Naruto Uzumaki

is the title character and main protagonist of the series. Although he is only a genin of Konohagakure, he is trained as a sage and thus is one of the village's most powerful ninja. He is the only son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, a member of Team Kakashi, the godson and student of Jiraiya, and the third jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

Background
Naruto was born as the son of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze and the Nine-Tails' second jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki. Before his birth, they had decided to name him after the main character in Jiraiya's first book, hoping their son would be as great a ninja as the character was, making Jiraiya Naruto's godfather.

Prior to Naruto's birth, his parents knew that the seal that kept the Nine-Tails within Kushina would be in danger of breaking 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. Immediately after Kushina gave birth, Madara Uchiha appeared and took Naruto hostage, demanding Minato to step away from Kushina or he would kill the newborn child. Madara then threw Naruto into the air, forcing Minato to catch him and transport him to a safer location, allowing Madara to escape with Kushina. By the time Minato could go after Kushina, Madara had already succeeded in removing the Nine-Tails from Kushina.

Fortunately, Kushina (who survived the extraction thanks to her strong vitality) was saved by Minato and brought to Naruto, leaving the weakened mother to care for the sleeping Naruto while Minato went to deal with Madara. To save the village, Minato engaged Madara in combat and sacrificed his life to seal the Nine-Tails' Yin chakra within himself and seal the Yang chakra (as well as imprints of his and Kushina's soul) within Naruto, believing his son would someday have need of the demon's power to defeat Madara's threat once and for all. Suddenly orphaned, Naruto was left to grow up knowing nothing of his parents, receiving only his mother's last name since the Third Hokage felt that it was best that nobody knew that he was related to the Fourth Hokage.

Before Minato died, he asked that the villagers of Konoha view Naruto as a hero who had helped defeat the Nine-Tails. However, only a few of the villagers honored his request, while most instead resented him for containing the monster that had destroyed their home. In light of this, the Third Hokage decreed that nobody should ever speak of the Nine-Tails sealed within Naruto, hoping that their children would not resent him as they did. The children, however, followed their parents' lead, despite not knowing why. Apart from the Third Hokage, Iruka Umino was the only one who acted as a surrogate family to the young Naruto.

Appearance
As stated by Jiraiya, Naruto bears a striking resemblance to his father, possessing Minato's blue irides and spiky blond hair. From his mother, Naruto inherited the shape of his eyes and face. Naruto also has a unique facial birthmark in the form of whiskers, passed on from the demon imprisoned within his mother at the time of his birth. A trait regularly mentioned, that easily angered him, was his short stature for his age. During Part I, he was one of the shortest in his graduating class, second only to Hinata Hyūga. After the timeskip, he had a significant growth spurt that was noticeable to all, dwarfing the kunoichi in his age group.

In Part I, Naruto's outfit consisted of a orange jacket with blue on the upper shoulders area as well as up and down the front, a white swirl with a tassel on the left side, a red swirl on the back, a big white collar, orange pants, blue sandals, and a blue forehead protector that was given to him by Iruka after he graduated from the Ninja Academy. In Part II, Naruto's outfit undergoes modification after being worn to shreds during his training with Jiraiya. The outfit retains the orange color as well as the white (without the tassel) and red swirls, but the jacket is much more form fitting with the blue parts changed to black and the color extending from the upper shoulders area to the sleeves. The forehead protector has also changed with Naruto moving the metal portion to a new longer black bandana and he wears black sandals instead of blue. During his battle with Pain, Naruto briefly sported a red coat with black flaming designs at the bottom as well as a large summoning scroll on his back like both his father and master before him.

Personality
Due to the prejudice and loneliness he suffered in his childhood, Naruto developed a craving for acknowledgment. In order to achieve this, Naruto would pull pranks all around the village and even go as far as strive for the title of Hokage. Even after graduating from the academy, Naruto was still determined to be recognized, though as Naruto made more and more connections with others, his reasons for wanting to become Hokage underwent a change, having less to do with the desire for recognition, and more to do with wanting the strength to protect his home and the people close to him. Because of Naruto's desire to become Hokage, he greatly admires those who have held it. As stated by Madara Uchiha, Naruto is a firm believer in the Will of Fire.

Naruto's exuberant personality and fiery desire for self-improvement strongly impacts the lives of those around him. At the beginning of the series, Naruto befriended Konohamaru Sarutobi, the grandson of the Third Hokage, and it is through his brief tutelage that Konohamaru learned that the path to success is through plenty of hard work. Kakashi Hatake has described this as Naruto's "unique power," as he seems to change the world views of everyone he meets, and inspires courage for the future within them. With this power, Naruto was able to redeem Zabuza Momochi, make Neji Hyūga abandon his view of destiny and inescapable fate, inspire courage in Inari, Sakura Haruno, and Hinata Hyūga, persuade Tsunade to come out of seclusion, change Gaara from the dark demon into one of his closest friends, and even earn the trust of Nagato, the apparent leader of Akatsuki, who was one of the main antagonists of the series. Neji believes that only Naruto can save Sasuke Uchiha from darkness; however, Sasuke and A, the Fourth Raikage are to date the only people Naruto has failed to persuade.

As mentioned above, Naruto is characterized as being hyperactive; he is typically exuberant, easily excitable, impulsive, and suffers from a short attention span. This is supported by Asuma Sarutobi in the Twelve Guardian Ninja Arc in the anime, describing Naruto as being the type who doesn't think before acting, similar to Sora. Asuma also identified Naruto's personality type and fighting style, like Sora's, as being a 'power type' (types that are best suited to 'charging straight in') and are best effective in battle when sent in first, in the front to 'clear a path' through the enemy's defensive line, making a way in after them for the rest of the team. While raw power is one of his strengths, Naruto has begun to learn in recent chapters that it is something that he needs to temper with focus in order for it to become truly effective.

According to Kakashi, Naruto is someone who learns through his body. Naruto is relatively naive, being slow to understand a jutsu's principles, and often requiring a dumbing-down of an already dumbed-down analogy in order to grasp what is being explained to him. This assumes he is able to keep his attention long enough, as he commonly seeks to change the subject in light of his ignorance, outwardly insisting that he already gets the concept. Though he retains this confidence in himself to great degrees, loudly proclaiming that he will master whatever technique he is learning in a fraction of the usual time, Naruto will not hesitate to ask for help if he needs it.

As an extension of his naivety, Naruto has a number of childish traits. His pajamas always include a comical black nightcap with eyes and teeth, and he keeps his money in a chubby, green-frog wallet he affectionately calls "Gama-chan." He is also very brash and rarely pays heed to formality or social standings. He almost exclusively eats ramen, and is a frequent customer at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. He has only refused ramen on one occasion: when he was stricken by grief over Jiraiya's death. He has a natural affinity for perverted ideas and jutsu, something he tends to be reprimanded for by Sakura as well as Iruka, and which is only brought to new levels after meeting Jiraiya. He also smiles near-constantly, which during his childhood, was to mask the sadness of his lonely life. Those who are closest to him are able to recognize when his smile isn't genuine. Naruto also inherited his catch-phrase from his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, who would say  when excited or frustrated.

However, when the situation calls for it or when someone dear to him is in trouble, Naruto can be very serious, and will instantly try to come to their aid. This is most commonly seen in the series through his interactions with his team-mates, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. With Sasuke, Naruto views him as a brother, and throughout Part II strives to bring him back to Konoha, despite his willing defection from the village. With Sakura, Naruto had a long-standing crush on her, and will do all in his power to make her happy, even if it is at the expense of his own happiness. Sai has indicated that this dedication has progressed to the point of love. Sai also notes that the strain of making Sakura happy and bringing Sasuke home are the source of Naruto's internal pain.

After the loss of his mentor Jiraiya, talking with his own father, and talking to Jiraiya's killer and former pupil, Nagato, Naruto came to understand the downside of revenge, and desired to save Sasuke from it even more. Naruto also tried to stop the Kumo-nin from exacting their revenge against Sasuke, for this would only create a cycle of hatred. It appeared that Naruto was becoming increasingly desperate in his quest to save Sasuke, as he was willing to get down on his knees before the Raikage and beg for Sasuke to be forgiven for his crimes and even take physical abuse over selling him out. Furthermore, after learning from Madara Uchiha the reason of Sasuke's hatred, Naruto decided and proclaimed to Sakura, who was trying to get him to leave his quest, that he truly understood Sasuke now and wanted to save him not just because of the promise he made to Sakura, but for also to himself. However, after realizing that the rest of his comrades were aiming to kill Sasuke, and that nobody in the village would ever accept him again, Naruto apparently suffered from hyperventilation due to the extreme conflict that he has been presented with.

Upon finally reuniting with Sasuke, Naruto sympathized with the criminal for his actions, and refused to back down or kill him, instead finding a third solution. Naruto came to the conclusion that the two of them were indeed destined to fight, as Madara predicted, and that when that happens, both Naruto and Sasuke would die. Naruto is fully prepared to shoulder Sasuke's burden, as a friend. In a way, Naruto is the sole person to not have given up hope on Sasuke. However, like the rest of Konoha, Naruto has finally given up in bringing back Sasuke as a citizen of the village, believing that words would no longer have any effect to allowing them to understand each other.

Dark Naruto
After Killer Bee refused to train Naruto, Motoi guided Naruto and Yamato to the Falls of Truth, the place where Bee trained to control the Eight-Tailed Giant Ox. He instructed Naruto to sit on a platform and close his eyes. Soon after, appeared, berating Naruto for how quickly the people from Konoha changed their ideals of Naruto and had started sucking up to him, which sickened Dark Naruto. He mentioned that he was the manifestation of the darkness that existed in the heart of Naruto, and that Nine-Tails had taken a particular liking to him. Dark Naruto exclaimed that he was the real Naruto and that Naruto was an impostor. As a result, both started to fight but Naruto realized they have the same techniques, skills, and tactics. As a result, their fight was was a draw and Naruto mentioned that it will take a long time to settle it, so he later awoken and told what happened to Yamato and Motoi. Motoi said that he must defeat Dark Naruto in order to learn how to control the Nine-Tails. He appeared once again after Naruto returned to the Falls of Truth. When Naruto projected an image from his mind (his signature for the autograph he was unable to give to the Konoha shinobi), it angered Dark Naruto, talking back to Naruto on how he suffered because of the villagers and said that he shouldn't trust them. However, Naruto said that he must have faith in himself, which started to weaken Dark Naruto and made him attack Naruto, asking what was the reason for his existence then. So Naruto said he was really him and thanked him for everything, hugging him when he tried to attack Naruto and saying it was all going to be alright. Letting go of his own anger at their past, Dark Naruto's eyes lightened and he gave into Naruto's warmth, disappearing into Naruto.

