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, even tailed beasts and other jinchūriki. Many of these relationships started off antagonistic, but through his tenacity and empathy, they developed into deep and lasting friendships.

In addition, the villagers of Konoha as a whole had a drastic change in the manner that they view Naruto: moving from what they viewed as a menace and looming threat because of Kurama sealed within him, to a citizen/hero of Konoha whom they genuinely care about and would even go as far as to risk their lives to ensure that he was safe.

Kurama
A relationship that shaped Naruto's character, albeit unintentionally, was with the tailed beast that was sealed within him since the day he was born, Kurama — the Nine-Tails. Due to having the fox in 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, and Kurama complied for no other reason than to preserve its own life, since Naruto's death would result in its own.

Kurama had once expressed intense hatred and distrust against humans, mainly due to its long history of both its forced subjugation to the Sharingan and being sealed within the Uzumaki jinchūriki. Because of that, both Kurama and Naruto initially had a very antagonistic relationship throughout most of the series, with Naruto trying to harness the fox's power to perform techniques that would normally be impossible for a ninja of his age, and Kurama seizing any kind of opportunity to gain control over Naruto, provoking his rage and thus allowing its influence within its chakra to consume him.

However, their relationship soon began to change during the Fourth Shinobi World War, when Naruto himself told Kurama that he hoped to resolve its hatred someday. Despite the fox reproaching him for making such a claim, it nevertheless showed Kurama that Naruto was different from the humans it had previously encountered, eventually allowing him to utilise the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode without it consuming any more of his chakra. Later, while the reincarnated Madara Uchiha was fighting against one of Naruto's shadow clones and the Fourth Division, Kurama resolved to lend Naruto its chakra. Naruto at first thought that it was going to attempt to take over his body like it used to, but Kurama said it would rather help Naruto than be manipulated by Madara again, and spurred him on as he countered the Uchiha's attack.

Afterwards, Naruto told Son Gokū of his desire to save the tailed beasts and admitted that he was jealous of Killer B's dynamic relationship with Gyūki and wanted the same with Kurama. Kurama — having witnessed all of the challenges and endeavours Naruto had in his life — silently told the young man that if he truly intended to help them, he would have to prove it through his actions. When Naruto successfully freed Son Gokū from Obito's control, Kurama finally became convinced of Naruto's word and offered to meld its chakra with his as a coalition, to which Naruto then removed the seal that restrained it and happily acknowledged the fox as his team-mate from Konoha.

Their relationship has greatly improved by this action, as shown when Kurama pulled Naruto into the other tailed beasts' subconscious, and it was seen teasing Naruto about his first and only kiss with Sasuke. Within that short space of time, the two had begun to express trust in one another, even to the point where Naruto would allow Kurama to take control of his body without worry, and switch back without hesitation. Later on, when Obito tried to instil doubt in Naruto in an attempt to weaken his resolve, Kurama asked Naruto to switch once again to tell Obito that Naruto would never follow his ideals, as well as telling Naruto how much faith it had in him and that he won't fail against Obito or the legacy Minato and Jiraiya left him. Kurama also stated they have become friends.

Parents
Despite not being raised by his parents, Naruto has been shown to deeply love them. Though angry at his father 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 A criticised on how Minato was supposedly the "Child of the Prophecy" and claiming that he failed when he died against Kurama, Naruto angrily reproached the Raikage for insulting his father because he didn't know him. Naruto also explained to A that despite his parents dying shortly after he was born, their love and faith in him made him strong.

Mentors
Naruto has had several mentors over the course of the series. Through their guidance Naruto honed his skills and became one of Konoha's most powerful ninja. Many of their teachings have had a profound influence on Naruto's own life philosophy, shaping him into a better person.

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 thinks of Naruto as 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 father figure 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, though he still tends to worry about him. 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.

