List of Naruto characters

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The universe of the anime series (and manga) Naruto is a home to the following fictional characters. Names are in Japanese order, with the surname before the given name.

Names of many characters in Naruto are puns, mythical and historical references and the like, often borrowing a bit from the story behind the name.

Main Characters

Uzumaki Naruto - the main character of the series. He has a fox demon sealed into his body.
Haruno Sakura - has a large crush on Sasuke
Uchiha Sasuke - member of the powerful Uchiha clan who wants revenge on his brother, Itachi.
Hatake Kakashi - Jōnin level shinobi assigned to train team 7, consisting of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. He is addicted to a romance manga.

Other characters

Aburame Shino

Age: 12 years old at start of manga, now 13
Height: 156.2 cm
Weight: 45.8 kg
Birthday: January 23
Blood Type: AB
Registeration #: 012612
Affiliation: Aburame clan, Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: Kikai bugs

"Damn him, now he's acting all arrogant, like he's the leader or something." - Inuzuka Kiba

Aburame Shino (Jap. 油女シノ) is a cool, collected, confident Genin who is quite mysterious and always wears sunglasses. He (along with Hyuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba) belongs to Genin team 8, led by Yuhi Kurenai. As a part of Aburame clan tradition, at birth Shino was infused with a special type of bugs which feed on his chakra and in return, they attack and do other tasks as he commands.

Shino was the only male genin left out of the (failed) mission of retrieveing Uchiha Sasuke when the latter decided to become a Missing-nin, and felt some bitterness and guilt over the matter, considering the eventual outcome might have been different had he been sent to help them as well.

Akado Yoroi

Age: 23 Years Old at start of manga, now 24
Height: 180.0 cm
Weight: 70.0 kg
Birthday: February 21
Blood Type: O
Affiliation: Hidden Sound
Signature Ability: Chakra Drain

Akado Yoroi (Jap. 赤胴ヨロ) is a part of the three-men team of ninjas from the Hidden Sound Village posing as ninjas from the Hidden Leaf Village, along with Yakushi Kabuto and Misumi. He possesses the advanced bloodline of Energy Absorption.

Trivia

The name "Akado" means "a red armor" and "Yoroi" means "an armor" as well. This may be taken from a group of elite soldiers of Tokugawa Ieyasu who dressed in the red armor to instill fear to the enemy's heart.

Akamaru

Age: 3 years old at start of manga, now 4
Height: 28.0 cm
Weight: 5.1 kg
Birthday: July 7
Blood Type: ?
Affiliation: Inuzuka clan, Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: Double beast clone

"Stop acting cool! Just use your dog or whatever." - Uzumaki Naruto
"You will soon regret having ever said that..." - Inuzuka Kiba

Akamaru is Kiba's Nin-dog and a useful companion in the Chûnin exam. 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 high amounts of Chakra so he can warn Kiba of a powerful enemy. Akamaru and Kiba almost always attack together and often use Jûjin Bunshin no Jutsu (Human Beast Clone Technique) to confuse their opponents.

Trivia

Kiba and Akamaru were both born on the same day, the Japanese Tanabata.

Akane

Age: ?
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Affiliation: Wave Country
Signature Ability: Dog renaming

Akane is a bully from the The Land of the Waves that steals Inari's pet dog Pochi. Akane teases Inari before finally throwing Pochi into the sea and forcing Inari to follow. Inari cannot swim, which is what drew Kaiza to save him while Pochi, who Akane renamed "Shooting Star", swam to safety. When Inari regains consciousness, Kaiza says that he has "given Akane a good talking to".

Akimichi Choji

Age: 12 years old at start of manga, now 13
Height: 150.6 cm
Weight: 62.0 kg
Birthday: May 1
Blood Type: B
Registeration #: 012625
Affiliation: Akimichi clan, Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: Meat Tank

"You're planning to quit? Ah, but then you won't be attenting the all-you-can-eat Barbeque..." - Sarutobi Asuma

Akimichi Choji (Jap. 秋道チョージ, pronounced Akimichi Chōji), a Leaf Village Genin, belongs to Genin team 10 along with Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru. He is a great food enthusiast and is almost always found eating something or other; he is usually indifferent until either the opportunity for food introduces itself or he is provoked with his great taboo- derogatory words ridiculing the spatially developed.

Trivia

The name "Akimichi" means "the road in the season of fall" and "Chōji" means "A butterfly (Chō-)" and "the second son (-ji)" added together. Slim Ino has a name meaning a "boar" and plump Choji is "a butterfly".

Ami

Age: ?
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: Flower-chew

"Sorry, she has no curves so I mistook her for a vase." - Yamanaka Ino

Ami is a young girl that attended the same Ninja Academy as Haruno Sakura and Ino when they were young. During one of the lessons, where the girls were being taught about flower arrangements, she bullies Sakura. However, Ino, who was picking flowers with Sakura, defends Sakura and throws a bunch of what she tells Ami are poisonous flowers in her mouth, telling her that she mistook her mouth for a vase. Ami panics and runs away, terrified- but in actuality, only the roots of the plant Ino used are poisonous.

Baiu

Age: 19 years old (deceased)
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Affiliation: Hidden Rain
Signature Ability: ?

A short, stubby Ninja, he and his team-mates, Sigure and Midare, confront Gaara in the Forest of Death. Not much is known about him, except that he also carries several umbrellas on his back and also, interestingly, what appears to be an oxygen tank. Gaara uses Sabaku Kyu (Sand Coffin) followed by Sabaku SouSou (Sand funeral) to kill him (and his two team-mates).

Baki

Age: 30 years old at start of manga, now 31
Height: 188.2 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Birthday: July 4
Blood Type: A
Affiliation: Hidden Sand
Signature Ability: ?

A Jônin level Ninja, Baki (Jap. バキ) is a Shinobi from the Hidden Sand Village. The Sensei of Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari, he seems to have confidence in the ability of all of his team members, although he comments on Kankuro not taking the battles seriously enough. Not much is known about him at this point, but the Chûnin exam isn't the only reason Baki and his team are in Leaf Village.

Demon Brothers

Age: 25 years old at start of manga, now 26
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Affiliation: Kirigakure
Signature Ability: Chains

"Our attackers appeared to be Journeymen level ninja of the Kirigakure clan - mist ninjas. They are shinobi renowned for their willingness to fight on until their goal is achieved, even at the cost of their own lives." - Hatake Kakashi (Journeyman refers to the Chûnin level in this sentence)

Chûnin level ninjas, they are Missing-nins formerly of the Kirigakure. Now under the command of Zabuza, another Missing-Nin from the Kirigakure, they contract out their ninja abilities to paying clients. Each wearing a sharp nailed metal gauntlet on opposite arms which are connected by a chain, they operate in cooperation. Surrounding their opponent with the chain, they are able to constrict the chain to the point of severing their target into two or several more pieces. When they attempt to assassinate Tazuna- who Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura were hired to protect- Naruto, it being his first battle, freezes in fear, but Sasuke and Kakashi deal with them easily.

Dosu Kinuta

Age: 14 years old (deceased)
Height: 156.0 cm
Weight: 49.0 kg
Birthday: June 12
Blood Type: A
Affiliation: Otogakure
Signature Ability: Sound waves

"Which do you think is quicker... your sand or my sound?"

Dosu Kinuta (Jap. ドス・キヌタ) is one of the three Genin from the Otogakure (along with Kin and Zaku) who entered the Chûnin exam not for becoming a chûnin, but rather as a part of a mission from Orochimaru to assassinate Uchiha Sasuke (which in a twist turns out to merely be a mission of testing Sasuke's strength, having obtained Orochimaru's curse seal). Dosu was equipped with a special speaker tied to his wrist which served to amplify sound waves and dramatically strengthen his sound-based attacks.

Orochimaru treated him as largely a pawn, even though he was a quite powerful ninja. Dosu's undoing, however, was his own attempt to kill Gaara of the Sand in order to remove him from the chûnin exam, not realising the monstrosity he was actually going up against. His death was quick and unceremonious.

Ebisu

Age: 28 years old at start of manga, now 29
Height: 181.4 cm
Weight: 67.5 kg
Birthday: March 8
Blood Type: A
Registeration #: 010777
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: ?

"I would never think of doing something like that! Thinking that is proof of you being a closet pervert." - Uzumaki Naruto

A Tokubetsu Jônin level ninja, Ebisu (Jap. エビス) is Konohamaru's tutor. He doesn't like the fact that Konohamaru idolizes Uzumaki Naruto, because he only sees Naruto as the container of the Kyubi. His opinion of Naruto doesn't change when Naruto defeats him with the Ninja Harem after the Ninja Centerfold fails. Later, recommended by Hatake Kakashi as a great teacher, Ebisu begins Naruto's one-month training for the Chûnin Selection Exam final. It is during this time that through being with Naruto and seeing the influence he had on Konohamaru that Ebisu realizes that Naruto is more than just the container of a demon, but that he is an outstanding Leaf Ninja. However, Ebisu does not complete Naruto's training, because Jiraiya takes over by summoning a large toad which tongue-whips Ebisu unconscious.