Later, when Naruto entered his subconscious to learn how to control the Nine-Tails, it expressed surprise at how it can no longer sense the 'real' Naruto.

Abilities
At the start of the series, one of the only techniques Naruto could do without fail was the Transformation Technique, and his own original variant of the technique called the Sexy Technique; a creative but almost completely useless diversionary jutsu, used simply to shock his instructors. Naruto was also able to use simple E-rank abilities.

While under the tutelage of Jiraiya, Naruto's abilities had continued to improve; his prowess in ninjutsu and taijutsu had grown greatly, and he had also been taught some limited skill at dispelling genjutsu. However, the most valuable assets that Naruto had gained in his training with Jiraiya were an increased range of battle smarts and more knowledge of the basics of a shinobi, which he lacked during Part I. This, along with the skills and abilities Naruto has gained over the course of Part II, makes him a much more complete ninja. Unfortunately for him, with the exception of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken and throwing himself with clones (which are both risky moves), he is mainly limited to short-range combat.

During Part II, Naruto had regularly proven himself a match against the S-rank members of Akatsuki. It had been said by Kakashi at different points in time that Naruto had surpassed Jiraiya, Tsunade, his father, and even Kakashi himself. He was suggested to be Hokage in Tsunade's place by several villagers following Pain's invasion. Zetsu had noted that Naruto was probably stronger than Sasuke following Pain's invasion. Even the Nine-Tails, the strongest of the tailed beasts, commented on how powerful Naruto had become when they battled.

While searching for the Uchiha brothers, Itachi granted Naruto a portion of his power, in case Sasuke ever chooses to revolt against Konoha. It is currently unknown what this power is yet.

Jiraiya had also left Naruto with a "key" to help him complete an unknown technique which he, Naruto, and Minato have been working on but never finished. Naruto stated he was ready to complete it.

Being a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, Naruto possesses incredible stamina and vitality, the former of which is further augmented by the Nine-Tails sealed within him.

Jinchūriki Transformations


As the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Naruto is gifted with its massive amount of chakra and stamina, immense strength, increased speed, accelerated healing (recovering from minor injuries within a few seconds to major injuries within a day), and, at times, an almost impenetrable chakra shield.

Naruto's normal chakra level is considered extremely high, partially because of the Nine-Tails. The seal allowed a small amount of the Nine-Tails' chakra to always mix with Naruto's own. Jiraiya once commented upon the fact that Naruto's body was much too small a vessel to properly contain the Nine-Tails' chakra, and his body would instinctively reject the bulk of it due to the damage it could cause. Ebisu implied that Naruto's poor chakra control stemed from this, as a portion of his chakra was used to reject the Nine-Tails' overwhelming chakra. According to Kakashi, Naruto's regular chakra level is about four times of Kakashi's own. As such, he is naturally suited to jutsu that use a large amount of chakra, such as the Shadow Clone Technique. While most ninja are only capable of creating a few clones safely, due to the technique's hazard of equally dividing the user's chakra among the clones, Naruto is able to create hundreds while maintaining a decent supply of chakra in each one.

The Nine-Tails' chakra first came to Naruto during life-threatening situations, given to him by the Nine-Tails itself to ensure its survival, but after training with Jiraiya, Naruto learned how to contact the Nine-Tails and demand some of its chakra. Alternatively, Naruto could give into his anger or frustration, allowing the Nine-Tails to force its influence upon him. Depending on how much of its chakra he gained, Naruto can lose control of his senses, devolving into an animal that attacks anything within reach, as well as damaging his body with the Nine-Tails' chakra, slowly shortening his lifespan. For these reasons, Naruto learned to exercise more control over the Nine-Tails' chakra.

A number of methods had been devised to break the Nine-Tails' influence over Naruto: a seal tag could be applied to Naruto's body; Yamato could use the Hokage-style Sixty-year-old Technique - Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-bringing Hands, which was facilitated by the First Hokage's Necklace Naruto wore before its destruction; or an Uchiha with a mature enough Sharingan can enter Naruto's subconscious and force the Nine-Tails to recede. The most effective of measures, however, was Naruto simply limiting his use of the Nine-Tails' chakra and not allowing his anger to get the best of him.

After Naruto separated the Nine-Tails' chakra from its will, and imprisoned the Nine-Tails itself with a new seal, he stored the chakra within a separate place of himself. Because of this, he can access the chakra directly without any need to interact with the Nine-Tails, and gains a new form: a chakra cloak that resembles the Sage of the Six Paths. In this form, he is able to move at incredible speeds, and displays enormous physical strength. Naruto also gains the Nine-Tails' unique sensory ability to detect negative emotions, something not even the best sensor-type ninjas are capable of.

Taijutsu
Naruto had always been at least passable in taijutsu, ever since the Academy where he received a B in that class. Throughout Part I, his taijutsu slowly improved, where it was first showcased in his battle with Kiba Inuzuka in the Chūnin Exams preliminaries where he was able to hold his own and avoid multiple Dual Piercing Fangs without the aid of his shadow clones. A testament to his skill with taijutsu was shown when Naruto was fighting against Neji Hyūga's Gentle Fist techniques in the Chūnin Exam finals, where he got into striking distance using only hand-to-hand combat. After the timeskip, Naruto's taijutsu improved greatly under the tutelage of Jiraiya where he could hold his own in hand-to-hand against Chiyo, Kakashi Hatake, Yamato, and Sai, the latter three being ANBU-trained ninja. Throughout the series, Naruto's taijutsu continually improved, eventually learning the Frog Kata style from Fukasaku.

On top of his taijutsu skills, Naruto has shown a high level of physical strength. During his senjutsu training in Part II, he was able to budge one of the huge statues without using the oil. After the training, he could shatter stone with his raw strength, as seen when he escaped from the Preta Path, which had turned to stone after absorbing too much of his senjutsu chakra.

Though initially compensating for his lack thereof with sheer numbers, Naruto has shown impressive speed after the timeskip. When he and Sasuke finally confronted each other after the Five Kage Summit Arc, he saved Sakura from her own poisoned kunai that Sasuke used on her in the span of a second. Naruto then met Sasuke's Chidori charge after creating a Rasengan, showing they were at or near the same level of speed.

Shadow Clone Technique
Although Naruto had trouble with the Clone Technique at the start of the series, he quickly learned how to use Jōnin-level techniques, like the Shadow Clone Technique and its larger-scale version. The technique would become his first signature jutsu. The Shadow Clone Technique takes advantage of the massive chakra reserve Naruto possesses due to him being the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. Naruto is able to create upwards to two thousand clones, and able to have a decent amount of chakra in each of them. Because of this, Naruto can use his shadow clones for virtually anything, from straight combat to speed training.

In the beginning, Naruto would create a multitude of clones to overwhelm his opponents. Other times however, he would employ the use of the Transformation Technique to change the appearance of this clones to catch his target off guard. By Part II, Naruto learned that whatever his shadow clones learn, he, the main mind, would also learn. By using this, he is able to learn something that would take years in days, which greatly increased his rate of learning. Naruto also learned that he could use the shadow clones to determine his opponents' abilities, to determine how many clones he will really need to defeat them instead of wasting chakra on thousands of clones.

Summoning Technique
Naruto was first taught how to use the Summoning Technique by Jiraiya. After allowing Naruto to sign the Summoning Contract with the toads of Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya took Naruto through the execution of the technique in order to provide Naruto with allies in future battles. Additionally, Jiraiya's other motivation to teaching Naruto how to summon was to help Naruto to realize and take advantage of the Nine-Tails' chakra.

The type of toads that Naruto can summon at any time is proportional to his chakra and skill, as when he first started out he could only summon tadpoles. At first, Naruto had a hard time getting any specific toad, as he summoned either Gamakichi or Gamatatsu. But when he used the Nine-Tails' chakra, or when he was truly motivated, Naruto was able to summon the toad boss, Gamabunta.

Rasengan
Created by the Fourth Hokage and taught to him by Jiraiya, the Rasengan is Naruto's second and strongest signature jutsu. While the Rasengan is a one-handed technique, Naruto required the use of two to form it due to his poor chakra control, thus using a clone to form the "shell" of the sphere. Despite this, Naruto has used the Rasengan effectively in almost every one of his fights after mastering it. The Rasengan holds an advantage over its counterpart, the Chidori. The Rasengan only requires chakra control to form, while the Chidori uses so much chakra that it can only be used a few times a day. Naruto mastered the Rasengan to a degree that he can do it almost instantaneously.

The Rasengan, like the Clone Technique, would be the base of several original jutsu created by Naruto, such as the Great Ball Rasengan, a larger and more powerful version of the Rasengan. He has also created the Wind Release: Rasengan and Wind Release: Rasenshuriken after his wind training, and after his senjutsu training, the Sage Art: Great Ball Rasengan and Sage Technique: Rasenrengan. He has also demonstrated the combined use of his shadow clones and the Rasengan, resulting in Sage Art: Super Great Ball Spiralling Large Group Spheres, in which Naruto and his shadow clones can each use a Rasengan many times their own size against a single target.

Due to the unique nature of the Rasengan in Naruto movies, Naruto creates a new type of Rasengan, often facilitated by a character in the movie, or a unique property present in the movie.

Collaboration Jutsu
Collaboration jutsu, also synchronized or combination jutsu, pertains to an area of jutsu which entail techniques that are comprised of at least two or more jutsu that, when initiated with the right timing, one will feed into each other to become a jutsu of greater power than the sum of its parts. Naruto was introduced to the subject by Jiraiya in the anime, in order for him to synchronize with a toad, and develop a collaboration technique. Naruto eventually managed to synchronize with Gamakichi and Gamatatsu developing the Wind Release: Toad Gun, and the stronger Wind Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet. The stronger version had enough power to temporarily knock out the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle. Naruto has also done collaboration techniques with both Gamabunta and Yamato.

Nature Transformation
After failing to bring Sasuke back to Konoha for the second time, Naruto went through elemental training where he discovered that he had an affinity to wind. By incorporating his wind affinity with the Rasengan, which was originally intended to be combined with a nature element, he would greatly increase the jutsu's power and range. The wind nature compliments a fighter like Naruto, as the wind nature is a great match for short-range fighters. By focusing his wind chakra, Naruto can go as far as cutting objects with just his chakra.

