Rock Lee

Rock Lee (ロック・リー Rokku Rī?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. He is a member of Might Guy's Team Guy, consisting of himself, Neji Hyuga, and Tenten. He is also considered part of the Konoha 11.

According to an interview with Masashi Kishimoto in Shonen Jump's Naruto Anime Profiles Episodes 1-37, Rock Lee is his most fun character to draw. He also has stated that Sakura Haruno and Rock Lee were meant to symbolize human weakness (at least in the beginning). Like Guy, Lee is modeled after the martial artist Bruce Lee and even has the same birthday.

In Shonen Jump's character popularity polls, Lee consistently ranked in the Top 10 in the first four polls, even making the Top 5 once. In the more current polls, however, Lee has fallen out of the Top 10 due to his lack of recent appearances.[issue # needed] Despite this, he still ranks at a relatively high position.

Lee is known for speaking respectfully to others and never using contractions. He also uses formal Japanese, applying proper titles ("-san", "-kun", etc.) to anyone he meets. His relationship with Guy has also caused him to acquire many of Guy's traits. Lee's green jumpsuit and shiny bowl haircut, having already had Guy's distinctive thick eyebrows (leading to the nickname of "Bushy Brow"), are direct results of his modeling himself in his sensei's image. In Part II he even begins wearing a tactical vest like Guy, the only difference being that Guy leaves his unzipped. Guy's influence has also caused the reshaping of Lee's personality, and his dedication to his promises as well as his belief that one cannot dislike food are also characteristics of Guy.

Lee has a number of other odd personality traits, though whether or not they are results of Guy's mentorship is unknown. One such trait is his apparent lack of common sense, believing at times that he can get what he wants by not wanting it. At other times, he takes copious notes, but forgets that he cannot check them during a fight. He also has a keen sense of honor and respects his opponents, refusing to hold grudges against those who have defeated him and returning favors to those that have helped him. Lee feels others should show the same respect, and is disgusted whenever someone is unnecessarily cruel to their opponent.

Lee's attempts to prove and better himself are recurring themes for his actions throughout the series. He is generally optimistic and believes that with hard work and passion, he can surpass natural genius, but can be prone to depression when faced with setbacks. His drive to succeed is initially most evident with his rivalry with Neji Hyuga, having learned from Guy that having a rival will provide incentive to succeed. Neji, a "genius," finds Lee's efforts of bettering himself to be in vain, believing Lee to be stuck as a "failure" for the rest of his life. As such, Lee resolves to prove Neji wrong, and confronts another "genius," Sasuke Uchiha in an attempt to test his worth. While Lee maintains the desire to defeat Neji in a fight throughout the Chunin Exams, after Neji's eventual defeat by Naruto Uzumaki, another "failure", he seems less interested in this goal. Neji's rejection of his previous belief in fate may also have contributed to this, as he now respects Lee, believing that he will surpass the gifted with enough work, and that he would have given up if he were in Lee's situation.

During his battle with Gaara during the Chunin Exams, Lee's attempts to prove himself have terrible consequences for him. Gaara's abilities render Lee's attempts to damage him futile, and Lee's attempts at using his more powerful techniques to defeat Gaara leave his body broken. After Gaara's attacks further damage his body, crushing his left arm and leg, Lee is left injured so badly that he can no longer pursue life as a ninja. Despite this, Lee would often sneak out of his hospital room in attempts to train. When Tsunade offers him an operation that carries a fifty percent chance of returning him to his former state, and a fifty percent chance of killing him, Lee is hesitant to accept the operation. While he can't stand the thought of not living as a ninja, he is scared by the possibility that he will die before he can fully prove himself. Through Guy's encouragement and words of dedication to him, Lee goes through with the operation and survives, causing his resolve to get stronger to only increase.

Shortly after his introduction, Lee reveals that he likes Sakura Haruno, asking her to be his girlfriend and vowing to protect her immediately after they meet. While she does not seem to share these feelings for him and considers him weird, Lee maintains these feelings throughout the Chunin Exams. At one point, he distracts himself from looking for resting Genin groups with a task of catching falling leaves, the success of which would 'prove' Sakura loves him. He purposely abandons this in order to save the life of an endangered squirrel, leading him to find Sakura, also endangered. He comes to her rescue, against three to one odds and uses forbidden techniques in an attempt to protect her, considering her someone dear to him. Sakura becomes more appreciative after this, punching Naruto whenever he insults Lee. Despite this, she does not seem to have any feelings for him, as she refers to him by the more formal "Lee-san", as opposed to "Lee-kun". The only apparent return of his feelings is when she brings him a bouquet of flowers while he is in the hospital to wish him well, catching him when he trips and falls in reaching for them, and in her gentle wishes and telling him that if he ever needs anything all he has to do is ask, which moves him nearly to the point of tears. After the Exams' conclusion, Lee's interest in Sakura goes largely unaddressed. Despite this, when Naruto fights Lee in the Lee's Dojo arc, he transforms into Sakura, causing Lee to forget about the fight long enough for Naruto to attack him, and in Part II, he is especially pleased that Sakura is doing well against Sasori.

Shikamaru Nara

Shikamaru Nara (奈良シカマル Nara Shikamaru?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. He is a member of Asuma Sarutobi's Team 10, consisting of himself, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka. Through extension he is also considered part of the Konoha 11, the series' main protagonists.

"Shika" can mean deer (鹿?), and "-maru" (丸) means "round", "circle", or "well-developed", but is commonly used as a suffix in boys' names. The names "Ino", "Shika" and "Cho" are also a pun on the "Ino-Shika-Cho" winning combination in Hanafuda. His surname, Nara, is taken from Nara Park ( Nara ko-en?), a park famous for deer whose antlers are used for medicines.[citation needed] Nara was also the era when Buddhism was introduced to Japan. The Buddhist monasteries founded in the Nara Prefecture took the deer as their symbolic protector, and made hunting deer illegal in the prefecture. Nara also refers to maple, which is the plant associated with the shika card in Hanafuda.

In Shonen Jump's character popularity polls, Shikamaru has been in the Top 10 since the third poll and is usually in the 4th or 5th place.[issue # needed] In the most recent poll, however, he was placed 10th.[issue # needed] He is the only character on his team to make it to the top 10.

Shikamaru is an extremely unenthusiastic person, and as such lives his life avoiding work. This is partly due to seeking paths of least resistance, as he often chooses to do things he would otherwise not do if people nag him enough. His plans on life reflect this aspect of his personality, as he plans to be an average ninja making an average salary, and retire once his children become independent. In his free time he typically takes naps, watches clouds, and plays abstract logic games such as Shogi and Go. When put into a situation where he potentially needs to put effort into something, he attempts to try to find a way to avoid it such as forfeiting a battle or by pretending to be preoccupied with something else. In the instances where he can't avoid these situations, Shikamaru tends to remark "how troublesome" (めんどくせぇ mendokusē?, English TV "what a drag"). He is fully aware of this side of his personality, even dubbing himself "the number one at running away".

Despite his cowardly tendencies, Shikamaru is extremely intelligent. Asuma, wondering why Shikamaru was always able to beat him at Shogi and Go despite receiving abysmal grades at the Academy, disguised an IQ test as a series of puzzles to see how smart Shikamaru really was. In doing so, Asuma found Shikamaru to have an IQ of over 200, and learned that Shikamaru's poor grades were a result of him finding lifting a pencil to be too troublesome. Nevertheless, Shikamaru works very well with his teammates as their fathers were teamed together in their youth as well. Of his teammates, Shikamaru is closest with Choji, who repays Shikamaru's confidence in him with unyielding loyalty to Shikamaru. Shikamaru also has a strong bond with Asuma, often spending time with him playing strategy games. He even vows to protect Asuma and Kurenai's unborn child for Asuma's sake.

One of Shikamaru's more distinctive characteristics is that he finds all women to be bossy and "troublesome". He also often discusses how women ought to act. This viewpoint seems to be largely due to his mother's tyrannical personality, though also seems to be influenced by his father's identical view of women. Contrary to this opinion on women, he has expressed a notably mature interest in marriage and raising a family with one son and one daughter. Ironically, most of Shikamaru's opponents have been female.

