naruto

all about naruto

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 11:12:00 -0700

The Series
Naruto is an anime and manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto centered around a loud, hyperactive, young ninja who is in a constant search for both approval and recognition, and with a great aspiration to become Hokage. First published as a manga series in Japan by Shueisha in the 43rd issue of Shonen Jump magazine in November 1999, the Naruto series has risen in popularity exponentially and has since been licensed in the USA (becoming VIZ Media's top selling title) and nearly two dozen other countries, with the anime series currently airing in 18 countries.

Although the anime series debuted on TV in Japan on October 3rd, 2002 nearly three years after the manga series first appeared it has quickly caught up, as each episode can cover up to two chapters. To prevent the series from being pulled off of the air and cancelled completely with no official story to base it upon, as had been the fate (and death) of other anime such as Rurouni Kenshin, the decision was made to produce original content for the anime series to allow the manga time to get far ahead and keep Naruto fresh in the minds of its many fans. Starting with episode 136 there has been over a years worth of filler episodes which tend to cover the supporting characters of Naruto who may not otherwise be seen often. New episodes of Naruto air every Wednesday night during the Golden Time slot at 7:27PM, and movies based upon the Naruto anime series have been released every Summer since 2004.

Naruto made his first English debut on September 10th, 2005 in an hour long premiere on the US cable channel Cartoon Network during the Toonami timeslot at 9PM, followed by an hour long encore (repeat of the first two episodes shown previously) at 10PM. Currently a new episode of Naruto is shown every Saturday at 9PM with an encore presentation at 2AM, along with reruns airing at 10PM Monday - Thursday. It had been announced previous to the premiere that Naruto would hit Canada (a less editted version than the American) before airing in the USA, on the 9th of September, however, due to licensing agreements the premiere was forced back until the 16th on the Canadian YTV. In the United Kingdom a much more heavily editted version of Naruto airs at 8PM on Jetix.

What It's All About
Twelve years before the start of the series, a Kyuubi (nine-tailed fox demon) attacked the Hidden Leaf Village. A swing of one of it's mighty tails could raise tsunamis and flatten mountains, chaos reigned throughout the village as it killed many people, until the leader of the Leaf, the Fourth Hokage, defeated it by sacrificing his own life to seal the demon inside a new born child, that child is Uzumaki Naruto. The Fourth Hokage would forever be celebrated as a hero for sealing the Kyuubi and saving the entire village. It was his wish that Naruto would also be respected in the same way he would be, however, this was not the case. Everybody in the village avoided Naruto, regarding him as nothing more than the evil demon fox. The Third Hokage made it a rule within the village that other villagers were forbidden from mentioning this event to anyone, even their own children, however because of the way their parents treated Naruto, they mistreated him as well throughout most of his childhood.

As a result of this Naruto grew up as a lonesome orphan, without friends, family, or acknowledgement of any sort. Nobody would pay any attention to him, so he sought attention in the only way he knew how, through pranks and mischief. However, Naruto's behaviour would come to change after graduating from the Ninja Academy by learning the technique of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to save his sensei Umino Iruka from certain death. Naruto learnt two things that day, that the Kyuubi was contained inside him, and that there was someone who cared about him, and understood how he felt. His graduation would become a changing moment and define his world for the rest of his life.

Did You Know?
Did you know that the name of Uzumaki Naruto comes from a city in the Tokushima Prefecture of Japan named Naruto? The city of Naruto was founded on March 15th, 1947 and has a population of 64,257 and a density of 474.40 per km². Naruto is most famous for the Naruto Whirlpools (Uzumaki, hence Uzumaki Naruto), a famous tourist attraction. Naruto also is home to the Ryozenji and Gokurakuji temples, the first two temples of the 88 temples on the Shikoku Pilgrimage that are believed to have been visited by the famous Buddhist monk Kukai, who was born in Zentsuji of the Shikoku Prefecture in 774. The pilgrimage is 745 miles long (1200 kilometers) and traditionally walked, which can take up to 60 days to do completely. Those who do complete the entire pilgrimage are known as o-henro-san and are often recognizable by their white clothing, sedge hats, and walking sticks. Also in Naruto is the Ohnaruto Bridge, a suspension bridge on the route that connects Kobe with Naruto. Completed in 1985 the bridge crosses the Naruto Strait (location of the Naruto Whirlpools) and has a span of 876 meters (2,874 feet), good for being named the 25th largest bridge in the world.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:44:00 -0700

Zabuza Momochi was born in Kirigakure. During one of Kirigakure's annual events of pitting graduating ninja against each other, Zabuza singlehandedly killed all of his peers, bringing an end to the ritual and causing him to be called the "Demon of the Hidden Mist". Zabuza would go on to become one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist where he acquired his zanbatô, and also became a member of the Kirigakure ANBU. At some point in time, Zabuza found a young boy named Haku wandering the countryside, and offered to take Haku in as his tool. Haku accepted and became loyal to Zabuza, learning from Zabuza and protecting him whenever necessary. Zabuza eventually attempted a coup d'état on the Land of Water by trying to assassinate the Mizukage. The coup failed, forcing Zabuza and his subordinates to leave the country. In the hopes of gaining funds for a second coup, Zabuza became a mercenary assassin, killing anyone if the price was right. Zabuza is hired by Gato to kill the bridge builder Tazuna. After his initial attempt fails to kill Tazuna and his escorts (Kakashi Hatake and his students) and leads to his defeat, Zabuza and Haku seek a rematch after he recovers. Once tracking down Team 7 again, Zabuza is drawn into battle with Kakashi while Haku deals with his students. Although he tries to avoid Kakashi, he is eventually restrained and Kakashi prepares to kill him with his Lightning Blade. Before he can land a blow, however, Haku appears to use himself as a human shield for Zabuza, fulfilling his promise of being a tool for his master. Zabuza is freed as a result of Haku's intervention and tries to attack Kakashi, though Kakashi is able to avoid the attack and disable both of Zabuza's arms. With Zabuza no longer able to fight, Gato arrives with his henchmen to finish the job instead, ending the battle between Zabuza and Kakashi. Naruto Uzumaki, however, is angered that Zabuza has yet to show remorse for Haku's death and explains Haku's devotion to him. Brought to tears by his words, Zabuza reveals that he did care for Haku and decides to repent for what he has done. After taking a kunai in his mouth, Zabuza charges through Gato's men, being stabbed multiple times along the way though eventually reaching and killing Gato. After collapsing due to his injuries Zabuza asks to be brought to Haku's side, wanting to be by his side in death as Haku was by him in life. Kakashi complies, and in his dying moments Zabuza wishes to go to the same afterlife as Haku

Zaku Abumi is one of the three Genin from Otogakure who entered the Chunin exam. Zaku is fitted with hollow air tubes that extend through his arms and open through his palms. With these tubes, Zaku can use his chakra to perform Decapitating Air Wave and the larger scale Extreme Decapitating Air Waves of air pressure and sound in various ratios that is strong enough to crack stone and wipe out anything in its path.

Zetsu A mysterious missing-nin. Not much is known about him, other than his allegiance to Akatsuki and his function as a spy. His head appears to be enveloped in a large venus flytrap, which can also envelop the rest of his body. The right side of his face and body is black in color while his left side is white in color. To go with this, Zetsu seems to have a split personality, as the black half of his face speaks only in Katakana while the white side uses Kanji and Kana. The two halves also seem to converse with each other, and occasionally differ in opinion, such as whether to allow Tobi to fill Sasori's place in Akatsuki. His eyes are yellow and pupil-less. Zetsu frequently uses Leech All Creation: Attack Prevention Technique, allowing him to merge with the ground, trees, and other plants to travel long distances fairly quickly. He has also shown the ability to move his body during the sealing ritual, which no other Akatsuki member is capable of. As such, he serves as a lookout during the ritual. To help with this task, Zetsu has increased vision that allows him to see further than most other characters. In addition to his role as a spy, Zetsu appears to function as Akatsuki's hunter-nin. He is sent to dispose of the corpses of those used for Pein's Shapeshifting Technique, as well as recover the rings of Sasori and Deidara. He performs the former function by devouring the corpses, which fits with his "venus flytrap" theme.

Zouri is one of many people Gato hired. He worked alongside Warahi and took Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami as a hostage, only to be defeated by Naruto.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:41:00 -0700

Yahiko along with Nagato and Konan, was left orphaned by one of Amegakure's many wars when they were children, forcing them to fend for themselves. The three eventually encountered Jiraiya, who looked after them and taught them basic ninjutsu. Yahiko has a strong "eye for an eye" philosophy, and hates the way Amegakure is looked at by the rest of the world and hates what it has become. He is defensive of the village, saying that his dream is to stop the endless rain, which he compares to tears, and protect the nation's citizens. He has the ability to use water-based jutsu. Sometime after Jiraiya's departure from Amegakure, the three quickly gained a reputation but Yahiko later died under unknown circumstances. Yahiko's name in Japanese means a "vulgar" or "mean child."

Yamato is the temporary leader of Kakashi Hatake's Team 7, and since his introduction he has joined the team in all of its endeavors. "Yamato" is actually a code name given to him for the purposes of leading Team 7, his real name being Tenzo.Yamato, however, seems to prefer going by his code name. Shortly after his birth, Yamato was kidnapped for the purposes of becoming a test subject of Orochimaru.[3] In Yamato's case, Orochimaru injected him with the First Hokage's DNA in the hopes that he could replicate the First's ability to use Mokuton techniques. Orochimaru was forced to flee Hidden Leaf Village before he could finish his experimentation, but believed that all 60 of his test subjects had died. Yamato, however, was the lone survivor, and found himself endowed with the First's abilities. Yamato would go on to join the ANBU, and for a time he would serve under the guidance of Kakashi. Yamato came to have the best performance record of any ANBU serving under the Third Hokage, leading the Third's successor, Tsunade, to have the utmost confidence in Yamato. Like other ANBU members, Yamato projects a calm, stoic demeanor in stressful situations. Despite this, he can also be quite laid back when not on duty, and is not above using his Mokuton techniques for creature comforts such as making a house to "camp out" in. While he has been good natured so far, Yamato claims to be a different sort of leader than Kakashi, one who is not above "ruling by the use of terror" when his team misbehaves. Aside from his obviously intimidating skills as a ninja, however, this "terror" has so far primarily consisted of casting a creepy "ghoul-eyes" expression directed at his charges, which seems more humorous than terrifying. Naruto, however, is easily creeped out by it. Yamato also seems to have an attachment to money, and doesn't like to spend on others unless he has something to gain

Yashamaru was a medic-nin, the younger brother of Karura, and thus the uncle of Gaara, Kankuro and Temari (though in some languages he is mistaken to be female). At first, Gaara thought that he was the only one that cared about him. Yashamaru taught Gaara about physical pain, emotional pain and love; concepts Gaara was completely unaware of in his childhood. He was commanded by the Fourth Kazekage to assassinate Gaara, but was given the choice in deciding whether he wanted to proceed or not. Yashamaru willingly accepted the command in order to avenge his older sister's premature death. The assassination attempt, however, ended in a desperate suicide mission and ultimately failed. Before he died, he told Gaara that no one had ever really loved him, not even him, despite trying his hardest to. Before dying in a failed attempt to kill Gaara by activating exploding tags on his body, he said, "This is it. Please die." The realization that even Yashamaru hated him caused Gaara to become psychotic, and influenced his belief that he should only live for himself

Yonbi is a four-tailed demon. Nothing much else is known, not even what animal it is. The host of this demon was an elderly man. He can be recognized by dark marks under his eyes, most likely from the demon. This man uses many elemental fusion techniques when battling, which could be some of the powers from the demon. This 4-tailed creature was captured by the Akatsuki after Kisame killed its host.

Yoroi Akado is a part of the three-man team of ninja from Otogakure posing as ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village, along with Kabuto Yakushi and Misumi Tsurugi. With the Chakra Absorption Technique he can absorb the physical and spiritual energy of an opponent on contact. He used this ability against Sasuke Uchiha during the preliminary matches of the Chunin Exams, making it very difficult for Sasuke to keep his cursed seal under control. Despite this, Sasuke defeated Yoroi with Taijutsu, finishing him off with his newly devised Lion Combo

Yoshino Nara is the mother of Shikamaru Nara and the wife of Shikaku Nara. Though very strict and sometimes overbearing, she also has a sweet side. She has her husband "whipped", as her son calls it, and both her husband and son are rather scared of her. Shikamaru calls her a "troublesome woman".

Yugao Uzuki is a member of the Hidden Leaf Village ANBU and Hayate Gekko's lover. "Uzuki" is the old name for "April" on the Japanese lunar calendar, while "Yugao" means "moonflower". After Hayate is killed by Baki, Yugao swears to avenge him, though it is unknown if she actually knows who killed him. The manner of her speech towards Kakashi Hatake as her senpai seems to imply that he was her senior while he was still in ANBU.

Yugito Nii is the Cloud kunoichi who was the human vessel of the two-tailed demon cat. She was knocked out and captured by Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu, despite turning into her demon cat form to fight them. Like other hosts, she has physical features that resemble her tailed beast. In her case, her eyes are slanted and cat-like. Not much else is known about Yugito. Yugito later appears during the extraction of the two-tailed demon cat, leading to her death. Yugito's last name means two, this plays off her holding the two-tailed demon cat. She also had an attitude not to back down, like Naruto, we seen this in the manga when she doesn't back down when she is fighting with both Hidan and Kakuzu. She also appears not to be afraid of using Nibi's chakra unlike Gaara and Naruto. But that doesn't help when fighting with Hidan and Kakuzu.

Yura is a spy for Sasori who acts as a sleeper agent within Sunagakure. Yura is able to work his way into the Kazekage's advisory council, where he serves as a trusted member for many years. Once Sasori finds need of him his role as a subordinate of Akatsuki returns to him; he kills the Sunagakure ninja guarding the village's borders so that Sasori's partner, Deidara, can have safe passage into the village. He is later used as a sacrifice by the Akatsuki leader and becomes a copy of Itachi Uchiha, which is ultimately killed by Naruto Uzumaki.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:39:00 -0700

Waraji was a hired goon of Gato and worked alongside Zouri. He took Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, as a hostage but was later defeated by Naruto.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:37:00 -0700

Udon is the friend of Konohamaru and Moegi. He is in the Genin-team led by Ebisu. He seems to have a perpetually runny nose and seems to be very sleepy. Udon says that he strives to be cool like Sasuke. Udon also states many times that he loves math, as he is usually seen writing math problems during class. "Udon" is also a type of Japanese noodle.

Umibozu is the boss of the sea. It was used by Amachi to terrorize the Land of the Sea in the Land of the Sea arc. Umibozu itself is nothing more than water that has been gathered and held together by chakra, making it virtually indestructible unless it is completely evaporated. It was defeated by Naruto Uzumaki throwing an explosive tag attached to a kunai into Gamabunta's oil.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:34:00 -0700

Tayuya is the kunoichi of Orochimaru's Sound Four. As the only sound-using member of the Sound Four, Tayuya uses a flute in battle. Because this is her only weapon, she avoids close combat at all costs. To help her with this, she can summon three powerful demons, which she controls with Demon Flute: Illusionary Warriors Manipulating Melody by playing specific notes on her flute to achieve specific actions. If the demons aren't enough to keep opponents at bay, she uses her flute to play the War of Evil Men and trap the opponent with Demonic Flute: Dream Sound Chain. Once trapped in the genjutsu, the target feels as if they are tied with numerous wires, restricting their movement. Soon after, their flesh will begin to melt away from their bones, causing great pain and horror to the target. When in level 2 cursed seal form, her hair grows longer, her skin turns dark brown, and she grows five bone-like horns on her head. Tayuya is foul-mouthed (a trait for which Jirobo berates her) and ill tempered. She is also very intelligent and can think of strategies and battle tactics almost on par with Shikamaru Nara. Like Jirobo she does not think much of Shikamaru as a leader, believing that he is a fool for sacrificing his friends at each turn. She is almost able to defeat Shikamaru, but Temari comes to his aid. After summoning Kamatari Temari levels the entire section of the forest they're in with slicing whirlwinds, crushing Tayuya under a section of a tree thus killing her.

Tazuna is a master bridge builder, the father of Tsunami, and the grandfather of Inari. He resolved to build a bridge that would connect the Land of Waves to the mainland to help restore its economic stability, which was against Gato's interest. He knew that Gato would try to kill him, but couldn't afford proper protection. It is because of this that Tazuna hires Team 7, claiming that he wanted protection from bandits, making it a C-Rank mission instead of a more expensive A-Rank mission. Unlike most of his fellow citizens, Tazuna was brave enough to defy Gato's interests, despite being aware that in doing so, he risks his life. In honor of Naruto, for his example of courage, Tazuna names the bridge the "Great Naruto Bridge" after its completion. He tends to overuse the word "super," which is not reflected in the English version of the anime.

Temari is the oldest child of the Fourth Kazekage, making her the older sister of Gaara and Kankuro. Temari is generally overbearing, if not crude, toward those around her, often not being afraid to speak her mind. One of the few things shown to intimidate her is her younger brother Gaara. She very rarely stays true to her normally tough, demanding attitude, when around the boy, due to the fear of Gaara's wrath. Temari does have a caring side, and is not above showing concern for others. She also seems to value peace, and questions Sunagakure's justifications for going to war with Hidden Leaf Village. This trait carries over to Part II where she begins acting as a liaison between Sunagakure and Hidden Leaf Village as the two villages prepare for the next Chunin Exam. Although she seems to get along somewhat better with Gaara in Part I than Kankuro, her relationship with him doesn't see as big an improvement in Part II as it does for Kankuro. Nevertheless she is much more concerned for her youngest brother's well-being, and eagerly joins Kankuro in trying to find him after he is kidnapped, and advising him not to exert himself too much after his revival.

Tenten is the least seen member of the primary Hidden Leaf Village ninja. The only battle she has in the first part of the manga is almost entirely skipped, with the anime's rendition of the same battle being slightly more drawn out to fill the gap between the battle's start and her defeat. What is known of Tenten is that she strongly believes that female ninja can be just as skilled as male ninja. As such, her goal in life is to someday be as great as Tsunade. Because neither Tenten nor Neji can train on the same level as Might Guy or Lee (nor do they even want to), the two are usually seen together having more "normal" training sessions. As a result, Tenten has come to hold Neji's abilities in high regard.

Teuchi is the owner of the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Naruto�s favorite place to eat. He is a kind man, often giving Naruto extra servings for free. He has one daughter who also works besides him in the shop.

The Third Hokage and his former teammates, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, were students of the First Hokage and Second Hokage. Because of his surname, Sarutobi, the First and Second called him called him "Monkey". Later in his life he became the sensei of Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, who would go on to become known as the "Legendary Three Ninja". He also became the father of Asuma Sarutobi, and in later years the grandfather of Konohamaru.

The Third Kazekage is considered to be the strongest Kazekage in the history of Sunagakure. He was kidnapped many years before the start of the series, though due to the breakout of war Sunagakure was forced to call off the search for him. Although the villagers never found the culprit or his body, they presumed he had been killed. Sasori turned out to be his killer, and had converted the Third's body into his strongest puppet, which he used against Chiyo and Sakura Haruno. The puppet was destroyed in the same battle. The Third had a special genetic trait that allowed him to convert his chakra into magnetic forces. This ability, based on the jutsu used by the previous host of Shukaku, allowed him to control iron powder to create his Iron Sand. While it is unknown if this was a kekkei genkai, Sasori was able to retain the ability when converting the Third into a puppet and added poison to the Iron Sand to increase its lethality. Sasori was able to shoot the Iron sand like bullets as Iron Sand Drizzle, as well as use Iron Sand World Order to create an expanding sphere of spikes that engulfs the entire area it is used in

The Three-tailed beast is a gigantic, turtle-like demon that Akatsuki assigns Tobi (with the help of Deidara) to capture. This creature may be based on the Genbu or the Kappa. What abilities this creature possesses remains unclear, as it did little to actually attack the two in its short appearance. It is clearly quite fast despite its size, as evidenced by its ability to keep up with Tobi, who was running on the water at the time. With the three-tails distracted, Deidara molded an explosive clay fish in an attempt to capture it. It's unclear if this marked the end of the battle, as the remainder of the battle goes unseen. As the two towed the beast to the Akatsuki lair after the battle, Tobi gloated of bringing the three-tails down with his special jutsu, but Deidara thought otherwise. It is later sealed in the sealing statue. Unlike the other tailed beasts seen thus far, the three-tails lacked a host. It is different from the Shukaku and the demon fox as it isn't intelligent, which makes it little more than a wild animal. According to Deidara, lacking a host made the beast weaker because it wasn't intelligent enough to control its own strength.

