Naruto Uzumaki's Relationships

Due to his friendly nature and his unique charisma, Naruto Uzumaki has built many relationships over the course of the series that have defined him and others. Many of these relationships started off antagonistic, but through his willpower and empathy evolved into deep friendships.

Family
Despite not being raised by his parents, Naruto has been shown to deeply love them. When he met his father, and despite being angry at Minato for sealing Kurama inside of him, Naruto quickly got over his anger and was overjoyed and proud to be the Fourth Hokage's son. He also tearfully embraced his mother when he met her. After learning how his parents met and what happened during Kurama's attack on Konoha, Naruto told his mother that he could finally understand how a parent's love felt like and that he didn't blame her or Minato, instead he felt glad to be their son. When the Fourth Raikage criticised on how Minato was supposedly the "Child of the Prophecy" and claiming that he failed when he died against Kurama, Naruto, remembering what his mother had told him about Minato's love and faith in his son, angrily reproached the Raikage for insulting his father because he didn't know him, and that the Fourth Hokage hadn't failed at all. Naruto also explained to the Fourth Raikage that despite his parents dying shortly after he was born, they both made him strong.

Kurama
A relationship that shaped Naruto's character, albeit unintentionally, was with the tailed beast that was sealed in him since birth, Kurama the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Due to having the fox sealed within him, Naruto was hated and shunned by the village, and in turn, he desired their acknowledgement, albeit it was originally to cope with the feeling of loneliness. Later, when he met Kurama itself for the first time, he demanded the fox to give him its chakra as "rent" for being sealed within his body. Kurama complied for no other reason than to perserve its own life, since Naruto's death would result in its own. Kurama was a constant voice in Naruto's thoughts, tempting the boy to give into his rage and break the seal in order to ensure its release. The two had a very antagonistic relationship, with Kurama using any opportunity to take over Naruto's body, and Naruto trying to distance himself from using its chakra, using his own strength instead of relying on the fox. This status quo would remain between the two until Naruto broke the Eight Trigrams Seal and then, with the help of his mother, took control of Kurama's chakra and resealed it in a new stronger seal.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, in their first conversation after taking its chakra, Naruto promised Kurama he would do something about its hatred, understanding that living a life with just hatred was hell. Though the fox rebutted him for making such a claim, it nevertheless stopped consuming Naruto's chakra while he was using his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, allowing Naruto to keep fighting throughout the night of the war. When the division one of Naruto's clones encountered Madara Uchiha, Kurama, while claiming to only be helping Naruto because he was a better alternative than the resurrected Uchiha, gave Naruto enough chakra to repel his attacks. Later in his battle against Tobi and his Six Paths of Pain, Naruto admitted to Son Gokū that he was jealous of Killer B's relationship with Gyūki and wanted the same with Kurama. Kurama, hearing this, silently told Naruto that if he wanted the tailed beasts' respect, he would have to do it through his actions not his words, and when Naruto proved that he would do so, Kurama offered to meld its chakra with Naruto to combat Tobi. Naruto, proudly declared that Kurama was his partner and released the fox from its cage giving himself full access to it's chakra. Their relationship has greatly improved by this action, as shown when Kurama pulled Naruto into the tailed beasts subconscious, it was seen teasing Naruto about his first kiss with Sasuke Uchiha.

Iruka Umino
Although he owes much of his miserable childhood to Kurama, Iruka Umino bears no hostility towards its host, Naruto, and even cares for him as family. He even called Naruto his little brother. Early on in the series, he relates to Naruto's efforts to win the recognition of others through his antics; a tactic that he also used in his childhood to cope with his feelings of loneliness, which he can sense in Naruto.

Because of this, Iruka goes out of his way to connect with Naruto outside the classroom — having realised that he could do more good as a mentor, than as a teacher. Iruka becomes even more aware of Naruto's situation when the Third Hokage asks him to contemplate living among people who would deny his very right to exist. Likely due to Iruka's more nurturing and compassionate nature, Naruto views him as a mentor and Iruka in turn, views Naruto as a younger brother. The two enjoy their favourite ramen dish at the Ramen Ichiraku whenever Naruto returns from a mission, where Iruka gets an opportunity to see how Naruto is developing as a ninja. Iruka's refusal to allow Naruto to graduate at first was not out of spite, but merely out of caring strictness and a desire for Naruto to work harder and reach his own potential.

Sakura Haruno
Naruto had a long-standing crush on Sakura Haruno, but whenever he tried to win her affections, Sakura would repel his advances because of his interference with her similar efforts with Sasuke. When first teamed up together, Sakura viewed Naruto as a talentless idiot who deliberately tried to ruin her life, the result of Naruto's efforts to win her affections interfering with her similar efforts with Sasuke. She was also rather rude and disrespectful towards him, going as far as to insult or degrade him by any chance she got, and even stated when they first became a team that the one thing she doesn't like was Naruto. However, as the story progressed and Naruto continuously shows his worth as a ninja as well as his dedication to his team-mates, Sakura realised that her initial perceptions of him were wrong. Naruto would do all in his power to make her happy, even if it is at the expense of his own happiness. Sai has assumed that this dedication has progressed to the point of love, and though Sakura has been shown to care for Naruto as a team-mate and friend, these feelings are ultimately one-sided on Naruto's part as Sakura doesn't reciprocate them for him. Even when she confessed her love for him, he didn't believe her, knowing full well she's still in love with Sasuke and that she was lying to herself, a fact proven to be true by Sai and later on by Sakura herself during the war. In addition, Sai noted that the strain of making Sakura happy and bringing Sasuke home are the source of Naruto's internal pressure.