Shikamaru has had a number of his appearances coincide with those of Temari. The two face each other during the final matches of the Chunin Exams. Shikamaru has a chance to claim victory in this match, but he forfeits the match instead, having run low on chakra. Temari later comes to his aid during the Sasuke Retrieval arc and defeats Tayuya of the Sound Four to save him. Shikamaru returns the favor in the last of the anime's filler arcs and saves her from one of the Shiitenshounin. In addition, the two are seen together in their Part II debuts. In this instance, Naruto Uzumaki asks if the two are on a date, though both state that this is not the case. Temari ranks as one of the women he finds most troublesome, along with Ino and his mother

Tsunade

Tsunade (綱手?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto.

Tsunade's name is taken from the character of the same name from Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari (児雷也豪傑物語, "The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya"). The Tsunade in that story excelled in snail magic and was married to Jiraiya. The name "Tsunade" (綱手) means "mooring rope".

The deaths of Dan and Nawaki greatly changed Tsunade; Dan's death and her failed attempt to save him gave her a fear of blood, causing her to freeze up whenever seeing it. The amulet's repeated returns to her also led her and many others to believe that it was cursed, and whoever Tsunade might give it to would die soon after. Similarly, Tsunade came to lose faith in the title of Hokage, believing that only fools would want such a position that would, as she believed, inevitably require them to sacrifice themselves as all the previous Hokages had. While she would maintain this mindset for many years, meeting Naruto Uzumaki causes Tsunade to reject each of these ideas.

Tsunade is approached by Jiraiya and Naruto with the offer of becoming the next Hokage. She declines the offer, ridiculing it and those who have held its position. Naruto, wanting to one day become Hokage, is enraged that she could say such things and tries to attack her with an incomplete Rasengan. While the attack fails, Tsunade decides to make a bet with him: if he can master the jutsu in a week he will get the First Hokage's amulet. Naruto accepts, and gets to work on the jutsu's completion. As the week progresses, Tsunade keeps a careful eye on Naruto's progress and all the while remembers Dan and Nawaki, both looking much like Naruto and both having the same dreams. When the week comes to an end, Naruto appears to have failed in completing the jutsu, and Tsunade believes the bet to have been impossible.

During her later battle with Orochimaru, Tsunade's fear of blood leaves her paralyzed and unable to protect herself. Naruto arrives to save her and manages to land a perfected Rasengan on Kabuto Yakushi. After Naruto passes out due to his injuries, Tsunade acts on her promise and puts the amulet around his neck, wishing once more for its wearer to become Hokage. When Orochimaru attempts to kill Naruto, Tsunade overcomes her fear of blood for the sole purpose of protecting him, willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure that Naruto becomes Hokage. Finally, Tsunade accepts the title of Fifth Hokage (五代目火影 Godaime Hokage?), Naruto's influence convincing her that the title her loved ones so dearly desired is something to be valued. Since then, Tsunade has maintained the belief that Naruto will someday become a great Hokage, her entire outlook on life changed because of him.

Tsunade is a compulsive gambler who has the unfortunate disadvantage of having terrible luck. As a result, she has been elevated to a comical status as "The Legendary Sucker" (伝説のカモ Densetsu no Kamo?, Viz "The Legendary Loser") for the gross profits others have made off her misfortune and gambling addiction. In the rare instances that Tsunade hits a winning streak, she believes it to be a bad omen, and bad things tend to happen to her afterwards. The symbol on the back of her coat, 賭 ("kake"), means "gamble," or "wager," as gambling is one of her favorite pastimes.

Tsunade typically projects a tough demeanor, even when facing great personal difficulty, and rarely compliments or praises people. She readily criticizes others for their faults, such as Naruto for his immaturity or Jiraiya for his perversion. On occasion, though, Tsunade often shows sympathy for others, consoling Shikamaru that while he failed his mission to return Sasuke to Konoha, all of his teammates survived.

Orochimaru

Orochimaru (大蛇丸?) is a major antagonist in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto.

Orochimaru's given name and distinguishing features are derived from the character of the same name from Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari (児雷也豪傑物語, "The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya"). The Orochimaru in this story was originally Jiraiya's student until he was corrupted by snake magic.

Orochimaru is male, but speaks with a very formal female tone in Japanese to make him seem more sinister. In the English language dub, he is instead given a masculine yet quiet and raspy voice.

Orochimaru relishes conflict and unrest, becoming bored when neither is in motion. Ibiki Morino, when first seeing Orochimaru as a child, claims to have been terrified at the sight of Orochimaru, believing him to be a monster in human skin. Despite this, Orochimaru has a knack for winning otherwise desperate people to his cause, filling the void in their life with loyalty to him. He brands some of his most powerful subordinates with a cursed seal that corrodes their body and free will in exchange for power. While many of Orochimaru's subordinates seem to admire and respect him, the reverse does not seem to be true. Orochimaru generally treats his subordinates as pawns, caring only for their ability to further his interests. The only ones he shows any sort of care for are those he intends to use as a host, and this too is only because they can prolong his existence.

After two and a half years of training Sasuke, Orochimaru's current body begins to fail him and he is forced to begin contemplating how to take Sasuke's body. Sasuke, however, is unwilling to give him the chance and attacks a bedridden Orochimaru. Forced into a corner Orochimaru reveals his true form and begins the transfer process, though Sasuke, like Itachi years earlier, is able to use his Sharingan to stop it. Setting himself apart from his brother, Sasuke also uses his Sharingan to take control of the dimension within Orochimaru, completely turning the process against him. When later asked by Kabuto about Orochimaru's fate, Sasuke explains that he has taken over Orochimaru, and retained possession of his body. After absorbing Orochimaru, Sasuke is able to heal at a faster rate, an ability he attributes to Orochimaru's white snake form.

While Orochimaru is considered dead in the eyes of the Naruto world, Kabuto has integrated what remained of Orochimaru into his body in an attempt to make himself into an entity even stronger than Orochimaru. The remains, however, seem to have some degree of consciousness, as they have since begun to slowly take control of his body.

Jiraiya

Despite the fact that he left Konoha for many years, Jiraiya has maintained a strong allegiance with his hometown. During Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha, he helps fend off the invading forces in order to protect the village. When Konoha finds itself in need of a new Hokage after the Third's death, Jiraiya volunteers to look for Tsunade so that she can become the Third's successor after turning the job down himself. After he finds Tsunade and begins to suspect that she may be assisting Orochimaru, he makes it clear that he will kill her if she betrays the village. Tsunade ultimately turns out to be loyal to Konoha, and Jiraiya joins her in attempting to defeat Orochimaru.
Jiraiya is a self-proclaimed super-pervert and a frequent voyeur, going so far as to create the Transparent Escape Technique (透遁術 Tōton Jutsu?, English TV "Transparency Jutsu") to allow him to spy on naked women without being caught (doing "research" as he calls it). He never actually hides his perversion, and even seems proud of it, as seen when he told the Third Hokage about it when he was still a child. Despite this, Jiraiya doesn't like being called Ero-sennin (エロ仙人? literally "Perverted hermit" or "Erotic hermit"; English TV "Pervy Sage") by Naruto Uzumaki in front of others.
Jiraiya's perversion has been used against him on occasion, as seen when Naruto gets Jiraiya to start training him after a simple display of the Sexy Technique. When two Akatsuki members (Itachi Uchiha and his partner Kisame Hoshigaki) later try to distract Jiraiya, they use a hypnotized woman to catch his eye and keep him busy. While their effort initially succeeds, Jiraiya eventually sees through their plot due solely to the fact that women do not typically express interest in him. His peeping habits have also caused him great injury on one occasion; when caught spying on Tsunade in his younger years, she proceeded to break both of his arms, six of his ribs, and ruptured a number of organs as punishment.
Some time after leaving Konoha, Jiraiya became an author of adult novels, his most popular work being "Make Out Paradise" (イチャイチャパラダイス Icha Icha Paradaisu?), a personal favorite of Kakashi Hatake's. The novels are based on his rejections in love that he retells in a comical way. In a filler episode of the anime, Naruto ghostwrites one of Jiraiya's Icha Icha novels and the book is found to be very popular, indicating that Naruto is capable of writing on the same level as Jiraiya, or that Jiraiya's writing abilities are no better than those of a child. Tsunade seems to suspect that the latter is true, as she notes that a report on the Onbaa he wrote as a child, accompanied by crude crayon illustrations, was poorly written. The popularity of the Icha Icha series seems to have paid off well, as Jiraiya's checkbook reveals that he is fairly wealthy (Naruto exclaims that there are quite a few zeros at the end). Despite his wealth, Jiraiya is not above taking Naruto's money and spending it on sake and women, and frequently suddenly disappears when Naruto attempts to make him pay.