Tobi was Zetsu's subordinate, who then became a full Akatsuki member after Sasori's death. He now wears the same ring as Sasori, having recovered it after Sasori's death, and took his place as Deidara's partner. After Deidara's death, Tobi is revealed giving Pein orders, and he refers to himself as Madara Uchiha. Unlike the majority of ninja thus far, Tobi has not been shown wearing a visible forehead protector; however, his Uchiha name would suggest that his home village is Hidden Leaf Village. He wears an odd mask that covers his entire face save for his right eye, which like other Uchiha has the Sharingan. Furthermore, Tobi has several bolts or pins present on the arms of his uniform, now obscured by his Akatsuki cloak. Tobi's area of expertise remains unclear, as he has never been shown fighting or utilizing jutsu. He and Deidara are able to defeat the three-tailed beast, but Tobi is never shown doing anything but running from it. After the battle, which goes largely unwitnessed, Tobi claims to have knocked it out with a single attack. Deidara disagrees with the assessment, claiming that it was his "artistic contribution" (exploding clay) that allowed them to win. During his fight with Sasuke, Tobi shows the ability to recover from what are presumably debilitating or fatal blows. After being slashed across the midsection by Sasuke's sword, Tobi collapses, only to stand up again a few seconds later and complain about the speed of the attack. He is also able to escape the final explosion created by Deidara. As Tobi, he has a very formal and correct manner of speech. While his physical appearance remains a mystery, Zetsu has implied that he is relatively young when one side of him referred to Tobi as a "good boy." He respects Deidara, referring to him as Deidara-senpai. Tobi's personality is rather odd in comparison with other Akatsuki members; while most of the members are dedicated and serious, Tobi is more carefree and goofy. His personality does not please Deidara, who believes that all Akatsuki members should be serious and calm. Tobi unintentionally irritates Deidara frequently, which usually results in Deidara attacking Tobi in a comedic fashion. Kisame, on the other hand, somewhat appreciates Tobi's ability to brighten up their gloomy organization. As Madara, his personality and speech are completely different, however, as he speaks much less formally and is more serious and arrogant.

Tonton is the pet pig of Shizune. He is more personified than some of the animals in the Naruto world, but no more than Akamaru. Instead of making the noise for a pig, Tonton will use an onomatopoeia (such as �oink� in the American version of the show). Tonton wears a vest and a necklace with beads around it.

Tsume Inuzuka is the mother of Hana and Kiba. "Tsume" means "claw" or "talon". Like most Inuzuka clan members, Tsume is tough, but cares for her family. During the invasion of Hidden Leaf Village, she fights alongside her dog Kuromaru.

Tsunade , as a child along with her former teammates Orochimaru and Jiraiya, were students of the Third Hokage. Because of the three's exemplary skills, they are known as the "Legendary Three Ninja" or simply the "Sannin". Because she is the granddaughter of the First Hokage and the grandniece of the Second Hokage, the word "Hime" is often attached to her name. In the English anime, it is translated into "Lady Tsunade." Tsunade is well known for her large breasts, despite the fact that Jiraiya referred to her as "flat-chested Tsunade" during their childhood. One of Tsunade's noteworthy possessions was an amulet that belonged to her grandfather, which is said to be valuable enough to buy "three gold mines and the mountains on top of them". On her brother, Nawaki's, twelfth birthday, Tsunade gave the amulet to him in the hopes that it would help him achieve his dream of becoming Hokage. The next day, Nawaki died as one of the many casualties of the war going on at the time, and the amulet was returned to Tsunade's possession. Sometime afterwards, Tsunade fell in love with a man named Dan, who also wanted to become Hokage. As a sign of her affection and in the hopes that it would help him achieve his goal, Tsunade gave him the amulet as well. Dan too would go on to die a bloody death during the course of the war despite Tsunade's attempts to treat him, once again returning the amulet to her possession. With her spirit broken, Tsunade left Hidden Leaf Village with Dan's niece, Shizune, taking her in as her apprentice. During her later battle with Orochimaru, Tsunade's fear of blood leaves her paralyzed and unable to protect herself. Naruto arrives to save her and manages to land a perfected Rasengan on Kabuto Yakushi. After Naruto passes out due to his injuries, Tsunade acts on her promise and puts the amulet around his neck, wishing once more for its wearer to become Hokage. When Orochimaru attempts to kill Naruto, Tsunade overcomes her fear of blood for the sole purpose of protecting him, willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure that Naruto becomes Hokage. Finally, Tsunade accepts the title of Fifth Hokage, Naruto's influence convincing her that the title her loved ones so dearly desired is something to be valued. Since then, Tsunade has maintained the belief that Naruto will someday become a great Hokage, her entire outlook on life changed because of him.

Tsunami is the daughter of Tazuna and the mother of Inari. Her husband died shortly after Inari's birth, and when Kaiza entered her life as a father figure for Inari, she couldn't help but invite him into her home. Like everyone else in the city, Kaiza's death broke her spirit. In the years following, she tried to protect Inari from the painful memories of the loss of his friend and mentor. Tsunami is a woman of strong will. When Inari is in danger, she threatens to commit suicide, which would have left no hostage for Gato's men to take, if they kill Inari as they threaten to do so. Before she is placed in a position that would force her to go through with her threat, Naruto saves her and Inari. In the English anime, Tsunami does not threaten to commit suicide, and she instead tells Gato's men that she will do "whatever they ask of [her]." In episode 161, Inari, Tsunami, and Sansho can be seen in Hidden Leaf Village.

The Two-tailed demon cat is a fire-breathing, flaming cat sealed within Yugito Nii of Kumogakure. Soon after her introduction Yugito is captured by Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu, though it is unknown which was specifically assigned to capture her. Despite luring her two pursuers into a closed space, sealing the exits, and transforming herself into the demon cat, Yugito was overpowered and rendered unconscious by the two Akatsuki members. Zetsu later arrives to take her off their hands, and she later dies as a result of having the beast extracted from her.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:28:00 -0700

Sai is the replacement of Sasuke Uchiha in Kakashi Hatake's Team 7, consisting of himself, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno. The name "Sai" is given to him for the purposes of joining Team 7, his actual name being unknown. At a young age, Sai was one of many orphans recruited by Root, an organization that trained him to have no emotions whatsoever to make it easier for him to accomplish missions. He at some point in time met an older member of Root who took a liking to his drawing ability, and Sai came to think of him as a brother within the organization. During their time together Sai enjoyed a life of happiness and looked forward to the time he could spend with his brother in between missions. Eventually, his brother died of illness, and so too did Sai's source of happiness. Alone again, Sai reverted back to the emotionless member of Root he had been trained to be.

Sakon and Ukon are twin brothers who share positions in the Sound Four. "Sakon" means left and "Ukon" means right, which is also the side of the face that each has his bangs fall on. To further help distinguish between the two Sakon wears beads around his neck and Ukon has a somewhat deeper voice. With their Soma no Ko ability, Sakon and Ukon are able to merge with the bodies of others. Ukon generally uses this ability to remain within Sakon's body where he sleeps, having his head protrude from the back of Sakon's neck. Because Ukon spends so much time within his brother's body he is not use to moving about on his own and tires easily when separated, forcing him to return to Sakon to regain his energy after a short time. Despite this, Ukon is a valuable asset in battle for Sakon, as his arms and legs can be used to strengthen Sakon's attacks as well as block attacks that Sakon cannot. When in their level 2 cursed seal form, each is given increased healing abilities and armor as well as becoming ogre-like in appearance. Sakon and Ukon are very twisted and enjoy bad-mouthing the opposition. Orochimaru notes Sakon to be the fastest and strongest member of the Sound Four, traits Sakon is very proud of. When in battle Sakon likes to prolong the fight by toying with the opponent and all the while use unnecessarily powerful techniques. This tendency of Sakon's causes him to slow down the rest of the group whenever he gets interested in an opponent, making him severely more flawed than Jirobo or Kidomaru. Ukon is able to counteract this flaw by being more impatient and hasty than his brother, causing him to quickly end battles while Sakon is still trying to have fun. Sakon and Ukon fight and almost defeat Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru. Before they can finish the two off, however, Kankuro arrives and kills them both by navigating them into one of his puppet's torso and stabbing them several times, saving Kiba and Akamaru.

Sakumo Hatake also known as Hidden Leaf Village's White Fang, was the father of Kakashi Hatake. Sakumo was the enemy of Chiyo's son. According to the Fourth Hokage, Sakumo was once respected as much as the Legendary Three Ninjas before he fell into disgrace after choosing to save his comrades rather than complete a mission, causing Hidden Leaf Village to suffer in the war effort. This caused many people, including those he had saved, to hate him. Dishonored, Sakumo committed seppuku after deep depression and a drop in his skills, which caused Kakashi to lead his life strictly according to the Ninja code. Sakumo left his White Light Chakra Sabre, for which he was nicknamed, to Kakashi, which utilized chakra to produce a trail of white light from the blade when swung (the blade being the metaphorical "fang"). It was cut in half during a fight between Kakashi and an Iwagakure shinobi.

Sakura at the series' start shows great infatuation towards Sasuke Uchiha. This consists of following him everywhere in an attempt to help him and valuing his opinion and abilities above all others. Once Sasuke begins to be put in more dangerous situations, Sakura's display of her emotions shifts to concern for his well-being, first seen when he appears to have died and she goes against the Shinobi Code by crying for his loss. While his death turns out to be an illusion, Sakura maintains this method of showing her feelings for Part I's duration. The most long-standing example of this is the Cursed Seal Sasuke receives from Orochimaru as a source of power. In addition to worrying for Sasuke when he is left bedridden after the seal's use, Sakura also worries about the seal's potential to draw him away from Hidden Leaf Village. In time, her fears are realized and Sasuke abandons the village to seek out Orochimaru. Before he leaves Sakura attempts to stop him at the village exit, expressing her love for him and begging him to stay. She fails at this and changes tact, saying she will go with him, willing to do anything to be with him. Rather than leave her with words of parting, Sasuke gives her a simple "thank you" before knocking her out In Part II, Sakura begins to learn of the various hardships in Naruto's life, particularly that he is the container of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and that Akatsuki seeks to capture him because of it. Furthermore, should Akatsuki succeed in capturing Naruto and remove the demon fox from his body, Naruto will die. Because of these revelations, Sakura has acquired a worrying mentality for Naruto, and cries over the various difficulties he faces. To help him in overcoming these obstacles, Sakura has become very protective of him and does whatever is necessary to keep him safe. Upon finding that the medical abilities she has learned over the timeskip are ineffective in overcoming the demon fox, Sakura tries to see if there are other things she can learn to be of more use to Naruto. As the two spend more time together, she starts to see Naruto more as a very reliable comrade and a trusted friend. As a result of these newfound feelings, Sakura is generally more accepting of Naruto's personality traits and is much more capable of working well with him. She draws the line at his growing perversion, though, although she can be just as perverted at times.

Sansho runs the Curry of Life shop in the River Country with her son Karashi. They specialize in a super-spicy form of curry that can revive anyone with a single spoonful. She first met Rock Lee completely by accident, whilst he was training in the form of an extremely long hike away from Hidden Leaf Village, he himself had passed out but his body had kept on walking. Lee has always been extremely grateful of the Curry of Life for reviving him on that particular occasion and as such is extremely enthusiastic when Team Guy and Naruto are heading towards the mission (and ultimately the shop) in the Raiga story arc. Sansho gives the Curry of Life to the team during the climactic battle against Raiga, but as a bottle of wine is accidentally knocked into the curry, it intoxicates Lee. Neji Hyuga does not seem to receive any benefits from eating the curry, and when he eats it after being wounded, passes out instead of recovering

Sasame is a young kunoichi of the Fuma clan. In search for her older cousin, Arashi, she helped Naruto, Jiraiya, and Sakura find Orochimaru's lair in the Land of the Rice Fields. She almost betrayed them for Kamikiri, Kagero, and Jigumo, but after the trio's defeat, Jiraiya convinced her to become neutral. Later, she saves Naruto from Kagero's (who was disguised as Kabuto) heart connecting technique. When she met Arashi, she saw what had become of her cousin she decided to help Naruto and Sakura in defeating him. After the incident, she decided to join forces with the remaining members of the Fuma clan to rebuild the clan's former glory.

Sasori also known as Sasori of the Red Sand, is a missing-nin from Sunagakure. "Sasori" also means scorpion. After the death of his parents, at the hands of the Hidden Leaf Village's White Fang, Sasori was left in the care of his grandmother, Chiyo, who taught him all she knew about puppetry. After proving adept with the ability, Sasori used his newfound knowledge to make puppets identical to his parents in an attempt to feel loved by them. Because they were only emotionless puppets, this effort failed, and he eventually abandoned Sunagakure twenty years prior to his introduction. Sometime after leaving the village, Sasori joined Akatsuki and was eventually paired with Orochimaru. After Orochimaru left Akatsuki, Sasori was teamed up with Deidara, though he always carried a grudge against his former partner. Sasori would come to form a better working relationship with Deidara, as seen by Deidara's idolizing of Sasori's abilities. Although the two have differing views of art (Deidara preferring works that depart quickly and Sasori favoring long-lasting pieces), Deidara considers Sasori to be his master until the very end, even though Sasori himself never appreciated his ideals

Sasuke Uchiha spent the early years of his childhood living in the shadow of his older brother, Itachi Uchiha, who had proven time and again that he was an extremely talented ninja. Because of Itachi's successes, most of the members of the Uchiha clan looked to Itachi as the clan's future, the biggest proponent of this idea being Sasuke's father, Fugaku Uchiha. Due to this focusing on Itachi, Sasuke did what he could to prove himself to his family, though no amount of training could help him in surpassing the milestones set in place by his brother. Itachi, aware of Sasuke's struggle for recognition, tried to shift some of their father's attention to Sasuke, even offering to train Sasuke in various fields of ninja abilities. Although Itachi succeeded in getting Fugaku to spend more time with Sasuke, much of that time was still dedicated to Itachi, and all the while Itachi never lived up to his promises of training Sasuke. As time went by, Itachi's standing in the clan began to falter as his trustworthiness was constantly called into question. At this time, Itachi also began to create a more competitive relationship with Sasuke, challenging Sasuke to surpass him. Because of Itachi's changing personality, Fugaku began to take a more active interest in Sasuke's development, teaching him the Great Fireball Technique in less time than Itachi had taken to learn it, which also gave Sasuke proper membership into the clan. Most prominently, Fugaku encouraged Sasuke to not follow in Itachi's footsteps, the former prodigy of the clan having lost his father's confidence. Soon after receiving the attention from his father that he had so yearned for, Sasuke returned home late one evening to find all the members of his clan dead. After finding Itachi standing over the bodies of their parents, indicating he was the one responsible for the clans' murders, Itachi informed Sasuke that he wasn't worth killing. As he left, Itachi repeated his encouragement to Sasuke to get strong enough to surpass him, and disappeared into the night. From that day forth, Sasuke lived as an orphan, longing for the parents that had been taken from him and allowing his brother's words to fester. Soon after the clan's annihilation, Sasuke's only goal in life became to gain power through any means necessary in order to kill Itachi and avenge the clan. Sasuke sees little change from his personality and mindset at the end of Part I, still craving power above all else. His lust for strength is such that, during his reunion with Naruto and Sakura, he claims to be willing to give his body to Orochimaru if it means killing Itachi. Sasuke has at least changed to a point that he no longer cares for his former teammates' well-beings, being more than willing to kill them since neither is of any use to him. His relationship with Orochimaru shows a similar lack of loyalty, as during their time together he applies no honorifics to Orochimaru's name, is somewhat rude to him, and does not express his allegiance with Otogakure by wearing a Sound headband. Of the loyalties Sasuke has, the only one he displays is that of the Uchiha clan, the symbol of which he wears on his back collar. Despite this lack of allegiances to those close to him, Sasuke seems to be unable to bring himself to needlessly harm those he has never met before, and makes it a point to prevent their deaths when possible.

The Second Hokage was the younger brother of the First and Tsunade's grand uncle. He greatly contributed to Hidden Leaf Village's establishment as a major power. He was very proud of his superior combat ability, and was especially skillful at water jutsu (to the point that he did not require a source of water to perform them). One such ability was the Water Release: Water Shockwave, which allowed him to spit out a large body of water that he could control to attack others. He was the teacher of the Third Hokage, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane, and was the one to appoint the Third as his successor. He was resurrected and summoned by Orochimaru to battle the Third, who is eventually forced to seal away his soul to defeat him. One of the anime's filler arcs the Second is revealed to have owned Raijin sword, the blade of which was composed of pure energy and could retract into the handle. Despite being composed of pure energy, the blade can be cracked and broken like a regular sword, which happens at the end of the same filler arc it is introduced in when Naruto uses Rasengan.

Shibi Aburame called "Gen Aburame" in the English Naruto Trading Card Game, is the father of Shino Aburame. During the invasion of Hidden Leaf Village he uses his bugs to draw the poison from his son's body. It is unknown what the gourd on his back is for, but it is assumed that it is for holding more kikaichu insects. The second databook says that he is "a self-possessed figure, the pride of Aburame," suggesting that he may be the leader of the Aburame clan.

Shibuki appears in the second Naruto OVA as the village leader of Takigakure. He is the son of the village's previous leader, who died protecting his village after drinking the hero water. It is because of his father's early demise that Shibuki is a coward. He is first seen cowering behind Sakura, while Team 7 was protecting him, after a bird flies out of nowhere and surprises him. Though he is often cowardly, his entire village loves him and sees him as a hero. The children especially seem to love him. When his village was attacked by his former master upon his return, he was forced to make a terrible choice: either protect the hero's water and let his villagers be killed, or give up the water which the village treasured. Naruto convinces him a hero is willing to sacrifice himself for those they care, like Shibuki's father did. He ends up drinking the hero's water in an attempt to defeat his former master, but is unable to win even with the advantage. The combined efforts of Naruto and Sasuke, however, finish the job. Though the hero's water is usually fatal, Shibuki survives, and becomes a better leader for his people.

Shikaku Nara is the father of Shikamaru Nara. "Shika" means "deer" but "shikaku" can mean "assassin". Like his son, he was part of an Ino-Shika-Cho trio, together with Choza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka. He is married to Yoshino Nara who, as his son says, has him whipped. Despite his claim that "a woman is always tender to the man she loves," his son is never convinced. As a member of the Nara clan, he raises deer, whose antlers can be used to make a medicine which halts the destructive effects of the Akimichi clan's three colored pills. When he is first seen he is portrayed as a bit of an alcoholic, and at times uses some of Shikamaru's catchphrases ("What a drag" in English, "How troublesome" in Japanese). In Part II, Shikaku proves to be much better than Asuma Sarutobi when playing Shogi, as he could easily beat his son at the game while Asuma never could.

Shikamaru Nara is an extremely unenthusiastic person, and as such lives his life avoiding work. This is partly due to seeking paths of least resistance, as he often chooses to do things he would otherwise not do if people nag him enough. His plans on life reflect this aspect of his personality, as he plans to be an average ninja making an average salary, and retire once his children become independent. In his free time he typically takes naps, watches clouds, and plays abstract logic games such as Shogi and Go. When put into a situation where he potentially needs to put effort into something, he attempts to try to find a way to avoid it such as forfeiting a battle or by pretending to be preoccupied with something else. In the instances where he can't avoid these situations, Shikamaru tends to remark "how troublesome". He is fully aware of this side of his personality, and even dubs himself "the number one at running away" or "the number one coward". Despite his cowardly tendencies, Shikamaru is extremely intelligent. Asuma, wondering why Shikamaru was always able to beat him at Shogi and Go despite receiving abysmal grades at the Academy. Asuma then disguised an IQ test as a series of puzzles to see how smart Shikamaru really was. In doing so, Asuma found Shikamaru to have an IQ of over 200, and learned that Shikamaru's poor grades were a result of him finding lifting a pencil to be too troublesome. Nevertheless, Shikamaru works very well with his teammates as their fathers were teamed together in their youth as well. Of his teammates, Shikamaru is closest with Choji, who repays Shikamaru's confidence in him with unyielding loyalty to Shikamaru. Shikamaru also has a strong bond with Asuma, often spending time with him playing strategy games. He even vows to protect Asuma and Kurenai's unborn child for Asuma's sake. One of Shikamaru's more distinctive characteristics is that he finds all women to be bossy and "troublesome". He also often discusses how women ought to act. This viewpoint seems to be largely due to his mother's tyrannical personality, though also seems to be influenced by his father's identical view of women. Contrary to this opinion on women, he has expressed a notably mature interest in marriage and raising a family with one son and one daughter. Ironically, almost all of Shikamaru's opponents have been female. Shikamaru has had a number of his appearances coincide with those of Temari. The two face each other during the final matches of the Chunin Exams. Shikamaru has a chance to claim victory in this match, but he forfeits the match instead, having run low on chakra. Temari later comes to his aid during the Sasuke Retrieval arc and defeats Tayuya of the Sound Four to save him. Shikamaru returns the favor in the last of the anime's filler arcs and saves her from one of the Shiitenshounin. In addition, the two are seen together in their Part II debuts. In this instance, Naruto Uzumaki asks if the two are on a date, though both state that this is not the case. Temari ranks as one of the women he finds most troublesome, along with Ino and his mother.

Shino Aburame is a rarely seen character who has a fascination with bugs; most of his spare time is spent watching bugs, he often makes analogies to bugs when talking, and even the name, "Aburame Shino", bears a close resemblance to the Japanese word for cockroach. In addition to liking bugs, Shino is characterized by his emotionless, solitary, and collected way of doing things. He speaks very bluntly and never allows emotion to interfere with his judgment, sometimes offending people in doing so. Shino seems to be aware of these odd personality traits and even seems to be proud of them, as during the anime's filler arcs he threatens Naruto Uzumaki to make sure nobody ever knows that he could tell jokes. These odd traits have caused people to identify Shino as "creepy" or "weird" and tend to dislike being in his company.

