Kabuto Yakushi

is a major antagonist of the series, who was first introduced as a Konohagakure genin. He was orphaned by war as a child and was found by Nonō Yakushi and raised in the Konoha Orphanage. After being recruited by Root, he served as a deep cover agent in different countries for several years before defecting and joining Orochimaru, where he acted as his personal medic, research assistant, and general right-hand-man. During the Fourth Shinobi World War after Orochimaru's sealing, Kabuto joined forces with Tobi and Akatsuki.

Background
Kabuto's earliest childhood memory is being found by Nonō on the outskirts of a destroyed village. Suffering from a head wound and amnesia, he had no recollection of his parents or his own identity. The nun treated his wounds with medical ninjutsu and brought him to the orphanage. Shy and reserved, Kabuto did not speak to anyone or thank the nun for her kindness, which led a fellow orphan, Urushi, to question whether or not he had any manners, before slamming a helmet on Kabuto's head to protect his healing wound. When Urushi declared that his lack of a name was annoying, the nun decided to name him "Kabuto", after the helmet. Later that night, Kabuto felt guilty about not thanking the nun and got out of bed to find her, only to get in trouble with the other wards for being up past his curfew. When they took him to a clock to teach him the curfew time, it at first seemed that he was too young to tell time, but the nun recognised that he was squinting and lent him her glasses, allowing him to impress the other caretakers by correctly determining the time of the curfew despite his young age. Because the orphanage could not afford glasses for him, the woman let him keep hers, and Kabuto broke down in tears, repeatedly thanking her as she comforted him.

Over the years, Kabuto would be taught various medical skills by Nonō, such that he was eventually able to assist her in healing shinobi and thus, earn money for the orphanage. It was here that he first met Orochimaru who asked him if he wanted to become a shinobi, stating that the role would suit him, but Kabuto declined. However, after eavesdropping on a conversation Nonō had with Danzō Shimura and hearing the latter's demand for an orphan in exchange for funding, Kabuto instead accepted the offer.

From this point onwards, he was tasked with infiltrating various hidden villages, including those of the Five Great Shinobi Countries. During one such assignment in Iwagakure, he was forced to flee after his cover was blown and unwittingly attacked his "mother", Nonō, in the process. With her unable to recognise him even as he healed her injuries, Kabuto came to question his identity and purpose, when he was once again approached by Orochimaru.

Orochimaru explained to him that his unfortunate encounter with Nonō was engineered by Danzō himself: having become an accomplished spy, Kabuto has become an asset too dangerous to handle for Root (and thus to be eliminated). Orochimaru also pointed out that as a spy for Konoha, (and after travelling to many countries), Kabuto already is losing track of his own true self due to not knowing where he came from and the constant changing of his identity to fulfil his role. Nonō, in turn, was double-crossed by Danzō into believing that they released Kabuto from holding and was living a civilian life, in exchange for assassinating another person (who is no other than the real Kabuto himself). Distraught by this information, Kabuto attacked Orochimaru but was stayed by the latter's offer of a new identity, as well as becoming his right-hand man in the the village he was about to found. In returning to Konohagakure, Orochimaru gives him a new cover: that he was found amongst the dead enemies after the Battle of Kikyō Pass by a captain of the Konoha Medic Corps, and that captain brought him to Konoha and raised him as a son.

He was later sent to serve as Orochimaru's spy to Sasori of Akatsuki, who in turn set him to spy on Orochimaru by using Memory-Concealing Manipulative Sand Technique to transform him into his own sleeper agent. Orochimaru discovered this and released Sasori's control over Kabuto. Kabuto has since used his expertise in spying for Orochimaru, playing the role of Sasori's servant to gain knowledge of Akatsuki's plans. Through his affiliation with Konoha, Kabuto was also able to acquire the rank of genin and enter the biannual Chūnin Exams, using the first two parts of the exam to gather information on his fellow participants for Orochimaru's use. Additionally, with the medical expertise taught to him by his adoptive parent and his high intelligence, Kabuto is able to carry out human experiments alongside Orochimaru, while at the same time increasing his own knowledge of the human body.

Personality and Loyalty
As a child, due to the amnesia he suffered, Kabuto was a rather shy, quiet and polite individual who didn't know who he was or where he belonged in the world. Due to the nun who took him in and gave him her glasses to see with, he was very grateful for it, shedding tears of thanks for it, showing he was rather sensitive as a child.

Kabuto's loyalties and personality are difficult to discern, as he is a rather sadistic, highly manipulative, yet very polite, helpful man with a very dry sense of humour. He enjoys playing mind games with his enemies, often unnerving them by pointing out their weaknesses and turning personal horrors against them. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, he freely reincarnated people not only for combat, but also to mentally attack his opponents, and saw the personalities of those he brought back as nothing but pawns. Despite this, he seems to have a hard time tolerating rudeness, indicated by his frequent admonishments of Sasuke Uchiha for not treating Orochimaru with respect. Orochimaru also seems to have a hard time determining Kabuto's thoughts at times, as seen when he orders Kabuto to kidnap Sasuke, and wonders if perhaps Kabuto will kill him instead, even giving hints that now would be an opportune time to halt his plans. Even in this instance, Orochimaru has great confidence in Kabuto's loyalty, often laughing at the prospect that Kabuto would betray him.

While Kabuto generally obeyed 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 Sakura Haruno and Hinata Hyūga on different occasions. When healing Sakura, Kabuto hints at an ulterior motive, saying that Akatsuki is the true enemy; Orochimaru later says something similar, pointing out that the death of more Akatsuki members means fewer enemies for him. He is also generally polite to Naruto Uzumaki, upon whom Kabuto possesses a peculiar fixation on, despite the fact that they have conflicting motives during their encounters. Despite his unclear goals, Kabuto seemed to be content in following Orochimaru, using this allegiance to make requests for specific bodies with which to further his knowledge.

Kabuto shows a clear view of respect to those he sees with great status, as he told Tsunade that he had the utmost respect for her as a fellow medical ninja. He sees the Sannin as great and powerful ninja, and even takes much excitement in testing his mettle against them. Due to this trait, he sees others who have not gained a high and famous reputation as nothing but inferior fighters with no skill in combat and ability, as he ridiculed Naruto's apparent inferiority when they fought, telling him about his terrible talents to be ninja, comparing him to Sasuke or asking him if he is about to escape when he was facing with Orochimaru and Kabuto despite Naruto's words that he'll never escape regardless of the situation.