Kakashi Hatake

Kakashi Hatake (はたけ カカシ Hatake Kakashi?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. He is the leader of Team 7, originally consisting of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. After Sasuke defects, Team 7 receives Sai as a replacement.

Though his name is written in the manga using kana, Japanese syllabic scripts that carry no particular meaning, the family name "Hatake" can be written in kanji (Chinese characters) as 畑, or 畠 which means "field" or "farmland". The name "Kakashi" can be written in kanji as 案山子, which means "scarecrow". Understandably, Naruto uses a scarecrow look-alike of Kakashi to practice on the day before Team 7's first test, since he then considered Kakashi as the main one to defeat. Also, when Sakura spies on Kakashi so he would take off his mask, he replaces himself with a scarecrow to get rid of her.

Personality

Obito's death profoundly changed Kakashi, and Kakashi adopted many of Obito's traits. One such trait was Obito's concept of teamwork, which is most clearly seen in the way Kakashi tests newly-graduated students hoping to become a squad under him. He uses the bell test to test his students, which requires the three students to get the two bells he keeps on his person. Only those who get a bell get to pass, which would be difficult even with teamwork, as at least one ninja would fail regardless. However, the rule is only a ruse; the point of the test is to foster teamwork and to teach the students that teamwork is more important than the rules. Team 7 is the only team to realize this, and as such becomes the only team Kakashi passes into Genin-status. Kakashi also inherits Obito's chronic tardiness, due primarily to losing track of time during his frequent visits to Konoha's memorial site, where Obito's name is engraved. Ironically, this very habit is one that Kakashi was often annoyed at Obito about. Obito was supposedly late due to random good deeds.

Despite these changes, some of Kakashi's previous personality remains. He is fairly dispassionate compared to his subordinates and fellow Jonin, almost never showing emotion. He often says things that sound harsh but mean well, such as suggesting that Rock Lee brought his career-ending injuries on himself by using forbidden taijutsu techniques. While Kakashi is willing to help his students, he remains somewhat aloof and unwilling to let anyone get too close to him, noting that he no longer has anyone important to him.

Kakashi's personal life appears to be as much of a mystery as the face behind the mask he has worn for most of his ninja career. He has no living family, or at least none he cares to acknowledge, and he's confirmed that everyone he loves is already dead. He is immediately recognizable as the son of (or mistaken for) his father, the "White Fang of Konoha" (木ノ葉の白い牙 Konoha no Shiroi Kiba?). Though his face has never been seen, episode 101, which is devoted to Team 7 trying to remove their sensei's mask, implies that he is in fact quite handsome. He takes off his mask in front of Team 7 only to reveal another mask, suggesting that his face, like much of the rest of his personality, is something he does not readily share.

Kakashi has an ongoing, albeit slightly one-sided, rivalry with Might Guy, with Guy constantly proclaiming that Kakashi is his rival, and considering his and Kakashi's subordinates rivals. Kakashi, however, seems indifferent to their rivalry, which annoys Guy to no end. Guy randomly challenges Kakashi to contests of skill, and Kakashi has acquired a record of 49 wins and 50 losses in doing so. Given that the contests that make up this figure are so varied (ranging from Rock, Paper, Scissors to sumo-wrestling), this is not much of an achievement on Guy's part. Nevertheless, Guy is proud of his record.

Though he evasively says that he has "many hobbies" when asked about himself, he is commonly seen reading of "Icha Icha Paradise" (イチャイチャパラダイス Icha Icha Paradaisu?, literally "Come Come Paradise", English "Make-Out Paradise"), an adult and probably pornographic novel authored by Jiraiya that is a runaway bestseller in the Naruto world. Kakashi most prominently reads it while training and speaking with his team, and is later seen reading the second known volume in the series, "Icha Icha Violence" (イチャイチャバイオレンス Icha Icha Baiorensu?, literally "Come Come Violence", English "Make Out Violence"). In Part II Naruto gives him the new "Icha Icha Tactics" (イチャイチャタクティクス Icha Icha Takutikusu?, literally "Come Come Tactics", English "Make Out Tactics"), which, during their second bell test, Naruto manages to use against him by attempting to spoil the ending. Thus distracted, he is unable to stop Naruto and Sakura from taking the bells.

Sakura Haruno

Sakura Haruno is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. She is a member of Kakashi Hatake's Team 7, originally consisting of herself, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha. She is also considered part of the Konoha .

The name "Haruno" means "spring field" and "Sakura" means "cherry blossom," which is cherished in Japan due to its beauty and short life span (sakura blossoms have historically been associated with samurai). In China, the cherry blossom is a symbol for feminine beauty, and love in the language of herbs. Her name in full means "the spring field of cherry blossoms".

In the June 2006 issue of the American Shonen Jump, Masashi Kishimoto (in the voice of Kakashi) stated that Sakura would make the best ninja instructor, because "she has flaws in her personality, like stalking Sasuke, but Sakura is the closest to being normal". He also has stated that Sakura and Rock Lee were meant to symbolize human weakness (at least in the beginning of the series).

Personality

At the series' start, one of Sakura's notable characteristics is her infatuation with Sasuke Uchiha. Initially this consists of following him everywhere in an attempt to help him and valuing his opinion and abilities above all others. Once Sasuke begins to be put in more dangerous situations, Sakura's display of her emotions shifts to concern for his well-being, first seen when he appears to have died and she goes against the Shinobi Code by crying for his loss. While his death turns out to be an illusion, Sakura maintains this method of showing her feelings for Part I's duration. She grows more worried when Sasuke achieved the Curse Seal form. Sakura also worries about the seal's potential to draw him away from Konoha. In time, her fears are realized and Sasuke abandons the village to seek out Orochimaru. Before he leaves Sakura attempts to stop him at the village exit, expressing her love for him and begging him to stay. She was so desperate that she was willing to go with him on his twisted journey. Sasuke, however, gives her a simple "thank you" before knocking her out.

Although it is unknown what her feelings for Sasuke are now, Sakura still wishes for Sasuke's return to Konoha. As such, during their reunion after the timeskip, she willingly attacks Sasuke to make this task easier and to protect others from his attacks. Despite this new mentality in regard to Sasuke, Sakura still worries about his well-being. Regardless of her conflicting approaches to Sasuke, Sakura is still unwilling to let anyone speak ill of him and readily beats anyone who badmouths him in an instant.

Sakura's opinion of Naruto is also one of her earliest personality traits. In Naruto's case, however, Sakura initially sees him to be a talentless idiot whose goal in life is to annoy her endlessly. While she continues to call him an "idiot" from time to time, Sakura abandons many of her convictions about Naruto as the two spend more time together. During each of his battles Naruto proves able to use numerous complicated jutsu in many ingenious ways, causing Sakura to value him as a teammate more with each passing mission. She even begins to find herself envious of Naruto's rapid progression but it also encourages her to do better as well. When Sasuke left Konoha, Sakura, unable to join the retrieval team, asked for Naruto to bring him back, believing Naruto to be the only person capable of getting through to Sasuke. Naruto promised that he will bring Sasuke back and made it his "promise of a lifetime". It is with this that Sakura realized Naruto's feelings for her as she cried for him when he is left in the hospital after his failed attempt in retrieving Sasuke. While Naruto still maintains that he will bring Sasuke back someday, Sakura resolves that next time they will bring him to Konoha together.

