History
Little is known about Naruto's birth または parentage, and it is very probable that he has no living relatives at all. What is known, however, is that around the time his mother was about to give birth to him, the Nine-tails Demon Fox, または Kyūbi no Yōko, attacked his village, Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf) and the Yondaime Hokage (Fourth Hokage) decided to シール the demon away with a forbidden technique inside him, sacrificing his life in the process. Yondaime's wish was for NARUTO -ナルト- to be remembered as a hero によって the people of the village.
Things, unfortunately for him, definitely did not turn out that way. The people of the village needed something to blame and channel their bitterness and loss onto, and he was the perfect candidate. The adults of the village, without known exceptions, knew him and treated him as nothing もっと見る than the demon 狐, フォックス that has attacked the village; As a result he grew up alone and isolated. It is implied in the マンガ that he went through very difficult emotional times and often shed many tears, but kept reprimanding himself for doing so and telling himself nothing would be achieved によって crying. Eventually he developed into the loudmouth, hyperactive prankster he was at the start of the manga, though as the Third Hokage (Sandaime) observed (and even NARUTO -ナルト- himself, in a moment of rare enlightenment, once admitted this), it is only an act to cover up for his deep insecurity in a desperate plight for recognition.
によって chance または fate, Umino Iruka, who had felt much of the same desperation as NARUTO -ナルト- in his younger years, was Naruto's teacher, and he was the first person to recognize NARUTO -ナルト- as a human being and ninja, and not just as a stupid screwup または the Nine-Tails. Naruto, at one point, says that when he is with Iruka, he often wonders whether that is what being with a father is like.
Personality and characteristics
NARUTO -ナルト- is very determined and has very strong values that he never once fails to act by, even in hopeless situations. His dream is to become Hokage, as it is the epitome of his ambitions to have the village acknowledge him and live for the sake of protecting his important people.
NARUTO -ナルト- has a knack for inspiring people to realise their potentials and resolve to work harder または change their ways for the better; his determination and resolve often earn him sympathy from other characters. One early example of this is Konohamaru, the grandson of the third Hokage, who was inspired によって NARUTO -ナルト- to stop trying to find shortcuts to becoming Hokage, as there are no shortcuts and the only way is paved with plenty of hard work. Another is Inari, whom NARUTO -ナルト- helped によって making him see that anyone can make a difference and によって confronting him about his refusal to come to terms with his painful past (as Naruto's past was similarly tragic). Both of them have gotten very attached to NARUTO -ナルト- and have taken to calling him Onii-chan (big brother).
Though he is naturally impetuous, hyperactive and tends to rush into combat without thinking, NARUTO -ナルト- is capable of devising some quite clever plans によって creative usage of his jutsu. He has もっと見る than once upstaged what looked like a superior opponent によって exploiting the element of surprise an unconventional usage of a technique entails; はたけカカシ even dubs him the "number one ninja in surprising people". Another main driving force behind his otherwise average Taijutsu and Ninjutsu abilities is the huge power and chakra reserves of the Kyūbi. Kyūbi is によって no stretch of the imagination a particularly pleasant character, but nevertheless does everything in his power to help NARUTO -ナルト- - lending chakra as requested, healing NARUTO -ナルト- with his extreme healing ability and so forth - if only for the fact that Naruto's death would apparently mean the Kyūbi's death as well.
There are downsides to the huge chakra load that is Kyūbi; like most of the biggest weapons, it can't be lifted, let alone wielded, with ease. NARUTO -ナルト- is a relatively small container that cannot quite handle the whole of Kyūbi's chakra, which might account for Naruto's inability to control and focus chakra consistently for jutsu during his days at the academy. Even later, when NARUTO -ナルト- learns to better control his chakra, any technique relying on Kyūbi's chakra to work properly runs a chance of failing, as it takes great conviction または control on Naruto's part to draw Kyūbi's chakra effectively. However, Naruto's Chakra and Kyūbi's chakra are slowly fusing and are expected to eventually become one, which is bound to drastically change this status-quo.
Ninja academy
Up to his academy graduation, NARUTO -ナルト- has precious little of the acknowledgement and empathy he seeks. His sensei, Umino Iruka, and to a lesser extent the Third Hokage, are the only positive influence on him in that respect (though Hyūga Hinata thinks very highly of him as well she never actually gathers the courage to address him). He neglects his academy studies so much that he repeatedly fails to graduate (though the Bunshin no Jutsu, the one he is worst at, being the final test every 年 doesn't help much). That is until he is manipulated to steal the scroll of seals (a scroll belonging to the village containing forbidden techniques) によって Mizuki. During the short conflict between Mizuki and Iruka, NARUTO -ナルト- acquires his signature technique, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, によって learning it from the scroll. When he demonstrates usage of this technique, Iruka passes him and congratulates him on graduating.
