Naruto Uzumaki

is the main character of the series. He is a member of Team Kakashi and the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

Background
Naruto was born the son of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and Kushina Uzumaki. Before his birth they had decided to name him after the main character in Jiraiya's first book, hoping their son would be as great a ninja as the character (who was based on Jiraiya) was. This made Jiraiya Naruto's godfather. Soon after his birth, however, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked the village of Konohagakure. To save the village Minato sealed the demon fox into Naruto's body, believing that his son would someday use it. Minato died afterwards, leaving Naruto to grow up knowing nothing of his parents. He received his mother's last name, which Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, felt that it was best that nobody knows he was related to the Fourth Hokage.

Before Minato died he asked that the villagers of Konoha to view Naruto as a hero who had helped to stop the demon fox. Few did as he asked, instead of openly resenting him for containing the monster that had destroyed their home. In light of this, the Third Hokage made a decree that nobody should ever speak of the demon fox sealed within Naruto, hoping that their children would not resent him as they did. The children, however, followed their parents' lead, not knowing why. Naruto was forced to live confused over why the villagers hated him so and strived to win their recognition. Iruka Umino would be one of the few exceptions, who was always compassionate to Naruto's plight. For this, Naruto came to view Iruka as the father-figure he never had.

Personality
Before graduating from the Academy, Naruto had a craving for acknowledgment. He would play pranks all around the village in an attempt to be recognized by its inhabitants. He would also tell everyone who doubted him on a near-constant basis that he would one day become Hokage. As he tells Iruka, he wishes to achieve this rank in order to be recognized by those around him, and to have the responsibility of defending them. Even after graduating, Naruto is still determined to be recognized, and becomes the "Number One Loudest, Unpredictable, Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja" of Konoha, as described by Kakashi Hatake. As the series progresses with Naruto makes more and more connections with others, his reasons for wanting to become Hokage undergoes a change, having less to do with the desire for recognition, and more to do with wanting the strength to protect his home and the people close to him.

Naruto's exuberant personality and fiery desire for self-improvement strongly impacts the lives of those around him. At the beginning of the series, Naruto befriends Konohamaru Sarutobi, the grandson of the Third Hokage, and it is through his brief tutelage that Konohamaru learns that the path to success is through plenty of hard work. Kakashi describes this as Naruto's "unique power", as he seems to change the world views of everyone he meets and inspires courage for the future within them.

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

As an extension of his naivety, Naruto has a number of childish traits. His pajamas always include a comical black nightcap with eyes and teeth, and he keeps his money in a chubby, green-frog wallet he affectionately calls "Gama-chan." He almost exclusively eats ramen, and is a frequent customer at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. He has a natural affinity for perverted ideas and jutsu, something he tends to be reprimanded for by Sakura and that is only brought to new levels after meeting Jiraiya. He also smiles near-constantly, which during his childhood was to mask the sadness of his lonely life. Those who are closest to him are able to recognize when his smile isn't genuine.

When the situation calls for it, typically when someone dear to him is in trouble, Naruto can be very serious and will instantly come to their aid. This is most commonly seen in the series through his interactions with his teammates, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. With Sasuke, Naruto views him as a brother and throughout Part II strives to bring him back to Konoha despite his defection from the village. With Sakura, Naruto has a long-standing crush on her, and will do all in his power to make her happy, even if it is at the expense of his own happiness.

Appearance
As stated by Jiraiya, Naruto bears a striking resemblance to his father. Naruto possesses similar blue eyes and spiky blond hair. Naruto is regularly seen with an upbeat and eager persona, always eager for something such as learning a new technique or a hot bowl of ramen. A trait regularly mentioned that easily angered him was his short stature even for his age. During Part I, he was one shortest of his graduating class, second only by Hinata. During Part II, he had a significant growth spurt that was noticeable to all, as first mentioned by Sakura who stated he was much taller than her. Even Kiba states that Naruto has become a "giant." Also earlier in the series, Naruto used to squint his eyes a lot when confused, but stopped after awhile.

Naruto and the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox


As the host of the demon fox, both Naruto's mind and body are occasionally influenced by it. Physically, Naruto has some of the demon fox's characteristics, such as whisker-like marks on his cheeks and larger than normal canines. He also has increased stamina and healing ability, which allows him to recover from major injuries within a day and minor injuries within a few seconds. Mentally, Naruto remains largely unaffected, save for a few animalistic traits that slip through, such as his occasional tendency to leap between trees on all fours. Since the demon fox was sealed inside Naruto at birth, it is unclear just what parts of his personality it has had an effect on; however, it could explain Naruto's devilish side for pulling pranks to gain attention, as well as his stubbornness to never back down from a challenge.

Naruto's normal chakra level is considered extremely high, partially because of the demon fox. Even without directly drawing upon it, a small amount of the demon fox's chakra is always mixed with his own. His body instinctively rejects the bulk of it due to the damage it would cause. Ebisu implies that Naruto's poor chakra control stems from this, as a portion of his chakra is used to reject the demon fox's overwhelming chakra. According to Kakashi, Naruto's regular chakra level is about double that of Kakashi's own. As such, he is naturally suited to jutsu that use a large amount of chakra, such as his signature jutsu: Shadow Clone Technique. While most ninja are only capable of creating a few clones safely, due to the jutsu's hazard of equally dividing the user's chakra among the clones, Naruto is able to create up to two thousand while maintaining a decent supply of chakra in each one.