Shiromari is a chameleon summon that takes the form of a castle. It was summoned over fifty years prior to Naruto's visit to the castle with Hinata Hyuga and Kiba Inuzuka in the The Cursed Haunted Castle filler arc. As a last resort, the dying lord of the castle summoned Shiromari and had it devour anyone who approached. The lord died before he could release the summoning, and thus it remained bound to the contract scroll used to summon it. From then on, it devoured anyone who came close. During a mission to find a group of missing people, Hinata, Kiba, and Naruto stumble upon this summon. After being swallowed by it, they realize just what it is. While attempting to find the contract scroll that is keeping it summoned, the spirit of the castle lord appeared and led them to it, because the lord felt sorry for the creature spending fifty years guarding his castle, and wanted to set it free. The summoned creature is very loyal to his summoner, having protected his summoner's castle for so long. Naruto cut the scroll into pieces to send the summoned creature back, and escaped from the body of the summon with Rasengan. The anime does not show Shiromari's true form, but instead, a picture.

Shisui Uchiha was feared as "Shisui of the Body Flicker" and was one of the most talented of the Uchiha clan. Shisui was the best friend of Itachi Uchiha; in fact, Itachi thought of him as an older brother. He was found drowned in a river from what appeared to be suicide, though the Hidden Leaf Village Military Police believed it to be murder. It was later revealed that Shisui had been ordered to keep tabs on Itachi. Itachi later admitted to Sasuke Uchiha that he had murdered Shisui to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan, forging Shisui's handwriting on his suicide note with the help of the Sharingan. The name 'Shisui' means 'dead water', a reference to his drowning.

Shizune is the assistant of Tsunade and a talented Medic-nin. She left Hidden Leaf Village with Tsunade after her uncle, Dan, died, and trained under Tsunade for many years afterwards. Shizune is quite close to Tsunade, being one of the few people Tsunade will trust with absolute certainty. Unlike Tsunade, Shizune is level-headed, practical, and a rational thinker. As a result, she tends to stress over details like Tsunade's tendency to gamble and think with her heart. She often gets comically worked up over any irrational decision Tsunade makes, particularly her making large bets. Shizune also looks after Tonton, Tsunade's pet pig.

Shukaku the Ichibi was said to be the corrupted spirit of a Sand priest. We now know he is actually one of the tailed demons of the world. Shukaku the one-tail has been in three Sand ninja total. One of his previous hosts inspired Sandaime Kazekage in his usage of iron sand. Shukaku provokes insomnia in his host vessels, should they sleep Shukaku will eat away at their personality. When the host is awake, Shukaku-s powers are limited. If the host builds a new Shukaku body and falls unconscious, the demon can run riot once again. Shukaku is loud and flamboyant in his speech, probably as a result of not being released very often. With his capture by Akatsuki, it is unknown what lies in his future. Shukaku lied dormant within Gaara but could operate freely when Gaara slept. Because of the dangerous nature of Shukaku in this free wheeling state, Gaara went without sleep. As a result his eyes become dark and discolored. Stylistically this enhanced his ties to the tanuki, as the species has a dark area around their eyes. Other features which cause Gaara to resemble a tanuki is the gourd on his back, many depictions of the tanuki feature a gigantic gourd-shaped scrotum which it sometimes slings over its shoulders. Utilizing the sand from his Gourd and the surrounding area, Gaara would cover himself to attain his "perfect" form. To prepare him for this state, Gaara would enter his sand cocoon. When prepared, Gaara would emerge as a small version of Shukaku. This "mini-Shukaku" form allowed Gaara to hurl sand shuriken and use techniques such as Mugen Sajin Daitoppa. The final perfected version is a large scale usage which allows Shukaku himself to emerge and run rampant. Gaara will first gather a gigantic amount of sand into a large-Shukaku form. He will then use the Feigned Sleep technique to fall unconscious an allow Shukaku to control the large sand form. This form was said to have horrified Temari, and been the cause of much destruction in the past.

Suigetsu is a former experimental subject of Orochimaru and the first member to be recruited into Snake and, according to Kisame Hoshigaki, part of the "H�zuki Brothers". He is freed by Sasuke shortly after he defeats Orochimaru. Suigetsu's teeth are shark-like, much like Zabuza Momochi's and Kisame Hoshigaki's. His attire is similar to that of his former master, Zabuza, but it is colored differently. Suigetsu's name means "water moon", a reference to something that can be seen but not grasped, or more specifically how Suigetsu's ability to transform into water escapes him from harm's way, as the moon reflected in water is untouchable. Suigetsu is able to reduce himself to liquid form and to return to bodily form at will. This ability also allows him to change his body shape, giving him the ability to increase the size of his limbs, proportionally increasing his strength, if necessary. It also makes striking him somewhat difficult; since he is made of liquid, any sufficiently powerful strike will go right through his watery form. He is arguably quite powerful or at least very confident in his abilities, since he has threatened Sasuke on more than one occasion. Kisame Hoshigaki even commented on Suigetsu being a prodigy at the art of murder and the next Zabuza Momochi as he commented that Suigetsu had a habit of chopping off his victim's limbs before beheading them. Suigetsu is also the first ninja seen carrying water bottles on his outfit. Given his somewhat frequent desire to consume water, Suigetsu may require regular hydration to sustain his watery form. Suigetsu has Sasuke take him to Zabuza's grave in the Land of Waves after being released, wanting to take possession of the latter's zanbat�. Having trained with the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, which Zabuza once belonged to, Suigetsu can wield the weapon with relative ease, but traveling longer distances with the sword strapped onto his back tires him out rather quickly. In his allegiance with Sasuke, Suigetsu hopes to acquire the sword of Kisame as well, which Karin assumes to mean that he wants to collect all of the swords of the Seven Swordsmen.

Suzumebachi Kamizuru is the only female and leader of the team made up of herself, Jibachi, and Kurobachi. She claims to be the granddaughter of the First Tsuchikage. She later makes a cameo appearance in episode 161, eating dango with Ibiki Morino. She was able to use the Bee Honey Technique, utilizing summoned bees that engulfed the opponent in sticky honey when killed. "Suzumebachi" can be translated to mean hornet.

Suien was the teacher of Shibuki and a former Jonin of Takigakure (Village Hidden in the Waterfall). He went rogue as a missing-nin and assembled followers in his plan to obtain the chakra-enhancing Hero Water, even if it meant taking hostages in Takigakure. He threatened to kill the captive villagers one by one if Shibuki didn't show himself with the Hero Water. When Shibuki drank the water and hid its bottle in his shirt, he engaged Suien in battle until Suien impaled Shibuki with a water sword technique and discovered the water falling out of his shirt. After Suien drank it, Naruto engaged him in battle long enough for Shibuki to free Sasuke. Naruto and Sasuke then fought him, but Suien was winning until Naruto unleashed the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox. After Naruto drew on the Fox's chakra, Suien was no match for him, and thus he tried drinking the last of the water. Before he could do so, Sasuke knocked the bottle of the water out of his hand, breaking it. Naruto then used multiple shadow clones to send Suien flying, causing him to fall down the waterfall, presumably to his death.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:25:00 -0700

Raido Namiashi serves as the Third Hokage's assistant during the Chunin Exams, and is characterized by a large scar on his left cheek. "Namiashi" means "walking pace" while "Raido" means "following blindly". After the Chunin Exams, Raido and Genma Shiranui confront the Sound Four, who are forced to go to level two of their cursed seals to defeat them. The Sound Four later comment that if it hadn't been for their cursed seals, Genma and Raido would have defeated them. In Part II Raido appears as a member of the Niju Shotai, assisting Asuma Sarutobi's team in the fight against Akatsuki. After Aoba Yamashiro covers the area in crows, Raido, dressed in black with a black sword, is able to sneak up on and attack Kakuzu. While he is unable to damage Kakuzu, he is able to learn some valuable information about Kakuzu's defensive capabilities.

Raiga Kurosuki is a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, like Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki (both of whom he apparently disliked, along with the rest of the members) were. Unlike those two, however, he wields two pike-like swords which he uses in a manner similar to lightning rods to attract and channel lightning and electricity. Raiga's shorter swords stand in stark contrast to the other swords seen thus far, but he can connect them at their hilts to form a larger double-bladed sword, effectively increasing the weapon's size and allowing him to perform different and more powerful jutsus. Like the other two Swordsmen, Raiga was very arrogant and overconfident. He was also somewhat mentally unsound.

Raijun is the large brother of Fuujin. Like his brother, he too is from the fire country and is a slow-minded powerhouse. He will do anything food, and would often escape from his cell just for more. He was hired by Mizuki to help take revenge on Konoha, but was defeated by Tsunade and her brute strength. He is currently back in prison.

The first Rain Genin team consisting of Baiu, Midare, and Shigure, confronts Gaara and his siblings during the second phase of the Chunin Exams. Shigure attacks Gaara by throwing his umbrellas into the air and releasing the needles kept within them for his Sprinkling Needles attack. As the needles fall to the ground, Shigure controls them with his chakra to surround Gaara and fire them at him with increased speed and accuracy. Gaara's Shield of Sand blocks the attack with ease, and Shigure retaliates. As he charges, he is trapped by Gaara's Desert Coffin and then killed with Desert Funeral. Although Baiu and Midare attempt to surrender, they are killed in the same fashion.

The second Rain Genin team consists of Kagari, Mubi, and Oboro. All three wear breathers, matching wetsuits, and a cloth over their eyes, with each member having a different number of eyeholes in their cloth. Early in the second phase of the Chunin Exams, Oboro restrains and turns himself into Naruto Uzumaki, though he is soon found out by Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke easily gains the upper hand and injures Oboro, forcing him to flee.

Ranmaru is a young orphan from Kirigakure. Like Haku, Ranmaru has an androgynous appearance, but he is never mistaken for a girl. Although formally paralyzed, his kekkei genkai allows him to see through walls and create illusions with real chakra circulatory systems, as well as interfering with the usage of the Byakugan and other vaguely defined powers relating to vision. When activated, the bloodline causes his eyes to momentarily glow red. After befriending Raiga, he was able to move around on Raiga's back, and in return used his bloodline ability to predict the movements of Raiga's enemies.

Rin was a medical ninja and the teammate of Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha under Minato Namikaze. She had intimate feelings for Kakashi, but he ignored her. In turn, Obito had a crush on her, but she ignored him. During the Kakashi Guyden arc, Rin is kidnapped by enemy ninja and Obito and Kakashi try to save her. In their effort, Obito is crushed in a enemy-created rockslide, leaving him unable to escape with his teammates. At Obito's request, Rin implants Obito's remaining Sharingan eye into Kakashi's left eye socket (which had been damaged during the battle) as a gift to Kakashi. Kakashi then vows to protect Rin with his life, at Obito's request. Her status is currently unknown, but she presumably has died, as Kakashi has said that everyone close to him is dead.

Rock Lee is unable to mold his chakra due to his underdeveloped chakra coils, leaving him unable to use any ninjutsu or genjutsu. His fellow students teased him for this handicap while he was in the Academy, though Lee ignored their words and began specializing in Taijutsu, hoping to become a powerful ninja despite his inability. Upon being assigned to Team Guy, Might Guy took a personal interest in Lee's attempts to prove himself and began to help him in his dream of excelling in Taijutsu. With Guy's assistance Lee learned many advanced Taijutsu abilities, bringing him ever closer to achieving his goal of becoming a splendid ninja. Lee looks up to Guy as a father type figure. Lee has a number of other odd personality traits, though whether or not they are results of Guy's mentorship is unknown. One such trait is his apparent lack of common sense, believing at times that he can get what he wants by not wanting it. At other times, he takes copious notes, but forgets that he cannot check them during a fight. He also has a keen sense of honor, refusing to hold grudges against those who have defeated him and returning favors to those that have helped him. Lee feels others should show the same respect, and is disgusted whenever someone is unnecessarily cruel to their opponent.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:22:00 -0700

Pakkun is a petite pug and the smallest of Kakashi's Ninken. Pakkun is seemingly the most intelligent of the ninken, and has the ability to speak. When Pakkun, Naruto, and Sakura appear to help Sasuke in the battle against Gaara, he reveals that he is not a battle type ninja dog, which Sakura claims to know by looking at his small appearance. In the anime, he reveals that he uses Floral Green shampoo (Minty Rainforest Mist Shampoo with extra body in the English dub), which is also used by Sakura Haruno (Sakura is comically traumatized at the thought of using the same shampoo as a dog). When Pakkun is first summoned by Kakashi, he is assigned to lead Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru to Sasuke. In the anime, Shikamaru refuses to help in finding Sasuke, and Pakkun tells him if he completes this mission he will let him touch the pads on his feet. He claims they are really soft and supple.

Pein os the leader of Akatsuki and a missing-nin from Amegakure. He is referred to as "leader" by all Akatsuki members except for his partner, who refers to him by his name. He has the respect of most of his subordinates (Hidan is an exception) and is the one directing their actions. Despite maintaining authority over the other members, he takes orders from Tobi, who is also revealed to be Madara Uchiha. During his initial appearances Pein appears as nothing more than a shadowy figure with unusual eyes, having several increasingly lighter gray circles around the pupil and a pink outline on the corners of his eyes. As the series progresses, however, elements of his appearance are slowly revealed, with both his auburn hair and the piercings on his chin being shown before the rest of his face. Although he has not been seen in battle, the unnamed member states that Pein has never lost a fight. The only jutsu he is seen using, the Shapeshifting Technique, allows him to clone his subordinates using human sacrifices that they control and can use to engage enemies without risking their lives. The clones formed are perfect copies of the original, even possessing the kekkei genkai and unique weapons they may possess. Their abilities are proportionate to the amount of chakra given to the clone (in its debut, he requested thirty percent). Pein also initiates and supervises the jutsu that forcibly brings a tailed beast out of its host. When it becomes necessary to gather his subordinates, he can communicate with them over long distances through some form of telepathy. Moreover, Pein has displayed the ability detect the movements and chakra of people travelling within rain. Pein has displayed at least a cursory knowledge of the various villages, as well as the underlying political and economic conditions in the country at large. When Hidan referred to the Hidden Leaf Village-nin as "godless heathens," he gave a short description of Hidden Leaf Village's "Will of Fire," then proceeded to note that all countries have some similar practice to justify their battles. He is also rumored to be the leader of one of the warring factions in the Land of Rain's current civil war, where he uses Amegakure as his base of operations.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:19:00 -0700

Obito Uchiha was the teammate of Kakashi Hatake and Rin under Minato Namikaze. Obito was frequently late for missions- according to him, due to the random good deeds he would carry out- which greatly irritated Kakashi. Somewhat similar to Naruto, Obito often spoke without thinking, a trait that Minato considered a flaw, but was very impassioned and persuasive in doing so, eventually convincing Kakashi of his values. He also seemed to have had a crush on Rin. When Rin is kidnapped during the Kakashi Guyden arc, Kakashi, the current team leader, insisted that they continue the mission instead of saving her. Citing that those who do not save their teammates are no better than trash, Obito refused and eventually managed to persuade Kakashi to join him. During their rescue effort Kakashi lost his left eye as a result of an enemy ninja's attack, and Obito awakened his Sharingan to save Kakashi and defeat the ninja. Once finding Rin, Obito again saved Kakashi by pushing him out of the way of a rockslide, though has his right side crushed in the process. Unable to escape with his teammates, Obito had Rin implant his remaining Sharingan eye in Kakashi's damaged eye socket as a gift. As the rocks continued to cave in around them just before his death, Obito wished that he could have spent more time with his teammates and that he could have admitted his feelings to Rin. Obito's name is engraved on the monument of ninja who have died in battle, which Kakashi often visits in Obito's memory in his spare time. As a result he is often late due to losing track of time, causing him to develop the trait that once annoyed him. Kakashi also adopts Obito's devotion to his teammates, and makes the concept of valuing one's team over a mission's completion; a key element to how he tests aspiring Genin.

Oki the migrating ninja was a ninja that masqueraded as Moso in the Land of Birds. In disguise, he served as Chief Advisor to the daimyo there. He was defeated after a brief battle with Naruto. He leads the Watari group. Despite being its leader, Oki's skills do not seem on par with those of his group. Many of his techniques are weaker copies of the actual versions (his "summoning technique" activating a projector is just one example, or using strings to make it appear that his enemies have been caught in Shadow Imitation Technique). His strategy seems to involve mainly deception, which allows him to overcome stronger foes. Despite this, Naruto tricked him into revealing himself when he used water clones to disguise his position, then defeated him with Naruto Uzumaki Barrage. Oki was handed over to Toki, and Naruto requested that he be forced to repent of what he had done.

Orochimaru , as a child along with his former teammates, Jiraiya and Tsunade, were students of the Third Hokage. Because of the three's exemplary skills, they are known as the "Legendary Three Ninja" or simply the "Sannin". Orochimaru's parents died when he was young, leaving him to fend for himself for much of his life. While under the Third's tutelage the Third recognized Orochimaru's natural talent as well as a malice and a lust for power within Orochimaru. The Third chose to ignore these traits, hoping that he could quell this part of Orochimaru's personality. Despite the Third's efforts Orochimaru always maintained his dark ambitions and began to act upon them once leaving the Third's side. Over the years Orochimaru began to crave immortality, wishing to use the extended life to learn every jutsu in existence. To accomplish both goals Orochimaru began abducting villagers and experimenting on them in secret, trying to find ways to extend his life as well as replicate jutsu and abilities he could never learn by himself. While he carried out these experiments he also tried to acquire the position of Hokage in the hopes that such a position would allow him easier access to secret jutsu. Although the Third had hoped to pass the title onto his favorite student, Orochimaru's desire for power and inability to accept the beliefs required of a Kage forced him to pass the title to one of Jiraiya's students. Robbed of his only reason to keep face in Hidden Leaf Village, Orochimaru began to be less discreet with his abductions and experimentations, allowing the Third to eventually discover what Orochimaru was doing. Upon being found out Orochimaru gave his former master the chance to kill him, but the Third couldn't bring himself to do it and thus allowing Orochimaru to escape. As he fled the village Jiraiya, having come to think of Orochimaru as a dear friend, tried to stop him and persuade him to return to Hidden Leaf Village, though Orochimaru refused and turned his back on Hidden Leaf Village forever, acquiring a hate for his former home and a strong desire bring about its destruction. After leaving Hidden Leaf Village, Orochimaru joined Akatsuki, where he was teamed with Sasori. While what he did while a member of the organization is unknown, it is known that he tried to take control of Itachi Uchiha's body so as to gain the Sharingan. Itachi was able to use his Sharingan to stop the attempt and then severed his left hand as punishment. As a result of this failed encounter Orochimaru left the organization with his ring and a book containing all of the organization's secrets, and Akatsuki has hunted him ever since. At some point in time Sasori inserted Kabuto Yakushi into Orochimaru's ranks as a spy, though Orochimaru soon became aware of this and persuaded Kabuto to side with him instead. Orochimaru would go on to take over the Land of Rice Fields where he created his own ninja village, Otogakure, filled with ninja loyal to him. Orochimaru also built a number of secret bases throughout the Naruto world that he switches between on a weekly basis. Despite all his efforts, Orochimaru is unable to heal his arms, and in the meantime the seal leaves him in excruciating pain. In an effort to regain the use of his arms Orochimaru approaches his old teammate Tsunade, offering to revive her dead brother and lover in exchange for helping him. She ultimately decides against it and attacks him instead, forcing him to use his last resort of escaping the Third's seal. Finally deciding to make use of Sasuke, Orochimaru sends his Sound Four to fetch him, planning to take Sasuke's body upon his arrival. Although he waits for as long as he can, the pain in his arms forces him to transfer to a body that Kabuto prepared for him. Stuck in this body for the next three years, Orochimaru begins training Sasuke upon his eventual arrival, shaping him into the ideal body all the while. After two and a half years of training Sasuke, Orochimaru's current body begins to fail him and he is forced to begin contemplating how to take Sasuke's body. Sasuke, however, is unwilling to give him the chance and attacks a bedridden Orochimaru. Forced into a corner Orochimaru reveals his true form and begins the transfer process, though Sasuke, like Itachi years earlier, is able to use his Sharingan to stop it. Setting himself apart from his brother, Sasuke also uses his Sharingan to take control of the dimension within Orochimaru, completely turning the process against him. When later asked by Kabuto about Orochimaru's fate, Sasuke explains that he has taken over Orochimaru, and retained possession of his body. After absorbing Orochimaru, Sasuke is able to heal at a faster rate, an ability he attributes to Orochimaru's white snake form. While Orochimaru is considered dead in the eyes of the Naruto world, Kabuto has integrated what remained of Orochimaru into his body in an attempt to make himself into an entity even stronger than Orochimaru. The remains, however, seem to have some degree of consciousness, as they have since begun to slowly take control of his body.

Oukei was one of the examiners of the Chuunin Exams. He was undercover with a few others, providing correct answers which the students had to discretely copy.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:16:00 -0700

Nadare Roga was a Snow ninja who seems to have previously met and fought Kakashi. At that previous time, Kakashi was forced to retreat since he could not defeat all the Snow ninja alone. Nadare frequently mocks Kakashi because of this. Due to his chakra armor, he was able to counter Kakashi's Lightning Blade. However, Kakashi kills him in battle through Taijutsu, crashing him into the rocks underneath. He seemed to be overly arrogant, even naming one of his jutsu after himself, however, his name does describe the technique rather accurately.

