Konohamaru Sarutobi

is a shinobi of Konohagakure's Sarutobi clan. He strives to one day become Hokage after his idol, Naruto Uzumaki. As an adult, he becomes the leader of his own genin team.

Background
Konohamaru was born into the Sarutobi clan and was named after Konoha by his grandfather. While being raised by his Anbu parents, Konohamaru was never referred to by his name by the villagers, only ever called because of his relationship to the Hokage. Wanting to be acknowledged as a person and not simply the Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru began trying to defeat Hiruzen in order to replace him as Hokage.

Personality
Although he's introduced midway through a failed attempt to defeat his grandfather, Konohamaru initially finds a certain enjoyment in his status as the Hokage's grandson: he is often spared from being punished for his actions and will goad people who are unwilling to take a hand against him. When Naruto Uzumaki shows no restraint towards him and freely hits him, Konohamaru becomes impressed by him and declares Naruto to be both his rival and role model, variously calling him and. Like Naruto, Konohamaru tends to be loud, headstrong, spends an inordinate amount of time inventing perverted ninjutsu, and, in the anime, even mimics Naruto's kabuki ninja registration photograph when taking his own. He also ends many of his sentences with, much like Naruto does with "dattebayo".

Konohamaru also picks up a number of good qualities from Naruto, such as the realisation that becoming Hokage is a long process that there are no shortcuts for. This commits Konohamaru to his studies in the Academy and makes the job of his tutor, Ebisu, considerably easier. In his quest to rise to Naruto's level, Konohamaru masters a number of jōnin-level jutsu while still a genin and adopts a refusal to run from a fight, even against superior opponents. In the anime, Konohamaru eventually moves past his competition with Naruto for the Hokage mantle, deciding instead that he will become Hokage only after Naruto has had his turn. Years later, Konohamaru becomes emotional at the prospect that he can mentor Naruto's son, Boruto, in the same way that Naruto mentored him.

While most of Konohamaru's reverence for Naruto is well-deserved, some of Konohamaru's praise for him is owed more to his own gullibility and denseness: when he trips during their first meeting he assumes Naruto did something, unwilling to blame his own clumsiness; Konohamaru's Cloak of Invisibility Technique is constantly discovered by Naruto not because of Naruto's skill but rather because Konohamaru's disguises are so poor. Naruto encourages this to a degree, never refusing the compliments and never correcting Konohamaru's perception of him as a lady's man.

Konohamaru has shown immense emotional endurance, recovering from tragedies close to his heart, such as the deaths of his grandfather and his uncle, Asuma Sarutobi, in a relatively short time, displaying an ability to cope with heart-shattering grief that goes beyond his years. This aspect of his personality is likely in emulation of Naruto's take on the Will of Fire, as Naruto also had to cope with immense loss and depression at a young age, but still stuck to his optimistic and willful outlook.

Appearance
Konohamaru has short spiky brown hair, black eyes, and a small chip in his tooth. In some of Konohamaru's appearances in the anime, he is depicted with blush marks on his cheeks. When he's first introduced he wears a grey helmet with a hole at the top for his hair to stick out of. He replaces this with Naruto's old goggles for the rest of Part I, replacing them with his own forehead protector in Part II. He has worn a long blue scarf for most of his life.

Konohamaru's Part I clothing consists of grey shorts and a yellow shirt with a red Konoha symbol printed on it. His Part II outfit is quite similar, with longer pants and a pale green jacket with a dark green stripe down the middle. During the Rinne Festival, his outfit consists of a grey/black zip-up jacket, dark grey pants, sandals, and bandages around both his arms. For Naruto and Hinata Hyūga's wedding, he wears a formal attire. As a jōnin, he wears his scarf with dark blue pants, black sandals and while on duty, he wears a flak jacket with a red armband on his left arm that has his clan's emblem on.