Trivia

The name "Ebisu" comes from the Buddhist god "Ebisu" who is usually pictured as a well rounded man with a hammer in his hand that brings wealth and prosperity to believers.

Gaara of the Sand

Age: 12 years old at start of manga, now 13
Height: 146.1 cm
Weight: 39.0 kg
Birthday: January 19
Blood Type: AB
Affiliation: Hidden Sand
Signature Ability: Desert Funeral

"The pain of being alone... is out of this world, isn't it? I understand your feelings so much it actually hurts... But I have precious people now. I won't let you hurt my precious people even if I have to kill you!" - Uzumaki Naruto

Gaara of the Sand (Jap. 砂漠の我愛羅, pronounced Sabaku no Gaara) is one of the three genin from the Hiding-in-Sand who show up at the Chûnin exam (along with Kankuro and Temari, his siblings). Contrary to belief, Shukaku is not technically a demon but a sand priest. The soul of the sand priest was sealed inside Gaara at birth similarly to how the Kyūbi was sealed inside Uzumaki Naruto- he shares some similarities with Naruto, such as being rejected and hated by his own village (The only person Gaara thought cared for him, his uncle Yashamaru, was ordered to assassinate him by his own father, letting Gaara know before his death that he was never loved by anybody- he had always resented him for taking away his sister, his mother didn't want to have him and died cursing the village, and his father saw him as nothing more than a tool). But unlike Naruto he withdrew into himself rather than attempting to gain attention and appreciation, and was acknowledged by nobody (as opposed to Naruto, who was acknowledged by his Sensei, Umino Iruka). Gaara had lost all emotion and sense of purpose years ago and filled the gap with the unrelenting goal of killing anybody in the world that was not him. His insomnia- forced upon him by the fact that the demon inside him would eat away at his personality if he were to fall asleep deeply enough- made his personality further unstable.

In Gaara's case, much like in Hyuga Neji's case, getting beaten up by Naruto acted as a most effective form of therapy for a very skewed vision of life. When they did battle, Gaara's unending hatred for and alienation from the world eventually waned as a source of power, while Naruto's desire to protect those close to him kept fueling his fighting spirit. After that battle Gaara had to be carried away by his brother and sister, and to their utter amazement, he thanked them.

Gaara carries a gourd on his back. Instead of water being carried in it, the gourd contains sand and the blood of his enemies. His best combination is desert graveyard and desert coffin. He is one of the most feared and powerful in the Chūnin exam.

Gaara was responsible for saving Lee from Kimimaro and destroying the latter. His power and his jutsu arsenal increased dramatically from the time of the chunin exam.

Trivia

The name "Gaara" is made up of three Kanji, "Ga" (我, meaning I or me), "A" (愛, more commonly "Ai" meaning love), and "Ra" (羅, used here to mean a demon). Added together, they can mean "I only love myself. I'm a demon." which really explain what kind of character he is.

Gama Family

Gama

Mid level toad that Jiraiya uses to defeat Ebisu (because he annoyed him) at hot springs.

Gama Bunta

Gama Bunta, or literally "Frog Boss", is the chief of the toad spirits that are summoned. He is huge, about 50-100 meters high and is used to do battles with the biggest of enemies. Uzumaki Naruto can summon him with his kyubi chakra (whereas with his own, he is only capable of summoning up tadpoles or some of Gama Bunta's small children). Naruto first summoned him in the month long training session with Jiraiya when Jiraiya pushed him over a cliff in order to induce life threatening fear in Naruto so that the kyubi chakra could come out.

Gama Bunta is a grumpy and highly apathetic character. He uses some Japanese words that only a yakuza gangster would use. Still, he is portrayed as an ultimately powerful and positive force.

During first summoning, Naruto demanded to become Gama Bunta's subordinate if he could ride the toad until sundown. Naruto showed his great resilient spirit and almost made it. Regardless, Gama Bunta accepted to accept him as subordinate.

In the next summoning, Naruto is almost killed by Gaara's Sabakukyō attack when he performs the kuchiyose no jutsu. Gaara is in his full form of Shukaku (although he has not gone to sleep yet). Gama is his usual grumpy self, and shares a dialog with Naruto about the fact that he promised to have a subordinate/mentor relationship with him but only after sharing sake ceremony (which of course is 8 years away, and wouldn't be of any good use to Naruto here and now in the current battle). At which point, Gama Kichi tells his pop that Gaara bullied him and that Naruto saved him. Gama then tells Naruto he will show him all about "Jingi" which is another yakuza term describing a highly argumentative honor code (although its portrayed as a completely positive thing in this anime).

In the next summoning, while drunk from Tsunade's potion, Jiraiya, after summoning Gama Kichi, finally collects his chakra focus and brings out Gama Bunta for battle against Orochimaru's snake demon

Gama Kichi

Is the minuscule and cute child of Gama Bunta about the size of Naruto's head . He is a weak creature summoned because Naruto could not focus his chakra during beginning battle with Gaara. GamaKichi wants to play with Naruto for summoning him.

Gama Tatsu

The weak, inexperienced brother of Gama Kichi, and son of Gama Bunta. Summoned for the first time by Naruto while fighting Orichimaru due to Naruto's inability to focus his chakra. Fixates on snacks after a comment made by Gama Kitchi that made him think he'd get one.

Gatô

Age: 48 years old (deceased)
Height: 162.5 cm
Weight: 69.0 kg
Birthday: April 30
Blood Type: A
Affiliation: None
Signature Ability: Hiring Shinobi

"Once we're in hell, I can take my time, and show you over... and over... who is, or is not, 'a baby demon'!" - Momochi Zabuza

Gatô (Jap. ガトー, pronounced Gatō) is a powerful ship magnate whose shipping company is actually a front for much shadier activity, such as smuggling illegal goods and dealing drugs. He takes control of the The Land of the Waves's shipping routes and created a monopoly by isolating the country from the outside world, preventing free import and export and turning it into an impoverished, hunger-stricken country in the process. He is a cruel, greedy man, also responsible for humiliating and killing Kaiza for being the country's hero, traumatising Inari, who saw Kaiza as a father figure, in the process. Gatô hired Missing-nins from the Hidden-in-the-Mist- including Momochi Zabuza, Haku and the Demon Brothers- to assassinate Tazuna and stop him from finishing to build the bridge which would connect the Land of the Waves to the outside world and allow its economy to recover; however, after Zabuza broke his arms in battle with Hatake Kakashi (who was hired to defend Tazuna, along with Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke), Gatô assumes that Zabuza would be able to do no damage with broken arms and informs him of his plan to dispose of him since, in Gatô's words, "No one cares what I do to your kind once the job is done." Therefore, he calls a swarm of thugs to finish the job. Since Zabuza was still able to wield a kunai in his mouth, this mistake cost Gatô his life. In the manga, Zabuza chopped off Gatô's head with the knife after being struck by several of his cronies. In the anime, Gatô was thrown into the water. Zabuza died, and the renegades were driven away by Kakashi and Naruto. The bridge, dubbed by Kakashi "The land's hope", was completed and named the "Great Naruto Bridge", after Naruto.

Gekko Hayate

Age: 23 years old (deceased)
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: November 2
Blood Type: ?
Registeration #: 011671
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: Dance of the Crescent Moon

"The Dance of the Crescent Moon... and you can use it at such a young age. The shinobi of Konoha seem to be very talented..." - Baki

"We'll be sure to avenge you... Hayate." - Nameless female ANBU

Gekko Hayate (Jap. 月光ハヤテ, pronounced Gekkō Hayate) was a Tokubetsu Jônin level ninja who served as the judge for the Chûnin exam third stage preliminary matches and suffering from a chronic cough and bags under his eyes, always appeared to be sick. Hayate ended up accidentally eavesdropping on Baki and Kabuto and hearing about the Sound Village and Sand Village's conspiracy against Konoha; he was discovered and, while a talented ninja, was no match for Baki, who killed him using Kaze no Yaiba no Jutsu (Wind Blade Technique).

Trivia

The name "Gekkō" means "lunar light" and "Hayate" means "quick as wind". Both are names of Japanese fighter planes from World War II.

Gi'ichi

A worker and friend of Tazuna. Gi'ichi quit his job working on The Great Naruto Bridge because he feared the consequences of angering Gatô. He later joins Inari in rallying up the villagers to fight against Gatô and push his thugs out of the Land of the Waves for good.

Hagane Kotetsu

Age: 24 years old at start of manga, now 25
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: July 21
Blood Type: ?
Registeration #: 012050
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Signature Ability: ?

Hagane Kotetsu (Jap. はがねコテツ) and his comrade, Izumo, attempted to hold their very own Unofficial First Test of the Chûnin exam. Before the Chûnin exam has even begun, they used Genjutsu to change the meeting room's number. Later, they tried to persuade the Genin who showed up to quit right there and then. He and Izumo had attempted to pass the Chûnin Exam but failed three times in a row. Now they are Chûnin moderators for the first test. Kotetsu carries two large Kunai-style weapons on his back.