Kabuto stated that he dislikes forcing people to do things against their will, and instead he would manipulate them by acting sympathetic to them. He plotted to send an ailing Kimimaro to retrieve Sasuke, but merely spoke about how much Orochimaru is suffering, in order to stimulate Kimimaro's loyalty to move against his ill body. Orochimaru noted that Kabuto has a nasty personality. Kabuto also claimed that he is an introvert, and prefers secluded places. Due to this, he considers the Impure World Reincarnation technique will bring him unwanted infamy and attention, which he notes to be the so-called perfect technique's downside.

Since merging the remains of Orochimaru into his body, Kabuto has shown to have the ambition to surpass Orochimaru. He has also shown interest in accomplishing Orochimaru's goal of furthering his knowledge of techniques and as such, wants to acquire and experiment on Sasuke. He is also seemingly willing to go to great lengths to acquire him, even blackmail and attempting to convince him to join his side, if necessary. He also showed interest in experimenting on Yamato and Zetsu. One of his goals seems to be learning the secrets of the Sage of the Six Paths. He also became very arrogant of his own power, stating that he was perfect and no one could defeat him.

Although he later formed an alliance with Tobi and Akatsuki, as well as reincarnated an army of powerful shinobi for their use, Kabuto had previously provided Naruto a book containing all of Orochimaru's intelligence on Akatsuki, as well as leaving a trail of corpses to allow Anko Mitarashi and her brigade to follow into Mountains' Graveyard. This was apparently done to lure Anko into a trap so he could capture her in order to extract her chakra, as he refused to kill her on Tobi's orders. Tobi also suspects that Kabuto plans to use the war to weaken both the Allied Forces and his own fighting power after learning that Kabuto had led the Konoha ninja to his hideout.

Kabuto, despite his rather cool personality at the beginning of the series, has been shown to be inwardly conflicted with major insecurities about his identity for most of his life. According to himself, until Orochimaru was sealed he was rather unsure of his identity. He stated himself that he would now do what he wanted to do as he felt no loyalty to even the people or village that raised him, detesting the fact that he had been brought up by the enemy of his people. He claimed to not know who he really was or what he wanted to do until thinking about how Naruto achieved his resolve. Overall, Kabuto compares himself with Itachi Uchiha, both of whom served Konoha in the shadows but were ostracised by the village in return, and claims that because of this, he understands Sasuke more than anyone. However, after realising that he is imprisoned within his own mind in an endless loop and his machinations have fallen apart, he attempts to justify his actions by asserting that he wanted someone to affirm and recognise his existence.

Appearance
Kabuto's trademark is a pair of circular glasses, a gift from Nonō, and he is rarely seen without them. He has onyx eyes and ash-grey hair, which is normally kept in a ponytail that extends to his upper back, with his bangs framing either side of his forehead. In the majority of his earlier appearances, he wore a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, fingerless gloves with armoured plates on the back of the hand, a white cloth waistband worn at an angle, dark purple pants, blue sandals, and a shuriken holster on his right leg. He typically wore an Otogakure forehead protector, but was first seen wearing a Konohagakure forehead protector as a part of his genin disguise. In Part II, he no longer wears his forehead protector or his gloves.

Shortly after Sasuke counter-absorbed Orochimaru, Kabuto took cells and tissue from the remains of Orochimaru's true form and implanted them in his body. The cells and tissue slowly began to take over his body, but he resisted their influence and eventually learned to fully control Orochimaru's genetic material, causing him to take on many physical traits of his former master. These included Orochimaru's purple eye markings and serpentine pupils, as well as scaly patterns on his face and much of his body. He no longer wears his hair in a ponytail, instead leaving it unkempt and allowing it to grow out. He wears a maroon-coloured cloak with a hood designed to resemble a serpent's head, with white, red, and yellow markings that resemble eyes; the hood can be closed like a snake's mouth to help protect his senses from the effects of genjutsu. A long, white snake was also fused with his abdomen, which he kept wrapped around his waist and was often seen slithering out from under his robes like a tail. He was also able to shed his human body, taking on the appearance of a monstrous snake with sharply distorted facial features and arms.

After Sasuke revived Orochimaru, the latter reabsorbed his chakra from Kabuto, which reversed the reptilian modifications applied to Kabuto's body and returned him to his original human form.

Abilities
Despite officially being a genin, Kabuto has proven himself to be a skilled and cunning ninja far beyond that level, particularly because of his medical abilities. Even Jiraiya and Orochimaru remarked at one point that his skills were comparable to those of Kakashi Hatake. He has been shown to be able to kill ANBU members with relative ease, and even mockingly stated he could handle at least ten ANBU members. Through keen observation, Kabuto can quickly determine the situation at hand. Even when up against a stronger opponent, he can gain an advantage by quickly exploiting their weakness. Kabuto is also very adaptable, as when Tsunade flipped his nervous system signals, he managed to regain control of his body quickly, a feat that impressed Tsunade. Even as a child, he already demonstrated great potential, to the point that Orochimaru took great interest in him and kept track of him prior to recruiting him. Upon adapting to his bodily modifications, his fighting prowess was greatly enhanced as he was able to overwhelm the combined efforts of Sasuke and Itachi despite their considerable skills and mastery of the Mangekyō Sharingan, eventually forcing Itachi to use the forbidden Izanami in an attempt to force him to end Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation.

Taijutsu
While claiming to have lesser skill in taijutsu, Kabuto has shown himself to be proficient enough to hold his own against Tsunade, a skilled taijutsu fighter known for her devastating strikes, after tiring her out and consuming a Military Rations Pill. His main style of taijutsu is to use the chakra scalpel, which allows him to form his chakra into a blade and hit his target's muscles, pressure points, and other key points of their body. During his battle with Tsunade, she remarks that Kabuto's senses and sharpness may have surpassed hers in her prime. In battle, he first quickly assesses his opponent's strength and battle style to comprehend their movements, thereby allowing him to easily predict and dodge their attacks. He then uses his medical ninjutsu to systematically take down his opponent in order to disable and subdue them.