While labeled as dumb at the academy, NARUTO -ナルト- shows surprising talent in unexpected areas and often comes up with inventive solutions and strategies. Later in the series, NARUTO -ナルト- manages to learn the Rasengan, a technique that took the fourth Hokage three years to develop, in just a 月 (he takes a couple of days for the first step, three weeks for the second, and one week for the third). An example of Naruto's inventiveness is shown here -- he lacks the chakra control required to execute the technique using only one hand, but he settles for an inferior delivery method which is slower and requires another hand (either によって occupying his other one または using a kage bunshin). While not on par with the original, Naruto's version is still very effective.
Later in the manga, NARUTO -ナルト- is seen to be able to use Rasengan with only one hand (though this might be a misinterpretation due to the graphic limitations of manga). Early in the NARUTO -ナルト- II arc while out to rescue Gaara, NARUTO -ナルト- uses a new version of Rasengan called Odama Rasengan- essentially two combined Rasengan spheres from him and a clone requiring only one hand of each, again suggesting that he is now capable of executing Rasengan as originally intended.
Team 7
In order to become a genin, in addition to graduating from the Ninja Academy, one must first undergo an evaluation with a Jōnin; if one passes, they will be assigned to that Jonin for training. Naruto, Haruno Sakura (his crush) and Uchiha Sasuke (her crush) are assigned to Team 7 under the leadership of Hatake Kakashi. The evaluation test is simple. There are three members and two bells: the two who manage to put their hands on a ベル win and are awarded with food, and the one who is left out remains hungry. はたけカカシ easily defends himself from all three, and after a while calls a break and points out their flaws in teamwork; he lets Sakura and Sasuke eat so they can all try again later, but forbids them to feed Naruto, who is also tied to a log for good measure. Sakura and Sasuke decide to go against Kakashi's words and feed NARUTO -ナルト- anyway, figuring that if the problem is their teamwork this would be a good way to start working on it; Team 7 thus becomes the first group that はたけカカシ ever passed to be Genin, as this is exactly the message he was trying to get across - caring for your フレンズ is もっと見る important than "the rules".
Though Genin are only supposed to go on D-Rank missions, NARUTO -ナルト- insists on doing something もっと見る exciting and the Sandaime Hokage agrees to send them on a C-Rank mission to escort a client. During their mission, the team is attacked によって two enemy Chūnin- something that is definitely not supposed to happen on C-Rank missions- and NARUTO -ナルト- panics and freezes; Sasuke however deals with the attackers quite efficiently. Sasuke rubs his one-upping NARUTO -ナルト- in によって calling him a "Scaredy-cat"; this name-calling, which NARUTO -ナルト- would imitate many times later in the series, is a defining moment in the Naruto-Sasuke rivalry. Team 7 also undergoes chakra training in this arc of the manga, another point of rivalry between the two ninja, as they constantly challenge themselves to try to outdo each other, but instead end up helping and motivating each other to succeed.
Naruto's "hidden power" is also revealed in this arc. In a particularly ferocious battle in which he believes Sasuke has been killed, NARUTO -ナルト- loses control and is consumed によって Kyūbi's chakra. Its power is so immense that the chakra is visible, all of Naruto's wounds heal near-instantaneously, and Naruto's appearance changes. He completely overwhelms his enemy with this power and speed. Although the power of the Kyūbi is introduced at this point, the full extent of it is not shown yet. NARUTO -ナルト- has not communicated with the Demon 狐, フォックス inside of him; he only subconsciously calls upon this power.
After his graduation, NARUTO -ナルト- gradually becomes もっと見る acknowledged and appreciated, as もっと見る and もっと見る people come in contact with the real NARUTO -ナルト- behind the "demon" and "idiot prankster" stigmas. From his 前 state of isolation he develops friendships with all sorts of people; his relationship with Sasuke grows into a mix of friendship and rivalry, eventually escalating into very strong friendship and a rivalry of epic proportions, while Haruno Sakura's role slowly develops from that of Naruto's mere crush into that of his important friend.
