Наруто узумаки на английском как пишется

Naruto Uzumaki (Japanese: うずまき ナルト, Hepburn: Uzumaki Naruto) () is the titular protagonist of the manga Naruto, created by Masashi Kishimoto. As the series progresses, he is a young ninja from the fictional village of Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf Village). The villagers ridicule and ostracize Naruto on account of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox—a malevolent creature that attacked Konohagakure—that was sealed away in Naruto’s body. Despite this, he aspires to become his village’s leader, the Hokage, in order to receive their approval. His carefree, optimistic, and boisterous personality enables him to befriend other Konohagakure ninja, as well as ninja from other villages. Naruto appears in the series’ films and in other media related to the franchise, including video games and original video animations (OVA), as well as the sequel Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, where he is the Hokage, and his son, Boruto Uzumaki, is the protagonist.

Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto character
From left to right: Part I, Boruto franchise, and Part II designs by Masashi Kishimoto
First appearance	Naruto chapter 1: Uzumaki Naruto! (1999)
Created by	Masashi Kishimoto
Voiced by	Japanese Junko Takeuchi English Maile Flanagan
In-universe information
Notable relatives	Minato Namikaze (father, deceased) Kushina Uzumaki (mother, deceased) Jiraiya (godfather, deceased) Hinata Hyuga (wife) Boruto Uzumaki (son) Himawari Uzumaki (daughter) Kawaki (adoptive son) Hanabi Hyuga (sister-in-law) Hizashi Hyuga (uncle-in-law, deceased) Hiashi Hyuga (father-in-law) Neji Hyuga (cousin-in-law, deceased)
Ninja rank	Genin in Part I and Part II, Hokage in Epilogue and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Ninja team	Team 7/Team Kakashi

When creating Naruto for the initial part of the series, Kishimoto kept the character «simple and stupid», while giving him many attributes of an ideal hero. Kishimoto gave Naruto a dark side by adding tragedy to the character’s past. He has revised Naruto’s image many times, providing the character with different clothes intended to appeal to Western audiences and to make him easier to illustrate. Kishimoto changed his design for Part II of the storyline, which starts two-and-a-half years after Part I. Naruto is voiced by Junko Takeuchi in the original animated series and Maile Flanagan in the English adaptations.

Merchandise based on Naruto includes figurines and keychains. Naruto’s character development has been praised by anime and manga publications and has drawn scholarly attention. Although some initially saw him as a typical manga and anime protagonist comparable to those in other shōnen manga, others have praised his personality and character development as he avoids stereotypes typically seen in similar media. The character has also been the subject of researches in literature, making him stand out in fiction based on his traits and growth.

Creation and conception

Original concept and influences

Original sketch for Naruto in Kishimoto’s one-shot, Naruto (1997), which went through several alterations for the manga series due to its amount of detail

During the 1990s, new manga author Masashi Kishimoto sought to write a one-shot chapter that would feature Naruto as a chef, but this version never made it to print. Kishimoto originally wanted to make Naruto a child who could transform into a fox, so he created a one-shot of Naruto for the summer 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump magazine based on the idea.^[1] When comparing both the Naruto one-shot and his other work, Karakuri, Kishimoto realized that former’s title character was more appealing than the lead of Karakuri. Kishimoto reflects Naruto’s «honest» smile was well received in contrast to the sly look the main character from Karakuri had. Following the success of another one-shot, Mario, Kishimoto started working on the Naruto series where he wanted to reuse the title character from his earlier one-shot. Kishimoto wrote the first two chapters to show his appeal to the readers and then focus on the other protagonists despite difficulties. Following the second chapter, Kishimoto introduced the other protagonists but as bad relationships including with Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto’s constant reject crushes at Sakura Haruno. The manga story was planned to show Naruto’s coming-of-age through multiple fights and looked forward to seeing the conclusion.^[2]

For the serialized version, Kishimoto incorporated traits he felt made an ideal hero in the creation of Naruto: a straightforward way of thinking, a mischievous side, and attributes possessed by Goku from the Dragon Ball franchise. Aiming to keep Naruto «simple and stupid»,^[3] Although Goku was a major influence to Naruto, Kishimoto was more attracted by Dragon Ball character Krillin as he comes across as more human than the protagonist for displaying flaws that made the readers easier to accept in a similar fashion to his mentor Iruka Umino.^[4] Kishimoto avoided modeling him after anyone in particular, instead conceiving of him as naïve with a dark side resulting from his harsh past. Despite this, he is always optimistic, a trait Kishimoto said makes this character unique.^[3] By and large, Naruto’s personality is childish; the creator tried to convey this trait in his illustrations. Kishimoto notes as an example of this the cover of volume 10, where Kishimoto depicts Naruto mimicking a turtle as a child might do.^[5] Naruto was Kishimoto’s first published manga, and he focused on making Naruto’s facial expressions consistent in difficult situations.^[6] He commented: «It’s rather awkward to talk about what makes Naruto appealing to audiences, but I think his being a knucklehead gives him an appeal.» He believed it was Naruto’s losses that made readers identify with him, although he wanted Naruto not to feel defeat again, which was his primary aim when writing the series.^[7] Kishimoto has said that Naruto’s burning desire to be a ninja was based on his own ambition to succeed as a manga artist.^[8] As the series went on, Kishimtoto wrote the older incarnations of Naruto to be naive idealists due to how Naruto was written to continuously avoid repeating previous mistakes. However, at the same Kishimoto wrote him as a sign of hope, something important in regard to the series’ audience.^[9]

In the original Japanese versions of Naruto, Naruto often ends his sentences with the addendum «-ttebayo» (which achieves an effect similar to ending a sentence with «you know?» in English). Kishimoto wanted to give Naruto a childlike catchphrase, and «dattebayo» came to mind; he believed that the phrase complements Naruto’s character, and served as a verbal tic that portrayed him in a brattish manner.^[10] Throughout the first episodes of the English dub version, «dattebayo» and «-ttebayo» were replaced with the phrase «Believe it!», both to mirror the effect, and to match the character’s lip movements, although later in the English dub Naruto stopped saying «Believe it» and the phrase was replaced with «You Know?».^[11]

Development

After fans likened Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura to the three main characters from Harry Potter fantasy books, Kishimoto noted that both trios began their careers in a classroom, though he added that the similarity was unintentional.^[8] During the series’ publication, Kishimoto married and had children. This influenced how he viewed Naruto’s character. Naruto met his parents, and learned of their sacrifices in order to help him to control the Fox inside him so that he could protect their world. As a result, Naruto appreciated his life more and learned that his parents loved him, something the author wanted the character to feel based on his own experience as a father.^[12] In the first chapters of the series, Kishimoto did not conceive the idea that Naruto would be the son of Minato Namikaze. However, as time passed on, the manga author made touches to Minato’s face shown in the Hokage Mountain in Konoha to make them more similar to Naruto with an emphasis on their spiky hairs. However, in order to reduce too many similarities, Kushina Uzumaki’s character was made to look like Naruto’s face.^[13]

Out of all the student-teacher relationships Kishimoto has created in the Naruto series, the one between Naruto and Jiraiya is his favorite.^[14] Right before Jiraiya’s death in his fight against Pain in his last moments, he discovers the origin of Pain’s multiple bodies and uses his last forces to send that message as a piece of advice to Naruto so that Naruto could defeat him in his place.^[1] This arc was the most difficult one to write; he felt this because Naruto truly forgave his enemy. Instead of having the protagonist kill the enemy he hates as happens in other series, Kishimoto found the idea of the two characters interacting and settling their differences more challenging.^[15] This had a major impact on the writer, and he decided to have Naruto forgive Sasuke during their final fight in a similar manner as he interacted with Nagato.^[15] Kishimoto felt the need to create a story arc that would emphasize the tragedy of wars, leading to the final arc which would include a war. The principal reason for this was a significant difference between the two main characters, Naruto who had no knowledge of wars, and Sasuke who was a victim of one; his entire clan had been annihilated to avoid a potential civil war. As a result, Kishimoto created Nagato as a war victim who would Jiraiya, and act as Naruto’s nemesis so he would understand the tragedy that Sasuke had experienced.^[16] As a result, Naruto’s coming-of-age would have been completed in this arc and the final arc where Naruto deals with world war and develops a vision of the shinobi world as well as how he should handle the conflict.^[17]

In 2013, when Naruto was reaching its climax, Kishimoto envisioned the idea of Naruto becoming a father. This resulted in the creation of Boruto Uzumaki, Naruto and Hinata’s first child.^[18] Kishimoto wanted Boruto to act like his father, but at the same time, have differences between each other. Despite not wishing to reveal much about Boruto due to developments of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, he added that Boruto is not as direct as Naruto.^[19] In the 2015 film Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto developed Boruto and Naruto’s relationship from his relationship with his sons.^[20] In portraying the adult Naruto, Kishimoto did not want to make the character to give a cool impression in contrast to his younger days as a war hero because Naruto being a strong father figure to Boruto would be too boring for the narrative.^[21][22] Instead, Kishimoto wanted the film to depict the father and son relationship between Boruto and Naruto.^[18] Similarly, Chengxi Huang wanted to properly display Naruto’s facial expression during this scene as stating that while Naruto has grown up ever since his introduction, his gentle smile was the same.^[23] Manga author Mikio Ikemoto claimed the scene in which Naruto helps his son to create a large Rasengan was his favorite at the time of drawing Boruto as across this moment he had to draw Naruto’s past to the point he «felt the weight of NARUTO series and its long history behind it.»^[24]

Rivalry

Early in the making of the series, Kishimoto had poor faith in the manga as he believes the series was lacking something to become popular. After being recommended by his editor to give the protagonist a rival, Kishimoto wrote Sasuke with influences from Takehiko Inoue’s Slam Dunk manga which was famous for dealing with rivalries.^[4] When first introducing Sasuke, Kishimoto wrote him as a rival who never noticed Naruto. However, as the series continued, Naruto became strong enough to finally be recognized by Sasuke as a rival. He also intended for both of them to be brother-like due to the fact both characters suffered loneliness, something which made the readers relate to them as he noted through fan letters. By Part I’s ending, the bond between Naruto and Sasuke was weakened as a result of their fight but still expected from the time when the Sasuke accepted Naruto as an equal.^[1] Kishimoto compared Sasuke and Naruto to the concept of yin and yang because of their notable differences. When one of the two progressed, Kishimoto made sure the other did too.^[25] During the climax of Part I, Naruto and Sasuke engage in a mortal fight which was directed by Atsushi Wakabayashi from Pierrot. In an interview, the director claimed that the animation was based on a journey to Lake Mashu from Hokkaido to come up with new ideas. Wakabayashi aimed for the characters to move stilted based on storyboards he made, leading to entertaining sequences. When Naruto becomes berserker due to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s influence, Norio Matsumoto aimed to make Naruto behave like a beast with Wakabayashi aiming to make Naruto look like an equal to his rival. The staff was inspired by the 1970s series like the boxing series Ashita no Joe, most notably its lead character, Joe Yabuki, who was often seen as an underdog the audience rooted for. However, the team still worked carefully to make the two ninjas be equals without overpowering each other.^[26]

Before the serialization began, Kishimoto had decided the ending would feature a fight between Naruto and Sasuke.^[27] He wanted the conflict to end with Naruto forgiving Sasuke as he had forgiven Nagato while also aiming it as their final battle in the manga.^[15][1] In regard to the fight, Kishimoto wanted to focus on hand-to-hand combat rather than ninja techniques.^[16] Anime staff Chengxi Huang said the animated adaptation of this fight, the group worked carefully to depict the action in every scene by showing changes on Sasuke and Naruto’s clothes and hair. Huang added he felt fatigue by working so much into this fight due to reaching 70 successive cuts at a time.^[28]

The final fight between Sasuke and Naruto was considered one biggest challenges by the staff from Pierrot as it took an entire month to adapt it from the manga. Director Hiroyuki Yamashita elected himself in charge of the battle which left most of the anime members relieved due to his experience. For the scenario, Pierrot received assistance from the CyberConnect2 develop who had already adapted this battle through the fighting game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. There was a need to make every movement in the fight to look realistic, giving Sasuke a scary look as well the hair movement in order to express the idea of both fighters willing to do anything to kill each other, which confused some due to Naruto’s wish to avoid this fate. The final clash between Sasuke’s Chidori and Naruto’s Rasengan moves involved references from other scenes of the series to give the viewer a bigger emotional impact. The staff noted that following this fight, Sasuke’s face became calmer despite his initial look, giving room to explore his redemption.^[29] A symbolism Kishimoto used in the series’ finale following the final battle was Naruto returning Sasuke his original bandana representing how their bonds are tied again and no longer have a reason to kill each other.^[30]

Love interests

Naruto’s romantic partner was decided during the early stages of the manga. Since Hinata Hyuga always respected Naruto, even before the series’ beginning, even before his academy mentor Iruka Umino, Kishimoto felt they were meant to be. This angered his wife who wanted Naruto to marry Sakura Haruno.^[15] When Sakura was introduced, Kishimoto did not think of her as Naruto’s future wife, as he saw them as being just friends and teammates, although once Hinata had appeared, the author thought of forming a love triangle between the three characters. He later regretted the love triangle as he considered Naruto a fighting series with little focus on romance, and he reiterated that «it was all about Naruto and Hinata getting married from an early stage.»^[31][32]

When seeing the staff’s work to focus a film on Naruto’s relationship with Hinata, The Last: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto decided to oversee the project.^[8] Nevertheless, he enjoyed seeing Naruto and Hinata’s romantical scenes he did not write. In regard to Naruto’s rank which remains as the lowest one, Genin, due to Naruto spending most of his Part II’s time fighting and training, Kishimoto decided Naruto would skip the following ranks to become the Hokage, which he felt was appealing.^[33] In the making of The Last: Naruto the Movie, Hinata makes a red scarf for Naruto. This was based on how Kishimoto’s wife actually once did which brought laughs to the staff developing the film.^[34]

Screenwriter Maruo Kyozuka said that he wanted to depict a love triangle between Naruto, Hinata and Toneri Otsutsuki in the film. Although Naruto is initially clueless about Hinata’s feelings for him, during the film he begins to acknowledge and respond to them. Hinata’s character was also developed in the film, with Kyozuka saying that she had to put aside her feelings for Naruto to accept Toneri’s proposal so she could find Hanabi. During this scene, Kyozuka wanted to depict Naruto at his lowest after his rejection by Hinata. He then returned Naruto to his brave self, with the character resolving to continue his mission regardless of the cost.^[35] Animator Chengxi Huang behind multiple Naruto series took a liking to this couple ever since he started working in Naruto Shippuden, often aiming to draw scenes of the two and most notably a scene from the final arc when Hinata slaps Naruto to calm him following the death of Neji Hyuga.^[36] In the making of the film, he thanked Kishimoto for accepting to do The Last where the couple was explored furthermore.^[37] He looked at their adult selves as an appealing married couple but had to remove a video he made that received backlash for being inappropriate for the demographic.^[38]

Design

Although a real ninja wears blue to be inconspicuous, Kishimoto gave Naruto an orange jumpsuit to fit the shōnen genre.^[15] His wardrobe is based on clothing that Kishimoto wore when he was younger. According to him, a pre-existing design would not have made Naruto unique, whereas something original would have made him too distinctive.^[10] Because Naruto is associated with spirals in terms of objects he uses, the designer incorporated swirl patterns into the costume.^[39] Initial illustrations depicted Naruto in boots, but Kishimoto replaced these with sandals, because he enjoys drawing toes.^[40] The goggles Naruto used to wear were replaced with a hitai-ite, or shinobi headband, because they were too time-consuming to draw.^[41] One of the most difficult design choices was the color palette of Naruto’s outfit.^[42] The orange in his costume makes Naruto pop and the blue parts are complementary.^[43] Kishimoto apologized to the anime staff for Naruto’s design, as he considered it too difficult to animate.^[42]

Kishimoto was satisfied with his character having blond hair and blue eyes, something rarely seen in Japanese anime or manga. This also appealed to an international readership, something the editor of the American magazine Shonen Jump has noted.^[44] Of all his series’ characters, Kishimoto most identified with Naruto.^[44] When asked why Naruto’s favorite food was ramen instead of kitsune udon, Kishimoto said that he himself likes eating ramen.^[44][45] In the Naruto: Clash of Ninja video game series, Naruto is playable in various stages of the Demon Fox’s manifestation, characterized by a red chakra. Kishimoto took inspiration from the games’ presentation of these forms, imitating one of them for the manga cover of volume 26.^[46]

When designing Naruto for his Part II appearance, Kishimoto changed his character’s clothing to an orange and black top, orange pants, and black sandals.^[47] He also gave him a red cape with black flames at the bottom when fighting Pain, a member of the Akatsuki.^[48] He drew Naruto’s forehead-protector wider to make his eyebrows easier to draw, something that had bothered him with his previous design. He also noted that Naruto’s pants made the character look too childish. To remedy this, Kishimoto designed them to roll up, giving him a more mature appearance.^[49] He gave Naruto this look in order to make him stand out during action scenes.^[16]

For the events of the film The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014) as well as the final episodes of Naruto: Shippuden, Naruto was given a young adult appearance. His hair was made shorter, while his height was expanded notably in contrast to his Part II design. He was given two different outfits, a casual look consisting of an orange shirt as well as a design consisting of a black shirt with orange pants specifically meant for his missions. Due to his growth, Naruto wears a different headband, while his new ninja appearance was created with the purpose of being able to carry weapons more easily. Nevertheless, both looks keep the character’s spiralling logo that was carried from his late mother’s gone group, the Uzumaki clan.^[50]

Voice actors

Junko Takeuchi (left) and Maile Flanagan (right) voiced Naruto Uzumaki in the anime’s Japanese and English versions, respectively.

Although a male voice actor was sought for the Japanese adaptation of the Naruto role, the actress Junko Takeuchi was chosen instead over many male applicants.^[51] Before recording the first episode, Takeuchi noticed several lines from the script that ended with exclamation marks, which helped her to define Naruto’s voice. She noted difficulties in transitioning from the young Naruto to the older Naruto in the animated adaptation of Part II. She had to record the first episode of Part II when Naruto’s character was older and more mature only one week after voicing the younger, immature character.^[52][53] Nine years after first voicing the character, while still finding it tough to voice Naruto, Takeuchi’s opinion of him changed with her feeling he was «a very reliable young man.»^[54] She admired his ability to prioritize and calmly make important decisions, and believes these traits will inspire viewers worldwide.^[54]

In regard to Naruto’s growth Takeuchi was happy with the story and had hoped that Naruto would end up in a relationship with Hinata. Takeuchi was reminded of Naruto’s late godfather, Jiraiya, when she read the script. She thought that although Naruto’s declaration of love was the most important part of the character’s growth, his true nature had not changed at that point. Satisfied with the story, Takeuchi thought that the audience would agree with her view.^[55] For the film Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Takeuchi was surprised with how Naruto has grown up ever since she first voiced him, not only in the idea of age or new job but also the fact that he has become a father. As a result, she befriended Yūko Sanpei, voice actress behind Boruto. Takeuchi felt the writing for the adult Naruto was different from his younger days as his mannerism had changed too, joking that she never saw such growth in the story when first voicing him. As a result, she mentions having had some inner complications with how she should show the character’s growth.^[56]

The producers of the English version of the anime stated that Naruto was the most difficult character to cast, adding that Maile Flanagan «has Naruto down, from the mischievous side, that precocious 12-year-old we learn to love, to the serious side.»^[57] Flanagan avoided listening to Junko Takeuchi’s performance as she did not want to imitate it, stating she wanted to develop her own voice for the character.^[58] Her performance has been praised as showing Naruto’s brashness and later growth in confidence.^[59] In a 2014 interview, Flanagan claimed she had never heard of Naruto before her audition. She looked the show up after being chosen and felt the release of the English dub would be popular. She is recognized more for her work voicing Naruto than from other roles she has done in her career, although some fans did not expect that Naruto would be voiced by a woman.^[60] Flanagan and Amanda C. Miller (Boruto) found the two family members similar in nature despite having different backgrounds. Flanagan was surprised by how her character changed across the years but felt he was still the same for her, finding challenging to voice Naruto again when coming back to voice the younger Naruto. In regard to the change of tone, Flanagan was surprised by the fact that the dubbers did not replace her despite Naruto’s age but felt it was something common in Japanese series.^[61]

Synopsis

Introduced as a young orphan boy of 12 years with blond, spiky hair and blue eyes, Naruto Uzumaki graduates as a ninja from Konohagakure while bonding with his teacher Iruka Umino.^[43][62] Naruto seeks attention as he was ridiculed during his childhood. To be accepted and respected, he resolves to become Konohagakure’s Hokage and surpass all previous leaders, no matter the difficulties.^[63] While becoming a ninja, Naruto forms friendships that he initially lacked, linking some of them to family relationships.^[64] Although Naruto sometimes finds himself unable to accomplish the tasks he proposes to do, other characters believe that he will be an excellent Hokage because of his positive impact on their lives.^[65][66] As an adult, Naruto claims that the Konohagakure village became his family due to his job of being the new Hokage, something he learned from the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. As a result, he initially suffered a poor relationship with his son, Boruto, due to the little time he spends with his bloodline family.^[67]

Appearances

In Naruto

Part I

Naruto is an orphan who has a dangerous fox-like entity known as Kurama the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within his body by his father, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, the leader of Konoha’s ninja force, at the cost of his own life and that of his wife, Kushina Uzumaki.^[63] This possession led to Naruto being ridiculed frequently by the rest of Konoha; being associated with him was considered taboo.^[63] As a youth, Naruto makes jokes and plays pranks to attract attention.^[63] Desiring what he lacked in his early life, Naruto dreams of becoming a Hokage himself with the hope that it will bring him the villagers’ recognition and respect.^[68][69] In an attempt to become a ninja, Naruto is horrified to learn of his Jinchuriki nature, but finds acceptance from his teacher Iruka Umino, whom he views as a father. After learning the powerful Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, an ability to create physical copies of the user, Naruto becomes a ninja.^[63][70] He joins a ninja group under the leadership of Kakashi Hatake where he made friends with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. These are his classmates who are also assigned to Team 7: Sasuke Uchiha, with whom he has had a rivalry since they first met at the ninja academy, and Sakura Haruno who he has a crush on which is not reciprocated by her as she is infatuated with Sasuke.^[64][71]

While being examined to increase his ninja rank, Naruto meets the legendary ninja Jiraiya and learns how to summon toads to aid him in battle, and to control part of the Nine Tails’s chakra energy.^[72] The exams are interrupted by the invasion of Konohagakure by the criminal Orochimaru and the ninja of Sunagakure. Naruto defeats the sand village’s One Tail Jinchuriki Gaara and convinces him there is a better way to live. Shortly afterward, Naruto discovers the Akatsuki, a criminal organization that seeks to extract the Nine-Tails from his body. Though Jiraiya drives them off during this first meeting, learning its member Itachi is both Sasuke’s brother, and the man who killed their family, the Akatsuki still plan to kidnap Naruto.^[73] While accompanying Jiraiya to find a new village leader, Naruto also learns the Rasengan (螺旋丸, lit. spiral sphere, English manga: «Spiral Chakra Sphere»), a sphere of chakra for offensive purposes.^[69][74] When Sasuke leaves the village to join Orochimaru’s forces to obtain the power to kill Itachi, Naruto on his insistence and promise to Sakura becomes part of a rescue team to retrieve him.^[71] Naruto and Sasuke ultimately have a one-on-one battle, and after a close battle, Sasuke comes out as the victor. He, however can not bring himself to kill Naruto and instead leaves.^[75] The two go their separate ways, but Naruto does not give up on Sasuke, leaving with Jiraiya for two and half years to prepare himself for his next encounter with Sasuke and the Akatsuki.^[76]

Part II

After his two and a half years of training, Naruto returns to Konoha (the Leaf Village) and begins to deal more actively with the Akatsuki threat by saving Gaara from their clutches.^[77] To fight them, Naruto trains with Kakashi to infuse the Rasengan with his own wind-element chakra, creating the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken (風遁・螺旋手裏剣, Fūton: Rasenshuriken) attack that proves instrumental in the downfall of the Akatsuki member Kakuzu.^[78][79] Despite being targeted by the Akatsuki, Naruto dedicates himself to finding and retrieving Sasuke, who eventually disposes of Orochimaru and starts acting on his vengeance-driven whims.^[80] Over time, though resisting the urge to use the creature’s power, the Nine Tails’s influence over him expands to the point where he begins to lose his rationality as more chakra manifests in the form of tails to the point the Tailed Beast can take control of his body. This ultimately causes him to go on a rampage, destroying everything in his path.^[81]

After learning that Jiraiya has been killed by the Akatsuki leader, Pain, Naruto prepares for a future encounter by learning toad-style Senjutsu (仙術, lit. «sage techniques»), a power-enhancing ability involving the gathering of natural energy through stillness, while also perfecting Naruto’s Rasenshuriken in the process.^[82][83] When they face off, Naruto is pinned to the ground with iron rods and loses control of the Fox’s chakra when his Hinata Hyuga nearly dies protecting him. At that time, Naruto meets his father Minato Namikaze within his subconcious and learns about his status as the Fourth Hokage and him being the one who sealed the Fox so that Naruto could use it to defeat the Akatsuki founder Tobi who was behind the Fox’s attack on Konohagakure.^[84] With Minato stopping the Fox, Naruto regains control of his body, and defeats Pain. Learning that both are Jiraiya’s students, Naruto convinces him to quit Akatsuki, seeking to take Jiraiya’s path to create a better ninja world.^[85]

When Naruto discovers Sasuke’s plan to attack the Leaf Village, he decides to confront him in a battle which could end both their lives should Naruto be unable to save him.^[86] He prepares himself for the upcoming fight by becoming a student under the vessel of the Eight-Tails, Killer B, to take full control of Kurama’s powers. He succeeds with help from his late mother, Kushina Uzumaki, who placed a chakra imprint of herself within the seal so when the time comes, she could have a chance to see her son again.^[87][88] When Naruto learns that all his comrades are battling Tobi’s army to protect him, he takes Killer B to join him in the battle, eventually cooperating with Kurama.^[89][90] As he fights, Naruto meets Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of the Six Paths, who grants him enhanced Senjutsu known as the Six Paths Senjutsu.^[91][92] After he and Sasuke join forces to face both Tobi and Madara who are using the Ten-Tails, they have to seal a bigger threat named Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who is in her Ten-Tails form.^[93] After defeating and sealing Kaguya with the cooperation of the rest of Team 7, Naruto ends up having to fight Sasuke due to their conflicting views regarding the ninja world’s future.^[94] As both end up losing an arm, Naruto and Sasuke reconcile.^[95] He receives a new arm created from the First Hokage’s cells later.^[96] Years later, Naruto is married to Hinata with whom he has had two children – Boruto and Himawari Uzumaki. He becomes the Seventh Hokage (七代目火影, Nanadaime Hokage) in the epilogue.^[97]

In the Boruto series

In the spin-off manga Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, Naruto and his allies go to defeat a new Akatsuki organization as Sasuke fears Kaguya’s allies might try to attack them.^[67] In Boruto: Naruto the Movie (2015), which takes place after the series’ epilogue, Naruto’s Hokage status strains his relationship with his son Boruto as his duties often kept him from his family. During the ninja examinations, Naruto is abducted by Kaguya’s descendants, Momoshiki and Kinshiki, and then saved by his son Boruto, Sasuke, and the Kage, before helping his son to destroy Momoshiki. Across this fight, Naruto and Boruto reconcile. In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, the manga starts in a distant future where Naruto is implied to be dead or missing in action by an enemy of Boruto, Kawaki.^[98] In the anime before Boruto became a ninja, Naruto often made appearances with his new family.^[99] In the manga, a younger Kawaki is adopted by Naruto when the teenager becomes a fugitive from the group Kara.^[100] Naruto clashes with the members from Kara to protect his children,^{[101][102][103]} to which the village fears the Ōtsutsuki clan planning to attack again through Kara’s members as well like Boruto and Kawaki who share a cursed mark known as Karma.^[104] In the fight against Kara’s leader Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, Naruto and Kurama combine their chakra together at the cost of their possible death.^[105] In the aftermath, Kurama reveals he was told a lie about this combination and he is the only one to die. As Kurama goes to the afterlife, Naruto continues to fight against the remaining Kara members.^[106]

In light novels

Naruto also appears in the epilogue light novels of the series. In the first one, despite still not having obtained his prosthetic arm, goes on a mission with his friend Sai to capture a dangerous ninja named Garyō.^[107] In the second one, he allies with Sunagakure ninja Temari’s team to find the missing Shikamaru Nara who made a promise to him to work together once Naruto became the Hokage.^[108] He makes a brief appearance in Sakura Hiden where he and Hinata try to aid Sakura from a group of enemies.^[109] In Sasuke Hiden, he sends a message to Sasuke, which convinces him to return to Konohagakure.^[110] In the final one, Konoha Hiden, Naruto marries Hinata after asking his former mentor, Iruka Umino, to the place of his father for the wedding.^[111] A novel by Mirei Miyamoto focuses on Naruto’s life as a father.^[112] Another novel, Naruto Retsuden, explores Naruto having falling to an illness as a result of relying on Kurama’s chakra across his entire life.^[113]

In other media

As the series’ title character, Naruto appears in every movie in the series. He typically appears as the lead character on a mission with comrades from Konohagakure. Naruto: Shippūden the Movie marks the first appearance of Naruto in his Part II form.^[114][115] In Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, an alternate version of the character named Menma appears as the main antagonist of the film.^[116]

In The Last: Naruto the Movie, which takes place after the events of the series, Naruto faces Toneri Otsutsuki; at the movie’s climax, Naruto and Hinata enter a relationship that eventually leads to their marriage.^[117] Kishimoto, the film’s chief story supervisor, admitted that he was embarrassed writing romance scenes in the series.^[118] However, upon watching Naruto and Hinata share their first kiss, he felt a mixture of satisfaction and sadness due to the two characters’ growth since Naruto‘s beginning; they had become like his own children.^[119]

Naruto also appears in all four OVAs produced for the series: helping his friend Konohamaru Sarutobi find a four-leaf clover in the first,^[120] escorting a ninja to his village and fighting the criminal who stole the village’s «Hero’s Water» in the second,^[121] participating in a tournament in the third, and working with Team 7 in the fourth.^[122][123] He appears as a supporting character in the spin-off manga titled Rock Lee and his Ninja Pals where his fellow Konohagakure ninja Rock Lee is the main character.^[124]

Naruto is a playable character in the Naruto video games. In several titles, it is possible to access a special version of him enhanced with the power from the Nine-Tailed Fox. In several games from the Ultimate Ninja series he is playable with his own versions of Rock Lee and Might Guy’s techniques while wearing their costumes.^[125] Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX marks the first appearance of Naruto in his Part II form in a video game.^[126] For the series’ 10th anniversary, Masashi Kishimoto drew an illustration of Naruto as Hokage.^[127] This portrayal of Naruto later appears as a secret character in the game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2.^[128] Naruto also appears in the iOS and Android mobile game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing.^[129] He appears in several crossover video games that feature Naruto fighting against characters from other manga; these games include: Battle Stadium D.O.N, Jump Super Stars, and Jump Ultimate Stars.^{[130][131][132]} A Naruto avatar made a guest appearance in the MMORPG Second Life for a Jump Festa promotion titled Jumpland@Second Life.^[133] In Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z Naruto’s costume appears as an alternate costume for Goku.^[134] Outside Naruto, the character also appeared in the first popularity poll from the manga My Hero Academia by Kōhei Horikoshi.^[135] When the Naruto manga ended, Eiichiro Oda drew a cover of a One Piece manga chapter where Naruto is seen eating with the One Piece characters.^[136] Naruto was added to Fortnite Battle Royale in November 2021.^[137]

Naruto also makes an appearance in Live Spectacle Naruto (2015) and Live Spectacle Naruto: Song of the Akatsuki (2017), two stage plays based on the manga.^[138] Naruto is played by Koudai Matsouka.^[139]

Reception

Characterization and themes

Clockwise:

• According to Franziska Ehmcke, Naruto’s name emphasises his energetic personality, reminiscent of the Naruto whirlpools.^[140]
• Franziska Ehmcke regards the inclusion of narutomaki (pictured as a garnish in a bowl of ramen) as the origin of the character’s name to be a humorous addition.^[140]
• Amy Plumb relates Naruto’s development to the mythology of the kitsune.^[141]

Naruto’s character has received mostly positive critical response in printed and online publications. Praise was given by Joseph Szadkowski of The Washington Times who noted that Naruto «has become a pop-culture sensation.»^[142] Naruto’s character was analyzed by GameSpot’s Joe Dodson who noted that despite having an «ideal» life, he still suffered from severe isolation,^[143] although he was praised for his optimistic personality by Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network (ANN).^[144] Writers for Mania Entertainment labeled him a «good lead character» with good overall development despite certain problems at the beginning.^{[145][146][147]} Christina Carpenter of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews disagreed with other writers, noting that while Naruto is a «likable enough scamp», his type of character has been done before in many anime and manga series.^[148] Yukari Fujimoto, a professor at Meiji University, sees Naruto himself as the manga’s weakness.^[149] Manga author Nobuhiro Watsuki compared Naruto with Himura Kenshin and Monkey D. Luffy due to how they follow the ideals of not killing their oppponents.^[150]

Writing for Popular Culture in Counseling, Psychotherapy, and Play-Based Interventions, Lawrence Rubin states that while Naruto has an optimistic and hyperactive personality, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Kurama) within his body symbolizes his negative emotions. He comments that Naruto has a malevolent attitude when dealing with intense conflicts and emotions. He also states that Naruto would use Kurama’s chakra for battles he can not handle with his own chakra. Rubin further notes that the more Naruto uses Kurama’s chakra, the more he puts his comrades and himself in danger. Rubin feels the reason Naruto is a troublemaker is because some villagers avoid him and others mistreat him. He states that children growing up in the real world who have development issues can relate to his character. Rubin states that the search for acceptance, and being acknowledged by his peers is what motivates Naruto to keep going until he reaches his life’s goal, becoming the Hokage. Rubin feels that Naruto’s fights with enemies who try to bring harm to the Leaf Village further motivate him to become a powerful shinobi, and a «complete and mature person.» Rubin concludes that Naruto’s character development is similar to that of a modern American hero, the type who accidentally becomes better during a series and is able to build or restore peace.^[151]

Christopher A. Born, writing for DOAJ journal ASIANetwork Exchange, regards Naruto as a complex post-modern hero, showing «great heart.» From Naruto’s beginning, Born comments that the character is a nuisance, suggesting Naruto is the very definition of the word, given how he is characterized in the series, including how he interacts, and his behavior. Born argues that Naruto as a whole shows Confucian values, and that Naruto himself unsettles harmony in society.^[152] Amy Plumb, a PhD candidate at Macquarie University, states that Kishimoto used the mythology of the kitsune for Naruto’s development throughout the series. She notes that at the beginning of the series, Naruto was a prankster and always causing trouble, the same as the kitsune. Plumb describes the Kyuubi (Demon) seal on Naruto’s stomach as a catalyst for how he develops.^[141] Writing for Manga’s Cultural Crossroads, Omote Tomoyuki compliments Naruto’s character, saying that he has great ambition to achieve a tragic destiny. He comments how the character has matured over the course of the series, stating how after he became a shinobi, he had let go of his childish ways that happened in the beginning of the series, and how he rarely joked around in Part II of the series when he became a teenager.^[153] Franziska Ehmcke, professor of Japanese studies at Cologne University, theorized that Naruto was named after whirlpools of the sea landscape of the Awa no Naruto, and compared his behavior to that natural feature, as both figures have uncontrollable energy within them.^[140] Mike Hale compared Naruto to Buffy Summers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, praising the series’ portrayal of childhood loneliness.^[154] Rik Spanjers regards Naruto’s childishness as one of his strengths because it gives him a well of resoluteness from which to draw on in his goal to end the ninja wars.^[155] A study which looked at if readers could predict character types based on physical cues regarded Naruto as an ENFP (Myers-Briggs) character type, impulsive and spontaneous, finding a foil in the ISTJ-type Sasuke.^[156]

Analysing Naruto’s coming-of-age story, The Lawrentian found that Naruto’s development embodies the idea of Bildungsroman, the idea of how importance is Naruto’s growth across the narrative needed to move on the arc. Due to lacking parenting as a result of his parents’ age during his birth, Naruto’s personality starts fragile. Unaware of them, Naruto seeks to accomplish his mother’s wish of becoming a hero and leader of the village, the Hokage. While initially portrayed as a weak character, Naruto finds strength in his mentors Kakashi and Jiraiya, another element common element in Bildungsroman as well as his connections with Sakura and Sasuke. As a result of losing Jiraiya, Naruto seeks to accomplish his mentor’s wish of ending wars and the cycling of hatred, making Kishimoto capable of embodying the character more with the reader while maturing in the process. As a result, The Lawrentian finds that Naruto’s character fills the concept of Bildungsroman, something other fictional characters fail to accomplish.^[157]

Tejal Suhas Bagwe from Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for the Degree of Masters of Arts in English describes Jiraya’s death as the «loss of innocence» the Naruto goes through paralleling his life with Gaara, Sasuke or Madara. However, unlike these three characters who seek revenge and chaos for their losses, Naruto instead chooses another path derivative from these types of narrative, becoming more unique. Another aspect noted by the writer in regard to Naruto’s character is how he becomes Kurama’s companion despite the creature bearing hatred towards mankind for being used, resulting into multiple references to Japanese mythology based on its name and the new skills Naruto acquires when befriending the fox.^[158] Similarly, Anime News Network stated that thanks to Naruto’s newfound pacifism when dealing with his quest of revenge and the rejection to violence, the story managed to become a «masterpiece».^[159]

Relationships

His relationships with the other characters was described as appealing by IGN’s Charles White and Jason Van Horn,^[160][161] most notably through his rivalry with Sasuke, as it shows «signs of maturity» in Naruto.^[162] However, his wish to retrieve Sasuke after the end of Part I was criticised because of his subsequent suffering.^[163] In a poll by Japanese pollster Charapedia, Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry reached the top place.^[164] Jacob Hope Chapman of ANN listed Naruto and Sasuke as one of «Anime’s Fiercest Frenemies» considering their similarities and how they become friends after a mortal battle.^[165] His romantic involvement with other characters led to disputes as there were fans in favour of his relationship with Sakura Haruno, while others preferred Hinata Hyuga.^[166] His romance with Hinata in the film The Last earned multiple positive reactions from the media. Some critics wished The Last could be condensed so that their relationship was the focus of the movie.^{[167][168][169]} On a similar note, both McNulty and Andy Hanley from UK Anime Network enjoyed Naruto’s relationship with his son Boruto due to the differences in their childhoods and how that becomes the focus of the film Boruto.^[170][171] His role in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was praised for his more mature personality as well as his relationship with the young Kawaki.^{[172][173][174]} Leroy Douresseaux expected Kawaki will have a major impact in Boruto’s life in regard to his way of fighting.^[175]

Combat

Kimlinger of Anime News Network said that while Naruto’s initial fight scenes are lacking conviction when compared to others, his encounter with Gaara is one of his best moments because its tactics surpassed most shōnen stereotypes.^[176] ANN’s Theron Martin and Mania Entertainment’s Justin Rich made similar comments.^[177][178] The character’s final fight against Sasuke at the end of Part I attracted similar responses, due to the fighting styles employed, and the character development resulting from their rivalry.^[162][179] The enormous physical changes caused by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox have also been the focus of critics, as Naruto’s loss of control causes him to become a bigger threat to his loved ones than other series’ antagonists.^[180][181] Carlo Santos of ANN commented on the character’s growth in Part II, specifically his fight against Pain in which Naruto’s comments on peace, and the means by which it is achieved, touch on philosophical themes never seen in a shōnen series.^[182][183] Chris Beveridge of Mania Entertainment noted a change in Naruto’s attitude as he acts calmly and more seriously than in previous story arcs. Naruto’s new Senjutsu style was praised, as was his careful preparation for the fight against Pain, which resulted in a detailed display of his skills.^[182][184] In regard to Naruto’s fight against Sasuke, writers once again found depth in the handling of the rivals while also bringing a satisfying ending to the series.^[185][186] Amy McNulty of ANN also praised their final fight, expressing amazement at how brutal some scenes were since Naruto had become more of a pacifist than previous story arcs.^[187]

