Jiraiya snapped out of his shock, looking at Diarmuid with a face full of disbelief. "You... you actually pulled it off!?"
Diarmuid didn't deactivate his Sage Mode. Instead, he spoke with a casual smile, "What's there to be so surprised about?"
"What's there to be surprised about?" Jiraiya repeated with exaggerated emphasis, before shaking his head helplessly. "This is the signature trump card of the Three Great Sage Regions. Now, you've mastered it through self-study. You tell me what's so surprising! You've shattered a shackle that's existed for thousands of years. Even the First Hokage didn't achieve this feat back in the day."
Diarmuid chuckled. "Perhaps he just didn't devote as much painstaking effort to it as I did."
Diarmuid was quite level-headed. Mastering it through self-study didn't necessarily mean he was superior to Hashirama. He had succeeded because he had no other path; he was forced to blaze his own trail. Otherwise, his only options were Mount Myoboku, Shikkotsu Forest, or Ryūchi Cave.
Shikkotsu Forest and Ryūchi Cave were out of the question from the start. Mount Myoboku had seemed like a possibility for a while, but he eventually abandoned that idea. Hashirama's situation, however, was clearly different. The man didn't need to self-study; there were those willing to teach him. If Diarmuid had been in those shoes, he certainly wouldn't have chosen the more convoluted path either.
When the result is the same, why go looking for extra suffering?
If he had possessed Hashirama's advantages, he surely would have gone straight to Shikkotsu Forest to learn it. Therefore, he didn't consider himself "better" than Hashirama in this regard, it was simply a difference in environment and choice.
Of course, as the first person to master Sage Mode through self-study, he was entitled to a bit of pride. If one considered the implications of teaching Senjutsu, factors unrelated to raw combat power, then yes, his approach held a distinct advantage over Hashirama's.
Jiraiya didn't dispute Diarmuid's words. Coming from anyone else, it might sound like posturing, but since Diarmuid had actually done it, it was pure, unadulterated strength.
"Regardless, I truly never expected this. And by the look of it, your Sage Mode seems more perfect than mine, and more durable. Moreover, the scale of the Senjutsu Chakra you can mobilize is on a different level. I'm afraid you're far stronger than I am in this state," Jiraiya said with a hint of melancholy.
"Hahahaha! That much is true," Diarmuid laughed, admitting it freely.
"Your base strength was already beyond me, and now you've added Sage Mode... Tsk tsk..." Jiraiya clicked his tongue and shook his head again. "You already defeated and killed Hanzo of the Salamander. As far as I know, there's likely no one left in the entire shinobi world who is your match."
Diarmuid rubbed his chin. From the beginning, his benchmarks had been monsters like Hashirama and Madara. Among the rest, the only one he truly kept an eye on was someone like Tobirama, whose upper limit was essentially impossible to judge.
In Diarmuid's view, what made a person's upper limit unmeasurable? It was someone like Tobirama. Give a man like that enough time to prepare, and the power he could unleash might be even more terrifying than Madara or Hashirama, especially after Hashirama's death.
After all, that man mastered the Reanimation Jutsu. If he couldn't beat you, he could just summon his big brother. With the brothers united and a never-ending stream of Forbidden Jutsu, anyone would have a massive headache!
But now, Hashirama, Tobirama, and even Madara were all dead.
The Rinnegan and the Gedo Statue were both in his hands.
The "cheat-code" generation, the King of Edgelords, Sasuke, and the hot-blooded Naruto, hadn't even been born yet. And even if they were, until those two protagonists reached their peak, they wouldn't be Diarmuid's match. At their absolute pinnacle, they might be able to fight him, but even then, their win rate wouldn't be high.
So, looking across the current shinobi world...
Perhaps it was as Jiraiya said. Diarmuid no longer had an equal.
As the saying goes... "My divine technique is complete; I am peerless under heaven!"
Thinking of this, Diarmuid nodded with sentiment and whispered, "Yes. Originally, I had some concerns regarding Genjutsu, specifically high-level Sharingan Genjutsu. But now that I've mastered Sage Mode, the restrictions Genjutsu places on me should be reduced to the lowest level. When I think about it like that, I truly am invincible in the shinobi world. Sigh, it's lonely at the top..."
Actually, reflecting on it now, Diarmuid felt he had been a bit overly cautious in the past. When he first arrived in this world, he was very wary of Genjutsu because he had never encountered a power that acted entirely on the soul and spirit.
It was indeed a completely different system from things like Haki. Thus, he had his reservations.
But it seemed he had overthought it. Genjutsu wasn't quite as godly as he had imagined. One couldn't blame him, though; when he first arrived, he only knew the "what" of the shinobi power system, not the "how." He knew the names of things, but he couldn't do anything. He was essentially ignorant. It was only logical that his initial judgments would have some bias or error.
Because of that, he had spent a long time avoiding direct confrontations with Genjutsu. Ironically, up until now, Diarmuid had never actually been caught in one.
Now, he no longer feared it. The only ones he needed to be wary of were the "cheat-level" Genjutsu, like Kotoamatsukami, Tsukuyomi, or Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Hearing Diarmuid's "lonely at the top" lament, Jiraiya felt a phantom toothache. Simultaneously, a seed of worry grew in his heart.
