THE GREAT SANIN

November 21, 2009

 

 TSUNADE

Tsunade (綱手) was the Fifth Hokage (五代目火影, Godaime Hokage; Literally meaning “Fifth Fire Shadow”) of Konohagakure, taking over after Hiruzen Sarutobi died; she was replaced by Danzo, however, after she went into a coma during Pain’s invasion.

Tsunade is the only known still-living member of the Senju clan; she is directly descended from the First Hokage, her grandfather Hashirama Senju–and is related to the Second Hokage, her granduncle Tobirama Senju. Along with Orochimaru and Jiraiya, Tsunade is one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha; and as of Jiraiya’s death and Orochimaru’s permanent sealing, Tsunade is the only one of her former comrads who is still alive.

Tsunade excels in medical ninjutsu and was referred to by Shikaku as the world’s strongest and most beautiful kunoichi. Jiraiya also mentioned that Tsunade was the only ninja in the world who could spike a drink without a shinobi knowing it.

Tsunade
Tsunade綱手TsunadeFifth Hokage (五代目火影, Godaime Hokage), Konoha’s Slug Princess Tsunade (木ノ葉のナメクジ綱手姫, Konoha no Namekuji Tsunade-hime), The Legendary Sucker (伝説のカモ, Densetsu no Kamo)
Debut (Manga)	Chapter 148
Debut (Anime)	Naruto Episode 85
Appears in	Anime and Manga
Seiyū (Japanese)	Masako Katsuki Haruhi Terada (as a child)
Voice actor(s) (English)	Debi Mae West Megan Hollingshead (as a child) Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (video games)
Voice actor(s) (Spanish)	Dulce Guerrero
Highest rank	Kage
Classification	Sannin, Medical-nin
Birthdate	August 2
Age	Part I: 51 Part II: 53-54
Height	163.1 cm1.631 m 5.351 ft 64.213 in
Weight	48.9 kg107.806 lb
Gender	Female
Blood type	B
Affiliation	Konohagakure
Team	Team Hiruzen
Occupation	Hokage
[hide] Family Nawaki (Younger brother) Hashirama Senju (Grandfather) Tobirama Senju (Granduncle) Dan (Lover)
[hide] Jutsu   Advanced Transformation Technique Chakra Enhanced Strength Chakra Scalpel Creation Rebirth Four-Corner Sealing Barrier (Anime only) Genjutsu Binding (Anime only) Important Body Points Disturbance Mystical Palm Technique Painful Sky Leg Summoning Technique (Slugs) Yin Seal: Release           BACKGROUND   Tsunade as a young child   sunade is the granddaughter of the First Hokage, and the grandniece of the Second Hokage, leading other characters to call her “Princess” (姫, Hime). She is, along with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, a former student of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. Tsunade is well-known for her extremely large breasts (106 centimeters, according to Jiraiya estimate), despite the fact that Jiraiya referred to her as “flat-chested Tsunade” during their childhood. In addition, during a flashback, it is shown that Team Hiruzen underwent the same initial training as Team Kakashi, and had to capture bells from their sensei. The flashback shows Tsunade and Orochimaru were the ones to capture one bell each out of the two existent ones, while Jiraiya was tied to a pole. During the Second Great Shinobi World War, Tsunade and her former teammates fought Hanzo, who gave them the title of Konoha’s “Three Legendary Shinobi” (伝説の三忍, Densetsu no Sannin) as a reward for surviving the strife of their battle. On their way back to Konoha, they encountered the Ame Orphans, who Jiraiya chose to train. Throughout the war, she would become famous for frequently counteracting Chiyo’s poisoning attempts, earning contempt from Chiyo because of it. Furthermore, according to Jiraiya, Tsunade was the one to bring them victory in the war. At some point throughout, however, on her brother’s twelfth birthday, Tsunade gave him their grandfather’s crystal necklace, in the hopes that it would help him achieve his dream of becoming Hokage. The next day, he died as a casualty of the war, which returned the necklace to Tsunade’s possession. Sometime afterwards, Tsunade fell in love with a man named Dan, who also wanted to become Hokage. As a sign of her affection, and in the hopes that it would help make his dreams come true, Tsunade gave him the amulet as well. Dan, too, would go on to die a bloody death during the course of the war, once again returning the necklace to her possession. With the deaths of the two she loved the most, Tsunade came to lose faith in the title of Hokage, believing that only fools would want such a position. With these changes of ideals, Tsunade left Konoha with Dan’s niece, Shizune, taking her in as her apprentice. Personality The deaths of Dan and Nawaki greatly changed Tsunade; Dan’s death, and her failed attempt to save him, gave her hemophobia (a fear of blood), causing her to freeze upon seeing it. The repeated returns of the necklace 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. 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, though her habits are rarely any better. On occasion, though, Tsunade shows sympathy for others, consoling Shikamaru that, while he failed his mission to return Sasuke to Konoha, all of his teammates survived. This is also shown when she worked hard in order to help heal Rock Lee, so that he might continue to be a ninja. She also allowed herself to cry when she learned of Jiraiya’s death, though not in public view. Tsunade is also 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), for the gross profits others have made off of 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 do tend to happen to her or her comrades afterwards. The symbol on the back of her coat, 賭 (kake), means “gamble”, or “wager”, as gambling is one of her favorite pastimes. As Hokage, Tsunade has shown the same level of loyalty to the village that previous Hokages held; during the invasion of Pain, she released all of her chakra in order to save the lives of hundreds of people within Konoha, at great personal risk. Tsunade also has a great deal of faith in the next generation, and sees the potential that Naruto and the rest of the Konoha 11 hold. Tsunade has a pet pig, Tonton, that is usually kept in the care of Shizune. Part I Search for Tsunade arc After his failed invasion of Konoha, Orochimaru sought out Tsunade. Upon finding her, he asked her for a favor, though before he could specify what this favor was, she declined, having already noticed his wounded arms. Trying again, Orochimaru asked her to heal his arms, explaining that the injury was a result of his carelessness when killing the Third Hokage. Shocked by this revelation, Tsunade prepared to kill Orochimaru, though he once again intervened by offering to resurrect her dead loved ones: Dan and Nawaki. Interested in this offer, Tsunade considered it, and was left a week to decide. Soon afterward, Tsunade was approached by Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki, who wanted her to become the next Hokage. After turning down the offer, and ridiculing it, Naruto challenged Tsunade to a fight, enraged that someone could disrespect the title of Hokage, due to his undying desire to become Hokage himself. Tsunade accepted, and easily won, though not before witnessing Naruto’s attempt at using the Rasengan. Intrigued, Tsunade made a bet with Naruto to master the jutsu in a week; if he won, he would get the First Hokage’s necklace, and if Naruto did not master the Rasengan within a week, Tsunade would get all the money he was carrying. Naruto accepted the bet, and resumed his training. As the week progressed, Tsunade kept a careful eye on Naruto’s progress, and all the while contemplated Orochimaru’s offer. When the week was up, and Naruto appeared to have failed in mastering the jutsu, Tsunade went to meet Orochimaru, though not before drugging Jiraiya to make sure he didn’t interfere. Upon meeting with Orochimaru, Tsunade asked that he not destroy Konoha when his arms were healed. Orochimaru agreed, and Tsunade prepared to heal him, though was interrupted by Orochimaru’s assistant, Kabuto Yakushi. Kabuto, being a medical ninja himself, was able to notice the killing intent of Tsunade’s healing jutsu, and as such, knew that she really intended to kill Orochimaru. Her motives known, Tsunade revealed that she knew Orochimaru had lied when saying he’d leave Konoha alone, and that she couldn’t bring herself to allow it, due to Nawaki and Dan having loved Konoha until the end of their days. While she had tried to forget this fact over the years, Naruto’s determination and desire to be Hokage reminded her of their dreams, and she had decided to do whatever was necessary to protect those dreams. With that, Tsunade attacked Orochimaru, though Kabuto fought her in his place. As the two traded blows, Kabuto began to realize that he was completely outmatched, and decided to use her fear of blood to his advantage, by slitting his wrists, thus making her immovable. As Kabuto began to beat on Tsunade, Shizune and Naruto came to her rescue. While both were easily defeated, Naruto was able to overcome his injuries, and continued to protect Tsunade. Although Tsunade told him to run, Naruto refused, and managed to hit Kabuto with a perfected Rasengan in his effort to protect her, defeating Kabuto. As Naruto collapsed, and was left near death due to Kabuto’s last attack, Tsunade rushed to his aid, and attempted to heal him, not willing to allow him to die. Her efforts were successful, and Naruto claimed the amulet he had now won, before losing consciousness. Putting the necklace around his neck, Tsunade asked once more for its wearer to become Hokage. Tsunade with the Hokage Hat. Orochimaru, worrying about what kind of threat Naruto might become when he got older, tried to kill him, though Tsunade blocked that attack, using herself as a human shield. Orochimaru inquired as to why she was protecting Naruto, to which she replied that Naruto would someday be Hokage, and that she would not allow him to die before that happened. With that, Tsunade accepted the title of Fifth Hokage that she had been offered, and overcame her fear of blood, her first action being to eliminate Orochimaru. Joining forces with the still drugged Jiraiya, the two attacked Orochimaru. The battle between the Sannin began as all three Sannin summoned their strongest summonings. Tsunade summoned Katsuyu, Orochimaru summoned Manda and Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta. After that Tsunade eventually being the one to deal the finishing blow. Defeated, Orochimaru escaped, vowing to destroy Konoha once he’d healed himself. Once Naruto recovered, the group returned to Konoha, Tsunade ready to take the role Dan and Nawaki so dearly desired, and secretly believing that Naruto would someday become a great Hokage. Sasuke Retrieval arc Soon after arriving in Konoha to take her place as Hokage, Tsunade healed the wounds of Rock Lee, Kakashi Hatake, and Sasuke Uchiha. After her return to Konohagakure, Tsunade gave a grim prognosis on Rock Lee’s condition. She stated that the only procedure that could allow him to return to duty as a Ninja, was one that she alone was capable of performing, and it only had a 50/50 chance of success; if it didn’t succeed then it would prove to be fatal for Lee. Not liking the odds of such a dangerous procedure, Tsunade advised Lee that it was best that he retire as a ninja and find another profession. In the original story, Rock Lee finally agreed to undergo the procedure at the beherst of his sensei, Might Guy; in the anime, while Lee is struggling to decide what he should do, Tsunade couldn’t get Lee’s dilemma out of her head, decided to try and do something for him, even if it could only raise his chances from 50% to 51%. Thinking back to how she had saw Kabuto withstand Naruto’s Rasengan, Tsunade used the same idea as Kabuto’s technique as an inspiration to expand on the life-threatening operation and improved Lee’s chances of survival from 50% to 58%. When Sasuke defected from the village some point after he himself was healed, so that he could go to Orochimaru, Tsunade was forced to send out a group of Genin to try and stop and retrieve him. She also used Konoha’s reacquired alliance with Sunagakure to call in a favor for reinforcements, hoping to give the retrieval team some back-up. Despite her efforts, the group ultimately failed, and Tsunade helped in healing their fatal injuries, bringing them back to full health. In the aftermath of Sasuke’s betrayal, Sakura Haruno asked to become Tsunade’s apprentice, which Tsunade gladly accepted. Pre-Shippūden filler arcs Tsunade appeared in numerous filler arcs, though she typically did nothing more than sending others out on missions, occasionally trying new ways of deciding who would go on a specific mission. Her goal during the filler arcs was to keep Naruto busy until Jiraiya came back, to prevent him from going after Sasuke himself. In one filler arc, she saved Team 10 from the Legendary Stupid Brothers with a quick display of her strength. In another filler, she summoned Katsuyu to deal with some impersonators of Rock Lee and Might Guy, who had entered the village. Part II After Naruto’s return to Konoha after the timeskip, the village’s elders questioned Tsunade’s decision to allow Naruto to go out on missions when Akatsuki sought to capture him. As such, the elders forced Tsunade to allow one of the men of Danzo, a fierce opponent of the Third Hokage, to be teamed with Naruto. Not trusting Danzo, Tsunade assigned Yamato to lead Naruto, and to keep an eye on Danzo’s addition to the team. Hidan and Kakuzu arc Later, when two Akatsuki members entered the Land of Fire - namely Hidan and Kakuzu - Tsunade mobilized the Nijū Shōtai to look for and, if possible, capture the Akatsuki duo. While capture never came to be possible, the Akatsuki members were both defeated. Tsunade later performed an autopsy on Kakuzu, and found Naruto’s newest jutsu, Wind Release: Rasenshuriken to be too dangerous for use, based on the damage done to Kakuzu’s body and Naruto’s arm. She explained that the attack had struck at a cellular level, causing extensive damage to the both of them, and regretfully told Kakashi and Yamato not to allow Naruto to use the jutsu again. The Three-Tails Arrival arc In the anime, after finishing her autopsy on Kakuzu, Tsunade received a report from a deceased ANBU captain about Orochimaru and Sasuke’s whereabouts. She called for Kakashi, and put him in charge of Team 8 to investigate. Because the mission involved a chance of finding Sasuke, Tsunade tried to keep Naruto from finding out about it. He found out anyway, so Tsunade didn’t hesitate to send him as back-up. Later, Tsunade received news that Team Kakashi had encountered the Three-Tailed Demon Turtle. Deciding that they needed to capture the beast quickly, as to not let it fall into enemy hands, Tsunade ordered Tenten, Rock Lee, and Ino Yamanaka to aid Team Kakashi in sealing the beast. Before sending them out, Tsunade made a large and special scroll to aid the team in sealing the beast. She also decided to summon and send out Katsuyu for further assistance. When the forces they sent continued to have problems with the sealing, Tsunade called them back to Konoha, and sent some ANBU to replace them. After she heard about the ANBU losing contact with Konoha, and the disappearance of the Three-Tails, Tsunade suspected that Akatsuki were somehow involved. Invasion of Pain arc When Jiraiya set out to investigate the leader of Akatsuki, Pain, Tsunade bet that he would not return, hoping that her bad luck would prove just as terrible as ever. Before Jiraiya left, to cheer Tsunade he said “Look flat-chest Tsunade has become big-bossomed Hokage”. Although her bet proved accurate when he died in the attempt however, though not before sending a number of clues to Pain’s identity back to Konoha. Tsunade put the village’s brightest on the job, making the discovery of Pain’s secret top priority for the village. After doing this, she stepped out of her office to have a moment alone. During her time alone, she remembers Jiraiya’s face over the years, up to the time when he introduced himself as part of Team Sarutobi, saying that she could send him a love letter later. After she remembers his smile as a kid, she starts shedding tears while calling him “Dummy”. Naruto, just as badly affected by Jiraiya’s death as Tsunade, went away to train, both of them knowing that he was Pain’s next target. When the invasion of Pain began, Tsunade tried to send word for Naruto to return home. She was stopped by the Konoha Council, who feared his capture by Akatsuki. However, Tsunade insisted that they must have faith in Naruto, along with the rest of the next generation, and so they relented. Tsunade began issuing orders for the village’s defense, placing extra protection around those still working on Pain’s secret. She summoned Katsuyu, and had her divide and seek out every villager, so that she could protect and heal them remotely. While sitting in the middle of a seal guarded by ANBU, transferring her chakra to Katsuyu, she was found by Pain’s Deva path, whom she recognized as one of the orphans Jiraiya trained in the past. Tsunade refused to tell it where Naruto was, proclaiming that Akatsuki was just a terrorist group. When Pain discovered Naruto’s location through other means, the Deva path resolved to make Tsunade see what Akatsuki’s true goals were. Tsunade in her weakened state. The Deva path destroys the village. In the few moments between when the destruction began and ended, Tsunade gave all of her chakra to Katsuyu, in order to keep the villagers safe. In the aftermath. she confronted Pain, who had his Asura path try to kill Tsunade. It was stopped by Naruto, who told Tsunade that he would personally deal with Pain. She fell back and, having used up all of her chakra, fell into a coma. When Pain was defeated, and the invasion was brought to an end, the still comatose Tsunade was relieved of her duties, and replaced by Danzo. Abilities Tsunade is regarded as Konoha’s strongest kunoichi. Her trademark ability is her incredible raw strength, which is amplified even further with chakra control to inhuman levels. By storing chakra and releasing it at the point of contact, she can enhance her strength to the point where she can effortlessly break through boulders with her bare hands. Even without this augmented strength, Tsunade has been shown to be surprisingly fast, durable, and strong in hand-to-hand combat. Transformation Technique Even though she is in her fifties, Tsunade’s Transformation Technique makes it appear as if she were still twenty (which Naruto calls “living a lie”). Tsunade’s transformation is somewhat different from a normal transformation, as it seems to be permanent, not getting dispelled when she is slashed or injured, and she apparently does not need to exert any effort to stay transformed. The transformation dispels when she runs out of chakra, reducing her to an elderly and frail form. Medical Techniques Tsunade releases the seal on her forehead. In addition to her unrivalled strength, she is equally impressive and renowned as the best in the world for her expertise as a medical-nin, and can heal wounds that most others would consider impossible with relative ease. Her knowledge of the medical arts are so great that she can immediately determine what kind of injuries or illness a person has from a single glance. The most extreme example of her medical prowess is Creation Rebirth, a technique that makes use of the massive amounts of chakra available after using Yin Seal: Release to continuously regenerate the cells in her body, healing any wound and even growing back missing organs. It gives her a form of “immortality” in battle that even Orochimaru expressed envy for. However, because of the rapid cell regeneration, the technique shortens her life much like Naruto’s four-tailed transformation. Because of the risk associated with the technique, Tsunade only uses Creation Rebirth in extremely desperate situations. Additionally, Tsunade can summon Katsuyu, a giant slug that she can use as a medium for her medical jutsu, allowing her to heal far more people than she can individually reach. During the invasion of Pain, she used that to protect the villagers of Konoha. Tsunade was able to have Katsuyu surround herself around the villagers, effectively protecting all of them, and saving the village of any excessive causalities. Creation and conception Tsunade’s name is taken from the character of the same name from “The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya” (自来也豪傑物語, Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari). The Tsunade in that story excelled in slug magic, and was married to Jiraiya. Trivia The name “Tsunade” (綱手) means “mooring rope“. Tsunade shares the same blood type with her former teammates, Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Tsunade was the first female Hokage, as well as the first female kage seen in the series. While Tsunade’s English anime voice actor is Debi Mae West, in most games she is voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, who is Kurenai Yuhi’s voice actor. The few games where she is voiced by her anime voice actor are Naruto Shippuden: Legends: Akatsuki Rising, Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2 and Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution. In Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, while being voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn through out the story-line, during game-play, most of Debi Mae West’s voice-overs from the first game are still used. According to the Naruto databook: Tsunade’s hobbies are drinking and gambling. Tsunade wishes for another match with Naruto. Tsunade’s favorite food is chicken breasts, whilst her least favorite food is liver sashimi. Tsunade is also partial to Yōkan–such as the high-quality gold leaf-encrusted Yōkan from a place called Amagurlya, (Naruto once bribe her with it in order to go on a mission during the ‘Hidden Star Village’ filler arc.) Tsunade’s favorite drink is sake. Tsunade has completed 1,256 official missions in total: 40 D-rank, 236 C-rank, 467 B-rank, 418 A-rank, 95 S-rank. Tsunade’s registration number is 002302. Tsunade’s favorite phrase is “Getting rich quick”. Quotes “One of the Legendary Sannin taking on a snot-nosed Genin… I oughta be ashamed of myself.” “Jiraiya! Are you trying to teach this kid the Rasengan?! What’s the point of teaching him this technique when he can’t even master it? Filling his head with stupid dreams! To actually think that he’ll become Hokage someday!” “This is the Big One… where I bet it all… where I put my life on the line.” “Nawaki… Dan… I hope you are watching this. That boy, Naruto… will surely complete what you started.” (To the advisors) “If Konoha and the Fire Country fall into danger because of me, then I will put my life on the line to protect them as the Fifth Hokage!” (To the advisors) “…Do you know what Jiraiya and Sarutobi and Chiyo of Sunagakure had that you don’t!? … FAITH!! … Just like my grandfather, the First Hokage, had faith in you and entrusted you with the village! Now it’s your turn to have faith in these children and entrust it to them!” (To Pain) “I am the Fifth Hokage. And I will never forgive you… for trampling on the treasure, the dreams… of those who came before me! As Hokage, I will put a stop to you here and now!”