Abilities
Konohamaru's performance in the Academy was rather poor, failing to properly use basic techniques such as the Cloak of Invisibility Technique and Transformation Technique. After meeting Naruto, he tried branching out into variations of the Sexy Technique, with no practical use. As a genin in Part II, Konohamaru began displaying aptitude as a shinobi, engaging the Naraka Path during Pain's Assault, as well as deducing the mechanisms behind the path's technique. Many years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, Konohamaru advanced to the rank of jōnin.

Ninjutsu
Naruto taught Konohamaru how to use the Rasengan at the end of Part I, which he initially believed to be yet another perverted jutsu. It took several years of training independently for him to create the Rasengan, and even then required the aid of a shadow clone, just like Naruto did. Nevertheless, Naruto was impressed by Konohamaru's mastery and offered to teach him to use the Big Ball Rasengan; in the anime, Konohamaru eventually learned how to do so by himself. By the time that he became a jōnin, he could use the Rasengan without a shadow clone.

Konohamaru's nature transformations include Fire, Wind, and Yang Release; in the anime, he was able to use the Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning. He was shown performing the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique in the same episode.

Prologue — Land of Waves
Konohamaru barges into his grandfather, the Third Hokage's, office intent on finally defeating him and thus replacing him as Hokage. He immediately trips on entering and assumes that Naruto Uzumaki, the only other person in the room, is responsible. Having heard that his grandfather was previously defeated by Naruto's Sexy Technique, Konohamaru approaches Naruto for training. Naruto agrees and they become friends during their time together. Concerned about Naruto's negative influence, Konohamaru's tutor, Ebisu, tries to separate them, a goal he becomes more adamant about when Konohamaru tries using the Sexy Technique on him. When this doesn't work, Naruto defeats Ebisu with his Harem Technique. Deeply impressed by Naruto's words and actions, Konohamaru decides to start emulating Naruto in the hopes that he will one day surpass him.

Some time after this, Konohamaru realized there is no shortcut to being Hokage and trained with tremendous dedication. When Konohamaru passed what Naruto taught him onto Ebisu, Ebisu saw Naruto as a shinobi of Konoha, rather than the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Chūnin Exams
Konohamaru and his friends, Udon and Moegi, approach Naruto as he's returning from a mission. Although he previously promised to "play ninja" with them, Naruto tries to get out of it by claiming he needs to train. Naruto's teammate, Sakura Haruno overhears this and asks what "playing ninja" entails. Not knowing who she is, Konohamaru assumes she's Naruto's girlfriend, which Naruto doesn't deny. Sakura punches Naruto out of disgust and, when Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi call her names for attacking him, she attacks them as well. While running for safety they collide with Kankurō and Temari, Sunagakure shinobi. Kankurō tries to beat up Konohamaru out of annoyance, but he's saved by Sasuke Uchiha. Konohamaru is afterwards disappointed by Naruto, especially in comparison to Sasuke and the Suna-nin.

Sometime later, Iruka Umino takes Konohamaru's Academy class to the Hokage Rock for a history lesson about the role of Hokage. The Third Hokage happens across them during their lesson and tells them how important it is to protect those precious to them. When asked who is precious to him, the Third singles out Konohamaru (and the rest of Konoha's citizens), making Konohamaru smile. Later, in the anime, as Naruto is heading to the final round matches for the Chūnin Exams, Konohamaru offers to take him on a shortcut. Each of the shortcuts actually take longer and Naruto only barely reaches his destination in time.

Konoha Crush
Konohamaru and his class are evacuated to the Hokage Rock during the invasion of Konoha. When the Third Hokage's likeness on the Hokage Rock suddenly cracks, Konohamaru worries about his grandfather. Several days after the invasion, Konohamaru attends the Third's funeral, where he is comforted by Iruka.

Search for Tsunade
In the anime, Konohamaru is very upset by his grandfather's death, so much so that he's unwilling to play with Naruto. When he learns that Tsunade is going to become the next Hokage, Konohamaru feared that she was unworthy of the title and that her presence would cause everyone to forget about all the Third's contributions to Konoha. He tries barring access to the Hokage's office, but she uses her considerable strength to get in anyway. This, coupled with her medical knowledge and her Will of Fire, convinces Konohamaru that she is worthy of succeeding his grandfather.

