Land of Sound

The Land of Sound, along with Otogakure, is a relatively new country in the political scene, though the country itself existed long before Orochimaru took it over and renamed it. It conspired with the Land of Wind to launch a surprise attack and hopefully destroy the Land of Fire. Instead of using elemental jutsu, Sound ninja use sonic-based jutsu, often augmented by various devices.

In the anime, the country in which Orochimaru established his village is named the {Land of Rice Fields|田の国|Ta no Kuni}. Orochimaru seems to have renamed it after his takeover.

Otogakure
{Village Hidden in the Sound|音隠れの里|Otogakure no Sato} was founded by Orochimaru as a part of the Land of Sound, and is run by him. Not much is known about it: what is certain is that it actually consists of a series of lairs, located both within the Sound country and away from it, which Orochimaru switches between every week. Other than that, and the fact that its ninja specialize in techniques involving manipulation of sound waves, as well as using a cursed seal to increase their power, little else is known about it. Although he is the leading ninja of Otogakure, Orochimaru isn't a Kage, despite his equivalent power level. The reason for this is because the five Kages of the five great Hidden Villages don't acknowledge Otogakure, and certainly would not acknowledge a criminal like Orochimaru.

With Orochimaru's defeat at the hands of Sasuke Uchiha, the various bases formerly under Orochimaru's control have begun to rebel and their inhabitants are trying to escape to freedom.

Orochimaru
Orochimaru is the leader of the village and country. Though he is not a Kage, he has been nicknamed the Otokage ("Sound Shadow") by fans due to his Kage-level power and knowledge. Orochimaru is also one of the Sannin. Though he is essentially the military dictator of the Sound village, he does not live in it. For most of the series, he is seen using a secret underground base as his headquarters. After Sasuke joins him, Kabuto mentions that they move into a new base every week.

Sound Four
Kidomaru

Sakon and Ukon

Jirobo

Tayuya

Kimimaro

Sound Genin
The Sound Genin are entered into the Chunin Exams by Orochimaru under the orders to kill Sasuke Uchiha. In reality, however, they are simply meant to test Sasuke's abilities, with Orochimaru having little concern for what happens to them afterwards.

Dosu Kinuta

Kin Tsuchi

Zaku Abumi

Filler arc citizens
Amachi

Gen'yumaru

 * Age: 172
 * Rank: ?
 * Seiyu: Takashi Mito

Gen'yumaru (幻幽丸) was Orochimaru's previous body. He was told to have a fight to the death with the others that Orochimaru had kept captive, and the winner would be able to go free. Gen'yumaru defeated and massacred them all, only to find out that he was the next vessel for Orochimaru. As his last wish, he asked for his clan to be released, which was being held captive for Orochimaru's experiments. It is unknown if this request was ever granted. Orochimaru notes that part of Gen'yumaru's consciousness would remain within him after the transfer — making Gen'yumaru still alive, in a sense. After Orochimaru abandons Gen'yumaru's body, Gen'yumaru still remains within his subconscious.

Fuma clan
The Fuma clan (ふうま一族) is a shinobi clan from the Land of the Rice Fields. Some of their most powerful members were tricked by Orochimaru, who promised to restore their clan status, and were used in his kinjutsu development experiments. This clan appears only in the anime storyline, not in the manga. An Amegakure ninja believes that the leader of Akatsuki, Pein, comes from the Fuma clan. It is unknown whether the Fuma clan from the anime and the manga are the same.

Arashi

 * Age: ? (deceased)
 * Unique traits: Self-destruction Mandala, Casualty Puppet
 * Seiyu: Hikaru Midorikawa

Arashi (アラシ) is the leader of the Fuma shinobi who were under Orochimaru's command and Sasame's cousin. Sasame mentions that before he joined Orochimaru, he was the hope of the Fuma clan. He lost his mind after mastering and constantly using the Casualty Puppet (死者傀儡) to absorb his comrades of the Fuma clan in order to increase his power. He is the most talented member of the Fuma clan, able to use the clan's most powerful jutsu, the Self-destruction Mandala (自爆曼荼羅), which uses a cage of chakra that constricts, crushing the opponent. It is unknown whether he died, but it is implied that he is killed when Orochimaru's lair caves in, as his feet are stuck to the ground by the remnants of his Casualty Puppet. He also notes that leaving the lair would result in his death.

Hanzaki

 * Unique traits: Zanbatō
 * Seiyu: Masaki Aizawa

Hanzaki (ハンザキ) is the leader of the Fuma clan's members who were not seduced by Orochimaru's power, and is a strong melee-based shinobi who fights with a zanbatō. After the incident in Orochimaru's lair, Sasame was placed under his care by Jiraiya.

