October 10 
Male 
Background
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| Naruto as a baby. |
Prior to Naruto's birth, his parents knew that the seal that kept the Nine-Tails within Kushina would be in danger of breaking during childbirth. To prevent that threat Kushina was taken a short distance outside of the village to give birth in secret, with Biwako Sarutobi and Taji as her midwives, a few ANBU as security, and with Minato keeping the seal in place. Immediately after Kushina gave birth, Madara Uchiha appeared and took Naruto hostage, demanding Minato to step away from Kushina or he would kill the newborn child. Madara then used a clever diversion that forced Minato to transport the baby to a safer location, allowing him to escape with Kushina. By the time Minato could intervene, Madara had already succeeded in releasing the Nine-Tails.
Fortunately, Kushina (who survived the extraction thanks to her strong vitality) was saved by Minato and brought to Naruto, leaving the weakened mother to care for the sleeping Naruto while Minato went to combat Madara. To save the village, Minato sacrificed his life to seal the Nine-Tails within Naruto, believing that his son would someday have need of the demon's power to defeat Madara's threat once and for all. Suddenly orphaned, Naruto was left to grow up knowing nothing of his parents, receiving only his mother's last name since the Third Hokage felt that it was best that nobody knew that he was related to the Fourth Hokage.
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| Naruto as a young child. |
Appearance
In Part I, Naruto's outfit consisted of a orange jacket with blue on the upper shoulders area as well as up and down the front, a white swirl with a tassel on the left side, a red swirl on the back, a big white collar, orange pants, blue sandals, and a blue forehead protector that was given to him by Iruka after he graduated from the Ninja Academy. In Part II, Naruto's outfit undergoes modification after being worn to shreds during his training with Jiraiya. The outfit retains the orange color as well as the white (without the tassel) and red swirls, but the jacket is much more form fitting with the blue parts changed to black and the color extending from the upper shoulders area to the sleeves. The forehead protector has also changed with Naruto moving the metal portion to a new longer black bandana and he wears black sandals instead of blue. During his battle with Pain, Naruto briefly sported a red coat that combined his master and father's before him with a black flaming design at the bottom as well as a large summoning scroll on his back.
Personality
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| Naruto's room. |
Naruto is most prominently characterized by his hyperactivity, being exuberant, impatient, impulsive, and inattentive. According to Kakashi, Naruto learns through his body. He is relatively naive and simple, being slow to understand a principle or situation, and often requiring an oversimplified analogy in order to grasp what is being explained to him. Overall, Naruto responds best to competition and possesses a great degree of confidence in himself, loudly proclaiming that he will master whatever technique he is learning in a fraction of the usual time, though he will not hesitate to ask for help if he needs it.
Naruto has a number of other distinct traits as well. He inherited his catch-phrase "Dattebayo!" (だってばよ！) from his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, who would say "(da)ttebane" (「(だ)ってばね」) when excited or frustrated. He also has a childish quirk of keeping his money in a chubby, green-frog wallet he affectionately calls "Gama-chan." He is also very brash and rarely pays heed to formality or social standings. He almost exclusively eats ramen, and is a frequent customer at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. He is also something of a pervert, something he tends to be reprimanded for by Sakura as well as Iruka, and has only become more so after meeting Jiraiya. He smiles near-constantly which during his childhood, was to mask the sadness of his lonely life. Those who are closest to him are able to recognize when his smile isn't genuine.
However, when the situation calls for it or when someone dear to him is in trouble, Naruto can be very serious, and will instantly try to come to their aid. This is most commonly seen in the series through his interactions with his team-mates, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. With Sasuke, Naruto views him as a brother, and throughout Part II strives to bring him back to Konoha, despite his willing defection from the village. With Sakura, Naruto had a long-standing crush on her, and will do all in his power to make her happy, even if it is at the expense of his own happiness. Sai has indicated that this dedication has progressed to the point of love. Sai also notes that the strain of making Sakura happy and bringing Sasuke home are the source of Naruto's internal pain.
After the loss of his mentor Jiraiya, talking with his own father, and talking to Jiraiya's killer and former pupil, Nagato, Naruto came to understand the downside of revenge, and desired to save Sasuke from it even more. Naruto also tried to stop the Kumo-nin from exacting their revenge against Sasuke, for this would only create a cycle of hatred. It appeared that Naruto was becoming increasingly desperate in his quest to save Sasuke, as he was willing to take physical abuse from the Kumo-nin over selling Sasuke out as well as getting down on his knees before the Raikage and beg for Sasuke to be forgiven for his crimes. Furthermore, after learning from Madara the reason of Sasuke's hatred, Naruto decided and proclaimed to Sakura, who was trying to get him to leave his quest, that he truly understood Sasuke now and wanted to save him not just because of the promise he made to Sakura, but for also to himself. However, after learning from Sai that the rest of his comrades were aiming to kill Sasuke, and that nobody in the village would ever accept him again, Naruto apparently suffered from hyperventilation due to the extreme conflict that he has been presented with.
Upon finally reuniting with Sasuke, Naruto sympathized with the criminal for his actions, and refused to back down or kill him, instead finding a third solution. Naruto came to the conclusion that the two of them were indeed destined to fight, as Madara predicted, and that when that happens, both Naruto and Sasuke would die. Naruto is fully prepared to shoulder Sasuke's hatred as a friend, and is, in a way, the sole person to not have 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.
Dark Naruto
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| Dark Naruto. |
He appeared once again after Naruto returned to the Falls of Truth. Instead of fighting, Naruto projected an image from his mind of his autograph signature he was unable to give to the Konoha shinobi. This angered Dark Naruto, pointing out to Naruto that those people were part of the same villagers who treated him as an outcast and how much he suffered because of them, telling him shouldn't trust them. However, Naruto stated that he trusts the villagers because they are important to him. But what was also important was that he needed to have faith in himself, so he would have the strength to live up to the villagers' trust in him. Naruto's statement started to weaken Dark Naruto, forcing him to ask what was the reason for his existence then. Naruto stated that Dark Naruto was really him and thanked Dark Naruto for pushing him to be the person he was now. He hugged Dark Naruto when the latter tried to attack him, telling Dark Naruto that it was all going to be alright. Letting go of his own anger at their past, Dark Naruto's eyes lightened and he gave into Naruto's words, disappearing into Naruto.
Later, when Naruto entered his subconscious, the Nine-Tails expressed surprise as it could no longer sense any hatred within Naruto, and questioned Naruto about where the "real him" was, to which Naruto replied that the real him was right in front of it.
Abilities
At the start of the series, one of the only techniques Naruto could do without fail was the Transformation Technique, and his own original variant of the technique called the Sexy Technique; a creative but almost completely useless diversionary jutsu, used simply to shock his instructors. Naruto was also able to use simple E-rank abilities.While under the tutelage of Jiraiya, Naruto's abilities had continued to improve; his prowess in ninjutsu and taijutsu had grown greatly, and he had also been taught some limited skill at dispelling genjutsu. However, the most valuable assets that Naruto had gained in his training with Jiraiya were an increased range of battle smarts and more knowledge of the basics of a shinobi, which he lacked during Part I. This, along with the skills and abilities Naruto has gained over the course of Part II, makes him a much more complete ninja. Unfortunately for him, with the exception of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken and throwing himself with clones (which are both risky moves), he is mainly limited to short-range combat. However, with his mastery of the Chakra Arms, he has a new method for attacking long-ranged.