Nagare is the water ninja who fought against Kakashi Hatake. Using the Leech All Creation: Attack Prevention Technique to take on the properties of stone, he can use the Assimilated Rock Blizzard to use stones as projectiles, and the Assimilated Rock Tank, a facsimile of the Akimichi clan's Human Bullet Tank, to expand using stone and crush the opponent while rolling with great force. He could also control rock powder similarly to Gaara's sand, engulfing the opponent with rock powder by using Assimilated Desert Coffin and crushing them with Assimilated Desert Funeral. He is later defeated, but not killed, by Kakashi's Lightning Blade

Naruto Uzumaki is the main character of the series. When Naruto was a newborn infant, the powerful nine-tailed demon fox attacked his village. In order to save the village from destruction, the demon fox was sealed in Naruto's newborn body by Minato Namikaze, who sacrificed his life to do so. While it is not outwardly stated, it is heavily implied that Minato Namikaze is Naruto's father. The current whereabouts of his mother are not known. Despite the Fourth Hokage's dying wish that Naruto be viewed as a hero for serving as the container for the demon, the adult villagers of Hidden Leaf Village harbored a fierce hatred for him. Many believed that Naruto and the demon were one and the same and openly displayed an abhorrence towards Naruto, thus leading to the unknowing village children picking up the adults' hatred. However, no one told Naruto about what his body harbored until he was twelve years old, leaving him confused for most of his childhood as to why the villagers of Hidden Leaf Village treated him with hostility. Naruto is seen to be a prankster and a loner. He lives alone in a small apartment and has supposedly done so for years. Even though Naruto was treated as an outsider, he was befriended by his compassionate ninja instructor named Iruka Umino when he was twelve. Although Iruka's own parents perished during the battle with the demon fox, he refused to view Naruto as the cause of their deaths. Instead, Iruka attached himself to Naruto because he was similarly isolated after the death of his parents. Naruto was deeply moved by Iruka's kindness and confidence in him. As a result, Naruto now values Iruka as a father figure, as well as an instructor. After a two-and-a-half year time skip, Naruto shows physical growth and sports a new outfit. Naruto is now noticeably taller than Sakura, (In Part I, he is made fun of for being shorter than her) and some of his other friends, (Kiba even states Naruto has become a "giant"). However, Naruto is still a Genin, since he hasn't had a chance to take the Chunin Exams again, while the rest of the Hidden Leaf Village 11 have become Chunin, and Neji subsequently becomes a Jonin. He is initially jealous that Gaara has become the Fifth Kazekage- thereby achieving the equivalent of Naruto's lifelong dream- but is happy for him. According to Tsunade, Naruto is also slowly adopting some of Jiraiya's perverted traits. During his apprenticeship under Jiraiya, Naruto was able to read ten pages of the latest of the "Icha Icha" series written by Jiraiya, although when he presents a copy to Kakashi, he says he thought it was boring. Naruto appears to not only have increased in strength, speed, and techniques, but intelligence as well; Kakashi had even said that Naruto has become more cunning. During his training, Kakashi remarks that he believes Naruto will surpass himself as well as the Fourth Hokage and later, even sees a vision of the Fourth Hokage around Naruto. After Naruto shows off the results of his special training(In which he learned In Naruto: Shipp�den, after a two-and-a-half year time skip, Naruto shows physical growth and sports a new outfit. Naruto is now noticeably taller than Sakura, (In Part I, he is made fun of for being shorter than her) and some of his other friends, (Kiba even states Naruto has become a "giant"). However, Naruto is still a Genin, since he hasn't had a chance to take the Chunin Exams again, while the rest of the Hidden Leaf Village 11 have become Chunin, and Neji subequently becomes a Jonin. He is initially jealous that Gaara has become the Fifth Kazekage- thereby achieving the equivalent of Naruto's lifelong dream- but is happy for him. According to Tsunade, Naruto is also slowly adopting some of Jiraiya's perverted traits. During his apprenticeship under Jiraiya, Naruto was able to read ten pages of the latest of the "Icha Icha" series written by Jiraiya, although when he presents a copy to Kakashi, he says he thought it was boring.

Nawaki was the younger brother of Tsunade. His appearance and personality were very similar to Naruto Uzumaki, something Tsunade notes after meeting the latter years later. Also like Naruto, Nawaki had a strong desire to become Hokage like his grandfather, the First Hokage. Proud of her brother's determination, Tsunade gave him their grandfather's necklace in the hopes it would help him achieve his goal. He died the next day as yet another casualty of the war going on at the time, and reportedly his body was left in a highly mutilated condition. As a result of her brother's death, Tsunade lobbied to have medical ninja added to each ninja team to improve survival rates. Nawaki would later become one of the people Orochimaru offers to bring back to life in exchange for Tsunade's help, though she ultimately refuses

Neji Hyuga is often considered subordinate. Neji's father, Hizashi Hyuga, was born as the younger brother of his twin, Hiashi Hyuga. Because he was born second, Hizashi was put into the Hyuga clan's branch house, causing Neji to years later be born into the same faction. At a young age Neji was branded with the Hyuga branch family seal so that the main house could punish him for insubordination and protect the secret of the Byakugan should he die. Hizashi, believing Neji to be denied his full potential as a branch house member, began to openly resent the main house, and was punished on some occasions because of it. In one instance, Hizashi's curse mark was activated while Neji watched. Due to the punishments his father received as well as his father's influence, Neji also came to resent the main house. In time, Hizashi would sacrifice himself to save the life of his brother, Hiashi. Neji believed that Hizashi was forced to give up his life because Hiashi's life as a member of the main house was considered more valuable. Neji blamed the main house for this tragedy for years to come, and his belief would not be corrected until after his defeat by Naruto Uzumaki during the final exams. At this point in time, Neji learns that his father willingly gave up his life not to save a member of the main house, but to save the life of his brother and to make a decision about his own destiny. Upon learning this Neji rejects his belief in fate and does what he can to rectify his mistakes. In addition, Neji begins trying to remedy the estranged relations between himself and the main house members, most particularly by being kinder to Hinata. His efforts seem to be effective, as he begins training with Hiashi and in Part II even starts to wear traditional Hyuga robes. As another result of his loss against Naruto, Neji no longer thinks of people as failures who can never change, as he suggests that he would not have persevered in Lee's situation, and believes that if Lee works hard enough, he can surpass the gifted. Neji also considers Naruto the strongest opponent he has ever fought, and is grateful that Naruto was able to influence him to change.

Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Kyuubi) is a truly powerful beast; a single swipe of one of its nine tails can raise tsunamis and flatten mountains. After the demon fox attacked Hidden Leaf Village, Minato Namikaze (the Fourth Hokage) sealed it into his newborn son Naruto by using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, sacrificing his own life to do so. The demon fox is a beast of almost pure malevolence. It is intelligent, and has a scathing and sadistic personality. However, it has a sense of honor, and seems to possess a respect (if merely a loathing one) for Naruto and Minato. Additionally, it has a distinct sense of pride and became rather angry and scornful at Naruto when he rejected its chakra in Part II, though this might have merely been anger over missing an opportunity to partially usurp control over Naruto's body. As the demon fox's host, Naruto has accelerated healing, almost unrivaled stamina, and access to the demon fox's immense amount of chakra. The near-limitless chakra allows Naruto to perform his signature jutsu, Shadow Clone Technique, seemingly without limit. He is even able to summon Gamabunta the "Toad Boss", a normally Kage-level feat requiring an amount of chakra proportionate to the size of the summoned creature. Naruto typically accesses this prodigious supply of chakra from the demon fox during extreme emotional states or life-threatening situations. When he first accessed it, the demon fox's innate rage took over Naruto's mind, causing him to strike out at whatever was near him at the time. Afterwards, Naruto learned to exercise more control over the chakra, and he can now retain his mental state when drawing upon small amounts of the demon fox's chakra. After Jiraiya's training, Naruto learns to summon a small degree of the demon fox's power at will. To do this, Naruto travels into his own mind (depicted as a sewer) and demands that the demon fox give him its chakra. He calls it "rent". The demon fox seems to comply simply because it is amused by Naruto's bravery, as well its own vested interest in Naruto's continued survival. The demon fox's chakra is not without its drawbacks, however. As Naruto draws on more of the demon fox's chakra, his own personality becomes supplanted by the fox's. The degree to which this occurs is proportionate to how much chakra Naruto draws upon. The effect on Naruto's personality becomes significant once he begins accessing his "tailed" transformation states. The tailed transformations appear as fox-shaped auras of red chakra surrounding him. The number of "chakra tails" that extend from the aura indicate its power level, and its effect on his personality. In the one-tailed to three-tailed states, Naruto's personality remains dominant, but he acquires some animalistic behaviors, such as standing on all fours, fighting mercilessly, and a distinct bloodlust. In his four-tailed state (the highest seen so far), the demon fox's personality becomes dominant. Naruto becomes immensely powerful and destructive in this state, enough so to overwhelm even Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Unfortunately, this state also leaves him unable to distinguish between friend and foe which was shown when he attacked Sakura. Such a large amount of chakra requires stability, so it densely molds around him. As Yamato stated, his body is just a "skeleton" for the chakra. The intense aura created from it both shields and harms him, burning off all his exposed skin and causing him to bleed from every pore. This, combined with the accelerated cell regeneration, weakens Naruto and shortens his lifespan due to the fact that every being has a set amount of cells that can be regenerated. In the event of the demon fox manifesting, Naruto's sensei, Jiraiya, prescribes a special written seal that is to be placed on Naruto's body. This seal suppresses the demon fox's chakra and restores Naruto to his normal self. In addition, Yamato has demonstrated a technique that will reverse Naruto's demon fox transformation, enhanced greatly by the First Hokage's necklace that Naruto wears. The Third Hokage and Kakashi Hatake allude that if Naruto loses all control of the demon fox's chakra, the seal will break and the demon fox will be freed. Though the seal is unlikely to break on its own, the chances of it happening increase as Naruto draws upon the fox's chakra. Soon after the start of Part II, Jiraiya mentions that the seal may be becoming weaker over time. This is evident in Naruto's transformations, which occur much quicker and with greater intensity than they did in the first part of the series, often against his own will. As has been seen during Naruto's training sessions, even the slightest amount of frustration on Naruto's part allows the demon fox's chakra to leak out in excess, and Naruto rapidly progresses to a four-tailed state. In Part II, it is revealed that the demon fox is familiar with the Uchiha clan. The precise relationship between the clan and the fox is unclear as of now, but the fox mentions a Madara Uchiha, who possessed chakra more evil ("cursed", as described by the fox) than the fox's own, a trait which Sasuke seems to share. Sasuke also demonstrates the ability to forcefully suppress the demon fox's chakra. To parallel the fox's apparent connection with the Uchihas, Itachi Uchiha of Akatsuki is originally assigned to capture it as part of the organization's goal of obtaining all the tailed beasts, but this task is later given to Pein. The nine tails of the demon fox is a reference to the belief that a fox may possess as many as nine tails. Generally, an older and more powerful fox will possess a greater number of tails, and some sources say that a fox will only grow additional tails after they have lived for a thousand years. After that period of time, the number increases based on age and wisdom.

Ninkame is a large red tortoise and Might Guy's personal summon. Ninkame watches over Rock Lee when Guy isn't around. He hasn't been seen since his first appearance in the series, but he is seen on the front cover of Volume 10. Ninkame is one of the few instances which indicates that Guy can use ninjutsu in the series (Ninkame is summoned off-screen, so Guy is not actually seen using ninjutsu).

The Ninken are eight ninja dogs that Kakashi summons. All of the Ninken have a face-shaped design on their backs called a Henohenomoheji, which is the sound made when all the characters in the face are put together. Appropriately enough, children use this design as the face for their scarecrows, which is Kakashi in Japanese. The dogs themselves also seem to resemble other characters in the series, with two closely resembling Naruto and Gaara. They are mostly used for tracking purposes, such as when Kakashi needed to find Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki during the Sasuke Retrieval arc. He can summon them separately, as he does so with Pakkun, or all together. He can also summon them for special purposes, like he does with his Summoning: Earth Release: Tracking Fang Technique. With this technique, the dogs can travel through the ground following the scent of their target, emerging when the target is found and holding them in place. In Part II it is revealed that some, if not all, of the ninja dogs can speak, though Pakkun was the only one to do so for the majority of their appearances. The dogs are also shown capable of walking on water. Currently, the only named dogs are Pakkun and the large bulldog named "Bull", who currently accompanies Naruto, Hinata and Yamato.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:13:00 -0700

Madara Uchiha is a mysterious character about whom little is known. He seems to be well known by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, who said that Madara's chakra and eyes were even more sinister than its own at the time and that Sasuke Uchiha now holds the same chakra. Akatsuki member Tobi later refers to himself as Madara Uchiha, the mastermind behind the organization.

Manda is Orochimaru's largest and most powerful summoned snake. He demands one hundred human sacrifices ready for him after his help in combat. Should he not receive his sacrifices, or if the person who summoned him isn't Orochimaru himself, Manda would not hesitate to kill his summoner. On top of that, it is only Orochimaru's power that he respects, not Orochimaru himself � Kabuto Yakushi believed that Manda would have betrayed (or at least abandoned) Orochimaru had he learned that the latter couldn't use jutsu at the time. Some of his greatest abilities include his unbelievable speed, and the fact that he is able to shed his skin as a use of the Body Replacement Technique. He has a very poor disposition, and he clearly doesn't like either Gamabunta or Katsuyu, and only savors killing both of them. After Jiraiya and Tsunade teamed up to fight him, which resulted in Tsunade pinning Manda's mouth shut with Gamabunta's sword, Manda disclosed to Orochimaru and Kabuto that they should "be ready to face the consequences next time they call for him," detailing how much he would like to devour them at the current moment despite not being able to at the time. In Part II, Manda is summoned by Sasuke, who hides in Manda's mouth to escape an explosion made by Deidara at the cost of Manda's life. To control Manda, Sasuke had to use genjutsu, an act for which Manda cursed him out with his last breath

Matsuri is the only person out of the entire class to choose Gaara to be her teacher and refers to him as "Gaara-sensei." She has a fear of weapons after witnessing the murder of her parents. She was kidnapped by the Shitenshounin to try to lure Gaara out so that they could steal the Shukaku's chakra to use in resurrecting Takumi Village's founder Seimei, and thereby take revenge on the five great nations who had been oppressing their village for the past century. After being freed, she saves Naruto from a fatal attack from Seimei using her jouhyou after realizing that weapons can be used to protect comrades. After Seimei's defeat, she returns to Sunagakure with Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. But before she leaves, she asks Shikamaru to tell Naruto that he had made her understand what Gaara was trying to tell her and that she will continue to train as Gaara's student. Matsuri makes her first post-timeskip appearance in Naruto Shippuuden as part of the Suna ninja team Temari had assembled to aid in rescuing Gaara. Since then, she, along with Temari's team, have been sent to patrol a border crossing. Matsuri seems to have undergone a personality change since her becoming Gaara's student; she is no longer the shy girl afraid of weapons, and has become somewhat outspoken, as when she complains to Temari about how they should be trying to rescue Gaara rather than defending the border against countries that might seek to take advantage of the Kazekage's absence

Menma was a former member of a group of bandits originating from the Land of Rice Fields. His real name is unknown, Menma being a name given by Naruto. He left the gang after a member killed a man in front of his daughter while raiding a town. After saving the girl from a similar death, the boy acquires a case of amnesia as a result of falling off a cliff (it was actually a "memory blocking jutsu"). Naruto soon rescues the boy while returning from a mission and sidetracking to get a "legendary fermented bamboo" for Ichiraku Ramen and takes him back to Hidden Leaf Village to recover, while there giving him the nickname Menma (which means fermented bamboo).

Might Guy is the leader of Team Guy, consisting of Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga, and Tenten. Although Guy gets along well with all of his students, he shares a particularly strong bond with Lee. Because Lee's goal in life is to master Taijutsu and prove that he can become a splendid ninja, Guy's goal has become to help Lee achieve this dream, dedicating most of his free time to train Lee and teach him all that he knows about Taijutsu. Because of Guy's dedication to Lee, Lee has likewise become dedicated to Guy, and models himself in his sensei's image. In doing so he has reproduced Guy's distinctive green jumpsuit and shiny bowl haircut, having already had Guy's characteristic thick eyebrows. Lee has also acquired many of Guy's personality traits and habits, and the two typically join together in carrying out odd methods of training. Because of this Neji and Tenten are for the most part left to find their own methods of training, both being unable and unwilling to take part in Guy and Lee's training methods. To enhance the similarities between Guy and Lee, both are modeled after the martial artist Bruce Lee.

Mikoto Uchiha was the mother of Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha, and the wife of Fugaku Uchiha. She is one of the only people who acknowledged Sasuke openly, more than Itachi, although she does hint that Sasuke's father talks most about him when he is alone with her. She was later killed by Itachi.

Misumi Tsurugi poses as a Genin-level ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village during the Chunin exam, along with Kabuto Yakushi and Yoroi Akado. To be more efficient in the gathering of information he has received a Soft Physique Modification, a surgical procedure that allows him to dislocate his joints to fit into any space. He then controls his softened body with chakra, allowing him to stretch and twist any part of his body at any angle, elongating and even coiling around his opponent. Misumi attempts to use this ability on Kankuro during Chunin Exams by catching him in an inescapable hold and breaking his neck. While he seems to have succeeded, he in actuality breaks the neck of Kankuro's puppet, which quickly turns the tables and breaks his own neck, which his modifications allow him to survive. Misumi makes a second appearance with Yoroi in the Land of the Sea filler arc, where he is depicted as a research assistant and bodyguard to Orochimaru's scientist, Amachi. He, like Yoroi, has taken off the cloth covering his lower face. During the events of this arc, Ino Yamanaka uses her Mind Body Disturbance Technique to force him to tie his arms to pillars in one of the rooms of the labs, and leaves him there when it collapses, presumably killing him.

Mizore Fuyukuma is a Snow ninja who accompanied Nadare Roga and Fubuki Kakuyoku. His method of fighting included the use of a snowboard for quick movement, his chakra armor, and a metal arm that could fire cables or be launched at a target and retracted. He was eventually defeated by a trap set up by Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. He survived Sakura's Sakura Blizzard Technique, which distracted him, while Sasuke used his Lion Combo to send his partner, Fubuki Kakuyoku, into a collision with him. Their chakra armor reacted in the form of an explosion. It is unknown if he was killed in the blast.

Mizuki is a childhood friend and fellow Ninja Academy instructor of Iruka Umino. At the series' start he tricks Naruto Uzumaki into stealing Hidden Leaf Village's forbidden scroll that contains a number of forbidden jutsu. He convinces Naruto to do it by appearing sympathetic to him, but actually despises Naruto, considering him no different than the demon fox. While he intends to steal the scroll from Naruto and use Naruto as a scapegoat in the meantime, Iruka eventually figures out what he's up to and the two are drawn into battle. Using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique he learned from the scroll, Naruto quickly defeats Mizuki as punishment for harming Iruka. In what is perhaps an attempt to make him even more of an antithesis to Naruto, Mizuki's least favorite food is ramen, which happens to be Naruto's favorite

Moegi is the friend of Konohamaru and Udon. She is the kunoichi in the Genin-team led by Ebisu. Her cheeks seem to always have a red blush to them. Moegi appears to have a crush on Konohamaru, and idolizes Sakura Haruno. She also seems to fall for Sasuke Uchiha's charm after he crushes a rock in his hand, an act that both Moegi and Sakura proclaim as "cool," and seeks to become as good of a kunoichi as Sakura Haruno.

Monzaemon Chikamatsu named after the real life puppeteer Chikamatsu Monzaemon, is the inventor of the art of puppetry. Originally using puppets as a source of entertainment, Chikamatsu worked diligently with several shinobi to convert the talent into a unique form of combat. Eventually, he created the Puppet Technique, in which chakra strings are used to control puppets. Being the creator of the technique, Chikamatsu was the very first puppet master, and as such he created the White Secret Technique: Ten Puppet Collection of Chikamatsu. The puppets, reportedly strong enough to take down an entire castle, were designed to work together and as such were much more powerful than the standard puppet. One such example is the puppets' use of Three Buddhist Treasures Vacuum Destruction, which consists of the combining of three puppets to create a vortex that sucks in everything in range. Each of the ten puppets is controlled by a single chakra string from one of the user's ten fingers. It is unknown how Chiyo acquired them, but she is skilled in their use, as seen when she uses them against Sasori.

Murasame is a Missing-Nin from the Village Hidden in the Rain. He helped Suien attack the Hidden Waterfall Village in an attempt to take its Hero Water. He carries a specially made wire that when used to bind a person, will cut through their body to cause great damage if the person tries to break free.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:11:00 -0700

The Land of Wind's Daimyo is the Daimyo (warlord) of the Land of Wind. He is responsible for the budget cuts to Sunagakure that eventually lead to the invasion of Hidden Leaf Village.

