is a fictional character from Naruto, a manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Orochimaru is a former ninja from the village of Konohagakure who is well known for work in wars which earned him the title of Sannin and becomes a terrorist as a means to cheat death, and built his own ninja village Otogakure. He succeeds 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. By the events of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, he has seemingly redeemed himself and has sent his experiment Mitsuki to Konoha to become a ninja. 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. 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. Creation and conception Most of the traits of Orochimaru's character were taken from Japanese mythology. Orochimaru originates from the Japanese folktale Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari where he opposes the title character who also appears in Naruto as his former ally. He wields a sword named Kusanagi, which is said to be related to the creature known as the Yamata no Orochi; in Japanese mythology, Yamata no Orochi is defeated by the god Susanoo, a scene which is re-imagined in the manga and anime: Orochimaru uses a technique called Yamata no Orochi, but is ultimately defeated by Itachi Uchiha's Susanoo technique. The introduction of Orochimaru to the series was first suggested by Masashi Kishimoto's superiors to improve the series' popularity. Kishimoto believed the series grew personality based on the Chunin Exams story arc and wanted it to end normally with Shikamaru