During Part II, Naruto had regularly proven himself a match against the S-rank members of Akatsuki, Deidara acknowledged how strong he had become, even landing a blow on him; he was able to defeat Kakuzu, a very experienced and keen ninja, using a clever strategy and his new Rasenshuriken; and later defeat all of Nagato's Six Paths of Pain, something no one else had ever accomplished. It had been said by Kakashi at different points in time that Naruto had surpassed Kakashi himself, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and his father. He was suggested to be Hokage in Tsunade's place by several villagers following Pain's invasion. Zetsu had noted that Naruto was stronger than Sasuke following Pain's invasion. Even the Nine-Tails, the strongest of the tailed beasts, commented on how powerful Naruto had become when they battled.
Being a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, Naruto possesses incredible stamina and vitality, the former of which is further augmented by the Nine-Tails sealed within him, and he apparently has some knowledge on fūinjutsu, as he knew how to use the key to undo and redo his seal after receiving Gerotora. Jiraiya had left Naruto with the key to help him complete an unknown technique which he, Naruto, and Minato have been working on, but never finished. Naruto stated that he was ready to complete it.
While searching for the Uchiha brothers, Itachi granted Naruto a portion of his power, in case Sasuke ever chose to revolt against Konoha. It is currently unknown what this power is yet.
Jinchūriki Transformations
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| Naruto's initial jinchūriki form. |
Naruto's normal chakra level is considered extremely high, partially because of the Nine-Tails. The seal allowed a small amount of the Nine-Tails' chakra to always mix with Naruto's own. Jiraiya once commented upon the fact that Naruto's body was much too small a vessel to properly contain the Nine-Tails' chakra, and his body would instinctively reject the bulk of it due to the damage it could cause. Ebisu implied that Naruto's poor chakra control stemed from this, as a portion of his chakra was used to reject the Nine-Tails' overwhelming chakra. According to Kakashi, Naruto's regular chakra level is about four times of Kakashi's own. As such, he is naturally suited to jutsu that use a large amount of chakra, such as the Shadow Clone Technique. While most ninja are only capable of creating a few clones safely, due to the technique's hazard of equally dividing the user's chakra among the clones, Naruto is able to create hundreds while maintaining a decent supply of chakra in each one.
The Nine-Tails' chakra first came to Naruto during life-threatening situations, given to him by the Nine-Tails itself to ensure its survival, but after training with Jiraiya, Naruto learned how to contact the Nine-Tails and demand some of its chakra. Alternatively, Naruto could give into his anger or frustration, allowing the Nine-Tails to force its influence upon him. Depending on how much of its chakra he gained, the Nine-Tails' influence within its chakra could make Naruto lose control of his senses, devolving into an animal that attacks anything within reach, as well as damaging his own body, slowly shortening his lifespan. Although a number of methods had been devised to break its influence over Naruto (Jiraiya's seal tag, and Yamato's Hokage-Style Sixty-Year-Old Technique - Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands, which was facilitated by Hashirama Senju's necklace Naruto wore before its destruction), Naruto simply limited his use of the Nine-Tails' chakra, and tried not to allow his anger get the best of him, but he eventually attempted to exercise more control over it.
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| Naruto in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. |
Taijutsu
Naruto had always been at least passable in taijutsu, ever since the Academy where he received a B in that class. Throughout Part I, his taijutsu slowly improved, where it was first showcased in his battle with Kiba Inuzuka in the Chūnin Exams preliminaries where he was able to hold his own and avoid multiple slash attacks from Kiba and Akamaru's Four Legs Technique without the aid of his shadow clones. A testament to his skill with taijutsu was shown when Naruto was fighting against Neji Hyūga's Gentle Fist techniques in the Chūnin Exam finals, where he got into striking distance using only hand-to-hand combat. After the timeskip, Naruto's taijutsu improved greatly under the tutelage of Jiraiya where he could hold his own in hand-to-hand against Chiyo, Kakashi Hatake, Yamato, and Sai, the latter three being ANBU-trained ninja. Throughout the series, Naruto's taijutsu continually improved, eventually learning the Frog Kata style from Fukasaku. After his Frog Kata training, he was able to hold off and counter a stream of punches and kicks from Deva Path to buy himself time to reenter Sage Mode.On top of his taijutsu skills, Naruto has shown a high level of physical strength (though this is given to him when using either the Nine-Tails or senjutsu chakra). During his senjutsu training in Part II, he was able to budge one of the huge statues without using the special oil (though it was noted that Naruto used senjutsu chakra when doing the feat). After the training, he could shatter stone with his raw strength, as seen when he escaped from the petrified Preta Path after it absorbed too much of his senjutsu chakra.
Though initially compensating for his lack there of with sheer numbers, Naruto has shown impressive speed after the timeskip. When he and Sasuke finally confronted each other after the Five Kage Summit Arc, he saved Sakura from her own poisoned kunai that Sasuke used on her in the span of a second. Naruto then met Sasuke's Chidori charge after creating a Rasengan, showing they were at or near the same level of speed.
Ninjutsu
Shadow Clone Technique
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| Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. |
In the beginning, Naruto would create a multitude of clones to overwhelm his opponents. Other times however, he would employ the use of the Transformation Technique to change the appearance of these clones to catch his target off guard. By Part II, Naruto learned that whatever his shadow clones learn, he, the main mind, would also learn. By using this, he is able to learn something that would usually take years in days, which greatly increased his rate of learning. Naruto also learned that he could use the shadow clones to determine his opponents' abilities, to determine how many clones he will really need to defeat them instead of simply wasting chakra on thousands of clones.
Despite his mastery of the Shadow Clone Technique, Naruto won't use it while in his jinchūriki form to lessen how much of his chakra the Nine-Tails can take from him.
Summoning Technique
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| Naruto using the Summoning Technique. |
The type of toads that Naruto can summon at any time is proportional to his chakra and skill, as when he first started out he could only summon tadpoles. At first, Naruto had a hard time getting any specific toad, as he summoned either Gamakichi or Gamatatsu. But when he used the Nine-Tails' chakra, or when he was truly motivated, Naruto was able to summon the toad boss, Gamabunta.
Rasengan
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| Naruto using the Rasengan. |
The Rasengan, like the Clone Technique, would be the base of several original jutsu created by Naruto, such as the Great Ball Rasengan, a larger and more powerful version of the Rasengan. He has also created the Wind Release: Rasengan and Wind Release: Rasenshuriken after his wind training, and after his senjutsu training, the Sage Art: Great Ball Rasengan and Sage Technique: Rasenrengan. He has also demonstrated the combined use of his shadow clones and the Rasengan, resulting in the Sage Art: Super Great Ball Rasen Tarengan, in which Naruto and his shadow clones can each use a Rasengan many times their own size against a single target. After learning he couldn't use the Shadow Clone Technique in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Naruto then started using the shroud's chakra arms to combine his Nine-Tails' chakra with the Rasengan to create a new move: the Tailed Beast Rasengan. However, the technique is incomplete so far.
