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Land of Fire

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The Land of Fire (火の国, Hi no Kuni) is a geographical feature in the anime and manga series Naruto . It is one of the largest and most powerful countries in Naruto. Its hidden village, Konohagakure, is the home of the main cast; it is the most important and well-known country in the story.

The Land of Fire is appropriately oriented towards the element of fire (typically has very bright and warm weather) and, while not the largest country, has the largest hidden village.

Twelve years before where the story begins, the Land of Fire was attacked by an exceedingly powerful demon - the Kyubi, or the nine-tailed demon fox. This monster destroyed anything in its path and killed countless people, including, among countless others, Iruka Umino's parents. It was stopped by the then Hokage of Konohagakure, a very powerful ninja known only as the Fourth Hokage. He sacrificed his own life to seal the monster inside a newborn child, Naruto Uzumaki, the titular character of the series.

In the quiet years that followed, the Land of Fire slowly recovered and became accustomed to peace. This was seen by other countries – who had been working to increase their military power – as a weakness, and is one of the factors that brought about the combined assault from conspiring Otogakure and Sunagakure.

Forest of Death

The Forest of Death (死の森, Shi no Mori) was the stage for the second part of the Konoha Chunin exams. Its primary function served as a testing grounds for the survival and fighting skills of Genin trying to become a Chunin. It is a very dangerous place, filled with hordes of flora and fauna; often gigantic, poisonous, or even more likely, both – hence its name.

There are four entrances into the tower. Its perimeter is surrounded by a metallic fence with 44 gates equally spaced around it; this perimeter is where the ninja enter to initiate the test. Inside is a river, the forest, and a tower located in the center; the forest's radius is about 10 kilometers.

The tower is the destination of the ninja after they have collected two scrolls. Each team starts with only one scroll; therefore, to pass the exam, a team must steal a scroll from at least one other team - by any means (the forest is not the only thing that is dangerous). Inside the tower is the large arena in which the third test preliminaries are held, if too many teams manage to survive to that point.

Konohagakure

Konohagakure (木ノ葉隠れの里, Konohagakure no Sato, literally "Village Hidden Among Tree Leaves"; also known as "Village Hidden in the Leaves" or "Hidden Leaf Village"), or Konoha for short, is one of the five great ninja villages. As such, it is one of five villages with a Kage as its leader, known as the Hokage.

File:Konoha.jpeg
Konohagakure

Although Konoha, much like the country in which it resides, has been peaceful for the past twelve years and has grown accustomed to that peace, it remains one of the most powerful villages in existence, with an overall ninja population much greater than that of any other village, and therefore has great military power and influence. In the Chunin exam, out of all 153 Genin participants, Konoha had 87 Leaf Genin (72 in the anime) trying to become Chunin, whereas all other ninja villages had considerably fewer participating: 30 Sand Genin, 21 Rain Genin, 6 Grass Genin (15 in the anime), 6 Waterfall Genin (12 in the anime), and 3 Sound Genin (6 counting Kabuto and his teammates). In addition, Konoha is the village that hosted the event, which possibly contributed to the unbalanced number of participants. It has been mentioned that certain villages (such as the Kirigakure) have had exams of their own in the past, and presumably, may hold a grudge against Konoha. The hiragana あん (an) is painted on the entrance gates of the village (one hiragana on each door). This means hermitage or retreat (the kanji is 庵).

Konoha is the home to several noteworthy clans (even a few with kekkei genkai abilities), among them the Hyuga clan and the nearly extinct Uchiha clan (whose only remaining members are Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha, who slaughtered the rest of his clan).

Trivia

  • Masashi Kishimoto stated: "Yes, there is [a model for Konoha], it's my hometown. Where I lived as a kid was near a military base so there were lots of training fields. And near that was the city. Because I grew up in a place like that, I was interested in things like Special Forces, military maps, three man teams, etc."

Clans

Konoha is home to a number of powerful clans, a few of which even have kekkei genkai abilities. Those that do not are still just as formidable.

Aburame clan

The Aburame clan (油女一族, Aburame Ichizoku, "Aburame family") is perhaps the most mysterious clan of Konoha. Not much is known about this clan, except that they use insects as weapons. The insects are often shown to live in symbiosis with the body of the ninja.