Kakashi Hatake
Kakashi Hatake is the leader of Team 7, the squad Naruto was assigned to after becoming a genin and one of his mentors. While at first they had a negative impression of each other, Naruto has grown to treasure his teachings, while Kakashi has come to understand Naruto's potential and unique abilities, believing him to be the only shinobi capable of surpassing the Fourth Hokage and respects his dream of becoming Hokage. Naruto would cherish the lessons he learned from Kakashi about friendship and teamwork. After he came back from training with Jiraiya, Kakashi would train Naruto in nature transformation. He also acknowledged that Naruto has surpassed him, since completing the Rasenshuriken. Kakashi was also one of the few people who knew Minato was Naruto's father.

Ebisu
Naruto first met Ebisu who was Konohamaru's tutor and would later defeat him using the Harem Technique. Initially, he believed that Naruto was nothing but a worthless nuisance and mocked his dream of becoming Hokage as he believed that only people of high lineage could amount to anything. He said all this about Naruto however, out of the ignorance of not knowing who his father was. Ebisu was asked by Kakashi to train Naruto for the main match of the Chūnin Exams, even though both he and Naruto were reluctant at first. Ebisu would train Naruto in improving his chakra control by having him do the water walking technique, which proved difficult due to the seal he got from Orochimaru. Naruto's training would later be taken over by Jiraiya. At the time of Pain's invasion of Konoha, it was revealed that Ebisu's perspective of Naruto had changed drastically upon seeing what he had done for the village.

Jiraiya
Though he was unable to take care of his godson, Naruto, in his youth, due to the threat of Orochimaru and later Akatsuki, Jiraiya and Naruto are very close to one another nonetheless, despite the fact that Naruto frequently called Jiraiya. Due to Jiraiya's influence, the two shared several things in common such as being perverted (though Naruto was shown to be perverted even before meeting Jiraiya but he was nowhere near as perverted as him), their desire to bring peace to the ninja world, and even both attempted to win the affection of their female team-mates, though neither one succeeded due to it being one sided on their parts and the fact that their teammates were in love with someone else.

Despite Naruto's ridicule of his master from time to time, he holds him in high regard, 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 Gutsy 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 former 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 memorial grave in honour of Jiraiya. In the Fourth Shinobi World War, when Tobi and Naruto argued about dreams, Naruto answered back that he thought of Jiraiya as a hero.

Killer B
When Naruto first met Killer B, he thought his raps were a little bit weird, but after discovering that he was a jinchūriki like him and had full control, he immediately requested B to train him. After gaining B's respect, the two became good friends and can actually relate to one another, even by communicating with B's raps and fist bumps, something that Yamato, much to his own frustration, couldn't understand what they were saying. Naruto in return shows respect for B calling him uncle. B was also willing to help him fight Kurama within his subconscious with Gyūki's help. B even stood up for him against his brother when he tried to kill him and stated he would keep his promise from Iruka to protect Naruto, even going as far as to offer up his own life in exchange for A allowing Naruto to continue on. The two then fought off against Tobi and his Six Paths of Pain and could understand the other tailed beasts' suffering from Tobi's control. B was even more impressed by Naruto when he was able to get Kurama to cooperate with him.

Friends and Allies
Naruto gets along well with the entire Konoha 11, as they are all comrades who fought alongside each other for the love of their village and Will of Fire. He has some sort of rivalry with some of them, such as Kiba, but they are good friends regardless. That, along with Naruto's accomplishments in saving the village amongst other deeds, made the rest of Konoha 11 appreciate and admire him. Naruto, in turn, was able to convince them to allow him to handle Sasuke alone, when the rest of them wanted to kill him together.

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 she already had feelings for Sasuke. Even back then in the Academy, Sakura disliked Naruto because she thought of him as a loser and would insult or degrade him in any way. However, when her making fun of him for not having any parents offended Sasuke, Sakura realised that she went too far and decided to try to be a bit nicer to Naruto from then on.

