Kiba Inuzuka

Name: Kiba Inuzuka Kana: 犬塚キバ Seiyuu: Kosuke Toriumi Voice Actor: Kyle Hebert Birthday: July 7 Blood Type: B Height: 152.5 cm Weight: 98.5 lbs

Kiba Inuzuka is a supporting character in Naruto. He is part of Team 8. He and his dog, Akamaru, fight together as a team.

Chunin Exam Arc
Kiba is introduced during the Chunin Exams, where he takes his test with his teammates Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuga. He uses Akamaru to find the answers during the first part of the test.

During the second phase of the exam, while Team 8 easily takes a scroll from a rival team, Kiba wishes to acquire yet another to narrow the competition, despite Shino and Hinata's reservations. In investigating a confrontation between two teams, they witness Gaara killing three Rain Genin, and Akamaru is traumatized by the sight.

Kiba is matched against Naruto in the seventh match of the preliminaries. While Kiba initially has an advantage due to his superior speed and strengthening Akamaru with a soldier pill, Naruto tricks him into knocking Akamaru unconscious, then after accidentally flatulating in Kiba's face, defeats him with the first use of Naruto Uzumaki Barrage. Kiba regains consciousness on the stretcher, and urges Hinata to forfeit if she is matched against Gaara or Neji.

A month later, at the finals, Kiba watches the match between Naruto and Neji with Hinata. After Kabuto heals Hinata when she begins coughing up blood, he renders Kiba unconscious, leaving him unable to assist Konoha's ninja in the invasion.

Sasuke Retrieval Arc
In the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, he is the only one on his team to assist the recovery effort, with Shino out on a mission and with Hinata not being recruited for an unknown reason. After Naruto seized the container holding Sasuke, an explosion knocks Kiba, and Sakon and Ukon into a gorge. Kiba and Akamaru fought against Sakon and Ukon, but despite using their Double Wolf Fang against the brothers, are ultimately outmatched. Kiba retreats with Akamaru, and both were eventually assisted by Kankuro, who trapped the brothers in Kuroari before impaling them with Karasu. Although Kiba was badly wounded, unlike Choji and Neji, his wounds were not life-threatening.

Filler Arcs
Kiba commonly works with Naruto and Hinata in the filler arcs, often when Shino is absent. At one point, due to failing the Bikochu and Bounty Hunter missions, they are given a mission to test their teamwork, and told they will return to the academy if they fail. In the course of the mission, Kiba realizes that he and Naruto argue too much, and they put aside their differences to stop some ninja who have taken on their identities. Naruto, Kiba and Hinata succeed in their next mission together in the Cursed Haunted Castle arc.

Kiba's relationship with Akamaru is highlighted in the Kiba's Long Day arc. After Akamaru is infected with a biological weapon that causes him to go berserk, Kiba believes that Naruto is trying to find and kill Akamaru, and attempts to take Akamaru out of Konoha. Kiba eventually stops resisting when he learns Naruto and Hana's true intentions, but is paralyzed by the prospect that their plan may still require them to kill Akamaru. He eventually regains his senses and appeals to Akamaru, causing Akamaru to regain enough of his true self to avoid killing Kiba, and allow him to administer the antidote.

Part II
When Naruto returns to Konoha after the Rescue Gaara arc, Kiba appears riding on a much larger Akamaru, but says he didn't notice Akamaru's growth, due to spending so much time with him.

In the current arc, he manages to pick up on Sasuke's trail when even the ninja hounds are unable to, impressing Kakashi and allowing the eight-man squad to continue pursuing Sasuke.

Personality
Kiba is often short-tempered and impulsive, in stark contrast to Shino and Hinata, and can be prone to making mistakes when he is agitated in battle. He deeply cares for Akamaru, and is willing to do whatever is necessary to protect him.

Kiba often argues with Shino over what course of action the group should take, particularly when Shino advises caution. Kiba often sees himself as the group leader, and becomes offended at any of Shino's actions that he perceives as challenging his leadership. Despite his disagreements with Shino, he considers Shino a friend, and respects his fighting capabilities. Kiba gets along well with Hinata, but tends to worry about her, urging her to be strong before the second phase of the exam, and forfeit rather than face a dangerous opponent.