JIRAIYA

Jiraiya (自来也) was one of the legendary Sannin, along with Tsunade and Orochimaru, who was trained by the Third Hokage. He was a self-proclaimed super-pervert, and wrote a popular adult fiction book series, called Icha Icha–a favorite of Kakashi Hatake. He was also known as the Toad Sage (蝦蟇仙人, Gama Sennin), because of his signature toad summonings. Jiraiya had the kanji character for ‘Oil’ (油, Abura) on his customized forehead protector.

Jiraiya
Jiraiya自来也JiraiyaToad Sage (蝦蟇仙人, Gama Sennin), The Village’s Madness (里の狂気, Sato no Kyōki), Perverted Hermit (エロ仙人, Ero-sennin)
Debut (Manga)	Chapter 90
Debut (Anime)	Naruto Episode 52
Appears in	Anime and Manga
Seiyū (Japanese)	Hōchū Ōtsuka Toru Nara (as a child)
Voice actor(s) (English)	David Lodge Brad MacDonald (as a child)
Classification	Sannin, Sage
Birthdate	November 11
Age	Part I: 50-51 Part II: 53-54 (deceased)
Height	191.2 cm1.912 m 6.273 ft 75.276 in
Weight	87.5 kg192.904 lb
Gender	Male
Blood type	B
Affiliation	Konohagakure
Previous team(s)	Team Hiruzen Ame Orphans Team Jiraiya
Occupation	Writer (Icha Icha)
[hide] Family Naruto Uzumaki (Godson)
[hide] Nature Type Fire Earth
[hide] Jutsu Barrier: Dome Method Formation Barrier: Toad Gourd Prison Chakra-Suppressing Seal Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld Finger Engraving Seal Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet Fire Release: Flame Bullet Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet (with Gamabunta) Fire Sealing Method Five Elements Unseal Frog Conversion Technique Hiding in a Toad Technique Needle Jizō Rasengan Sage Art: Goemon Sage Art: Hair Needle Barrage Sage Mode Shadow Clone Technique Summoning Technique (Toads) Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind Summoning: Toad Shop Technique Super Great Ball Rasengan Toad Flat - Shadow Manipulation Technique Toad Oil Bullet Transparent Escape Technique Twin Rasengan Water Release: Water Pistol (with Gamariki, Anime only) Wild Lion’s Mane Techniqu     BACKGROUND As a child, Jiraiya and his former teammates, Orochimaru and Tsunade, were students of the Third Hokage. Jiraiya’s relation with his team mirrored that of the future Team 7, with Jiraiya being quite similar to Naruto. After leaving the Third’s tutelage, he travelled the world, and discovered the residence of the toads, a species he proved to have a natural affinity for. During this time, the Great Toad Sage made a prophecy concerning Jiraiya: that he would someday choose whether one of his students saved or destroyed the world. During the Second Great Shinobi World War, Jiraiya and his former teammates fought Hanzo of Amegakure. Hanzo was so impressed that they could survive in a fight with him that he gave them the title of Konoha’s “Legendary Three Ninja” (伝説の三忍, Densetsu no Sannin) in exchange for letting them live. Once the battle was over, Jiraiya encountered three orphans from Amegakure. While Orochimaru suggested they kill them to spare them the cruelty of the world, Jiraiya decided to look after them for a time, and taught them ninjutsu. During which, he grew close to the three children, and even wrote a book that was inspired by one of them, Nagato. Eventually, however, he left them so that they could pursue their own goals. Although news of their exploits reached him from time to time, he thought them to have died during an undisclosed incident. Jiraiya and his Genin students, including Minato Namikaze. Once becoming a Jonin capable of leading a squad, Jiraiya became the teacher of Minato Namikaze, and two other unknown Genin. Years later, when Orochimaru betrayed Konoha and fled the village, Jiraiya pursued him, trying to convince his friend to come back. Orochimaru refused, and attacked Jiraiya. While he tried to find a reason for Orochimaru’s defection, he eventually realized that his friend wasn’t coming back. Feeling that he was responsible for Orochimaru’s escape, Jiraiya left Konoha so he could follow Orochimaru’s movements, as well as the organization Orochimaru eventually joined, Akatsuki. In doing so, Jiraiya was unable to fulfill the Third’s wishes of taking on the role of Hokage, knowing that tracking down Orochimaru was more important. A few years before Orochimaru’s defection, Jiraiya finished his first book, the Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, that had failed as a seller. However, Minato, now the Fourth Hokage, thought the book was excellent. He and Kushina Uzumaki who was pregnant at the time, decided to name their son after the main character in his book, Naruto, thus making him Naruto’s godfather.  Personality Despite the fact that he left Konoha for many years, Jiraiya had maintained an allegiance with his hometown. During Orochimaru’s invasion of Konoha, he helped fend off the invading forces in order to protect the village. When Konoha found itself in need of a new Hokage after the Third Hokage’s death, Jiraiya volunteered to look for Tsunade so that she could become the Third’s successor, after turning down the position himself. His reason for refusing the position was, among other things, that he felt unworthy to take the role, since he had failed to save either of the previous Hokages from dying, as well as him having to conduct more “research”. After he found Tsunade, and began to suspect that she might be assisting Orochimaru, he made it clear that he would kill her if she betrayed the village. However, once it became clear that Tsunade was still loyal to Konoha, and later accepted the title of Hokage, Jiraiya served as her most trusted adviser, loyal confidante, and personal spy into the dealings of Akatsuki and Konoha’s enemies. Jiraiya was a self-proclaimed super-pervert with no equal, and a frequent voyeur, going so far as to create the Transparent Escape Technique, to allow him to spy on naked women without being caught (doing “research” as he called it, even as a child). He never actually hid his perversion, and even seemed proud of it, as seen when he told the Third Hokage about it when he was still a child. Despite this, Jiraiya disliked being referred to as the Perverted Hermit (エロ仙人, Ero-sennin; English TV “Pervy Sage”) by Naruto in front of others. Jiraiya’s perversion had been used against him on occasions, as seen when Naruto got Jiraiya to start training him after a simple display of the Sexy Technique (Though Naruto hit a roadblock when Jiraiya wanted him to use the technique around him when training). When two Akatsuki members later tried to distract Jiraiya, they used a hypnotized woman to catch his eye and keep him busy. While their effort initially succeeded, Jiraiya eventually saw through their plot, due solely to the fact that women did not typically express interest in him. His peeping habits had 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. As a result of such injuries, Jiraiya now retained a rather healthy fear towards his former teammate, and usually attempted to suppress his perverted ways when in Tsunade’s presence. Some time after leaving Konoha, Jiraiya became the author of a series of adult novels called Icha Icha. The novels were based on his rejections in love, that he retold in a comical way. In a filler episode of the anime, Naruto ghost-wrote one of Jiraiya’s Icha Icha novels. The book was found to be very popular. This indicates that either Naruto is capable of writing on the same level as Jiraiya, or that Jiraiya’s writing abilities were no better than those of a child. Tsunade seemed to suspect that the latter was true, as she noted that a report he wrote as a child, accompanied by crude crayon illustrations, was poorly written. The popularity of the Icha Icha series seemed to have paid off well, as Jiraiya’s checkbook revealed that he was fairly wealthy. Despite his wealth, Jiraiya was not above taking Naruto’s money and spending it on sake and women. Jiraiya frequently disappeared when Naruto attempted to make him pay. Jiraiya had also been known to show off, even during a fight. This showing off typically took the form of traditional kabuki poses, keeping with his hermit theme. He became annoyed if he was interrupted for whatever reason while trying to strike a pose. When the situation called for it, however, Jiraiya could become extremely serious. He could also be quite perceptive, as seen when he watched Naruto tried to walk over the surface of shallow water; Jiraiya quickly discerned that there was something within Naruto that was disrupting the chakra’s circulation through his body. Despite Jiraiya’s flamboyant behavior and prowess as a shinobi, he was a strong believer in peace; his hope being to one day end the hatred that plagued the ninja world. Jiraiya also held a great deal of faith in the next generation of Konoha, and saw them as the answer to this hate.  Part I  Chunin Exam arc Jiraiya first met Naruto Uzumaki while he was “researching” at the hot springs in Konoha. After Jiraiya knocked out Ebisu for catching him in the act, Naruto demanded that Jiraiya begin training him in Ebisu’s place. He refused, until Naruto used his Sexy Technique. When they started training, Jiraiya removed Orochimaru’s Five Elements Seal from Naruto’s stomach, which allowed him to tap into the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s chakra. To teach him how to take advantage of the Nine-Tails’ reserves, Jiraiya taught Naruto how to use the Summoning Technique, but was met with very poor results. To this end, Jiraiya decided to force Naruto to use the Nine-Tails’ chakra by pushing him off a cliff. Naruto survived by summoning Gamabunta. When Orochimaru began his invasion of Konoha, Jiraiya summoned Gamahiro to stop Orochimaru’s snakes. He later mourned the Third Hokage’s death, but did not attend the funeral.  Search for Tsunade arc With the Third’s death, the village elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, requested that Jiraiya become the next Hokage, which he quickly turned down. Instead, he volunteered to search for his former teammate, Tsunade, asking only that he be allowed to take Naruto with him. Just a day after setting off, however, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki of Akatsuki tried to kidnap Naruto. To do so, they used genjutsu on a woman to distract Jiraiya while they captured Naruto. Jiraiya saw through the trick, and intercepted Itachi and Kisame, who decided they did not want to get involved in a fight with one of the Sannin. When they tried to escape, Jiraiya used Ninja Art: Toad Mouth Trap to trap Itachi and Kisame. Nobody had ever managed to escape that technique before, but Itachi used Amaterasu to burn through the walls and escaped. After that, Naruto and Jiraiya resumed their search for Tsunade, Jiraiya teaching Naruto the Rasengan along the way to keep him occupied. Orochimaru found Tsunade before Jiraiya did, and asked that she heal his arms. When Jiraiya eventually found her as well, he suspected that they were in contact, and threatened Tsunade not to help Orochimaru. In response, Tsunade drugged his sake when they went to a bar, making it difficult for him to move or use chakra. After he discovered that this was so he wouldn’t interfere in her attempt to kill Orochimaru, Jiraiya came to help her. In his drugged state, he struggled to fight Orochimaru, but was able to recover to the point that he could summon Gamabunta to fight Orochimaru’s Manda. The healthy Tsunade proved too much for Orochimaru and Manda, defeating the two and causing them to flee. Tsunade then accepted her post as the Fifth Hokage, and they returned to Konoha.  Sasuke Retrieval arc After Naruto failed to stop Sasuke Uchiha from defecting to Orochimaru at the end of Part I, Jiraiya encouraged him to give up on Sasuke, remembering his own experiences with Orochimaru. Naruto refused, prompting Jiraiya to take him away for two and a half years of training, to make him strong enough to bring Sasuke back, and to protect himself from Akatsuki.  Part II After taking Naruto back to Konoha, Jiraiya went off to search for information on Akatsuki. Jiraiya would soon return to inform Kakashi and Yamato about Naruto’s four-tails transformation, a form so powerful that it nearly killed Jiraiya before he managed to stop it. It was later revealed that Jiraiya himself released it (not expecting Naruto’s loss of control) with a special key passed down from the Fourth Hokage, capable of unlocking Naruto’s seal.  Three-Tails Arrival arc In the anime, Jiraiya returned to Konoha to congratulate Naruto on defeating Akatsuki’s Kakuzu. In order to keep Naruto from participating in Team 7’s new Sasuke-related mission, Jiraiya offered to train him again, and took Naruto to Yugakure. Jiraiya and Naruto also had a discussion over the meaning of ‘home’: “Wherever someone is thinking of you, that is the place you can return to.” In light of Naruto’s need to learn some high-ranked, long-distance techniques, Jiraiya introduced Naruto to the concept of synchronized, collaboration jutsu and began by demonstrating a synchronizing jutsu, the Water Release: Water Pistol technique, in collaboration with Gamariki. When Naruto and Gamariki proved unable to synchronize, due to their conflicting personalities, Jiraiya confronted Naruto with the fact that, unless he can work with a summoned toad, a collaboration jutsu would stay out of his reach. Naruto compensated by summoning toads that he did get along with, and, after giving up on trying to work with Gamariki, finally began on working with a synchronized jutsu with Gamatatsu, while Gamakichi guided the process. Jiraiya openly applauded Naruto’s progress, and expressed how pleased he was at his dedication to his goals and beliefs. After receiving a message about Akatsuki, Jiraiya was forced to leave Naruto to continue training by himself, though not before convincing Tsunade to let Naruto go on the mission.  