuid's shoulder.
…
Meanwhile, within the Pure Land, Diarmuid was assessing his surroundings.
It was almost total darkness. He could see nothing and feel no change; his five senses were seemingly stripped away. There was no smell, no touch, no sight. The environment was ethereal, devoid of "weight" or direction.
It was a terrifying sensation.
However, Diarmuid felt a surge of joy. He had made a monumental discovery: the Pure Land was composed entirely of incredibly pure Spirit Particles!
In the living world, practicing the Spirit Transformation Jutsu required slow, methodical techniques to strengthen the soul. But here, every "breath" felt like his soul's aura was expanding. His spirit was being nourished by the Pure Land.
However, Diarmuid soon noticed something was wrong. It seemed the Spirit Particles of the Pure Land was slowly influencing him. In this void of darkness, the only concept Diarmuid could maintain was his own thoughts. But as he "breathed" and time progressed, he felt his thoughts beginning to stagnate.
Is this the horror of the Pure Land? The loss of the concept of time… it must start here, Diarmuid theorized.
Once this influence reached a certain threshold, his thoughts would stop entirely. And when thought stops, time ceases to exist. One might think only a moment has passed, when in reality, decades have gone by.
Diarmuid immediately began actively circulating the Spirit Transformation Jutsu. As the technique took hold, the Spirit Particles that had been influencing him was rapidly assimilated upon entering his soul body, becoming his own power in the truest sense. His sluggish thoughts became sharp once more.
"I see. The Spirit Transformation Jutsu provides a degree of resistance to the Pure Land's influence. No wonder Tobirama could enter and exit without being affected," Diarmuid smiled.
But his surprise grew. "I may have underestimated Tobirama's mastery of this art. Given the timeline, he hadn't practiced it for long, but his achievements were likely far greater than expected!"
Diarmuid realized that practicing the Spirit Transformation Jutsu in the Pure Land was incredibly efficient. Just three to five minutes of circulation here was equivalent to an hour or two of training in the living world. Considering Diarmuid's natural talent for spiritual training, this acceleration was staggering.
Within this infinite darkness, he began to understand the mechanics.
The training of the Spirit Transformation Jutsu was essentially the conversion of physical energy into spiritual energy to bolster the soul. In the living world, he converted Chakra into spiritual energy to nourish his spirit.
But in the Pure Land, he had no physical body. Under normal circumstances, one couldn't train here. But with the Spirit Transformation Jutsu, he could directly absorb soul energy from the pure Spirit Particles surrounding him.
In other words, he could skip the step of converting physical energy altogether. He could just absorb it directly!
Diarmuid deduced that if Tobirama had discovered this, he could have significantly boosted his mastery of the art in a very short time. His soul strength should have been immense.
Yet, a thought occurred to him: if Tobirama's soul was so powerful, why was he controlled by Orochimaru's Reanimation? There had to be some secret Diarmuid didn't know yet. Perhaps soul power naturally wanes after death...
Before Diarmuid could ponder the question further, he suddenly felt a summons from the living world. It was undoubtedly Orochimaru.
This took Diarmuid by surprise.
Have I unknowingly lost my sense of time? I felt like I'd only been here for a moment, yet Orochimaru is already signaling me? Has it been ten days, half a month, or even longer in the outside world!? Diarmuid thought with a chill.
If that were the case, the Pure Land was truly terrifying.