Sound Four
The Sound Four (音隠れの忍四人衆, Otogakure no Shinobi Yonin Shū?, lit. "Hidden Sound Shinobi Four People", English "Sound Ninja Four" wink are Orochimaru's elite bodyguards. Though briefly introduced during the Invasion of Konoha arc, they do not become antagonists until the later Sasuke Retrieval arc. The Sound Four were once known as the "Sound Five", as they were briefly forced to accept Kimimaro into their ranks due to his superior strength. As a group they specialize in barriers, defensive walls, and sealing techniques, causing Orochimaru to task them with protection-based jobs. Orochimaru has given each member of the group one of his cursed seals, which open their minds to his control, alters their appearance, and greatly increases their strength when active.
Jirobo
Jirobo (次郎坊, Jirōbō?) was the third member of the Sound Four to be created by Masashi Kishimoto, intended to be the largest character in the group.[2] Jirobo is the physically strongest member (albeit the least powerful); he can lift boulder-sized rocks and hurl them across long distances with ease. He can also absorb others' chakra, which, after trapping opponents, he uses to his advantage during battle as a form of sustenance. Tayuya frequently calls Jirobo fat due to his size and "eating" habits, and he promptly scolds her for it. Though personally taking offense to being called fat, he calls Choji Akimichi fat near-constantly during their battle. This, among others reasons, goads Choji into using his trump card, giving him superior strength and allowing him to kill Jirobo with ease. His seiyū in the Japanese anime is Kenta Miyake and his English voice actor is Michael Sorich.
Kidomaru
Kidomaru (鬼童丸, Kidōmaru?) was the first member of the Sound Four to be created by Masashi Kishimoto, his spider-like traits meant to be main aspects of his character.[2] As such, Kidomaru possesses four extra arms, a third eye, and the ability to excrete webs from his mouth. This webbing, a mixture of body fluids and chakra, is as strong as steel and can ensnare anything that comes into contact with it. He can also produce a golden webbing that hardens upon contact with oxygen, allowing him to make armor or weapons. Kidomaru looks at battles like a game, playing with opponents to watch them squirm. He even refers to Neji Hyuga as a "trash character" who, like all trash characters, will be the first to die. During their battle Kidomaru slowly picks up on a blindspot in Neji's defenses, and proceeds to focus his attacks on that point. Despite successfully striking this blindspot, Neji is able to recover from the attack and kills Kidomaru. His seiyū in the Japanese anime is Susumu Chiba and his English voice actor is Peter Lurie.
Kimimaro
Kimimaro (君麻呂, Kimimaro?) is the last surviving member of the Kaguya clan (かぐや一族, Kaguya Ichizoku?). When his war-loving family went off to die in battle, Orochimaru took Kimimaro into his custody so that the Kaguya bloodline would not be completely lost. Because of this, Kimimaro develops the belief that Orochimaru is the only person who cares for him, and as such stops at nothing to ensure his master's ambitions become a reality. His clan's genetic ability, Shikotsumyaku (屍骨脈, Shikotsumyaku? lit. "Dead Bone Pulse" wink , allows Kimimaro to manipulate his skeletal structure. He can grow extra bones and have them sprout from any part of his body, which he can then remove to be used as a melee weapon. Kimimaro can strengthen his bones to steel-like quality, making him virtually immune to most types of damage. It is for this reason that Orochimaru selects him as his future host body, though Kimimaro falls ill and is left unable to fulfill this purpose. When Orochimaru is left in need of a new body Kimimaro, ignoring his illness, goes to fetch Sasuke Uchiha for his master's use. He is drawn into battle with Rock Lee and Gaara in the process and, just as he is about to kill them both, dies of his illness. His seiyū in the Japanese anime is Toshiyuki Morikawa and his English voice actor is Keith Silverstein.
Sakon and Ukon
Sakon (左近, Sakon?) and the older Ukon (右近, Ukon?) are twin brothers who share positions in the Sound Four. Sakon enjoys toying with his opponents, causing him to waste time in battle by using showy techniques. Conversely, Ukon is impatient and likes to end battles quickly, counteracting his brother's faults. With their genetic ability to merge with others' bodies, Ukon spends much of his time within Sakon's body, only emerging enough to donate the use of his arms and legs to his brother. Though Ukon can move around independently, he isn't accustomed to doing so and tires out quickly. The two brothers can also merge with an opponent's body; while this allows them to do internal damage to the host without incident, whatever physical damage befalls upon the host is also done to them. Sakon was the final member of the Sound Four to be created by Masashi Kishimoto. After deciding to have him fight Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru in a two-on-two battle, Kishimoto created Ukon to complete the matchup.[2] Just as the two brothers are about to finish off Kiba and Akamaru, Kankuro arrives to save them and kills Sakon and Ukon. Their seiyū in the Japanese anime is Shunsuke Sakuya and their English voice actor is Brian Beacock.
Tayuya
Tayuya (多由也, Tayuya?) was the second member of the Sound Four to be created by Masashi Kishimoto, intended to be the only girl in a group of boys.[2] The only weapon she is equipped with is a flute, and thus she avoids close combat at all costs. With her flute Tayuya can control three demonic beasts that she summons to her side during battle. Though primarily meant to perform the physical attacks she avoids, the beasts can also produce ethereal, snake-like creatures that consume an opponent's chakra. Once weakened in this way, Tayuya can trap them in illusions she creates with her flute. She attempts to use her many long-range techniques against Shikamaru Nara, though his superior intelligence forces her to rely on brute strength to gain victory. Though she almost succeeds, Temari arrives to help Shikamaru and creates a windstorm that crushes and kills Tayuya under a pile of debris. Her seiyū in the Japanese anime is Akeno Watanabe and her English voice actor is Kari Wahlgren.