Trivia

The name "Hagane" means "steel" and "Kotetsu" also means "steel".

Haku

Age: 15 years old (deceased)
Height: 155.92 cm
Weight: 43.2 kg
Birthday: January 15
Blood Type: O
Affiliation: Momochi Zabuza
Signature Ability: Demonic Ice Mirrors

"But you should care! That fat scumbag is desecrating him!!! He was your comrade... your partner... he worked for you for years!!!" - Uzumaki Naruto (to Momochi Zabuza)

Haku (Jap. 白) was a former Hidden Mist Ninja, and a very powerful one at that; he also may have been a former member of the Hunter-nin team. In his first appearance, he masqueraded as a hunter-nin from the Mist village, sent to kill/capture Momochi Zabuza. Haku came from an advanced bloodline and had many special techniques, the most powerful being Makyō HyōShō Hijutsu (the Demonic Ice Mirrors secret technique), but he also attacked using Sensatsu Suishō Hijutsu (the Flying Water Needles secret technique) and Senbon. Haku was a master of Acupuncture - he managed to strike Zabuza in such a way that he appears to be dead, but is actually in a death-like state and awakened later.

During Haku's childhood, wars ravaged the Land of the Waves, and since those of advanced bloodlines were commonly used as the most terrifying tools of war, many people irrationally dreaded and hated people of advanced bloodlines. When Haku's father found out that his mother was of an advanced bloodline he killed her and then tried to kill Haku, too, but Haku overpowered him and killed him, instead. He wandered the wave country as an unwanted child until he was found by Zabuza, who agreed to take him in and wanted to merely use him as a tool.

In Zabuza's last battle over the great Naruto bridge, Haku sacrificed his life by taking Hatake Kakashi's Lightning Blade (Raikiri) which was aimed at Zabuza. Haku said he was fighting for his own dream- making Zabuza's dreams come true- but in the end, he had fought for the dreams of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura as well, by putting Sasuke in a temporary death-like state like he did to Zabuza, when he could have easily killed him.

Trivia

The name "Haku" means "white" but also carries the meaning of "blank", or "unwritten" and also "untarnished" . Some say that Haku also means "snow" like the country he was originally born in.

Hokage, 3rd

Age: 68 years old (deceased)
Height: 163.1 cm
Weight: 50.6 kg
Birthday: February 8
Blood Type: A
Registeration #: 000261
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: ?

"My precious people? Well... Konohamaru, my grandson over there... and... everybody else in this village."

"Still you do not understand, Orochimaru? There is more to strength than seals and techniques!"

A Ninja who has achieved the name of Kage (Shadow), strongest ninja of a Hidden Village, the Third Hokage (Jap. 三代目火影, or "Sandaime Hokage") was the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village. Sometimes referred to as Sandaime (3rd) because he was the 3rd of four Konoha ninjas to gain the title Hokage; he was also the 3rd face on the monument carved on the mountain overlooking Leaf Village. Said to be the strongest among all the generations of Hokages because of his genius, he was called The Professor. He had a large and impressive arsenal of jutsus which he had learnt over his many years serving the Leaf Village- in fact, he was said to know all of the Jutsu that exist in Konoha. However, his strength had begun to decrease with his old age, and he was- initially, at least- no match for his former student, Orochimaru, when the latter led the invasion on Konoha.

Having no other choice, the Hokage decided to sacrifice his life to seal Orochimaru's soul much like the fourth did to the nine-tails demon fox. His old age and weakened state (included, but not limited to, being impaled upon Orochimaru's sword) did not allow him to seal Orochimaru's whole soul, however, so he chose to only seal Orochimaru's arms, taking away all of his techniques and losing his life.

The third was previously the student of the 2nd Hokage, and the sensei of- apart from Orochimaru- Jiraiya and Tsunade. The third Hokage has been referred to as Sarutobi, his real name, which may mean he is related to Sarutobi Asuma.

Sarutobi means "jumping like a monkey", and the name may have been inspired by Sarutobi Sasuke. Many aspects of his character are borrowed from the Chinese literature classic Journey to the West.

Trivia

"Hokage", made up from the words "Ho" (fire) and "Kage" (shadow), refers to shadows created by light casted from flames.

Hokage, 4th

Age: ? (deceased)
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Registeration #: ?
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: Seal of the Death God

"If only the fourth were here..." - Mitarashi Anko
"Don't say that. He has died and saved this village already." - Third Hokage

A brave Ninja who was responsible for sealing the Nine-tails Demon Fox inside Naruto, the Fourth Hokage (Jap. 四代目火影, or "Yondaime Hokage") is remembered for his heroic acts on the monument which overshadows Leaf Village. Before he performed the seal which would destroy the Demon Fox and himself, he said that he did not want Naruto to be viewed as the container of a monster but as a hero who saved the Leaf Village from annihilation. He was a student of Jiraiya's, and later the sensei of Hatake Kakashi.

Hyuga Hiashi

Age: 41 years old at start of manga, now 42
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: January 8
Blood Type: ?
Registeration #: 005159
Affiliation: Hyuga clan, Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: Byakugan (White Eye)

Hyuga Hiashi (Jap. 日向ヒアシ, pronounced Hyūga Hiashi) is the twin brother of Hyuga Hizashi, but was born into the world first, making him a main house member. He has two daughters, Hyuga Hinata, the elder, and Hyuga Hanabi, the younger; while Hinata should have been the heir by tradition, he picks Hanabi over her because she clearly seems stronger, and goes to the extreme of all but disowning Hinata completely, putting her under Yuhi Kurenai's responsibility. He was also the one to put the Hyuga Curse Seal on his nephew, Hyuga Neji.

When he killed a shinobi from the The Land of the Lightning who came under false pretenses of signing a peace treaty and was in fact attempting to kidnap Hinata to gain the secret of the white eye (Byakugan), the Lightning country demanded that the body of a Hyuga clan member be delivered to them as compensation. Hiashi's brother, Hizashi, volunteered to be killed instead of Hiashi, thus saving his life. Hiashi decided not to tell Hizashi's son, Neji, that his father volunteered to die, until he felt that Neji would be mentally ready to accept this over the much more comfortable belief that the Hyuga main house was responsible for his death. This moment came after Neji's loss to Uzumaki Naruto in battle.

Hiashi took an active role in the war between Konoha and the Sand/Sound alliance, blasting away all hostile forces who dared approach.

During the time between the chunin exam and Uchiha Sasuke leaving the village, Hiashi seems to have realised that the family bond that should be keeping the clan together had been falling apart, and has apparently set his sights on mending it- apparently taking his elder daughter back in and training his nephew even though he is from the branch house, a former Hyūga clan taboo.

Trivia

(日向) (Hyuga) means "sun" and is the name of a city in the Miyazaki prefecture in Japan.

Hyuga Hinata

Hyūga Hinata

Age: 12 years old at start of manga, now 13
Height: 147.3 cm
Weight: 37.9 kg
Birthday: December 27
Blood Type: A
Registeration #: 012612
Affiliation: Hyuga Clan, Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: White Eye (Byakugan)

"Let me give you this warning... Quit now. You do not make a good shinobi. You always avoid conflict and seek harmony, and just go along with somebody else's idea. The truth is that you do not want to be here at all, but the exam had to be taken in teams of three, and you couldn't resist the pressure from your two teammates... you are actually now thinking about how you want to be out of this place. Am I not right?" - Hyuga Neji

"You are not the only special guy here. Hinata... was suffering like you. She is from the head family and wanted to change herself because nobody would acknowledge her. That was her motivation, and she fought you even when she was injured. That goes for you too! The branch house should protect the head house, yet you almost killed Hinata in an EXAM! You were trying hard to fight against your fate, WEREN'T YOU?!" - Uzumaki Naruto (to Hyuga Neji)

One of the rare people who have had a positive outlook on Naruto when he was largely seen as a good-for-nothing reincarnation of a monster fox is Hyuga Hinata (Jap. 日向ヒナタ, pronounced Hyūga Hinata), the daughter of Hyuga Hiashi and a Genin level ninja. Hinata is in Yuhi Kurenai's team 8. She is a Member of the Hyuga clan, main house, possesses the White Eye (Byakugan) and can effectively use the Jyuken (Gentle Fist fighting style); And even though her skills have been subpar in the past to the point of her father all but practically disowning her until just recently, she is essentially a talented ninja with a severe problem of self-confidence. Hinata entered the Chûnin Selection Exam so she can change herself.

If not Naruto's number one fan, Hinata is at least a major contender. Growing up with the major issue of believing in herself as a human being forced unto her by her demanding father, when Naruto started rambling about getting people to acknowledge him and becoming Hokage she was just about the only person who took him seriously. When girls started being interested in boys, usually Sasuke, Hinata found herself developing feelings for Naruto. While the rest of the world pointed at Naruto and laughed, Hinata looked at him in awe and admiration, often while blushing.