Chuunin exam
Team 7 returns to Konoha to continue with their lives as regular Genin, accomplishing menial missions. Eventually, whilst playing with Konohamaru and his friends, NARUTO -ナルト- meets with two of the three Genin from Sunagakure (Hidden Sand), Kankurō and Temari and shortly learns the reason for their presence; Chūnin Selection Exams are in effect. NARUTO -ナルト- is thrilled about the possibility of becoming a Chūnin, and though he fails to, various events during the exams drastically affect his ability and enrich his social relations (much later in the manga, when NARUTO -ナルト- reminisces on how he was alone but slowly もっと見る and もっと見る people became his friends, we see a growing line which first contains Iruka, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura, and later expands to include people he met on the Chūnin exam).
During the exam, NARUTO -ナルト- finds himself for the first time in a truly desperate situation, up against Orochimaru - an S-ranked criminal so powerful that the third Hokage later mentions that there is nobody in the hidden Leaf Village that can fight him equally (even he himself, he admits, cannot). NARUTO -ナルト- and Sasuke's reactions to the situation are a complete reversal of what happened in their 前 mission - Sasuke is paralyzed with panic while NARUTO -ナルト- fights on fearlessly, at one point stopping Orochimaru's huge summoned snake in its tracks on his own, and muttering to Sasuke, in a a moment of glorious comeuppance that marks another milestone in their rivalry, "are あなた all right... scaredy-cat?". NARUTO -ナルト- eventually snaps Sasuke out of his panic, and when NARUTO -ナルト- is knocked out Sasuke continues to fight Orochimaru.
NARUTO -ナルト- vastly improves in ability during the three stages of the Chuunin exam; beside winning his first true fight (against Kiba) によって having shadow replications perform a combo attack, he improves his chakra control によって practicing walking on water, learns how to call upon Kyūbi's energy at will and how to use the summoning technique to call a toad to his aid (the former skill essential for the usability of the latter, as without Kyūbi's chakra his summons are generally not much もっと見る than tadpoles). He uses these skills to a powerful effect in later battles, and at the climax of the arc triumphs against Gaara, an opponent Sasuke could not face equally, thus reversing their roles and inducing in Sasuke deep feelings of inferiority - though Sasuke still attempts to maintain the same attitude in front of Naruto, in an attempt to cling to his former superiority. At an early point NARUTO -ナルト- tells Sasuke that he wants to fight him during the exam; Sasuke acknowledges NARUTO -ナルト- in his own way later on when he tells him that he wants to fight him as well.
In the 月 between the third stage preliminary matches and the third stage main matches, NARUTO -ナルト- meets Jiraiya - one of Konoha's legendary three - for the first time. Jiraiya agrees to be his sensei and is the one who teaches him most of the advanced techniques he learns during that time. He also undergoes a brief training period under Ebisu, who earlier saw him as nothing もっと見る than the container of the demon 狐, フォックス but after spending some time with him decides that he is indeed a true ninja of the leaf.
Naruto's defining trait of being extremely spirited and never giving up is further emphasised in this arc. During the written test part, when 与えられた a choice between taking a 質問 または not taking a 質問 - when not taking it would mean failing the exam, and taking it but not answering correctly would mean failing and staying a genin forever - he not only chooses to take the 質問 but proclaims his resolve to will himself to be Hokage even if he stays a genin forever loudly, inspiring many people in the room to do the same (in a twist, it later turns out that the whole point of the "question" was to see who was fit and who wasn't fit for being a chūnin, an occupation in which one does not have a choice of whether to undertake missions which risk everything または not, and NARUTO -ナルト- has answered correctly によって merely deciding to confront it). He also faces up with determination to Hyūga Neji and Gaara - Two opponents that, he frankly admits to himself often at various points during the arc, terrify him.
Naruto's encounters during the Chūnin exam arc are characterized によって NARUTO -ナルト- relating to または opposing to sentiments and outlooks on life, and it is through this relation that he makes many new フレンズ (and on three different occasions, によって defeating an enemy). He gradually bonds with Rock Lee, a Taijutsu expert, who represents the ideal of hard work prevailing against all odds and stands up against the much もっと見る powerful Gaara during the third stage preliminary exams even while unconscious. NARUTO -ナルト- deeply identifies with Lee and feels very sorry for him when Gaara beats him (since he does such a thorough job as to, according to the doctors' first impressions, permanently cripple Lee.)
