I see a lot of people saying they don't understand why orochimaru was pardoned of their crimes at the end of naruto but when you look at the world as a whole, by the standards of the shinobi world they aren't actually that bad.
Now saying this is not justifying their actions but more contextualizing them within the narrative itself and how there is kind of a double standard when it come so them.
Often people will site the fact they have experimented on children while ignoring the fact that the hidden villages do that regularly. Kirigakure experiments on Rin to make her basically a jinchuuriki bomb to set on konoha. The whole process of turning children into jinchuuriki can also be considered that. As well as the incident commonly referred to was following danzo orders, a high up official for konoha. Another thing to consider, tobirama, a hokage, created several forbidden jutsu, in particular the reanimation jutsu. No doubt that took considerable amounts of experimentation to even come up with the concept especially when you consider the reanimated shinobi need a living host.
Another point people will bring up is how they groom children (not for sexual purposes I’m honestly kind of tired of that misconception) to be human sacrifices towards furthering their own life but also to use as weapons. They are all things hidden villages do actively. Children are sent to war. You see what team minato goes through, how these children around 10-12 years old are on the front lines. Once again what Rin goes through is a good example of that. Ultimately these wars are often a power struggle in service of the kages.
Another thing to consider is when and how they grew up. No doubt they would have been very young when the first ninja war occurred. At the same time as all of that, they lost their parents. They didn’t have the parental guidance that Jiraya and Tsunade had. The figure in their life closest to being even remotely parental is Hiruzen, the man teaching them to become a human weapon. That is the whole basis of their childhood. All they knew growing up was being a shinobi.
In addition to that, they grew up when Tobirama was the hokage and while we didn’t see how his rule necessarily went, I believe there’s enough context in the series itself to know how it went. No doubt it was much stricter, no doubt the brutal shinobi code was forced down kids throats way more then it was in naruto era. They are taught from a very young age that life is expendable, that you cannot show weakness, that power is everything while also constantly being scared by death. From what we know the sannin are the only shinobi from konoha during that era still alive. They no doubt watch classmates, mentors, allies die in horrible violent ways during the wars, it traumatised them to the point of being so afraid of death that they will do anything to escape it. This all contributes to their general apathy for those around them.
Judging by how konoha treats anyone vaguely out of the norm in naruto era (take for example how hinata is bullied for being shy and having anxiety by her peers in flashbacks) while also considering the harsher era they grew up in they more then likely suffered greatly because of those around them. They were always different. From the way they spoke, the fact that they are so explicitly queer and most significantly how they look. There is not a single person (besides the women in ryuuchi cave in boruto but that will tie into a theory I have that also contextualizes why they wanted to destroy konoha but I’ll detail in another post later on, regardless I doubt the general konoha population even knows ryuchi cave exists let alone its inhabitants. Anyway that tangent is over) that looks like them. They're no doubt othered and ostracized for things they couldn't change. I imagine they didn't have any friends outside of their team. They were isolated. That solitude no doubt contributed to how jaded they were, their spite for the villages and general anger you see reflected in naruto era. They were so disconnected that it fostered hatred for those that isolated them. Why would they care about those who treated them like a freak?
All of this shaped them into who they are. They are a product of their environment, an environment that consistently committed the very crimes they did. It's why up until the 4th ninja war their world view and perception of life itself is the way it is. All of their crimes are ultimately what they were used to. If anything they are on par with the world around them.
The thing with orochimaru is, a lot of what lies beneath the surface with them is subtext which is why I don't think a lot of people register this kind of stuff. There are a few things they say throughout both naruto and boruto that I think illustrate some of my points.
I think these all serve to further what I'm trying to get across. The emphasis in the first manga cap of them living in an era of conflict and of course their power above all else. The second to show their rejection of villages and how they repress individuality both socially and through the way shinobi are taught to feel. The third with their own struggle with identity likely from both how they grew up, how different they were to those around them physically and mentally (I personally believe they are neurodivergent coded and how that contributes) and of course their struggle with gender that we later see how the recognise that part of themselves in boruto. And of course the last of the caps I think illustrates how they grew up and then lived brought about their darkness. There's a particular line that stuck with me when I was watching the dub (I struggle with keeping up with subtitles so I prefer the dub) where they say they want mitsuki to see the light they never could which of course points to their life and upbringing shaping them to be the way they were.
I think when it comes to speaking about orochimaru there is a lot more nuance that needs to be discussed rather then simply "they did bad things, they are evil" because ultimately the narrative itself is opposing them by the nature of it being centered around konoha and of course by extension the systems of the hidden villages. Naturally it is going to show those villages in a better light then someone who actively goes against those systems but unlike the main akatsuki doesn’t have the luxury of their backstory being shown in full and instead be more something you have to read between the lines.
The way I see things it’s exemplified by considering their stance in the 4th ninja war and boruto that they more occupy a position of neutrality. They aren’t evil, they certainly aren’t good and when you consider the world around them that neutrality is even more obvious. I do also believe that if they didn’t go through all they did and lived in an era of peace like in boruto, they would have been exactly like Mitsuki.
Anywaaaay these are thoughts I’ve had building up for a while. It may not be constructed the best, I’ve never really been good at putting my thoughts to words, just neurodivergent things I guess. But like I think about Orochimaru a lot and considering the fanfic I’m writing analysing their circumstances is something I find a lot of entertainment in. In the end I just want people to understand them more as a character rather then having such surface level takes (thanks tiktok and twt for never having any nuance and leading me to my long winded rambles.
To all that get this far, Thank you for indulging my little orochimaru hyperfixation. It’s greatly appreciated 💖 also sorry for the shitty formatting I did this on mobile.
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