Due to the unique nature of the Rasengan in Naruto movies, Naruto creates a new type of Rasengan, often facilitated by a character in the movie, or a unique property present in the movie.
Nature Transformation
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Naruto had learned nature transformation to upgrade his Rasengan, which he achieved with the Wind Release: Rasengan and the Rasenshuriken, combining both shape and nature manipulation originally deemed impossible without natural talent or instinct. The Rasenshuriken was capable of slicing into the victim and cutting them at a cellular level faster than a Sharingan can see it. It, however, caused similar damage to himself as it is still a handheld jutsu, despite its name. After his sage training, he could throw the Rasenshuriken and expand it, increasing its power and attack radius. This also helped to nullify the damage it would normally do to his arm.
Collaboration Jutsu
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| Wind Release: Toad Gun. |
Senjutsu
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After Jiraiya's death at the hands of Pain, Naruto began training with Fukasaku in Mount Myōboku to learn senjutsu and how to enter Sage Mode. In order to achieve this, Naruto had to learn to sense and control the natural energy around him. Once mastered, Naruto was able to perfect the Rasenshuriken, so that he could throw it, and learn Frog Kata, a taijutsu style that uses the natural energy around the user to enhance the range and the potency of their attacks. In Sage Mode, Naruto's overall physical abilities are dramatically enhanced to the point where he could throw entities much larger than himself with little to no effort, including the Animal Path's Giant Rhino and the Nine-Tails. His speed increases to a point where he was able to intercept a charging Asura Path, which had been using its chakra boots to attack Tsunade, create a Rasengan and slam it down before it could even react, showing him covering considerable distance in a short amount of time. Also while in Sage Mode, Naruto gains a sensory ability to detect other people's chakra from long distances.
However, Naruto had two flaws in his senjutsu training: To mold natural energy, the user must remain absolutely still, something one can not do while in combat; and because of the Nine-Tails, Shima and Fukasaku were unable to fuse with Naruto to mold it for him. To counter this, Naruto had to leave two shadow clones in a safe place to mold the natural energy for him. Once he depleted his current amount of senjutsu chakra, he would dispel one of the clones and use the natural energy it had gathered to re-enter Sage Mode. However, this method limits the maximum number of shadow clones that Naruto can create to five. Any more would interfere with the focus of the clones' gathering natural energy. However, this limit in shadow clones ceases should Naruto decide to go all out during a fight and forgo having any clones store natural energy for him. Naruto is currently trying to extend the time he can remain in Sage Mode. During his battle with the Nine-Tails within his subconscious, Naruto and his large group of shadow clones entered Sage Mode. It appeared that his "physical self" was able to enter Sage Mode in his mediated state, then transferred the senjutsu chakra to his "mental self" and all of his shadow clones.
Deception and Strategy
Although Naruto's intelligence is greatly downplayed for most of the series, his skills in deception and strategy are actually extremely high, allowing him to defeat even S-Class ninja such as Kakuzu and Pain. He also possesses the ability to formulate complex plans in the midst of battle. Naruto's strategies typically involve shadow clones; either directing his opponent's attentions towards one of his clones to disguise his own movements, or transforming them into various shapes (such as shuriken) to allow for surprise attacks. His skills in deception were shown to have grown exponentially during his battle with Pain, allowing him to prevail through an elaborate and highly unpredictable array of back-up plans, such as transforming his clones to mimic the environment. He also used the Shadow Shuriken Technique and the Transformation Technique to turn himself into a Rasenshuriken to temporarily neutralize the Preta Path while his real Rasenshuriken went to attack the Deva Path, while a clone attacked the Naraka Path from above with a Rasenrengan.Naruto can also be quite innovative, using his clones to master advanced techniques. Examples of this include a two-man Rasengan, three-man Rasenshuriken, using clones to perform senjutsu and using chakra arms to perform the Tailed Beast Rasengan.
Stats
| Databook | Ninjutsu | Taijutsu | Genjutsu | Intelligence | Strength | Speed | Stamina | Hand seals | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 14.5 |
| Second | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 18.5 |
| Third | 4 | 3.5 | 2 | 3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 5 | 1.5 | 26 |
Part I
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See also: Plot of Naruto The series begins with Naruto, labelled as his classes 'Dead-Last', once again failing to graduate from the Ninja Academy. Disappointed that his plans of becoming Hokage have hit another hurdle, Naruto was approached by one of his instructors, Mizuki. Mizuki told Naruto that, if he could steal the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage Residence and learn one of the jutsu written on it, then he would be allowed to graduate. Naruto did so, and began struggling to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, unaware that the village was now looking for him.
Iruka tracked him down, and discovered Mizuki's involvement in the theft, realizing that Naruto had been duped by Mizuki, in an effort to steal the scroll. Mizuki attacked them, and told Naruto about the Nine-Tails sealed within him, claiming that Iruka hated him because of it. When Iruka risked his life to protect Naruto, however, Naruto realized that Mizuki's earlier words were a lie, and created hundreds of shadow clones to beat Mizuki to a pulp. For mastering such a difficult technique, Iruka allowed Naruto to graduate.
In the days to come, Naruto befriended Konohamaru and became his on-off teacher, showing him how to perform a variety of both perverted and useful jutsu throughout the rest of the series. He was also assigned to Team 7, where he was partnered with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, under the leadership of Kakashi Hatake.
As the team's first order of business, Kakashi gave them a test to see if they were ready to become Genin. He had the three of them try to take the two bells he kept on his person, the goal of the test being to place teamwork above the fact that they couldn't all have a bell. Although they initially failed miserably, all trying independently to take a bell, they eventually decided to work together, allowing them to pass.
Land of Waves Arc
After completing a number of simple, uneventful missions, Team 7, at Naruto's insistence, was assigned the somewhat more difficult C-rank task of escorting Tazuna to the Land of Waves. When they were attacked by the Demon Brothers along the way, who tried to kill Tazuna, they realized that there was more to this mission than a simple escort. Tazuna revealed that his country was under the control of Gatō, who had left the people poor and unable to afford the more accurate A-rank mission payment. By building a bridge that would connect the Land of Waves to the mainland, Tazuna hoped to free the country from Gatō, prompting Gatō to try and kill him. Team 7 decided to help Tazuna, and act as his bodyguards until the bridge was completed.They were soon attacked by Zabuza Momochi, another of Gatō's assassins, who engaged Kakashi in battle. When Zabuza captured Kakashi, he encouraged his team to escape with Tazuna. Having been of little use during the battle with the Demon Brothers, Naruto resolved to help Kakashi. With Sasuke's assistance, they were able to free Kakashi, who in turn almost defeated Zabuza. However, Haku, disguised as a hunter-nin, intervened, and appeared to kill Zabuza first, in actuality only putting him in a death-like state in order to get him to safety. Kakashi suspected that Zabuza was still alive, and gave Team 7 a Tree Climbing Practice to improve their chakra control. Naruto and Sasuke developed a competition over the exercise, each determined to complete the training first, and subsequently motivating each other to do better.
