Kiba Inuzuka

is part of Team 8. He and his dog Akamaru fight together as a team.

Personality
Kiba is often short-tempered and impulsive, in stark contrast to his teammates Shino and Hinata, and can be prone to making mistakes when he is agitated in battle. The fact that he enjoys the company of combat, as well as a habit of showing a joyful smile when facing a particularly strong opponent indicates that he's willing to risk his life for a mission. He deeply cares for Akamaru, and is willing to do whatever is necessary to protect him. And despite his rather gruff attitude, many of Kiba's actions reveal that he's very close to his older sister, Hana Inuzuka, and remains fiercely loyal to the Inuzuka clan.

Kiba often argues with Shino over what course of action the group should take, particularly when Shino advises caution. Kiba often sees himself as the group leader, and becomes offended at any of Shino's actions that he perceives as challenging his leadership. It seems as if there was a contest for the leadership of Team 8 during the Chunin Exams because Kiba says Hinata voted for him. Despite his disagreements with Shino, he considers Shino a friend, and respects his fighting capabilities. Kiba gets along well with Hinata, but tends to worry about her, urging her to be strong before the second phase of the exam, and forfeit rather than face a dangerous opponent.

Kiba apparently likes to tease Hinata about her affections for Naruto. These teasings usually manifest consist of telling her that Naruto is near or just mentioning her reactions to him to other people, much to her embarrassment.



Appearance
Kiba's personality and jutsu style is further enhanced by his wild appearance. While clearly human, he has several physical traits more akin to animals. Like the rest of his clan, he has messy brown hair, sharp black eyes with vertical slit-like pupils, pronounced canine teeth, and nails that he can change into claws. He also has the distinct red fang markings of the Inuzuka clan on his cheeks.

During Part I, Kiba's attire consisted of baggy pants and hooded coat. During Part II, his outfit changed to a dark leather jacket and pants, giving him a biker appearance.

Chunin Exam arc
During the first phase of the Chunin Exams, Kiba uses Akamaru to spy on the other examinees' tests and tell him the answers. During the second phase of the exam, while Team 8 easily took an Earth scroll from a rival team, Kiba wished to acquire yet another to narrow the competition, despite Shino and Hinata's reservations. In investigating a confrontation between two teams, they witnessed Gaara killing three Rain Genin, and Akamaru was traumatized by the sight.

Kiba was matched against Naruto in the seventh match of the preliminaries. Kiba thought that he would easily win, since Naruto was the worst student at the academy. Naruto then got very annoyed at Kiba. While Kiba initially had an advantage due to his superior speed and strengthening Akamaru with a soldier pill, Naruto tricked him into knocking Akamaru unconscious, then after farting in Kiba's face (overwhelming his sense of smell and disorienting him), defeated him with the first use of Naruto Uzumaki Combo. Kiba regained consciousness on the stretcher, and urged Hinata to forfeit if she was matched against Gaara or Neji Hyuga.

A month later, at the finals, Kiba watched the match between Naruto and Neji with Hinata. He appeared to have gained respect for Naruto at this point, as when he heard Izumo and Kotetsu doubting Naruto's abilities to win, Kiba remembers how he thought the same thing during his match with Naruto, and ended up losing. He also very loudly cheered for Naruto during the match. After Kabuto healed Hinata when she begins coughing up blood, he rendered Kiba unconscious (after Kiba started to remember him), leaving him unable to assist Konoha's ninja in the invasion.

Sasuke Retrieval arc
Kiba is the only member of Team 8 to assist in trying to stop Sasuke Uchiha from defecting from Konoha. After Naruto seized the container holding Sasuke, a letter bomb (set by Akamaru) exploded and knocked Kiba, Sakon and Ukon into a gorge. Kiba and Akamaru fought against Sakon and Ukon, but despite using their Dual Wolf Fang against the brothers, are ultimately outmatched. Kiba retreated with Akamaru, and both were eventually assisted by Kankuro, who trapped and killed the brothers with his puppets. Kiba was wounded with severe but not life-threatening lacerations, but Akamaru had suffered much harsher damage; tendons in all four of his legs were ripped. After Akamaru recovered Kiba swore to never let anything happen to him again.

Pre-Shippūden filler arcs
Kiba makes a number of appearances in the anime's filler arcs, often being sent on missions with Hinata and Naruto. He typically fights with Naruto over who should lead the team.

