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. 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 failed, Orochimaru was forced to leave the organization. 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. 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. 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. 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. When Sasuke takes too long to arrive, Orochimaru is forced to switch to the body of one of his prisoners instead, and decides to train him until the day that he will be able to take Sasuke's body for himself. 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