Orochimaru

A former Leaf prodigy and Sannin who was exiled for lethal human experimentation, Orochimaru pursues immortality and the mastery of every jutsu in existence, transferring his consciousness into new bodies to keep going. He founds the Hidden Sound Village, kills the Third Hokage, and covets Sasuke's Sharingan, tempting the boy with power in exchange for his eventual body.

Tall and slender with unnaturally pale, almost white skin and waist-length straight black hair. His golden eyes have slitted, serpentine pupils and are framed by dark purple markings that extend from the corners toward his temples. He speaks with a hissing lilt and often lets an abnormally long tongue flick out. His usual dress is a plain off-white robe with black trousers, bound at the waist by a thick purple rope tied in a large knot at the back. Early in the series he appears in several disguises, including that of a Grass village kunoichi with a tall straw hat.

Cold, patient and utterly amoral, Orochimaru treats other people as material for experiments and views immortality as the only goal worth pursuing. He is theatrically polite, speaking in a soft hiss and smiling while threatening, and he takes visible pleasure in the fear and despair of others. His curiosity is genuine and boundless, driving him to master every technique in existence, but it is entirely divorced from empathy. He retains a twisted attachment to his old teammates and teacher, mocking them while clearly seeking their attention. Ambition makes him reckless enough to underestimate opponents he considers beneath him, and his reaction to being denied something he wants is spiteful rather than measured.

Orphaned as a child after his parents died, Orochimaru was trained by the Third Hokage alongside Jiraiya and Tsunade and was regarded as the most gifted shinobi of his generation, with his teacher openly hoping he would one day succeed him. His fixation on conquering death led him to human experimentation in hidden laboratories beneath Konoha, where he developed forbidden techniques including a method of resurrecting the dead and a body-transfer jutsu. Discovered by the Third, he was allowed to flee rather than executed, an act of weakness his teacher regretted for the rest of his life. He later joined and abandoned Akatsuki, founded the Hidden Sound Village, and took Kabuto Yakushi as a subordinate while gathering test subjects for his research.

1. Chunin Exams

   Disguised as a Grass village competitor, he ambushes Team 7 in the Forest of Death, terrorises them, seals Naruto's access to the Nine-Tails' chakra and bites Sasuke's neck to apply the Cursed Seal of Heaven. His stated aim is to make Sasuke desire his power and come to him willingly.

2. Konoha Crush

   He assassinates and impersonates the Fourth Kazekage to launch a joint Sound and Sand invasion of Konoha, then isolates the Third Hokage on a rooftop. Using his resurrection technique he forces the First and Second Hokage to fight their successor, killing his old teacher but losing the use of both arms in the process.

3. Search for Tsunade

   Crippled and unable to form seals, he approaches Tsunade with a bargain: heal his arms and he will resurrect her dead brother and lover. When she refuses and Jiraiya and Naruto intervene, he summons Manda for a three-way clash and is driven off badly wounded.

4. Sasuke Recovery Mission

   He dispatches the Sound Four to escort Sasuke to him before his current body fails. The retrieval mission by Konoha genin is defeated, and Sasuke reaches the Sound village, placing himself under Orochimaru's training in exchange for the power to kill his brother.

Sasuke Uchiha

Target and student

He marks Sasuke with the cursed seal to lure him away from Konoha, intending to claim the Sharingan by taking his body. He offers training and revenge against Itachi as bait, and Sasuke eventually accepts.

Kabuto Yakushi

Right hand

A spy and skilled medic who operates under him, posing as a Konoha genin during the Chunin Exams. Kabuto runs his laboratories, gathers intelligence and fights at his side against Tsunade and Jiraiya.

The Third Hokage

Teacher and victim

Hiruzen trained him and once saw him as the natural successor, then failed to kill him when his experiments were exposed. Orochimaru mocks that mercy before killing him, mixing contempt with unmistakable resentment.

Jiraiya and Tsunade

Former teammates

He needles both of them with offers and taunts, aware that neither can strike him without hesitation. Their refusal to join or aid him leaves him bitter, and both confrontations end with him retreating wounded.

• He reveals himself in the Forest of Death and brands Sasuke with the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
• He kills and impersonates the Fourth Kazekage to trigger the invasion of Konoha.
• He resurrects the first two Hokage to fight their own successor during the Konoha Crush.
• He loses the use of both arms to the Third Hokage's sealing technique.
• He offers Tsunade the revival of her dead loved ones in exchange for healing his arms.

• His pale skin, slitted eyes and long tongue are the result of his own experiments on his body.
• He founded the Hidden Sound Village largely as a source of test subjects.
• He was once a member of Akatsuki and left after failing to take a fellow member's body.
• His Japanese voice is provided by a female performer, Kujira.

• Naruto Uzumaki
• Sasuke Uchiha
• Sakura Haruno
• Kakashi Hatake
• Itachi Uchiha
• Hinata Hyuga

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