Hunt for Uchiha arc After learning about the defeat of Orochimaru at the hands of Sasuke, Jiraiya informed Tsunade that he had found the location of the Akatsuki leader, somewhere in Amegakure. After a chat with Tsunade, revealing much of Naruto’s history, amongst others who his parents were, he left to infiltrate Amegakure and see what he could find out. He captures two Rain villagers while there, and sent one to Konoha to be interrogated. After hearing that the Akatsuki leader, Pain, killed Hanzo in battle, Jiraiya decided to leave the key to the Nine-Tails’ seal to Naruto, before going out to see what else he could learn. Jiraiya eventually found Konan, and after incapacitating her with his oil, questions what happened to her Yahiko and Nagato. Suddenly Pain appears and Jiraiya recognizing him as his former student, Nagato, because of his Rinnegan eyes. Fearing that his student would destroy the world, as was warned against in the prophecy, Jiraiya tried to kill Pain. He entered Sage Mode, and summoned Shima and Fukasaku to help him, but had difficulty with the battle when Pain summoned additional bodies (the Preta path and the Human path). Although they were able to defeat three of Pain’s bodies, Jiraiya was handicapped when Pain’s Asura path ambushed Jiraiya and severed his left arm. Asura was joined by the other five paths, with the first three having been reanimated. Doing the most that he could, Jiraiya managed to kill and capture the Animal path, and orders Shima to take it to Konoha, before heading out one last time to see if he could figure out the secret behind Pain. Jiraiya killed by Pain Jiraiya was able to discover that all of Pain’s bodies belonged to ninja he once knew, amongst them being his old student, Yahiko, functioning as Pain’s Deva path. With this information, he was able to discover the truth, but his throat was crushed, leaving him unable to tell Fukasaku what he had learned.[1] As his life waned, he mused over his death calling it unworthy and flashes back to his life and his failures, failing to win Tsunade’s heart, failing to stop Orochimaru from leaving Konoha, failing to protect both his master Hiruzen and his student Minato Namikaze, but then remembers how Minato called his book a success and decided to name his son after the protagonist of the book, Jiraiya realizes that it was he who named him Naruto. Jiraiya dying with a smile Seeing that the students way should also be the teachers way, Jiraiya realized that Naruto, not Nagato, was the child foretold of in the prophecy. Knowing that Naruto would someday save the world, he forces himself back to life and inscribed a coded message into Fukasaku’s back and sent him to Naruto. The Asura path sees the coded message on Fukasaku, he attacks him with a rocket hand destroying the rock Jiraiya was lying on making him fall into the water. As Jiraiya dies he compares himself to the “Frog at the bottom of the well… Drifts off into the Great Ocean” calling it a more honorable death and realizing that he needed a title for his next book. Finding the “Tale of Uzumaki Naruto” perfect he dies with a smile while sinking into the watery depths of the battlefield.[2]  Movies  Naruto Shippūden the Movie 2: Bonds Most of Jiraiya’s appearances in this movie were more spiritual than actually appearing. When Naruto was sent on a mission without Kakashi or Yamato, Jiraiya gave Naruto, through Sakura, a small package. After Naruto transformed into his four-tailed form, the package was revealed to be a small seal charm, to force Naruto back to normal. Jiraiya then appeared again as a hallucination, pushing Naruto to fight on. At the end of the movie, Jiraiya finally made a physical appearance by saving his apprentice from certain death by summoning Gamabunta to cushion his fall.  Abilities Being one of the three Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya was an immensely powerful ninja, being considered Kage-level. He stated that he had only been brought to the verge of death twice in his entire life, once when he was doing “research” on Tsunade herself, (and being beaten to a pulp by her for doing so), and when he used the toad key to weaken the Nine-Tails’ seal on Naruto’s stomach. His strength was so great that even Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, two of Akatsuki’s most powerful members, opted not to face him in battle, fearing it would end in a stalemate or worse. Kisame even said that he was no match for Jiraiya. Even Pain marveled at Jiraiya’s abilities, noting that Jiraiya would likely have won against Pain if he had had prior knowledge of Pain’s six separate bodies. Jiraiya was often described as a perfectionist. He had the ability to improvise or expand the limit of a jutsu to the point where even an academic or E-rank technique could make him an extremely formidable opponent. The Transparent Escape Technique, created to help him spy on women, eventually proved to be very useful in espionage and reconnaissance. By his own admission, however, he was not cut out for using genjutsu.  Toad Techniques Jiraiya was known as the “Toad Sage”, due to his natural affinity for toads, and his utilization of a number of toad-related techniques. Many typically dealt with summoning toads. He had risen to a level of ability that allowed him to summon Gamabunta. He could even summon the nearly indestructible esophagus of a great, fire-breathing toad with Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind. Once the technique had been used to cover the area, Jiraiya could control it as he pleased, and used it to trap most ninja. For spying and infiltration, Jiraiya had the Toad Flat - Shadow Manipulation Technique, which allowed him to hide himself as a shadow, and even attach to the shadow of another ninja to control them. He also had the Hiding in a Toad Technique, where he hid in the belly of a small toad, which could enter most areas undetected.  Sage Mode and Associated Techniques Jiraiya learning to master Senjutsu. Jiraiya in Sage Mode. His most powerful ability was to enter Sage Mode, a transformation that allowed him to use natural energy to greatly enhance all of his abilities. Before entering Sage Mode, Jiraiya will summon the elder toad couple Shima and Fukasaku. In addition to maintaining Jiraiya’s natural energy while he fought, they added their own abilities to help him in battle. Sage Mode greatly increased Jiraiya’s physical power, as shown by his ability to send Pain’s summons flying. This form allowed Jiraiya to use stronger versions of his other jutsu. An example would include the Super Great Ball Rasengan, a massive variant of Rasengan even larger than his own body. As Jiraiya was not adept with genjutsu, he relied on Shima and Fukasaku to help him in that aspect. Jiraiya didn’t like Sage Mode because it gave him a more toad-like appearance, with longer marks along the sides of his face, a goatee, a larger nose with warts, and webbed hands and feet, all of which made him unappealing to girls.  Ninjutsu Jiraiya was well-versed in a variety of ninjutsu types, being capable of spitting oil from his mouth, or breathing fire. He could create deep swamps with Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld. He could grow and sharpen his hair for offensive and defensive purposes with Needle Jizō. Jiraiya was taught how to use the Rasengan by Minato, and had since developed larger variants. Apart from his fighting abilities, Jiraiya was able to use barriers. Examples would include Barrier: Dome Method Formation, which allowed him to detect all movements within a wide radius and block attacks, and Barrier: Toad Gourd Prison, which allowed him to trap an enemy inside the belly of a small toad-shaped gourd, the inside of which contains a landscape with a lake of stomach acid.  Sealing Techniques Jiraiya had been shown to be very knowledgeable with Sealing Techniques, and had used a number of them throughout the series. When first meeting Naruto, he quickly deduced that the seal on Naruto’s stomach, that kept the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed within him, also allowed its chakra to mix with his own. He later created a method of suppressing the Nine-Tails’ influence over Naruto through the Chakra-Suppressing Seal, which activates by simply coming into contact with Naruto’s body. In addition, he could utilize the Fire Sealing Method to contain Itachi’s Amateratsu within a scroll for future study.  Creation and Conception Jiraiya is named after the character of the same name from a Japanese folklore “The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya” (児雷也豪傑物語, Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari). The Jiraiya in this story excelled in summoning a giant toad (the toad itself was sometimes called “Jiraiya”) and toad magic. In that story, Jiraiya and Tsunade were a married couple. There, his name is written as “児雷也” meaning “Young Thunder”, which in turn comes from the name Garaiya (我来也; Literally meaning “I came”) from the Chinese story Kaishi (諧史). As the character was about to die, he made a reference to the story. Masashi Kishimoto originally planned to draw Jiraiya with a different design, and with a different style of hair. He also intended for Jiraiya to summon toads that were of a similar size to humans. However, this idea was deemed a failure. During an interview, he commented that, of the student-teacher relationships in Naruto, Jiraiya and Naruto’s is the one he likes the most.  Trivia Jiraiya was trained by the Third Hokage, trained the Fourth Hokage, and trained with the Fifth Hokage. Jiraiya’s belief in peace is ironically based on Nagato’s belief when he was a child. Jiraiya appears in all of the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja games but in the first one he just appears in one of Naruto’s ultimate jutsu. Jiraiya also shares his blood type with his former teammates, Tsunade and Orochimaru. Three of Jiraiya’s students, Minato, Nagato, and Konan, became leaders of their own villages at different points in time. Jiraiya and Naruto have a lot in common. Both were repeatedly rejected by the female member of their squad (Tsunade and Sakura) in the beginning of their relationships, but grow up to be good friends with them. Also, they both failed to stop their other squad mate, who at the time was their best friend, from leaving Konoha (Orochimaru and Sasuke). They are also the members of their respective squad that failed to retrieve a bell in the bell test to became ninja as delivered by their teachers (Third Hokage and Kakashi). Jiraiya’s relationship with Tsunade has been hinted to be on the verge of romance, though both refused to admit it. Reactions from both of them over certain events and statements have shown this, again reflecting the parallels between Naruto/Sakura and Jiraiya/Tsunade. Jiraiya’s Sage Mode transformation will appear in Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel 3. According to the Naruto databook: Jiraiya’s hobbies are sneaking a peek into a Women’s Bathing House, and writing books. His favorite food is garlic pickled with Japanese basil and karaage-fried chicken while his least favorite is kiwifruit and gratin. Jiraiya has completed 1839 official missions in total: 58 D-rank, 345 C-rank, 684 B-rank, 614 A-rank, 138 S-rank. With this rating of mission completed by Jiraiya, this gives him the most amount of mission completed in all of the Naruto. Jiraiya’s registration number is 002301. Jiraiya’s favorite word is “free“. edit Quotes (First thing he said to Tsunade) “Nice to meet you. I’m Jiraiya! You can send me a love letter later!” “I’m not a little pervert … I’m a big one!” “Wherever someone thinks of you, that’s where home is.” (To Pain) “When people get hurt, they learn to hate.. when people hurt others, they become hated and racked with guilt. but knowing that pain allows people to be kind. PAIN allows people to grow…and how you grow is up to you.” (To Pain) “I wanted you to rise above that pain, to conquer it, not use it to lead the world to ruin.” “The true measure of a shinobi is not how he lives, but how he dies.” “Never go back on your word … and never give up, no matter how bad it gets. That’s your ninja way … and I’m supposed to be your teacher … I can’t go out like this! Because I … the student’s ninja way should be the master’s too! Right, Naruto?!” (To Orochimaru) “Because it’s no fun to train a genius!” (To Naruto in the uncut dub) “You think that old trick will work on me i’m a goddamn sage” “There, that ending … was a little better. The frog at the bottom of the well drifts off into the great ocean. Heh heh … yep … pretty damn honorable … pretty damn honorable” (Last words) “The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki yes… that has a nice ring to it.”