While in Sage Mode, Kabuto's physical abilities, such as his speed and reflexes, were enhanced to the point were he could both evade and repel multiple high-speed and powered attacks from both Sasuke and Itachi with relative ease, despite having his vision impaired. Not only that, he was able to attack Itachi before the latter could react or defend himself.

Medical Ninjutsu
Despite his young age, Kabuto has demonstrated tremendous skill and ingenuity in medical ninjutsu. With his extensive knowledge of medical ninjutsu and of the human body, Kabuto can quickly adjust to any damage done to his body and severely injure a person with a single chakra-infused strike to the chest. He has also developed the unique ability to be able to reactivate dead cells and grow new ones; the usage of this technique effectively during battle requires him to read his opponent's moves accurately in order to prepare the area of which he would apply the cell reconstruction, a feat that he is very capable of. Through his experiments on Karin's healing abilities and powerful life-force, Kabuto was able to attain near-instantaneous regeneration abilities himself.

He also often uses scalpels as throwing weapons instead of kunai. In Part II, Kabuto has apparently advanced his medical ninjutsu even further. He is capable of using the chakra scalpel without any hand seals, and still powerful enough to cut through wood and flesh with ease, and can use the Mystical Palm Technique at a distance. In Sage Mode, the strength of his chakra scalpel was great enough to completely bisect a reincarnated Itachi Uchiha in one strike.

Kabuto's prowess in medical ninjutsu has allowed him to develop a series of drugs with various effects. This was demonstrated several times. One instance would be the drugs given to Sasuke which aided in his training process. As shown with Manda II, he is also capable of genetically altering organisms making them bigger, stronger than the original. Kabuto has also invented a special drug that is capable of suppressing the power of a Wood Release user and a truth serum that allows him to interrogate enemies with ease.

Kabuto has demonstrated a unique affinity for corpses, and has demonstrated an interest in being able to reanimate them. This is primarily convenient when he is experimenting with test subjects, though they have been used briefly in escape situations, and may be used in combat. Kabuto's expertise in medical ninjutsu is far-reaching enough for him to be able to create an almost perfect look-alike of a person from a corpse in very little time and under high pressure, and keeps a sealing scroll to summon corpses for usage; he mentioned to Orochimaru that he would like to keep his stock refilled after using one. Kabuto can even use the remains of a corpse to create a physically enhanced clone as he did with Manda by using the dead snake's cells and various drugs.

Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation
As a further testament to his corpse theme, Kabuto can perform the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation technique — which only Orochimaru and Tobirama Senju could before, claiming superior usage of the technique than his predecessors, supporting that by reincarnating five deceased Akatsuki members at once. He also states that he can reincarnate many other powerful ninja under his control, including Madara Uchiha. He applied a seal on the corpses that doesn't completely rob them of their free will, but still controls their body movement against their will — a seal different from the one Orochimaru used. Kabuto showed his great prowess in this particular technique by summoning a large group of famous and powerful shinobi, including deceased jinchūriki, Kage, and many others. He is even able to remotely monitor the bodies as well as re-write the commands given to the reincarnated shinobi, allowing him to rob them of their free will whenever he wants.

Kabuto can also modify these reincarnated bodies to increase their abilities to an unknown extent as shown with enhancements done to Madara Uchiha.

Nature Transformation
Kabuto is capable of using Earth Release to move underground. After infusing himself with the DNA of the Sound Four, he was capable of using Earth Release: Earth Shore Return through a manifestation of Jirōbō, which he used during his battle against Itachi and Sasuke to rid himself of an Amaterasu wall.

Kabuto has also demonstrated great skill with Water Release, as he is capable of creating large torrents of water and even using the powerful Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique without the extensive use of hand seals or an external water source.

DNA Modifications
As a part of his "quest to find himself", Kabuto performed various experiments on his own body, integrating the DNA of both Orochimaru and a few other of his experiment subjects. As a result, he gained access to their unique abilities, techniques and kekkei genkai.

By infusing himself with Orochimaru's DNA, he gained access to his master's snake techniques and summons, the ability to alter his body and an enhanced chakra capacity. Later, he assimilated the DNA from three members of Taka, gaining Karin's healing powers, developed an altered version of Suigetsu's liquification abilities and Jūgo's ability to passively absorb natural energy, allowing him to continuously use Sage Mode without assistance. He also integrated the DNA of the entire Sound Five team into his body. He could first use Sakon's Attack of the Twin Demons to manifest a second body identical in appearance to that of the twins, which was connected to the base of his navel-snake. With this, he gained access to multiple techniques, such as Jirōbō's Earth Release techniques, Tayuya's sound-based genjutsu abilities, Kidōmaru's web techniques, and Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai, with the manifestation changing form to resemble each person when the ability was used. By creating a manifestation of Orochimaru and changing it into his true form, he could capture opponents or emerge from the giant snake to perform a surprise attack. Even if this second attack was somehow blocked, Kabuto could shed his skin again to continue his move. Using these abilities, Kabuto could drastically change and control the battlefield, as well as overwhelm opponents with a myriad of techniques.

Due to this assimilation, Kabuto's chakra reserves have increased tremendously. A testament to this was his ability to summon and control dozens of reincarnated ninja at one time for up to two days, and summon Manda II, a snake even larger than Manda. As a result his chakra reserves became large enough that he was able to enter Sage Mode. After capturing Anko and absorbing Orochimaru's residual senjutsu chakra from her cursed seal, he became even more powerful.

After Orochimaru's revival, he absorbed his own chakra from Kabuto's body, which reverted the latter to his original human form.

Snake Techniques
After implanting Orochimaru's cells into his body, Kabuto gained all of his snake-oriented techniques and abilities, first exhibiting some of these skills to kill several Takigakure ninja with great ease using multiple snakes. Kabuto could communicate telepathically with his snakes using the one that serves as his tail. He could also use the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands for a quick ambush attack. Moreover, with his new form, Kabuto was capable of injecting drugs that he has developed, directly through the fangs of the snakes that he creates from his body, and in the anime from his "snake tail", including one that could knock Anko out, despite her having received treatment to be immune to poison while with Orochimaru. He is also seemingly able to alter the size of these particular snakes at will, even after summoning them.

Another ability relating to this snake-theme was that Kabuto could shed his skin to turn into a white snake with arms, similar to Orochimaru's true form. While in this form, he could move at very fast speeds and even swallow a full-grown man whole. He could also take on a form in which his lower half resembled a snake's with legs, with his navel-snake extending from the end, like a tail.

