The Land of Rice Fields.
There were no ninja villages here. It was a small country on the frontier.
Its national strength was weak, and its territory consisted mostly of wooded mountains and farmland, with a sparse population spread over a large area.
"This is the place."
Orochimaru stood on a cliff, surveying the terrain below.
Building a laboratory here would be safest. The cover provided by the wooded mountains would make it difficult to detect.
Even if he were surrounded someday, he could use the terrain to escape quickly.
Ever since his unfortunate encounter with Uchiha Jin in Iwagakure a few days ago, he had abandoned Obito Uchiha and fled without hesitation.
He wondered whether that idiot Obito had been killed by that madman.
He had actually dared to kidnap Shisui Uchiha. Just what one would expect of the Uchiha Clan.
They were all lunatics!
In any case, he had now left the Akatsuki and was beyond their reach.
Whatever happened in the outside world had nothing to do with him.
Staying in the Land of Rice Fields and conducting his research in peace was the wise choice.
It would spare him from running into those lunatics outside.
Now that he had defected from the Akatsuki, they would certainly put a bounty on him. Combined with his status as a rogue ninja from Konoha, it was best not to appear publicly without care.
Otherwise, getting entangled with either side would be a great nuisance.
"I'll establish a village first."
Orochimaru looked at the relatively spacious clearing below. It was an ideal location for a ninja village.
He had no intention of developing the village into a powerful force.
He simply wanted to recruit some ninja subordinates so he would not run short of money for future experiments.
After all,