The demon fox's chakra usually comes to Naruto during life threatening or other stressful situations, given to him by the demon fox itself to ensure its survival. Naruto eventually learns to contact the demon fox and demand some of its chakra, which it seems to comply to out of amusement. The reason Naruto is able to access its chakra is because of the unique way in which it was sealed. Though the demon fox remains trapped within Naruto, its chakra can leak out through the seal and mix with Naruto's. The demon fox's near-limitless supply of chakra becomes an invaluable weapon for Naruto, often turning the tide of a difficult battle in his favor. Though useful, expanding the magnitude of his other abilities, Naruto cannot handle too much of the demon fox's influence. As he draws upon additional amounts of the demon fox's chakra, "tails" are produced, and from the fourth tail onwards he is reduced to animal instincts and can no longer differentiate between friend and foe. Although he usually has success from stopping himself from getting too far, once the fourth tail is attained he needs outside assistance to force the demon fox's influence to recede.

Part I


The series begins with Naruto once again failing to graduate from the Ninja Academy. Disappointed that his plans of becoming Hokage have hit another hurdle, Naruto is approached by one of his instructors: Mizuki. Mizuki tells Naruto that if he can steal a special scroll form the Hokage Residence and learn one of the jutsu written on it, that he will be allowed to graduate. Naruto does so and struggles to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, unaware that the village is now looking for him. Iruka tracks him down and discovers Mizuki's involvement in the theft, realizing that Naruto has been duped by Mizuki in an effort to steal the scroll. Mizuki attacks them and tells Naruto about the demon fox sealed within him, claiming that Iruka hates him because of it. When Iruka risks his life to protect Naruto, however, Naruto realizes that this is a lie and creates hundreds of shadow clones to beat Mizuki to a pulp. For mastering such a difficult technique, Iruka allows Naruto to graduate.

In the days to come, Naruto befriends Konohamaru and becomes his on-again off-again teacher, showing him how to perform a variety of both perverted and useful jutsu throughout the rest of the series. He is also added to Team 7, where he is partnered with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno under the leadership of Kakashi Hatake. As the teams first order of business, Kakashi gives them a test to see if they are ready to become Genin: he has the three of them try to take the two bells he keeps on his person, the goal of the test being to place teamwork above the fact that they cannot all have a bell. Although they initially fail miserably, all trying independently to take a bell, they eventually decide to work together, allowing them to pass.

Land of Waves arc
After completing a number of simple, uneventful missions, Team 7, at Naruto's insistence, is assigned the somewhat more difficult C-rank task of escorting Tazuna to the Land of Waves. When they are attacked by the Demon Brothers along the way, who try to kill Tazuna, they realize that there is more to this mission than a simple escort. Tazuna reveals that his country is under the control of Gato, which has left the people poor and unable to afford the more accurate A-rank mission payment. By building a bridge that will connect the Land of Waves to the mainland, Tazuna hopes to free the country from Gato, prompting Gato to try and kill him. Team 7 decides to help Tazuna and act as his bodyguards until the bridge is completed.

They are soon attacked by Zabuza Momochi, another of Gato's assassins, who engages Kakashi in battle. When Zabuza captures Kakashi he encourages his team to escape with Tazuna. Having been of little use during the battle with the Demon Brothers, Naruto resolves to help Kakashi. With Sasuke's assistance they are able to free Kakashi, who in turn almost defeats Zabuza. Haku, disguised as a hunter-nin, intervenes and appears to kill Zabuza first, in actuality only putting him in a death-like state in order to get him to safety. Kakashi suspects that Zabuza is still alive and gives Team 7 a Tree Climbing Practice to improve their chakra control. Naruto and Sasuke develop a competition over the exercise, each determined to complete the training first and subsequently motivating each other to do better.

While Naruto is resting from training one day he encounters Haku, unaware that it is the same boy he had encountered earlier. The two have a conversation about those who are precious to them and the lengths they will go to to protect them. After Haku leaves Naruto finishes the training, but is left so tired that the rest of Team 7 allows him to rest the next day when they go to escort Tazuna. When he wakes up he goes to assist them, only to find that they are in the midst of battle with Zabuza and Haku. Naruto comes to help Sasuke in his battle with Haku, but they are both trapped by Haku's Demonic Ice Mirrors. When Haku tries to use a volley of needles to "kill" Naruto, Sasuke steps in to protect him, appearing to die instead.

Enraged by the apparent death of Sasuke, Naruto taps into the demon fox's chakra, allowing him to destroy the ice mirrors and defeat Haku. Before he can kill Haku, the mask he is wearing breaks away, revealing the face of the boy Naruto had met earlier. Naruto stops himself, but Haku asks that he finish the job since he can no longer be of use to Zabuza. Although Naruto tries to comply, Haku stops him at the last minute and goes to help Zabuza. When Naruto realizes what has happened, that Haku gave his life to save an ungrateful Zabuza, an outraged Naruto reprimands Zabuza for not appreciating Haku. Touched by his words, Zabuza kills Gato to repent in an effort to do Haku justice, but dies of his wounds. The bridge is completed and the Land of Waves is saved, so Team 7 (with a recovered Sasuke) returns home.