In Part II, Sakura begins to learn of the various hardships in Naruto's life, particularly that he is the container of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and that Akatsuki seeks to capture him because of it. Furthermore, should Akatsuki succeed in capturing Naruto and remove the demon fox from his body, Naruto will die. Because of these revelations, Sakura has acquired a worrying mentality for Naruto, and cries over the various difficulties he faces. To help him in overcoming these obstacles, Sakura has become very protective of him and she wishes to prevent him from being captured by the Akatsuki. Upon finding that the medical abilities she has learned over the timeskip are ineffective in overcoming the demon fox, Sakura tries to see if there are other things she can learn to be of more use to Naruto, Yamato observed on Sakura's determination to help Naruto in anyway she could as well and Yamato was about to explain what kind of feelings those were but Naruto woke up before anything significant could be said. Sakura is generally more accepting of Naruto's personality traits and is much more capable of working well with him, as Kakashi commented. She was also observed by Sai and Yamato, who commented on the close relationship between her and Naruto and how gentle she can be with him as well at times. She draws the line at his growing perversion, although she can be just as perverted at times.

Independent of her feelings for her teammates, Sakura's holding of herself sees a change during Part I. While she does not realize it at the time, Sakura's initial role is guarding Team 7's object of interest while Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi fight off any hostile forces. It is not until the second phase of the Chunin Exams that Sakura realizes how unfavorable this role is, as she is the sole protector of her defeated teammates during an attack by the Sound Genin. Although she attempts to fend them off with a series of preset traps, her efforts prove futile against the Genin team and Kin Tsuchi is able to grab Sakura by the hair and immobilize her. As Kin condescends her for putting more effort into her appearance than her ninja abilities, Sakura becomes distraught that people are always fighting for her because she can't fight for herself. Deciding to change this, Sakura cuts her hair with a kunai to free herself from Kin's grasp and does all in her power to battle the Sound Genin, buying enough time for reinforcements to arrive. This new resolve remains constant throughout the rest of the series, as Sakura readily comes to the aid of a teammate in need of protecting.

Within Sakura resides an "Inner Sakura", a manifestation of her inner emotions that, aside from comic relief, serves as a representation of Sakura's actual opinion on things when she outwardly displays something opposite. Inner Sakura's appearances are typically marked by an exclamation of "Shānnarō" The phrase has no literal meaning, but is usually translated as "hell yeah", "hell no", or "damn it" depending on the situation. VIZ replaced the phrase with "Cha!" in the English anime, similar to what they did with Naruto's "dattebayo" to "Believe it!". Inner Sakura's appearances are fairly infrequent, her last appearance being Sakura's fight during the Chunin Exams (where it is implied that Inner Sakura may be similar to a separate entity in Sakura's mind). Inner Sakura briefly resurfaces later on during one of the anime's filler arcs, in which she fears that she is less observant than even Naruto is, and again at the start of Part II. This large gap between appearances is likely due to Sakura becoming more comfortable with herself, and no longer having what she says contrast how she actually feels.

Plot overview

Although Sakura is present for many of her teammates' actions during Part I, she does not begin to play a key role in the plot until Part II. Her newfound place in the story is first seen during her battle with Akatsuki member Sasori whom, with the help of Chiyo, she is able to defeat. As congratulations, Sasori tells her of a spy within Orochimaru's ranks, which gives her and the rest of Team 7 a chance to find Sasuke. Despite their efforts and the help of new team member Sai, they are unsuccessful in bringing Sasuke back. Once learning of Sasuke's defeat of Orochimaru, however, Naruto and Sakura decide to try again, and after assembling an 8-man team they set out to find Sasuke or, Sasuke's target, Itachi Uchiha.

sasuke uchiha

Sasuke Uchiha (うちは サスケ Uchiha Sasuke?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. In the beginning of the story, he is member of Kakashi Hatake's Team 7, which, at the time of his membership, consists of himself, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno, making him an original member of the Rookie Nine; Sasuke later leaves the team.

Personality

At the start of the series, Sasuke's desire to get stronger is the dominating factor in his interactions with others and takes precedence over all else. As such he is initially unconcerned with the concepts of socializing, be it with his teammates or the many girls in his age group vying for his affection. Likewise, Sasuke is uninterested in working with Naruto or Sakura for the good of the mission, believing himself to be much more talented and that working with them will only make him weaker. Soon after the three set out on missions together, however, Sasuke begins to discover that these perceptions are inaccurate; Sakura is a valuable source of information, and Naruto is an effective ally and incentive to get stronger. As a result of these revelations, Sasuke begins to value his teammates more than he did during their first meeting. While he tries to deny this, his willingness to risk his life to help them even if it could mean never getting a chance to kill Itachi slowly begins to manifest, although this is partly influenced by Sasuke's belief that if he cannot fight in [this] battle, he will never be strong enough to face Itachi. In Shonen Jump's June 2006 edition, Masashi Kishimoto (in Kakashi's voice) remarks that while Sasuke is a genius, he is a little dull to teach because he learns techniques easily compared to the less predictable Naruto.

During the second phase of the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru notices this change in Sasuke's ideals, witnessing first hand Sasuke's valuing of his teammates' safety over his own. Having need for Sasuke's craving for revenge, Orochimaru brands Sasuke with the Cursed Seal of Heaven to give him a taste of the power he can have and steer him back towards the more "favorable" path of vengeance. Although Kakashi does what he can to weaken the cursed seal, discourage its usage, and give Sasuke other means of getting stronger, Sasuke comes to realize the potential the seal allows him. To test his newfound power, Sasuke begins to seek out strong opponents that he can fight, believing each victory he obtains to be an indicator of his growth. As time goes by, however, Sasuke becomes dissatisfied with the progress he is making in getting stronger, largely a result of his quick defeat by Itachi during their brief encounter. All the while, Naruto, someone he finds to be of lesser skill, continues to surpass him in ability, creating a sense of envy within Sasuke.

Ultimately, Sasuke decides to abandon Konoha in order to seek out Orochimaru and gain power. Naruto, sent to stop Sasuke from escaping the country, eventually catches up with him and pleads for him to return. Sasuke, believing Naruto to be his closest friend, decides instead to use the last bit of advice Itachi ever gave him: in order to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan, the highest power of the Uchiha clan, one's best friend must be killed. No longer valuing his teammates over his own self-betterment, Sasuke tries to kill Naruto and meets him in battle. Naruto, unwilling to let Sasuke go, fights with equal earnest, now willing to break Sasuke's body to bring him home. As the battle concludes, Sasuke attacks Naruto with his Chidori first while Naruto cannot make full contact with his Rasengan and merely scratches Sasuke's headband (in reference to Sasuke's claim that he couldn't scratch his forehead). As Naruto lies unconscious, Sasuke considers killing him, though upon realizing that that is what Itachi would want, decides to spare Naruto to find power in his own way. He goes to Orochimaru, ready to do whatever is necessary to gain the power he desires.

In Part II, Sasuke sees little change from his personality and mindset at the end of Part I, still craving power above all else. His lust for strength is such that, during his reunion with Naruto and Sakura, he claims to be willing to give his body to Orochimaru if it means killing Itachi. Sasuke has at least changed to a point that he no longer cares for his former teammates' well-beings, being more than willing to kill them since neither is of any use to him. His relationship with Orochimaru shows a similar lack of loyalty, as during their time together he applies no honorifics to Orochimaru's name, is somewhat rude to him, and does not express his allegiance with Otogakure by wearing a Sound headband. Of the loyalties Sasuke has, the only one he displays is that of the Uchiha clan, the symbol of which he wears on his back collar. Despite this lack of allegiances to those close to him, Sasuke seems to be unable to bring himself to needlessly harm those he has never met before, and makes it a point to prevent their deaths when possible.

