Akamaru

is Kiba Inuzuka's, best friend, and companion.

Background
At some point while Kiba was still in the academy, his mother, Tsume Inuzuka, entrusted him with Akamaru. Although Akamaru almost immediately urinated on Kiba's face, much to Tsume and Hana Inuzuka's amusement, the two grew close.

Chunin Exam arc
Akamaru helps Kiba cheat in the first test, sitting on his head to keep an eye out for proctors and to get information from other exam takers. On their way to the tower during the second test, Kiba has the group stop to investigate Gaara encounter with Team Shigure. Akamaru is immediately frightened by sensing the strength of Gaara's chakra, and is traumatized by seeing Gaara brutally kill all three Rain Genin.

Akamaru fights alongside Kiba against Naruto Uzumaki in the exam preliminaries, being considered a ninja tool rather than an additional combatant, and was thus permitted to fight alongside him. While Akamaru gives Naruto some difficulty, especially after he transformed into a clone of Kiba, Naruto is able to use Akamaru to trick Kiba, first transforming into Akamaru and coming out of the smoke bomb to ambush him. After Kiba uses the Beast Human Clone technique, Naruto turns into Kiba to prevent Kiba from attacking him, and when Kiba sees through his plan, transforms into Akamaru to make him think that he hit Akamaru. Kiba then punches out Akamaru, believing him to be Naruto.

In the finals, Akamaru was knocked out along with Kiba after Kabuto Yakushi, disguised as an ANBU member, healed Hinata Hyuga. In the anime, Akamaru attempts to warn Kiba about Kabuto, possibly having recognized who he is.

Sasuke Retrieval arc
Over time, Kiba and Akamaru develop Dynamic Marking and Double Wolf Fang together. In the mission to retrieve Sasuke, Kiba and Akamaru remain with the group until they retrieve the coffin, but a paper bomb blows them and Sakon and Ukon into a canyon. Kiba and Akamaru initially struggle against the brothers, and Akamaru realizes that they must use Double Wolf Fang. Kiba is hesitant, given the large amount of chakra needed, which would render them vulnerable if they miss. Akamaru bites him on the hand, and Kiba, realizing that Akamaru sees him as pathetic, decides to take the risk. The attack severely wounds Sakon and Ukon, but they block the last attack with a Rashomon barrier, and Akamaru is injured protecting Kiba from their counterattack, but urinates in Sakon's eyes. When Ukon starts taking over Kiba's body, he stabs himself in the chest in an attempt to kill Sakon to prevent himself from being taken over and harming Akamaru. Kiba attempts to escape with Akamaru, and while Sakon and Ukon catch up with them, Kankuro arrives and kills both of them.

Akamaru's injuries take some time to heal. Kiba, not wanting Akamaru to suffer that much again, vows to improve himself.

Filler arcs
Akamaru accompanies Kiba on his missions with Naruto in the fillers. In the Treasure Hunt arc, his presence is used as Kiba's proof of being the real Kiba, as while his impostor could imitate his face, he could not replace Akamaru.

In Episode 184, Akamaru is infected with a toxin that causes him to go berserk. When he attacks some ANBU members who are training, he is ordered to be taken into custody. As Hana attempts to make a cure for Akamaru, Kiba smuggles his dog out of the village and escapes, having heard that Akamaru might need to be killed, but Akamaru continues to lose control of himself. By the time Naruto and Hana catch up with Kiba, Akamaru has turned into a giant version of himself, and attacks anyone near him. Kiba hesitates in the face of the possibility that Akamaru might die, but after Naruto and Hana's attempt to pin Akamaru down and administer the antidote fails, Kiba apologizes to Akamaru while standing still as Akamaru jumps at him. Kiba is severely injured, but manages to inject Akamaru with the antidote, and notes that Akamaru tried his best to avoid killing him.

Part II
When Naruto meets Kiba while looking for teammates, he notices that Akamaru is much larger, especially given that Kiba now rides on him rather than having him sit on his head. Naruto asks Kiba to join, and even proposes having Akamaru go with him without Kiba, but Kiba refuses the suggestion. Akamaru and Kiba later assist Naruto in searching for either Sasuke or Itachi Uchiha, but they are unable to find either and return home. When Pain invades Konoha, Kiba and Akamaru join Kiba's mother in fighting the Preta Path.

Abilities
In Part I, Kiba carries Akamaru around on top of his head or inside his jacket. In Part II, Akamaru grows large enough for Kiba to ride on his back, a difference Kiba fails to notice due to the amount of time they spend together. Akamaru's heightened senses, such as smell and hearing, along with Kiba's ability to communicate with him, make him a powerful ally for gathering and sharing information; he can also sense chakra with his nose, so he can judge an enemy's strength and warn Kiba if they are particularly powerful. In combat, Akamaru typically takes Kiba's form (albeit having a much more feral appearance) upon Kiba's use of Beast Human Clone, or combining with Kiba into a single entity in more desperate situations. Because Akamaru lacks his own chakra reserves Kiba performs many of the jutsu that Akamaru takes part in, though Akamaru is able to contribute when it comes to physical attacks. Akamaru can also use Dynamic Marking by peeing on a target with great accuracy, allowing either Kiba or Akamaru to easily find the target by scent, particularly when fused together.

Trivia

 * Aka means red. -maru is a suffix for Japanese male names. The reason for his name is explained by Kiba when Akamaru's fur turns red after eating a soldier pill.
 * Akamaru's breed is similar to a Great Pyrenees.
 * His favorite food is the special dog food Kiba makes.
 * Akamaru is not to be confused with Kakashi Hatake's nin-dogs. Akamaru is an Inuzuka dog and is not a summoning.
 * In an omake segment that aired in Japan for New Year's, Kiba attempts to get Akamaru to talk, with little success. There are no indications that Akamaru even has the potential to speak.