Chunin Exam arc
After returning home and completing a few other simple missions, Team 7 is entered into the Chunin Exams. In the first phase, a written test, the participating Genin are tasked with completing the test by cheating, all the while being sure not to get caught. Though the rest of the examinees realize this, Naruto does not, and struggles to answer the questions far beyond his comprehension. Hinata Hyuga, 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 is 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 insists on answering the question, stating that even if he gets it wrong he will still become Hokage. The willingness to face the unknown being the answer to the tenth question, Naruto and the rest of Team 7 are allowed to proceed to the second phase.

For the second phase, Team 7 is sent in to the Forest of Death with one scroll, tasked to obtain a second scroll from another team and arrive at the forest's center before the phase ends. Soon after entering the forest they are attacked by Orochimaru, who immobilizes Sasuke and Sakura with the fear of death. Before Sasuke can forfeit their scroll in exchange for their lives, Naruto intervenes, fighting Orochimaru by tapping into the demon fox's chakra. Orochimaru renders Naruto unconscious by restricting access to the demon fox's chakra, but Naruto's courage inspires Sasuke to fight in his place. After Orochimaru is driven off and Naruto awakens, Team 7 encounters Team Oboro. After wasting a day stuck in the rival team's genjutsu, Team 7 is able to defeat them, take their scroll, and pass the round.

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

While watching the remaining matches Naruto witnesses Neji Hyuga's ruthless treatment of his cousin, Hinata. Angered by Neji's actions and his claims that Hinata is a failure who can't escape that fate, Naruto vows to defeat Neji during the first round of the finals a month later. In the meantime, Naruto starts training with Ebisu to improve his chakra control. When Ebisu is knocked out by Jiraiya, Naruto forces Jiraiya to train him in his place. Jiraiya, noticing that Naruto is the container of the demon fox and the restrictive seal Orochimaru earlier placed on him, Jiraiya removes the seal to ease his chakra control. He then teaches him how to take advantage of the demon fox's chakra by showing him how to use the Summoning Technique to summons toads. Although finally having little success, Naruto is eventually able to summon the likes of Gamabunta in time for the final rounds.

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

Invasion of Konoha arc
Naruto is put to sleep when the invasion begins, and is awakened by Sakura so that they can go after Sasuke, who is pursuing Gaara in order to continue their fight. They catch up in time to stop Gaara from killing Sasuke. Intrigued by Naruto's abilities, Gaara forces him into battle by threatening to kill Sakura. With the power of the One-Tailed Shukaku sealed within him, Gaara tries to prove his existence by killing Naruto. Although Naruto can relate to Gaara's life as a Jinchūriki, he is not willing to allow anything to happen to Sakura and Sasuke. With the demon fox's chakra, he summons Gamabunta and fights Gaara in his full Shukaku form. Naruto is able to force Shukaku's influence to recede and they exchange final blows, Naruto emerging the victor. Perplexed that someone can find strength by fighting for their friends, Gaara retreats while Naruto returns home with Sakura and Sasuke.

Search for Tsunade arc
After the failed invasion results in the death of the Third Hokage, Jiraiya is tasked with finding a Fifth Hokage. He convinces Naruto to come with him by promising to teach him a new jutsu. Along they way they are met by Kisame and Itachi, two members of Akatsuki who seek to capture Naruto from the demon fox sealed within him. Jiraiya is able to draw them off, but Naruto is introduced to the organization that will become more of a problem for him in Part II. To prepare him for their future encounters, Jiraiya teaches him how to use the Rasengan, a jutsu created by Minato. While Naruto is able to complete the first two steps of the learning process easily enough, he struggles to complete the third and thus master the technique.

Naruto and Jiraiya eventually find Tsunade, the ideal candidate for the position of Fifth Hokage. When she turns down the offer and insults all those who have previously held the title, an angry Naruto attacks her with an incomplete Rasengan. Although his effort fails to hit her, she is surprised by his progress and makes him a bet: if he can master the technique in a week she will give him her necklace. He agrees and starts practicing, but in a week's time still has yet to finish the training. Disappointed, Tsunade meets with Orochimaru, the murderer of the Third Hokage, and Naruto and Jiraiya try to stop her from helping him.

Tsunade turns out to have no intention of helping Orochimaru, and fights him and his assistant, Kabuto. When Kabuto leaves her, unable to fight, Naruto comes to her aid. By using shadow clones to help him form it, Naruto is able to hit Kabuto with a perfected Rasengan, winning the bet. Amazed by his determination to keep to his word and to survive against a superior opponent, Tsunade gives him her necklace, drives off Orochimaru and Kabuto, and accepts the position of Fifth Hokage. They return to Konoha, Tsunade confidently believing Naruto will some day become a great Hokage.

Sasuke Retrieval arc
After returning with Tsunade, Sasuke begins to fall into the corruption set in place for him by Orochimaru. He begins lashing out at Sakura and Naruto not as teammates but as enemies, eventually defecting from Konoha in order to seek out Orochimaru for power. Under the escort of Orochimaru's Sound Four Sasuke goes to Orochimaru, and Naruto joins a retrieval team that would bring him back. While the other members of the team deal 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. When he was about to be killed, he was saved by Rock Lee, who told him to continue the pursuing of Sasuke while he fought Kimimaro.

