Founded by Orochimaru as part of his goal to learn all forms of ninjutsu and push the boundaries of what shinobi are capable of, Otogakure, or the Hidden Sound Village is the Sannin’s personal hidden village. Shinobi allied under the banner of this village playeda major role in the Chunin Exams Arcin Part I ofNaruto. They were subsequently involved in the Konoha Crush in collaboration with Sunagakure, which was also secretly led by Orochimaru, after he murdered the Fourth Kazekage Rasa and took his place. Later on in Part I, a group of Otogakure shinobi known as the Sound Four also fought against the Sasuke Recovery Team, who were attempting to retrieve Sasuke as he left the village to go train under Orochimaru.
It is said that the village was founded with the assistance of the daimyo of the Land of Sound, who was forced to heed Orochimaru’s demands after the Sannin conquered the entire country. Although Otogakure was often presented as an actual village much like hidden villages in the Five Great Shinobi Countries, in actuality, it was a far more decentralized network of hideouts used by Orochimaru and his subordinates to support their activities both before and after the Konoha Crush. Many of these bases also served assafe havens for the work of Kabuto, as well as Sasuke and his group Taka, in Part II ofNaruto.
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A So-Called Haven For Shinobi
Thereason Orochimaru often gave behind founding Otogakure, was to create a haven for shinobi from everywhere to help skilled ninja find their purpose in the world without any fear of persecution. He often described it as a place free from the conflict and disputes of the Five Great Shinobi Countries. In this manner, the village’s inhabitants would be able to practise and refine their knowledge of ninjutsu without any external interference or threat of invasion.
At first glance, this may have seemed like an overly idealistic portrayal of the purpose that most hidden villages were created for — that of training shinobi to serve the land they were located in as soldiers. The militarism that was tied to the hidden village system, and the associated culture of warmongering did not seem to be present in Orochimaru’s vision. However, this was all just a facade, as the true intention behind his founding of the Hidden Sound Village came to light soonafter the commencement of the Konoha Crush, where Otogakure shinobi played a pivotal role in the invasion.
The Truth Behind The Facade
In reality, the Hidden Sound Village was not an actual settlement but a system of secret bases and laboratories througout the Land of Sound and other neighboring nations, created by Orochimaru, Kabuto, and his other subordinates, to further their research. After being banished from Konohagakure for his exploits in human experimentation,particularly kekkei revolving around genkai, Orochimaru sought a new home for his work. The hideouts shown in the series include the main Land of Sound Base, the Kusagakure Hideout, the Southern Hideout, the Northern Hideout, the Eastern Hideout, the Island Laboratory, and the Demon Island Laboratory.
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As opposed to most other hidden villages who specialized in certain forms of ninjutsu or Nature Releases related to the land they belong in, Otogakure shinobi employed a wide variety of techniques that are generally the result of Orochimaru’s experimentation. Instead of being a welcoming settlement free from conflict or prejudice, Otogakure was actually composed of shinobi that Orochimaru had either captured or turned over to his side. Thiscame to light over the course of the Chunin Examsand Konoha Crush, where Team Dosu and Team Shiore led by Orochimaru himself, partook in the first stage of the exams against Konohagakure and Sunagakure.
Even the Sound Five — later the Sound Fourafter Kimimaro Kaguya stepped down as leaderfollowing his illness — who were Orochimaru’s personal bodyguards, were chosen from a group of prisoners told to fight to the death. The strongest among them were selected to become part of this group, and they were the main opponents faced by Naruto, Neji, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba, during the Sasuke Recovery Mission Arc, at the end of Part I.
Redeemed After The War
Sasuke spent a considerable amount of time training in and traveling between the hideouts while under Orochimaru’s wing, and he even revisited some of the laboratories after apparently killing the Sannin. From here, he recruited the members of his group Taka, including Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo, who would become his companions for the rest of Part II. After this, Kabuto began to use the hideouts in his own research, as heperfected the work Orochimaru had been doing, including his work with the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation jutsu. Finally, in the Island Hideout, Kabuto transfused Orochimaru’s blood into his own body and assumed his place.
The aftermath of the warand the redemption of Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke marked a new beginning for the Hidden Sound, where it was no longer seen as one of the Sannin’s schemes. Eventually, the village entered into an alliance with Konohagakure and was recognized as a genuine shinobi village, where even Mitsuki, Orochimaru’s son, was allowed to transfer into Konohagakure’s Academy as a genin.