Popularity

In every official Weekly Shōnen Jump popularity poll of the series, Naruto ranks in the top five characters and, as of the beginning of 2012, has been in first place twice.^[188][189] In 2006, Naruto lost his top-two status to the characters Deidara, Kakashi and Sasuke in the magazine’s sixth poll.^[190] In the 2011 poll, Naruto was once again in first place.^[191] In 2014, IGN listed him as the second best Naruto character when the series ended.^[192] In a Japanese TV special from August 2017, Naruto was voted as the 13th «strongest hero» from the Heisei Era.^[193] Additionally, in 2017 Charapedia poll, Naruto ranked 9th most ideal Prime Minister in anime series.^[194] In a 2018 poll from Shonen Jump, Naruto was also voted as the 10th most powerful character in the magazine’s history.^[195] In poll from 2021, Naruto was voted as the second best character from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations behind his son.^[196] In the Crunchyroll Awards from 2022, Naruto was nominated for «Best Fight» against Isshiki in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.^[197]

Merchandise has been modeled after Naruto, including keychains,^[198] and action figures.^[199] In the 2009 Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards, Junko Takeuchi won Best Voice Actress (Japanese) for her work as Naruto.^[200] Naruto was placed sixth in IGN’s Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time with writer Chris Mackenzie stating that although: «Naruto actually isn’t the most popular character in his own series most of the time,» he is «the engine that powers the franchise.»^[201] In the 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition, he was noted as the twenty-ninth best character appearing in video games.^[202]

While working for CyberConnect2 in the making of the .hack games, character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto used Naruto as a model for .hack‘s protagonist, Kite. Shortly afterwards, CyberConnect2 started developing the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja games although Sadamoto recalls he was unaware of this fact.^[203] Another character inspired by Naruto is Yuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen; its author, Gege Akutami, enjoyed the story of how Naruto deals with a demon-like creature inside his body and decided to give Itadori a similar aura when eating the remains of the demon Ryomen Sukuna whom he carries a poor relationship.^[204] CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama also participated in the 2012 Paris Marathon while cosplaying as Naruto to celebrating the release of a new video game.^[205] Matsuyama also said that Naruto’s Rasenshuriken was his favorite technique in the entire series due to its sounds as well as how the character executes it.^[206] Upon seeing the final fight between Naruto and Sasuke in Storm 4, Matsuyama felt emotional over seeing the final fight between Naruto and Sasuke.^[207] Matsuyama also made his own sketch of two fighters, aiming to put them the video game, promising gamers they would enjoy the emotions delivered by the fight.^[208] Matsuyama further reflected the anime’s 133rd episode to be one of his favorites not only for the action sequences between Naruto and Sasuke but also the emotional value displayed.^[209]
In a poll from Anime! Anime!, Naruto and Sasuke as one of the best rivals turned into allies.^[210]

Cultural impact

Olympic medalist Usain Bolt expressed his love for Naruto and the Naruto series several times through Instagram posts.^[211][212] The Shanghai New World mall made an announcement in the beginning of 2019 that it plans on opening an indoor theme park on its 11th floor which will be called «Naruto World». The theme park will be 7,000 square meters in size and will be based on the Naruto manga.^[213] An officially authorized Ichiraku Ramen ramen noodle shop, based on Ichiraku Ramen from the anime, opened up in Shanghai’s Global Harbor shopping mall in 2019.^[214] In June 2019, a life-size statue designed by Testuya Nishio was developed for display at the Wonder Festival 2019 Shanghai event.^[215] For the 2020 Summer Olympics, Naruto’s image is being used as a character to represent the event.^[216]

Naruto has had an influence on hip-hop music. Many rappers, both underground and mainstream have sprinkled Naruto references throughout their songs.^[217] Rapper Ski Mask the Slump God starts off the first verse of his song Catch me Outside with a reference to Naruto and his ninetails mode.^[218] Some artists go so far as revolving the theme of their entire album around Naruto, such as Dave’s album Six Paths. in Dave’s song Wanna Know (Remix) the track art is a direct reference to Naruto. It features the title in the Naruto font and color scheme.^[219] Singer Diana Garnet expressed her pleasure at recording one of the ending theme songs for the animated series of Naruto Shippuden stating that not only she has been a fan of the series ever since she was younger, but was also motivated by Naruto’s character because of his determination not to give up no matter what challenge he faced.^[220] Similarly, in an analysis involving stereotypes of African Americans created by the British newspaper The Guardian, Naruto’s character is viewed as relatable character due to prejudicial treatment the character receives early in the series. As a result, Naruto’s life achievements he makes across the narrative, ending to his portrayal as the Seventh Hokage are seen as inspiring by the audience.^[221]

Allega Frank from Polygon noted that during the start of both the manga and anime Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, multiple fans were worried in regard to a flashforward; in this sequence an older Boruto is facing an enemy named Kawaki who implies Naruto might be dead so his fate left them worried.^[222]

References

External links

•   Media related to Naruto Uzumaki at Wikimedia Commons

This article is about the character Naruto Uzumaki. For the manga and anime series Naruto, see Naruto. For other uses, see Naruto (disambiguation).

editNaruto Uzumaki  [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Part I Part II New Era
うずまきナルト Uzumaki Naruto The Show-Off, Number One Unpredictable, Noisy Ninja (目立ちたがり屋で意外性No.1のドタバタ忍者, Medachitagariya de Igaisei Nanbā Wan no Dotabata Ninja, English TV: Number One Hyperactive, Knucklehead Ninja)[8] Child of the Prophecy (予言の子, Yogen no Ko)[9] Saviour of this World (この世の救世主, Kono Yo no Kyūseishu)[9] Hero of the Hidden Leaf (木ノ葉隠れの英雄, Konohagakure no Eiyū, literally meaning: Hero of the Hidden Tree Leaves)[10] Boy of Miracles (奇跡を起こす少年, Kiseki o Okosu Shōnen)[11] Konoha’s Orange Hokage (木ノ葉のオレンジ火影, Konoha no Orenji Hokage, literally meaning: Tree Leaves’ Orange Fire Shadow)[12] Seventh Hokage (七代目火影, Nanadaime Hokage, literally meaning: Seventh Fire Shadow)[13] Fox (狐, Kitsune)
Debut
Manga	Naruto Chapter #1
Anime	Naruto Episode #1
Novel	Naruto: Innocent Heart, Demonic Blood
Movie	Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
Game	Naruto: Konoha Ninpōchō
OVA	Find the Four-Leaf Red Clover!
Appears in	Anime, Manga, Novel, Game, Movie
Voice Actors
Japanese	Junko Takeuchi Ema Kogure (Sexy Technique)
English	Maile Flanagan Stephanie Sheh (Sexy Technique) Jeannie Elias (Sexy Technique) (episode 53-55) Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Sexy Technique) (episode 177) Kate Higgins (Sexy Technique) (episode 229)
Personal
Birthdate	October 10
Sex	Male
Age	Part I: 12–13 Part II: 15–17
Status	Incapacitated
Height	Part I: 145.3 cm1.453 m <br />4.767 ft <br />57.205 in <br />–147.5 cm1.475 m <br />4.839 ft <br />58.071 in <br /> Part II: 166 cm1.66 m <br />5.446 ft <br />65.354 in <br /> Blank Period: 180 cm1.8 m <br />5.906 ft <br />70.866 in <br />
Weight	Part I: 40.1 kg88.405 lb <br />–40.6 kg89.508 lb <br /> Part II: 50.9 kg112.215 lb <br />
Blood type	B
Kekkei Genkai	Lava Release Magnet Release Boil Release
Classification	Jinchūriki Sage Sensor Type
Tailed Beast	Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Gokū, Kokuō, Saiken, Chōmei, Gyūki, Kurama (Forms)
Occupation	Hokage Chūnin Exams Proctor (Anime only)
Affiliation	Konohagakure Mount Myōboku Allied Shinobi Forces
Team	Team Kakashi Sasuke Recovery Team Konoha 11 (Anime only) Bikōchū Search Team (Anime only) Kaima Capture Team (Anime only) Star Guard Team (Anime only) Peddlers Escort Team (Anime only) Kazekage Rescue Team Team One (Anime only) Eight Man Squad Hanabi Rescue Team (Movie only)
Clan	Uzumaki Clan
Rank
Ninja Rank	Part I: Genin Gaiden: Kage
Ninja Registration	012607
Academy Grad. Age	12
Family Minato Namikaze (Father) Kushina Uzumaki (Mother) Boruto Uzumaki (Son) Himawari Uzumaki (Daughter) Hinata Uzumaki (Wife) Kawaki (Adoptive Son) Jiraiya (Godfather)
Nature Type Wind Release (Affinity) Lightning Release Earth Release Water Release Fire Release Lava Release Magnet Release Boil Release Yin Release Yang Release Yin–Yang Release
Jutsu All Directions Shuriken Baryon Mode Big Ball Rasengan Big Ball Rasenshuriken Big Ball Spiralling Serial Zone Spheres Boil Release: Unrivalled Strength Chakra Transfer Technique Clone Body Blow Clone Flying Arrow Clone Spinning Heel Drop (Anime only) Combination Transformation Continuous Tailed Beast Balls Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall Erupting Propulsion Fist Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet (Anime only) Frog Kata Frog Strike Gentle Step Spiralling Twin Lion Fists Harem Technique Hurricane Thunderclap — Majestic Attire Sword Stroke Ink Creation Kurama Arm Attack Mini-Rasenshuriken Multiple Shadow Clone Technique Naruto Region Combo Naruto Uzumaki Combo Naruto Uzumaki Two Thousand Combo Negative Emotions Sensing New Sexy Technique Nine-Tails Chakra Mode Ninja Art: Bare-Handed Blade Block One Thousand Years of Death Pachinko Technique (Anime only) Parachute Parent and Child Rasengan Planetary Rasengan Rasengan Rasengan: Flash Regeneration Ability Runt Ball Rasengan (Anime only) Sage Art: Lava Release Rasenshuriken Sage Art: Magnet Release Rasengan Sage Art: Many Ultra-Big Ball Spiralling Serial Spheres Sage Art: Super Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken Sage Mode Scorch Release: Halo Hurricane Jet Black Arrow Style Zero Sexy Reverse Harem Technique Sexy Technique Sexy Technique: Pole Dance and Nice Body (Anime only) Shadow Clone Technique Shadow Shuriken Technique Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique (Anime only) Six Paths Sage Mode Six Paths Senjutsu Six Paths Yang Power Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei Six Paths: Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken Soap Bubble Ninjutsu (Anime only) Spiralling Absorption Sphere Spiralling Serial Spheres Spiralling Strife Spheres Strong Fist (Anime only) Summoning Technique (Toad) Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique Super Mini-Tailed Beast Ball Super-Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan Tailed Beast Ball Tailed Beast Ball Rasenshuriken Tailed Beast Chakra Arms Tailed Beast Full Charge Tailed Beast Rasengan Tailed Beast Shockwave Torii Seal Truth-Seeking Ball Turning into a Frog Technique (Anime only) Typhoon Water Vortex Technique Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan Ultra-Many Spiralling Serial Spheres Uzumaki Formation (Anime only) Wind Release: Rasengan Wind Release: Rasenshuriken Wind Release: Repeated Rasenshuriken Wind Release: Toad Gun (Anime only) Wind Release: Toad Oil Bullet (Anime only) Wind Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet (Anime only) Wind Release: Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken Wisdom Wolf Decay
Tools Absorbing Hand Bō (Anime only) Chakra Blade (Anime only) Flying Thunder God Kunai Fūma Shuriken Hidden Kunai Mechanism Sand

Naruto Uzumaki (うずまきナルト, Uzumaki Naruto) is a shinobi of Konohagakure’s Uzumaki clan. He became the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails on the day of his birth — a fate that caused him to be shunned by most of Konoha throughout his childhood. After joining Team Kakashi, Naruto worked hard to gain the village’s acknowledgement all the while chasing his dream to become Hokage. In the following years, through many hardships and ordeals, he became a capable ninja, regarded as a hero both by the villagers, and soon after, the rest of the world, becoming known as the Hero of the Hidden Leaf (木ノ葉隠れの英雄, Konohagakure no Eiyū, literally meaning: Hero of the Hidden Tree Leaves). He soon proved to be one of the main factors in winning the Fourth Shinobi World War, leading him to achieve his dream and become the village’s Seventh Hokage (七代目火影, Nanadaime Hokage, literally meaning: Seventh Fire Shadow).

Background

Naruto was born on the night of October 10th to Minato Namikaze (the Fourth Hokage) and Kushina Uzumaki (the second jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails). He was named after Naruto Musasabi, the protagonist of Jiraiya’s first book, which made the Sannin his godfather.^[14] The Third Hokage made special arrangements for Minato to preserve Kushina’s seal containing the Nine-Tails while she gave birth to Naruto in a remote location, assisted by midwives and Anbu. A masked man, Tobi, tracked down their location, however, killed the midwives and Anbu, and captured Naruto, forcing Minato to quickly rescue him and teleport him to a safe house.

With Minato gone, Tobi captured Kushina and released the Nine-Tails from her, using it to devastate Konoha.^[15] Minato saved Kushina and left Naruto in her care before he went to protect the village,^[16] eventually defeating Tobi and freeing the Nine-Tails from Tobi’s control. Returning to Naruto and Kushina’s location, Minato realised the only way to stop the Nine-Tails was to seal it within Naruto, believing that his son would someday need the fox’s power to defeat Tobi when he returned.^[17] Since the Nine-Tails’ chakra was too immense to be sealed into an infant, Minato sacrificed his soul to split the fox’s chakra in half, sealing the Yin half within himself and the Yang half within Naruto. After telling Naruto how much they loved him, Minato and Kushina succumbed to their wounds from protecting their son from the Nine-Tails and passed away.

Orphaned, and not having anyone else to provide for him, Naruto received monthly income from the village in order to afford daily necessities. Naruto grew up not knowing who his parents were, receiving only his mother’s surname, as Hiruzen wanted to protect Naruto from his father’s enemies.^[18] Minato’s dying wish that Naruto be regarded as a hero was honoured by the very few who could put aside their pain and losses caused by the disaster, while the majority of Konoha, however having no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding his birth, openly ostracised and resented Naruto for containing the beast that devastated the village and took many lives; some even viewed Naruto as the Nine-Tails itself. Soon, the Third Hokage forbade anyone from mentioning the Nine-Tails, hoping that the younger generation would not blindly hate Naruto as their parents did.^[19] However, Naruto’s peers emulated their parents’ hatred of him, despite not knowing why. This social isolation caused Naruto to crave acknowledgement, which he would gain by pulling pranks.

On the day of his enrolment in the Ninja Academy^[20] — Naruto first met Hinata Hyūga, who was being picked on by three bullies. Despite not knowing her, Naruto immediately came to her defence, but he was outnumbered and knocked unconscious, and the bullies damaged his red scarf. When Naruto awoke, Hinata thanked him for helping her and returned his scarf to him, but he let her keep it. He was unaware that the girl’s growing affection for him began at that moment.^[21]

In the Academy, Naruto became a student of Iruka Umino, who acted as a surrogate older brother to keep him in line and help him work harder. Naruto also met his classmate Sasuke Uchiha and tried to befriend him, since Sasuke was alone as well. Jealous of Sasuke’s skills and popularity, however,^[22] he developed a one-sided rivalry in his pursuit to prove himself just as good as, if not better than, Sasuke, wishing that someday, Sasuke would accept him as an equal.^[23] Naruto also grew close with the owner of Ramen Ichiraku, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, being welcomed as their favourite customer.

Personality

Naruto is noted as boisterous, exuberant, and unorthodox, quite similar to Hashirama Senju.^[24] He inherited his mother’s verbal tic, as he ends his sentences with «Dattebayo!» (だってばよ!) when emotional. Though he responds best to competition and is not afraid to ask for assistance, Naruto is relatively naïve and slow to understand principles or situations. He often requires an oversimplified analogy in order to grasp explanations^[25] and can even prove forgetful.^[26] Naruto is aware of his faults and admits he acts strong to mask his embarrassment and frustration about them.^[27][28] Despite his naivety, Naruto can be quite observant, picking up on things others miss and retaining information casually gathered through conversation.^[29]

Growing up as an orphan who suffered years of hatred and social isolation has influenced Naruto’s character in a number of ways: he is heedless to formality and social standings, addressing certain people with nicknames instead of honourifics, although by the time of his adulthood, Naruto has slightly outgrown this trait.^[30][31] He has picky eating habits of ramen, his favourite food; he has a perverted side that manifests as attempts to peep into women’s baths, although these moments are rare.^[32] Despite his quirks and the criticism they earn him, Naruto is said to have a personality that draws people to him,^[33] inspiring friendship and loyalty through acts of genuine kindness that could change a person’s world view and thus built meaningful relationships that he lacked in early life; the Sage of Six Paths believes Naruto’s kindness is a special gift that allows him to save Kurama from its hatred.^[34] Naruto deeply cherishes these bonds and will go to great lengths to protect them, best seen with Sasuke after his defection from Konoha. Naruto’s time at the Falls of Truth revealed that a part of him hated the villagers for ostracising him, only to admire him after he saved them during Pain’s Assault. Upon confronting it, he learned to be at peace with it, willingly becoming greater than what he suffered.^[35]

Another of Naruto’s prominent traits is his desire for acknowledgement; his pranks around the village were for people to notice him, even if it meant by scolding him. Therefore, he dreamed of one day becoming Konoha’s Hokage, the epitome of acknowledgement and respect from everyone in the village.^[36] Knowing his dream is a long, arduous and seemingly impossible path, Naruto developed his own nindō of never going back on his word. This life-long philosophy serves as the cornerstone of Naruto’s great self-confidence; he believes he can accomplish any goal with enough hard work and perseverance, no matter what. This trait guides him in many aspects of life, such as his promise to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. Over time, his goal to be Hokage grew from a desire for the acknowledgement of others to a desire to help and protect the people close to him, which Tobi attributed to the Will of Fire.^[37] His nindō has since been reinforced by his understanding that shinobi were meant to endure through hardships.^[38] His belief in hard work and perseverance made him detest shortcuts to achieving, as he disqualified his son from the Chūnin Exams for using the banned Kote, and expressed disgust at Momoshiki and Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki for their reliance on harvesting from Chakra Fruits to lazily gain power.^[39]

After the death of his master Jiraiya, talking to his father Minato and listening to Nagato’s tragic story, Naruto grew to understand the destructive cycle of hatred and he vowed to break it in order to bring true peace to the world.^[40] To that end, his participation in the Fourth Shinobi World War is not only to protect his friends but also to bear and erase the world’s hatred all by himself. After encountering a reincarnated Itachi Uchiha, however, Naruto realises that he cannot handle everything alone and that he must allow his friends to support and fight alongside him. As he does so in war’s climax, his fighting spirit inspires the Allied Shinobi Forces to join him and keep fighting to end the war as well, ultimately becoming an example for many people to admire, follow, and believe in.^[41][42]

Naruto first met Hinata Hyūga when they were children, where his open kindness and courageous spirit earned him her admiration, which grew into love. On his part, Naruto remained mostly oblivious to Hinata’s feelings for him and even considered her «weird» because of her shyness around him. However, that change during the Chūnin Exams in Part I when they began to interact more and support each other, causing Naruto to like her as a friend.^[43] In Part II, as Hinata becomes willing to risk her life to protect Naruto, he, in turn, sees her as an actively strong person despite his speechlessness at her love confession. Naruto did grow to love Hinata subconsciously. Still, he was unaware of it because he kept «fighting» for Sakura, which was just another way for him to compete with Sasuke. During The Last: Naruto the Movie, Naruto finally recognises the love that Hinata has always had for him, causing him to become more bashful and protective of her, just as she was for him. Realising that she alone has ever had faith in him and that she has always been there for him, he reciprocates her feelings and desires to be with her for the rest of his life. This new-found desire made him willing to make healthier lifestyle choices such as eating vegetables and reeling in his impulsiveness, something others have had little success with doing.

As an adult, Naruto becomes wiser and more mature, though he retains some of his negligence for honourifics.^[44] Although he finally achieves his dream of becoming Hokage, its many tasks would often overwhelm Naruto to the point of him being unable to spend time with his family. He admits that part of this stems was from not having grown up with a father himself, making him unsure of how to interact appropriately with his children.^[45] Naruto also tends to be more responsible in his duties as Hokage than as a father. Nevertheless, Naruto profoundly loves his family, as he creates shadow clones to tend to them while he’s busy, protects them in times of danger, spends time with them when he can, and expresses pride in his children’s successes.^[39] He adopts Hiruzen’s philosophy that everyone in the village is his family, believing that genuine relationships are made up of love rather than blood relations.^[46] His refusal to give his son any special treatment due to their blood-relationships, along with the insistence that the boy professionally addresses him as «Seventh» or «Hokage» while in the office, is a testament of Naruto’s lack of bias and prejudice.^[39] Likewise, even in the face of people close to him committing horrible deeds, Naruto remains loyal to them, pushing aside his grief enough to see the nature of what they did.^[47] However, after facing Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki and realising how his overly-committed nature serving the entire village was significantly affecting his own family’s happiness, Naruto came to accept that he needed to give them more attention. As such, by allowing more help from others, Naruto was able to enjoy more time with his family, restoring the same healthy relationship he had with them before he became Hokage.

Appearance

According to Jiraiya, Naruto strongly resembles his father:^[48] he has yellow-blond, spiky hair and blue eyes, while inheriting the shape of his mother’s eyes and face.^[49] His trademark characteristics are the three whisker markings on his cheeks. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Dan Katō initially mistook Naruto for Nawaki due to their stark resemblance.^[50] Naruto was rather short for his age during Part I,^[51] though he grew to be taller than Sakura in Part II.^[52] Naruto originally wore green goggles on his forehead, though he discards them upon becoming a genin.

In Part I, Naruto wore an orange and blue jacket with a white collar, a white swirl with a tassel on the left side, and a red Uzumaki crest on the back. He also wore orange pants with a shuriken holster on his right knee, blue sandals, and a blue forehead protector, given to him by Iruka after graduating from the Academy. In Part II, Naruto wears a more form fitting outfit after wearing out his original one while training with Jiraiya,^[53] with a T-shirt or mesh armour underneath. While retaining the swirls and orange pants, the blue pieces of his outfit changes to black: his forehead protector (which is now longer), sandals, and orange jacket, the black colour showing more prominence than the blue did originally. During his battle with Pain, Naruto briefly wore a short-sleeved red coat with a black flame pattern around the hem and carried a large scroll on his back.

Naruto loses his right arm after the Fourth Shinobi World War, though it is later replaced by a fully manoeuvrable prosthetic arm made of Hashirama Senju’s cells, wrapped completely in bandages. In The Last: Naruto the Movie, Naruto grew again to be one of the tallest of his graduating class, cut his hair short, and wore a black elastic forehead protector. Over his pants and sandals, he wears a black uniform jacket with an orange zipper and buttons on the waist and sleeves, which can be folded up at times. He has a red armband with an Uzumaki crest on his left arm. After becoming Hokage, Naruto dons a garment similar to his father’s: a white cape that has a red flame pattern around the hem, is held together by a red rope, and has the kanji for «Seventh Hokage» (七代目火影, Nanadaime Hokage) written vertically down the back. Underneath this, he wears an orange sweatshirt with black stripes (reverse in the manga version of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations), black pants and sandals. He occasionally wears the traditional Hokage headpiece, but has stopped wearing a forehead protector.

Abilities

Originally, Naruto was a rather inept ninja, failing to graduate from the Academy three times. Through sheer determination and training however, his skills rapidly improved to defeat strong genin like Neji Hyūga, Gaara, and Kabuto Yakushi, earning acknowledgement from all the Sannin for his potential.^[54] Under various tutelage, Naruto was able to defeat various members of Akatsuki, ultimately earning praise from Konohagakure as a Hokage-material hero.^[55] Naruto’s personally defeated various reincarnated Kage^[56] and jinchūriki during the Fourth Shinobi World War,^[57] with many believing he was the central key to winning the battle.^[58][59][60] By adulthood, his prowess made him the Seventh Hokage, regarded as the strongest shinobi in history^[61] and having command of overwhelming jutsu.^[62] With the combined might of Sasuke, noted as his only rival as a shinobi,^[39] they are said to be able to destroy a continent.^[63] Together, they overpowered Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki who absorbed Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki, and pushed Jigen’s body to its limit. Overall, he could compete against if not defeat world-threatening opponents, such as Madara Uchiha, Kaguya, Toneri Ōtsutsuki, and while fighting at his absolute peak overwhelm Isshiki Ōtsutsuki.

Chakra and Physical Prowess

As an Uzumaki and a reincarnation of Asura Ōtsutsuki,^[64] Naruto has massive reserves of strong chakra, at least four times greater than Kakashi’s, and described by Karin as «bright and warm.»^[65][66] His initial poor control of it was offset by his sheer reserves,^[67] which were large enough to endure three and a half days of constant battle against several powerful opponents. Only by the end of his battle against Sasuke did he show exhaustion, and even then could still fight to a standstill and eventual victory.^[68] Naruto’s control improved greatly over time; able to transfer his chakra to others,^[69] and perform one-handed hand seals.^[70] Naruto’s powerful life-force grants him an extreme longevity, healing power, stamina, and vitality;^[71] this allowed him to survive the extraction of a tailed beast, though he required aid from Sakura to stay alive.^[72] Naruto also learned how to counter genjutsu from Jiraiya, but is limited.^[73] In adulthood, Naruto’s chakra is powerful enough to intimidate Kawaki into submission^[74] and destroy high-level barriers simply by releasing a burst of it.^[75] He could repel Shikamaru’s Shadow Imitation Technique, a feat that no one else could do.^[63] His chakra, when he combined it with his son’s Vanishing Rasengan, turned it into a gigantic Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan able to kill the empowered Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki who tried to use a copy of the technique to defeat his.^[76] His chakra reserves were also so vast that he was able to overload Delta’s chakra-absorbing eye with a continuous Rasengan-assault and still primed to defeat her.^[77]

While naturally a short-range fighter, Naruto originally was inept at taijutsu, requiring unpredictable attacks to surprise combat experts like Kiba Inuzuka and Neji.^[78][79] He often utilised shadow clones in large if not massive numbers to simply overwhelm his foes.^[80] Although these tactics resumed later, Naruto becomes much more adept at taijutsu due to Jiraiya’s training.^[81] After Fukasaku’s tutelage, he could fend off a pair of expert kenjutsu users.^[82][83][84] Two years after the war, Naruto’s taijutsu prowess could best dozens of opponents without shadow clones or enhancements.^[21] As Hokage, his taijutsu could pressure Momoshiki after he had absorbed Kinshiki.^[76] Naruto could even hold off Delta despite her extreme body modifications, ultimately controlling the pace of the battle to tire her out and gradually overwhelm her^[85] to win despite being in the defensive.^[77] His speed had also increased to the point where he could effortlessly catch up with Kawaki after he tried to escape.^[74] Likewise, in the anime, he is proven very resilient, able to take a point-blank blast from Kawaki’s modifications unfazed.^[86]

Body Modifications

After losing his right arm during his final battle with Sasuke, Tsunade cultured an artificial prosthesis for him using the cells of Hashirama Senju. As his body and the prosthesis arms are only connected through his chakra itself he can easily remove and replace them.^[87] After Momoshiki’s defeat, Naruto took inspiration from his chakra absorption technique and had Katasuke Tōno and the Scientific Ninja Weapons Team modified the arm further with mechanical features. With it, Naruto is able to neutralise and even absorb enemy techniques, though they have yet to replicate Momoshiki’s ability to discharge them as a counterattack.^[87]

Jinchūriki Transformations

Main articles: Jinchūriki Forms, Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and Baryon Mode

Originally as the jinchūriki of Kurama’s Yang half, Naruto had access to massive reserves of exceptionally powerful chakra, which was at least a hundredfold greater than Kakashi’s.^[65] These chakra levels were increased even further when the Yin half of Kurama was reunited with the Yang half inside of Naruto. Due to his inheriting his mother’s unique chakra capacities and being Kurama’s jinchūriki for essentially his entire life, Naruto’s chakra has properly mixed with the fox’s,^[88] allowing him to perform several chakra-taxing techniques unhindered. Originally, he could only access Kurama’s chakra in times of great anger. It enhanced Naruto’s abilities, but the fox’s negative influence made Naruto more aggressive. While essentially remaining himself when accessing a Version 1 state, manifesting four tails would trigger Version 2 state, which made him lose control and would gradually turn into even more feral forms, requiring outside assistance to suppress Kurama’s power and regain control, prompting him to avoid relying on the fox’s power whenever possible. By the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, he could access his Version 1 form without any loss in his mentality.^[89]

Realising he could not avoid using Kurama’s power, Naruto sought to control it with help from Killer B, a jinchūriki who had fully mastered the power of Gyūki, and unexpectedly, Kushina. Upon succeeding and taking most of Kurama’s chakra, Naruto attained Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, which greatly increased his physical parameters. Naruto can also detect negative emotions in this mode. As he didn’t have Kurama’s cooperation, Naruto needed to exercise extreme caution while using the form, as the chakra exchange could cost him his life. Eventually, when Kurama acknowledged Naruto’s life-long strength of character and Naruto learned the fox’s true name, their new-found friendship granted Naruto access to its full power, which further increased his physical parameters and with no drawbacks. This cooperation of Kurama also provides Naruto with an immediate resistance from genjutsu. Two years later, he could isolate the form with one hand to enhance his strength or to block attacks.

Failing to transform into a replica of Kurama at first, Naruto instead achieved a Tailed Beast Mode in the unique form of a life-sized transparent avatar of chakra. In it, he could create Tailed Beast Balls and revitalise the life-forces of any he touches physically or with the avatar,^[90][91] heal nearly any wounds,^[39] or grant them temporarily chakra-cloaks.^[92] After he became the jinchūriki of Kurama’s complete self, Naruto is able to manifest the demon fox outside himself for a period akin to summoning, allowing both to fight as separate entities. During the endgame of the Fourth Great War, Naruto received chakra from the other tailed beasts,^[93] which greatly increased his chakra reserves even further and allowed him to access their unique abilities himself, or infuse them into his own techniques. With the infusion of all nine of the tailed beasts’ respective chakra inside of him, Naruto has become a medium to connect all the tailed beasts to communicate with each other^[94] and made him a human pillar for the power of the Ten-Tails.^[95]

In the most dire of situations, Naruto is able to access a deep level of Kurama’s power, Baryon Mode. In this state, his facial features become even more akin to Kurama with nine blazing chakra tails. In a process similar to nuclear fusion, Naruto’s and Kurama’s chakra are consumed as raw materials to produce a new type of energy. When in use, it dramatically boosts Naruto’s reflexes, raw might, and chakra to such extreme levels, able to surpass Isshiki’s capabilities. Because all chakra is connected, the same power that is produced from bits of their lives also work to reduce the lifespan of opponents on contact. Due to its extreme energy consumption, Naruto must remain focused and not waste energy on extraneous thoughts and actions, to maximise the amount of time he can maintain Baryon Mode.^[96] The drawback of this form is the high chance of death for Kurama from the extreme strain of this form. Upon Kurama’s death from this form, while Naruto was spared the same fate, he lost access to all of Kurama’s chakra and abilities.^[97]

Ninjutsu

In the Academy, the Sexy Technique was the only technique that Naruto could perform successfully, which had no practical use other than to shock people. Later, he learned more advanced and useful ninjutsu from Jiraiya. This included summoning toads from Mount Myōboku to assist him, and use them to crush enemies from above. He became skilled in shurikenjutsu, able to throw weapons quickly and with precision.^[98] Naruto’s repertoire expanded to fūinjutsu, where he could store his weapons within scrolls. His fūinjutsu was further increased upon receiving Gerotora near the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War.^[99] In the anime, Jiraiya taught Naruto cooperation ninjutsu, combining his techniques with others to create an even more powerful one.^[100] The collaboration techniques he performed with other individuals typically utilised his own elemental affinity, such as the Typhoon Water Vortex Technique with Yamato, the Wind Release: Toad Gun with Gamatatsu, and the Scorch Release: Halo Hurricane Jet Black Arrow Style Zero with Sasuke. He also learned from Asuma Sarutobi to flow chakra into his weapons to increase their offensive might.^[101] In the anime, by adulthood, Naruto showed some proficiency with bōjutsu.^[102]

Shadow Clone Technique

Naruto’s first trademark technique was the Shadow Clone Technique. While originally failing constantly with a basic illusionary clone, after briefly studying the Scroll of Seals, he learned to create shadow clones on a mass scale. From then on, Naruto’s skill with shadow clones blossomed to great heights. Having unusually high chakra reserves, Naruto could use this technique to create hundreds of shadow clones and retain large amounts of chakra in each one with relative ease.^[103] He could use them to outnumber or deceive his enemies, manoeuvre himself in mid-air, transform into weapons, scout areas, or test an opponent’s abilities.^[104] During his elemental-affinity training, learning that the original will gain all the knowledge and conditioning of a shadow clone right after it dispersed. From this, Naruto can use his mass scale of clones to drastically speed up his training to gain years worth of experience in just days. By the time he became Hokage, Naruto’s usage of this technique on mass-scale and prolonged-periods allowed him to constantly perform multiple simultaneous tasks throughout the village daily, although he does have a tendency to overexert himself, leaving him exhausted afterwards.

Rasengan

Naruto’s second trademark technique is the Rasengan. Originally, due to his poor chakra control, Naruto had to use a shadow clone to form the spherical shape while he provided the chakra. Over time, Naruto developed larger versions of the Rasengan and learned how to perform it faster.^[105] During the Fourth Shinobi World War, he learned to use the Rasengan and its variants unaided with a single hand, or even form one in both hands simultaneously.^[106] He also increased the size of his standard Rasengan.^[107] Naruto had also shown the ability to release the Rasengan as an energy wave,^[21] or as a projectile in the anime.^[108] Using senjutsu or Kurama’s chakra, Naruto can create more powerful and elaborate variations of the Rasengan; using the latter, he even developed the Super Mini-Tailed Beast Ball, performing it in a similar manner to the Rasengan. In the anime, usage of his tailed beast chakra also allows him to instantly perform massive Rasengan without the aid of his hands and launch in quick successions, similar to a Tailed Beast Ball.^[109]

Nature Transformation

Naruto’s natural affinity is Wind Release. Using shadow clones, one to form the Rasengan while another infuses the Wind chakra, Naruto could complete difficult task of producing a Rasengan that is the pinnacle of shape and nature transformation, something no one before him could accomplish, including Kakashi and his father. Once adjusting to using the Wind Release: Rasengan he could expand upon it to produce the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. He also created different-sized variations, and could even use two Rasenshuriken simultaneously. Two years after its creation, he became skilled enough to form a Rasenshuriken without any shadow clones and throw it in his base form,^[21] a feat which he previously could only do while using his enhanced modes.

After gaining the Six Paths Senjutsu, Naruto can utilise all basic five nature transformations, as well as Yin–Yang Release.^[110] He could make perfect use of the latter to revitalise life-forces, heal whomever he touches, and restore missing organs.^[111] After gaining chakra from the respective tailed beasts, Naruto can also use Shukaku’s Magnet Release, Son Gokū’s Lava Release, and Kokuō’s Boil Release, able to infuse any of the other elements into is normal techniques as seamlessly as with Wind chakra. Having an arm made from Hashirama’s cells, Naruto has a possibility to use Wood Release.^[112]

Senjutsu

Naruto later trained in senjutsu at Mount Myōboku, which was only possible due to his high chakra reserves. Unlike Jiraiya, he was able to perfectly balance natural energy with his chakra, and enter a complete Sage Mode, symbolised by the orange pigmentation around his yellow eyes and his toad-like pupils, and no other alterations to his appearance. Using Sage Mode made Naruto’s techniques stronger, enhanced his physical parameters,^{[113][114][115]} utilise the Frog Kata taijutsu style,^[116] and sense chakra through advanced enough to identify different signatures from vast distances.^[117] Since Fukasaku was unable to fuse with Naruto and gather natural energy for him due to Kurama’s interference, Naruto had to employ shadow clones instead to maintain the technique, taking advantage of the clones’ own buildup of natural energy being transferred to the original and let him use Sage Mode a number of times. However, creating more than five shadow clones overall would disrupt the focus of the clones gathering natural energy. The need for this method diminishes over time as Naruto became capable of entering Sage Mode much faster.^[118] However, after finding unity with Kurama, Naruto overcame this problem and learned to combine Sage Mode with Kurama’s chakra to further enhance his abilities, such that he could resist Nagato’s control and shatter Truth-Seeking Balls. In later years, having drawn experience from his various events, Naruto became able to maintain Sage Mode for much longer durations unaided.

Six Paths Senjutsu

Main article: Six Paths Senjutsu
Naruto also gained access to the Six Paths Senjutsu (六道仙術, Rikudō Senjutsu), which allowed him to fly and also manifest up to nine Truth-Seeking Balls, composed of all five basic natures, Yin–Yang Release, and imbue them with the Six Paths Sage Chakra. He could mould the balls into a myriad of shapes, fire them as projectiles and still control them from distance, or convert them into Tailed Beast Balls and use them to create Tailed Beast Ball Rasenshuriken. While his shadow clones are unable to produce Truth-Seeking Balls of their own, Naruto is able to transfer control of his own to any of his shadow clones.

Six Paths Sage Mode

Main article: Six Paths Sage Mode

With the power given to him by Hagoromo, Naruto gained access to the Six Paths Sage Mode (六道仙人モード, Rikudō Sennin Mōdo).^[5] In this mode, his pupils take on a cross-like shape — without manifesting the orange pigmentation around his eyes present in Sage Mode. Going further, Naruto donned a new Nine-Tails Chakra Mode cloak, which he could access instantly and maintain much longer than his standard Sage Mode.^[119] Naruto’s physical attributes and techniques are further augmented,^[120] to the point where he could dodge attacks that moved at the speed of light and deflect Truth-Seeking Balls. It also empowers his sensory abilities to the highest possible level,^[121] which allowed him to sense the invisible shadows of Limbo.

Naruto also retained use of his Tailed Beast Mode avatar of Kurama, which rivalled Sasuke’s Rinnegan-empowered Complete Body — Susanoo in size and power.^[122] Using two shadow clones, he could create and combine three Kurama avatars into a single construct with three faces and six arms, which is largely reminiscent of Asura’s Six Paths: Kunitsukami.^[123] This state allowed Naruto to infuse two massive Rasenshuriken with natural energy.^[124]

Intelligence

While headstrong and often acting without thinking, Naruto’s years as a prankster had given him a cunning imagination that was useful in split-second decision making, which has repeatedly proved invaluable in battle. He is a remarkable tactile learner, able to learn better through executing a task rather than understanding the theory of it.^[125][25] Jiraiya also considered him to have a good gambling instinct.^[126] Once seen in action, even the likes of the Second Hokage revise their thoughts about Naruto’s intellect and instinct in battle.^[127] After meeting Hagoromo, Naruto gained the innate ability to grasp the nature of chakra and comprehend all universal things,^[128] allowing him to quickly master the new powers he received. By adulthood he had become a capable teacher, instructing students at Konoha’s Ninja Academy.^[129][130] During his fight with Delta, Naruto showed his ability to think ahead by hiding his power and faking defeat in order to make Delta drop her guard and reveal her plans, although Delta was perceptive enough to see through his attempts. Naruto ultimately was able to find out the weakness of Delta’s Shinobi-Ware absorbing eye and overtax it after seeing it in action repeatedly.^[77]

Naruto’s most famous mental skill is to deceive his opponents, as he made effective use of even the most simple techniques to trick the deadliest of opponents.^[131] He could formulate multi-step plans or backup plans in the thick of battle,^[132] and act quickly even when given new information.^[133] He can also seemingly make himself predictable by creating a pattern, only to throw off his opponent by breaking it. He has even thrown in what others would call completely useless techniques at powerful opponents to create an opening for a counterattack.^[134] Naruto is rather observant, able to notice details others may overlook and subsequently take advantage of them to overcome his opponents.^[135] As an adult, Naruto proved to be a capable teacher in ninjutsu, quickly teaching the basics to Kawaki.