Naruto had learned nature transformation to upgrade his Rasengan, which he achieved with the Wind Release: Rasengan and the Rasenshuriken, combining both shape and nature manipulation originally deemed impossible without natural talent or instinct. The Rasenshuriken was capable of slicing into the victim and cutting them at a cellular level faster than a Sharingan can see it. It, however, caused similar damage to himself as it is still a handheld jutsu, despite its name. After his sage training, he could throw the Rasenshuriken and expand it, increasing its power and attack radius. This also helped to nullify the damage it would normally do to his arm.

Senjutsu
After Jiraiya's death at the hands of Pain, Naruto began training with Fukasaku in Mount Myōboku to learn senjutsu and how to enter Sage Mode. In order to achieve this, Naruto had to learn to sense and control the natural energy around him. Once mastered, Naruto was able to perfect the Rasenshuriken, so that he could throw it, and learn Frog Kata, a taijutsu style that uses the natural energy around the user to enhance the range and the potency of their attacks. In Sage Mode, Naruto's overall physical abilities are dramatically enhanced to the point where he could throw entities much larger than himself with little to no effort, including the Animal Path's Giant Rhino and the Nine-Tails. His speed increases to a point where he was able to intercept a charging Asura Path, which had been using its chakra boots to attack Tsunade, create a Rasengan and slam it down before it could even react, showing him covering considerable distance in a short amount of time.

However, Naruto had two flaws in his senjutsu training: To mold natural energy, the user must remain absolutely still, something one can not do while in combat; and because of the Nine-Tails, Shima and Fukasaku were unable to fuse with Naruto to mold it for him. To counter this, Naruto had to leave two shadow clones in a safe place to mold the natural energy for him. Once he depleted his current amount of senjutsu chakra, he would dispel one of the clones and use the natural energy it had gathered to re-enter Sage Mode. However, this method limits the maximum number of shadow clones that Naruto can create to five. Any more would interfere with the focus of the clones' gathering natural energy. However, this limit in shadow clones ceases should Naruto decide to go all out during a fight and forgo having any clones store natural energy for him. Naruto is currently trying to extend the time he can remain in Sage Mode. During his battle with the Nine-Tails within his subconscious, Naruto and his large group of shadow clones entered Sage Mode. It appeared that his "physical self" was able to enter Sage Mode in his mediated state, then transferred the senjutsu chakra to his "mental self" and all of his shadow clones.

Also while in Sage Mode, Naruto gains a sensory ability to detect other people's chakra from long distances. This ability was first demonstrated when Naruto returned to Konoha during Pain's invasion and asked Tsunade about Kakashi's whereabouts, as he could not sense his chakra.

Deception and Strategy
Although Naruto's intelligence is greatly downplayed for most of the series, his skills in deception and strategy are actually extremely high, allowing him to defeat even S-Class ninja such as Kakuzu and Pain. He also possesses the ability to formulate complex plans in the midst of battle. Naruto's strategies typically involve shadow clones; either directing his opponent's attentions towards one of his clones to disguise his own movements, or transforming them into various shapes (such as shuriken) to allow for surprise attacks. His skills in deception were shown to have grown exponentially during his battle with Pain, allowing him to prevail through an elaborate and highly unpredictable array of back-up plans, such as transforming his clones to mimic the environment. He also used the Shadow Shuriken Technique and the Transformation Technique to turn himself into a Rasenshuriken to temporarily neutralize Preta Path while his real Rasenshuriken went to attack Deva Path.

Naruto can also be quite innovative, using his clones to master advanced techniques. Examples of this include a two-man Rasengan, three-man Rasenshuriken, and using clones to perform senjutsu.

Part I


The series begins with Naruto, labelled as his classes 'Dead-Last', once again failing to graduate from the Ninja Academy. Disappointed that his plans of becoming Hokage have hit another hurdle, Naruto was approached by one of his instructors, Mizuki. Mizuki told Naruto that, if he could steal the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage Residence and learn one of the jutsu written on it, then he would be allowed to graduate. Naruto did so, and began struggling to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, unaware that the village was now looking for him.

Iruka tracked him down, and discovered Mizuki's involvement in the theft, realizing that Naruto had been duped by Mizuki, in an effort to steal the scroll. Mizuki attacked them, and told Naruto about the Nine-Tails sealed within him, claiming that Iruka hated him because of it. When Iruka risked his life to protect Naruto, however, Naruto realized that Mizuki's earlier words were a lie, and created hundreds of shadow clones to beat Mizuki to a pulp. For mastering such a difficult technique, Iruka allowed Naruto to graduate.

In the days to come, Naruto befriended Konohamaru and became his on-off teacher, showing him how to perform a variety of both perverted and useful jutsu throughout the rest of the series. He was also assigned to Team 7, where he was partnered with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, under the leadership of Kakashi Hatake.

As the team's first order of business, Kakashi gave them a test to see if they were ready to become Genin. He had the three of them try to take the two bells he kept on his person, the goal of the test being to place teamwork above the fact that they couldn't all have a bell. Although they initially failed miserably, all trying independently to take a bell, they eventually decided to work together, allowing them to pass.

Land of Waves Arc
After completing a number of simple, uneventful missions, Team 7, at Naruto's insistence, was assigned the somewhat more difficult C-rank task of escorting Tazuna to the Land of Waves. When they were attacked by the Demon Brothers along the way, who tried to kill Tazuna, they realized that there was more to this mission than a simple escort. Tazuna revealed that his country was under the control of Gatō, who had left the people poor and unable to afford the more accurate A-rank mission payment. By building a bridge that would connect the Land of Waves to the mainland, Tazuna hoped to free the country from Gatō, prompting Gatō to try and kill him. Team 7 decided to help Tazuna, and act as his bodyguards until the bridge was completed.

They were soon attacked by Zabuza Momochi, another of Gatō's assassins, who engaged Kakashi in battle. When Zabuza captured Kakashi, he encouraged his team to escape with Tazuna. Having been of little use during the battle with the Demon Brothers, Naruto resolved to help Kakashi. With Sasuke's assistance, they were able to free Kakashi, who in turn almost defeated Zabuza. However, Haku, disguised as a hunter-nin, intervened, and appeared to kill Zabuza first, in actuality only putting him in a death-like state in order to get him to safety. Kakashi suspected that Zabuza was still alive, and gave Team 7 a Tree Climbing Practice to improve their chakra control. Naruto and Sasuke developed a competition over the exercise, each determined to complete the training first, and subsequently motivating each other to do better.

While Naruto was resting from training one day, he encountered Haku, unaware that it was the same boy he had encountered earlier. The two had a conversation about those who were precious to them, and the lengths they would go to protect them. After Haku left, Naruto finished the training, but was left so tired that the rest of Team 7 allowed him to rest the next day as they went to escort Tazuna. When he woke up, he went to assist them, only to find that they were in the midst of battle with Zabuza and Haku.

Naruto went to help Sasuke in his battle with Haku, but they were both trapped by Haku's Demonic Ice Mirrors. When Haku tried to use a volley of needles to kill Naruto, Sasuke stepped in to protect him, appearing to die instead. Enraged by the apparent death of Sasuke, Naruto tapped into the Nine-Tails' chakra, allowing him to destroy the ice mirrors, and subsequently defeat Haku. Before he could kill Haku, however, the mask he was wearing broke away, revealing the face of the boy Naruto had met earlier. Naruto stopped himself, but Haku asked that he should finish the job, since he could no longer be of use to Zabuza. Although Naruto tried to comply, Haku stopped him at the last minute, and went to help Zabuza. When Naruto realized what had happened - that Haku had given his life to save an ungrateful Zabuza - an outraged Naruto reprimanded Zabuza for not appreciating Haku's actions. Touched by his words, Zabuza killed Gatō to repent in an effort to do Haku justice, but died of his wounds. The bridge (now named the Great Naruto Bridge) was completed, and the Land of Waves was saved, so Team 7 (with a recovered Sasuke) returned home.

Chūnin Exam Arc
After returning home and completing a few other simple missions, Team 7 was entered into the Chūnin Exams. In the first phase, a written test, the participating Genin were tasked with completing the test by cheating, all the while being sure not to get caught. Though the rest of the examinees realized this, Naruto did not, and struggled to answer the questions, which were far beyond his comprehension. Hinata Hyūga, who was sitting next to him, offered to allow him to copy off her paper, but he refused, in fear that she would get caught. Naruto was forced to rely on getting the tenth question correct to pass. When faced with the prospect of correctly answering the question to proceed, failing and never being allowed to take the test again, or giving up to try it again during the next exams, Naruto insisted on answering the question, stating that, even if he got it wrong, he would still become Hokage. The willingness to face the unknown being the answer to the tenth question, Naruto and the rest of Team 7 were allowed to proceed to the second phase.

For the second phase, Team 7 was sent into the Forest of Death with one scroll, tasked to obtain a second scroll from another team and arrive at the forest's centre before the phase ended. Soon after entering the forest, they were attacked by Orochimaru, who immobilized Sasuke and Sakura with his murderous intent. Before Sasuke could forfeit their scroll in exchange for their lives, Naruto intervened, fighting Orochimaru by tapping into the Nine-Tails' chakra. Orochimaru rendered Naruto unconscious by restricting access to the Nine-Tails' chakra, but Naruto's courage inspired Sasuke to fight in his place. After Orochimaru was driven off and Naruto awakened, Team 7 encountered Team Oboro. After wasting a day trapped in the rival team's genjutsu, Team 7 was able to defeat them, take their scroll, and pass the round.

Because too many Genin teams had passed the second phase, a round of preliminary matches, where Genin faced each other in combat, were held to thin the field. After watching the first few rounds, Naruto was matched against Kiba Inuzuka, and his dog, Akamaru. Remembering Naruto to be talentless from their days in the academy, Kiba believed it would be an easy match. He and Akamaru double-teamed Naruto, who initially had difficulty with the match. After combining the Transformation Technique with his shadow clones to turn Kiba and Akamaru against each other, Naruto was able to remove Akamaru from the competition. When Kiba was about to defeat him, Naruto farted, immobilizing Kiba and his heightened sense of smell, and making him an easy target for the Uzumaki Naruto Combo. Naruto won the match.