To counteract genjutsu that are dependent upon eye contact, Kabuto could instead rely solely upon his snakes' ability to perceive their surroundings through sensing the ambient temperatures and smells using their tongues, rather than his own sight. After researching the Hōzuki clan's Hydrification Technique, through Suigetsu, he altered it so that he could liquefy portions of his body at will using his body fluids, including the snakes that are generated directly from himself.

Senjutsu
After Orochimaru's sealing, Kabuto travelled across the world and ultimately discovered the location of the Ryūchi Cave. There, he was taught senjutsu by the White Snake Sage where he gained access to a Sage Mode. This, together with the research and self-modifications based on Jūgo's clan's abilities, also allows Kabuto to passively and continuously absorb natural energy without assistance, allowing him to potentially maintain his Sage Mode indefinitely. According to Kabuto, this meant that he was no longer a snake, but had instead transcended into a dragon.

Physically, Kabuto undergoes little alteration in this form, with the only visible changes being the markings around his eyes extending onto his back and the growth of four horns on the back of his head, as well as darkened sclera. Sage Mode greatly enhances Kabuto's speed, perception and reflexes, to such an extent that he can even dodge the arrows fired by Sasuke's Susanoo, which are noted for their tremendous speed. He also gained access to further snake anatomy, such as their brille, which allowed him to severely impair his opponents through the use of intense light whilst remaining completely unaffected himself. He is also capable of infusing life into inanimate objects and manipulating them, such as the surrounding terrain, making it very difficult to counter.

Intelligence
Being trained as a spy by Root, conducting espionage missions on all Great Ninja Villages, as well as being the right-hand man and spy for Orochimaru, and being a former Akatsuki sleeper agent, Kabuto is extremely skilled in matters of intelligence gathering and espionage, having gained access to large stores of knowledge which he uses to produce devastating effects. This includes him finding Tobi, as well as knowing that he was not the real Madara Uchiha and simply using his name to help him start the Fourth Shinobi World War, and his plan to revive the Ten-Tails, knowing about Zetsu, outwitting Kurotsuchi by knowing her abilities, and even the truth of the Uchiha clan massacre, the latter of which is so secretive that only a selective few ever knew.

Like his mentor Orochimaru, Kabuto has shown himself as an extensive researcher, performing multiple experiments to increase or neutralise an individual's abilities, as shown by his creation of Manda II, his intricate knowledge of the Wood Release and subsequent empowering of the Zetsu army, his mastery of the Impure World Reincarnation, his enhancement of Madara's prime body and the enhancements done to his own body by studying, assimilating and reverse engineering the abilities of his former master, the Sound Five and team Taka.

He has also shown himself to be a very skilled manipulator. For years, he was able to convince all of Konohagakure into believing he was a genuinely benign man with inept shinobi skill outside of medical skills (to which he made it appear he was only decent at) to make it easier in gathering information. He made Orochimaru doubt his true loyalties on at least one occasion, but since Orochimaru's sealing, he has expressed his true support of his former master's ideology. He has shown to be able to use his strong powers of deception to fool his targets into aiding him in several manners, even including a master manipulator such as Tobi, well known for his own ability to manipulate others. He also used such manipulative methods with the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation, by allowing the reincarnated shinobi to retain their personalities, so they can be used for psychological warfare, as well as memories, emotions, and creativity to enhance combat efficiency. This shows that Kabuto understands the human mind very well, and takes advantage of that to help meet his own ends.

However, Kabuto's present loyalties still remain unclear due to his many conflicting comments and actions.

Other Skills
While he has made little use of it since his introduction, Kabuto is a skilled genjutsu user, having once put almost an entire stadium to sleep during the Chūnin Exams. Kabuto has also displayed some skill with barrier ninjutsu, having erected one around his proximity during the Fourth Shinobi World War in order to hide his location. Kabuto appears to have some skill in swordplay, as seen when he commandeered Sasuke's sword to attack Itachi. In the anime, he also showed the ability to make himself invisible.

Chūnin Exam Arc
Prior to the first phase of the Chūnin Exams, Kabuto befriended the members of the Rookie Nine with information on their fellow competitors. During the second phase of the exam, Kabuto joined forces with Team 7 in an attempt to finish the phase with little hassle. When the group encountered Team Oboro, Kabuto's glasses were knocked off of his face after saving Naruto Uzumaki from an attack. This caused Kabuto to momentarily lose his cool and reveal his Killing Intent, paralysing both Team Oboro and Naruto's team-mates as he took advantage to defeat the Ame genin. Upon completing the second test, Kabuto reunited with his team-mates and fellow agents, Yoroi Akadō and Misumi Tsurugi. Back with his team, Kabuto reported to Orochimaru what he had learned about Sasuke Uchiha.

With Orochimaru now in a position to observe Sasuke firsthand, Kabuto forfeited prior to the preliminary matches of the Chūnin Exams. While explaining to Naruto that he was fatigued, injured, and unwilling to risk his life further, Kabuto actually forfeited due to his fear that prolonged fighting would cause him to show his true abilities, blowing his cover. After Orochimaru gathered enough of his own intelligence about Sasuke, he instructed Kabuto to kidnap Sasuke. He was able to take out the eight ANBU members guarding Sasuke and almost succeeded in accomplishing this task, but Kakashi Hatake intervened before he could finish, forcing Kabuto to flee.

Later, he spoke with Baki and they discussed the upcoming Suna and Oto invasion of Konoha. While discussing the upcoming invasion, they realised that they were being overheard by Hayate Gekkō. Kabuto offered to eliminate Hayate, but Baki did so himself.

Invasion of Konoha Arc
During the final matches of the Chūnin Exam, Kabuto kills an ANBU member and poses as him to mingle with the audience. During Naruto and Neji Hyūga's battle, he heals Hinata.

When Sasuke injures Gaara, Kabuto uses a genjutsu to put the audience to sleep and signal the start of the invasion of Konoha. During the invasion, Kabuto has Oto ninja go after Naruto when he starts to pursue Sasuke, fearing what he will eventually become a problem if he is not dealt with soon. However, it appears he already knew it would fail as he wanted to test Naruto. He does not contribute in the battle, pointing out that Kakashi would only copy his abilities, and flees from the village when the invasion fails.