Other
Haku
Haku (白, Haku?) was orphaned at a young age. His father killed his mother when it was discovered that she possessed a genetic ability, and would have done the same to Haku had he not awakened his latent heritage to kill his father. After wandering from place to place for a time he was found by Zabuza Momochi, who recognized Haku's talents and agreed to take him in as a tool. As a result, Haku becomes unquestioningly protective of and loyal to Zabuza, and only by being useful does he find a purpose in life. He ultimately gives his life in his mission to be useful to Zabuza, becoming a human shield to protect his master from Kakashi Hatake's Lightning Blade. Haku's genetic inheritance, Hyōton (氷遁, Hyōton? lit. "Ice Release" wink , allows him to mix wind and water to create ice. He commonly uses this ability to surround an enemy with ice mirrors that he can freely merge with and instantly move between. He then bombards them with needles, and with his superb accuracy he can hit pressure points to put opponents in a death-like state. This reflects his pacifist nature; despite being a ninja and Zabuza's tool of battle, Haku dislikes fighting and does all that he can to keep opponents out of harm's way. His seiyū in the Japanese anime is Mayumi Asano and his English voice actor is Susan Dalian.
Kabuto Yakushi
Kabuto Yakushi (薬師 カブト, Yakushi Kabuto?) is Orochimaru's personal medic, assistant, and general right-hand man. He was found as a child on a battlefield by a medical officer from Konoha, who took Kabuto home with him and raised him as a son. In time Kabuto began acting as a spy for numerous countries and organizations (such as Akatsuki) before coming under the servitude of Orochimaru. Kabuto has since used his various former affiliations as a means to gather intelligence on Orochimaru's behalf, such as entering the Chunin Exams as a Konoha ninja to gather information on his fellow participants for Orochimaru's use. Though he appears to be very loyal to Orochimaru, he is not above healing Orochimaru's enemies or trying to strike up polite (if somewhat degrading) conversations with Naruto Uzumaki when they meet. Orochimaru himself seems to have a hard time determining Kabuto's thoughts, and has suggested that Kabuto secretly works against him.
Kabuto's talents as a ninja have on many occasions been compared to Kakashi Hatake. His medical expertise, taught to him by his adoptive father, is even remarked to surpass that of Tsunade when she was his age. His medicinal talents have risen to new heights in his allegiance to Orochimaru, and through his human experimentations he has learned how to reactivate dead cells in a concentrated area and grow new ones. Aside from the practical function of quickly recovering from wounds in battle, it also allows Kabuto to keep his test subjects alive for much longer than is feasible. Despite his talents, Kabuto has always served others, a fate he is dissatisfied with. As such, after Orochimaru is apparently killed, Kabuto integrates his master's remains into his body as a means to become more powerful and to no longer be the mere tool of others. The remains have since begun to take over his body, and he is in constant competition with them to retain control. His seiyū in the Japanese anime is Nobutoshi Canna and his English voice actor is Henry Dittman.
Orochimaru
Main article: Orochimaru (Naruto)
Orochimaru (大蛇丸, Orochimaru?) is one of the primary antagonists of the Naruto series. To emphasize his role as a villain, Kishimoto worked towards making him appear "pasty and sickly," part of his theme of distinguishing villains from the protagonists.[30] In the series, Orochimaru is a former ninja of Konohagakure and a student of the Third Hokage.[31] During his time in the village, he distinguished himself as one of the village's most powerful ninja along with his teammates, Jiraiya and Tsunade.[32] His desire to obtain immortality led to him to conduct experiments on other Konohagakure ninja, and after fleeing the village, he joined the criminal organization Akatsuki.[33] After leaving Akatsuki due to an incident with Itachi Uchiha, he founded his own ninja village, Otogakure, in the hope of destroying his former home.[34] His immortality technique involves transferring his consciousness between different host bodies, and his desire for a new host, particularly Sasuke Uchiha, is one of his driving motivations throughout the series.[35] Due to his different host bodies and the disguises he assumes, a panoply of voice actors are utilized for Orochimaru; however, his most common seiyū in the Japanese anime is Kujira,[36] and the corresponding English voice actor is Steven Jay Blum.[37]
Zabuza Momochi
Zabuza Momochi (桃地 再不斬, Momochi Zabuza?) is one of the first antagonists to be introduced in Naruto. He was once one of Kirigakure's Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, a group of ninja that use particularly large swords in battle. Zabuza's sword is the giant Kubikiri Hōchō (首斬り包丁, Kubikiri Hōchō? lit. Decapitating Knife). After a failed coup d'état wherein he tried to assassinate Kirigakure's leadership, Zabuza and his followers fled the village and began working as mercenary assassins. Like most Kirigakure ninja, Zabuza is skilled in water-based abilities. His area of expertise, however, is in assassinations; by blanketing an area in mist, Zabuza can blind an opponent, locate them by the sounds they make, and kill them without their ever noticing his presence. His talents lead to him being hired to kill Tazuna, a job he is never able to finish due to interference by Tazuna's bodyguard, Kakashi Hatake. Because he takes too long to complete the task, his contract is revoked, and his employer tries to have Zabuza killed. Zabuza kills him first, though is heavily injured in the process and dies soon afterwards. His seiyū in the Japanese anime is Unshō Ishizuka and his English voice actor is Steven Blum.
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