While watching the remaining matches, Naruto witnessed Neji Hyūga's ruthless treatment of his cousin, Hinata. Angered by Neji's actions, and his claims that Hinata was a failure who couldn't escape that fate, Naruto vowed to defeat Neji during the first round of the finals a month later. In the meantime, Naruto started training with Ebisu to improve his chakra control. When Ebisu was knocked out by Jiraiya, Naruto forced Jiraiya to train him in his place. Jiraiya, noticing that Naruto was the container of the Nine-Tails, and the restrictive seal Orochimaru had placed on him earlier, Jiraiya removed the seal to ease his chakra control. He then taught him how to take advantage of the Nine-Tails' chakra by showing him how to use the Summoning Technique to summon toads. Although having little success at first, Naruto was eventually able to summon the likes of Gamabunta in time for the final round.

When his match against Neji began, Naruto appeared to be at a disadvantage. Although he was able to overwhelm Neji with shadow clones, none of the clones could manage to land a hit. Convinced that Naruto was a failure that could not defeat a genius like himself, Neji used his Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms to cut off Naruto's chakra supply. Determined to prove Neji wrong, Naruto tapped into the Nine-Tails' reserves and, revitalized, clashed with Neji. When the smoke cleared, Neji emerged, Naruto appearing to have been defeated. This, however, was only a shadow clone, and the real Naruto burst from the ground beneath Neji, to deliver an uppercut and defeat him. Neji was taken away, contemplating the fact that fate was not predetermined, since a failure could beat a genius, while Naruto watched the remaining matches. When Sasuke fought Gaara, he was envious of Sasuke's improvements, but the fight was interrupted by the beginning of the invasion of Konoha.

Invasion of Konoha Arc
Naruto was put to sleep when the invasion began, but was awakened by Sakura so that they could go after Sasuke, who was pursuing Gaara in order to continue their fight. They caught up in time to stop Gaara from killing Sasuke. Intrigued by Naruto's abilities, Gaara forced him into battle by threatening to kill Sakura. With the power of the One-Tailed Shukaku sealed within him, Gaara tried to prove his existence by killing Naruto by playing with him. Although Naruto could relate to Gaara's life as a jinchūriki, he was not willing to allow anything to happen to Sakura and Sasuke. With the Nine-Tails' chakra, he summoned Gamabunta, and fought Gaara, who by now had progressed to his full Shukaku form.

Naruto was able to awaken Gaara from his jutsu to reseal Shukaku, and they exchanged final blows, with Naruto emerging the final blow. Both of them, being very exhausted, fell to the ground and Naruto crawled his way towards Gaara, who was shocked to see why Naruto was so strong. Naruto explained that he had also suffered a relentless lonely life, but was later saved by having friends. Gaara understood, and retreated with Kankurō and Temari, while Naruto was returned back to Konohagakure with Sakura and Sasuke.

Days passed, and Naruto and the rest of the shinobi came to a ceremony to respect the death of the Third Hokage and his sacrifice for the village.

Search for Tsunade Arc
After the failed invasion resulted in the death of the Third Hokage, Jiraiya was tasked with finding a Fifth Hokage. He convinced Naruto to come with him by promising to teach him a new jutsu that would be stronger than Sasuke's Chidori. Along the way, they were met by Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha, two members of Akatsuki, who sought to capture Naruto for the Nine-Tails sealed within him. Jiraiya was able to draw them off, but Naruto was introduced to the organization that would become more of a problem for him in Part II. To prepare him for their future encounters, Jiraiya taught him how to use the Rasengan, a jutsu created by Minato. While Naruto was able to complete the first two steps of the learning process with little difficulty, he struggled to complete the third and thus master the technique.

Naruto and Jiraiya eventually found Tsunade, the ideal candidate for the position of Fifth Hokage. When she turned down the offer, and insulted all those who had previously held the title, an angry Naruto challenged her to a fight and attacked her with an incomplete Rasengan. Although his effort failed to hit her, she was surprised by his progress and made a bet with him: if he could master the technique in a week, she would give him her necklace, but if he couldn't, she would take his money and his frog wallet, Gama-chan. Naruto agreed, and started practicing, but in a week's time, he still had yet to finish the training. Disappointed, Tsunade met with Orochimaru, the murderer of the Third Hokage, and Naruto, Jiraiya, and Shizune, Tsunade's assistant, tried to stop her from helping him.

Tsunade turned out to have no intention of helping Orochimaru, and fought him and his assistant, Kabuto Yakushi. When Kabuto left her unable to fight, Naruto came to her aid. Although he was getting beaten by Kabuto and Tsunade told him to run, Naruto refused and by using shadow clones to help him form it, Naruto was able to hit Kabuto with a perfected Rasengan, defeating Kabuto and winning the bet. Amazed by his determination to keep to his word and to survive against a superior opponent, Tsunade gave him her necklace, drove off Orochimaru and Kabuto, and accepted the position of Fifth Hokage. They returned to Konoha, Tsunade confidently believing Naruto would someday become a great Hokage.

Land of Tea Arc
In the anime, after Sasuke was healed by Tsunade, Team 7 was assigned a mission to escort someone in the Land of Tea without Kakashi. Early in the mission, they encountered their client, Idate Morino. Though Idate did not insist in having aid during the race, Naruto and the rest still agreed, as that was what they were told to do. Near the end of the race, a shinobi known as Aoi Rokushō interfered, and attacked them suddenly. After Sasuke began to lose, Naruto came to his aid with the Rasengan, destroying Aoi's sword and defeating him (albeit Sasuke's Chidori made a crack in Aoi's sword). While Sakura helped Sasuke up, Naruto guided Idate at the final peek of the finish line. Naruto let Idate finish the race on his own, which Idate successfully did. After that, Ibiki Morino, the brother of Idate, sent in the ship for Team 7's departure. Naruto and the rest said their goodbyes to Idate and returned to Konoha.

Sasuke Retrieval Arc
After returning with Tsunade (in the anime, after returning from the mission in the Land of Tea), Sasuke began to fall into the corruption set in place for him by Orochimaru. He began lashing out at Sakura and Naruto, not as team-mates but as enemies, eventually defecting from Konoha in order to seek out Orochimaru for power. Under the escort of Orochimaru's Sound Four, Sasuke left to join Orochimaru, and Naruto joined a retrieval team that would bring him back. While the other members of the team dealt with the Sound Four, Naruto finally engaged in a fight with the Sound Four's fifth member, Kimimaro. However, he was not able to beat him even with Nine Tails-enhanced shadow clones. When Naruto was about to be killed, he was saved by Rock Lee, who told him to continue the pursuit of Sasuke while he fought Kimimaro.

Naruto finally caught up with Sasuke in a place called Valley of the End, very near the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound, and fought Sasuke. With Sasuke determined to kill Naruto in his quest for power, Naruto decided he would have to take the battle seriously if he was to bring Sasuke back. When Sasuke's drive to kill proved greater than Naruto's resolve of friendship in a 'fair' fight, Naruto tapped into the Nine-Tails' chakra to level the playing field, allowing him to batter around Sasuke. Sasuke, pushed to his limits, managed to develop the mature Sharingan, greatly overpowering Naruto. When Naruto, even with the Nine-Tails' chakra, was defeated, he tapped into the chakra even more, and a red aura of the Nine-Tails' chakra, in the shape of a fox, surrounded him. Sasuke then drew on the power of the second stage of his cursed seal to properly compete with Naruto. The two had one final clash, Naruto with his Rasengan (enhanced by the Nine-Tails' chakra) and Sasuke with his Chidori (empowered by the cursed seal). Upon contact, a giant, black energy dome formed and surrounded them. In the dome, Sasuke struck Naruto in the stomach, while Naruto scratched Sasuke's headband, proving the latter's earlier taunt of the subject wrong. Sasuke won the fight, but after staring at the unconscious Naruto, he couldn't bring himself to kill his best friend, so he simply continued on his way to Orochimaru.

Kakashi and Pakkun didn't come in time to get Sasuke, and left with Naruto. In the hospital, Naruto vowed to Sakura that he would someday bring Sasuke home. Soon after, Jiraiya arrived suddenly, telling Naruto to train with him for three years prior. He also told him to give up on Sasuke, as he is no different from Orochimaru. Naruto accepts training with Jiraiya, but rejects to giving up Sasuke. In the manga, right after this, Naruto departs, but in the anime, he stays for awhile, doing numerous filler arc missions.

Filler arcs
After the original Naruto anime had concluded the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, to make sure the anime did not over take Part II of the manga, the makers instead animated several filler arcs to take place before Naruto left for his three year training with Jiraiya. Naruto is sent on various missions with the other members of the Konoha 11, but while there is little character development for himself, the filler arcs tend to develop the supporting characters, as well as Gaara. The final filler arc was right before Naruto's departure with Jiraiya, though in the manga, this was right after the Sasuke Retrieval Arc.

Kazekage Rescue Arc
When Naruto returned to Konoha, the remaining members of Team 7 were reorganized into Team Kakashi. As their first order of business, Kakashi gave them another bell test, this time the only goal being to take a bell, and that he would use his Sharingan against them. Although their abilities had improved, Naruto and Sakura were still unable to beat Kakashi, and it was only by threatening to spoil the end of the latest Icha Icha novel that they distracted Kakashi long enough to take the bells. Naruto reconnected with his old friends, who had all advanced to chūnin-rank or higher, and then heard that Gaara, the new Kazekage, had been kidnapped by Akatsuki. Naruto and Team Kakashi set out for Sunagakure to save him.

Upon arrival in Sunagakure, Chiyo was added to Team Kakashi as an adviser, and they followed Akatsuki's trail. Along the way, they encountered a body-double of Itachi Uchiha, which engaged them in battle. Kakashi and Naruto teamed up in order to defeat the lookalike, before continuing onto the Akatsuki lair. There, they found Gaara's body in the possession of Deidara and Sasori. When Deidara flew off with Gaara, Naruto and Kakashi pursued him, leaving Sasori to Chiyo and Sakura. While initially unable to catch Deidara, Kakashi was able to use his Mangekyō Sharingan to distract Deidara, giving Naruto an opportunity to attack him and retrieve Gaara. Deidara escaped, and Naruto and Kakashi reunited with Sakura and Chiyo.

Although Sakura tried to heal Gaara, he had already died, a casualty of Akatsuki's tailed beast extraction-process. Angered that Gaara had died because he was a jinchūriki, something he had never asked for and had suffered because of his whole life, Naruto lashed out at Chiyo, the one who had sealed the One-Tailed Shukaku into Gaara in the first place. To make up for what she had done, Chiyo, with the help of Naruto, restored Gaara back to life, at the cost of her own. Gaara awakened surrounded by friends, and, after Chiyo's funeral, Naruto and Gaara finally shake hands (Gaara insisting), as a sign to their close relationship. Afterwards, Naruto and the gang went back to Konoha.

