Between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning lay an obscure small nation known as the Land of Rice Fields.
Caught between two great nations, the Land of Rice Fields was in an equally difficult position. Like the Land of Rain, it had served as the battlefield between Konoha and Kumogakure throughout several Shinobi World Wars. Because of the wars, countless innocent civilians here had become victims. Villages were destroyed, farmlands abandoned, and people left displaced.
That was also why Orochimaru had chosen to establish a ninja village here. In such a harsh environment, no one would care about his research, and he would have an ample supply of test subjects.
Beneath one region of the Land of Rice Fields stood a relatively rudimentary underground base.
Inside the underground base, Orochimaru emerged from a laboratory with a pleased expression. He was in quite a good mood. Since defecting from Konoha and joining Akatsuki, he had rarely come across anything so interesting.
The man named Jugo, whom Kimimaro had brought back some time ago, had given him a tremendous surprise. Like a walking treasure trove, he had yielded enormous gains.
He had long been interested in Natural Energy, especially the Sage Mode attained after absorbing it. He had seen Jiraiya use it before. It greatly enhanced one's strength and had many marvelous effects, but he had yet to find the location of Ryūchi Cave, leaving him unable to conduct any research.
However, the Jugo Kimimaro had brought him gave him that opportunity. Born with a constitution capable of absorbing Natural Energy, he was excellent research material.
His research into Natural Energy had also made some progress recently.
It was only because the time for Akatsuki's agreed-upon gathering was approaching that he had left the laboratory.
That also made him