Naruto: Orochimaru has been dead all along in Shippuden, but nobody noticed

Orochimaru is an important character in the Naruto series. He was the main antagonist for a long time until things changed and bigger villains were introduced in the series. However, he managed to terrify many characters and constantly manipulated them for personal gain. He was the type of character who didn’t stop until his goals were achieved.

Ever since the show completed its run, numerous theories have surrounded plenty of characters. There have been interesting theories surrounding Orochimaru, and one such theory states that he had been dead for a long time in Naruto: Shippuden. Let’s understand how this theory arrived at Orochimaru being dead in Shippuden.

Disclaimer: This article merely explores a theory, and the information has not been confirmed by the series. Sportskeeda claims no ownership of the media used in this article unless otherwise stated.

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Naruto: Shippuden's iconic villain Orochimaru died way before everyone thought

In Naruto, Hiruzen had used the Reaper Death Seal on Orochimaru. During the fight, Hiruzen didn't have enough chakra, so the seal was incomplete. However, he managed to take the soul of Orochimaru's hands away, forbidding him from using hand signs to execute various jutsus. Owing to this situation, Orochimaru was forced to switch to another body which was rejecting him since it wasn't a perfect match.

In the series, there came a point when Orochimaru was extremely sick, and Sasuke used this situation to kill him. Orochimaru's attempt to take over Sasuke's body was unsuccessful, and Orochimaru ended up dying.

While Naruto fans thought he was dead for good, that wasn't the case. The Curse Mark that Orochimaru used on his minions allowed him to embed a little bit of his chakra and DNA into the target. The more powers of the Cursed Mark a person uses, the more loyal they are towards the person that put the Curse Mark on them.

This Curse Mark also allowed Orochimaru to revive since his DNA and chakra were present in anyone that had the Curse Mark. However, to do so, that person must use up all the powers that the Curse Mark can offer for it to take over their body. Following this, Orochimaru can take over. This was seen during the fight between Itachi and Sasuke in Naruto.

Itachi wanted to drain Sasuke of his chakra, forcing the latter to utilize the full extent of the Curse Mark and allowing Orochimaru to take over. Following this, Itachi used his famous Totsuka Blade to seal Orochimaru in a realm called Drunken Dreams forever.

However, later in the Naruto series, Sasuke could reanimate Orochimaru by releasing the seal. But this doesn't make sense because to revive someone by releasing the Curse Mark, one's soul has to be present. The Totsuka Blade seals the soul forever, meaning Orochimaru was dead long before the Boruto series.

If Totsuka Blade releases all the captured souls after the user's death, it didn't make sense for Itachi to use it since he was planning to die at the hands of Sasuke anyway. Fans believe that the Orochimaru that was "revived" was a mere clone. This could also explain the sudden shift in his behavior after he was revived during the Fourth Great Ninja War arc.

However, this is merely an interesting theory explored in this article. Therefore, fans are advised to take this information with a grain of salt.