Stats

Databook	Ninjutsu	Taijutsu	Genjutsu	Intelligence	Strength	Speed	Stamina	Hand seals	Total
First	2	1.5	1	1	2	2	4	1	14.5
Second	3	2	1	1.5	3	3	4	1	18.5
Third	4	3.5	2	3	3.5	3.5	5	1.5	26

Part I

See also: Plot of Naruto

Prologue — Land of Waves

Main article: Prologue — Land of Waves
Failing once again to graduate from the Academy, a disappointed Naruto is advised by one of his instructors, Mizuki, to steal the Scroll of Seals and learn a technique from it in order to graduate. As Naruto struggled to learn the Shadow Clone Technique, Iruka Umino tracked him down and realised that Naruto was tricked by Mizuki into stealing the scroll. Mizuki attacked them and told Naruto about the Nine-Tails sealed within him, claiming that Iruka hated him because of it. When Iruka risked his life to protect Naruto, however, he saw through Mizuki’s lies and used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to defeat him, prompting Iruka to happily grant Naruto his graduation from the Academy. Naruto would later befriend Konohamaru Sarutobi, grandson of the Third Hokage, and teach him several perverted or useful techniques.

Naruto was eventually assigned to Team 7, partnered with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno under the leadership of Kakashi Hatake. During their first meeting, Naruto shared his love of ramen, his hobbies, and his dream to become Hokage. To test their qualifications, Kakashi gave the team a bell test, stating that whichever of the three takes one of the two bells on his person will officially become genin. Instead of hiding like Sakura and Sasuke, Naruto tried to take the bells from Kakashi by force, only to be easily defeated, hung upside-down from a tree and tied to a wooden post in an attempt to steal lunch. After Sakura and Sasuke fail as well, Kakashi explains that the goal of the test was to use teamwork, to do together what none of them could do by themselves. He is persuaded to allow them to try again after lunch,but instructs Sasuke and Sakura not to feed Naruto. They feed him anyway, needing him in top-form if they’re to work together. Kakashi sees this and, because they care more about the team than listening to his instructions, allows them all to pass.

After a series of uneventful D-rank missions, Naruto is able to secure a C-rank mission for Team 7: escorting Tazuna to the Land of Waves. Soon after leaving Konoha, they are attacked by the Demon Brothers. Naruto is paralysed with fear, forcing Sasuke to step in to disarm them and protect Tazuna until Kakashi can capture them. Tazuna confesses that assassins have been hired to kill him but that he couldn’t afford the bodyguard detail he needs. Although the mission is now A-rank in nature — far beyond the skill of genin — Team 7 decides to continue with it. Angered by Sasuke’s taunting of him, Naruto cuts his hand to bleed out the poison he received earlier, vowing to never waver again. When they arrive in the Land of Waves and are confronted by Zabuza Momochi, Naruto is overwhelmed by the battle between Kakashi and Zabuza before he is knocked aside by Zabuza’s water clone. Remembering his vow, Naruto regained his confidence and teamed up with Sasuke to free Kakashi from Zabuza’s Water Prison. In the end, Zabuza is seemingly killed by Haku, allowing Team 7 to escort Tazuna back to his house.

Kakashi finds Zabuza’s death suspicious and decides to train the team in case he returns. He has them perform the Tree Climbing Practice to improve their chakra control, which will help them against Zabuza. Naruto becomes frustrated after several failures and asks for advice from Sakura, who herself mastered it from the start. Now rapidly improving, Naruto competes with Sasuke to finish the training, each determined to outdo the other. One day, Naruto encounters Haku (albeit unaware of his true identity) and they each discussed their dreams and desire to protect those precious to them. After Haku leaves, Naruto finishes the training with Sasuke but is left exhausted, so Team 7 leaves him behind the next morning as they resume their escort duties. Naruto awakens and arrives to assist Team 7 in fighting Zabuza and Haku, but, unaware of how Haku’s Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals work, he joins Sasuke within the prison.

Naruto cannot break free with his shadow clones and Sasuke cannot melt the ice with his fire. As Haku moves in to kill Naruto, Sasuke uses his body as a shield to protect Naruto and seemingly dies. Enraged by Sasuke’s apparent death, Naruto unwittingly accesses the Nine-Tails’ chakra for the first time, allowing him to destroy the ice mirrors and defeat Haku, breaking his mask. Realising his opponent was the boy he met before, Naruto calms himself. He is asked by Haku to kill him, since he feels of no further use to Zabuza. Before Naruto can do so, Haku immediately stops him and goes off to save Zabuza from being killed by Kakashi, sacrificing his own life. When Zabuza refuses to appreciate this, Naruto angrily scolds him, stating that Haku gave up his life to save someone precious to him. Touched by his words, Zabuza, using Naruto’s kunai, killed Gatō and many of his henchmen before he himself dies. Sasuke soon awakens, and when their injuries heal, Team 7 leaves for home via Tazuna’s newly-constructed Great Naruto Bridge.

Chūnin Exams

Main article: Chūnin Exams

Team 7 resumes its series of unremarkable missions. For their performance in the Land of Waves, however, Kakashi decides to enter them in the Chūnin Exams taking place in Konoha, which greatly excites Naruto. Because they’ve only recently graduated from the Academy, the three feel they must give strong showings to prove themselves. When they enter the exam hall, the team is met by Rock Lee, who challenges Sasuke to a fight; Naruto tries to attack Lee in jealousy, but is easily swept aside. The fight is interrupted by Might Guy, after which Naruto notes that the bandages around Lee’s arms signify his arduous taijutsu training while also mocking Sasuke for his unability to best Lee.

During the exam’s first stage, the participating genin are given a written test, the goal of which is to cheat without getting caught. Unaware of this, Naruto struggles to answer the questions, so Hinata Hyūga, who is seated next to him, offers to let him copy off her paper. Despite the temptation, Naruto declined Hinata’s offer, claiming that he isn’t the type to cheat and that they might be disqualified if they are caught. Before the tenth question can be given, the genin are presented with the opportunity to forfeit; Naruto refuses to do so, declaring his refusal to give up and his goal to still become Hokage. His determination to face the tenth question despite the potential consequences inspires the rest of the genin to do the same, and so they pass the first stage. It is later noted that he was the only one to hand in a blank sheet, though this did not prevent him from passing.

For the second phase, teams enter the Forest of Death with the objective of obtaining a set of two scrolls, one of which they are given at the start. Naruto becomes separated from his team and is attacked and swallowed by a giant snake. He manages to kill it and regroups with his frightened teammates against Orochimaru. Angered by Sasuke’s sudden cowardice and resignation, Naruto engages Orochimaru using the Nine-Tails’ chakra, defeats his giant snake, and taunts Sasuke before Orochimaru suppresses the Nine-Tails’ chakra, rendering Naruto unconscious. After he awakens, Team 7 continues its search for the second scroll, which they eventually gain by defeating Team Oboro, allowing them to pass the second stage.

In the preliminary matches of the exam, Naruto was pitted against Kiba Inuzuka and his dog, Akamaru. Believing the match to be an easy victory, Kiba and Akamaru overwhelmed Naruto with many high-speed attacks, so Naruto tricks Kiba into knocking Akamaru out of the fight by using the Transformation Technique, shocking all spectators. Naruto then disorients Kiba by farting in his face and defeats him with the Naruto Uzumaki Combo (which he invented from watching Sasuke’s Lion Combo). When Neji and Hinata’s match begins, Naruto is enraged by Neji’s ruthless tirade against Hinata and cheers Hinata on to defeat Neji. Although Hinata is defeated, Naruto wipes up her blood and vows to defeat Neji in the finals.

During the month of training, Naruto first meets Jiraiya (who knocked out Ebisu, Naruto’s original teacher) and trains under the Sannin to improve his chakra control. Recognising Naruto as the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, Jiraiya removes the seal Orochimaru had placed on Naruto to ease his control and begins teaching him how to use the Nine-Tails’ power by summoning toads. To accelerate Naruto’s slow progress, Jiraiya pushes him over a cliff, causing Naruto to enter his subconscious and meet the Nine-Tails. Working past his fear, he bravely demands chakra from it as «rent» for living in his body. The Nine-Tails complies and Naruto summons Gamabunta, though he exhausts himself and ends up in the hospital, where he is visited by Shikamaru Nara. After talking, he and Naruto stop Gaara from killing Rock Lee in the next room and listen to Gaara’s story of his childhood, which Naruto finds very similar to his own. Gaara prepares to kill them, but Might Guy intervenes and forces Gaara to retreat. On the day of the finals, Naruto meets Hinata at the Third Training Ground and expresses his doubts about his upcoming match with Neji. Hinata reassures Naruto that he never gave up because he always had the strength to overcome his own failures, admiring him for it. Reinvigorated, Naruto thanks Hinata and tells her even though he first thought she was weird, he now likes her.

Facing Neji in the first match of the finals, Naruto began by creating shadow clones to overwhelm Neji’s with sheer numbers. Deeming Naruto a failure who could never defeat a genius like himself, Neji easily defeats Naruto’s clones and seals his chakra with Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Determined to prove Neji’s ideals about fate wrong, Naruto tapped into the Nine-Tails’ chakra and, revitalised, clashed with Neji. When the smoke cleared, Neji emerges and Naruto lies defeated. This, however, was only a shadow clone, and the real Naruto burst from the ground beneath Neji, defeating him with an uppercut. Before he is declared the winner, Naruto tells Neji that creating clones was once his shortcoming and that Neji needs to stop believing in inescapable fate. When Sasuke finally arrives for his match with Gaara, Naruto is envious of Sasuke’s improvements, but is later put to sleep along with most of the audience, commencing the Konoha Crush.

Konoha Crush

Main article: Konoha Crush
Sakura wakes up Naruto so they can pursue Sasuke, who was pursuing Gaara himself. They arrive in time for Naruto to kick Gaara away before he can kill Sasuke. Partially transformed into Shukaku, Gaara knocks Sakura unconscious and binds her to a tree, forcing Naruto to battle him, with little success. Naruto relates to Gaara’s painful life as a jinchūriki, but he is not willing to let anything to happen to Sakura and Sasuke. Determined to protect his friends, Naruto creates an army of shadow clones to relentlessly batter Gaara, forcing him to fully transform into Shukaku, to which Naruto responds by summoning Gamabunta.

Gaara puts himself to sleep to give control of his body to Shukaku, forcing Naruto and Gamabunta to figure out a way to end the jutsu. They do so by transforming into a giant fox (the Nine-Tails in the anime) to restrain Shukaku, allowing Naruto to awaken Gaara with a solid punch to the face. Shukaku’s influence disappears, but Gaara regains control and traps Naruto with his sand. Naruto escapes by tapping into the Nine-Tails’ chakra, and headbutts Gaara when he is close enough, destroying Shukaku’s form. Exhausted from the fight, the two leap at each other for one final exchange, and Naruto punches Gaara, claiming victory.

Naruto and Gaara fall to the ground, unable to move. Slowly crawling towards Gaara, Naruto explained that he also suffered a painful and lonely life, but was later saved by having friends. To that end, he will do anything to protect them, even if it means killing Gaara. Understanding Naruto’s true strength, Gaara retreated with Kankurō and Temari with a new outlook on life, while Naruto passes out from exhaustion and is returned to Konoha with Sasuke and a rescued Sakura. A few days later, Team 7 attends the Third Hokage’s funeral.

Search for Tsunade

Main article: Search for Tsunade
Jiraiya is tasked with finding Tsunade, a candidate for Fifth Hokage, and convinces Naruto to accompany him by promising to teach him a technique stronger than Sasuke’s Chidori. Stopping at an inn in Shukuba Town, Naruto was approached by Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha of Akatsuki, who intend to capture the Nine-Tails. When Sasuke shows up and furiously attacks Itachi, Naruto gathers the Nine-Tails’ chakra to help Sasuke, but it is absorbed by Kisame’s Samehada. Jiraiya soon arrives and drives off Itachi and Kisame, but Sasuke is left mentally and physically damaged by Itachi. Might Guy appears and takes Sasuke back to Konoha, but not before giving Naruto a spare green jumpsuit.

To prepare for the next encounter with Akatsuki, Naruto begins learning the Rasengan, completing two of its three learning steps. Taking a break from training, Naruto and Jiraiya eventually found Tsunade and her assistant Shizune at a restaurant. When Tsunade refuses the offer to become Hokage and insults all who held the title, an angry Naruto challenged her to a fight and attacked her with an incomplete Rasengan, only to be easily defeated. Impressed by his progress, however, Tsunade makes a bet with Naruto: if he can master the Rasengan in a week, he gets the First Hokage’s Necklace; if not, she gets his wallet. Naruto agreed and spent the week trying to perfect the Rasengan, but has no success and collapses from exhaustion. Once he recovers, Naruto heads out with Jiraiya and Shizune to stop Tsunade from meeting with Orochimaru.

They arrive to see Tsunade, who never intended to aid Orochimaru, in the midst of battle with Kabuto Yakushi. When Tsunade is incapacitated, Naruto fights Kabuto in her place and eventually defeats him with a perfected Rasengan, which he formed by using a shadow clone. Naruto collapses almost immediately afterwards, his heart muscles torn by Kabuto, but Tsunade successfully manages to heal him, gives him the necklace he wins, and accepts the position of Hokage. After Orochimaru and Kabuto are defeated, Naruto and the others return to Konoha, Tsunade confidently believing Naruto would someday become a great Hokage.

Land of Tea Escort Mission

Main article: Land of Tea Escort Mission

Sasuke Recovery Mission

Main article: Sasuke Recovery Mission

Naruto visits a recovering Sasuke at the hospital, but is immediately challenged to a fight, to which Naruto eventually agrees. The fight escalates quickly, culminating with Naruto using Rasengan and Sasuke using Chidori. Kakashi arrives and deflects their attacks into opposing water towers before they can clash, Naruto unknowingly doing more damage than Sasuke. Distressed by Sasuke’s behaviour, Sakura informs Naruto of the cursed seal Sasuke received from Orochimaru, though Naruto assures Sakura that Sasuke would never abandon Konoha for power. Unfortunately, Sasuke does just that and Naruto joins the Sasuke Recovery Team in order to bring him back; he promises a tearful Sakura to do so before he leaves. En route to Sasuke, the team encounters members of the Sound Four, each of which battles a member of the recovery team, while Naruto engages Kimimaro. Overwhelmed by Kimimaro’s taijutsu skills, Naruto is saved at the last minute by Rock Lee, who volunteers to fight Kimimaro while Naruto heads after Sasuke.

Naruto finally meets Sasuke at the Valley of the End. His pleas for Sasuke to come back to Konoha and warns him that Orochimaru will take his body, but his pleadings fall on deaf ears. Naruto starts attacking him, ready to take him back to Konoha by force if necessary. Undeterred, Sasuke responds by tapping into his cursed seal and landing a series of heavy blows on Naruto. It becomes painfully clear to Naruto that Sasuke is fighting with an intent to kill, so Naruto utilises the Nine-Tails’ chakra to overpower Sasuke. Naruto says that Sasuke is like a brother to him and that he will do anything to protect that bond. Sasuke vows to sever that bond, but acknowledges Naruto as an equal by putting on his forehead protector. They continue trading blows, with Naruto eventually manifesting a fox-shaped cloak and Sasuke entering his cursed seal’s second level. Naruto clashes his Rasengan with Sasuke’s Chidori, and within the dome of resulting energy they trade final blows: Sasuke punches Naruto and Naruto scratches Sasuke’s forehead protector.

When the energy dissipates, Naruto lies defeated, but Sasuke spares him and continues his way to Orochimaru, leaving his scratched forehead protector behind. Kakashi and Pakkun arrive late and failing to retrieve Sasuke, leave with Naruto. In the hospital, Naruto once again promises Sakura to bring Sasuke back one day. Soon after, Jiraiya arrived with an offer to train Naruto for preparation against Orochimaru and Akatsuki in three years and to give up on Sasuke, as he is no different from Orochimaru. Naruto accepts Jiraiya’s training, but refuses to give up on Sasuke, satisfying Jiraiya.

Original Anime Arcs

See also: Plot of Naruto

As in the manga, Naruto later departs with Jiraiya to begin his two and a half years of training, after making a determined gesture at the Fourth Hokage’s statue. In the anime, this does not happen until about 3 months later as Jiraiya was occupied with important intel gathering about Akatsuki for Konohagakure. During the waiting period, Tsunade gives Naruto several missions with members of the Konoha 11 to keep him busy.

Interlude

In the anime, shortly after leaving Konoha, Jiraiya and Naruto discuss the fact that Naruto will need to learn how to counter genjutsu if he hopes to be a match against Sasuke the next time they meet. Naruto practises with Gamariki to dispel genjutsu, but he struggles with it and his chakra keeps hitting Gamariki, who doesn’t appreciate it. Naruto follows Jiraiya to the Genjutsu Tree Village to try a different approach, but they discover the village has been taken over by Kandachi.^[136] They free the villagers and then attack Kandachi, who Naruto eventually defeats with his newly-created Big Ball Rasengan. As they leave afterwards, Jiraiya is pleased by how similar Naruto is to Minato Namikaze and hugs him, which Naruto is bothered by.^[137]

In Naruto’s Footsteps: The Friends’ Paths

Main article: In Naruto’s Footsteps: The Friends’ Paths
Two years into their training, Naruto’s control of the Nine-Tails’ chakra has improved significantly. Jiraiya tries to give him more access to the Nine-Tails’ power and uses Gerotora to weaken Naruto’s Eight Trigrams Sealing Style. Seizing the opportunity, the Nine-Tails mocked Naruto for his inability to save Sasuke, using Naruto’s negative emotions to force him to enter a version 2 form with four tails. Not in control of his body, Naruto attacks Jiraiya and nearly kills him before he manages to suppress the Nine-Tails. Naruto has no memory of what happened and Jiraiya doesn’t tell him, instead, shifting Naruto’s training to other pursuits, including keeping his anger in check so that the Nine-Tails won’t flare up again.^[138]

Part II

See also: Plot of Naruto: Shippūden

Kazekage Rescue Mission

Main article: Kazekage Rescue Mission

Naruto and Jiraiya return to Konoha after two-and-a-half years of training, where Naruto becomes surprised by Tsunade’s newly-formed statue on Hokage Rock. He greets his old friends afterwards: he gives Kakashi a copy of Icha Icha Tactics as a gift; he catches up with Sakura, whom he has become taller than; he gets back into a competition of Sexy Techniques with Konohamaru Sarutobi, only to be violently reprimanded by Sakura. Kakashi reforms Team 7 with them and gives them another bell test, but unlike last time, taking the bells from him is the real objective. As with last time, Naruto launches a first attack before the test officially begins, but this time it nearly succeeds. Despite their improved abilities, Naruto and Sakura were still unable to get a bell through conventional means, and it was only by Naruto’s threat to spoil the latest Icha Icha novel that they distracted Kakashi long enough to take the bells.

While Team 7 tries without success to find a mission to go on that Naruto won’t complain about, word reaches Konoha that Akatsuki has kidnapped Gaara, the Kazekage. Team 7 is sent to Sunagakure to assist in rescuing Gaara. On their way to Suna, Naruto explains that Gaara was kidnapped because he is the jinchūriki of the One-Tail, just as Naruto is the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. Upon arrival in Suna, Naruto defends Kakashi from Chiyo’s assault when she mistakes him for his father. Team 7 gathers what intel they can on Gaara’s kidnappers and leave to go after them; Chiyo volunteers to escort them since they aren’t familiar with the country around Suna. Naruto promises a recovering Kankurō to rescue Gaara before they leave.

While en route to an Akatsuki lair, they are confronted by Itachi Uchiha, who traps Naruto in a genjutsu. Sakura and Chiyo release him, allowing Naruto to team up with Kakashi and defeat Itachi with a Big Ball Rasengan. The Itachi is discovered to be an impostor, so they continue to the Akatsuki lair, meeting up with Team Guy, who takes down the barrier over the entrance so that Team 7 can get in. They find Gaara’s body finds with his kidnappers, Deidara and Sasori. Deidara flies off with Gaara’s body with Naruto and Kakashi in pursuit, leaving Sasori to Chiyo and Sakura. Naruto, enraged, makes repeated failed attempts to rescue Gaara before he is calmed by Kakashi, who uses his new Mangekyō Sharingan to distract Deidara with Kamui. Naruto retrieves Gaara’s body, but seeing it drives him over the edge: he furiously attacks Deidara and beats him mercilessly into the ground. Discovering that it was a Clay Clone, Naruto slips into his two-tailed form in rage, but is restored to normal by Kakashi via the Chakra-Suppressing Seal.

Deidara escapes, while Naruto and Kakashi regroup with Sakura, Chiyo, and Team Guy. Sakura attempts to revive Gaara, but the removal of Shukaku has caused him to die. Naruto breaks down in tears and angrily lashes out at Chiyo, saying she had no right to make Gaara not only a jinchūriki, but also lose his life because of it. As atonement and with Naruto’s aid, Chiyo sacrifices her life to revive Gaara; as the jutsu nears completion, Chiyo voices her faith in Naruto’s ability to save Gaara and to become Hokage. Naruto greets Gaara when he awakens, and a few days later, Teams 7 and Guy attend Chiyo’s funeral in Suna. Before returning home, Naruto and Gaara shake hands (Gaara using his sand) as a sign of their close relationship.

Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission

Main article: Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission

During her fight with Sasori, Sakura learned of an opportunity to meet with a spy in Orochimaru’s ranks in a few days’ time, hoping it will lead them to Sasuke. Kakashi is left bedridden from his fight with Deidara, so Yamato leads Team 7 as his replacement. Replacing Sasuke on the team is Sai, whom Naruto actually encounters earlier and dislikes, declaring him an inferior version of Sasuke. Sai is happy for this distinction and proceeds to degrade Sasuke for defecting from Konoha, forcing Yamato to use his Wood Release to break up their fight. Naruto is constantly exasperated by Sai’s lack of empathy and his ridicule of Sasuke, but resolves to work with Sai if it means saving Sasuke.

Yamato disguises himself as Sasori and goes to the Tenchi Bridge to meet the spy while Naruto, Sakura, and Sai hide nearby. The spy, Kabuto Yakushi, begins telling Yamato about Orochimaru’s organisation, but they are interrupted by the arrival of Orochimaru, who teams up with Kabuto to fight Yamato, having intended to kill Sasori. Team 7 comes to his aid and Orochimaru, recognising them, taunts Naruto about Sasuke. Naruto is enraged and strikes him, using his version 1 form to make his attacks more devastating. Naruto’s rage intensifies as he submits to the Nine-Tails’ influence: he destroys the Tenchi Bridge and eventually advances to his version 2 form while fighting Orochimaru. Naruto is soon forced back to the destroyed bridge, where, unable to tell friend from foe, he unknowingly attacks Sakura when she approaches him.

Yamato restrains Naruto with his Wood Release and suppresses the Nine-Tails’ influence, but its chakra leaves Naruto’s body badly damaged. After Sakura heals him, Naruto wakes up unable to remember what happened, but is surprised by the devastated landscape. When they realise that Sai is missing, Yamato reports that he has joined with Orochimaru and Kabuto. On the way, Yamato secretly takes Naruto aside and tells him that he is the one who attacked Sakura. He encourages Naruto to use his own strength instead of the Nine-Tails in order to protect his loved ones. The team locates Sai, whom Yamato has placed a trace on, at Orochimaru’s lair and capture him. Restrained, Sai asks why Naruto is determined to save him; Naruto replies that his bond with Sasuke is too precious to be broken and that he will do anything to protect it. Intrigued, Sai switches sides, helping them capture Kabuto and then searching the base for Sasuke on Naruto’s behalf. While he’s gone, Yamato goes through his belongings and finds evidence that Sai has been assigned to assassinate Sasuke.

When they find Sai, he explains that he truly does want to help retrieve Sasuke, and in fact has already found him: Naruto and Sakura are speechless to see Sasuke again. Sasuke reacts with indifference to them, but Naruto remarks he can’t become Hokage without saving his friend. To demonstrate that they mean nothing to him, Sasuke quickly neutralises them all. As Naruto struggles to avoid the temptation of using the Nine-Tails, Sasuke suddenly appears in Naruto’s subconscious using his Sharingan and suppresses the Nine-Tails. He then prepares to kill them, but is persuaded not to by Orochimaru and leaves without further comment. Naruto is upset at having failed once more to bring Sasuke home, but is reminded by Sakura that they need to become stronger and Team 7 returns to Konoha.

Twelve Guardian Ninja

Main article: Twelve Guardian Ninja (Arc)

Akatsuki Suppression Mission

Main article: Akatsuki Suppression Mission
Once Kakashi is done recuperating in the hospital, he assembles Naruto, Sakura, and Sai to discuss their failed mission to retrieve Sasuke. Kakashi believes the best way to match Sasuke is for Naruto to create a new jutsu. As the training began, Naruto discovers that his nature is wind and learns to use the wind nature. Ordinarily, such training would take months or years, but Kakashi advises that Naruto, by training alongside hundreds of shadow clones can do the same training in a mere fraction of the time. With Kakashi’s instructions and the training grounds created by Yamato, Naruto quickly masters how to use the wind nature. The next step is more difficult for him: combining that nature with the Rasengan.

Like Kakashi and Minato Namikaze before him, Naruto fails several times in trying to combine his nature with the Rasengan; his frustration evokes the Nine-Tails’ chakra at times, which Yamato suppresses. With further advice from Kakashi, Naruto finds his solution using two shadow clones: one helps him form the Rasengan and the other adds his wind nature. When they receive news that Asuma died in battle with members of Akatsuki, they take a break to attend Asuma’s funeral. Kakashi leaves Yamato in charge of overseeing Naruto’s training so he could help Team 10 avenge Asuma. Having finished his jutsu, Naruto and Team Yamato went to provide assistance, arriving in time to save Kakashi and Team 10 from Kakuzu. Naruto engages Kakuzu alone with his newly-created Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, though it dissipates on its first use and Naruto is rescued by Kakashi and Yamato. The technique succeeds the second time, destroying two of Kakuzu’s hearts and putting the last one on the brink of failure. Kakashi finishes off Kakuzu and they return to Konoha.

The Rasenshuriken injures Naruto’s arm after use and he is forbidden to use the technique ever again. When they visit Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto has a hard time eating while his arm mends, so Sakura opts to help, before the responsibility falls to Sai, then to Kakashi. As they leave afterwards, they are met by Konohamaru, who demonstrates his Sexy: Girl on Girl Technique; Naruto approves but Sakura is disgusted and violently reprimands him. In the manga, Konohamaru responds with Sexy: Boy on Boy Technique; Sakura approves but Naruto is disgusted and violently reprimands him.

Three-Tails’ Appearance

Main article: Three-Tails’ Appearance

Itachi Pursuit Mission

Main article: Itachi Pursuit Mission
News reaches Konoha that Sasuke has killed Orochimaru. Realising that this is a good opportunity to try once again to reunite with Sasuke, Kakashi combines Teams 7 and 8 into an Eight Man Squad with the mission to find either Sasuke or his assumed target, Itachi. When they split up to search, Naruto, because he’s a target of Akatsuki, is given a protective escort in the form of Hinata, Yamato, and Bull. Their group encounters Kabuto, who offers them intel on Akatsuki and its members, his thanks to Naruto «inspiring» him to overcome Orochimaru after absorbing his remains. Kabuto then escapes.

Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant

Main article: Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant

After regrouping and Kiba Inuzuka detects Sasuke’s trail, Naruto creates shadow clones to search the area faster, one of which encounters Itachi. Itachi repels Naruto’s attacks and insists he only wants to talk. He asks Naruto what Sasuke means to him and what he will do if Sasuke ever moves against Konoha. Naruto replies that he is Sasuke’s brother – a better brother than Itachi is – and that if Sasuke ever attacks the village he will defend it without killing Sasuke. Itachi is happy with this answer and gives Naruto some assistance for this purpose: a special crow that he stores within Naruto’s body. Itachi left, and Naruto continued his search, eventually finding Sasuke.^[139]

As they near Sasuke’s location they are intercepted by Tobi of Akatsuki, who prevents them from progressing and who is invulnerable to their attacks.

Fated Battle Between Brothers

Main article: Fated Battle Between Brothers
As the group continually tries to attack Tobi, he dodges the attacks with ease. Naruto tries several times to attack him with his Rasengan, but without success. Tobi attempts to use a hidden jutsu to attack the teams, but fails at it. Eventually, Zetsu comes to tell him about Sasuke and Itachi’s fight. Tobi leaves when he receives news that Sasuke has killed Itachi, and Teams 7 and 8 try to reach Sasuke before he does. Unable to find where Tobi has taken Sasuke, they are forced to return to Konoha.

Six-Tails Unleashed

Main article: Six-Tails Unleashed

Pain’s Assault

Main article: Pain’s Assault

As Naruto contemplated his meeting with Itachi, he was called to the Hokage Residence to hear sombre news: his master Jiraiya was killed by Pain, the leader of Akatsuki. Grief-stricken, Naruto blamed Tsunade and spent the day mourning his teacher’s death, depressed that Jiraiya cannot see him become Hokage. After being comforted by Iruka and Shikamaru, Naruto helped to decipher Jiraiya’s dying message and eventually they succeed. Understanding that Jiraiya had bought him time for his own fight with Pain, Naruto went to train with the toads of Mount Myōboku to learn senjutsu. Naruto trained to harmonise with nature, a process he sped up by using a limited number of shadow clones. He rapidly progressed through the training stages and attained a perfect Sage Mode, which Jiraiya was unable to do. News of Pain’s Assault on Konoha reached them, they began to mobilise for battle.

As Naruto, Fukasaku, Gamaken, Gamahiro, Gamabunta, and Gamakichi were summoned to the centre of Konoha, the group was confronted by the Six Paths of Pain, who had just destroyed the village. After destroying the Asura Path before it could attack Tsunade, Naruto told her to make sure everyone left the battle to him. After a brief skirmish with Animal Path, Naruto and the toads defeated the Animal, Preta, and Human Paths before running out of senjutsu chakra. Naruto revealed that he had two shadow clones waiting back at Mount Myōboku to revitalise him with natural energy. Naruto went back on the offensive, dispatching the healed Preta and Naraka Path before the Deva Path regained its full power. Pain killed Fukasaku and used the opportunity to capture Naruto, pinning him down to the ground.

With Naruto restrained, Pain opened up his reasons for Akatsuki, their plan for the tailed beasts, and the peaceful world he wanted to create. Though Naruto rejected his notion that using a weapon to force peace, he could offer no alternative. Before Pain could depart with Naruto, he was attacked by Hinata Hyūga. Declaring her love for Naruto and vowing to protect him, she continued to fight against Pain before she was subdued and critically wounded. Believing Hinata to had been killed, an enraged Naruto erupted into his six-tailed form. Resisting the First Hokage’s Necklace’s attempted to quell the transformation and destroying it, the Nine-Tails attacked Pain, forcing him out of the village to get close enough to his actual body to use the Chibaku Tensei, trapping Naruto within the small satellite. The technique was not enough to stop the Nine-Tails, however, as it simply progressed to eight-tailed form to force its way out of the satellite. Meanwhile within his subconscious, Naruto was tempted by the Nine-Tails to open its seal to save him from the pain of not having Pain’s answer for peace. However, before Naruto could, Minato appeared, having left some of his chakra within the seal in case of an emergency to protect his son. Overjoyed at meeting his father, but angered that he would condemn him to life as a jinchūriki, Naruto listened to his father encouraging him, confident that he would find a way to break the cycle of hatred. After repairing the seal, Minato disappeared and the newly-inspired Naruto prepared to resume his battle with Pain.

Confidence restored, Naruto was greatly relieved to learn that not only had Hinata survived, but nobody was injured during his rampage. After clever use of shadow clones, Naruto destroyed the Deva Path with a Rasengan, defeating the last of Pain’s Six Paths. Using one of Pain’s Black Receivers, Naruto followed the chakra signal to Nagato and Konan’s position. Confronting Nagato, Naruto listened to Nagato’s story that turned him into Pain and came to understand why he made the actions he did. Despite not forgiving him, he told Nagato he would not kill him and would instead try to create the better world that their teacher wished for. Moved by Naruto’s determination to create a better world, Nagato decided to put his trust in Naruto and sacrificed his own life to revive all the people he had killed in Konoha. Naruto helped Konan retrieve Nagato and Yahiko’s bodies for burial in Amegakure, and Konan left Naruto a bouquet of paper flowers for him, symbolising their new alliance.

Naruto then created a memorial for Jiraiya and left the flowers and a copy of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi by a rock with the kanji for teacher (師, shi). While the exhausted Naruto walked back to the village, he was found by Kakashi who carried him the rest of the way. Upon arrival, Naruto was greeted as a hero by the villagers, his dream of acknowledgement being realised at last.

Past Arc: The Locus of Konoha

Main article: Past Arc: The Locus of Konoha

Five Kage Summit

Main article: Five Kage Summit

Sakura informs Naruto that Tsunade fell into a coma and that there’s nothing that can be done to bring her out of it. While they talk, they are approached by Tazuna and Inari, who have come to help rebuild Konoha. They ask about Sasuke, which Naruto avoids going into detail about so as to spare them and Sakura a discussion about Sasuke’s defection. After Tazuna and Inari leave, they receive news that Danzō Shimura has become the next Hokage and that he has ordered Sasuke be killed as a traitor. Naruto and Sakura approach Sai to ask him how they can convince Danzō to change his mind, but Sai is unable to help. Omoi and Karui of Kumogakure overhear them talking about Sasuke and they ask for information about Sasuke, wishing to kill him for his role in Akatsuki’s capture of Killer B. Naruto leads Omoi and Karui away to spare Sakura pain, but refuses to reveal anything about Sasuke. Instead, Naruto allows the Kumo-nin vent their anger by beating him, to which Karui obliges until Sai stops her and the Kumo-nin retreat.

Recovering later, Naruto asked Yamato and Kakashi to take him to the Land of Iron, so that he could ask Fourth Raikage to pardon Sasuke. Upon arrival, the Raikage rejected Naruto’s request even with Kakashi and Yamato’s assistance and berated him for defending a criminal. Naruto went to a local inn to ponder his next course of action, but was soon confronted by Tobi, who wanted to understand Nagato’s change of heart. Naruto ignored the question and demanded to know about his plans with Sasuke. Tobi told him about the Sage of the Six Paths, the Uchiha clan, and the truth about the Uchiha Clan Downfall, all of which now drove Sasuke along a path of vengeance against Konoha and anyone else who would dare cross his path. Naruto insisted that he could still get through to Sasuke, but Tobi laughed and left, saying that Naruto and Sasuke were fated to fight again.

While Naruto was practising his Sage Mode’s sensory abilities to locate Sasuke, he was interrupted by the arrival of Sakura, Rock Lee, Kiba and Sai. Sakura attempted to dissuade Naruto in his attempts to bring Sasuke back to Konoha by falsely telling him that she loved him. However, Naruto knew she was lying and he rejected her confession and her proposal to abandon Sasuke, stating it had nothing to do with his promise to her. After Sakura’s party left, Sai’s ink clone revealed that the rest of the Konoha 11 had decided to kill Sasuke themselves to prevent another war, while Sakura planned to kill Sasuke herself, at Sai’s unintended insistence. Gaara, who attended the Five Kage Summit that Sasuke attacked, arrived and revealed Tobi’s declaration of the Fourth Shinobi World War, telling Naruto how they would be fighting Sasuke to protect Naruto, but he did advise Naruto to consider for himself what was the right thing to do. After hearing that most of his friends have turned against Sasuke, who now wanted to unleash his vengeance on just about everyone, Naruto hyperventilated and passed out. When he awoke, he was told by Yamato that Kakashi went to stop Sakura from dealing with Sasuke.

Using a shadow clone as a decoy, Naruto escaped from the inn and followed Kakashi, arriving just in time to save Sakura from being killed by Sasuke. He tried once more to reason with Sasuke, sympathising with his pain and acknowledging Itachi’s sacrifice. However, Sasuke was unmoved and declared his resolve to destroy Konoha and sever the Uchiha’s connection to the shinobi world. Naruto then clashed his Rasengan with Sasuke’s Chidori, realising that everything in his life he could have easily gone down the same path of Sasuke. Despite his jealousy of him, he had come to like Sasuke and was glad to have met him. Undeterred, Sasuke gave Naruto two options: kill or be killed; Naruto chose neither. Tobi and Zetsu arrived and prepared to depart with Sasuke. Naruto resolved that if he and Sasuke were to battle again, they would kill each other, but he was willing to accept it as he would shoulder Sasuke’s hatred alone. Sasuke vowed to kill Naruto first and left with Tobi and Zetsu, while Naruto and his teammates returned to Konoha, with the captive Karin. Naruto explained the situation to his friends and asked to fight Sasuke alone, determined to get stronger for their upcoming battle.

Power

Main article: Power (Arc)

Paradise Life on a Boat

Main article: Paradise Life on a Boat

Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown

As Naruto was about to eat at Ichiraku, he was suddenly summoned back to Mount Myōboku by Fukasaku. He learns from the Great Toad Sage’s fortune that he would meet an «octopus» and would battle a «young man with powerful eyes.» When Gerotora was summoned to give Naruto the «key» to the Eight Trigrams Seal, Naruto knew he would need the Nine-Tails’ power for the battles to come and accepted the key. Naruto was sent back to Ichiraku, where some of the villagers asked for his autograph. Naruto was unaware that the five Kage were planning to keep him from participating in the upcoming Fourth Shinobi World War. For his safety, Tsunade gave Naruto an «S-rank mission» on a remote island in the Land of Lightning with Yamato, Might Guy, Aoba Yamashiro, and other Konoha-nin as security.

Once at the island, Naruto met Killer B, the jinchūriki of Eight-Tails, and requested to train under him after marvelling at B’s mastery of his tailed beast. B refused as he was on vacation, despite Naruto’s best efforts to impress him. However, when Motoi heard Naruto bumped fists with B, he took Naruto was taken to Falls of Truth, where B trained to control the Eight-Tails. Following Motoi’s instructions, Naruto sat on the platform in front of the waterfall and closed his eyes to see his true self: Dark Naruto, who berated Naruto on how quickly the Konoha villagers changed their opinions of him and exclaimed that the Nine-Tails liked him better. Inside his mind, Naruto fought his dark self, but found that they were evenly matched. Breaking out of meditation, Naruto questioned Motoi about B’s history in order to learn how to conquer his inner darkness.

Naruto reminisced about how B and Gaara changed everyone’s opinions about them and began to doubt if the Konoha villagers sincerely trusted him. After witnessing B save Motoi from a giant squid and resume their friendship, an inspired Naruto returned to the Falls of Truth and confronted Dark Naruto again. With Naruto now having faith in himself, Dark Naruto began to weaken as he asked what his reason for existing was. Naruto answered by hugging him, accepted Dark Naruto as a part of him while thanking him for pushing him to become a better person. Dark Naruto finally relented and faded. B led Naruto and Yamato to a special room in the secret temple behind the waterfall, where Naruto was prepared to fight the Nine-Tails for its chakra. Within his subconscious, Naruto unlocked the seal and engaged the Nine-Tails in battle using Sage Mode. Though he appeared to have the upper hand and drain the Nine-Tails’ chakra, the fox instantly planted its own hatred within its absorbed chakra, consuming Naruto.