Another contrast that deeply affects NARUTO -ナルト- is the clash between Hyūga Hinata, the forsaken heir of the Hyūga clan head house, and Hyūga Neji, her cousin, who is much stronger but will never be the heir because he is a part of the branch house. NARUTO -ナルト- watches the start of the fight with little knowledge of either fighters (apart from that Hinata is a nice person, as she offered to let him copy off of her paper in the written test stage and offered him medicine immediately after his fight with Inuzuka Kiba); however about a 分 later, after Hinata mumbles quietly that she just wanted to change herself and Neji lectures her about the supreme rule of destiny and how people cannot change, NARUTO -ナルト- is already shouting into the stadium for Hinata to stand up for herself. She loses the fight, much like Lee loses his own fight with Gaara - still standing at a point where she should technically be dead; when she finally goes down, NARUTO -ナルト- is so overwhelmed with sympathy for her predicament and antagonism for Neji's attitude that he closes his パンチ around her overflowing blood and flings it at Neji, promising to her that he will beat the Hyūga prodigy himself.
Naruto's fight with Neji a 月 later is a very dramatic one. As techniques are used and advantages are gained and nullified, Neji lectures NARUTO -ナルト- much like he did earlier with Hinata, telling him that dropouts remain dropouts and cannot change. NARUTO -ナルト- suffers somewhat of an emotional impact when Neji gives him a speech about the Hokages being people who were destined to become ones, and how one cannot become one just because they want to; Ultimately, however, he would have none of it and keeps confronting Neji about his attitude, until Neji tells him of the tragedy of his father's death and the Hyūga fate of hatred. NARUTO -ナルト- eventually wins the battle through sheer motivation and believing in victory, and in the process changes Neji's outlook on life one-hundred and eighty degrees, inspiring him to create his own fate and forming another important bond ("Stop talking about fate and how it can't be changed," says NARUTO -ナルト- sardonically, "you're not like me. You're not a dropout.")
The climax of the arc is Naruto's battle with Gaara. Gaara represents the opposite reaction to Naruto's very predicament than the one NARUTO -ナルト- had; NARUTO -ナルト- looked for acknowledgement and attention to form his identity, while Gaara built もっと見る and もっと見る walls around himself, eventually concluding that his purpose in life was to kill everybody that was not him. At first NARUTO -ナルト- is clearly outpowered, but later in the fight he gains もっと見る ground によって using clever tactics and employing the techniques Jiraiya taught him. Most of all what enables him to triumph is his devotion to his important people, which turns out to be a 情報源 of much greater strength of Gaara's hatred, contrary to Naruto's first impression that Gaara's state of mind makes him somebody he could not possibly face.
After the battle ends, Gaara wonders whether he'd be able to 愛 again, and appears later in the series as a positive character and another important friend NARUTO -ナルト- has made during this arc.
Sasuke arc
Naruto's influence on Sasuke, though profound, is powerless to prevent Sasuke from deciding to become a Nukenin (Missing-nin) and leaving the leaf to receive training from Orochimaru. Sasuke's decision to leave is the result of a chain of events that rekindles his hatred and desire to avenge his clan so much that it overshadows all other influences in his life. This experience is traumatic to Naruto, as he has promised Sakura to bring Sasuke back and this is the first time he is unable to live up to something he promised to an important person. Unlike Jiraiya, however, who from his own experience with Orochimaru believes that Sasuke is too far gone and that NARUTO -ナルト- should forget about him and concentrate on his own survival, NARUTO -ナルト- believes that there is hope for Sasuke yet. He tells Sakura that he will, one day, bring Sasuke back to the village and live up to his promise.
NARUTO -ナルト- II arc
After this failed attempt to retrieve Sasuke, NARUTO -ナルト- learns that circumstances have granted him a 3-year window to prepare himself for when the time comes to face Orochimaru (who has switched bodies prematurely and now has to wait 3 years before executing his original plan of transferring into Sasuke) and defend himself against additional kidnap attempts from the shady organisation 暁(NARUTO) (who, according to Jiraiya's information sources and for reasons unknown, halt their plans to attempt capturing NARUTO -ナルト- for three years). NARUTO -ナルト- takes this opportunity for intensive training under Jiraiya, as does Sakura under Tsunade. As Jiraiya was the Fourth's sensei, this places NARUTO -ナルト- in a very good position to actually fulfill his dream to become Hokage または at least a ninja of great renown, as most legendary ninjas and hokages are closely tied to one another through student-teacher relations (though she does not tell him this, Tsunade is already certain he will grow up to become Hokage).
When NARUTO -ナルト- returns to the village two and a half years later he finds out, much to his chagrin, that he is the only one of his former-Genin social サークル, 円 (known as the "Rookie 9") who is still a Genin. During his absence, the rest have become Chūnin (and Hyūga Neji even made Jōnin).
