The Land of Waves had actually been occupied by Uzushio Village.
Upon learning this, Orochimaru was somewhat surprised. Although Uzushio Village had a powerful ninja like Uzumaki Menma, it was still a newly established ninja village. Even if Konoha might be backing it, it should have acted more discreetly.
Actively occupying a neutral country was undoubtedly handing the other major ninja villages an excuse for war.
Cloud and Iwagakure, in particular, certainly would not pass up the chance to swallow a small country.
But on second thought, perhaps Uzushio Village was displaying its formidable military strength to the outside world in order to gain recognition from the other ninja villages. If so, then his previous judgment had been completely wrong.
Could it be that Uzushio Village was not backed by Konoha, but was truly supported by Uzumaki Menma's individual strength alone?
After pondering for a long while, Orochimaru decided to go to the Land of Waves and take a look. After all, he was now a rogue ninja wanted by both Konoha and Akatsuki, and there were not many places in the ninja world that could serve as refuge.
Several days later, Orochimaru appeared at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves.
Looking at the distant islands of the Land of Waves, no larger than black dots, Orochimaru performed the Summoning Jutsu and pulled a ring from a viper's stomach. Only after removing the seal on the ring did he cross the sea with peace of mind.
After arriving in the Land of Waves, Orochimaru shed his snake body and transformed into a fair-skinned young man wearing a conical hat, then began speaking with the fishermen.
After a brief conversation, Orochimaru obtained quite a bit of useful intelligence.
Gato, the actual ruler of the Land