Just before Naruto was completely consumed, the spirit of his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, appeared. Naruto believed that Kushina was the Nine-Tails in disguise, earning a hit on the head and an immediate apology from her, who hoped that he did not inherit her short-temper. Realising Kushina was his mother, he tearfully hugged her and the love-filled reunion purged the Nine-Tails’ hatred within its drained chakra. With renewed confidence from hearing the story of his parents, Naruto battled the Nine-Tails once more. With his mother’s assistance, Naruto successfully weakens the fox long enough to separate it from its chakra. Attaining the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Naruto imprisons the emaciated and infuriated Nine-Tails within a new, stronger seal, apologising to it as it faded into darkness. Afterwards, Naruto learned from Kushina about his heritage, the truth behind the Nine-Tails’ attack on Konoha, and how his parents gave their lives to protect him. Naruto told his mother that he could finally understand what a parent’s love felt like and that he didn’t blame them for what happened, instead feeling glad to be their son. As she fades away, Kushina tearfully hugged Naruto, thanking him for letting her and Minato be his parents.

In the real world, Naruto demonstrated his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode to B and Yamato before sensing Kisame Hoshigaki of Akatsuki hidden inside his Samehada via his negative emotions. When Kisame attempted to escape, Naruto used his blinding speed to quickly smash Kisame into the wall, though his foot gets stuck. Yamato helps Naruto out while B pursues Kisame and they regroup to see Kisame’s defeat by Guy. Kisame is restrained for interrogation, though he breaks free of his confinements through sheer will and summons sharks inside a water prison to eat him alive. Shocked by Kisame’s suicide, Naruto observes that even those in Akatsuki fight for their comrades. They examine the intel that Kisame was trying to send, which turns out to be booby-trapped: they are each caught in a water prison and are trapped alongside a shark. Another shark, meanwhile, is able to escape with Kisame’s intel. After they escape, Naruto is tasked with evacuating the giant animals into the Island Turtle’s shell and logging the island’s ecology as part of his «official» S-rank mission. He remains unaware that it is a ploy to keep him away from the war.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation

Naruto returned to the Falls of Truth with B to start practising his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, specifically learning how to use Tailed Beast Balls. Since Tailed Beast Balls couldn’t be made without the Nine-Tails’ cooperation, Naruto tried to create the Tailed Beast Rasengan as a workaround. While struggling to balance the jutsu’s composition, he sensed a distant source of the Nine-Tails’ chakra. Naruto left the Falls of Truth to investigate and was met by a contingent of Konoha-nin, amongst them Iruka Umino. Iruka tried to convince him to go back to his training, but Naruto bypassed them and, from entering Sage Mode, sensed the ongoing Fourth Shinobi World War. Naruto became angry that they would try to keep the war a secret from him and that they wouldn’t let him help. Iruka apologised, yet still made an effort to restrain him. Naruto escaped and found a Self-Repairing Barrier, preventing him from leaving by himself. B, at Iruka’s request, decided to join him, and together they broke through the barrier.

Shortly after, the Nine-Tails pulled Naruto into his subconscious, berating him for squandering its chakra and calling him naive for thinking he could stop the war by himself. When the Nine-Tails failed to once again tempt Naruto with power, the fox went off to claim that his attempt to put an end to hatred was futile, using his history with Sasuke as proof. Naruto responded by pinning the fox down, refuting that it was the one who was being naive and confidently exclaiming he would find a way to deal with Sasuke and end the war. Before he leaves, Naruto also promises to resolve the Nine-Tails’ own hatred someday, unnerving the fox.

On their way to the battlefield, Naruto and B were met by the Fourth Raikage and Tsunade, both intent on stopping the jinchūriki. B tried to convince the Raikage to let them go, and when that failed, Naruto tried to get around them, but the Raikage’s Lightning Release Chakra Mode was too fast for that. The Raikage became increasingly aggressive in his determination to stop Naruto and B from joining the war effort, going so far as to threaten to kill Naruto if it would keep Akatsuki from capturing the Nine-Tails. First B and then Tsunade joined Naruto in arguing to allow them to fight, which the Raikage relented to once Naruto dodges his maximum speed. On Tsunade’s orders, Shikaku Nara contacted Naruto and informed him about Akatsuki’s White Zetsu Army and the accompanying Impure World Reincarnations. Naruto and B soon afterwards encountered a squad of seeming Allied forces, but with his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode’s ability, it allowed him to detect them as disguised Zetsu. He quickly defeated them and sent shadow clones to various other battlefields to lend assistance.

Naruto and B soon ran into the reincarnated Itachi Uchiha and Nagato. They greeted Naruto and briefly caught up on what had happened since their deaths, but were quickly forced to attack by their summoner, Kabuto Yakushi. Nagato advised Naruto and B on how to counter his jutsu while Itachi, between his own attacks, recalled the crow he planted in Naruto during their last meeting. Itachi activated the Kotoamatsukami of the crow’s Mangekyō Sharingan to release himself from Kabuto’s influence. Itachi joined Naruto and B in fighting Nagato, first by neutralising the Rinnegan Summoning and then saving them from being killed by Nagato. Nagato, his personality now suppressed, tried capturing them with Chibaku Tensei, which the three combined efforts to destroy. While Nagato was distracted by their attack, Itachi sealed him with Susanoo. His personality restored, Nagato used his last moments to apologise and put his faith in Naruto. Afterwards, Itachi destroyed the crow, its Kotoamatsukami too valuable to let fall into the wrong hands. He left to find Kabuto so that he could end the Impure World Reincarnation, but not before telling Naruto to let his friends support him and leaving Sasuke’s reform to him.

A shadow clone arrived at the site of the Fourth Division’s battle with various reincarnated Kage. Naruto was able to land a sneak attack on Mū, allowing the Third Tsuchikage to seal him before he could say anything. The Tsuchikage went to help Gaara fight the Second Mizukage, leaving Naruto to fight the Third Raikage along with the other members of the Fourth Division. Like the Fourth Raikage, the Third was very fast, easily dodging most attacks. The few attacks that did land had almost no effect, his body’s natural defence was too high, and the Raikage’s offences allowed him to break through every attempt to contain him. When Naruto noticed that the Raikage had a scar from his fight with the Eight-Tails years earlier, he contacted it via B to ask how the Raikage received the scar. Upon hearing the Eight-Tails’ answer, Naruto surmises the scar was self-inflicted, confirming it as he manipulates the Third into piercing his own body. The Third is sealed and Naruto regroups with the Tsuchikage and Gaara, who already defeated the Second Mizukage.

As Naruto and B continued onwards, Naruto’s shadow clones started arriving at various locations. In the anime, shadow clones were able to: save the members of the Sasuke Recovery Team from the reincarnated Sound Four’s Space–Time Technique Formula: Underworld Turnover;^[140] update Tatewaki about the fates of the children he was responsible for during life, granting him peace and allowing him to return to the afterlife;^[141] run in to Yota, a childhood friend, and giving Yota a chance to play with him again before releasing himself from the Impure World Reincarnation;^{[142][143][144]} assist Omoi in saving the Thundercloud Unit.^[145]

Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax
Shadow clones arrived at all the remaining battlefields, securing Impure World Reincarnations, weeding out the Zetsu that had infiltrated the Alliance’s ranks, and defeating any other remaining Zetsu. Victory seemed near when the Sensor Division detected a new threat near the Fourth Division: Mu, who split himself before his sealing, and the reincarnated Madara Uchiha. Shocked by this revelation, they all wondered who the masked man, Tobi, really was. Madara gave them little time to discuss it and attacked them immediately. He cut swaths through the Fourth Division’s ranks and used his Rinnegan to avoid the clone’s, the Tsuchikage’s, and Gaara’s counterattack. Wishing to eliminate them all at once, Madara dropped a meteorite on them.

While the survivors regroup, Madara tried to summon the Nine-Tails. Although it failed, the fox sensed the attempt and offered some chakra to help fight Madara, preferring Naruto over the Uchiha. The shadow clone used the Nine-Tails’ chakra to counter Madara’s Nativity of a World of Trees with Big Ball Spiralling Serial Zone Spheres, though the extended fighting left the clone exhausted afterwards. Madara moved in to capture it, but was parried by the arrival of Tsunade, the Fourth Raikage, and the Fifth Mizukage. The Five Kage vowed to deal with Madara themselves and asked that Naruto should instead focus on defeating Tobi. The clone dispersed just as the real Naruto converged on Tobi. Naruto and B clashed with Tobi’s reincarnated jinchūriki, styled like a Six Paths of Pain. During the fighting, Naruto referenced another Madara and asked who Tobi really was. Realising his lie was exposed, Tobi refused to accept any particular identity, believing it to be irrelevant. Naruto was not satisfied with this answer and vowed to break Tobi’s mask.

B entered Tailed Beast Mode to clear the surrounding forest that was giving him and Naruto a disadvantage against the reincarnated jinchūriki. He then tried to seal the jinchūriki, but Tobi had them enter Version 2 forms to escape at the last second. The increased strength of the jinchūriki caused difficulties for Naruto and B. Tobi, taking advantage of the situation, nearly captured Naruto, but was blocked by the arrival of Kakashi and Guy. Their arrival balanced out the two sides, so Tobi had the Four-Tails and the Six-Tails enter Tailed Beast Modes as well. The Four-Tails captured Naruto in its mouth, allowing it to communicate with him. The Four-Tails, introducing itself with the name Son Gokū, was angered to be controlled by Tobi, but it doubted Naruto would be any better since humans had always sought to control it and its fellow tailed beasts. Naruto insisted he was different and Son Gokū, touched by his desire to help it, told him how to release it from Tobi’s control. Naruto managed to break out of its mouth, locate the black receiver, and remove it.

Son Gokū thanked Naruto for his help, but explained that it couldn’t actually be saved, as it was still bound to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Before it was pulled back into the Demonic Statue, Son Gokū gave some of its chakra to Naruto and wished him luck. Tobi, having lost the use of one tailed beast, forced the others to enter Tailed Beast Modes so that the battle could be brought to an end. The Nine-Tails remarked that Naruto couldn’t possibly win without its help. Naruto stated that he was not up for taking its chakra by force at the moment and that he would figure something out. However, Naruto’s earlier determination to help Son Gokū moved the Nine-Tails, reminding it of the many selfless things Naruto had done during his life and the perseverance he always displayed. The Nine-Tails no longer wanted to oppose Naruto and instead offered to join him as a partner, asking only that Naruto call it by name: Kurama.

Naruto entered his own Tailed Beast Mode and went to save Kakashi and Guy, deflecting the other five beasts’ Tailed Beast Balls. The Kurama avatar fought the beasts in close combat, forcing them to combine their Tailed Beast Balls into one against it. Kurama countered theirs with a single one of its own Tailed Beast Balls and Naruto then used the avatar’s tails to grab and remove the beasts’ black receivers. From the contact, Naruto was able to interface with the other beasts, who introduced themselves and, like Son Gokū, gave him portions of their chakra. Tobi recalled the beasts back into the Demonic Statue and, though irritated, remained confident in his eventual victory as he faced off with Naruto, B, Kakashi, and Guy. By the time night fell, however, Tobi was still unable to defeat them. A light eventually descended on the reincarnated jinchūriki that B had kept restrained, returning them to the afterlife and signalling that Itachi had finally defeated Kabuto.

With his options running out, Tobi deposited the Benihisago and the Kohaku no Jōhei (which contained portions of Kurama’s chakra) into the Demonic Statue which, combined with a fragment of the Eight-Tails, Gyūki’s, chakra he acquired previously, was enough to start the revival of the Ten-Tails. Naruto, B, Kakashi, and Guy started focusing on destroying it, but were constantly stopped by Tobi and his peculiar teleportation and intangibility abilities. From the fighting, however, Kakashi noticed that Tobi’s abilities were seemingly linked to his own Kamui. To take advantage of this, Kakashi had one of Naruto’s shadow clones attack Tobi and, just as the clone was about to be destroyed by one of Tobi’s attacks, Kakashi used Kamui on it without Tobi noticing. Naruto then attacked with a Tailed Beast Ball, which Tobi escaped by retreating to Kamui’s dimension. He found the clone waiting for him there and it destroyed his mask with a Rasengan.

When they saw his face, Guy and Kakashi recognised Tobi as their childhood friend, Obito Uchiha, whom they’d long thought dead. Obito declined to explain his actions to them and instead attacked, which attracted Madara, who escaped the release of the Impure World Reincarnation, to their location. Seeing Madara, Naruto asked what happened to the Kage, to which the elder Uchiha replied that they were in bad condition when he left them. From that and the conversation he overheard between Madara and Obito, particularly their manipulation of Nagato, Naruto attacked in a rage. Madara reflected him and then tried to capture him and B so that the Ten-Tails could be revived in its complete form. Naruto split his attention, he and B fighting Madara’s wood dragon with their Tailed Beast Modes and one of his shadow clones trying to help Kakashi get over the revelation that Obito was alive.

Obito tried to convince Naruto of the futility of resistance. Naruto insisted that protecting his comrades was always worthwhile, no matter how hopeless things may seem. His words brought Kakashi out of his slump, enabling him to start fighting Obito on his own, and energised Guy, who created an opening for Naruto and B to attack the Demonic Statue with a combined Tailed Beast Ball. The attack came too late, however, and the Ten-Tails was revived. Naruto, B, Kakashi, and Guy regrouped and coordinated an attack, but the Ten-Tails was too powerful and Madara and Obito, once they linked themselves to it, were able to deploy its powers effectively. Just before they could kill Naruto and the others, the combined remaining Allied Shinobi Forces arrived to help. Shikaku Nara, communicating to all of them from the Alliance’s headquarters, staged an offensive to restrain the Ten-Tails. Although it failed, it was effective enough that Madara and Obito had the Ten-Tails destroy the distant headquarters, killing Shikaku and everyone else stationed there.

The Allies made individual attacks against the Ten-Tails, but none had any effect. At the same time, the Ten-Tails started raining wooden skewers all over the battlefield, killing many. When one was about to hit Naruto, Hinata shielded him with her body and Neji shielded her with his own. Dying, Neji collapsed on Naruto’s shoulder, asking him to be more careful in the future since many lives, Hinata’s particularly, now depend on his. With his last breath, he thanked Naruto for calling him a genius all those years ago. Naruto was deeply distraught by Neji’s death, which Obito tried to use as an example of the needless death that resistance caused and that could be solved in the new world he wanted to create. Hinata brought Naruto back to his senses by reminding him of all the people who had given their lives to protect him and whose memories he would be insulting if he had given up now. As Naruto thanked her, he took her hand and coated her with some of Kurama’s chakra.

Naruto shared Kurama’s chakra throughout the Allied Forces, increasing their strength and protecting them from harm. They all manoeuvred into a formation that Shikaku was able to communicate to them before he died and, taking the form of a bird in memory of Neji, successfully removed the Ten-Tails from Obito and Madara’s control. Forced to fend for themselves, Obito sought out Naruto, criticising him for wasting his energy protecting others. Naruto replied that protecting them actually gave him strength, motivating everyone within earshot. They then sensed the Ten-Tails was about to attack, which Kakashi tried to stop with Kamui. Obito intercepted him and they teleported away, leaving the others to endure the Ten-Tails’ Tenpenchii. Kurama’s chakra protected everyone, but it faded in the aftermath; Naruto was left quite beaten up, requiring Sakura to heal him. When the Ten-Tails attacked with another Tailed Beast Ball, the Allies mustered what little defence they could. Before it could reach them, however, the Tailed Beast Ball was suddenly teleported away and Naruto’s reincarnated father, Minato Namikaze, appeared at Naruto’s side.

The First, Second, and Third Hokage arrived soon afterward and, along with Minato, erected a barrier around the Ten-Tails to confine it. Sasuke arrived shortly too, at whose request the previous Hokage were reincarnated by Orochimaru and who now opposed Obito and Madara. Their fellow Rookie Nine had set aside their differences with Sasuke for the time being and joined forces in launching an attack against the Ten-Tails’ cruft. On Sai’s advice, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all summoned their signature animals (Naruto calling on Gamakichi) in order to focus directly on the Ten-Tails itself. Naruto and Sasuke successfully damaged the Ten-Tails’ arm with a combined Scorch Release: Halo Hurricane Jet Black Arrow Style Zero, but it merely removed the arm to prevent the flames of Sasuke’s Amaterasu from spreading.

Before they could attack again, Obito returned, landing on top of the Ten-Tails head and seemingly about to use the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to restore Madara to life. While everyone focused on stopping Obito, Naruto couldn’t help but notice that the hand seals he was using were different from what Nagato used. Minato tried to cut Obito down, but discovered that it was too late as he sealed the Ten-Tails into his body, becoming its jinchūriki.

Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki

Main article: Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki

Obito used his new power to destroy the barrier, forcing the Hokage to put the energy they were using toward the barrier into the fight instead. Because they had immortal bodies, they launched the first attack so that the others could learn what they could about Obito’s new abilities, but they were quickly defeated. Naruto and Sasuke engaged him as well, but were nearly killed, saved only by Naruto using his chakra arms to link to Minato so he could teleport them to safety. Just as before, Naruto and Sasuke combined their attacks, having Minato and the Second Hokage coordinate teleports so that the attack would connect. Obito’s Truth-Seeking Balls dissipated much of the attack and the damage that he did incur was quickly regenerated.

From the development and some of the previous exchanges, Minato concluded that Obito was able to neutralise ninjutsu. Gamakichi, wanting to make some final contribution to the fight before he was forced to return to Mount Myōboku, attacked with his Starch Syrup Gun. Minato took this opportunity to try and reason with Obito, reminding him of his former dream to become Hokage. Obito berated the title and those who had held it, as he had surpassed them. Naruto was insulted not only because that was a slight against his father, but also because he hadn’t abandoned his dream of being Hokage like Obito had. The Second Hokage teleported him to Obito and he attacked with a Rasengan, which successfully damaged Obito; Naruto noticed that Gamakichi’s attack wasn’t neutralised and realised Obito was vulnerable to senjutsu.

With a weakness discovered, Obito trapped the Alliance in a barrier and began charging multiple Tailed Beast Balls that he would use to wipe out everyone within its confines. Minato noted that he wouldn’t be able to teleport them all away in time, so Naruto came up with a different approach: he linked his chakra with Minato and remotely restored the Alliance’s chakra cloaks, networking everyone in with Minato’s Flying Thunder God Technique, allowing him to teleport everyone out of the barrier. Minato did so and was afterwards very proud of his son, saying he wished they had more time to talk. Naruto replied that it was not necessary since he already met his mother and that she explained everything. Naruto and Minato each entered Tailed Beast Modes, with Naruto merging his with Sage Mode in order to imbue their shared Rasengan with senjutsu. The Second teleported them to Obito and they attacked, but he blocked it with his Truth-Seeking Balls.

To move ahead with his plans, Obito created a replica of the God Tree, the first step in performing the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The tree started absorbing chakra from those nearby until they die, a fate that Naruto nearly succumbed to until he was saved by the Third Hokage. Obito pointed to the growing number of casualties as further evidence that Naruto should stop resisting, an argument that Naruto was increasingly having trouble ignoring. Sasuke, unmoved by Obito’s words, used Susanoo to hack through the tree and then mocked Naruto for giving up. Naruto was reminded of his desire to not lose Sasuke or anyone else for that matter and, reinvigorated, joined Sasuke in the offensive. Although their senjutsu-enhanced Tailed Beast Mode and Susanoo could compete with Obito, they were individually unable to defeat him. Obito continued trying to convince Naruto to stop, but he ignored him.

Sasuke then coated his Susanoo around Naruto’s Tailed Beast Mode, granting the Kurama-avatar a sword and armour. Sensing that it was the final exchange, Obito created a sword and shield of his own out of Truth-Seeking Balls. Naruto created a Rasengan in each of the Kurama-avatar’s tails, which his friends from Konoha guide in a coordinated assault to Obito’s shield, destroying it. As soon as Naruto and Sasuke sliced through Obito with their sword, the tailed beasts then began to emerge from the Uchiha’s body, giving Naruto and the combined Allied Shinobi Forces the opportunity to pull them out. The tug-of-war for the tailed beasts linked Naruto’s consciousness with Obito’s. Naruto reminded Obito of his earlier claim that he was nobody and set out to prove to him that he was Obito Uchiha, specifically the Obito Uchiha that Kakashi used to know. Naruto pointed out their similarities, how both were orphans and that, because of that, they wanted to be Hokage. Obito agreed that they were similar, but that was the reason why he has been trying so hard to convince Naruto that he was right, and insisted that the world he wanted to create was a better one because his vision of the future was clear, whereas the future of the current world was ambiguous. Naruto argued that was the point and that uncertainty, when faced with comrades, was worthwhile, and offered Obito his hand so that they might see what happened together.

The Allies successfully removed the tailed beasts from Obito and he fell to the ground, defeated. Minato and Kakashi insisted that Obito be left to them while Naruto and the rest of the Alliance should focus on Madara. They did so, joining forces with the First Hokage against him, but right before he could seal him, Madara put one final fail-safe into effect: he had Black Zetsu force Obito to revive him. Madara quickly neutralised the First, fended off Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai, and then went after the freed tailed beasts. Naruto entered Tailed Beast Mode and assisted them with fighting him off. They were initially successful, but when Madara reacquired one of his Rinnegan, he easily defeated them with Limbo: Border Jail, sealing them all back into the Demonic Statue, including B’s Gyūki and Naruto’s Kurama.

The removal of Kurama from his body caused Naruto to pass out and placed his life in immediate danger. His Uzumaki heritage prevented him from dying instantly, but he required constant medical attention from Sakura in order to keep him alive. On the advice of Kurama right before it was extracted, Gaara took Naruto to Minato so that Minato’s portion of Kurama’s chakra could be sealed into him, saving him. Kakashi sent Naruto and Sakura to Kamui’s dimension so that she could continue performing life support without interruption. Obito soon arrived to help her, having overcome both Black Zetsu and Madara in order to acquire Minato’s half of Kurama and give it to Naruto, as his form of penance.

While on the border of life and death, Naruto was met by the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. He explained his past conflicts with his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, and the conflicts that emerged between his sons, Asura and Indra. His sons’ conflict had continued through the centuries, with their chakra reincarnated every generation in new individuals to fight anew; Naruto was the current reincarnation of Asura, while Sasuke was the reincarnation of Indra. Naruto was not greatly surprised, having sensed something like that when he met Sasuke during the Five Kage Summit. Because of Madara’s aims for the world, Hagoromo asked that he and Sasuke join forces to stop him, a task he was only encouraged by from the tailed beasts’ positive words concerning Naruto. He gave Naruto the Six Paths Yang Power, half his chakra and Six Paths Sage Mode to help him in this goal.

When Naruto woke up, he had Obito send him back to the real world. There, he stopped Madara from killing Might Guy and used Hagoromo’s power to stabilise Guy’s life force from using the Eight Gates Released Formation. Surprised by Naruto’s sudden increase in power, Madara was hit by Naruto’s Sage Art: Lava Release Rasenshuriken, which was fueled by Son Gokū’s chakra and instantly cut down the giant tree Obito created earlier. When Sasuke arrived, Naruto entered Six Paths Sage Mode and they started overwhelming Madara. Realising his window was closing, Madara went after Kakashi and took his Mangekyō Sharingan, using it to follow Obito. Sakura appeared shortly afterward, sent by Obito so Madara wouldn’t kill her. She could do nothing about Kakashi’s eye, so Naruto used Hagoromo’s power to restore the one he lost years ago.

Madara soon returned, now having both his Rinnegan and Black Zetsu in control of Obito’s body. Naruto and Sasuke immediately resumed their attack, but Madara had an easier time with them. He rose into the sky, raining Chibaku Tensei on them to keep them busy while he projected the Infinite Tsukuyomi on the world. While Naruto destroyed the remaining satellite-like constructs, Sasuke shielded him, Sakura, and Kakashi with Susanoo from the Infinite Tsukuyomi’s gaze. He let them out once the illusion was finished casting and they emerged to find themselves alone, with the rest of the world being wrapped into Madara’s God: Nativity of a World of Trees. As Madara confronted them and started explaining how he had saved the world, he was stabbed in the back by Black Zetsu. Black Zetsu then transferred to Madara’s body from Obito’s and forced him to absorb the world’s chakra, converting him into a woman that Naruto and Sasuke recognised as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes

Main article: Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes

Kaguya detected that Naruto and Sasuke as the reincarnations of Asura and Indra, and also that her son Hagoromo had given them the power to defeat her. Not wanting to further the damage the world that their fighting would cause, she shifted them all to one of her dimensions, placing them above a sea of lava. Sasuke summoned his hawk Garuda to save himself and Naruto, but ignored Naruto’s pleas to save Sakura, Kakashi, and Obito too since only he and Naruto were vital to the fight. Kakashi was able to briefly stop their fall, but the heat burned the scroll he used to save them and it was only Naruto’s sudden discovery that he was able to levitate that saved them from the lava. He left a shadow clone to hold onto them and engaged Kaguya, creating an opening for Sasuke to attack.

Sasuke’s attack failed and Naruto must save him from the lava. With their attacks ineffective and the environment such a hazard, Naruto and Sasuke discussed what to do. Kaguya appeared behind them and paralysed them, binding them with Black Zetsu while she started absorbing their chakra. Black Zetsu took the opportunity to expand on the history earlier given by Hagoromo, painting Kaguya as the victim of her sons, Hagoromo and Hamura. Black Zetsu had for centuries been manipulating others toward the outcome of reviving her, and only then had it finally succeeded. It encouraged them to bask in the embrace of their oblivion, but Naruto refused, breaking himself and Sasuke free. Needing to take drastic action, Naruto used his «ultimate» jutsu: Sexy: Reverse Harem Technique. Kaguya was so distracted that she was nearly sealed, but she recomposed herself in time to shift dimensions again, freezing Naruto and Sasuke in place.

Because Naruto and Sasuke were only a threat to her when together, Kaguya sent Sasuke to a different dimension while she focused on Naruto. While Kaguya manipulated the ice dimension against him, his shadow clone explained to Kakashi, Sakura, and the now-awake Obito that his and Sasuke’s powers were both necessary to defeat her. Obito offered to use his Kamui to try and explore Kaguya’s dimensions to find Sasuke. To give Obito an opening, Naruto used Naruto Region Combo to overwhelm Kaguya, forcing her to retreat to another dimension to get her bearings. When she did so, Obito infiltrated the dimension Kaguya went to with Sakura and the shadow clone. The shadow clone faced her so that she wouldn’t notice them while they look for Sasuke. Kaguya returned to the ice dimension and resumed her fight with the army of Naruto’s clones. He kept her preoccupied until Obito returned with Sasuke.

Increasingly frustrated, Kaguya shifted them to another dimension with powerful gravity to immobilise Naruto and Sasuke while she attacked with her All-Killing Ash Bones. Kakashi and Obito used themselves to shield the attack, with Obito then using Kamui to protect Kakashi, leaving Obito unable to defend himself. Naruto tried to heal the damage to his body, but even Hagoromo’s power couldn’t save him. While Sasuke fought Kaguya, Obito thanked Naruto for reminding him of who he was and made him promise to become Hokage for both their sakes. Naruto agreed and Obito’s body crumbled. Black Zetsu ridiculed Obito for living an insignificant life and dying an insignificant death. Enraged, Naruto severed Kaguya’s arm, in the sleeve of which Black Zetsu had been hiding, and then pinned it to the ground with his Truth-Seeking Balls.

Naruto and his shadow clones attacked Kaguya with Sage Art: Super Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken. On impact, the tailed beasts’ chakra within her began reacting and Kaguya started losing control of her form. She was able to reconfigure herself and prepared an Expansive Truth-Seeking Ball to destroy them. Kakashi interfered, using Susanoo (a last gift from Obito) to make an opening for Naruto and Sasuke. She tried to escape, but Sakura punched her to keep her in place, allowing Naruto and Sasuke to trigger Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei. The tailed beasts were removed from her, Madara was spat out, and she was entombed in her own dimension. Not wanting Black Zetsu to scheme for her release again, Naruto made a point to trap it with her but not before telling it that a spoiled brat like it has no right to compare itself with the men and women who truly shaped shinobi history.

Team 7 wondered how they would return to their world. Sensing their need, Hagoromo combined the efforts of the dead Kage to summon them, the tailed beasts, and Madara back. Hagoromo thanked them for saving the world, as did the tailed beasts for saving them. Naruto happily greeted to his original Kurama, asking if it missed him, to which the flustered fox denied. After Madara died from his ordeal, Naruto met with Minato who, as day broke, wished him a happy seventeenth birthday. As Hagoromo returned Minato’s and the souls of the other dead Kage to the Pure Land, Minato voiced his pride in Naruto and promised to tell Kushina everything about him. The other Kage also gave words of parting, which Naruto tearfully accepted.

With all threats gone, Hagoromo explained that the Infinite Tsukuyomi could be released if Naruto and Sasuke combine their chakra. Sasuke agreed to this, but first he wanted to kill the Kage and destroy the tailed beasts, believing both were inhibitive to world peace. When he was unwilling to back down from his threat, the tailed beasts moved in to stop Sasuke, but he captured each in their own Chibaku Tensei. Hagoromo recognised that as a continuation of Indra’s feud with Asura, but lacked the time and power to do anything about it. Sakura tried to reason with Sasuke, but he knocked her out and left. Naruto followed after him, promising to Hagoromo that he would bring him around and finally end the centuries-long feud.

Naruto and Sasuke ended up at the Valley of the End, where they fought years ago. Sasuke stated his willingness to bear the world’s burdens by himself and live independently of the past, neither of which Naruto believed were possible, or at least wise. He tells Sasuke it’s impossible to do everything alone like he plans to, pointing to the missteps Itachi made and their own successful teamwork against Kaguya. Sasuke replies that he only wants to remake a better world, one where he can, like Itachi before, be solely responsible for the difficult decisions that must be made so that nobody else needs to; this is what he believes a true «Hokage» to be. Naruto insists he will be Hokage, not Sasuke, because Sasuke is still going against what Itachi wanted for him and they start fighting.

After a brief exchange of blows reminiscent of their fight years ago, Naruto and Sasuke started trading punches with their Tailed Beast Mode and Susanoo respectively. Sasuke chastised Naruto for not attacking with an intent to kill, but Naruto, like last time, was unwilling to do so, not wishing for either of them to go without the other. Naruto then clashed his Tailed Beast Ball with Sasuke’s Susanoo-supported Chidori, producing a large explosion that does noticeable but not debilitating damage to their respective avatars. Each therefore powered up the avatars, Sasuke by channelling the captured tailed beasts into his Susanoo and Naruto by merging his avatar with the avatars of two shadow clones. The two met attacks once again, creating a giant explosion that stripped away their avatars and left them with too little chakra to use practically. They instead resorted to taijutsu, kicking and punching each other into the night.

As the two battled near exhaustion, Kurama mustered enough chakra for Naruto to make one last attack, but Sasuke absorbed it. Having expected this, Naruto delivered a solid punch, finally irritating Sasuke over the endless repetition of their fight. Kurama gave the last of its chakra to Naruto, who used it to make a Rasengan to counter Sasuke’s Chidori. Both woke up later to find that much of the Valley of the End had been destroyed, that they had each lost an arm, and that neither could move. Sasuke reflected that Naruto had been a constant obstacle to his goals, but that he was also the only person who never given up on him. Naruto’s usual response that they were friends didn’t convince Sasuke since it obviously went beyond, so Naruto elaborated that he experienced pain if he didn’t have Sasuke. Sasuke was awed, knowing full well that Naruto had experienced various misfortunes in his life, smiled through all of them, yet would suffer without Sasuke.

When they woke up the next day, Sasuke admitted defeat for the first time in his life, as he came to accept that Naruto was just as vital to him as he was to Naruto. Kakashi and Sakura eventually tracked them down and Sakura healed them, though she couldn’t do anything about their missing arms. Once they were able to walk, they returned to where the Allied Shinobi Forces were all trapped still, dispelled the Infinite Tsukuyomi according to Hagoromo’s instructions, and Sasuke released the tailed beasts. With the war over, Naruto returns to the village, where he attends a mass funeral for the participants of the war. In the anime, while recovering from his injuries, Gaara and A approach Naruto and thank him for his effort during the war. Shikamaru later brings Naruto to the Academy to meet with Iruka and Kakashi, who is considering on promoting Naruto as a jōnin. However, because he never got to retake the Chūnin Exams, Naruto has to complete two years worth of studies, much to his dismay. However, Naruto is cheered up as Iruka offers to help him.^[146]

Blank Period

Months after the war, Sasuke was pardoned for his crimes on the good word of Naruto and Kakashi (who had been selected to become the Sixth Hokage). Just before Sasuke left Konoha to wander the world, he was met by Naruto, who returned to him his forehead protector.

Kakashi Hiden: Lightning in the Icy Sky

Main article: Kakashi Hiden: Lightning in the Icy Sky
Nearly a year after the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto and Sai were sent to the Land of Waves to capture Garyō, leader of the Ryūha Armament Alliance. Once they located the Alliance’s hideout, Naruto launched an assault with multiple shadow clones; although he was still missing an arm, he had learned how to perform one-handed hand seals. He easily dealt with most of the Alliance’s members, but was briefly stalled by the Ice Release of Garyō’s bodyguard. Naruto distracted the bodyguard with a shadow clone for long enough to apprehend Garyō. Garyō tried to convince Naruto that the Alliance was doing good work by releasing the world from money’s corruptive influence. Although sympathetic, Naruto couldn’t abide their terrorist actions and escaped with Garyō on Sai’s bird.

At some point within the next two months, Naruto received a prosthetic arm to replace the one he lost during the war. While eating at Ramen Ichiraku one day, he saw Kakashi walking by and asked him when he would officially take on the responsibilities of Hokage. He tried to convince Kakashi by listing the many shortcomings of Tsunade, unaware that she was standing behind him; she angrily knocked Naruto unconscious. Kakashi finally accepted the Hokage position shortly after the mission involving the Ryūha Armament Alliance and the Blood Prison. When Naruto learned about the mission, specifically that he was expressly forbidden from being informed about it at the time, Naruto started spreading rumours about Kakashi’s relationship with the Blood Prison’s new warden, Kahyō. Kakashi angrily attacked him and then bought him some ramen to apologise.

Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness

Main articles: Shikamaru Hiden (novel) and Shikamaru Hiden (anime)
Naruto ran into Shikamaru early one morning and they discussed their heavy workloads for the Shinobi Union. Since Naruto’s assignments were given to him by Shikamaru, he took the opportunity to complain. Shikamaru explained that Naruto, a prime candidate for an eventual Hokage position, needed to get used to it. Naruto later discussed what Shikamaru had said with Sakura, having sensed that there was something Shikamaru was keeping from him. Sakura reminded Naruto of all the work Shikamaru did to prepare Naruto for becoming Hokage and that it likely had something to do with that. Naruto was aware of all that Shikamaru did on his behalf, but wondered if he was worth Shikamaru’s trouble.

A few days later, Naruto was approached by Temari, who was worried about Shikamaru’s recent behaviour and now asked where he was. Naruto didn’t know, and was troubled to find that neither did Chōji or Ino. He finally asked Kakashi, who admitted under pressure that Shikamaru was on a secret assignment to the Land of Silence. Naruto joined Temari’s team of Suna ninja to go to the Land of Silence to provide assistance to Shikamaru. They interrogated the locals upon arrival and learned that Shikamaru had been captured by the Enlightened Ones. They attacked the prison where Shikamaru was being held and successfully freed him, enabling him to complete his mission by taking the country’s leader, Gengo, into custody. Afterwards, Naruto demanded that Shikamaru never keep anything from him again, otherwise their future Hokage—advisor relationship would be very problematic. Shikamaru agreed and apologised. While Shikamaru returned to Konoha, Naruto and several other Konoha and Suna shinobi remain in the Land of Silence to help the country recover from Gengo’s control.

The Last: Naruto the Movie

Main article: The Last: Naruto the Movie

During the Rinne Festival, Naruto, being the hero of the village, was bombarded with gifts from various young Konoha residents. To distract Naruto from all the attention, Konohamaru invited him over to his grandfather’s storage, where Naruto found a scarf that his mother had knitted for him before she passed. He happily began wearing the scarf around the village, treating it as a precious memento. Naruto attempted to discuss his new-found attention to Hinata over ramen, but it made her uncomfortable and ran away with embarrassment, much to his confusion and leading him to chase after her. While looking for her, Naruto stumbled across a horde of puppets trying to abduct Hinata. After he rescued her, they were notified that Hinata’s sister Hanabi was kidnapped by Toneri Ōtsutsuki, and were assigned on a team to rescue her.

Kakashi informed the team of the imminent crashing of the moon onto the Earth, and asked that they do what they can to stop it in case Toneri was connected in any way. They followed Hanabi’s trail and were led into a cave. While traveling through it, they were caught in genjutsu formed from their own memories. From seeing events of his own past and some of Hinata’s, Naruto was reminded of her feelings for him and realised that he felt the same way. Sakura released them from the genjutsu and they continued with the mission. After the team encountered the Gatekeeper, Naruto noticed that Hinata was missing and left to find her, only to discover that she was in a conversation with a disguised Toneri who he quickly defeated. Hinata wouldn’t share what she discussed with the puppet, so Naruto vowed not to let her out of his sight again. They continued through the cave and eventually arrived in the moon’s interior, which the team then split up to investigate the surrounding settlement.

After the team regrouped, Naruto watched Hinata as she repaired her ruined scarf. She expressed her concerns that she wasn’t doing enough to save her sister, so Naruto reassured her and also told her how he felt. Toneri appeared before she could respond, prompting Hinata to give Naruto the scarf and departed with Toneri. Naruto chased after them, believing Hinata was being taken against her will. When Hinata did not deny Toneri’s statement about them getting married, Naruto became too shocked to react. Toneri attacked him, destroying the scarf and leaving him badly injured. After three days of around-the-clock medical attention from Sakura, he woke up. Naruto was distraught, believing there was no reason to go on if Hinata had chosen Toneri. Sakura reassured him that Hinata couldn’t really have feelings for Toneri as she loved Naruto too much, and had a reason for doing what she did. As his strength returned, Naruto vowed he would save Hinata and for her to wait for him.

The team soon infiltrated Toneri’s castle and after locating Hinata, Naruto went after her while the others rescued Hanabi. He arrived in time to interrupt Toneri’s and Hinata’s wedding ceremony. Toneri, who was controlling Hinata, had her attack Naruto, only for him to break his control and escape with her. Hinata led him to the Tenseigan that was controlling the moon’s decent, which they individually tried to destroy to no success, but together they succeeded. After regrouping with the others, Hinata gave Naruto a piece of the scarf she knitted for him, which he graciously accepted. The team then attempted to flee the castle, but a furious Toneri appeared and separated the group, which gave him the opportunity to recapture Hinata. During their intense fight, Naruto managed to overcome Toneri’s new power and overwhelm him by concentrating all his chakra into his fist and defeated him with a single punch, freeing Hinata in the process.

Toneri tried one final attack, but was unable to control its power, leading to Naruto to intervene and save him from drifting out into space. Afterwards, Hinata informed Toneri of Hamura’s actual decree and he, regretful about what he did, allowed the team to return home. As they were returning to Earth, Naruto reaffirmed his feelings for Hinata and stated that he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life, much to her happiness, and the two later shared their first kiss.

Sakura Hiden: Thoughts of Love, Riding Upon a Spring Breeze

Main article: Sakura Hiden: Thoughts of Love, Riding Upon a Spring Breeze
While Naruto and Hinata were out on a date in Konoha, they ran into Sakura. Sensing that Sakura was overworking herself, they invited her to join them, but she declined.

One day, while Naruto was teaching a class of Academy students how to spar, he noticed Sakura, who was wandering around Konoha, looking distressed. Sensing that she needed a distraction, Naruto insisted that she help him, which took her mind off recent events. As thanks, Sakura informed Naruto of something she avoided telling him: there were rumours that Sasuke was trying to destroy Konoha. She didn’t believe the rumours were true, but nobody had been able to get in touch with Sasuke to confirm. Naruto pointed out that Sasuke must not be worried by these rumours, otherwise he would respond to the messages he’d been sent. Sakura thought that was a good point and was put at ease.