Naruto finally caught up with Sasuke in a place called Valley of the End, very near the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound, and fought Sasuke. With Sasuke determined to kill Naruto in his quest for power, Naruto decides to take the battle seriously if he is to bring Sasuke back. When Sasuke's drive to kill proves greater than Naruto's resolve of friendship in a "fair" fight, Naruto taps into the demon fox's chakra to level the playing field. Sasuke, pushed to his limits, managed to get the mature Sharingan, greatly overpowering Naruto. When Naruto, even with demon fox chakra was defeated, he taps into the chakra even more, and a red aura of the demon fox's chakra, in the shape of the demon fox, surrounds him. Sasuke then draws on the power of the Second Stage of his cursed seal to properly compete with Naruto. The two have one final clash, Naruto with his Rasengan and Sasuke with his Chidori. Sasuke strikes Naruto and effecively beats him. After staring at Naruto's unconscious body, Sasuke can't bring himself to kill his best friend, and he simply continues his way.

Although he failed to retrieve Sasuke, Naruto vows to Sakura that he will someday bring Sasuke home. After recovering from the battle he leaves Konoha with Jiraiya to train for two-and-a-half years, hoping that he will be strong enough to free Sasuke from Orochimaru when he returns.

In the anime, Naruto is forced to stay in Konoha for a few months before he can leave with Jiraiya. Naruto goes on a variety of missions with his fellow Konoha Genin, but sees little character development.

Rescue Gaara arc
When Naruto returns to Konoha, the remaining members of Team 7 are reorganized into Team Kakashi. As their first order of business, Kakashi gives them another bell test, this time the only goal being to take a bell. Although their abilities have improved, Naruto and Sakura are still unable to beat Kakashi, and it is only by threatening to spoil the end of the latest Icha Icha novel that they distract Kakashi long enough to take the bells. Naruto reconnects with his old friends, who have all advanced to Chunin-rank, and then hears that Gaara, the new Kazekage, has been kidnapped by Akatsuki. Naruto and Team Kakashi set out for Sunagakure to save him.

Upon arrival in Sunagakure, Chiyo is added to Team Kakashi as an adviser and they follow Akatsuki's trail. Along the way they encounter a body-double of Itachi Uchiha who engages them in battle. Kakashi and Naruto team up to defeat the look-alike before continuing on to the Akatsuki lair. There, they find Gaara's body in the possession of Deidara and Sasori. When Deidara flies off with Gaara, Naruto and Kakashi pursue him, leaving Sasori to Chiyo and Sakura. While initially unable to catch Deidara, Kakashi is able to use his Mangekyo Sharingan to distract Deidara, allowing Naruto an opportunity to attack him and retrieve Gaara. Deidara escapes, and Naruto and Kakashi reunite with Sakura and Chiyo.

Although Sakura tries to heal Gaara, he has already died, a casualty of Akatsuki's Tailed Beast extraction-process. Angered that Gaara died because he was a Jinchūriki, something he never asked for and suffered because of his whole life, Naruto lashes out at Chiyo, the one who sealed the Shukaku into Gaara in the first place. To make up for what she had done, Chiyo, with the help of Naruto, restores Gaara to life at the cost of her own. Gaara awakens surrounded by friends, and after Chiyo's funeral Naruto returns home with the rest of Team Kakashi.

Sai and Sasuke arc
During Sakura's battle with Sasori she learned of a spy in Orochimaru's inner-circle, an opportunity for them to find Sasuke after his years of absence. Kakashi is left hospitalized from overuse of the Mangekyo Sharingan, so Yamato is assigned to lead Team Kakashi in his place. Sai is also added to the team as Sasuke's replacement, but nether Naruto nor Sakura are able to accept him as such.

En route to the meeting place with the spy, Yamato tries to get the team to work together, though Sai's personality and disdain for his predecessor cause only conflict amongst the team. When they arrive at the meeting spot they find that the spy is Kabuto. Yamato, disguised as Sasori, speaks with him, but they are interrupted by the arrival of Orochimaru. Kabuto, in turn, turns against Yamato, who is forced to call Naruto and the others for back up. Surprised to see Naruto, Orochimaru wonders aloud if Naruto has become as strong as "his Sasuke." Enraged that Orochimaru thinks Sasuke belongs to him, Naruto enters a three-tailed transformation and attacks him.

While a fair match, Orochimaru is able to evade Naruto's attacks. Further provoked by his inability to land a debilitating blow, Naruto advances to a four-tailed form, losing his sense of self in his anger. Now a danger to Orochimaru, Naruto is forced back so that he may switch targets, his first being Sakura. Yamato restrains him before he can do any real harm and forces the demon fox's influence to recede. When he wakes up they find that Sai has joined up with Orochimaru. They follow him in the hopes that he will lead them to Sasuke and to see what he is up to. During a break Yamato takes Naruto aside and tells him of how he attacked Sakura, encouraging him no to rely on the demon fox if he really wants to protect those close to him.

