Kabuto Yakushi (Yakushi Kabuto?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto.

Kabuto is the last part of the Japanese name for aconite (Torikabuto?), a plant which can either alleviate pain or kill, an apt description for his character. Additionally, a kabuto is also the name for a samurai’s helmet or headplate. With his former teammates, Yoroi (”armor”) and Tsurugi (”sword”), they form an armor-helmet-sword trio. His family name, Yakushi, is the Japanese name of the Medicine Buddha, Bhaisajyaguru. The characters for Yakushi literally mean “medicine user.”

Background

Kabuto’s origins are largely unknown; as a young boy he was found amongst the enemy dead after the battle of Kikyo Pass by a chief medical officer of the Konoha Medical Unit Squad. The officer brought Kabuto with him back to Konoha, raised him as a son, and taught him medical jutsu when he got older. At some point in time, Kabuto was recruited by Sasori of Akatsuki, who sent Kabuto to spy on Orochimaru. Orochimaru discovered this and freed Kabuto from Sasori’s influence, leaving Kabuto with the option to follow him. With a little persuasion, Kabuto agreed to side with Orochimaru.

Personality

In his allegiance to Orochimaru, Kabuto acts as Orochimaru’s personal medic, assistant, and general right-hand man. Through his many other affiliations he is also able to spy on others for Orochimaru; when acting as Sasori’s subordinate, he is able to gather intelligence on Akatsuki’s doings. As a habitant of Konoha, he is also able to acquire the rank of Genin and enter the biannual Chunin Exams, using the first few phases of the exam to gather information on his fellow participants for Orochimaru’s use. While each source of information is used to great effect, both are abolished to help Orochimaru achieve his goals; Kabuto loses his alliance with Konoha when caught trying to kidnap Sasuke Uchiha and he severs his ties with Sasori when joining Orochimaru in trying to kill him. While his known sources of information are gone, Kabuto remains with Orochimaru and fights on his behalf whenever necessary.

Despite his apparent loyalty to Orochimaru, Kabuto’s true personality is difficult to discern. Frequently throughout the series Kabuto rapidly changes face, switching from a lighthearted and polite teenager to a twisted and sadistic maniac in a matter of seconds. He also enjoys playing mind games with his opponents, often unnerving them by pointing out their weaknesses and turning personal horrors against them. Orochimaru himself seems to have a hard time determining Kabuto’s thoughts, as seen when he orders Kabuto to kidnap Sasuke Uchiha and wonders if perhaps Kabuto will kill Sasuke instead. Even in this instance, Orochimaru has great confidence in Kabuto’s loyalty, laughing at the prospect that Kabuto would betray him.

While Kabuto does generally obey Orochimaru’s orders, even going so far as to save Orochimaru’s life at times, he is not above helping Orochimaru’s enemies; for example, he heals Hinata Hyuga and Sakura Haruno on different occasions. When healing Sakura, Kabuto hints at an ulterior motive, saying that Akatsuki is the true enemy. Even Orochimaru has suggested that Kabuto has motives differing from his own, again seen when instructing him to kidnap Sasuke; as Kabuto leaves to carry out the task, Orochimaru reminds him that killing Sasuke is the only way he can stop him from accomplishing his goals. While Orochimaru quickly writes this off as a joke, Kabuto is visibly shaken by the suggestion. Despite his unclear motives, Kabuto seems to be content in following Orochimaru, even using his own body to recreate Orochimaru after his death.

Abilities

Kabuto is a talented ninja, being compared to Kakashi Hatake in ability on more than one occasion and being shown capable of killing ANBU members with relative ease. One of the more advanced jutsu he is seen using is the Temple of Nirvana Technique (Nehan Shōja no Jutsu?, English “Nirvana Temple Jutsu”), which is capable of putting everyone within an area to sleep. With Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique (Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu?, Viz “Groundhog Technique Decapitation”, English TV “Headhunter Jutsu”) he can pull opponents below ground to restrain them, making them easier to deal with.

The bulk of Kabuto’s fighting ability, however, lies in the medical expertise taught to him by his adoptive father. Through his allegiance to Orochimaru he has also gained many bodies that he can experiment on, allowing him to take his medical abilities to new levels. With his extensive knowledge of the human body he can use Secret Healing Wound Destruction (In’yu Shōmetsu?) to reactivate dead cells in a concentrated area and grow new ones. While he uses this ability in battle to immediately recover from attacks, it can also be used during his experiments to keep test subjects alive for much longer than is feasible. Kabuto has even created the Dead Soul Technique (Shikon no Jutsu?), which allows him to temporarily reanimate a corpse to be used as an ally or a decoy. During his battle with Tsunade, she remarks that Kabuto’s fighting and healing abilities may surpass her own when she was his age.

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