When Naruto and Hinata later learned that Sakura had been kidnapped by Kido Tsumiki, they joined with Kakashi in going to rescue her. On finding her, however, they discovered that she had already defeated Kido. They congratulated her on her victory.

Konoha Hiden: The Perfect Day for a Wedding

Main articles: Konoha Hiden (novel) and Konoha Hiden (anime)

Naruto and Hinata decided to get married and invited their friends and family. Because his parents were dead, Naruto asked Iruka to attend as his father, which Iruka happily agreed to. On the day of the wedding, though, Naruto kept his real father in his thoughts, looking upon Minato’s face on the Hokage Rock with admiration as he and Hinata were about to walk down the aisle.

Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise

Main articles: Sasuke Shinden (novel) and Sasuke Shinden (anime)
Naruto appears in the novel.

New Era

Shortly after their wedding, Naruto and Hinata had a son, and two years later they had a daughter. In the anime, over the years, Naruto was constantly busy, leading to him not taking the Chūnin Exams. Despite being a genin, Naruto was selected to succeed Kakashi and become the Seventh Hokage.^[147] On the day of his inauguration, Boruto accidentally destroyed Himawari’s toy, leading to Naruto stepping in to defend his son from Himawari’s Gentle Fist-strike, but ended up taking the blow instead, rendering him unconscious. He ended up missing his own inauguration, forcing Konohamaru to impersonate him during the ceremony.^[148] As Hokage, he hosted a Kage Summit in Konoha, in which Sasuke and Sakura attended alongside the four Kage and their bodyguards. During the meeting, Sasuke reported that a threat greater than Kaguya may still exist somewhere, which Naruto and the other Kage decided to keep the information between themselves to avoid causing a panic.^[149]

Sasuke Retsuden: The Uchiha Descendants and the Heavenly Stardust

Main articles: Sasuke Retsuden and Sasuke Retsuden (manga)
When Naruto became afflicted with an unknown illness, Sasuke decided to go to the Land of Redaku when learning of stories that the Sage of Six Paths had the same illness and found a cure there. Naruto tried to talk Sasuke out of it, but he ignored his pleas.

Ultimately, Sasuke, with the help of Sakura and Kakashi, were able to find the cure, polar particles. Upon recovering, Naruto thanks his friends for their efforts

Academy Entrance Arc

Main article: Academy Entrance Arc

In the anime, Naruto partakes in the entrance ceremony at the Academy, which leads to him being mortified after Boruto arrives and damages the Hokage Rock. After the incident, Naruto learns from the Kaminarimon Company president that Boruto is having a positive impact on his son, leading to Naruto smiling. Later, as a mysterious presence continues to cause people in the village to randomly attack the citizens, Naruto decides to begin an investigation, which uncovers that victims are having their chakra severely drained to the point of hospitalisation.

In the anime, as the mysterious attack began to happen throughout the village, Naruto’s efforts to uncover the truth began to exhaust him and being insisted by Shikamaru to go home and rest. Upon arriving, he learned that Boruto was acting very strange recently. Once confronting his son about his new attitude, Boruto insisted that he had finally manifested his Byakugan, leading them to talk to Hiashi. Upon arriving at his household, Hiashi like Naruto had doubts that Boruto awakened the Byakugan. Deciding to test Boruto, Hanabi faces Boruto, which concluded that Boruto hadn’t manifested the dōjutsu. Afterwards, Naruto talked with Hiashi about his grandchildren.

After assigning Sai to investigate the attacks in the village, he returned home late, and confided in Hinata about his ineptitude in interacting with his children, believing it to stem from his growing up without parents. Sometime later, Naruto saved civilians at the Konoha Purification Plant. As Boruto decided to check on his hospitalised friends, realising that his son was conducting his own investigation on the attacks, Naruto dragged Boruto to the surgery room, showing his son what was becoming of the victims of prolonged rampages. While hoping to sway Boruto into staying out of this matter, it only strengthened Boruto’s resolve. Shino then appeared, encouraging Naruto to have faith in his son as the teacher himself was recently saved by Boruto’s efforts. While still weary, Naruto decided to trust Shino’s judgement.

While having dinner with his family and Mitsuki, Naruto abruptly departs to handle a matter involving strange chakra spreading across Konoha. Soon after, Sai discovered that the culprit behind these attacks was Sumire Kakei. Naruto learned from Kakashi that Sumire’s intention was to unleash the Gozu Tennō on the village. Later, when Sai found Sumire, she unleashed the Nue. Naruto soon joined the unit to fend off the creature, but Kakashi warned Naruto to not get close, having realised that the endgame of this creature was to amass enough chakra to produce a powerful enough explosion to destroy the village. While the barrier team worked to keep the creature at bay, it suddenly teleported away. As Naruto attempted to find the creature with Sage Mode, Kakashi deduced that the creature worked differently from normal summonings, existing naturally in its own separate dimension.

Upon Sumire turning herself in, Sai and Shikamaru notified him that it’s due to Boruto appealing to Sumire’s genuine love of her friends in the Academy, making Naruto relieved that decided to admit her in the first place. Later, he informs Boruto that while he must look to the welfare of the entire village and does not have absolute say, he promises to help Sumire. Ultimately, it was decided to pardon Sumire and let her return to the Academy. Later, Naruto sent a clone to meet up with Sasuke, giving him the research on the Gozu Tennō. Sasuke quickly deduced that this was an attempt on Danzō to recreate Kaguya’s technique. Before Sasuke departs, he asks Naruto to apologise to Sakura for his continued absence, leading to Naruto feeling responsible for.

Sarada Uchiha Arc

Main article: Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring

In the anime, when Himawari became sick due to a fever, Naruto hurried home worried about her in which Boruto pointed out that his Hokage cloak is inside out. When Naruto and Boruto began fighting over what Himawari should eat, Hinata became angry and kicked them both out of the house due to them being noisy. Naruto then invited Boruto to eat with him at Ramen Ichiraku to try to bond with him in which he accepted. As they ate, Naruto told his son about all the precious memories he had in the shop, such as being acknowledged by Iruka, hanging out with Team 7, and going on his first date with Hinata.

On the day of the Five Kage Summit in Konoha, Moegi Kazamatsuri and Udon Ise notify Naruto that Boruto had vandalised the Hokage Rock. Before Boruto could do any more damage, Naruto catches and stops him. Afterwards, he gives his son a lecture about how the whole village is his family. The ordeal leads to Naruto arriving late to the kage meeting, which he apologies for.^[150]

As Boruto’s graduation exam from the Academy was approaching, Naruto used a shadow clone to help him train. Meanwhile, the real Naruto received a report from Sasuke about a boy with the Sharingan. After he consulted with Kakashi about it, Naruto decided to accompany Sasuke to a meeting with Orochimaru, leaving behind a shadow clone to manage Konoha in his absence. He made a point to leave the village before Boruto could come to see him off, though he asked Shikamaru to apologise to Boruto on his behalf.

While on his way to the rendezvous point, Naruto sensed that he was being followed by Sarada Uchiha and Chōchō Akimichi. He initially tried to ignore them, but eventually decided it would be better to confront them than to let them continue coming after him. When he arrived to speak with them, however, he found them being attacked by the same boy from Sasuke’s report. Although he was pleased that they were able to hold their own against their attacker, Naruto decided to get personally involved when he saw the boy had a Mangekyō Sharingan. The boy could do nothing against Naruto’s Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, so he fled with a creature’s space–time ninjutsu. Because the boy was apparently after Sarada, Naruto allowed them to come with him so that he could keep them safe.

While having lunch, Naruto told Sarada about what her father was like growing up and then informed both Sarada and Chōchō in what ways they take after their parents. Sarada was not only interested to hear about Sasuke, but also found she got along quite well with Naruto. As they got close to where they were supposed to meet up with Sasuke, Sarada used the bathroom as an excuse to sneek away from Naruto and Chōchō so that she could see him first. Naruto followed, and, on arrival, was reprimanded by Sasuke for bringing children with him. Sarada explained that she came without permission, as she wanted to know if Sakura was her real mother. Sasuke ignored the question, which only upset her and caused her to storm out. Naruto tried to comfort her, but his assurances that Sasuke meant well did not improve her mood. Before he could continue, he sensed the boy’s return and defended Sarada as the boy and his father, Shin Uchiha, attack. Sasuke assisted in fighting off Shin and his son, but Shin was able to manipulate Sasuke’s sword and used it to stab Naruto. Naruto continued attacking Shin despite his injury, though tried to use being impaled by the sword to win sympathy; Kurama ridiculed Naruto for allowing himself to be stabbed at all, but assured him that it wouldn’t kill him. Sakura suddenly arrived to lend assistance and landed a fatal blow on Shin, forcing Shin to escape and took Sakura with him. Unable to detect where Shin had taken Sakura, they continued to Orochimaru’s lair. Orochimaru informed them that Shin was an old experiment of his that he since lost control of. Naruto noticed Sarada sneaking off with Suigetsu Hōzuki during Orochimaru’s explanation and followed them, listening in as Suigetsu ran a DNA test that suggested Sarada’s real mother was actually Karin.

Not knowing what the truth was, Naruto was upset first with Sasuke for the secret he has seemingly been keeping, but also with Suigetsu for getting involved. He approached Sarada to discuss it with her, but she lashed out at him, believing he had been a knowing participant in the lie that Sakura was her mother. When she tried to insist that having no blood relation to Sakura meant they weren’t family, Naruto took a firm stance: he wasn’t related to most of Konoha’s villagers, yet he still considered them his family because they were important to him. In the same way, Sakura and Sarada were family because they were important to each other. Sarada realised how much she loved Sakura and decided she wanted to help rescue her. They reunited with the others and head out for Shin’s hideout.

Using Sasuke’s Rinnegan, they were able to reach where Shin took Sakura, only to find Sakura faring fine on her own fighting him. With the numbers against him growing, Shin called in his sons (actually his clones) to assist, but they turned against him and killed him because he always mistreated them. The clones then turned their attention to Naruto and the others, which Naruto engaged with his own shadow clones. Because they were only children, he frightened them into surrendering by manifesting Kurama. After learning that Sakura indeed was her biological mother, Sarada reconciled with her parents, much to Naruto’s happiness. Then, they all returned to Konoha, with Shin’s clones being delivered to the Konoha Orphanage.

School Trip Arc

Main article: School Trip Arc
In the anime, to improve relationships with other villages and symbolically show the warring era was over, Naruto set up an official class trip for the Academy to go to Kirigakure. Working out the details with Chōjūrō, he also got a tour guide for the class.

Graduation Exams Arc

Main article: Graduation Exams Arc

In the anime, as Academy classes began preparing for the graduation exams, the various students were interviewed about their future goals alongside a parent. Naruto however was unable to join his son as he was busy discussing matters with Orochimaru about his research on Danzō’s old experiments. As Orochimaru delivered promising results to aid Sasuke in his own investigations, while Shikamaru voiced his still limited trust in Orochimaru, Naruto was more relaxed about Orochimaru roaming the village.

On Boruto’s first day as a genin, Naruto managed to get some time to have breakfast with his family and see Boruto off to be assigned his team. After Boruto left, Shikamaru went to Naruto’s house to collect him and inform him of his various duties for the day. Later on, Naruto was in a field testing a number of shinobi’s skills in Barrier Ninjutsu to better protect the village with Mirai Sarutobi as his escort for the day. When Boruto and his teammates came to him, he was thinking that they want to change teams, but was pleasantly surprised when instead they want their team denomination to be changed to Team 7.

Genin Mission Arc

Main article: Genin Mission Arc
In the anime, as the recently promoted genin began to prepare for their first missions, Naruto prepared to present them, as it was customary. While Boruto began bragging about how easy it will, Naruto sternly warned him not to be so cocky. He presented Team 7 with a D-rank mission to aid the Green Banks Village who were being attacked by bandits for their crops. Naruto stressed that the team show team-work to complete the mission.

Byakuya Gang Arc

Main article: Byakuya Gang Arc

In the anime, when the Byakuya Gang began conducting heists throughout Konoha, their act of distributing their stolen wealth to the poor began gaining much support from many of the villagers, leading to a protest breaking out after the group fooled the villages into believing the Kaminarimon Company was corrupt. After shinobi determined that the leaders of the protest were being manipulated by genjutsu and freed them, Naruto and his clones appeared before the crowds and began quelling them with his speech. Straight after, Naruto headed towards the Land of Fire’s border where he apprehended Gekkō, who had used the riots as a distraction to steal the Magnum Opus from the Ninjutsu Research Centre.

Naruto Shinden: Parent and Child Day

Main articles: Naruto Shinden: Parent and Child Day and Parent and Child Day Arc
NOTE: In the anime, the events of this arc occur after the Mitsuki’s Disappearance Arc.

After announcing Parent and Child Day, Shikamaru took care of Naruto’s paperwork, allowing him to spend time with Himawari. Despite being sleep deprived, Naruto accepted his daughter’s wish and began searching for a Kurama doll with her. After being joined by Kiba during their unsuccessful search, he bought Himawari a Shukaku doll, to which she enjoyed. Later, with Himawari going to bed with Hinata, Naruto approached Boruto and apologised for not having spent any time during the holiday with his son. He gave Boruto a custom shuriken as a present and the two decided to spend the remainder of the evening training together.

Versus Momoshiki Arc

Main articles: Boruto: Naruto the Movie and Versus Momoshiki Arc
In the anime, on the day of Boruto’s birthday, work got in the way, making him unable to attend, instead only arriving home late at night with only a birthday present as an apology. Later, as more investigations to the workings of Kaguya continued, a third Ōtsutsuki clan ruin tied to her was found. Determined to find out all he could, Naruto prepared to investigate it personally. One the way out, Naruto was approached by his son, demanding that his father promised he would show up for Himawari’s birthday that was coming up, which he did.

Later, Naruto remained busy with his Hokage duties and continued having a strained relationship with his son, Boruto. Konoha has grown into a large city under Naruto’s leadership, although Naruto is overwhelmed with the responsibilities of being Hokage, leading him to create shadow clones to tend to his family and the villagers. When Boruto and his team report to Naruto after a mission, Naruto asked his son to address him as «the Seventh» instead of «Dad,» and reminded him of the importance of teamwork, which annoyed his son, as he believed that he could handle anything on his own. Boruto warned his father to be home for Himawari’s birthday party or else he will never forgive him. Katasuke Tōno then entered his office, requesting permission from Naruto to allow participants of the upcoming Chūnin Exams to use his new invention, the Kote. However Naruto refused on the grounds that it did not show one’s true abilities as a shinobi. Naruto was unable to make it to his daughter’s birthday party and sent a shadow clone instead. However, the clone ended up disappearing and dropping the cake when Naruto became fatigued, which enraged Boruto and caused him to throw Naruto’s old, tattered jacket out the window. Naruto felt guilty for letting his family down and Shikamaru told him to go home and rest. The jacket was found by Sasuke, who returned to Konoha to ask for help in deciphering a scroll he found in Kaguya’s abandoned castle. They met in Naruto’s office where Sasuke mentioned his meeting with Boruto and this leads to them making a bet on whether the nature of a shinobi has changed in regards to Boruto, to which Sasuke says it hasn’t and Naruto says it has.

Naruto wasn’t surprised when Boruto won the first test but after being advised by Shikamaru to reach out to Boruto, Naruto congratulated him via email, much to Boruto’s annoyance. While the scroll was being deciphered, Naruto sent a clone to meet up with Sasuke and asked him if it was true that he was training Boruto. Naruto said that perhaps Sasuke was right concerning the nature of shinobi remaining the same, to which Sasuke agrees. Naruto was nervous about the outcome of the second test but after learning Boruto passed, Naruto was overjoyed. Later, he met with Boruto in his bedroom and personally congratulated him and told him not to lose against Shikadai. Naruto offered a fist bump, but Boruto only smiled as he didn’t want his father to discover the Kote he was wearing. For the third test, Naruto chose to sit with Hinata and Himawari rather than with the other Kage as they watched Boruto fight in the third round and finally against Shikadai Nara. Near the end, Naruto suspected something was wrong after Boruto won. In the anime, he did not realise anything was amiss until Boruto’s next match in the finals when he defeated Shinki. He asked Hinata to use her Byakugan and she noticed Boruto wearing a Kote (in the anime he realised the truth on his own). Realising that Boruto was using the exam-forbidden tool to advance his techniques, a disappointed Naruto confronted him in the arena, ordered that Boruto be disqualified from the exam and took Boruto’s forehead protector from him, suspending his ninja status. He told Boruto they would talk about this at home, but Boruto lashed out at him that Naruto doesn’t know how to give him a lecture when he’s never home.

Suddenly, Momoshiki and Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki appear and began attacking the arena. Naruto is knocked out of the arena by Momoshiki but he rushes back to defend his son when he is in danger and is shortly joined by Sasuke and Sarada. Sasuke informed Naruto that the two enemies are the new threat written about in the scroll. Naruto realises he is their target and demands to know what they want. After Momoshiki reveals he wanted Kaguya’s chakra, and eventually Kurama’s from the Seventh Hokage, Naruto and Sasuke combine Kurama and Susanoo to shield themselves and their children from the enemies’ attacks. Naruto also dispatches shadow clones to protect civilians that hadn’t managed to flee from the arena. Determined to protect his son and friends, Naruto ultimately decides to allow himself to be captured in Momoshiki’s jutsu and asks Sasuke to take care of Boruto for him. Just before Naruto disappears, he looks over his shoulder and offers his son one last smile. Naruto was teleported to another dimension and bound by Momoshiki and Kinshiki to a God Tree. Naruto resisted as Momoshiki extracted half of Kurama’s chakra from inside Naruto. The two debated the merits of instant strength and earned strength, causing Naruto to realise his own lack of effort in trying to understand Boruto, which is what drove him to cheat with the Shinobi Gauntlet. During the ordeal, Sasuke, Boruto, and the other Kage arrived to rescue him.

Naruto, surprised to see Boruto wearing his old jacket, told his son that it was like looking at one of his shadow clones. When he tried to apologise to Boruto for not being there for him, Boruto replied that it was alright and he just wants to hear more about Naruto’s past. After the other Kage failed to defeat Kinshiki, and the latter was absorbed by Momoshiki, Naruto and Sasuke joined forces to fight him and initially gained the upper hand until Naruto was briefly imprisoned by boulders and Sasuke was severely burned by Momoshiki’s Lava Release. Naruto became enraged upon seeing Sasuke injured but was relieved to find he was all right and still able to fight after being healed by Kurama’s chakra. By once again combining Kurama and Susanoo, they managed to defeat Momoshiki and cut his lava creature in half, but Katasuke rushed in and began firing ninjutsu attacks from his Kote at Momoshiki, which he absorbed and used to attack Naruto and the others. Naruto is restrained by black rods while Momoshiki prepares to eliminate the rest of the Kage. When Boruto used his Vanishing Rasengan against Momoshiki to free his father and the other Kage, Naruto was greatly surprised to find that his son was able to use the Rasengan. As they prepare their final assault, Naruto helps Boruto to create a Parent and Child Rasengan, which Boruto himself unleashes upon Momoshiki and ultimately kills him.

After the battle ends, Naruto sits with Sasuke and Naruto agrees Sasuke won their bet. Naruto proudly looked on at his son and stated that he would always be there to watch Boruto grow as his father. After returning home, Naruto posed for a photograph with Boruto, Sasuke, and the four other Kage. One morning, as Boruto left to meet with his team and Naruto left to go to work, both wished each other to do their best and bumped fists with each other. While Boruto was giving a live interview on Konoha TV, Naruto watches it from his desk.

Chōchō Arc

Main article: Chōchō Arc
In the anime, when the two lead actors of a popular TV drama received a death threat, Naruto assigned Team 7 and Team 10 to protect them.

Mitsuki’s Disappearance Arc

Main article: Mitsuki’s Disappearance Arc
In the anime, when two guards were attacked by unknown assailants, the village was put on lockdown. Naruto and his advisers then oversaw Ino probe Uō’s mind for answers, learning that Mitsuki had left willingly with the attackers. When Naruto revealed to the others Mitsuki was in fact Orochimaru’s son, much outrage followed, prompting Naruto to give his rational on why he accepted Mitsuki into Konoha. Later, Naruto was informed that Boruto and Sarada left the village to find Mitsuki, leading to him dispatching Team 10 to retrieve the pair. When Naruto learned that the attackers were on route to the Land of Earth, he contacted Kurotsuchi, who promised to investigate the matter herself and return the Konoha genin pursing Mitsuki. While discussing Mitsuki’s apparent betrayal, Konohamaru insisted he be the one to bring his student back, which Naruto reluctantly agreed to. Naruto later attempted to contact Kurotsuchi, but was told she wasn’t available, leading to him becoming suspicious something was happening in Iwagakure.

Later, Naruto’s fears were proven correct when Shikadai contacted his father via phone, revealing that Iwagakure was taken over as part of a plan by Ōnoki. Knowing that they couldn’t act hastily, Naruto talks with the other officials and decided that he would join Shikamaru in meeting with the other daimyō to get their support on engaging this personal matter. After getting approval, Naruto and an escort moved out, and allowed his son’s peers to come with him. Upon arriving at the batted village, Naruto applauded Konohamaru’s work during the Iwa’s internal struggle. Naruto stayed in the village and attended Ōnoki’s funeral, prompting him to say the Tsuchikage left behind a grand legacy and lesson about perseverance. After returning to the village, while personally applauding Boruto and Sarada for loyally supporting Mitsuki, whose own efforts were revealed to have saved Iwa, he still was reluctantly forced to strip the Team 7 genin of their shinobi status as punishment for deserting the village. Later, Kurotsuchi’s gratitude and recommendation convinced Naruto to reinstate them.

Konohamaru’s Love Arc

Main article: Konohamaru’s Love Arc
In the anime, due to Konohamaru spying on Asaki, a complaint was filed against him, prompting Naruto to place him under house arrest.

One-Tail Escort Arc

Main article: One-Tail Escort Arc
In the anime, after Sai delivered a sealed Shukaku in a tea kettle to Naruto as a result of Gaara being unable to protect it in the Land of Wind from Urashiki Ōtsutsuki, Shukaku explained it only made it to Konoha due to Boruto acting as a decoy against their pursuer. Informing Shikamaru he was going to the scene, Sasuke approached the pair and told him that wasn’t necessary, as Sasuke had earlier protected Boruto and forced Urashiki to retreat. Three days later, Naruto and Gaara discussed the incident in his office. Afterwards, Naruto had a Shadow Clone see the Kazekage off at the Thunder Rail station. Some time later, Naruto brought Shukaku to his house until an official safe house was decided on. Later that evening, Naruto had a telepathic meeting with some of the other tailed beasts to discuss how to handle being targeted. As a result of guarding Shukaku, Naruto got to spend time with his family, before escorting Shukaku to his safe house.

Time Slip Arc

Main article: Time Slip Arc

In the anime, Naruto was notified that Urashiki was on the move again, being even more indiscriminate in his stealing of chakra. While pleased that all of the Five Great Shinobi Nations were on alert and willing to share all intel on Urashiki, Shikamaru voiced his concern about Mirai’s sudden disappearance and also wondered what their enemy true goal was for gathering chakra. Later, Naruto decided to have the genin test new surveillance equipment designed to follow their location. During the field test, Urashiki was spotted in the area. This prompted most of the Konoha-nin in the village to engage, while Shikamaru stayed in the Hokage Office to help protect Naruto. Urashiki managed to get hold of a device that allowed him to travel into the past, prompting Sasuke and Boruto being sent back alongside him to the time period shortly after Sasuke’s defection. A teenage Naruto and Jiraiya encountered the pair, who were disguising their identities and their occupations as travelling performers. As they were foreigners, Tsunade has Naruto and Jiraiya look over them. Spending time with Boruto, Naruto allowed him to sleep at his apartment, where Boruto vaguely talked about his father, speaking about both his feats and his flaws, where Naruto was intrigued to hear about, noting that Boruto enjoyed talking about his family, and inquired Boruto if he hated his father, to which Boruto denied.

The day after cleaning up a bathhouse together, Urashiki targeted Naruto. Failing at extracting Kurama’s chakra, Urashiki instead captured him and trapped Boruto, Sasuke and Jiraiya in a rock prison before retreating. Using a cave for a hideout, Urashiki forced Naruto’s seal to emerge and used his chakra in an attempt to forcibly extract Kurama’ chakra from within Naruto. Urashiki’s actions caused Kurama’s chakra to leak out, forcing Naruto to undergo his Version 1 transformation. Arriving to rescue Naruto, Boruto attempted to reason with his father, but Naruto had since completely lost his common sense and attacked Boruto. Jiraiya managed to subdue the Nine-Tails’ chakra with a seal, and Sasuke forced Urashiki to retreat. Afterwards, Jiraiya offered to train Naruto and Boruto to prepare them for Urashiki. The following day, Naruto began working with Boruto to synchronise their chakra to create a new cooperation ninjutsu under Jiraiya’s guidance. After Boruto left to clear his head, Sasuke approached Naruto with food from Jiraiya, and told Naruto about how «a friend» struggled for years to help him after he lost his way, but never gave up until finally succeeding, which renewed Naruto’s conviction.

Continuing his training the next day, the pair were approached by Sakura, who had found Sasuke’s note from the future, and questioned why it Sasuke’s name on it before shortly leaving with an answer. Naruto and Boruto resumed their training, which ultimately left them exhausted. They were then approached again by Urashiki, who subdued the pair. Jiraiya and Sasuke joined the fight. Deciding the foe’s newest technique was too dangerous, Sasuke tackled himself and Urashiki over the ledge and into a river to let his allies escape. While tending to Jiraiya’s wounds, the group tried to figure out how to deal with Urashiki. Boruto realised that in the fight, the blood splattered on Urashiki was drying much faster than Boruto’s. After engaging the foe again to test a theory, they concluded that Urashiki’s technique lets him warp into the past by several seconds, giving him a pseudo-clairvoyance from his experiences. Urashiki attacked the Konoha-nin again, where Jiraiya contained everyone in his Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind. During which, Naruto unleashed a continued barrage of clones on Urashiki. While he easily countered the assault with his technique, Urashiki inadvertently poisoned himself from the acidic vapours of the great toad’s belly far sooner than the Konoha-nin due to his repeated time-warp. Once Jiraiya released the summoning, Naruto and Boruto then proceeded to knockout Urashiki with a Rasengan assault.

Enraged, Urashiki awoke and consumed all his accumulated chakra and his eyes, leading to him undergoing a transformation that strengthened him. Jiraiya and the two genin were quickly overwhelmed by Urashiki’s continued assaults, even with the aid of the returning Sasuke. Urashiki deliberately held back on Naruto, hoping to anger him enough into unleashing the Nine-Tails’ chakra. His efforts ultimately succeeded when Jiraiya took a hit that was intended for Naruto, triggering his transformation. Boruto, however, managed to reach Naruto and together were able to perfect their new collaboration technique. With the combined effort of Jiraiya and Sasuke, the two kids were able to plough through Urashiki’s final attack and obliterate him. After the battle, both Naruto and Boruto lose consciousness due to their exhaustion. Days after Naruto and Boruto recovered at the Konoha hospital, he was upset to hear that Boruto and Sasuke would be leaving now that their mission was completed. Before they left, Naruto gave Boruto a gift. Sasuke used his Sharingan to erase everyone’s memories of the events to preserve the timeline. On seeing the Sharingan, Naruto had what appeared to be a brief moment of recognising Sasuke before losing consciousness.

Upon the pair returning, Naruto was approached by Sasuke who explained the recent situation he and Boruto had. Naruto was amazed at such a tale. Later, while visiting Jiraiya’s grave to pay his respect, he was approached by Boruto, who decided to share with Naruto the gift of special ramen given by his past self. Sometime later, Sumire was officially transferred to the Scientific Ninja Weapons Team. Naruto reached out to the Land of Iron and requested an exchange student to take Sumire’s spot on Team 15. Shikamaru was concerned about his experimental move of mixing shinobi with samurai, but Naruto insisted it would help close the gap between the two. Later, Naruto attended his father-in-law’s birthday, impressed by Boruto getting past his aversion mushy feelings to suggest a regular family photo.

Sasuke Shinden: The Teacher’s Star Pupil

Main article: Sasuke Shinden: The Teacher’s Star Pupil
Naruto appears in this novel.

Mujina Bandits Arc

Main articles: Mujina Bandits Arc and Shikamaru Shinden
In the anime, Naruto set up a mission for Team 7 to infiltrate Hōzuki Castle to verify the information about the Mujina Bandits offered by Kokuri in exchange for protection. After losing contact from Mujō, the prison warder who was working with Konohagakure, Naruto sent Sai and a team to investigate. Ultimately, the succeeded in returning «Kokuri» to the village to question him about the Mujina Bandits before letting the man go free.

At the Hokage building, Naruto hosted a Kage Summit, during which the Kage bickered about topics concerning Konoha, leading to Kurotsuchi demanding Konoha to disclose all of its confidential information as the village’s proof to peace by the next summit, and said Iwagakure would leave the Five Great Shinobi Country alliance if they didn’t. Afterwards the summit ended. Naruto was told then by Shikamaru that the reason why Kurotsuchi was acting that way was because she was being pressured by the Earth Daimyō to invade the Land of Flowers for the corps they had to offer and expressed sadness that Kurotsuchi didn’t tell them as he believed that the Shinobi Union would have definitely aided her when it came to food scarcity and other issues and the potential of another war, remembering the casualties of the last war and not wanting to use and introduce the next generation to the horrors of war. Naruto found hope, however, when Shikamaru said they could negotiate with her so the invasion won’t happen.^[63]

Unfortunately, in the next Kage Summit, Naruto’s revelation of Kurotsuchi’s true intentions only cause Darui to angrily threaten to kill Kurotsuchi and to add things worse, Naruto and Sasuke’s strength were used as a boon for Kurotsuchi’s cause, as they had the power to take over the continent and the imbalance in strength between Konoha and the other villages were thus immense. Despite Naruto’s attempts to ensure Konoha would not try to take over the world, Shikamaru responded by paralysing and threatening to crush Kurotsuchi’s neck, much to Naruto’s horror and fury. Quickly, Naruto used his chakra to break out of Shikamaru’s shadow and angrily put Shikamaru in place before attempting to plea for peace but he could not sway Kurotsuchi or Darui, who made it clear they would go to war if the invasion were to occur. Furious over the outcome, Naruto angrily confronted Shikamaru when they walked home but was rebuffed by his friend, who told him to think with his head and start responding harshly enough.^[63]

Several months after the Hōzuki Castle mission, Naruto discussed Katasuke being under mind control with Sai and Ibiki, and had them continue their investigation while Shikamaru handled Katasuki. Afterwards, Mirai Sarutobi informed Naruto that Team Konohamaru successfully captured the Mujina Bandits, much to his joy. As Shojoji was discussed, Naruto told everyone that they had to hurry up and handle the missing-nin.^[151] Shikamaru then informed Naruto of his upcoming meeting with the Fire Daimyō Ikkyū Madoka, which Naruto had forgotten was later during the day. During which, he discussed financial matter with Ikkyū.^[63]

Kara Actuation Arc

Main article: Kara Actuation Arc
Later in the anime, Team 25 and Sasuke were sent to investigate the information extracted from the captured Shojoji about Kara’s existence in Amegakure. Upon their return, they learned that Kara had long ago abandoned their facility in Amegakure and were performing biological experiments. They also learned that there were in fact civilians who sympathised with Kara and its goals. Naruto was concerned to learn that Amegakure was in shambles as it had yet to make any recovery since the Fourth Shinobi World War. He was determined to help the village.

Naruto learned that Victor, the president of the Land of Valleys’ premiere medical and research company, was a member of Kara who somehow obtained a sample of the First Hokage’s cells. Naruto was greatly concerned that Team 7 was defeated by two Inners. Upon seeing Boruto in treatment, he was certain that Boruto would be fine. Afterwards, Naruto discussed with his advisers on the next move. Shikamaru offered to use his connections in the Land of Valleys to get permission to investigate Victor’s company. Three days later, it was approved for Naruto to send Mugino and Konohamaru to stealthily investigate. Later, Naruto sent Team 10 on a joint mission with Team Shinki to retrieve Urashiki’s puppet. He later listened to Shikadai’s report on the mission which greatly concerned and disturbed him.

After Boruto recovered from his new training, Naruto gave his son permission to return to the Land of Valleys to return the wedding ring of their recent client’s husband to her. Following the defeat of Victor and his amoral experiments, Naruto received a report on the events.

Upon Konohamaru and Mugino’s return, Konoha leadership discussed how to handle Kara, having learned influential figures like Victor were associated with the organisation and finding evidence in their investigation that Kara had spies all around. While many considered closing off the gates to Konohagakure to stop the flow of information, Naruto was torn on this, valuing the new peace between the village and the rest of the world. After talking various officials in the village, and witnessing Boruto and his friends work on an experiment to improve wireless communications, Naruto decided to not close the gates as it would deter cooperation with the outside world, instead deciding to reinforce security.

Ao Arc

Main article: Ao Arc

In the anime, Naruto attended the memorial service for the fallen people of the Fourth Shinobi World War. Later, Naruto joins his son in a sparring match at the Training Hall, to test out Katasuke’s new invention that was fitted on his arm. During the match, Naruto defends himself from Boruto, and uses the invention to absorb his son’s techniques, before defeating him with a single kick. Afterwards at the Hokage’s office, Naruto informs Boruto of the technology he used against him, which angered Boruto. Before Naruto could explain himself, Sasuke arrives and interrupts their conversation, calming Boruto down by pointing out the need for them with the coming danger of enemies like the Ōtsutsuki Clan.

Naruto also admitted to knowing about Boruto’s mark on his right palm, which was another reason Naruto approved the development of this advanced weaponry. While Boruto still insisted they should rely solely on ninjutsu like in the Chūnin Exams, Naruto noted that the Chūnin Exams were to test one’s growth as a ninja, where as they are now in a battle for survival. Katasuke then arrived to retrieve his prototype, to which Naruto assigned Team Konohamaru a C-rank mission to escort the lead scientist back to the lab in Ryūben City. While Boruto stormed off in a huff, Naruto asked his genin team-mates to watch over him should anything happen with his mark.

As Konohamaru failed to report from his mission, Naruto contacted Boruto’s team at the Scientific Ninja Weapons Team’s lab, who were nearest to Konohamaru’s last reported location. He instructed them to search the area but be careful and not recklessly engage any foes. While Shikamaru reminded him that Team Konohamaru were all very capable for their age, Naruto insisted that he was more concerned about the possibility of them running into the organisation Kara as Konohamaru’s mission was to investigate a mysterious airship.

Kawaki Arc

Main article: Kawaki Arc
When Team 7 returned with news of Mugino’s demise at the hands of Ao, who was in leagues with Kara, they also revealed a boy with ties to Kara named Kawaki. In the anime, he was detained at the Advanced Technology Research Institute in Ryūtan City, prompting Naruto and Sai to go immediately and meet the boy. On the train ride, Sai noted that it was risky to take such a mysterious boy back to the village. Naruto understood Sai’s fear, knowing that Kara’s desire of the boy could lead to the village becoming a battlefield again. Upon arriving in the station, they learned that Kawaki escaped and was on a rampage. Before Naruto and Sai could act, they met with Boruto and Sumire, the latter insisted to not hurt Kawaki. She noted that Kawaki’s rampage stemmed from emotional scars due to his troubled past. Taking Sumire’s words to heart, Naruto stopped Kawaki’s passively, subduing him until he tired himself out and collapsed.

Naruto decided he was most suitable to monitor Kawaki, and held a Kage Summit to discuss the situation. Following the unanimous agreement from other Kage with Naruto, he took the boy to his house, during which he foiled Kawaki’s attempts at fleeing. There, Kawaki attempting to escape, but Naruto intimidated him into submission. His escape attempt resulted in Himawari’s vase being destroyed. Naruto intervened when Boruto and Kawaki began fighting, and later overheard Kawaki speaking of his hardship as a result of his Kāma. Afterwards, Naruto took Kawaki to Yamanaka Flowers to pick a new vase, where he hugged Kawaki after he had a panic attack. Sometime later, Naruto and Boruto sparred; he defeated his son, even while Boruto used his Kāma. Naruto offered for Kawaki to try sparring with Boruto next time, but Kawaki declined as he couldn’t use chakra, prompting Naruto to insist that all can learn to do so and that having strong rivals will help one in accomplishing great things.

Later, Boruto decided to take Kawaki’s offer of learning what he knows about their Kāma. Deciding to do so through sparring, the two children quickly activated their respective marks. While Boruto kept up in hand-to-hand combat, Kawaki’s usage of his modified body put Boruto on the defensive. Kawaki then launched a blast at Naruto with the intent of him absorbing it like previously, only for Boruto to instead damage his hand. Naruto called off the match and told the two to perform the Seal of Reconciliation. The event made their marks react and caused Boruto’s hand to instantly heal. Before pushing the subject, Naruto was alerted of an intruder. Naruto told his son to take Himawari away while he stayed with Kawaki, certain that the intruder was after Kawaki. His assumption proved correct as they were quickly met by Delta. She demanded Naruto hand over Kawaki to her, and Kawaki confirmed her identity as an Inner from Kara. Naruto instructed Boruto to protect Himawari and Kawaki to protect himself.

Fighting her, Naruto initially outperformed her with taijutsu, but she began making use of her shinobi-ware to launch sneak attacks and absorb his Rasengan. Naruto entered his Six Paths Sage Mode, but Delta was eventually able to stab him and pin him down. He tried to discern her motives for wanting Kawaki, but she saw through his deception, and noticed he was already healing, considering Naruto to be a monster as well. While Naruto was continually forced to hold back in fear of the spectators’ safety, he continued to gradually wear down his foe, leading to Delta using her Destruction Beam against Naruto to combat his regenerative ability. Eventually, Delta targets Himawari, leading to Naruto blocking the attack with his body, but is uninjured as Kawaki sacrificed his right arm to block the attack. Enraged at her tactics, Naruto resumed the fight and quickly overwhelmed her. Naruto, having seen her return his Rasengan that she absorbed, deduces that there was a limit to how much chakra her eyes can absorb since the chakra or attack had to be stored somewhere in her body rather than dissipating and vanishing, prompting him to overpower and defeat Delta with his Super-Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan. Defeated, Delta’s body self-destructed, forcing Naruto to flee the vicinity with the children.

Later, when bringing Kawaki to Katasuke to repair Kawaki’s arm, the scientist informed him that the technology in Kawaki’s body was too advanced for him to handle. Finding an alternate solution, Naruto gave Kawaki one of his prosthetic arms and channelled some of his chakra into Kawaki to make it work. Shocked at how sincere Naruto was at being nice, Kawaki asked to learn ninjutsu, which Naruto agreed to and began training him. Quite a while after Delta’s defeat, while Naruto and Kawaki were at his house, he notices Kawaki in distress, resulting in his Kāma creating a portal which Jigen emerged from. Wanting to take his son back, Naruto attempted to attack him but was repelled away and impaled by chakra draining rods. Activating his chakra mode, Naruto kicks Jigen away from Kawaki. Jigen then proceeded to activate his Kāma. Fearing for the Hokage’s safety, with Jigen’s power entirely above Delta’s and capable of either killing or severely injuring Naruto, Kawaki stepped in and submitted, agreeing to back willingly with Jigen if he spared Naruto. While Jigen agreed to the terms, Naruto refused to comply. Jigen responded by teleporting himself and Naruto to another dimension.

As Jigen attempted to strand Naruto there, he was attacked and stopped by Sasuke. Being away from Konoha and free to fight with all their power, the pair engaged in battle with Jigen, leading to Sasuke deducing their opponent’s fighting style involved shrinking himself and his rods. Pressuring Jigen, the Kara member taped into his Kāma and grew a horn. Upon seeing Jigen’s development, Sasuke revealed how he resembled an unknown Ōtsutsuki member, and that Jigen had ties with a juvenile Ten-Tails. As Sasuke also revealed that Jigen’s goal was to drain the entire planet of all its chakra, the two shinobi decided to fight with their full power. Despite their strong avatar forms and team-work, Jigen ploughed through their defences. As he swiftly wore down and pummelled his foes, he restrained the pair with rods and decided to keep Naruto alive because of Kurama in him while killing Sasuke due to his Rinnegan’s Space-Time Ninjutsu. Accepting the truth, Naruto had his clones hold off Jigen while he convinced Sasuke to escape despite his friend’s protests. Jigen revealed that he was after Boruto Uzumaki for his Kāma and sealed Naruto in a giant pot which he shrunk, leaving Naruto trapped within the foreign dimension. Afterwards, Boro stood guard over the pot, during which Boruto and Kawaki used their Kama to transport Naruto’s unconscious body out before killing the Kara member.