Plot overview

Sasuke and his quest to kill Itachi are recurring themes in the overall plot, and as such much of the story is built upon and shaped by his actions that will make this task easier. After first meeting Orochimaru, Sasuke attempts to continue to get stronger while in Konoha, though he believes that he is slow in accomplishing this task in comparison to his peers. When Itachi arrives in Konoha to kidnap Naruto, Sasuke tries to use what he has learned to kill his brother, though Itachi is able to defeat him with little effort and taunts his inability to get stronger. This, coupled with Naruto's rapid increase in strength (further enhanced by his learning the Rasengan, a jutsu stronger than the Chidori), convinces Sasuke to abandon Konoha and seek out Orochimaru as a way to get stronger. While Naruto and four other Konoha Genin mobilize to stop Sasuke, he is still able to escape after narrowly defeating Naruto. Because of this, many of the people he leaves behind in Konoha resolve to bring him back, creating a number of future attempts to accomplish this task.

In Part II, one such effort proves successful in at least finding Sasuke, though Sasuke's rapid increase in strength allows him to quickly defeat Naruto, Sakura, and the newer members of Team 7. While he attempts to kill his former comrades, Sasuke is persuaded to spare them in case they can defeat more members of Akatsuki, an organization which Itachi belongs to, and therefore make him easier to kill. Soon afterwards Sasuke turns against Orochimaru, feeling that he can learn nothing else from him and that Orochimaru is unworthy of having his body. Although Orochimaru attempts to take his body by force, Sasuke is able to turn the process against him, later reporting to have simply retained control of his body. With Orochimaru gone, Sasuke recruits Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo, former subordinates and experimental subjects of Orochimaru, to help him in finding and ultimately killing Itachi. After naming their group "Snake", the group sets out find Itachi. After learning of an Akatsuki lair nearby they go to investigate where, after going in alone, Sasuke finds Itachi. After a brief scuffle Itachi remarks how much Sasuke has grown, and then tells Sasuke to meet him at the Uchiha hideout so that they can finish their dispute.

Abilities

At the start of the series, the only jutsu Naruto could do without fail was the Sexy Technique, a creative but almost completely useless diversionary technique used simply to shock his instructors. Though Naruto had trouble with the Clone Technique at the start of the series, he quickly learns how to use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and the smaller-scale Shadow Clone Technique, Jonin-level techniques, in both the first episode and chapter of the series. This particular ninjutsu grows to be his most-used technique, as it often serves as the basis for other moves. The Shadow Clone technique allows Naruto to create replicas of himself. Unlike the Clone technique, the replicas are physical beings rather than illusions, making them capable of attacking and intercepting blows, and even adding intensity to one's training. He even uses his Shadow Clones to "add" to his first jutsu to create the Harem Technique, though it is still a fairly useless technique.

At the start of the series, Naruto primarily creates Shadow Clones for the purpose of taijutsu in terms of combat. Naruto also often creates Shadow Clones to act as decoys or for other deceptive tactics, such as diverting attention away from himself so that he may use the Transformation Technique unnoticed. Naruto makes more intelligent and better control of his clones as the series progresses. In his fight with Neji, for instance, Naruto dispersed several of his clones once one was hit, creating the illusion that Neji had hit the real Naruto. Later in the series, Naruto would hide away while several clones attack, confusing the enemy when there was no Naruto remaining. During his fight with Gaara, Naruto even uses his clones as shields and platforms to bound off of in the air. By Naruto: Shippūden, Naruto's usage and timing of the technique has become more advanced. Various tactics he has shown include creating clones to push himself out of the way of an attack, transform into weapons, and fall for traps in his stead.

Naruto has also developed several advanced combat techniques using his clones. The first of these is his Uzumaki Naruto Combo, a move based on a similar move used by Sasuke. In performing this, Naruto kicks the opponent high into the air multiple times using his clones and sends them crashing to the ground with a flying kick, chanting the syllables of his name with each blow. He can perform a larger-scale version of this technique using 1999 clones, known as the Uzumaki Naruto 2k Combo. Other clone-enabled techniques include the Clone Body Blow, in which Naruto throws a clone as a projectile weapon, the Clone Spinning Heel Drop, where multiple clones axe kick the opponent simultaneously and "No-Escape Shurikens", where all active clones throw a barrage of cloned shuriken simultaneously. Some moves are unnamed, such as forming a human ladder out of clones to catch someone.

Naruto can also use his clones to aid him in his strongest offensive technique: the Rasengan, taught to him by Jiraiya. This ninjutsu, which was invented by the Fourth Hokage, is performed without hand seals. Naruto must focus his chakra into his palm and use it to create a ball of swirling chakra to strike the opponent with. Even though Jiraiya and Kakashi can perform this with one hand, Naruto cannot achieve this when he first learned it due to his poor chakra control. Instead, he uses a Shadow Clone to shape the chakra into a sphere. In Naruto: Shippūden, Naruto has demonstrated the ability to perform this technique with a single hand, but still prefers using Shadow Clones. He can also perform a larger and more devastating version of this techniqe, the Great Ball Rasengan; this version of the jutsu is unstable, though, and requires the Shadow Clone to hold on to the sphere with the real Naruto.

Much later, Kakashi teaches Naruto to manipulate elemental chakra. Naruto's elemental chakra type is revealed to be wind, which is well suited to combat for its slicing ability. The elemental training is a prerequisite to creating his own unique jutsu. This jutsu is revealed to be a combination of his elemental chakra and the Rasengan, which the Fourth Hokage had created expressly for that purpose. However, he could not manage to combine the two before his death. After much training and a few shortcuts inspired by Kakashi, Naruto creates the Wind Release: Rasengan, a much more powerful version of the original. The jutsu is capable of producing a massive crater beneath Naruto. Despite the great power of the technique, Yamato confirms that it is still only about halfway finished. Even only half-finished, Naruto's control over the technique is finely-tuned, allowing him to manipulate the wind chakra into various shapes, such as a shuriken in Wind Release: Spiraling Shuriken. The jutsu is capable of damaging every cell in the opponent's body. Such is its power that Tsunade likens the effect to poison, stating plainly how concentrated the effect is. Unfortunately, Naruto's arm suffers nearly the same damage, and the technique is only to be used as a last resort.

In battles against larger opponents such as Shukaku or Manda, Naruto attempts to use the Summoning Technique, a jutsu that requires a small offering of blood in exchange for calling forth an animal, in his case, a toad. Because of Naruto's poor chakra control, Naruto has not displayed the ability to call forth a specific toad, but he always summons either Gamakichi, Gamatatsu, or the gigantic Gamabunta. As the animals have minds of their own, Naruto has difficulty controlling them, meaning that they typically have to become motivated to fight on their own.

The demon fox's assistance

Naruto's most dangerous trait is his ability to draw chakra from the demon fox. Even without directly drawing upon it, a small amount of the demon fox's chakra is always mixed with his own. His body instinctively rejects the bulk of it due to the damage it would cause. Ebisu implies that Naruto's poor chakra control stems from this, as a portion of his chakra is used to reject the overwhelming fox chakra. According to Kakashi, Naruto's regular chakra level is about twice that of Kakashi's own. As such, he is naturally suited to jutsu that use a large amount of chakra, such as his specialty, the Shadow Clone Technique. While most ninja are only capable of creating a few clones safely, due to the jutsu's hazard of equally dividing the user's chakra among the clones, Naruto is able to create upwards of two thousand while maintaining a decent supply of chakra in each one.

The fox chakra enhances every aspect of Naruto's physiology, making him a nearly unstoppable force. His speed and strength increase far beyond that of most ninja, as does his healing rate, allowing him to regenerate even major wounds in a few seconds. His stamina is also increased beyond its normal level, allowing him to fight without tiring. Because the chakra holding back the fox's chakra is gone, Naruto also gains the ability to mold the chakra to a much finer degree, allowing one-handed Rasengans.

Under Jiraiya's tutelage, Naruto learns to draw upon(and even demand) the fox's chakra at will. While doing this, a strong aura of red chakra envelops him, although this is the only physical difference. He gains increased speed and strength and also recovers from severe injuries near instantaneously.

When Naruto is under emotional stress or in a life-threatening situation (or a combination), he is able to draw upon a larger amount of chakra than normal. The whiskers on his cheeks expand and enlarge, his eyes change from blue to bloodshot red, his fingernails grow to become small claws, and his canines enlarge. He gains an enormous boost in strength and speed, and anything short of a fully-matured Sharingan has trouble keeping up. He can produce powerful shockwaves of chakra by screaming, and his healing factor increases as well. In this form, Naruto can still retain some of his personality, although he is much more violent and bloodthirsty than normal.