Hunt for the Bikochu arc
Kiba, Hinata, Shino, and Naruto are sent on a mission to find a Bikochu Beetle that can be used to track down Sasuke Uchiha. They go to the forest where the Bikochu is, but there are some ninja of the Kamizuru clan watching them that want the insect too. After Hinata is able to locate and capture the insect, she is taken prisoner by the Kamizuru clansman to be used as an exchange for the Bikochu. Kiba and the others go to rescue her, but try to trick the Kamizuru into giving them Hinata before they give up the Bikochu. They are tricked too, being attacked by the Kamizuru when they meet and subsequently trapped in a cave. Hinata is able to rescue them, but the mission fails when Naruto makes the Bikochu useless.

Bounty Hunter arc
Kiba, Hinata and Naruto are assigned an easy task of capturing a crook. In searching for information about the crook they meet Sazanami that is pursuing the thief too. Sazanami told them that the thief, Gosunkugi, is a dangerous killer and also a skilled ninja. Sazanami says that he doesn't want any competition and knockes them all out. When he is later wounded fighting Gosunkugi they take him to safety, in turn discovering that he is also a wanted criminal.

The bounty hunter reveals that he was framed for murdering a family and that the thief that he and Kiba's group are hunting is the culprit. Kiba, Naruto, and Hinata locate the thief in a nearby city, in the process of attempting to steal a valuable bell. Sazanamo arrives and the four start fighting with the allies of Gosunkugi, that actually was a trap just to them while the thief steals the bell. Sazanami captures the thief, but he's suddenly captured by another hunter, only for Sazanami to be proven innocent in the end. Despite this, Kiba's group fails the mission because they did not capture the thief.

Treasure Hunt arc
Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata are once again teamed together, this time to find a treasure chest. They were given a mission to test their teamwork, and told they will return to the academy if they fail this mission like they had their previous ones. They are ambushed during the mission and are trapped by three people who can copy their identities, smell, thoughts. Working together, the group escapes from a cave-in with the treasure, but learn that Hinata injured her leg. After realizing that Naruto and Kiba argue too often while Hinata worries for the others too much, they head into town to stop their copies. When they arrive at Konoha, Kiba and Hinata defeat their copies, but the one of Naruto is still on the run and causing a lot of trouble. The three Genin learn that the mission was a test to see if they could work together as a team, and that they passed it with honors.

Kiba's Long Day
Kiba's relationship with Akamaru is highlighted in the Kiba's Long Day episode. After Akamaru was infected with a biological weapon that caused him to go berserk, Kiba believed that Naruto was trying to find and kill Akamaru, and attempted to take Akamaru out of Konoha. Kiba eventually stopped resisting when he learned Naruto and Hana's true intentions, but was paralyzed by the prospect that their plan may still require them to kill Akamaru. He eventually regained his senses and appealed to Akamaru, causing Akamaru to regain enough of his true self to avoid killing Kiba, and allowed him to administer the antidote.

Other arcs
Naruto and Kiba continue to be teamed together, proving successful in their missions to a haunted castle, escorting a man named Shinemon, and providing backup for Kurenai. In the last episode of the filler arcs, when some ninja try to steal Gaara's power, Kiba and the rest of the Konoha 11 are sent to help the Sand ninja. Kiba and Choji go to help Kankuro in thanks for helping in the fight with Sakon and Ukon. Kiba defeats the enemy and then they go to Gaara's help.

Part II
When Naruto returns to Konoha after rescuing Gaara, Kiba appeared riding on a much larger Akamaru, but says he didn't notice Akamaru's growth, due to spending so much time with him. When Naruto asked Kiba to go on a mission with him Kiba had to turn him down due to a mission he was already assigned.

Fire Temple filler arc
In the anime, Kiba assists in the defense of Konoha when Kazuma's army attacked. He was seen along side Rock Lee and Choji, and was eventually joined by Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka as the battle came to a close. Kiba leads all the team where Naruto is confronting Sora and there, they try to stop Sora, but all failing with their attacks. Kiba is healed by Ino, and along with Choji, they try again to hit Sora. He, along with the others, is only able to watch the battle until it ends.

Three-Tails Arrival arc
In another of the anime-exclusive arcs, Team 8 (sans Kurenai) is led by Kakashi to find one of Orochimaru's hidden bases. Because they may encounter Sasuke, they are forbidden to tell Naruto about the mission. As the team nears Orochimaru's hideout, Kiba remembers his fight with Sakon & Ukon. When Hinata and Kakashi ask him if he's fine, he replies to his team that he's not worried and since Shikamaru and Naruto showed their new abilities against Akatsuki, it's now his turn to show his improvement too.

