One of the most powerful characters of the entire Naruto series and a member of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru attacked Konoha during the Chuunin exam arc. It seemed to be as much of a strategic plan as it was opportunistic, as this was the time when shinobi of other villages could enter Konoha easily.
Knowing Orochimaru, fans seem to think he executed this plan after years of careful planning. But, why did he do it? Take a look at what the fandom thinks of the same.
Naruto: The reasons behind Orochimaru attacking Konoha village
As Jiraiya stated in the series, Orochimaru seemed to change after his parents' death. After seeing a white snake by their grave, he became obsessed with the idea of eternal life and trying to get back his parents. He never hesitated to try any means for his experiments, going as far as taking the village's children into his labs.
He also dabbled in the transference of the Sharingan Eyes on Danzo. His experiments with the Hashirama cells put the village and the whole shinobi world at tremendous risk. The Third Hokage got wind of this and eventually stopped Orochimaru by casting him out of the village. This seemed to upset Orochimaru immensely as it hindered his experiments to a massive degree.
Another reason for his hatred for the Third Hokage seemed to be that the latter chose Minato as his successor instead of Orochimaru. This again is a result of Sarutobi's increasing suspicion of him, but the fandom thinks that in his mind, he saw it as not only an insult but also a way to impede his experiments.
He seems to be the type of person who never hesitates to make his enemies suffer if he can do something about it. Hence, the attack on Konoha by manipulating the Sand and posing as the Fourth Kazekage, while utilizing his own Sound Shinobi.
Did Orochimaru choose not to destroy Konoha even after attacking it?
However, there is an ongoing debate in the fandom that if Orochimaru wanted, he really could have destroyed the village at once, which he chose not to do. They seem to think that the main reason for this is that his interests were always focused somewhere else.
All he ever wanted was to keep mastering new Jutsus and search for eternal life. During the Chuunin Exams, after discovering Sasuke, his goal seemed to become possessing his body anyhow so he could acquire the power of the Sharingan and live in a much younger body for a long time.
This is possibly one of the reasons why he chose not to obliterate Konoha, even after attacking it. However, he seemed to have achieved his primary goal by then, which possibly was exacting revenge on the Third Hokage, who sacrificed himself in that battle.
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Note: The article reflects the writer's personal views.