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Most of the main Naruto antagonists, including Nagato, Obito, Madara, and ultimately Sasuke, commit heinous acts in a bid to bring peace to the war-torn ninja world. Orochimaru’s goals are, however, heading in a different direction, as he seeks to become immortal to learn all of the world’s secrets. This egoistic ambition has corrupted Orochimaru’s mind since he was young, turning him into a perfidious psychopath.
That said, Orochimaru’s character is much more complex than a simple villain with a God complex. Introduced at the beginning of the Naruto story as a major enemy of the Hidden Leaf Village, he eventually takes on a more ambivalent role, being portrayed as an ambiguous individual who acts on nothing more than his whim.
At first, Orochimaru appears to be a formidable menace, but his threat level diminishes massively as the story moves forward. As Orochimaru shifts from being the main villain to a secondary antagonist in the series, his wicked selfishness and perverse malice somehow give way to a more measured – although still twisted – approach.
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Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinion of the author.
Orochimaru did horrible things but eventually realized his mistakes in Naruto
A corrupted desire
Orochimaru presented himself as a wicked individual with no good to be found in him, but his character is far more complex than it looks. As a child, Orochimaru stood out as a genius compared to his comrades Jiraiya and Tsunade, to the point where his teacher Hiruzen Sarutobi considered him a prodigy.
After the untimely death of his parents, Orochimaru came to despise the fragility of human life. Humans seek to dominate everything, but the finiteness of their lives causes this desire to become just a pipe dream. To Orochimaru, ordinary people are weak because their time is limited, which prevents them from exploring the infinite possibilities of life.
Therefore, he decided to remove death as a factor in the equation. He began to seek knowledge to attain immortality, studying and practicing forbidden techniques to test what modifications the human body could endure. Once he could no longer die, Orochimaru would be able to harness all the knowledge of multiple lifetimes, learning every technique and the truth of the Naruto world itself.
In his quest to understand how to prolong his life as much as possible, Orochimaru lost all moral scruples. He broke the boundaries between life and death and even started performing experiments on people, including his fellow citizens, using them as his human guinea pigs. He dehumanized his own body, altering it in many ways.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen was ruling the Hidden Leaf Village as the Third Hokage. Orochimaru hoped that his former teacher would appoint him as his successor. Hiruzen saw the evil in Orochimaru but didn’t realize that his favorite pupil was beyond anyone’s help. When Hiruzen named Minato as the Fourth Hokage, Orochimaru decided to leave the village and join the Akatsuki organization.
He had no other choice, as Hiruzen had caught him red-handed when experimenting on their fellow Hidden Leaf villagers. The sight unfolding before Hiruzen’s eyes was horrifying, as Orochimaru’s laboratory was filled with dead bodies and severed human limbs. The Third Hokage couldn’t believe his eyes as he found Orochimaru as he was researching one of his victims.
Upon joining the Akatsuki, Orochimaru was entertaining the idea of acquiring both a Sharingan and a full-blooded Uchiha body at the same time as he met Itachi Uchiha. He tried to steal Itachi’s body, but the young Uchiha easily defeated him with a Sharingan genjutsu. This forced Orochimaru to leave the Akatsuki and create his own ninja village, the Hidden Sound.
A twisted and ruthless villain
Seeking revenge against Hiruzen, Orochimaru allied himself with the Sand Village to attack the Hidden Leaf. Back in the day, Hiruzen couldn’t bring himself to kill his beloved disciple. This proved to be a fatal mistake in the long run, as Orochimaru’s actions led to Hiruzen’s death. The Third Hokage sacrificed his life to seal Orochimaru’s arms, depriving him of the ability to use ninjutsu.
This didn’t stop Orochimaru from carrying on his plans. Realizing that he couldn’t defeat Itachi, the wicked shinobi shifted his sights on the latter’s younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha. Before waging war against the Leaf, Orochimaru approached Sasuke. He left the young ninja with the Cursed Seal, sure that it would be enough to make Sasuke come to him spontaneously in search of more power.
Seemingly unattached to any other human being, including his former teacher and comrades, Orochimaru rejected any sincere bond. He used his charisma to attract and manipulate a number of loyal followers, but never really cared about their well-being. He ruthlessly sends his subordinates on life-risking missions, and even betrays his allies, using people as tools for his own personal gain.
In Orochimaru's eyes, other human beings have no value except the one they bring to his schemes. He manipulated Kimimaro Kaguya, the heir to the fearsome Shikotsumyaku bloodline ability, into becoming a loyal follower who devoted himself to supporting his ambitions. When a crippling disease brought him to the brink of death, Kimimaro summoned up the last of his energy to fend off Orochimaru’s enemies.
Nevertheless, Orochimaru wasn’t moved in the slightest, as his interest was now focused on Sasuke. He saw Kimimaro as nothing more than an expendable tool to get to Sasuke. Over the next two years, Orochimaru nurtured Sasuke’s growth in the hope of seizing the latter’s Uchiha body and visual powers when the time was right.