Jigumo

 * Age: ? (deceased)
 * Unique Traits: Spider control
 * Seiyu: Kozo Shioya

Jigumo (ジグモ) was one of the members of the Fuma clan who were betrayed by Orochimaru. He was one of a three-member group who guarded Orochimaru's base in the Land of the Rice Fields. Later, he was absorbed by Arashi's secret kinjutsu along with one of his comrades.

Like Kidomaru, Jigumo used spiders and spider webs in combat and for scouting via his Windmill Cloud (Kazagumo), though his skills were not on the same level.

Kagero

 * Age: ? (deceased)
 * Unique traits: Ephemeral Vengeance
 * Seiyu: Tadahaisa Saizen (male) / Mioko Fujiwara (female)

Kagero (カゲロウ) was one of the members of the Fuma clan who were betrayed by Orochimaru. She was one of a three-member group who guarded Orochimaru's base in the Land of the Rice Fields. Though she was actually a young girl, she constantly disguised herself as a member of the opposite gender. While disguised, she would use the Antlion Technique (Arijigoku no Jutsu) to cause everything in a certain area to be drawn into a large pit. After removing this form, she is able to use Ephemeral Vengeance (Utakata), creating four wings out of chakra on her back. She can then fire a gigantic blast of chakra at her opponent: the amount is said to be so great that this jutsu can only be used once in a lifetime. She can also fly and teleport while in this form.

She shows extensive loyalty and dedication to her fellow clan members, using her Ephemeral Vengeance even though it would endanger her life. This same respect is also shown towards Orochimaru, who Kagero views as the person who will bring the Fuma clan back into its glory. Kagero died during a fight with Naruto while disguised as Kabuto Yakushi. She constantly made references to the life of a mayfly while in her first male disguise, which makes sense, as "Kagero" can mean Mayfly. While disguised as Kabuto, Kagero uses an unnamed kamikaze technique that uses chakra strings to connect the heart of the user and the foe. When one heart stops, so does the other. This was thwarted however, by Sasame, who gave Sakura Haruno a special seal to sever the string.

Kamikiri

 * Age: ? (deceased)
 * Unique traits: Giant pincers
 * Seiyu: Bin Shimada

Kamikiri (カミキリ) was one of the members of the Fuma clan who were betrayed by Orochimaru. He was one of a three-member group who guarded Orochimaru's base in the Land of the Rice Fields. Later, he was absorbed by Arashi's Casualty Puppet along with Jigumo.

Sasame

 * Unique traits: Makibishi
 * Seiyu: Sanae Kobayashi

Sasame (ササメ) is a young kunoichi of the Fuma clan. In search for her older cousin, Arashi, she helped Naruto, Jiraiya, and Sakura find Orochimaru's lair in the Land of the Rice Fields. She almost betrayed them for Kamikiri, Kagero, and Jigumo, but after the trio's defeat, Jiraiya convinced her to become neutral. Later, she saves Naruto from Kagero's (who was disguised as Kabuto) heart connecting technique. When she met Arashi, she saw what had become of her cousin she decided to help Naruto and Sakura in defeating him. After the incident, she decided to join forces with the remaining members of the Fuma clan to rebuild the clan's former glory.

Kabuto's team
Kabuto Yakushi's team is entered into the Chunin Exams as Konoha ninja to spy on their fellow participants for Orochimaru. The Jonin in charge of their team is never named, nor is his allegiance ever explored. Kabuto seems to operate without Yoroi and Misumi during the exams, as he is rarely seen with them.

Misumi Tsurugi

 * Age: 231
 * Rank: Genin
 * Seiyu: Kunihiro Kawamoto
 * Voice actor: Richard Cansino

Misumi Tsurugi (剣ミスミ) has had his body surgically altered with the Soft Physique Modification (軟の改造). This allows him to be more efficient in gathering information and allows him to dislocate his joints to fit into any space. He then controls his softened body with chakra, allowing him to stretch and twist any part of his body at any angle, elongating and even coiling around his opponent. Misumi attempts to use this ability on Kankuro during Chunin Exams by catching him in an inescapable hold and breaking his neck. While he seems to have succeeded, he in actuality breaks the neck of Kankuro's puppet, which quickly turns the tables and breaks his own neck, which his modifications allow him to survive. Misumi makes a second appearance with Yoroi during one of the anime's filler arcs, where he is defeated by Ino Yamanaka and crushed under a cave in.

Yoroi Akado

 * Age: 231
 * Rank: Genin
 * Seiyu: Takuya Kirimoto
 * Voice Actor: Grant George

Yoroi Akado (赤胴ヨロイ) is able to use the Chakra Absorption Technique (チャクラ吸引術), through which he can absorb the physical and spiritual energy of an opponent on contact. He uses this ability against Sasuke Uchiha during the preliminary matches of the Chunin Exams, making it very difficult for Sasuke to keep his cursed seal under control. Despite this, Sasuke is able to defeat him with a taijutsu ability not dependent on chakra. Yoroi makes a second appearance with Misumi during one of the anime's filler arcs. He is eventually forced to battle Shino Aburame, at which point he uses Water Release: Huge Explosion Technique (水遁・大爆発の術) to try and capture Shino in an inescapable torrent of water. He is ultimately defeated and sinks beneath the water.