The Legendary Stupid Brothers also known as the "Fujin-Raijin Brothers", are a pair of criminal ninja. Fujin, being the eldest and slightly more intelligent, makes the decisions for the pair, and his brother, Raijin, does whatever he asks. The two are quite large, strong, and equally unintelligent (hence the name). Their thoughts revolve entirely around food, and the pursuit of it is all that motivates them. During a mission, they killed their comrades for food, then calmed down immediately after doing so. They were locked up after the incident. In reality, even the prison was incapable of containing them. It was the guards' control of their food supply that kept them in line. They cause trouble for Naruto and Team 10 after being tricked by Mizuki into causing a riot and escaping (having been told that Orochimaru would provide good food for them every day). They are eventually stopped by Tsunade. Both seem to recognize her, and are scared into submission by her extreme strength, which is great enough to send even them flying with a single flick. She convinces them to return to the prison by telling them that they will not receive dinner if they don't return quickly.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:06:00 -0700

Kabuto Yakushi is Orochimaru's personal medic, assistant, and general right-hand man. "Kabuto" can mean "helmet" and is also the last part of the Japanese name for aconite, a plant which can either alleviate pain or kill, while the characters for "Yakushi" literally mean "medicine user". As a young boy, Kabuto was found amongst the enemy dead after the battle of Kikyo Pass by a chief medical officer of the Hidden Leaf Village Medical Unit Squad. The officer brought Kabuto with him back to Hidden Leaf Village, raised him as a son, and taught him medical jutsu when he got older. Kabuto acted as a spy for many different villages and groups for many years before being recruited by Sasori of Akatsuki, who sent him to spy on Orochimaru. Orochimaru discovered this, freed Kabuto from Sasori's influence, and persuaded Kabuto to side with him instead. Kabuto has since used his numerous other affiliations to spy for Orochimaru; when acting as Sasori's subordinate, he is able to gather intelligence on Akatsuki's doings. As a habitant of Hidden Leaf Village, he is also able to acquire the rank of Genin and enter the biannual Chunin Exams, using the first few phases of the exam to gather information on his fellow participants for Orochimaru's use. Although his known sources of information have since been lost, Kabuto remains with Orochimaru and fights on his behalf whenever necessary. Despite his apparent loyalty to Orochimaru, Kabuto's true personality is difficult to discern. He frequently changes face without warning, switching from a lighthearted and polite teenager to a twisted and sadistic maniac that enjoys playing mind games with his opponents. Orochimaru himself seems to have a hard time determining Kabuto's thoughts, as seen when he orders Kabuto to kidnap Sasuke Uchiha and wonders if perhaps Kabuto will kill Sasuke instead. Even in this instance, Orochimaru has great confidence in Kabuto's loyalty, laughing at the prospect that Kabuto would betray him. While Kabuto does generally obey Orochimaru's orders, he is not above healing Orochimaru's enemies or trying to strike up polite conversations with Naruto Uzumaki when they meet, whose willingness to try and overcome the monster within him inspires Kabuto. Orochimaru has suggested that Kabuto has motives differing from his own, seen when instructing him to kidnap Sasuke; as Kabuto leaves to carry out the task, Orochimaru reminds him that killing Sasuke is the only way he can stop him from accomplishing his goals. While Orochimaru quickly writes this off as a joke, Kabuto is visibly shaken by the suggestion. Despite his unclear motives, Kabuto seems to be content in following Orochimaru, even integrating Orochimaru's remains into his body (which have since begun to try and take control) as a means to become more powerful and to no longer be the mere tool of others.

Kaiza was a fisherman who came to the Land of Waves in his travels, and ended up staying after meeting Inari. He eventually became a father figure to Inari after saving him from drowning, and taught him the principles of being a man. He became close to Tsunami, as well, and was accepted into the city. After helping to prevent a major flood, he even became known as the hero of the city. Accused of being a terrorist against the Gato Corporation, he was executed publicly by Gato's men and under his orders. With the death of Kaiza, the source of the city's bravery died, too, effectively crushing the spirits of nearly all its inhabitants, particularly Inari's. It is not until Tazuna begins building the bridge that people begin regaining their courage.

Kagari is a Rain ninja who competed in the Chuunin Exams. He attacks Team 7 and Kabuto during the Chuunin Exams, and in an attempt to exhaust them, creates mist clones to have them attack all night. The tables are turned when Naruto reveals that those attacking where shadow clones of his, and they are defeated by Team 7. They later appear again when Team 7 is guiding Hidate through a race for dominancy in the Land of Tea. They attempt to take Team 7 down by fighting them underwater, but is soon defeated with his group when Naruto uses the Rasengan to create a whirlpool.

Kagero was one of the members of the Fuma clan who were betrayed by Orochimaru. She was one of a three-member group who guarded Orochimaru's base in the Land of the Rice Fields. Though she was actually a young girl, she constantly disguised herself as a member of the opposite gender. While disguised, she would use the Antlion Technique (Arijigoku no Jutsu) to cause everything in a certain area to be drawn into a large pit. After removing this form, she is able to use Ephemeral Vengeance (Utakata), creating four wings out of chakra on her back. She can then fire a gigantic blast of chakra at her opponent: the amount is said to be so great that this jutsu can only be used once in a lifetime. She can also fly and teleport while in this form.

Kakashi Hatake like his father, Sakumo Hatake whose skills have been compared to that of the Legendary Ninja, is considered a genius shinobi, graduating from the Ninja Academy at age 5 and achieving the rank of Chunin at 6. A few years after these accomplishments, Kakashi's father was disgraced by the village for abandoning a mission in favor of saving his comrades, which cost the Land of Fire dearly. Deeply ashamed and ostracized even by those he had saved, Sakumo committed seppuku, leaving Kakashi to bear witness to the event. After his father's suicide, Kakashi began to adhere strictly to the rules of the shinobi � in particular the rule dictating that the success of the mission must come before the well being of one's teammates, causing him to become arrogant, humorless, and by-the-book. At the age of 13, Kakashi achieved Jonin status. As a reward for his accomplishment, he was assigned to lead his team on a sabotage mission to blow up a bridge in order to prevent enemy forces from attacking Hidden Leaf Village. Shortly after the mission started, Kakashi's teammate, Rin was captured by enemy shinobi. Kakashi's other teammate, Obito Uchiha immediately stated his intention to save her, but Kakashi said they had to focus on completing the mission, opting not to make the same mistake his father had. Though Kakashi believed that they had to complete their objective and they parted ways, a little reflection on Obito's words and Rin's prior kindness eventually convinced him that his father had done the right thing in saving his teammates. This revelation prompted Kakashi to turn back to join Obito in the rescue effort, although he initially claims that he did not believe Obito could survive on his own�a statement that is more or less supported by how his arrival coincided with saving his oblivious teammate from a ninja's attack. During their attempt to save Rin, Kakashi lost his left eye as a result of taking an enemy ninja's attack for Obito. To protect Kakashi in return, Obito managed to awaken his Sharingan and killed their assailant. Soon after saving Rin, a rockfall technique was triggered and a rock struck Kakashi on his blind side. He would have been buried beneath the rocks had Obito not pushed Kakashi out of the way, getting the right side of his body almost completely crushed in the process. Shortly before he died, Obito had Rin (a medical ninja) implant his Sharingan eye in Kakashi's damaged eye socket as a gift. As his first act with his new eye, Kakashi avenged Obito by killing the enemy ninja with his now-perfected Chidori technique, bringing the Kakashi of today into being. Years later Kakashi would become a member of the Hidden Leaf Village ANBU where he served as a squad leader. During this time, he had several kohai, named Yugao Uzuki and Tenzo, and recognized the latter as the most successful of his kohai. It is unknown when or why he left ANBU, but he still wears iron guards on his gloves, a characteristic of ANBU uniforms. While he makes frequent appearances throughout Part I, Kakashi's role largely deals with protecting his students and keeping them unified. Most prominently he tries to steer Sasuke away from seeking Orochimaru as a source of power, even teaching him how to use the Chidori so that he will not rely on the Cursed Seal for power. In time, however, Sasuke begins to turn against his team and readily attacks them, which, despite Kakashi's protests and attempts to convince him that revenge should not be pursued, ultimately leads to his betraying Hidden Leaf Village. As Naruto and Sasuke carry out a final battle Kakashi rushes to their location to prevent them from killing each other. He arrives too late and Sasuke escapes, and Naruto and Sakura go their separate ways to find their own methods of getting stronger. Kakashi begins to take part in more battles in Part II as he no longer needs to focus his attention on his students, who have improved greatly over the timeskip. As Akatsuki becomes increasingly more active, Kakashi joins the various battles in defeating its members. Likewise, Kakashi joins Naruto and Sakura's efforts in bringing Sasuke back to Hidden Leaf Village and has since organized an 8-man team that is in part dedicated to this cause. Still, Kakashi has not fully outlived his role as guidance for his students, and he helps Naruto in creating the Wind Release: Spiraling Shuriken.

Kakuzu is a missing-nin from Takigakure and Hidan's partner, a partnership neither is very fond of. The first kanji in Kakuzu's name stands for kakugy�, a bishop in shogi. Kakuzu is a greedy individual, prioritizing things in terms of how much they are worth and finding money to be the only thing that he can depend on. Kakuzu's favorite source of income is collecting bounties while carrying out other missions, even putting up with Hidan's religion since it allows him to collect bounties faster. His history as a bounty hunter seems to be extensive, as he is on friendly terms with a bounty collector and even seems to have memorized the information and worth of some of the more dangerous bounties. This view of money has caused Kakuzu to refer to himself as the "Treasurer of Akatsuki", though it is unknown if this is an actual position. Despite finding Akatsuki to be a good source of income, Kakuzu greatly dislikes the fact that he needs a teammate, due in part to his habit of killing anyone near him (partners included) when enraged. Having killed all of his previous partners as a result of this, Kakuzu was partnered with Hidan. Although neither enjoys being paired together, Hidan's inability to die makes him the ideal teammate for Kakuzu. As Kakuzu and Hidan make their way to Hidden Leaf Village to finish an earlier battle, the two are met by a group of four Hidden Leaf Village ninja. Soon after the battle starts, Kakashi Hatake is able to pierce Kakuzu with his Lightning Blade, destroying one of his masks. His current heart being unscathed, Kakuzu brings out his other three masks with which to attack the Hidden Leaf Village ninja. While he is able to gain the upperhand, Shikamaru Nara is able to trick Hidan into using his voodoo-like ability on Kakuzu, causing him to lose one of his hearts. After taking the heart from one of his masks Kakuzu prepares to finish off the group, though the arrival of reinforcements stops his attack. Naruto Uzumaki, the host of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, does battle with Kakuzu and is in time able to strike him with his Wind Release: Spiraling Shuriken, striking Kakuzu at a cellular level and severing all of his nerves. Losing his two spare hearts and leaving his other heart on the verge of failure as a result of the attack, Kakuzu is left defeated and unable to move. With the last of his strength he attempts to figure out how he could be defeated by some "kids", which Kakashi attributes to the natural progression of things before finishing him off.

Kamatari is a small, seemingly one eyed, weasel holding a sickle with which it can cause a lot of destruction in a short amount of time. Its sickle is almost as large as itself. This mysterious weasel has only been seen twice for a few seconds after its summoning, once in the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, and once in the final filler arc. After it starts moving, it can't be seen by the unaided human eye. It is summoned using Temari's fan as a medium through Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance, after which it slices down all in its path with enough force to decimate an entire forest.

Kamikiri was one of the members of the Fuma clan who were betrayed by Orochimaru. He was one of a three-member group who guarded Orochimaru's base in the Land of the Rice Fields. Later, he was absorbed by Arashi's Casualty Puppet along with Jigumo.

Kankuro is the second oldest child of the Fourth Kazekage, making him the older brother of Gaara and the younger brother of Temari. "Kankuro" is the name of many famous Kabuki actors which shows in his face paint and quirky style of speech in the original Japanese versions. In the original Japanese, Kankuro speaks with a distinctive Yokohama accent and can often be heard ending his sentences with "jaan". Kankuro's most notable personality trait is his apparent dislike for children, as seen when he is noticeably irritated while in the presence of someone younger than him. This is most evident when he is with Gaara, who Kankuro is forced to put up with due to the fear his younger brother imposes on him. Despite their apparent differences, Gaara and Kankuro become very close over the timeskip as Gaara begins to confide in Kankuro and shares his dreams of wanting to risk his life to protect Sunagakure. As such, Kankuro has become very protective of Gaara, willing to challenge anyone who puts Gaara down in his presence. When Gaara is captured by Akatsuki, Kankuro rushes to his brother's aid in an attempt to save him and even after being defeated in battle does not falter in his resolve to find Gaara.

Karin is a former subordinate of Orochimaru who assisted him in his experimentations and was left in charge of one of his bases while he was away; and was also the only one loyal to Orochimaru to remain even though his current status is questionable. She has red eyes, matching hair color and an unusual hairstyle; her hair is short and unkempt on one side, and long and combed on the other. Karin will at times appear tough and in control, and other times will appear flirtatious. Karin's name means 'intense sulfur' and is also a homonym for the fruit 'quince'. Sasuke Uchiha recruits her as a member of Snake. While Sasuke admits she may be troublesome, he also notes that her special abilities make her useful. She also seems to have a liking for Sasuke, implying to Sasuke that a team consisting of the two of them would be much better than one with Suigetsu or Jugo. She has an unhealthy and somewhat disturbing interest in Sasuke, as she goes so far as to keep one of his battered, sweat-drenched shirts for herself and plans to "ravage" him after everyone falls asleep. Suigetsu notes that something once happened between her and Sasuke though what this means remains unclear, since Karin punches Suigetsu before he can finish his sentence. Karin's special ability allows her to track specific individuals through chakra, seen when she is able to discern that Jugo is not among a crowd of prisoners through the standard concentration pose for molding chakra. It also allows her to pick up chakra from long distances and notice changes in an individual's chakra. Kakashi Hatake surmises that Karin is a particularly skilled chakra-sensing ninja, as she is not only able to tell that his group is approaching, but can also sense how many of them are present and that one is a dog.

Karura is the wife of the former Kazekage, and the mother of Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. Against her wishes, her husband had the spirit of Shukaku sealed within her unborn son. She died while giving birth to Gaara as a result of this. Before she died, she cursed Sunagakure, hoping her son would avenge her death and the horror she had been put through. Due to his uncle's words concerning the nature of his powers, Gaara became confused and came to view Shukaku as an extension of his mother, and the sand as a manifestation of her love. During his battle with Sasuke, Gaara tried to talk to her, but his words strongly indicate he was speaking with Shukaku.

Katemaro Kaguya is the father of Kimimaro Kaguya. He died in the war between Kirigakure and the Kaguya clan. Not much is known about him, but he seems to have been the leader of the clan at the time.

Kidomaru is the spider-like member of the Sound Four; he possesses four extra arms and has the ability to make webs. His level 2 cursed seal form makes him even more spider-like; his skin becomes darker, and he grows long, white hair. While in this form he opens the third eye on his forehead (which he normally keeps covered with his Sound headband) to improve the accuracy of his attacks. Kidomaru is an excellent tactical analyst, capable of determining his enemy's weak point quickly and efficiently. Kidomaru prefers fighting from a distance, lending him a considerable advantage and allowing him to avoid close-combat. He generally sees a battle as a game, and often plays around with the opponent too much because he prefers to have fun seeing the opponent struggle. His speech also reflects this when battling Neji Hyuga, he, instead of calling Neji "trash", called him a trash character, and claimed that it was his fate to die first. He also analyzes his predicament using the same language as the typical gamer. Kidomaru's webbing is made of a special type of liquid that is created by infusing body liquid with chakra. He can increase the strength of this webbing by infusing additional chakra into it during its creation, allowing him to create webbing as strong as steel. The more basic form of this webbing is excreted from his mouth, and he spits it directly from there during combat to capture opponents. Kidomaru can create a stronger, golden webbing called Spider Sticky Gold that hardens upon contact with oxygen to metal-like quality and is impervious to chakra. He can fashion this substance into kunai or he can excrete it from his pores to give him a temporary defensive measure. He also uses the substance for his Spider War Bow: Terrible Split (????�??, Kumo Senkyu: Susaku?), creating a bow and arrow of his own design. This ability acts as his trump card, as he can use it to attack from long distances and can create uniquely shaped arrows to fit the battle he is in, such as improving its speed or power. When he attaches a web-string to an arrow during his battle with Neji to increase its accuracy, Neji is able to send chakra down the string and back to Kidomaru. With Kidomaru unable to move as a result, he is killed by Neji.

Katsuyu is the slug queen summoned by Tsunade. Compared to Gamabunta and Manda, the summons of Jiraiya and Orochimaru, respectively, Katsuyu is quiet and more subservient to her master. With her Slug Great Division (?Katsuyu Daibunretsu), Katsuyu can divide herself into smaller slugs to evade attacks or to serve small scale functions, and is able to quickly reform herself if need be. She can also spit acid for her Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid (Zesshi Nensan), which is strong enough to melt through rock. She is summoned again in a filler episode to mess with a pair of outsiders impersonating Might Guy and Rock Lee. In this instance, she had a cold and the two impersonators, along with a clueless Naruto, were forced to help out. (Although it is entirely possible that she was faking the cold in order to help Tsunade make the intruders lives miserable.)

Kin Tsuchi is one of the three Genin from Otogakure who entered the Chunin exam. In the process of trying to kill Sasuke, Kin's body is taken over by Ino Yamanaka who tries to use Kin's well-being to fend off the Sound Genin. Kin's teammates are uninterested in this offer, and don't hesitate to attack Ino while in her body, injuring them both. After Kin loses in the preliminary matches to Shikamaru Nara, Orochimaru sacrifices her so that he can resurrect the First and Second Hokage.

Kirisame is one of Suien's followers when it comes to obtaining the Hero's Water. He was the one responsible for attacking Shizuku and Himatsu's mother and captured Sakura, Shizuku, and Himatsu. He was defeated by Shibuki.

Kisame Hoshigaki is a missing-nin from Kirigakure and is partnered with Itachi Uchiha. Unlike most other two-man teams of Akatsuki, Kisame gets along well with his partner. While Itachi is assigned to Naruto Uzumaki, Kisame's target is the host of the four-tailed beast, an elderly man whom Kisame defeats with some effort. Kisame has a distinctive shark-like appearance, complete with pale blue skin, small white eyes, gill-like facial structures, and sharp triangular teeth. Even his name, Kisame, means "Demon Shark". Despite his rather brutish appearance and his apparent love for battle, Kisame speaks in a calm and polite manner compared to most of the other members of Akatsuki.

Konan is the only female member of Akatsuki and the only person to call Pein by his name. She has blue hair with a paper flower accessory in it, but beyond that she remains a mystery. Konan displays the ability to separate herself into sheets of paper that then form into origami-like butterflies.

Koharu Utatane is the former teammate of the Third Hokage and Homura Mitokado. She is now a council member. Like Homura, she does not seem to think much of Naruto. She and Homura wanted to restrict the number of missions that Naruto could go on and limit his area of activity in his own village since they are afraid that Naruto would become a victim of Akatsuki. In episode 200, she uses an unnamed technique to locate and pull out an explosive tag from behind a wall, as if it were incorporeal, and is able to recognize that the tag is 30 years old. She and Tsunade are not on very good terms, as seen in the same episode and in Part II. She is not easily intimidated and is one of the few people who can put the temperamental Tsunade in her place when she oversteps her authority.

Konohamaru named after the village he lives in: Hidden Leaf Village, is the grandson of the Third Hokage and by extension the nephew of Asuma Sarutobi. Konohamaru usually hangs out with his two friends, Udon and Moegi. Together, they call themselves the "Konohamaru Corps" ("Konohamaru Ninja Squad" in the English dub). In Part II they are teamed together under the leadership of Ebisu, Konohamaru's former tutor. At the start of the series, Konohamaru feels unacknowledged due to his status as the Hokage's grandson. As such, he frequently attempts to defeat his grandfather in battle so that he can become Hokage himself and earn the recognition he desires. Once meeting Naruto Uzumaki, Konohamaru realizes that he can't become Hokage by simply attacking his grandfather and will need to train hard to accomplish this goal. To help him in this regard Konohamaru begins to view Naruto as a role model, acquiring his determination, fiery attitude, and unique way of ending sentences, "kore" (a laughing signal or appreciation), much like Naruto's "Dattebayo!"

Kotetsu Hagane is the comrade of Izumo Kamizuki. "Kotetsu" means "little steel", and "Hagane" means "full metal". Kotetsu and Izumo make their debut trying to discourage Genin from participating in the Chunin Exams. Their effort is unable to deter Team 7 and Team Guy, and they later serve as proctors for the first exam. In the anime, after the Fifth Hokage takes office, Izumo and Kotetsu act as her personal assistants, and also become the patrolmen of the entrance/exit gate of Hidden Leaf Village. The two appear again in Part II as members of the Niju Shotai teamed with Asuma Sarutobi and Shikamaru Nara. During a battle with Akatsuki member Kakuzu, Kotetsu summons an extremely large and ornate weapon resembling a conch shell. The attack fails and both are attacked by Kakuzu, but are saved by the arrival of reinforcements

Kurenai Yuhi is the leader of Team 8, consisting of Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuga. The name "Yuhi" means "evening sun" and "Kurenai" means "crimson". Kurenai acted as an Academy Instructor for many years, eventually becoming a Jonin soon before the start of the series. Prior to the formation of Team 8, Kurenai taught a student named Yakumo Kurama. Yakumo's abilities, however, were a danger to herself and those around her, so Kurenai was forced to seal away her ability and as a result took her chance of becoming a ninja. As a Jonin leader, Kurenai is notably kind and supportive of her Genin subordinates, particularly toward Hinata. Once Team 8 was formed, Hinata was left in her care, Hinata's father having little use for her. Kurenai has since begun to act as a parent for Hinata and tries to help her in overcoming her own weaknesses. Kurenai has a long-standing relationship with Asuma Sarutobi, whom she frequently appears with. While the two deny being an item and try to write off the amount of time they spend together, the revelation that Kurenai is pregnant with Asuma's child in Part II makes their relationship clear. Kurenai specializes in genjutsu, and as seen in the anime is very proficient with it. Through the use of her Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death Kurenai can disappear and sneak up on an opponent unnoticed. Once she has done so she creates the illusion of tree growing around the opponent to effectively immobilize them, allowing her to appear from the tree to kill them as she pleases. The Kurama Clan arc shows Kurenai capable of using this jutsu multiple times in a row, as well as being able to create any kind of foliage with which to capture the opponent.

