Listening to the exchange between Diarmuid and Kakuzu, Jūzō felt a wave of mixed emotions. It seemed only a man like Orochimaru could remain so utterly indifferent to the fate of his own corpse.
That body was truly a hot commodity.
Previously, Kakuzu had only secured possession of Orochimaru's corpse after a fierce dispute with Sasori. According to Sasori, while Orochimaru the man wasn't dead, the "corpse" certainly existed physically. Since his Human Puppet technique didn't require a soul, Sasori had intended to turn Orochimaru's body into a puppet.
Had he succeeded, the Yorozuya would have had two Orochimarus, a stroke of terrifyingly macabre creativity.
Ultimately, however, Sasori couldn't outmaneuver Kakuzu, failing to realize his dream of owning an "Orochimaru doll." Of course, Orochimaru himself had shown some bias; he didn't mind Kakuzu using his "remains" to swindle people for money, but he felt a lingering internal resistance toward the idea of Sasori parading around a puppet that looked exactly like him. Thus, he had subtley supported Kakuzu.
And now, Diarmuid had set his sights on the body as well. It was becoming quite bizarre, it seemed everyone in the Yorozuya was fighting over his remains.
As Kakuzu finished speaking, Diarmuid nodded immediately. "Exactly. There are countless people who want to give Tsunade trouble, but it's much more convenient if she comes to find us. Though she's been away from Konoha for a long time and has never returned, living a more transient life than even Jiraiya, I believe she still harbors some vestigial camaraderie for Orochimaru. If we release word to the underworld that Orochimaru is dead and his body is in our hands, there is a high probability she will come to verify the truth."
"And once she appears, you'll have plenty of ways to demand the Spirit Transformation Technique, right? Perhaps by using the corpse as leverage for an exchange?" Kakuzu mused, thinking it through.
"Precisely," Diarmuid agreed, a smirk playing on his lips.
Kakuzu felt that while Diarmuid's logic was somewhat unorthodox, it was fundamentally sound. However, there was one glaring issue... everyone else was profiting while he, Kakuzu, was taking a loss! He had gone to great lengths to wrestle the rights to that body away from Sasori, only to hand it over for free?
Thinking of this, Kakuzu looked at Diarmuid and said flatly, "I'm going to need more money."
Diarmuid's face twitched slightly. This bastard really was a money-grubber to the very end.
"Fine," Diarmuid conceded.
"But you don't have enough personal funds," Kakuzu added. Before Diarmuid could protest, he continued, "The organization's funds belong to the organization. You can't just dip into the treasury on a whim, can you?"
"I'm doing this to find the Spirit Transformation Technique for everyone! It's not like I'm the only one who's going to use it! Of course this counts as an organizational operation. It's already generous of me not to demand you donate the body for free, alright?" Diarmuid grumbled.
Kakuzu hesitated. Diarmuid had a point. Once they obtained the Spirit Transformation Technique, he could study it as well... perhaps it could even help his own unique constitution. This realization made his previous greed feel a bit awkward.
Nearby, Jūzō was getting bored. Realizing that Orochimaru's corpse wouldn't be "exported" for sale anytime soon, he stood up. "You two keep at it. I'm going back to continue researching Hanzo's Water Release Ninjutsu." With that, Jūzō departed.
Diarmuid and Kakuzu bickered for another ten minutes before finally reaching an agreement. Kakuzu was then tasked with spreading the news of Orochimaru's "death" throughout the underworld.
…
Just as Orochimaru had predicted, by the third day, Diarmuid's body was almost entirely transformed into wood. He sat alone in the courtyard as the rain drizzled down, looking for all the world like an actual tree.
Yet, simultaneously, he could feel it: the Wood Release energy that had previously been completely dormant was now accessible. He didn't force anything, choosing instead to let nature take its course.
Jiraiya had already left Amegakure. After his final confrontation with Orochimaru, he hadn't gone for drinks; instead, he had departed the village with a lonely air. He was likely well on his way back to Konoha by now.
Diarmuid wondered if it was just a hallucination, but he felt that as he became a "tree," his affinity for Natural Energy, his use of Senjutsu Chakra, and his mastery of Sage Mode had all deepened.
"Is it because I've physically become a tree that I've unintentionally achieved a higher harmony with nature?" Diarmuid wondered.
He soon discarded that simple conclusion for a more profound one: the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai and Sage Mode were two powers that complemented each other perfectly. Someone possessing the Wood Release bloodline would find the power of Senjutsu far easier to manipulate!
"In that light, it makes sense why Hashirama was stronger than Madara," Diarmuid muttered to himself.
Suddenly, he felt a shift within. He looked down stiffly at the saplings on his shoulder; they seemed to be slowly shrinking, the Wood Release energy receding back into his body.
A smile touched Diarmuid's eyes. Orochimaru really was incredibly reliable; his prediction was coming true. Once these external branches and leaves were fully retracted, he would have absolute control over Wood Release. Based on the current rate, he would be back to his handsome self by the end of the day.
Senjutsu was achieved, Wood Release was nearly complete, next, he just needed to master the relevant techniques. He could steal some from Konoha or develop his own.
So, that leaves the Sharingan... or the Rinnegan research?
No... there's also the matter of the soul.
One cannot simply cultivate the "external" without minding the "internal." While his physique was powerful enough, his soul needed to become equally formidable. Based on his current understanding of the Sharingan, whether he could successfully transplant a pair was out of his hands, that was up to the scientific expertise of Orochimaru and Sasori, in whom he had great faith.
However, even if the transplant succeeded, awakening the eye remained a hurdle. Diarmuid didn't want to simply fuse a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan; on one hand, they were rare, and on the other, he wanted to see what kind of unique Mangekyō ability he could manifest if he awakened them himself.
Awakening, therefore, was a difficult problem to consider.
As everyone knew, the awakening of the Uchiha's eyes was tied to spiritual energy. The simple, and most effective, method was severe emotional trauma, specifically witnessing the death of a loved one. The power of hatred and grief would stimulate the mind, causing spiritual energy to surge and trigger the evolution of the Sharingan.
But this path was too extreme for Diarmuid. For one, he wouldn't kill someone he cherished just for power, nor would he stand by and watch them die. Secondly... he realized he likely had no one in this world whose death would cause him enough grief to trigger an awakening.
Sasori? Kakuzu? Orochimaru? Even Jūzō? He valued these partners, but not to the point of inconsolable, life-shattering agony.
Shiramu Ameri? Impossible. Despite their physical intimacy, there wasn't much deep emotional depth there; to put it bluntly, Diarmuid viewed her more as "eye candy" to provide a bit of comfort in this world. Even if he killed everyone around him, he doubted his eyes would open.
The people truly capable of making him awaken were not in this world, people like Gion, Hina, or Stussy from the One Piece world. Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku or Sakazuki might have been enough; with them, he shared genuine, heavy emotional bonds.
Unless he returned to the world of Pirates, that method was closed to him. And even if he could, he wouldn't do it.
So, he needed another way. Theoretically, the awakening of the Sharingan was a matter of spiritual strength; it wasn't strictly dependent on someone dying. Death was merely a catalyst for a spiritual surge. If one's spiritual energy reached the threshold naturally, the eyes would evolve.
From what he had gathered from Orochimaru and Sasori, spiritual energy was deeply linked to the soul. A strong soul meant strong spiritual energy. They were mutually reinforcing.
Even though they hadn't found the method to merge the Sharingan yet, Diarmuid was already preparing. According to Orochimaru, methods to strengthen the soul were incredibly rare. He only knew of one: the Spirit Transformation Technique.
Diarmuid didn't doubt Orochimaru. In his memories, Orochimaru's repeated use of Living Corpse Reincarnation caused his soul and spiritual energy to frequently enter a weakened state, requiring a long time to recover. Yet, he was forced to switch every three years. If Orochimaru knew a way to strengthen the soul, he would have used it long ago, and he wouldn't have been so easily countered by the Sharingan.
This confirmed that Orochimaru's knowledge in this specific field was limited. For Diarmuid, the Spirit Transformation Technique was his only viable lead.
I have to get that technique. It will be immensely useful for both me and Orochimaru.
By practicing the Spirit Transformation Technique, he could strengthen his soul, which would bolster his spiritual energy, which would in turn lead to the awakening of the Sharingan. It was a perfect cycle.
"That's why the Spirit Transformation Technique is paramount. I must have it. Orochimaru's corpse... it serves a great purpose if it can draw out that mysterious 'Legendary Sucker,' Tsunade."
"I wonder how Kakuzu is doing... but it's only been two or three days. There probably hasn't been any movement yet," Diarmuid murmured.
Just then, Shiramu Ameri entered the courtyard, holding an umbrella against the rain. "Diarmuid-sama, a strange fellow calling himself Zetsu is here to see you."
Diarmuid's eyebrows shot up, and he smiled. "Bring him in."
"Yes," Ameri nodded.