If Naruto musters enough of the fox's chakra, a chakra shield is summoned. This shield is capable of acting on its own as a separate entity, making it difficult to predict Naruto's movements. The shield created by the demon fox's chakra is perhaps the most versatile defense seen in the series, since it is impervious to almost any attack. The shield can also stretch and skew to many sizes and lengths, allowing Naruto to attack opponents from a distance. Additionally, Naruto can use it to create waves of concentrated chakra to repel opponents. In Naruto's four-tailed state, the chakra shield is intense enough to burn others and act as a potent poison.

Naruto's state of mind coincides with his tailed transformation states, which are characterized by a fox-shaped shield of chakra surrounding Naruto with a number of tails to indicate the amount of chakra. Naruto becomes more powerful with each "tail" the chakra shield grows, but also loses more of himself to the demon fox. Up to his three-tailed state, he remains in control, though somewhat more feral than normal. He also starts feeling pain from the intense chakra. In his three-tailed state, Naruto has to fight the demon fox for dominance, and the chakra is intense enough to not only cause him pain, but anyone in the vicinity as well. Once he reaches his four-tailed state, the demon fox becomes dominant. In this state, which is the highest state Naruto has reached, Naruto's mind becomes mixed with the demon fox's, causing the regular Naruto to fade out. As Jiraiya describes it, Naruto becomes a miniature version of the demon fox.

Even with all of its benefits, Naruto's human body can only handle so much of the demon fox's chakra, as demon chakra is far more intense than human chakra. As he draws upon greater amounts of the demon fox's chakra, his own body is weakened. In his four-tailed state, the demon fox's chakra is so intense that it constantly burns Naruto's skin, causing him to bleed from every pore. This causes his blood to mix with the demon fox's chakra, creating a red chakra shield. In addition to the constant damage, the demon fox's chakra also constantly regenerates Naruto's damaged tissue. This repeated cycle of damage and repair severely weakens Naruto's cellular structure, shortening his overall lifespan in a manner similar to Tsunade's Creation Rebirth jutsu.

Team 7

Naruto's growth in the series is promoted primarily by his relationships with the others in his four-man cell, Team 7. Among the group were Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake, their Jonin squad leader. Naruto's motivation is often a combination of his desire to impress Sakura and his aspiration to surpass Sasuke.

Sakura Haruno

Naruto's relationship with Sakura begins on rocky ground. Sakura had been Naruto's long-time crush; unfortunately for him, Sakura did not think much of Naruto at first. Her judgment was partially influenced by his rivalry with her own long-time crush, Sasuke Uchiha. In addition to this, Naruto's childish attitude played a role in her initial dislike, and she was likely influenced by the other villagers' shunning of Naruto, as with most other children, even though she was unaware that Naruto was the demon fox's host until Part II. Sakura's view of Naruto improves after a while, however; she observes Naruto's growth throughout the series, occasionally even pointing out her desire to be as strong as he is, although she sometimes seeks to improve herself to avoid being inferior to Naruto, which she believes is particularly humiliating.

Naruto's relationship with Sakura seems to have matured after the time skip: though he still seems to have his deep crush on Sakura, he genuinely admires Sakura's healing abilities. Naruto and Sakura have a very easy time communicating with each other, despite the nearly three-year separation. They are capable of having a casual conversation together, and they seem to like spending time together. Regardless of their closer bond, Naruto and Sakura still have the same sort of childish disputes from before the time skip on occasion.

Sasuke Uchiha

Perhaps Naruto's most defining relationship, the bond between Naruto and Sasuke remains at the core of the series. The two are both rivals and friends, though more of the former than the latter. Their rivalry pushes them to outperform one another, which makes it a mutually beneficial relationship. The opinions of this greatly differ, however. While Naruto sees himself as an equal to Sasuke, or at least works his way up to that point, Sasuke sees himself as stronger than Naruto and frequently calls him a "loser". As such, whenever Sasuke finds that Naruto is either catching up to him or surpassing him, Sasuke feels as though he is inferior or weak. This opinion is not helped by the fact that Naruto is usually the most responsible for their team's victories, notably in the Invasion of Konoha Arc, when Naruto defeats Gaara after Sasuke fails to do so.

Sasuke's defection from the village leads to a grand battle between the two friends, during which their true sentiments are expressed. Naruto refuses to let Sasuke go, for fear that his greatest friendship will end. During this battle, Sasuke finally recognizes Naruto as an equal, and although Sasuke barely wins, he spares Naruto on a whim, realizing that killing him would be doing what his brother Itachi wants him to do. Naruto's drive to save and locate Sasuke remains at the core of early filler arcs and stays evident throughout several other episodes.

Sasuke's defection still affects Naruto and Sakura after the time skip; Sasuke is still a touchy subject for both of them. When Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke finally meet again, Sasuke greets them as he did when they became a team- with cold indifference- and even attempts to kill the two. Naruto and Sakura are clearly upset that he is no longer the Sasuke they knew. After his reunion with Sasuke, Naruto sinks into a deep depression. This is short lived, however. Even as an enemy, Sasuke still motivates Naruto; no longer is it through rivalry, but through the hope that they may one day be friends again. With his last encounter with Sasuke driving him, Naruto becomes more serious and focused than he's ever been.

Naruto and the demon fox

Being the host of the demon fox, Naruto occasionally takes on characteristics of the demon fox's violent and mischiveous behavior. Physically, Naruto has some of the demon fox's characteristics, such as whisker-like marks on his cheeks and larger canines than normal. His eyes are also somewhat slitted like a fox. He also has increased stamina and healing ability, which allows him to recover from major injuries within a day and minor injuries within a few seconds. Mentally, Naruto remains largely unaffected, save for a few animalistic traits that slip through, such as his occasional tendency to leap between trees on all fours. Since the demon fox was sealed inside Naruto at birth, it is unclear just what parts of his personality it has had an effect on; however, it could explain Naruto's devilish side for pulling pranks to gain attention, as well as his stubbornness to never back down from a challenge. These traits become more pronounced as he draws upon the demon fox's chakra.

The kitsune is a well-known character in Japanese folklore, and the influence behind not only the demon fox but many other reincarnations in modern Japanese culture. It likes to play tricks and pranks on people, and on occasions transforms itself into a beautiful woman and seduces a man (similar to Naruto's "Sexy no Jutsu"). Also, Kitsune are known to keep their promises, a trait Naruto has, as his "ninja way" is to "never go back on [his] word." It should also be noted that every time Naruto loses control and is overwhelmed by the demon fox's chakra, he seemingly gains another "tail" of chakra. The chakra that surrounds his body and its "tail" act as a sort of shield most of the time, until it gets to as high as four "tails". This stems from the belief that the more tails a kitsune has, the more powerful it is, with nine tails usually being the limit.

At first, the fox demon's chakra only exposed itself when Naruto encountered life-threatening situations, or the feeling of extreme stress or rage. Later, Naruto learns to unlock this chakra through training, as well as demanding it from the fox demon. The reason Naruto is able to access its chakra is because of the unique way in which it was sealed. Though the fox remains trapped within Naruto, its chakra can leak out through the seal and mix with Naruto's. The fox's near-limitless supply of chakra becomes an invaluable weapon for Naruto, often turning the tide of a difficult battle in his favor. Beyond that, the fox's chakra seems to increase in intensity with time. Several external methods can be used to suppress it once this occurs, such as Jiraiya's sealing talisman or Yamato's sealing techniques.

This tremendous power is not without its disadvantages, however. When he first accesses it, Naruto is unable to retain control when using the demon fox's chakra, allowing its innate rage and anger to take over his personality. Over time, Naruto gains more control over the demon fox, allowing him to retain his personality while using its chakra. However, his degree of control is determined by the amount of chakra he draws upon and his emotional state. As he becomes more emotional and draws on more of the demon fox's chakra, his own personality is gradually supplanted by the demon fox's. When Naruto completely loses control and grows four chakra "tails" the demon fox's personality takes control. His body is completely covered in the fox's chakra to a point where he looks like a miniature demon fox as his body acts like a skeleton for it. Because his body is completely covered in the fox's chakra, it is constantly destroying and healing his skin, therefore shortening his lifespan.