In Part I, Sakura was rather rude and disrespectful toward Naruto when they were first made team-mates in Team 7 along with Sasuke, however Sakura began to see Naruto in a new light due to his constant dedication to his friends, and following Part II it turned into a strong friendship, even though she still has a tendency to lash at him whenever he annoys her or side with Sasuke over him. However, Sakura does show kindness to him, such as in explaining the Tree Climbing Practice during the Land of Waves Arc and in the Chūnin Exams, when she saw that Naruto didn't have a chance of answering the questions, she was willing to forfeit to prevent him from being stuck as a genin. After Sasuke defected from Konoha, Naruto, having realised that Sakura loves Sasuke, promised that he would do everything in his power to bring him back to her.

When Naruto returned after his two-and-a-half year-long training, Sakura was quickly partnered with him as they both become members of the reformed Team Kakashi, resulting in her to understand Naruto even more when his status as a jinchuriki is revealed to her. Their new team-mate, Sai, initially assumed that Naruto's dedication to make Sakura happy has progressed to the point of love (though it was one-sided as Sakura's doesn't reciprocated the feelings he has for her), and noted that the strain of making her happy and fulfilling his promise to her have been the source of Naruto's internal pain. Even when she told Naruto that she loved him and she no longer had any feelings for Sasuke, Naruto never believed Sakura's "confession", for he knew that she still loved Sasuke despite him becoming an international criminal as well as the heinous acts he committed, a fact later proven true by Sai and later admitted by Sakura herself during the war. In the anime only, Naruto told Shizuka that though he admitted he fell for Sakura, he knew it was one sided as Sakura was in love with Sasuke and would likely never return his feelings. However, he stated all that mattered was her happiness and that he would still try to win her affections.

Hinata Hyūga
Ever since they were children, Hinata Hyūga always admired Naruto's strength, determination to never give up no matter what the odds, his selfless nature and how his smile changed her, and she always strives to better herself thanks to Naruto's influence. In addition, out of all of Naruto's peers growing up in the Academy, Hinata never insulted, degraded, or even laughed at Naruto whenever he embarrassed himself or got into trouble, and because of her incredibly empathetic nature, Hinata was one of the very first people to identify Naruto's painful childhood. As the series progressed, Hinata's long-standing admiration for Naruto soon developed into much stronger feelings, eventually leading her to fall in love with him.

Even though Naruto was initially oblivious to her feelings, he always held Hinata in high regard as a close friend because of her desire to change herself and be acknowledged, something that he can relate to. He has also shown a great deal of care for her, as in the Chūnin Exams, he declined her offer of copying her test due their risk of being disqualified, defended Hinata from Neji's contempt toward her, and even vowed with her own blood to defeat Neji in her place. However, a month later, Naruto became uncharacteristically low and unconfident about his match with Neji in the finals despite his earlier vow, so went to the training grounds, where he, much to his surprise, happened to bump into Hinata. When he revealed his doubts about the match and his own abilities to her, she reassured him that he is incredibly strong because he always had the strength to overcome his own failures. Naruto gratefully thanked Hinata for bringing him out of his depression, and he said to her that even though he had thought of her as a shy and quiet girl, he really likes a person like her.

During the invasion of Pain, Naruto, who was then pinned down by Pain, was shocked when Hinata entered into the fray and intervened to protect him. 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 Pain. When she finally confessed her love to Naruto, he was completely speechless, and when it looked as if Pain had killed Hinata right before his very eyes, Naruto had become so furious that he instantly entered his six-tailed form. Later on, when 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 that she's still alive. By the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War, when Naruto saw Hinata feeling down on herself after he saved her from the disguised White Zetsu Army clones, he reassured her that she is very strong, recounting her coming to his aid against Pain when no one else did, to which Hinata silently thanked him for cheering her up. When the entire shinobi force was rushing to Naruto's aid, Hinata resolved that once the war was over, she would be standing right beside him, holding his hand.

