"Now then, since everything that needs to be said has been said, shall we begin?" the Shinigami asked, fixing his gaze upon Diarmuid.
Diarmuid immediately waved his hands dismissively. "No, no, no."
"Are you backing down? Hehehe..." The Shinigami let out a low chuckle, as if this outcome was entirely within his expectations.
Diarmuid shook his head. "I'm not backing down. Just not… not right now."
This was explicitly a highly perilous and audacious gamble; it was naturally out of the question to dive in so abruptly.
At the very least, he had to secure an escape route first. This would likely be his final adventure in this ninja world, or at least, time-wise, it had to be planned that way.
Once he set this plan into motion, he would need to leave this world immediately.
From the Shinigami's explanation, it was clear that the assimilation by the Pure Land wasn't a sudden, violent explosion. It was a subtle, creeping erosion, meaning the longer he lingered, the more dangerous it would become.
Therefore, since he currently lacked a definitive method to leave this world at will, he wouldn't test his luck just yet. He would wait until his success was heavily guaranteed before taking the plunge.
Seeing this, the Shinigami gave a slow nod. "It seems you wish to make more thorough preparations. Suit yourself. However, until then, do not venture any deeper into the Pure Land. With your current soul strength, you cannot withstand wandering within its depths for extended periods. Just do as you did before, train in the fringes of the darkness. I will bail you out once, but I will not necessarily bail you out a second time."
Diarmuid wasn't entirely deaf to reason, so he nodded in agreement. "Fair enough. But I am curious... what exactly lies in the deepest parts of the Pure Land?"
"The concentration of Spirit Particles changes, but otherwise, there is nothing else. Perhaps if you continue deeper, you might cross paths with the King of Hell or the others. However, they possess no self-awareness and cannot be communicated with. This is an inherently incomplete world to begin with," the Shinigami replied after a brief pause.
Diarmuid's interest evaporated upon hearing that entities like the King of Hell lacked self-awareness.
Besides, the Shinigami was right; his current soul strength truly wasn't suited for wandering deep within the Pure Land.
Otherwise, if a single misstep occurred, he would have to rely on Orochimaru to resurrect him.
Setting the danger aside, that would be incredibly embarrassing.
Furthermore, his training speed within the darkened fringes of the Pure Land wasn't slow by any means. Having fully acclimated to that zone, his soul strength could easily sustain his training there. He would simply stick to that region to continue tempering his soul.
The Pure Land was far too bizarre and volatile; it was best to stop pushing his luck here.
Once everything was fully prepared, he would see if he could successfully freeload off the Pure Land through the Shinigami. If it worked, fantastic. If it failed, he could immediately cast his escape options and abandon this world.
"Alright. I'll come find you again once I've prepared everything. How do I locate you?" Diarmuid asked.
"Once you enter the Pure Land, simply call out to me. I can already observe you from here. If you call, I will bring you to my domain," the Shinigami answered.
"Understood," Diarmuid nodded.
Following that, both individuals lapsed into a quiet stillness, causing the atmosphere to grow somewhat heavy.
Diarmuid: "???"
The Shinigami: "???"
"Why haven't you left yet?" the Shinigami eventually asked.
"How am I supposed to leave? I don't even know how I got here in the first place, alright?" Diarmuid rolled his eyes.
"Hahaha..." The Shinigami burst into a sudden, boisterous laugh. "Allow me to send you off, then. Where do you wish to return? The living world? Or the place you were just at?"
Diarmuid pondered briefly before answering, "The living world."
The Shinigami nodded. Sitting tall upon his throne, he casually swept his hand through the air...
Diarmuid's vision plunged into absolute darkness. In the next fraction of a second, his eyes snapped open.
He was back inside his own room; his soul had successfully re-entered his physical vessel.
This caused him a slight wave of astonishment. It appeared the Shinigami's power was exceptionally potent after all.
He truly had underestimated the entity initially.