Search for Tsunade Arc
With Orochimaru being heavily injured as a result of the failed invasion, Kabuto accompanies him in searching for Tsunade in the the hope that she can heal his master. Upon finding and in time seeming to persuade Tsunade, Kabuto notices that Tsunade's medical techniques are filled with killing intent, realising her true intentions and stopping her from killing Orochimaru. Knowing that Tsunade will not help willingly, Kabuto resolves to make him help with force. After taking a Military Rations Pill to boost his abilities, Kabuto is able to keep up with Tsunade and land a number of disabling attacks, though she eventually lands a crippling attack upon him. Realising that he is still completely outmatched by the Sannin member, Kabuto manages to turn the fight to his advantage by bleeding himself with a kunai to the hand and uses Tsunade's haemophobia against her.

When reinforcements for Tsunade arrive, Kabuto quickly defeats Shizune before Naruto arrives and surprised that Kabuto is a spy for Orochimaru. While he didn't view Naruto as much of a threat, warning him not to interfere and mocking his dream when beating the younger ninja to an inch of his life, Kabuto finds himself inflicted with injuries he can not fully heal from hit by Naruto's Rasengan. While Kabuto had managed to strike a fatal blow to Naruto's heart before the Rasengan hit him, Tsunade heals Naruto before he can die, leaving Kabuto to lie on the ground, defeated. He later recovers to the point of helping Orochimaru summon Manda, and flees with his master once Orochimaru is defeated.

Sasuke Retrieval Arc
As Orochimaru anxiously awaits Sasuke's arrival at their lair, Kabuto encourages him to transfer into a new body while he still can, even offering himself. Although Orochimaru rejects the offer, Kabuto finds a strong body for Orochimaru to switch to just in case. In time, due to the Sound Four being hindered by the Konoha ninja sent after them and Sasuke, Orochimaru finally grows tired of waiting and switches to the vessel. While discussing the Sound Four, Kabuto notes Sakon to be the strongest. Kabuto prepared. Kabuto also manipulated Kimimaro to leave to retrieve Sasuke, despite the latter's terminal illness.

Sasuke and Sai Arc
When Team Yamato comes to meet one of Sasori's agents, Kabuto is revealed to be that agent. Yamato, disguised as Sasori, is able to learn some things from Kabuto, though just as he is about to capture the latter Orochimaru shows up. Although it seems as though Orochimaru is about to kill Kabuto as a traitor, Kabuto cuts off the Sasori disguise's head, having intended to kill the actual Sasori under Orochimaru's orders. With his cover blown, Yamato calls to the rest of his team for assistance, and Naruto eventually starts to fight Orochimaru. At the start of the battle, Kabuto tries to attack Naruto who has slipped into his three-tailed form, though he is almost instantly repelled a good distance by one of Naruto's roars, knocking out Sakura in the process. He returns back to the bridge and heals Sakura, who had been attacked by Naruto, and hints that the Akatsuki is the greater enemy.

After the battle, Kabuto joins Orochimaru and Team Yamato member Sai in returning to their hideout, and Kabuto is tasked with leaving behind a dead body that looks like Sai to prevent anyone from following them. When Sai is later captured, Kabuto comes to his aid, only to be captured by Sai instead. Unable to escape, Kabuto is forthcoming with information, and discourages Naruto from trying to retrieve the traitorous Sasuke. Kabuto is left by himself as Team 7 searches the lair, though is at some point freed and joins Orochimaru and Sasuke when they depart.

Three-Tails Arc
Realising that the time was fast approaching for him to change bodies, Orochimaru sent Kabuto to fetch Guren. When Kabuto nears her location Guren attacks him to see if he is worthy of being Orochimaru's attendant. Satisfied, she accompanies him to Orochimaru's lair and is left in charge of testing the prisoners there and forming a team.

When Guren and her team fail to kill a group of Konoha ninja, Kabuto has them help in summoning the Three-Tailed Beast. Kabuto ordered Guren to restrain it with her Crystal Release. When she proves unable to do so, Kabuto retreats upon realising he needs to rethink their strategy.

Later, he begins preparations for a final attempt to capture the Three-Tails during which he secretly meets with Rinji, who is revealed to be a spy for Kabuto. After learning that Konoha has begun attempting to seal away the Three-Tails, Kabuto retrieves Guren and Yūkimaru to stop them.

While successfully stopping the Konoha shinobi from sealing the Three-Tails, they manage to obtain Yūkimaru, much to Kabuto's dismay. Deciding to take desperate measures, Kabuto tricked Kigiri, Kihō, and Nurari into thinking they were dying from the injuries they sustained from the Konoha-nin and convinced them to go through a gruelling operation of having cursed seals forcibly activated.

He then disguises himself as Rinji, tricks Yūkimaru to use his power to unleash the Three-Tails' full might despite knowing how weakened Yūkimaru was. After a failed attempt to have Yūkimaru make the Three-Tails go on a rampage, Kabuto, disguised as Rinji, reveals to Yūkimaru that it was Guren who killed his mother, but is shocked that Yūkimaru forgives her. He then attacks Guren and Yūkimaru with scalpels, but are deflected by Naruto. Naruto throws one of the scalpels cuts Rinji's face which turns out to be a mask and it falls off, revealing that he is Kabuto.

Since his meeting with Rinji, Kabuto has been posing as him. Kabuto and Naruto fight it out, with Naruto having improved enough to seemingly gain the upper hand over Kabuto. As Guren tries to escape with Yūkimaru, Kabuto then summons Rinji with his Dead Soul Technique to stop her. Guren fights him, only to be immobilised by his bats. Guren who made her promise to protect Yūkimaru at the cost of her life grabs Rinji from behind and sacrifice herself to kill him. Yūkimaru then screams in agony at what appears to be the loss of Guren. The screaming once again awakens Yūkimaru powers and causes the Three-Tails to breaks out of the seal and go on a rampage. Kabuto then leaves the scene satisfied with what was happening.