While Naruto was resting from training one day, he encountered Haku, unaware that it was the same boy he had encountered earlier. The two had a conversation about those who were precious to them, and the lengths they would go to protect them. After Haku left, Naruto finished the training, but was left so tired that the rest of Team 7 allowed him to rest the next day as they went to escort Tazuna. When he woke up, he went to assist them, only to find that they were in the midst of battle with Zabuza and Haku.
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Naruto went to help Sasuke in his battle with Haku, but they were both trapped by Haku's Demonic Ice Mirrors. When Haku tried to use a volley of needles to kill Naruto, Sasuke stepped in to protect him, appearing to die instead. Enraged by the apparent death of Sasuke, Naruto tapped into the Nine-Tails' chakra, allowing him to destroy the ice mirrors, and subsequently defeat Haku. Before he could kill Haku, however, the mask he was wearing broke away, revealing the face of the boy Naruto had met earlier. Naruto stopped himself, but Haku asked that he should finish the job, since he could no longer be of use to Zabuza. Although Naruto tried to comply, Haku stopped him at the last minute, and went to help Zabuza. When Naruto realized what had happened - that Haku had given his life to save an ungrateful Zabuza - an outraged Naruto reprimanded Zabuza for not appreciating Haku's actions. Touched by his words, Zabuza killed Gatō to repent in an effort to do Haku justice, but died of his wounds. The bridge (now named the Great Naruto Bridge) was completed, and the Land of Waves was saved, so Team 7 (with a recovered Sasuke) returned home.
Chūnin Exam Arc
After returning home and completing a few other simple missions, Team 7 was entered into the Chūnin Exams. In the first phase, a written test, the participating Genin were tasked with completing the test by cheating, all the while being sure not to get caught. Though the rest of the examinees realized this, Naruto did not, and struggled to answer the questions, which were far beyond his comprehension. Hinata Hyūga, who was sitting next to him, offered to allow him to copy off her paper, but he refused, in fear that she would get caught. Naruto was forced to rely on getting the tenth question correct to pass. When faced with the prospect of correctly answering the question to proceed, failing and never being allowed to take the test again, or giving up to try it again during the next exams, Naruto insisted on answering the question, stating that, even if he got it wrong, he would still become Hokage. The willingness to face the unknown being the answer to the tenth question, Naruto and the rest of Team 7 were allowed to proceed to the second phase.For the second phase, Team 7 was sent into the Forest of Death with one scroll, tasked to obtain a second scroll from another team and arrive at the forest's centre before the phase ended. Soon after entering the forest, they were attacked by Orochimaru, who immobilized Sasuke and Sakura with his murderous intent. Before Sasuke could forfeit their scroll in exchange for their lives, Naruto intervened, fighting Orochimaru by tapping into the Nine-Tails' chakra. Orochimaru rendered Naruto unconscious by restricting access to the Nine-Tails' chakra, but Naruto's courage inspired Sasuke to fight in his place. After Orochimaru was driven off and Naruto awakened, Team 7 encountered Team Oboro. After wasting a day trapped in the rival team's genjutsu, Team 7 was able to defeat them, take their scroll, and pass the round.
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| Naruto versus Kiba and Akamaru. |
While watching the remaining matches, Naruto witnessed Neji Hyūga's ruthless treatment of his cousin, Hinata. Angered by Neji's actions, and his claims that Hinata was a failure who couldn't escape that fate, Naruto vowed to defeat Neji during the first round of the finals a month later. In the meantime, Naruto started training with Ebisu to improve his chakra control. When Ebisu was knocked out by Jiraiya, Naruto forced Jiraiya to train him in his place. Jiraiya, noticing that Naruto was the container of the Nine-Tails, and the restrictive seal Orochimaru had placed on him earlier, Jiraiya removed the seal to ease his chakra control. He then taught him how to take advantage of the Nine-Tails' chakra by showing him how to use the Summoning Technique to summon toads. Although having little success at first, Naruto was eventually able to summon the likes of Gamabunta in time for the final round.
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| Naruto versus Neji. |
Invasion of Konoha Arc
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| Naruto fighting Gaara in his miniature Shukaku form. |
Naruto was able to awaken Gaara from his jutsu to reseal Shukaku, and they exchanged final blows, with Naruto emerging the final blow. Both of them, being very exhausted, fell to the ground and Naruto crawled his way towards Gaara, who was shocked to see why Naruto was so strong. Naruto explained that he had also suffered a relentless lonely life, but was later saved by having friends. Gaara understood, and retreated with Kankurō and Temari, while Naruto was returned back to Konohagakure with Sakura and Sasuke.
Days passed, and Naruto and the rest of the shinobi came to a ceremony to respect the death of the Third Hokage and his sacrifice for the village.
Search for Tsunade Arc
After the failed invasion resulted in the death of the Third Hokage, Jiraiya was tasked with finding a Fifth Hokage. He convinced Naruto to come with him by promising to teach him a new jutsu that would be stronger than Sasuke's Chidori. Along the way, they were met by Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha, two members of Akatsuki, who sought to capture Naruto for the Nine-Tails sealed within him. Jiraiya was able to draw them off, but Naruto was introduced to the organization that would become more of a problem for him in Part II. To prepare him for their future encounters, Jiraiya taught him how to use the Rasengan, a jutsu created by Minato. While Naruto was able to complete the first two steps of the learning process with little difficulty, he struggled to complete the third and thus master the technique. |
Tsunade turned out to have no intention of helping Orochimaru, and fought him and his assistant, Kabuto Yakushi. When Kabuto left her unable to fight, Naruto came to her aid. Although he was getting beaten by Kabuto and Tsunade told him to run, Naruto refused and by using shadow clones to help him form it, Naruto was able to hit Kabuto with a perfected Rasengan, defeating Kabuto and winning the bet. Amazed by his determination to keep to his word and to survive against a superior opponent, Tsunade gave him her necklace, drove off Orochimaru and Kabuto, and accepted the position of Fifth Hokage. They returned to Konoha, Tsunade confidently believing Naruto would someday become a great Hokage.
