Utakata

was a missing-nin from Kirigakure and the jinchūriki of the Six-Tailed Slug. The Six-Tails has been captured and sealed by Akatsuki, causing Utakata's death when the beast was extracted. Utakata was featured in an anime-only arc detailing his capture by Pain.

Background
Prior to the events of the Tsuchigumo Kinjutsu Arc, Utakata promised himself to never use the Six-Tails' power and trained with his master Harusame. Eventually, Utakata would come to claim that Harusame betrayed him, almost taking his life, for the tailed beast's power. According to a member of Kirigakure's ANBU, his master did not, in fact, betray him, but was actually trying to extract the Six-Tails from Utakata. The process didn't go as planned, and instead of removing the tailed beast, Harusame forced Utakata's transformation into the Six-Tails and was killed by it. With only fragmented memories of the incident and the impression of betrayal, Utakata grew disillusioned and skeptical of the relationship between a master and student. He became a wanderer, constantly fighting off people who were after him, particularly the Hunter-nin sent from Kirigakure to retrieve him.

One day, he was attacked again. A girl named Hotaru, who happened to be there, assumed the assailants were after her. Utakata managed to fend of his attackers, but was injured in the process. Believing that Utakata had saved her, Hotaru took him to her family's fort for treatment. After he recovered, Hotaru begged him to train her in his ninjutsu, but Utakata adamantly refused, not wanting to become anyone's master.

Personality
Kishimoto described Utakata as "charming". In the anime's Tsuchigumo Kinjutsu Arc, Utakata's character is given a bit more depth. Utakata is usually depicted with a stoic, emotionless look, though more carefree than cold. Preferring solitude, he is not particularly talkative. Although, if the sensitive subject of student-master relationships is brought up, it typically manages to rouse his annoyance and anger. Hotaru is often on the receiving end of Utakata's ire on this matter as she constantly nags him to be her. As a result of his complicated relationship with his late master, he utterly despises the word, having remarked that he isn't foolish enough to ever take on the title.

In one instance, he said, "I told you not to call me master", to Hotaru as he floated away in a bubble jutsu. Hotaru's unyielding attachment and reverence to Utakata flusters him. Despite Utakata's genuine protective feelings for Hotaru, they are hard for him to acknowledge and express due to his nomadic nature and scarring past, though he acts on them if ever Hotaru is in danger. Utakata also has a strong sense of honour, often determined to repay his debts to others (like his assuming a guardian role to Hotaru since she and Tonbee saved him). Like Naruto, Utakata has resolved not to rely on his tailed beast for power, aware of the destruction it may cause, an indicator of a his maturity. Tonbee has also commented that Utakata lacked "greed".

Appearance
Utakata is a tall, thin, young man with pale golden eyes and dark brown hair that reaches the base of his neck. His side partition lets a large portion of his bangs cover the left side of his face. He wears a long, light blue kimono adorned with a small emblem of three bubbles on the back below the collar, and an orange sash. He carries a bamboo jug, filled with a soap solution, and a pipe.

During his time at Kirigakure, Utakata was dressed as a typical Hidden Mist ninja, similar to that of Zabuza Momochi. He wore his forehead protector on his forehead and his all gray ninja uniform included the distinctive gray flak jacket of Kirigakure ninja, with the variation of having a zipper and a pouch on the upper right chest.

Bubble Related Techniques
Utakata fights using ninjutsu from the  of ninjutsu, performed with a unique kind of bubble-blowing relic.

In the anime, this style of ninjutsu is shown to be very versatile. Capable of tactics beyond simply harming opponents, the bubble jutsu grants Utakata a wide array of offensive and defensive options in combat. With Exploding Bubble, an example of an offensive skill, Utakata emits streams of explosive bubbles that detonate at will. Utakata can also craft dozens of ink-filled bubbles that can immobilize and kill opponents instantly without leaving any trace of them, another offensive variation. Defensively, the bubbles are equally adaptable. Using the Floating Bubble Technique, Utakata can transport and conceal himself simultaneously. He can also create an enormous bubble barrier to protect himself or his allies from attacks like an Exploding tag.

Utakata is able to create some bubbles without the use of his bubble blower. In one instance, when Shiranami's technique was pursuing a messenger bird, Utakata popped his floating bubble and conjured another beneath his feet while his bubble blower was occupied with defending the bird.

Jinchūriki Transformations


When Utakata loses his temper, he taps into the Six-Tails' power, enabling him to discharge a burst of the Six-Tails' chakra, similar to that of Naruto's and Killer Bee's. Before unleashing the tailed beast, Utakata's eyes turn golden. Although he is not one of the four mentioned to be able to fully control their tailed beast, Utakata is able to use the power of each level of the Six-Tails' chakra up to the full Six-Tails form, like Yugito Nii. And despite promising to never use the Six-Tails' power, he was able to stop and absorb a powerful technique, Fury, without any harm by summoning it out of desperation.

Interestingly, it seems that Utakata has a better relationship with his tailed beast than most, as he can ask it to fully release its power without it forcefully overtaking Utakata's consciousness. The Six-Tails accomplishes only the task wished by Utakata and retreats back into Utakata without resistance as opposed to indiscriminately slaughtering people and reducing everything in sight to rubble.

Other Skills
In battle he was shown to be agile and nimble, effortlessly dodging and out-maneuvering all of Naruto's attacks and the assaults from Nangō, Akaboshi, Benten, and Chūshin. He is very observant as he noticed that Akaboshi and his group had a change in their chakra flow. He is also knowledgeable in tracking and herbal remedies.

He is shown to have an affinity to water-chakra.

