Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-25101952-20140705052504/@comment-24938412-20140705074903

Orochimaru seems like a pretty independent guy. His ideology of fringe experimentation was based more in science and cold rationalism. So in that respect, I couldn't see him subjecting himself to a barbaric religion like Hidan.

Plus, Orochimaru's main purpose for becoming immortal was not immortality in and of itself, but so that he could have all eternity to learn every technique in existence and be the most powerful shinobi. (I suspect there's a deeper, more complex motive but it's not so obvious) Hidan on the othrr hand just used his immortality to fuel his sadistic and homocidal tendencies. He kind of reminds me of the brutal Kaguya clan. Oro is too intelligent for that.

Curiously, in the third Shippudem movie: Inheritors of the Will of Fire, there is some allusion to Oro's quest. The young Sannin under Hiruzen are ordered to track down their comrade Hiruko. Now Hiruko considered himself weak, so he dove into taboo research in order to become strong and immortal (later succeeding via his Chimera Technique). The 3 Sannin found him in the midst of his research, but he ran off. It's implied the Sannin's encounter in the lab gave Orochimaru the inspiration to pursue his own goal through similar science and experimentation. The movies may be outside canon storyline, but it was interesting to see the parallels.