Dinosaur

Several dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs (恐竜, Kyōryū) were a large type of reptile that lived in the Land of Redaku millions of years ago. They went extinct when a meteorite struck the region. In the millennia that followed, the wetlands that the dinosaurs once lived in turned into a vast mountain range, at the peaks of which the dinosaurs' fossilised remains can commonly be found. Humans who discover these fossils more generically refer to them as "dragons" (竜獣, Ryū-jū).

A few years prior to the events of Sasuke Retsuden, Zansūru, a paleontologist, discovered a way to revive the dead. With the approval of Redaku's Prime Minister, Zansūru began excavating dinosaur fossils from the area surrounding the Astronomy Research Institute with plans of reviving them to use as an army; he recruited Jiji to help him. They revived one dinosaur in order to test the technique, which they named Menō. Once enough fossils were collected, dozens of additional dinosaurs were revived, to be used to invade the Land of Fire. However, before they could be used for this purpose, the Prime Minister was overthrown by Prince Nanara, Zansūru died while fighting Sasuke Uchiha, and Jiji was convinced by Sakura Uchiha to return all of the revived dinosaurs to the afterlife.

Known Species

	Tirano (肉食獣, ティラノ, literally meaning: Carnivore) A bipedal carnivore, identified as the strongest type of dinosaur to be reincarnated. Menō, a juvenile of this species, can travel twelve meters in a single spring, making him fast enough that even Sasuke cannot outrun him. This species has a long, powerful tail that it can hit targets with, which can easily be swung at them from the side if they block its forward attacks. The species' sharps claws and powerful jaws can effortlessly separate flesh from bone. Its name, "Tirano", is presumably a reference to Tyrannosaurus.
	Pterosaur (翼竜, プテラ, Putera, literally meaning: Winged Dragon) Flying dinosaurs that are around ten meters tall. They possess incredibly sharp beaks, which can easily pierce deeply through flesh or bone. However, the beaks are not strong enough for actual combat and will start to dull after delivering only a few blows to a target. Weighing less than ten kilograms, they are very light, allowing them to fly to destinations quickly. This lightness works against them if captured by an opponent, as even a small number of attacks will prove debilitating to them.
	Titan (巨大獣, ティタン) A long-necked dinosaur reaching thirty meters in length, it is one of the largest creatures in history. Because of its sheer size, any building it walks into will be extensively damaged. Its size is a handicap in many ways, preventing it from changing directions quickly and rendering it unable to reach any enemies attacking its back. Its great weight makes walking across certain terrains precarious, and if any of its comparatively short legs are injured, it likely will not be able to support itself, causing it to fall over. Its name, "Titan", is presumably a reference to the Titanosaurs. In the Sasuke Retsuden novel, Penjira refers to this dinosaur as Kubinaga (クビナガ). The reason for this is unclear.
	Spino (竜脚獣, スピノ, Supino) A human-sized dinosaur that is highly flexible. Its relatively small size makes it easy to bite targets, at which point it runs off, leaving its victims to bleed to death. The manga depicts the species as considerably larger, with a prominent spinal sail that is characteristic of the Spinosaurus.
	Pachycephalosauria (堅頭竜, ケファロ, Kefaro, literally meaning: Hard-Headed Dragon) A herbivore with a thick dome-shaped skull that is likened to iron. It lowers its head and charges at targets, trampling those that get underfoot and bashing them with its skull, killing them on impact. It is shown cornering targets in confined spaces and slamming its feet on the ground as intimidation before initiating its attack.
	Ornithopoda (鳥脚獣, オルニト, Orunito) A dinosaur that is covered with brown feathers, giving it a resemblance similar to an ostrich. Because its hind-legs are twice the height of a human, it can pulverise those it steps on and kick targets far into the distance. A herbivore, multiples of its species are necessary to compete with other dinosaurs in combat.

Trivia

Kishimoto's dragon design.

• Masashi Kishimoto originally planned to have Naruto Uzumaki learn to summon dragons. The design he came up with used the basic aesthetics of Chinese dragons, but made fat to evoke European dragons.
• Sasuke Uchiha had a toy that looked like a dinosaur when he was a child.