Itachi Pursuit Arc
Arriving after Orochimaru's defeat at the hands of Sasuke, Kabuto learns of the events from Sasuke using his genjutsu to reveal his master's defeat. With Orochimaru no more, Kabuto gathered the remnants of Orochimaru's body and assimilates them into his body. However, Kabuto finds himself struggling to keep control of his body. When he later confronts Naruto, revealing the boy's struggle with Kurama as his muse, Kabuto explains his reasons for placing himself in a dangerous position is to become strong enough to no longer be anyone's underling. Giving Naruto a book containing Orochimaru's information on Akatsuki as thanks, Kabuto departs before he can be apprehended while vowing to settle things with Naruto after he avenges Orochimaru by killing Sasuke. Since then, Kabuto went into hiding to obtain control over his enhanced body and the powers it would possess.

Konoha History Arc
After Naruto Uzumaki defeats Sabiru, Kabuto, hidden in some trees, kills him by throwing a presumably poisoned senbon to the back of his neck, so no information regarding who he works for would be leaked.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
Kabuto kills three Takigakure shinobi to test his control over his new powers. Satisfied, he heads to the Mountains' Graveyard, leaving a trail of bodies that the Anko-led Infiltration and Reconnaissance Party uses to follow him.

Once there he confronts Tobi, who is operating as "Madara Uchiha". Remembering that Kabuto was once Akatsuki's spy, Tobi tries to kill him for his traitorous actions. Kabuto responds by using the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation to reincarnate five deceased members of Akatsuki, an incentive for Tobi to accept his help in the approaching Fourth Shinobi World War. In return, Kabuto asks that he be given Sasuke to learn the truth about ninjutsu.

Tobi asks what would happen if he doesn't accept, to which Kabuto responds by summoning a sixth coffin. Greatly disturbed by the coffin's contents, Tobi was forced to agree, though insists upon the condition that he not turn over Sasuke until after the war. The two head off to reformulate their war plans. In the anime, as Tobi was about to leave Mountains' Graveyard, Kabuto stops him and asks where he was going. Tobi replies that it was none of his concern, but tells him that he was going to Amegakure, to which Kabuto gives a devious smile after their brief conversation.

When Tobi receives intel on the location of the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails, Kabuto offers to go capture them. Kabuto explains that he is interested in studying Yamato, the Nine-Tails' guardian. If Tobi would he prefer he not go, Kabuto says he would settle for a chance to study Zetsu. Tobi replies that he can have his own Zetsu to study if he manages to catch the Nine-Tails. Kabuto reincarnates Deidara and together they fly to the Island Turtle upon one of Deidara's clay birds. As they get closer to the island Deidara creates clay clones of themselves, which the intercepting Third Tsuchikage attacks. The time this buys is short-lived, as the Tsuchikage himself was a rock clone; the Tsuchikage and his escorts confront the real Kabuto and Deidara.

While Deidara and the Tsuchikage exchange insults, Manda II seeks out and slows down the Island Turtle. To keep it from moving, Kabuto has Deidara hit it with an explosive squid. Kabuto goes ashore, leaving distracting the Tsuchikage to Deidara. Kurotsuchi pursues Kabuto and manages to catch him. Yamato then appears, creating a route for Aoba Yamashiro to get close to Kabuto and read his mind. Before Aoba is able to begin doing so, Kabuto sheds his captured body and kidnaps Yamato. He retreats into Manda II's nose and returns to Tobi, recalling Deidara in the process. When Tobi questions his failure, Kabuto explains that studying Yamato will allow him to make the White Zetsu Army stronger. Tobi accepts this explanation and tells Kabuto to get to work.

Shinobi World War Arc
Proposing to keep the drugged Yamato alive that he could further strengthen the White Zetsu Army, Kabuto assures Tobi that his truth and the latter's Sharingan are less unnecessary than Tobi's Human Path ability in extracting information from their captive. After their forces amassed and modifications completed, Kabuto mobilises his reincarnated shinobi to the main battlefield, except those he assembled into his Surprise Attack and Diversion Platoon. After instructing the latter, Kabuto himself departs, capturing the surveying Anko after a brief battle. When Tobi later demands her death, Kabuto refuses on the grounds that the traces of Orochimaru's chakra in her could help improve his control over the reincarnated shinobi, which was in their best interests.

Complying with Tobi's request to gain his approval, Kabuto demonstrates his technique using Fū as a sacrifice to reincarnate Torune, accompanying it with a step-by-step explanation and a few methods able to halt the flawless technique before leaving an apparently satisfied Tobi. However, Kabuto was unconcerned by his recent admissions, due to the possession of another technique and the prospect of soon learning the secrets of the Sage of Six Paths. A now-isolated Kabuto then started to drain Orochimaru's chakra from Anko, acquiring an incredible increase in power, just as a number of the reincarnated shinobi encounter the Third Division and erases their conscious minds prior to the fight actually beginning.

After seeing how retaining their emotions could cause the reincarnated shinobi's defeat, Kabuto remotely subdues a multitude with the exception of those whose individualities may present an advantage. Directly interfering as the need arises, he later has Gari and Pakura summon the previous generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, to retain the Akatsuki's superiority. However, despite having Haku intercept Kakashi and much to his shock, Zabuza Momochi and his crucial technique are ultimately defeated.

Elsewhere with Mū's discovery on approach to the Fourth Division, Kabuto has him summon the Fourth Kazekage, Second Mizukage and Third Raikage, just as more of his forces engage the First Division. He then leaves them to their own devices, believing that taking their identities could hinder their fighting capabilities. This backfires in the case of Hanzō, who contradicts Kabuto's control before he can intervene, handing victory to the opposing Fifth Division. When Tobi goes out of the way to acquire the sealed Gold and Silver Brothers from the Allied Forces, Kabuto deduces that Tobi wants the Nine-Tails chakra within them yet his realisation that Tobi only has one of the Eight-Tails' tails confuses him on Tobi's intentions.

Later, during the second day of the War, he reacted in shock when Naruto Uzumaki uses his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode to instantly defeat Toroi with a Rasengan. Pleased at the prospect of finding Naruto and Killer B before Tobi, he decides to send Itachi and Nagato after them so he can use the two jinchūriki as further leverage on Tobi. However, to Kabuto's surprise, Itachi uses his Mangekyō Sharingan to summon the crow he had implanted within Naruto to free himself from Kabuto's control and attacks Nagato. After Nagato is sealed, a visibly angered Kabuto laments Nagato's lack of mobility due to his injured legs, and comments that he was unable to see the last attack due to Itachi blinding the Giant Snake-Tailed Chameleon and King of Hell with kunai. He then resigns himself to unleashing his "prized possession", the trump card he used to force Tobi into their partnership.