Kurobachi Kamizuru is from the Kamizuru clan. Not much is known about Kurobachi Kamizuru. He could use the Thousand Bee Stings Technique, which could be used to summon a myriad of bees that fire poisonous stingers at their target. Kurobachi can be translated to mean black bee

Kuromaru is the canine companion of Tsume Inuzuka. Kuromaru has a wolfish appearance and is missing his left ear and right eye. He appears to have the ability to talk. As his name suggests, his fur is black. "Kuro" means "black" and "maru" is a common suffix for male names Kushina Uzumaki is the red-haired mother of Naruto. When she was young, she appeared to be a talkative tomboy. As she grew up, her beauty, Ninjutsu, and personality became known to many. She met Minato Namikaze (The 4th Hokage) and gave birth to his child. While she was pregnant, Minato was reading one of Jiraiya's books, and was pleased with the main character. He proposed to name their son Naruto, after the main character, in the hopes Naruto would be like him. Kushina agreed, and this honored, but at the same time embarrassed, Jiraiya. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

Kyodaigumo is a giant spider and the personal summon of Kidomaru. Once summoned, Kyodigumo can quickly release an egg sac full of baby spiders roughly the size of a small dog. To perform Rain of Spiders, Kidomaru then cuts open the sac, causing the rapidly hatched spiders to rain down on his opponent. The spiders will spin a strand of webbing as they fall, circling the opponent in webbing and sticking them to the ground. Kyodaigumo can also explode into webbing if hit.

The Kyodaija are giant snakes, often summoned by Orochimaru during battle. There are many different kinds of Kyodaija. For instance, the Kyodaija that was summoned during the invasion of Hidden Leaf Village had marks on its skin similar to the Cursed Seal of Heaven, while the ones summoned by Orochimaru in the Forest of Death had no such marks. Anko Mitarashi also summoned a blue-colored snake of similar size during the Land of the Sea filler arc to protect Naruto, Shino, and Ino from a cave-in. The four took shelter within its mouth as it broke free of the cave. Over the timeskip, Sasuke Uchiha has the snake summoning contract applied to his arm, allowing him to summon snakes in combat.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:04:00 -0700

Jibachi Kamizuru is from the Kamizuru clan. Not much is known about Jibachi Kamizuru. He was able to perform the Bee Bomb Technique, summoning bees with exploding tags that explode when close to the enemy. Jibachi can be translated to mean digger wasp.

Jigumo was one of the members of the Fuma clan who were betrayed by Orochimaru. He was one of a three-member group who guarded Orochimaru's base in the Land of the Rice Fields. Later, he was absorbed by Arashi's secret kinjutsu along with one of his comrades. Like Kidomaru, Jigumo used spiders and spider webs in combat and for scouting via his Windmill Cloud (Kazagumo, Windmill Cloud?), though his skills were not on the same level.

Jiraiya , as a child along his former teammates, Orochimaru and Tsunade, were students of the Third Hokage. Because of the three's exemplary skills, they are known as the "Legendary Three Ninja" or simply the "Sannin", while Jiraiya himself is known as the "Toad Hermit". During their years as a team, Jiraiya developed a close relationship with Orochimaru and came to hold him as a good friend. Once becoming a Jonin capable of leading a squad, Jiraiya became the sensei of Minato Namikaze and two other, as yet unknown, Genin. Years later, when Orochimaru betrayed Hidden Leaf Village and fled the village, Jiraiya pursued him, trying to convince his friend to come back. Orochimaru refused and attacked Jiraiya, turning his back on Hidden Leaf Village forever. While he tried to find a reason for Orochimaru's defection, he eventually realized that his friend wasn't coming back. Feeling he was responsible for Orochimaru's escape, Jiraiya left Hidden Leaf Village so he could follow Orochimaru's movements as well as the organization he eventually joined, Akatsuki. In doing so, Jiraiya was unable to fulfill the Third's wishes of taking on the role of Hokage, finding the tracking of Orochimaru to be more important. Since his introduction, Jiraiya has largely acted as Naruto's teacher, instructing him on how to better utilize the demon fox's chakra and showing him how to perform jutsu such as the Rasengan and the Summoning Technique, allowing Naruto to summon toads when needed. He takes Naruto with him at the end of Part I for an additional two-and-a-half years of training to help him better face the challenges that await him in Part II. Due to the amount of time they have spent together, Jiraiya has come to think of Naruto as a grandson. He also acts as an intelligence-gatherer for Hidden Leaf Village, and frequently appears after long absences to report on Akatsuki and Orochimaru's doings.

Jirobo is the physically strongest member of the Sound Four, albeit the least powerful, according to the other members of the Sound Four. His strength is so great that he is capable of using Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dango, allowing him to lift boulder-sized rocks with ease and hurl them at opponents. In his level 2 cursed seal state can lift a giant-sized Choji Akimichi. His strength also allows him to use Earth Release: Earth Shore Return, and by simply striking the ground he can cause a protective wall of earth to rise from the ground in front of him. Despite his size, Jirobo dislikes being called fat and when Tayuya uses foul language. Despite this, he proceeded to call Choji fat near-constantly during their battle. Jirobo also thinks of Shikamaru as stupid, and taunts Choji by claiming that Shikamaru threw him away as the least useful member of his team. When in level 2 cursed seal form, his skin becomes red and his mohawk becomes a mane down his back. He is killed by Choji Akimichi with a fatal punch to the chest.

Juugo is the largest member of "Snake". Jugo was being held at Orochimaru's North Base, which is also where most of Orochimaru's secret research was conducted. Suigetsu can't stand Jugo and comments that one of the reasons he had to retrieve Zabuza Momochi's sword was because of him. Karin notes that Jugo is mentally unstable, a view confirmed by images of Jugo muttering to himself over who he will kill next, which he determines by gender sometimes. While discussing Sasuke's team with the other members of Akatsuki, Pein refers to Jugo as Jugo of the Scales. Whether this is a title or a location is unclear. Jugo is the means behind Orochimaru's development of the cursed seals. Some time in the past, Jugo purposely sought out Orochimaru to cure him of his "impulses". Jugo has trouble controlling his rage, which unexpectedly causes him to transform into a berserk demon (much like a cursed seal does to its user). Upon examination, Orochimaru was able to isolate enzymes in Jugo's blood as the cause of this change. By extracting these enzymes, Orochimaru was able to use them to produce similar, but more controlled, effects in other people. While Jugo initially appears quite bloodthirsty, Karin notes that this is only common behavior for the enraged; Jugo himself doesn't want to kill anyone. Jugo's fits of rage are random and thus the reason why he willingly remains confined. The only reason he agrees to go with Sasuke is because he views Sasuke as the only person capable of preventing him from killing people while enraged. Before Sasuke, it was Kimimaro who kept Jugo in check and as Kimimaro was the only person Jugo came into any contact with, the two grew close. After hearing that Kimimaro sacrificed his life to deliver Sasuke to Orochimaru, Jugo believes that Kimimaro's spirit continues to live on in Sasuke. Jugo has a bracket-shaped symbol on his left palm. Whether or not this is also present on his right palm or if it has any significance has yet to be seen. His brief fight with Sasuke and Suigetsu revealed that Jugo can control his transformation, unlike the static effects of a standard cursed seal. When battling Sasuke he changes his left arm into a piston-like ram to increase his punching power and then alters it into a massive blade from his forearm to fight Suigetsu. He is also capable of doing only a partial transformation, invoking a level two form over one portion of his body without completely changing. Finally, Jugo is able to understand birds, using them as scouts and to help him accomplish tasks.

Jirocho is the head of the Wasabi Clan in the Tea Country, which is a clan warring with the nearby Wagarashi Clan. He is depicted as kind, sympathetic, and honest, in contrast to the Wagarashi Clan's leader, who is dishonest and manipulative. Jirocho is also an old friend of Tsunade's when he appeared to tell Senta and Bunzou that Tsunade's debt to the Akagi family was paid. He apparently took in Idate Morino after finding him on the streets. While Idate was racing, he expressed great faith in Idate, even to the extent of betting his own life.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:59:00 -0700

Ibiki Morino is the examiner for the first part of the Chunin Exams. "Morino Ibiki" means "a snore in the forest", which clearly refers to his resemblance to a big bear. Ibiki's head is covered to hide burn marks, punctures from where screws were used, and long slash marks, some of which are Aoi Rokusho's doing. The scars are indictive of the physical torture he has endured in the past, and illustrates his capacity to endure pain without giving up the desired information to the enemy. The anime's filler arcs show him to have a younger brother, Idate. Ibiki is the commanding officer of the Hidden Leaf Village ANBU Torture and Interrogation Force, and is the designer of the Chunin Exam's first test. Described as a sadist by some, Ibiki has the ability to subject people to great suffering without ever using physical torture. His interrogational skills rely solely on his capability to torture the mind. He has complete knowledge of human psychology; by attacking a person's mind, he can gain control over their spirit. He makes his debut in Part II trying to use this ability on Kakuzu's bounty-hunting contact in order to gain information on Akatsuki.

Idate Morino is the younger brother of Ibiki Morino and a filler arc only character. Due to him leaving Hidden Leaf Village, he is a missing-nin by technicality, although he, unlike other missing-nin, is not a fugitive from his former village. He still has some ninja abilities, including the ability to dispell genjutsu. He also has incredible speed (especially when running). Some people, however, including Team 7, consider him very annoying.

Inari is the son of Tsunami and the grandson of Tazuna. Inari's father died before he got to know him, but he came to see Kaiza as a father figure. Kaiza took a fatherly role in Inari's life and even became close to Tsunami. When Gato put Kaiza to death, Inari changed. He became a sad and angry boy, with little hope or optimism. He blamed Kaiza for what had happened, believing that he, in dying, had broken his promise to protect the land. His outlook is changed after he meets Naruto, who also had a horrible past but learned to deal with it. Naruto's unwillingness to quit and concern for others helped Inari to realize the power of will over fate, and that no risk is too great to protect something precious. He therefore grabbed his crossbow and rallied the townspeople, who proceeded to rise up against Gato's men.

Ino Yamanaka is a childhood friend of Sakura Haruno. Sakura was often picked on due to her sensitivity about her large forehead, though through Ino's influence, she was able to overcome this and develop her own identity and self-worth. As Sakura's confidence in herself grew, she developed a crush on Sasuke Uchiha, whom Ino also had a crush on. When Sakura found out about this, she ended their friendship so that the two could properly compete for Sasuke's affection, beginning a bitter rivalry between the two. The two maintain this rivalry until the end of their match in the Chunin Exam, after which they begin to rekindle their friendship, but it seems each of them have too much self-pride to admit it. Nevertheless, the two maintain a competitive relationship and constantly attempt to outdo the other. Ino is somewhat egocentric and superficial, apparently thinking highly of her looks and seeming to dislike "ugly" people. Ino also has no problem telling people what she dislikes about their physical appearance, such as telling Choji that he should focus more on his appearance because girls dislike overweight boys. Although both of her teammates fit the profiles of people she wouldn't like for these reasons (Choji being overweight and Shikamaru being "uncool"), Ino actually cares very deeply for their well-beings and maintains a strong bond with both. As a member of the Yamanaka clan, Ino works in her family's flower shop and has become particularly talented in ikebana. The anime's filler arcs show that she has been able to find other uses for her time in the flower shop, and can tell a person's profession by simply looking at the condition of their hands. The anime has also shown that Ino, like Sakura, has developed her own inner-self named "Inner Ino". In addition to becoming talented with flowers, Ino's membership in the Yamanaka clan has also shaped the mind-altering jutsu she uses. With the Mind Body Switch Technique, Ino can transfer to another's body and start using it as her own for a short period of time. In Part II, Ino is able to use this ability on a hawk, and flies into the air to perform reconnaissance, which is the technique's intended purpose. In the anime, Ino also learns the Mind Body Disturbance Technique, which she can use to force opponents to fight each other while still remaining in her own body. The anime expands upon Ino's abilities more than the manga; she develops the New Approaching Technique (, Shin-dashin no Jutsu?) to engulf a target in a puff of smoke and drag them to her location. The anime also addresses her learning of medical jutsu, as the manga leaves it unexplained. During the final filler arc, Ino finds herself unable to be of use for her teammates and becomes envious of Sakura's ability to heal others. As such, Ino becomes Tsunade's second apprentice in learning medical jutsu, hoping to be more useful to her friends.

Inoichi Yamanaka is the father of Ino Yamanaka. Like his daughter, he was part of an Ino-Shika-Cho trio, together with Shikaku Nara and Choza Akimichi. Choza and Shikaku often tease him about having a daughter instead of a son.

Iruka Umino is an instructor at the Ninja Academy, characterized by the distinctive scar across his face that he has had since childhood. The name "Umino Iruka" can be taken as "umi no iruka" ("sea dolphin"). His parents were killed by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox when he was younger, though he holds no hostility towards its container, Naruto Uzumaki. In fact, Iruka is one of the few people at the start of the series who values Naruto as a person, being able to relate with Naruto's methods of trying to gain attention. Because he, like Naruto, was forced to grow up without parents, and was socially isolated as a result, he can relate to Naruto in this regard as well and has assumed the role as Naruto's father-figure. Once Naruto becomes a ninja Iruka starts to underestimate Naruto, and as such become overprotective of him, though he in time discovers that Naruto has all the makings to become a great ninja.

Isaribi was a human test subject under the control of Amachi who in turn used to work for Orochimaru. The test was meant to give shinobi the ability to breathe and operate underwater. Isaribi was one of the first test subjects, and was not the final version. She was sent back to the Land of the Sea to spy on the ships leaving port. Due to her bandages, which were used to cover the permanently scaled parts of her body, the villagers attacked her and vandalized her property. They feared and hated her as she was the only person to return from being "spirited away". Isaribi was promised that she would be returned to human form if she complied with Amachi's orders. To that end she attacked ships and killed a number of sailors under the disguise of the Kaima, a sea monster. Naruto was able to make her come to her senses, causing her to realize that were she to continue killing others to save herself, she would become a true monster. After his defeat, Amachi revealed that he never had a cure for her condition, and that he planned to dissect her once she was no longer useful. She returned with Naruto to Hidden Leaf Village after Amachi's defeat hoping that Tsunade can cure her.

Itachi Uchiha is a missing-nin from Hidden Leaf Village. He is the partner of Kisame Hoshigaki and the first Akatsuki member to be introduced. Itachi is one of the last remaining members of the Uchiha Clan, the others are his brother Sasuke Uchiha and Madara Uchiha (known as Akatsuki's Tobi). He is responsible for many events in the series, such as the Uchiha Clan massacre and Orochimaru's defection of Akatsuki. Itachi has complete mastery of the Sharingan and Mangekyo Sharingan, and also an extremely proficient user of ninjutsu and genjutsu. Itachi's targeted tailed beast is the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Although unsuccessful in obtaining Naruto, Itachi becomes more involved with fight between him and his younger brother Sasuke soon after Sasuke defeats Deidara. Itachi awaits for his brother at the Uchiha's hideout. The two brothers have an endless battle where many new jutsus from both ends. In the end Sasuke is able to kill Itachi because Itachi, who had been suffering through a deadly illness, overuses one of his jutsus.

Izumo Kamizuki and his comrade, Kotetsu Hagane, make their debut trying to discourage Genin from participating in the Chunin Exams. Their effort proves ineffective, and they later serve as proctors for the first exam. In the anime, after the Fifth Hokage takes office, Izumo and Kotetsu act as her personal assistants, and also become the patrolmen of the entrance/exit gate of Hidden Leaf Village. The two appear again in Part II as members of the Niju Shotai teamed with Asuma Sarutobi and Shikamaru Nara. During a battle with Akatsuki member Kakuzu, Izumo uses Water Release: Syrup Capture Field to blanket the ground in a sticky syrup that immobilizes Kakuzu, and Kotetsu attempts to attack the immobilized Akatsuki member. The attempt fails and the two are captured, but both are saved by the arrival of reinforcements

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:45:00 -0700

The Haimaru Sankyodai are the canine companions of Hana Inuzuka. As their name suggests, their fur is gray.

Haku was born in a perpetually snowy village in the Land of Water. Although he lived in peace for a time, Haku eventually discovered that he had inherited a kekkei genkai from his mother, an ability that was irrationally feared at the time. Once Haku's father learned of their gift he rallied a small mob and had his wife murdered. He would have done the same to Haku, but Haku inadvertently created a field of icicles through the house in a panic, killing both the mob and his father. Orphaned, Haku wandered the Land of Water as a beggar child until he was found by Zabuza Momochi, who agreed to take him in as a tool, warning Haku not to expect any companionship. Haku readily accepted this role, devoting his life to becoming the ultimate weapon for Zabuza. Over the years Haku was trained by Zabuza and in time became fiercely protective of him, so much so that he would not allow anyone to touch him. In his devotion to Zabuza, Haku finds purpose in life only by being of use to Zabuza, and does whatever is asked of him to continue to give his own life meaning.

Hana Inuzuka is the older sister of Kiba Inuzuka and an excellent and respected veterinarian. Her canine companions are called the Haimaru Sankyodai. She has a tattoo on her upper right arm that resembles a flower.

Hanabi Hyuga is the second daughter of Hiashi Hyuga, and thus Hinata's younger sister. Hanabi means "fireworks". When Hiashi discusses Hinata with Kurenai Yuhi, he disdainfully refers to Hinata as "even weaker than Hanabi, five years her junior," which implies that he believes Hanabi to be more talented than her sister, but states that Neji is stronger than Hanabi is. Hanabi seems very obedient and quiet, at least in the presence of her father, but appears shocked to hear Neji recount his father's fate.

Hanzaki is the leader of the Fuma clan's members who were not seduced by Orochimaru's power, and is a strong melee-based shinobi who fights with a zanbatō. After the incident in Orochimaru's lair, Sasame was placed under his care by Jiraiya.

Hanzo is the former leader of Amegakure whose abilities are renowned and recognized by ninja everywhere. He seems to ride atop a giant salamander in battle. He is easily distinguished by his unique breathing apparatus covering his face, complete with the Hidden Rain's symbol on it, and his black sclera (much like Kakuzu). At some point in time he fought with Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. When they proved able to survive his attacks he rewarded their skills by sparing their lives and giving them the title of the "Legendary Three Ninja" (?Densetsu no Sannin?) to indicate that they were the strongest ninja in Hidden Leaf Village. Despite his immense power, Hanzo was very cautious when it came to his own security, and as such getting a chance to see him was a great feat. Sometime later, Hanzo, as well as his friends, family, and affiliates, were killed by Pein, bringing an end to the village's civil war. It's possible that his name and legendary status is based on Hattori Hanzo, a famous ninja.

Hayate Gekko is the examiner of the preliminary matches of the Chunin Exams. The name "Gekko" means "moonlight" and "Hayate" means "hurricane". At first sight, Hayate appears to not be in the best of health, as he has an unexplained chronic cough and bags under his eyes. Hayate is the first to discover the secret invasion plan between the Sound and the Sand after eavesdropping on a conversation between Kabuto Yakushi and Baki. As he tries to escape to tell others he is forced into battle with Baki. Hayate attacks Baki with his Dance of the Crescent Moon, which creates three shadow clones to attack with him extendable swords in a complicated dancing pattern. Although Baki is impressed that Hayate could learn such a technique at such a young age, Hayate is killed regardless. Hayate's lover, Yugao Uzuki, swears that she will avenge his death, but as she did not see the killer, and Baki has become Kohona's ally, it is not known if she will ever attempt to do so.

Hiashi Hyuga is the twin brother of Hizashi Hyuga, but was born seconds before Hizashi, making him a main house family member. Hiashi means "daytime" and "spreading of a fire". Hiashi has two daughters, Hinata Hyuga, the elder, and Hanabi Hyuga, the younger. Hinata, being the elder daughter, is the heir, but Hiashi favors Hanabi over her because he believes that she is stronger. When Hinata became a Genin, he asked her sensei to take her in, and did not seem to care that she could potentially die. He was also the one to put the cursed seal on his nephew, Neji Hyuga when Neji was four years old. When Hiashi killed a shinobi from Kumogakure, who came under false pretenses of signing a peace treaty and was in fact attempting to kidnap Hinata to obtain the secret of the Byakugan, Kumogakure demanded that the body of Hiashi be delivered to them as compensation as directed in the terms of the treaty. Hiashi's brother, Hizashi, volunteered to be killed instead of Hiashi, thus saving his life. Hiashi for his part was absolutely opposed to the idea of his brother taking his place and leaving his young son alone, but before he could prevent his brother from doing so, Hizashi disabled him in one blow. Hizashi told his brother that he was not doing it to serve the main house, but because they were brothers and doing so was his way of going against his fate. Hiashi decided not to tell Hizashi's son that his father volunteered to die until he felt that Neji would be mentally ready to accept this over the much more comfortable belief that the main house was responsible for his death. This moment came after Neji's loss to Naruto Uzumaki in battle during the main tournament of the Chunin exam. During the time between the Chunin exam and Sasuke Uchiha leaving the village, Hiashi seems to have realized that the family bond that should be keeping the clan together had been falling apart. He apparently set his sights on mending it by training his nephew, Neji, in violation of a Hyuga clan taboo of passing on secrets to branch house members. His relationship with Hinata also seems to be improving, as while he had previously considered her a failure, he sometimes seems concerned about her, and asks Neji to look after her. While he warns her not to get in her teammates' way before she leaves for her mission in the Bikochuu arc, when she returns after playing the most significant role in her team's capturing the insect and defeating the enemy ninja, he encourages her to continue to do her best

Hidan is the foul-mouthed partner of Kakuzu and, at the time of his membership, was the second-newest member of Akatsuki. The first kanji in Hidan's name stands for hisha, the rook in shogi. Hidan belongs to the Jashin religion, a religion that worships a deity named Jashin and where anything less than utter destruction is considered a sin. As a part of his religion, Hidan owns a charm with an upside-down triangle inscribed inside a circle that he carries on a chain of beads. Before a battle starts he prays to this charm, asking for nothing short of a kill or, in the event that a target must be captured alive, for forgiveness. Once a battle has begun, Hidan dislikes being interrupted or being forced to stop the fight, and it takes a great deal of persuasion to get him to comply. After battles, should he have time, Hidan performs a thirty-minute ritual in accordance with his religion, which seems to culminate by stabbing himself in the chest and lying upon the ground.