Returning to Konoha, they were all taken to the hospital for treatment. As Naruto made a quick recovery, he was impressed to hear of the genin’s work, and joked that rebellious genin seemed to still be a thing. In the anime, they discussed the recent events. Kawaki informed them that each member of Kara was modified with Shinobi-Ware, granting them abilities besides ninjutsu. After everyone else left, Shikamaru discussed with Naruto on how best to deal with Kawaki, as his Kāma acted as a direct path to Konoha at any time for Kara. Upon learning of Boro’s cult, Naruto assigned Sai and Konohamaru to investigate, hoping to discover new information on the new whereabouts of Kara’s Ten-Tails. They returned and reported Boro’s scheme for getting new cultists and using them as subjects for Kara’s Vessel experiments, as well as that despite her defeat to Naruto, Delta was somehow still active, having destroyed the cult’s base.

Later, Naruto was informed by Ino of Shikadai being taken hostage by Amado. Though he wished to speak to Shikamaru, he was glad to learn of Naruto’s rescue, and revealed he wished to defect to Konoha, offering intel on Kara, Jigen, their Ten-Tails, and the Ōtsutsuki. After Naruto gave his word as Hokage to not go back on the deal provided his intel was good, Amado began explaining all he knew. He revealed that how the Ōtsutsuki have since before recorded history been travelling from planet to planet, harvesting its chakra for the sake of evolving itself while destroying the planet in the process, using the Ten-Tails for the process. He revealed that Jigen himself was turned into an Ōtsutsuki from being branded by his Kāma of Isshiki. Amado also revealed to have sabotaged the blimp to free Kawaki and likewise ensure that Sasuke would get the intel of Isshiki. Amado’s glasses began beeping. His glasses were taken off, revealing a holographic projection of Jigen talking with his accomplice Koji Kashin intended to kill Jigen. As Naruto was intrigued by Koji’s techniques and battle tactics, Amado insisted that Naruto accept his request to officially join Konohagakure with full amnesty and protection in order to hear more of his secrets, which Naruto agreed. Amado carried on his explanation, sharing what he knew of Jigen, the Ōtsutsuki, and Kāma. He stressed how a full rebirth of the Ōtsutsuki must be avoided, and claimed he’d teach them how to kill an Ōtsutsuki. When Jigen’s death triggered Isshiki’s resurrection in his body, Amado explained this also erased Kawaki’s Kāma to avoid duplicates, leading Shikamaru to realise that without any remaining Kāma, Isshiki was vulnerable to a permanent death.

After Amado was officially made a citizen of Konohagakure, made aware of his rights and limitations, he warned them of Isshiki’s immediate focus on rebranding Kawaki. He advised Naruto against taking the fight to Isshiki, and stressed that had to protect Kawaki against being rebranded. Naruto took his advice and ordered a civilian evacuation, as Isshiki would seek Kawaki in Konoha. Naruto was against Boruto staying to fight him, but where interrupted by an alert of Isshiki’s arrival. Naruto ordered Boruto to join the evacuation as he went to confront Isshiki. Isshiki was surprised to see Naruto had escaped, but demanded for Kawaki. When Naruto refused, Isshiki began shrinking various targets in the village to destroy it. Naruto activated his Six Paths Sage Mode, but Isshiki easily overpowered him. Sasuke soon joined the fight, levelling the battlefield. He then launched his sword at Isshiki. As Isshiki attempted to shrink it, it was revealed to Boruto transformed. As Naruto was horrified by his son’s arrival, Boruto activated his Kāma, teleporting himself and Isshiki to another dimension. Naruto and Sasuke followed through the latter’s Rinnegan. As the Konoha-nin faced down Isshiki, he decided the best way to get Kawaki was to present Sasuke and Naruto’s corpses to the village. The fight quickly resumed, with Naruto and Sasuke’s team-work managing to push Isshiki on the defence as he began shrinking all their attacks. Quickly however, Isshiki demonstrated a new technique, manifesting and manipulating massive black cubes that separated the duo.

Realising he was running out of options, Kurama asked Naruto if he was really willing to sacrifice himself to stop Isshiki. Naruto confirmed it, and Kurama offered a last-ditch strategy which would have a high risk of death from using it. Accepting his duties as Hokage, Naruto faced Isshiki and took on a new form of Baryon Mode. Kurama explained to Naruto that the form is like nuclear fusion, consuming all their respective energy and that he must be careful not to make any unnecessary movements or thoughts. The new form baffled everyone with its sheer power. Naruto quickly began overwhelming Isshiki, constantly countering and dodging the foes various assaults. Soon after, the strain of Baryon Mode began catching up as Naruto began to tire. Kurama noted this form gradually drains away all life-forces, including Naruto’s. However, it would also drain Isshiki’s with each contact, meaning they just had to keep pressuring Isshiki until his already diminished lifespan ran out. As Isshiki began getting desperate, he took advantage of Naruto’s chakra connection to Kawaki through the latter’s prosthetic arm. From this, he teleported Kawaki to them with the goal of rebranding Kawaki before his time ran out. As Kawaki tried to escape Isshiki, he opted to use Kawaki’s love for Naruto against him, assaulting the downed Hokage. Despite Naruto’s insistence that Kawaki forget about him, Kawaki ultimately showed himself and attacked using the ninjutsu Naruto taught him. Isshiki easily negated it and branded Kawaki again, only for it to be revealed as a shadow clone.

Finally, Isshiki’s time ran out and he crumbled to dust. Sasuke then asked Naruto about his new power, but before he could answer, Boruto, being controlled by Momoshiki, suddenly stabbed Sasuke’s left eye. Naruto attempted to help fighting Momoshiki, but collapsed, feeling heavy as lead, and passed out. Inside his subconscious, Naruto had a final conversation with Kurama. He told the kitsune that he had no ill will to Kurama despite the loss of his parents. As Naruto was prepared to die and voiced his concerns for the village, Kurama revealed that Naruto would awake soon and fine, as it was Kurama’s life that was gambled from using Baryon Mode. Kurama assured Naruto that it never actually lied to Naruto, but knew the Hokage wouldn’t risk Kurama’s own life so he hid the truth. As Kurama’s life began to fade, it warned Naruto that he would lose all access to Kurama’s chakra and abilities, meaning he would have to be more careful from now on. Naruto desperately reached out for Kurama before waking up to see Boruto, Sasuke, and Kawaki standing over him.

With Sasuke’s Rinnegan and Kawaki’s Kāma gone, it was up to Boruto to use his mark to bring everyone back with aid from Kawaki. Upon returning to the village, Naruto was relieved. In the anime, shortly after returning, Naruto was examined by Sakura and Katasuke for any remaining traces of Kurama’s essence and capacities. The tests found nothing, confirming that Kurama’s death would considerably drop Naruto’s abilities and fighting potential. Naruto admitted that Kurama’s power had felt like cheating, and despite the void left behind, he chose not to wallow on it, believing that Kurama would make fun of him over it. Afterwards, Naruto received confirmation that Boruto’s Kāma was accelerating, and decided to inform Boruto himself. He vowed to do everything in his power to save Boruto. When Kawaki returned his prosthetic hand, having his natural one restored by Amado, Naruto offered to make him a genin.

Chūnin Re-Examination Arc

Main article: Chūnin Re-Examination Arc

In the anime, Naruto had the Chūnin Exam that Momoshiki interrupted reorganised, as a way to boost morale and promote more capable chūnin. Naruto acted as a proctor during the second portion of the exams, evaluating the genin’s abilities. During the final exam, Naruto invited Kawaki to attended, and watched the matches alongside Sai and Shikamaru. Commentating on the matches, Naruto and Shikamaru agreed that Boruto and Mitsuki would be disqualified for being late to their match. After the event, he asked Kawaki what he thought, leading to him expressing interest in becoming a genin. Later, after assigning Konohamaru and Mirai a mission, Naruto allowed Konohamaru students to assist him when Mirai returned to the village alone and injured. After Team 7 succeeded in their mission, Naruto hosted the promotion ceremony for the new chūnin, assigning them as captains of their teams.

As Naruto decided to test Kawaki for qualification as a shinobi, Shikamaru voiced his concerns, feeling that his modified body would be a prime target for enemies to go after. Naruto however insisted that for Kawaki to grow, he needed to experience the outside world and make friends who could protect him. Because Kawaki fared poorly in D-rank missions with different teams, lacking team-work, Shikamaru deemed him unfit for being a shinobi. He and Naruto agreed to assign him a C-rank escort mission with Team 10 as a final chance to qualify as a genin. Konohamaru arrived and handed him intel on a recently discovered dead body. They wondered about a connection with five other similar incidents in other countries. They determined there was a connection, as all of them were from the Land of Calm Seas. As Team 10 was escorting a client there, Naruto sent Team 7 as backup, as they were out in a mission nearby. At the end of the mission, Boruto reported to Naruto how the Calm Seas Daimyō was exploiting his people. While Naruto couldn’t directly interfere, he could send a medical team as a form of aid relief. Later, Kawaki asked for another chance to prove himself, but Naruto revealed that based on Shikadai’s report, he passed the exam, and would take missions as a genin under him.

Great Sea Battle of Kirigakure Arc

Main article: Great Sea Battle of Kirigakure Arc
In the anime, the Land of Water faced a civil war against the Funato Clan. Team 5 and Team 7 accidentally found themselves caught in it. Aiding Kirigakure, the genin were able to help end the war peacefully. Upon the genin’s return to Konohagakure, Naruto informed them of the aftermath from Chōjūrō. As Boruto asked about the fate of his new friend Ikada Funato, a ship-builder who was drawn to the war after his sister’s death. Kawaki voiced that he deserved punishment as an enemy commander. Boruto insisted that Ikada was a good person and was key in ending the war. As Kawaki stormed off annoyed at Boruto, Naruto approached Boruto, commending him for his efforts in the war and sympathising with Boruto’s new view. He encouraged Boruto to make up with Kawaki. Naruto soon after found the two boys instead coming to blows with each other. Naruto cheerfully watched the fight until the two collapsed against each other. Working off their aggression, the two put aside their differences. Naruto approached them, telling Boruto about Ikada’s lenient punishment of surveillance under Kajiki’s care. Naruto treated them to some ramen.

Naruto later went on a family vacation to a hot spring inn that Himawari won in a raffle, sending Konohamaru in his place to the filming of the next Kagemasa movie where he was to make a guest appearance and use the Rasengan on the climax. At the inn, he and Hinata beat Boruto and Kawaki at ping-pong due to their superior team-work. Naruto later lost to Himawari at a card matching game, and assured Kawaki he was part of the family.

Kawaki & Himawari Academy Arc

Main article: Kawaki & Himawari Academy Arc
In the anime, Naruto and Shikamaru assigned Kawaki a secret mission, to protect Princess Kae Yukiwari from the Land of Bamboo while she attended the Academy as an exchange student. They explained that Kae’s father discovered an assassination plot targeting his daughter, and sent her there while he investigated the matter domestically, Kae herself unaware of the threat. Naruto picked Kawaki because of his lower profile with the public, and offered some advice on how to connect with the students. Naruto gave a speech during the opening ceremony, and was later pleased by Kawaki’s report of having befriended Kae. He also felt that Kawaki had something to learn from attending the Academy, despite his advanced fighting skills.

Following a terrorist attack on the Academy that served as a diversion for an attempt on Kae’s life, Konoha leadership learned that Kawaki didn’t report the possibility of an attack, and removed him from the mission. Naruto told Kawaki to stay home until further notice. However, Kawaki later thwarted another attempt on Kae’s life, and Naruto informed him that it allowed Batora to report his investigation and arrest the Land of Bamboo’s minister as the mastermind behind the plot.

While reviewing background files, Hana Kaka was discovered to hail from the Land of Bamboo, leading to the full uncovering of the plot against Kae. After other conspirators were arrested by Sai and Team 25, Sai, Shikamaru, and Kawaki reported the events to Naruto. Naruto was amenable to Hana’s wish to merely suppress her assassin personality in order to teach her to live for more than just her mission. Her wish to maybe one day be friends with it reminded him of his history with Kurama. Naruto was glad that Kawaki’s time in the Academy helped him grow, and he was later pleased by how engrossed Himawari was with the Academy, despite still not having decided whether she wanted to be a shinobi or not.

Code Invasion Arc

Main article: Code Invasion Arc

Later, Naruto and Shikamaru decided to indefinitely take Boruto off active-duty while deciding on how to deal with his Kāma, helping him pass time with various interviews from the media about his victory over Isshiki. After Amado finished restoring Kawaki’s arm, he talked to Naruto about the remaining Kara-threats including their Ten-Tails seed as well as Code, who would inevitably seek out and kill all who were responsible for Isshiki’s death. Hearing such a threat, Naruto requested Shikamaru to set up a Kage Summit. During the Kage meeting, they discussed Code, Amado’s trustworthiness, and the issue of Momoshiki taking over Boruto, to which Naruto swore to handle it should the need arise. He later approached Amado to deal with Boruto’s Kāma. He provided him with pills he developed as a means to defeat Jigen. As the Byakugan originates with the Ōtsutsuki, he theorised that weakening it might interfere with the Kāma’s progress. As Boruto was given the pills and explained the nature of them, Naruto was horrified at how recklessly Boruto decided to take them. Later, Naruto and Konohamaru watched the Team 7 and Kawaki training together.

Later, Naruto found Kawaki moping about his lack of acceptance in the village. Naruto brought him back home, where a welcome dinner party was held for Kawaki. Naruto and his family made it clear that he was welcomed to stay as long as he desired. Naruto further insisted that this was the very reason he became Hokage. While Kawaki was taking magazines out to the trash, Naruto dozed off on the dinner table. When Boruto discovered Kawaki’s ruse to avoid surveillance, he exposed it to Naruto, who confirmed it with Nishi as Kawaki released his shadow clone. He notified Ino and Shikamaru of the development, and was against Boruto leaving to find Kawaki, as he was under surveillance for the same reason and returned to discussing the search with Ino. When Ino determined it was futile to search through sensing, Naruto thought back to Boruto’s words and searched for him, and confirmed with Nishi he was nowhere nearby.

Using Sage Mode, Naruto was able to locate Boruto and Kawaki, alongside an unknown individual. Hinata attempted to join him, but he stressed she had to take care of Himawari if something happened to him. As Naruto left two shadow clones on standby to store up more senjutsu chakra, Shikamaru arrived, refusing to let Naruto leave the village against the threat without him since the Hokage now no longer had Kurama for additional power. Shikamaru reminded Naruto that he cannot maintain Sage Mode for long anymore, but Naruto insisted that he can maintain it longer on his own drawing from years of experience. They arrive in time to save Kawaki from having his arm broken by Momoshiki, who had taken over Boruto again. Naruto checked on Kawaki, who begged him to flee, fearing his death. Naruto refused to abandon anyone. Code took Shikamaru hostage, who in turn told Naruto to ignore him and attack. Momoshiki decided to help Code killing Naruto, who was also a problem for him, and attacked with an Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan. He was surprised to see Kawaki absorbing the jutsu with a new Kāma.

Naruto continued to watch in disbelief as Kawaki began attacking Momoshiki with no restraint, displaying Isshiki’s jutsu in the process. Eventually, Naruto intervened, as Kawaki’s attacked would have killed Boruto. He tried to reason with Kawaki, who remained committed to killing Momoshiki. Boruto managed to hold back Momoshiki’s personality for a moment, and pushed Naruto out of the way, allowing Kawaki to strike through his chest.

Code opted to leave and released Shikamaru. While Kawaki was overwhelming Code, he pulled Daemon through the Claw Mark of his face, reflecting Kawaki’s attack and knocking him out before leaving. Shikamaru tried to snap Naruto out of his stupor, and began to consider how to deal with Kawaki, arguing with Naruto, who still wanted to support Kawaki. He was stunned when Boruto woke up, his injuries completely healed.

After everyone returned to the village, Naruto kept watch over Kawaki as Shikamaru had Sumire examine him. They and Ibiki discussed how to handle Kawaki, and Naruto intended to have a long talk with Kawaki when he wakes up. Sumire noticed the heavy atmosphere around Naruto and asked Shikamaru about it. He claimed Naruto was just exhausted from almost being killed.

When Kawaki woke up, he asked Naruto if he’d condemn him for killing Boruto. Naruto revealed Boruto was fine because of his Kāma. He added was grateful that Kawaki was there, otherwise they might all have died, and that Boruto felt the same. As Naruto reassured him that be belonged in Konoha and was family, Ino alerted him of Code and Ada’s invasion. Naruto feigned a previous appointment and left after confirming that Boruto was fine to a startled Sumire. After Code and Ada left taking Amado with them, Naruto listened as Shikamaru explained Ada’s alluring ability and speculated on the other cyborg that Code employed in his battle the previous night. When Kawaki acted callous when considering Amado’s possible death and deriding Shikamaru, Naruto censored him.

As Shikamaru briefed Team 7 on their new surveillance mission living with Ada and Daemon, Naruto discussed it with Sasuke, explaining how Shikamaru managed to covertly control Boruto and Kawaki into acting more cautiously by entrusting them with responsibility in the form of a mission. When Naruto noticed Sasuke noticing something, Sasuke dismissed it. After Ada and Daemon departed for their new home, Naruto joined Shikamaru in getting Amado to share everything he was still keeping secret. He listened as Amado explained the shinjutsu nature of Ada’s and Daemon’s abilities, their origins in Shibai Ōtsutsuki’s remains, and Amado’s goal of using Kawaki’s Kāma to resurrect his daughter Akebi. When Shikamaru asked Ada to confirm Amado’s claims with her Senrigan, Naruto found it a bit excessive. He was satisfied with Amado’s goal, and decided he wouldn’t interfere in his matters with Kawaki if it didn’t endanger Konoha. Naruto agreed to Ada’s request to call it a day, as they had just arrived in the village. While preparing for dinner with Hinata, they were joined by Kawaki, who asked Naruto not to inform the sensors of his presence. Naruto listened as Kawaki reiterated how much he changed because of Naruto, and how he came to think that shinobi and good people like Naruto would be the first to die in any conflict with Ōtsutsuki. When Kawaki said he’d eliminate all the Ōtsutsuki to protect Naruto, including Boruto, Naruto said he’d have to kill him to kill Boruto. Willing to bear Naruto’s hate, he sent him and Hinata through a rift to stop them from interfering, welcoming them to kill him when he was done.

Flashforward

In the wake of Konoha’s destruction four years after the Ōtsutsuki attack on the village, Kawaki tells Boruto that he will send him to where he sent the Seventh Hokage.

In Other Media

Movies

Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

Main article: Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
Team 7 is dispatched to the Land of Snow to protect the lead actress Koyuki Kazahana, during the shooting of the new Princess Gale movie.

Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel

Main article: Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel
Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru are sent to track and bring a ferret back to its owner. However, when the group is attacked by mysterious soldiers, they embark on to something big.

Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom

Main article: Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom
Naruto, Sakura, Rock Lee and Kakashi are assigned to protect the future prince of the Land of the Moon, Hikaru Tsuki.

Naruto Shippūden the Movie

Main article: Naruto Shippūden the Movie
Naruto is assigned to protect the priestess Shion, who starts having visions of his death.

Naruto Shippūden the Movie: Bonds

Main article: Naruto Shippūden the Movie: Bonds
A group of ninja from the Land of the Sky launched a surprise attack on Konoha and to stop this new threat, Naruto and Sasuke join forces.

Naruto Shippūden the Movie: Will of Fire

Main article: Naruto Shippūden the Movie: The Will of Fire
Team Kakashi works together to stop Kakashi from sacrificing himself to stop a world war.

Naruto Shippūden the Movie: The Lost Tower

Main article: Naruto Shippūden the Movie: The Lost Tower
Naruto is sent on a mission to stop Mukade. However, during the mission Naruto is sent 20 years into the past.

Naruto the Movie: Blood Prison

Main article: Naruto the Movie: Blood Prison
Naruto gets framed for the attempted assassination of the Raikage. In his subsequent attempts to break out of the prison, he gradually discovers the prison’s dark secrets.

Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie

Main article: Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie
Naruto and Sakura end up in an alternate reality in a test version of Project Eye of the Moon Plan where Naruto never lost his parents and many characters have different personalities.

Video Games

Main article: List of video games
As the main character of the series, Naruto is a playable character in every Naruto video game. As the series has progressed, Naruto has become playable in various forms, often with different move-sets for each. New video game-exclusive forms are also available at times, such as a version of Naruto wearing Might Guy’s jump suit, a version wearing Son Gokū’s Turtle School Uniform, Naruto from Shippū! Konoha Gakuen Den!, and «Mecha-Naruto.» The video games also put some extra emphasis on his taijutsu; most of the time Naruto in the past fights akin to a brawler; while in his incarnation from The Last: Naruto the Movie, he instead fights more like a hand-to-hand boxer.

Live Spectacle Naruto

Main article: Live Spectacle Naruto
Koudai Matsuoka plays as Naruto in this stage play adaption.

Creation and Conception

When creating Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto incorporated into the character a number of traits he felt made an ideal hero: a straightforward way of thinking, a mischievous side, and many of the attributes possessed by Son Gokū from the Dragon Ball franchise. He also made sure to keep Naruto «simple and stupid,» since he does not like smart characters. Naruto himself is not modeled after anyone in particular, being conceived as childlike, with something of a dark side as a result of his harsh past. Despite this, he is always positive, making him unique in Kishimoto’s eyes.

Naruto’s wardrobe is based on clothing Kishimoto wore when he was younger; according to Kishimoto, using a pre-existing design would not have made Naruto unique, whereas something original would have made him stand out too much. The orange colouring of his costume is used to make Naruto «pop,» with blues often being used to complement the orange. Because Naruto is associated with spirals, swirl patterns are incorporated into his costume. Initial illustrations of Naruto had him wearing boots, but Kishimoto substituted these for sandals, because he likes drawing toes. The goggles that Naruto used to wear were also replaced with a forehead protector, because the goggles themselves were too time-consuming to draw. Kishimoto said that he felt glad that his character had blond hair and blue eyes. The editor of Shōnen Jump in the United States added that Kishimoto implied that the traits may have led the character to appeal to a Western audience. Kishimoto said that he most identifies with Naruto out of all of the Naruto characters (in an interview with the U.S. Shōnen Jump, Kishimoto stated that his childhood was like that of Naruto’s years while he was enrolled in the Academy).

In the Japanese versions of Naruto, Naruto often ends his sentences with the addendum «-ttebayo» (which gives a similar effect to ending a sentence with «you know?»). Kishimoto wanted to give Naruto a childlike catchphrase, and «dattebayo» came to mind. It complemented Naruto’s character, and served as a verbal tic that showed him to be something of a brat. Throughout the beginning of the English anime, the dub replaced «dattebayo» and «-ttebayo» with the phrase «believe it!» to mirror the effect, as well as to match the character’s lip movements.

Trivia

• Spiral patterns are a recurring theme in Naruto, especially in relation to the character of Naruto Uzumaki himself. The name «Naruto» is short for «narutomaki» (なると巻き), a kind of kamaboko with a pink spiral design in the middle that is used as a topping for ramen, which is Naruto’s favourite food. His family name «Uzumaki» can mean «whirlpool» or «maelstrom.» His full name is also a reference to the Naruto whirlpools (鳴門の渦潮, Naruto no uzushio), named after the city in the Tokushima Prefecture in Japan. In addition, Naruto’s mother, Kushina Uzumaki, is a relative to the Uzumaki clan from Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools, who used the spiral pattern as both their clan and village symbol.
• According to the databook(s):
  • Naruto’s hobbies are pulling pranks and watering plants.
  • Naruto wishes to fight Sasuke Uchiha, the Third Hokage,^[1] and members of Akatsuki.^[2][4]
  • Naruto’s favourite foods are Ichiraku ramen and red bean soup. His least favourite are fresh vegetables, which others, especially Kakashi (barring Hinata) have attempted to make him eat with little success in other material.
  • Naruto has completed 16 official missions in total: 7 D-rank, 1 C-rank, 2 B-rank, 6 A-rank, 0 S-rank.
  • Naruto’s favourite phrase is «a large serving of miso ramen with roasted pork fillet» (味噌チャーシュー大盛り, miso chāshū ōmori).
• According to character trivia from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations:
  • His attributes are: 120 in perception, 160 in dexterity, 170 in negotiations, 110 in strength, 90 in intelligence, and unknown in chakra.
  • He was also given a skill rating in these particular areas:
    • Evasion: ★★★★★
    • Unarmed Hand-to-hand Fighting: ★★★★☆
    • Manners: ★★☆☆☆
• According to Hyō no Sho, while in the Academy, Naruto had an A in positivity, a B taijutsu, and an F in ninjutsu, genjutsu, cooperation, and classroom attitude.
• October 10, Naruto’s birthday, was Health and Sports Day in Japan when his character was conceived. The holiday, however, was later moved to the second Monday of October in 1999.
• Naruto consistently ranked in the top two (taking first place twice) in the first five official Shōnen Jump character popularity polls. However, in the sixth character poll, he was ranked fourth. According to the third databook character poll, which adds up all the votes from the first six polls, Naruto took second place. In the most recent poll, Naruto regained his status and reached first.
  • Naruto is one of four characters to have always stayed in the top ten of every character popularity poll.
• Naruto is the fourth known jinchūriki known to have survived the extraction of a tailed beast, along with Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, Kushina Uzumaki, and Obito Uchiha.^[72]
• Naruto’s mother was nicknamed the «Red Hot-Blooded Habanero» while his father was famed as the «Yellow Flash.» Naruto’s appropriate self-styled title of «Konoha’s Orange Hokage» refers to the fact that the colour orange is a mixture of red and yellow.
• When Naruto first became a genin, while using his Sexy Technique, his settei reveals that he is 160cm tall.
• Kishimoto’s various concept art of Naruto for The Last: Naruto the Movie showed that his height had gone through various changes: first 170cm, then 173cm, and finally 180cm.
• Despite Naruto being a user of the Truth-Seeking Balls and gaining Hagoromo’s power, both of which contain Yin-Yang Release, Yin Release is not listed as one of his natures in the fourth databook.^[5]
• Eiichiro Oda, author of One Piece, stated that his character Sanji’s name was originally going to be Naruto, but changed it because the Naruto series was about to become serialised and wanted to avoid confusion.
  • Naruto makes an undetailed background appearance on the cover page of the 766th chapter of One Piece, where the person behind Nami (who is wearing a changpao with the Konoha symbol) is implied to be Naruto. Also, both main characters are seen eating each others’ respective favourite foods, as Naruto is eating meat, and Monkey D. Luffy is eating ramen. Additionally, this chapter was released on the same week as the release of the final two Naruto manga chapters.
  • In the 700th chapter of the Naruto manga, the symbol of the Straw Hat Pirates appears on the forehead protector of Naruto’s statue as part of Boruto’s graffiti.
• While Naruto was initially the shortest of the Konoha 11, he ultimately becomes second tallest, after Shino.
• In the original manga pilot, Naruto was actually a demon fox and lived his life as a human boy and the Nine-Tailed Fox that attacked the village was his father.
• Although he was never raised by Minato, Naruto seemingly inherited his father’s fighting style of almost never relying on hand seals, with the exception of his signature technique.
• In the anime, Naruto is a lightweight drinker.^[152]

Quotes

See also: Dattebayo and Believe It

• (To Kakashi) «And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I’m somebody. Somebody important!«^[153]
• (To Ibiki) «Don’t underestimate me! I don’t quit and I don’t run! You can act tough all you want! You’re not gonna scare me off! No way! I don’t care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I’ll still be Hokage someday!«^[154]
• (To Neji) «I’m not gonna run away, I never go back on my word! That’s my nindō: my ninja way!«^[155]
• (To Gaara) «It’s almost unbearable, isn’t it… the pain of being all alone. I know that feeling; I’ve been there, in that dark and lonely place, but now there are others, other people who mean a lot to me. I care more about them than I do myself, and I won’t let anyone hurt them. That’s why I’ll never give up. I will stop you, even if I have to kill you! They saved me from myself. They rescued me from my loneliness. They were the first to accept me as who I am. They’re my friends.«^[156]
• (To Pain) «Just give up… on trying to make me give up!«^[157]
• (To Nagato, reciting a line from Jiraiya’s first book) «Then I will break that curse. If there’s such thing as peace, I will find it. I won’t give up!«^[40]
• (To Sasuke) «If you attack Konoha, I will have to fight you… So save up your hatred and take it all on me, I’m the only one who can take it! It’s the only thing I can do! I will shoulder your hatred and die with you! Because I’m your friend!«^[158]
• (To his mother) «Don’t apologise… I had a lot of hard times growing up as a jinchūriki, but I never blamed you or Dad. I couldn’t understand what a parent’s love was like because you guys were never there… so I could only guess… But now I know… I live because you and Dad gave your lives for me and filled me up with love before the Nine-Tails was inside me! So here I am, happy and healthy! I’m glad I ended up being your son!«^[159]
• (To Kurama) «You’re not the monster fox anymore. You’re one of my teammates from Konoha… Kurama.«^[160]
• (To Obito) «Quit it with your stupid reasoning! I meant to say that I’ll stand any pain for my friends!! I’m not gonna give up on them!! It might just be me being selfish, but… not having my friends here… is the most painful thing for me!! Period!!!!«^[161]
• (About Hinata) «Hinata… This big idiot finally understands… The real meaning of the scarf you gave to me when you went with Toneri… I know now, from the scarf you painstakingly knitted and took so long to finish, that your love can’t be unravelled so easily… Wait for me… This whole time, you always loved me for the way I am… Now, as a man, there’s something I must tell you… Hinata, I swear I will save you!«^[21]
• (To Hinata) «Hinata… Do you remember that lesson in class? The one with, «If the end of the world came, who would you spend your last day with?» I couldn’t write anyone’s name down. I didn’t know my parents, and I didn’t have any friends… But now, I know exactly whom I’d choose. I want to be with you. Now and forever, until I die… I want to be with you, Hinata!«^[21]
• (To his son) «Boruto… with what I do now, all the people in this village are like a family. So there will be times that you won’t be able to have me as a father all to yourself. I know this must be hard for you… but you must learn to endure it. You’re a shinobi too, aren’t you?«^[162]
• (To the village) «However, I believe there are many who are dissatisfied. This village is still undergoing development. And during all this, there are those who are facing hard and demanding times. But I don’t agree with that. Changing the things before us, a little by little, even one thing at a time, will make the world a better place. I want Konohagakure to be a place where people smile and enjoy their lives. Will you lend me your strength? Let’s change Konohagakure together!«^[163]

References

Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto character
From left to right: Part I, Boruto franchise, and Part II designs by Masashi Kishimoto
First appearance	Naruto chapter 1: Uzumaki Naruto! (1999)
Created by	Masashi Kishimoto
Voiced by	Japanese Junko Takeuchi English Maile Flanagan
In-universe information
Notable relatives	Minato Namikaze (father, deceased) Kushina Uzumaki (mother, deceased) Jiraiya (godfather, deceased) Hinata Hyuga (wife) Boruto Uzumaki (son) Himawari Uzumaki (daughter) Kawaki (adoptive son) Hanabi Hyuga (sister-in-law) Hizashi Hyuga (uncle-in-law, deceased) Hiashi Hyuga (father-in-law) Neji Hyuga (cousin-in-law, deceased)
Ninja rank	Genin in Part I and Part II, Hokage in Epilogue and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Ninja team	Team 7/Team Kakashi

Naruto Uzumaki (Japanese: うずまき ナルト, Hepburn: Uzumaki Naruto) () is the titular protagonist of the manga Naruto, created by Masashi Kishimoto. As the series progresses, he is a young ninja from the fictional village of Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf Village). The villagers ridicule and ostracize Naruto on account of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox—a malevolent creature that attacked Konohagakure—that was sealed away in Naruto’s body. Despite this, he aspires to become his village’s leader, the Hokage, in order to receive their approval. His carefree, optimistic, and boisterous personality enables him to befriend other Konohagakure ninja, as well as ninja from other villages. Naruto appears in the series’ films and in other media related to the franchise, including video games and original video animations (OVA), as well as the sequel Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, where he is the Hokage, and his son, Boruto Uzumaki, is the protagonist.

When creating Naruto for the initial part of the series, Kishimoto kept the character «simple and stupid», while giving him many attributes of an ideal hero. Kishimoto gave Naruto a dark side by adding tragedy to the character’s past. He has revised Naruto’s image many times, providing the character with different clothes intended to appeal to Western audiences and to make him easier to illustrate. Kishimoto changed his design for Part II of the storyline, which starts two-and-a-half years after Part I. Naruto is voiced by Junko Takeuchi in the original animated series and Maile Flanagan in the English adaptations.

Merchandise based on Naruto includes figurines and keychains. Naruto’s character development has been praised by anime and manga publications and has drawn scholarly attention. Although some initially saw him as a typical manga and anime protagonist comparable to those in other shōnen manga, others have praised his personality and character development as he avoids stereotypes typically seen in similar media. The character has also been the subject of researches in literature, making him stand out in fiction based on his traits and growth.

Creation and conception

Original concept and influences

During the 1990s, new manga author Masashi Kishimoto sought to write a one-shot chapter that would feature Naruto as a chef, but this version never made it to print. Kishimoto originally wanted to make Naruto a child who could transform into a fox, so he created a one-shot of Naruto for the summer 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump magazine based on the idea.^[1] When comparing both the Naruto one-shot and his other work, Karakuri, Kishimoto realized that former’s title character was more appealing than the lead of Karakuri. Kishimoto reflects Naruto’s «honest» smile was well received in contrast to the sly look the main character from Karakuri had. Following the success of another one-shot, Mario, Kishimoto started working on the Naruto series where he wanted to reuse the title character from his earlier one-shot. Kishimoto wrote the first two chapters to show his appeal to the readers and then focus on the other protagonists despite difficulties. Following the second chapter, Kishimoto introduced the other protagonists but as bad relationships including with Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto’s constant reject crushes at Sakura Haruno. The manga story was planned to show Naruto’s coming-of-age through multiple fights and looked forward to seeing the conclusion.^[2]

For the serialized version, Kishimoto incorporated traits he felt made an ideal hero in the creation of Naruto: a straightforward way of thinking, a mischievous side, and attributes possessed by Goku from the Dragon Ball franchise. Aiming to keep Naruto «simple and stupid»,^[3] Although Goku was a major influence to Naruto, Kishimoto was more attracted by Dragon Ball character Krillin as he comes across as more human than the protagonist for displaying flaws that made the readers easier to accept in a similar fashion to his mentor Iruka Umino.^[4] Kishimoto avoided modeling him after anyone in particular, instead conceiving of him as naïve with a dark side resulting from his harsh past. Despite this, he is always optimistic, a trait Kishimoto said makes this character unique.^[3] By and large, Naruto’s personality is childish; the creator tried to convey this trait in his illustrations. Kishimoto notes as an example of this the cover of volume 10, where Kishimoto depicts Naruto mimicking a turtle as a child might do.^[5] Naruto was Kishimoto’s first published manga, and he focused on making Naruto’s facial expressions consistent in difficult situations.^[6] He commented: «It’s rather awkward to talk about what makes Naruto appealing to audiences, but I think his being a knucklehead gives him an appeal.» He believed it was Naruto’s losses that made readers identify with him, although he wanted Naruto not to feel defeat again, which was his primary aim when writing the series.^[7] Kishimoto has said that Naruto’s burning desire to be a ninja was based on his own ambition to succeed as a manga artist.^[8] As the series went on, Kishimtoto wrote the older incarnations of Naruto to be naive idealists due to how Naruto was written to continuously avoid repeating previous mistakes. However, at the same Kishimoto wrote him as a sign of hope, something important in regard to the series’ audience.^[9]

In the original Japanese versions of Naruto, Naruto often ends his sentences with the addendum «-ttebayo» (which achieves an effect similar to ending a sentence with «you know?» in English). Kishimoto wanted to give Naruto a childlike catchphrase, and «dattebayo» came to mind; he believed that the phrase complements Naruto’s character, and served as a verbal tic that portrayed him in a brattish manner.^[10] Throughout the first episodes of the English dub version, «dattebayo» and «-ttebayo» were replaced with the phrase «Believe it!», both to mirror the effect, and to match the character’s lip movements, although later in the English dub Naruto stopped saying «Believe it» and the phrase was replaced with «You Know?».^[11]

Development

After fans likened Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura to the three main characters from Harry Potter fantasy books, Kishimoto noted that both trios began their careers in a classroom, though he added that the similarity was unintentional.^[8] During the series’ publication, Kishimoto married and had children. This influenced how he viewed Naruto’s character. Naruto met his parents, and learned of their sacrifices in order to help him to control the Fox inside him so that he could protect their world. As a result, Naruto appreciated his life more and learned that his parents loved him, something the author wanted the character to feel based on his own experience as a father.^[12] In the first chapters of the series, Kishimoto did not conceive the idea that Naruto would be the son of Minato Namikaze. However, as time passed on, the manga author made touches to Minato’s face shown in the Hokage Mountain in Konoha to make them more similar to Naruto with an emphasis on their spiky hairs. However, in order to reduce too many similarities, Kushina Uzumaki’s character was made to look like Naruto’s face.^[13]

Out of all the student-teacher relationships Kishimoto has created in the Naruto series, the one between Naruto and Jiraiya is his favorite.^[14] Right before Jiraiya’s death in his fight against Pain in his last moments, he discovers the origin of Pain’s multiple bodies and uses his last forces to send that message as a piece of advice to Naruto so that Naruto could defeat him in his place.^[1] This arc was the most difficult one to write; he felt this because Naruto truly forgave his enemy. Instead of having the protagonist kill the enemy he hates as happens in other series, Kishimoto found the idea of the two characters interacting and settling their differences more challenging.^[15] This had a major impact on the writer, and he decided to have Naruto forgive Sasuke during their final fight in a similar manner as he interacted with Nagato.^[15] Kishimoto felt the need to create a story arc that would emphasize the tragedy of wars, leading to the final arc which would include a war. The principal reason for this was a significant difference between the two main characters, Naruto who had no knowledge of wars, and Sasuke who was a victim of one; his entire clan had been annihilated to avoid a potential civil war. As a result, Kishimoto created Nagato as a war victim who would Jiraiya, and act as Naruto’s nemesis so he would understand the tragedy that Sasuke had experienced.^[16] As a result, Naruto’s coming-of-age would have been completed in this arc and the final arc where Naruto deals with world war and develops a vision of the shinobi world as well as how he should handle the conflict.^[17]

In 2013, when Naruto was reaching its climax, Kishimoto envisioned the idea of Naruto becoming a father. This resulted in the creation of Boruto Uzumaki, Naruto and Hinata’s first child.^[18] Kishimoto wanted Boruto to act like his father, but at the same time, have differences between each other. Despite not wishing to reveal much about Boruto due to developments of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, he added that Boruto is not as direct as Naruto.^[19] In the 2015 film Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto developed Boruto and Naruto’s relationship from his relationship with his sons.^[20] In portraying the adult Naruto, Kishimoto did not want to make the character to give a cool impression in contrast to his younger days as a war hero because Naruto being a strong father figure to Boruto would be too boring for the narrative.^[21][22] Instead, Kishimoto wanted the film to depict the father and son relationship between Boruto and Naruto.^[18] Similarly, Chengxi Huang wanted to properly display Naruto’s facial expression during this scene as stating that while Naruto has grown up ever since his introduction, his gentle smile was the same.^[23] Manga author Mikio Ikemoto claimed the scene in which Naruto helps his son to create a large Rasengan was his favorite at the time of drawing Boruto as across this moment he had to draw Naruto’s past to the point he «felt the weight of NARUTO series and its long history behind it.»^[24]