When they arrive at Orochimaru's hideout, they infiltrate and capture Sai. Exposed, Sai reveals that his superiors sent him to help organize another invasion of Konoha. He is retrained for his treachery while the others go looking for Sasuke. Sai, having earlier met Sasuke, asks why Naruto is so determined to bring him back. Naruto explains that the two have a bond that cannot be broken and that he would risk his life to protect this bond. Intrigued, Sai switches sides, helping them to capture Kabuto and then scouring the base in order to reunite Sasuke with Naruto. He succeeds, but is attacked by Sasuke, the magnitude of which draws the rest of Team Yamato to their location.

Together again, Naruto and Sakura try to convince Sasuke to come home. Still determined to gain power, he refuses, prompting the team to use force. Their efforts are unsuccessful and Naruto, in his inability to compete with Sasuke's growth, struggles to reject the demon fox. Within his subconscious he tells it that he never wants its assistance again, but it is not until Sasuke enters Naruto's subconscious that the demon fox gives up on spreading its influence. In the real world, Sasuke tries to finish off his old, defeated teammates. He is stopped by Orochimaru and they retreat, leaving Team Yamato to return home.

Fire Temple filler arc
In the anime, Team Yamato is sent on a mission to the Fire Temple. There they met Sora, a young monk who openly disliked Naruto. Despite this, Sora is added to their team to help investigate the grave robbing of a number of former Twelve Guardian Ninja. Soon after the investigation begins, Naruto notices that the other monks treat Sora much as the villagers of Konoha use to treat him: as an outcast sentenced for loneliness. Naruto asks him about this, but Sora only replies that he doesn't blame them.

Upon finding the grave robbers, Naruto is forced into battle with Fuka, a woman that keeps trying to kiss Naruto. Through the use of shadow clones he is able to escape her advances, only to find out that she is a master of all five types of elemental jutsu. Soon afterwards she manages to kiss him, an act that sucks all the chakra from his body. Once his normal chakra is gone she begins sucking out the demon fox's chakra, a force she cannot handle and is promptly overwhelmed by. She retreats with her team, and Team Yamato returned to Konoha with Sora as a temporary substitute for Sai.

Naruto continues to try and befriend Sora, only for his and the efforts of others in Konoha being turned away. When later following Sora, Naruto found him to be trying to kill Asuma and Tsunade. After stopping him Naruto tries to ask why Sora is being so hostile, he discovers that Asuma killed Sora's father. Asuma soon arrives to try and explain but Sora runs off. Naruto once again follows him, but is stopped by Fuka. Forced into battle with her again, Naruto attacks, only to find that she is apparently regenerating from her injuries. Upon noticing that she stopped using certain elements, Naruto realized that Fuka somehow had multiple bodies that each has its own affinity which she can switch between. Coming to the conclusion that her soul resides in her hair, Naruto destroys all of Fuka's bodies before destroying her hair too, allowing him to follow Sora uninhibited.

When he arrives back in Konoha, Naruto discovers that not only is Sora's father still alive, but that he is behind the various grave-robbings. The more pressing mater, however, is that he had years earlier sealed some of the excess chakra left behind during the demon fox's attack into Sora, and seeks to use its power to destroy Konoha. As Sora loses control of the demon fox's chakra within him, Naruto also struggles to control the demon fox's attempt to create a four-tailed form. He is able to maintain his senses and forces the demon fox's influence to recede, and is able to get through to Sora to help him return to normal as well. The demon fox's chakra is expelled from Sora's body and, finally free, he says goodbye to Naruto before setting out to explore the world.

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

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

Upon retuning to Konoha, Naruto is forbidden by Tsunade to use the Rasenshuriken again. While it is devastating to his opponents, it is equally devastating to the arms he uses it with, endangering him and his hopes of remaining a ninja. Naruto says that he realizes this, but claims he understands his own body better than anyone else.

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

Later, while resting at a hot springs, Naruto meets a young boy named Yukimaru. They talk for a short time about bonds, which make Yukimaru happy. When Yukimaru leaves Naruto resumes his training and starts having success performing synchronized jutsu with Gamakichi and Gamatatsu. Jiraiya is soon called away so they return to Konoha, where Naruto teaches Gamatatsu how to perform water-based jutsu. Soon afterwards he meets up with Sai, who lets slip that the rest of the team is about to provide backup for Kakashi in his search for Orochimaru. Determined to help since he might meet Sasuke, Naruto convinces Tsunade to let him go too.

While searching for Team 8, Naruto runs into Yukimaru again and offers him to join him back at Konoha, but Yukimaru quickly disappears. As Naruto and his team find themselves halted by Guren's crystal barrier, Naruto summons Gamakichi and Gamatatsu for help. They then use the Wind Release: Toad Gun to break through, and on the opposite side find Team 8. When they notice that Hinata has been captured, they help rescue her before retreating. The combined teams follow Guren to a lake where Naruto is sent ahead to scout the area. He finds Guren and her forces (amongst them being Yukimaru) with the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle, who creates a tidal wave that drives them all back to shore.

While the team decides what to do with the Three-Tails, Naruto goes off to confront Yukimaru. He finds Guren instead and they argue over what will really make Yukimaru happy. Yukimaru soon appears as well, but after saying that he appreciates Naruto's efforts and would rather stay with Guren, leaves with her. Before he can go after them he is called back to help with the Tailed Beast, his goal being to prevent Guren and her forces from interfering with its sealing. To his delight, Kakashi also tasks him with safely retrieving Yukimaru.

