Both time-traveled characters ended up as villainous henchmen.

"I can grant your request. However..."

Orochimaru stepped over the corpses of the Root ninja and slowly walked towards Izumi Nen, a hint of joy shining in his narrow snake eyes.

"However, I am not a Jonin instructor at the Ninja Academy. In addition to the tasks assigned by the village, I also have some important research tasks."

"You won't have much time to guide Nianjun, so be prepared for that."

Orochimaru approached Izumi Nen, gently placed his palm on his shoulder, and continued, "Of course, if you are interested in my research project, I am willing to teach you more."

"Thank you, Lord Orochimaru."

Izumi lowered his head and replied with a joyful tone.

Orochimaru didn't care about Izumi Nen's little schemes and performance. After chuckling, he told her the location of a research lab.

"Come back in three days. I'll take care of other things in the next few days. You should also go back and prepare, as you'll most likely be staying there for an extended period."

After saying that, Orochimaru took out a sealing scroll, sealed the corpse of the Root ninja inside, gave Izumi a few more trivial instructions, and then disappeared in an instant.

As the dense forest returned to silence, Izumi smelled the lingering scent of blood, and the huge weight in her heart finally lifted.

After sensing the danger for a while with the help of natural energy, he did not rush to leave. Instead, he stood still and silently absorbed natural energy to restore his strength.

At the same time, he began to mentally review the entire operation.

During the theoretical exam at Konoha Hospital, he noticed something unusual from the proctor's subtle movements, and it seemed that the proctor was not hiding anything from him.

As expected, the application for a medical ninja was not going to be smooth sailing.

Therefore, he immediately decided to activate the backup plan.

He had anticipated this situation. If everything went smoothly and no accidents occurred, becoming a medical ninja at Konoha Hospital would be a good option.

However, since his hopes have been dashed, he will not wait passively.

He had already taken precautions to attract Orochimaru's attention. Even if the original plan had not changed, he would still go to this dense forest afterward to make a deal with Orochimaru.

The only difference is the timing.

After all, Orochimaru was the one who developed the cursed seal.

The reason he switched allegiance to Orochimaru without much hesitation was not only his confidence that his Sage Body would be attractive enough to Orochimaru, but also that Orochimaru at that time had not completely "turned evil".

Reaching a deal with them would be simpler and less risky.

After catching her breath, Izumi Nen had basically recovered from the exhaustion of this battle.

In his previous battle with the Root ninjas, he did not use the Rasengan he had successfully mastered, since Orochimaru was watching and he couldn't explain the origins of this ninjutsu.

He used a technique for using natural energy that he had developed over the past month by reviewing various basic medical materials and simple human meridian diagrams in Konoha, combined with the Qi cultivation method of One Person World.

Although that punch consumed a month's worth of natural energy he had absorbed and accumulated, the effect was well worth it.

This also successfully piqued Orochimaru's interest even more.

In this way, he might be able to gain some influence over Orochimaru in subsequent research.

With her mind made up and her body recovered from its exhaustion, Izumi no longer lingered and turned to hurry out of the dense forest.

After all this twist and turn, the threat at the root has been basically eliminated.

Although Orochimaru had a certain cooperative relationship with Root, the two sides were only superficially united.

In the original story, Orochimaru primarily utilizes Root's resources for his research. Therefore, as long as Izumi Nen's research value to Orochimaru remains unchanged, there's no need to worry about Root for a while.

Now that he has left the small pond of the ninja academy and successfully made contact with Orochimaru, he has no shortage of basic ninjutsu training materials.

To become stronger, all that's needed is time.

While Orochimaru may not be as reliable as Tsunade, he is good enough at stalling for time.

Izumi Nian believed that it wouldn't be long before he could fully realize his talent as strength.

If a new version of itself arrives in the Black Mist Space during this period, the threat posed by the last remaining hidden dangers will be further reduced.

……

Later that day, Orochimaru reported to the Third Hokage about his willingness to teach Izumi Nen.

"Izumi Nen... is this child?"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, looked at the report Orochimaru submitted and recalled the evaluation Asuma had once given him.

He's hardworking and diligent, and although his words can be a bit harsh, he's still a kind person.

They actually did all this without saying a word...

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag on his pipe and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke that blurred his face.

"Sure, this kid just suddenly applied to graduate, and we haven't decided on a Jonin or a team yet. Since Orochimaru brought it up, we'll leave it to you."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Orochimaru, still smiling, gave a slightly hoarse reply and left the Hokage's office.

The Third Hokage continued puffing on his cigarette. Orochimaru offered to tutor a recent graduate, which was nothing more than a trivial matter.

But Izumi Nen's problem involves his old friend, Shimura Danzo.

"The roots..."

The third generation leader sighed softly, and the smoke once again blurred his face.

……

root.

When Shimura Danzo learned that Izumi Nen had been assigned to Orochimaru by Sarutobi Hiruzen, he was furious.

"Damn monkey, even a little brat has to cause me trouble...?"

"Never mind, he's just a kid with a bit of medical ninja talent."

After fuming for a while, Shimura Danzo ordered his Root ninjas to temporarily restrain themselves.

He didn't realize the role Orochimaru played in it, and instead blamed Hiruzen Sarutobi for it.

Hokage... one day, he will be the one to sit in that position.

……

For Izumi Nen, this major life event did not cause much of a stir in the complex environment of Konoha Village.

Soon, everything returned to its usual pattern.

The only difference is between Orochimaru and Izumi Nen.

One of them immersed himself in the research of the new Sage Mode, while the other devoted himself to the training of various ninjutsu. Of course, Orochimaru also taught Izumi Nen some research materials that were unrelated to Sage Mode and natural energy.

Izumi Nen was not impatient at all, and like a sponge, he frantically absorbed all kinds of knowledge taught by Orochimaru.

……

Just as Izumi Nen from the Naruto world was beginning to break free of his prison, He Nian, a pirate from another world, finally set foot on the land he had been longing for for months.

The moment He Nian stepped onto the beach, she immediately took off running, accompanied by cheers.

Except for the fact that he has no hair, he looks exactly like Sun Wukong who just popped out of a stone.

However, his joy was short-lived, as he was soon surrounded by a group of islanders who appeared out of nowhere, wielding harpoons and farm tools.

"Wait, wait, let's talk this out!"

He Nian was so startled that he waved his hands repeatedly to stop them. Fortunately, the islanders only looked fierce. After surrounding He Nian, they did not attack him directly, obviously intending to talk.

When the time was right, two men, one old and one young, came out from among the islanders.

Judging from his attire and demeanor, the old man was probably a town or village head on the island, while the burly young man, judging from the gun he carried, was likely the island's sheriff.

"Outsider, state your name, origin, and purpose in coming to our island of Irit."

The burly young man stepped forward and shouted at He Nian.