After that, Orochimaru wasn't in any particular hurry. Although his status in the village was that of the Third Hokage's disciple, he was essentially just a Chunin. He didn't have any overly important duties, and with his current skill level, even if he took a vacation for a lifetime, it wouldn't be a big deal.
So he had a lot of free time. Hibari was in a similar situation; he had no intention of returning to the Land of Fire or Konohagakure anytime soon.
If it weren't for Hitenn Hyuga giving him a heads-up, he probably wouldn't have gone back in three months either.
In any case, they had plenty of time, and neither of them was in a rush.
Since Orochimaru had decided to join, Hibari naturally had to treat him as one of his own and make proper arrangements. For the next few days, Orochimaru stayed in the cathedral with Hibari.
When Hibari was busy, he would read books by himself. When Hibari was free, he would go and ask him questions. Hibari never hid anything and would do his best to clearly explain all of Orochimaru's doubts.
Although Hibari had never been a teacher, he had been taught by his grandfather, Tobirama, and by imitating his teaching style, he was becoming more and more comfortable teaching Orochimaru.
Although Orochimaru had only been there for a few days, he had gained a lot. Sometimes he felt that if he stayed with Hibari for a few years, he could go back and become a pillar of Konohagakure. It felt like his "Hibari-aniki" was more suitable for him than his teacher, the Third Hokage.
A few days later, at the construction site in the Undercity, the sun was especially hot today, and the temperature had risen a lot. The already warm Land of Hot Water was now even more scorching.
At this moment, Hibari was wearing a loose, grayish-white yukata with a black sash around his waist. Combined with his slightly messy silver-white short hair and his good looks and physique, he had a somewhat lazy and handsome charm.
He was sitting on a clean, large stone. A barrier seemed to have been set up around him to keep the noisy construction area from entering his space.
A tea set was placed beside him, and a teacup was filled with warm tea. Aside from the surrounding noisy construction scene being a bit out of place and awkward, he looked like he was on a hot spring vacation.
While Hibari looked very carefree, not far from him, Orochimaru and Tsunade were working on the construction site, one with a shovel and the other with a hoe.
Whether it was because Tsunade had led him astray or not, Orochimaru's distinctive clothes had been replaced. Like Tsunade, he was wearing durable overalls, sturdy leather boots, and a black short-sleeved shirt with a large character for 'labor' printed on his chest. He wore a safety helmet on his head and gloves on his hands, working alongside Tsunade.
As he raised his hoe and brought it down, breaking up some loose soil and stones, Tsunade would swiftly shovel the dirt out of the hole.
Their cooperation was very rhythmic.
Hibari took a sip of tea, then looked at the 'labor' characters written on Orochimaru and Tsunade's shirts and said with a smile, "Labor is a glorious thing! As shinobi, you must develop in all aspects. You can't spend all day hiding in the cathedral researching scrolls and books. Physical fitness is also very important. You should sweat more and exercise more. This way, you can help build the Undercity and also strengthen your body. Isn't it a win-win situation?"
Tsunade had inherited the Senju clan's physique. She had incredible vitality and was at her most energetic age. On top of that, she was already a bit of a tomboy. In the past few days, she had become familiar with many people on the construction site and treated this kind of work as a form of training for her taijutsu. She worked very quickly, shoveling one pile of dirt after another without even thinking about resting.
Orochimaru, however, was different. Although he and Tsunade were both very talented, there was still a gap in their physical endurance. At this moment, under the scorching sun, he was constantly digging at the ground with his hoe, and his entire body was sore.
After hearing Hibari's words, he stopped what he was doing, wiped the sweat from his brow, and asked, "Hibari-aniki, why don't you exercise with us?"
Hibari took a sip of tea, glanced at that kid Orochimaru, then pointed to the tall, majestic, and heavy-looking city walls and gates in the distance and said, "I know what you're thinking, kid. Do you see the city walls and gates over there? I built all of those with my own hands, piece by piece. Now, let me tell you the second point: you must balance work and rest. After completing a certain amount of work, you also need to take time to fully relax and recuperate. I'm currently in this state of 'recuperation.' Do you understand?"
After hearing Hibari's words, Tsunade energetically raised her shovel and said excitedly, "I understand, Hibari-nii!"
Orochimaru looked at the energetic Tsunade beside him with a helpless expression, then shook his head, looked at Hibari, and asked, "Then when can I enter this state of recuperation?"
"The specialty of the Land of Hot Water is its hot springs. I've had a professional survey the area. There is a hot spring beneath the ground in this part of the cathedral's backyard. The reason I had you two dig a hole here is to dig out the hot spring. We can build a hot spring bathhouse here, and if you get tired, you can soak in the bath and recuperate, right? From the looks of it, once you two dig out a hot spring here, you'll be able to enter the recuperation period..." Hibari said shamelessly, pointing to the ground around them.
"Hot spring...? Can I use ninjutsu? If I use Earth Release jutsu, I can dig out the hot spring in three minutes, at most." Orochimaru thought for a moment and said.
"Then it would lose the meaning of training, you idiot Orochimaru!" Tsunade said after hearing Orochimaru's words, raising her gloved hand to hit him on the head.
This was the difference in how Orochimaru and Tsunade thought. It also showed that Orochimaru was an extreme believer in ninjutsu, even thinking that ninjutsu could solve everything and was the most worthy truth in the world to explore.
Tsunade, on the other hand, didn't think as much as Orochimaru, but was willing to do things in a down-to-earth manner.
There was no right or wrong to these two ways of thinking. They both had their own merits. And just as Hibari had defined the Necro Cult, the world needed balance. Neither of them could be too extreme, or it would be for the worse.