Land of Tea Arc
In the anime, after Sasuke was healed by Tsunade, Team 7 was assigned a mission to escort someone in the Land of Tea without Kakashi. Early in the mission, they encountered their client, Idate Morino. Though Idate did not insist in having aid during the race, Naruto and the rest still agreed, as that was what they were told to do. Near the end of the race, a shinobi known as Aoi Rokushō interfered, and attacked them suddenly. After Sasuke began to lose, Naruto came to his aid with the Rasengan, destroying Aoi's sword and defeating him (albeit Sasuke's Chidori made a crack in Aoi's sword). While Sakura helped Sasuke up, Naruto guided Idate at the final peek of the finish line. Naruto let Idate finish the race on his own, which Idate successfully did. After that, Ibiki Morino, the brother of Idate, sent in the ship for Team 7's departure. Naruto and the rest said their goodbyes to Idate and returned to Konoha.Sasuke Retrieval Arc
After returning with Tsunade (in the anime, after returning from the mission in the Land of Tea), Sasuke began to fall into the corruption set in place for him by Orochimaru. He began lashing out at Sakura and Naruto, not as team-mates but as enemies, eventually defecting from Konoha in order to seek out Orochimaru for power. Under the escort of Orochimaru's Sound Four, Sasuke left to join Orochimaru, and Naruto joined a retrieval team that would bring him back. While the other members of the team dealt with the Sound Four, Naruto finally engaged in a fight with the Sound Four's fifth member, Kimimaro. However, he was not able to beat him even with Nine Tails-enhanced shadow clones. When Naruto was about to be killed, he was saved by Rock Lee, who told him to continue the pursuit of Sasuke while he fought Kimimaro. |
| Naruto clashing with Sasuke. |
Kakashi and Pakkun didn't come in time to get Sasuke, and left with Naruto. In the hospital, Naruto vowed to Sakura that he would someday bring Sasuke home. Soon after, Jiraiya arrived suddenly, telling Naruto to train with him for three years prior. He also told him to give up on Sasuke, as he is no different from Orochimaru. Naruto accepts training with Jiraiya, but rejects to giving up Sasuke. In the manga, right after this, Naruto departs, but in the anime, he stays for awhile, doing numerous filler arc missions.
Filler arcs
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| Naruto sets off with Jiraiya. |
Part II
See also: Plot of Naruto: ShippūdenKazekage Rescue Arc
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When Naruto returned to Konoha, the remaining members of Team 7 were reorganized into Team Kakashi. As their first order of business, Kakashi gave them another bell test, this time the only goal being to take a bell, and that he would use his Sharingan against them. Although their abilities had improved, Naruto and Sakura were still unable to beat Kakashi, and it was only by threatening to spoil the end of the latest Icha Icha novel that they distracted Kakashi long enough to take the bells. Naruto reconnected with his old friends, who had all advanced to chūnin-rank or higher, and then heard that Gaara, the new Kazekage, had been kidnapped by Akatsuki. Naruto and Team Kakashi set out for Sunagakure to save him.
Upon arrival in Sunagakure, Chiyo was added to Team Kakashi as an adviser, and they followed Akatsuki's trail. Along the way, they encountered a body-double of Itachi Uchiha, which engaged them in battle. Kakashi and Naruto teamed up in order to defeat the lookalike, before continuing onto the Akatsuki lair. There, they found Gaara's body in the possession of Deidara and Sasori. When Deidara flew off with Gaara, Naruto and Kakashi pursued him, leaving Sasori to Chiyo and Sakura. While initially unable to catch Deidara, Kakashi was able to use his Mangekyō Sharingan to distract Deidara, giving Naruto an opportunity to attack him and retrieve Gaara. Deidara escaped, and Naruto and Kakashi reunited with Sakura and Chiyo.
Although Sakura tried to heal Gaara, he had already died, a casualty of Akatsuki's tailed beast extraction-process. Angered that Gaara had died because he was a jinchūriki, something he had never asked for and had suffered because of his whole life, Naruto lashed out at Chiyo, the one who had sealed the One-Tailed Shukaku into Gaara in the first place. To make up for what she had done, Chiyo, with the help of Naruto, restored Gaara back to life, at the cost of her own. Gaara awakened surrounded by friends, and, after Chiyo's funeral, Naruto and Gaara finally shake hands (Gaara insisting), as a sign to their close relationship. Afterwards, Naruto and the gang went back to Konoha.
Sai and Sasuke Arc
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| The reborn Team Kakashi. |
En route to the meeting place with the spy, Yamato tried to get the team to work together, although Sai's personality and disdain for his predecessor caused only conflict amongst the team. When they arrived at the meeting spot, they found that the spy was Kabuto. Yamato, disguised as Sasori, spoke with him, but they were interrupted by the arrival of Orochimaru. Kabuto, in turn, turned against Yamato, who was forced to call Naruto and the others for back-up. Surprised to see Naruto, Orochimaru wondered aloud if Naruto had become as strong as "his Sasuke". Enraged that Orochimaru had spoken as if Sasuke belonged to him, Naruto entered his three-tailed form, and attacked him.
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| Naruto's four-tailed form. |
When they arrived at Orochimaru's hideout, they infiltrated the lair, and captured Sai. Exposed, Sai revealed that his superiors had sent him to help organize another invasion of Konoha. He was restrained for his treachery, while the others went looking for Sasuke. Sai, having earlier met Sasuke, asked why Naruto was so determined to bring him back. Naruto explained that the two had a bond that couldn't be broken, and that he would risk his life to protect this bond. Intrigued, Sai switched sides, helping them to capture Kabuto and then scouring the base in order to reunite Sasuke with Naruto. He succeeded, but was attacked by Sasuke, the magnitude of which drew the rest of Team Yamato to their location.
Together again, Naruto and Sakura tried to convince Sasuke to come home. Still determined to gain power, he refused, prompting the team to use force. Their efforts were unsuccessful, and Naruto, who was exhausted from his fight with Orochimaru in his four-tailed form, wasn't able to compete with Sasuke's growth, struggled to reject the Nine-Tails. Within his subconscious, he told it that he never wanted its assistance again, but it was not until Sasuke entered Naruto's subconscious that the Nine-Tails gave up on spreading its influence. In the real world, Sasuke tried to finish off his former, defeated team-mates. He was stopped by Orochimaru, however, and they retreated, leaving Team Yamato to return home.
Twelve Guardian Ninja Arc
In the anime, Team Yamato was sent on a mission to the Fire Temple. There they met Sora, a young monk who openly disliked Naruto. Despite this, Sora was added to their team to help investigate the grave-robbing of a number of former Twelve Guardian Ninja. Soon after the investigation began, Naruto noticed that the other monks treated Sora much as the villagers of Konoha used to treat him: as an outcast sentenced to loneliness. Naruto asked him about this, but Sora only replied that he didn't blame them.Upon finding the grave robbers, Naruto was forced into battle with Fuka, a woman that kept trying to kiss Naruto. Through the use of shadow clones, he was able to escape her advances, only to find out that she was a master of all five types of elemental jutsu. Soon afterwards, she managed to kiss him, an act that sucked all the chakra from his body. Once his normal chakra was gone, however, she began sucking out the Nine-Tails' chakra, a force she couldn't handle, and was promptly overwhelmed by. She retreated with her team, and Team Yamato returned to Konoha, with Sora as a temporary substitute for Sai.