Undoubtedly, Diarmuid's current strength was something that couldn't be countered by mere tricks or strategy. Yet, Diarmuid was a wild, unrestrained, and somewhat reckless man. He was the type who dared to do anything. Before he was invincible, he dared to kill the Third Raikage and the Daimyo. Now that he was peerless, wouldn't he be even more unbridled?
Out of a sense of justice, Jiraiya felt he should find a way to resolve this hidden threat. Ideally, he'd convince Diarmuid to convert to Buddhism, introduce him to the Fire Temple, and have him become a head abbot or something.
But clearly, that was impossible.
"I wonder who, if anyone, could ever restrain a tiger like this..." Jiraiya thought with a trace of unease.
But as he looked at Diarmuid's profile, he suddenly froze, remembering the warning Diarmuid had given him after their first clash:
"You have many good qualities, but you're a busybody. If you don't change, you'll die because of that habit sooner or later."
Unconsciously, wasn't he being a "busybody" right now by worrying about these things?
Dammit, he's right. I don't even plan on being a ninja anymore; why am I stressing over this? The Five Kage aren't even worried, so why should I give a damn?
"What are you thinking about?" Diarmuid asked suddenly, appearing to have moved on from his self-indulgent moment. After all, having been invincible once before, a brief moment of sentiment was enough.
Jiraiya snapped back to reality. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but finally just smiled and shook his head. "Nothing. Just some sentimental thoughts. I didn't expect to have such a powerful guy among my friends."
"Hahaha! You're not half-bad yourself," Diarmuid laughed.
Jiraiya ignored the compliment and asked directly, "How long can your Sage Mode last?"
"So eager to scout for intel already?" Diarmuid gave him a side-eye.
Jiraiya smiled and waved it off. "It's not intel scouting; I'm just purely curious."
Diarmuid nodded and extended his arm as if sensing something. Jiraiya watched him closely and realized that even while in Sage Mode, Diarmuid was still continuously absorbing Natural Energy.
This was impressive. It proved his mastery over Natural Energy had reached a perfect level, it caused him no hindrance or ill effect, and there was no risk of turning into stone.
After a moment, Diarmuid opened his eyes and smiled. "There is no practical time limit. As long as my Chakra isn't exhausted, I can maintain Sage Mode indefinitely. I could even keep it active during my daily routine. Simply put... this is my base mode."
Jiraiya was stunned. He had previously estimated Diarmuid could maintain it for an hour or two, which he already considered incredibly powerful. Now it turned out he hadn't just underestimated Diarmuid, he had practically insulted him!
"How long does it take for your Chakra to run out?" Jiraiya asked instinctively.
As soon as he asked, he almost slapped himself. Why ask that? Wasn't he just setting this jerk up to brag?
Sure enough, Diarmuid gave a "proud smile" and said in a very punchable tone: "How long until my Chakra runs out? That's a tough question to answer. I haven't run out yet, and I haven't even felt a hint of exhaustion."
By nature, his physical constitution was not inferior to "cheaters" like the Senju or Uzumaki clans, in fact, it was likely stronger. This provided him with a massive baseline of Chakra.
But that still wasn't the most important part. To this day, the source of Diarmuid's nearly infinite Chakra had always been the core darkness power of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
He and the darkness had long since merged into one. The source of darkness was the source of his Chakra. As a Logia ability, the Dark-Dark Fruit seemed to have integrated into the "rules" of this world. Even Diarmuid wasn't sure exactly how much Chakra he possessed.
By his estimation, even if he went all out, he could probably spam Ninjutsu for ten days straight without running out.
This is how it should be! If you people get to cheat, I, Diarmuid, will cheat too. That's the only way to have a fair fight at this level!
Jiraiya silently watched Diarmuid show off once again and stopped talking, fearing he'd be crushed by the gap between them.
Diarmuid laughed and patted him on the shoulder like a senior colleague. "Let's go. My Senjutsu training is finished for now. I should—"
Before he could finish his sentence, his expression suddenly changed. The strength in his feet seemed to slip out of control, and he accidentally crushed the floor tile beneath him into fine dust.
Jiraiya, startled, supported Diarmuid and asked, "What's wrong?"
However, before Diarmuid could speak, Jiraiya witnessed an even more terrifying sight. Was this guy turning green? No, more accurately... was his arm turning green?
On Diarmuid's arm, which Jiraiya was currently supporting, several small branches were actually sprouting, like an old tree finding new life in spring, blooming with lush, emerald-green leaves...
"What is this?! Are you some kind of tree spirit in disguise?" Jiraiya cried out.
Diarmuid looked at the sight in astonishment, but then his face lit up with joy. "Dammit, you're the tree spirit! I've finally awakened Wood Release!!!"
The long-awaited power had finally arrived!
He had spent more time researching Wood Release than Senjutsu. But there had been zero progress. With Senjutsu, he could at least feel the harmony within his body, but with Wood Release, there had been absolutely nothing.
Back then, Orochimaru had planted a "seed" inside him. Has it finally sprouted?
"Wood Release?!" Jiraiya shouted, wide-eyed with disbelief. "How on earth can you use Wood Release!?"