2406


After the Hokage the third took his arms, Orochimaru needed a new body for
himself. Later, shortly before Sasuke killed him, this body was rejecting him,
so he wanted to take Sasukes body as his new host.  
In his fight against Sasuke, he abandons his body and appears as a huge snake.
And here's the question: Does Orochimaru need a host at all, and why? Or can
he stay as a snake for longer time?


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-08T10:08:09.043
2403
2013-02-13T08:20:12.360
122
question
naruto
Does Orochimaru need a host?


Do you remember when Orochimaru had been discovered by the Third Hokage while
he was experimenting on people1? That's what he was researching: a technique
for immortality.

It's called [不屍転生 (Fushi
Tensei)](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Living_Corpse_Reincarnation) or
literally _Living Corpse Reincarnation_ and allows Orochimaru to transfer his
soul into his prey's body and take possession of it.

He researches this because as he says, he wants to learn all the existing
techniques, but since that is impossible for a person with a normal lifespan,
he develops this technique in order to have more time.

The problem with this technique is that each host lasts around 3 years, so he
needs to find another one after that. If he could find a perfect container he
could stay in it for a full lifetime, but he would need to find another one
again anyways after that.

1: Chapter 122 in Naruto, Volume 14


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-08T10:53:30.870
2406
2013-02-08T10:53:30.870
15
2403
answer


If understand it correctly Orochimaru can stay in his snake form for a longer
time. But staying in that form has lots of disadvantages, since he cannot use
any of his jutsu (no hands). Since his goal is to master all jutsu in this
world, it is very inconvenient for him to remain in that state.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-12T15:46:57.863
2459
2013-02-13T08:20:12.360
2013-02-13T08:20:12.360
1458
1458
2403
answer