After finishing his instructions to the Spark trio, Hyuga Shin parted ways with them. He had no idea what the Sage of Six Paths was plotting. That Old Bastard was impossible to read.
He needed to find a suitable location and get the base built as soon as possible.
Hyuga Shin's concerns were actually a little excessive.
Although the Sage of Six Paths did indeed consider him a thorn in his side, a grave threat—he would have loved to kill this gravedigger of the Chakra system on the spot.
But between the restrictions of the Pure Land and his agreement with the Three Great Insect Sages, he truly couldn't act against Shin directly.
And even if he could ignore his agreement with the Three Great Sages and force his way past the Pure Land's restrictions, all his previous efforts would be wasted. He couldn't bring himself to do that.
Hyuga Shin had erased the will he'd left inside Orochimaru and the others. That had indeed left him furious and shocked, even driving him to the brink of losing his reason for a time.
But once he had calmed down, the Sage of Six Paths regained his composure. He felt that Hyuga Shin had clouded his judgment and led him down the wrong path.
Even if Hyuga Shin could erase the will he'd embedded, couldn't he invade them again?
He was the founder of the Chakra system, after all!
As long as Orochimaru and the others still followed the Chakra system, there was nothing to worry about.
It would only take a little more effort and a small price to pay for him to pull their fates back onto the right track.
The Sage of Six Paths was confident!
Moreover, the Sage of Six Paths had already thought of a way to deal with Hyuga Shin. The time simply wasn't right, and the conditions weren't in place yet. He would have to wait.
In his eyes, Hyuga Shin had some ability, but he could never stir up a real storm.
The Great Trend of the Shinobi World couldn't be changed so easily!
He wouldn't allow it, and neither would the Bug Immortals of the Three Great Sage Regions!
Otherwise, they wouldn't have intervened all those centuries ago.
The current order of the Shinobi World was exactly what he and the Bug Immortals of the Three Great Sage Regions wanted.
The Sage of Six Paths even looked forward to Hyuga Shin influencing—or even changing—the Great Trend of the entire Shinobi World!
When that happened, he wouldn't be the one getting anxious. Those three lofty Bug Immortals would be!
If it really came to that, he could sit back and watch them fight, and get a little satisfaction out of annoying the Bug Immortals.
Besides, the Shinobi World's Fate Script had reached a critical point, and its pawns were already taking the stage.
As long as Hyuga Shin didn't go looking for trouble for the time being, the Sage of Six Paths couldn't be bothered to deal with him.
That was also why the Sage of Six Paths hadn't rushed to attack Hyuga Shin and the others.
With his reason restored, the Sage of Six Paths had returned to his usual state of unshakable calm, as if everything were under his control.
After all, he was an Old Monster who had lived for over a thousand years. He was deep and calculating, not easily swayed by emotion. He was no simple opponent.
An angry enemy wasn't frightening, because anger could cloud his judgment.
A rational, calculating enemy was frightening, because you could never guess what underhanded move he had waiting for you.
But the Sage of Six Paths never dreamed that in such a short time, Hyuga Shin had already come up with a complete solution and built a firewall around the seeds.
By the time he found out, it would already be too late.
Hyuga Shin sped onward at full throttle!
Since emerging from seclusion, he'd never felt so pressed for time.
The Sage of Six Paths was so steady that Shin couldn't get a read on him.
He could only push ahead with the next steps of his plan as quickly as possible.
As he raced along, Hyuga Shin used his spiritual sense to search every place he passed, looking for a suitable location.
Several days went by. Hyuga Shin had flown over nearly all the territory of the Five Great Nations, but he still hadn't found anywhere promising.
There were a few decent spots with abundant Natural Energy.
But some were too close to the passages between the Three Great Sage Regions and the Shinobi World, while others were too near the major shinobi villages.
They clearly wouldn't work as the organization's main base.
Kakuzu, Sasori, and Hidan had also looked around, but none of them had any good suggestions.
Hyuga Shin had contacted Orochimaru too, to ask his opinion, but he hadn't gotten any promising locations from him either.
Did he really have to choose one of these places?
Hyuga Shin hesitated. After all, the Spark's safety mattered most!
These places still weren't suitable!
He'd keep looking. If nothing else worked, he'd make the final decision later.
This time, Hyuga Shin turned his attention to the various small countries outside the Five Great Nations, hoping to find something useful.
This search actually turned up some promising discoveries.
He found suitable locations in three countries: the Iron Country, the Hot Country, and the Artisan Country.
They were secluded, sparsely populated, and had decent surroundings. The only drawback was that their Natural Energy density was a little low.
But Hyuga Shin had no better options for now. He could only choose the best among the mediocre.
He was just about to settle on one when a message from Orochimaru arrived, giving him an even better option.
After receiving Shin's inquiry, Orochimaru had kept the matter in mind, constantly thinking over which locations might be suitable.
"Elder Shin, are you choosing a site with the Three Great Sage Regions as your model?"
The more Orochimaru thought about it, the more it seemed that the Three Great Sage Regions would be the most suitable place. So he sent Hyuga Shin a message to tease him about it.
When Hyuga Shin received Orochimaru's message, he couldn't help smiling. That really is what I'm looking for.
If there really were an unclaimed place similar to the Three Great Sage Regions, it would be the best choice.
Suddenly, an idea struck Hyuga Shin. Wait! There might actually be a place like that in the Shinobi World!
Hyuga Shin remembered the life-or-death crisis he'd faced more than thirty years ago.
It had happened during the Battle of the Valley of the End, more than thirty years earlier.
Madara and Hashirama had hunted him down together, leaving him gravely wounded and on the brink of death. To escape, he'd had no choice but to forcefully use the Reverse Summoning Technique.
He had to gamble on a chance of survival!
After that, he'd been transported to an extremely unusual space.
It was a unique Small World, much like the Three Great Sage Regions.
But that space had fallen into ruin. There was little life within it, no powerful creatures, and relatively little Natural Energy.
Hyuga Shin had spent many days recovering there before he was well enough to move around. It was also there that he had found himself again.
Later, he had discovered a passage linking the space to the Shinobi World, and it was still usable.
He just didn't know why the place had become like that.
After recovering from his injuries and severing himself from the Chakra system, Hyuga Shin had left.
The Natural Energy there was even scarcer than in the Shinobi World. It simply wasn't a suitable place for him to cultivate while preparing to create his own techniques and set foot on the path to immortality.
Several decades had passed in a flash. Under the relentless passage of time, he'd nearly forgotten the place.
Orochimaru's reminder had brought it back to mind.
It really was an excellent choice!
Though it had fallen into disrepair and couldn't compare to the grandeur of the Three Great Sage Regions, and though its Natural Energy was scarce, there was no denying that it was extremely secluded.
It would be absolutely perfect as the organization's base!
The lack of Natural Energy wouldn't pose a problem for Hyuga Shin. With his current level of cultivation and strength, and his ability to make the most of Natural Energy, transforming the place wouldn't be difficult.
At most, he'd need to spend some time setting up formations to gather Natural Energy.
His method for building a Small Space Barrier already included them.
Thinking of this made Hyuga Shin even more interested in the hidden secrets of the Shinobi World.
Back then, he'd been entirely focused on cultivating immortality. He hadn't thought about anything else or thoroughly explored the entire space.
Looking at it now, that place might once have been a Sage Region.
He just didn't know whether he could still get there. He might as well try.
With his current strength, a mere spatial tear couldn't hurt him.
Hyuga Shin immediately formed the Hand Seals, and Natural Energy surged out.
"Poof!" A cloud of white smoke billowed up, and Hyuga Shin vanished from the spot.
Before you continue