Neji Hyūga
In the beginning, Naruto developed a strong dislike towards Neji Hyūga due to his cruel treatment to his cousin Hinata. When Neji left her in a critical condition and stated that a falure like Hinata and Naruto can never change, Naruto vowed on Hinata's blood to win. During Neji's match with Naruto, who despite being repeatedly struck down, continued to try and fight him. While Neji tried to show Naruto that fate cannot be fought, and that someone who is weak will always remain weak, Naruto was unwilling to accept this mindset, arguing that Neji, for all his belief in fate, had not accepted his own destiny. Naruto went on to defeat Neji, suggesting that, if a "failure" like himself could change his destiny, think of what a "genius" like Neji could do. Naruto promised that he will change the fate of the Hyūga clan for him. He change Neji's idealism and remedy the estranged relations between himself and the main house, especially to Hinata, who even trained with him. Since his defeat, Neji has now mellowed out and treated Naruto much nicer, and the two have since developed a friendly relationship.

Hinata Hyūga
Naruto has always held Hinata Hyūga in high regard as a friend because of her desire to change herself and be acknowledged, something that he can relate to. Despite being oblivious of her feelings for him in Part I before her confession, Naruto has also shown a great deal of care for Hinata, as in the Chūnin Exams, he defended Hinata from Neji's contempt toward her, and even vowed with her blood to defeat Neji in her place. Later, when Hinata was able to take away his self-doubts before his match with Neji, Naruto gratefully thanked her and said to her that even though he had thought of her as a dark and weird girl, he likes people like her. During the invasion of Pain, when Hinata confessed her love to Naruto, it greatly shocked him, and when it looked as if Pain had killed Hinata right before his very eyes, Naruto became so furious to the point where he entered his six-tailed form and later on a eight-tailed form. Later, as soon as he returned to his normal state, he specifically remembered Hinata's condition and became very concerned, but was then brought to tears of relief when he found out she was alive. By the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War, when Naruto saw Hinata feeling down on herself, he cheered her up by reminding her that she is very strong, recounting her coming to his aid against Pain when no one else did.

Jiraiya
Although Naruto frequently called Jiraiya, he always had a good relationship with his mentor and godfather. Due to Jiraiya's influence, the two shared several things in common such as being slightly perverted (though Naruto is no where near as perverted as Jiraiya), their desire to bring peace to the ninja world, and even both attempting to win the affection of their team-mates. Despite Naruto's ridicule of his master from time to time, he always had a high respect for him, even stating after his mother faded away that Jiraiya was a good man and a great shinobi. When Naruto learned that Jiraiya had died in his battle with the leader of Akatsuki, he was stricken with grief and blamed Tsunade for his death, and 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. When Naruto read Jiraiya's book "The Tale of the Utterly Gusty Shinobi", he was moved to the point of tears after reading it and finding out that his name is the same as the main character's. After Naruto's talk with Jiraiya's formal pupil Nagato, Naruto declared that what he inherited from him will help him bring peace in this world, and that if Jiraiya was willing to place his faith in him, then Naruto was willing to believe in himself and stated that he would find peace for the world. Naruto also made a grave in honour of Jiraiya.

Gaara
During Naruto and Gaara's battle during the Invasion of Konoha, Naruto saw the loneliness within his eyes and thought they were the same. After there battle ended in a draw, Naruto crawled towards Gaara and explained that he suffered the same fate as him. He was shocked to find that Naruto knew very well the pain he had endured all his life. He was even more surprised that Naruto never gave up hope on being acknowledged as a person and ultimately found friends who truly cared for him.

Gaara was puzzled by Naruto's undying devotion to his friends, making him realise that Naruto's strength came from the desire to protect those close to him. Seeing the determination that Naruto had to protect his friends made Gaara question his own path in life. As Gaara and his siblings fled the scene, Gaara openly apologised to Kankurō and Temari, which surprised and confused them. He realises that he gave up too easily and decides to follow Naruto's path, wishing to become Kazekage of Sunagakure so he could be connected to his people, and hopefully have them finally acknowledge his existence as a person, not the tailed beast inside him. Over the next few years, Gaara's determination to find happiness became apparent from his decision to rely on his own power rather than his inner demon's.