Using the Third Raikage as diversion to hold off a part of the Fourth Division to make the preparations, Kabuto eradicates the Raikage's personality before setting his sights on the acquisition of Naruto with the Raikage's "strongest spear" as a last resort. Soon after, though Kabuto is relieved that "Mū" was sealed before he could reveal his means of escape to Ōnoki, it took more time before Kabuto can finally get to utilising his ace: Madara Uchiha. Explaining that he knew he survived his battle at the Valley of the End, Kabuto reveals to Madara that he knows the general idea his plan with Tobi while informing the reincarnated ninja of the changes that occurred in his absence. Visibly pleased with having control over the battlefield, Kabuto has Mū help Madara in attacking remainder of the Fourth Division before the five Kage appear. Having Mū evade the Hokage Guard Platoon and Dodai, Kabuto reveals the enhancements he made on Madara using a genetic sample of Hashirama to make him a power near equal to the Sage of Six Paths.

With his location uncovered by Itachi, Kabuto commends him for doing so despite the barrier he had erected, before being told that the source of where his chakra came from could be vividly felt whilst under his control. Reminding Itachi that he couldn't be killed if he sought to stop the technique, Kabuto breaks into maniacal laughter upon sensing Sasuke and declares that his luck had finally changed. Excited that his reward for his part in the war had come to him by choice, he tells Itachi that he'd love to explain the Impure World Reincarnation technique at length, but that he didn't think Sasuke would stay quiet for that long. He then tries to use Sasuke's hatred to tempt him into assisting with Itachi's defeat, however, Sasuke instead chooses to side with his brother. With this, Kabuto prepares for battle stating that it'd be an interesting event.

Closing his hood, he states that he was an introverted person and as such, was unsettled by so many people staring at him, before sending his snakes towards Sasuke and Itachi. Although the brothers are able to fend off the attack, Kabuto uses this opportunity to hide in one of his snakes, where he then discloses the unique abilities that he gained from his experimentation on Sasuke's former team-mates: Karin's healing abilities, a similar ability to Suigetsu's ability to transform into water and Jūgo's ability to absorb natural energy. After revealing that he had both found and trained at the Ryūchi Cave, he narrowly evades Sasuke's attack, stating that his perception skills had been greatly enhanced as well. Emerging from the snake's mouth, he reveals that he had finally surpassed Orochimaru upon becoming a sage and declares that he was no longer an imperfect snake, but instead — a dragon.

Attacking the brothers using the Sage Art: White Rage Technique, Kabuto lowers the brille of his eyes and liquefies his insides, so as to move unimpaired despite the technique's effects. First intending to target Itachi and rewrite his tag, he changes his mind at the last minute and opens his mouth wide, seemingly intent on swallowing Sasuke whole. When Itachi interferes, Kabuto questions if he was able to sense him but Itachi denies this, stating that it was Nagato who had done so previously. Kabuto then remarks on Itachi's skills in understanding and deceiving others in an apparent attempt to lay doubt and mistrust amongst the brothers, before dodging an attack from Sasuke — by retreating to the roof of the cave — and declaring that such a makeshift duo could never defeat him.

Curiously observing the brothers from the cave's ceiling as they formulate a new strategy, Kabuto is soon enclosed by Itachi's assault, allowing Sasuke to pin his snake-tail to the rock. Seemingly moving to use Sasuke's sword to sever his own tail, he instead intercepts and impales Itachi with the blade, just as his liquefied tail begins to slip free. However, when Itachi suddenly disperses into a flock of crows, Kabuto's horn is severed in the ensuing counter after Itachi commandeers Sasuke's sword, but he simply remarks that he had yet to get used to possessing horns.

Amused that such previously hostile brothers could be so coordinated, Kabuto discerns from Sasuke's responses that he must have learnt the truth surrounding Itachi after the latter's death. Noting the contradiction between the siblings aims, he again tries to tempt Sasuke into betraying Itachi given their mutual desires for Konoha's destruction. When Sasuke rejects this, Kabuto recounts his past as a spy and how he was discarded once he began to lose track of his real identity amongst the fabricated ones, gaining nothing in exchange but shame and dishonour. He then reasons that no one understood Sasuke better than him and so, they should stand together as brothers, but Itachi warns of Kabuto's skill in deceit. Declaring the reasons for his own and his technique's invincibility, Kabuto activates his chakra scalpel and charges at the brothers, before clashing with and repelling Itachi.

Declaring that the pair were severely underestimating him, Kabuto uses his Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation technique to manipulate the surrounding cave formations in order to attack them. Incapacitating Itachi — who had instead protected Sasuke — Kabuto retrieves a talisman from his snake, intent on overwriting Itachi's mind. However, before he can do so, he is stopped by Sasuke who creates a ring of Amaterasu around himself and Itachi. Assessing Sasuke's choice of defence, Kabuto affirms that there was no way they could defeat him because he had come closest to the Sage of the Six Paths than anyone in the world.

When Itachi tells Kabuto that he was bound to fail as he did in the past because he didn't know who he truly was, Kabuto states that for his entire life he had been trying to find his real self, in his own way and that from the very beginning he had nothing. Reflecting upon his youth, Kabuto explains that he targeted the brothers in order to assimilate their abilities, as his pawns were his own power. Refusing Itachi's later claims that the Uchiha name was meaningless, he presses on with his attack.

As a manifestation of Sakon emerges from the base of his navel-snake, Kabuto uses the twins' kekkei genkai to access the other DNA within his body and transforms it into Jirōbō, who parts the flame-covered earth before him. Without pause, he creates a manifestation of Kidōmaru and has him ensnare the siblings — who incinerate part of the uncuttable web — before next transforming it into Kimimaro. Kabuto then blocks the area to the brother's rear, effectively caging them in between web and bone, whilst Kimimaro fashions a Demonic Flute from bone. Just as the pair manages to escape, Kabuto uses a manifestation of Tayuya to perform auditory genjutsu, incapacitating the siblings despite their Susanoo, intent on capturing them with a manifestation of Orochimaru in his true form. Confident in his beliefs and victory, he instead begins to shed tears when the brothers fend off the snake. However, after suddenly emerging from Orochimaru's mouth and bisecting Itachi, he tearfully declares that a genius with everything wouldn't understand his desire to find his true self and that no one would stand in his way.