Naruto himself, not blessed with the best perceptive abilities in the world (to say the least), introduces her as "A world-class freak who won't even look me in the eye"; and even though she later says and does a number of things that positively impress him, he only gets a glimpse of what kind of a person she is when he witnesses her fight with Hyuga Neji in the preliminary chunin exams, third stage. In that fight, Hinata says that she entered the fight to change herself, proclaims that she will not run away or take back her words anymore and simply refuses to give up fighting even when the situation seems hopeless, while Neji does his best to mentally attack her and says that dropouts remain dropouts and people cannot change. It is no surprise who of those two Naruto finds himself awed by and cheering for. Hinata suffers critical injuries and loses the fight to the obviously stronger Neji, but the positive impression she makes and the negative impression Neji makes on Naruto are so strong that he makes a promise to her, swearing on her blood that he will beat Neji in battle.

One month later, Hinata sees Naruto again, who is feeling quite bothered because he has an upcoming match with Neji, too. He confides in her that he's starting to doubt himself, and he's only acting strong because he's frustrated from screwing up all the time. She tells him that she does think he is a strong person- who makes mistakes and learns from them. This considerably eases his worries and he leaves, not before saying that he's decided that he really likes people like her. He does not, of course, notice that this has sent her into a blushing, shocked reverie (which comically goes undisturbed even when Kiba arrives, puzzling him greatly).

When Naruto leaves for his three-year training period with Jiraiya we get a glimpse of the Hyuga clan, Hinata apparently being on good terms now with both her father and Neji. She also goes to see Naruto off personally but ultimately does not gather the courage to actually do it, instead watching him from afar as always and resolving that she must work harder, too.

Trivia

日向 (Hyuga) means "sun" and is the name of a city in the Miyazaki prefecture in Japan; This Kanji can be read as both "Hinata" and "Hyuga". Hinata's name could also be a tribute to the anime and manga Love Hina, which's plot takes place in the "Hinata house" (an all-girl university dormitory).

Hyuga Hizashi

Age: 32 years old (deceased)
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: January 8
Blood Type: ?
Registeration #: 005160
Affiliation: Hyuga clan, Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: White Eye (Byakugan)

"And war was averted... because of Hyuga Hiashi's double, who was sacrificed by the head family... MY FATHER!" - Hyuga Neji

Hyuga Hizashi (Jap. 日向ヒザシ, pronounced Hyūga Hizashi) was the twin brother of Hyuga Hiashi, but he was born second into the world, making him a branch house member; this made his emotions torn, caring for his brother on the one hand but feeling separated and the victim of a terrible injustice on the other. As Hizashi's son, Hyuga Neji and Hiashi's daughter, Hyuga Hinata matured, the relationship between Hizashi and Hiashi became more tense and resentful, as it slowly dawned on Hizashi that his own son, even if he turned out to be the most powerful Hyuga of the next generation (which he did), would never lead the clan. Upon seeing the hatred in Hizashi's eyes, Hiashi activated the Curse Seal on His forehead, paining him to no end and bringing him inches from death.

When Hiashi killed a shinobi from the Land of the Lightning who came under false pretenses of signing a peace treaty and was in fact attempting to kidnap Hinata to gain the secret of the Byakugan, the Land of Lightning demanded that the body of a Hyuga clan member be delivered to them as compensation. Hizashi volunteered to be killed instead of Hiashi, thus saving his brother's life and ending his own.

Trivia

日向 (Hyuga) means "sun" and is the name of a city in the Miyazaki prefecture in Japan.
The name "Hizashi" means "strong sunlight" and is specifically used to describe sunlight strong enough to cause sunburn.

Hyuga Neji

Age: 13 years old at start of manga, now 14
Height: 159.2 cm
Weight: 45.8 kg
Birthday: July 3
Blood Type: O
Registeration #: 012587
Affiliation: Hyuga clan (branch house), Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: White Eye (Byakugan)

"Talent is decided at birth... you could say that everything is decided when a person is born. [...] People must live within their own unchangable flow. the only destiny that every person shares... is death..."

"You're wrong, brother Neji. Because I can see it... it's not me at all... the person trapped and suffering within the fate of the head and branch families is you." - Hyuga Hinata

A Genin level ninja, Hyuga Neji (Jap. 日向ネジ, pronounced Hyūga Neji) was the #1 rookie of his Ninja Academy graduating class. He was also considered to be the strongest and most talented of all the Genin who attended the Chûnin exam. A member of the Hyuga Clan, branch house, Neji can never be leader of his clan and used to be very bitter and malicious about the discrimination against the branch house. Neji effectively uses the Jyuken and his white eye (Byakugan) is advanced to the point of being able to see the chakra opening points. Neji also has a very powerful defense in the form of the Hakke Sho Kaiten (Heavenly Spin), along with the 64 Hands of Hakke, which effectively seal off a person's chakra points, rendering them useless. He is a very heavy taijutsu user, naturally being proficient in the Leaf's strongest taijutsu style which can only be used with Byakugan. He is arguably the most skilled genin of the Leaf, being hailed a genius while Sasuke is arguably the most balanced.

Neji used to be particularly bitter about his own destiny, forced on him by the fact that his father- Hyuga Hizashi- was born into the world after his uncle, Hiashi, even though they were twins. This made Hiashi a member of the main family and Hizashi- and consequently, Neji- a member of the branch family. In his childhood, Neji had nothing against the main family- probably being too naïve to fully understand the implications of being a branch family member, but as he grew up seeing his father feeling nothing but hatred for his own brother and the main family, he gradually came to resent it himself. His resentment only deepened as he witnessed his father enraged first hand while watching Hyuga Hinata, Hiashi's elder daughter and then the destined Hyuga main family heir, train with her father; for he knew that his own son, Neji, will never be the heir of his clan. Detecting Hizashi's vibes of animosity, Hiashi activated the Hyūga Curse Seal, putting his brother in immense pain as his nerves were being attacked. It was Neji's first encounter with the Hyuga Curse Seal.

It was not until the incident with the Land of the Lightning's and the Land of the Fire's peace treaty, however, that Neji became truly became who he were when he showed up for the Chûnin exams. The two countries, which were at war with one another, apparently decided to sign a treaty, and for this representatives from the lightning country arrived. In the same day, the very same curse seal that tortured his father was put upon Neji himself; and that night, the ambassador from the Lightning country attempted to kidnap Hinata, revealing that the intention of the "treaty" was all along to get into the Fire country and acquire the secret of Byakugan. Hiashi detected the intruder and killed him at once, for which the Lightning country, absurdly, requested payback in the form of a Hyuga clan member's dead body. That day, Neji's father was sent to his death, and Neji grew up believing that his father was sent against his will to protect the Hyuga clan's secret bloodline.

This chain of events drove him to the point of believing that destiny, what we are born as and our features are decided from birth and there's no way to escape or change them. His pent-up hatred reached the stage of attempting to kill Hinata in the Chûnin exam third stage preliminaries, causing lasting damage- not before mentally crippling her with harsh words manufactured to hurt, scare and unbalance her.

In this he acquired the blood-sworn grudge (no less) of one Uzumaki Naruto, who- in true Naruto fashion- was not at all impressed with Neji's sob story, owing to the fact that his own lifestory isn't all that happier. He was suffering from an unremovable seal signifying an inescapable part of his identity and stigmatised on the basis of this as well. When Naruto and Neji actually engage in battle in the third stage main event, Naruto emerges the victor through sheer faith in himself while accepting and embracing who he is (shown through him using Kyuubi's chakra to win).

Realisations and elations rain on Neji that day. Naruto's speeches on the fact that people can change, himself being an obvious in-your-face example for this, combined with his uncle's explanation that Neji's father chose to sacrifice himself for the clan rather than doing it involuntarily, amount to the conclusion that even a bird in a cage, if smart enough and having enough willpower, will open the lock with its beak and soar in the skies again.

The reformed Neji helped Shikamaru and his team consisting of Naruto, Kiba, Choji, and later Rock Lee and the Sand Genin on the failed mission to bring back Sasuke from crossing over the Fire Country's borders. He fought and defeated one of the Sound Five and was willing to risk his life for the sake of everyone. He is also apparently on good terms with the main house now, freely speaking with Hinata and even being trained by Hiashi.

Trivia

日向 (Hyuga) means "sun" and is the name of a city in the Miyazaki prefecture in Japan.
Neji is the only known Hyuga clan member whose first name does not start with the letter H. His name means "Screw" or "Helix", which probably refers to his Heavenly Spin technique.

Inari

Age: 8 years old at start of manga, now 9
Height: 128.5 cm
Weight: 27.6 kg
Birthday: December 25
Blood Type: A
Affiliation: Land of the Waves
Signature Ability: Crossbow usage

"You figure it's noble to star in a melodrama and treat everyone around you like guests at your pity party? It takes a really big man to sit around and cry... you brat! You big baby!!!! - Uzumaki Naruto

Inari (Jap. イナリ) is the son of Tsunami and the grandson of Tazuna. Inari's Father having died before he got to know him, after meeting Kaiza they became very close to each other. Kaiza took a fatherly role in Inari's life and even became close to Tsunami. But when Kaiza was put to death by Gatô, Inari changed. He became a sad and angry boy, with little hope or optimism. Although after experiencing Uzumaki Naruto's character and finding out that Naruto had a past even worse than his, Inari realized the power of will over fate, and that no risk is too great to protect something precious. He therefore grabbed a crossbow and rallied the townspeople, who proceeded to rise up against Gatô's men. Along with Naruto and Hatake Kakashi, they were able to drive away Gatô's thugs.

