Naruto: Here’s Why Orochimaru Leaves the Akatsuki (& Who Replaced Him)

Orochimaru is arguably the strangest and, simultaneously, the most fascinating character in the Naruto series. Some fans say he is the “resident crazy scientist” of the series, but he was much more than that. Orochimaru moved the limitations the Shinobi World put on themselves and tested the law of the Five Shinobi Countries and their ethics to ultimately achieve his goal – to learn about all the secrets the Shinobi World holds. In this article, we will discuss why Orochimaru left the Akatsuki in Naruto and mention who replaced him in the notorious group.

Why Orochimaru left Akatsuki?

Orochimaru is one-third of the legendary Konoha Sannin, together with Jiraiya and Tsunade. Their sensei was Hiruzen Sarutobi, one of the strongest shinobi in the Ninja World and the Third Hokage. The trio was impressive and powerful during their era. They proved their legendary status during the Second Shinobi World when they fought Amegakure’s Hanzo, who proclaimed them “the three legendary Sannin of Konohagakure.”

After the Second Shinobi World War, the legendary trio disbanded – Jiraiya stayed in Amegakure to help the Ame Orphans (Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan) to restore what the war destroyed; Tsunade abandoned the life of shinobi after seeing the death and devastation of the war; while Orochimaru continued his criminal activities until he defected Konoha.

Orochimaru started experimenting on young children and used kinjutsu (Forbidden Techniques) to learn every single secret of the Shinobi World. Before defecting from the village, Orochimaru was a legitimate candidate for the Fourth Hokage position, with his genius and amazing skill as shinobi. Still, that proposal was dismissed by Jiraiya, who claimed Orochimaru didn’t understand the values of shinobi and Konoha.

The series later revealed that Orochimaru used over sixty children in his experiments, trying to inject the children with Hashirama’s DNA to replicate the First Hokage’s ability to use Wood Release. Yamato was the only surviving child of the experiment, and when the government of Konohagakure found out about the tragedy, Orochimaru left the village. Jiraiya and Hiruzen begged for Orochimaru to stay, but the pleads fell on deaf ears.

Orochimaru soon joined Akatsuki, the elite criminal organization, and his partner was Sasori, a missing-nin and puppet master from Sunagakure. However, their partnership didn’t last for that long, and Orochimaru decided to attack Uchiha Itachi and get his hands on the young man’s body and his Kekkei Genkai, Sharingan.

Itachi proved too strong for Orochimaru – he cut off legendary Sannin’s left arm, prompting him to leave Akatsuki and find himself a new body.

Not long after that event, Orochimaru stumbled upon Mizuki, a corrupt Konoha shinobi, on whom he placed a specialized cursed seal – the shinobi would later be why Iruka-sensei will let Naruto pass the Academy. Orochimaru’s web expanded further – especially after the defection from Akatsuki.

Who replaced Orochimaru in Akatsuki?

Akatsuki was a notorious organization outside the normally hidden village system. The group of shinobi wasn’t always dangerous and notorious for their crimes – Akatsuki was established by Amegakure Orphans (Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato) during the Third Shinobi War to ensure peace all over the Ninja World.

However, over the years (and Yahiko’s death), Akatsuki changed. The motivation and goals of the group kickstarted new members, leaders, and, ultimately, a new purpose – Yahiko wanted peace, and Nagato wanted to instill peace in the world forcibly. Tobi wanted to use the organization to take over the world.

Orochimaru joined the group during Nagato’s reign, and they were already a notorious and dangerous group that would kill other shinobi in cold blood. Nagato lost his way after Yahiko died, and together with Konan, he ruled the Akatsuki without the pacifist methods. However, Orochimaru had other plans and fumbled the capturing of Uchiha Itachi and his body. When Itachi beat him and forced him to leave the group, Orochimaru got replaced quite fast – by Deidara, a missing-nin from Iwagakure.

Deidara was forced to join Akatsuki because Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori were sent to recruit him to his organization. The Explosion expert refused to join the organization and challenged Itachi to the battle. Of course, the Uchiha prodigy convincingly beat Deidara, holding a huge grudge against the man since then.

When Deidara eventually joined Akatsuki with Sasori, the duo went on a mission to eliminate Orochimaru for betraying the organization. Of course, nothing can pass peacefully with Orochimaru and the missing-nin’s witnessing of the Edo-Tensei Jutsu (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation), which he stole from the Konohagakure archives.

After Orochimaru failed his Forbidden technique, he retreated, but not before Deidara blew up his base. Sasori and Deidara searched for Orochimaru’s body, but they never found his corpse.

Orochimaru would go on to wreak havoc and secretly plan on developing the Edo Tensei more. Orochimaru’s reign in Akatsuki was short but meaningful since he started pursuing Sasuke after he failed to acquire Itachi. He was directly responsible for the events around the Uchiha Brothers, and his influence on the Naruto series was massive.

His experiments continued even after Deidara replaced him in the group, and even after the multiple tries of killing (which Itachi technically did by sealing him), Orochimaru continued being the menace and, ultimately, an ally for the Allied Forces in the Fourth Shinobi War. His Edo Tensei proved to be really useful, and it provided for some tortured souls in purgatory to finally rest in the Afterlife.

Despite his criminal past, Orochimaru proved why he was regarded as a genius of the Konohagakure and a feared shinobi throughout Five Shinobi Countries.

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