When Naruto learned that Gaara was kidnapped by the Akatsuki members Sasori and Deidara, he was very eager to save the latter. He was even angered by the fact that people only saw their powers and not the jinchūriki themselves. Learning that the Akatsuki completed extracting the Shukaku, resulting in Gaara's death, he openly cried and criticized Chiyo for sealing the Shukaku inside him, which made him had a painful and horrible life. Naruto also come far to give his chakra to Chiyo during his revival.

During the Five Kage Summit, when Sasuke Uchiha attacked the meeting, and Gaara convincing him to go back to light, which the lad refuses, saying that he closed his eyes and only his goals exist in darkness, he gave up that Naruto may be still able to convince Sasuke. He confronted Naruto and informed him that it's hopeless to make Sasuke return to the light, and that if he were to one day become Hokage, he'd have to make hard and unavoidable choices, such as choosing to save a former friend turned criminal or guarantee the safety of his people. The latter refuses to answer and became silent as he pondered on this.

Konohamaru Sarutobi
Even though Konohamaru and Naruto pretend to be rivals, the two clearly have a deep and understanding friendship. Konohamaru idolises Naruto in ways that no other person does, which was also shown when the two first met, with Konohamaru calling Naruto "Oyabun", which roughly translates to boss. He opened to Naruto and told him that he was sad because nobody saw him for who he really was, instead, they only saw him as the grandson of the Third Hokage and was always called instead of Konohamaru. He liked Naruto because he thought they were similar. They eventually became very close, with Konohamaru constantly calling Naruto "Niichan", which can be translated to big brother, and Naruto also taught Konohamaru some techniques that he himself excels in.

Like Naruto, Konohamaru dreams of becoming Hokage; however, he is content to wait to be the Seventh Hokage, as he is perfectly convinced that Naruto will become the Sixth.

Sasuke Uchiha
Ever since he first met with Sasuke Uchiha back in the Academy days, Naruto instantly saw him as his rival, and was determined to have Sasuke acknowledge him as an equal. However, as the series progressed, he came to view him as a brother, and despite Sasuke's willing defection from the village, Naruto strives to bring him back to Konoha. When Naruto came to understand the downside of revenge and the reason of Sasuke's hatred, his desire to save Sasuke grew even more, as he was willing to take physical abuse from the Kumo-nin over selling Sasuke out, and getting down on his knees before the Fourth Raikage and begged him to forgive Sasuke for his crimes, since it would only create a cycle of hatred. Upon finally reuniting with Sasuke, Naruto sympathised with the criminal for his actions, and refused to back down or kill him, instead finding a third solution: since they were indeed destined to fight, as Tobi predicted, and when that happens, they would most likely die. Naruto is fully prepared to shoulder Sasuke's hatred as a friend, and is, in a way, the sole person who has not given up hope on him. However, like the rest of Konoha, Naruto has finally given up in bringing Sasuke back as a citizen of the village, believing that words would no longer have any effect to allowing them to understand each other, and has resigned himself to fighting (and potentially killing) Sasuke to protect Konoha. To prevent himself from dying when he fights Sasuke, Naruto started training to master Kurama's power, saying he was through running from being a jinchūriki and prepared to complete "that technique". Despite this, Naruto still considers Sasuke his friend, though Sasuke no longer sees Naruto as such.

Nagato
Reflecting on an earlier lecture during his battle with Pain, Naruto demanded an opportunity to speak with Nagato, but was denied and attacked by the Deva Path. After defeating the Deva Path, Naruto went to see him, but when he arrived, Nagato fired another chakra receiver at him to try and control him. Naruto was able to resist it despite his close proximity to Nagato. Although angry with Nagato for killing Jiraiya and destroying Konoha, Naruto asked him how, as a fellow student of Jiraiya, could have strayed so far from their master's teachings. Hoping that Naruto would come to agree with his solution for peace, Nagato told him his past, of his two great sorrows and how he came to believe pain would save the world.

Although Naruto agreed with Nagato's ultimate conclusion, he rejected it for differing with Jiraiya's ideals. In doing so, he answered Nagato's earlier question about how to attain peace: by "breaking the cycle of hatred". He decided not to kill Nagato, as that would only perpetuate the cycle.

Amazed by Naruto's resolve and remembering Jiraiya's teachings, Nagato decided to put his faith in Naruto's answer. Nagato used the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive all the Konohagakure citizens that had been killed during his invasion, causing his red-hair to turn pure white due to the overexertion of his chakra. The strain of the technique cost Nagato his life. With his final breath he wished for Naruto's dream of peace to come true and said that in regards to Naruto and Jiraiya's book, he felt like it was "the work of a true god". Like his teacher, Nagato died with a smile.

After Nagato's resurrection, he is shown to be kinder and carefree to the point he was even willing to start making jokes, something that surprised Naruto. His opinion of Naruto also strengthened after he last saw him, pointing out to Itachi Uchiha that he wasn't surprised that Naruto was able to advance his control over Kurama's power since they both had studied under the same master.

It is later revealed that Nagato and Naruto are actually distant relatives by Naruto's maternal side, with Nagato being a part of the scattered Uzumaki clan.