8 Orochimaru Moments That Went Too Far On Naruto
If there's one thing everyone can agree on about Orochimaru from "Naruto," it's that the pale-skinned ninja never failed to make an impression. Appearing in both "Naruto" and the sequel series "Naruto Shippuden," Orochimaru dedicated every minute to terrorizing the would-be ninjas of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Particularly Sasuke Uchiha, the promising apprentice that Orochimaru planned on possessing so he could begin life anew in his body. And, of course, there's also Naruto, the loud-mouth ninja who would often interfere with Orochimaru's plans for immortality.
Even in his weakest state, Orochimaru could paralyze any seasoned ninja with fear using his sinister, serpentine stare. Orochimaru was snake-like in every way, including his horrifying jutsu that allowed him to shed his "skin" for a youthful body. Ironically, when Orochimaru was brought back to life to fight in the Fourth Shinobi World War, he was less than thrilled at the opportunity. Nonetheless, Orochimaru's aid in the conflict was enough to pardon him for his past crimes and led to a truce between him and the Five Great Shinobi Countries. He also had a "son" named Mitsuki, a partial clone of Orochimaru who's the best friend of Boruto, Naruto's son. Talk about a crazy character arc.
Regardless of who he was (or who he may still be), Orochimaru was responsible for some of the most intense moments in the original anime series. Here are eight Orochimaru moments that went too far on "Naruto."
Unleashing his Killing Intent on Sasuke and Sakura
During the Forest of Death storyline, Orochimaru introduced himself to Sasuke and Sakura, but he was pretending to be someone else. Before challenging the two junior ninjas, Orochimaru and his men killed the ninjas of Team Shiore and skinned their faces to use as masks. Disguised as Shiore, Orochimaru easily intimidated Sasuke and Sakura with his immense power during their initial brawl. One unforgettable move that Orochimaru unleashed on them was his Killing Intent.
While not a genjutsu or even a jutsu at all, Orochimaru's projection of his killing intent was so strong that it paralyzed Sasuke and Sakura with visions of their gruesome deaths. The black and white visual of Sasuke and Sakura each taking a kunai to the head is haunting to look at (even more so in the manga, which doesn't skimp on the blood). While Sasuke and Sakura were able to recompose themselves, it was the first sign that Orochimaru was unlike any opponent they had faced before.
Experimenting on human prisoners
The pardoning of Orochimaru has always been a controversial topic among "Naruto" fans. Not just because of his actions in the original series and the sequel, "Naruto Shippuden," but because of the heinous crimes he committed in the past, such as using a young Anko Mitarashi for his curse seal experiment. Of all the terrible things he did, the one that stands out the most is his use of human prisoners for his research into forbidden ninjutsu. He was intent on cracking the code on immortality, and would stoop to any level necessary.
During the tailend of the Chunin Exams arc, with Orochimaru and the Third Hokage battling it out, there's a flashback to Orochimaru working in his lab, which is filled with corpses. The chilling image of dead bodies hanging on the walls with dry blood splattered across the room was so grotesque, the anime censored the scene for a more sanitized visual. However, a more accurate depiction of Orochimaru's lab was shown in "Naruto Shippuden," most likely because the target audience for the show skewed slightly older than the previous series.
Creepy new body
Orochimaru would often take great pleasure in messing with his victims. When he set his sights on Hiruzen Sarutobi (the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves) during the Chunin Exams arc, it was extremely personal for him: Hiruzen originally trained Orochimaru to be a ninja during his childhood. In the midst of their epic battle, Orochimaru revealed to Hiruzen the fruits of his labor in his never-ending quest for immortality. He peeled off his face to reveal the face of a young woman, the woman he was using as a vessel for his slimy spirit.
It's a super creepy scene, one that lives long in the memory. This is also where Orochimaru revealed to Hiruzen that he planned to use the body of Sasuke Uchiha for his next reincarnation. The shocking reveal made Hiruzen regret letting Orochimaru escape after his horrible experiments were discovered and not killing him when he had the chance years ago. What makes this scene extra creepy is the unsettling laughter of Orochimaru in his female form.