Trivia

  • "Aburame" means "oil woman", and it is similar to "aburamushi" (油虫), the word for cockroaches.

Akimichi clan

The Akimichi clan (秋道一族, Akimichi Ichizoku, "Akimichi family") is one of the four noble clans of Konoha. They are able to convert calories into chakra, which they then use in their hidden technique, Multi-Size Technique and its various related jutsu.

The Akimichi clan seems to have a special relationship with the Nara clan and Yamanaka clan. For at least two generations, members of these three families have formed an "Ino-Shika-Cho trio", named after the first part of the names of the members. The Akimichi members are the Cho in the trio.

Trivia

  • The name "Akimichi" means "the road in the season of autumn". "Aki" means "autumn", which is a time of harvest. "Michi" means street, which is where vendors sell food.
  • "Ino", "Shika" and "Cho" are the names of three cards needed for a highly prized trick of "Inoshikacho" in the Hanafuda.

Hyuga clan

Main article: Hyuga clan

Inuzuka clan

The Inuzuka clan (犬塚家, Inuzuka ke, "Inuzuka family") is known for their usage of dogs as fighting companions. They have distinctive red marks on their cheeks.

Trivia

  • The name "Inuzuka", meaning "house of dogs", belongs to a clan which was one of the most powerful in the Chiba prefecture in Japan during the Edo period. They were known as "dog warriors" and worshipped Inu ("Dog"), a deity representing the zodiac sign of the dog. The name "Inuzuka" also originates from Hakkenden, a novel about a dog samurai.
  • The (known) Inuzuka members are all named after a part of the body of a dog (nose, claw, fang), while their dogs are named after colors (red, gray, black).

Nara clan

The Nara clan (奈良家, Nara ke, "Nara Family") is known for their manipulation of shadows and tending of deer. They have kept a book with medicine preparations and effects for generations. Among the medicine described in this book are the secret pills used by the Akimichi clan. The men from this family are very lazy and tend to be attracted to overbearing women.

The Nara members are the Shika in the "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio.

Trivia

  • The name "Nara" is from the real city of Nara, Japan, and is a famous place for the number of deer ("Shika") that live there. The deer there are said to bow whenever they are given treats yet also said to be very aggressive.

Uchiha clan

Main article: Uchiha clan

Yamanaka clan

The Yamanaka clan (山中家, Yamanaka ke, "Yamanaka family") runs a flower shop and specializes in manipulating the minds of their opponents.

The Yamanaka members are the Ino in the "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio.

Trivia

  • The name "Yamanaka" means "deep in the mountain". Translated literally, it means "in the middle of the mountain".

Hokages

Konoha has had five Hokages (火影, Fire Shadow) since the First Hokage founded the village 60 years before the start of the series. The fifth Hokage is currently still in office. The Hokages are generally the strongest shinobi of Konoha; however, as there are various extenuating circumstances involved in the selection of a Hokage, the one in power may not be the strongest ninja in the village. They also act as the leaders of the village.

Hokage, First

File:Naruto shodaime0002.jpg
The First Hokage.

The First Hokage (初代火影, Shodai Hokage, literally "Founding" or "First Hokage") was the founder of Konoha. He was the older brother of the Second, and the grandfather of Tsunade, who is currently the Fifth. He saw the people of Konoha as a part of him, and put them before anything else. His spirit even now takes a firm root in Konoha. His soul was sealed in one of the Third Hokage's shadow clones after he was resurrected by Orochimaru.

It is revealed that Orochimaru used his DNA for his own genetic experiments, attempting to duplicate the First's unique Mokuton techniques and his (previously unknown) ability to control biju. The latter ability is assisted by the necklace which he gave to Tsunade, who subsequently lost it to Naruto in a bet. Only one of the sixty test subjects, Yamato, survived.