 

OROCHIMARU

rochimaru (大蛇丸^?) is a fictional character from the Naruto universe created by Masashi Kishimoto and developed into a media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, OVAs, movies, video games, and other collectibles. He was created as one of the series’ main antagonists, and intended to represent the opposite of the protagonists’ morals and values.^[9]

In the anime and manga, Orochimaru is a former ninja of the village of Konohagakure, and leads his own ninja village, Otogakure, in hopes of destroying his former home. During his time in Konohagakure, Orochimaru distinguished himself as one of the village’s most powerful ninja; however, his desire for power led him to obtain a means for immortality by transferring between different host bodies. This desire for a host is one of his driving motivations throughout the series, resulting in his desire to acquire Sasuke Uchiha due to his powerful genetic heritage. Orochimaru has appeared in media outside the Naruto anime and manga, including several video games.

Several anime and manga publications have praised and criticized Orochimaru’s character. As one of the series’ premier villains, he has been praised in this regard; IGN compared his character to Darth Vader of Star Wars fame.^[10] His lack of redeeming qualities and open malevolence was also praised by reviewers, with Mania.com calling him the “first real villain” of the series.^[11] Among the Naruto reader base, Orochimaru has been popular, ranking within the top twenty characters in several polls.^[12] Numerous pieces of merchandise in Orochimaru’s likeness have also been released, including action figures and plush dolls.^[13][14]

Orochimaru
Naruto character
Orochimaru by Masashi Kishimoto
First appearance	Naruto manga chapter 45 Naruto anime episode 27
Voiced by	Japanese Kujira[1] Yuriko Yamaguchi (as Grass ninja)[1] Mayumi Yamaguchi (as a child)[2] Sachiko Kojima (as his female body)[3] English Steven Jay Blum[4] Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (as Grass ninja)[4] Michelle Ruff (as his female body)[5]
Profile
Age	50[6]-51[7] in Part I 54 in Part II[8]
Date of birth	October 27[7]
Ninja rank	Missing-nin[7]

 

 

Character outline

Background

Unlike most other Naruto characters, whose backgrounds are told in chronological order over a consecutive series of chapters, small portions of Orochimaru’s past are explored throughout the series. After his parents died when he was young, Orochimaru’s only source of affection was received from his teacher, the Third Hokage, and his two teammates.^[16] As they grew older Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade collectively became known as the “Legendary Three Ninja” (伝説の三忍, Densetsu no Sannin^?) due to their exemplary ninja abilities.^[17] Orochimaru, however, craved more power than could be obtained from training with his master, and began abducting villagers of Konohagakure for experimentation. He simultaneously applied for the title of Hokage, the village’s protector, hoping that the position would give him access to new abilities. The Third, though wishing to pass the name of Hokage to his favorite student, could not bring himself to knowingly satisfy Orochimaru’s lust for power, and thus gave the position to Jiraiya’s student Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.^[18]

No longer having a reason to keep face in Konoha, Orochimaru was less discreet about his abductions and experimentations, giving the Third the opportunity to discover what he was doing.^[18] Unwilling to bring himself to harm Orochimaru, the Third allowed him to escape and flee the village.^[19] In time Orochimaru joined the criminal organization Akatsuki, where he tried to get close to and steal the body of Itachi Uchiha so as to gain the Sharingan.^[20] When Itachi was easily able to repel his efforts, Orochimaru was forced to flee the organization.^[21] With Akatsuki now seeking to assassinate him due to his knowledge of their organization, Orochimaru founded his own ninja village, Otogakure, populated with ninja loyal to him.^[22] There he continued his experimentations uninhibited, gaining the means to make all his dreams of power come true.