Rivalry

Early in the making of the series, Kishimoto had poor faith in the manga as he believes the series was lacking something to become popular. After being recommended by his editor to give the protagonist a rival, Kishimoto wrote Sasuke with influences from Takehiko Inoue’s Slam Dunk manga which was famous for dealing with rivalries.^[4] When first introducing Sasuke, Kishimoto wrote him as a rival who never noticed Naruto. However, as the series continued, Naruto became strong enough to finally be recognized by Sasuke as a rival. He also intended for both of them to be brother-like due to the fact both characters suffered loneliness, something which made the readers relate to them as he noted through fan letters. By Part I’s ending, the bond between Naruto and Sasuke was weakened as a result of their fight but still expected from the time when the Sasuke accepted Naruto as an equal.^[1] Kishimoto compared Sasuke and Naruto to the concept of yin and yang because of their notable differences. When one of the two progressed, Kishimoto made sure the other did too.^[25] During the climax of Part I, Naruto and Sasuke engage in a mortal fight which was directed by Atsushi Wakabayashi from Pierrot. In an interview, the director claimed that the animation was based on a journey to Lake Mashu from Hokkaido to come up with new ideas. Wakabayashi aimed for the characters to move stilted based on storyboards he made, leading to entertaining sequences. When Naruto becomes berserker due to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s influence, Norio Matsumoto aimed to make Naruto behave like a beast with Wakabayashi aiming to make Naruto look like an equal to his rival. The staff was inspired by the 1970s series like the boxing series Ashita no Joe, most notably its lead character, Joe Yabuki, who was often seen as an underdog the audience rooted for. However, the team still worked carefully to make the two ninjas be equals without overpowering each other.^[26]

Before the serialization began, Kishimoto had decided the ending would feature a fight between Naruto and Sasuke.^[27] He wanted the conflict to end with Naruto forgiving Sasuke as he had forgiven Nagato while also aiming it as their final battle in the manga.^[15][1] In regard to the fight, Kishimoto wanted to focus on hand-to-hand combat rather than ninja techniques.^[16] Anime staff Chengxi Huang said the animated adaptation of this fight, the group worked carefully to depict the action in every scene by showing changes on Sasuke and Naruto’s clothes and hair. Huang added he felt fatigue by working so much into this fight due to reaching 70 successive cuts at a time.^[28]

The final fight between Sasuke and Naruto was considered one biggest challenges by the staff from Pierrot as it took an entire month to adapt it from the manga. Director Hiroyuki Yamashita elected himself in charge of the battle which left most of the anime members relieved due to his experience. For the scenario, Pierrot received assistance from the CyberConnect2 develop who had already adapted this battle through the fighting game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. There was a need to make every movement in the fight to look realistic, giving Sasuke a scary look as well the hair movement in order to express the idea of both fighters willing to do anything to kill each other, which confused some due to Naruto’s wish to avoid this fate. The final clash between Sasuke’s Chidori and Naruto’s Rasengan moves involved references from other scenes of the series to give the viewer a bigger emotional impact. The staff noted that following this fight, Sasuke’s face became calmer despite his initial look, giving room to explore his redemption.^[29] A symbolism Kishimoto used in the series’ finale following the final battle was Naruto returning Sasuke his original bandana representing how their bonds are tied again and no longer have a reason to kill each other.^[30]

Love interests

Naruto’s romantic partner was decided during the early stages of the manga. Since Hinata Hyuga always respected Naruto, even before the series’ beginning, even before his academy mentor Iruka Umino, Kishimoto felt they were meant to be. This angered his wife who wanted Naruto to marry Sakura Haruno.^[15] When Sakura was introduced, Kishimoto did not think of her as Naruto’s future wife, as he saw them as being just friends and teammates, although once Hinata had appeared, the author thought of forming a love triangle between the three characters. He later regretted the love triangle as he considered Naruto a fighting series with little focus on romance, and he reiterated that «it was all about Naruto and Hinata getting married from an early stage.»^[31][32]

When seeing the staff’s work to focus a film on Naruto’s relationship with Hinata, The Last: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto decided to oversee the project.^[8] Nevertheless, he enjoyed seeing Naruto and Hinata’s romantical scenes he did not write. In regard to Naruto’s rank which remains as the lowest one, Genin, due to Naruto spending most of his Part II’s time fighting and training, Kishimoto decided Naruto would skip the following ranks to become the Hokage, which he felt was appealing.^[33] In the making of The Last: Naruto the Movie, Hinata makes a red scarf for Naruto. This was based on how Kishimoto’s wife actually once did which brought laughs to the staff developing the film.^[34]

Screenwriter Maruo Kyozuka said that he wanted to depict a love triangle between Naruto, Hinata and Toneri Otsutsuki in the film. Although Naruto is initially clueless about Hinata’s feelings for him, during the film he begins to acknowledge and respond to them. Hinata’s character was also developed in the film, with Kyozuka saying that she had to put aside her feelings for Naruto to accept Toneri’s proposal so she could find Hanabi. During this scene, Kyozuka wanted to depict Naruto at his lowest after his rejection by Hinata. He then returned Naruto to his brave self, with the character resolving to continue his mission regardless of the cost.^[35] Animator Chengxi Huang behind multiple Naruto series took a liking to this couple ever since he started working in Naruto Shippuden, often aiming to draw scenes of the two and most notably a scene from the final arc when Hinata slaps Naruto to calm him following the death of Neji Hyuga.^[36] In the making of the film, he thanked Kishimoto for accepting to do The Last where the couple was explored furthermore.^[37] He looked at their adult selves as an appealing married couple but had to remove a video he made that received backlash for being inappropriate for the demographic.^[38]

Design

Although a real ninja wears blue to be inconspicuous, Kishimoto gave Naruto an orange jumpsuit to fit the shōnen genre.^[15] His wardrobe is based on clothing that Kishimoto wore when he was younger. According to him, a pre-existing design would not have made Naruto unique, whereas something original would have made him too distinctive.^[10] Because Naruto is associated with spirals in terms of objects he uses, the designer incorporated swirl patterns into the costume.^[39] Initial illustrations depicted Naruto in boots, but Kishimoto replaced these with sandals, because he enjoys drawing toes.^[40] The goggles Naruto used to wear were replaced with a hitai-ite, or shinobi headband, because they were too time-consuming to draw.^[41] One of the most difficult design choices was the color palette of Naruto’s outfit.^[42] The orange in his costume makes Naruto pop and the blue parts are complementary.^[43] Kishimoto apologized to the anime staff for Naruto’s design, as he considered it too difficult to animate.^[42]

Kishimoto was satisfied with his character having blond hair and blue eyes, something rarely seen in Japanese anime or manga. This also appealed to an international readership, something the editor of the American magazine Shonen Jump has noted.^[44] Of all his series’ characters, Kishimoto most identified with Naruto.^[44] When asked why Naruto’s favorite food was ramen instead of kitsune udon, Kishimoto said that he himself likes eating ramen.^[44][45] In the Naruto: Clash of Ninja video game series, Naruto is playable in various stages of the Demon Fox’s manifestation, characterized by a red chakra. Kishimoto took inspiration from the games’ presentation of these forms, imitating one of them for the manga cover of volume 26.^[46]

When designing Naruto for his Part II appearance, Kishimoto changed his character’s clothing to an orange and black top, orange pants, and black sandals.^[47] He also gave him a red cape with black flames at the bottom when fighting Pain, a member of the Akatsuki.^[48] He drew Naruto’s forehead-protector wider to make his eyebrows easier to draw, something that had bothered him with his previous design. He also noted that Naruto’s pants made the character look too childish. To remedy this, Kishimoto designed them to roll up, giving him a more mature appearance.^[49] He gave Naruto this look in order to make him stand out during action scenes.^[16]

For the events of the film The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014) as well as the final episodes of Naruto: Shippuden, Naruto was given a young adult appearance. His hair was made shorter, while his height was expanded notably in contrast to his Part II design. He was given two different outfits, a casual look consisting of an orange shirt as well as a design consisting of a black shirt with orange pants specifically meant for his missions. Due to his growth, Naruto wears a different headband, while his new ninja appearance was created with the purpose of being able to carry weapons more easily. Nevertheless, both looks keep the character’s spiralling logo that was carried from his late mother’s gone group, the Uzumaki clan.^[50]

Voice actors

Although a male voice actor was sought for the Japanese adaptation of the Naruto role, the actress Junko Takeuchi was chosen instead over many male applicants.^[51] Before recording the first episode, Takeuchi noticed several lines from the script that ended with exclamation marks, which helped her to define Naruto’s voice. She noted difficulties in transitioning from the young Naruto to the older Naruto in the animated adaptation of Part II. She had to record the first episode of Part II when Naruto’s character was older and more mature only one week after voicing the younger, immature character.^[52][53] Nine years after first voicing the character, while still finding it tough to voice Naruto, Takeuchi’s opinion of him changed with her feeling he was «a very reliable young man.»^[54] She admired his ability to prioritize and calmly make important decisions, and believes these traits will inspire viewers worldwide.^[54]

In regard to Naruto’s growth Takeuchi was happy with the story and had hoped that Naruto would end up in a relationship with Hinata. Takeuchi was reminded of Naruto’s late godfather, Jiraiya, when she read the script. She thought that although Naruto’s declaration of love was the most important part of the character’s growth, his true nature had not changed at that point. Satisfied with the story, Takeuchi thought that the audience would agree with her view.^[55] For the film Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Takeuchi was surprised with how Naruto has grown up ever since she first voiced him, not only in the idea of age or new job but also the fact that he has become a father. As a result, she befriended Yūko Sanpei, voice actress behind Boruto. Takeuchi felt the writing for the adult Naruto was different from his younger days as his mannerism had changed too, joking that she never saw such growth in the story when first voicing him. As a result, she mentions having had some inner complications with how she should show the character’s growth.^[56]

The producers of the English version of the anime stated that Naruto was the most difficult character to cast, adding that Maile Flanagan «has Naruto down, from the mischievous side, that precocious 12-year-old we learn to love, to the serious side.»^[57] Flanagan avoided listening to Junko Takeuchi’s performance as she did not want to imitate it, stating she wanted to develop her own voice for the character.^[58] Her performance has been praised as showing Naruto’s brashness and later growth in confidence.^[59] In a 2014 interview, Flanagan claimed she had never heard of Naruto before her audition. She looked the show up after being chosen and felt the release of the English dub would be popular. She is recognized more for her work voicing Naruto than from other roles she has done in her career, although some fans did not expect that Naruto would be voiced by a woman.^[60] Flanagan and Amanda C. Miller (Boruto) found the two family members similar in nature despite having different backgrounds. Flanagan was surprised by how her character changed across the years but felt he was still the same for her, finding challenging to voice Naruto again when coming back to voice the younger Naruto. In regard to the change of tone, Flanagan was surprised by the fact that the dubbers did not replace her despite Naruto’s age but felt it was something common in Japanese series.^[61]

Synopsis

Introduced as a young orphan boy of 12 years with blond, spiky hair and blue eyes, Naruto Uzumaki graduates as a ninja from Konohagakure while bonding with his teacher Iruka Umino.^[43][62] Naruto seeks attention as he was ridiculed during his childhood. To be accepted and respected, he resolves to become Konohagakure’s Hokage and surpass all previous leaders, no matter the difficulties.^[63] While becoming a ninja, Naruto forms friendships that he initially lacked, linking some of them to family relationships.^[64] Although Naruto sometimes finds himself unable to accomplish the tasks he proposes to do, other characters believe that he will be an excellent Hokage because of his positive impact on their lives.^[65][66] As an adult, Naruto claims that the Konohagakure village became his family due to his job of being the new Hokage, something he learned from the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. As a result, he initially suffered a poor relationship with his son, Boruto, due to the little time he spends with his bloodline family.^[67]

Appearances

In Naruto

Part I

Naruto is an orphan who has a dangerous fox-like entity known as Kurama the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within his body by his father, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, the leader of Konoha’s ninja force, at the cost of his own life and that of his wife, Kushina Uzumaki.^[63] This possession led to Naruto being ridiculed frequently by the rest of Konoha; being associated with him was considered taboo.^[63] As a youth, Naruto makes jokes and plays pranks to attract attention.^[63] Desiring what he lacked in his early life, Naruto dreams of becoming a Hokage himself with the hope that it will bring him the villagers’ recognition and respect.^[68][69] In an attempt to become a ninja, Naruto is horrified to learn of his Jinchuriki nature, but finds acceptance from his teacher Iruka Umino, whom he views as a father. After learning the powerful Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, an ability to create physical copies of the user, Naruto becomes a ninja.^[63][70] He joins a ninja group under the leadership of Kakashi Hatake where he made friends with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. These are his classmates who are also assigned to Team 7: Sasuke Uchiha, with whom he has had a rivalry since they first met at the ninja academy, and Sakura Haruno who he has a crush on which is not reciprocated by her as she is infatuated with Sasuke.^[64][71]

While being examined to increase his ninja rank, Naruto meets the legendary ninja Jiraiya and learns how to summon toads to aid him in battle, and to control part of the Nine Tails’s chakra energy.^[72] The exams are interrupted by the invasion of Konohagakure by the criminal Orochimaru and the ninja of Sunagakure. Naruto defeats the sand village’s One Tail Jinchuriki Gaara and convinces him there is a better way to live. Shortly afterward, Naruto discovers the Akatsuki, a criminal organization that seeks to extract the Nine-Tails from his body. Though Jiraiya drives them off during this first meeting, learning its member Itachi is both Sasuke’s brother, and the man who killed their family, the Akatsuki still plan to kidnap Naruto.^[73] While accompanying Jiraiya to find a new village leader, Naruto also learns the Rasengan (螺旋丸, lit. spiral sphere, English manga: «Spiral Chakra Sphere»), a sphere of chakra for offensive purposes.^[69][74] When Sasuke leaves the village to join Orochimaru’s forces to obtain the power to kill Itachi, Naruto on his insistence and promise to Sakura becomes part of a rescue team to retrieve him.^[71] Naruto and Sasuke ultimately have a one-on-one battle, and after a close battle, Sasuke comes out as the victor. He, however can not bring himself to kill Naruto and instead leaves.^[75] The two go their separate ways, but Naruto does not give up on Sasuke, leaving with Jiraiya for two and half years to prepare himself for his next encounter with Sasuke and the Akatsuki.^[76]

Part II

After his two and a half years of training, Naruto returns to Konoha (the Leaf Village) and begins to deal more actively with the Akatsuki threat by saving Gaara from their clutches.^[77] To fight them, Naruto trains with Kakashi to infuse the Rasengan with his own wind-element chakra, creating the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken (風遁・螺旋手裏剣, Fūton: Rasenshuriken) attack that proves instrumental in the downfall of the Akatsuki member Kakuzu.^[78][79] Despite being targeted by the Akatsuki, Naruto dedicates himself to finding and retrieving Sasuke, who eventually disposes of Orochimaru and starts acting on his vengeance-driven whims.^[80] Over time, though resisting the urge to use the creature’s power, the Nine Tails’s influence over him expands to the point where he begins to lose his rationality as more chakra manifests in the form of tails to the point the Tailed Beast can take control of his body. This ultimately causes him to go on a rampage, destroying everything in his path.^[81]

After learning that Jiraiya has been killed by the Akatsuki leader, Pain, Naruto prepares for a future encounter by learning toad-style Senjutsu (仙術, lit. «sage techniques»), a power-enhancing ability involving the gathering of natural energy through stillness, while also perfecting Naruto’s Rasenshuriken in the process.^[82][83] When they face off, Naruto is pinned to the ground with iron rods and loses control of the Fox’s chakra when his Hinata Hyuga nearly dies protecting him. At that time, Naruto meets his father Minato Namikaze within his subconcious and learns about his status as the Fourth Hokage and him being the one who sealed the Fox so that Naruto could use it to defeat the Akatsuki founder Tobi who was behind the Fox’s attack on Konohagakure.^[84] With Minato stopping the Fox, Naruto regains control of his body, and defeats Pain. Learning that both are Jiraiya’s students, Naruto convinces him to quit Akatsuki, seeking to take Jiraiya’s path to create a better ninja world.^[85]

When Naruto discovers Sasuke’s plan to attack the Leaf Village, he decides to confront him in a battle which could end both their lives should Naruto be unable to save him.^[86] He prepares himself for the upcoming fight by becoming a student under the vessel of the Eight-Tails, Killer B, to take full control of Kurama’s powers. He succeeds with help from his late mother, Kushina Uzumaki, who placed a chakra imprint of herself within the seal so when the time comes, she could have a chance to see her son again.^[87][88] When Naruto learns that all his comrades are battling Tobi’s army to protect him, he takes Killer B to join him in the battle, eventually cooperating with Kurama.^[89][90] As he fights, Naruto meets Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of the Six Paths, who grants him enhanced Senjutsu known as the Six Paths Senjutsu.^[91][92] After he and Sasuke join forces to face both Tobi and Madara who are using the Ten-Tails, they have to seal a bigger threat named Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who is in her Ten-Tails form.^[93] After defeating and sealing Kaguya with the cooperation of the rest of Team 7, Naruto ends up having to fight Sasuke due to their conflicting views regarding the ninja world’s future.^[94] As both end up losing an arm, Naruto and Sasuke reconcile.^[95] He receives a new arm created from the First Hokage’s cells later.^[96] Years later, Naruto is married to Hinata with whom he has had two children – Boruto and Himawari Uzumaki. He becomes the Seventh Hokage (七代目火影, Nanadaime Hokage) in the epilogue.^[97]

In the Boruto series

In the spin-off manga Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, Naruto and his allies go to defeat a new Akatsuki organization as Sasuke fears Kaguya’s allies might try to attack them.^[67] In Boruto: Naruto the Movie (2015), which takes place after the series’ epilogue, Naruto’s Hokage status strains his relationship with his son Boruto as his duties often kept him from his family. During the ninja examinations, Naruto is abducted by Kaguya’s descendants, Momoshiki and Kinshiki, and then saved by his son Boruto, Sasuke, and the Kage, before helping his son to destroy Momoshiki. Across this fight, Naruto and Boruto reconcile. In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, the manga starts in a distant future where Naruto is implied to be dead or missing in action by an enemy of Boruto, Kawaki.^[98] In the anime before Boruto became a ninja, Naruto often made appearances with his new family.^[99] In the manga, a younger Kawaki is adopted by Naruto when the teenager becomes a fugitive from the group Kara.^[100] Naruto clashes with the members from Kara to protect his children,^{[101][102][103]} to which the village fears the Ōtsutsuki clan planning to attack again through Kara’s members as well like Boruto and Kawaki who share a cursed mark known as Karma.^[104] In the fight against Kara’s leader Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, Naruto and Kurama combine their chakra together at the cost of their possible death.^[105] In the aftermath, Kurama reveals he was told a lie about this combination and he is the only one to die. As Kurama goes to the afterlife, Naruto continues to fight against the remaining Kara members.^[106]

In light novels

Naruto also appears in the epilogue light novels of the series. In the first one, despite still not having obtained his prosthetic arm, goes on a mission with his friend Sai to capture a dangerous ninja named Garyō.^[107] In the second one, he allies with Sunagakure ninja Temari’s team to find the missing Shikamaru Nara who made a promise to him to work together once Naruto became the Hokage.^[108] He makes a brief appearance in Sakura Hiden where he and Hinata try to aid Sakura from a group of enemies.^[109] In Sasuke Hiden, he sends a message to Sasuke, which convinces him to return to Konohagakure.^[110] In the final one, Konoha Hiden, Naruto marries Hinata after asking his former mentor, Iruka Umino, to the place of his father for the wedding.^[111] A novel by Mirei Miyamoto focuses on Naruto’s life as a father.^[112] Another novel, Naruto Retsuden, explores Naruto having falling to an illness as a result of relying on Kurama’s chakra across his entire life.^[113]

In other media

As the series’ title character, Naruto appears in every movie in the series. He typically appears as the lead character on a mission with comrades from Konohagakure. Naruto: Shippūden the Movie marks the first appearance of Naruto in his Part II form.^[114][115] In Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, an alternate version of the character named Menma appears as the main antagonist of the film.^[116]

In The Last: Naruto the Movie, which takes place after the events of the series, Naruto faces Toneri Otsutsuki; at the movie’s climax, Naruto and Hinata enter a relationship that eventually leads to their marriage.^[117] Kishimoto, the film’s chief story supervisor, admitted that he was embarrassed writing romance scenes in the series.^[118] However, upon watching Naruto and Hinata share their first kiss, he felt a mixture of satisfaction and sadness due to the two characters’ growth since Naruto‘s beginning; they had become like his own children.^[119]

Naruto also appears in all four OVAs produced for the series: helping his friend Konohamaru Sarutobi find a four-leaf clover in the first,^[120] escorting a ninja to his village and fighting the criminal who stole the village’s «Hero’s Water» in the second,^[121] participating in a tournament in the third, and working with Team 7 in the fourth.^[122][123] He appears as a supporting character in the spin-off manga titled Rock Lee and his Ninja Pals where his fellow Konohagakure ninja Rock Lee is the main character.^[124]

Naruto is a playable character in the Naruto video games. In several titles, it is possible to access a special version of him enhanced with the power from the Nine-Tailed Fox. In several games from the Ultimate Ninja series he is playable with his own versions of Rock Lee and Might Guy’s techniques while wearing their costumes.^[125] Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX marks the first appearance of Naruto in his Part II form in a video game.^[126] For the series’ 10th anniversary, Masashi Kishimoto drew an illustration of Naruto as Hokage.^[127] This portrayal of Naruto later appears as a secret character in the game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2.^[128] Naruto also appears in the iOS and Android mobile game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing.^[129] He appears in several crossover video games that feature Naruto fighting against characters from other manga; these games include: Battle Stadium D.O.N, Jump Super Stars, and Jump Ultimate Stars.^{[130][131][132]} A Naruto avatar made a guest appearance in the MMORPG Second Life for a Jump Festa promotion titled Jumpland@Second Life.^[133] In Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z Naruto’s costume appears as an alternate costume for Goku.^[134] Outside Naruto, the character also appeared in the first popularity poll from the manga My Hero Academia by Kōhei Horikoshi.^[135] When the Naruto manga ended, Eiichiro Oda drew a cover of a One Piece manga chapter where Naruto is seen eating with the One Piece characters.^[136] Naruto was added to Fortnite Battle Royale in November 2021.^[137]

Naruto also makes an appearance in Live Spectacle Naruto (2015) and Live Spectacle Naruto: Song of the Akatsuki (2017), two stage plays based on the manga.^[138] Naruto is played by Koudai Matsouka.^[139]

Reception

Characterization and themes

Naruto’s character has received mostly positive critical response in printed and online publications. Praise was given by Joseph Szadkowski of The Washington Times who noted that Naruto «has become a pop-culture sensation.»^[142] Naruto’s character was analyzed by GameSpot’s Joe Dodson who noted that despite having an «ideal» life, he still suffered from severe isolation,^[143] although he was praised for his optimistic personality by Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network (ANN).^[144] Writers for Mania Entertainment labeled him a «good lead character» with good overall development despite certain problems at the beginning.^{[145][146][147]} Christina Carpenter of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews disagreed with other writers, noting that while Naruto is a «likable enough scamp», his type of character has been done before in many anime and manga series.^[148] Yukari Fujimoto, a professor at Meiji University, sees Naruto himself as the manga’s weakness.^[149] Manga author Nobuhiro Watsuki compared Naruto with Himura Kenshin and Monkey D. Luffy due to how they follow the ideals of not killing their oppponents.^[150]

Writing for Popular Culture in Counseling, Psychotherapy, and Play-Based Interventions, Lawrence Rubin states that while Naruto has an optimistic and hyperactive personality, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Kurama) within his body symbolizes his negative emotions. He comments that Naruto has a malevolent attitude when dealing with intense conflicts and emotions. He also states that Naruto would use Kurama’s chakra for battles he can not handle with his own chakra. Rubin further notes that the more Naruto uses Kurama’s chakra, the more he puts his comrades and himself in danger. Rubin feels the reason Naruto is a troublemaker is because some villagers avoid him and others mistreat him. He states that children growing up in the real world who have development issues can relate to his character. Rubin states that the search for acceptance, and being acknowledged by his peers is what motivates Naruto to keep going until he reaches his life’s goal, becoming the Hokage. Rubin feels that Naruto’s fights with enemies who try to bring harm to the Leaf Village further motivate him to become a powerful shinobi, and a «complete and mature person.» Rubin concludes that Naruto’s character development is similar to that of a modern American hero, the type who accidentally becomes better during a series and is able to build or restore peace.^[151]

Christopher A. Born, writing for DOAJ journal ASIANetwork Exchange, regards Naruto as a complex post-modern hero, showing «great heart.» From Naruto’s beginning, Born comments that the character is a nuisance, suggesting Naruto is the very definition of the word, given how he is characterized in the series, including how he interacts, and his behavior. Born argues that Naruto as a whole shows Confucian values, and that Naruto himself unsettles harmony in society.^[152] Amy Plumb, a PhD candidate at Macquarie University, states that Kishimoto used the mythology of the kitsune for Naruto’s development throughout the series. She notes that at the beginning of the series, Naruto was a prankster and always causing trouble, the same as the kitsune. Plumb describes the Kyuubi (Demon) seal on Naruto’s stomach as a catalyst for how he develops.^[141] Writing for Manga’s Cultural Crossroads, Omote Tomoyuki compliments Naruto’s character, saying that he has great ambition to achieve a tragic destiny. He comments how the character has matured over the course of the series, stating how after he became a shinobi, he had let go of his childish ways that happened in the beginning of the series, and how he rarely joked around in Part II of the series when he became a teenager.^[153] Franziska Ehmcke, professor of Japanese studies at Cologne University, theorized that Naruto was named after whirlpools of the sea landscape of the Awa no Naruto, and compared his behavior to that natural feature, as both figures have uncontrollable energy within them.^[140] Mike Hale compared Naruto to Buffy Summers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, praising the series’ portrayal of childhood loneliness.^[154] Rik Spanjers regards Naruto’s childishness as one of his strengths because it gives him a well of resoluteness from which to draw on in his goal to end the ninja wars.^[155] A study which looked at if readers could predict character types based on physical cues regarded Naruto as an ENFP (Myers-Briggs) character type, impulsive and spontaneous, finding a foil in the ISTJ-type Sasuke.^[156]

Analysing Naruto’s coming-of-age story, The Lawrentian found that Naruto’s development embodies the idea of Bildungsroman, the idea of how importance is Naruto’s growth across the narrative needed to move on the arc. Due to lacking parenting as a result of his parents’ age during his birth, Naruto’s personality starts fragile. Unaware of them, Naruto seeks to accomplish his mother’s wish of becoming a hero and leader of the village, the Hokage. While initially portrayed as a weak character, Naruto finds strength in his mentors Kakashi and Jiraiya, another element common element in Bildungsroman as well as his connections with Sakura and Sasuke. As a result of losing Jiraiya, Naruto seeks to accomplish his mentor’s wish of ending wars and the cycling of hatred, making Kishimoto capable of embodying the character more with the reader while maturing in the process. As a result, The Lawrentian finds that Naruto’s character fills the concept of Bildungsroman, something other fictional characters fail to accomplish.^[157]

Tejal Suhas Bagwe from Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for the Degree of Masters of Arts in English describes Jiraya’s death as the «loss of innocence» the Naruto goes through paralleling his life with Gaara, Sasuke or Madara. However, unlike these three characters who seek revenge and chaos for their losses, Naruto instead chooses another path derivative from these types of narrative, becoming more unique. Another aspect noted by the writer in regard to Naruto’s character is how he becomes Kurama’s companion despite the creature bearing hatred towards mankind for being used, resulting into multiple references to Japanese mythology based on its name and the new skills Naruto acquires when befriending the fox.^[158] Similarly, Anime News Network stated that thanks to Naruto’s newfound pacifism when dealing with his quest of revenge and the rejection to violence, the story managed to become a «masterpiece».^[159]

Relationships

His relationships with the other characters was described as appealing by IGN’s Charles White and Jason Van Horn,^[160][161] most notably through his rivalry with Sasuke, as it shows «signs of maturity» in Naruto.^[162] However, his wish to retrieve Sasuke after the end of Part I was criticised because of his subsequent suffering.^[163] In a poll by Japanese pollster Charapedia, Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry reached the top place.^[164] Jacob Hope Chapman of ANN listed Naruto and Sasuke as one of «Anime’s Fiercest Frenemies» considering their similarities and how they become friends after a mortal battle.^[165] His romantic involvement with other characters led to disputes as there were fans in favour of his relationship with Sakura Haruno, while others preferred Hinata Hyuga.^[166] His romance with Hinata in the film The Last earned multiple positive reactions from the media. Some critics wished The Last could be condensed so that their relationship was the focus of the movie.^{[167][168][169]} On a similar note, both McNulty and Andy Hanley from UK Anime Network enjoyed Naruto’s relationship with his son Boruto due to the differences in their childhoods and how that becomes the focus of the film Boruto.^[170][171] His role in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was praised for his more mature personality as well as his relationship with the young Kawaki.^{[172][173][174]} Leroy Douresseaux expected Kawaki will have a major impact in Boruto’s life in regard to his way of fighting.^[175]

Combat

Kimlinger of Anime News Network said that while Naruto’s initial fight scenes are lacking conviction when compared to others, his encounter with Gaara is one of his best moments because its tactics surpassed most shōnen stereotypes.^[176] ANN’s Theron Martin and Mania Entertainment’s Justin Rich made similar comments.^[177][178] The character’s final fight against Sasuke at the end of Part I attracted similar responses, due to the fighting styles employed, and the character development resulting from their rivalry.^[162][179] The enormous physical changes caused by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox have also been the focus of critics, as Naruto’s loss of control causes him to become a bigger threat to his loved ones than other series’ antagonists.^[180][181] Carlo Santos of ANN commented on the character’s growth in Part II, specifically his fight against Pain in which Naruto’s comments on peace, and the means by which it is achieved, touch on philosophical themes never seen in a shōnen series.^[182][183] Chris Beveridge of Mania Entertainment noted a change in Naruto’s attitude as he acts calmly and more seriously than in previous story arcs. Naruto’s new Senjutsu style was praised, as was his careful preparation for the fight against Pain, which resulted in a detailed display of his skills.^[182][184] In regard to Naruto’s fight against Sasuke, writers once again found depth in the handling of the rivals while also bringing a satisfying ending to the series.^[185][186] Amy McNulty of ANN also praised their final fight, expressing amazement at how brutal some scenes were since Naruto had become more of a pacifist than previous story arcs.^[187]

Popularity

In every official Weekly Shōnen Jump popularity poll of the series, Naruto ranks in the top five characters and, as of the beginning of 2012, has been in first place twice.^[188][189] In 2006, Naruto lost his top-two status to the characters Deidara, Kakashi and Sasuke in the magazine’s sixth poll.^[190] In the 2011 poll, Naruto was once again in first place.^[191] In 2014, IGN listed him as the second best Naruto character when the series ended.^[192] In a Japanese TV special from August 2017, Naruto was voted as the 13th «strongest hero» from the Heisei Era.^[193] Additionally, in 2017 Charapedia poll, Naruto ranked 9th most ideal Prime Minister in anime series.^[194] In a 2018 poll from Shonen Jump, Naruto was also voted as the 10th most powerful character in the magazine’s history.^[195] In poll from 2021, Naruto was voted as the second best character from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations behind his son.^[196] In the Crunchyroll Awards from 2022, Naruto was nominated for «Best Fight» against Isshiki in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.^[197]

Merchandise has been modeled after Naruto, including keychains,^[198] and action figures.^[199] In the 2009 Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards, Junko Takeuchi won Best Voice Actress (Japanese) for her work as Naruto.^[200] Naruto was placed sixth in IGN’s Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time with writer Chris Mackenzie stating that although: «Naruto actually isn’t the most popular character in his own series most of the time,» he is «the engine that powers the franchise.»^[201] In the 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition, he was noted as the twenty-ninth best character appearing in video games.^[202]

While working for CyberConnect2 in the making of the .hack games, character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto used Naruto as a model for .hack‘s protagonist, Kite. Shortly afterwards, CyberConnect2 started developing the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja games although Sadamoto recalls he was unaware of this fact.^[203] Another character inspired by Naruto is Yuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen; its author, Gege Akutami, enjoyed the story of how Naruto deals with a demon-like creature inside his body and decided to give Itadori a similar aura when eating the remains of the demon Ryomen Sukuna whom he carries a poor relationship.^[204] CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama also participated in the 2012 Paris Marathon while cosplaying as Naruto to celebrating the release of a new video game.^[205] Matsuyama also said that Naruto’s Rasenshuriken was his favorite technique in the entire series due to its sounds as well as how the character executes it.^[206] Upon seeing the final fight between Naruto and Sasuke in Storm 4, Matsuyama felt emotional over seeing the final fight between Naruto and Sasuke.^[207] Matsuyama also made his own sketch of two fighters, aiming to put them the video game, promising gamers they would enjoy the emotions delivered by the fight.^[208] Matsuyama further reflected the anime’s 133rd episode to be one of his favorites not only for the action sequences between Naruto and Sasuke but also the emotional value displayed.^[209]
In a poll from Anime! Anime!, Naruto and Sasuke as one of the best rivals turned into allies.^[210]

Cultural impact

Olympic medalist Usain Bolt expressed his love for Naruto and the Naruto series several times through Instagram posts.^[211][212] The Shanghai New World mall made an announcement in the beginning of 2019 that it plans on opening an indoor theme park on its 11th floor which will be called «Naruto World». The theme park will be 7,000 square meters in size and will be based on the Naruto manga.^[213] An officially authorized Ichiraku Ramen ramen noodle shop, based on Ichiraku Ramen from the anime, opened up in Shanghai’s Global Harbor shopping mall in 2019.^[214] In June 2019, a life-size statue designed by Testuya Nishio was developed for display at the Wonder Festival 2019 Shanghai event.^[215] For the 2020 Summer Olympics, Naruto’s image is being used as a character to represent the event.^[216]

Naruto has had an influence on hip-hop music. Many rappers, both underground and mainstream have sprinkled Naruto references throughout their songs.^[217] Rapper Ski Mask the Slump God starts off the first verse of his song Catch me Outside with a reference to Naruto and his ninetails mode.^[218] Some artists go so far as revolving the theme of their entire album around Naruto, such as Dave’s album Six Paths. in Dave’s song Wanna Know (Remix) the track art is a direct reference to Naruto. It features the title in the Naruto font and color scheme.^[219] Singer Diana Garnet expressed her pleasure at recording one of the ending theme songs for the animated series of Naruto Shippuden stating that not only she has been a fan of the series ever since she was younger, but was also motivated by Naruto’s character because of his determination not to give up no matter what challenge he faced.^[220] Similarly, in an analysis involving stereotypes of African Americans created by the British newspaper The Guardian, Naruto’s character is viewed as relatable character due to prejudicial treatment the character receives early in the series. As a result, Naruto’s life achievements he makes across the narrative, ending to his portrayal as the Seventh Hokage are seen as inspiring by the audience.^[221]

Allega Frank from Polygon noted that during the start of both the manga and anime Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, multiple fans were worried in regard to a flashforward; in this sequence an older Boruto is facing an enemy named Kawaki who implies Naruto might be dead so his fate left them worried.^[222]

References

External links

• Media related to Naruto Uzumaki at Wikimedia Commons

Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto character
From left to right: Part I, Boruto franchise, and Part II designs by Masashi Kishimoto
First appearance	Naruto chapter 1: Uzumaki Naruto! (1999)
Created by	Masashi Kishimoto
Voiced by	Japanese Junko Takeuchi English Maile Flanagan
In-universe information
Notable relatives	Minato Namikaze (father, deceased) Kushina Uzumaki (mother, deceased) Jiraiya (godfather, deceased) Hinata Hyuga (wife) Boruto Uzumaki (son) Himawari Uzumaki (daughter) Kawaki (adoptive son) Hanabi Hyuga (sister-in-law) Hizashi Hyuga (uncle-in-law, deceased) Hiashi Hyuga (father-in-law) Neji Hyuga (cousin-in-law, deceased)
Ninja rank	Genin in Part I and Part II, Hokage in Epilogue and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Ninja team	Team 7/Team Kakashi

Naruto Uzumaki (Japanese: うずまき ナルト, Hepburn: Uzumaki Naruto) () is the titular protagonist of the manga Naruto, created by Masashi Kishimoto. As the series progresses, he is a young ninja from the fictional village of Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf Village). The villagers ridicule and ostracize Naruto on account of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox—a malevolent creature that attacked Konohagakure—that was sealed away in Naruto’s body. Despite this, he aspires to become his village’s leader, the Hokage, in order to receive their approval. His carefree, optimistic, and boisterous personality enables him to befriend other Konohagakure ninja, as well as ninja from other villages. Naruto appears in the series’ films and in other media related to the franchise, including video games and original video animations (OVA), as well as the sequel Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, where he is the Hokage, and his son, Boruto Uzumaki, is the protagonist.

When creating Naruto for the initial part of the series, Kishimoto kept the character «simple and stupid», while giving him many attributes of an ideal hero. Kishimoto gave Naruto a dark side by adding tragedy to the character’s past. He has revised Naruto’s image many times, providing the character with different clothes intended to appeal to Western audiences and to make him easier to illustrate. Kishimoto changed his design for Part II of the storyline, which starts two-and-a-half years after Part I. Naruto is voiced by Junko Takeuchi in the original animated series and Maile Flanagan in the English adaptations.

Merchandise based on Naruto includes figurines and keychains. Naruto’s character development has been praised by anime and manga publications and has drawn scholarly attention. Although some initially saw him as a typical manga and anime protagonist comparable to those in other shōnen manga, others have praised his personality and character development as he avoids stereotypes typically seen in similar media. The character has also been the subject of researches in literature, making him stand out in fiction based on his traits and growth.

