As a long-running anime with multiple arcs and complex storylines, Naruto has featured an excellent cast of iconic characters. In particular, the villains of the series are notorious for the bad things they've done while also serving as characters whom fans love to hate.

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One of the most popular villains, Orochimaru, is no doubt an intriguing character who's done a lot of terrible things in his time as the bad guy. At the same time, he has also shown at times that he might not be as bad as everyone thinks. Whether or not he should be forgiven is up for debate.

10 Deserved: Was Once A Hero Of Konohagakure

Back in the day before Orochimaru was a villain, he was a ninja who was born and raised in Konohagakure. There, he was trained alongside Jiraiya and Tsunade by the Third Hokage.

For their strength and efforts in the Second Shinobi War, the Third Hokage's three disciples became known as the Legendary Three Ninja. Without Orochimaru on their side, who knows what the fate of the village would have been.

9 Didn't: Performed Unethical Experiments

One of the biggest concerns around Orochimaru was his love for experimentation and lack of compassion. He may be a highly intelligent character, but his unethical experiments required both human test subjects and ruthlessness.

To complete his experiments, Orochimaru would often kidnap other shinobi and use them as test subjects without their consent. At the expense of others, he was able to create the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique.

8 Deserved: Sided With The Allied Forces

Despite being one of the reoccurring villains throughout the series, Orochimaru had a change of heart when it mattered most. During the Fourth Shinobi War, he was revived by Sasuke in order to get the truth about Itachi and Konohagakure.

Instead of joining the villains of the war or attempting to steal Sasuke's body as one would expect, Orochimaru chose to do neither. He decided to help Sasuke and follow whatever he had in mind.

7 Didn't: Invalid Motive

Orochimaru smirking with one eye wider than the other

Every villain has a motive one way or another. While the likes of Pain and Madara sought to make the world a better place through extreme violence, Orochimaru had other plans. With his intelligence and unethical experiments, Orochimaru hoped to someday achieve immortality.

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For a goal as selfish as immortality, most would argue that it doesn't justify kidnapping people to use and sacrifice as his test subjects. Only someone with a twisted mind like Orochimaru would be okay with something so inhumane.

6 Deserved: Saved Tsunade

Orochimaru and Tsunade Naruto

Orochimaru and Tsunade had a long history together as former teammates and allies in the Second Shinobi War. After Orochimaru defected from the village, he met Tsunade again to ask her to heal his hands in exchange for reviving her fallen loved ones. Tsunade ultimately declined.

Though they never fully made amends, Orochimaru's change of heart in the Fourth Shinobi War saved Tsunade. After being brutally beaten by Madara, Tsunade was found by Orochimaru who lent a hand, ordering Karin and Suigetsu to help heal her.

5 Didn't: Assassinated The Third Hokage

One of the biggest moments of the Naruto series came when Orochimaru infiltrated the Chunin Exam finals. During Sasuke's match against Gaara, Orochimaru took the opportunity to make a bold move against the Third Hokage.

Amidst the chaos of Gaara's rampage, Orochimaru performed his Impure World Reincarnation to summon the first two Hokages. After an intense battle, the Third Hokage was ultimately killed by his former disciple.

4 Deserved: Resurrected The Dead Hokages In The War

Four Hokage vs Ten Tails in Naruto

After being revived through Anko's cursed seal during the Fourth Shinobi War, Orochimaru was asked by Sasuke to give him answers about the truth behind Konohagakure and the Uchiha Clan. Orochimaru then resurrected the four dead Hokage to share their side of the story.

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From this gesture, Sasuke was able to find closure in what he thought he knew. He could finally let go of his desire for revenge, and that would've been harder to do without Orochimaru's handy Impure World Reincarnation technique.

3 Didn't: Lured Sasuke Down The Wrong Path

Orochimaru bites Sasuke's neck in Naruto.

Sasuke had already wanted revenge on his brother since the beginning of the series, but Orochimaru only made things worse by giving him a cursed seal.

The cursed seal gave Sasuke a taste of power that he couldn't refuse, successfully convincing him to seek out even more power by joining Orochimaru and abandoning the village. If not for Orochimaru, Sasuke might have opted to stay in the village rather than defect altogether.

2 Deserved: Everyone Deserves A Second Chance

Orochimaru has certainly done some horrible things to other people, but it's also not impossible for him to learn from his mistakes and become a better person. As seen in the Fourth Shinobi War, Orochimaru chose to aid the Allied Forces rather than fight them.

In addition, since the war, Orochimaru seemed to have toned it down and laid low for the time being. He even has a son, Mitsuki, whom he entrusted to Konohagakure.

1 Didn't: Responsible For Too Many Deaths

Through Orochimaru's search for immortality, he had to get his hands dirty. Whether he was kidnapping shinobi, using them for his experiments, or killing anyone who stood in his way, it was clear that Orochimaru didn't mind getting blood on his hands. For that reason alone, it's difficult to justify why someone like him would be worthy of redemption.

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