 Personality

Orochimaru’s various human experiments take place so as to serve two purposes, most prominent of which is his desire to learn every jutsu in the Naruto world. Jiraiya speculates that this is due to the fact that his parents died when he was at a very young age, and flashbacks shown during his battle with the Third Hokage speak to this effect. Perhaps because he wanted to see his parents or as a means of avenging their deaths, he experiments on others to see what kind of modifications the human body can endure and to otherwise harness a subject’s unique abilities for himself. Once accomplishing this goal, Orochimaru hopes to be worthy of the title of “ultimate being”. Because a human’s lifespan does not allow enough time to learn every jutsu, Orochimaru also experiments on others so as to achieve immortality. By living throughout the ages, Orochimaru need never worry about death and thus all the knowledge he gains will never be lost.^[18]

Above all else, Orochimaru cares only for himself. He grows bored when there is no conflict or violence in the world, and immediately strikes fear into others when they first meet him.^[23] Though he has a number of followers who would do anything for him, Orochimaru treats most of them as mere pawns, save for his right-hand-man, Kabuto Yakushi. He does not hesitate to send them to their deaths for his own personal benefit, and only finds remorse in their loss if they are unable to properly complete a task. To win over these followers to their disposable status, Orochimaru approaches them with promises of making their dreams, such as obtaining power, revenge, or a purpose to their lives, come true.^[22] He applies a cursed seal to many of his stronger subordinates in order to corrode their body and mind, making them more susceptible to his influence and control.^[24]

Abilities

Orochimaru’s white snake form

Much of Orochimaru’s arsenal of abilities deals with snakes. By summoning them to his side during battle, Orochimaru can battle multiple opponents at once and simultaneously keep himself out of harm’s way.^[25] Through his experimentations he has also been able to add some snake-like characteristics to his own body, such as shedding his body to escape injury^[26] or extending parts of his body to great lengths.^[27] Of the more common of his snake-related abilities, Orochimaru possesses the Kusanagi sword (草薙の剣, Kusanagi no Tsurugi^?, English TV “The Grass Long Sword”), an extendable blade that he stores within a snake that is in turn stored in his own mouth,^[28] and does not tend to remove it from his mouth when attacking.^[27]

The influence snakes have had on Orochimaru is most evident in the results of his immortality research: after years of study and self-modifications, Orochimaru’s “true” form has become that of a giant white snake that is composed of many smaller snakes. To live forever and escape death, Orochimaru first finds a new body that will act as his own. He then leaves the confines of the body he is inhabiting, revealing his true form.^[16] Once doing so, Orochimaru needs only to consume the new body and gain dominance over the soul of its current inhabitant, thus gaining complete control and access to all the body’s unique abilities.^[20] While inhabiting this body, Orochimaru typically wears a mask of his original face, it being both his personal preference and for easier recognition by those who know him.^[18] Orochimaru can only perform this body-transfer once every three years, at which point in time weaker bodies begin to reject him and therefore necessitate he find a new body.^[29]

 

 

Introduction of Naruto Character

The Naruto anime and manga series features an extensive cast of characters created by Masashi Kishimoto. The series takes place in a fictional universe where different countries vie for power by using ninja who can use supernatural abilities in combat. The Naruto storyline is divided into two parts, simply named Part I and Part II, with the latter taking place two-and-a-half years after the conclusion of Part I. The series’ storyline follows the adventures of a group of young ninja from the village of Konohagakure.

The titular character of the series is Naruto Uzumaki, an energetic ninja who wishes to become Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure. During the early part of the series, he is assigned to Team 7, during which he meets Sasuke Uchiha, a taciturn and highly skilled “genius” of the Uchiha clan; Sakura Haruno, who is infatuated with Sasuke yet has Naruto’s affection; and Kakashi Hatake, the quiet and mysterious leader of the team. Over the course of the series, Naruto interacts with and befriends several of his fellow ninja in Konohagakure as well as other villages. He also encounters the series’ antagonists, including Orochimaru, a former ninja of Konohagakure scheming to destroy his former home, and the elite ninja of the criminal organization Akatsuki.

While developing the series, Kishimoto created the three primary characters as a basis for the designs of the other three-person teams.^[1] He also utilized characters in other shōnen manga as references in his design of the characters, a decision that was criticized by several anime and manga publications.^[2][3] The characters that Kishimoto developed were however praised for incorporating many of the better aspects of previous shōnen characters, although many publications lamented the perceived lack of growth beyond such stereotypes.^[4][5] The visual presentation of the characters was commented on by reviewers, with praise and criticism given to Kishimoto’s work in the manga and anime adaptation

 

 

Creation and conception

When Masashi Kishimoto was originally creating the Naruto series, he looked to other shōnen manga for influences while attempting to make his characters as unique as possible.^[2] Kishimoto cites Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball series as one of these influences, noting that Son Goku, the protagonist of Dragon Ball, was a key factor when creating Naruto Uzumaki due to his energetic and mischievous personality.^[7] To complement Naruto, Kishimoto worked on creating a rival that was a “cool genius”, as he believed this was “the archetypal rival character”. After reviewing different manga for ideas, he ultimately developed Sasuke Uchiha. When creating the primary heroine, Kishimoto admitted, “I don’t have a definite image of what a heroine should be”. He eventually created Sakura Haruno, emphasizing “her energy and flirtatious spirit” as her primary characteristics. These three characters would be the mold for the other three main Naruto teams.^[1]

The separation of the characters into different teams was intended to give each group a specific flavor. Kishimoto wished for each team member to be “extreme”, having a high amount of aptitude in one given attribute, yet talentless in another. This approach was used to make each team perform best when individual members worked together to overcome their weaknesses. Having watched tokusatsu dramas as a child, Kishimoto wished for his teams to be different from the superhero teams in these dramas, dismissing the value of a team in which all the teammates were “strong to the point of perfection”. Kishimoto notes that the different roles the characters assume is similar to many role-playing games, and “each character stands out better that way”.^[8]

Kishimoto inserted villains into the story to counteract the lead characters’ moral values. He stated that this focus on illustrating the difference in values is central to his creation of villains to the point that, “I don’t really think about them in combat”. The villains’ physical appearances were also embellished in order to differentiate them from other characters, making it easier for a reader to follow the story and identify the villains, even in heated battle scenes. Kishimoto noted that making the villains “flamboyant” with a “showy costume” is “one of my guiding principles”, as well as making them “more memorable”.^[9]

When drawing the characters, Kishimoto consistently follows a five-step process: concept and rough sketch, drafting, inking, shading, and coloring. These steps are followed when he is drawing the manga and making the color illustrations that commonly adorn the cover of tankōbon, the cover of the Weekly Shōnen Jump, or other media, but the toolkit he utilizes occasionally changes.^[10] For instance, he used an airbrush for one illustration for a Weekly Shōnen Jump cover, but decided not to use it for future drawings largely due to the cleanup required.^[11]

Protagonists

The protagonists of the Naruto series are part of Team 7, a group of ninja affiliated with the village of Konohagakure. After Sasuke Uchiha’s departure from Konohagakure at the end of Part I, the team disbands. During Part II, the team reforms with two new members, Sai, who occupies Sasuke’s position, and Yamato, who acts as Kakashi’s replacement when he is briefly incapacitated and later stays with the team when Kakashi returns.^[12]

Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto Uzumaki (うずまき ナルト, Uzumaki Naruto^?) is the primary protagonist of the Naruto series. He was the first character created by Kishimoto during the conception of the series, and was designed with many traits from other shōnen characters, including Son Goku of the Dragon Ball series.^[7] In the series, Naruto has ambitions of becoming Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure. Because he is the host of the nine-tailed demon fox, a malevolent creature that attacked Konoha, he is ostracized by the other villagers.^[13] He compensates for this with his cheerful and boisterous personality, and over the course of the series, manages to befriend many foreign and Konoha ninja. He develops an especially close relationship with Sasuke Uchiha, one of his fellow ninja in Team 7, and treats him as his brother.^[14] Naruto’s seiyū in the original Japanese anime is Junko Takeuchi, and he is voiced by Maile Flanagan in the English adaptation.^[15][16]

Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke Uchiha (うちは サスケ, Uchiha Sasuke^?) is one of the members of Team 7. He was created to be a rival to Naruto, as well as a “cool genius”, which Kishimoto believed was an integral part of an ideal rivalry.^[1] He is one of the few remaining members of the Uchiha clan along with his brother, Itachi Uchiha, who killed the rest of their family.^[17] Due to this, Sasuke’s sole desire is to kill his brother, and he develops a cold and withdrawn personality. His interactions with his fellow teammates, especially Naruto Uzumaki, make him focus less on revenge at the start of the series. During an encounter with his brother in Part I, Sasuke is easily beaten, which leads him to leave the village to seek more power from the criminal Orochimaru.^[14] His teammates’ attempts to recover him from Orochimaru form a major component of the Part II plot. In the Japanese anime, Sasuke’s seiyū is Noriaki Sugiyama, and his English voice actor is Yuri Lowenthal.^[15][16]

Sakura Haruno

Sakura Haruno (春野 サクラ, Haruno Sakura^?) is the sole female member of Team 7. Kishimoto created her as the heroine of the series, although he has admitted that he has little perception of what an ideal heroine should be.^[1] As a child, Sakura was taunted by other children because of her large forehead, a feature Kishimoto has tried to emphasize in Sakura’s appearances. She was comforted by Ino Yamanaka.^[18] As the two continued to grow, however, they became increasingly distant due to their shared affection for Sasuke Uchiha. During most of Part I, Sakura is infatuated with Sasuke, and spurns the advances of Naruto Uzumaki.^[19] After Sasuke leaves the village, she resolves to become stronger by training with Tsunade. In Part II, she displays highly developed skills from her training, and a more open disposition towards Naruto.^[20] In the Japanese anime, her seiyū is Chie Nakamura, and she is voiced by Kate Higgins in the English adaptation.^[15][16]

Kakashi Hatake

Kakashi Hatake (はたけ カカシ, Hatake Kakashi^?) - where Kakashi is literally Japanese for “scarecrow” - is the leader of Team 7 and the sensei of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Kishimoto had originally intended for Kakashi to be introduced earlier in the series than he actually was, and created him as an easygoing person that would be able to keep the members of Team 7 in check.^[8] Kakashi treats his leadership position with a detached manner, and is consistently late to meetings as a result. In a gaiden on Kakashi’s past, this is shown to be the result of an incident in which he witnessed the death of one of his teammates, Obito Uchiha, who gave Kakashi his Sharingan eye and imparted many of his habits, including his tardiness.^[21] With Obito’s Sharingan, Kakashi has amassed a reputation as a skilled and powerful ninja, earning the moniker “Copy Ninja Kakashi” (コピー忍者のカカシ, Kopī Ninja no Kakashi^?).^[22] Although he mentors all three members of Team 7 early in the series, he concentrates on training Sasuke as the series continues, teaching him his Chidori technique; however, he is unable to prevent Sasuke from leaving the village to seek Orochimaru for greater power.^[23] Kakashi’s seiyū in the Japanese anime is Kazuhiko Inoue, and his English voice actor is Dave Wittenberg.^[15][16]