Trivia

The name "Inari" comes from a traditional dish of a sweetened riceball or from a Shinto shrine dedicated to a fox spirit called "Inari".

Inuzuka Kiba

Age: 12 years old at start of manga, now 13
Height: 151.2 cm
Weight: 43.3 kg
Birthday: July 7
Blood Type: B
Registeration #: 012620
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Signature Ability: Beast Clone

"Who's acting? The way we've trained, no way you can beat us! Hee hee hee!" - Kiba

A Genin level ninja, Inuzuka Kiba (Jap. 犬塚キバ) is a member of Kurenai's Team 8. Always accompanied by his ninken(ninja dog) Akamaru, Kiba is able to communicate with him and gain information from Akamaru's heightened senses of smell and hearing. Kiba himself also has heightened senses, and many of his Jutsu involve canine abilities. For instance, by focusing his Chakra to his nose he can multiply the power of his sense of smell thousandfold. When he battled Uzumaki Naruto at the Chûnin exam third stage preliminaries, he was very much at an advantage until his heightened sense of smell backfired due to circumstances invoked by Naruto and involving Methane.

Trivia

Kiba and Akamaru were both born on the same day, the Japanese Tanabata.
The name "Inuzuka", meaning "house of dogs", belongs to a clan which was one of the most powerful in the Chiba prefecture during the Edo period. They were known as "dog warriors" and worshipped Inu, a deity representing the zodiac sign of the dog.

Jiraiya

Age: 50 years old at start of manga, now 51
Height: 191.2 cm
Weight: 87.5 kg
Birthday: November 11
Blood Type: B
Registeration #: 002301
Affiliation: None (but loyal to Konoha)
Signature Ability: Frog summoning

"One of Konoha's legendary three... He's an opponent you may be able to face evenly, but I'm not sure about myself. Where we fight him doesn't matter." - Hoshigaki Kisame (to Uchiha Itachi)

A Jônin level Ninja and a former student of the he has grown to the 3rd Hokage (along with Orochimaru and Tsunade), Jiraiya (Jap. 自来也) has grown to the point of achieving the title Sennin. Having left Konohagakure for as of yet unknown reasons, he became an author of adult manga- his most popular work being "Make-Out Paradise", which Hatake Kakashi enjoys. When he reappears, Jiraiya is in Leaf Village spying on women bathing as "research" for his next novel. It is at this point that fate arranges for his meeting with Uzumaki Naruto. He removes the Goguofûin (Five Part Seal) that Orochimaru put on Naruto in The Forest of Death, which prevented him from using Kyubi's chakra and made his chakra unstable. He also gives him special training for the last trial of the Chûnin Selection Exam which includes Naruto tapping into some of Kyubi's strength at will and Kuchiyose no Jutsu (the Summoning Technique).

After the death of the Third Hokage, the village elders asked Jiraiya to lead them and take up the title of the Fifth Hokage. Jiraiya declined, and instead promised to search for Tsunade (another one of the Sannin) whom he thought would do a better job as Hokage.

Trivia

The name "Jiraiya" means "young thunder" and comes from a name of a famous Ninja from Japanese literature, who excelled in summoning a giant toad (the toad itself was sometimes called "Jiraiya"). In that story, Jiraiya and Tsunade were a married couple.
The kanji on Jiraiya's forehead protector (油) means "oil", which probably has to do with the usage of toad oil for medicine.
The kanji of his name means "coming on his own". This is a good description of Jiraiya, who often come and go Konoha randomly, without notifying others.

Kaiza

Age: 30 years old (deceased)
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Affiliation: Land of the Waves
Signature Ability: Arm usage

"If something is truly precious to you... even if you lose your life... with these two arms you must protect it!".

A fisherman who came to the Land of the Waves, Kaiza became known as the "Hero of the City" in which Tazuna, Inari and Tsunami lived. Kaiza also became a father figure for Inari, and taught him the principles of being a man. Accused of being a terrorist against the Gatô Corp., he was executed publicly by Gatô's men and under his orders. In the death of Kaiza, the source of the city's courage, so too died the bravery within the hearts of the people. It was from this point that Gatô's will truly dominated the Land of the Waves.

Kankuro

Age: 14 years old at start of manga, now 15
Height: 165.0 cm
Weight: 60.0 kg
Birthday: May 15
Blood Type: B
Affiliation: Hidden Sand
Signature Ability: Puppeteering

"You're interesting. I like you." - Kankuro
"You're not interesting. I don't like you." - Uzumaki Naruto

Kankuro (Jap. カンクロウ, pronounced Kankurō) is Gaara's brother and a powerful Shinobi from the Hidden Sand Village. Despite his incredible strength, he is still very much afraid of Gaara. He carries a strange thing on his back called "Karasu", which is basically a marionette which he can use in combination with a technique similar to Kawarimi no Jutsu; he grabs his opponents with Karasu and then transforms Karasu in to whatever he pleases. He then unveils himself from the bandage and finishes his opponent off. Kankuro doesn't have a wide range of jutsus since he always fights tough opponents with the Karasu.

During the failed mission to retrieve Sasuke when he left Konohagakure, Gaara, Kankuro and Temari appeared to help the struggling leaf genin. Kankuro in particular appeared just in time to assist Kiba in his hopeless battle against Sakon (and Ukon), defeating them.

Kankuro's name in the English manga is usually spelled "Kankuro" but is sometimes spelled as "Kankurou".

Trivia

"Kankuro" is a name of famous ninja and he often was pictured as a ninja with a "Karasu" (a crow) as his pet. "Kankuro" is also the name of many famous Kabuki actors which shows in his face paint and quirky style of speech (at least in Japanese).

Kazekage

Age: 40 years old (deceased)
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: March 29
Blood Type: ?
Affiliation: Hidden Sand
Signature Ability: ?

The leader of the Hidden Sand Village. Kazekage translates to "Wind Shadow", though this is merely a title given to him because he is the leader of the Hidden Sand Village. The father of Gaara of The Sand, Temari and Kankuro, it was his design that made Gaara what he is. With the military forces of Sand Village being scaled down by the Daimyo(Lord) of the Wind Country, Kazekage realised that they must increase the quality of each Ninja to maintain a military force. As more time passed, the Daimyo started commissioning Leaf Village with request he should have been making to Sand Village. On top of this he began cutting back on the Sand Village's budget. Kazekage realized that if he didn't act quickly, Sand Village would be in danger of disappearing. So, joining with the Sound Village, Kazekage plans to attack the Leaf Village in order to teach the Daimyo a lesson and to re-establish the Sand Village's military force.

Things, however, definitely do not go as planned for him. Just before the chûnin exam's third stage, where his attack is planned to take place, he is betrayed and assassinated by his ally, Orochimaru, who steals his identity.

Kin Tsuchi

Age: 14 years old (deceased)
Height: 150.0 cm
Weight: 39.0 kg
Birthday: July 6
Blood Type: O
Affiliation: Otogakure
Signature Ability: Genjutsu bells

(Jap. キン・ツチ). A Genin level ninja, not much is known about this Sound Ninja. She is in the Chûnin Selection Exam on a mission with her comrades to kill Sasuke. In the third stage preliminaries she is matched against Shikamaru, who defeats her through his KageMane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) by contracting his shadow and sneaking it under the string attached to a needle she threw; she did not notice that a string at that height should not cast a shadow.

Kin is later killed by Orochimaru, her master, in order to be one of the sacrifices needed to summon the first two hokage from their graves to fight for him.

Konohamaru

Age: 8 years old at start of manga, now 9
Height: 128.8 cm
Weight: 27.8 kg
Birthday: December 30
Blood Type: B
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Signature Ability: ?

The grandson of the 3rd Hokage, Konohamaru (Jap. 木の葉丸) feels he is unacknowledged for that exact reason. Although he was still only in the Ninja Academy, he constantly attempted to surprise attack his grandfather so he can defeat him and acquire the acknowledgement of the Hokage name. Tutored by Ebisu, it is only through Uzumaki Naruto's influence that Konohamaru realized that there will be no short-cuts to becoming Hokage. That is a dream that will take many years of hard work and discipline to realize.

Maito Gai

Age: 26 years old at start of manga, now 27
Height: 184.0 cm
Weight: 76.0 kg
Birthday: January 1
Blood Type: B
Registeration #: 010252
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Signature Ability: Gouken

"Do not underestimate him." - Uchiha Itachi

Sporting very thick eyebrows, an exceedingly unconventional persona and a very shiny haircut, Maito Gai (Jap. マイト・ガイ) is a jônin who is the rival of Hatake Kakashi and the sensei of a team consisting of Rock Lee, Hyuga Neji and Tenten (though he has, by far, bonded with Lee the most- it was under Gai's guidance that Lee started tapping his potential at all, having been subpar in all ninja categories up to then). Gai tends to appear accompanied by Nin-kame, a gigantic red turtle (his summon), and has several odd mannerisms- including, but not limited to

Giving the thumbs up and smiling with teeth so white they give the proverbial "ting",
Punching Lee for various reasons and immediately bursting into tears and hugging him,
generally over-reacting, even by anime character standards.