Tsuchigumo Kinjutsu Arc
Wishing to repay the debt of having his life saved, Utakata agreed to make sure Hotaru and her grandfather's secret jutsu would safely be delivered to her clan's village.

Along the way, though, he met Naruto Uzumaki and his team, who had also been assigned to protect Hotaru. Seeing that the Leaf ninja were strong, he felt that he could trust them to guard Hotaru without him, freeing him from his debt. He then left, despite Hotaru's pleas for him to stay, as he noted that he was not foolish enough to want the title of.

Later on, he was seen resting under a tree, eventually falling asleep and having a dream regarding his past with Hotaru at the fort, which turned into a nightmare about his own master's betrayal. Shortly after awaking from this nightmare, Utakata spotted a flicker of a shadow, and decided to investigate. He came across a group of bandits, none other than Akaboshi's team, who were talking about the forbidden jutsu. Utakata confronted them and mused about taking the jutsu for himself, if it was so tantalizingly powerful. He then proceeded to fight them, easily besting them and their jutsu, until, however, they cornered him with a barrier, which then exploded with Utakata still inside.

When Akaboshi and his group managed to find Hotaru and surrounded her in the forest, Utakata arrived and saved her from the group, who were shocked to see Utakata still alive and unscathed from their jutsu. Utakata fled with Hotaru in a bubble, and they went somewhere nearby, but safe. Utakata was about to leave Hotaru again, but Hotaru, trying to convince him not to leave her alone, partially took off her shirt, showing him something on her back that shocked him. All of a sudden, the Kirigakure ANBU found Utakata and wrapped him up with their Water Release: Water Whip jutsu and began subduing him with their Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder. The captain revealed to Hotaru, who he was holding hostage, that Utakata was in their bingo book, and was wanted for killing his master. Naruto and his team arrived and managed to loosen one of the water whips holding Utakata. Both parties began to fight, but the leader of the Kirigakure ANBU appeared, and discussed the situation with Yamato. Due to Hotaru's insistence to be with Utakata, it was agreed that until she was safe, they wouldn't hunt him, but afterwards, they'd resume tracking Utakata down. Tsurugi, the leader, asked Utakata to return to Kirigakure, saying that the village changed, no longer earning the nickname of Village of the Bloody Mist. Utakata refuses, and says that he'll keep doing as he pleases.

After the groups part ways, Hotaru begins hurting from an injury sustained during the earlier altercation. Utakata has Naruto collect medicinal herbs. When Naruto returns, he witnesses what was done to Hotaru's back, where her clan's kinjutsu was put. Utakata voices his absolute disdain for people who selfishly take advantage of people's loyalty, only to treat them as tools.

Utakata is shocked to learned that Hotaru actually requested for the jutsu to be sealed in her. After she explained that she wanted her grandfather's dream to restore their clan's glory to come true. When Tonbee voiced his sorrow that by now the clan had probably lost too much strength to ever return to such a status he suggested they end the potential danger of the forbidden jutsu by destroying it. Utakata was surprised that Hotaru's grandfather had created a way to safely remove it from Hotaru's body. When Tonbee insisted that no true master would do such horrific things without a way to undo them, Utakata wondered if the same was true for his master. Once Hotaru was convinced to have the forbidden jutsu removed and destroyed Utakata resolved to find Tsurugi again to learn some answers about his late master.

When unable to find Tsurugi he finds a messenger bird with a note for him. While it is from Hotaru saying she found Shiranami, Utakata is still at unease, feeling something is wrong. He goes to the location Hotaru wrote and finds that Shiranami is actually the leader of the bandits, who trapped Naruto in a sealing jutsu. Utakata then uses his demon chakra to scare the bandits and make them run. Afterwards, he and Naruto track Shiranami back to Hotaru's village, where it is discovered that Shiranami took control of it with his sealing jutsu. Fortunately, Yamato and the others arrive to hold back the villagers while Utakata and Naruto went on to save Hotaru.

When they arrive, Shiranami was using Hotaru to gather raw chakra needed to use Fury, and binds the two jinchūriki with his Character Bind Technique. Both however used their tailed beasts' chakra to break their bonds and went in for the attack, only for Shiranami, who has control of the kinjutsu, to use Fury.

Although injured by Fury, he survived and as Naruto took on Shiranami, Utakata moved to save Hotaru, before the kinjutsu was used a second time. Utakata suppressed the explosion by transforming into his full Six-Tails form. With Shiranami defeated and Hotaru safe, Utakata accepts his role as Hotaru's master, but first must turn himself into the Kiri ANBU. On his way, he discovered a bloodied mask and is confronted by all Six Paths of Pain. Pain attacks Utakata, using the Asura Path to cripple him in a landslide. Before he is captured, he sends myriad of bubbles to Hotaru, who was unaware of his impending fate. After his capture, Akatsuki extracted the Six-Tails from Utakata, resulting in his death.

Trivia

 * refers to bubbles on the surface of a liquid. Idiomatically, it also means "transient", "ephemeral".
 * He has two musical themes that are remixes of Guren's theme. One is the end part of the theme called Guren, and the other is called Reflection.
 * Kirigakure's Bingo Book states that Utakata is worth a bounty of 50,000,000 ryō.
 * The place where the Six-Tailed Slug is being extracted by Harusame from Utakata resembles Stonehenge.
 * In order to prevent the jinchūriki from turning traitor, it is tradition for the host to be selected from the family of the village's own Kage. Due to this fact, Utakata could be connected with one of the Mizukage.

Quotes

 * (To Naruto) "They think of us... as mere tools. Tools... who don't speak."
 * "My hatred had shut my ears off... But I did hear..."
 * (Last words) "Hota...ru... you... must live..."