Sai and Sasuke Arc
During Sakura's battle with Sasori, she learned of a spy in Orochimaru's inner circle, an opportunity for them to find Sasuke after his years of absence. Kakashi was left hospitalized from overuse of the Mangekyō Sharingan, so Yamato was assigned to lead Team Kakashi in his place. Sai was also added to the team as Sasuke's replacement, but neither Naruto nor Sakura were able to accept him as such.

En route to the meeting place with the spy, Yamato tried to get the team to work together, although Sai's personality and disdain for his predecessor caused only conflict amongst the team. When they arrived at the meeting spot, they found that the spy was Kabuto. Yamato, disguised as Sasori, spoke with him, but they were interrupted by the arrival of Orochimaru. Kabuto, in turn, turned against Yamato, who was forced to call Naruto and the others for back-up. Surprised to see Naruto, Orochimaru wondered aloud if Naruto had become as strong as "his Sasuke". Enraged that Orochimaru had spoken as if Sasuke belonged to him, Naruto entered his three-tailed form, and attacked him.

While a fair match, Orochimaru was able to evade Naruto's attacks. Further provoked by his inability to land a debilitating blow, Naruto advanced to his four-tailed form, losing his sense of self in his anger. Now a danger to Orochimaru, Naruto was forced back so that he could switch targets, his first being Sakura. Yamato restrained him before he could do any real harm, and forced the Nine-Tails' influence to recede. When he woke up, they found that Sai had joined up with Orochimaru. They followed him in the hopes that he would lead them to Sasuke, and to see what he was up to. During a break, Yamato took Naruto aside, and told him of how he had attacked Sakura, encouraging him not to rely on the Nine-Tails if he really wanted to protect those close to him.

When they arrived at Orochimaru's hideout, they infiltrated the lair, and captured Sai. Exposed, Sai revealed that his superiors had sent him to help organize another invasion of Konoha. He was restrained for his treachery, while the others went looking for Sasuke. Sai, having earlier met Sasuke, asked why Naruto was so determined to bring him back. Naruto explained that the two had a bond that couldn't be broken, and that he would risk his life to protect this bond. Intrigued, Sai switched sides, helping them to capture Kabuto and then scouring the base in order to reunite Sasuke with Naruto. He succeeded, but was attacked by Sasuke, the magnitude of which drew the rest of Team Yamato to their location.

Together again, Naruto and Sakura tried to convince Sasuke to come home. Still determined to gain power, he refused, prompting the team to use force. Their efforts were unsuccessful, and Naruto, in his inability to compete with Sasuke's growth, struggled to reject the Nine-Tails. Within his subconscious, he told it that he never wanted its assistance again, but it was not until Sasuke entered Naruto's subconscious that the Nine-Tails gave up on spreading its influence. In the real world, Sasuke tried to finish off his former, defeated team-mates. He was stopped by Orochimaru, however, and they retreated, leaving Team Yamato to return home.

Twelve Guardian Ninja Arc
In the anime, Team Yamato was sent on a mission to the Fire Temple. There they met Sora, a young monk who openly disliked Naruto. Despite this, Sora was added to their team to help investigate the grave-robbing of a number of former Twelve Guardian Ninja. Soon after the investigation began, Naruto noticed that the other monks treated Sora much as the villagers of Konoha used to treat him: as an outcast sentenced to loneliness. Naruto asked him about this, but Sora only replied that he didn't blame them.

Upon finding the grave robbers, Naruto was forced into battle with Fuka, a woman that kept trying to kiss Naruto. Through the use of shadow clones, he was able to escape her advances, only to find out that she was a master of all five types of elemental jutsu. Soon afterwards, she managed to kiss him, an act that sucked all the chakra from his body. Once his normal chakra was gone, however, she began sucking out the Nine-Tails' chakra, a force she couldn't handle, and was promptly overwhelmed by. She retreated with her team, and Team Yamato returned to Konoha, with Sora as a temporary substitute for Sai.

Naruto continued to try and befriend Sora, only for his and the efforts of others in Konoha being turned away. When later following Sora, Naruto found him to be trying to kill Asuma and Tsunade. After stopping him, Naruto asked why Sora was being so hostile. He discovered that Asuma had killed Sora's father. Asuma soon arrived to try and explain, but Sora ran off. Naruto once again followed him, but was stopped by Fuka. Forced into battle with her again, Naruto attacked, only to find that she was apparently regenerating from her injuries. Upon noticing that she had stopped using certain elements, Naruto realized that Fuka somehow had multiple bodies, and that each had its own affinity which she could switch between. Coming to the conclusion that her soul resided in her hair, Naruto destroyed all of Fuka's bodies before destroying her hair too, allowing him to follow Sora uninhibited.

When he arrived back in Konoha, Naruto discovered that not only was Sora's father still alive, but that he was behind the various grave-robbings. The more pressing matter, however, was that he had, years earlier, sealed some of the excess chakra, left behind during the Nine-Tails' attack, into Sora, and sought to use its power to destroy Konoha. As Sora lost control of the Nine-Tails' chakra within him, Naruto also struggled to control the Nine-Tails' attempt to create a four-tailed form. He was able to maintain his senses, however, and forced the Nine-Tails' influence to recede, and was able to get through to Sora to help him return to normal as well. The Nine-Tails' chakra was expelled from Sora's body and, finally free, he said goodbye to Naruto before setting out to explore the world.

Hidan and Kakuzu Arc
Kakashi, hoping to make Naruto better prepared for his next encounter with Sasuke, trained him to create a new wind-based jutsu. In the anime, this training began before, and continued throughout, the Fire Temple arc, with Naruto seeking assistance from Asuma and Sora, two other wind chakra users. Kakashi had Naruto train with shadow clones to master wind manipulation in only a fraction of the time. When he did this, Kakashi left him with the task of combining what he had learned with the Rasengan. He explained that infusing one's chakra nature with the Rasengan was what Minato had intended to do when he created the Rasengan, but had not been able to do so before he died. Kakashi believed Naruto would prove successful where his father could not, inspiring Naruto to do his best.

While he struggled to create his new Rasengan, the rest of Konoha mobilized to deal with the Akatsuki members, Hidan and Kakuzu. When the two managed to kill Asuma, Kakashi left Yamato in charge of overseeing Naruto's training so that he could help Team 10 avenge Asuma. Once he achieved a usable jutsu, Naruto and Team Yamato went to provide assistance, arriving in time to save Kakashi and Team 10 from Kakuzu. Naruto engaged Kakuzu by himself with his Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, created with the help of shadow clones. Once striking Kakuzu with the attack, two of his hearts were destroyed, and his final heart was left on the brink of failure. Tired out by the ordeal, Naruto's injuries were healed while Kakashi finished off Kakuzu.

Upon retuning to Konoha, Naruto was forbidden by Tsunade to use the Rasenshuriken again. While it was devastating to his opponents, it caused minor injuries to Naruto's arm as well. Even though they weren't as bad as his opponents injuries, it was harmful enough to cause the arm to be beyond medical repair if performed again with contact of his hand and the opponent, endangering him and his hopes of remaining a ninja. Naruto said that he realized this, but claimed he understood his own body better than anyone else.

Three-Tails Arc
In the anime, while still recovering from over-using his Rasenshuriken, Jiraiya appeared to congratulate his student's latest successes: defeating one of the Akatsuki members and completing Minato's jutsu. Jiraiya offered to take Naruto on another journey to train, which Naruto quickly agreed to. In truth, Jiraiya's main reason for taking Naruto from Konoha again was so he would not join Kakashi and Team 8 on their mission to find Orochimaru's latest hideout. For their training, they went to a neighboring town to teach Naruto how to use collaboration jutsu with toads. Gamariki was initially summoned to help in this endeavor, but when Naruto proved unable to work with him, Gamakichi and Gamatatsu were summoned instead.

Later, while resting at a hot springs, Naruto met a young boy named Yūkimaru. They talked for a short time about bonds, which made Yūkimaru happy. When Yūkimaru left, Naruto resumed his training, and started having success performing synchronized jutsu with Gamakichi and Gamatatsu. Jiraiya was soon called away, so they returned to Konoha, where Naruto taught Gamatatsu how to perform water-based jutsu. Soon afterwards, he met up with Sai, who let slip that the rest of the team was about to provide back-up for Kakashi in his search for Orochimaru. Determined to help, since he might meet Sasuke, Naruto convinced Tsunade to let him go too.

While searching for Team 8, Naruto ran into Yūkimaru again, and offered him a chance to join him back at Konoha, in response to which Yūkimaru quickly disappeared. As Naruto and his team found themselves halted by Guren's crystal barrier, Naruto summoned Gamakichi and Gamatatsu for help. They then used the Wind Release: Toad Gun to break through, and on the opposite side found Team 8. When they noticed that Hinata had been captured, they helped rescue her, before retreating. The combined teams followed Guren to a lake, where Naruto was sent ahead to scout the area. He found Guren and her forces (amongst them being Yūkimaru) with the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle, who created a tidal wave that drove them all back to shore.

While the team decided what to do with the Three-Tails, Naruto went off to confront Yūkimaru. He found Guren instead, and they argued over what would really make Yūkimaru happy. Yūkimaru soon appeared as well, but after saying that he appreciated Naruto's efforts but would rather stay with Guren, left with her. Before he could go after them, he was called back to help with the tailed beast, his goal being to prevent Guren and her forces from interfering with its sealing. To his delight, Kakashi also tasked him with safely retrieving Yūkimaru.

Despite their best efforts, Guren was able to stop the sealing. Yūkimaru used this as an opportunity to try and control the beast, prompting both Naruto and Guren to come to his aid. In the process, they were both eaten by the Three-Tails, giving them an opportunity to talk and find out they both had Yūkimaru's best interests in mind. Setting their differences aside, they teamed up to escape. Outside, they found Rinji trying to drug Yūkimaru. After Naruto and Guren managed to stop Rinji, they discovered that it was really Kabuto in disguise. Kabuto revealed that Rinji had become part of his corpse collection long ago, and was reanimated through his medical ninjutsu.

While Naruto faced off against Kabuto, Rinji was resummoned and sent up against Guren, whose bat-oriented jutsu turned out to be a perfect counter to Guren's crystal jutsu. After Guren sacrificed herself to defeat Rinji, Yūkimaru went into such an emotional outburst that it gave the Three-Tails the power to break free from the sealing barrier. Afterwards, with the Three-Tails escaping and Kabuto disappearing, Naruto went to aid the weakened Yūkimaru. Later, Shizune was able to heal Yūkimaru, but explained his chakra network was too damaged to ever control the Three-Tails again.

The following morning, after Tsunade had ordered the team to return to Konoha, Naruto discovered that Yūkimaru had vanished. After discovering that Yūkimaru had left his crystal from Guren behind, he realized that Guren was still alive, and with Yūkimaru. Knowing that the two would be fine, he decided not to pursue them. While failing to seal the Three-Tails, the successful saving of Yūkimaru inspired Naruto more than ever to bring Sasuke back to his true home, with his friends in Konoha.

Itachi Pursuit Arc
After news of Orochimaru's defeat at the hands of Sasuke, Team Kakashi decided to make another attempt to find him. Knowing that Sasuke was going after his older brother, Itachi, they teamed up with the members of Team 8 to find either of the Uchiha brothers. They scoured the landscape, and eventually encountered Kabuto, who had absorbed some of Orochimaru's remains into his body. As thanks to Naruto, his efforts to overcome the Nine-Tails being similar to his efforts to overcome Orochimaru, Kabuto gave him a book containing some information on Akatsuki escaping from capture.

After regrouping and Kiba picks up on Sasuke's trail, Naruto used a number of shadow clones to search the area faster. When one of his clones neared what he thought was Sasuke's location, he found Itachi there instead. Itachi repelled all of Naruto's attempts to attack him, insisting that he only wanted to talk. He trapped Naruto in a genjutsu and, as was later revealed, questioned Naruto on his dedication to Sasuke and to Konoha. When Naruto insisted that he would protect both at any cost, Itachi gave Naruto some of his power in case he ever needed it. Itachi left, and Naruto continued his search, eventually finding Sasuke.

When the real Naruto and the rest of the team moved to intercept him, they were stopped by Tobi. Despite their efforts to quickly dispose of Tobi, none of their attacks worked, and it was only after word reached them that Sasuke had killed Itachi that they were allowed to continue. Tobi, however, reached Sasuke first, and having lost the trail, the Konoha-nin were forced to give up on the search.

Six-Tails Arc
In the anime, after failing to reach Sasuke in time, their return trip to Konoha was interrupted by Katsuyu with orders from Tsunade; Team Yamato was to sent to aid the Tsuchigumo clan to protect the clan's kinjutsu, Fury. Upon arriving at the Tsuchigumo clan stronghold, they discovered that the kinjutsu was taken by the former clan leader, En no Gyōja's granddaughter Hotaru. When Team Yamato caught up to her, Naruto attacked the man with her, the Six-Tailed Slug's jinchūriki, Utakata, believing him to be the enemy. Upon seeing the Konoha-nin's strength, Utakata left Hotaru in their care and left.

Due to her desire to be taught by Utakata, Hotaru dismissed Team Yamato's help, but Yamato had a plan to use Sai's jutsu to drop ink leeches on their path, forcing the scared Hotaru to reluctantly allow Naruto to protect her as they traveled to the Tsuchigumo village. When they arrived, they left Hotaru in the villagers care, but Naruto, noting the villagers looks as they entered the village returned to make sure she was alright. When he returned, he found that Hotaru was attacked by the bandits and the villagers cared nothing about her and left to find Hotaru. Naruto found Hotaru, captured by Kirigakure ANBU hunter-nin who was using her to capture Utakata. Naruto attacked one of the hunter-nin, releasing one of Utakata's arms, but before the fight could escalate any further, Yamato and Sai arrived.

To avoid starting an unnecessary war between Konoha and Kiri, Yamato and the Kiri ANBU leader, Tsurugi, decided that for the duration of Team Yamato's mission, Utakata will remain with Hotaru, and Konoha would not interfere with their capture of Utakata afterwards. Before departing, Tsurugi told Naruto that Utakata was wanted for the murder of his master, a revelation that shocked Hotaru. Despite this, Naruto insisted that Utakata was a good man and she should not lose faith in him, explaining that as he could relate with her because he never had parents to look up to either, but came to respect and cherished his master Jiraiya, despite many oddities. As they traveled, Hotaru collapsed from a wound she received form the Kiri-nin. While Utakata tended to Hotaru, Naruto was instructed to find the herbs needed to heal her. When he returned with the herbs, he discovered that Hotaru was made the literal container of the kinjutsu, not unlike how he was made the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.

Initially, Naruto was furious to see Hotaru made into a living weapon, but she told him it was her decision to help revive her clan. Then they arrived at the Tsuchigumo clan stronghold, where Hotaru's caretaker Tonbee was being tended to by Sakura, Tonbee told her that the Tsuchigumo clan is far to weak to ever be restored and believed it best to destroy the kinjutsu, using a special technique to avoid harming Hotaru, developed by her grandfather in case the kinjutsu had to be destroyed. However Hotaru still wished to revive her clan, and asked Naruto to find Shiranami, who as a student of En no Gyōja who could use the kinjutsu. Sympathizing with Hotaru's desire to follow the dreams of her master, Naruto asked for two days to find Shiranami. After several failed attempts, Naruto was told by an old man he met where Shiranami lived. Once he entered his home however, Naruto was ambushed by the the by the Magaki group, and then discovered that Shiranami himself is the leader of the bandits. Trapped inside a chakra draining barrier, Naruto was rescued by Utakata, who used the Six-Tails' chakra to send the bandits into retreat. They tracked Hotaru, who was captured by Shiranami to the Tsuchigumo village, where the villagers were being controlled by a jutsu. While Yamato, Sakura, and Sai held the villagers back, Naruto and Utakata went to rescue Hotaru.

When they arrived, Shiranami was using Hotaru to gather raw chakra needed to use Fury, and binds the two jinchūriki with his Character Bind Technique. Both however, used their tailed beasts' chakra to break their bonds and went in for the attack, only for Shiranami, who has control of the kinjutsu, to use Fury.

Invasion of Pain Arc
When he returned to Konoha, Naruto learned that Jiraiya had died in his battle with the leader of Akatsuki, Pain. Grief stricken, Naruto blamed Tsunade for his death. He spent the rest of the day mourning the loss of his teacher, musing over the fact he had wanted Jiraiya to be there when he became Hokage. After being comforted by Iruka, Naruto helped to decipher Jiraiya's dying message with Shikamaru. When the code was broken, Naruto decided to go to train with the toads to learn senjutsu, knowing that Pain was coming for him and deciding to make the most of the time Jiraiya had bought for him.

To learn senjutsu, Naruto trained to harmonize with nature, a process he sped up by using a limited amount of shadow clones. He rapidly progressed through the introductory stages and attained a perfect Sage Mode, something Jiraiya had never been able to do. Because harmonizing with nature cannot be done in the midst of battle, Fukasaku tried to fuse with Naruto so that he could gather natural energy for Naruto's use. When the Nine-Tails rejected all of Fukasaku's attempts at fusion, Naruto was forced to find an alternative: using shadow clones in a desperate attempt to learn how to gather natural energy while moving. News of Pain's attack on Konoha soon reached them, and they mobilized for battle.

Naruto (in Sage Mode), Fukasaku, Gamaken, Gamahiro, Gamabunta, and Gamakichi were summoned to the center of Konoha. Naruto did not immediately recognize the crater he had been summoned to, but then saw the Hokage Monument in the distance. Realizing that Pain had destroyed the village, an infuriated Naruto destroyed Pain's Asura Path with a Rasengan before it could attack Tsunade. Naruto sent Tsunade away, instructing her to make sure none of the other villagers intervened in the battle.

Pain's Animal Path summoned a number of animals to attack Naruto, who used the increased strength granted to him by Sage Mode to bat them aside to his toad allies. While they dealt with the summons, Naruto disposed of the Preta Path with Frog Kata before preparing the fruits of his senjutsu training: a perfected Rasenshuriken. He hurled the attack at Pain's remaining bodies, and it expanded when it neared them, disintegrating the Human Path. Running low on chakra because of the attack, Naruto had Gamabunta trap the Animal Path in his mouth, where Naruto was able to defeat it with his Rasenrengan without interference from the other bodies.

Having run out of natural energy and thus having exited Sage Mode, Naruto had Fukasaku summon one of his shadow clones from Mount Myōboku. As a workaround for his inability to have a constant supply of natural energy, he had had some of his shadow clones gather it for him. Revitalized, Naruto attacked with another Rasenshuriken, only for the Preta Path to appear and absorb the attack. Realizing that the Naraka Path must have restored it, Naruto focused his efforts on getting rid of it. He distracted the Deva Path with a smokescreen, and landed another Rasenrengan on the Naraka Path, defeating it.

Though he had defeated four of Pain's six bodies, Naruto was captured through a combination of efforts from the Deva and Preta Paths. The Preta Path absorbed his chakra to make sure he was no longer a threat but, being unable to handle natural energy, the Preta Path turned into a frog statue, allowing Naruto to free himself. The Deva Path captured Naruto again, and killed Fukasaku when he tried to come to help. While immobilizing Naruto, the Deva Path told Naruto of his plans for world peace. When Naruto disagreed with his views, Jiraiya's death being a byproduct of that peace, the Deva Path asked Naruto for a better solution.

Before he could answer, Hinata came to Naruto's aid. She confessed her love for Naruto (greatly shocking him) and engaged Pain in battle in a futile effort to save him. When she was apparently killed, an enraged Naruto exploded into his six-tailed form. His necklace reacted in an effort to quell the transformation, but the Nine-Tails quickly destroyed it and attacked Pain. Unable to deal with this new threat, the Deva Path retreated to a location where it could use Chibaku Tensei, drawing in Naruto and restraining him. Within his subconscious, Naruto thought of Pain's plans for peace, and pleaded for someone to help him with a response. Through his suffering, the Nine-Tails tempted Naruto to give his heart to it so that it could destroy everything that was causing Naruto pain, thus distorting the seal to the point where the eight-tailed form was released, breaking free of the Chibaku Tensei. Before he could completely release the Nine-Tails, however, his father, Minato, appeared in Naruto's subconscious to stop him.

