For most fans of Naruto, Kabuto Yakushi has been a divisive figure ever since his introduction during the Chunin Exams Arc. From his initial undying devotion to Orochimaru, devious scheming, and the ever present sneer on his face, Kabuto's presence always introduced a sense of uneasiness and tension to any situation he featured in. Beginning with his debut as an Otogakure ninja who contributed to the Konoha Crush, Kabuto was an antagonist who was biding his time, always living in Orochimaru's shadow as his loyal servant. The apparent death of the Sannin at the hands of Sasuke changed things entirely, as he was now left with no master to serve for the first time in his life.
Realizing that he had never carved out an identity for himself, Kabuto became a pivotal figure in the Fourth Shinobi World War, where he was responsible for reviving hordes of legendary ninja from the world of Naruto with aid of Edo Tensei. On being defeated by Itachi, he renounced his ways and returned to Konohagakure to work in the village's orphanage. It is interesting to note that Kabuto's own journey began in the very same orphanage, where he first learned the medical ninjutsu and assassination techniques that he would later become a master of. Kabuto's dark and tragic past was at the core of his transformation into an antagonist, and if not for the misfortune he endured in his youth, his story might have turned out for the better.
The Boy With No Name
Discovered in the ruins of a city that was devastated in a battle by Nono Yakushi, a caretaker at the orphanage in Konohagakure, the young Kabuto had lost all his memories after suffering an injury to the head in the conflict. As a result, he could not even remember his own name, or where he was originally from. On being healed by Nono, he was taken back to the village where another child at the orphanage, Urushi, placed a helmet on him to safeguard him from any future blows to the head. Seeing this, Nono decided that it was odd for him to not have a name and christened him "Kabuto," which means helmet in Japanese.
Additionally, Kabuto also suffered from poor vision, something Nono discovered when he came to thank her for naming him, despite it being way past the scheduled bedtime for all residents of the orphanage. Kabuto was unaware of this as his eyesight prevented him from reading a clock accurately. To alleviate this issue, Nono gifted her own glasses to Kabuto, and he felt eternally indebted to her for the acts of kindness she had shown him. In time, Nono became a sort of parental figure to Kabuto, and was the only family he ever had during his turbulent youth.
A Medical Ninjutsu Prodigy
Over the course of his childhood in the orphanage, Kabuto was taught medical ninjutsu by Nono, and he became extremely proficient at it. He even assisted her in treating wounded Konoha shinobi, which provided the orphanage with some extra income, although most of their funding still came from the village itself. At a certain point during Kabuto's time in the orphanage, Danzo Shimura visited and implored Nono to embrace her former life in the Root division of Konoha's Anbu, by turning over orphaned children to the organization. When Nono refused, he threatened to cut funding to the orphanage, which would have been disastrous to the lives of the children residing there. Overhearing this discussion, Kabuto volunteered to be recruited, despite Nono and Urushi's protests.
He soon became an invaluable asset to the Anbu, honing his skills in assassination, espionage, and subterfuge. The innocence he once had was lost, and he turned into a cold, calculating killer. All this could be attributed in some part to Nono's past in the Anbu and Root, where she was an extremely skilled kunoichi who was often entrusted with dangerous and critical missions. Going by the codename "The Wandering Nun," Nono was an expert in gathering intelligence, but she had left her life in the Anbu to become a captain and jonin in the Medic Corps while running the orphanage.
Kabuto's involvement in the Anbu might not have occurred if not for his relationship with Nono, even though the latter only had the best intentions for the child she treated in a manner akin to a son. While in the Anbu, Kabuto infiltrated and took on forces from the other four major hidden villages, gaining experience and turning into a seasoned and competent operative. In his final mission, Kabuto was sent to infiltrate and gather intelligence from Iwagakure, but this assignment would end in a tragedy that would shape the rest of life in ways he could have never imagined.
Betrayed By Those He Admired
After infiltrating the village, Kabuto was caught spying by an Iwagakure shinobi who attacked him, but he quickly struck them down with his chakra scalpel. On moving to identify his pursuer, Kabuto, to his horror, discovered that it was none other than Nono herself, who had also been working for Root in Iwagakure. Apologizing profusely, Kabuto struggled to heal Nono, but it was to no avail as she succumbed too her injuries. Interestingly, she was unable to even recognize him in her dying moments, which greatly troubled the young Kabuto, as he could not fathom how the only person he saw as family did not even know who he was.
Forced to flee from Nono's backup, Kabuto ran into Orochimaru, who had been sent by Danzo to eliminate him. Seeing Kabuto's plight, Orochimaru took pity on him and explained that Danzo had brainwashed Nono by feeding her false photographs of him, so that she would be unable to identify him if they encountered one another. Thus, Danzo was able to pit Nono against Kabuto, and in the process, take out two of Root's best and most knowledgeable operatives in one go. Greatly troubled by this revelation, Kabuto feared for his life and attacked Orochimaru, only for the Sannin to survive the assault and take him under his wing, telling him to form a new identity now that his old one was gone. Learning of Orochimaru's desire to create a new hidden village, Otogakure, Kabuto elected to join him, and the two fabricated a story where he had been found and raised by Nono as the only survivor of the Battle of Kikyo Pass in the Third Shinobi World War.
With this, Kabuto was able to infiltrate Konohagakure and become a genin to gather information for Orochimaru on each year's entrants. While serving his master, he also encountered Sasori and was made into a sleeper agent for the Akatsuki member, only for Orochimaru to discover this and free him from Sasori's control, permitting Kabuto to infiltrate the Akatsuki as well. The rest of his time with Orochimaru was spent aiding the Sannin in his experiments, including gathering DNA for the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation, and studying the abilities of the Otogakure shinobi he recruited. He would become an indispensable asset to the Sannin through the years, but would not discover his sense of identity until years later, during the Fourth Shinobi World War. Equal parts a scheming villain and a tragic figure, Kabuto's life was marked by great loss and if not for how he was treated in his youth, he might have even become a famed shinobi for the Hidden Leaf.
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