Whirlpool City was not very large, but it had already been planned with future expansion in mind. It would eventually grow to roughly the size of Konoha, but since the Land of Whirlpools itself was not very large, that was its limit.
The Whirlpool City aboveground had not yet reached its planned size, but the underground area was already slightly larger than Konoha.
Despite being so vast, the underground area had very few people. Around thirty people lived there permanently, most of them responsible for guarding the entrances and exits.
Ye Zi had previously planned to establish a Ninja Academy, but the plan had low priority. It would probably not be implemented until many other matters had been settled first.
Although the underground base was larger than the city aboveground, its corridors were wide, straight, and uncomplicated.
Orochimaru's room was near the center of Whirlpool City. Ye Zi descended from the clock tower in the central square and walked for about five minutes before arriving at Orochimaru's private laboratory.
There was nothing in particular that needed to be researched or developed at the moment, so Orochimaru and Nanako no longer had any reason to work together. Each of them had claimed a laboratory for their own interests.
Ye Zi entered the laboratory without knocking.
Orochimaru had his back to the door and stood before the workbench, tweezers in hand, fiddling with something on a snake lying across the table. When he suddenly heard the door open, he did not stop what he was doing.
Even without sensing the visitor through Chakra fluctuations, he knew that the only person who would enter without knocking was Ye Zi.
"Is it important?" Ye Zi blurred into motion and appeared behind the desk, dropping into the chair.
"Not important." Orochimaru kept his back to