Minato revealed that he had designed the seal of the Nine-Tails to allow an imprint of himself to appear if ever the seal was about to break, a failsafe meant to protect his son. Picking up on this, Naruto realized that the Fourth Hokage was his father, and was overjoyed to finally know who one of his parents was. His time being short, Minato revealed that he had sealed the Nine-Tails into his own son because he thought Naruto would someday find use for it in finally stopping Madara Uchiha. They also discussed the concept of peace, and Minato revealed that hatred gave rise to Pain, and that ninja must find a way to end the hatred. While Naruto doubted that he could do it, Minato replied that he believed Naruto would be able to find the answer, and restored the Nine-Tails' seal before disappearing.

Outside, Naruto emerged from the Chibaku Tensei, with the Nine-Tails' influence gone and Sage Mode having returned. He clashed one final time with the Deva Path, and by taking advantage of the five-second gap between its attacks, Naruto was finally able to defeat it with his Rasengan and win the battle. Using the Deva Path's chakra receivers, Naruto sought out Nagato, Pain's base mind, to finally answer his earlier question about peace. Naruto admitted that he hated Nagato, but restrained himself long enough to ask how Nagato, a fellow student of Jiraiya, turned out this way. After hearing Nagato's past and his reasons for desiring war, Naruto agreed on some points, but rejected the overall conclusion on the grounds that it differed from Jiraiya's ideals. To break the cycle of hatred, Naruto told Nagato and Konan that, despite hating them, he would not kill them.

Amazed by Naruto's determination to his answer, Nagato said that he would believe in Naruto, and revived all the people he had killed in Konoha, at the cost of his own life. With this, Naruto helped Konan retrieve Nagato and Yahiko's bodies for burial in Amegakure. After confirming that she had quit Akatsuki, Konan left Naruto a bouquet of paper flowers for him, symbolizing their new alliance.

In volume 48 of the manga, Naruto left Konan's paper flowers and a copy of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi by a rock, a memorial for Jiraiya.

Five Kage Summit Arc
While Naruto was returning to the village, Kakashi found him and carried him back. He was greeted by the entire village and celebrated as a hero. Soon afterwards, he learned that Tsunade had been left in a coma as a result of protecting the villagers from Pain. Sakura tried to cheer him up, but her efforts were interrupted by the news that Danzō Shimura has replaced Tsunade as Hokage and has ordered that Sasuke be executed as a traitor to the village. Naruto and Sakura questioned Sai about Danzō, hoping to learn how they can change his mind, but Sai was unable to. Their questions gained the attention of two Kumo-nin, Karui and Omoi. They told Naruto and Sakura about Sasuke's work with Akatsuki and demanded any information that might be useful in killing him. To spare Sakura from having to help them, Naruto volunteered, but ultimately could not bring himself to sell out Sasuke. He offered to allow the Kumogakure to take their anger out on him by beating him up, and they gladly accepted before being stopped by Sai.

While Naruto recovered from his injuries, he asked Yamato and Kakashi to take him to the Land of Iron so that he could ask the Fourth Raikage to forgive Sasuke. Yamato and Kakashi agreed, but when they arrived and spoke with the Raikage, the Raikage refused his request and berated Naruto for standing up for a criminal. Naruto went to a local inn to consider what to do next, where he was soon confronted by Madara Uchiha, who asked how he could get Nagato to change his mind. Naruto ignored the question and asked Madara about his plans with Sasuke. Madara told him about the Sage of the Six Paths, the Uchiha clan, and the truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre, all of which now drove Sasuke along a path of vengeance. Naruto insisted that that he could still get through to Sasuke, but Madara laughed and left, saying that Naruto and Sasuke are fated to fight again.

Naruto began practicing with Sage Mode, hoping to extend the reach of his sensory skills and thus find Sasuke. Sakura interrupted him, having come to the Land of Iron to speak with him. She told him that she loved him and that she no longer had any feelings for Sasuke. Naruto however, does not believe her, and says she is lying to herself. Angered by this, Sakura insisted it was true and that he therefore doesn't need to fulfill his earlier promise of bringing Sasuke home. Naruto said his actions had nothing to do with the promise and that he just wanted to save Sasuke, choosing not to reveal what Madara had said about the Uchiha clan. Sakura then left with the others, saying she was going home.

One of Sai's ink clones later approached Naruto, telling him, Kakashi, and Yamato about Sakura and the rest of the Konoha 11's decision to kill Sasuke to prevent him from involving Konoha in another war, and also mentioned that Sakura was most likely still in love with Sasuke and wanted to be the one to stop him from sinking any lower. Gaara also appeared, who told them about the Fourth Great Shinobi World War and the decision to protect Naruto from Akatsuki. He pleaded with Naruto to think about all of the people who will be fighting the likes of Sasuke on his behalf and, as Sasuke's friend, to do what was best given his actions. When Gaara left, Naruto considered what everyone had told him and started hyperventilating. He passed out and when he woke up, he discovered from Yamato that Kakashi had gone to stop Sakura and deal with Sasuke.

Naruto pursued and arrived in time to save Sakura from Sasuke's attack. Naruto restrained Kakashi to prevent him from killing Sasuke and then talked to Sasuke, sympathizing with his motives. However, he noted that they have reached a point where only they can fight each other, and if they do, they will both die. Sasuke accepted Naruto's reasoning but promised that he will survive their battle and kill him when it comes. He left with Madara and Naruto collapsed from the poison kunai he got cut with when he saved Sakura from Sasuke. He was given an antidote by Sakura and they prepare to go home with Kakashi and Karin.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
Upon returning to the village, Naruto explained the situation to his friends. When he insisted to handle Sasuke alone, Neji and Shikamaru said it was foolish not to finish Sasuke when he was already weakened from his fight against the other Kage and Danzō, but Naruto explained that at his current level, he wouldn't be able to kill Sasuke. As Shikamaru berated Naruto for taking all this on his own, Naruto dismissed this and headed off to Ichiraku.

As Naruto was about to eat, he was suddenly summoned back to Mount Myōboku by Fukasaku, who told him that the Great Toad Sage wished to tell him about his future. He prophesied that Naruto will meet a "creature with octopus tentacles" and will battle a "young man with powerful eyes." Gerotora was then summoned and gave Naruto the "key" to opening and closing the Fourth Hokage's seal, so he can release all of the Nine-Tails' power and also complete an unnamed jutsu. However, Naruto seemed hesitant to use the key, but Gerotora assured him that he will be able to control the Nine-Tails, so Naruto took the key into his body, knowing he will need its power in the battles to come. Fukasaku then returned Naruto back to Ichiraku, where some of the villagers asked for his autograph.

To keep Naruto safe from Akatsuki, the five Kage sent him along with Yamato, Might Guy, Aoba Yamashiro, and several Konoha and Kumo-nin, to a remote island in the Land of Lightning. Upon arrival, Naruto met Killer Bee and was marveled at his mastery of his tailed beast. Naruto requested training from him, but Bee refused since he's on "vacation". However, Naruto proved to be a capable rapper and bumped fists with him, but then he accidentally insulted Bee while rapping, so then Naruto used his Harem Technique in order to persuade him, but with no results. After hearing that Naruto and Bee had bumped fists, Motoi took Naruto to the Falls of Truth, where Bee had started his training to control the Eight-Tails, and where Naruto should "make the first step" in controlling the Nine-Tails. Motoi instructed Naruto to sit in front of the waterfall and close his eyes, and he would see who he truly is on the inside. While doing this, Naruto was greeted by another version of himself, who berated Naruto on how quickly the people from Konoha changed their opinions of him and have started sucking up to him.

Both he and Dark Naruto began to fight and were evenly matched both physically and chakra level wise as both were able to produce the exact same number of shadow clones. It was revealed that the entire battle was going on within Naruto, as Yamato observed Naruto still meditating near the waterfall. Somehow Naruto was able to break out of the meditation and questioned Motoi about the life of Killer Bee in order to figure out how Bee was able to conquer the darkness within himself. Motoi then told how Bee was hated by the village, much like Naruto and Gaara. Motoi then revealed that in the past, he tried to kill Bee.

Motoi elaborated on this and told Naruto the history of Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails. Initially, Naruto became angry with Motoi, feeling that he was only using him as a replacement for his guilt. While reminiscing about how Bee and Gaara changed the peoples' opinions about them and that, deep inside, Naruto was not certain if the villagers of Konoha truly trusted him, Motoi was attacked by the giant squid. Thinking that squid was Bee, Naruto yelled for it to stop. Fortunately, Motoi was saved by Killer Bee and Naruto was happy to see the two being able to resume their friendship.

After joining forces with Bee, he said to Naruto return to the Falls of Truth. Confronting Dark Naruto, he projected an image from his mind (his signature for the autograph he was unable to give to the Konoha shinobi), angering the former. He said he must have faith in himself, which started to weaken Dark Naruto and forcing him to ask about the relevance of his existence. Naruto said he was really him and thanked him for pushing him to be the person he is now. He then hugged Dark Naruto when he tried to attack him, who cried and disappeared. After awaking and celebrating, Killer Bee lead him to a secret place behind the waterfall, saying it was there where Naruto would fight the Nine-Tails.

Along with Yamato, Naruto was guided through the temple by Killer Bee, until they reached a cat head statue. Killer Bee instructed Naruto to place his head inside its mouth, claiming it would allow him to see and speak with the Nine-Tails, and that if he didn't have a pure heart, the statue would decapitate him. Naruto pretended to be decapitated, fooling Yamato. They all enter a white room, where Naruto sat down and entered his subconscious. When the surprised Nine-Tails questioned Naruto about where the "real him" was, Naruto replied that the real him was right in front of it, and proceeded to use the key to unlock the seal. The Nine-Tails then pushed the cage's doors and attempted to attack Naruto, but Killer Bee used the Eight-Tails' tails to restrain it and help Naruto drain out its chakra. However, the Nine-Tails quickly sliced off the Eight-Tails' tails and it bitterly condemned Naruto for joining forces with the Eight-Tails so he can try to control its power.