If nothing else, that sheer depth of soul strength was easily ten leagues ahead of his own.
At the same time, Diarmuid naturally harbored a healthy dose of skepticism regarding the Shinigami's words.
Stories about body-snatching, reincarnation, and possession were things he had read countless times in his past life.
The Shinigami is entirely altruistic? Diarmuid wouldn't buy that for a second.
Perhaps the entity was speaking the truth, but he couldn't afford to blindly trust it.
If the guy happened to be plotting against him, comparing their respective soul strengths meant Diarmuid wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance. Therefore, he needed to make meticulous preparations for these variables.
While Diarmuid was deep in thought, Orochimaru suddenly pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Seeing Diarmuid sitting there with his eyes wide open, evidently lost in thought, Orochimaru displayed a flicker of surprise. "How did you manage to return on your own?"
Orochimaru had come to check on Diarmuid's condition, intending to use the Reanimation Jutsu to call him back, given that Kabuto and the others had finally returned.
Yet to his surprise, the moment he opened the door, Diarmuid was already awake.
It was no wonder he was shocked; this was a genuine first. Previously, whenever Diarmuid returned from the Pure Land, it required the precise assistance of the Reanimation Jutsu to act as a beacon.
"I ran into the Shinigami..." Diarmuid said, looking up at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru: "???"
A sudden, intense thirst for knowledge ignited within Orochimaru's eyes. He swiftly shut the door behind him. "The Shinigami? The one from the Reaper Death Seal? Tell me everything..."
Diarmuid saw no reason to hide the details and directly recounted the entire sequence of events.
Orochimaru listened with profound fascination, his facial expressions shifting constantly throughout the narrative.
"Do you think there's a catch to this?" Diarmuid asked after finishing his tale.
"From my perspective, I believe there is. The simple reason being that I do not trust this so-called deity at all," Orochimaru stated without a shred of hesitation.
"Neither do I," Diarmuid nodded in agreement.
"Even though he didn't project any overt malice toward me, you can never truly decipher what a thousand-year-old entity is plotting. Therefore, regardless of his actual intent, I cannot stake my survival entirely on his whims. We must have a definitive countermeasure to suppress the Shinigami," Diarmuid asserted.
"Furthermore, this entire procedure absolutely cannot be executed within the Pure Land. Based on your description, you wouldn't stand a fraction of a chance against him there. We must orchestrate this within the living world. When the time comes, we will summon the Shinigami here to do it," Orochimaru suggested after a moment's reflection.
Diarmuid's eyes lit up. Exactly! It's not like the Shinigami can't manifest in the living world; he's done it before.
Moreover, it was highly apparent that the entity would suffer a degree of suppression within the living world. Conversely, in the living world, Diarmuid would be at the absolute peak of his power.
However, whether this plan would actually succeed remained to be seen.
Shifting away from the topic, Diarmuid turned to Orochimaru. "By the way, did you come in here for a specific reason?"
Orochimaru pulled his thoughts back as well. "Ah, yes. The Heavenly Transfer Technique you requested, they've successfully brought it back. There is also a bit of amusing news... the three of them nearly turned Kumogakure completely upside down."
Diarmuid: "???"
A good half-year prior, Diarmuid had tasked Kabuto with formulating a plan to execute this mission.
Later on, he had also arranged Biwa Jūzō and Kakuzu to provide tactical support.
However, because he had spent the vast majority of his recent time wandering within the Pure Land, he hadn't bothered to check up on Kabuto's progress.
On one hand, this was intended to be a final evaluation. If Kabuto succeeded, he would formally gain entry into the Yorozuya organization.
On the other hand, Diarmuid maintained a high level of confidence in Kabuto's sheer competence. After all, this was a guy who eventually played his cards well enough to become a major endgame boss.
He possessed all the necessary intellect and was a literal master of espionage.
Furthermore, sending him to Kumogakure wasn't for the sake of assassinating the Raikage; it was merely to steal the Heavenly Transfer Technique scroll. If he couldn't even manage a minor task like that, he might as well pack his bags.