Gaara
When Naruto first met Gaara prior to the Chūnin Exams, he was unaware that he was jinchūriki like himself until he and Shikamaru stopped him from finishing off the hospitalised Rock Lee. The encounter at the hospital, and later during his battle against Gaara during the Invasion of Konoha, Naruto saw Gaara to have suffered like he had. After defeating Gaara, Naruto crawled towards him and revealed himself as a jinchūriki. While shocked that his opponent suffered as he had, Gaara 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.

Naruto's undying devotion and desire to protect his loved ones inspired Gaara to take a similar path, becoming the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure to connect to his people and be finally acknowledge as a person rather then as Shukaku's jinchūriki. 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 demons. When Naruto insisted to save Gaara from by the Akatsuki members Sasori and Deidara, he lamented to find that the Akatsuki killed Gaara by extracting Shukaku. Though he criticised Chiyo for sealing Shukaku inside him, Naruto offered his chakra to her for Gaara's revival.

During the Five Kage Summit, when Sasuke Uchiha attacked the meeting, Gaara tried convincing him to go back to light. But Sasuke's refusal forces Gaara to consider any attempt Naruto to reach his former friend futile. He confronted Naruto of this face, stating to Naruto if can become Hokage, he would be placed in a position of either saving Sasuke or protecting Konoha's people from him. When they met again on the battlefield, his earlier decision motivated by the need to protect his friend, Gaara eventually came to accept that he may have made an error in judgement when he decided to isolate Naruto from the war, willing to place his trust in him again. Stating likewise, Naruto insists that he doesn't plan on dying before becoming Hokage, and saying that Gaara's position as Kazekage doesn't mean that he should treat him like a kid.

Konohamaru Sarutobi
Even though Konohamaru Sarutobi 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. 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, 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.

Shikamaru Nara
Naruto hung out with Shikamaru Nara, along with the other "dead lasts", during their Academy days. The two would sometimes hang out even while they are not on missions. Shikamaru has some respect for Naruto by visiting him in the hospital and offering a fruit basket that he couldn't give to Chōji. Naruto would often work with Shikamaru while on missions. Shikamaru is also the only one able to relate to Naruto about the death of Jiraiya, due to Asuma's death and was able to get Naruto out of his depression and resolve him to avenge the latter when fighting Pain. Shikamaru also said that when he is around Naruto, there is something about Naruto that makes him want to follow him. Shikamaru seems to truly care about Naruto, and noticed the way the villagers ostracised him. Shikamaru himself noted that he and the rest of Konoha 11 sees Naruto much more than just being Kurama's jinchūriki. In the anime, he asserted that he wishes to protect Naruto and also fight alongside him during the war.

Kiba Inuzuka
Naruto and Kiba Inuzuka hung out with the other "dead lasts" during their Academy days. Naruto viewed Kiba as one of his rivals during the Chūnin Exams. Naruto faced off against Kiba and was able to defeat him. The two would still maintain a friendship throughout the years. Kiba would often aid Naruto on missions, including searching for Sasuke. Kiba seems to admire Naruto despite his reluctant behaviour to show it. Kiba wishes to become stronger than Naruto and have a rematch with him.

Chōji Akimichi
Naruto and Chōji Akimichi, along the other "dead lasts", hung out together while at the Academy. Naruto can be friendly to Chōji and would try to avoid calling him fat. Naruto would hang out with Chōji while not on mission, mostly to eat. He assisted Naruto in trying to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, but the mission failed. Chōji would often aid Naruto on missions.

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 failure 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 changed 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. Neji also claimed that Naruto saved him from the darkness and has even told Hinata that he owes a lot to Naruto and wants to get stronger so that he can protect him as well. Neji wishes to become stronger than Naruto and have a rematch with him.