Antagonists

Orochimaru

Orochimaru (大蛇丸^?) is one of the primary antagonists of the Naruto series. To emphasize his role as a villain, Kishimoto worked towards making him appear “pasty and sickly” as part of his theme of distinguishing villains from the protagonists.^[24] In the series, Orochimaru is a former ninja of Konohagakure and a student of the Third Hokage. During his time in the village, he distinguished himself as one of the village’s most powerful ninja along with his teammates, Jiraiya and Tsunade.^[25] His desire to obtain immortality led him to conduct experiments on other Konohagakure ninja, and he eventually fled the village and joined the criminal organization Akatsuki. After attacking fellow Akatsuki member Itachi Uchiha, who defeats him, he leaves Akatsuki and establishes his own ninja village, Otogakure, in the hopes of destroying his former home.^[26] His immortality technique involves transferring his consciousness between different host bodies, and his desire for a new host, particularly Sasuke Uchiha, is one of his driving motivations throughout the series.^[27] Because of his different host bodies and the disguises he assumes, a panoply of voice actors are utilized for Orochimaru; his most common seiyū in the Japanese anime is Kujira, and the corresponding English voice actor is Steven Jay Blum.^[28][29]

Akatsuki

Akatsuki (暁^?, lit. “Dawn” or “Daybreak”) is an organization of criminal ninja that serves as the series’ primary antagonists. Akatsuki’s goal (as defined by its leader, Pain) is world domination, which they plan to accomplish by capturing the tailed beasts.^[30] The members of Akatsuki are ninja who have abandoned their villages, and are considered by their former homes to be S-class criminals, the most powerful and wanted ninja in the Naruto universe. At any given time, Akatsuki is composed of ten members, who operate in two-man teams. They share similar clothing, most notably a long, dark cloak bearing red clouds and a chin-high collar. Aside from an attempt by two Akatsuki members, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, to capture the nine-tailed demon fox within Naruto Uzumaki, Akatsuki is not prominently featured in Part I.^[31] In Part II, they take a more active role, capturing Gaara and extracting the one-tailed beast, Shukaku, from his body, as well as working towards capturing the remaining tailed beasts.^[32]

Other characters

Team 8

Team 8 is a group of Konohagakure ninja led by Kurenai Yuhi. The members of Team 8 primarily concentrate on tracking, with each of the members’ unique abilities being utilized in this role. During Part II, Team 8, except Kurenai, due to her pregnancy, joins Naruto Uzumaki and Team 7 in their search for Sasuke Uchiha.^[33]

Kiba Inuzuka

Kiba Inuzuka (犬塚 キバ, Inuzuka Kiba^?) is a member of Team 8 characterized by a number of dog-like traits such as being very protective of his teammates and super sensitive and extremely keen senses such as smell . Most apparent of his connection to dogs is the constant presence of his ninja dog (忍犬, ninken^?), Akamaru. Kiba is fiercely loyal to Akamaru, unwilling to abandon him and putting himself in harm’s way for Akamaru’s sake.^[34] In exchange for Kiba’s devotion, Akamaru fights with him in battle; he uses his heightened senses to Kiba’s advantage, and helps to double-team opponents with volleys of physical attacks. Since Akamaru is naturally better equipped for combat, Kiba usually modifies his own abilities at the start of a battle, growing claws and traveling on all four limbs to increase his speed.^[35] He can also drastically increase his sense of smell, and by the second half of the series he can use it to track things dogs cannot.^[36] Kiba’s seiyū in the Japanese anime is Kōsuke Toriumi, and his English voice actor is Kyle Hebert.^[15][16]

Akamaru

Akamaru (赤丸^?) is Kiba Inuzuka’s ninja dog (忍犬, ninken^?), best friend, and constant companion. At the start of the series, Kiba carries Akamaru around on his head or inside his jacket. By Part II of the Naruto storyline, Akamaru grows large enough for Kiba to ride atop his back, but since Kiba spends so much time with Akamaru, he fails to notice this drastic difference.^[37] With his heightened sense of smell, hearing, and the ability to detect others’ chakra levels, Akamaru acts as a valuable tool for Kiba in hostile situations. To help Kiba keep track of opponents, Akamaru can urinate on them, giving them a strong odor that can easily be tracked. In battle, however, he relies on Kiba to provide the chakra for the combination attacks they execute, which requires Akamaru to transform into a clone of Kiba.^[38] In the original Japanese anime, Akamaru is voiced by Junko Takeuchi, who is also the seiyū for Naruto Uzumaki, and Kōsuke Toriumi, who voices Kiba, when Akamaru transforms into a clone of Kiba.^[39] In the English adaptation of the anime, he is voiced by Jamie Simone, but when Akamaru transforms, he is voiced by Kyle Hebert, who additionally acts as Kiba’s voice actor.^[40]

Shino Aburame

Shino Aburame (油女 シノ, Aburame Shino^?) is one of the members of Team 8 and is fascinated with insects; he spends his free time capturing and studying insects and often uses them as analogies during conversation.^[41] A deep connection with insects runs in Shino’s family, as each person born in to the Aburame clan is infused with a special breed of insects known as “destruction bugs” (寄壊蟲, kikaichū^?) during birth. In exchange for using Shino as a hive and feeding on his chakra, the bugs do as he commands. During a battle, Shino directs his bugs towards an opponent, boxing them in without their knowledge and absorbing their chakra once they have been surrounded. Shino’s merciless tendencies, in regards to opponents as well as his attachment to insects, have caused other characters to label him as “creepy”.^[42] Nevertheless, Shino cares deeply for his teammates, being acutely aware of their inner workings and always regretting when he is unable to help them.^[27] In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Shinji Kawada.^[15] His first voice actor in the English anime was Sam Riegel, who voiced Shino in episodes 23 and 24, but in all following appearances, he has been voiced by Derek Stephen Prince.^[43][44]

Hinata Hyuga

Hinata Hyuga (日向 ヒナタ, Hyūga Hinata^?) is a member of Team 8 who suffers from a lack of self-confidence throughout the series. She is always reluctant to speak her mind or to do something that might antagonize another character, causing her difficulties whenever she is on a mission.^[45] This results in her effective expulsion from the Hyuga clan even though she is the eldest daughter of the clan’s leader and thus its heiress. Hinata’s inability to stand up for herself caused her father to disown her at a young age, leaving her in the care of her teacher, Kurenai Yuhi.^[46] Soon after her introduction, Hinata begins training to become stronger, both to overcome her own weaknesses and to prove her worth to her father. Her efforts begin to prove successful towards the end of Part I, as her father takes a greater interest in her training.^[27]

Though Hinata’s training has in large part been to prove herself, she also trains to try and win the attention of the series protagonist Naruto Uzumaki. Inspired by Naruto’s confidence and determination, Hinata becomes infatuated with Naruto to the extent that she immediately blushes or faints upon seeing him. However, as the series progresses, she goes out of her way to help him.^[45] While Hinata is hesitant to openly admit her feelings for him, most characters (except for Naruto, who only considers her behavior “weird”) are aware of her feelings.^[47] In the anime, Hinata’s attempts to impress Naruto result in her creation of a new ability capable of instantly blocking or attacking anything in her extended field of vision.^[48] During Part II, Hinata finally admits her feelings to Naruto while protecting him from Pain. Her seiyū in the Japanese anime is Nana Mizuki, and her English voice actor is Stephanie Sheh.^[15][16]

Kurenai Yuhi

Kurenai Yuhi (夕日 紅, Yūhi Kurenai^?) is the leader of Team 8. Of all her students, Kurenai is closest with Hinata, acting as a surrogate parent in the absence of Hinata’s father and helping Hinata overcome her weaknesses.^[46] Whenever Kurenai appears in the series, she is usually accompanied by Asuma Sarutobi. Because of this, many other characters assume them to be a couple, though they both deny this.^[49] During Part II of the series, Kurenai is revealed to be pregnant with Asuma’s child, making their relationship clear.^[50] In battle she specializes in casting illusions, and is shown to be particularly skilled with illusions involving plants.^[51] In the Japanese anime, her seiyū is Rumi Ochiai.^[52] In the English adaptation of the anime, she was voiced by Saffron Henderson in episode three, and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn in all subsequent appearances.^[16][53]

Team 10

Team 10 is a group of Konohagakure ninja led by Asuma Sarutobi. The fathers of the three team members Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka were also on a team together, and both generations refer to their team using the moniker “Ino-Shika-Cho”.^[54] During Part II, Asuma is slain in an encounter with members of Akatsuki, and Kakashi Hatake briefly assumes leadership of the team to hunt down those responsible for Asuma’s death.^[55]

Choji Akimichi

Choji Akimichi (秋道 チョウジ, Akimichi Chōji^?) is a member of Team 10 who is typified by his deep love for food to the extent that he always has a snack with him during the series. Though his habit of always eating gives him a relatively large appearance, Choji insists he is not fat, instead using explanations like being “big-boned”. If someone refers to him as fat, Choji instantly becomes hostile and increases his resolve to battle.^[56] Shikamaru Nara has never found an issue with Choji’s weight, instead choosing to look upon Choji’s inner strength. Because of this, Choji regards him as his best friend, stating he would willingly give his life to defend Shikamaru.^[57] In battle, Choji can increase the size of his body to improve the amount of damage his strikes deal upon impact.^[58] His seiyū in the Japanese anime is Kentaro Ito, and his English voice actor is Robbie Rist.^[15][16]

Shikamaru Nara

Shikamaru Nara (奈良 シカマル, Nara Shikamaru^?) is one of the members of Team 10. Creator Kishimoto has noted that he “likes” Shikamaru due to his easygoing nature despite being a genius, and contrasted him against Sasuke Uchiha’s intelligent but abrasive personality.^[7] Shikamaru’s intelligence is such that Asuma Sarutobi, Team 10’s leader, has never been able to defeat Shikamaru at games such as shogi or go, and he can devise complex strategies even in the heat of battle. However, his laziness frequently prevents him from effectively utilizing his intelligence.^[59] Shikamaru is a longtime friend of Choji Akimichi, his fellow Team 10 member, as he chooses to look upon Choji as a person rather than only considering his large girth.^[57] In battle, Shikamaru can manipulate his shadow, and by extending it into another person’s shadow he can force the target to mimic his movements.^[59] In the Japanese anime, Shikamaru’s seiyū is Showtaro Morikubo, although Nobutoshi Canna acted as a stand-in for Morikubo in episode 141.^[15][60] His English voice actor is Tom Gibis.^[16]

Ino Yamanaka

Ino Yamanaka (山中 いの, Yamanaka Ino^?) is the only female member of Team 10. She has known Sakura Haruno since they were children, befriending and helping her to develop her own identity. When they discovered that they both liked Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura ended their friendship so they could properly compete for his affection.^[61] The two eventually make amends and rekindle their friendship, but still maintain a competitive attitude towards each other. In the anime, when Sakura begins to excel in healing techniques, Ino becomes her surrogate apprentice, hoping to be more useful to her friends and teammates as an able medical ninja.^[62] In terms of combat abilities, Ino specializes in mind-altering techniques. To use these techniques, Ino transfers her consciousness to her target’s mind, gaining control over their body which she can then use to attack others.^[56] In the Japanese anime, her seiyū is Ryōka Yuzuki, and her voice actor is Colleen O’Shaughnessey in the English adaptation.^[15][16]

