Five years in the Northern Lands, two heavyweight figures joined the Northern Lands.
One is Hidan, and the other is Deidara.
Deidara still couldn't escape Kisame and Hozuki Mangetsu's grasp.
However, artists are all unruly and love freedom, and they were also beaten half to death and dragged back by Kisame and his companion.
When Hidan saw Deidara with only half a life left, he was gloating, and his resentment vanished instantly.
At the same time, Hidan also felt the strength of the Northern Lands. Although there were not many Jonin, any one of them was top-notch.
From then on, the high-end combat force of the Northern Lands consisted Ringo Ameyuri Kisame, Kakuzu, Hozuki Mangetsu, Ringo Ameyuri, Zabuza, Hidan, Deidara, and Pakura.
Mid-tier combat power includes Mifune, Kazahana Dōtō, Demon Wolf, Yan Hua, etc.
Next are Guren, Anko, Ryuzetsu, Kimimaro, Haku, Ajisai, Fu, Karin, the original Sound Ninja Trio, the Sound Four, and other juniors who haven't fully matured yet.
These people are already much stronger than those small ninja villages, and not much weaker than the other major ninja villages. They are more than capable of being shown up.
From this moment on, the Northern Lands began to enter a period of stable development.
We're not worried about these people not having a place to settle down. Each cadre has their own jurisdiction and the industries they manage, so we're determined to keep them busy.
Otherwise, they would all be restless and thinking of causing trouble, and it wouldn't be a solution to always rely on Orochimaru to keep them in check.
Let them manage the business. Even if these people aren't professionals, they can learn. Besides, they don't have to do everything themselves. They can at least take a look around and check things out!
For example, Kisame arranged for Orochimaru to check on the village's reservoir whenever he had free time; he was the perfect candidate to Factory Manager of the Jiraisui.
Kakuzu has extensive research experience in cardiac medicine; perhaps he could work part-time as a consultant for heart transplants.
Deidara is good at explosives, isn't he? Wouldn't he be perfect for developing weapons, or even splitting rocks and quarrying railway tracks?
He was arguably the first person in the Northern Lands to perform pinpoint detonation, and he could also use this opportunity to study the power of his bombs.
As for Hozuki Mangetsu, he does have some management skills; he is the principal of the Ninja Academy.
Education, healthcare, production, development, and so on—that's enough to accommodate them.
Whether they liked it or not, no one dared to cause any trouble under Orochimaru's oppressive rule.
These days, the most relaxed people in the Northern Lands are probably the teachers at the Ninja Academy, like the physical education teacher Zabuza.
"Please don't go."
Several female students, panting heavily and blushing, stared at Zabuza.
Most importantly, their hearts were racing, and they looked at Zabuza with embarrassed expressions.
Even if Zabuza's spring had arrived, and no matter how thirsty he was, he wouldn't go so far as to lay a hand on the little girls in front of him.
"Hey, hey, hey... you guys, get running! If you keep walking like this, you'll all have to run another lap later!"
The first time in their lives that these girls had heard someone tell them not to leave was probably from their school's physical education teacher.
The reason Zabuza as the physical education teacher was partly to help him further improve his skills.
This guy's strength was originally only at the Jonin level, he couldn't even beat Kakashi.
However, his audacity far surpasses his strength. In the free-fighting match of 1974... no, four years ago, he dared to attack the Fourth Mizukage.
After encountering Orochimaru, he immediately started fighting without warning. Putting aside his strength, he certainly had a lot of guts.
Since following Orochimaru, he was assigned to be a physical education teacher. This subject is usually quite relaxed, so he also has time to train.
His strength has indeed improved significantly, otherwise Orochimaru would not have promoted him to a key position.
Just as Zabuza was training with his students, a dark figure flashed in front of him.
The newcomer was dressed in a black robe with red lotus flowers printed on it; he was a member of the Shadow Guard.
"Zabuza, Lord Gold Kage wants you to bring Kimimaro and Haku to his office!"
Without any unnecessary words, the figure disappeared again after delivering the message.
This kind of thing is nothing new; usually, when they are assigned a task, someone will notify them.
"Another mission? Looks like my leisurely life is over!"
Wiping non-existent sweat from his forehead, Zabuza frowned. "We still have to bring those two brats along?"
Unlike in the original storyline, although Haku was also a student at the Ninja Academy, he didn't have a very deep relationship with him.
All I know is that guy is a talented genius; as for being willing to die for him, that's not the case.
Soon, Zabuza found a few other kids who were also training at the Ninja Academy training grounds.
They're not exactly little anymore; the oldest, Kimimaro, is already nine years old, and Haku is about the same age.
"Kimimaro, Haku, come with me!"
Upon hearing the voice, the two sparring partners stopped what they were doing and looked at the newcomer.
"Zabuza- senpai, is there something you need?"
The young man, who had shed some of his naivety, asked a question. The two of them had personalities quite similar to Orochimaru, cold, calm, and unsmiling, giving people a feeling of keeping them at arm's length. Even their way of speaking was similar.
Moreover, this quality is even more pronounced on Kimimaro.
"Time to get things done!"
Zabuza glanced at them, his eyes showing no disdain for the two.
As Orochimaru's two most outstanding disciples, their future achievements will likely surpass his. He's just been eating for a few more years now.
However, as I said before, I'm not good enough to compare with Brother Gui yet. I'll train for another two and a half years!
He turned and walked towards the office building first, and the two of them followed without saying a word.
When they arrived at the office, Orochimaru gave Zabuza and Kimimaro two copies of the documents respectively.
"The Miko of the Land of Demons and the Mōryō of the Land of Swamps need you two to investigate!"
As mentioned earlier, the Mōryō and Dragon Vein are said to be products evolved from fragments of the Divine Tree.
Dragon Vein has already brought the Orochimaru back, so all that's left is the Mōryō from the Land of Swamps, a demon with immense Chakra.
Moreover, like the Dragon Vein, its energy can be used to control earth golems to fight.
Orochimaru planned to Zabuza to check the situation and see if he could bring Mōryō back as well, and also deal with this Genin world!
After speaking, she turned her gaze to Kimimaro, her eyes revealing a rare tenderness.
"This person is somewhat useful to us, and I can also help him!"
The information Kimimaro's Zabuza; it only contained information about one person: "Jūgo".
This village, located near Ryūchi Cave, is the birthplace of Jūgo, a freak who was born with the ability to absorb Natural Energy.
In the original timeline, Orochimaru developed the Heaven and Earth Curse Mark using his own cells.
Although there are better options now, it's always good to have more skills, especially since Jūgo is an honest and kind-hearted person with considerable combat strength.
There are probably not many people in the Ninja World who can withstand a single attack from the Raikage's Lightning Release: Lariat and survive.
"You and Zabuza, Haku. As for Kimimaro, you can find someone yourself, right?"
Orochimaru smiled and looked at Haku and Kimimaro, who sensed his respect from Orochimaru gaze.
"No problem! I guarantee I'll complete the task and won't let you down!"
The two answered in unison that although they already had the strength of Genin, they rarely left the village. They wanted to take advantage of the fact that there were not many battles in the Ninja World to go out and hone their skills.
Zabuza had no objection to having another person with him, since the mission was just reconnaissance and having more people would keep him entertained.