Gai claims to have a record of 50 wins and 49 losses against Kakashi, though it is unclear what sorts of competitions are included in this figure (it is shown in the manga that virtually every sort of competition was fair game, even Rock-Paper-Scissors). He believes that "hard work without believing in yourself is worthless", and though he uses the term "youth", "power" and "explosion" a lot, he sadly notes that his own youth power seems to have, predictably, been fading.

Trivia

The name "Maito" is from "mighty" and together with "Guy", becomes "a mighty Guy", a joke aimed at the "hot-headed hero" archetype that appears in many movies and anime.

Mitarashi Anko

Age: 24 years old at start of manga, now 25
Height: 167.0 cm
Weight: 45.8 kg
Birthday: October 24
Blood Type: A
Registeration #: 011226
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: ?

"What is the matter? Are you jealous because I used you and threw you away?" - Orochimaru

A Tokubetsu Jônin level ninja, Mitarashi Anko (Jap. みたらしアンコ) is the examiner for the second part of the Chûnin Selection Exam in which Uzumaki Naruto takes part (the part that takes place in the Forest of Death). During the exam she arrives at a confrontation with Orochimaru and it is revealed that he used to be her sensei. It seems she had also received Orochimaru's curse seal, but for an as yet unknown reason Orochimaru's connection to her was severed and the Seal disappeared; when Orochimaru battled Anko, he was able to make her curse seal return, thus incapacitating her with pain as well as ending their fight. Anko knows several forbidden techniques taught to her by Orochimaru, the most notable of which is Sōja Sōsai no Jutsu (Double Snake Assassination Technique).

Mizuki

Registeration #: 011141

A Chûnin level ninja, he is Iruka's assistant instructor at the ninja academy. Not a very skilled ninja apparently, he devises a plan to steal the Konohagakure's forbidden scroll using Uzumaki Naruto as a fall-guy, intent upon learning the powerful forbidden Jutsus within. Mizuki's scheme goes according to plan until Iruka gets to Naruto before he does. A fight then takes place which ultimately ends with Naruto saving Iruka's life by creating hundreds of Doppelgangers (Kage Bunshin, or Shadow Replications in the original Japanese) and beating Mizuki to a bloody pulp.

What exactly became of Mizuki is unclear. Some speculate that Mizuki is the key to a gigantic conspiracy outlining the whole plot of the series.

Morino Ibiki

Age: 27 years old at start of manga, now 28
Height: 193.5 cm
Weight: 88.0 kg
Birthday: March 20
Blood Type: ?
Registeration #: 010913
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: ?

"He uses his insights mercilessly to manipulate his foes... bringing their human weaknesses to the surface... and using those weaknesses to make them crack! Trickery is no defense against his skills as an interrogator." - Sarutobi Asuma

A Tokubetsu Jônin level ninja, Morino Ibiki (Jap. 森野イビキ) is the examiner for the first part of the Chûnin Selection Exam. As the Konohagakure assassination squad's torture and interrogation specialist, the design of the first test is obviously his. Described as a sadist by some, Ibiki can easily make people experience mental suffering brought on by his interrogation skills while not even exerting physical torture. He has complete knowledge of human psychology; by attacking a person's mind, he can gain control over their spirit. Ibiki bears burn marks, punctures from where screws were used, and long slash marks, all the physical scars of having been horribly tortured himself. This perhaps illustrates his ability to withstand torture without giving up valuable information.

Trivia

"Morino Ibiki" means "A snore in the forest".

Nara Shikamaru

Age: 12 years old at start of manga, now 13
Height: 150.8 cm
Weight: 42.0 kg
Birthday: September 22
Blood Type: AB
Registeration #: 012611
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: Shadow imitation technique

"He may be foul-mouthed and lazy, but when he decides to do something, he does it all the way. He isn't going to betray anybody." - Uzumaki Naruto

"How many steps ahead does he think?!" - Yuhi Kurenai

A Chûnin level ninja, Nara Shikamaru (Jap. 奈良シカマル) is in Sarutobi Asuma's Team 10 (with Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Choji). He is the sort of unenthusiastic person who would rather take a nap than get excited over something and likes the sort of thought games older men are usually into, such as chess and go. He's great with coming up with a strategy and Asuma has never actually beaten him. According to Asuma, Shikamaru would make an excellent military leader despite his grades from the Academy having been almost as low as Uzumaki Naruto's. He felt that even moving his pencil in class was a bother and always slept through tests; but his sensei, Asuma, got suspicious of the fact that he's so good at board games despite his grades being abysmal, and administered an IQ test disguised as a game to Shikamaru, which revealed that he has an IQ of over 200. He has a habit of putting his fingers together to create a bowl-like shape (save for the thumbs) and closing his eyes so he can concentrate and come up with a strategy. Once he does, usually the opponent believes to have foiled the plan until it turns out it was all a part of the plan.

Shikamaru's specialty jutsu is KageMane no Jutsu (the Shadow Imitation Technique). The increasingly common knowledge that Shikamaru is a one-trick pony causes his opponents to underestimate him and think that they can easily win the battle by avoiding his shadow, only to unexpectedly find themselves unable to move during the battle and realise that they have been, yet again, caught in his jutsu by overlooking details that to most are minutia, but to Shikamaru are tactical assets.

Shikamaru was the one who led the team of Naruto, Neji, Chouji and Kiba on the failed mission to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke when the latter fled the fire country. He was very hard on himself for not only the mission's failure but also the fact that most of his team's members were in one point or another during the mission in mortal peril, and it was practically a miracle that they all came back alive. Shedding tears of relief when he heard that they were all okay, he resolved to do better next time for their sake.

Trivia

The name "Nara" is from the real city of Nara and is a famous place for the number of deer ("Shika") that live there. "-maru" means "round" and "well developed" and was commonly used for names in the feudal period.

Orochimaru

Age: Born 50 years ago, now apparently ageless
Height: 179.4 cm
Weight: 63.9 kg
Birthday: October 27
Blood Type: B
Registeration #: 002300
Affiliation: Himself
Signature Ability: Curse Seal (literally)

"I remember seeing him when I was young. He didn't look human, but like something that merely took a human's shape. Scary... he was just scary." - Morino Ibiki

"I will hand down your punishment for drowning yourself in techniques!" - Third Hokage

Technically a Jônin level ninja, but obviously beyond even a Sennin, Orochimaru (Jap. 大蛇丸) is a Missing-nin who has the power to easily defeat a small country on his own. He's a Shinobi that all countries would have wanted when he defected from Konohagakure and possesses many jutsus, forbidden and not, relating to snakes. Leader of his own newly created Land of Sound and Otogakure, Orochimaru's intentions are to be the catalyst for a long and intense battle between all the Hidden Villages.

Orochimaru also has great interest in Uchiha Sasuke. He was also at one point in time, the student of the 3rd Hokage and the sensei of Anko.

Orochimaru's ambitions abruptly ended, or were at least indefinitely delayed, when he decided to do battle with his old sensei, Sandaime (the third) Hokage. The latter, using the same technique the fourth Hokage used to seal the Kyūbi inside Uzumaki Naruto, sacrificed his life to seal away Orochimaru's arms, together with all of his ninja techniques. Orochimaru planned for this situation to be remedied by taking over Sasuke's body, which he has been planning anyway, but the agony of his decomposing hands was too much to handle and Sasuke was taking too long to come, so he held a tournament of fights to the death between his prisoners and took over the body of the last man who remained standing. This, while getting rid of his condition, drastically delayed his plans for Sasuke, seeing as he can only take over a new body once about roughly every three years.

Trivia

Putting Curse Seals on his servants that put them in pain and appear when he chooses them to, associating with snakes and seeking immortality, Orochimaru is very much a literary relative of Lord Voldemort.
Orochimaru also borrows heavily from Japanese myth- Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade were mythical ninjas, and the mythical dragon Orochi, when slain, had the legendary sword Kusanagi salvaged from one of his tails. Orochimaru has the actual Kusanagi in the series, and even used it when he battled the third Hokage.
The name "Orochimaru" means "great-snake-circle", which refers to his talent with snakes but might also be a reference to the Ouroboros.

Pochi

Inari's former pet dog. He was stolen by Akane, a bully, who renamed Pochi "Shooting Star" but later decided he no longer wanted his new pet and threw him into the ocean. Inari can't swim and is afraid to jump off the pier to save his dog, so Akane pushes him into the water. Inari begins to drown as Pochi figures out the doggy paddle and swims to safety. Inari is rescued by Kaiza- this is how they first meet.

Rock Lee

Age: 13 years old at start of manga, now 14
Height: 158.5 cm
Weight: 46.6 kg
Birthday: November 27
Blood Type: A
Registeration #: 012561
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: Gouken

"I want to prove I can become an excellent ninja without using ninjutsu or genjutsu! That is everything to me!"

