"So you're saying that if my thoughts stagnate within the Pure Land, I'll be swiftly assimilated by it, eventually becoming a part of the Pure Land itself, just like you all? Never able to leave freely again?" Diarmuid asked after a moment of contemplation.
"Precisely," the Shinigami responded with a slow nod.
Before Diarmuid could speak, the Shinigami continued, "When your thoughts stagnate within the Pure Land, your soul remains unable to return to the living world for too long, and your physical vessel will naturally perish. At that moment, you will fall into a state of chaos between life and death. And a soul in such a state is exactly what the Pure Land requires. Just like us back then, you will become part of the Pure Land, burdened with enforcing certain rules. Gradually, over thousands and tens of thousands of years, people like you and me will continue to appear. One day, the Pure Land will be fully complete, and the boundary between life and death will finally be truly realized."
Diarmuid gave a serious nod. He felt that the Shinigami had no reason to lie to him, nor was there any need to, right?
"So, what do you hope to gain by telling me all this?" Diarmuid asked.
The Shinigami froze for a moment, pondered briefly, and then shook his head. "Nothing."
"I thought you wanted to get some kind of benefit out of me..." Diarmuid chuckled.
"If that were the case, when I told you to leave at the very beginning, you would have just left, and nothing would have happened," the Shinigami said, as if explaining himself.
Diarmuid thought about it and realized it made sense. If he hadn't been so curious, he would have just agreed and left the Pure Land the moment the Shinigami spoke.
And that would have been the end of it!
From this perspective, the Shinigami was probably just giving him a pure, simple warning.
As for the reason? Perhaps he saw a shadow of his own past, unfortunate self?
Or perhaps he was just fundamentally decent?
Regardless, Diarmuid had no intention of probing deeper into it.
"By the way, if you don't mind me asking, Shinigami-sama, what exactly is the 'duty' you shoulder here in the Pure Land?" Diarmuid inquired.
Though it seemed irrelevant to him, the entity had to have some kind of duty, right?
"To punish those who do not revere death," the Shinigami stated directly, concealing nothing.
Like the Reaper Death Seal? Those who do not revere death are devoured by the Shinigami?
Is that how it works?
If so, this authority is honestly... pretty underwhelming.
"Now that you know this, it is time for you to leave the Pure Land. I advise you never to return. The stronger a soul is, the faster it absorbs Spirit Particles. And the more you absorb these Spirit Particles, the more likely they are to affect your mind. Do not underestimate the Pure Land," the Shinigami said.
"Well... it does sound quite dangerous, but I think I'd still like to keep trying," Diarmuid said with a smile.
It wasn't that he refused to listen to advice.
Well... you could look at it that way.
But as a powerful figure, Diarmuid possessed an incredibly unyielding will. How could he truly be deterred by just a few words from the Shinigami?
Which powerhouse hadn't forged their path by cutting through thorns and obstacles?
Hearing Diarmuid's response, the Shinigami fell silent for a long time before finally speaking, "Suit yourself."
"Shinigami-sama, if I don't die, yet absorb too many Spirit Particles from the Pure Land, what will happen to me in the end?" Diarmuid suddenly asked again.
"What you can integrate will naturally become your power, but what you cannot integrate will devour you," the Shinigami said in a deep voice. After a slight pause, he explained further.
"This is a reciprocal process. The fact that you haven't been devoured proves you have mastered this power, but no one knows how much you can truly master. When you are devoured, you will naturally become part of the Pure Land, which has no real impact on it. However... as a living being, binding yourself too deeply to the Pure Land might affect your soul after you die."
"Then can I master a similar authority to yours? Or perhaps something like the Evil Gods, or King of Hell?" Diarmuid pressed.
The Shinigami: "???"
Did you not understand a single word I just said?
An authority exists, but you will lose your self-awareness because of it, turning into a mere manifestation of the rules.
What's the point of that? No matter how much power you gain, if you lose your will, it's utterly meaningless!
"Hehehe... Hahaha..." The Shinigami let out a bizarre laugh, staring at Diarmuid. "Greed is the ultimate sin, Diarmuid."
"Well, I am indeed a rather greedy person," Diarmuid nodded, not denying it.
"I have already told you, involving yourself too deeply with the Pure Land brings no benefits. You can attempt to master some of the Pure Land's authority in your current state, but this is like poison. You obtain power, yet that very power will drag you deep into the abyss of the Pure Land. Over the long expanse of time, a day will come when you are completely devoured, becoming part of it. This is the price of obtaining the Pure Land's power. What do you think?" The Shinigami looked at Diarmuid, scrutiny in his eyes.
"What if I have eternal life?" Diarmuid countered.
"Even eternal life won't work. This is the continuation of a rule. As long as you remain in this world, you must abide by its laws," the Shinigami stated without hesitation.
Diarmuid wasn't the only one with eternal life.
To be honest, immortality might seem incredibly lofty to ordinary people.
But to these "gods" who mingled with concepts like life and death all day long, it was nothing special.
"Even if you possess the power of eternal life, the Pure Land will gradually devour you. So, Diarmuid, take a piece of advice from a predecessor: do not overestimate yourself, and do not provoke the entire world," the Shinigami warned.
Diarmuid nodded, but a highly peculiar thought crossed his mind.
True, as long as I remain in this world, I must abide by its laws.
That was entirely normal and perfectly logical.
But what if I leave this world?
His mind raced with thoughts. Ever since he left the world of One Piece, he no longer had to abide by its rules.
