Kushina Uzumaki

was the mother of Naruto Uzumaki and the wife of Minato Namikaze. She was a kunoichi of Konohagakure who originated from Uzushiogakure of the former Land of Whirlpools and the second jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

Background
Born into the famed Uzumaki clan, it was said that Kushina lived most of her youth being caught-up in war, making her seek for a daily "peace". Possessing an especially strong chakra, the elders of the Land of Whirlpools thought it would be best that she was sent to Konoha to serve as the new jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, as the first jinchūriki, Mito Uzumaki, was nearing the end of her life. Before the transfer took place, the elderly Mito reminded her that even if a jinchūriki's life is difficult, remaining in a disposition of love would let her live a happy life.

She eventually joined the Ninja Academy, where she first met a young Minato Namikaze and initially thought of him as a wimp. Wanting to make a strong first impression, she proclaimed she will be the first female Hokage. The other kids laughed at her statement, and began calling her, because of her then-round face and fiery red hair. This prompted her to lash out and pummel kids who teased her. This, in addition to her red hair flowing wildly around, quickly earned her the nickname, the. Nonetheless, she grew closer to Minato, the only other child to treat her with kindness.

One day, she was kidnapped by Kumogakure ninja who wanted to make use of her special chakra. She cleverly plucked and left behind single strands of her red hair in the hope someone would find her. Only Minato proved clever enough to pick on her clue and was able to rescue her. Afterwards, he complimented Kushina on her hair, calling it beautiful, and that was the reason he noticed them. Taken aback by someone actually complimenting her unusual hair, which Kushina had always hated, Kushina immediately loved Minato and came to love her hair as it was what led Minato to notice her.

She eventually became renowned for her beauty and unique ninjutsu style, including the fūinjutsu of her clan. At some point, Kushina married Minato and they conceived a son. During her pregnancy, they decided to name him Naruto after the main character of Jiraiya's first book. When Jiraiya asked if they were sure, stating that it was a name he came up with while eating a bowl of ramen, Kushina says that it was a beautiful name. Kushina even hoped that her son and Mikoto Uchiha's son (Sasuke) would become friends in the future.

Prior to Naruto's birth, Kushina and Minato knew that the seal that kept the Nine-Tails within her would weaken during childbirth, so they set up a plan to prevent that from ever happening. Kushina was taken a short distance outside of the village to give birth in secret, with Biwako Sarutobi and Taji as her midwives, a few ANBU as security, and with Minato keeping the seal in place. Their location was eventually tracked by Madara Uchiha, killing the ANBU, Biwako and Taji, as well as holding the newborn Naruto hostage. Madara ordered Minato to step away from Kushina lest he kill Naruto. While Minato was able to save Naruto and removed the exploding tags rigged on his body, he was forced to teleport Naruto away back to their home, allowing Madara to run off with Kushina.

Madara released the Nine-Tails to wreak havoc in Konoha, using his Sharingan to bend the Nine-Tails to his will. Thanks to her strong chakra and clan's longevity, Kushina was able to survive the extraction process, barely left alive. Before Madara could finish Kushina, Minato teleported in time to save her and bring her back to their newborn son. Afraid for the worst, Kushina was happy to see her son safe from harm, and then wished Minato good luck as he headed off to stop the Nine-Tails.

Later when Minato teleported himself and the Nine-Tails to the Safe House, Kushina quickly using the last of her chakra, chained up the Nine-Tails, planning to reseal it inside herself and die with it. Minato cried at the thought, while Kushina stated it was the only way to save Minato and Naruto, then thanking Minato for everything. However, when Minato told her his own plans for dealing with the Nine-Tails, she was quick to argue against him, not wanting to make Naruto the new host of the Nine-Tails and to place such a burden onto him without any parents to raise him. She was soon convinced though by Minato's words of his feelings towards the villages and shinobi in general. Kushina then held down the Nine-Tails long enough for Minato to seal half of its chakra away with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, but as he started to prepare the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, she weakened and the Nine-Tails took this chance to attack Naruto.

To protect their child, both Kushina and Minato stood in front of Naruto, letting the Nine-Tails' claw rip through their bodies, but held it away from Naruto. As Minato sealed the Nine-Tails into Naruto, she told her newborn child how she wanted him to live, to never forget who he was, and that she loved him. Kushina then apologized to Minato for taking nearly all their time talking to Naruto. Minato then told Naruto to listen to his talkative mother before he finished sealing the Nine-Tails, along with a little bit of both his own chakra, and Kushina's. She died soon after the sealing was completed.

Her family name was then given to Naruto by the Third Hokage, in hopes that nobody else would discover the connection between Naruto and Minato.

Appearance
Tsunade pointed out that Kushina was a woman well-known for her beauty. She had a slender but highly feminine build, which Naruto openly admired. She had long, bright-red hair (portrayed as a red-plum color in the anime) that reached down to her calves with strands that framed both sides of her face that parted to the left of her head with a hair clip, and as an adult she usually wore a loose-fitting dress with an apron. Her skin was fair and her eyes were violet. In her childhood, she had a round face which with her red hair made her look like a tomato. She would pass on this facial make-up to Naruto.

