The next morning, the three emerged from their tent to the sound of birds chirping nearby. The sun had just risen, and after quickly packing up, they entered the Land of Fields.
The Land of Fields was one of the small countries bordering Konoha. Since it was mostly flat and covered in plains, rice was its main crop.
To the east lay an endless ocean. Besides the Land of Fire, its neighbors included the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Iron.
As a country without its own shinobi forces, the Land of Fields was in an awkward position. Most of its neighbors were powerful, and its proximity to the sea made it rich in resources.
As a result, other countries saw it as a fat piece of meat.
Fortunately, the Land of Fields had never suffered any major wars. One reason was that the Land of Iron, one of its neighbors, was permanently neutral, so it had remained untouched even during the Third Shinobi World War.
It was precisely because of its unique location that Orochimaru had thought to establish another laboratory here.
By this time, Orochimaru had joined the Akatsuki. After witnessing the power of its leader, he had become immensely interested in the Rinnegan.
After Deva Path Pain defeated him, he joined the Akatsuki—at his own request, of course. As for his goal, he wanted to find a chance to pry Pain's eyes out.
After staying by Pain's side for a few months, he left the Akatsuki's main base. He couldn't find an opportunity to get his hands on the Rinnegan.
Nagato could contact them through the rings he had given them, so he didn't stop Akatsuki members from going out as they pleased. He could simply assign missions through the rings.
After returning to the Land of Fields, Orochimaru once again found a secluded spot in the country and built an underground laboratory.
Whenever he had nothing else to do, he stayed in the base and conducted experiments. When the leader assigned a mission, he carried it out selectively. This displeased Nagato, but the Akatsuki was short on members, so Nagato let it slide.
As soon as they entered the Land of Fields, Naruto activated his sensory ability. His training over the past few days had extended its range to sixty li, but even with such a wide range, searching was still no easy task.
Orochimaru's laboratory was built deep underground, so Naruto had to extend his sensory ability beneath the earth to find it.
Naruto kept searching with his sensory ability, while Jiraiya and Shisui Uchiha stayed by his side.
Some distance ahead of them stood a large tomb. It had been hollowed out, and a passageway lay behind the tombstone.
The passage stretched a long way before reaching a set of stairs. At the bottom, it continued onward, then descended another flight of stairs. It wound on and on before ending at a small plaza, which branched into many passageways lined with rooms.
At the end of the passage directly ahead was a hall. On its eastern side stood a stone chair, its back carved with a giant snake. The snake's head loomed above the chair, poised to strike.
Aside from the stone chair, the hall was filled with laboratory equipment. Various organs floated in crystal jars, and a man in a white coat was dissecting a corpse.
The man had pallid skin, a gaunt face, and a bony frame. His bangs concealed his right eye. His eyes resembled a cat's, with black lines at their corners trailing down toward his nose, and his pupils were slit-like. As he bent over the dissection, he wore an eerie smile. His tongue stretched out, licking every drop of blood that had splattered onto his face.
Several figures stood behind him. The one at the front had white hair, green eyes, red eyeshadow, and two red dots between his brows.
Beside him stood a boy about his age, with orange hair and eyes. He was somewhat stockier than the white-haired boy.
Four more oddly dressed young people stood behind them. They watched the dissection intently, occasionally turning to exchange a few words.
The man at the front was Orochimaru, known as the Cold-Blooded Sannin. Behind him stood Kimimaro and Jugo. The four behind them were orphans Orochimaru had taken in: Kidomaru, Jirobo, Sakon, and Tayuya.
They all came from different places, but Kimimaro came from Kirigakure in the Land of Water. He possessed a powerful bloodline, but his childhood had been tragic. After Orochimaru rescued him, he had stayed by his side ever since.
Nobody knew where Jugo came from. Orochimaru had brought him back from one of his previous excursions. Jugo had been kept under guard, but after Kimimaro defeated him two days earlier, he chose to serve Orochimaru.
The four behind them also came from different places, but they shared one trait: they all possessed unusual bloodlines.
Orochimaru had brought Jugo back because he was special. At the time, Orochimaru still didn't know that Natural Energy existed. But when he encountered Jugo while traveling, he realized that Jugo was different from ordinary people. By absorbing a special energy, he could enter an unusual state. Since Orochimaru was fascinated by anything unknown, he had brought Jugo back to his laboratory.