Rock Lee
Naruto saw Rock Lee as a rival and later they became friends. Naruto would call him instead of Rock Lee. Before the Chūnin Exams started, Naruto would face him, but was quickly defeated which motivated him to become stronger. Lee was able to see Naruto as a rival besides Sasuke and Neji. After Lee stopped Naruto from attacking Neji for the way Neji insulted his own cousin Hinata during their match in the preliminaries of the third exam, Lee admitted while he wanted to defeat Neji in the finals to prove Neji wrong in his beliefs, he was willing to pass that dream on to Naruto if he were chosen as Neji's opponent instead which expressed their common desire to defeat Neji for this purpose. While this event did happen, and though Lee was unable to see it, he was satisfied when he heard that Naruto defeated Neji. Lee was also hoping to face Naruto again until he got injured by Gaara which disappointed Naruto. Naruto would try to help him be a shinobi again by bringing him Tsunade to heal him. Naruto would work with Lee on missions from time to time.

Sai
When Naruto first met Sai, they had a rough start, due to Sai frequently insulting him and regarding Sasuke as a traitor. However, Naruto got to know Sai better during their attempt to retrieve Sasuke and now considers him a member of Team Kakashi. Sai has been working hard to improve his personality, so he can become his own self and become a better friend to Naruto and Sakura. In fact, Sai believes Naruto to be much like his older brother. Sai also wanted to know and see for himself the bond between Naruto and Sasuke, which had changed him, though it seems that Sai now has his doubts about Sasuke being redeemable with all the grief he cause for Naruto through his crime-riddled vendetta, even claiming that he feels angry when he thinks about Sasuke.

Might Guy
When first meeting Might Guy, Naruto found him very strange due to his eccentric mannerisms. After Naruto became friends with Guy's apprentice, Lee, Naruto began to warm up to Guy. Guy in turn has come to like and respect Naruto for his strong will determination not unlike that of Lee. As a show of support, Guy once gave Naruto one of his jump suits, insisting that it will help improve his training. In the anime, Naruto has shown further respect and appreciation for Guy's shinobi prowess, asking him strongly to instruct Naruto in taijutsu. Also, in the anime, Kakashi voiced his trust in Guy watching over Naruto for his training to master Kurama's power, knowing that Guy would treat Naruto as one of his own students.

Tsunade
Naruto's relationship with Tsunade started with Naruto challenging her after she criticised the Hokage title, affirming that only a fool would want it. Despite being bested in their first duel, Naruto proved himself by coming to her defense in her battle against Orochimaru and Kabuto after she was paralysed by her hemophobia, proving that he had the will to continue on, despite whatever odds may be put ahead of him. Inspired by his actions, Tsunade was able to overcome her phobia and regained her faith in the village and herself. She thanked Naruto by accepting the position of Hokage and entrusted him with the First Hokage's necklace, a gift she had given to her brother Nawaki and her lover Dan when they too expressed their desire to be Hokage.

Overall, the two have a very strong relationship based on mutual love and respect, one that could almost be called familial, with Naruto often referring to her as "granny". She has come to his aid whenever the Konoha Council have attempted to control or limit his actions due to him being a jinchūriki and thus a target for Akatsuki. It is also her feelings for Naruto that kept the missing-nin Sasuke off of Konoha's Bingo Book, giving him her support in his quest to bring his friend back to the village. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Tsunade is the only Kage to argue in favor of Naruto so that he may be allowed to fight in the front lines, and though she is initially outvoted, the other four eventually agree, and as Naruto heads out to battle, Tsunade watches him go with an expression of nostalgia, sadness, and pride on her face.

Hiruzen Sarutobi
Naruto was looked after by Hiruzen Sarutobi after his parents' deaths. The Hokage kept his parents' identity a secret and gave him his mother's last name. He asked the village to never reveal anything about Kurama to Naruto or the children. Naruto was inspired by the Hokage, originally due to the respect they received, including Hiruzen, and hoped to become Hokage himself someday. He would often get under Hiruzen's skin by the disturbances he would make by his pranks or the use Sexy Technique, the latter of which often caused Hiruzen to suffer from nosebleeds due to being a closet pervert. Despite their unique relationship, Naruto deeply cared for Hiruzen and was very saddened by his sudden death, to which he payed his respects to the Hokage at the ceremony for the sacrifices he made for the village. Thanks to Hiruzen's teachings and value, Naruto would continue to help and protect the village after his death.