Hokage, Second

File:Nidaime.jpg
The Second Hokage.
  • Name: Unknown
  • Age: ? (deceased)2
  • Rank: Hokage2
  • Height: 182.3 cm2
  • Weight: 70.5 kg2
  • Birthday: ?
  • Blood Type: ?
  • Seiyu: Kenyu Horiuchi
  • Unique traits: Excelled at water jutsu, did not require a water source to perform them

The Second Hokage (二代目火影, Nidaime Hokage) was the younger brother of the First and Tsunade's grand-uncle. He greatly contributed to Konoha's establishment as a major power. He was very proud of his superior combat ability, and was especially skillful at water jutsu (to the point that he did not require a source of water to perform them). He was the teacher of the Third Hokage, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane, and was the one to appoint the Third as his successor. His soul was sealed in one of the Third Hokage's shadow clones after he was resurrected by Orochimaru.

Hokage, Third

Main article: Third Hokage

Hokage, Fourth

File:Fourth Hokage.jpg
The Fourth Hokage

The Fourth Hokage (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage), also known as "The Leaf's Yellow Flash" (木ノ葉の黄色い閃光, Konoha no Kīroi Senkō), was the brave ninja responsible for sealing the Kyubi inside Naruto. He is said to be the greatest ninja Konoha had ever produced and to have ever lived. He is remembered for his heroic acts through the monument that overshadows Konoha. Before he performed the seal, which would trap the Kyubi, he said that he did not want Naruto to be viewed as the container of a monster, but as a hero who saved the village from annihilation. This request, however, was not honored by the villagers, who still held much resentment for the Kyubi. He was a student of Jiraiya, and was the sensei of Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin.

The Fourth shares many similarities with Naruto, including blond hair, blue eyes, the same blood type (B), and overall similar personalities as noted by Jiraiya (though he also notes that the Fourth was much smarter, relatively speaking). Naruto is also noted to be the Fourth's legacy by Itachi Uchiha. Furthermore, when Jiraiya was trying to force Naruto to release his Kyubi chakra, he pushed Naruto off of a cliff, saying, "Forgive me, Fourth," as he did so.

The Fourth created several unique techniques, including the Flying Thunder God Technique, which essentially allowed him to teleport to any location with the use of a special seal. He also created the Rasengan, a technique that does not rely on hand seals, but instead uses a concentration of spinning chakra in the palm that causes immense damage to its victim on contact.

He like Naruto was taught by Jiraiya.He taught Jiraiya how to use Rasengan.After watching Sasuke's chidori he wanted to learn but instead learned Rasengan.

Hokage, Fifth

Main article: Tsunade (Naruto)

Elders

Danzo

File:Danzo.png
Danzo.
  • Age: ?
  • Rank: Unknown, probably Jonin
  • Height: ?
  • Weight: ?
  • Birthday: ?
  • Blood Type: ?
  • Registration #: ?

Danzo (ダンゾウ, Danzō) is more militant than most, favoring aggression and war over passiveness and peace. In the past, he competed with Sarutobi for the position of Third Hokage. He created the (now disbanded) ANBU training department known as Root (根, Ne) and acted as its head. Danzo was the one who recommended that Sai be placed in Team 7. He appears to have lost an arm at some point, the cause of which remains unknown.

Despite Danzo's apparent support for the Hokage and Konoha, the Fifth does not trust him; this is apparently well founded, as Danzo had given Sai a secret mission that Tsunade was unaware of: sending Sai to contact Orochimaru and offer to act as a subordinate for him. Yamato believes that Danzo is trying to take over Konoha with Orochimaru's help. This is apparently proven when it is revealed that the envelope Danzo sent Orochimaru was full of pictures and information on the true identities of Konoha's ANBU. However, all of these are nothing more than a front to let Sai get close to Orochimaru, so that Sai can execute his true mission: the assassination of Sasuke Uchiha.

It is unknown how powerful he is, but he must be very powerful in order to have plausibly contended with Sarutobi over the succession to the title of Hokage. Another question that arises is whether his desire to build his version of Konoha is true, and of how many people in Konoha will support his campaign, but there is a good chance he has enough, as he is willing to try to contact Orochimaru to possibly plan a future invasion. Sai did state that Danzo was planning to take over the village and create his own vision of it. Sai also stated that Danzo planned to betray Orochimaru after the invasion, and one way he would do that is by having Sai kill Sasuke, who would be used as Orochimaru's next body.

