Naruto Uzumaki's Relationships

Due to his friendly nature and his unique charisma, Naruto has built many relationships over the course of the series that defined him and others.

Kurama
A relationship that shaped Naruto's character, albeit unintentionally, was with the tailed beast that would be sealed in him since birth, Kurama the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Due to having the fox sealed within him, Naruto would spend most hated and shunned by the village, and in turn desire their acknowledgement. Later when he met Kurama himself, he boastfully ordered the fox to give him chakra as "rent" for being sealed within his body, it agreed to for no other reason that if Naruto were to ever die, it would die was well. Kurama would be 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, instead using his own strength instead of relying on the demon fox. This status quo would remain between the two until Naruto broke Kurama's 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 beast rebutted him for making such a claim, in nevertheless stopped consuming Naruto's chakra while he used 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 Tobi's Path, Naruto told the Four-Tails, Son Gokū that he was jealous of Killer B's relationship with Gyūki and wanted the same with Kurama. Kurama hearing this told itself that if Naruto 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 Naruto pulled Naruto into the tailed beasts subconscious, it was seen teasing Naruto about his first kiss.

Sasuke Uchiha
With Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto at first saw him as his rival, 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".

Sakura Haruno
With Sakura Haruno, Naruto had a long-standing crush on her, but whenever he tried to win her affections, Sakura would repel his advances because of his interference with her similar efforts with Sasuke. Despite that, 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. In addition, Sai noted that the strain of making Sakura happy and bringing Sasuke home are the source of Naruto's internal pressure.

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.

Hinata Hyūga
Despite being oblivious of her feelings for him in Part I before her confession, 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. 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 thinks 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. 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.

Gaara
With the last of their energy, the two exchanged final blows, Naruto ending up claiming victory. Gaara was puzzled by Naruto's undying devotion to his friends, causing Gaara to realise that Naruto's strength came from the desire to protect those close to him. After being defeated by Naruto, Gaara was shocked to find that Naruto knew very well the pain that Gaara 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. 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 realizes that he gave up too easily, making Gaara decided 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. Gaara eventually formed a close friendship with Naruto.