After pledging himself to Orochimaru, Jugo had described how he entered that state. Orochimaru had immediately begun experimenting.
Outside, Naruto had already sensed the passage behind the tombstone. Turning to Jiraiya, he said, "Pervy Sage, there's a tomb up ahead with a passage inside. That should be the entrance to Orochimaru's base."
Jiraiya nodded. "Then let's hurry over. Check whether there are any other exits. There's no way someone like Orochimaru would build a base with only one passage."
The three hurried toward the tomb. Once they reached it, Naruto continued sensing the area around them.
After a closer search, Naruto found several more exits hidden in different places. He nodded to the others, then quickly ran to each one, leaving a Flying Thunder God Mark and setting up a Sensory Barrier before returning to the tombstone.
Naruto turned to Jiraiya and Shisui Uchiha. "Pervy Sage, Shisui, I've taken care of everything. We can go in."
They both nodded. Then Naruto seemed to think of something and turned back to Jiraiya. "Pervy Sage, make sure you don't hold back. If Orochimaru gets away this time, who knows when we'll find him again?"
Jiraiya was speechless. Did Naruto really think he couldn't tell when to take things seriously? "Don't worry. I know what's at stake."
Naruto gathered spiritual energy in his leg and kicked the tombstone with all his strength.
The tombstone shattered under Naruto's powerful kick. They weren't worried that Orochimaru would notice someone breaking in. Someone like him wouldn't flee unless he had fought his opponent and confirmed he couldn't win.
The shattered tombstone revealed the passage inside. Lamps had been installed at regular intervals, so Naruto and the others didn't need to take out any lights. They ran straight inside.
Orochimaru, who had been conducting an experiment, knew someone had broken in as soon as Naruto kicked down the tombstone. It wasn't just because a trap had been set on it; his summoned snakes had also seen the three of them enter the passage.
Orochimaru had no sensory ability, but he could summon snakes to monitor everything around him, then share their vision and see what they saw.
Once he realized someone had broken in, Orochimaru stopped his experiment and licked the blood from his face. Turning to the others, he said, "Keh heh heh. A few little bugs have wandered in. Come on, get ready."
The others answered in unison, then followed Orochimaru to the small plaza.
Kimimaro opened his shirt, and sharp bone spikes sprouted from the joints across his upper body.
Jugo closed his eyes. Black markings quickly spread over the left side of his body.
The Sound Four also activated their abilities. Four extra arms sprouted from Kidomaru, Sakon grew another head, Tayuya took out a flute, and Jirobo's muscles swelled rapidly.
As Naruto rushed forward, he sensed them too. Information about each of them quickly surfaced in his mind.
Kimimaro—the wielder of the Kaguya Clan's Kekkei Genkai, Shikotsumyaku. He could freely manipulate his osteoblasts and osteoclasts, even controlling the concentration of calcium in his body to form bones. His bones were harder than steel, giving him a defense that could repel ordinary physical attacks. When he struck back, those same bones became the sharpest spears.
Jugo—born with a Sage Body. He came from a special clan, and the origin of his Sage Body could be traced back to the time Kaguya was sealed and Black Zetsu was born. Black Zetsu had manipulated Kaguya's two sons, driving Indra to be consumed by power and turn against his brother. To seek even greater power, Black Zetsu, who did not possess a complete human form, stole people's bodies and gained power in Ryūchi Cave.
But since remaining attached to a human body made it difficult to move around, Black Zetsu eventually left its host. The body it abandoned had gained some Senjutsu power while Black Zetsu was possessing it. Whenever it entered a place rich in Natural Energy, it would automatically enter Sage Mode. Jugo's clan descended from that person.
The four behind them were known as the Spider Ninja, Split Ninja, Hercules, and Magic Sound. They were all shinobi with unusual abilities and great potential.
Seeing this, Naruto quickly turned to Jiraiya and Shisui Uchiha. "Pervy Sage, Shisui, try to keep them alive. We can make use of everyone in there later."
"I'll handle Orochimaru. Shisui, you take the others. Pervy Sage, hold the line and make sure nobody escapes."
Jiraiya and Shisui Uchiha nodded to show they understood.
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