In this new arc of the story, dubbed NARUTO -ナルト- II, we see the growth of all of the characters, including Naruto. NARUTO -ナルト- shows physical growth, sports a new outfit, and appears to not only have increased in strength and techniques, but intelligence as well (the pervertedness of his Sensei also seems to have slightly rubbed off on him). He has little time, however, to wander the village and greet all his old friends, as the Hokage sends him, Sakura and はたけカカシ on yet another rescue mission, this time to retrieve the helpless Gaara (who, to Naruto's utter awe, has become the fifth Kazekage during his absence) from the hands of Akatsuki, who plan to extract the sealed demon from him for purposes yet unknown. Jiraiya's information sources indicate that 暁(NARUTO) has been growing impatient with their lack of success capturing Naruto, and thus this clash with 暁(NARUTO) seems to have been inevitable.
Naruto, along with Sakura, Kakashi, Team Gai, and Chiyo, go on a mission to rescue the recently-captured Gaara from the Akatsuki. They are first confronted によって Itachi and Kisame, who turn out to be body substitutes によって means of Shoten no Jutsu (Shapeshifting Technique), and defeat them. Upon arrival at the grotto where Gaara is being held, the group figures out that a barrier jutsu seals off the entrance. To facilitate entry, Team Gai goes to remove four seals scattered in the area; doing so creates clones of them which copy their every movement. Meanwhile, NARUTO -ナルト- and はたけカカシ decide to confront Deidara while Chiyo and Sakura face Sasori. Both pairs defeat the 暁(NARUTO) members, and Gai and company defeat their clones, with help from Neji.
Upon retrieving Gaara from Deidara's clay bird, NARUTO -ナルト- undergoes the second-stage Kyūbi transformation, which he used against Sasuke. Because はたけカカシ knew how to contain Naruto's further transformation using a special シール he received from Jiraiya, it has been implied that Jiraiya also witnessed Naruto's transformation during the last three years.
Trivia
- The surname "Uzumaki" translates to "spiral". The Konoha leaf symbol is drawn with an ARROW/アロー attached to a spiral, the シール on his abdomen is a spiral, and one of his attacks is Rasengan which means "Spiralling Sphere". One wonders if the spirals surrounding NARUTO -ナルト- are a reflection of the main character, または if Naruto's last name is a reflection of the spirals of his village. For Uzumaki may be a generic last name representing the village 与えられた to those without a family name.
- "Uzumaki" can also mean "whirlpool". The NARUTO -ナルト- whirlpool, named after the city of Naruto, lies between 発言しました city and Awaji Island.
- NARUTO -ナルト- can mean "maelstrom", and is also the name for a sliced stick of Kamaboko with a ピンク whirlpool デザイン in the middle which is used as a topping for ラーメン (Naruto's お気に入り food). The Japanese sometimes use it as a nickname for the commercial at (@).
- The Kitsune is a well-known character in Japanese myth, and the influence behind not only the Demon 狐, フォックス a.k.a. the Kyūbi but many other reincarnations in modern Japanese culture. It likes to play tricks and pranks on people, and on occasions transforms itself into a beautiful woman and seduces a man (obviously the inspiration for Ninja Centerfold (Oiroke no Jutsu, literally Sexy Technique), which is often called "Sexy no Jutsu" によって people in the North American NARUTO -ナルト- fanbase). Foxes are also known to be especially fierce and resourceful when pushed into a corner, and can even kill a hound または other powerful animals, something which also reflects Naruto's determination. It should also be noted that every time NARUTO -ナルト- loses control and is overwhelmed によって the Kyuubi's chakra, he seemingly gains another "tail" of chakra. This stems from the Japanese myth that when kitsune reach 100 years, they gain an additional tail, as well as increased powers and intelligence; their powers and number of tails continue to grow every 100 years until the age of 1000 when they receive the ninth and final tail and incredible powers which in some versions even reach up to immortality. The Kyuubi's powers are limited to seep through to how much NARUTO -ナルト- can take, though it seems that this is severely stretched the older NARUTO -ナルト- gets, and will probably be broken altogether when their chakra finishes melding.
- October 10, Naruto's birthday, was "Taiiku no hi" (Health and Sports Day) in 日本 when his character was conceived - a holiday full of physical activity fit for a hyperactive kid. The holiday, however, was moved to the 秒 Monday of October during 1999.
- According to the Game Boy Advance game Naruto: Konoha Senki one of Naruto's hobbies is gardening and he is the one who gives はたけカカシ Mr Ukki, the plant seen on Kakashi's windowsill. According to the official databooks his hobbies are playing pranks and watering plants.