Hibari also smiled and said, "Orochimaru, I'm not just teaching you things from books right now. I'm also teaching you to settle down and do things. Remember not to be too eager for quick success and instant benefits. Many things have no shortcuts."
Orochimaru looked helplessly at Hibari and the energetic Tsunade beside him, then nodded, raised his hoe again, and brought it down on the ground, kicking up some more loose stones.
Seeing this, Hibari nodded in satisfaction. Orochimaru would achieve great things in the future, creating many amazing techniques and developing many powerful jutsu.
However, these were just his successes. He had failed even more times. For example, he had used a beast transformation drug to trick Mizuki, the treatment for Kimimaro Kaguya's illness, the Cursed Seals, and his attempt to steal Sasuke Uchiha's body had all ended in failure. And the 'Wood Release kekkei genkai' that he had researched with Danzō after joining the Root had also ended in failure.
In Hibari's opinion, some of these things may have been difficult, but only a few. Many weren't that difficult, like the beast transformation drug. Orochimaru could definitely have developed it, but the reason he failed was partly because he wasn't very interested in it and was just doing it for fun. On the other hand, it also had to do with his personality, which preferred to take 'unconventional shortcuts.'
It wasn't that Hibari wouldn't let him be that way, but there had to be a limit to everything. Hibari was also using these things to temper that kid Orochimaru's personality, so that he would become a little more stable.
After all, he couldn't control him before, but now that Orochimaru was going to follow him, he naturally had to train Orochimaru to be a better and more advanced person, right?
Just as Hibari was leisurely drinking his tea and supervising the two little kids, Orochimaru and Tsunade, in their training, Tsunade seemed to have seen someone. She then stuck her shovel into the ground and said happily, "Kakuzu-san is back, Hibari-nii, look!"
Hibari looked in the direction that little Tsunade pointed, and sure enough, the figure of that guy Kakuzu had appeared there and was walking towards them leisurely.
Seeing him, Hibari's mouth curled up. Before Kakuzu even got closer, he said loudly, "Your speed is getting slower and slower! It's been more than half a month, and you're only just getting back now? I thought you had found a new future in the black market and weren't going to join us..."
Kakuzu slowly walked closer. He looked at Tsunade and Orochimaru and was a little surprised. How had another person been added after only a few days, and why were they also working with a hoe?
However, he didn't pay much attention to that. Instead, he looked at Hibari impatiently and explained, "The journey was long, and it was bound to take some time. Also, it takes some time for the people I gathered to arrive. I'd say I was already fast."
Hibari was just casually making a jab and didn't really want to argue with Kakuzu. After hearing the explanation, he didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he asked directly, "What kind of results did you get?"
"Although not many, they're not bad. In the time I was gone from the black market, a few of my subordinates died, but I now have five trustworthy people. I brought two of them back this time, and the other three are not in the Land of Hot Water yet and need some time to get here." Kakuzu said very bluntly.
Don't let Kakuzu's words fool you. Although he only had five people, these five were people he could trust, which was a good thing. What Hibari lacked were people who could do important things. If he were to count just any kind of person, Hibari could just send a signal, and thousands of people would come to him. Why would he need Kakuzu to go find people?
Therefore, Hibari also nodded in satisfaction, then said, "That's good. Since you're a core member of our Necro Cult, I won't compete with you for anything. Those five people will be under your command. I'll just give you things to do, and you can handle them yourself."
When Hibari said this, Kakuzu looked at him for a moment, then nodded. This showed a strong sense of trust. Kakuzu still admired Hibari for his magnanimity. Of course, he had no intention of causing any trouble for Hibari.
Then Hibari pointed at Orochimaru and said again, "I've already arranged the related plans, and they're in my room. Just follow them. If there are any shortcomings, with your intelligence, you don't have to rely on me for everything. You can solve them yourself. Let's talk about what's next. You should know this kid, right?"
Kakuzu nodded, then said, "Orochimaru, right? The Third Hokage's disciple, that kid you think highly of."
Hibari also smiled, then said, "That's right, it's him. After our discussion, he has decided to join our Necro Cult. I've always thought highly of him since he was a child, and he hasn't disappointed me. He's grown very well. Now that he's joined our Necro Cult, if we train him well, he will definitely become a pillar of our cult in the future."
Kakuzu had no intention of looking down on Orochimaru. Years ago, when he was in Mushiking Valley, he didn't think much of Hibari. But in just a few years, Hibari had transformed from a fledgling into a mighty eagle, and even he was now working for him.
Since then, he would never look down on anyone casually again. Since a genius like Hibari thought so highly of Orochimaru, it meant that this kid named Orochimaru definitely had some extraordinary qualities. Who knows, after a few more years of growth, he might become another incredible person?
So Kakuzu didn't put on any airs. To him, these things were irrelevant. As long as Orochimaru didn't try to borrow money from him, everything was negotiable.
"Welcome to the Necro Cult, Orochimaru." Kakuzu said softly, looking at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru also looked at Kakuzu and nodded respectfully, then said, "I look forward to working with you, Kakuzu-san."
Kakuzu nodded, and then Hibari said again, "This is just one thing. I have something else to do with this kid and need to leave for a while. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll be back in four months at the latest. So during this time, I'm entrusting everything related to the Necro Cult to you, Kakuzu."
Kakuzu was stunned after hearing Hibari's words. He then said, "You've really gotten used to being a hands-off boss, haven't you?"
"Do you think the huge salary you take from my account every month is for nothing?" Hibari also rolled his eyes and said.
"It's a different situation. This is considered working overtime, and I need to be paid more..." Kakuzu said softly after thinking for a moment.
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