On the other hand, recent statements show some contradictions: while he dislikes Sai's new attachment to Team 7, instead of killing him, he merely stats that "emotion brings hatred, and hatred brings war." It is possible that if he wants to start a war, he wants to make sure he can gain something. He also allows Sai to keep his name and stay with Team 7. His exact nature is still shrouded in mystery.

Homura Mitokado

File:Mitokado Homura.jpg
Mitokado Homura.
  • Age: 681
  • Rank: Jonin1
  • Height: 166 cm1
  • Weight: 55.2 kg1
  • Birthday: May 8
  • Blood Type: A
  • Registration #: 000293

Homura Mitokado (水戸門ホムラ, Mitokado Homura) is the former teammate of the Third Hokage and Koharu Utatane. He is now a council member. Unlike the Third, he does not seem to think much of Naruto. He and Koharu wanted to restrict the number of missions that Naruto could go on and limit his area of activity in his own village since they're afraid Naruto will become a victim of Akatsuki.

Koharu Utatane

File:Utatane Koharu.jpg
Utatane Koharu.

Koharu Utatane (うたたねコハル, Utatane Koharu) is the former teammate of the Third Hokage and Homura Mitokado. She is now a council member. Like Homura, she does not seem to think much of Naruto. She and Homura wanted to restrict the number of missions that Naruto could go on and limit his area of activity in his own village since they're afraid Naruto will become a victim of Akatsuki.

ANBU

Sai

Main article: Sai (Naruto)

Yamato

Main article: Yamato (Naruto)

Yugao Uzuki

File:Uzuki Yugao.jpg
Uzuki Yugao

Yugao Uzuki (卯月夕顔, Uzuki Yugao) is a member of the Konoha ANBU and Hayate Gekko's lover. She swore to avenge Hayate's death after he was killed by Baki, although it is unknown if she actually knows who killed him. It is also unknown if she still is trying to avenge him, though her revenge may have simply been the spirited resistance she was shown offering to the ninja invading Konoha.

The manner of her speech towards Kakashi Hatake as her senpai seems to imply that he was her senior while he was still in ANBU.

Trivia

  • "Uzuki" is the old name for April on the Japanese lunar calendar. "Yugao" means "moonflower."

Other ninja by rank

Main articles: List of Konoha Genin, List of Konoha Chunin, and List of Konoha Jonin

Animals

Akamaru

File:Akamaru.jpg
Akamaru by Masashi Kishimoto.
File:Akamaru Red.JPG
Akamaru after consuming the soldier pill.
  • Age: 3-4 in Part I, 6 in Part II
  • Height: 29.1 cm
  • Weight: 5.3 kg
  • Birthday: July 7
  • Blood Type: ?

Akamaru (赤丸) is Kiba Inuzuka's nin-dog (忍犬, ninken), best friend, and companion. Akamaru's heightened senses, such as smell and hearing, along with Kiba's power to communicate with him, make him a powerful tool for gathering and sharing information; he can also sense chakra with his nose, so he can judge an enemy's strength and warn Kiba if they're particularly powerful. Akamaru and Kiba almost always attack together and often use Beast Human Clone to confuse their opponents. They also develop a very powerful technique during the Sasuke Retrieval arc, called Man Beast Combination Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf, where they literally combine their bodies into a gigantic, white, two-headed wolf that is capable of devastating speed and damage. However, they lose their entire field of vision when using the follow-up technique, Double Wolf Fang. This attack is usually preceded by Dynamic Marking, which allows them to target the enemy via sense of smell.

In Part II, Akamaru has grown several times his original size. Kiba can now ride on his back. When Naruto comments on the rapid growth, Kiba says that he hadn't noticed since he'd been around Akamaru the entire time.

Trivia

  • "Aka" means "red". Whenever Akamaru eats a soldier pill, his fur turns red.
  • According to the official databook, Akamaru's favorite food is the special dog food Kiba makes. His favorite hobby is walking with Kiba.
  • Akamaru is "voiced" by Junko Takeuchi, who also does Naruto's voice in the Japanese version.