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| Naruto in his three-tailed form tries to hold down Sora in his four-tailed form. |
When he arrived back in Konoha, Naruto discovered that not only was Sora's father still alive, but that he was behind the various grave-robbings. The more pressing matter, however, was that he had, years earlier, sealed some of the excess chakra, left behind during the Nine-Tails' attack, into Sora, and sought to use its power to destroy Konoha. As Sora lost control of the Nine-Tails' chakra within him, Naruto also struggled to control the Nine-Tails' attempt to create a four-tailed form. He was able to maintain his senses, however, and forced the Nine-Tails' influence to recede, and was able to get through to Sora to help him return to normal as well. The Nine-Tails' chakra was expelled from Sora's body and, finally free, he said goodbye to Naruto before setting out to explore the world.
Hidan and Kakuzu Arc
Kakashi, hoping to make Naruto better prepared for his next encounter with Sasuke, trained him to create a new wind-based jutsu. In the anime, this training began before, and continued throughout, the Fire Temple arc, with Naruto seeking assistance from Asuma and Sora, two other wind chakra users. Kakashi had Naruto train with shadow clones to master wind manipulation in only a fraction of the time. When he did this, Kakashi left him with the task of combining what he had learned with the Rasengan. He explained that infusing one's chakra nature with the Rasengan was what Minato had intended to do when he created the Rasengan, but had not been able to do so before he died. Kakashi believed Naruto would prove successful where his father could not, inspiring Naruto to do his best. |
| Naruto preparing his Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. |
Upon retuning to Konoha, Naruto was forbidden by Tsunade to use the Rasenshuriken again. While it was devastating to his opponents, it caused minor injuries to Naruto's arm as well. Even though they weren't as bad as his opponents injuries, it was harmful enough to cause the arm to be beyond medical repair if performed again with contact of his hand and the opponent, endangering him and his hopes of remaining a ninja. Naruto said that he realized this, but claimed he understood his own body better than anyone else.
Three-Tails Arc
In the anime, while still recovering from over-using his Rasenshuriken, Jiraiya appeared to congratulate his student's latest successes: defeating one of the Akatsuki members and completing Minato's jutsu. Jiraiya offered to take Naruto on another journey to train, which Naruto quickly agreed to. In truth, Jiraiya's main reason for taking Naruto from Konoha again was so he would not join Kakashi and Team 8 on their mission to find Orochimaru's latest hideout. For their training, they went to a neighboring town to teach Naruto how to use collaboration jutsu with toads. Gamariki was initially summoned to help in this endeavor, but when Naruto proved unable to work with him, Gamakichi and Gamatatsu were summoned instead.Later, while resting at a hot springs, Naruto met a young boy named Yūkimaru. They talked for a short time about bonds, which made Yūkimaru happy. When Yūkimaru left, Naruto resumed his training, and started having success performing synchronized jutsu with Gamakichi and Gamatatsu. Jiraiya was soon called away, so they returned to Konoha, where Naruto taught Gamatatsu how to perform water-based jutsu. Soon afterwards, he met up with Sai, who let slip that the rest of the team was about to provide back-up for Kakashi in his search for Orochimaru. Determined to help, since he might meet Sasuke, Naruto convinced Tsunade to let him go too.
While searching for Team 8, Naruto ran into Yūkimaru again, and offered him a chance to join him back at Konoha, in response to which Yūkimaru quickly disappeared. As Naruto and his team found themselves halted by Guren's crystal barrier, Naruto summoned Gamakichi and Gamatatsu for help. They then used the Wind Release: Toad Gun to break through, and on the opposite side found Team 8. When they noticed that Hinata had been captured, they helped rescue her, before retreating. The combined teams followed Guren to a lake, where Naruto was sent ahead to scout the area. He found Guren and her forces (amongst them being Yūkimaru) with the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle, who created a tidal wave that drove them all back to shore.
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Despite their best efforts, Guren was able to stop the sealing. Yūkimaru used this as an opportunity to try and control the beast, prompting both Naruto and Guren to come to his aid. In the process, they were both eaten by the Three-Tails, giving them an opportunity to talk and find out they both had Yūkimaru's best interests in mind. Setting their differences aside, they teamed up to escape. Outside, they found Rinji trying to drug Yūkimaru. After Naruto and Guren managed to stop Rinji, they discovered that it was really Kabuto in disguise. Kabuto revealed that Rinji had become part of his corpse collection long ago, and was reanimated through his medical ninjutsu.
While Naruto faced off against Kabuto, Rinji was resummoned and sent up against Guren, whose bat-oriented jutsu turned out to be a perfect counter to Guren's crystal jutsu. After Guren sacrificed herself to defeat Rinji, Yūkimaru went into such an emotional outburst that it gave the Three-Tails the power to break free from the sealing barrier. Afterwards, with the Three-Tails escaping and Kabuto disappearing, Naruto went to aid the weakened Yūkimaru. Later, Shizune was able to heal Yūkimaru, but explained his chakra network was too damaged to ever control the Three-Tails again.
The following morning, after Tsunade had ordered the team to return to Konoha, Naruto discovered that Yūkimaru had vanished. After discovering that Yūkimaru had left his crystal from Guren behind, he realized that Guren was still alive, and with Yūkimaru. Knowing that the two would be fine, he decided not to pursue them. While failing to seal the Three-Tails, the successful saving of Yūkimaru inspired Naruto more than ever to bring Sasuke back to his true home, with his friends in Konoha.
Itachi Pursuit Arc
After news of Orochimaru's defeat at the hands of Sasuke, Team Kakashi decided to make another attempt to find him. Knowing that Sasuke was going after his older brother, Itachi, they teamed up with the members of Team 8 to find either of the Uchiha brothers. They scoured the landscape, and eventually encountered Kabuto, who had absorbed some of Orochimaru's remains into his body. As thanks to Naruto, his efforts to overcome the Nine-Tails being similar to his efforts to overcome Orochimaru, Kabuto gave him a book containing some information on Akatsuki escaping from capture. |
When the real Naruto and the rest of the team moved to intercept him, they were stopped by Tobi. Despite their efforts to quickly dispose of Tobi, none of their attacks worked, and it was only after word reached them that Sasuke had killed Itachi that they were allowed to continue. Tobi, however, reached Sasuke first, and having lost the trail, the Konoha-nin were forced to give up on the search.
Tsuchigumo Kinjutsu Arc
In the anime, after failing to reach Sasuke in time, their return trip to Konoha was interrupted by Katsuyu with orders from Tsunade; Team Yamato was to sent to aid the Tsuchigumo clan to protect the clan's kinjutsu, Fury. Upon arriving at the Tsuchigumo clan stronghold, they discovered that the kinjutsu was taken by the former clan leader, En no Gyōja's granddaughter Hotaru. When Team Yamato caught up to her, Naruto attacked the man with her, the Six-Tailed Slug's jinchūriki, Utakata, believing him to be the enemy. Upon seeing the Konoha-nin's strength, Utakata left Hotaru in their care and left.Due to her desire to be taught by Utakata, Hotaru dismissed Team Yamato's help, but Yamato had a plan to use Sai's jutsu to drop ink leeches on their path, forcing the scared Hotaru to reluctantly allow Naruto to protect her as they travelled to the Tsuchigumo village. When they arrived, they left Hotaru in the villagers' care, but Naruto, noting the way the villagers looked at her, went back to make sure she was alright. However, when Naruto returned, he realized that Hotaru was captured by bandits and the villagers didn't even care to look for her, so Naruto and his team left to find her. As Naruto found a group of Kirigakure ANBU hunter-nin holding Hotaru hostage and trying to capture Utakata, Naruto attacked one of the Kiri-nin, freeing Utakata, and tried to bring Hotaru back.