Academy Student Lead Mission
In the anime, Naruto leads Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi on a survival exercise. Naruto's leadership and navigational skills are very lacking and they become lost, forcing Iruka to come find them.

In Naruto's Footsteps: The Friends' Paths
Two years after Naruto leaves Konoha to train, Konoha prepares for another Chūnin Exam. Because Naruto is away and thus won't be able to compete, Konohamaru tries to enter on his behalf, disguising himself as a taller Naruto so that he can take the exams, pass, and then Naruto will be a chūnin when he returns to the village. He is discovered before he even has a chance to enter by Neji Hyūga. Although he understands Konohamaru's reasons, Neji insists that he shouldn't worry since Naruto will come back when he's ready. Konohamaru returns to his Academy class, eager for Naruto's return.

Kazekage Rescue Mission
After a two-and-a-half year absence, Naruto returns to Konoha. Konohamaru is among the first people to greet him and demonstrates a more voluptuous Sexy Technique. Naruto is unimpressed, claiming to have created even more perverted techniques while he's been gone. Konohamaru, now on a genin under Ebisu's leadership, starts to be sent on their first missions; in the anime, these missions are oddly reminiscent of Naruto's early missions, including finding the same runaway cat.

Twelve Guardian Ninja
In the anime, Team Ebisu is assigned their first A-rank mission to escort Konoha's villagers to safety during an attack by Furido's 4-Man Team.

Akatsuki Suppression Mission
Konohamaru attends his uncle, Asuma Sarutobi's, funeral.

Three-Tails' Appearance
In the anime, Konohamaru watches as Naruto practices cooperation ninjutsu with Gamatatsu and Gamakichi.

Itachi Pursuit Mission
Konohamaru and a shadow clone wait for Naruto outside of Ramen Ichiraku. Once he emerges, the two Konohamarus use Sexy: Girl on Girl Technique; Naruto approves but Sakura Haruno is disgusted and violently reprimands him (in the anime, it is Moegi instead of Sakura). In the manga, Konohamaru responds with Sexy: Boy on Boy Technique; Sakura approves but Naruto is disgusted and violently reprimands him. Sakura tries to make an excuse when she realises how she reacted, but Konohamaru's suspicions that Sakura is just as much a pervert as he is are confirmed.

Pain's Assault
During Pain's Assault, Konohamaru stumbles across Pain's Naraka Path interrogating villagers about Naruto's whereabouts. Konohamaru tries to get away unnoticed, but he accidentally makes a sound. Ebisu confronts the Naraka Path so that Konohamaru can escape. He is quickly defeated but refuses to give up Naruto's location. Before the Naraka Path can kill him, Konohamaru attacks it, having decided that running away isn't something that Naruto would do and therefore neither will he. He sends a shadow clone to engage the Naraka Path and keep it distracted while he and another shadow clone attack from behind with a Rasengan.

The Naraka Path ultimately retreats and the village is shortly afterwards destroyed by Pain. Despite this, Naruto returns to Konoha and defeats Pain. Konohamaru joins the rest of the village in celebrating the victory.

Past Arc: The Locus of Konoha
In the anime, Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi do a report about Naruto and ask Neji Hyūga about Naruto's accomplishments over the years. They also listen as Neji details a mission he went on during the Konoha Crush.

Five Kage Summit
Konohamaru meets Naruto in the forest to compare their Sexy Techniques, a contest to which Konohamaru admits defeat. (The whole point of the contest is to lure out the Root members following Naruto so that Kakashi Hatake can neutralise them.) Before leaving for the Five Kage Summit, Naruto congratulates Konohamaru for his performance against the Naraka Path.

In the anime, Konohamaru and Moegi later work on a "Konoha Hero Newspaper". He approaches Naruto for an interview when he returns from the Kage Summit. Naruto declines and Konohamaru can't help but notice that something is different about him.