Haimaru Sankyodai

File:Mini-haimaru sankyoudai.jpg
The Haimaru Sankyodai

The Haimaru Sankyodai (灰丸三兄弟, Haimaru Three Brothers, also known as "Haimaru Triplets") are the canine companions of Hana Inuzuka. As their name suggests, their fur is gray.

Trivia

  • "Hai" means "ash" or the color grey.

Kuromaru

File:Kuromaru.jpg
Kuromaru

Kuromaru (黒丸) is the canine companion of Tsume Inuzuka. Kuromaru has a wolfish appearance and is missing his left ear and right eye. He appears to have the ability to talk. As his name suggests, his fur is black.

Trivia

  • "Kuro" means "black" and "maru" is a common suffix for male names.

Tonton

Tonton.

Tonton (トントン) is Tsunade's pet pig, often kept in the care of Shizune. She does not speak in any human language, but still manages to get her point across by whining in her own unique tone – which in the original anime sounds like "bui" (the sound made by pigs in Japanese, similar to how English speakers believe pigs say "oink"). It seems that Tsunade and Shizune understand what Tonton is trying to say. Tonton's nose also seems adept at tracking things.

Villagers

Ami

Ami is a young girl that attended the ninja academy with Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka when they were young. During one of the lessons, where the girls were being taught about flower arrangements, she bullies Sakura. Ino, who was picking flowers with Sakura, defends Sakura and throws a bunch of what she tells Ami are poisonous flowers in her mouth, claiming that she mistook Ami's mouth for a vase. Ami panics and runs away, terrified - in actuality, only the roots of the plants Ino used are poisonous.

Isaribi

File:Isaribi.JPG
Isaribi
File:Kaima.JPG
Kaima

Isaribi was a human test subject under the control of Amachi who in turn used to work for Orochimaru. The test was meant to give shinobi the ability to breathe and operate underwater. Isaribi was one of the first test subjects, and was not the final version. She was sent back to the Land of the Sea to spy on the ships leaving port. Due to her bandages, which were used to cover the permanently scaled parts of her body, she was consistently attacked and her property vandalized by the villagers. They feared and hated her as she was the only person to return from being "spirited away". Isaribi was promised that she would be returned to human form if she complied with Amachi's orders. To that end she attacked ships and killed a number of sailors under the disguise of the Kaima, a sea monster. Naruto was able to make her come to her senses, after which Amachi revealed that he never had a cure for her condition. She returned with Naruto to Konoha after Amachi's defeat.

Legendary Stupid Brothers

The Legendary Stupid Brothers (伝説のバカ兄弟, Densetsu no Bakakyōdai), also known as the "Fujin-Raijin Brothers" (風神・雷神兄弟, Fūjin-Raijin Kyōdai), are two criminal ninja. The two are quite large, strong, and equally unintelligent (hence the name). Their thoughts revolve entirely around food, and the pursuit of it is all that motivates them. During a mission, they killed their comrades for food, then calmed down immediately after doing so. They were locked up after the incident. In reality, even the prison was incapable of containing them. It was the guards' control of their food supply that kept them in line. They cause trouble for Naruto and Team Asuma after being tricked by Mizuki into causing a riot and escaping. They are eventually stopped by Tsunade. Both seem to recognize her, and are scared into submission by her extreme strength, which is great enough to send even them flying with a single flick. She convinces them to return to the prison by telling them that their meals will be withheld if they don't return quickly.

Fujin
Fujin
Fujin

Fujin (風神, Wind God) is the elder of the two brothers and slightly more intelligent than his sibling. As such, he is usually the one to decide where they will go next.

Raijin
Raijin
Raijin

Raijin (雷神, Thunder God) is the younger of the two brothers and the least intelligent. He does whatever his brother asks.

Sources

  1. First Official Data Book (秘伝・臨の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Rin no Sho Character Official Data Book)
  2. Second Official Data Book (秘伝・闘の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Tō no Sho Character Official Data Book)
  3. Jump's 2nd Great Hero Book's Mini Data Book (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini)
  4. Naruto manga chapters and anime episodes
  5. Based on character's ability and status
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