When Guren finally attacked, he yet again got into an argument with Guren about where Yukimaru belonged. With the help of Shino and Kakashi, Naruto was able to defeat Guren and force her to retreat. Naruto then joined his team in protecting the seal. Unfortunately, Guren appeared again and with Rinji's help was able to break the seal.

With the sealing attempt failed, the Three-Tails goes on yet another rampage. After seeing Yukimaru's power unleashed from afar, Naruto rushes off to aid the boy. Along the way, he bumps into Guren again who is protecting Yukimaru from the Three-Tails. The two grudgingly work together to fend off the beast. Unfortunately, the Three-Tails manages to swallow them whole.

Inside, Naruto discovers that Guren was swallowed as well. While initially ready to fight her, he notices she is badly wounded and decides to treat it. Afterwards, he again states bluntly that he won't allow her to selfishly use Yukimaru for Orochimaru's plans. However after hearing and seeing how passionately Guren talks about what Yukimaru means to her, the two decided to put their differences aside for the time being and work together to escape the Three-Tails.

Hunt for Uchiha arc
After news of Orochimaru's defeat at the hands of Sasuke, Team Kakashi decides to make another attempt to find him. Knowing that Sasuke is going after his brother, Itachi, they team up with the members of Team 8 to find either of the Uchiha brothers. They scour the landscape and eventually encounter Kabuto, who has absorbed some of Orochimaru's remains into his body. As thanks to Naruto, his efforts to overcome the demon fox being similar to his efforts to overcome Orochimaru, Kabuto gives him a book containing some information on Akatsuki before he can be captured.

After regrouping and picking up on Sasuke's trail, Naruto uses a number of shadow clones to search the area faster. When one of his clones nears what he thinks is Sasuke's location, he finds Itachi there instead. Itachi repels all of Naruto's attempts to attack him, insisting that he only wants to talk. He traps Naruto in a genjutsu and, as is later revealed, questions Naruto on his dedication to Sasuke and to Konoha. When Naruto insists that he will protect both at any cost, Itachi gives Naruto some of his power in case he ever needs it. Itachi leaves and Naruto continues his search, eventually finding Sasuke.

When the real Naruto and the rest of the team move to intercept they are stopped by Tobi. Despite their efforts to quickly dispose of Tobi, none of their attacks work and it is only after word reaches them that Sasuke has killed Itachi that they are allowed to continue. Tobi, however, reaches Sasuke first. Having lost the trail, the Konoha ninja are forced to give up the search.

Sage Arts Training arc
When he returns to Konoha, Naruto learns that Jiraiya has died in his battle with the leader of Akatsuki, Pain. Grief stricken, Naruto blamed Tsunade for his death and departed. He spent the rest of the day mourning the loss of his teacher, musing over the fact he had wanted Jiraiya to be there when he became Hokage. After being comforted by Iruka, Naruto helps to decipher Jiraiya's dying message with Shikamaru. When the code is broken Naruto decides to go to train with the toads to learn senjutsu, knowing that Pain is coming for him and deciding to make the most of the time Jiraiya bought for him.

To learn senjutsu, Naruto trains to harmonize with nature, a process he speeds up by using a limited amount of shadow clones. He rapidly progresses through the introductory sages and attains a perfect Hermit Mode, something Jiraiya had never been able to do. Because harmonizing with nature cannot be done in the midst of battle, Fukasaku tries to fuse with Naruto so that he can gather natural energy for Naruto's use. When the demon fox rejects all of Fukasaku's attempts at fusion, Naruto is forced to find an alternative and uses shadow clones in a desperate attempt to learn how to gather natural energy while moving. News of Pain's attack on Konoha soon reaches them, and they mobilize for battle.

Invasion of Pain arc
Naruto (in Hermit Mode), Fukasaku, Gamaken, Gamahiro, Gamabunta, and Gamakichi are summoned to the center of Konoha. Naruto does not immediately recognize the crater he has been summoned to before noticing the Hokage Monument in the distance. Realizing that Pain has destroyed the village, an infuriated Naruto stops Pain's Asura path from attacking Tsunade with his Rasengan. The body is destroyed and Naruto sends Tsunade away, instructing her to make sure none of the other villagers intervene in the battle.

Pain's Animal path summons a number of animals to attack Naruto, who uses the increased strength granted to him by Hermit Mode to bat them aside to his toad allies. While they deal with the summons, Naruto disposes of the Preta path before preparing the fruits of his senjutsu training: a perfected Rasenshuriken. He hurls the attack at Pain's remaining bodies and it expands when it nears them, disintegrating the Human path. Running low on chakra because of the attack, Naruto has Gamabunta trap the Animal path in his mouth, where Naruto is able to defeat it with his Rasenrengan without interference from the other bodies.

Having run out of natural energy and thus exited Hermit Mode, Naruto has Fukasaku summon one of his shadow clones from Myobokuzan. As a workaround for his inability to have a constant supply of natural energy, he had some of his shadow clones gather it for him. Revitalized, Naruto attacks with another Rasenshuriken, only for the Preta path to appear and absorb the attack. Realizing that the Naraka path must have restored it, Naruto focuses his efforts on getting rid of it. He distracts the Deva path with a smokescreen and lands another Rasenrengan on the Naraka path.