Hinata Hyuga is the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan's main branch. Hinata was trained by her father, Hiashi Hyuga, to become the clan's heiress, though in time he came to deem her a lost cause. Believing her to be of lesser skill than her younger sister, Hanabi Hyuga, her father left Hinata in Kurenai Yuhi's care once she was assigned to Team 8, claiming he didn't care what happened to her. Throughout her early time in Team 8, Hinata's lack of self-confidence and unwillingness to fight hamper her abilities. Although she would train to improve her skills, she would immediately give up when faced with competition and failed every mission she was assigned as a result. In an attempt to change herself, Hinata enters the Chunin Exams, where she is pit against her cousin, Neji Hyuga, in the exam's preliminary matches. Neji is quick to ridicule Hinata for her personality traits and attempts to convince her that she is a failure who will never be able to change herself, bringing her to tears. Naruto Uzumaki's encouragement, however, empowers her to fight her cousin despite repeatedly being struck down. Although she is defeated, Naruto's words have a lasting effect on Hinata and she becomes more confident in her abilities, and even sticks up for herself by telling Neji that he is the one who is attempting to fight against what cannot be changed. After recovering from her wounds, Hinata continues training to prove herself to her father and Naruto. Her efforts are successful in both regards, as she is eventually able to acquire a better relationship with her father, who encourages her to continue working on improving herself. Naruto has also come to hold her in a higher standing, and he tells her that while he had considered her timid and weird before, he now views her as a likable person. Hinata has a long-standing crush on Naruto, which has been present since their time in the Academy. Her feelings for him are rooted in his determination, confidence, and strength, all of which Hinata feels she lacks. Despite her rather obvious feelings, Hinata has yet to openly admit that she likes Naruto, though many characters have been shown to be aware of her feelings. In a similar fashion, Naruto has remained completely oblivious to Hinata's feelings. With her affection for Naruto, Hinata is constantly willing to break away from her typical personality traits in order to help him. She also becomes more assertive on Naruto's behalf, and also doesn't hesitate to defend him, even to himself. Her feelings for Naruto are one of the driving forces in her self-improvement, as she tries to gain strength in an attempt to both impress him and become like him. When they meet again in Part II, Hinata is unable to bring herself to greet Naruto and passes out when he comes to greet her, her feelings for him having apparently been amplified during his absence. Despite this, she gradually becomes more comfortable around Naruto, going from being unable to look him in the eye to being able to talk to him, and is able to work with him without difficulty when they are on missions together.

Hisame is a female ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rain. She is said to be the most intelligent Rain Village Ninja. She left home to find the Hero Water, but was defeated when Shibuki drank the water himself and fought her.

Hizashi Hyuga was the father of Neji Hyuga and the twin brother of Hiashi Hyuga, but was born into the world seconds after his brother, which made him a branch house member. The name "Hizashi" means "sunlight" or "rays of the sun" and is specifically used to describe sunlight strong enough to cause sunburn. While he had long resented the main house, the birth of Neji brought his hate to a new level. Because Neji, a natural genius, was also a branch house member, he would never be able to realize his full potential by learning the Hyuga clan's most secret techniques. Angered by this, Hizashi began to outwardly despise the main house and it members, earning him many reprimands. When Hiashi killed a Kumogakure diplomat to save his daughter, Hinata Hyuga, Kumogakure demanded his corpse, which the Hyuga clan's elders were quick to nominate Hizashi as a replacement for. While Hiashi was reluctant to send his brother to such a fate, Hizashi insisted, wanting to have the opportunity to not save the life of a main house member but to save the life of his brother. Before going to his death, he asked Hiashi to tell Neji the reason for his decision, hoping that Neji too would one day have a chance to change his destiny.

Homura Mitokado is the former teammate of the Third Hokage and Koharu Utatane. He is now a council member. Unlike the Third, he does not seem to think much of Naruto. He and Koharu wanted to restrict the number of missions that Naruto could go on and limit his area of activity in his own village since they are afraid that Naruto would become a victim of Akatsuki, and that Akatsuki would, after extracting the nine-tailed fox, become a threat to Hidden Leaf Village.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:31:00 -0700

Gaara had initially tried to be friendly towards others despite their fear of him. Yashamaru's actions and words changed him. Realizing that nobody loved him, Gaara used his sand to create the kanji on his forehead ("Love") as a symbol of a "demon loving only himself". He became emotionally withdrawn, all but silent, and consumed with a bitter loathing for everyone but himself. He learned to find pleasure and eventually a reason to live in annihilating the numerous assassins sent to kill him � and by extension, anyone who threatened his existence. Gaara's insomnia, forced upon him by the fear that the demon inside him would eat away at his personality if he were to fall asleep, only furthered his instability and desire to kill. In time, Gaara's father came to appreciate Gaara and the uses he could serve, and canceled all assassination orders in the hopes that Gaara would become an effective tool for Sunagakure. For his first assignment as the village's weapon, Gaara is entered into the Chunin Exams taking place in Hidden Leaf Village to play a key role in the village's eventual invasion. While he enjoys the opportunity to kill others for much of the exam's early stages, he is eventually pitted against Rock Lee during the preliminaries. With his strength and speed, Lee is able to overcome many of Gaara's defenses, becoming the first person to ever hit Gaara. While Lee is able to deliver a number of ordinarily debilitating blows, Gaara's sand allows him survive each attack and eventually gain the upperhand on Lee. While the match is stopped before further harm can come to Lee, their match allows Gaara a change in ideals; rather than determine his own existence by killing anyone he meets, Gaara finds a drive to kill those strong enough to defeat him, and begins to long to find a formidable opponent. Gaara's wishes are soon realized and he is matched against Sasuke Uchiha during the exam's finals. With his Chidori, Sasuke is able to badly injure Gaara near his shoulder, so much so that Gaara is unable to participate in Hidden Leaf Village's invasion as planned. Despite this setback, Gaara's wound magnifies his desire to kill Sasuke and the two soon resume their battle. With Gaara's encouragement Sasuke is able to give additional injuries to Gaara, though his rapidly progressing Shukaku transformation leaves him unfazed by the attacks. When Sasuke is no longer able to battle and Gaara goes in for the kill, Naruto Uzumaki arrives to save him. With the desire to save his friends from Gaara, Naruto meets him in battle and is eventually able to defeat him despite being in full Shukaku form. Realizing that Naruto's strength stems from his desire to protect others, Gaara abandons his prior ideals and decides to acquire strength by caring for others. Gaara's new disposition is first seen when he comes to Rock Lee's aid during the Sasuke Retrieval arc. Upon seeing that the injuries Lee received during their last battle have yet to fully heal, Gaara repeatedly stops him from fighting, concerned that Lee will only harm himself further. These new ideals are seen again during the anime's filler arcs, where Gaara acquires a student named Matsuri. As the two begin training, Gaara worries that all of the potential training weapons might cause Matsuri injury, so he has her train with the least harmful weapon present. When she is later kidnapped, Gaara and his siblings go out to rescue her, and with the help of the Hidden Leaf Village ninjas they succeed in their task. Over the timeskip, Gaara's personality changes a great deal. While in the past he was fairly hostile to his siblings (to a point which they were both scared of him), he has since come to hold them in a higher regard, and talks to Kankuro about his problems and dreams. As a result of becoming the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara now acts as the villager's source of protection and values their lives over his own. The villagers, in turn, have also begun to hold Gaara in a more admirable regard, especially amongst the younger females of the village. However, much of the Elder population, especially with the higher ranks, still holds malice towards him and call the younger generation fools for believing in him.

Gama is a mid-level toad that first appears when Jiraiya is introduced. It is first summoned to tongue-whip Ebisu for annoying Jiraiya at the hot springs. Later on, it's summoned once again to give the contract scroll for the Gama family to Naruto. Its last summoning was to deflect Kisame's attack on Naruto Uzumaki. In this instance, it appears in samurai armor. Whether or not these are entirely different toads is unclear due to the fact they differ only in size. Gama (or Gama-Chan) is also the name of Naruto's frog wallet, as stated in episode 91.

Gamabunta is the boss of the toads that are summoned. He is huge and is summoned for battles with the biggest of enemies. His sons are Gamakichi and Gamatatsu. Naruto can only summon him with his demon fox chakra; without it, he can only call upon some of Gamabunta's smaller children. Gamabunta is first seen in the premiere of the series, where he and the Fourth Hokage face off against the demon fox. He is not given a speaking role until he is first summoned by Naruto Uzumaki.

Gamaken is a summon who was first summoned by Jiraiya. Gamaken is an attack and defense summon, used in Jiraiya's fight with Pain. While Gamaken is not too smart, he was able to protect Jiraiya from most of Pain's summons. However, he was not able to pick up on Pain's fighting style.

Gamakichi is one of Gamabunta's children. He was first summoned by Naruto because Naruto couldn't focus his chakra during the beginning of the battle with Gaara. However, he is intelligent enough (more so than Gamatatsu) to be aware of the situation around him and realize when it's time to flee. He was accidentally summoned again by Jiraiya while he was fighting with Orochimaru because Tsunade had secretly fed Jiraiya a chakra-disrupting potion. He was summoned again by Jiraiya for a scouting mission during the Orochimaru's Lair arc, as well as by Naruto during the Noroimusha and Sea Country arcs.

Gamatatsu is the weak, inexperienced, younger brother of Gamakichi, and another son of Gamabunta. He was summoned for the first time by Naruto while he was fighting with Orochimaru because he was unable to call on his Demon fox chakra. Gamatatsu fixates on snacks after a comment made by Gamakichi that made him think he'd get one. Gamatatsu was also summoned by Naruto during the events of the Bird Country and the Noroimusha arcs. Gamatatsu accidentally stumbled upon the black kites that the Noroimusha was using to appear as if he was floating like a ghost in the middle of the night. His overall personality is extremely dense, and he often has to be dragged away from danger by Gamakichi, who is always summoned before Gamatatsu.

Gato is a powerful shipping magnate whose shipping company is actually a front for smuggling illegal goods and dealing drugs. He takes control of the Land of Waves' shipping routes and creates a monopoly by isolating the country from the outside world, preventing free import and export and turning it into a poor, hunger-stricken country in the process. He is responsible for humiliating and killing Kaiza for being the country's hero. Gato is protected by two bodyguards. Gato hires Zabuza Momochi and his subordinates to assassinate Tazuna and stop him from finishing to build the bridge that would connect the Land of Waves to the outside world and allow its economy to recover. However, after Zabuza's arms are broken in battle with Kakashi Hatake (who was hired to defend Tazuna), Gato assumes that Zabuza is no longer able to accomplish his mission and decides to use his own thugs to kill Tazuna instead. Still able to hold a kunai in his mouth, Zabuza kills Gato instead (In the manga, Zabuza chopped off Gato's head. In the anime, Gato was stabbed and slashed several times, then knocked off the bridge.) Gato's men fail to kill Tazuna, and the bridge is completed.

Gen'yumaru was Orochimaru's previous body. He was told to have a fight to the death with the others that Orochimaru had kept captive, and the winner would be able to go free. Gen'yumaru defeated and massacred them all, only to find out that he was the next vessel for Orochimaru. As his last wish, he asked for his clan to be released, which was being held captive for Orochimaru's experiments. It is unknown if this request was ever granted. Orochimaru notes that part of Gen'yumaru's consciousness would remain within him after the transfer making Gen'yumaru still alive, in a sense. After Orochimaru abandons Gen'yumaru's body, Gen'yumaru still remains within his subconscious.

Genma Shiranui replaces Hayate Gekko as examiner of the main matches of the Chunin Exams after Hayate is killed. "Shiranui" means "phosphorescent light". Genma is often seen with a senbon in his mouth. He uses this as a weapon, spitting it out at the enemy to attack them, or to deflect ranged weapon attacks. When the invasion of Hidden Leaf Village begins, Genma battles Baki off-screen, presumably to a draw since both of them come out of the fight relatively unscathed. He later appears with Raido Namiashi to confront the Sound Four, who are forced to go level 2 of their cursed seals to defeat them. The Sound Four later comment that if it hadn't been for their cursed seals, Genma and Raido would have defeated them.

Genno is a legendary trap-making ninja from Tonbogakure. Even in his old age, merely hours before his naturally-caused death, he was an excellent shinobi. He was able to set up a multi-layered trap that fooled the ANBU, Tsunade, and even nearly stumped Shikamaru Nara. He could also match Rock Lee in Taijutsu, albeit using a smoke bomb to even the odds. He was able to do all this while suffering from a pain so intense that Ino was forced to release her Mind Body Switch Technique immediately upon entering his body. While Jiraiya led an attack on Tonbogakure thirty years previously, Genno was in Hidden Leaf Village planting explosives. Tonbogakure called a cease-fire and was later annihilated by another village, however, and he never got the chance to use them. Genno returned thirty years under the guise of a carpenter from Sunagakure. He attempted to finish his job by detonating the Hokage Monument, which would have buried the village under rock and sand, partly because he was near death and didn't want such an elaborate trap to go to waste, though mainly for revenge for the death of his son, who died in the war with his village. However, upon returning to finish the job, Genno met Naruto Uzumaki, who deeply resembled Genno's late son (he told Naruto it was his still-living grandson). Without telling anybody, Genno deviated from his original plan and turned it into a game. He acted out his original elaborate plan, down to every last twist and detail, but he rigged the bombs in the monument, as well as any other potentially devastating trap, so that they would barely leave a mark or not work whatsoever. Genno wanted the Hidden Leaf Village 11, especially Naruto, to enjoy solving the "treasure hunt" he always wanted to plan for his grandson. He died of natural causes shortly after the Hidden Leaf Village 11 removed or disarmed all the tags and apprehended him.

Genzou is a photographer for the Academy.

Giichi was a worker for Tazuna on the bridge project. He, like many of his other co-workers, quit in fear of death. He had worked longer than most of the other people.

Gouzou was a hired goon by Gato. He and his brother attacked Team 7 while Team 7 was guiding Tazuna to the Land of Waves. However, Kakashi noticed their little gimmick and quickly picked up on it. They were soon captured, but it is unknown what happened to them after this point. Gouzu is the eldest of the brothers and wears his claw on his right hand.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:28:00 -0700

The First Hokage was the founder of Hidden Leaf Village and used his unique Mokuton abilities to create the village. He was the older brother of the Second, and the grandfather of Tsunade. During his life he fought Kakuzu, but the details of their battle are never elaborated upon. He saw the people of Hidden Leaf Village as a part of him, and put them before anything else. His spirit even now takes a firm root in Hidden Leaf Village. He was resurrected and summoned by Orochimaru to battle the Third Hokage, who is eventually forced to seal away his soul to defeat him. Prior to this defeat, the First uses Bringer of Darkness Technique to cause the Third to see nothing but total darkness, allowing the First to attack him unseen. In earlier years Orochimaru injected the First's DNA into 60 test subjects in an attempt to replicate his Mokuton abilities. Only one of the test subjects, Yamato, survived and retained the First's abilities.

The Fourth Kazekage was the previous leader of Sunagakure. He is the father of Gaara, Temari and Kankuro, and husband of Karura. By his order, the one-tailed Shukaku was sealed within Gaara so that he could become the village's ultimate weapon. However, as Gaara grew and his abilities began to manifest, the Fourth realized that this had been a poor choice and started to view Gaara as a failed experiment who was a threat to the inhabitants of Sunagakure. Beginning around the time Gaara turned six, the Fourth began issuing orders for Gaara's assassination, none of which were ever successful. The Fourth Hokage(Minato Namikaze) was the brave and immensely powerful ninja responsible for sealing the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside his son, Naruto Uzumaki, soon after Naruto's birth. After completing the sealing and trying to deter the villagers from hating Naruto for the beast within him, wanting them to instead think of Naruto as a hero, Minato died as a side effect of performing the seal. Minato is noted to look very similar to his son, and they share a number of connections and similarities. Despite this, the truth of Naruto's parentage is not revealed until long after the series's start. In his youth Minato, along with two other unknown Genin, was a student of Jiraiya, and sometime in his life, had a child, Naruto, with Kushina Uzumaki. Prior to becoming Hokage he was also the sensei of Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin. "Namikaze" translates literally as "wave wind". Minato is said to be the greatest ninja Hidden Leaf Village had ever produced, with natural talent that had not been seen in many years. Minato created several distinctive techniques, including the Flying Thunder God Technique ,which essentially allowed him to teleport to any location with the use of a special seal, or "jutsu formula" . By attaching the seal to a kunai or an enemy, Minato could teleport to the location of the seal unnoticed, allowing him to wipe out nearby opponents almost instantly. This ability caused him to acquire the title as "Hidden Leaf Village's Yellow Flash" and it caused him to be seen as so dangerous that a flee-on-sight order was given in regards to him during the Third Ninja War. He also used the Rasengan, a technique that does not rely on hand seals but instead uses a concentration of spinning chakra in one's palm that causes immense damage to its victim on contact. Later in the series it is revealed that technique is actually incomplete. Minato had planned to add his own nature manipulation training to the Rasengan, making it even more powerful, but couldn't manage to prior to his death.

Fubuki Kakuyoku is a snow kunoichi that accompanied Nadare Roga and Mizore Fuyukuma. "Fubuki" means blizzard or snowstorm. She fought against Sasuke Uchiha, and was largely successful in countering the majority of his fire jutsu, including his Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique with her Ice Prison Technique and his Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique with the wings on her armor. She was ultimately defeated when Sasuke sent her flying on a collision course with Lion Combo into her partner, Mizore Fuyukuma, to which their chakra armor reacted in the form of an explosion. It is unknown if she is dead.

Fugaku Uchiha was the father of Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha, and the husband of Mikoto Uchiha. He was the captain of the Hidden Leaf Village Military Police. He strongly believed that Itachi was the clan's future, and did all in his power to help achieve this goal. As a result he often neglected Sasuke, though Itachi did manage to force them together from time to time, such as by saying that he would neglect his duties to be there for Sasuke. Once Itachi began to distance himself from the clan, he and Fugaku apparently had a falling out and as a result Fugaku began to spend more time with Sasuke, coming to consider him the pride of the clan. After training Sasuke in the Uchiha clan's more basic jutsu, he instructed his youngest son not to follow in Itachi's footsteps. He was later killed by Itachi.

Futaba was Konohamaru's classmate at the Ninja Academy. When Iruka gave his history lesson in front of the Hokage monument, the Third Hokage stepped in to talk to the class about the job of Hokage. When The Third told the students that they should protect the people precious to them, she stated her parents, brother and her dog Gonta were precious to her. Futaba would later join Hibari and Kouji in a mission to Takurami Mountain under Hyuuga Neji. Futaba and her teammates would marvel at Neji's ability to navigate with the hands on a wrist watch when a compass would not work.

Fuujin is a criminal from the Fire Country. He and his brother Raijin, are dim-witted powerhouses who will do almost anything for food. The brothers often complain about insufficient food in prison, and usually break out just for the purpose of obtaining food. While in prison the brothers were brought into the service of former Leaf chuunin Mizuki in exchange for food. He used the sibling's brute strength to help him and a few other prisoners break out. He then enlisted their services again to seek revenge against Konoha. The brothers were captured by Team 6's new Ino-Shika-Cho formation and with the help of Tsunade whose brute strength rivaled that of the brothers.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:26:00 -0700

Ebisu is a specialist in the private training of ninja, and uses this skill to tutor Konohamaru in general ninja abilities and later to train Naruto Uzumaki in better chakra control. The name "Ebisu" comes from the Japanese god Ebisu, who is usually pictured watching over the health of young children. He initially dislikes Naruto since he only sees him as the container of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, though after seeing the positive influence Naruto has on Konohamaru he begins to have a change of heart. Still, Ebisu doesn't approve of the perverted jutsu Naruto uses and then teaches to Konohamaru, though has himself fallen prey to Naruto's Harem Technique, causing Naruto to often refer to him as the "closet pervert" because of this. Ebisu is briefly Naruto's tutor for the month between the preliminaries of the Chunin Exam and the finals, but Jiraiya knocks him out for interfering with his "research," and soon takes over as Naruto's tutor. In Part II, Ebisu is put in charge of a Genin team with Konohamaru and his two friends, Udon and Moegi, as its members.