"Won't be able to fight anymore? ... It... it can't be true. It must be a lie. ...he wanted to fight Neji and Sasuke so badly! What is he supposed to do when he hears that?!" - Uzumaki Naruto

A Genin level Ninja, Rock Lee (Jap. ロック・リー) is a Taijutsu specialist and Maito Gai's student. Incapable of using Ninjutsu or GenJutsu, he spent all his time and concentration on Taijutsu. It is because of this determination and hard working ethic that Lee has become an outstanding Ninja. When in heated battle, Lee removes the extremely heavy weights he wears on his legs. This vastly increases his already amazing speed. After using his trump card and specialty technique, the Extreme Lotus for the first time against Gaara of the Sand, Lee's body was so beaten up that he could barely even move, yet even after his left leg and left arm were both completely pulverised and he fell unconscious, he still stood up to prove his ninja way. However, because of all of the damage done to his body during the battle, he was told by Konoha medics that he would be unable to live as a Ninja any more. He would not give up and, even with his torn and unusable body, continued to try practicing. At one point in the series, Tsunade, the fifth Hokage told Lee that he would never be able to work as a Shinobi again, unless he underwent a very risky surgery, in wich he only had a 50% chance of surviveing. Lee's sensei, Maito Gai, convinced him to take his chances, and have the surgery done. Lee's surgery is a success and he immedietly sneaks out of the hospital to help the other Gennin, who went on a mission to save Sasuke, but he accidently brings along a bottle of sake instead of his medicine. When he drinks it, he goes into a drunken frenzy, and we learn that he is a natural user of the Drunken Fist.

Sarutobi Asuma

Age: 27 years old at start of manga, now 28
Height: 190.8 cm
Weight: 81.6 kg
Birthday: October 18
Blood Type: O
Registeration #: 010829
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: Chakra Blades

A Jônin level Ninja, Sarutobi Asuma (Jap. 猿飛アスマ) is the leader of Team 10, including Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka Ino. Not much is known about Asuma, only that he seems very laid back and is always smoking a cigarette whenever he is seen. Based on the name, Asuma might be related to the 3rd Hokage.

Tazuna

Age: 59 years old at start of manga, now 60
Height: 163.0 cm
Weight: 50.6 kg
Birthday: April 5
Blood Type: A
Affiliation: Land of the Waves
Signature Ability: Bridge Building

"The man you are trying to kill, Mr. Tazuna, is the heart and spirit of this place. And the bridge you're trying to prevent him from completing is the land's hope. You're willing to sacrifice this place and everyone in it, just to advance your own ambitions. That's not what a true shinobi does." - Hatake Kakashi (to Momochi Zabuza)

An expert bridge builder, Tazuna (Jap. タズナ) is a resident of the Land of the Waves. He resolved to build a bridge that would connect the Wave country to the mainland to help in restoring its economic stability, which was against Gatô's interest, and he knew full well that Gatô would try to kill him. It is because of this threat that Tazuna, under false pretenses of wanting to merely be protected from bandits (reducing the costs- he doesn't have a choice), acquires the services of bodyguards from the Konoha. A brave man, Tazuna doesn't hesitate on his path to create a bridge that will bring back hope into the city he loves. In honor of Naruto, for his example of courage, Tazuna names the bridge "The Great Naruto Bridge" after its completion.

Temari

Age: 15 years old at start of manga, now 16
Height: 157.3 cm
Weight: 44.5 kg
Birthday: August 23
Blood Type: O
Affiliation: Hidden Sand
Signature Ability: Kamaitachi

Temari

"Truly a woman more frightening than my own mother." - Nara Shikamaru

Daughter of Kazekage, Temari (Jap. テマリ) is Gaara of The Sand and Kankuro's sister. She carries a huge fan on her back which she uses as a powerful Ninja tool; she is also good at fighting from a distance, and a keen analyst (though not of the same calibre as Shikamaru.

When the situation looked hopeless for Shikamaru in his fight against Tayuya during the failed mission to retrieve the renegade Uchiha Sasuke, Temari came to his rescue. Her fan was able to reflect the sound waves right back to their caster. After using Kuchiyose no Jutsu to summon a weasel / ferret monster, she tore up the whole forest with her fan, defeating the Sound Ninja whose strategy was to hide and attack from a distance.

Trivia

The name "Temari" means "a traditional hand ball" that kids use to bounce and dribble.

Tenten

Age: 13 years old at start of manga, now 14
Height: 154.3 cm
Weight: 42.2 kg
Birthday: March 9
Blood Type: B
Registeration #: 012573
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Signature Ability: Weapon usage

A Genin level ninja, Tenten (Jap. テンテン) is a student of Maito Gai. She has 100% accuracy when throwing shuriken. Not much is known about her techniques, other than that she uses dozens of various types of weapons in battle by raining them on her opponent. That technique proved totally useless against Temari, who repeatedly blew the weapons back using her fan.

Trivia

The name "Tenten" has no particular meaning, but repeating the same syllable twice is a popular naming scheme for pandas.

Tsunade

Age: 50 years old at start of manga, now 51
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Registeration #: ?
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf
Signature Ability: Healing

"From now on, I am also going to bet. My. LIFE!"

One of the three legendary Sannin who now also known as the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade (Jap. 綱手) is a medic ninja as well as a "slug tamer". As a disciple of the 3rd Hokage, her fellow students include Orochimaru and the Ero Sennin. Even though she is around 50 years old, her genjutsu makes it appear as if she were still 20. Her skills would have been key in healing Orochimaru's sealed arms, but she refused and proceeded to fight both him and Kabuto. Her freakish strength could kill Orochimaru with one direct hit, but her summon is not quite as strong as Jiraiya's. One of her more powerful techniques, is cell regeneration, which requires an immense amount of chakra. She was impaled by Orochimaru's sword numerous times while protecting Naruto but easily regenerated herself.

"In other words...I'll never die in battle...ever!"

This skill, however, requires so much chakra that her youthful illusion is dispelled shortly after using it; the cells also divide so rapidly that they approach apoptosis faster, aging her even further.

During a war, both her brother and lover were killed; similar to Naruto, they both had dreams of being the Hokage and protecting the ones they loved. After their deaths, Tsunade, as a medic ninja ironically developed a phobia of blood. But after protecting Naruto, she overcame this phobia for the sake of those most precious to her.

One of her noteworthy possessions was her grandfather's amulet [The First Hokage!], a necklace that could buy up to three mountains. She "lost" it to Naruto in a bet she made with him to prove a point- challenging him to learn the high-level technique Rasengan in only a week. Even though the people close to her she had given the necklace to up to that point had died shortly after, she decided to give it to Naruto anyway- who, after all, until he becomes Hokage simply refuses to die.

Tsunade is also a compulsive gambler, who has the unfortunate disadvantage of having terrible luck. As a result, she has been elevated to legendary status as "The Legendary Sucker", for the gross profits made off her misfortune and gambling addiction.

After some initial reluctance, Tsunade agreed to take the title of the Fifth Hokage and lead the Hidden Leaf Village, and later has decided to take Haruno Sakura in as her student.

Tsunami

Age: 29 years old at start of manga, now 30
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Affiliation: The Land of the Waves
Signature Ability: None

The daughter of Tazuna and single mother of Inari. Having lost her husband several years ago, when Kaiza entered her life showing such love for her son, she couldn't help but invite him into her home. Like everyone else in the City, Kaiza's death broke her spirit. In the years following she has tried to protect Inari from the painful memories of the loss of his friend and mentor. Tsunami is a woman of strong will. When Inari is in danger, she threatens to commit suicide, which would have left no hostage for Gatô's men to take.

"Tsunami" ) is one or a series of waves that occur after an earthquake, seaquake, volcanic activity, slumps, or meteorite impacts in or near the sea. The term "tidal wave" is often used to refer to a tsunami but it is technically not correct scientific usage.

Tsurugu Misumi

Age: 23 years old at start of manga, now 24
Height: 174.7 cm
Weight: 61.4 kg
Birthday: November 30
Blood Type: A
Affiliation: Otogakure
Signature Ability: Advanced grappling

Technically a Genin level ninja and pretending to be from the Konohagakure, Tsurugu Misumi (Jap. 剣ミスミ) is actually from the Otogakure, acting as Konoha Ninja in order to gain information. To be more efficient in the gathering of information, his body has been altered to be able to fit into any space. This ability also has its benefits in battle, Allowing Misumi to get impossible to escape holds on his opponent, with the ability to then constrict like a snake.

Uchiha Itachi

Age: 16 years old at start of manga, now 17
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: June 9
Blood Type: ?
Registeration #: 012110
Affiliation: Akatsuki
Signature Ability: Mangekyo Sharingan

"Foolish little brother... If you want to kill me then hate me, despise me, and survive in an unsightly way... run, run and cling desperately to life. Then, when you have the same eyes as me, come before me."