Itachi Uchiha
Though he learned from Sasuke that he is looking for his brother, Itachi Uchiha, Naruto was unaware of Sasuke's intentions of killing Itachi for the massacre of their clan. By the time Naruto learned of this, encountering Itachi when the Akatsuki sent him to capture him, he watched Sasuke's attempt to defeat his brother. This event later affected Sasuke's mind set as he left Konoha to obtain more power. When he encountered Itachi again years later to talk to the youth about his interest in Sasuke, Naruto told him that Sasuke was more of a brother to him than Itachi. This made Itachi smile as he asked if that resolve would waver would Sasuke attack the village. When Naruto answered that he would find a way to protect the village and save Sasuke without killing him, Itachi placed a crow in Naruto's body with hopes that he may never need to use it.

Eventually, after Itachi's death, the crow is revealed to be embedded with Shisui Uchiha's Sharingan with Itachi installing a command that would compel Sasuke to protect Konoha. However, reincarnated and under the control of Kabuto during the Fourth Shinobi World War, tasked alongside Nagato to capture Naruto and Killer B, Itachi is forced to sacrifice his gambit to free himself from Kabuto's control and aid Naruto. Naruto's opinion of Itachi seemed to have greatly improved after hearing the truth of the Uchiha clan massacre from Tobi, respecting the lengths Itachi would go to protect the village. Glad his brother had a friend like Naruto and seeing that he shares Shisui's ideals, Itachi told the youth not to ever forget about his friends and let his power corrupt him. Asking Killer B to protect Naruto, entrusting Sasuke to the latter, Itachi left them to stop Kabuto and release all the reincarnated ninja to give their side a fighting chance.

Itachi was also one of the few people who knew that Minato and Kushina were Naruto's parents and was well aware of his dream of being Hokage.

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, regardless of him still hating Nagato and being unable forgive him, 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. Naruto got over his hatred for Nagato and seems to have forgiven him, as well grew to respect Nagato, saying he got pain from his fellow pupil, and defended Nagato when Tobi stated Nagato was just like him.

After Nagato's reincarnation, 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.

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. Even though Sasuke thought of Naruto as a loser, he was able to understand Naruto's pain of not having parents and thus took great offense when Sakura insulted Naruto about him not having parents. As the series progressed, Naruto came to view Sasuke as a brother, striving to bring him back to Konoha despite Sasuke's willing defection. When Naruto came to understand both the nature of the cycle of hatred and the reason of Sasuke's malice, his desire to save Sasuke grew even more. It became so immense that Naruto was willing to take physical abuse from the Kumo-nin rather than sell Sasuke out, pleading with the Fourth Raikage to pardon Sasuke for his crimes. Upon reuniting with Sasuke and refusing to back down or kill him, Naruto, having been prepared to shoulder his friend's hatred, concluded that reasoning him out of destroying Konoha is no longer a possible option and believed that they would most likely die during their fated conflict. Regardless of the scenario that he would have no choice but to kill him the next time they meet, Naruto still recognises Sasuke as a friend.