Sacrificing Team Dosu
As terrifying as Orochimaru can be, even he knew he couldn't take down the Village Hidden in the Leaves by himself. That's why he enlisted the help of various ninja teams from different villages to help him infiltrate the Chunin Exams, which take place in the Hidden Leaf Village. One such team was Team Dosu, consisting of Dosu Kinuta, Kin Tsuchi, and Zaku Abumi. While all three ninjas were instructed to eliminate Sasuke during the Forest of Death challenge, that wasn't actually Orochimaru's goal.
The villain's real purpose here was to use Team Dosu as guinea pigs to test out Sasuke's potential as a future host. After being overwhelmed in battle by Sasuke under the Cursed Seal of Heaven, Team Dosu soon realized they were now disposable in Orochimaru's eyes. Zaku and Kin were sacrificed by Orochimaru to reincarnate Hashirama and Tobirama Senju for the invasion of the Hidden Leaf Village. Dosu Kinuta was killed by Gaara.
Getting his arms sealed by the Third Hokage
In a way, Hiruzen Sarutobi is partly responsible for the rise of Orochimaru. He ignored the warning signs of his power lust back when Orochimaru was just a child, and failed to take him out when his evil ambition was exposed. After witnessing Orochimaru's revolting way of escaping death, Hiruzen used every last bit of strength he had to finally put an end to his former student. Hiruzen initiated the Dead Demon Consuming Seal jutsu in an attempt to seal away Orochimaru's soul. However, because of his old age, Hiruzen lacked the necessary strength to force Orochimaru's soul out of his body.
Instead, Hiruzen sealed off Orochimaru's arms to prevent him from performing any form of ninjutsu. The actual act of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal is eerie to watch, as Hiruzen is using his spiritual hands to yank the spiritual hands out of Orochimaru's body, in preparation for the Shinigami spirit behind Hiruzen to chop them off. While the move cost Hiruzen his life, it was successful in paralyzing Orochimaru's arms. Orochimaru only escaped the curse by jumping ship to a new body before his arms rotted off.
His disgusting Body Replacement Technique
Orochimaru is all about snakes. From his appearance to his odd mannerisms, he dedicated himself to being the human embodiment of a serpent. There's no better proof of this than the Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement Technique that he created, which essentially allows him to regurgitate a new body from his mouth, like a snake shedding its skin. Yes, it's as disturbing as it sounds.
In Episode 41 of "Naruto Shippuden," after the three-tailed Naruto ripped off Orochimaru's arms, the snake man himself used a personalized Body Replacement Technique to materialize a new body, giving him some new limbs to work with. The act, as one would imagine, is absolutely disgusting. Orochimaru vomits out a new version of himself that's dripping in snake drool. Yuck. In hindsight, this isn't the worst thing that Orochimaru has ever done in "Naruto," but it sure is awful to look at.
Slaughtering the Iburi Clan
While it's an anime-only tale, the life and death of the Iburi Clan is a perfect example of Orochimaru's cruelty. The Iburi Clan were a unique people, as they possessed the amazing power to transform into smoke. However, their ability to shapeshift into smoke was imperfect, as they would often transform unintentionally in dangerous environments. The wind, for example, could cause them to disperse and die in their smoke form. It's why they lived underneath the Land of Fire, where the chance of wind was scarce.
Orochimaru took advantage of the Iburi Clan's dire situation and offered them the chance to better control their powers with his cursed seals. In exchange, Orochimaru used their children as test subjects for his experiments. When that wasn't enough, Orochimaru nearly wiped out the entire Iburi Clan to find a blood source that was capable of giving him their smoke-changing power. Only one member of the Iburi Clan survived, a young girl named Yukimi.
Almost taking over Sasuke's body
One of the greatest storyline teases in "Naruto," fans eagerly awaited the day that Orochimaru would finally try to take control of Sasuke's body. That day finally came in Episode 114 of "Naruto Shippuden," the follow-up to the original series. Orochimaru, in his hideous snake form, finally made his move at fully controlling Sasuke and claiming his Sharingan. He allowed Sasuke to think he had won and even let himself get sliced open — toxic fumes burst from the wound, paralyzing Sasuke's body.
With his ultimate goal in sight, Orochimaru took Sasuke to his personal mental plane to initiate the immortality jutsu, which involved Sasuke's body being engulfed by gross, snake-looking organs. What Orochimaru didn't count on, however, was Sasuke using his Sharingan to reverse the effects of the jutsu. Even though this wasn't the last time anyone would see Orochimaru, it was a shocking supposed end for the longtime villain.