Creation and conception

Original concept and influences

During the 1990s, new manga author Masashi Kishimoto sought to write a one-shot chapter that would feature Naruto as a chef, but this version never made it to print. Kishimoto originally wanted to make Naruto a child who could transform into a fox, so he created a one-shot of Naruto for the summer 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump magazine based on the idea.^[1] When comparing both the Naruto one-shot and his other work, Karakuri, Kishimoto realized that former’s title character was more appealing than the lead of Karakuri. Kishimoto reflects Naruto’s «honest» smile was well received in contrast to the sly look the main character from Karakuri had. Following the success of another one-shot, Mario, Kishimoto started working on the Naruto series where he wanted to reuse the title character from his earlier one-shot. Kishimoto wrote the first two chapters to show his appeal to the readers and then focus on the other protagonists despite difficulties. Following the second chapter, Kishimoto introduced the other protagonists but as bad relationships including with Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto’s constant reject crushes at Sakura Haruno. The manga story was planned to show Naruto’s coming-of-age through multiple fights and looked forward to seeing the conclusion.^[2]

For the serialized version, Kishimoto incorporated traits he felt made an ideal hero in the creation of Naruto: a straightforward way of thinking, a mischievous side, and attributes possessed by Goku from the Dragon Ball franchise. Aiming to keep Naruto «simple and stupid»,^[3] Although Goku was a major influence to Naruto, Kishimoto was more attracted by Dragon Ball character Krillin as he comes across as more human than the protagonist for displaying flaws that made the readers easier to accept in a similar fashion to his mentor Iruka Umino.^[4] Kishimoto avoided modeling him after anyone in particular, instead conceiving of him as naïve with a dark side resulting from his harsh past. Despite this, he is always optimistic, a trait Kishimoto said makes this character unique.^[3] By and large, Naruto’s personality is childish; the creator tried to convey this trait in his illustrations. Kishimoto notes as an example of this the cover of volume 10, where Kishimoto depicts Naruto mimicking a turtle as a child might do.^[5] Naruto was Kishimoto’s first published manga, and he focused on making Naruto’s facial expressions consistent in difficult situations.^[6] He commented: «It’s rather awkward to talk about what makes Naruto appealing to audiences, but I think his being a knucklehead gives him an appeal.» He believed it was Naruto’s losses that made readers identify with him, although he wanted Naruto not to feel defeat again, which was his primary aim when writing the series.^[7] Kishimoto has said that Naruto’s burning desire to be a ninja was based on his own ambition to succeed as a manga artist.^[8] As the series went on, Kishimtoto wrote the older incarnations of Naruto to be naive idealists due to how Naruto was written to continuously avoid repeating previous mistakes. However, at the same Kishimoto wrote him as a sign of hope, something important in regard to the series’ audience.^[9]

In the original Japanese versions of Naruto, Naruto often ends his sentences with the addendum «-ttebayo» (which achieves an effect similar to ending a sentence with «you know?» in English). Kishimoto wanted to give Naruto a childlike catchphrase, and «dattebayo» came to mind; he believed that the phrase complements Naruto’s character, and served as a verbal tic that portrayed him in a brattish manner.^[10] Throughout the first episodes of the English dub version, «dattebayo» and «-ttebayo» were replaced with the phrase «Believe it!», both to mirror the effect, and to match the character’s lip movements, although later in the English dub Naruto stopped saying «Believe it» and the phrase was replaced with «You Know?».^[11]

Development

After fans likened Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura to the three main characters from Harry Potter fantasy books, Kishimoto noted that both trios began their careers in a classroom, though he added that the similarity was unintentional.^[8] During the series’ publication, Kishimoto married and had children. This influenced how he viewed Naruto’s character. Naruto met his parents, and learned of their sacrifices in order to help him to control the Fox inside him so that he could protect their world. As a result, Naruto appreciated his life more and learned that his parents loved him, something the author wanted the character to feel based on his own experience as a father.^[12] In the first chapters of the series, Kishimoto did not conceive the idea that Naruto would be the son of Minato Namikaze. However, as time passed on, the manga author made touches to Minato’s face shown in the Hokage Mountain in Konoha to make them more similar to Naruto with an emphasis on their spiky hairs. However, in order to reduce too many similarities, Kushina Uzumaki’s character was made to look like Naruto’s face.^[13]

Out of all the student-teacher relationships Kishimoto has created in the Naruto series, the one between Naruto and Jiraiya is his favorite.^[14] Right before Jiraiya’s death in his fight against Pain in his last moments, he discovers the origin of Pain’s multiple bodies and uses his last forces to send that message as a piece of advice to Naruto so that Naruto could defeat him in his place.^[1] This arc was the most difficult one to write; he felt this because Naruto truly forgave his enemy. Instead of having the protagonist kill the enemy he hates as happens in other series, Kishimoto found the idea of the two characters interacting and settling their differences more challenging.^[15] This had a major impact on the writer, and he decided to have Naruto forgive Sasuke during their final fight in a similar manner as he interacted with Nagato.^[15] Kishimoto felt the need to create a story arc that would emphasize the tragedy of wars, leading to the final arc which would include a war. The principal reason for this was a significant difference between the two main characters, Naruto who had no knowledge of wars, and Sasuke who was a victim of one; his entire clan had been annihilated to avoid a potential civil war. As a result, Kishimoto created Nagato as a war victim who would Jiraiya, and act as Naruto’s nemesis so he would understand the tragedy that Sasuke had experienced.^[16] As a result, Naruto’s coming-of-age would have been completed in this arc and the final arc where Naruto deals with world war and develops a vision of the shinobi world as well as how he should handle the conflict.^[17]

In 2013, when Naruto was reaching its climax, Kishimoto envisioned the idea of Naruto becoming a father. This resulted in the creation of Boruto Uzumaki, Naruto and Hinata’s first child.^[18] Kishimoto wanted Boruto to act like his father, but at the same time, have differences between each other. Despite not wishing to reveal much about Boruto due to developments of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, he added that Boruto is not as direct as Naruto.^[19] In the 2015 film Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto developed Boruto and Naruto’s relationship from his relationship with his sons.^[20] In portraying the adult Naruto, Kishimoto did not want to make the character to give a cool impression in contrast to his younger days as a war hero because Naruto being a strong father figure to Boruto would be too boring for the narrative.^[21][22] Instead, Kishimoto wanted the film to depict the father and son relationship between Boruto and Naruto.^[18] Similarly, Chengxi Huang wanted to properly display Naruto’s facial expression during this scene as stating that while Naruto has grown up ever since his introduction, his gentle smile was the same.^[23] Manga author Mikio Ikemoto claimed the scene in which Naruto helps his son to create a large Rasengan was his favorite at the time of drawing Boruto as across this moment he had to draw Naruto’s past to the point he «felt the weight of NARUTO series and its long history behind it.»^[24]

Rivalry

Early in the making of the series, Kishimoto had poor faith in the manga as he believes the series was lacking something to become popular. After being recommended by his editor to give the protagonist a rival, Kishimoto wrote Sasuke with influences from Takehiko Inoue’s Slam Dunk manga which was famous for dealing with rivalries.^[4] When first introducing Sasuke, Kishimoto wrote him as a rival who never noticed Naruto. However, as the series continued, Naruto became strong enough to finally be recognized by Sasuke as a rival. He also intended for both of them to be brother-like due to the fact both characters suffered loneliness, something which made the readers relate to them as he noted through fan letters. By Part I’s ending, the bond between Naruto and Sasuke was weakened as a result of their fight but still expected from the time when the Sasuke accepted Naruto as an equal.^[1] Kishimoto compared Sasuke and Naruto to the concept of yin and yang because of their notable differences. When one of the two progressed, Kishimoto made sure the other did too.^[25] During the climax of Part I, Naruto and Sasuke engage in a mortal fight which was directed by Atsushi Wakabayashi from Pierrot. In an interview, the director claimed that the animation was based on a journey to Lake Mashu from Hokkaido to come up with new ideas. Wakabayashi aimed for the characters to move stilted based on storyboards he made, leading to entertaining sequences. When Naruto becomes berserker due to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s influence, Norio Matsumoto aimed to make Naruto behave like a beast with Wakabayashi aiming to make Naruto look like an equal to his rival. The staff was inspired by the 1970s series like the boxing series Ashita no Joe, most notably its lead character, Joe Yabuki, who was often seen as an underdog the audience rooted for. However, the team still worked carefully to make the two ninjas be equals without overpowering each other.^[26]

Before the serialization began, Kishimoto had decided the ending would feature a fight between Naruto and Sasuke.^[27] He wanted the conflict to end with Naruto forgiving Sasuke as he had forgiven Nagato while also aiming it as their final battle in the manga.^[15][1] In regard to the fight, Kishimoto wanted to focus on hand-to-hand combat rather than ninja techniques.^[16] Anime staff Chengxi Huang said the animated adaptation of this fight, the group worked carefully to depict the action in every scene by showing changes on Sasuke and Naruto’s clothes and hair. Huang added he felt fatigue by working so much into this fight due to reaching 70 successive cuts at a time.^[28]

The final fight between Sasuke and Naruto was considered one biggest challenges by the staff from Pierrot as it took an entire month to adapt it from the manga. Director Hiroyuki Yamashita elected himself in charge of the battle which left most of the anime members relieved due to his experience. For the scenario, Pierrot received assistance from the CyberConnect2 develop who had already adapted this battle through the fighting game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. There was a need to make every movement in the fight to look realistic, giving Sasuke a scary look as well the hair movement in order to express the idea of both fighters willing to do anything to kill each other, which confused some due to Naruto’s wish to avoid this fate. The final clash between Sasuke’s Chidori and Naruto’s Rasengan moves involved references from other scenes of the series to give the viewer a bigger emotional impact. The staff noted that following this fight, Sasuke’s face became calmer despite his initial look, giving room to explore his redemption.^[29] A symbolism Kishimoto used in the series’ finale following the final battle was Naruto returning Sasuke his original bandana representing how their bonds are tied again and no longer have a reason to kill each other.^[30]

Love interests

Naruto’s romantic partner was decided during the early stages of the manga. Since Hinata Hyuga always respected Naruto, even before the series’ beginning, even before his academy mentor Iruka Umino, Kishimoto felt they were meant to be. This angered his wife who wanted Naruto to marry Sakura Haruno.^[15] When Sakura was introduced, Kishimoto did not think of her as Naruto’s future wife, as he saw them as being just friends and teammates, although once Hinata had appeared, the author thought of forming a love triangle between the three characters. He later regretted the love triangle as he considered Naruto a fighting series with little focus on romance, and he reiterated that «it was all about Naruto and Hinata getting married from an early stage.»^[31][32]

When seeing the staff’s work to focus a film on Naruto’s relationship with Hinata, The Last: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto decided to oversee the project.^[8] Nevertheless, he enjoyed seeing Naruto and Hinata’s romantical scenes he did not write. In regard to Naruto’s rank which remains as the lowest one, Genin, due to Naruto spending most of his Part II’s time fighting and training, Kishimoto decided Naruto would skip the following ranks to become the Hokage, which he felt was appealing.^[33] In the making of The Last: Naruto the Movie, Hinata makes a red scarf for Naruto. This was based on how Kishimoto’s wife actually once did which brought laughs to the staff developing the film.^[34]

Screenwriter Maruo Kyozuka said that he wanted to depict a love triangle between Naruto, Hinata and Toneri Otsutsuki in the film. Although Naruto is initially clueless about Hinata’s feelings for him, during the film he begins to acknowledge and respond to them. Hinata’s character was also developed in the film, with Kyozuka saying that she had to put aside her feelings for Naruto to accept Toneri’s proposal so she could find Hanabi. During this scene, Kyozuka wanted to depict Naruto at his lowest after his rejection by Hinata. He then returned Naruto to his brave self, with the character resolving to continue his mission regardless of the cost.^[35] Animator Chengxi Huang behind multiple Naruto series took a liking to this couple ever since he started working in Naruto Shippuden, often aiming to draw scenes of the two and most notably a scene from the final arc when Hinata slaps Naruto to calm him following the death of Neji Hyuga.^[36] In the making of the film, he thanked Kishimoto for accepting to do The Last where the couple was explored furthermore.^[37] He looked at their adult selves as an appealing married couple but had to remove a video he made that received backlash for being inappropriate for the demographic.^[38]

Design

Although a real ninja wears blue to be inconspicuous, Kishimoto gave Naruto an orange jumpsuit to fit the shōnen genre.^[15] His wardrobe is based on clothing that Kishimoto wore when he was younger. According to him, a pre-existing design would not have made Naruto unique, whereas something original would have made him too distinctive.^[10] Because Naruto is associated with spirals in terms of objects he uses, the designer incorporated swirl patterns into the costume.^[39] Initial illustrations depicted Naruto in boots, but Kishimoto replaced these with sandals, because he enjoys drawing toes.^[40] The goggles Naruto used to wear were replaced with a hitai-ite, or shinobi headband, because they were too time-consuming to draw.^[41] One of the most difficult design choices was the color palette of Naruto’s outfit.^[42] The orange in his costume makes Naruto pop and the blue parts are complementary.^[43] Kishimoto apologized to the anime staff for Naruto’s design, as he considered it too difficult to animate.^[42]

Kishimoto was satisfied with his character having blond hair and blue eyes, something rarely seen in Japanese anime or manga. This also appealed to an international readership, something the editor of the American magazine Shonen Jump has noted.^[44] Of all his series’ characters, Kishimoto most identified with Naruto.^[44] When asked why Naruto’s favorite food was ramen instead of kitsune udon, Kishimoto said that he himself likes eating ramen.^[44][45] In the Naruto: Clash of Ninja video game series, Naruto is playable in various stages of the Demon Fox’s manifestation, characterized by a red chakra. Kishimoto took inspiration from the games’ presentation of these forms, imitating one of them for the manga cover of volume 26.^[46]

When designing Naruto for his Part II appearance, Kishimoto changed his character’s clothing to an orange and black top, orange pants, and black sandals.^[47] He also gave him a red cape with black flames at the bottom when fighting Pain, a member of the Akatsuki.^[48] He drew Naruto’s forehead-protector wider to make his eyebrows easier to draw, something that had bothered him with his previous design. He also noted that Naruto’s pants made the character look too childish. To remedy this, Kishimoto designed them to roll up, giving him a more mature appearance.^[49] He gave Naruto this look in order to make him stand out during action scenes.^[16]

For the events of the film The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014) as well as the final episodes of Naruto: Shippuden, Naruto was given a young adult appearance. His hair was made shorter, while his height was expanded notably in contrast to his Part II design. He was given two different outfits, a casual look consisting of an orange shirt as well as a design consisting of a black shirt with orange pants specifically meant for his missions. Due to his growth, Naruto wears a different headband, while his new ninja appearance was created with the purpose of being able to carry weapons more easily. Nevertheless, both looks keep the character’s spiralling logo that was carried from his late mother’s gone group, the Uzumaki clan.^[50]

Voice actors

Although a male voice actor was sought for the Japanese adaptation of the Naruto role, the actress Junko Takeuchi was chosen instead over many male applicants.^[51] Before recording the first episode, Takeuchi noticed several lines from the script that ended with exclamation marks, which helped her to define Naruto’s voice. She noted difficulties in transitioning from the young Naruto to the older Naruto in the animated adaptation of Part II. She had to record the first episode of Part II when Naruto’s character was older and more mature only one week after voicing the younger, immature character.^[52][53] Nine years after first voicing the character, while still finding it tough to voice Naruto, Takeuchi’s opinion of him changed with her feeling he was «a very reliable young man.»^[54] She admired his ability to prioritize and calmly make important decisions, and believes these traits will inspire viewers worldwide.^[54]

In regard to Naruto’s growth Takeuchi was happy with the story and had hoped that Naruto would end up in a relationship with Hinata. Takeuchi was reminded of Naruto’s late godfather, Jiraiya, when she read the script. She thought that although Naruto’s declaration of love was the most important part of the character’s growth, his true nature had not changed at that point. Satisfied with the story, Takeuchi thought that the audience would agree with her view.^[55] For the film Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Takeuchi was surprised with how Naruto has grown up ever since she first voiced him, not only in the idea of age or new job but also the fact that he has become a father. As a result, she befriended Yūko Sanpei, voice actress behind Boruto. Takeuchi felt the writing for the adult Naruto was different from his younger days as his mannerism had changed too, joking that she never saw such growth in the story when first voicing him. As a result, she mentions having had some inner complications with how she should show the character’s growth.^[56]

The producers of the English version of the anime stated that Naruto was the most difficult character to cast, adding that Maile Flanagan «has Naruto down, from the mischievous side, that precocious 12-year-old we learn to love, to the serious side.»^[57] Flanagan avoided listening to Junko Takeuchi’s performance as she did not want to imitate it, stating she wanted to develop her own voice for the character.^[58] Her performance has been praised as showing Naruto’s brashness and later growth in confidence.^[59] In a 2014 interview, Flanagan claimed she had never heard of Naruto before her audition. She looked the show up after being chosen and felt the release of the English dub would be popular. She is recognized more for her work voicing Naruto than from other roles she has done in her career, although some fans did not expect that Naruto would be voiced by a woman.^[60] Flanagan and Amanda C. Miller (Boruto) found the two family members similar in nature despite having different backgrounds. Flanagan was surprised by how her character changed across the years but felt he was still the same for her, finding challenging to voice Naruto again when coming back to voice the younger Naruto. In regard to the change of tone, Flanagan was surprised by the fact that the dubbers did not replace her despite Naruto’s age but felt it was something common in Japanese series.^[61]

Synopsis

Introduced as a young orphan boy of 12 years with blond, spiky hair and blue eyes, Naruto Uzumaki graduates as a ninja from Konohagakure while bonding with his teacher Iruka Umino.^[43][62] Naruto seeks attention as he was ridiculed during his childhood. To be accepted and respected, he resolves to become Konohagakure’s Hokage and surpass all previous leaders, no matter the difficulties.^[63] While becoming a ninja, Naruto forms friendships that he initially lacked, linking some of them to family relationships.^[64] Although Naruto sometimes finds himself unable to accomplish the tasks he proposes to do, other characters believe that he will be an excellent Hokage because of his positive impact on their lives.^[65][66] As an adult, Naruto claims that the Konohagakure village became his family due to his job of being the new Hokage, something he learned from the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. As a result, he initially suffered a poor relationship with his son, Boruto, due to the little time he spends with his bloodline family.^[67]

Appearances

In Naruto

Part I

Naruto is an orphan who has a dangerous fox-like entity known as Kurama the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within his body by his father, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, the leader of Konoha’s ninja force, at the cost of his own life and that of his wife, Kushina Uzumaki.^[63] This possession led to Naruto being ridiculed frequently by the rest of Konoha; being associated with him was considered taboo.^[63] As a youth, Naruto makes jokes and plays pranks to attract attention.^[63] Desiring what he lacked in his early life, Naruto dreams of becoming a Hokage himself with the hope that it will bring him the villagers’ recognition and respect.^[68][69] In an attempt to become a ninja, Naruto is horrified to learn of his Jinchuriki nature, but finds acceptance from his teacher Iruka Umino, whom he views as a father. After learning the powerful Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, an ability to create physical copies of the user, Naruto becomes a ninja.^[63][70] He joins a ninja group under the leadership of Kakashi Hatake where he made friends with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. These are his classmates who are also assigned to Team 7: Sasuke Uchiha, with whom he has had a rivalry since they first met at the ninja academy, and Sakura Haruno who he has a crush on which is not reciprocated by her as she is infatuated with Sasuke.^[64][71]

While being examined to increase his ninja rank, Naruto meets the legendary ninja Jiraiya and learns how to summon toads to aid him in battle, and to control part of the Nine Tails’s chakra energy.^[72] The exams are interrupted by the invasion of Konohagakure by the criminal Orochimaru and the ninja of Sunagakure. Naruto defeats the sand village’s One Tail Jinchuriki Gaara and convinces him there is a better way to live. Shortly afterward, Naruto discovers the Akatsuki, a criminal organization that seeks to extract the Nine-Tails from his body. Though Jiraiya drives them off during this first meeting, learning its member Itachi is both Sasuke’s brother, and the man who killed their family, the Akatsuki still plan to kidnap Naruto.^[73] While accompanying Jiraiya to find a new village leader, Naruto also learns the Rasengan (螺旋丸, lit. spiral sphere, English manga: «Spiral Chakra Sphere»), a sphere of chakra for offensive purposes.^[69][74] When Sasuke leaves the village to join Orochimaru’s forces to obtain the power to kill Itachi, Naruto on his insistence and promise to Sakura becomes part of a rescue team to retrieve him.^[71] Naruto and Sasuke ultimately have a one-on-one battle, and after a close battle, Sasuke comes out as the victor. He, however can not bring himself to kill Naruto and instead leaves.^[75] The two go their separate ways, but Naruto does not give up on Sasuke, leaving with Jiraiya for two and half years to prepare himself for his next encounter with Sasuke and the Akatsuki.^[76]

Part II

After his two and a half years of training, Naruto returns to Konoha (the Leaf Village) and begins to deal more actively with the Akatsuki threat by saving Gaara from their clutches.^[77] To fight them, Naruto trains with Kakashi to infuse the Rasengan with his own wind-element chakra, creating the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken (風遁・螺旋手裏剣, Fūton: Rasenshuriken) attack that proves instrumental in the downfall of the Akatsuki member Kakuzu.^[78][79] Despite being targeted by the Akatsuki, Naruto dedicates himself to finding and retrieving Sasuke, who eventually disposes of Orochimaru and starts acting on his vengeance-driven whims.^[80] Over time, though resisting the urge to use the creature’s power, the Nine Tails’s influence over him expands to the point where he begins to lose his rationality as more chakra manifests in the form of tails to the point the Tailed Beast can take control of his body. This ultimately causes him to go on a rampage, destroying everything in his path.^[81]

After learning that Jiraiya has been killed by the Akatsuki leader, Pain, Naruto prepares for a future encounter by learning toad-style Senjutsu (仙術, lit. «sage techniques»), a power-enhancing ability involving the gathering of natural energy through stillness, while also perfecting Naruto’s Rasenshuriken in the process.^[82][83] When they face off, Naruto is pinned to the ground with iron rods and loses control of the Fox’s chakra when his Hinata Hyuga nearly dies protecting him. At that time, Naruto meets his father Minato Namikaze within his subconcious and learns about his status as the Fourth Hokage and him being the one who sealed the Fox so that Naruto could use it to defeat the Akatsuki founder Tobi who was behind the Fox’s attack on Konohagakure.^[84] With Minato stopping the Fox, Naruto regains control of his body, and defeats Pain. Learning that both are Jiraiya’s students, Naruto convinces him to quit Akatsuki, seeking to take Jiraiya’s path to create a better ninja world.^[85]

When Naruto discovers Sasuke’s plan to attack the Leaf Village, he decides to confront him in a battle which could end both their lives should Naruto be unable to save him.^[86] He prepares himself for the upcoming fight by becoming a student under the vessel of the Eight-Tails, Killer B, to take full control of Kurama’s powers. He succeeds with help from his late mother, Kushina Uzumaki, who placed a chakra imprint of herself within the seal so when the time comes, she could have a chance to see her son again.^[87][88] When Naruto learns that all his comrades are battling Tobi’s army to protect him, he takes Killer B to join him in the battle, eventually cooperating with Kurama.^[89][90] As he fights, Naruto meets Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of the Six Paths, who grants him enhanced Senjutsu known as the Six Paths Senjutsu.^[91][92] After he and Sasuke join forces to face both Tobi and Madara who are using the Ten-Tails, they have to seal a bigger threat named Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who is in her Ten-Tails form.^[93] After defeating and sealing Kaguya with the cooperation of the rest of Team 7, Naruto ends up having to fight Sasuke due to their conflicting views regarding the ninja world’s future.^[94] As both end up losing an arm, Naruto and Sasuke reconcile.^[95] He receives a new arm created from the First Hokage’s cells later.^[96] Years later, Naruto is married to Hinata with whom he has had two children – Boruto and Himawari Uzumaki. He becomes the Seventh Hokage (七代目火影, Nanadaime Hokage) in the epilogue.^[97]

In the Boruto series

In the spin-off manga Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, Naruto and his allies go to defeat a new Akatsuki organization as Sasuke fears Kaguya’s allies might try to attack them.^[67] In Boruto: Naruto the Movie (2015), which takes place after the series’ epilogue, Naruto’s Hokage status strains his relationship with his son Boruto as his duties often kept him from his family. During the ninja examinations, Naruto is abducted by Kaguya’s descendants, Momoshiki and Kinshiki, and then saved by his son Boruto, Sasuke, and the Kage, before helping his son to destroy Momoshiki. Across this fight, Naruto and Boruto reconcile. In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, the manga starts in a distant future where Naruto is implied to be dead or missing in action by an enemy of Boruto, Kawaki.^[98] In the anime before Boruto became a ninja, Naruto often made appearances with his new family.^[99] In the manga, a younger Kawaki is adopted by Naruto when the teenager becomes a fugitive from the group Kara.^[100] Naruto clashes with the members from Kara to protect his children,^{[101][102][103]} to which the village fears the Ōtsutsuki clan planning to attack again through Kara’s members as well like Boruto and Kawaki who share a cursed mark known as Karma.^[104] In the fight against Kara’s leader Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, Naruto and Kurama combine their chakra together at the cost of their possible death.^[105] In the aftermath, Kurama reveals he was told a lie about this combination and he is the only one to die. As Kurama goes to the afterlife, Naruto continues to fight against the remaining Kara members.^[106]

In light novels

Naruto also appears in the epilogue light novels of the series. In the first one, despite still not having obtained his prosthetic arm, goes on a mission with his friend Sai to capture a dangerous ninja named Garyō.^[107] In the second one, he allies with Sunagakure ninja Temari’s team to find the missing Shikamaru Nara who made a promise to him to work together once Naruto became the Hokage.^[108] He makes a brief appearance in Sakura Hiden where he and Hinata try to aid Sakura from a group of enemies.^[109] In Sasuke Hiden, he sends a message to Sasuke, which convinces him to return to Konohagakure.^[110] In the final one, Konoha Hiden, Naruto marries Hinata after asking his former mentor, Iruka Umino, to the place of his father for the wedding.^[111] A novel by Mirei Miyamoto focuses on Naruto’s life as a father.^[112] Another novel, Naruto Retsuden, explores Naruto having falling to an illness as a result of relying on Kurama’s chakra across his entire life.^[113]

In other media

As the series’ title character, Naruto appears in every movie in the series. He typically appears as the lead character on a mission with comrades from Konohagakure. Naruto: Shippūden the Movie marks the first appearance of Naruto in his Part II form.^[114][115] In Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, an alternate version of the character named Menma appears as the main antagonist of the film.^[116]

In The Last: Naruto the Movie, which takes place after the events of the series, Naruto faces Toneri Otsutsuki; at the movie’s climax, Naruto and Hinata enter a relationship that eventually leads to their marriage.^[117] Kishimoto, the film’s chief story supervisor, admitted that he was embarrassed writing romance scenes in the series.^[118] However, upon watching Naruto and Hinata share their first kiss, he felt a mixture of satisfaction and sadness due to the two characters’ growth since Naruto‘s beginning; they had become like his own children.^[119]

Naruto also appears in all four OVAs produced for the series: helping his friend Konohamaru Sarutobi find a four-leaf clover in the first,^[120] escorting a ninja to his village and fighting the criminal who stole the village’s «Hero’s Water» in the second,^[121] participating in a tournament in the third, and working with Team 7 in the fourth.^[122][123] He appears as a supporting character in the spin-off manga titled Rock Lee and his Ninja Pals where his fellow Konohagakure ninja Rock Lee is the main character.^[124]

Naruto is a playable character in the Naruto video games. In several titles, it is possible to access a special version of him enhanced with the power from the Nine-Tailed Fox. In several games from the Ultimate Ninja series he is playable with his own versions of Rock Lee and Might Guy’s techniques while wearing their costumes.^[125] Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX marks the first appearance of Naruto in his Part II form in a video game.^[126] For the series’ 10th anniversary, Masashi Kishimoto drew an illustration of Naruto as Hokage.^[127] This portrayal of Naruto later appears as a secret character in the game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2.^[128] Naruto also appears in the iOS and Android mobile game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing.^[129] He appears in several crossover video games that feature Naruto fighting against characters from other manga; these games include: Battle Stadium D.O.N, Jump Super Stars, and Jump Ultimate Stars.^{[130][131][132]} A Naruto avatar made a guest appearance in the MMORPG Second Life for a Jump Festa promotion titled Jumpland@Second Life.^[133] In Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z Naruto’s costume appears as an alternate costume for Goku.^[134] Outside Naruto, the character also appeared in the first popularity poll from the manga My Hero Academia by Kōhei Horikoshi.^[135] When the Naruto manga ended, Eiichiro Oda drew a cover of a One Piece manga chapter where Naruto is seen eating with the One Piece characters.^[136] Naruto was added to Fortnite Battle Royale in November 2021.^[137]

Naruto also makes an appearance in Live Spectacle Naruto (2015) and Live Spectacle Naruto: Song of the Akatsuki (2017), two stage plays based on the manga.^[138] Naruto is played by Koudai Matsouka.^[139]

Reception

Characterization and themes

Naruto’s character has received mostly positive critical response in printed and online publications. Praise was given by Joseph Szadkowski of The Washington Times who noted that Naruto «has become a pop-culture sensation.»^[142] Naruto’s character was analyzed by GameSpot’s Joe Dodson who noted that despite having an «ideal» life, he still suffered from severe isolation,^[143] although he was praised for his optimistic personality by Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network (ANN).^[144] Writers for Mania Entertainment labeled him a «good lead character» with good overall development despite certain problems at the beginning.^{[145][146][147]} Christina Carpenter of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews disagreed with other writers, noting that while Naruto is a «likable enough scamp», his type of character has been done before in many anime and manga series.^[148] Yukari Fujimoto, a professor at Meiji University, sees Naruto himself as the manga’s weakness.^[149] Manga author Nobuhiro Watsuki compared Naruto with Himura Kenshin and Monkey D. Luffy due to how they follow the ideals of not killing their oppponents.^[150]

Writing for Popular Culture in Counseling, Psychotherapy, and Play-Based Interventions, Lawrence Rubin states that while Naruto has an optimistic and hyperactive personality, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Kurama) within his body symbolizes his negative emotions. He comments that Naruto has a malevolent attitude when dealing with intense conflicts and emotions. He also states that Naruto would use Kurama’s chakra for battles he can not handle with his own chakra. Rubin further notes that the more Naruto uses Kurama’s chakra, the more he puts his comrades and himself in danger. Rubin feels the reason Naruto is a troublemaker is because some villagers avoid him and others mistreat him. He states that children growing up in the real world who have development issues can relate to his character. Rubin states that the search for acceptance, and being acknowledged by his peers is what motivates Naruto to keep going until he reaches his life’s goal, becoming the Hokage. Rubin feels that Naruto’s fights with enemies who try to bring harm to the Leaf Village further motivate him to become a powerful shinobi, and a «complete and mature person.» Rubin concludes that Naruto’s character development is similar to that of a modern American hero, the type who accidentally becomes better during a series and is able to build or restore peace.^[151]

Christopher A. Born, writing for DOAJ journal ASIANetwork Exchange, regards Naruto as a complex post-modern hero, showing «great heart.» From Naruto’s beginning, Born comments that the character is a nuisance, suggesting Naruto is the very definition of the word, given how he is characterized in the series, including how he interacts, and his behavior. Born argues that Naruto as a whole shows Confucian values, and that Naruto himself unsettles harmony in society.^[152] Amy Plumb, a PhD candidate at Macquarie University, states that Kishimoto used the mythology of the kitsune for Naruto’s development throughout the series. She notes that at the beginning of the series, Naruto was a prankster and always causing trouble, the same as the kitsune. Plumb describes the Kyuubi (Demon) seal on Naruto’s stomach as a catalyst for how he develops.^[141] Writing for Manga’s Cultural Crossroads, Omote Tomoyuki compliments Naruto’s character, saying that he has great ambition to achieve a tragic destiny. He comments how the character has matured over the course of the series, stating how after he became a shinobi, he had let go of his childish ways that happened in the beginning of the series, and how he rarely joked around in Part II of the series when he became a teenager.^[153] Franziska Ehmcke, professor of Japanese studies at Cologne University, theorized that Naruto was named after whirlpools of the sea landscape of the Awa no Naruto, and compared his behavior to that natural feature, as both figures have uncontrollable energy within them.^[140] Mike Hale compared Naruto to Buffy Summers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, praising the series’ portrayal of childhood loneliness.^[154] Rik Spanjers regards Naruto’s childishness as one of his strengths because it gives him a well of resoluteness from which to draw on in his goal to end the ninja wars.^[155] A study which looked at if readers could predict character types based on physical cues regarded Naruto as an ENFP (Myers-Briggs) character type, impulsive and spontaneous, finding a foil in the ISTJ-type Sasuke.^[156]

Analysing Naruto’s coming-of-age story, The Lawrentian found that Naruto’s development embodies the idea of Bildungsroman, the idea of how importance is Naruto’s growth across the narrative needed to move on the arc. Due to lacking parenting as a result of his parents’ age during his birth, Naruto’s personality starts fragile. Unaware of them, Naruto seeks to accomplish his mother’s wish of becoming a hero and leader of the village, the Hokage. While initially portrayed as a weak character, Naruto finds strength in his mentors Kakashi and Jiraiya, another element common element in Bildungsroman as well as his connections with Sakura and Sasuke. As a result of losing Jiraiya, Naruto seeks to accomplish his mentor’s wish of ending wars and the cycling of hatred, making Kishimoto capable of embodying the character more with the reader while maturing in the process. As a result, The Lawrentian finds that Naruto’s character fills the concept of Bildungsroman, something other fictional characters fail to accomplish.^[157]

Tejal Suhas Bagwe from Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for the Degree of Masters of Arts in English describes Jiraya’s death as the «loss of innocence» the Naruto goes through paralleling his life with Gaara, Sasuke or Madara. However, unlike these three characters who seek revenge and chaos for their losses, Naruto instead chooses another path derivative from these types of narrative, becoming more unique. Another aspect noted by the writer in regard to Naruto’s character is how he becomes Kurama’s companion despite the creature bearing hatred towards mankind for being used, resulting into multiple references to Japanese mythology based on its name and the new skills Naruto acquires when befriending the fox.^[158] Similarly, Anime News Network stated that thanks to Naruto’s newfound pacifism when dealing with his quest of revenge and the rejection to violence, the story managed to become a «masterpiece».^[159]

Relationships

His relationships with the other characters was described as appealing by IGN’s Charles White and Jason Van Horn,^[160][161] most notably through his rivalry with Sasuke, as it shows «signs of maturity» in Naruto.^[162] However, his wish to retrieve Sasuke after the end of Part I was criticised because of his subsequent suffering.^[163] In a poll by Japanese pollster Charapedia, Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry reached the top place.^[164] Jacob Hope Chapman of ANN listed Naruto and Sasuke as one of «Anime’s Fiercest Frenemies» considering their similarities and how they become friends after a mortal battle.^[165] His romantic involvement with other characters led to disputes as there were fans in favour of his relationship with Sakura Haruno, while others preferred Hinata Hyuga.^[166] His romance with Hinata in the film The Last earned multiple positive reactions from the media. Some critics wished The Last could be condensed so that their relationship was the focus of the movie.^{[167][168][169]} On a similar note, both McNulty and Andy Hanley from UK Anime Network enjoyed Naruto’s relationship with his son Boruto due to the differences in their childhoods and how that becomes the focus of the film Boruto.^[170][171] His role in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was praised for his more mature personality as well as his relationship with the young Kawaki.^{[172][173][174]} Leroy Douresseaux expected Kawaki will have a major impact in Boruto’s life in regard to his way of fighting.^[175]

Combat

Kimlinger of Anime News Network said that while Naruto’s initial fight scenes are lacking conviction when compared to others, his encounter with Gaara is one of his best moments because its tactics surpassed most shōnen stereotypes.^[176] ANN’s Theron Martin and Mania Entertainment’s Justin Rich made similar comments.^[177][178] The character’s final fight against Sasuke at the end of Part I attracted similar responses, due to the fighting styles employed, and the character development resulting from their rivalry.^[162][179] The enormous physical changes caused by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox have also been the focus of critics, as Naruto’s loss of control causes him to become a bigger threat to his loved ones than other series’ antagonists.^[180][181] Carlo Santos of ANN commented on the character’s growth in Part II, specifically his fight against Pain in which Naruto’s comments on peace, and the means by which it is achieved, touch on philosophical themes never seen in a shōnen series.^[182][183] Chris Beveridge of Mania Entertainment noted a change in Naruto’s attitude as he acts calmly and more seriously than in previous story arcs. Naruto’s new Senjutsu style was praised, as was his careful preparation for the fight against Pain, which resulted in a detailed display of his skills.^[182][184] In regard to Naruto’s fight against Sasuke, writers once again found depth in the handling of the rivals while also bringing a satisfying ending to the series.^[185][186] Amy McNulty of ANN also praised their final fight, expressing amazement at how brutal some scenes were since Naruto had become more of a pacifist than previous story arcs.^[187]

Popularity

In every official Weekly Shōnen Jump popularity poll of the series, Naruto ranks in the top five characters and, as of the beginning of 2012, has been in first place twice.^[188][189] In 2006, Naruto lost his top-two status to the characters Deidara, Kakashi and Sasuke in the magazine’s sixth poll.^[190] In the 2011 poll, Naruto was once again in first place.^[191] In 2014, IGN listed him as the second best Naruto character when the series ended.^[192] In a Japanese TV special from August 2017, Naruto was voted as the 13th «strongest hero» from the Heisei Era.^[193] Additionally, in 2017 Charapedia poll, Naruto ranked 9th most ideal Prime Minister in anime series.^[194] In a 2018 poll from Shonen Jump, Naruto was also voted as the 10th most powerful character in the magazine’s history.^[195] In poll from 2021, Naruto was voted as the second best character from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations behind his son.^[196] In the Crunchyroll Awards from 2022, Naruto was nominated for «Best Fight» against Isshiki in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.^[197]

Merchandise has been modeled after Naruto, including keychains,^[198] and action figures.^[199] In the 2009 Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards, Junko Takeuchi won Best Voice Actress (Japanese) for her work as Naruto.^[200] Naruto was placed sixth in IGN’s Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time with writer Chris Mackenzie stating that although: «Naruto actually isn’t the most popular character in his own series most of the time,» he is «the engine that powers the franchise.»^[201] In the 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition, he was noted as the twenty-ninth best character appearing in video games.^[202]

While working for CyberConnect2 in the making of the .hack games, character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto used Naruto as a model for .hack‘s protagonist, Kite. Shortly afterwards, CyberConnect2 started developing the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja games although Sadamoto recalls he was unaware of this fact.^[203] Another character inspired by Naruto is Yuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen; its author, Gege Akutami, enjoyed the story of how Naruto deals with a demon-like creature inside his body and decided to give Itadori a similar aura when eating the remains of the demon Ryomen Sukuna whom he carries a poor relationship.^[204] CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama also participated in the 2012 Paris Marathon while cosplaying as Naruto to celebrating the release of a new video game.^[205] Matsuyama also said that Naruto’s Rasenshuriken was his favorite technique in the entire series due to its sounds as well as how the character executes it.^[206] Upon seeing the final fight between Naruto and Sasuke in Storm 4, Matsuyama felt emotional over seeing the final fight between Naruto and Sasuke.^[207] Matsuyama also made his own sketch of two fighters, aiming to put them the video game, promising gamers they would enjoy the emotions delivered by the fight.^[208] Matsuyama further reflected the anime’s 133rd episode to be one of his favorites not only for the action sequences between Naruto and Sasuke but also the emotional value displayed.^[209]
In a poll from Anime! Anime!, Naruto and Sasuke as one of the best rivals turned into allies.^[210]

Cultural impact

Olympic medalist Usain Bolt expressed his love for Naruto and the Naruto series several times through Instagram posts.^[211][212] The Shanghai New World mall made an announcement in the beginning of 2019 that it plans on opening an indoor theme park on its 11th floor which will be called «Naruto World». The theme park will be 7,000 square meters in size and will be based on the Naruto manga.^[213] An officially authorized Ichiraku Ramen ramen noodle shop, based on Ichiraku Ramen from the anime, opened up in Shanghai’s Global Harbor shopping mall in 2019.^[214] In June 2019, a life-size statue designed by Testuya Nishio was developed for display at the Wonder Festival 2019 Shanghai event.^[215] For the 2020 Summer Olympics, Naruto’s image is being used as a character to represent the event.^[216]

Naruto has had an influence on hip-hop music. Many rappers, both underground and mainstream have sprinkled Naruto references throughout their songs.^[217] Rapper Ski Mask the Slump God starts off the first verse of his song Catch me Outside with a reference to Naruto and his ninetails mode.^[218] Some artists go so far as revolving the theme of their entire album around Naruto, such as Dave’s album Six Paths. in Dave’s song Wanna Know (Remix) the track art is a direct reference to Naruto. It features the title in the Naruto font and color scheme.^[219] Singer Diana Garnet expressed her pleasure at recording one of the ending theme songs for the animated series of Naruto Shippuden stating that not only she has been a fan of the series ever since she was younger, but was also motivated by Naruto’s character because of his determination not to give up no matter what challenge he faced.^[220] Similarly, in an analysis involving stereotypes of African Americans created by the British newspaper The Guardian, Naruto’s character is viewed as relatable character due to prejudicial treatment the character receives early in the series. As a result, Naruto’s life achievements he makes across the narrative, ending to his portrayal as the Seventh Hokage are seen as inspiring by the audience.^[221]

Allega Frank from Polygon noted that during the start of both the manga and anime Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, multiple fans were worried in regard to a flashforward; in this sequence an older Boruto is facing an enemy named Kawaki who implies Naruto might be dead so his fate left them worried.^[222]

References

External links

• Media related to Naruto Uzumaki at Wikimedia Commons