Asuma Sarutobi

Asuma Sarutobi (猿飛 アスマ, Sarutobi Asuma^?) is the leader of Team 10 and son of Hiruzen Sarutobi. He had a falling out with his father when he was younger, and briefly left Konohagakure in protest. The two had not completely reconciled by the time of the Hiruzen’s death.^[63] Asuma is usually seen smoking a cigarette, but will temporarily drop the habit when something is bothering him, such as when his father died.^[64] Among all his students, Asuma shares a particularly close relationship with Shikamaru Nara, and the two often play shogi or go together.^[59] Asuma frequently appears alongside Kurenai Yuhi, leading many characters to assume the two are a couple. Both deny this and promptly try to change the subject whenever it is brought up.^[49] During Part II of the series, however, Kurenai is revealed to be pregnant with Asuma’s child, making their relationship clear.^[50] In battle, Asuma wields unique brass knuckles equipped with blades that can be infused with chakra. When infused with his wind-based chakra, Asuma can extend the blades’ length and easily pierce through rock.^[65] After Asuma is killed by Hidan, a member of the criminal organization Akatsuki, these knuckles fall into Shikamaru’s possession, and he uses them to defeat Hidan and avenge Asuma.^[66] Asuma’s seiyū in the Japanese anime is Jūrōta Kosugi, and he is voiced by Doug Erholtz in the English adaptation.^[15][16]

Team Guy

Team Guy is a group of Konohagakure ninja led by Might Guy. The members of Team Guy primarily concentrate on physical attacks and weapons. They are a year older than the other members of Konohagakure’s teams, as Guy wanted to wait a year before they could take the test to advance in ninja rank and become Chunin. In Part II, Team Guy joins Team 7 in attempting to save Gaara from the criminal organization, Akatsuki.^[67]

Rock Lee

Rock Lee (ロック・リー, Rokku Rī^?) is a member of Team Guy and the favorite student of team leader Might Guy. Guy spends much of his free time training with Lee to help him accomplish his dream of becoming a respected ninja by using only taijutsu. Lee has adopted several of Guy’s habits because of this, such as his wardrobe and his perseverance.^[68] Guy has taught him a number of powerful, even forbidden, techniques. Because some of these techniques, such as the ability to open the eight chakra gates, can pose a severe risk to Lee’s body, he is only permitted to use them to protect something or someone dear to him.^[69] In the Japanese anime and manga, he always utilizes honorifics such as “san and “kun“. In the English adaptations, he never uses contractions. In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Yoichi Masukawa, and his voice actor is Brian Donovan in English.^[52][53]

Neji Hyuga

Neji Hyuga (日向 ネジ, Hyūga Neji^?) is a member of Team Guy and a child prodigy of the Hyuga clan. Despite his natural talent, Neji’s membership in one of the clan’s lower houses leaves him ineligible to learn the clan’s most secret techniques.^[70] At the start of the series, Neji openly hates the main house because of this, readily attacking its members verbally or physically when given the chance. At this point in the series, Neji believes in a fatalistic philosophy: that one’s destiny is inescapable and that a weak person will always be weak.^[46] After being defeated in battle by Naruto Uzumaki, a character that has proven his “destiny” wrong by getting stronger, Neji has a change of heart. He abandons the idea of a predetermined fate, and resolves to get strong enough to never lose a battle.^[71] He also tries to remedy the estranged relations between himself and the members of the main house, resulting in his training with the leader of the main house at the end of Part I.^[27]

Neji displays his title as a prodigy of the Hyuga throughout the series; when first introduced he is highly proficient with the Gentle Fist style of combat, with which he can directly attack an opponent’s internal systems. Though never having been trained in the form, Neji has been able to replicate it and its most powerful attacks through simple observation.^[70] As the series progresses, Neji refines these abilities into more powerful counterparts, either to increase their potency or to fix an inherent flaw. One such example is his Byakugan, an eye technique that by default grants the owner a near-360-degree field of vision within a fifty meter radius. Neji constantly trains to overcome a small blindspot and to increase the Byakugan’s range of sight.^[71] In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Kōichi Tōchika, and when he is featured as a child, he is voiced by Keiko Nemoto.^[52][72] His voice in the English anime is provided by Steve Staley, and Wendee Lee provides his child voice.^[53][73]

Tenten

Tenten (テンテン^?) is the only female member of Team Guy, and longs to prove that female ninja can be just as skilled as male ninja. Of all the Naruto protagonists, Tenten receives the least amount of screen time, such that her only fight in Part I of the manga is almost entirely skipped; the battle’s start and her eventual defeat are the only portions shown.^[74] Despite her lack of appearances, series creator Masashi Kishimoto favors her design more than those of any of the other female characters he has created.^[75] In battle, Tenten specializes in weaponry, ranging from projectiles to close-combat weapons and even explosives by the second part of the series. During a fight she uses the hundreds of weapons kept stored in scrolls she carries with her to bombard opponents with pinpoint accuracy. Tenten uses this expertise to help Neji Hyuga train his defensive techniques, and she holds him in high regard since he can always block her attacks.^[76] Her Japanese seiyū is Yukari Tamura, and her English voice actor is Danielle Judovits.^[52][53]

Might Guy

Might Guy (マイト・ガイ, Maito Gai^?) is the leader of Team Guy, and dedicates most of his time to only one of his students, Rock Lee. Because of Guy’s dedication to him, Lee has modeled himself in his master’s image, mimicking Guy’s distinctive green jumpsuit and shiny bowl haircut. Lee has also adopted many of Guy’s mannerisms, including his “My Rules” philosophy, which involves setting tough self-imposed penalties for failure in the belief that the punishment will make him stronger.^[77] Series creator Masashi Kishimoto likens Guy’s passionate personality to that of a physical education teacher he had in junior high school, but notes that the teacher was not a model for Guy’s character.^[78]

In battle, Guy specializes in physical attacks, which he constantly tries to teach to Lee. While Lee is forced to concentrate on physical attacks due to his inability to use other types of techniques, Guy deliberately chooses not to use techniques other than physical attacks.^[79] When not teaching Lee a new ability, Guy is usually found in competition with his self-proclaimed rival, Kakashi Hatake. Throughout the series, Kakashi has never displayed a particular interest in their rivalry, which only further motivates Guy to defeat Kakashi and his “coolness”.^[80] In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Masashi Ebara, and his English voice actor is Skip Stellrecht.^[81][82]

Hokage

The Hokage (火影^?, lit. “Fire Shadow”) is the leader of Konohagakure. Over the course of the series, there have been six Hokage, who are honored by the village by having sculptures of their faces carved into the rock formation overlooking Konohagakure. The First Hokage (初代火影, Shodai Hokage^?) was Hashirama Senju (千手柱間, Senju Hashirama^?), who founded the village along with Madara Uchiha. With his unique Mokuton abilities, he created the trees that act as the foundation for Konohagakure, and his method of rule became a model for all subsequent Hokage. The First was succeeded by his younger brother, Tobirama Senju (千手扉間, Senju Tobirama^?), who became the Second Hokage (二代目火影, Nidaime Hokage^?).^[83] He in turn was followed by one of his students, who became the Third Hokage. After a long rule, the Third abdicated in favor of Minato Namikaze, who took the position of Fourth Hokage, but reclaimed his position after the Fourth gave his life to save the village from the nine-tailed demon fox.^[84] The Third is the Hokage at the beginning of the series, but he is slain in battle by his former student, Orochimaru, during an invasion of Konohagakure.^[54] Another of his students, Tsunade, succeeds him as the Fifth Hokage.^[41] Danzo has followed Tsunade becoming the Sixth Hokage after her severe injuries made her comatose while defending the village from Pain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi

Hiruzen Sarutobi (猿飛ヒルゼン, Sarutobi Hiruzen^?), the Third Hokage (三代目火影, Sandaime Hokage^?), has been the longest-ruling Hokage, having served two separate terms.^[83] He is a peace-loving leader, preferring nonviolent discussions to his advisers’ more militaristic suggestions. Throughout the series, he acts as a source of wisdom to younger generations and is one of the few characters to treat Naruto Uzumaki as a person and not just the container of the nine-tailed demon fox. In his youth Hiruzen was known as “The Professor” (プロフェッサー, Purofessā^?), as he purportedly knew every jutsu in Konohagakure. He was also the teacher of Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. Orochimaru had always been his favorite student, and Hiruzen could never bring himself to recognize Orochimaru’s evil qualities. When Orochimaru invades Konoha years later, Hiruzen fights him to repent for never prosecuting Orochimaru as he should have.^[85] When he is unable to win, he robs Orochimaru of his ability to use jutsu, bringing an end to the invasion and thus allowing Hiruzen to die happily.^[54] In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Hidekatsu Shibata, and his English voice actor is Steve Kramer.^[15][16]

Minato Namikaze

Minato Namikaze (波風 ミナト, Namikaze Minato^?), the Fourth Hokage (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage^?), is the father of Naruto Uzumaki. Although Naruto and Minato are noted to have a number of similar traits throughout the series, their familial relationship is not revealed until Part II of the series.^[86] He was the student of Jiraiya and the teacher of Kakashi Hatake. Minato was a prodigy among ninja, such that enemy villages issued flee-on-sight orders if ever he appeared on a battlefield. He developed a jutsu that was in essence a teleportation jutsu, allowing him to wipe out whole armies in the blink of an eye, thus earning him the title of “Konoha’s Yellow Flash” (木ノ葉の黄色い閃光, Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō^?).^[87] Before the start of the series, he gave his life to seal the nine-tailed demon fox into Naruto’s body, saving Konoha from destruction and giving Naruto access to its great strength.^[84] His seiyu is Toshiyuki Morikawa.

Tsunade

Tsunade (綱手^?), as well as her former teammates Jiraiya and Orochimaru, is a former student of the Third Hokage.^[25] She is also the granddaughter of the First Hokage, and so many characters in the series refer to her with the Japanese honorific “hime” (meaning “princess”). Despite her connections to past Hokage, Tsunade hates the position when she is first introduced. After her brother and boyfriend died in pursuit of their dreams to become Hokage, she lost faith in the title and the concept of dreams. She regains her faith in both after meeting Naruto Uzumaki, who consistently overcomes any obstacle in his own dreams of being Hokage.^[41] As a result, Tsunade accepts the position of Fifth Hokage (五代目火影, Godaime Hokage^?) to protect Konohagakure on behalf of everyone she has loved.^[88] Despite the importance of her position, Tsunade tends to avoid her duties, instead leaving them for her assistants. She will fulfill her role to address matters important to the village, and throughout Part II leads Konoha in combating Akatsuki.^[27] When Konoha was invaded by Pain, she used up all her energy summoning Katsuyu, her slug summon, to protect the villagers, and has been in a coma ever since. She was then dismissed as Hokage and was replaced by Danzo.

Tsunade possesses a number of traits that set her apart from other characters in the series, such as being a compulsive gambler with terrible luck. On the rare occasions that she hits a winning streak she perceives it as a bad omen, and makes it a point to fortify her defenses when it occurs. Additionally, although she is in her fifties, she constantly assumes the appearance of a twenty-year-old woman, retaining only her characteristically large breasts.^[89] Despite her odd personality Tsunade is a talented ninja; she has superhuman strength that allows her to reduce buildings to rubble and can heal injuries that most others would consider incurable. Her healing abilities are such that she has devised a method of regeneration for herself, making her all but invincible in battle.^[88] At the conclusion of Part I, Tsunade takes Sakura Haruno as an apprentice, teaching her how to use both of her trademark abilities. In the Japanese anime, Tsunade’s seiyū is Masako Katsuki, and her English voice actor is Debi Mae West.^[90][91]

Danzo

Danzo (ダンゾウ, Danzō^?) is one of the oldest villagers in Konohagakure. The right half of his body is covered in bandages to hide the arm and Sharingan eye transplanted from the body of Shisui Uchiha. He was once considered for the position of Third Hokage, but that title was given to Hiruzen Sarutobi and he instead became an adviser to Hiruzen.^[12] Since then he has been using The Foundation, his own personal black ops team, to secretly further him along the path of becoming Hokage.^[92] Danzo is a war hawk who believes that all of the former Hokage have placed peace above the village’s best interests, a belief that leaves him at odds with Tsunade throughout Part II.^[12] After Konohagakure is destroyed, Danzo blames Tsunade and the former Hokage’s philosophies for the village’s destruction, which finally convinces the Fire Country’s feudal lord to make him the Acting Sixth Hokage (六代目火影, Rokudaime Hokage^?). In the Japanese anime he is voiced by Hiroshi Ito.