Though he has defeated four of Pain's six bodies, Naruto is captured through a combination of efforts from the Deva and Preta paths. The Preta path absorbs his chakra to make sure he is no longer a threat but, being unable to handle natural energy, turns into stone and allows Naruto to free himself. The Deva path captures Naruto again and kills when he tries to come to help. While immobilizing Naruto, the Deva path tells Naruto of his plans for world peace. When Naruto disagrees with his views, Jiraiya's death being a byproduct of that peace, the Deva path asks Naruto for a better solution.

Before he can answer, Hinata come to Naruto's aid. She confesses her love for Naruto (greatly shocking him) and engages Pain in battle in a futile effort to save him. When she is apparently killed, an enraged Naruto explodes into a six-tailed transformation. His necklace reacts in an effort to quell the transformation, but the demon fox destroys it and attack Pain. Unable to deal with this new threat, the Deva path retreats to a location where it can use Chibaku Tensei. The animalistic Naruto is drawn into it and restrained, prompting Naruto to give his heart to the demon fox in a desperate attempt to gain the power needed to stop Pain, releasing the eight-tailed transformation. Before he can completely release the demon fox, Minato appears in Naruto's subconscious to stop him.

Minato reveals that he designed the seal of the demon fox to allow an imprint of himself to appear if ever the seal was about to break, a failsafe meant to protect his son. Picking up on this, Naruto realizes that the Fourth Hokage was his father, and is overjoyed to finally know who one of his parents is. His time being short, Minato reveals that he sealed the demon fox into his own son because he thought Naruto would someday find use for it in finally stopping Madara Uchiha. They also discuss the concept of peace, Naruto questioning whether Pain's goals are legitimate. Minato replies that he trusts Naruto will be able to find the answer, maybe even a better solution, and restores the demon fox's seal before disappearing.

Outside, Naruto emerges from the Chibaku Tensei, the demon fox's influence gone and Hermit Mode returned. He clashes one final time with the Deva path, using the five-second gap in time between its attacks to his advantage. Although his Rasenshuriken misses, he is able to muster enough shadow clones to resist the path's gravitational abilities. In the brief interlude between attacks Naruto strikes it with the Rasengan, defeating the last of Pain's bodies. The battle won, Naruto seeks out Nagato, Pain's base mind, to finally answer his earlier question about peace. Nagato tries to control Naruto with one of the chakra transmitting rods but Naruto resists. Naruto asks Nagato about his past and Pain answers...

Abilities
At the start of the series, the only jutsu Naruto could do without fail was the Sexy Technique, a creative but almost completely useless diversionary technique used simply to shock his instructors. Though Naruto had trouble with the Clone Technique at the start of the series, he quickly learns how to use the Shadow Clone Technique and its larger-scale version, Jonin-level techniques. His abilities continue to improve throughout the series, but he never progresses past the rank of Genin. Genin, however, is only a rank, as Naruto has regularly proves himself a match during Part II for the S-Class criminals of Akatsuki.

In his training with Jiraiya during the timeskip, Naruto's ninjutsu and taijutsu prowess have grown greatly. He has also been taught some limited skill at dispelling genjutsu. Like Tenten, he has begun storing extra weapons in summoning scrolls to increase his arsenal of tools in battle. However, the most valuable asset Naruto gained in his training with Jiraiya is increased battle smarts and more knowledge of the basics of a shinobi, which is what he lacked during all of Part I. This along with the skills and abilities Naruto has gained makes him a much more complete ninja.

Shadow Clone Technique
After learning the Shadow Clone Technique, it quickly becomes Naruto's signature jutsu. He often has more success when using it than he does simpler techniques, and is otherwise able to use it to great effect because of his large chakra reserves. The Shadow Clone Technique allows Naruto to create replicas of himself. Unlike the Clone Technique, the replicas are physical beings rather than illusions, making them capable of attacking and intercepting blows, and even adding intensity to one's training. He even uses his shadow clones to "add" to his first jutsu to create the Harem Technique, though it is still a fairly useless technique.

In the beginning, Naruto primarily creates shadow clones for the purpose of taijutsu, combining physical assaults or simply overwhelming the opponent. Naruto also often creates shadow clones to act as decoys or for other deceptive tactics, such as diverting attention away from himself so that he may use the Transformation Technique unnoticed. Naruto makes more intelligent and better control of his clones as the series progresses. In his fight with Neji, for instance, Naruto dispersed several of his shadow clones once one was hit, creating the illusion that Neji had hit the real Naruto. Later in the series, Naruto would hide away while several clones attack, confusing the enemy when there was no Naruto remaining. During his fight with Gaara, Naruto even uses his clones as shields and platforms to bound off of in the air.

By Part II, Naruto's usage and timing of the technique has become more advanced. Various tactics he has shown include creating clones to push himself out of the way of an attack, transform into weapons, and fall for traps in his stead. He has also learned to use the clones to determine an opponents abilities and how many shadow clones he will really need without wasting any extra chakra.

