Jūgo

Jūgo is a shinobi from an unknown clan, who was being held at Orochimaru's Northern Hideout which was also where most of Orochimaru's secret human research was conducted. Jūgo was said to have gone to Orochimaru of his own free will, hoping that Orochimaru would cure him of his rages. He was later recruited as a member of Sasuke Uchiha's group Taka, which was initially called "Hebi" at the time of its creation An outcast, Jūgo's rage made him a danger to anyone around him, as they stood little chance of survival should he lose his temper. At one point, he became so angry that he destroyed a village and all of its inhabitants. This has caused others to label him as the "Scales", where anything could tip the balance. Cursing his existence, he took to secluding himself in caves, hoping to bring no one any harm. This lasted until he met Kimimaro, who was himself the last remnant of the Kaguya clan. Following Kimimaro, Jūgo allowed himself to be one of Orochimaru's test subjects in the hopes that he could be cured of his fits of rage.

However, amazed by Jūgo's ability to absorb natural energy to undergo various drastic physical alterations at the cost of mental state, Orochimaru's attempts to discover the origin of his clan's ability to use such power led him to the Ryūchi Cave, where he learned Sage Mode. But unable to use Sage Mode properly, Orochimaru instead devised the cursed seals by combining his Senjutsu chakra into the mutative enzymes he isolated from Jūgo's blood. As Orochimaru was nearing time to swap vessels, Kimimaro took it upon himself to recover Sasuke Uchiha. Prior to leaving, Jūgo was visited by Kimimaro who explained the situation to him. Despite Jūgo's concerns for Kimimaro's health, he assured him that Sasuke is his legacy while thanking Jūgo for their friendship. While Jūgo initially appeared quite bloodthirsty, Karin noted that this was only common behaviour when he was enraged; Jūgo himself didn't want to kill anyone and in reality he is a very gentle person. His fits of rage are random and uncontrollable, and thus are the reason why he willingly chooses to remain confined where he won't bring harm to anyone. However, he is willing to unleash his psychotic side in battle, as it enhances his fighting capabilities. The only reason he agreed to go with Sasuke is because he views Sasuke as the only person capable of preventing him from killing people while enraged, by the means of killer intent or the Sharingan. He thinks of Sasuke as his "cage". Before Sasuke, it was Kimimaro who kept Jūgo in check, and as Kimimaro was the only person Jūgo came into any contact with, the two grew close. After hearing that Kimimaro sacrificed his life to deliver Sasuke to Orochimaru, Jūgo believes that Kimimaro's spirit continues to live on in Sasuke, and thus is completely loyal to him, even after Taka had been disbanded, and Sasuke left them in the Land of Iron, Jūgo made his way back to Sasuke and matter-of-factly noted when asked, that his place was beside Sasuke as his shield. Suigetsu couldn't stand Jūgo at first, and commented that one of the reasons he had to retrieve the Kubikiribōchō was because of him. Karin noted that Jūgo is mentally unstable, a view confirmed when Jūgo was muttering to himself over whom he would kill next, which he would determine by gender. While discussing Sasuke Uchiha's team with the other members of Akatsuki, Pain referred to Jūgo as Jūgo of the Scales, Tenbin no Jūgo, Viz: Bipolar Jūgo), referencing his dual personality. According to the third databook, he is cowardly (in his normal state) and violent (when natural energy overtakes him). He has also been described as one who "does things at his own pace".

Jūgo is a tall, muscular young man who has spiky orange hair, red-orange eyes and a usually calm disposition. However, when affected by his murderous side, his skin turns dark, his irides becomes a pale yellow colour while his sclerae turns black, and he grows various weapons and appendages to suit his battle combat situation, as well as having a deranged look. Jūgo has a bracket-shaped symbol on his left palm. As a child, he wore a yellow shirt with blue shorts. When Jūgo was first introduced, he wore a pale blue shirt and pale green shorts. Later when Tamaki tried to find him some clothes, he wore black pants, a purple curtain he wore as a cape (Tamaki not able to find a shirt big enough for him), and brown sandals. After Taka had allied with Akatsuki, Jūgo was shown wearing an Akatsuki robe. Years later while working for Orochimaru, he developed a stronger jawline and dons his hair in an up-do while keeping the sides short. Attire-wise he wears a ragged, dark-coloured cloak. Jūgo abilities undoubtedly makes him a dangerous individual, enough to gain the interest of other powerful ninja such as Orochimaru and Sasuke Uchiha at separate times. After adapting their DNA and abilities, Kabuto also indirectly praised Jūgo when noting the quality of Sasuke's former team. Jūgo can also understand and communicate with animals, such as birds, and request them to help him accomplish tasks, such as acting as scouts or gathering information they have already witnessed. This information is shared in a great speed, allowing Jūgo to know about things that happened in a far away distance. Jūgo can also transfer his chakra onto others, as seen when he infused Sasuke's Susanoo with senjutsu chakra. Like other members of his clan, Jūgo possesses the ability known as Sage Transformation which allows him to use the natural energy he absorbs to transform his body at will. He can change what form he takes almost instantly and can isolate the transformation to specific parts of his body. Also due to this, Jūgo's possesses massive reserves of powerful chakra. However, because he absorbs natural energy constantly, he and his clansmen are prey to sporadic and involuntary surges of rage. As a result, Jūgo has changed his body into a number of forms. At his début, he changed his left arm into a piston-like ram to increase his punching power, and then altered it into a massive axe blade to counter Suigetsu's sword. While Taka was fighting Killer B, Jūgo formed a set of arm-boosters to both throw his team-mates a large distance and to produce stronger punches. He also created another set of boosters on his back to increase his speed in order to avoid a Lightning Release: Lariat at the last second from a Version 1 Killer B. Jūgo is also capable of extending his arms to great lengths to catch targets several feet away from him. Aside from his shape-shifting powers, Jūgo's physical abilities, such as his speed, strength, endurance, resiliency, and durability are also enhanced in proportion to the level of the transformation and intake of natural energy. His transformations grew stronger following the years after the war. If he fully transforms, Jūgo gains a massive boost in overall ability but loses his mind to his murderous side, signified by a change in his voice. When transforming, Jūgo's skin turns dark and his sclera turn black. He also gains a black stripe running from the middle of his forehead and down the bridge of his nose. In this full form, Jūgo is incredibly resilient and has significant reflexes, being able to react to and take a punch from the lightning enhanced Fourth Raikage that penetrated both his arm and chest, yet still managing to retaliate almost immediately after with ease, despite the speed and power of the attack and injury he had sustained. In this form, he turned his arm into a shield to defend himself and created Multiple Lotus Nonself Connected Cannons on his back that were capable of devastating the area. Jūgo's clan abilities serve as the origin of Orochimaru's Juinjutsu that he brands his various followers with, which were created using Jūgo's own bodily fluids that were then injected into the intended individual. As such, he is able to use its power to its full extent without it eroding his body. Unlike those who have been given a cursed seal, Jūgo is not limited to one transformation, and can enter whatever form is best for the situation. Jūgo considers those who have received one of Orochimaru's cursed seals to be one of his "copies" and, since they have proven compatible with his own DNA, he is able to give them some of his flesh to heal their injuries. This has the side effect of shrinking him and giving him an overall younger appearance. He can similarly consume others to heal his own injuries and return him to his original 'adult' form, though they do not need to be cursed seal recipients. Jūgo can use Earth, Water, and Wind Release nature transformations, along with Yang Release.