Sand Siblings

The Sand Siblings are ninja from the village of Sunagakure and the children of the Fourth Kazekage, the leader of the village.^[93] They come to Konohagakure to participate in the biannual ninja exams, and serve as antagonists in the subsequent invasion of Konohagakure. Due to their interactions with Naruto Uzumaki, they later return as allies of Konohagakure, aiding him in his attempts to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha from Orochimaru. Kishimoto changed their costumes for their return due to the difficulty in drawing their original attire, as well as to symbolize their new friendship with Konohagakure.^[94] When all five of the kage’s are meeting up they are seen yet again in different outfits.

Gaara

Gaara (我愛羅^?) is the youngest of the three siblings. He was created by Kishimoto as a foil to Naruto Uzumaki, with a similar background yet a highly divergent personality.^[9] When Gaara was born, his father intended to make him a military weapon for Sunagakure by sealing the One-Tailed Shukaku (一尾の守鶴, Ichibi no Shukaku^?), a powerful and dangerous tailed beast, inside him. Similar to Naruto, Gaara was tormented by his fellow villagers for being the host of a tailed beast. After one of his few remaining relatives tried to kill him, Gaara developed a sadistic and withdrawn personality, killing others to affirm the value of his existence.^[95] His battle with Naruto during the invasion of Konoha changes this mentality; as a result, he becomes more willing to help others as the purpose for his existence, and he succeeds his deceased father as Sunagakure’s Kazekage during Part II.^[96] Gaara’s seiyū in the Japanese anime is Akira Ishida, and his English voice actor is Liam O’Brien.^[52][53]

Kankuro

Kankuro (カンクロウ, Kankurō^?) is the second oldest of the three siblings. For the first half of the series, he is frequently at odds with Gaara, though he tends to hold his tongue for fear of being killed.^[97] In Part II, once Gaara begins to reveal his dreams and motivations to Kankuro, Kankuro becomes very protective of Gaara; he lashes out at anyone who speaks poorly of Gaara and when Gaara is kidnapped, he readily risks his life to save him.^[96] Kankuro is a talented puppeteer, and has thus far been shown to have three puppets in his arsenal: Karasu (烏^?, lit. Crow), Kuroari (黒蟻^?, lit. Black Ant), and Sanshōuo (山椒魚^?, lit. Salamander). Crow is used for offensive purposes, Black Ant traps opponents in its body to make them easier targets, and Salamander protects Kankuro and his allies from enemy attacks. The puppets are all destroyed by their original creator, Sasori, in Part II. Kankuro is later seen using Sasori’s body as his new puppet.^[98] In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Yasuyuki Kase, and his English voice actor is Michael Lindsay.^[52][53]

Temari

Temari (テマリ^?) is the oldest of the three siblings. Unlike her more combat-loving brothers, Temari values peace, as she questions Sunagakure’s justifications for going to war with Konohagakure.^[99] This trait carries over to Part II, in which she begins acting as a liaison between Sunagakure and Konohagakure to help the two villages work together. Like her brothers, Temari does not appear in the series very often, and when she does appear she is commonly in the company of Shikamaru Nara. When they make their Part II debut together, Naruto Uzumaki asks if they are on a date, though both Shikamaru and Temari state that this is not the case.^[100] In battle, Temari wields a giant iron fan that can create powerful gusts of wind capable of leveling the surrounding landscape. As she is skilled at deducing an opponent’s strategies and weaknesses soon after a battle begins, she typically uses her winds to remove parts of the battlefield that might be advantageous to the enemy.^[59] Temari’s seiyū in the Japanese anime is Romi Paku, and her English voice actor is Tara Platt.^[52][53]

Other

Iruka Umino

Iruka Umino (うみの イルカ, Umino Iruka^?) is a Konohagakure ninja and instructor at the Ninja Academy, a school for prospective ninja. Masashi Kishimoto’s initial design of Iruka featured “evil” eyes and sharper cheekbones, but this was abandoned in favor of a more relaxed appearance.^[101] When Iruka was a child, his parents were killed by the nine-tailed demon fox, which was sealed into Naruto Uzumaki. He bears no ill will towards Naruto, instead being one of the few people at the start of the series to recognize Naruto as a person and not just a container for the fox. Naruto thinks of Iruka as a father-figure because of this, and Iruka in turn has great faith in Naruto’s potential to be a great ninja.^[84] In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Toshihiko Seki, and his English voice actor is Quinton Flynn.^[15][16]

Konohamaru Sarutobi

Konohamaru Sarutobi (猿飛 木ノ葉丸, Sarutobi Konohamaru^?), named after Konohagakure, is the grandson of the Third Hokage. He strives to replace his grandfather as Hokage so the villagers of Konohagakure will recognize him by name, not as the Hokage’s grandson. He looks to Naruto Uzumaki as a mentor in this quest, emulating his work ethic, determination, and signature jutsu such as the Rasengan and a variety of perverted techniques. Konohamaru insists, however, that he will only become Hokage after Naruto has been Hokage first.^[13] Konohamaru’s design caused great difficulties for Masashi Kishimoto; he intended for Konohamaru to look like a “punk” smaller than Naruto, yet all of his attempts resulted in a mere recreation of Naruto. He eventually gave Konohamaru small, angry-looking eyes, and was instantly happy with the design.^[102] He is voiced in the Japanese anime by Ikue Ōtani, and by Akiko Koike as a stand-in.^[15][103] Colleen O’Shaughnessey is his English voice actor.^[16]

Jiraiya

Jiraiya (自来也^?) is a Konohagakure ninja and one of Naruto’s teachers. Kishimoto has commented that out of all the master-pupil relationships he has created in the Naruto series, the bond between Naruto and Jiraiya is his favorite, noting that it makes drawing them “worthwhile”.^[78] As a child, Jiraiya was under the tutelage of the Third Hokage, along with his teammates, Tsunade and Orochimaru.^[25] Jiraiya is known throughout the Naruto world as the “Toad Sage” (蝦蟇仙人, Gama Sennin^?) due to his toad-related jutsu. Although still affiliated with Konohagakure, he spends much of his time traveling. Jiraiya’s personality is openly lecherous, and he proudly describes himself as a “super pervert”, authoring a series of best-selling adult romance novels.^[104] During Part I, he takes Naruto as his student, and returns him to Konohagakure in Part II as he begins to keep tabs on the movements of the criminal organization Akatsuki.^[105] In the Japanese anime, Jiraiya is voiced by Hōchū Ōtsuka, and his English voice actor is David Lodge.^[106][107]

Shizune

Shizune (シズネ^?) is a Konohagakure ninja introduced in the series as Tsunade’s assistant. She left Konohagakure with Tsunade after the death of her uncle, and over the years, Tsunade taught her medical techniques. Despite her medicinal affinity, many of the attacks she uses in the series are poison-based, including using concealed poisoned needles or emitting toxic gas from her mouth.^[108] Shizune is one of the few characters that Tsunade trusts with absolute certainty, as she identifies details that Tsunade tends to overlook. In Part II of the series, Shizune’s concern for details causes her to question Tsunade’s judgment, creating interference with Tsunade’s plans and temporarily straining the relationship between the two.^[37] In the Japanese anime, her seiyū is Keiko Nemoto, and her English voice actor is Megan Hollingshead.^[90][91]

Chiyo

Chiyo (チヨ^?) is an adviser to Sunagakure who is introduced at the start of Part II. She is mistrustful of other ninja villages, making treaties as a formality and quietly strengthening Sunagakure’s military might simultaneously. During the various ninja wars, she used her knowledge of poisons to aid Sunagakure, only to have many of her efforts nullified by the work of Tsunade. She is a skilled puppeteer and taught her grandson, Sasori, everything she knew. When Sasori kidnaps Gaara, the leader of Sunagakure, in Part II, Chiyo joins a group of Konohagakure ninja in rescuing him. With the help of Sakura Haruno, the apprentice of Tsunade, Chiyo is able to kill her grandson. Despite their efforts, Gaara also dies before they can rescue him.^[109] Touched by the genuine bond formed between Sunagakure and Konoha, Chiyo gives up her life to revive Gaara, hoping that the relationship of peace might be continued.^[110] In the Japanese anime, her seiyū is Ikuko Tani,^[111] and in the English version her voice actor is Barbara Goodson.

Sai

Sai (サイ^?) is introduced during Part II of the series as Sasuke Uchiha’s replacement in Team 7.^[12] Having been a member of The Foundation since he was a child, Sai has been trained to not possess or desire any type of emotion or camaraderie. After spending time with Naruto Uzumaki, however, he begins to crave bonds with other people, which has since become his primary role in the series.^[112] Sai’s attempts to form bonds involve giving pet names to others; however, he often says what he actually thinks of a person, resulting with him choosing names such as “fatso” and “ugly”. He eventually learns from his mistakes and attempts the opposite approach, for instance, calling Ino Yamanaka “gorgeous”.^[113] When not making an attempt to bond with others, Sai spends his time painting and drawing, and has produced thousands of works. His artistic talents extend to his choice of attacks in battles: he can infuse chakra with his inking brush to make his drawings come to life.^[114] Sai’s seiyū is Satoshi Hino in the Naruto: Shippūden anime, and his English voice actor is Benjamin Diskin.^[115]

Yamato

Yamato (ヤマト^?) is introduced during Part II of the series as a temporary replacement for Kakashi Hatake as the leader of Team 7.^[12] After Kakashi’s return, he stays on the team in an additional leadership position. Though “Yamato” is a codename assigned to him for the purposes of joining Team 7, he prefers it over his real name, Tenzo (テンゾウ, Tenzō^?).^[65] Unlike Kakashi, who places his teammates before the mission, Yamato will leave them behind if they become a hindrance, citing that as ninja they should be able to look after themselves.^[92] During his infancy, Yamato was abducted by Orochimaru and experimented upon in an attempt to replicate the First Hokage’s unique abilities. Orochimaru was forced to flee Konohagakure before he could complete his testing, and thus never knew that Yamato had successfully obtained the First’s Mokuton techniques. When using Mokuton techniques, Yamato can form anything out of wood at will. It also allows him to suppress a tailed beast’s influence over its host. This is the primary reason he is assigned to Team 7, as he can stop Naruto Uzumaki if the nine-tailed demon fox within him gets out of control.^[116] In the Naruto: Shippūden anime, Yamato’s seiyū is Rikiya Koyama^[115], and in the English version he is voiced by Troy Baker.

Nine-tailed demon fox

The nine-tailed demon fox (九尾の妖狐, Kyūbi no Yōko^?) is the most powerful of the tailed beasts, blood lustful into personality, regarded as an age-old natural disaster as a single swipe of one of its tails can raise tsunamis and flatten mountains. Twelve years before the start of the series, the fox attacked Konohagakure before being stopped by the Fourth Hokage, who gave his life to seal the fox into his son, Naruto Uzumaki.^[84] Throughout the series, after a couple isolated incidents of falling under its influence during heated battles, Naruto tries to gain dominance over the fox and harness its great strength to perform jutsu that would normally be impossible for a ninja of his age.^[99] At the same time the fox tries to gain control over Naruto, provoking his rage and thus allowing its violent personality to influence and consume him. As Naruto draws upon more of the fox’s power the seal keeping it trapped within him weakens, and in the event the seal is broken the fox will be released.^[116] In the Japanese anime, its seiyū is Tesshō Genda, and in the English adaptation the fox is voiced by Paul St. Peter.^[106][107]

 

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