Paradise Life on a Boat
In the anime, Konohamaru tries to join the Allied Shinobi Forces so that he can help during the Fourth Shinobi World War. When the Fifth Hokage refuses to let him, he tries to prove himself by defeating Temari in a fight. After he suffers repeated defeats, Konohamaru attacks her with the Rasengan as a last resort, but is stopped by Shikamaru Nara, who was alerted by Udon and Moegi.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation
In the anime, Konohamaru attends a council of Konoha's remaining security forces that is convened by Ebisu. After the meeting, Konohamaru gathers the village's genin and tries organising them for the challenges they may face. As a group of Sumo Wrestlers attack the village, Konohamaru assists the Allied Mothers Force with driving them away.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax
In the anime, Konohamaru and some of his fellow genin are tasked with patrolling Konoha. While walking past the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force, they hear the voice of Karin.

The Last: Naruto the Movie
Two years after the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Konohamaru goes through his grandfather's belonging. While doing so he finds a scarf knitted by Naruto's mother, which he gives to Naruto to remember her by. They wander around the village afterwards and Konohamaru helps Naruto carry all the Rinne Festival gifts he receives.

A few months later, Konohamaru attends Naruto's marriage to Hinata Hyūga.

Epilogue
Several years later, on the day that Naruto is to be inaugurated as the Seventh Hokage, Naruto does not show up for the ceremony. Konohamaru is forced to stand in for him so that the inauguration can proceed as planned.

A few years later, on the day of another Five Kage Summit, Naruto's son, Boruto, defaces the Hokage Rock. After Naruto catches him and stop him, Konohamaru scolds him for what he did and also for trying to attack his own father with a shuriken. Iruka encourages Konohamaru to go easy on him.

Boruto: Naruto the Movie
Konohamaru, by now a jōnin, is placed in charge of a team consisting of Boruto, Sarada Uchiha, and Mitsuki. During a mission to capture a bear attacking a nearby village, Konohamaru uses the newly-invented Kote to subdue it. While demonstrating it afterwards he accidentally destroys a farm, causing him to be lectured by Naruto once they return to the village.

Konohamaru tries to enter his team in the upcoming Chūnin Exams. Although Sarada and Mitsuki are interested, Boruto is not. He has a change of heart after meeting Sasuke Uchiha and approaches Konohamaru to teach him the Rasengan, a prerequisite to train under Sasuke. Konohamaru enthusiastically agrees and immediately begins instructing him in how to use it. After days of hard training, he is ultimately successful in teaching Boruto. Later, Konohamaru watches his students' matches during the Chūnin Exams' final rounds a few weeks later. When the exams are attacked by Kinshiki and Momoshiki, Konohamaru helped evacuate people from the arena.

Sometime later, Konohamaru are once again assigned to capture the same bear from before, which is now running loose within the village. Konohamaru goes in as a distraction, expecting his students to then defeat the bear, but they get distracted in conversation.

Chūnin Exam on Fire! Naruto vs. Konohamaru
Konohamaru and his team compete in the Chūnin Exams located in Sunagakure, where he eventually battles Naruto. In the end, Naruto is disqualified for using senjutsu, a rule he was unaware of. Konohamaru earns chūnin status, puts on his new flak jacket, and gloats that Naruto is now his subordinate.

Creation and Conception
Konohamaru's design caused great difficulties for Masashi Kishimoto; he intended for Konohamaru to look like a "punk" smaller than Naruto, yet all of his attempts resulted in a mere recreation of Naruto. He eventually gave Konohamaru small, angry-looking eyes, and was instantly happy with the design.

Trivia

 * According to the databook(s):
 * Konohamaru's favourite foods are ramen and chocolate-covered bananas. His least favourite are onions.
 * He wishes to fight his grandfather and Naruto Uzumaki.
 * His favourite phrase is:.

Quotes

 * (To Naruto)
 * (To Ebisu)
 * (To Pain)