Ebizo is called "old-man Ebizo" by the Sand villagers. He and his older sister Chiyo are highly revered in Sunagakure and are known as the Siblings. He is Sasori's great-uncle. While saddened by his sister's death, as he had hoped it was another of her jokes, he couldn't help but smile on how peaceful she looked.

Enma is the personal summon of the Third Hokage and king of the monkeys. He possesses great physical strength and fighting ability, as seen when he fights off both the First and Second Hokages. Enma is capable of using Transformation: Adamantine Staff, which allows him to turn into a large, extendable staff (a Ru Yi Bang or nyoi-b�) that is as hard as adamantine yet as sharp as a sword. He can also produce various body parts, such as eyes or arms, from the staff. Additionally, Enma can still move in the staff form, allowing him to return to the Third Hokage. Enma can even clone himself in his staff form, turning him into any number of smaller staffs that Enma uses for Adamantine Prison Wall. Enma is fiercely loyal to Sarutobi, though he doesn't always approve of his actions. Sarutobi's actions in regards to Orochimaru is something Enma keeps reminding Sarutobi of. Enma would have preferred to kill him the first time. Enma is seen in a flashback of Orochimaru's defection, urging Sarutobi to kill Orochimaru, thus his current attitude. He's also quick to anger, as seen when he simply tries to break Orochimaru's neck after Orochimaru injures Sarutobi. Enma's first appearance was his summoning during the battle with Orochimaru to even the odds against the resurrected First and Second Hokages, now Orochimaru's minions due to his Summoning: Impure World Resurrection. With Enma on hand, Sarutobi was able to hold his own until he realized that his resurrected opponents would never die. Therefore, Sarutobi decided to seal both their souls and Orochimaru's, ending their threats forever. As Sarutobi attempted to seal Orochimaru's soul, Orochimaru tried to plunge his Kusanagi sword through Sarutobi's chest. At the same time, he restricted Enma with some of his snakes. As a result, Enma was only able to catch the sword after it had impaled Sarutobi. He held it back until Sarutobi sealed Orochimaru's arms, at which point he pulls out the sword before vanishing, noting that Sarutobi died a "true shinobi warrior" and a "great Third Hokage."

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:22:00 -0700

Daikoku is a teacher at the Ninja Academy, and has been for several years. He taught both Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha, and complimented on Itachi, who according to him, required almost no teaching at all. He told this to Fugaku Uchiha, Sasuke's father, which Sasuke right next to him, which made Sasuke feel bad. Fugaku tried to brush the comment off as a hyperbole, but Daikoku insisted on his comment.

Dan was Shizune's uncle and Tsunade's boyfriend, whom she met after he spoke out in favor of her proposal to assign medical ninja to each squad shortly after her brother's death. Because his younger sister died during one of the many raids on Hidden Leaf Village, he aimed to be able to better protect his loved ones. For this end, he wanted to become Hokage. He died during a battle due to hemorrhage, despite Tsunade's desperate efforts to save him. His death made Tsunade hemophobic and made her leave Hidden Leaf Village together with Shizune. Dan would later become one of the people Orochimaru offers to bring back to life in exchange for Tsunade's help, though she ultimately refuses.

Danzo ss more militant than most in the Leaf Village, favoring aggression and war over passiveness and peace. In the past, he competed with Sarutobi for the position of Third Hokage. He created the (now disbanded) ANBU training department known as Root and acted as its head. Danzo was the one who recommended that Sai be placed in Team 7. He appears to have lost an arm at some point, the cause of which remains unknown, and may have also lost his right eye. Despite Danzo's apparent support for the Hokage and Hidden Leaf Village, Tsunade does not trust him; this is apparently well founded, as Danzo had given Sai a secret mission that Tsunade was unaware of: sending Sai to contact Orochimaru and offer to act as a subordinate for him. Yamato believes that Danzo is trying to take over Hidden Leaf Village with Orochimaru's help. This is apparently proven when it is revealed that the envelope Danzo sent Orochimaru was full of pictures and information on the true identities of Hidden Leaf Village's ANBU. However, all of these are nothing more than a front to let Sai get close to Orochimaru, so that Sai can execute his true mission: the assassination of Sasuke Uchiha. After learning of the failed assassination attempt of Sasuke, and Sai's attachment to Team 7, he merely states that "emotion brings hatred, and hatred brings war."

Deidara is a missing-nin from Iwagakure and the partner of Tobi. Deidara refers to his ninjutsu as art, believing each bomb he makes to be such works. He refers to style as superflat (the word itself used to refer to certain types of manga), and claims pop is dead. One of Deidara's catchphrases, "Art is a blast" (or variations therein). Deidara is very proud of his art, to the point that he is simply unwilling to accept that anything could defeat it, leading to frequent overconfidence in battle. Deidara also has a habit of ending his sentences with a mumble/grunt, usually transcribed as un or mmm, in the same way Naruto ends most of his sentences with -ttebayo. Deidara is replaced by Tobi after using his ultimate technique in which he uses the mouth in his chest to turn himself in to a bomb trying to kill Sauske. His effort proves unsuccessful, and Akatsuki mourns his loss.

The Demon Brothers consisting of the older brother Gozu and the younger Meizu, are Chunin-level ninja from Kirigakure who have since become missing-nin. The two are under the command of Zabuza Momochi, who assigns them to kill others for paying clients. Each brother wears a large, metal gauntlet with poisonous claws (Gozu's on his right hand, Meizu's on his left) that are connected by a spiked chain that they operate in unison. Surrounding their opponent with the chain, they are able to constrict the chain to the point of severing their target into several pieces. When they attempted to assassinate Tazuna who Team 7 were hired to protect Naruto Uzumaki, it being his first real battle, freezes in fear and is about to be killed, only to be saved by Sasuke Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi deals with the two easily after seeing who their main target was, and ties them to a tree to await capture.

The Doki are three demons summoned by Tayuya. Their eyes, ears, and mouths are all covered, a reference to the three wise monkeys, though they can hear normally. Tayuya plays various melodies on her flute to control them, each melody causing them to perform different actions. All three are incredibly strong and fast. In addition, they can open their mouths to release a many-mouthed, snake-like creature that consists almost entirely of spiritual energy, making them impossible to hit. These "spirit snakes" are attracted to physical energy, and absorb it on contact, allowing them to weaken an opponent.

Dosu Kinuta is one of the three Genin from Otogakure who entered the Chunin exam. "Dosu" is onomatopoeia for the sound of a sword piercing flesh. A kinuta is a wooden stick used to air out clothing, as well as the Japanese name for one of the three ear bones, anvil. Dosu was equipped with a special speaker implanted into his wrist which served to amplify sound waves and dramatically strengthen his sound-based attacks. It is closely related to the Japanese sound based martial art form called Kiai, which uses sound to attack the water in the body to stop an enemy. With his speaker, Dosu can use Vibrating Sound Drill to damage an opponent's inner ear, throwing them off balance and making them nauseous. He can also control the sound waves in midair, ensuring that they hit their mark. In his pairing with Zaku Abumi, the two seemed to form a friendship, with Zaku coming to Dosu's rescue and Dosu wanting vengeance for Zaku's various defeats. Neither, however, seems to have any special bond with Kin Tsuchi, and as such neither hesitates to attack her when her body is taken over. Dosu is also the more level headed of his team, and can adequately gauge an opponent's strengths and weaknesses in little time. After learning that he is being used by Orochimaru, Dosu decides to kill Sasuke not under Orochimaru's orders, but rather to prove his worth. When attempting to kill Gaara to more easily reach this goal, however, Dosu is easily killed by an angered Gaara.

Doto Kazahana is the boss of Nadare Roga, Mizore Fuyukuma and Fubuki Kakuyoku, he started the revolt in the Land of Snow in search of the Treasure, which turned out to be a generator that transformed the Land of Snow in to a Land of Spring. He was hit directly by Naruto's Ultra Rasengan, enhanced by the Seven-Colored Chakra, throwing him with great force onto one of the Generator Walls. Whether this was the death of him was not confirmed. He appears in the Japanese version of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 as a playable character, but was omitted from the English version before Bandai Namco realized the movie would be released the same month as the game.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:18:00 -0700

Chiyo is often called "old-lady Chiyo" or "Granny Chiyo" by the Sunagakure villagers, is the village's poison and puppet specialist. She and her brother Ebizo are highly revered in Sunagakure and are known as the Siblings. Chiyo is very knowledgeable when it comes to handling poisons and used her skills often during the Third Secret Ninja War, only to be countered numerous times by Tsunade's medical expertise. This caused Chiyo to hold a grudge against Tsunade, who she has come to call "that slug-girl", although she is impressed by what Sakura Haruno has learned from her. Chiyo took care of her grandson, Sasori, during his childhood due to the death of his parents. She's held a grudge against Hidden Leaf Village for their deaths by the "White Fang" of Hidden Leaf Village who Kakashi revealed to be his father. At some point, she taught Sasori how to use the Puppet Technique, and Sasori used his newfound knowledge to build puppets resembling his parents out of old malfunctioning puppets. Wanting Sasori to be able to feel love from his puppet parents, Chiyo developed a jutsu that would allow her to bring puppets to life at the cost of her own. Before she could use this ability for Sasori, however, he left the village, leaving Chiyo with the desire to see her grandson again. In Sasori's absence, Chiyo installed a Shield of Chakra into her right arm, giving herself a defensive measure to use in desperate situations. Chiyo would go on to seal the One-Tailed Shukaku inside of Gaara under the orders of the Fourth Kazekage. After this, Chiyo and Ebizo removed themselves from the affairs of Sunagakure and spent their time together, where Chiyo would play jokes on her brother by pretending she had died just to scare him. She does the same to Naruto in a recap segment about Hidden Leaf Village's dango shop. When Sasori returns to Suna years later and kidnaps Gaara, Chiyo joins the retrieval team in the hopes of getting to see Sasori. As Kakashi's leaves with Naruto to pursue Sasori's partner Deidara, Chiyo is forced to fight Sasori alongside Sakura. Using Manipulating Attack Blades to use chakra strings to manipulate Sasori's movements and assist Sakura in battle, the two are able to gain the upper hand on Sasori. When Sasori brings out 100 of his own puppets to fight the two, Chiyo uses the ten puppets of Monzaemon Chikamatsu to combat his puppet army. As Sasori tries one last effort at defeating Chiyo, Chiyo stabs him through the heart with the puppets of his parents, allowing him to be close to them in death as he couldn't be in life. After reuniting with the rest of the retrieval team, Gaara is found dead. Naruto Uzumaki, angry that Gaara died because of the Shukaku sealed within him, lashes out at Chiyo for her part in giving him this fate. In an attempt to apologize for what she had done, Chiyo tries to revive Gaara. Although she is initially unable to due to being too weak, Naruto donates some of his chakra to help finish the process. With Gaara's revival, Chiyo offers her blessings to Naruto as the next Hokage, and dies peacefully with her view of the world changed in the end thanks to Naruto and Sakura.

Choji Akimichi is a childhood friend of Shikamaru Nara. While many of his early years were spent trying to play with his peers, his fellow children felt he was unworthy of playing with them and always refused to allow him to join them. After another failed attempt to play with them one day Shikamaru stuck up for Choji, arguing that without Choji, the teams would be uneven, and Choji was excluded. Choji then went to see his father, who told him that he was kinder than anyone else, and would one day find a person who would be his best friend. Shortly afterward, Shikamaru arrived, and they shared snacks while watching the clouds. Because of Shikamaru's willingness to look past Choji's athletic deficiencies and recognize his true strength, Choji came to view Shikamaru as his best friend. The two have since developed complete trust in one another, with Choji willing to give up his life to defend Shikamaru, and considering the act of insulting him unacceptable. Choji has a love for food, his favorite being Korean barbecue, general snacks and sweets, and basically anything that is edible. He openly displays this love of food by wearing clothing with the kanji for "eat" in Part I and "food" in Part II, and is commonly seen eating from a bag of chips. His nigh-constant hunger is a constant annoyance for his teammates, as sating himself often comes before other necessities such as stealth and teamwork. Because of this, his teammates often use food against him, such as offering him food as a reward for accomplishing a task or simply using his favorite foods as a form of blackmail. Despite his open display for his love of food, Choji is very sensitive about his size and becomes highly agitated when somebody calls him "fat" (he refers to himself as "big boned", "chubby", or "pleasingly plump"). Once called "fat", Choji's resolve to fight is elevated to new levels and he becomes much more hostile to his opponents than he would otherwise. Just as they use food against him, Choji's teammates use this personality trait against him as well. Should Choji be reluctant to fight, one of them need only comment on his size to spur him into combat form. In Part II he starts to look more muscular than obese, causing him to look like he always claimed he did: big-boned. Even with this new look, he is apparently still sensitive about his size, and others make it a point to avoid using the word "fat" around him. As an Akimichi, Choji's style of combat focuses on increasing his size. At the series' start he uses Multi-Size Technique to serve this purpose, reshaping him into a large, round form. Once in this form he can use Human Bullet Tank to tuck his limbs inside his increased mass and roll at opponents at rapid speeds. With the Spiked Human Bullet Tank variant he can increase the amount of damage this technique does to a target, either by wrapping himself in a cloak of kunai or, as seen in Part II, by lengthening and sharpening his hair. Choji sees a number of other advancements in Part II; the Multi-Size Technique, while still increasing his size, no longer makes him round. Because of this he has developed the Mega Palm Thrust, and after increasing his size with the Multi-Size Technique he can funnel chakra into his enlarged hands to cause extensive crushing damage to anything caught under his palms. While he is seen using the Partial Multi-Size Technique in Part I, Choji also becomes more adept with it in Part II, and is now able to use it with little effort and with a better reaction time.

Choza Akimichi is the father of Choji Akimichi. Like his son, he was part of an Ino-Shika-Cho trio, together with Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka. Like his son, he enjoys eating lots of food.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:14:00 -0700

Baiu was an unlucky individual to meet up with Gaara's team during the Chuunin Exams. When his team leader attempted to take a scroll from Gaara, he was quickly encased in sand, and crushed to death. Baiu and his partner tried to give Gaara their scroll as a peace offering, but where crushed like their teammate.

Baki is the sensei of Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari, and he oversaw the three's progress during the Chunin Exams. After he converses with Kabuto Yakushi about the planned invasion of Hidden Leaf Village, he offers to eliminate the eavesdropper of their conversation as a sign of trust. Although the eavesdropper, Hayate Gekko, is able to strike him, Baki's unavoidable Blade of Wind kills him. Baki led the fight with the Sand and Sound shinobi in the Hidden Leaf Village stadium during the invasion and had an unfinished duel with Genma Shiranui. In Part II, he seems to be serving on Sunagakure's advisory council, and has a more favorable view of Gaara than the other council members. When Kankuro was injured by Sasori, Baki seemed to be very concerned about Kankuro's condition.

Character Biographies

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:59:00 -0700

Akamaru is Kiba Inuzuka's nin-dog, best friend, and companion. At the beginning of the Naruto series, Kiba carries Akamaru around on his head or inside his jacket. As Akamaru grows, he becomes large enough to ride atop Kiba's back. Akamaru's heightened senses, such as smell and hearing, along with Kiba's power to communicate with him, make him a powerful tool for gathering and sharing information. Akamaru also has the ability to sense chakra with his nose, enabling him to judge an enemy's strength so as to warn Kiba if they are particularly powerful. When in battle, the two join forces by synchronizing attacks or by combining into a single entity. Because Akamaru lacks his own chakra reserves, Kiba supplies the chakra in order to perform their combinational jutsu, although Akamaru is able to contribute when it comes to physical attacks. Akamaru can also urinate on a target with great accuracy, known as Dynamic Marking, which allows Kiba or Akamaru to easily find that target by scent. Kiba can feed Akamaru a food pill to increase his abilities, with the side effect of turning his fur red. This fits with Akamaru's name, “Aka” meaning “red”.

Aoi Rokusho is a diabolical ninja who was hired by the Wagarashi clan. His job was to stop Idate, a runner for the Wasabi clan, from winning the Todori Burning Fire Race. The story behind Aoi is much deeper though as he was a previously a Hidden Leaf Village Chunin. Aoi betrayed Hidden Leaf Village by having his student, Idate, steal two special treasures from Hidden Leaf Village under the false pretense of his student becoming a Chunin. These treasures were the Raijin Sword (according to Aoi, used by Second Hokage), and a special scroll of forbidden jutsu. After this event, Aoi defected to Amegakure but was followed by Idate's brother, Ibiki Morino, who then was caught by Amegakure and tortured to translate the scroll. Ibiki not only resisted the torture, but managed to escape with the scroll. After this incident, Aoi remained with Amegakure upon which he became a Jonin. As a member of Amegakure he performed various odd jobs and demeaning tasks that other ninja wouldn't bother with. At the end of the arc, Aoi's Raijin was cracked by Sasuke's Chidori and then broken by Naruto's Rasengan, he was knocked off a cliff by Naruto. It is unknown if he survived, but he himself states earlier in the episode that anyone knocked off will surely die, and unlike Sakura and Sasuke, he is unable to slow his descent at all before hitting the waters below.

Anko Mitarashi is the examiner for the second phase of the Chunin Exams. "Anko" and "Mitarashi" are ingredients in dango, which happens to be her favorite food. Anko is easygoing, tomboyish, and sometimes hyperactive, making a dramatic entry through a window ahead of schedule. In the English dub, she speaks like a drill sergeant might, referring to the testees as "maggots", and clearly intimidating Naruto. The bodysuit she wears is a customized garment made of metal mesh. Anko is a former student of Orochimaru and was one of ten children to be branded with the Cursed Seal of Heaven. Because Anko was the only survivor, the seal was determined to have only a 10% chance of survival. Because she lacked the lust for power and vengeance needed to fuel the seal, Orochimaru wiped her mind and left her in the Land of the Sea. Although she had long believed that he abandoned her because he lost interest, revisiting the country during one of the anime's filler arcs allows her to remember that she chose to leave him instead after realizing that he did not truly care for her.

Aoba Yamashiro is one of the handful of Hidden Leaf Village shinobi who repels the invading forces during the invasion of Hidden Leaf Village. He later appears inadvertently telling Sasuke Uchiha of Itachi Uchiha's visit to Hidden Leaf Village, causing Sasuke to rush from the room in search of his brother. The Jonin clearly disapprove of this, with Might Guy frowning at him and Kurenai Yuhi calling him an idiot. Aoba appears in Part II as a member of the Niju Shotai, assisting Asuma Sarutobi's team in the fight against Akatsuki. He demonstrates a technique involving large numbers of crows to swarm and blind the enemy. The crows seem to be dispelled like shadow clones when struck and are used to disguise Raido Namiashi's movements Arashi is the leader of the Fuma shinobi who were under Orochimaru's command and Sasame's cousin. Sasame mentions that before he joined Orochimaru, he was the hope of the Fuma clan. He lost his mind after mastering and constantly using the Casualty Puppet to absorb his comrades of the Fuma clan in order to increase his power. He is the most talented member of the Fuma clan, able to use the clan's most powerful jutsu, the Self-destruction Mandala, which uses a cage of chakra that constricts, crushing the opponent. It is unknown whether he died, but it is implied that he is killed when Orochimaru's lair caves in, as his feet are stuck to the ground by the remnants of his Casualty Puppet. He also notes that leaving the lair would result in his death.

Asuma Sarutobi is the son of the Third Hokage and the leader of Team 10, consisting of Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka. After having a falling out with his father during his younger years Asuma left Hidden Leaf Village to pursue his personal interests and became one of the 12 Guard Ninjas of Fire who protected the Land of Fire's daimyo. Prior to returning to Hidden Leaf Village to resume active military duty, he accumulated a bounty of 35 million ryo, something he seems to be particularly proud of. Once getting back he began a long-standing relationship with Kurenai Yuhi, whom he frequently appears with. While the two deny being an item and try to write off the amount of time they spend together, the revelation that Kurenai is pregnant with Asuma's child in Part II makes their relationship clear. Asuma is typically a laid-back individual, and does not get himself involved in things unless necessary. He is often seen smoking a cigarette, and smokes about two packs of cigarettes a day. Despite this, he will break the habit when something is bothering him, such as when the Third Hokage died. Asuma has a very close relationship with his team, even though he believes it to consist of a "glutton" (Choji), a "loud mouth" (Ino), and a "slacker" (Shikamaru). To help them overcome their underachieving natures, he attempts to use bribery and outright trickery to manipulate them into doing what he wants. Of his students, Shikamaru seems to spend the most time with Asuma and the two play Shogi or Go in their free time, though Asuma has never been able to beat Shikamaru. In battle, Asuma uses trench knives (brass knuckles with a blade on one end) that are capable of being infused with chakra. Once infused with his wind-based chakra, Asuma can use the blades to easily pierce through rock. With his Flying Swallow, he can extend the blades with his chakra to injure an enemy several feet out of the physical blade's range. In addition to his blades Asuma can use Fire Release: Ash Product Burning to breathe out a cloud of superheated ash capable of causing third-degree burns. Because it is ash and not flame, the attack remains in the air around the target, and therefore remains potent for a longer period of time. Asuma uses both of these abilities in his fight with Akatsuki member Hidan, though Hidan's immortality makes the attacks useless. By consuming some of Asuma's blood Hidan is able to form a "link" between the two, causing any damage done to Hidan to also be done to Asuma. Although Shikamaru is briefly able to prevent Hidan from using this link to kill Asuma, Hidan is ultimately able to stab himself in the stomach, fatally wounding Asuma. Although Ino tries to heal his wounds, