Naruto Uzumaki

is a shinobi of Konohagakure. He became the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails on the day of his birth — a fate that caused him to be ostracised by most of Konoha throughout his childhood. After joining Team Kakashi, Naruto worked hard to gain the village's acknowledgement all the while chasing his dream to become Hokage. In the following years, through many hardships and ordeals, he became a capable ninja regarded as a hero both by the villagers, and soon after, the rest of the world. He soon proved to be one of the main factors in winning the Fourth Shinobi World War, leading him to achieve his dream and become the village's.

Background
Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage: Minato Namikaze, and the second jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails: Kushina Uzumaki. He was named after the protagonist of Jiraiya's first book, thereby making the Sannin his godfather. Fearing that the stress of giving birth would break the seal containing the Nine-Tails, the Third Hokage arranged Naruto's parents to go to a top-secret location on the outskirts of the village guarded by Anbu, with the midwives Biwako and Taji helping Kushina in delivering her child while Minato would keep the seal in place. Shortly after Naruto was born on the night of October 10th, a masked man, who managed to track down their location, killed the midwives and Anbu, and took the newborn hostage as a means of separating Minato from Kushina, in order to release the Nine-Tails for his own ends.

Minato quickly sprung into action, however, by the time he secured Naruto at a safer location, the masked man had succeeded in releasing the Nine-Tails and used it to devastate Konoha. Minato managed to save Kushina and left Naruto in her care before he went to protect the village. After having severed the masked ninja's control over the tailed beast, Minato realised the only way to stop the Nine-Tails was to seal it within Naruto, believing that his son would someday have need of the fox's power to defeat the masked ninja when he returned. Because the Nine-Tails' chakra was too immense for the seal to hold on such a small child, Minato was forced to sacrifice his soul in order to first weaken the fox by splitting its Yin and Yang chakra amongst himself and his son before succumbing to his wounds alongside Kushina after taking a fatal blow from the fox meant for their son. Suddenly orphaned, Naruto was left to grow up knowing nothing of his parents, receiving only his mother's last name — as Hiruzen believed it was best that nobody knew that he was related to the Fourth Hokage.

Despite Minato's dying wish to see his son heralded as a hero, only the Third Hokage and a small number of the villagers could put their pain of loss aside and honour this request. The majority of Konoha, consumed with bitterness over the lives lost and destruction in the wake of the Nine-Tails' attack, resented Naruto for it — unable to separate the beast from the boy — and with some even seeing him as the fox itself. In the interest of protecting Naruto and in the hope that the younger generations would not emulate this position, Hiruzen passed a decree of secrecy that strictly prohibited the adults from divulging Naruto's status as a jinchūriki. This policy was not entirely effective, as even without knowing why, many of Naruto's peers followed their parent's example and shunned him. The social isolation would cause Naruto to develop a need to be acknowledged through mischief.

On a snowy day while preparing to enrol at the Academy, Naruto first met Hinata Hyūga, who was being degraded by a group of three bullies. Despite not knowing her, Naruto refused to let the bullies insult Hinata and came to her defence, but was outnumbered and easily beaten, with his red scarf trampled over by them. After Hinata genuinely thanked Naruto for his efforts, he let her keep the scarf since it was ruined, unaware that was when the young Hyūga girl's affections for him began.

In the anime, one day, he was confronted by Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chōji Akimichi. They accused him of making someone named Yota, who was a stranger to the village, disappear. Seeing them look at him with such distrust like the rest of the village, Naruto grew furious and ran away, so angry that people would like even an outsider over him. He then heard a young boy crying who strangely appeared to control the weather, making it rain with his tears. Naruto then realised this boy must be Yota. Immediately taking a liking to Naruto, the young boy asked him to teach him how to whistle like he saw Naruto do earlier. As Naruto began teaching him, the two soon became close friends. Later, Naruto and Yota began playing along with other the Konoha children that knew about Yota. One day, while playing a game of hiding, Yota insisted to hide with Naruto. When Naruto told him to hide somewhere else, Yota mistakenly thought Naruto didn't like him any more and ran away crying. His crying caused another rain-shower, which alerted the Anbu. As they took Yota captive, Naruto and the others tried to stop the Anbu, but to no success.

Determined to save his first ever friend, Naruto and the others staged a plan with Naruto acting as a diversion. Despite finding Yota, the Anbu easily foiled their plan. Naruto quickly joined his friends, refusing to let Yota be kept prisoner. Seeing how much Naruto cared for him and then got struck down by the Anbu, Yota summoned bolts of lightning to knock the Anbu out. Greatly weakened by the act, Naruto carried Yota out of the village with the others, determined to bring him to freedom. Upon reaching a river, unable to walk over it yet, they chose to swim. Their attempts proved futile and nearly drowned, only to be saved by Yota. Having overtaxed himself, Yota felt his life fading. Happy to have had friends, Yota didn't want them to suffer with this sad memory and erased all knowledge of him from their minds.

Naruto eventually became the student of Iruka Umino and met his class mate Sasuke Uchiha when the two were paired to spar against each other. Though excited at the chance to achieve popularity by beating Sasuke, Naruto was easily beaten. By looking at Sasuke's eyes, Naruto realised that they were filled with hatred, even though it wasn't directed at him. When Iruka told them to make the reconciliation seal, they both refused. Since then, Naruto came to see Sasuke as a rival and intended to beat him. When he found out that Sasuke was also an orphan, he was secretly happy for not being the only one alone and wanted to talk to him, but couldn't because of his jealousy toward Sasuke's skills. Still, Naruto wished that someday, Sasuke would acknowledge him as an equal. Despite this, when Naruto and Sasuke traded glance when they were kids, they immediately looked away in annoyance but secretly smiled shortly afterwards, meaning Sasuke actually considered Naruto a friend somewhere deep down.

In the anime, when Naruto pulled a prank on a group of boys for not being invited to their "test of courage", he refused to return to the Academy after being glared at by Iruka with the same resentful stare everyone else gives him. Later, Naruto was tricked by the boys' leader, Hibachi, to get himself killed by enemy ninja in the hills. Learning of this, Iruka ended up saving Naruto from a trio of Takigakure kunoichi before Kakashi Hatake dispatched their pursuers. Soon after, Naruto began attending class again at the time that Iruka, who now acted as a surrogate brother to keep the boy in line, gave a lecture on the Will of Fire that inspired Naruto to become the next Hokage someday to achieve the acknowledgement he is striving for. Apart from Hiruzen and Iruka, Naruto also found a surrogate family with the owner of Ramen Ichiraku, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame to some extent.

Personality
Naruto is a boisterous and exuberant individual. He would end sentences with when excited or frustrated. He has a number of childish traits, such as being a very picky eater (he almost exclusively eats ramen), being afraid of ghosts, and carries a chubby green-frog wallet which he calls "Gama-chan". Naruto is heedless to formality or social standings and has a habit of giving people he meets nicknames or addressing them without appropriate honourifics, as shown when he opted to call the Second Hokage a name he thought of off the top of his head instead of simply. He can also be quite perverted, creating different forms of his Sexy Technique and once tried to sneak a peek in the women's bath when the opportunity presented itself. Despite these, plus other quirks and the great amounts of criticism that follows them, Naruto is said to have a personality that brings people to him, inspiring friendship, loyalty and love from most of the people he meets through acts of genuine kindness and sincerity that could change a person's entire world view. For example, during the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto's kindness inspired loyalty from the tailed beasts, and when linked to the entire Shinobi Alliance through telepathy, he reignited the demoralised armies' fighting spirit, choosing to continue fighting despite the losses he could receive, as shinobi were meant to endure through hardships. On several occasions, the Second Hokage has stated in many ways Naruto is very similar to the First Hokage.

Years of isolation and scorn from the villagers made Naruto thirst greatly for acknowledgement and love. He would pull pranks around the village just to get a response from anyone and his desire to be Hokage was in hopes of becoming someone that mattered. Because no one in the village cared for him apart from Iruka, Naruto was completely unresponsive to the villagers yelling at him from his pranks, only showing response when Iruka showed up. Naruto's time at the Falls of Truth revealed that a part of him hated the villagers for treating him as a pariah, only to turn to him after he saved them during Pain's assault on Konoha. This hatred allowed the Nine-Tails to manipulate Naruto in his rage, causing him to go on a rampage several times until Naruto confronted the problem and learned to let it go. As he grew in his career as a ninja, his goal to be Hokage went from a desire for acknowledgement to a desire to help and protect the people close to him, which Tobi attributed to the Will of Fire. Naruto developed his nindō of never going back on his word, putting himself through any lengths required to keeping his promise. This was especially shown in Naruto's promise to Sakura to bring Sasuke back after his defection from Konoha, despite Sakura herself having grown to see this as impossible due to Sasuke becoming a dangerous international criminal later on, as well as the pain it and his unrequited feelings for her was causing him.

According to Kakashi, Naruto is a kinesthetic learner, as he is relatively naive, simple, and slow to understand principle or situations, often requiring an oversimplified analogy in order to grasp what is being explained to him, much to his teachers' annoyance. Naruto is aware his own ineptitude, and admits that he puts up a strong front so people around him won't know of his embarrassment and frustration about it, despite of all his accomplishments. Naruto responds best to competition, using it as an additional drive learn new techniques, though he doesn't hesitate to ask for help if he needs it. Despite his naivety, Naruto can be quite observant, picking up on things others miss and retaining information casually gathered through conversation. In battle, Naruto has shown to be a quick thinker, making up strategies on the fly or inventive use of his techniques to catch his opponents off guard. While he can be calm and collected most of the times during a fight, Naruto can also get frustrated when he is unable to defeat his opponent, and can forget some concepts or weaknesses that he himself noted beforehand.

The death of his master Jiraiya and Pain's assault on Konoha caused a large world shift for Naruto. Grieving for Jiraiya, Naruto swore vengeance on Pain and left the village to learn senjutsu. While training, Naruto read a copy of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, which taught him that he was named after a hero from the book. Although further enraged by Pain's actions during the invasion, Naruto soon spoke with his father, who explained to him the cycle of hatred of the shinobi world. After finally listening to Nagato's story and the results of the cycle of hatred, Naruto vowed he would break the cycle and bring real peace to the world. Despite this desire bringing him in direct opposition to Sasuke and the rest of Akatsuki, Naruto continued down this path, resolving to end both the Fourth Shinobi World War and the cycle of hatred.

In adulthood, Naruto has become much calmer and wiser in his approach, but still retains some of his childlike excitement. After realising he was in love with Hinata, Naruto became not only protective of her, but also shy and flustered in her presence to the point where he accidentally told her how he felt. When Hinata went with Toneri Ōtsutsuki, Naruto fell into a great depression and came close to giving up on everything, until Sakura helped him realise how deep and unwavering Hinata's feelings for him truly were, and that she only pretended to reject him to have a better chance of saving Hanabi and stopping Toneri. This made Naruto more determined than ever to save the Hyūga sisters, stop Toneri, and make his desire to be with Hinata for the rest of his life a reality. After several months of dating, Naruto and Hinata got married and started a family together with a son and daughter.

After becoming Hokage, Naruto has grown more serious and strict with his duties, taken up huge responsibilities and becoming overwhelmed, leading him to create shadow clones to tend to his family, which has strained his relationship with his son, who would occasionally pull pranks such as defacing the Hokage Rock to seek his attention. However, Naruto still shows that he deeply cares about his family and is willing to protect them in times of danger, and tries to make time for them in actual person, proving himself to be a loving father and husband.

Appearance
As stated by Jiraiya, Naruto bears a striking resemblance to his father, having Minato's blue eyes and blond, spiky hair. From his mother, Naruto inherited the shape of both her eyes and face. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Dan Katō initially mistook him for Nawaki due to their stark resemblance as well. Naruto's most prominent physical characteristics, however, are the three whisker markings on his cheeks. His most regularly mentioned trait before the second half of the series (which easily provoked him) was his short stature for his age. Over time, Naruto continued to grow as after the time skip, he was taller than his team-mate, Sakura. Two years after the Fourth Shinobi World War and by the time he became Hokage, Naruto became one of the tallest of his generation.

In Part I, Naruto's outfit consisted of an orange tracksuit with blue on the upper shoulders area as well as around the waist, a white swirl with a tassel on the left side, a red Uzumaki swirl crest on the back, a large white collar, orange pants with a shuriken holster attached to his right knee (due to being right-handed), blue sandals, and a blue forehead protector that was given to him by Iruka after he graduated from the Academy. Naruto would usually wear a black T-shirt inside his tracksuit, but sometimes wore armour underneath his clothing. During his early childhood, Naruto would usually wear a T-shirt (white, navy green or black) that had either an Uzumaki or fire symbol on the front, also wearing a pair of shorts. He also donned green goggles with "Naruto" written on them that he wore on his forehead sometimes, though he eventually stopped wearing it and replaced it with his forehead protector.

In Part II, Naruto's outfit underwent modification after the original was worn to shreds during his training with Jiraiya. The outfit retained the orange colour as well as the white (without the tassel) and red swirls, but the jacket was much more form fitting with the blue parts changed to black and the colour extending from around the neck and shoulders, down the front and sleeves. The metal portion of his forehead protector had moved to a longer black bandanna, and he wore black sandals instead of blue. Naruto occasionally was seen wearing a navy green T-shirt with a fire symbol and white shorts on casual days or his off-duty days from missions. During his battle with Pain, Naruto briefly sported a short-sleeved red coat with a black flame pattern along the hemline and carried a large summoning scroll on his back; the coat was destroyed following his transformation into his six-tailed Version 2 form. After meeting Hagoromo's spirit and receiving his chakra and therefore the Six Paths Sage Mode, Naruto also obtained a light sun-like mark on his right palm, which vanished after Kaguya's sealing. After his final clash with Sasuke following Kaguya's defeat, Naruto lost his right forearm. Sometime after the war ended, Tsunade constructed a fully manoeuvrable prosthetic forearm for Naruto made of Hashirama Senju's cells, wrapped completely in bandages from his fingertips to halfway through his bicep.

Two years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto grew taller again with his hair cropped short and moved the metal portion of his forehead protector to a simple black elastic headband. He wears a black uniform-style jacket with an orange zipper that features several buttons on the waist and sleeves, allowing him to fold up the left sleeve and rear coattails, giving him easy access to the pouches on the back of his belt. He wears a red armband with an Uzumaki crest on his left arm. While off-duty, Naruto wears an orange hooded sweatshirt and black and orange shorts with sandals. He initially wore a teal and light blue striped scarf that was knitted by his mother, but later took it off when he found out Hinata was knitting a long red scarf for him. When he and Hinata married, Naruto was wearing a traditional black wedding kimono.

After becoming Hokage, Naruto stops wearing a forehead protector altogether. He now wears an orange sweatshirt with black stripes, along with black pants and sandals. Along with the traditional Hokage headpiece, he also dons a white cape decorated with red flame-like motifs on the edges, with the kanji for written vertically down the back, and held together by a red rope, similar to the one worn by his father.

Abilities
Although a poor student in the Academy, Naruto ultimately persevered through sheer willpower as a late bloomer. He developed rapidly to rival ninja of prodigious talent and master advanced techniques, causing several prominent ninja to acknowledge his great potential. After his two-and-a-half years of training with Jiraiya, Naruto could fight on par with the members of Akatsuki, and even defeat their leader Pain, earning praise as a hero worthy of being Hokage. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, his unique skill-set allowed him to effectively battle several Kage-level ninja, tailed beasts,  and even stronger opponents after receiving the Six Paths Chakra. By the war's end, he was noted to have surpassed the previous Hokage, and had defeated Sasuke in their final battle. Years later, Naruto's prowess further improved as he defeated a Tenseigan-wielding Toneri Ōtsutsuki, and became the Seventh Hokage. Despite his battle senses getting rusty during his reign as Hokage, he could easily handle Shin Uchiha and his clones, as well as overwhelm Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki alongside Sasuke.

Chakra Prowess and Life Force
Naturally, Naruto has massive amounts of potent chakra, estimated as at least four times greater than Kakashi's. Its quality was described by Karin to be "bright and warm". Early in his shinobi career, Naruto had very little chakra control, causing him to waste more chakra than necessary, but his natural reserves made up for this flaw. His chakra levels also became so high and potent that he could share it with the entire Shinobi Alliance, and be felt by others from countries away. After gaining some of Hagoromo's and the other tailed beasts' chakra, Naruto's reserves had increased even further. Over time, he learned much greater chakra control, allowing him to not waste chakra unnecessarily, ultimately becoming able to perform hand seals with only a single hand. Naruto also learned how to transfer his chakra, being able to mould it to properly adapt to another person's specific chakra type.

Due to his Uzumaki lineage, Naruto possesses a powerful life-force and physical energy, giving him an extreme longevity, stamina, and vitality. From this, he could survive the extraction of a tailed beast (albeit he was rendered unconscious and in a critical state). Naruto is also known for his greatly accelerated healing. His lineage is part of the reason why he could synchronise with Kurama's chakra. Part of his chakra prowess and physical energy stems from being a reincarnation of his ancestor, Asura. Naruto's healing ability was further heightened after receiving a prosthetic forearm made from Hashirama's cells.

Jinchūriki Transformations
Combined with his already massive chakra reserves, being the jinchūriki of Kurama's Yang half gave Naruto a reserve a hundred times greater than Kakashi's. Due to his Uzumaki lineage and being Kurama's jinchūriki his entire life, Naruto's chakra was more effectively mixed with the fox's. Because of this, Naruto can perform very chakra-taxing techniques in quick succession without feeling fatigued. When tapping into Kurama's chakra, Naruto gains enhanced speed, strength and healing. Later, Naruto gained some of the other tailed beasts' chakra. This combined with both Yin and Yang-Kurama sealed into him and restored as one being increased Naruto's chakra strength and reserves even more. In this regard, he was considered a pseudo-Ten-Tails' jinchūriki by Shikamaru.

At first, Naruto could only access Kurama's power when he was enraged or his life was in danger, but after training, he learned how to access the chakra by consciously requesting the fox for help. However, while Naruto was able to utilise Version 1 transformations, he only had the briefest of control of his own actions. If he fell deeper into a rage, Naruto could slip into Version 2, losing himself to Kurama's negative influence and going berserk, requiring outside help to suppress the fox's chakra. Because of these drawbacks, Naruto wouldn't make use of Kurama's chakra until he was given the means of controlling the chakra completely.

After his close victory against Pain, Naruto realised he could no longer avoid using the Nine-Tails' power and sought Killer B, the jinchūriki of Gyūki, to learn how to control it. With his mother and B's help, Naruto was able to separate and take most of the Nine-Tails' chakra, giving him access to Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, which massively increases his speed, strength, and defences. As conquering the Nine-Tails was not the same as cooperating with it, Naruto at the time couldn't use the complete output of the fox's power and had to exercise extreme caution when using Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, as it could cost him his life.

Eventually realising its own respect for Naruto after all he had endured in his life and the type of person he has become, Kurama decides to accept his friendship. With this new unity, Kurama freely gives Naruto its chakra and access to Tailed Beast Mode, which was yet another increase in speed, strength, durability, and the ability to create Tailed Beast Balls. Unlike other Tailed Beast Modes, Naruto's form is transparent, allowing others to enter the chakra shroud and grant them some of Naruto's power while inside of it. He can still access his previous forms, as shown when he entered Version 1 to deflect Amaterasu. He can also use Kurama's chakra to revatilise the life forces of others. Should the need arise, Kurama can transfer to Naruto chakra that is limited and usable to him alone, even if the chakra was instead absorbed.

Two years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, and with Kurama's power complete, Naruto became capable of flight and channelling all of his transformation's power into a single part of his body. With this, he could remove Toneri's Puppet-Cursing Sphere from Hinata's body, overpower Toneri's Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion (which cut the moon in half), and knock the latter in his Tenseigan Chakra Mode a considerable distance away with a single punch, depowering and defeating him. Naruto has even demonstrated the ability to manifest both his Tailed Beast Mode and Kurama's physical body outside of his own body, allowing the two to fight independently. Years later as the Seventh Hokage, he demonstrated the ability to use the Tailed Beast Chakra Arms in his base form.

The portions of chakra that Naruto received from the other eight tailed beasts allow him to not only console with them, but also to utilise their unique skills to produce various powerful techniques, despite not truly being sealed within him. Naruto can access Shukaku's Magnet Release, along with its natural curse seal formula and the ability to manifest and control sand, Matatabi's blue Fire Release, Isobu's Water Release, Son Gokū's Lava Release, Kokuō's Boil Release, Saiken's caustic capabilities, and Gyūki's ink creation. With the aid of shadow clones, Naruto can use all of these abilities at once.

Ninjutsu
Naruto's initial mediocre chakra control left him barely able to perform basic techniques, which caused him to fail three times in the Academy. The only technique he could use successfully at the time was the Sexy Technique; an inventive, but presumably useless diversionary technique. Over time, with his chakra control steadily improving, Naruto's arsenal expanded with it. Under his training with Jiraiya, Naruto continued to rapidly improve his skills, mastering various advanced techniques and forms to expand his repertoire, eventually surpassing Kakashi in sheer ninjutsu prowess. Once meeting Hagoromo and gained some of his power, as well as the chakra of all the other tailed beasts, Naruto gained access to a large array of new and unique abilities.

Shadow Clone Technique
Naruto's first trademark in battle is the Shadow Clone Technique. While most ninja must be careful with this technique as to not deplete their chakra, Naruto's immense reserves can handle creating thousands of clones and retain a decent amount of chakra in each of them. This lets him overwhelm opponents with sheer numbers or carry out multiple tasks at once. Upon receiving Hagoromo's power, Naruto's clones are able to fly and equally combat Madara's corporeal shadows. Up until learning the Rasengan, Naruto's combat style mostly revolved around using the Shadow Clone technique for outnumbering and deceiving his enemies. They can also perform his Tailed Beast Mode to form clones of Kurama's chakra replica.

While originally relying on his shadow clones only for overwhelming numbers in battle, Naruto came to be more tactical with them during Part II, overall making him waste less chakra in battle. As seen in his second bell test, he could use his shadow clones to manoeuvre him in mid-air and transform them into weapons to conserve his normal supply. After learning that all knowledge and experiences shadow clones gain will be transferred back to the user once they disperse, Naruto would frequently employ this to complete years' worth of training in days. He can also use shadow clones to scout an area or test an opponent's abilities in combat. Kakashi noted that Naruto's great mastery of the technique far exceeds his own and even Minato's, as only Naruto can apply shadow clones to catalyse the learning, usage, and mastery of complex techniques.

Summoning Technique
To encourage improved control over the Nine-Tails' chakra, Jiraiya taught Naruto the Summoning Technique. By offering a certain amount of chakra, Naruto can summon the toads of Mount Myōboku as allies. He was initially restricted to tadpoles and small toads such as then-young Gamakichi or Gamatatsu due to his poor chakra control. During Part I, he could only summon larger toads when accessing the Nine-Tails' chakra, but by Part II, Naruto's skills with the Summoning Technique improved as he becomes capable of summoning Gamabunta and the likes whenever he desired. He can also use the Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique to summon giant toads above his targets, thereby crushing them.

Rasengan
Naruto's second trademark technique is the Rasengan, which was created by his father. Originally, because of the very intricate chakra control the Rasengan requires, Naruto struggled to learn it. Although the Rasengan is intended as a one-handed technique, Naruto made up for his poor control by incorporating the assistance of a shadow clone: he provides the chakra while the clone forms it into the spherical shape. Since acquiring the Rasengan, Naruto began expanding on its nature to create stronger variations of it such as the Big Ball Rasengan. As his skill with the Rasengan improved, the amount of time he needed to prepare it decreased. To make up for the need for shadow clones, Naruto steadily increases the number of Rasengan he uses at a time, with feats like having the shadow clones make their own Rasengan to bombard the target with. During his battle with Pain, Naruto was able to create two Rasengans in both of his hands without the aid of clones while in Sage Mode. By the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto's chakra control and mastery over the Rasengan has improved to the point where he could form one and its variants without the use of shadow clones or his transformations, with his regular Rasengan expanding to the size of a Big Ball Rasengan. In the anime, Naruto once demonstrated the ability to throw the Rasengan as a projectile.

Through the usage of Sage Mode or Kurama's chakra, Naruto can create more powerful and elaborate variations of the Rasengan. Also towards the latter, since the Rasengan was conceptually based on the Tailed Beast Ball, Naruto takes it further by creating the Super Mini-Tailed Beast Ball.

Nature Transformation
Naruto's natural elemental affinity is wind. From Asuma Sarutobi, Naruto learned to enhance his weapons by imbuing them with wind-chakra. After completing his wind training, he sought to complete Minato's final technique that proved too difficult to complete before his untimely death; an elemental-enhanced Rasengan. Because of the immense difficulty in using shape transformation and nature transformation at such a high level simultaneously, Naruto solved this issue with the aid of shadow clones; one to help him form a Rasengan, and a second one to combine the wind-chakra. This creates the Wind Release: Rasengan, and later the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.

Initially, Naruto could only use it as a hand-held technique, causing him to suffer similar cellular damage inflicted on his enemy. He later got overcame this by learning to throw the Rasenshuriken. Two years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto's skill improved enough to that he can instantly form without the aid of shadow clones while also guiding it. Naruto later learned to manipulate the Rasenshuriken's size using Sage Mode or Kurama's chakra, creating different sized versions, or even two Rasenshuriken simultaneously. While in Six Paths Sage Mode, Naruto can add his wind-nature to his Tailed Beast Balls to create the Tailed Beast Ball Rasenshuriken, which was able to destroy multiple Chibaku Tensei satellites.

Via Six Paths Senjutsu, Naruto can utilise all five elemental nature transformations, along with Yin–Yang Release. He can make perfect use of the latter to revitalise life-forces and heal whomever he comes in contact with, which allowed him to restore even missing organs. This ability, however, has its limits as he was unable to fully restore Might Guy's leg after his use of Night Guy, or save Obito from Kaguya's All-Killing Ash Bones. Due to the chakra given to him by the tailed beasts, Naruto can also use the Magnet Release, Lava Release, and Boil Release kekkei genkai from Shukaku, Son Gokū, and Kokuō, respectively.

Cooperation Ninjutsu
Naruto appears to collaborate well with others, such as creating the Typhoon Water Vortex Technique with Yamato. Alongside Sasuke, he can perform the Scorch Release: Halo Hurricane Jet Black Arrow Style Zero, perform a team attack with most of the members of the Konoha 11, and use the Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei that can seal powerful beings like Kaguya. Naruto and Sasuke's skill with equipping Susanoo to his Kurama Mode improved in swiftness, power, and defense, being able to defeat Momoshiki's stone golem and nearly defeat Kaguya's Retainer. In addition, Naruto can combine his Rasengan with Hinata's Eight Trigrams: Twin Lions Crumbling Attack to destroy Toneri's weapon. He would later cooperate with his son to create a Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan strong enough to overpower Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki and defeat him.

In the anime, Jiraiya taught Naruto collaboration techniques, combining his wind affinity with the affinities of summoned toads for a single stronger technique. Working together with Gamakichi and Gamatatsu, he can use techniques like the Wind Release: Toad Gun and Wind Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet. Even before his formal training, Naruto could perform collaboration techniques with Gamabunta, such as the Combination Transformation and the Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet.

Fūinjutsu
Naruto's skills with fūinjutsu have not been explored greatly, but he knew how to use the seal's key after receiving Gerotora, and later resealed Kurama after he separated a majority of chakra from the fox. When accessing Shukaku's power, he can use its natural cursed seal markings to bind targets. During his meeting with Hagoromo, Naruto was taught the Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei fūinjutsu, which when used with Sasuke, was strong enough to completely seal Kaguya.

Taijutsu
While a short-range fighter by nature, Naruto's taijutsu was not that skilful or organised in Part I, compensating for this with unpredictable attacks to throw combat specialists like Kiba Inuzuka and Neji Hyūga off guard. By Part II, he had significantly improved his taijutsu skills under Jiraiya's tutelage, being able to hold his own against skilled users such as Nagato's Deva Path, Karui and Omoi simultaneously, and even fend off a Ten-Tails mini-clone. Naruto later clashed with Sasuke at the Valley of the End and fought on par with the latter in taijutsu for almost an entire day, even while both were heavily exhausted. Two years later, his taijutsu had increased further, being able to defeat several dozen of Toneri's puppets and even a copy of Toneri himself.

Naruto's preferred taijutsu tactic is fighting in unison with his shadow clones to help him, using this method to defeat two rogue samurai to protect Inari. He has also created techniques such as the Naruto Uzumaki Combo and its stronger variations, where he and his shadow clones attack the enemy with a powerful barrage of punches and kicks. Even without his shadow clones, Naruto remains manoeuvrable enough in a fight to get near skilled taijutsu practitioners and briefly spar with them. To ultimately defeat his opponents in strength or speed, however, he utilises either Kurama's chakra, or Sage Mode and Frog Kata in Part II, until two years after the war when his normal physical parameters improved greatly.

Even without his enhancements, Naruto has shown a high level of physical strength, being able to shatter stone as seen when he broke free from Pain's petrified Preta Path after it absorbed too much natural energy. Even while bruised and exhausted, he could swiftly counter Sasuke's Chidori and knock him a considerable distance away into a mountain side with a single punch. Naruto has also shown great speed and reflexes, being able to quickly save Sakura from her own poisoned kunai that Sasuke wielded to stab her while receiving only a shallow cut in exchange. Two years after the war, he could evade several energy blasts from Toneri's puppets and Gentle Fist strikes from a mind-controlled Hinata before countering to release her from Toneri's control.

Senjutsu
After Jiraiya's death, Naruto was taught how to utilise senjutsu at Mount Myōboku, the art of gathering natural energy to augment one's techniques. Due to his large chakra reserves and high aptitude for senjutsu, he rapidly progressed through the learning steps. Ultimately, Naruto became able to perfectly balance natural energy with his chakra to enter Sage Mode, symbolised by the pigmentation around his eyes. His mastery of Sage Mode surpasses both his master and his father, being able to quickly enter this mode in perfect balance unlike Jiraiya and likewise maintain and use it for long durations unlike Minato. He has, recently, shown the ability to enter Sage Mode in a very short time frame.

It was first attempted by Fukasaku to fuse with Naruto and gather the natural energy for Naruto to use as he fought. This ultimately failed as Kurama rejected Fukasaku, refusing to let the toad be housed in Naruto's being alongside it. Naruto found a way somewhat around it by using shadow clones: while he fights, the clones gather natural energy for him and then disperse after Naruto's time limit runs out, transferring their natural energy to him to resume using Sage Mode. While effective, this method limits the maximum number of shadow clones he can create to five for as long as the clones are gathering natural energy. Anything more would interfere with their focus on regulating the proper amount of chakra and natural energy.

In Sage Mode, Naruto's overall physical parameters are dramatically enhanced, being able to survive falls from great heights unharmed, easily throw entities much larger than himself, and push through a large group of shinobi. His speed is also increased to the point where he could intercept a charging Asura Path and destroy it before it could attack Tsunade, as well as react and counter the Third Raikage's Hell Stab. He is also able to utilise Frog Kata, a taijutsu style that uses the natural energy to enhance the range and the potency of one's attacks. Naruto noted that he can also access Sage Mode at a faster rate when combined with his Tailed Beast Mode. In Naruto's final fight with Sasuke, Kurama proved able to gather natural energy for Naruto's usage while in battle, effectively bypassing his Sage Mode's weakness.

Six Paths Sage Mode
With the power given to him by Hagoromo, Naruto gained access to the. In this mode, his eyes become yellow, though the pupils still take on a cross-like shape — without manifesting the orange pigmentation around his eyes — that further enhances his abilities. While using this power, Naruto becomes immune to the effects of the Truth-Seeking Balls and gains the ability to fly. His physical parameters are heightened to the point where he could pressure Madara as the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki

He can take his transformation a step further by donning a new chakra cloak similar to that of the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. With it, Naruto can evade Kaguya's Yomotsu Hirasaka, and outright blitz her while catching her completely off-guard. His durability has also increased, as he took no damage from Sasuke's Chidori. As opposed to his normal Sage Mode, Naruto can access this mode instantly and maintain it for a much longer period of time with no visible exhaustion afterwards.

Naruto can still access his Tailed Beast Mode chakra replica of Kurama and even increase its size and power to match Sasuke's Rinnegan-enhanced Complete Body — Susanoo, being able to block its giant sword with its tails several times over. Naruto's enhanced Tailed Beast Mode can also levitate, and with Kurama's aid, gather huge amounts of natural energy. He can even combine his and two of his shadow clones' Tailed Beast Mode shrouds to create a stronger battle avatar of Kurama with six arms and three heads, similar to Asura's. In this state, Naruto can merge natural energy with his two strongest techniques to counter Sasuke's most powerful lightning-natured attack.

Years after the Fourth Shinobi World War during his tenure as Hokage, Naruto's Six Paths Sage Mode chakra cloak has gained a new appearance. With this power he could easily fend off a Shin clone without moving from a single space.

Truth-Seeking Ball
While in his Six Paths Sage Mode, Naruto manifested the Truth-Seeking Balls behind his back, which are composed of the five basic nature transformations, Yin–Yang Release, and Six Paths Sage Chakra, and can negate ninjutsu. He can also perform various tasks with them, such as moulding them into staves and platforms or firing them as speeding projectiles. While limited to creating only nine of these balls overall, Naruto can pass them onto any of his shadow clones. This gives him a tactical advantage of hiding his original self amongst his clones.

Sensory Perception
After mastering Sage Mode, Naruto can detect and identify other chakra signatures from vast distances. With this skill, he can better react against high-speed opponents like the Third Raikage, being able to dodge his attack and effectively counter. He also gained the ability to sense negative emotions after taking control of Kurama's chakra. Naruto can also use both of these abilities simultaneously through his senjutsu-enhanced Tailed Beast Mode and the Six Paths Sage Mode respectively. Upon achieving the latter, Naruto's sensory capabilities were empowered to the highest possible level, making it possible for him to sense the other half of Hagoromo's chakra, as well as Madara's Limbo: Border Jail.

Intelligence
While headstrong and often acting without thinking to ultimately come off as somewhat dense, Naruto's years as a prankster acquired a cunning imagination that is useful in battle. He is a remarkable tactile learner, able to learn better through executing a task rather than theorising about it.

Stemming from years of prank pulling and outrunning adults who try to punish him for it, Naruto's most famous skill lies in his ability to deceive his opponents. He could make effective uses of even the most simple techniques to trick the deadliest of opponents. Once they see him in action, even the likes of the Second Hokage revise their thoughts about his intellect. Naruto can formulate multi-step plans and even backup plans in the thick of battle. His strategies typically involve shadow clones: he may direct his opponent's attentions towards one of his clones to disguise his own movements; he may transform them into objects or other individuals for surprise attacks; he may make himself seem predictable by creating a pattern, just to throw them off by breaking it. One example is him attacking enemies head along with shadow clones while having one clone stay at a safe distance to make the enemy believe the clone was really Naruto. Naruto is rather observant, able to notice details others may overlook and subsequently take advantage of it. Even when given new information, he can act quickly. Although Naruto instinctively knows the mechanics behind techniques he uses, he still gets easily confused if someone verbally explains the mechanics.

With the power given to him by Hagoromo, Naruto is bestowed the innate ability to instinctively grasp the nature of chakra and comprehend all universal things. With this ability, he was able to quickly master the new powers that came subsequent to his meeting with the legendary sage. Not only that, but he also took notice the Truth-Seeking Balls floating behind him were not cloned and knew an enemy could easily identify the real him. Afterwards, he simply passed the balls onto a clone.

Other Skills
By Part II, Naruto has improved his knowledge of other ninja skills while under Jiraiya's tutelage, such as displaying some skill in shurikenjutsu and scroll sealing to store weapons. He has also employed cloak-and-dagger tactics like keeping a spring-loaded kunai up his sleeve for quick access. Even during Part I, he could combine his shadow clones with shurikenjutsu to unleash a massive barrage of weapons at the enemy. Despite having no skill in genjutsu, Naruto has learned how to dispel it and avoid falling prey to it. After coming into terms with Kurama, he has become immune to most forms of genjutsu.

Prologue — Land of Waves
Naruto, labelled as his class's 'Dead-Last', once again failed to graduate from the 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 techniques written in 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 Umino tracked him down, and discovered Mizuki's involvement in the theft, realising 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 realised 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 Sarutobi and became his on-off teacher, showing him how to perform a variety of both perverted and useful techniques 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 had them introduce themselves to him by saying their name, interests, distastes, hobbies, and goals. Going first, Naruto said that he liked ramen, particularly at Ramen Ichiraku, hated when ramen took too long to warm up, and that his hobbies were pulling pranks and watering plants. Although Kakashi initially began to think little of Naruto other than ramen, Naruto then proclaimed his goal to become the Hokage and gain the villagers' acknowledgement, impressing Kakashi.

Kakashi then gave the team the Bell 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 despite this not being revealed to them beforehand. When the test began, Naruto, unlike Sakura and Sasuke, charged Kakashi head-on and used his minimal skills to try and take a bell by sheer force. This resulted him facing the One Thousand Years of Death and getting tied with rope by his legs onto a tree branch. As Kakashi then focused on Sakura and Sasuke, Naruto broke free and tried to eat lunch, only to get caught and be the one tied to the post. Eventually, the three decided to work together, allowing them to pass.

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 realised 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 Mirroring Ice Crystals. 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 unknowingly 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 realised 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. With a recovered Sasuke, Team 7 returned to the Konoha. On their way home, Naruto remarked to Kakashi that, even though Haku and Zabuza were their enemies, he still liked them.

Chūnin Exams
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 realised 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 immobilised 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, he tried to open their scroll what was forbidden, but he was stopped by Kabuto Yakushi, who disguised himself as a Konoha ninja. Team 7 and Kabuto 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, immobilising Kiba and his heightened sense of smell, and making him an easy target for the Naruto Uzumaki Combo (which he invented from watching Sasuke's Lion Combo), winning the match.

While watching the remaining matches, Naruto witnessed Neji Hyūga's ruthless treatment of his cousin, Hinata. Angered by Neji's actions and claims that Hinata was a failure who couldn't escape her 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 for disturbing him on his "research", 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 summon toads. Because Naruto had troubles with it, Jiraiya pushed him from the cliff, hoping to provoke Naruto to use the Nine-Tails' chakra. When falling, Naruto entered his subconscious and met with the Nine-Tails for the first time. The fox expressed immediate desire to kill and devour the young shinobi, but Naruto, even though he knew the power of what he faced, bravely demanded he be given chakra as a form of "rent" for living in his body. Realising that Naruto's death would result in its own, the intrigued Nine-Tails complied, giving Naruto enough chakra to summon Gamabunta. After a short arguement with the giant toad, Naruto had to be hospitalised due to the chakra loss. In the hospital, he met Shikamaru Nara and the two encountered Gaara who was going to kill the confined Rock Lee. Gaara told them about Shukaku sealed within him and tried to kill both of them, but they were saved by the coming of Might Guy, which brings Gaara no choice but to retreat.

When the day of his match against Neji arrived, Naruto, concerned that he would be unable to defeat him despite his vow, ran into Hinata at the training grounds. When he revealed his growing doubts about the match and his own abilities to Hinata, she reassured him that he never gave up because he always had the strength to overcome his own failures, which was something she admired, and that she had become more confident after he cheered for her. Naruto gratefully thanked Hinata for bringing him out of his depression and giving him the drive to go face Neji.

In the beginning of the match, 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, revitalised, 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 Konoha Crush.

Konoha Crush
Naruto, like all the other spectators, 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 since his battle with Neji, Gaara forced him into battle by threatening to kill the unconscious Sakura. With the power of the Shukaku, Gaara tried to prove his existence by killing Naruto by playing with him. Although Naruto could relate to Gaara's painful life as a jinchūriki, he was not willing to allow anything to happen to Sakura and Sasuke as they are his friends. 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 technique and 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
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 technique 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 organisation 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 technique 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 later on.

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 within 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 practising, 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.

Sasuke Recovery Mission
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. Naruto eventually fought with him, the battle ending with Naruto and Sasuke about to clash with the Rasengan and Chidori, with Sakura in the middle. Kakashi ends the feud, sending the two crashing into water towers, Naruto unknowingly doing more damage than Sasuke, much to Sasuke's annoyance. Despite his promises to Sakura, Sasuke eventually ends up 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 recovery team that would bring him back; he also made a promise to Sakura that he will bring Sasuke back at all cost. 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 that he would 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 forehead protector, 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 a while, doing numerous filler arc missions.

Original Anime Arcs
In the anime, several filler arcs 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 Recovery Mission. For the next three years, Naruto's influence on his friends drove them to train more arduously than ever before, determined to learn from his example of perseverance.

Gutsy Master and Student: The Training
Naruto and Jiraiya have left Konoha to begin their three-year journey. As they walk, they talk about Naruto's need to overcome Sasuke's Sharingan. During a genjutsu practice, Naruto tries to disrupt his inner chakra flow, but instead, creates a wave of chakra around him thus hitting Gamariki in the physical world. To overcome this part of the training, Naruto follows Jiraiya to the Genjutsu Tree Village. After realising that the village was taken over by a man named Kandachi, Naruto and Jiraiya decide to liberate the village. As the final battle with Kandachi continued, Naruto and Jiraiya got trapped in the Conch King's Water Release Genjutsu: Mystic Fog Prison but later managed to escape thanks to Tanishi's Chilli Pepper Bomb. At the end of the battle, Naruto defeats Kandachi with his Big Ball Rasengan.

In Naruto's Footsteps: The Friends' Paths
Over the course of training, Jiraiya begins training Naruto to gain better control of the Nine-Tails' chakra, soon helping Naruto to master wielding the chakra cloak up to two tails. Feeling he was ready to take it to the next level, Jiraiya had Gerotora tweak the seal enough for additional charka to be unleashed. The Nine-Tails however took advantage of this and began mocking Naruto for his failure to save Sasuke, able to use Naruto's negative emotions to overwhelm him with additional chakra. This ultimately caused Naruto to slip into a four-tailed "Version 2" state, which allowed the Nine-Tails to go on a rampage in Naruto's body. Jiraiya was narrowly able to reseal the fox's chakra, to which his passive methods of saving Naruto led to Jiraiya being severely injured.

Kazekage Rescue Mission
When Naruto returned to Konoha, the remaining members of Team 7 were reorganised 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 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 his rescue party and the ninja from Sunagakure. After Chiyo's funeral, Naruto and Gaara finally shake hands (Gaara insisting), as a sign to their close relationship. Afterwards, Team Kakashi and Team Guy returned to Konoha.

Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission
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 hospitalised 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. In 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 organise 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, who was exhausted from his fight with Orochimaru in his four-tailed form, wasn't able to compete with Sasuke's growth. Within his subconscious, the Nine-Tails began to offer Naruto its chakra, but he firmly rejected its assistance. The Nine-Tails became contemptuous at Naruto, mocking him that if it wasn't for its power, he would be nothing. It then tempted Naruto to break the seal so it can "grant" him all of its power, but he still refused. However, before their quarrel could escalate any further, Sasuke with his Sharingan activated, suddenly appeared within Naruto's subconscious, which surprised both Naruto and the Nine-Tails. As the Nine-Tails stated that Sasuke had similar chakra to Madara Uchiha, Sasuke used his Sharingan to suppress the beast's residual chakra. The Nine-Tails concluded that this was probably its last meeting with Sasuke, so it warned him not to kill Naruto, for he would only end up regretting it. Back in the real world, Sasuke tried to finish off his former team-mates, but he was stopped by Orochimaru and they retreated, leaving Team Yamato to return home.

Akatsuki Suppression Mission
Kakashi, hoping to make Naruto better prepared for his next encounter with Sasuke, trained him to create a new wind-based technique. In the anime, this training began before, and continued throughout, the arc of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, 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 mobilised 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 technique, 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 returning 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 opponent's 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 realised this, but claimed he understood his own body better than anyone else.

Itachi Pursuit Mission
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 his thanks to Naruto for "inspiring" him to overcome Orochimaru, Kabuto gave him a book containing some information on Akatsuki, while making an escape to avoid capture.

Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant
After regrouping and Kiba picked 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 sealed inside a crow 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.

Pain's Assault
When he returned to Konoha, Naruto learned that Jiraiya had died in his battle with the leader of Akatsuki, Pain. Grief stricken, Naruto 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 and Shikamaru, Naruto helped to decipher Jiraiya's dying message. 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 harmonise 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. When news of Pain's attack on Konoha reached them, they began to mobilise for battle.

As Naruto (in Sage Mode), Fukasaku, Gamaken, Gamahiro, Gamabunta, and Gamakichi were summoned to the centre of Konoha, Naruto did not immediately recognise the crater he had been summoned to, but then saw the Hokage Rock in the distance. Realising that Pain had destroyed the village, an infuriated Naruto destroyed Pain's Asura Path with a Rasengan before it could attack Tsunade. Naruto told the Hokage to make sure that none of the other villagers would intervene in the battle. Pain's Animal Path summoned a number of animals to attack Naruto, who used the Sage Mode's immense strength 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 defeated it with his Sage Technique: Spiralling Serial Spheres without interference from the other bodies.

When he ran out of natural energy and was no longer in Sage Mode, Naruto had Fukasaku summon one of his shadow clones from Mount Myōboku that gathered it for him. Revitalised, Naruto attacked with another Rasenshuriken, only for the Preta Path to appear and absorb the attack. Realising that the Naraka Path had restored it, Naruto focused his efforts on getting rid of it by distracting the Deva Path with a smokescreen, and landing a great blow on the Naraka Path. Though he had defeated four of Pain's six bodies, Naruto was captured through a combination of efforts from both 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. However, the Deva Path quickly captured Naruto again, and killed Fukasaku when he tried to come to help. While immobilising Naruto, the Deva Path told Naruto about his plans for world peace. When Naruto disagreed with his views, the Deva Path questioned Naruto for a better solution. Before he could answer, Hinata came to intervene. Worried about her own safety, Naruto demanded Hinata to stay away from the fight, but she refused to leave despite knowing that she didn't have the power to defeat the Deva Path. After she confessed her love to Naruto (greatly shocking him), Hinata fought bravely against the Deva Path, but was immediately taken down by its Shinra Tensei and stabbed by one of the Deva Path's chakra blades despite Naruto begging him not to. When it looked as if the Deva Path had killed Hinata right before his very eyes, Naruto became so furious to the point where he entered his six-tailed form.

Even though his necklace reacted to quell the transformation, 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 and containing Naruto. 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 entrust his heart to it so that it could destroy everything that was causing him 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, his father, Minato, appeared in Naruto's subconscious and stopped him. Minato revealed that he designed the seal to allow an imprint of himself to appear in an event that the seal was about to break, a fail safe meant to protect his son. Picking up on this, Naruto 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 the masked man of Akatsuki. 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. After he expressed tears of relief when he found that Hinata was still alive, he clashed one final time with the Deva Path. Taking advantage of the five-second gap between its attacks, Naruto was finally able to defeat the Deva Path with his Rasengan and win the battle. Using the Deva Path's black 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, symbolising their new alliance.

He then created a memorial for Jiraiya and left the flowers and a copy of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi by a rock with the kanji for.

Five Kage Summit
While the exhausted 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 help them. Their questions gained the attention of two Kumo-nin, Karui and Omoi, who 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 Kumo-nin to take their anger out on him by beating him up, to which 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 Fourth Raikage, to forgive Sasuke. Yamato and Kakashi agreed, but when they arrived and spoke with A, 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 Tobi, who asked Naruto on how he got Nagato to change his mind. Naruto ignored the question and demanded to know about his plans with Sasuke. Tobi told him about the Sage of the Six Paths, the Uchiha clan, and the truth about the Uchiha Clan Downfall, all of which now drove Sasuke along a path of vengeance. Naruto insisted that that he could still get through to Sasuke, but Tobi laughed and left, saying that Naruto and Sasuke are fated to fight again.

While Naruto was practising on extending his Sage Mode's sensory skills in hopes of finding Sasuke, Sakura interrupted him, having come to the Land of Iron to speak with him. She told him that she loved him and she no longer had any feelings for Sasuke. Naruto, knowing that Sakura still had feelings for Sasuke, didn't believe her and said she was lying to herself, as well as he hated people who lied to themselves. Angered by this, Sakura insisted that she was telling the truth and he therefore doesn't need to fulfil his earlier promise of bringing Sasuke home. Naruto firmly replied that his actions had nothing to do with the promise and that he just wanted to save Sasuke, choosing not to reveal what Tobi had said to him before. Sakura then left with the others, saying she was going home. Soon, one of Sai's ink clones 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 he thinks Sakura is still in love with Sasuke, later proven to be true, and wanted to be the one to stop him from sinking any lower. Gaara also appeared and told them about the Fourth Shinobi World War, and the decision to protect Naruto from Akatsuki. Gaara 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.

Using a shadow clone as a decoy, Naruto escaped from Yamato and pursued Kakashi using his Sage Mode to follow the latter's chakra. He arrived just in time to save Sakura from being killed by Sasuke. Naruto made a last attempt to reason with his former friend, commiserating with his pain and acknowledging Itachi's sacrifice. However, Sasuke was unmoved and made his resolve to destroy Konoha clear. Shocked by the depths of his hatred, Kakashi resolved to kill Sasuke, but was stopped by Naruto, who instead fought Sasuke head-on; matching his Rasengan with the latter's Chidori. As the two clashed, their feelings became clear to each other. While Naruto admitted that he could have easily went down Sasuke's path after all the anger he felt towards the village shunning, he came to like Sasuke, knowing that someone could relate to him being alone despite his jealousy of Sasuke. While believing Naruto's words, Sasuke insisted that nothing will change his mind, that Naruto must either kill Sasuke or be killed himself by Sasuke. Both survived the clash, with Tobi and Zetsu coming to Sasuke's aid. Before Sasuke left, Naruto noted that they had both become top-class ninja, and if they ever fought again, they would both die. He nevertheless accepted such an outcome, since it would at least enable him to shoulder Sasuke's hatred alone. In answer, Sasuke declared that he had no intention to die, and promised to kill Naruto first. He left with Tobi, and Naruto returned to Konoha with his team-mates, bearing Karin as a captive. In the anime, Naruto, Karin, and the rest of Sakura's team rest while Kakashi sent his ninken to the other Hidden Villages.

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 Ramen Ichiraku. Sakura realised Naruto was hiding something however, remembering what he said to Sasuke directly.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown
As Naruto was about to eat at Ichiraku, he was suddenly summoned back to Mount Myōboku by Fukasaku where he learns from the Great Toad Sage's fortune that he would meet an "octopus" and would battle a "young man with powerful eyes". When Gerotora was summoned to give Naruto the "key" to the Eight Trigrams Seal, Naruto knew he would need the Nine-Tails' power for the battles to come and accepted the key. From there, Naruto was sent back to Ichiraku, where some of the villagers asked for his autograph. Naruto was unaware of that the five Kage were planning to keep him from the upcoming Fourth Shinobi World War for his safety on a remote island in the Land of Lightning with Yamato, Might Guy, Aoba Yamashiro, and several other Konoha-nin as security.

Once at the island, Naruto met his fellow jinchūriki Killer B, requesting to be his student after being marvelled at B's mastery with his tailed beast. B refused the offer on the grounds that he was on vacation, with Naruto worsening it when he accidently insulted B while pulling off a capable rap and his Harem Technique having no effect. However, when word of him bumping fists with B reached Motoi, Naruto was taken to Falls of Truth, where B began his training to control the Eight-Tails. Motoi instructed Naruto to sit on the platform in front of the waterfall and close his eyes, and he would see his true self. 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. 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 occurred within Naruto's mind, as Yamato observed Naruto still meditating near the waterfall. Somehow able to break out of the meditation, Naruto questioned Motoi about B's history in order to figure out how to conquer his inner darkness.

After that, Naruto reminisced about how B and Gaara changed everyone's opinions about them, he began to doubt if the villagers of Konoha truly trusted him. After witnessing B save Motoi from giant squid and resume their friendship, an inspired Naruto returned to the Falls of Truth and confronted Dark Naruto again. With Naruto now having faith in himself, it started to weaken Dark Naruto as he asked what his reason for existing was. Answering his question, Naruto accepted Dark Naruto as a part of him while thanking him for pushing him to become a better person. He then hugged a struggling Dark Naruto, who finally relented and faded. After awaking and celebrating, Naruto and Yamato was led by B to a special room within the secret temple behind the Falls of Truth where Naruto was prepared to fight the Nine-Tails for its chakra. Within his subconscious, after unlocking the seal, Naruto (in Sage Mode) appeared to have the upper hand after he weakened the Nine-Tails with the Rasenshuriken and drained out its chakra, but the fox instantly planted its own hatred within its chakra with the absorbed energy, consuming Naruto as it began to use his body to give Yamato and B trouble.

Just before Naruto was completely succumbed, the spirit of his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, appeared. When Naruto believed that Kushina was the Nine-Tails in disguise, the woman clobbered him on the head, but she immediately apologised and hoped that he did not inherit her short-temper. Realising Kushina was his mother as he hugged her while crying, the love-filled reunion purged the Nine-Tails' hatred from the drained chakra, much to Yamato and B's surprise. With Kushina holding the Nine-Tails at bay, Naruto quickly made a large number of shadow clones, entered Sage Mode, and bombarded the Nine-Tails with the combination of Sage Art: Many Ultra-Big Ball Spiralling Serial Spheres and the Rasenshuriken, weakening the Nine-Tails further and completely separate it from its chakra. When its chakra merged into Naruto, an enraged and emaciated Nine-Tails attempted to fire a much larger Tailed Beast Ball, but its attack ultimately dissipated as Naruto used a new, stronger seal to imprison the weakened tailed beast once again. After that, when Naruto learned from Kushina about his heritage, the truth behind the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, and how his parents gave their lives to protect him. Naruto then told Kushina that he was glad to know that he was filled with their love before the Nine-Tails was sealed within him, and 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.

Once out of his subconscious, Naruto showed off his new form to B and Yamato before sensing Kisame hidden inside his Samehada by detecting his negative emotions. When the surprised Kisame attempted to escape, Naruto used his blinding speed to quickly smash Kisame into the wall with a powerful punch. Naruto's foot got stuck in the wall, allowing Kisame to escape with B in pursuit as Yamato stayed behind to help Naruto out of the wall. Naruto and Yamato then caught up with the others as they watched Guy and Kisame's fight from a distance. After the battle, the Konoha and Kumo-nin restrained Kisame and attempted to interrogate him before the Akatsuki member commits suicide before they could get any more information out of him. Shocked by this action, Naruto realised that even the shinobi in Akatsuki fought for their comrades before being trapped in one of Kisame's booby trap water prisons and occupied with summoned sharks as one of the sharks takes the information scroll on Kisame to Akatsuki's base.

After Motoi sent his summoned owl to inform the Allied Shinobi Forces about the situation, Naruto and Killer B started evacuating the giant animals into the Island Turtle's shell for their safety in case an attack came. Naruto was trying to log the island's ecology as part of his "official" S-rank mission, but did not realise that it was a ploy to keep him away from the war.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation
Naruto and B returned to the Falls of Truth so that the former could start practicing with his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, specifically learning how to use Tailed Beast Balls. Since Tailed Beast Balls couldn't be made without the Nine-Tails' cooperation, Naruto tried to create the Tailed Beast Rasengan as a workaround. While struggling to balance the jutsu's composition, he sensed a distant source of the Nine-Tails' chakra. Naruto left the Falls of Truth to investigate and was met by a contingent of Konoha-nin, amongst them Iruka Umino. Iruka tried to convince him to go back to his training, but Naruto bypassed them and, from entering Sage Mode, sensed the ongoing Fourth Shinobi World War. Naruto became angry that they would try to keep the war a secret from him and that they wouldn't let him help. Iruka apologised, yet still made an effort to restrain him. Naruto escaped and found a Self-Repairing Barrier, preventing him from leaving by himself. B, at Iruka's request, decided to join him and together they broke through the barrier.

Shortly after that, the Nine-Tails pulled Naruto into his subconscious, berating him for squandering its chakra and calling him naive for thinking he could stop the war by himself. When the Nine-Tails failed to once again tempt Naruto with power, the fox then went off to claim that his attempt to put an end to hatred was futile, using his history with Sasuke as proof. In retaliation, Naruto pinned the fox down, refuting that it was the one who was being naive. As Naruto exclaimed with great confidence that he would find a way to deal with Sasuke and end the war, the Nine-Tails, recalling its jinchūriki's growth, condescendingly complimented him for finally learning how to stand up for himself, before being unnerved by Naruto's promise to someday resolve the fox's own hatred.

On their way to the battlefield, Naruto and B were met by the Fourth Raikage and Tsunade, both intent on stopping the jinchūriki. B tried to convince the Raikage to let them go, and when that failed, Naruto tried to get around them, but the Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode was too fast for that. The Raikage became increasingly aggressive in his determination to stop Naruto and B from joining the war effort, going so far as to threaten to kill Naruto if it would keep Akatsuki from capturing the Nine-Tails. First B and then Tsunade joined Naruto in arguing to allow them to fight, which the Raikage relented to once Naruto was able to dodge his Lightning Release Chakra Mode. On Tsunade's orders, Shikaku Nara contacted Naruto and informed him about Akatsuki's White Zetsu Army and the accompanying Impure World Reincarnations. Naruto and B soon afterwards encountered a squad of seeming Allied forces, but with his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode's ability, it allowed him to detect them as disguised Zetsu. He quickly defeated them and sent shadow clones to various other battlefields to lend assistance.

Naruto and B soon ran into the reincarnated Itachi Uchiha and Nagato. They greeted Naruto and briefly caught up on what had happened since their deaths, but were quickly forced to attack by their summoner, Kabuto Yakushi. Nagato advised Naruto and B on how to counter his jutsu while Itachi, between his own attacks, was able to recall the crow he planted in Naruto during their last meeting. Itachi activated the Kotoamatsukami of the crow's Mangekyō Sharingan to release himself from Kabuto's influence. Itachi joined Naruto and B in fighting Nagato, first by neutralising the Rinnegan Summoning and then saving them from being killed by Nagato. Nagato, his personality now suppressed, tried capturing them with Chibaku Tensei, which the three combined efforts to destroy. While Nagato was distracted by their attack, Itachi sealed him with Susanoo. Nagato, his personality restored, used his last moments to apologise to Naruto again for everything. Afterwards, Itachi destroyed the crow, its Kotoamatsukami too valuable to let fall into the wrong hands, and left to find Kabuto so that he could end the Impure World Reincarnation.

As Naruto and B continued onwards, Naruto's shadow clones started arriving at various locations. In the anime, shadow clones were able to: save the members of the Sasuke Recovery Team from the reincarnated Sound Four's Space–Time Technique Formula: Underworld Turnover; update Tatewaki about the fates of the children he was responsible for during life, granting him peace and allowing him to return to the afterlife; run in to Yota, a childhood friend, and giving Yota a chance to play with him again before releasing himself from the Impure World Reincarnation; assist Omoi in saving the Thundercloud Unit.

A shadow clone arrived at the site of the Fourth Division's battle with various reincarnated Kage. When the clone arrived, it was able to land a sneak attack on Mū, allowing the Third Tsuchikage to seal him before he had the chance to say anything. The Tsuchikage went to help Gaara fight the Second Mizukage, leaving Naruto to fight the Third Raikage along with the other members of the Fourth Division. Like the Fourth Raikage, the Third was very fast, easily dodging most attacks. The few attacks that did land had almost no effect, his body's natural defense was too high, and the Raikage's offenses allowed him to break through every attempt to contain him. When the clone noticed that the Raikage had a scar from his fight with the Eight-Tails years earlier, the clone contacted it via B to ask how the Raikage received the scar. The Eight-Tails explained that the scar was self-inflicted. With that information, the clone manipulated the Third's actions and used his own attack to damage his own body, allowing him to be sealed. The clone then joined Gaara and the Tsuchikage, but found that the Second Mizukage had already been defeated.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax
Shadow clones arrived at all the remaining battlefields, helping secure Impure World Reincarnations, weeding out the Zetsu that had infiltrated the Alliance's ranks, and defeating any other Zetsu that remained. Victory appeared near when the Sensor Division detected a new threat near the Fourth Division. The Fourth Division and Naruto's shadow clone were alerted to first Mū, who split himself before his sealing, and then the man accompanying him, who the Tsuchikage identified as Madara Uchiha. Since the masked man thought to had been Madara was known to be elsewhere, they all wondered who Tobi really was. Madara gave them little time to discuss it, attacking them immediately. He cut swaths through the Fourth Division's ranks and used his Rinnegan to avoid the clone's, the Tsuchikage's, and Gaara's counterattack. Wishing to eliminate them all at once, Madara dropped a meteorite on them.

While the survivors regroup, Madara tried to summon the Nine-Tails. Although it failed, the fox sensed the attempt and offered some chakra to help fight Madara, preferring Naruto over the Uchiha. The shadow clone used the Nine-Tails' chakra to counter Madara's Nativity of a World of Trees with Big Ball Spiralling Serial Zone Spheres, though the extended fighting left the clone exhausted afterwards. Madara moved in to capture it, but was parried by the arrival of Tsunade, the Fourth Raikage, and the Fifth Mizukage. The Five Kage vowed to deal with Madara themselves and asked that Naruto should instead focus on defeating Tobi. The clone dispersed just as the real Naruto converged on Tobi. Naruto and B clashed with Tobi's reincarnated jinchūriki, styled like a Six Paths of Pain. During the fighting, Naruto took an opportunity to ask who Tobi really was. From Naruto's references to another Madara, Tobi realised his lie was exposed, but refused to accept any particular identity, believing it to be irrelevant. If he must be anybody, he would be nobody.

B soon entered Tailed Beast Mode to clear the surrounding forest that was giving him and Naruto a disadvantage against the reincarnated jinchūriki. He then tried to seal the jinchūriki, but Tobi had them enter Version 2 forms to escape at the last second. The increased strength of the jinchūriki caused difficulties for Naruto and B. Tobi, taking advantage of the situation, nearly captured Naruto, but was blocked by the arrival of Kakashi and Guy. Their arrival balanced out the two sides, so Tobi had the Four-Tails and the Six-Tails enter Tailed Beast Modes as well. The Four-Tails captured Naruto in its mouth, allowing it to communicate with him. The Four-Tails, introducing itself with the name Son Gokū, was angered to be controlled by Tobi, but it doubted Naruto would be any better since humans had always sought to control it and its fellow tailed beasts. Naruto insisted he was different and Son Gokū, touched by his desire to help it, told him how to release it from Tobi's control. Naruto managed to break out of its mouth, locate the black receiver, and remove it.

Son Gokū thanked Naruto for his help, but explained that it couldn't actually be saved, as it was still bound to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Before it was pulled back into the Demonic Statue, Son Gokū gave some of its chakra to Naruto and wished him luck. Tobi, having lost the use of one tailed beast, forced the others to enter Tailed Beast Modes so that the battle could be brought to an end. The Nine-Tails remarked that Naruto couldn't possibly win without its help. Naruto stated that he was not up for taking its chakra by force at the moment and that he would figure something out. However, Naruto's earlier determination to help Son Gokū moved the Nine-Tails, reminding it of the many selfless things Naruto had done during his life and the perseverance he always displayed. The Nine-Tails no longer wanted to oppose Naruto and instead offered to join him as a partner, asking only that Naruto call it by name: Kurama.

Naruto entered his own Tailed Beast Mode and went to save Kakashi and Guy, deflecting the other five beasts' Tailed Beast Balls. The Kurama avatar fought the beasts in close combat, forcing them to combine their Tailed Beast Balls into one against it. Kurama countered theirs with a single one of its own Tailed Beast Balls and Naruto then used the avatar's tails to grab and remove the beasts' black receivers. From the contact, Naruto was able to interface with the other beasts, who introduced themselves and, like Son Gokū, gave him portions of their chakra. Tobi recalled the beasts back into the Demonic Statue and, though irritated, remained confident in his eventual victory as he faced off with Naruto, B, Kakashi, and Guy. By the time night fell, however, Tobi had still not been able to defeat them. A light eventually descended on the reincarnated jinchūriki that B had kept restrained, returning them to the afterlife and signaling that Itachi had finally defeated Kabuto.

With his options running out, Tobi deposited the Benihisago and the Kohaku no Jōhei (which contained portions of Kurama's chakra) into the Demonic Statue which, combined with an fragment of the Eight-Tails, Gyūki's, chakra he acquired previously, was enough to start the revival of the Ten-Tails. Naruto, B, Kakashi, and Guy started focusing on destroying it, but were constantly stopped by Tobi and his peculiar teleportation and intangibility abilities. From the fighting, however, Kakashi noticed that Tobi's abilities were seemingly linked to his own Kamui. To take advantage of this, Kakashi had one of Naruto's shadow clones attack Tobi and, just as the clone was about to be destroyed by one of Tobi's attacks, Kakashi used Kamui on it without Tobi noticing. Naruto then attacked with a Tailed Beast Ball, which Tobi escaped by retreating to Kamui's dimension. He found the clone waiting for him there and it destroyed his mask with a Rasengan.

When they saw his face, Guy and Kakashi recognised Tobi as their childhood friend, Obito Uchiha, who they'd long thought dead. Obito declined to explain his actions to them and instead attacked, which attracted Madara to their location, who was able to escape the release of the Impure World Reincarnation. Seeing Madara, Naruto asked what happened to the Kage, to which the elder Uchiha replied that they were in bad condition when he left them. From that and the conversation he overheard between Madara and Obito, particularly their manipulation of Nagato, Naruto attacked in a rage. Madara reflected him and then tried to capture him and B so that the Ten-Tails could be revived in its complete form. Naruto split his attention, he and B fighting Madara's wood dragon with their Tailed Beast Modes and one of his shadow clones trying to help Kakashi get over the revelation that Obito was alive.

Obito tried to convince Naruto of the futility of resistance. Naruto insisted that protecting his comrades was always worthwhile, no matter how hopeless things may seem. His words brought Kakashi out of his slump, enabling him to start fighting Obito on his own, and energised Guy, who created an opening for Naruto and B to attack the Demonic Statue with a combined Tailed Beast Ball. The attack came too late, however, and the Ten-Tails was revived. Naruto, B, Kakashi, and Guy regrouped and coordinated an attack, but the Ten-Tails was too powerful and Madara and Obito, once they linked themselves to it, were able to deploy its powers effectively. Just before they could kill Naruto and the others, the combined remaining Allied Shinobi Forces arrived to help. Shikaku Nara, communicating to all of them from the Alliance's headquarters, staged an offensive to restrain the Ten-Tails. Although it failed, it was effective enough that Madara and Obito had the Ten-Tails destroy the distant headquarters, killing Shikaku and everyone else stationed there.

The Allies made individual attacks against the Ten-Tails, but none had any effect. At the same time, the Ten-Tails started raining wooden skewers all over the battlefield, killing many. When one was about to hit Naruto, Hinata Hyūga shielded him with her body and Neji Hyūga shielded her with his own. Dying, Neji collapsed on Naruto's shoulder, asking him to be more careful in the future since many lives, Hinata's particularly, now depend on his. With his last breath, he thanked Naruto for calling him a genius all those years ago. Naruto was deeply distraught by Neji's death, which Obito tried to use as an example of the needless death that resistance caused and that could be solved in the new world he wanted to create. Hinata brought Naruto back to his senses by reminding him of all the people who had given their lives to protect him and whose memories he would be insulting if he had given up now. As Naruto thanked her, he took her hand and coated her with some of Kurama's chakra.

Naruto distributed Kurama's chakra throughout the Allied Forces, increasing their strength and protecting them from harm. They all manoeuvred into a formation that Shikaku was able to communicate to them before he died and, taking the form of a bird in memory of Neji, successfully removed the Ten-Tails from Obito and Madara's control. Forced to fend for themselves, Obito sought out Naruto, criticising him for wasting his energy protecting others. Naruto replied that protecting them actually gave him strength, motivating everyone within earshot. They then sensed the Ten-Tails was about to attack, which Kakashi tried to stop with Kamui. Obito intercepted him and they teleported away, leaving the others to endure the Ten-Tails' Tenpenchii. Kurama's chakra protected everyone, but it faded in the aftermath; Naruto was left quite beaten up, requiring Sakura to heal him. When the Ten-Tails attacked with another Tailed Beast Ball, the Allies mustered what little defense they could. Before it could reach them, however, the Tailed Beast Ball was suddenly teleported away and Naruto's reincarnated father, Minato Namikaze, appeared at Naruto's side.

The First, Second, and Third Hokage arrived soon afterward and, along with Minato, erected a barrier around the Ten-Tails to confine it. Sasuke arrived shortly too, at whose request the previous Hokage were reincarnated by Orochimaru and who now opposed Obito and Madara. Their fellow Rookie Nine had set aside their differences with Sasuke for the time being and joined forces in launching an attack against the Ten-Tails' cruft. On Sai's advice, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all summoned their signature animals (Naruto calling on Gamakichi) in order to focus directly on the Ten-Tails itself. Naruto and Sasuke successfully damaged the Ten-Tails' arm with a combined Scorch Release: Halo Hurricane Jet Black Arrow Style Zero, but it merely removed the arm to prevent the flames of Sasuke's Amaterasu from spreading.

Before they could attack again, Obito returned, landing on top of the Ten-Tails head and seemingly about to use the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to restore Madara to life. While everyone focused on stopping Obito, Naruto couldn't help but notice that the hand seals he was using were different from what Nagato used. Minato tried to cut Obito down, but discovered that it was too late as he sealed the Ten-Tails into his body, becoming its jinchūriki.

Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki
Obito used his new power to destroy the barrier, forcing the Hokage to put the energy they were using toward the barrier into the fight instead. Because they had immortal bodies, they launched the first attack so that the others could learn what they could about Obito's new abilities, but they were quickly defeated. Naruto and Sasuke engaged him as well, but were nearly killed, saved only by Naruto using his chakra arms to connect to Minato so he could teleport them to safety. Hoping to emulate their earlier success against the Ten-Tails, Naruto and Sasuke combined their attacks again, having Minato and the Second Hokage coordinate teleports so that the attack would connect. Obito's Truth-Seeking Balls dissipated much of the attack and the damage that he did incur was quickly regenerated.

From the development and some of the previous exchanges, Minato concluded that Obito was able to neutralise ninjutsu. Gamakichi, determined to make some final contribution to the fight before he was forced to return to Mount Myōboku, attacked with his Starch Syrup Gun. Minato took this opportunity to try and reason with Obito, reminding him of his former dream to become Hokage. Obito berated the title and those who had held it, as he had surpassed them. Naruto was insulted not only because that was a slight against his father, but also because he hadn't abandoned his dream of being Hokage like Obito had. The Second Hokage teleported him to Obito and he attacked with a Rasengan, which successfully damaged Obito; Naruto noticed that Gamakichi's attack wasn't neutralised and hypothesised Obito was vulnerable to senjutsu, which was then confirmed.

With a weakness discovered, Obito trapped the Alliance in a barrier and began charging multiple Tailed Beast Balls that he would use to wipe out everyone within its confines. Minato noted that he wouldn't be able to teleport them all away in time, so Naruto came up with a different approach: he linked his chakra with Minato and remotely restored the Alliance's chakra cloaks, networking everyone in with Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique, allowing him to teleport everyone out of the barrier. Minato did so and was afterward extremely proud of his son, telling him that he wished they had more time to talk. Naruto replied that it was not necessary since he already met his mother and that she explained everything. Naruto and Minato each entered Tailed Beast Modes, with Naruto merging his with Sage Mode so that he could imbue their shared Rasengan with senjutsu. The Second teleported them to Obito and they attacked, but he blocked it with his Truth-Seeking Balls.

To move ahead with his plans, Obito created a giant tree in the image of the Shinju, the first step in performing the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The tree started absorbing chakra from those nearby until they die, a fate that Naruto nearly succumbed to until he was saved by the Third Hokage. Obito pointed to the growing number of casualties as further evidence that Naruto should stop resisting, an arguement that Naruto was increasingly having trouble ignoring. Sasuke, unmoved by Obito's words, used Susanoo to hack through the tree and then mocked Naruto for giving up. Naruto was reminded of his desire to not lose Sasuke or anyone else for that matter and, reinvigorated, joined Sasuke in the offensive. Although their senjutsu-enhanced Susanoo and Tailed Beast Mode could compete with Obito, they were individually unable to defeat him. Obito continued trying to convince Naruto to stop, but he ignored him.

Sasuke then coated his Susanoo around Naruto's Tailed Beast Mode, granting the Kurama-avatar a sword and armor. Sensing that it was the final exchange, Obito created a sword and shield of his own out of Truth-Seeking Balls. Naruto created a Rasengan in each of the Kurama-avatar's tails, which his friends from Konoha guide in a coordinated assault to Obito's shield, destroying it. As soon as Naruto and Sasuke sliced through Obito with their sword, the tailed beasts then began to emerge from the Uchiha's body, giving Naruto and the combined Allied Shinobi Forces the opportunity to pull them out. The tug-of-war for the tailed beasts linked Naruto's consciousness with Obito's. Naruto reminded Obito of his earlier claim that he was nobody and set out to prove to him that he was Obito Uchiha, specifically the Obito Uchiha that Kakashi used to know. Naruto pointed out their similarities, how both were orphans and that, because of that, they wanted to be Hokage. Obito agreed that they were similar, but that was the reason why he was been trying so hard to convince Naruto that he was right, and insisted that the world he wanted to create was a better one because his vision of the future was clear, whereas the future of the current world was ambiguous. Naruto argued that was the point and that uncertainty, when faced with comrades, was worthwhile, and offered Obito his hand so that they might see what happened together.

The Allies successfully removed the tailed beasts from Obito and he fell to the ground, defeated. Minato and Kakashi insisted that Obito be left to them while Naruto and the rest of the Alliance should focus on Madara. They did so, joining forces with the First Hokage against him, but right before he could seal him, Madara put one final fail-safe into effect: he had Black Zetsu force Obito to revive him. Madara quickly neutralised the First, fended off Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai, and then went after the freed tailed beasts. Naruto entered Tailed Beast Mode and assisted them with fighting him off. They were initially successful, but when Madara reacquired one of his Rinnegan, he easily defeated them with Limbo: Border Jail, sealing them all back into the Demonic Statue, including B's Gyūki and Naruto's Kurama.

The removal of Kurama from his body caused Naruto to pass out and placed his life in immediate danger. His Uzumaki heritage prevented him from dying instantly, but he required constant medical attention from Sakura in order to keep him alive. On the advice of Kurama right before it was extracted, Gaara took Naruto to Minato so that Minato's portion of Kurama's chakra could be sealed into him, saving him. Kakashi sent Naruto and Sakura to Kamui's dimension so that she could continue performing life support without interruption. Obito soon arrived to help her, having overcome both Black Zetsu and Madara in order to acquire Minato's half of Kurama and give it to Naruto, as his form of penance.

While on the border of life and death, Naruto was met by the Sage of the Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. He explained his past conflicts with his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, and the conflicts that emerged between his sons, Asura and Indra. His sons' conflict had continued through the centuries, with their chakra reincarnated every generation in new individuals to fight anew; Naruto was the current reincarnation of Asura, while Sasuke was the reincarnation of Indra. Naruto was not greatly surprised, having sensed something like that when he met Sasuke during the Five Kage Summit. Because of Madara's aims for the world, Hagoromo asked that he and Sasuke join forces to stop him, a task he was only encouraged by from the tailed beasts' positive words concerning Naruto. He gave Naruto the Six Paths Yang Power, his chakra and Six Paths Sage Mode to help him in this goal.

When Naruto woke up, he had Obito send him back to the normal dimension. There, he stopped Madara from killing Might Guy and then used Hagoromo's power to stabilise Guy's life from using the Eight Gates Released Formation. Madara was surprised by Naruto's sudden increase in power and only narrowly avoided Naruto's Sage Art: Lava Release Rasenshuriken, which was fueled by Son Gokū's chakra and instantly cut down the giant tree Obito created earlier. When Sasuke arrived, Naruto entered Six Paths Sage Mode and they started overwhelming Madara. Realising his window was closing, Madara went after Kakashi and took his Mangekyō Sharingan, which he used to follow after Obito. Sakura appeared shortly afterward, sent by Obito so Madara wouldn't kill her. She couldn't do anything about Kakashi's eye, so Naruto used Hagoromo's power to restore the one he lost years ago.

Madara soon returned, now having both his Rinnegan and Black Zetsu in control of Obito's body. Naruto and Sasuke immediately resumed their attack, but Madara had an easier time with them. He rose into the sky, raining Chibaku Tensei on them to keep them busy while he projected the Infinite Tsukuyomi on the world. While Naruto destroyed the remaining satellite-like constructs, Sasuke shielded him, Sakura, and Kakashi with Susanoo from the Infinite Tsukuyomi's gaze. He let them out once the illusion was finished casting and they emerged to find themselves alone, with the rest of the world being wrapped into Madara's God: Nativity of a World of Trees. As Madara confronted them and started explaining how he had saved the world, he was stabbed in the back by Black Zetsu. Black Zetsu then transferred to Madara's body from Obito's and forced him to absorb the world's chakra, converting him into a woman that Naruto and Sasuke recognised as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes
Kaguya detected that Naruto and Sasuke as the reincarnations of Asura and Indra, and also that her son Hagoromo had given them the power to defeat her. Not wanting to further the damage the world that their fighting would cause, she shifted them all to one of her dimensions, placing them above a sea of lava. Sasuke summoned his hawk Garuda to save himself and Naruto, but ignored Naruto's pleas to save Sakura, Kakashi, and Obito too since only he and Naruto were vital to the fight. Kakashi was able to briefly stop their fall, but the heat burned the scroll he used to save them and it was only Naruto's sudden discovery that he was able to levitate that saved them from the lava. He left a shadow clone to hold onto them and engaged Kaguya, creating an opening for Sasuke to attack.

Sasuke's attack failed and Naruto must save him from the lava. With their attacks ineffective and the environment such a hazard, Naruto and Sasuke discussed what to do. Kaguya appeared behind them and paralysed them, binding them with Black Zetsu while she started absorbing their chakra. Black Zetsu took the opportunity to expand on the history earlier given by Hagoromo, painting Kaguya as the victim of her sons, Hagoromo and Hamura. Black Zetsu had for centuries been manipulating others toward the outcome of reviving her, and only then had it finally succeeded. It encouraged them to bask in the embrace of their oblivion, but Naruto refused, breaking himself and Sasuke free. Needing to take drastic action, Naruto used his "ultimate" jutsu: Sexy: Reverse Harem Technique. Kaguya was so distracted that she was nearly sealed, but she recomposed herself in time to shift dimensions again, freezing Naruto and Sasuke in place.

Because Naruto and Sasuke were only a threat to her when together, Kaguya sent Sasuke to a different dimension while she focused on Naruto. While Kaguya manipulated the ice dimension against him, his shadow clone explained to Kakashi, Sakura, and the now-awake Obito that his and Sasuke's powers were both necessary to defeat her. Obito offered to use his Kamui to try and explore Kaguya's dimensions to find Sasuke. To give Obito an opening, Naruto used Naruto Region Combo to overwhelm Kaguya, forcing her to retreat to another dimension to get her bearings. When she did so, Obito infiltrated the dimension Kaguya went to with Sakura and the shadow clone. The shadow clone faced her so that she wouldn't notice them while they look for Sasuke. Kaguya returned to the ice dimension and resumed her fight with the army of Naruto's clones. He kept her preoccupied until Obito returned with Sasuke.

Increasingly frustrated, Kaguya shifted them to another dimension with powerful gravity to immobilise Naruto and Sasuke while she attacked with her All-Killing Ash Bones. Kakashi and Obito used themselves to shield the attack, with Obito then using Kamui to protect Kakashi, leaving Obito unable to defend himself. Naruto tried to heal the damage to his body, but even Hagoromo's power couldn't save him. While Sasuke fought Kaguya, Obito thanked Naruto for reminding him of who he was and made him promise to become Hokage for both their sakes. Naruto agreed and Obito's body crumbled. Black Zetsu ridiculed Obito for living an insignificant life and dying an insignificant death. Enraged, Naruto severed Kaguya's arm, in the sleeve of which Black Zetsu had been hiding, and then pinned it to the ground with his Truth-Seeking Balls.

Naruto used Tailed Beast Ball Rasenshuriken, imbuing each of nine Rasenshuriken with the chakra of one of the tailed beasts. When the attack hit Kaguya, the tailed beasts' chakra within her began reacting and Kaguya started losing control of her form. She was able to reconfigure herself and prepared an Expansive Truth-Seeking Ball to destroy them. Kakashi interfered, using Susanoo (a last gift from Obito) to make an opening for Naruto and Sasuke. She tried to escape, but Sakura punched her to keep her in place, allowing Naruto and Sasuke to trigger Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei. The tailed beasts were removed from her, Madara was spat out, and she was entombed in her own dimension. Not wanting Black Zetsu to scheme for her release again, Naruto made a point to trap it with her.

Team 7 wondered how they would return to their world. Sensing their need, Hagoromo combined the efforts of the dead Kage to summon them, the tailed beasts, and Madara back. Hagoromo thanked them for saving the world, as did the tailed beasts for saving them. Naruto happily greeted to his original Kurama, asking if it missed him, to which the flustered fox denied. After Madara died from his ordeal, Naruto met with Minato who, as day broke, wished him a happy seventeenth birthday. As Hagoromo returned Minato's and the souls of the other dead Kage to the Pure Land, Minato voiced his pride in Naruto and promised to tell Kushina everything about him. The other Kage also gave words of parting, which Naruto tearfully accepted.

With all threats gone, Hagoromo explained that the Infinite Tsukuyomi could be released if Naruto and Sasuke combine their chakra. Sasuke agreed to this, but first he wanted to kill the Kage and destroy the tailed beasts, believing both were inhibitive to world peace. When he was unwilling to back down from his threat, the tailed beasts moved in to stop Sasuke, but he captured each in their own Chibaku Tensei. Hagoromo recognised that as a continuation of Indra's feud with Asura, but lacked the time and power to do anything about it. Sakura tried to reason with Sasuke, but he knocked her out and left. Naruto followed after him, promising to Hagoromo that he would bring him around and finally end the centuries-long feud.

Naruto and Sasuke ended up at the Valley of the End, where they fought years ago. Sasuke stated his willingness to bear the world's burdens by himself and live independently of the past, neither of which Naruto believed were possible, or at least wise. He wasted little time trying to talk to Sasuke, having known for some time that their differences would be settled with combat in the end. After a brief exchange of blows reminiscent of their fight years ago, Naruto and Sasuke started trading punches with their Tailed Beast Mode and Susanoo respectively. Sasuke chastised Naruto for not attacking with an intent to kill, but Naruto, like last time, was unwilling to do that, not wishing for either of them to go without the other. Sasuke used his Susanoo to perform Chidori and Naruto used Tailed Beast Mode to make a Tailed Beast Ball, which they clashed with.

The collision of the two attacks created a large explosion, doing noticeable but not debilitating damage to their respective avatars. Each therefore powered up the avatars, Sasuke by channeling the captured tailed beasts into his Susanoo and Naruto by merging his avatar with the avatars of two shadow clones. The two met attacks once again, creating a giant explosion that stripped away their avatars and left them with too little chakra to use practically. They instead resorted to taijutsu, kicking and punching each other into the night. As Naruto started to become exhausted, Kurama mustered enough chakra for him to make one last attack, but Sasuke absorbed it. Having expected this, Naruto delivered a solid punch, finally irritating Sasuke over the endless repetition of their fight. Kurama gave the last of its chakra to Naruto, who used it to make a Rasengan to counter Sasuke's Chidori.

Both woke up later to find that much of the Valley of the End had been destroyed, that they had each lost an arm, and that neither could move. Sasuke reflected that Naruto had been a constant obstacle to his goals, but that he was also the only person who never given up on him. Naruto's usual response that they were friends didn't convince Sasuke since it obviously went beyond, so Naruto elaborated that he experienced pain if he didn't have Sasuke. Sasuke was awed, knowing full well that Naruto had experienced various misfortunes in his life, smiled through all of them, yet would suffer without Sasuke. When they woke up the next day, Sasuke admitted defeat, as he came to accept that Naruto was just as vital to him as he was to Naruto.

Kakashi and Sakura eventually tracked them down and Sakura healed them, though she couldn't do anything about their missing arms. Once they were able to walk, they returned to where the Allied Shinobi Forces were all trapped still, dispelled the Infinite Tsukuyomi according to Hagoromo's instructions, and Sasuke released the tailed beasts. The Fourth Shinobi World War finally over, everyone returned to their villages.

Blank Period
After the war, Sasuke was pardoned for his crimes because of his involvement in ending the war as well as a good word from Naruto and Kakashi (who had been selected to become the Sixth Hokage). Just before Sasuke left Konoha to wander the world, he was met by Naruto, who returned to him his forehead protector.

Kakashi Hiden: Lightning in the Icy Sky
Nearly a year after the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto and Sai were sent to the Land of Waves to capture Garyō, leader of the Ryūha Armament Alliance. Once they located the Alliance's hideout, Naruto launched an assault with multiple shadow clones; although he was still missing an arm, he had learned how to perform one-handed hand seals. He easily dealt with most of the Alliance's members, but was briefly stalled by the Ice Release of Garyō's bodyguard. Naruto distracted the bodyguard with a shadow clone for long enough to apprehend Garyō. Garyō tried to convince Naruto that the Alliance was doing good work by releasing the world from money's corruptive influence. Although sympathetic, Naruto couldn't abide their terrorist actions and escaped with Garyō on Sai's bird.

At some point within the next two months, Naruto received a prosthetic arm to replace the one he lost during the war. While eating at Ramen Ichiraku one day, he saw Kakashi walking by and asked him when he would officially take on the responsibilities of Hokage. He tried to convince Kakashi by listing the many shortcomings of Tsunade, unaware that she was standing behind him; she angrily knocked Naruto unconscious. Kakashi finally accepted the Hokage position shortly after the mission involving the Ryūha Armament Alliance and the Blood Prison. When Naruto learned about the mission, specifically that he was expressly forbidden from being informed about it at the time, Naruto started spreading rumours about Kakashi's relationship with the Blood Prison's new warden, Kahyō. Kakashi angrily attacked him and then bought him some ramen to apologise.

Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness
Naruto ran into Shikamaru early one morning and they discussed their heavy workloads for the Shinobi Union. Since Naruto's assignments were given to him by Shikamaru, he took the opportunity to complain. Shikamaru explained that Naruto, a prime candidate for an eventual Hokage position, needed to get used to it. Naruto later discussed Shikamaru with Sakura, having sensed that there was something Shikamaru was keeping from him. Sakura reminded Naruto of all the work Shikamaru did to prepare Naruto for becoming Hokage and that it likely had something to do with that. Naruto was aware of all that Shikamaru did on his behalf, but wondered if he was worth Shikamaru's trouble.

A few days later, Naruto was approached by Temari, who was worried about Shikamaru's recent behavior and now asked where he was. Naruto didn't know, and was troubled to find that neither did Chōji or Ino. He finally asked Kakashi, who admitted under pressure that Shikamaru was on a secret assignment to the Land of Silence. Naruto joined Temari's team of Suna ninja to go to the Land of Silence to provide assistance to Shikamaru. They interrogated the locals upon arrival and learned that Shikamaru had been captured by the Enlightened Ones. They attacked the prison where Shikamaru was being held and successfully freed him, enabling him to complete his mission by taking the country's leader, Gengo, into custody. Afterwards, Naruto demanded that Shikamaru never keep anything from him again, otherwise their future Hokage—advisor relationship would be very problematic. Shikamaru agreed and apologised. While Shikamaru returned to Konoha, Naruto and several other Konoha and Suna shinobi remain in the Land of Silence to help the country recover from Gengo's control.

The Last: Naruto the Movie
During the Rinne Festival, Naruto, being the hero of the village, was bombarded with gifts from various young Konoha residents. To distract Naruto from all the attention, Konohamaru invited him over to his grandfather's storage, where Naruto found a scarf that his mother had knitted for him before she passed. He happily began wearing the scarf around the village, treating it as a precious memento. While eating dinner at Ichiraku with Sakura, Ino, and Hinata, a group of his fan girls showed up, interrupting Hinata's attempts to give Naruto the red scarf she knitted for him. When Hinata decided to leave, Sakura told Naruto to walk her home since it was dark, however Naruto was oblivious and simply stated that Hinata should be fine since she's strong, causing Hinata to become saddened and leave, and Sakura to call him an idiot. Later on, Naruto found Hinata standing outside his apartment building and invited her to his apartment for some ramen, but it made her uncomfortable and she ran away with embarrassment, much to his confusion and leading him to chase after her. While looking for her, Naruto stumbled across a horde of puppets trying to abduct Hinata. After he rescued her, they were notified that Hinata's sister Hanabi was kidnapped by Toneri Ōtsutsuki, and were assigned on a team to rescue her.

Kakashi informed the team of the imminent crashing of the moon onto the Earth, and asked that they do what they can to stop it in case Toneri was connected in any way. They followed Hanabi's trail and were led into a cave. While travelling through it, they were caught in genjutsu formed from their own memories. From seeing events of his own past and some of Hinata's, Naruto became aware of just how much Hinata loved him and realised that he also had feelings for Hinata. Sakura released them from the genjutsu and they continued with the mission. As the rest of the team encountered the Gatekeeper, Naruto had gone back once he noticed that Hinata was missing, only to discover that she was in a conversation with Toneri and rushed to protect her. After a brief scuffle, which Naruto won, it was discovered that the Toneri they had just encountered was actually a puppet. Hinata wouldn't share what she discussed with the puppet, so Naruto vowed not to let her out of his sight again. They continued through the cave and eventually arrived in the moon's interior, which the team then split up to investigate the surrounding settlement. While they were investigating, Naruto and Hinata spent some quality time with one another, which led to Naruto's feelings for her to increase.

After the team regrouped, Naruto watched Hinata as she repaired her ruined scarf. She expressed her concerns that she wasn't doing enough to save her sister, so Naruto reassured her that they would definitely rescue Hanabi and accidentally let slip that he loved her, much to Hinata's shock. Toneri appeared before she could respond, prompting Hinata to give Naruto the scarf and depart with Toneri. Naruto chased after them, believing Hinata was being taken against her will. Toneri explained that Hinata has willingly accepted his marriage proposal, leaving Naruto too shocked to react. Toneri attacked him, destroying the scarf and leaving him badly injured. After three days of around-the-clock medical attention from Sakura, he woke up. Naruto was distraught, believing there was no reason to go on if Hinata had chosen Toneri. Sakura reassured him that Hinata couldn't really have feelings for Toneri as she loved Naruto too much, and had a reason for doing what she did. As his strength returned, Naruto vowed he would save Hinata, pleading for her to wait for him.

The team soon infiltrated Toneri's castle and after locating Hinata, Naruto went after her while the others rescued Hanabi. He arrived in time to interrupt Toneri's and Hinata's wedding ceremony. Toneri, who was controlling Hinata, had her attack Naruto, only for him to break his control and escape with her. Hinata lead him to the Tenseigan that was controlling the moon's decent, and they successfully destroyed it with their combined attack. Regrouping with the others, Sakura handed over the remains of the scarf Hinata knitted for Naruto, which he graciously accepted and declared that he would treasure it. After the team rescued the Hyūga sisters, they attempted to flee, but Toneri appeared and separated the group, which gave him the opportunity to recapture Hinata. After fighting for Hinata's freedom, Naruto managed to overcome Toneri's new power and overwhelm him by concentrating all his chakra into his fist and defeated him with a single punch, releasing Hinata in the process.

Toneri tried one final attack, but was unable to control its power, leading to Naruto to intervene and save him from drifting out into space. Afterwards, Hinata informed Toneri of Hamura's actual decree and he, regretful about what he did, allowed the team to return home. As they were returning to Earth, Naruto reaffirmed his feelings for Hinata and stated that he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life, much to her happiness, and the two later shared their first kiss.

Soon afterwards, Hinata and Naruto started dating. On one such occasion, he took her out to lunch at a restaurant, but became worried that he didn't have enough money after seeing the prices. Seeing Naruto so nervous, Hinata picked up on this with her Byakugan. Deciding to spare his feelings by hiding her knowledge of his money shortage, she suggested that they should go for a simple meal at Ichiraku, which Naruto eagerly agreed to.

Sakura Hiden: Thoughts of Love, Riding Upon a Spring Breeze
While wandering around Konoha one day, Sakura found Naruto teaching a class of Academy students how to spar. Sensing that she needed a distraction, Naruto insisted that she help him, which took her mind off recent events. As thanks, Sakura informed Naruto of something she avoided telling him: there were rumours that Sasuke was trying to destroy Konoha. She didn't believe the rumours were true, but nobody had been able to get in touch with Sasuke to confirm. Naruto pointed out that Sasuke must not be worried by these rumours, otherwise he would respond to the messages he'd been sent. Sakura thought that was a good point and was put at ease.

Konoha Hiden: The Perfect Day for a Wedding
Only a few months after the mission to the moon, Naruto and Hinata decided to get married. They invited their friends and family from Konoha and the other shinobi villages. Because his parents were dead, Naruto asked Iruka to attend as his father, which Iruka happily agreed to. On the day of their wedding, though, Naruto kept his real father in his thoughts, looking upon Minato's face on the Hokage Rock with admiration as he and Hinata were about to walk down the aisle.

Epilogue
Several years later, Kakashi decided to step down and selected Naruto to be the Seventh Hokage. On the day of his inauguration, Naruto got caught in a fight between his son, Boruto, and his daughter, Himawari, the latter's teddy bear having been destroyed by the former. Naruto stepped in to defend Boruto from Himawari's Gentle Fist-strike and took the blow instead, rendering him unconscious. He ended up missing his own inauguration, forcing Konohamaru to impersonate him during the ceremony.

Despite the technological advances since the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War and the new-found peace amongst the villages, the Hokage office still came with a heavy workload. One such issue was Sasuke's report that a threat greater than Kaguya Ōtsutsuki may still exist somewhere, which Naruto and the other Kage decided to keep the information between themselves to avoid causing a panic. Boruto was upset that his father's busy schedule was frequently keeping him from spending time with the family, and when he did, it was often only a shadow clone. As such, Boruto developed the habit of pulling pranks around the village to try and gain his father's attention, a desire that Naruto understood, but that he couldn't do anything about.

Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring
As Boruto's graduation exam from the Academy approached, Naruto used a shadow clone to help him train. While in his office one day, Naruto received a message from Sasuke about a boy with the Sharingan. Naruto immediately consulted Kakashi about it, who hypothesised it may be one of Orochimaru's experiments. Naruto decided to meet up with Sasuke so that they could go and question Orochimaru, leaving behind a shadow clone to manage the village in his absence. He made a point to leave the village before Boruto could come to see him off, though asked that Shikamaru apologise to Boruto on his behalf.

While on his way to the rendezvous point, Naruto sensed that he was being followed by Sarada Uchiha and Chōchō Akimichi following him. He initially tried to ignore them, but eventually decided it would be better to confront them than to let them continue coming after him. He arrived just in time to protect the two girls who were engaged in a fight with the same boy that Sasuke had described in his message and voiced his pride in the two of them for being able to hold their own against the enemy. Naruto was surprised when the boy activated his Mangekyō Sharingan but the boy could do nothing against Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, and retreated with the appearance of a creature with a Sharingan eye, which used a space–time ninjutsu to teleport them away. Chōchō, amazed by Naruto's abilities asked if maybe he was her real father, confusing Naruto. Because the boy seemed to be after Sarada, Naruto allowed them to come with him so that he could keep them safe and also because he wanted Sarada to meet her father. Sarada then offered Naruto the bento she had been given to by Boruto, causing Naruto to think back to when Sasuke had offered him his lunch when they were younger.

While taking a break to eat lunch, Naruto told Sarada about what her father was like when they were younger and how they were and always would be rivals. He explained to her that while she looked just Sasuke and he could see a lot of him in her, she was also a lot like Sakura, which made the young girl happy. As they neared where they were supposed to meet up with Sasuke, Chōchō became worn out and demanded that they rest. Sarada, under the pretence that she was going to the toilet, went on ahead due to her impatience at being able to finally meet her father. Naruto and Chōchō followed soon after and, on arrival, was reprimanded by Sasuke for bringing children with him. Sarada explained that she came without permission as she wanted to meet Sasuke as well as ask him questions such as if Sakura is her biological mother. When Sarada began asking Sasuke about where he had been for so long and what he had been doing, Sasuke simply told her that it didn't concern her, in an effort to keep her from getting involved in a dangerous situation. However, this only upset Sarada and caused her to storm out with Naruto following after her. Naruto tried to comfort her by assuring the upset girl that Sasuke meant well and was really a terrific shinobi, which did little to improve her mood. Not long after, Naruto sensed the boy's return and defended Sarada as the boy and his father, attacked.