Personality (naruto uzumaki)

Before graduating from the Ninja Academy, Naruto had a fierce desire for attention. As a result, Naruto would prank the villagers and vandalize the monument that depicted the Hokages, Naruto's skill in ninjutsu was very limited at the beginning of the series, his most dangerous jutsu being his "Sexy Technique"; transforming himself into a naked female version of himself simply to stun his male instructors, even stunning the Third Hokage on several occasions. Naruto is determined to achieve the rank of Hokage for recognition. When he graduates and learns under an official ninja master, he becomes the "Number One Loudest, Unpredictable, Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja" of Konoha, as described by his teacher Kakashi Hatake.

Naruto's exuberant personality and fiery desire for self-improvement strongly impacts the lives of those around him. At the beginning of the series, Naruto befriends Konohamaru, the grandson of the Third Hokage, and it is through his brief tutelage that Konohamaru learns that the path to success is through hard work. Despite his brash, headstrong, and even slightly dumb nature, Naruto is a clever prankster who overcomes his opponents through a combination of willpower, clever diversions, and often, dumb luck (though as Kakashi states, luck is very important).

Naruto has a great sense of humor, albeit somewhat perverted in some cases, and smiles and laughs at most times. Despite this at times, he smiles to hide whatever is bothering him so no one worries about him; those who are closest to him see right through it. Outside his world, he's just an ordinary, loud, hotheaded kid with a fierce will and a knack for getting into trouble. Naruto also has a less keen sense of etiquette than many of his peers do, typically saying what he means regardless of how he believes the listener will react to it, and rarely using honorifics for people. While most people call Tsunade "Tsunade-sama", ("Lady Tsunade" in the English dub) he refers to her as "Tsunade-baachan", ("Granny Tsunade", or "Grandma Tsunade" in the English dub), taking a jab at her age.

One of Naruto's hobbies is gardening, even though Naruto was beaten in episode 20 for not knowing the difference between weeds and herbs, though this may have been due to carelessness in his effort to outdo Sasuke Uchiha. He is the one who gives Kakashi Mr. Ukki, the plant seen on Kakashi's windowsill. Kishimoto once described how he had the same plant for a while until he fed it undiluted plant food.

In the Japanese versions, Naruto often ends his sentences with "dattebayo," and as such has a unique style of speech. In manga and anime, characters are frequently given speech quirks (rather than pure dialect/speech variations) in order to make them sound childish, girlish, tough, cute, and the like. The "-ttebayo" suffix is used to emphasize something the speaker already said, primarily as an attention-getting device among children. Throughout the beginning of the series, Viz replaced the ending with the phrase "Believe it!" to mirror the effect, as well as to match the character's lip movements, though they seem to have abandoned its use as of late.

Despite rapidly maturing throughout the series, Naruto retains a naive streak and a knack for childish accessories. For example, his pajamas always include a comical black nightcap with eyes and teeth. Naruto also keeps his money in a chubby, green-frog wallet he affectionately calls "Gama-chan".

Naruto is an avid eater with an appetite comparable to Choji Akimichi's. His favorite food, ramen, serves as a bond between Naruto and anyone who would treat him to it. In several episodes, he can be seen devouring enormous servings of ramen in a variety of flavors. However, an opportunity to eat any sort of food usually leaves Naruto lying down and exclaiming, "Whew, I ate too much!" with an exaggerated pot belly.

Though Naruto is usually quite dense in most cases, which usually often results in Sakura Haruno hitting him, missing details that are obvious to the viewer and many other characters, he can actually be quite observant when he wants to be, or the subject interests. During their first meeting with Rock Lee, it is Naruto who points out to the rest of Team 7 that Lee's handwraps hide his battered and bruised knuckles, indicating Lee is the type of person who trains non-stop.

Naruto's perpetual determination and refusal to back down has been known to rub onto other characters from time to time. Naruto's cheering has rekindled spirits of fighters in hopeless situations, most notably Hinata Hyuga, whose admiration for Naruto's persistence causes her to develop a crush on him. Naruto's willingness to risk death to save his friends has even carried onto Gaara, a previously impulsively murderous child who also is host to a demon. Under Naruto's positive influence, Gaara has become more aware of lives other than his own, to the point that he would sacrifice himself for his village. Naruto's numerous monologues about the values he holds dear have inspired changes of heart in many more of his opponents, notably Zabuza Momochi and Neji Hyuga.

Although Naruto grew up in isolation, Kakashi notes that he has an ability to make friends with everyone he meets, and often quickly changes how they view him. While Kurenai Yuhi thinks that Naruto has no chance to defeat her student Kiba Inuzuka in the Chunin exam preliminaries, her opinion of him gradually changes as Naruto withstands Kiba's attacks and outwits him, and Kurenai finally admits to herself that Kiba should not be ashamed of losing to Naruto.[18] This ability to find friends sets Naruto apart from others who had lived in isolation, and Naruto suspects that without this ability, he would have become like some of the evil people he faced.

In Naruto: Shippūden, after a two-and-a-half year time skip, Naruto shows physical growth and sports a new outfit. Naruto is now noticeably taller than Sakura, (In Part I, he is made fun of for being shorter than her) and some of his other friends, (Kiba even states Naruto has become a "giant"). However, Naruto is still a Genin, since he hasn't had a chance to take the Chunin Exams again, while the rest of the Konoha 11 have become Chunin, and Neji subequently becomes a Jonin. He is initially jealous that Gaara has become the Fifth Kazekage- thereby achieving the equivalent of Naruto's lifelong dream- but is happy for him. According to Tsunade, Naruto is also slowly adopting some of Jiraiya's perverted traits. During his apprenticeship under Jiraiya, Naruto was able to read ten pages of the latest of the "Icha Icha" series written by Jiraiya, although when he presents a copy to Kakashi, he says he thought it was boring.

Naruto appears to not only have increased in strength, speed, and techniques, but intelligence as well; Kakashi had even said that Naruto has become more cunning. During his training, Kakashi remarks that he believes Naruto will surpass himself as well as the Fourth Hokage and later, even sees a vision of the Fourth Hokage around Naruto. After Naruto shows off the results of his special training, Kakashi admits that Naruto has surpassed himself.

background (naruto uzumaki)

Naruto was born on October 10 in the fictional village of Konoha to Kushina Uzumaki and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. When Naruto was a newborn infant, the powerful nine-tailed demon fox attacked his village. In order to save the village from destruction, the demon fox was sealed in Naruto's newborn body by his father, the active Hokage at the time, who sacrificed his life to do so.

Despite the Fourth Hokage's dying wish that Naruto be viewed as a hero for serving as the container for the demon, the adult villagers of Konoha harbored a fierce hatred for him. Many believed that Naruto and the demon were one and the same and openly displayed an abhorrence towards Naruto, thus leading to the unknowing village children picking up the adults' hatred. However, no one told Naruto about what his body harbored until he was twelve years old, leaving him confused for most of his childhood as to why the villagers of Konoha treated him with hostility.
The demon fox, the nine-tailed beast.

Naruto is seen to be a prankster and a loner. He lives alone in a small apartment and has supposedly done so for years. Even though Naruto was treated as an outsider, he was befriended by his compassionate ninja instructor named Iruka Umino when he was twelve. Although Iruka's own parents perished during the battle with the demon fox, he refused to view Naruto as the cause of their deaths. Instead, Iruka attached himself to Naruto because he was similarly isolated after the death of his parents. Naruto was deeply moved by Iruka's kindness and confidence in him. As a result, Naruto now values Iruka as a father figure, as well as an instructor.

about naruto

Naruto is a manga series written and illustrated by manga artist Masashi Kishimoto with an anime adaptation. The main character, Naruto Uzumaki, is a loud, hyperactive, predictable adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition, as well as to become Hokage, acknowledged as the leader and strongest of all ninja in the village.

