Haruna

is the princess of the Land of Vegetables. She had been kept as a hostage for much of her childhood, isolated and under constant surveillance. Her father had done this in order to secure the welfare of the Land of Vegetables, but later came to regret sacrificing Haruna for this purpose. As a result of her isolation and sense of betrayal, Haruna came to see sacrifice as inevitable, and believed that even if many of her subjects were sacrificed, her safety was all that mattered for her country.

In time, three ninja staged a coup in the Land of Vegetables, forcing Haruna to flee the country, and she hoped to gain international sympathy in an attempt to reclaim her throne. She traveled with Kikujō and Yurinojō, posing as part of a caravan to avoid being targeted, and changed her appearance to take the role of her bodyguards' sickly male cousin Shun in order to keep people from questioning her identity. Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyūga, and Chōji Akimichi were hired under the pretenses of helping the peddlers move their wares in a D-Ranked mission, but they learned of the true purpose of the mission after Kikiujou's death in his battle with Ruiga.

Despite their anger over being misinformed, Naruto's group agreed to protect the princess, sending the peddlers away to safety and defeating the first of the ninja. Haruna refused to rely on them, even going so far as to knock Hinata unconscious to escape alone, despite Hinata's attempts to convince her that Naruto also suffered from loneliness. Naruto eventually caught up with Haruna and told her that Hinata was badly injured while fighting Jiga. When Renga attacked after capturing the princess's other protectors, Haruna learned that her father had regretted giving Haruna as a hostage, and begged the conspirators to treat the people well. Haruna's ideals changed, and she even used herself as a shield to try to protect Naruto from Renga's attacks.

Haruna is later seen at the Land of Vegetables, apologizing at Kikujō's grave. It appeared that she had, by that time, developed feelings for Naruto, since she asked him to stay and help her rebuild the country, but Naruto politely declined, due to his promise to bring Sasuke Uchiha back.

Trivia

 * Her character is very similar to Koyuki Kazahana and Toki. All three of them are daimyos, were in disguise, endured a tragedy which made them act cold towards other people until meeting Naruto. Also, all three of them seemed to grow fond of him as well.