Kabuto Yakushi is Orochimaru's foremost servant. As a child, he was found on a battlefield by a medical officer from Konohagakure, who took Kabuto and raised him as a son.[9] Kabuto began acting as a spy for numerous countries and organizations, including the criminal organization Akatsuki, which ordered him to enter the service of Orochimaru.[10] Kabuto uses his various former affiliations as a means to gather intelligence on Orochimaru's behalf; for instance, he participates in the bi-annual ninja exams as a villager of Konohagakure so as to gather information on his fellow participants.[9] Although Kabuto has professed his utmost loyalty to Orochimaru, Orochimaru has admitted that he cannot determine where Kabuto's true loyalties lie, and has suggested that Kabuto secretly works against him.[11]
Kabuto is highly proficient with medical techniques, being likened in ability to Tsunade: he can regenerate from wounds by reactivating dead cells in order to grow new ones and can form a scalpel with chakra to deal precise blows to his opponents.[12] Orochimaru uses Kabuto's talents in his human experiments, primarily to keep test subjects alive for longer than is normally feasible.[13] During Part I, he infiltrates Konohagakure to prepare for Orochimaru's invasion, and rejoins Orochimaru in Otogakure following the invasion. While aiding Orochimaru in an attempt to get Tsunade's aid, Kabuto battles Naruto Uzumaki and nearly kills him, but suffers a blow from his Rasengan, which he manages to regenerate from, but is left unable to continue fighting. During the events of Part II/Shippuden, Kabuto attempts to capture the Three-Tails for Orochimaru to use, with Naruto once more meddling in his affairs. Soon after returning to base and learning that Orochimaru is disposed of by Sasuke, Kabuto integrates Orochimaru's remains into his body in order to become powerful enough to not serve anyone again. Orochimaru's remains have gradually begun to take over his body, but Kabuto expresses desire to kill Sasuke Uchiha, and afterwards settle things with Naruto once he has learned to control the remains. [14] In the Japanese anime, Kabuto's seiyū is Nobutoshi Canna,[15] and his English voice actor is Henry Dittman.[16]