"Snake"
After breaking his ties with Orochimaru, Sasuke Uchiha gathers a four-man group consisting of himself and three of Orochimaru's former subordinates under the name "Snake" (蛇). All of them have a certain ability that Sasuke requires to defeat Itachi Uchiha.

Jugo
Jugo (重吾), also known as Jugo of the Scales (天秤の重吾), is the largest member of "Snake". He is mentally unstable, sporadically fluctuating between a bloodthirsty and a docile personality. While in the former mindset, Jugo attacks anyone around him with the intention to kill, sometimes determining which gender he will kill first during conversations with himself. It is because of this uncontrollable drive for blood that Jugo, while docile, consents to being confined since he doesn't want to hurt anyone. Kimimaro Kaguya was able to control Jugo during these outbreaks, allowing him to assume a somewhat natural lifestyle where he viewed Kimimaro as a friend. Sasuke Uchiha is able to repress Jugo's killing instincts, as well, using his Sharingan. After hearing that Kimimaro sacrificed his life for Sasuke, Jugo agreed to accompany Sasuke since he believes that Kimimaro's spirit continues to live on in Sasuke.

Jugo is the source and means behind Orochimaru's development of the cursed seals. Some time in the past, Jugo purposely sought out Orochimaru to cure him of his "impulses". Jugo has trouble controlling his rage, which unexpectedly causes him to transform into a berserk demon. Upon examination, Orochimaru was able to isolate enzymes in Jugo's blood as the cause of this change. By extracting these enzymes, Orochimaru was able to use them to produce similar, but more controlled, effects in other people. When assuming one of these cursed seal transformations, Jugo is able to exercise a great deal of control over it. In addition to being able to transform only portions of his body, Jugo can alter his transformation to better suit a situation. Jugo is also able to understand birds, using them as scouts and to help him accomplish tasks. It is unknown if this is a trait of his enzymes.

Karin
Karin (香燐) is a former subordinate of Orochimaru who assisted him in his experimentations and was left in charge of one of his bases while he was away. After learning of his death she remains loyal to him by keeping the prisoners of the base in check. Karin has red eyes, matching hair color and an unusual hairstyle; her hair is short and unkempt on one side, and long and combed on the other. She will at times appear tough and in control, particularly when Suigetsu or Jugo are present. When Sasuke Uchiha is around, however, she switches to a flirtatious personality where she tends to imply a team consisting of only the two of them would be considerably better. She has an unhealthy and somewhat disturbing interest in Sasuke, as she goes so far as to keep one of his battered, sweat-drenched shirts for herself and plans to "ravage" him after everyone falls asleep. Suigetsu notes that something once happened between her and Sasuke, though what this means remains unclear since Karin punches Suigetsu before he can finish his sentence.

Karin's special ability allows her to track specific individuals through chakra, seen when she is able to discern that Jugo is not among a crowd of prisoners through the standard concentration pose for molding chakra. It also allows her to pick up chakra from long distances and notice changes in an individual's chakra. Kakashi Hatake surmises that Karin is a particularly skilled chakra-sensing ninja, as she is not only able to tell that his group is approaching, but can also sense how many of them are present and that one is a dog.

Suigetsu
Suigetsu (水月) is a former experimental subject of Orochimaru. Suigetsu once trained to be one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and as such has a number of traits consistent with other known members. In addition to having shark-like teeth, Suigetsu enjoys killing; Kisame Hoshigaki, one of the Seven Swordsmen, says he is a prodigy at the art of murder and the second coming of the Devil Zabuza, as Suigetsu has a habit of chopping off his victim's limbs before beheading them. He is also very confident in his abilities, since he has threatened Sasuke Uchiha on more than one occasion. After joining Snake, Sasuke takes Suigetsu to retrieve Zabuza Momochi's zanbatō from his graveside. Suigetsu can wield the weapon with relative ease, but traveling longer distances with the sword strapped onto his back tires him out rather quickly. In his allegiance with Sasuke, Suigetsu hopes to acquire the sword of Kisame as well, which Karin assumes to mean that he wants to collect all of the swords of the Seven Swordsmen.

Suigetsu is able to reduce himself to liquid form and to return to bodily form at will. This ability also allows him to change his body shape, giving him the ability to increase the size of his limbs, proportionally increasing his strength, if necessary. It also makes striking him somewhat difficult; since he is made of liquid, any sufficiently powerful strike will go right through his watery form. Suigetsu is the first ninja seen carrying water bottles on his outfit. Given his somewhat frequent desire to consume water, Suigetsu may require regular hydration to sustain his watery form.