Personality
According to Jiraiya, Kushina was talkative and a tomboyish girl. Tsunade noted that much of Naruto's personality, as well as his style of ninjutsu, was inherited from her. Kushina also had a verbal tic: when flustered or excited, she would end her sentences with, a trait she hoped (unsuccessfully) she wouldn't pass down to Naruto (who ends his with "(da)ttebayo"). As an adult, Kushina was shown to be very level-headed and cheerful. Despite her calm and kind demeanor, she still has a slight temper and can lash out from it. She loves her husband and newborn son very deeply and was not afraid to sacrfice her life to stop the Nine-Tails.

Abilities
Kushina's abilities are mostly unknown. She was however famous for a unique style of ninjutsu, though she stated that she was never really good in using ninjutsu in the first place. In her childhood, she showed herself to be a deceptively strong, fierce, and frightening barehanded fighter, able to pummel several kids 'half to death' for teasing her, which earned her the nickname, the "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero". Kushina also possesses an unusual form of chakra, which is great enough to restrain the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. She was also apparently clever, even in life-threatening danger, as she quickly thought of secretly leaving a trail of her hair for someone to be able to follow her (though only Minato was able to pick up on it). As a member of the Uzumaki clan, she was blessed with an exceptionally long potential life and had great skill and knowledge of advanced fūinjutsu, some of which she taught to Minato. Her life-force was so strong that she survived the extraction of a tailed beast, though she was left severely weakened. Even after the extraction, she was able to use her chakra chains to restrain the Nine-Tails and was prepared to reseal it back into herself.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
It was only during Naruto's fight with the Nine-Tails that she made an actual appearance in the story. As Naruto was slowly succumbing to the Nine-Tails' mass of hatred and it told him to disappear forever, Kushina appeared to tell him that it is alright if he stayed.

Naruto foolishly believed Kushina to be the Nine-Tails' true form, which caused her to angrily clobber him on the head. After calming down and apologizing, she clued Naruto until he finally realized the truth. Upon this revelation, Naruto quickly embraced his mother with tears of joy in his eyes, to which Kushina happily returned the gesture. This halted Naruto's transformation. Kushina then used her chakra (in the form of chains) to restrain the Nine-Tails, who was greatly startled by her appearance.

Kushina then decided to talk with Naruto, wanting to learn how her son turned out. Naruto quickly asked how Kushina fell in love with Minato, to which she bashfully told the story. After telling of her's and Minato's childhood together, Kushina, upon being complemented on her hair by Naruto, tells her son that she loves him, much to his surprise then happiness. Playfully asking what is the product of "Konoha's Yellow Flash" and the "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero" Naruto proudly said he will be "Konoha's Orange Hokage". With her words, Naruto finds the strength to fight the Nine-Tails again, and became victorious along with her help. After congratulating him, she told Naruto that she can finally follow Minato, saddening Naruto. Before that, however, she began to tell Naruto the full truth of the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha.

Afterwards, Kushina expressed her grief for the burden Naruto had to bear alone. To her shock, Naruto told Kushina he doesn't blame her and Minato for anything and was happy to be their child. Relieved and overjoyed, Kushina tearfully hugged Naruto and thanked him for letting her and Minato be his parents, before she completely faded away.

Trivia

 * Kushina was a good cook, as Minato preferred her cooking the most.
 * A habanero is an extremely spicy chili pepper.
 * As Kushina is nicknamed for a red pepper and Minato was famed as the "Yellow Flash", Naruto's appropriated epithet "Orange Hokage" refers to the fact that the color orange is a mixture of red and yellow.
 * Kushina shares the past of being kidnapped by Kumogakure ninja for her special ability with Hinata Hyūga.
 * On the cover of Naruto chapter 503, Kushina's wild red flowing hairs resemble the Nine-Tails' tails.
 * According to the third Naruto databook:
 * Kushina's hobbies were pulling pranks and chattering.
 * Kushina's favorite food was salt ramen, while her least favorites were coffee and anything bitter.
 * Kushina didn't want to fight anyone.
 * Kushina's favorite phrase was "Don't give up until the end".
 * She apparently became famous because of her strong-willed spirit and for her skill in ninjutsu.

Quotes

 * (As a child, when asked what her dream for the future was)
 * (To Jiraiya)
 * (To Naruto after giving birth to him)
 * (To Minato while dying) "Don't look so sad... Minato. I'm... I'm happy. Happy that you loved me. Happy that it's... our son's... birthday. Like... If I try to imagine surviving and the three of us... living together... I can't think of anything... beyond 'I'd be so happy.' If I had any regrets... It would be that I won't see Naruto grow up."
 * (To Naruto)
 * (To Naruto)
 * (To Naruto)