But this attempt backfired as Sasuke used his Sharingan to overwhelm Orochimaru, completely reversing his predatory technique. Orochimaru resurfaced some time later, spawning from the Cursed Seal on Sasuke’s body, only to suffer another crushing defeat at Itachi Uchiha’s hands.
Fully epitomizing his snake-like nature, Orochimaru revealed his final form and strongest technique by transforming himself into the Yamata no Orochi, a gigantic eight-headed white serpent that could regenerate itself. Even with his alleged immortality, however, Orochimaru was helpless against Itachi’s Totsuka Sword. A special spiritual weapon equipped with Itachi’s Susanoo, the Totsuka Sword enabled the Uchiha to seal Orochimaru once again.
Despite this seemingly irreversible condition, Orochimaru resurfaced once more, this time with the unexpected help of his former apprentice Sasuke. Eager to learn the true history of the Naruto world, Sasuke brought Orochimaru back to have him resurrect the former Hokage during the Fourth Ninja War. In particular, Sasuke revived Orochimaru by summoning him through the Cursed Seal he once left on Anko Mitarashi’s body.
While this proved Orochimaru’s success in achieving a form of genuine immortality, it also marked a surprising turning point for the former. With a body capable of evading the natural cycle and surviving most attacks to live forever, Orochimaru suddenly realized the flaws in his approach as he was struck by the path trodden by his former right-hand man, Kabuto Yakushi.
Ultimately, Orochimaru found a new purpose in life
Kabuto spent most of his life serving Orochimaru. When the latter disappeared after the failed attempt to steal Sasuke’s body, Kabuto sought power for himself in a bid to find his true identity and place in the world. Trapped in the resurrected Itachi’s special Izanami technique, Kabuto was forced to accept his true self and stop trying to alter events in his favor.
When Orochimaru saw what happened to Kabuto, a boy he had deeply influenced, and who had now surpassed him after being his subordinate for so many years, something just clicked with Orochimaru. Kabuto’s fate spurred a change in Orochimaru’s mind, as the former leader of the Hidden Sound suddenly went from being an evil psychopath to a morally grey figure who helped the protagonists without making a definite turn face.
In the past, after failing with Itachi, Orochimaru had become obsessed with stealing Sasuke’s body to obtain the Sharingan and the opportunity to use it with a full-blooded Uchiha body at his disposal. While he saw Sasuke as a tool for his ultimate goal of immortality and infinite knowledge of ninjutsu, Orochimaru also praised him as a prodigious talent. Perhaps, he saw himself in the young Uchiha.
When Sasuke voiced his decision to follow his own path and defend – albeit in his own way – the Hidden Leaf, the very village he had vowed to destroy, Orochimaru became sincerely curious to see what would come out of that. He put himself at the service of Sasuke, watching over his choices and actions.
From then onwards, Orochimaru showed genuine concern for Sasuke’s wellbeing. He also helped Tsunade and expressed his human emotions, showing sadness at the thought of Jiraiya’s death. Though he did not openly regret his path, Orochimaru’s behavior was objectively different from his previous one, to the point where he seemed to be a different character altogether.
It’s safe to say that when Orochimaru saw what Kabuto did following his influence, including how he ultimately failed and yet found a new, better way, his outlook on life changed. Despite his many defeats, this was the first time when he felt truly beaten, for he understood how a blind desire can completely take over a person’s mind, driving them off the right path.
In a surprising and perhaps hastened way, Orochimaru stopped being a malicious villain to become a supporting character. Unlike other Naruto antagonists, Orochimaru felt like pure evil incarnate for most of the story. The fact that he caused so many deaths –including countless Leaf ninjas and even the Third Hokage – and yet was never held accountable for those crimes, was quite anticlimactic.
Following the conclusion of the war, Orochimaru seemingly abandoned any of his previous schemes and instead engaged in a strange form of parenthood. The same character once depicted as a creepy, almost grotesque child predator, incapable of any genuine human emotion, became the “father” of Log and Mitsuki, two synthetic humans that he created as partial clones of himself.
The continuation of the original Naruto story shows that Orochimaru never gave up his ambition to live forever, continuing to work on his bodily modifications and immortality techniques, but also somehow came to terms with the value of human life. While never fully integrating with Naruto Uzumaki and the others, the “new” Orochimaru has ceased to be the sadistic serpentine devil who seduces his targets to embrace a more peaceful life.
Instead of seeking power in unethical ways, he tries to take care of Mitsuki, venturing into a challenge he has never faced before, that of being a father.
Related Links
- Naruto: Every shinobi who could use all 5 chakra natures
- All Sharingan techniques in Naruto, ranked
- 10 Naruto moments that changed the story forever, explained
- Naruto: Why didn't Nagato revive Jiraiya? Explained
- Naruto Uzumaki's most valuable lesson, explained