However, before the fight could escalate any further, Yamato and the Kiri ANBU leader, Tsurugi, decided that for the duration of Team Yamato's mission, Utakata will remain with Hotaru, and Konoha would not interfere with their capture of Utakata afterwards, in order to avoid starting an unnecessary war between Konoha and Kiri. Before departing, Tsurugi told Naruto that Utakata was wanted for the murder of his master, a revelation that shocked Hotaru. Despite this, Naruto insisted that Utakata was a good man and she should not lose faith in him, explaining that as he could relate with her because he never had parents to look up to either, but came to respect and cherished his master Jiraiya, despite many oddities. As they travelled, Hotaru collapsed from the wound she received from one of the Kiri-nin. While Utakata tended Hotaru, he instructed Naruto to find the herbs needed to heal her. When he returned with the herbs, he discovered that Hotaru was made the literal container of the kinjutsu, not unlike how he was made the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
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| Naruto and Utakata in his Protective Bubble Dome. |
When they arrived, Shiranami was using Hotaru to gather raw chakra needed to use Fury, and binded 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. However, Fury's full power failed to activate which caused Shiranami to flee. Naruto tracked Shiranami down and defeated him with the Rasengan. After the Magaki's defeat, the Tsuchigumo clan thanked Team Yamato and the group returned to Konoha.
Invasion of Pain Arc
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| Naruto mourning Jiraiya's death. |
To learn senjutsu, Naruto trained to harmonize with nature, a process he sped up by using a limited amount of shadow clones. He rapidly progressed through the introductory stages and attained a perfect Sage Mode, something Jiraiya had never been able to do. Because harmonizing with nature cannot be done in the midst of battle, Fukasaku tried to fuse with Naruto so that he could gather natural energy for Naruto's use. When the Nine-Tails rejected all of Fukasaku's attempts at fusion, Naruto was forced to find an alternative: using shadow clones in a desperate attempt to learn how to gather natural energy while moving. News of Pain's attack on Konoha soon reached them, and they mobilized for battle.
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| Naruto arrives to fight Pain. |
Pain's Animal Path summoned a number of animals to attack Naruto, who used the increased strength granted to him by Sage Mode to bat them aside to his toad allies. While they dealt with the summons, Naruto disposed of the Preta Path with Frog Kata before preparing the fruits of his senjutsu training: a perfected Rasenshuriken. He hurled the attack at Pain's remaining bodies, and it expanded when it neared them, disintegrating the Human Path. Running low on chakra because of the attack, Naruto had Gamabunta trap the Animal Path in his mouth, where Naruto was able to defeat it with his Rasenrengan without interference from the other bodies.
Having run out of natural energy and thus having exited Sage Mode, Naruto had Fukasaku summon one of his shadow clones from Mount Myōboku. As a workaround for his inability to have a constant supply of natural energy, he had had some of his shadow clones gather it for him. Revitalized, Naruto attacked with another Rasenshuriken, only for the Preta Path to appear and absorb the attack. Realizing that the Naraka Path must have restored it, Naruto focused his efforts on getting rid of it. He distracted the Deva Path with a smokescreen, and landed another Rasenrengan on the Naraka Path, defeating it.
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Before he could answer, Hinata came to Naruto's aid. She confessed her love for Naruto (greatly shocking him) and engaged Pain in battle in a futile effort to save him. When she was apparently killed, an enraged Naruto exploded into his six-tailed form. His necklace reacted in an effort to quell the transformation, but the Nine-Tails quickly destroyed it and attacked Pain. Unable to deal with this new threat, the Deva Path retreated to a location where it could use Chibaku Tensei, drawing in and containing Naruto. Within his subconscious, Naruto thought of Pain's plans for peace, and pleaded for someone to help him with a response. Through his suffering, the Nine-Tails tempted Naruto to entrust his heart to it so that it could destroy everything that was causing Naruto pain, thus distorting the seal to the point where the eight-tailed form was released, breaking free of the Chibaku Tensei. Before he could completely release the Nine-Tails, however, his father, Minato, appeared in Naruto's subconscious to stop him.
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| Minato placing his trust in Naruto. |
Outside, Naruto emerged from the Chibaku Tensei, with the Nine-Tails' influence gone and Sage Mode having returned. He clashed one final time with the Deva Path, and by taking advantage of the five-second gap between its attacks, Naruto was finally able to defeat it with his Rasengan and win the battle. Using the Deva Path's chakra receivers, Naruto sought out Nagato, Pain's base mind, to finally answer his earlier question about peace. Naruto admitted that he hated Nagato, but restrained himself long enough to ask how Nagato, a fellow student of Jiraiya, turned out this way. After hearing Nagato's past and his reasons for desiring war, Naruto agreed on some points, but rejected the overall conclusion on the grounds that it differed from Jiraiya's ideals. To break the cycle of hatred, Naruto told Nagato and Konan that, despite hating them, he would not kill them.
Amazed by Naruto's determination to his answer, Nagato said that he would believe in Naruto, and revived all the people he had killed in Konoha, at the cost of his own life. With this, Naruto helped Konan retrieve Nagato and Yahiko's bodies for burial in Amegakure. After confirming that she had quit Akatsuki, Konan left Naruto a bouquet of paper flowers for him, symbolizing their new alliance.
He then created a memorial for Jiraiya and left the flowers and a copy of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi by a rock with the kanji for teacher (師, shi).
Five Kage Summit Arc
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While Naruto recovered from his injuries, he asked Yamato and Kakashi to take him to the Land of Iron so that he could ask the Fourth Raikage to forgive Sasuke. Yamato and Kakashi agreed, but when they arrived and spoke with the Raikage, the Raikage refused his request and berated Naruto for standing up for a criminal. Naruto went to a local inn to consider what to do next, where he was soon confronted by Madara Uchiha, who asked how he could get Nagato to change his mind. Naruto ignored the question and asked Madara about his plans with Sasuke. Madara told him about the Sage of the Six Paths, the Uchiha clan, and the truth about the Uchiha clan massacre, all of which now drove Sasuke along a path of vengeance. Naruto insisted that that he could still get through to Sasuke, but Madara laughed and left, saying that Naruto and Sasuke are fated to fight again.
Naruto began practicing with Sage Mode, hoping to extend the reach of his sensory skills and thus find Sasuke. Sakura interrupted him, having come to the Land of Iron to speak with him. She told him that she loved him and she no longer had any feelings for Sasuke. Naruto however, did not believe her, and said she is lying to herself. Angered by this, Sakura insisted it was true and that he therefore doesn't need to fulfill his earlier promise of bringing Sasuke home. Naruto said his actions had nothing to do with the promise and that he just wanted to save Sasuke, choosing not to reveal what Madara had said about the Uchiha clan. Sakura then left with the others, saying she was going home.