For instance, in the world of One Piece, Devil Fruit users feared large bodies of water. Even someone like Kuzan would lose all his strength if he soaked in a hot spring, and no matter how much Diarmuid used cheats, the same applied to him.
Yet after coming to this world, he was no longer afraid of water.
Was it because he was no longer a Devil Fruit user? No, he still was one. It was simply because the world had changed.
The rules of the One Piece world could no longer affect him.
In other words, if he were to seize some of this so-called power from the Pure Land in this world... and then leave before the Pure Land could play him to death, wouldn't that mean he'd be getting a massive upgrade scot-free?!
Could it seriously chase him to other worlds just to mess with him?
Impossible!
As for whether he would leave this ninja world?
That went without saying. From the very beginning, Diarmuid hadn't held much fondness for this world, nor did he particularly like it.
Thus, upon arriving here, he had already established a definitive direction for himself.
He came to this world solely to grow his own strength. Sooner or later, he would return to the world of One Piece or head to the next one; he couldn't stay here forever.
By now, he had already mastered the Sage Body, Senjutsu, an incredibly powerful soul, and a vast array of Ninjutsu styles. Essentially, a massive amount of benefits had already landed in his pockets.
He was only missing something like the Sharingan.
As for the Six Paths Power, he didn't actually care all that much about it.
The waters surrounding the Six Paths Power ran too deep, clearly harboring many hidden drawbacks.
Just look at Madara, he possessed the Six Paths Power, didn't he? And the result? The result was becoming a living sacrifice for Kaguya.
The Sage of Six Paths was also a calculative old schemer. Who knew what kind of underhanded traps he had set up.
Regardless, Diarmuid didn't trust them.
On the contrary, he felt that the new path he was currently forging, the power of the soul, was perhaps the most fundamental power of all.
Tobirama's note stating that "The end of the Spirit Transformation Jutsu might just be pure spiritualization" had always lingered in Diarmuid's mind. Perhaps that spiritualization would be his gateway to a whole new world.
Furthermore, ever since learning the Flying Raijin Technique, Diarmuid had been intentionally accumulating space-time fluctuations.
It was only because he currently prioritized the Spirit Transformation Jutsu that he hadn't spent much time deeply researching space-time, leaving him without any major breakthroughs.
But without a doubt, he would eventually fill his reserves with that space-time energy, enabling him to leave this place just as he had left the world of One Piece.
People like Kakuzu were also out searching for the Heavenly Transfer Technique, which served as another auxiliary means.
Therefore, from these angles, Diarmuid was already preparing his departure.
He just wanted to raise his strength to the absolute limit before leaving, squeezing out as many benefits from this world as possible.
And finally... he would have a thoroughly satisfying clash with the top powerhouses of this world just to enjoy himself.
After that, he could leave this dark, unappealing world behind.
So, finding an opportunity to freeload off the Pure Land seemed incredibly enticing.
Putting these thoughts aside, Diarmuid looked at the Shinigami and asked seriously, "Shinigami-sama, how exactly do I obtain this power?"
The Shinigami: "???"
Can you literally not understand human speech?
I already told you, this is the exact equivalent of drinking poison to quench your thirst!
How can your head be this thick?
Is this what a lunatic blindly obsessed with pursuing power looks like?
The Shinigami stared intently at Diarmuid, their gazes locking.
From that look, he saw Diarmuid's completely unshakeable resolve.
Ultimately, the Shinigami spoke, "What kind of authority do you want?"
"Ahem, just give me whatever is convenient," Diarmuid scratched his head, sounding a bit embarrassed.
He was just trying to get a freebie, so why make demands? Besides, he felt it was better not to take too much of an advantage. If he couldn't leave later because of it, that would be even more awkward.
The Shinigami pondered for a moment, then said, "In all my years, I have never heard such a request, so I do not know how other powers behave. What do you think of my power?"
Diarmuid: "???"
"What do you mean?" Diarmuid asked, a hint of wariness creeping into his voice.
Could this be some kind of trap?
"There is no need to look at me with such wariness. This is the Pure Land. Even if I am nothing special among those at the tier of 'gods,' dealing with you would still be incredibly simple," the Shinigami stated calmly.
Diarmuid thought back to the entity's methods. To inexplicably drag him to this place without him even being able to react, combined with that overwhelming spiritual pressure... Yeah, this was definitely someone he couldn't afford to provoke. My bad for looking down on you earlier!
"If you deem it acceptable, I will attempt to pass the authority I wield to you. That way, perhaps I can finally be liberated from this place, hehehe," the Shinigami laughed sinisterly.
"Liberated?" Diarmuid frowned, looking at the Shinigami.
"Yes, liberated. I have long since grown weary of this world, weary of all of this. Sometimes, I wish I could just let my self-awareness fade into nothingness, like the King of Hell and the others, but I always found myself unable to go through with it... If nothing goes awry, once I hand my power to you, you will become the new me. As for my will, if I am lucky, it may be preserved, and perhaps I can become a free soul. If I am unlucky, it will completely dissipate, becoming a part of these boundless Spirit Particles. But either way, it is liberation," the Shinigami murmured.
"Then what about me?" Diarmuid asked. "What is the price?"
"I have already told you. The price is that you will become the new me, the new Shinigami... inextricably entangled with the Pure Land, waiting in despair as the Pure Land slowly but surely devours you. Even if you escape to the living world, even if you find eternal life, nothing will change. One day, you will experience what I feel right now, and within this damned Pure Land, you will eternally regret the choice you are making today," the Shinigami said with a wicked grin.
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