As the battle started, the Nine-Tails first fired a massive blast of chakra at Naruto, but Killer Bee used the last bit of the Eight-Tails' power to contain the attack. After Naruto was in Sage Mode, he used one of his three shadow clones to perform the Sage Art: Super Great Ball Rasengan on the Nine-Tails as a distraction for Naruto to come from behind and slam it to the ground. After that, two of his shadow clones attacked the Nine-Tails from above with the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, causing great damage and giving Naruto the chance to drain out its chakra. However, the Nine-Tails planted its hatred within its drained chakra and it suddenly began to consume Naruto, making him lose the control and forcing him out of Sage Mode. The Nine-Tails roared at Naruto that he will never control it and to disappear forever, but Kushina Uzumaki appeared, saying it was alright if he stayed. At first, Naruto believed that Kushina was the Nine-Tails in disguise, which made her angry and clobber Naruto on the head. Kushina then apologized for her short-temper, telling Naruto that she hoped that wasn't a trait he inherited from her. Picking up on this and realizing Kushina was his mother, Naruto started to cry and hugged her. With his happiness, the Nine-Tails' spreading influence stopped, much to Yamato and Killer Bee's surprise. Naruto and Kushina talked, with Naruto asking how Kushina and Minato got together. Kushina bashfully told him her story and afterward, upon Naruto complimenting her hair, told him that she loved him, much to Naruto's surprise then happiness. When being asked what was the product of "Konoha's Yellow Flash" and the "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero", Naruto proudly answered that he was.

Following this declaration, Naruto's positive emotions depleted the Nine-Tails' hatred within its drained chakra, and he made a large number of shadow clones, forming multiple Rasengan as they charged at it. After the Nine-Tails broke most of Kushina's chakra chains that had been restraining it, Kushina immediately used the last chain that was attached on the Nine-Tails' leg to make it trip, giving Naruto's shadow clones enough time to enter Sage Mode and attack it with multiple Super Great Ball Rasengan. As the Nine-Tails was pushed back from the impact, Naruto and his shadow clones managed to grab and began to pull out its chakra as his one shadow clone used the Rasenshuriken, weakening the Nine-Tails greatly to completely separate it from its chakra. When the chakra merged with Naruto, the enraged Nine-Tails attempted to fire one last attack, creating a sphere of chakra many times its own size, but with most of its chakra gone, the Nine-Tails became visibly emaciated. Its attack ultimately dissipated as Naruto used the key to bind the Nine-Tails with massive interlocking torii and resealed it. After that, Naruto apologized to the Nine-Tails and stated that he won't hurt it, bidding it to wait. Naruto then, before leaving his subconscious, asked Kushina what she's going to do, to which Kushina responded that she'll join his father. However, before that, she told Naruto everything from his heritage to the truth behind the Nine-Tails' rampage. After learning the truth behind the Nine-Tails' attack, and how his parents gave their lives to protect him, Naruto told Kushina that he finally knew the feeling of being loved by a parent and that he was happy to be their son. Before she completely faded away, Kushina tearfully hugged Naruto and thanked him for letting her and Minato be his parents.

Outside his subconscious, as Naruto was showing Killer Bee and Yamato his new form, Naruto quickly sensed Kisame hidden inside his Samehada, surprising Kisame, who said not even the best sensors can sense his chakra apart from Samehada's, however Naruto was able to detect negative emotions. When Kisame attempted to escape after telling Bee how he survived their last encounter before, Naruto smashed him into the wall with a powerful punch. However, Kisame was able to retreat as Naruto's foot got stuck in the wall, leading Yamato to stay behind to help while Bee chased after Kisame.

Creation and Conception
When creating Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto incorporated into the character a number of traits he felt made an ideal hero: a straightforward way of thinking, a mischievous side, and many of the attributes possessed by Son Goku from the Dragon Ball franchise. He also made sure to keep Naruto "simple and stupid," since he does not like smart characters. Naruto himself is not modeled after anyone in particular, being conceived as childlike, with something of a dark side as a result of his harsh past. Despite this, he is always positive, making him unique in Kishimoto's eyes.

Naruto's wardrobe is based on clothing Kishimoto wore when he was younger; according to Kishimoto, using a pre-existing design would not have made Naruto unique, whereas something original would have made him stand out too much. The orange coloring of his costume is used to make Naruto "pop", with blues often being used to complement the orange. Because Naruto is associated with spirals, swirl patterns are incorporated into his costume. Initial illustrations of Naruto had him wearing boots, but Kishimoto substituted these for sandals, because he likes drawing toes. The goggles that Naruto used to wear were also replaced with a forehead protector, because the goggles themselves were too time-consuming to draw. Kishimoto said that he felt glad that his character had blond hair and blue eyes. The editor of Shonen Jump in the United States added that Kishimoto implied that the traits may have led the character to appeal to a Western audience. Kishimoto said that he most identifies with Naruto out of all of the Naruto characters.

In the Japanese versions of Naruto, Naruto often ends his sentences with the addendum "-ttebayo" (which gives a similar effect to ending a sentence with "you know?"). Kishimoto wanted to give Naruto a childlike catchphrase, and "dattebayo" came to mind. It complemented Naruto's character, and served as a verbal tic that showed him to be something of a brat. Throughout the beginning of the English, the dub replaced "dattebayo" and "-ttebayo" with the phrase "believe it!" to mirror the effect, as well as to match the character's lip movements.

Trivia

 * Spirals and swirl patterns are a recurring theme in Naruto, especially in relation to the character of Naruto Uzumaki himself. The word/name "Naruto" can mean "maelstrom," and is also the name for a sliced stick of kamaboko with a pink whirlpool design in the middle that is used as a topping for ramen, which is Naruto's favorite food. The surname "Uzumaki" is a pun on, because it refers to a three-dimensional spiral, like a whirlpool or vortex. "Uzumaki" can also mean "whirlpool," in reference to the , named after the city of Naruto. In addition, Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, is from Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools.
 * October 10th, Naruto's birthday, was Health and Sports Day in Japan when his character was conceived. The holiday, however, was later moved to the second Monday of October in 1999.
 * Masashi Kishimoto stated in an interview with the U.S. Shonen Jump that his childhood was like that of Naruto's years while he was enrolled in the Academy.
 * Naruto consistently ranked in the top two (taking first place twice) in the first five official Shonen Jump character popularity polls. However, in the sixth character poll, he was ranked fourth. According to the latest character poll, which adds up all the votes from the first six polls, Naruto took second place.
 * Naruto is one of five characters to have always stayed in the Top Ten of every Character Popularity Poll.
 * Despite being the main character, Naruto has taken several long absences, sometimes up ten or more chapters. Naruto: Shippūden's omakes sometimes reference this, joking that Naruto is not the main character of his own show.
 * In Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 and Naruto Shippūden: Ryujinki video games, Naruto performs Fire Release techniques even though Fire isn't his nature type.
 * In addition, he can perform Water Release, Earth Release, and Lightning Release techniques in Naruto Shippūden: Ryujinki.
 * According to the Naruto databook:
 * Naruto's hobbies are pulling pranks and watering plants.
 * Naruto wishes to fight Sasuke Uchiha and the Third Hokage (first databook) and members of Akatsuki (second and third databooks).
 * Naruto's favorite foods are Ichiraku ramen and red bean soup. His least favorite are fresh vegetables.
 * Naruto has completed 16 official missions in total: 7 D-rank, 1 C-rank, 2 B-rank, 6 A-rank, 0 S-rank.
 * Naruto's favorite phrase is.

Quotes

 * (To Iruka) "And my dream is to be the greatest Hokage! That way, people will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Someone important!"
 * (To Zabuza about Haku) "Why you... you ungrateful... after everything he did for you, Haku lived for you! You were the most important thing in the world to him, and he meant nothing to you? Nothing at all? While he was sacrificing everything for you, you never felt anything at all for him? And if I become stronger, does that mean I'll become as cold hearted as you are? He threw his life away, and for what? For you and your dreams! You never let him have a dream of his own, but he didn't care! And you just toss him aside, like he was nothing! A broken tool, man that's so wrong... so wrong!"
 * (To Neji) "I'm not gonna run away, I never go back on my word! That's my nindō: my ninja way!"
 * (To Neji) "For the record, I've failed the graduation exam three times, because there was this one jutsu that was always on the exam, and it tripped me off every time. It was the one jutsu, that I just couldn't master. My clones were pathetic...that's right, I flunked the Shadow Clone Jutsu everytime. So don't come whinning to me about this destiny stuff, and stop trying to tell me you can't change what you are. You can do it too, because after all, unlike me, you're not a failure."
 * (To Gaara) "The pain of being alone... is not an easy one to bear... why is it... that I can understand your pain? But... I already have many people who are important to me now... and I can't let you hurt any of them... even if I have to kill you! They saved me from the hell of being alone... they acknowledged my existence... that's why they're so important to me..."
 * (To Tsunade) "Until I become Hokage... I'll never die!"
 * (To Jiraiya about forgetting Sasuke) "If that's what it means to be wise, I'd be happier living as a fool!"
 * (To Sai) "I don't care who I have to fight... If he rips my arms off, I'll kick him to death... If he rips my legs off, I'll bite him to death... If he rips my head off, I'll stare him to death... and if he gouges my eyes, I'll curse him to death... Even if I'm torn to shreds... I'll find a way to take Sasuke back!"
 * (To Sasuke) "Someone who can't even save a friend isn't fit to become Hokage... Isn't that right... Sasuke?"
 * (To Kakashi) "Kakashi-sensei... do you remember what you told me when I was training? You said you believe I'm the only shinobi who can surpass the Fourth Hokage. I know teamwork is important. I also know that this is a very risky path. Even so, I want to take this risk alone. If I can't beat this, I'll never be able to grow up. So please... please... don't take this path away from me."
 * (To Nagato, reciting a line from Jiraiya's first book) "Then I will break that curse. If there's such thing as peace, I will find it. I won't give up!"
 * (To Sasuke) "I thought I'd never have a real bond with anyone, not until I met people like you and Iruka-sensei. I knew you were always alone. I felt better knowing that there was someone like me... I wanted to hang out with you. It just made me happy! But I couldn't... I was jealous of how skilled you were, so I turned you into a rival. I wanted to be just like you. I started as nothing but... I finally made a connection. We went on missions as Team 7, and I kept chasing you, wanting to be just as strong, just as cool... I'm really glad I met you!"
 * (To Sasuke) "If you attack Konoha... I will have to fight you... so save up your hatred and take it all on me... I'm the only one who can take it! It's the only thing I can do! I will shoulder your hatred and die with you! Because I'm your friend!"
 * (To Kushina) "Don't apologize. I had a lot of hard times growing up as a jinchūriki, but I never blamed either of you! Maybe I never understood what a parent's love is like, but I never had a mom or a dad... so I managed. But now I get it. I live because my mom and dad gave their lives for me! You filled me up with love before you put the Nine-Tails in me! So here I am, happy and healthy! I'm glad I ended up being your son!"