Immediately moving to rewrite Itachi's mind, Kabuto was attacked by Sasuke but managed to catch the thrown sword with his navel-snake, before retreating to the cave's roof in order to evade Sasuke's Susanoo's grasp. Countering Sasuke's fireball using the Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique — which also swept Sasuke away — he was set upon by a regenerated Itachi, who Kabuto chastises for using the same tactic as he had done before to sever his horn. After refuting claims that his destiny was outside of his control, Kabuto noted a sense of déjà vu and so, decides to conclude the fight ahead of eluding the brothers' Susanoo. Eventually, Kabuto realised that he was trapped within the effect of Itachi's Izanami and that he was a prisoner within his own mind. In utter disbelief of being trapped in an endless time loop, and lamenting that his plan was now falling apart, Kabuto openly cursed Itachi as he charged towards him. Outside Kabuto's mind, after his glasses were removed, Itachi proceeded to cast another genjutsu to force Kabuto to reveal the hand seals needed to cancel Impure World Reincarnation and then had him execute the release. As a result, the army Kabuto assembled for Tobi fades away with the exception of Madara, who severed his contract with the summoner to remain.

After Sasuke resolves to revive Orochimaru using Anko's Cursed Seal of Heaven, Jūgo helps Sasuke by absorbing part of Kabuto's flesh in order for the technique to work. After being revived, Orochimaru reabsorbs all of his chakra from Kabuto's body, thus reversing all of his reptilian modifications, returning him to his human form.

Naruto Shippūden 2: Bonds
Kabuto makes a small appearance along with Orochimaru. He tells Sasuke how Konoha had been attacked by the Land of the Sky, at which Sasuke told him he doesn't care. Orochimaru then ordered him to get a scroll and capture Shinnō. In the end, Sasuke failed to bring Shinnō, at which Kabuto was shocked.

Video Games
Kabuto plays a role in the Story Mode of Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, set during the pre-Shippūden filler arcs. He first appears as a shaded figure talking to Bando about his and Kagura's plot to destroy Konoha. When Bando questions Kabuto's motives in the plan, Kabuto simply replies that he has been rather bored lately and is just in it for kicks. Kabuto witnesses Kagura's defeat at the hands of Tsunade and attempts to flee only to be pursued and attacked by Naruto. During the fight Naruto defeats Kabuto with his Rasengan. Accepting defeat, Kabuto escapes, assuring Naruto that their next encounter will end differently.

In Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3, Kabuto and Kabuto with Orochimaru's remains are featured as two different playable characters. In Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations, Kabuto with Orochimaru's remains and a snake cloak is playable.

Trivia

 * "Kabuto" is the last part of the Japanese name for Aconitum, a plant that can either alleviate pain or kill, which seems fitting as he is a medical-nin who uses his medicinal knowledge in battle.
 * A kabuto is the name for a samurai's helmet or headplate. With his former team-mates, Yoroi ("armour") and Tsurugi ("sword"), they form an armour-helmet-sword trio.
 * His surname,, is the short form of the Japanese name of the Medicine/Healer Buddha (long form: Yakushi nyorai), Bhaisajyaguru, and means "medicine user".
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Kabuto's hobby is taking care of his scalpels.
 * Kabuto wants to fight Naruto and Orochimaru.
 * Kabuto in Konohagakure has completed 191 official missions in total: 163 D-rank, 28 C-rank, 0 B-rank, 0 A-rank, 0 S-rank.
 * Kabuto's favourite phrase is . This proverb refers to innumerable changes or infinite variety.
 * His favourite food is jack mackerel grilled with salt and sea bream grilled with salt while his least favourite food is raw meat.
 * When chapter 521 was first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump, Kabuto was illustrated without his glasses after he left Tobi. This is later corrected in the tankōbon version of the manga.
 * Dragons and snakes are interchangeable in various mythologies, such as in the case of Yamata-no-Orochi. In Korean mythology, dragons start out as giant serpents called Imugi before maturing into true dragons. Thus, Kabuto saw himself to have grown from a serpent into a dragon.
 * Kabuto appears alongside Orochimaru in the anime adaption of Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden. In the series, much like Tenten, Kabuto serves as both the comedic foil to Orochimaru and the voice of reason when his master's schemes border on comedic idiocy.

Quotes

 * (After accidentally wounding Nonō) "Why didn't mother… …recognise me…? Why didn't she remember me…? Why? What was the purpose of my life then? What did I receive from her!? My name being one of her sons… …even these glasses. Who is… …this…? This isn't me… It's not the real me…"
 * (To Naruto) "Little kids think life is so easy. That's why they go on and on about their dreams. That's why they never give up."
 * (To Naruto) "You've just thrown it all away! Dreams don't come true when you're dead!"
 * (To Naruto) "Hehehe…, you can't beat me. You have no skills, unlike Sasuke."
 * (To Naruto) "After Orochimaru died, I found myself not knowing who I was, again… Without knowing parent or country, I was taken in by the enemy… Since a young age I've moved about countries and villages as a spy… To me, things like countries, villages… they hold no firm reality in my mind. That was, of course, until I found myself under the wing of Orochimaru… but that presence is gone again. What am I anyway… The pain of not having an identity… I'd think you should understand… Naruto."
 * (To Naruto) "I decided I wished to be like you as well, Naruto, and for that reason… with Lord Orochimaru now integrated into this body, I plan on finding a new "me", one stronger than Lord Orochimaru himself! Finding a new me, that is the lesson you taught me."
 * "Orochimaru is the symbol of reincarnation, and as a goal, a greatness meant to be exceeded by me. He'll continue to live inside me."
 * "Lord Orochimaru immediately tried to acquire that power… but… he didn't yet possess a body that could tolerate it… That's why he couldn't become the sage that I have become!"
 * "I am no longer a snake… sage power has allowed me to shed that skin… and I am a dragon now!!"
 * (To Itachi) "My name is a code… My glasses are a tool… I've been no one… From the start. From the very start… I had nothing."
 * (To Itachi) "A genius that had everything will never understand. …I just want to become myself."