The manga was first published by Shueisha in 1999 in the 43rd issue of Japan's Shonen Jump magazine. As of volume 36, the manga has sold over 71 million copies in Japan. Viz Media publishes a translated version in the American Shonen Jump magazine. Naruto has become Viz's best-selling manga series. To date, the first 18 volumes are available. In order to catch up to the translated anime, Viz plans to release volumes 16 to 27 three at a time over the months of September to December 2007.

The first of two anime series, produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex, premiered across Japan on the terrestrial TV Tokyo network and the anime satellite television network Animax on October 3, 2002, and is still being aired. Viz also licensed the anime for North American production. Naruto debuted in the United States on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block on September 10, 2005, and in Canada on YTV's Bionix on September 16, 2005. Naruto began showing in the UK on Jetix on July 22, 2006. It began showing on Toasted TV on January 12, 2007 in Australia, although it could be watched on Cartoon Network in 2006. The first series lasted nine seasons, while Naruto: Shippūden began its first on February 15, 2007.

Plot introduction

Twelve years before the events at the focus of the series, the nine-tailed demon fox attacked Konohagakure. Powerful enough to raise tsunamis and flatten mountains with a swish of one of its tails, it raised chaos and slaughtered many people, until the leader of the Leaf Village – the Fourth Hokage – sacrificed his own life to seal the demon inside his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki. The Fourth Hokage, who was celebrated as a hero for sealing the demon fox away, wanted Naruto to be respected in a similar light by being the containment vessel for the demon fox.

The Leaf Village, however, shunned him, regarding Naruto as if he were the demon fox itself and mistreated him throughout most of his childhood. A decree made by the Third Hokage forbade anyone to discuss or mention the attack of the demon fox to anyone, even their own children. However, this did not stop them from treating him like an outcast and as a result he grew up an orphan without friends, family, or acknowledgment. He could not force people to befriend him, so he sought acknowledgment and attention the only way he knew – through pranks and mischief.

However, that soon changed after Naruto graduated from the Ninja Academy by using his Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, a technique from a forbidden scroll that he was tricked into stealing, to save his teacher, Iruka Umino, from the renegade ninja Mizuki. That encounter gave Naruto two insights: that he was the container of the demon fox, and that there was someone besides the Third Hokage who actually cared for and acknowledged him. His graduation from the academy opened a gateway to the events and people that would change and define his world, including his way of the ninja for the rest of his life.[4]

The main story follows Naruto and his friends' personal growth and development as ninja, and emphasizes their interactions with each other and the influence of their backgrounds on their personalities. Naruto finds two friends and comrades in Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, two fellow young ninja who are assigned with him to form a three-person team under an experienced sensei named Kakashi Hatake. Naruto also confides in other characters that he meets throughout the series as well. They learn new abilities, get to know each other and other villagers better, and experience a coming-of-age journey as Naruto dreams of becoming the Hokage of the Leaf Village.

Throughout all of the Naruto plot, strong emphasis on character development changes the plot, with very few things happening because of chance. At first, emphasis is placed on Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who are the members of Team 7. However, other characters are developed, such as Kakashi, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, as well as Naruto's peers in the other teams and villages. Several major villains come into play as well, the first being Zabuza Momochi, a missing-nin from Kirigakure, and his partner, Haku. Later, in the Chunin Exams arc, Orochimaru is introduced as an S-Class missing-nin at the top of Konoha's most wanted list. Later still, a mysterious organization called Akatsuki begins to pursue Naruto for the nine-tailed demon fox inside him.

Characters

Naruto has a large and colorful cast of characters, running a gamut of detailed histories and complex personalities, and allowing many of them their fair share in the spotlight; they are also seen to grow and mature with the series, as it spans several years. As fitting for a coming-of-age saga, Naruto's world constantly expands and thickens, and his social relations are no exception – during his introduction he has only his teacher and the village's leader for sympathetic figures, but as the story progresses, more and more people become a part of his story.

The students at the Ninja Academy, where the story begins, are split up into squads of three after their graduation and become Genin, junior ninja. Each squad is assigned an experienced sensei. These core squads form a basis for the characters' interactions later in the series, where characters are chosen for missions for their team's strength and complementary skills; Naruto's squad 7 becomes the social frame where Naruto is acquainted with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, and their sensei Kakashi Hatake, forming the core of his world-in-the-making. The other three-man teams of his former classmates form another such layer, as Naruto connects with them to various degrees, learning of their motives, vulnerabilities, and aspirations, often relating them to his own. The groups of three are not limited to the comrades Naruto's age – groups in the story in general come in threes and multiples of three with very few exceptions.

Sensei-student relationships play a significant role in the series; Naruto has a number of mentors with whom he trains and learns, most notably Iruka Umino, the first ninja to recognize Naruto's existence, Kakashi Hatake, his team leader, and Jiraiya, and there are often running threads of tradition and tutelage binding together several generations. These role models provide guidance for their students not only in the ninja arts but also in a number of Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideals. Techniques, ideals, and mentalities noticeably run in families, Naruto often being exposed to the abilities and traditions of generation-old clans in his village when friends from his own age group demonstrate them, or even achieve improvements of their own; it is poignantly noted that Naruto's generation is particularly talented.

Character names often borrow from Japanese folklore and literature (such as the names borrowed from the folktale Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari), or are otherwise elaborate puns; often there is a noticeable influence of the story behind the name shouldered by the character.

Anime details

Even though it debuted some time after the manga, the anime quickly caught up, since one anime episode usually covers one or two manga chapters. To prevent overlapping, the anime's producers tend to organize content from the manga chapters into long, uneventful sections followed by short bursts of action, sometimes adding filler content in between. By the time the last canonical arc of the anime concluded, it was quickly gaining on the manga and consequently switched to anime-only filler episodes to allow the manga to broaden the gap once more. Most of the filler episodes are stand-alone stories, with a few being part of arcs that are several episodes long. The filler episodes lasted for 85 episodes, the duration of the first series. After the series moved back into manga-adapted episodes, it was renamed Naruto: Shippūden. The new series premiered on February 15, 2007.

The anime generally remains true to the manga, usually changing only minor details (causes of death, loss of limbs, and other injuries have been lessened in the anime) or expanding on parts skipped by the manga. The filler arcs, though unreferenced in the manga (save for a few scant scenes), deal with the breaks between story arcs, most prominently the period between the mission to retrieve Sasuke and Naruto's departure from Leaf Village at the end of the original series. The filler arcs also often shine the spotlight on minor characters that have received little narrative attention otherwise.

New episodes, animated by Studio Pierrot, air weekly on TV Tokyo in Japan during the Golden Time slot (Japan's equivalent of prime time in the US). As of October 5, 2006, it shows on Thursday nights. The series has also spawned four movies, Naruto the Movie, Naruto the Movie 2, Naruto the Movie 3, and Naruto: Shippūden the Movie. The first three are available on DVD,while the fourth one was released on August 4th 2007.

English-language broadcast

On September 10, 2005, Naruto had its hour-long premiere in the U.S. on Cartoon Network's Toonami. The first episode of Naruto premiered in Canada on YTV on September 16, 2005. In the United Kingdom, Naruto premiered on Jetix on July 22, 2006. In Australia and New Zealand it premiered on Cartoon Network on September 27, 2006. It also began showing on Toasted TV on January 12, 2007, in Australia.

In the US, Naruto maintains a TV-PG rating in every episode. Most usually are rated TV-PG-V for episodes with heavy violence, while others (usually assosiated with Jiraya) are rated TV-PG-D or S. References to alcohol, Japanese cultural differences, mild language, mild sexual situations, and even blood and death remain in the English version, though reduced in some instances.[citation needed] Other networks make additional content edits apart from the edits done by Cartoon Network, such as Jetix's more strict censoring of blood, language, smoking and the like. So far, only one episode, the "lost OVA", has received a TV-Y7-FV rating, but this was likely due to Cartoon Network neglecting to update the rating for usually in the timeslot that this special ran in TV-Y7-FV programs ran. Repeated viewings (such as the on August 8, 2007) have listed the special as TV-PG-V, As did all commercials for the special. (wikipedia)