Zabuza Momochi and Haku
A relationship that shaped Naruto's character, made him find his ninja way, and gave him the determination to protect his comrades was with two of the first major antagonists of the series — Zabuza Momochi and Haku. During Naruto's first C-rank mission of escorting Tazuna to the Land of Waves, Team Kakashi encounter Zabuza who was one of Gatō's hired assassins. After Zabuza's "supposed death" at the hands of a masked Haku he is removed to heal his wounds. After that, while Naruto was resting from training one day, he encountered an unmasked Haku in the forest, unaware that it was the same boy he had encountered earlier. The two have a conversation about those who were precious to them, and the lengths they would go to protect them, this notion provoked a unselfish desire to protect his friends and to never give up. Shortly after, during the second battle between them, Haku dies by sacrificing himself for Zabuza, protecting him from a final blow by Kakashi, Zabuza insists that Haku was too weak and soft to be his ninja tool and that he served his purpose as his tool in the end with no emotion. These words and lack of feelings enrage Naruto as he reprimands Zabuza for not appreciating Haku's actions. Having a change of heart, Zabuza kills Gatō, but dies due to his wounds. Naruto admits to Kakashi that he liked Zabuza and Haku which later Kakashi agrees on feeling the same way. When Kabuto resurrected the pair for the Fourth Shinobi World War and met up with Kakashi once more, both asked him about Naruto's well-being, to which Kakashi replied that he had grown into a fine shinobi.

Orochimaru
Naruto first encountered Orochimaru during the Chūnin Exams though he wasn't aware who he really was. He fought against him to protect his friends though he was defeated in the end. He learned that he is one of the Sannin and the one who attacked the village. He first saw Orochimaru while trying to help Tsunade. Sakura told him that Orochimaru is the one who attacked him and his friends for Sasuke. After Sasuke left to join Orochimaru, Naruto would train to get stronger to face Orochimaru to save Sasuke. Years later Naruto would face off against Orochimaru and use Kurama's power to fight him, almost killing him. Naruto hoped that Orochimaru's death would mean that Sasuke would return to the village, but he never did.

Kabuto Yakushi


When Naruto first met Kabuto Yakushi, he saw him as an ally during the Chūnin Exams. But despite his seeming politeness and helping the younger ninja out, Kabuto has some fixation on him. Eventually, when Naruto later discovered that he works under Orochimaru, Kabuto became his enemy and defeated him a fight that nearly killed him were it not for Tsunade. However, three years later, Naruto learns that his win inspired Kabuto to undergo the painful process of modifying his body with Orochimaru's DNA after his. Stating that Naruto was his inspiration for the risky act, Kabuto handed over a book containing intelligence on the Akatsuki before taking his leave with the hope that he can settle things with Naruto after avenging Orochimaru by killing Sasuke. Though he crossed paths with Kabuto during the Chikara Arc, Naruto only faced the ninja that Kabuto brought back for the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Obito Uchiha
Similar to Naruto in his youth in many ways before his presumed death during the Third Shinobi World War, Obito Uchiha is a reflection of the person Naruto would become if he ever gave in to despair and hatred. Though he saw the boy of no concern, Obito has been the cause of almost everything negative in Naruto's life, having been the one who used the newborn as a hostage, started Kurama's attack on Konoha, and indirectly killed his parents, Minato being Obito's former mentor. Years later, in the guise of Tobi, Obito would encounter Naruto again when he distracts the youth and the rest of the Eight Man Squad from interfering with Sasuke's fight against Itachi. Tobi later appeared before Naruto again, revealing the truth behind the Uchiha clan massacre and how he engineered Sasuke's descent into darkness. Though Tobi claimed his actions were for world peace, he embraced being called a monster while proclaiming that Naruto and Sasuke are fated to battle each other.

Though Tobi initially saw Naruto as a means to stimulate Sasuke for his goals, the youth's inadvertent thwarting of his plans forced him to plunge the entire ninja world into war to expedite his plans. Even after Naruto broke his thrall over the tailed beasts he captured, Tobi reiterated his contempt for Naruto and reassured himself that the boy is no match for him. However, as Kurama stated, Naruto was made a jinchūriki for the purpose of defeating him. Ultimately, it was because of Naruto that Tobi is finally exposed as Obito. While using the Ten-Tails to fight him, Obito realised the similarities between himself and Naruto as he vainly attempts to point out the futility of the youth's struggle against him and Madara.