When they arrive at the base it soon begins to collapse in on itself. Because of Akamaru they are able to escape in time and begin looking for survivors. Kiba and Akamaru use their sense of smell to search the area and in the way, they pick up on a high-pitched whistle. Although initially suspecting that the enemy may be using dogs since normal people can't hear it, Kiba realizes that it's an ultrasonic sound used only by bats that are spying on them. Their location exposed, they are soon ambushed.

Kiba decides to go after Nurari because he thinks he's the weakest, but Kigiri uses a smokescreen that robs Kiba and Akamaru of their sense of smell. Hinata tells him to go because he could result hurt, and after feeling helpless, Kiba manages to blow away the smokescreen with a repeated use of his Piercing Fang. The enemies retreat, but Team 8 is drawn into a trap set by Guren. Kiba fights several copies of Guren until Naruto and the rest of Team 7 arrive to help them escape. Kiba and Akamaru lead the rest of the team to Guren's location by following the bats, but upon arrival they are overwhelmed by a tidal wave created by the Three-Tailed Beast. Having lost track of Guren and her forces, the team is reorganized, Kiba being added to a defense team with Rock Lee and Tenten lead by Yamato that meant to prevent intruders from interfering with the sealing of the Three-Tails.

When each team separate for accomplish their objectives, Kiba starts explaining to their teammates about Guren's henchmen abilities. After Rock Lee and Tenten's attack, Akamaru uses his Dynamic Marking for Kiba can't lose their track. He and Akamaru then finished them off with their Dual Piercing Fang. The team splits in two and Kiba goes with Yamato to go with Kakashi's team and help them. After the unsuccessful attempt of capturing the Three-Tailes, the group separates again and Kiba goes, along with Sai, Yamato, Hinata, Shizune and Kakashi; in the search for Naruto.

Hunt for Uchiha
Later, Kakashi formed the 8-Man Squad, which Team Kurenai became a part of the hunt for Itachi Uchiha. When the mission got sidetracked due to them being close to Sasuke's trail, Kiba managed to pick up on Sasuke's scent after Kakashi's ninken proved unable to. On the way however, they encountered Tobi of Akatsuki and preceded to do battle with him. After Shino's attack missed, Kiba is the only one to sense him and tries to hit him, but misses too. They fought him together, but no one could land a single blow. The mission ended in failure when Tobi and Zetsu collected Sasuke before the 8-Man Squad managed to get there.

Pain's Invasion
After seeing the devastation that Pain is making in Konoha along with his teammates, Kiba joins his mother in fighting the Preta path. The body retreats for Pain can use his technique, and Kiba, his mother, and their dogs are caught in the Shinra Tensei that destroys the village. He appears to have suffered significant injuries and his mom tells him to hang in there until help arrives. He's later seen again with Katsuyu watching the battle of Naruto against Pain, proving that his condition is a little better.

Abilities
As a member of the Inuzuka clan, Kiba has enhanced senses of smell and hearing. During the hunt for Itachi Uchiha, he stated that his nose was stronger than any ninja hound, a feat that impresses Kakashi and with what he replies that the Inuzuka clan must be proud of him. He was also able to see through the Transformation Technique with his senses. He notes, however, that it is a double-edged sword.

He is proficient in several canine-based jutsu. His battle style is usually a combination of taijutsu enhanced by his special clan jutsu. He fights and attacks with the ferocity of a beast utilizing his sharp claw and other beast-like abilities he gains from his Four-Legged Technique. Despite his pride as an individual fighter, he usually performs tagteam tactics with Akamaru. Together they can attack at high speed with excellent coordination, as Kiba can turn Akamaru into an identical clone of him, impossible to tell them apart. When in a dire circumstance they are able to transform together into a giant two headed wolf, where they can use their Dual Wolf Fang which is almost impossible to avoid yet alone block.

Other Media
Kiba is frequently a playable character in the Naruto video games, appearing in four of the seven Clash of Ninja titles. He also appears in 7 of the 8 titles in the Ultimate Ninja Series.

Trivia

 * Kiba was ranked as 15th most popular character in the sixth and most recent Naruto character popularity poll. He was 12th in the fifth poll and 17th in the fourth.
 * According to Kiba, his mother scared his father away.

Quotes

 * "Yahoo! Akamaru, let's do this!"
 * "All right! Way to go, Naruto!"