Sasuke rushed out immediately to assist in fighting off the two enemies, while Naruto and Sarada watched on. Sasuke was able to finish off the two rather quickly and when Sarada voiced her amazement at her father's impressive skills, Naruto assured her that she hadn't seen much yet. When the man revealed himself as Shin Uchiha, Sarada mentioned that he had the same name as the boy and Naruto asked if they were father and son. As Sasuke prepared to attack once more, Shin manipulated Sasuke's sword into stabbing Naruto. Because of this Naruto was forced to let up his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, which Shin used as an opportunity to launch his blades at Sarada, however Sasuke shielded his daughter with his body and was therefore impaled by the blades and paralysed him as a result. As Shin was about to finish them off, an enraged Sakura arrived just in time and landed a powerful blow to Shin, and knocking him unconscious. When Sakura asked Naruto if he was going to be okay, Naruto assured her that he was fine and pulled the sword from his abdomen while Kurama scolded him for letting his skills get rusty and explained that an injury like this would not kill him. The creature with the Sharingan suddenly appeared and teleported, Shin, his clone and Sakura away. Unable to detect where Shin had taken Sakura, they decided to confront Orochimaru and met up with Yamato, who led them to Orochimaru's hideout. As Sasuke led them through Orochimaru's lair, Naruto warned Sasuke to be more cautious before they were confronted by Suigetsu and Jugo and then Orochimaru. Orochimaru informed them that Shin was an old experiment of his that took an avid interest in the Uchiha clan and particularly Itachi. After Orochimaru informed them that he knew of Shin's whereabouts and would be particularly grateful if they would be able to kill Shin for him, Naruto noticed Sarada sneaking off with Suigetsu and followed them, listening in as Suigetsu ran a botched DNA test that suggested Sarada's real mother was actually Karin.

Naruto was upset at first with Sasuke for the secret he was seemingly keeping, but also with Suigetsu for getting involved. As Suigetsu left, he approached Sarada to tell her that they had to go save her mother, but she lashed out at him, calling him a liar and demanding why she should bother to go and save someone who wasn't anything to her. When Sarada informed Naruto that she was planning on leaving the village, Naruto stopped her and explained that although he wasn't related to most of Konoha's villagers, he still considered them as his family because they were important to him. After thinking back to how Sakura was always there for her, Sarada realised how much she loved Sakura and decided she wanted to help rescue her. When they reunited with the others, Naruto told Sasuke that he was going to have a talk with him afterwards, much to the latter's confusion. As Sasuke manifested his Susanoo in preparation to travel to Shin's hideout, Sasuke scolded Naruto for getting angry with him, saying not to upset the children, causing Naruto to angrily retort that he didn't want to be told off by Sasuke about upsetting the children.

Upon arriving at Shin's hideout, they found Sakura engaged in a battle with Shin. Sasuke used his Susanoo to rescue his wife and severely injure Shin. While Sasuke tended to Sakura, Naruto commented that Sasuke with his eye power fully restored was indeed a force to reckoned with. With the numbers against him growing, Shin called upon his clones to assist, however they turned against him, impaling him multiple times with their blades due to the fact that he had become unnecessary to them. The clones then turned their attentions to Naruto and the others, which Naruto fought off with his shadow clones. Naruto along with the others watched on in shock as Sarada joined the battle and used the same superhuman strength as her mother to defeat a group of Shin clones. Because they were only children, Naruto decided not to kill the Shin clones and instead only frightened them into surrendering with the help of Kurama. Naruto was pleased when Sarada reconciled with her parents and realised that although Sakura was indeed her real mother, what mattered most was the thoughts and feelings connecting them. After delivering the Shins clones to the Konoha Orphanage, Naruto and the others made their way home to Konoha. When they returned they met up with Ino and Choji, who had just returned from a mission. Naruto informed Choji that Chōchō had been looking for him.

Boruto: Naruto the Movie
Some time later, Naruto remained busy with his Hokage duties and continued having a strained relationship with his son, Boruto. Konoha has grown into a large city under Naruto's leadership, although Naruto is overwhelmed with the responsibilities of being Hokage, leading him to create shadow clones to tend to his family and the villagers. When Boruto and his team report to Naruto after a mission, Naruto asked his son to address him as "the Seventh" instead of "Dad," which angered his son. Boruto then lashed out that it was pointless to have parents when they're like Naruto, who is rarely home, which surprised him. Boruto warned his father to be home for Himawari's birthday party or else he will never forgive him. Katasuke entered soon after to ask Naruto's permission to allow the participants of the upcoming Chūnin Exams to wear his latest invention, the Kote, a forearm device that stores various types of ninjutsu inside of it. However Naruto refused on the grounds that using it did not show one's true potential as a shinobi. Naruto was unable to make it to his daughter's birthday party and sent a shadow clone, but because Naruto already had six other clones out performing duties for him, he was unable to maintain it and it ended up disappearing. Just before Naruto's clone had disappeared he had glimpsed the sad looks on his children's faces and became saddened at the thought of having let down his family. Seeing that Naruto was troubled, Shikamaru offered to take care of the rest of Naruto's work and advised him to go home and rest. Before Naruto could leave, however, Sasuke arrived at his office and showed Naruto a scroll that he had found while investigating Kaguya's old castle in another dimension, that he needed help deciphering. He also presented Naruto with his old orange jacket that he had come by outside his home after Boruto had thrown them out. Sasuke told him that he had met his son and could see a lot of the old Naruto in him, which Naruto responded to by saying that Boruto was actually more similar to Sasuke when he was younger. The two men began reminiscing about the past and Naruto idly wondered if they were behind the times. Sasuke assured him that the nature of shinobi never changes, even in regards to Boruto and Naruto jokingly pointed out that he was the winner of this argument.

Naruto was too busy preparing the village to host the Chūnin Exams and was saddened to learn from Konohamaru that Sasuke has been training Boruto. When he asks Sasuke about this, Sasuke again tells him that the nature of a shinobi never changes. He wasn't surprised when Boruto won the first round and congratulated him via email, much to Boruto's annoyance. After Boruto won the second round, he met with Boruto in his bedroom and personally congratulated him and voiced his pride in him. Naruto offered a fist bump, but Boruto only smiled as he didn't want his father to discover the Kote he was wearing. For the third round, Naruto chose to sit with Hinata and Himawari rather than with the other Kage as they watched Boruto fight against Shikadai Nara. Near the end, Naruto suspected something was wrong after it appeared Boruto won. He asked Hinata to use her Byakugan and she noticed Boruto wearing a Kote. Naruto then realised that Boruto used a Kote to produce several shadow clones in order to win the battle. Disappointed, Naruto confronted him in the arena, ordered that Shikadai be declared as the winner and took Boruto's forehead protector from him. He told Boruto they would talk about this at home, but Boruto lashed out at him that Naruto doesn't know how give him a lecture when he's never home. Suddenly, Momoshiki and Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki appear and begin attacking the arena. Naruto is knocked out of the arena by Momoshiki but he rushes back to defend his son when he is in danger and is shortly joined by Sasuke and Sarada. Sasuke informed Naruto that the two enemies are the new threat they've been anticipating all along. Naruto and Sasuke combine Tailed Beast Mode and Susanoo to shield themselves and their children from the enemies' attacks. Determined to protect his son and friends, Naruto ultimately decides to allow himself to be captured in Momoshiki's jutsu and asks Sasuke to take care of Boruto for him. Just before Naruto disappears, he looks over his shoulder and offers his son one last smile.

Naruto was teleported to another dimension and bound by Momoshiki and Kinshiki, who intend to extract Kurama from inside Naruto, before Sasuke, Boruto, and the other Kage arrived to rescue him. After the other Kage failed to defeat Kinshiki, and the latter was absorbed by Momoshiki, Naruto and Sasuke joined forces to fight him and initially gained the upper hand until Naruto was briefly knocked unconscious and Sasuke was severely burned by Momoshiki's lava Chakra. Naruto became enraged upon seeing Sasuke injured but was relieved to find he was all right and still able to fight. By once again combining Tailed Beast Mode and Susanoo, they managed to defeat Momoshiki, but Katasuke rushed in and began firing ninjutsu attacks from his Kote at Momoshiki, which he absorbed and used to attack Naruto and the others. Naruto is restrained by black rods while Momoshiki prepares to eliminate the rest of the Kage. When Boruto used his Vanishing Rasengan against Momoshiki to free his father and the other Kage, Naruto was greatly surprised to find that his son was able to use the Rasengan. As they prepare their final assault, Naruto helps Boruto to create a Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan, which Boruto himself unleashes upon Momoshiki and ultimately kills him. After the battle ends, Naruto sits with Sasuke and they have a friendly argument over who won this time, and Naruto is able to reconcile with his son. At some point afterwards, as Boruto left to meet with his team and Naruto left to go to work, both wished each other to do their best and bumped fists with each other.

Video Games
As the main character of the series, Naruto is a playable character in every Naruto video game. As the series has progressed, Naruto has become playable in various forms, often with different move-sets for each. New video game-exclusive forms are also available at times, such as a version of Naruto wearing Might Guy's jump suit, Naruto from Shippū! Konoha Gakuen Den!, and "Mecha-Naruto".

Live Spectacle Naruto
Koudai Matsuoka plays as Naruto in this stage play adaption.

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 Gokū 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 modelled 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 colouring 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 Shōnen 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 an interview with the U.S. Shōnen Jump, Kishimoto stated that his childhood was like that of Naruto's years while he was enrolled in the Academy).

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

 * Spiral patterns are a recurring theme in Naruto, especially in relation to the character of Naruto Uzumaki himself. The name "Naruto" is short for, a kind of kamaboko with a pink spiral design in the middle that is used as a topping for ramen, which is Naruto's favourite food. His family name "Uzumaki" can mean "whirlpool" or "maelstrom". His full name is also a reference to the , named after the city in the Tokushima Prefecture in Japan. In addition, Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, is a relative to the Uzumaki clan from Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools, who used the spiral pattern as both their clan and village symbol.
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Naruto's hobbies are pulling pranks and watering plants.
 * Naruto wishes to fight Sasuke Uchiha, the Third Hokage, and members of Akatsuki.
 * Naruto's favourite foods are Ichiraku ramen and red bean soup. His least favourite 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 favourite phrase is.
 * October 10, 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.
 * Naruto consistently ranked in the top two (taking first place twice) in the first five official Shōnen Jump character popularity polls. However, in the sixth character poll, he was ranked fourth. According to the third databook character poll, which adds up all the votes from the first six polls, Naruto took second place. In the most recent poll, Naruto regained his status and reached first.
 * Naruto is one of four characters to have always stayed in the top ten of every character popularity poll.
 * Naruto is the fourth known jinchūriki known to have survived the extraction of a tailed beast, along with Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, Kushina Uzumaki, and Obito Uchiha.
 * Naruto is the third known jinchūriki to have become a Kage during their lifetime after Yagura and Gaara.
 * Naruto's mother was nicknamed the "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero" while his father was famed as the "Yellow Flash". Naruto's appropriate self-styled title of "Konoha's Orange Hokage" refers to the fact that the colour orange is a mixture of red and yellow.
 * When Naruto first became a genin, while using his Sexy Technique, his settei reveals that he is 160cm tall.
 * Kishimoto's various concept art of Naruto for The Last: Naruto the Movie showed that his height had gone through various changes: first 170cm, then 173cm, and finally 180cm.
 * Despite Naruto being a user of the Truth-Seeking Balls and gaining Hagoromo's power, both of which contain Yin-Yang Release, Yin Release is not listed as one of his natures in the fourth databook.
 * Eiichiro Oda, author of One Piece, stated that his character Sanji's name was originally going to be Naruto, but changed it because Naruto series was about to become serialised and wanted to avoid confusion.
 * Naruto makes an undetailed background appearance on the cover page of the 766th chapter of One Piece, where the person behind Nami (who is wearing a changpao with the Konoha symbol) is implied to be Naruto. Also, both main characters are seen eating each others' respective favourite foods, as Naruto is eating meat, and Monkey D. Luffy is eating ramen. Additionally, this chapter was released on the same week as the release of the final two Naruto manga chapters.
 * In the 700th chapter of the Naruto manga, the symbol of the Straw Hat Pirates appears on the forehead protector of Naruto's statue as part of Boruto's graffiti.
 * While Naruto was initially the shortest of the Konoha 11, he ultimately becomes taller than all of them.

Quotes

 * (To Kakashi) "And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important!"
 * (To Ibiki) "Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want! You're not gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage someday!"
 * (To Neji) "I'm not gonna run away, I never go back on my word! That's my nindō: my ninja way!"
 * (To Gaara) "It's almost unbearable, isn't it… the pain of being all alone. I know that feeling; I've been there, in that dark and lonely place, but now there are others, other people who mean a lot to me. I care more about them than I do myself, and I won't let anyone hurt them. That's why I'll never give up. I will stop you, even if I have to kill you! They saved me from myself. They rescued me from my loneliness. They were the first to accept me as who I am. They're my friends."
 * (To Pain) "Just give up… on trying to make me give up!"
 * (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) "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 his mother) "Don't apologise… I had a lot of hard times growing up as a jinchūriki, but I never blamed you or Dad. I couldn't understand what a parent's love was like because you guys were never there… so I could only guess… But now I know… I live because you and Dad gave your lives for me and filled me up with love before the Nine-Tails was inside me! So here I am, happy and healthy! I'm glad I ended up being your son!"
 * (To Kurama) "You're not the monster fox anymore. You're one of my team-mates from Konoha… Kurama."
 * (To Obito) "Quit it with your stupid reasoning! I meant to say that I'll stand any pain for my friends!! I'm not gonna give up on them!! It might just be me being selfish, but… not having my friends here… is the most painful thing for me!! Period!!!!"
 * (About Hinata) "Hinata… This big idiot finally understands… The real meaning of the scarf you gave to me when you went with Toneri… I know now, from the scarf you painstakingly knitted and took so long to finish, that your love can't be unravelled so easily… Wait for me… This whole time, you always loved me for the way I am… Now, as a man, there's something I must tell you… Hinata, I swear I will save you!"
 * (To Hinata) "Hinata… Do you remember that lesson in class? The one with, "If the end of the world came, who would you spend your last day with?" I couldn't write anyone's name down. I didn't know my parents, and I didn't have any friends… But now, I know exactly whom I'd choose. I want to be with you. Now and forever, until I die… I want to be with you, and only you, Hinata!"
 * (To his son) "Boruto… with what I do now, all the people in this village are like a family. So there will be times that you won't be able to have me as a father all to yourself. I know this must be hard for you… but you must learn to endure it. You're a shinobi too, aren't you?"