Dosu, Zaku, and Kin: The Sound Trio

Three genin sent to kill Sasuke — but their real mission lay elsewhere. Dosu, Zaku, and Kin make up the Otogakure team at the Chunin Exams. None of the three will survive it, and their end says a great deal about the value Orochimaru placed on his agents.

A mission that was a test

Officially, these three genin are ordered to kill Sasuke during the second stage, in the Forest of Death.

In reality, they serve as a test: Orochimaru wants to gauge the abilities of the one he covets as a future vessel. Three lives spent on an evaluation.

Dosu and his sound gauntlet

Dosu Kinuta wears on his forearm a perforated metal gauntlet that amplifies the sound of the slightest movement.

His weapon does not strike the body but the inner ear: the vibrations destroy the opponent's balance, leaving him nauseous and unable to stay on his feet — an attack that dodging does nothing against.

Zaku and his air tubes

Zaku Abumi has hollow tubes implanted in his arms, opening into his palms, which fire a mix of pressurized air and ultrasound metered by chakra.

That very modification is what will bring him down: when Shino has his insects plug the tubes, the pressure can no longer escape and surges back into his arms. Earlier, Sasuke had already dislocated both of his arms in the Forest of Death.

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Kin and her needles

Kin Tsuchi is the only one of the trio without a body modification. Her technique consists of throwing at the same time senbon fitted with bells and silent senbon.

The opponent reacts only to the noise — and gets hit by the needles he cannot hear. A note on the medium: the sound illusions often credited to her belong to the anime; in the manga, her weapon is the trick of the bells.

Who kills whom, and in what order

Dosu dies first. During the month between the preliminaries and the finals, he tries to eliminate Gaara — Sasuke's scheduled first opponent — at night. Gaara kills him almost instantly.

Kin and Zaku die later, during the Konoha Crush, and in a chilling way: the Edo Tensei (Reanimation Jutsu) demands one living human sacrifice per soul summoned. Orochimaru uses them as vessels to bring back the first two Hokage.

Summary Table

FAQ

• Who sends Dosu, Zaku, and Kin to the Chunin Exams, and what is their real mission?
  Orochimaru. Officially, these three Otogakure genin are ordered to kill Sasuke during the second stage, in the Forest of Death. In reality, they serve as a test: Orochimaru wants to gauge the abilities of the one he covets as a future vessel.
• Who kills whom, exactly, and in what order?
  Dosu dies first: during the month between the preliminaries and the finals, he tries to eliminate Gaara at night, and Gaara kills him almost instantly. Kin and Zaku die later, during the Konoha Crush, sacrificed by Orochimaru.
• Does Kin really use sound illusions?
  In the anime, yes; in the manga, no. Her canon technique consists of throwing at the same time senbon fitted with bells and silent senbon, so that the opponent reacts only to the noise and gets hit by the needles he cannot hear.
• Does Zaku really lose his arms against Shino?
  His arms explode from the inside: Shino had his insects plug the tubes implanted in his arms, so the pressure can no longer escape and surges back. The extent of the damage differs between the manga and the anime, however. Earlier, Sasuke had already dislocated both of his arms in the Forest of Death.
• Does Orochimaru kill Kin and Zaku himself?
  He is the direct cause, but there is no execution shown on screen. The Edo Tensei demands one living human sacrifice per soul summoned: Orochimaru uses Kin and Zaku as vessels to bring back the Hokage, and that is the moment the two genin die.

In summary

Dosu, Zaku, and Kin are the first to reveal what Orochimaru does with his men: tools, right down to their deaths. Sent to test an opponent they could not beat, then recycled into sacrifices for a forbidden technique — their path says everything about the master they served.