Orochimaru’s attack on Konoha is one of the biggest events in the first part of Naruto. This is the first time we realize that the story of this series is actually a lot bigger than just a single energetic boy who is battling with his inner demon. There are powerful forces out there that can, and will, destroy Konoha and everybody in it whenever they feel like it.
From the sudden appearance of the three colossal snakes to the death of the Third Hokage, there are lots of interesting and surprising things happening throughout the invasion. It’s clear that Orochimaru is the one behind this invasion, but what most people may not know is the reason behind the invasion itself. As a former shinobi of Konoha, why did Orochimaru decide to attack Konoha?
Konoha Crush
The official name for this particular story arc is the Konoha Crush Arc. This invasion happens right in the middle of Chunin exam’s final, specifically during Sasuke and Gaara’s fight. We found out later on that Orochimaru and his Sound Shinobi work together with the Fourth Kazekage and his Sand Shinobi for this invasion under the pretext of participating in the joint Chuunin exams. And we also found out later on that, unbeknownst to the Sand Shinobi, Orochimaru had actually killed the Fourth Kazekage prior to the invasion. So it is actually him who sits there beside the Third Hokage while disguising himself as the Fourth Kazekage.
There are three components to this invasion. The first one is for Gaara to turn into the One-Tailed Beast and wreak as much havoc as he can. At around the same time, the Sand Shinobi along with Orochimaru’s giant snakes will attack from the outside of the village. During this confusion, Orochimaru will fight against the Third Hokage inside his unbreakable barrier.
For the Shinobi of the Sand, they are always at odds with Konoha, so they will gladly take any chance they can get to cripple their enemies. Orochimaru simply happens to be the one who offers the best plan of attack to them. As for Orochimaru, well, there are two main reasons behind his daring plan. To exact revenge on Konoha, and to get closer to Uchiha Sasuke.
Revenge on Konoha
Orochimaru, along with Jiraiya and Tsunade, was a former student of the Third Hokage. He was considered to be a genius Shinobi, and the Third had a lot of faith in him. Once he grew older, he participated in tons of difficult missions, earned the title as one of the Three Great Shinobi, became a member of the Anbu, and even joined the Root and worked as Danzo’s right-hand man. He was clearly an incredibly accomplished shinobi and an irreplaceable asset to Konoha.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru has a very warped mindset. Jiraiya said that Orochimaru started to change after he lost his parents during the 2nd ninja war, but it got worse as he grew older. Orochimaru became obsessed with immortality. He would drown himself in countless research in order to find the way to obtain an undying life. This obsession quickly grew into a deep desire to learn about every jutsu in existence. In order to fulfill his desire, Orochimaru would dabble into forbidden jutsu, and even conduct human experimentation on fellow shinobi and regular citizens of Konoha.
As a skilled shinobi, Orochimaru was a candidate to replace his teacher and became the Fourth Hokage. But once the truth about his secret activity was found out, the Third Hokage appointed Minato Namikaze as the Fourth Hokage instead, while the higher-ups in Konoha quickly branded Orochimaru as a criminal. He was hunted and nearly killed by the Third Hokage, but at the last second, the teacher felt pity towards his former student, which allowed Orochimaru to flee the village and never came back again.
Orochimaru felt betrayed by his former teacher, and the higher-ups of Konoha. In his mind, they are the ones who drove him into this forbidden path, and then simply cast him away after everything that he has done for the village. This hatred finally turned into a thirst for revenge. And that’s why he decided to invade the village, and killed the Third Hokage.
Getting Closer to Uchiha Sasuke
After countless hours of research and experiments, Orochimaru finally found a way to obtain immortality. The technique that he came up with is called the Living Corpse Reincarnation. It basically means that Orochimaru has obtained the ability to leave his body, and forcefully transfer his soul and consciousness into a much younger, and healthier body. The rest is simply body modification in order to recreate his original look.
Since he jumps from one body to the next, it’s only natural that Orochimaru desires a body that already has a strong disposition. Combine that to the fact that he wants to learn about every jutsu ever made, he soon comes to one conclusion, he needs the powerful ocular jutsu of the Uchiha Clan, the Sharingan. However, he can’t take over the body of Uchiha Itachi, because he is stronger than Orochimaru. So the only other option is Itachi’s brother, Uchiha Sasuke. And that is another reason why he decided to invade Konoha.
Since the invasion doesn’t really go according to plan, Orochimaru has to leave earlier than planned. His plan to destroy Konoha and its higher-ups, and to kidnap Sasuke failed. However, he managed to kill the Third Hokage, and enticed Sasuke to come and find him by promising immense power to this child that has been blinded by revenge. As we all now know, Sasuke did come to Orochimaru not long after the invasion. So in a way, Orochimaru’s invasion on Konoha proves to be quite successful.