Thus, Diarmuid had remained completely oblivious to the specifics of Kabuto's operational methods.
Yet hearing Orochimaru's words now left him somewhat bewildered.
What does he mean they nearly turned Kumogakure upside down?
Wasn't it just a simple scroll heist?
What on earth did they actually pull off over there?
"Kumogakure has officially registered our Yorozuya as a primary hostile faction," Orochimaru added with a smirk.
Diarmuid's expression became entirely blank...
Well, he didn't actually care about that sort of development. He already shared a blood feud with Kumogakure anyway; he was the one who killed the current Raikage's father. How could they not be enemies?
Therefore, whether they were designated as hostiles... truly didn't matter. He had never entertained the notion of becoming friends with them.
It was precisely because of this mindset that Diarmuid had adopted a relatively subtle, roundabout approach when dealing with Konohagakure. Yet when it came to Kumogakure, he had simply handed down the orders and completely taken his hands off the wheel, letting his subordinates handle it however they pleased.
"Forget it, it's not a big deal anyway. Let's head downstairs and see how Kabuto and the others are doing," Diarmuid said.
At that moment, Kabuto and the rest of the team were waiting patiently in the first-floor office.
Jūzō, Kakuzu, and Sasori were all present. Kabuto sat on the sofa, his expression a delicate mix of anticipation and underlying nervousness.
The reason Sasori had shown up was because this wasn't merely about retrieving the Heavenly Transfer Technique; it was a formal gathering to confirm Kabuto's official induction into the Yorozuya.
"Relax, Kabuto. Didn't we all agree to cast our affirmative votes for you anyway?" Jūzō said in his usual boisterous, carefree manner.
Kakuzu chimed in right after, "It's just a routine formality. Let's wrap this up quickly; I still need to go harvest two fresh hearts."
Sasori spoke up as well, "Not since Jūzō joined have we had fresh blood enter our ranks for many years. We are well aware of your capabilities, so put your mind at ease."
Although Sasori rarely interacted with Kabuto on a personal level, the fact that he was willing to lend his intelligence networks to Kabuto for this mission clearly indicated his approval of Kabuto joining the Yorozuya.
While the group was casually conversing, the door pushed open as Diarmuid and Orochimaru walked in.
"Oh my, everyone's gathered?" Diarmuid chuckled, scanning the room.
"We were all waiting for you," Sasori stated matter-of-factly.
"Hahaha, the big boss always arrives last, after all," Diarmuid laughed heartily before fixing his gaze onto Kabuto. "Outstanding work, Kabuto."
Hearing those words, Kabuto finally let out a sigh of relief. A smile surfaced on his face as he replied, "This success was entirely thanks to the invaluable assistance of Jūzō-senpai and Kakuzu-senpai."
"Regardless of the details, your successful retrieval of the Heavenly Transfer Technique means you have passed my trial. I won't beat around the bush," Diarmuid said, looking across the assembled members...
"Let's vote quickly, I'm pressed for time," Kakuzu interjected directly.
"Alright. Raise your hand if you object to Kabuto joining us," Diarmuid commanded smoothly.
Swish, swish, swish!
Aside from Orochimaru, every single person in the room instantly shot their hands into the air.
Kabuto's face drained of color. What the hell? Are you guys all traitors?!
Kakuzu and the others also experienced a sudden shift in expression, turning to glare at Diarmuid as they barked, "Normally, aren't you supposed to ask those who agree to raise their hands? What kind of twisted routine is this?"
"Hahaha!" Diarmuid burst into a roaring laugh. "Just a little joke. It seems nobody actually has any objections. Therefore, I officially declare that as of today, Yakushi Kabuto is a formal member of our Yorozuya!"
Hearing the declaration, Kabuto quickly stood up, a genuine smile returning to his face. "Thank you all for your recognition and support, senpai. I will definitely continue to give this my absolute all!"