Summoning Technique
Naruto was taught how to use the Summoning Technique by Jiraiya in order to give him an ally in battle and to help him take advantage of the demon fox's reserves. The type of toads he can summon is proportional to his chakra and skill, as when he started out he could only summon tadpoles. When he uses the demon fox's chakra, he has been shown able to summon the toad boss Gamabunta. When he doesn't use the demon fox's chakra, he seems to have a hard time getting any specific toad as he summons Gamakichi or Gamatatsu. As the animals have minds of their own, Naruto has difficulty controlling them, meaning that they typically have to become motivated to fight on their own. Naruto makes only occasional use of the Summoning Technique during Part I, with almost no use of it in Part II outside of the anime.

Senjutsu and Hermit Mode
During his tutelage with Fukasaku in Myobokuzan, Naruto was taught how to enter Hermit Mode, which boosts his power, endurance, and enables him to use senjutsu. In order to achieve this power Naruto had to learn to sense and control the natural energy surrounding him. Once attaining this feat he perfects the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. Fukasaku then proceeded to teach him Frog Katas, which is a special type of taijutsu that uses the natural energy surrounding the user in order to enhance the range and the potency of each hit. In Hermit Mode, Naruto has shown the ability to defeat all of the Six Paths of Pain, something no one has accomplished.

During Naruto's battle with Pain, it was revealed that Naruto has used his experience from developing the Rasenshuriken to overcome the limitations of Hermit Mode to not move. His plan is to leave a shadow clone somewhere in a safe place (Myobokuzan) and have the clones continuously gather natural energy and infuse it with clones' chakra. Thus, when the real Naruto's senjutsu chakra is depleted, he can have the clones disperse it in order to have the senjutsu chakra gathered by the clone transferred to him, thus allowing Naruto to return to Hermit Mode while moving. Naruto also reveals that while in Hermit Mode, he can only create up to four shadow clones in total, as creating more clones would disrupt the ones trying to gather the senjutsu chakra. Naruto has shown to be able to combine Hermit Mode with his Jinchūriki form, giving him the characteristics of both forms.

Rasengan
Naruto's most useful offensive technique is the Rasengan, a jutsu his father invented. Unlike Jiraiya or Kakashi, Naruto has to use two hands to create the Rasengan due to his lack of chakra control. However, even with his two hands, he couldn't form a proper Rasengan sphere. Only by using the hands of shadow clones to make a "shell" was he able to master it. When he is in his tailed transformations, he seems to have the ability to mold the chakra into a sphere with one hand using the demon fox's chakra alone. In Part II, Naruto showed off his own version of the Rasengan, a larger version simply called the Great Ball Rasengan. After his Training with Fukasaku, he is also able to create Rasenrengan, a Rasengan in both of his hands. Since learning Rasengan it has become a number of his trademark techniques.

In the each of the various Naruto movies, Naruto uses a new type of Rasengan, often facilitated by a character or form of energy unique to that movie.

Addition of Wind Element Chakra
After failing to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, Naruto went through element training and learned of his rare affinity towards wind chakra, allowing him to increase his attack and slicing power by channeling his wind chakra through his weapons and jutsu. He has since made his own version of the Rasengan, the Wind Release: Rasengan, by combining both shape and nature manipulation, something deemed impossible without some form of natural talent or instinct. This new technique, while stronger than the Rasengan, was only a prelude to its full potential. Naruto improved it to create the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken a much more powerful technique, capable of causing cellular damage to the victim, though at the cost of the user being damaged similarly. After his Sage Training, he managed to perfect the technique and can throw the Rasenshuriken as one would initially believe, thus removing the hazard to the user. Furthermore, the Rasenshuriken now has the ability to expand soon after being thrown, thus greatly increasing the power and attack radius of the technique.

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

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

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

Trivia

 * Spirals and swirl patterns are a recurring theme in Naruto, especially in relation to Naruto. "Naruto" can mean "maelstrom", and is also the name for a sliced stick of Kamaboko with a pink whirlpool design in the middle that is used as a topping for ramen, which is also Naruto's favorite food. The surname "Uzumaki" is a pun on, while "uzumaki" refers to a three-dimensional spiral, like a whirlpool or vortex. "Uzumaki" can also mean "whirlpool", in reference to the , named after the city of Naruto.
 * October 10th, Naruto's birthday, was Health and Sports Day in Japan when his character was conceived. The holiday, however, was later moved to the second Monday of October in 1999.
 * Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of the manga series, stated in a recent interview with the U.S. Shonen Jump that his childhood was like that of Naruto's years while he was enrolled in the Academy.
 * Naruto consistently ranked in the top two (taking first place twice) in the first five official Shonen Jump character popularity polls. However, in the sixth character poll, he was ranked fourth. According to the latest character poll, Naruto took first place.
 * The coat Naruto wore upon returning to Konoha to face Pain is nearly identical to the one his father, Minato Namikaze, wore as the Fourth Hokage. The only difference is the color, Naruto's coat is red with black flames, while Minato's is white with red flames. Naruto also returned with the toad summoning scroll across his back, similar to Jiraiya.
 * In the manga, Naruto once stated himself as having a yellow chakra (blue in the anime) and the demon fox's being red.

Quotes

 * "And my dream is to be the greatest Hokage! That way people will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Someone great!"
 * "I'll never go back on my word, that's my ninja way!"
 * "If being smarter means what you say it does, I'll remain a fool my entire life!"
 * "I think someone who can't save their best friend isn't fit to become Hokage. What do you think, Sasuke?"
 * "You give up, thinking I'm gonna give up!!!"