Orochimaru

Orochimaru (大蛇丸) is a fictional character from Naruto, a manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. In the anime and manga, Orochimaru is a former ninja from the village of Konohagakure who is well known for his abilities. He is one of the three Legendary Sannin and a former member of the terrorist organization Akatsuki. He sought to gain power, conducted inhumane experiments to find a means to cheat death, and built his own ninja village Otogakure. He succeeded to some extent in obtaining immortality by transferring between different host bodies, which became one of his driving motivations throughout the series as he targets Sasuke Uchiha for his genetic heritage. While he was the main antagonist in Part I of the series, Orochimaru's role was overshadowed by the Akatsuki organization prior to the Fourth Ninja War arc. By the events of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, he has seemingly redeemed himself and has sent his son Mitsuki to Konoha to become a ninja, while he himself occasionally works with Naruto (who has become the Seventh Hokage) and Sasuke. Orochimaru has appeared in media outside the Naruto anime and manga, including several video games. Based on Japanese mythology, Orochimaru was created as one of the series' main antagonists, and was intended to represent the opposite of the protagonists' morals and values.[4] His snake-like appearance features were intended to make it easier for the reader to recognize that he is a villain. Orochimaru is voiced by Kujira in the Japanese version, and by Steve Blum in the English dub. Several anime and manga publications have praised and criticized Orochimaru's character. He has been praised as one of the series' premiere villains by reviewers for his lack of redeeming qualities and open malevolence. Among the Naruto reader base, Orochimaru has been a popular character, ranking within the top twenty in several polls. Numerous pieces of merchandise with Orochimaru's likeness have been released, including action figures, posters, and plush dolls. In Naruto Orochimaru acts as the primary antagonist for the first part of the series. After his parents were killed when he was young, Orochimaru's only source of affection was his teacher—Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage—and his two teammates.[11] As they grew older, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade collectively became known as the Legendary Sannin (伝説の三忍, Densetsu no Sannin) due to their exemplary ninja abilities in the Second Great Ninja War against Hanzo.[12] Many of Orochimaru's abilities deal with snakes, which he summons to battle multiple opponents while simultaneously keeping himself out of harm's way.[13] Through his experiments, he has been able to add some snake-like characteristics to his own body.[14][15] In his desire to attain immortality to learn every jutsu (lit. 'technique'), Orochimaru developed a forbidden jutsu to steal his victim's body. Although he is essentially immortal, Orochimaru learns the process can not be done more than once every three years. Orochimaru craved more power than could be obtained from training with his master and began abducting Konohagakure villagers for various experiments, with Yamato among his surviving victims. Unwilling to bring himself to harm Orochimaru upon learning of his actions, Hiruzen allowed his former pupil to escape and flee the village.[16][17] Orochimaru eventually joined the criminal organization Akatsuki and became partners with a fellow rogue ninja named Sasori. However, after he attempted to steal the body of Itachi Uchiha through a forbidden jutsu to gain the Sharingan (写輪眼, lit. "Copy Wheel Eye", English manga: "Mirror Wheel Eye") failed, Orochimaru was forced to leave the organization.[18][19] Orochimaru then founded his own ninja village, Otogakure, populated with ninjas loyal to him. They mostly serve as test subjects in his experimentation to become an ultimate being and as pawns to do his dirty work.[20] During the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru plans the invasion of Konoha with the ninja of Sunagakure to not only kill Hiruzen, but also claim the body of Itachi's brother Sasuke Uchiha.[16] To that end, Orochimaru infiltrates the Chunin Exam during the Forest of Death portion by killing a Kusagakure ninja named Shiore, assumes her identity, and personally tests Sasuke before branding him with a Curse Mark. He also faces Naruto Uzumaki, who effectively resists Orochimaru's giant snake jutsu using the chakra of the Nine-Tail Fox. Orochimaru, using the Five Elements Seal, blocks access to the chakra of the Nine-Tails by disturbing the balance of the original seal. For the duration of the Exams, Orochimaru lays in wait and secretly murders the Fourth Kazekage to assume his identity and get close to his mentor as the invasion begins. However, Orochimaru is forced to retreat when Hiruzen sacrifices himself through the Reaper Death Seal to take away Orochimaru's ability to perform jutsu, with his forces pulling back while Sunagakure later learns of Orochimaru's treachery.[21] Orochimaru attempts to get aid from Tsunade before seeking out another way to cure himself in an attempt to be able to use jutsu again. When all his efforts prove unsuccessful, Orochimaru sends his Sound Four to fetch Sasuke in the hopes that a body-transfer will allow him to use his arms again.[22] When Sasuke takes too long to arrive, Orochimaru is forced to switch to the body of one of his prisoners instead,[23] and decides to train him until the day that he will be able to take Sasuke's body for himself.[24] Two and a half years later, in the second part of the series, Orochimaru confronts Naruto and his friends when they attempt to track down Sasuke. When Sasuke attempts to kill Naruto, Orochimaru dissuades him by pointing out the Naruto's use in taking down Akatsuki and thus reducing the number of enemies he has. Sasuke eventually uses his Sharingan to void Orochimaru's technique and retains control of his body while trapping Orochimaru's soul within him,[25] which gives Sasuke access to many of Orochimaru's abilities in the process.[26] During Sasuke's later fight with Itachi, Sasuke is left too weak to continue suppressing Orochimaru's soul, allowing Orochimaru to escape and try to take his body again. Before he can do so, Itachi seals him away.[27] After Kabuto's defeat, Sasuke learns of Orochimaru's survival, as the Cursed Seals are revealed to hold copies of Orochimaru's consciousness in them, along with Orochimaru's cells that Kabuto injected into himself and subjugated. Using the Cursed Seal Orochimaru placed on his former student Anko Mitarashi, Sasuke releases Orochimaru and gives him a new body that Jugo provides with an absorbed part of Kabuto's flesh.[28] Despite expressing no interest in the ongoing war and still desiring to claim Sasuke's body, Orochimaru joins Sasuke in his quest for answers over the nature of ninja, taking him and Taka to the Nara Shrine, where he undoes the Reaper Death Seal and regains the use of ninjutsu before transferring his being into a White Zetsu clone placed on Sasuke. In his new body, Orochimaru brings the first four Hokage back to life with the Reanimation Jutsu to give Sasuke the answers he wants. Seeing that his methods were flawed from inside Kabuto and interested in observing his former apprentice's new path, Orochimaru aids the Allied Shinobi Forces by helping Tsunade and the Kage, and assists in subduing the Shinju. After the Fourth Great Ninja War ends, among those caught under Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi before being freed[clarification needed], Orochimaru resumes his experiments, albeit in a more humane manner, with Sasuke's Taka teammates supporting him as lab assistants, though Konoha remains suspicious of him and keeps tight surveillance on him in case he resumes his former human experimentation activities.