Noted within the Wanted Book, Uchiha Itachi (Jap. うちはイタチ) is an S-Level criminal and a Konoha Village Missing-nin. He graduated top of his Academy class at age 7, had mastered the Sharingan by age 8, became a Chûnin at 9 and was previously an ANBU captain at the age of only 13; Now 17, he is feared even by Orochimaru. He left Konoha some years ago, after killing his whole clan except for Uchiha Sasuke, his brother. He is currently associated with the organisation Akatsuki though his whereabouts are unknown. Orchimaru had plans for Itachi wanting him to join him only to be another vessel for him, but seeing as Itachi is obscenely powerful to such a degree that he clearly overpowers even Orochimaru, it's easy to see why Orochimaru decided to try his luck with Sasuke instead.

The reason Itachi killed his clan, the reason he left Sasuke alive only to physically and mentally abuse him and the reason he repeatedly chooses to spare the lives of Konoha-nins after completely outclassing them in battle all remain mysteries. One thing is clear- there's more to him than meets the eye and gets trapped in an alternate dimension of psychological torture. He is the sole person who can use the Mangekyô Sharingan as revealed in the manga thus far, though apparently there is another person with this ability who has not yet been introduced (since Itachi tells Sasuke that if Sasuke were to achieve the Mangekyô Sharingan, the people able to use it will total at three); this is puzzling since it implies the existence of another living memeber of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke having previously thought to be the only one to survive Itachi's massacre.

Trivia

The name "Itachi" means "Weasel".

Umino Iruka

Age: 25 years old at start of manga, now 26
Height: 178.0 cm
Weight: 66.2 kg
Birthday: May 26
Blood Type: O
Registeration #: 011450
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Signature Ability: None

"I'm not crying... my parents died fighting the stupid monster fox! They were heroes!... these tears are tears of joy..."

A Chûnin level ninja, Umino Iruka (Jap. 海野イルカ) is an instructor at the ninja academy. Introduced as Uzumaki Naruto's sensei, he and Naruto have a special connection- Iruka sees himself in Naruto because he also grew up as an orphan and was around Naruto's age when his parents were killed by the Kyubi. Naruto cares for him because Iruka was the first person to acknowledge him as a precious person. Worrying that Naruto is being pushed too hard, Iruka often underestimates Naruto's abilities during his trials to become a great ninja. He is now Konohamaru's teacher.

Trivia

The name "Umino" means "of the sea" and "Iruka" means "a dolphin".

Yakushi Kabuto

Age: 19 years old at start of manga, now 20
Height: 176.2 cm
Weight: 65.0 kg
Birthday: February 29
Blood Type: AB
Registeration #: 012140
Affiliation: Orochimaru
Signature Ability: ?

"His instincts may surpass even mine in my prime." - Tsunade

Technically a Genin level ninja, Yakushi Kabuto (Jap. 薬師カブト, pronounced Yakūshi Kabuto) is in Konohagakure as a spy acting for Orochimaru. Having intentionally failed the Chûnin exam 7 times and made himself seem an unimpressive ninja, he is actually on the Jônin skill level, capable of matching even Hatake Kakashi in battle. As a young boy he was brought back from a battle, an enemy child, he was found and raised by a Jônin member of the Leaf Medical Unit Squad. Since then he has been hiding in his fake self. Described as Orochimaru's right hand man, Kabuto's role was to keep an eye on talented ninjas that Orochimaru could recruit, specifically Uchiha Sasuke, in order for the next stage of Orochimaru's plan to take place.

During his fight with Tsunade, she commented that his instincts may have surpassed even hers during her prime years. Kabuto probably has some ulterior motive for helping Orochimaru though the manga has yet to reveal it.

Yamanaka Ino

Age: 12 years old at start of manga, now 13
Height: 149.3 cm
Weight: 38.2 kg
Birthday: September 23
Blood Type: B
Registeration #: 012604
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Signature Ability: Art of the Valentine (Shintenshin no Jutsu, literally Body-Mind Transfer in the original Japanese)

A Genin level ninja, Yamanaka Ino (山中イノ Yamanaka Ino) is described as a very talented female shinobi by her Sensei. She was originally the first person to be nice to the timid Haruno Sakura in her childhood and was her best friend, but their shared crush on Uchiha Sasuke has driven them apart and made them bitter rivals. After the second stage of the Chûnin exam, and to some extent the third stage preliminaries, Ino and Sakura's relationship becomes a complex friendship/enmity one- it seems as if they are basically good friends again but are still thrown into rivalry mode whenever Sasuke is even mentioned.

Ino appears to be a very enthusiastic sort of person, her energy-laden cheers contrasting ridiculously with the pronounced indifference of her teammate, Shikamaru. Much like him, Ino has a specialty jutsu that takes control of the opponent to some degree- Art of the Valentine (Shintenshin no Jutsu, literally The Body-Mind Switch Technique).

Trivia

The name "Yamanaka" means "deep in the mountain" and "Ino" means "a wild boar". "Ino", "Shika" and "Chō" are the name of three cards needed for a highly prized trick of "Inoshikacho" in the Hanafuda.

Yuhi Kurenai

Age: 27 years old at start of manga, now 28
Height: 169.1 cm
Weight: 54.4 kg
Birthday: June 11
Blood Type: AB
Registeration #: 010881
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Signature Ability: Genjutsu

A Jônin level ninja, Yuhi Kurenai (Jap. 夕日紅, pronounced Yūhi Kurenai) is the one in charge of Genin Team 8 (which consists of Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Hyūga Hinata). Not much is known about Kurenai as of yet in the series, only that she has just recently become a Jônin. She may have a thing for Asuma, since she blushed when Kakashi suggested it.

During her brief battle with Itachi and Kisame, she used her strongest skill, genjutsu. Itachi easily countered it though, since he has the Sharingan at his disposal.

Trivia

The name "Yūhi" means "the setting sun" and "Kurenai" means "the time of twilight when the sun sets".

Momochi Zabuza

Age: 26 years old (deceased)
Height: 183.0 cm
Weight: 72.0 kg
Birthday: August 15
Blood Type: A
Affiliation: None
Signature Ability: Mist

"Without a moment's hesitation... without any qualm... a boy who hadn't even qualified yet as a ninja... butchered over a hundred members of that year's graduating class." - Hatake Kakashi "Ah yes, good times... I used to have so much fun." - Zabuza

Momochi Zabuza (Jap. 桃地再不斬) is a Missing-nin formerly from Kirigakure. Being a mist-ninja, most of his Jutsus are water-oriented. He had attempted a failed coup d'état on the Land of the Mist, and tried to finance another one. He is also known as "The Demon of Kirigakure" since he once single-handedly killed all of the students in the ninja academy (that is also why Kirigakure stopped pitting students against one another in battles to the death). Zabuza is a Jônin of large power who holds an even larger sword, as we see in the fights between him and Hatake Kakashi, when he was hired by Gatô to kill Tazuna; he actually manages to overpower Kakashi and trap him within his specialty Suirō no Jutsu, and would have won if it weren't for Uzumaki Naruto's clever intervention.

Zabuza was the one who picked the lonely Haku off of the cold streets and agreed to take him in if Haku were to serve him, thus gaining his undying loyalty. When Haku sacrifices his life to save Zabuza, jumping in between him and Kakashi's Chidori, Zabuza feels nothing, for he saw Haku as merely a tool; but Naruto, outraged at this lack of emotion, yells at Zabuza that he cannot understand how he wouldn't care at all, and finally understanding what he probably was to Haku, Zabuza has a change of heart.

Zabuza died plunging with Naruto's kunai in his mouth- both his arms having been broken in battle with Kakashi earlier- into the ranks of Gatô's men, and being impaled upon countless weapons- but not before killing many of them, and finally Gatô himself. In the manga, Zabuza kills him by decapitating him with the kunai Naruto gave him. In the anime, Zabuza pushes him off the bridge. Zabuza asked to be buried alongside Haku.

Zaku Abumi

Age: 14 years old (deceased)
Height: 157.3 cm
Weight: 49.0 kg
Birthday: September 14
Blood Type: AB
Affiliation: Otogakure
Signature Ability: Air pressure/sound cannon

"Me... The great me... Can't screw up anymore!"

"Oh, no. Sasuke is a crucial piece. The ones taking the chûnin exam are merely sacrifices." - Orochimaru

Zaku Abumi (Jap. ザク・アブミ) was a Genin level ninja from the Sound Village. He was part of the Sound Village team that took the Chûnin test at Konoha. He was murdered and used as a sacrifice by Orochimaru for the use of the Edo Tensei technique against 3rd Hokage.

Trivia

The probability of this many people actually not sharing a birthday is less than one in fifteen. (Counting characters whose birthdays are known; had the whole cast of Naruto been known to have different birthdays, the probability would have dropped to less than one in fifty.)

When the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors arrived in Japan in the early 1640s the Japanese invented many variations for it- one of them being Frog, Slug, Snake. The frog can beat the slug, the slug can beat the snake and the snake can beat the toad. These three animals are, not coincidentally, the summons of the legenday Sannin (Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade). The names of the Sannin are from The Legend of the Gallant Jiraiya], a Japanese tale from the nineteenth century.