One of Sai's ink clones later approached Naruto, telling him, Kakashi, and Yamato about Sakura and the rest of the Konoha 11's decision to kill Sasuke to prevent him from involving Konoha in another war, and also mentioned that Sakura was most likely still in love with Sasuke and wanted to be the one to stop him from sinking any lower. Gaara also appeared, who told them about the Fourth Great Shinobi World War and the decision to protect Naruto from Akatsuki. Gaara pleaded with Naruto to think about all of the people who will be fighting the likes of Sasuke on his behalf and, as Sasuke's friend, to do what was best given his actions. When Gaara left, Naruto considered what everyone had told him and started hyperventilating. He passed out and when he woke up, he discovered from Yamato that Kakashi had gone to stop Sakura and deal with Sasuke.
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| Team 7 re-unites. |
Upon returning to the village, Naruto explained the situation to his friends. When he insisted to handle Sasuke alone, Neji and Shikamaru said it was foolish not to finish Sasuke when he was already weakened from his fight against the other Kage and Danzō, but Naruto explained that at his current level, he wouldn't be able to kill Sasuke. As Shikamaru berated Naruto for taking all this on his own, Naruto dismissed this and headed off to Ichiraku. Sakura realized Naruto was hiding something however, remembering what he said to Sasuke directly.
Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
As Naruto was about to eat, he was suddenly summoned back to Mount Myōboku by Fukasaku, who told him that the Great Toad Sage wished to tell him about his future. He prophesied that Naruto would meet an "octopus", and would battle a "young man with powerful eyes". Gerotora was then summoned and gave Naruto the "key" to the Eight Trigrams Seal, so he can release all of the Nine-Tails' power and also complete an unnamed jutsu. However, Naruto seemed hesitant to use the key, but Gerotora assured him that he will be able to control the Nine-Tails, so Naruto took the key into his body, knowing he will need its power in the battles to come. Fukasaku then returned Naruto back to Ichiraku, where some of the villagers asked for his autograph.To keep Naruto safe from Akatsuki, the five Kage sent him along with Yamato, Might Guy, Aoba Yamashiro, and several Konoha and Kumo-nin, to a remote island in the Land of Lightning, under the story that he's there to study the island's ecology. Upon arrival, Naruto met Killer Bee and was marveled at his mastery of his tailed beast. Naruto requested training from him, but Bee refused since he's on "vacation". However, Naruto proved to be a capable rapper and bumped fists with him, but then he accidentally insulted Bee while rapping, so then Naruto used his Harem Technique in order to persuade him, but with no results. After hearing that Naruto and Bee had bumped fists, Motoi took Naruto to the Falls of Truth, where Bee had started his training to control the Eight-Tails. Motoi instructed Naruto to sit on the platform in front of the waterfall and close his eyes, and he would see who he truly was on the inside. While doing this, Naruto was greeted by another version of himself, who berated Naruto on how quickly the people from Konoha changed their opinions of him and have started sucking up to him.
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| Naruto versus Dark Naruto. |
Motoi elaborated on this and told Naruto the history of Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails. Initially, Naruto became angry with Motoi, feeling that he was only using him as a replacement for his guilt. While reminiscing about how Bee and Gaara changed the peoples' opinions about them and that, deep inside, Naruto was not certain if the villagers of Konoha truly trusted him, Motoi was attacked by the giant squid. Thinking that squid was Bee, Naruto yelled for it to stop. Fortunately, Motoi was saved by Killer Bee and Naruto was happy to see the two being able to resume their friendship. After joining forces with Bee, he said to Naruto return to the Falls of Truth. Confronting Dark Naruto, Naruto said that he must have faith in himself, which started to weaken the former and forcing him to ask what was the reason for his existence then. Naruto said he was really him and thanked him for pushing him to be the person he is now. He then hugged Dark Naruto when he tried to attack him, who cried and disappeared. After awaking and celebrating, Killer Bee lead him to a secret place behind the waterfall, saying it was there where Naruto would fight the Nine-Tails.
Along with Yamato, Naruto was guided through the temple by Killer Bee, until they reached a cat head statue. Killer Bee instructed Naruto to place his head inside its mouth, claiming it would allow him to see and speak with the Nine-Tails, and that if he didn't have a pure heart, the statue would decapitate him. Naruto pretended to be decapitated, fooling Yamato. They all enter a white room, where Naruto sat down and entered his subconscious. After Naruto used the key to unlock the seal, the Nine-Tails then pushed the cage's doors and attempted to attack Naruto, but Killer Bee used the Eight-Tails' tails to restrain it and help Naruto drain out its chakra. However, the Nine-Tails quickly sliced off the Eight-Tails' tails and it bitterly condemned Naruto for joining forces with the Eight-Tails so he can try to control its power.
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| Naruto versus the Nine-Tails. |
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| Naruto reseals the Nine-Tails. |
Outside his subconscious, as Naruto was showing Killer Bee and Yamato his new form, Naruto quickly sensed Kisame hidden inside his Samehada by detecting his negative emotions, which surprised Kisame. When Kisame attempted to escape, Naruto used his blinding speed and quickly smashed Kisame into the wall with a powerful punch. However, Kisame was able to retreat as Naruto's foot got stuck in the wall, leading Yamato to stay behind to help free him while Bee chased after Kisame. Naruto and Yamato then caught up with the others as they watched Guy and Kisame's battle from a distance. After the battle, the Konoha and Kumo-nin restrained Kisame and attempted to interrogate him, however Kisame was able to break free and committed suicide so they could not get any more information out of him. Shocked by this action, Naruto realized that even the shinobi in Akatsuki fought for their comrades. When Guy then opened the information scroll Kisame had tried to send to Akatsuki, it triggered to trap them in water prisons with summoned sharks to keep the shinobi occupied while the last shark took the scroll, and swam into the ocean to get it to Akatsuki.
Shinobi World War Arc
Later, after Motoi sent his summoned owl to inform the Allied Shinobi Forces about the situation, Naruto and Killer Bee started evacuating the giant animals into the Island Turtle's shell for their safety in case an attack came. Naruto was trying to log the island's ecology as part of his "official" S-rank mission, still not knowing the true purpose of being there. Due to the battle outside, Naruto became suspicious of what was happening, and asked to go outside, but Yamato told Naruto that it was his mission to stay on the island. Motoi and Aoba, at first were worried that Naruto was realizing the real purpose why he was here, but when Naruto agreed with Yamato, they were glad that he was dumb enough to believe them. |
| Naruto attempting to get the ratio down for his Tailed Beast Rasengan. |
Naruto continued training under Killer Bee's supervision, and complained about the technical aspects of the Tailed Beast Ball, getting a 9.5:0.5 ratio instead of 8:2, as he learns things by experience. Despite getting his hands burned by the heavy chakra and Bee advising him to take a rest, Naruto said he'd continue training.
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