Kabuto Yakushi

Description

Appearance

- Kabuto's appearance during Part I. - Kabuto's appearance during Part II. - Kabuto after integrating Orochimaru's remains. - Kabuto during the Power Arc. - Kabuto during the Fourth Shinobi World War. - Kabuto's true form after experimenting on himself. - Kabuto while using Sage Mode. 1/7 Kabuto has onyx eyes and ash-grey hair, which he normally keeps in a ponytail. His most consistent feature are his black rimmed circular glasses, given to him by Nonō. During Part I and for much of Part II, Kabuto wears a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, and dark purple pants with a white cloth waistband. In Part I he wears also dark purple fingerless gloves with armoured plates on the back of the hand and a blue forehead protector. During Part II, he infuses himself with Orochimaru's remains, causing his skin to turn white and scaly around the point of application on his left arm; this gradually spreads its influence across the rest of his body. In the anime's Power arc, set before his body is fully covered by Orochimaru's remains, Kabuto wears an indigo robe with red lining and he starts allowing his hair to grow long and unkempt, all of which help to hide the changes to his body. Once his body is fully converted, his appearance becomes starkly similar to Orochimaru's, so much so that Sasuke Uchiha initially mistakes Kabuto for him. In addition to the changes to his skin, Kabuto's eyes become yellow with slitted pupils, around which are Orochimaru's characteristic purple markings. A long, white snake also fuses with his abdomen, which he wraps around his waist and which sometimes slithers under or behind him like a tail. His mostly human appearance is actually a shell, as his true form is much more serpentine, having a long body, comparatively short legs and arms, and an elongated face. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kabuto wears a maroon-coloured cloak with a hood designed to resemble a serpent's head, with white, red, and yellow markings that resemble eyes. Many years later, after returning to the orphanage, he starts wearing the staff's typical garb and once again ties his hair in a ponytail, although the effects of infusing himself with Orochimaru's remains appear to be permanent, as Kabuto's body continues to resemble Orochimaru's.

Backstory

Kabuto was found as a child by Nonō Yakushi on the outskirts of a city recently destroyed in a battle; he had suffered a head injury, leaving him with no memory of his name or past. Nonō treated his wound and brought him to the Konoha Orphanage. Urushi, another orphan, placed a helmet on his head so he wouldn't be injured again, prompting Nonō to name him "Kabuto". Kabuto liked the name and left his bed that night so that he could thank her, unaware of the orphanage's strict schedule. When Nonō found him, she discovered that this was in part because he couldn't read a clock due to his poor eyesight. She gave him her glasses so that he could see, overwhelming Kabuto with thankfulness. To earn money for the orphanage's operations, Nonō used her medical ninjutsu to treat injured shinobi of Konohagakure; Kabuto, having been taught medical ninjutsu by Nonō, would assist. Although the money helped, they still relied on direct funding from Konoha in order to get by. Aware of this fact, Danzō Shimura visited the orphanage one day threatening to withhold Konoha's funding if Nonō didn't turn one of the orphans over to his Root organisation. Kabuto, after eavesdropping on this conversation, volunteered against Nonō and Urushi's protests. Root trained Kabuto in espionage and over the years sent him to gain intel by, at different times, posing as a ninja of Kumo, Kiri, Suna, and Iwa. While in Iwa, Kabuto's spying was discovered and an Iwa-nin cornered him. He was able to strike down his pursuer, but only afterwards discovered that it was Nonō, who was also working for Root. Kabuto apologised profusely and tried to heal Nonō, but she didn't recognise his face, even when he told her his name. She died from her injuries and Kabuto was forced to flee before Nonō's backup found him. Once safe, Kabuto was disillusioned by what had happened, wondering who he was if even Nonō didn't know him. He was soon confronted by Orochimaru, an underling of Danzō who'd taken an interest in Kabuto over the years. Orochimaru explained that Danzō had been giving Nonō falsified photographs of Kabuto so that she would no longer recognise him when they met. This in turn allowed Danzō to pit Nonō and Kabuto against each other and thus eliminate Root's two most effective, and consequently, knowledgeable spies. Assuming that Orochimaru planned to finish him off, Kabuto attacked him, distraught by the loss of both Nonō and the self-identification he'd acquired through her. Orochimaru survived the attack and suggested that Kabuto now try making a new identity for himself using whatever knowledge of the world he could acquire. Orochimaru offered to help him in this regard and invited him to help make a new village, Otogakure, where individuality could thrive. Kabuto agreed and Orochimaru gave him a new backstory: that he was found by Nonō - a captain of Konoha's Medic Corps - after the Battle of Kikyō Pass and adopted as her son. With this backstory, Kabuto was able to become a genin of Konoha, which he used to enter the biannual Chūnin Exams so that he could gather information on his fellow participants for Orochimaru's use. Later, he was found by Akatsuki and was turned into one of Sasori's sleeper agents so he would spy on Orochimaru. Shortly afterwards, Orochimaru realised the truth and freed him from this control, allowing Kabuto to effectively infiltrate the organisation for Orochimaru. When not spying, Kabuto helped Orochimaru with his experimentations and his studies of different Oto-nin's abilities. In the anime, Kabuto also helped Orochimaru find genetic samples for use in the Impure World Reincarnation and also helped him escape from Itachi Uchiha after the latter's failed attempt to capture Itachi.