L'équipe Taka (Hebi) : l'équipe de Sasuke

Team Taka (Hebi): Sasuke's Squad

1409 words | Reading time: 8 min

TeamSasukeTaka

Recruiting three former test subjects to kill his brother: Sasuke's plan. After Orochimaru's fall, he frees Suigetsu from a tank, picks up Karin at the Southern Hideout and Jugo at the Northern Hideout: this is Hebi, the Snake. Itachi's death and Tobi's revelations turn the group into Taka, the Hawk, and change its goal. Every member is covered — including Karin, an Uzumaki and former kunoichi of Kusagakure — up to the alliance with the Akatsuki.

A team built from scratch for a single goal: revenge. After leaving Orochimaru, Sasuke recruits three former test subjects to hunt down his brother. Meet Hebi, which became Taka.

Contents

Hebi, the Team Born to Kill Itachi

The team's original name is Hebi (蛇, “Snake”). Sasuke forms it after overturning Orochimaru's attempt at possession and absorbing the Sannin.

Its goal is singular: to find and kill his brother, Itachi — and to remove anyone who would try to step into that duel. This is not about Konoha yet, only a family matter.

Four ninja standing side by side outdoors: a young woman with red hair and glasses, a man with orange hair, a dark-haired boy in an open white shirt in the center, a white-haired character.
The full team under its original name: Sasuke in the center, surrounded by the three recruits drawn from Orochimaru's hideouts.

From Hebi to Taka: The Renaming

Everything changes after Itachi's death and Tobi's revelations about Konoha's role in the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Sasuke then renames his team Taka (鷹, “Hawk”).

The goal changes completely: from hunting Itachi, it becomes the destruction of Konoha. The name change marks that shift — Hebi was after one man, Taka targets an entire village.

Suigetsu, the Swordsman

The first recruit, Suigetsu Hozuki is freed from a water tank in one of Orochimaru's hideouts. A swordsman of the Hozuki clan with a body he can liquefy, he dreams of gathering the blades of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

He does in fact get his hands on the Executioner's Blade of Zabuza, and he also joins the team hoping to run into Kisame to seize Samehada.

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A white-haired ninja, a broad blade raised behind him, grabs at point-blank range a man with a bluish face wearing a black cloak with red clouds.
Suigetsu facing Kisame: running into Samehada's wielder is one of his reasons for following Sasuke.

Karin, the Uzumaki Sensor

Recruited while she was guarding the Southern Hideout, Karin is an Uzumaki and a former kunoichi of Kusagakure. An outstanding sensor, she also heals her allies: they bite her to heal their wounds thanks to her chakra.

During the Fourth Great Ninja War, she even awakens her own version of the clan's chakra chains. One detail clears up an old misunderstanding: she is not the mother of Sarada — the famous DNA test came from an umbilical cord she had kept.

A forearm held out toward the camera, dotted with circular bite marks, in front of the see-through silhouette of a dark-haired ninja with a strained face.
Healing by bite: the wounded ally draws on Karin's chakra, and their arm keeps the mark.

Jugo, the Origin of the Curse Mark

Recruited at the Northern Hideout, Jugo is much more than an unstable giant. He is the biological origin of the Curse Mark: Orochimaru created these marks by isolating an enzyme from his bodily fluids.

Prone to fits of murderous rage, Jugo could only be calmed by Kimimaro, then by Sasuke. His presence in the team is as much a strength as a permanent danger.

An orange-haired man, half his face darkened and his jaw open, his arms transformed into thick, clawed limbs.
The Curse Mark transformation pushed to its second stage: with Jugo, it comes from no applied mark, his body is the source.

Taka and the Akatsuki

Once formed, Taka aligns itself with the Akatsuki through Tobi. Its first mission: capture the jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, Killer Bee.

The operation turns into a fiasco: Bee fakes his capture with a substitution, leaving nothing in their hands but a transformed tentacle. Nothing to do, by the way, with Kakashi's Team 7 — Taka is Sasuke's doing alone.

Three ninja in black cloaks scattered with red clouds stand in front of a tall metal fence, a fourth one in the distance.
Affiliated with the Akatsuki through Tobi, the team wears its cloak for the hunt for the Eight-Tails jinchuriki.

Summary Table

Aspect Details
Original name (phase 1) Hebi (蛇, “Snake”) — formed after Orochimaru's fall; goal = find and kill Itachi.
New name (phase 2) Taka (鷹, “Hawk”) — after Itachi's death and Tobi's revelations; goal = destroy Konoha.
Members & recruitment Sasuke (leader); Suigetsu (freed from a tank, 1st), Karin (Southern Hideout), Jugo (Northern Hideout). Order: Suigetsu → Karin → Jugo.
Karin Uzumaki, former kunoichi of Kusagakure; sensor and healer (by bite); awakens her variant of the chakra chains; NOT Sarada's mother.
Jugo & Akatsuki Biological origin of the Curse Mark; rage calmed by Kimimaro, then Sasuke. Taka aligns with the Akatsuki: the capture of Killer Bee fails.

FAQ

  • Is the original name of Sasuke's team Hebi or Taka?
    Hebi (蛇, “Snake”). Sasuke forms it after overturning Orochimaru's attempt at possession and absorbing him, with the goal of finding and killing Itachi. It is only renamed Taka (鷹, “Hawk”) after Itachi's death and Tobi's revelations, with a new goal: to destroy Konoha.
  • Who are the members and how does Sasuke recruit them?
    Four in total: Sasuke (leader), Suigetsu Hozuki (the first to be freed, from a water tank), Karin (guardian of the Southern Hideout) and Jugo (Northern Hideout). Sasuke goes to get each of them personally, in the order Suigetsu → Karin → Jugo.
  • Is Karin really an Uzumaki, and Sarada's mother?
    Yes for the Uzumaki part: a sensor and a healer, she awakens her own version of the clan's chakra chains. No for Sarada: she acted as midwife at Sakura's delivery and kept Sarada's umbilical cord. The DNA test showed 100% because a cord contains only the child's DNA. The mother really is Sakura.
  • How is Jugo linked to the Curse Mark?
    He is its biological origin. Orochimaru created the Curse Marks by isolating an enzyme from Jugo's bodily fluids and combining it with his senjutsu chakra. His fits of murderous rage could only be calmed by Kimimaro, then by Sasuke.
  • Is Taka the same thing as Team 7?
    No. Team 7 is Kakashi's genin team (Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke). Hebi/Taka is a separate team created by Sasuke alone, which then aligns with the Akatsuki. Its first mission — to capture Killer Bee — is a failure, since Bee faked his capture.

In summary

Hebi and Taka are the same team and two different Sasukes: the one who wanted to avenge his brother, then the one who wanted to burn down the village that had condemned him. Three of Orochimaru's former test subjects for a single man eaten away by hatred.

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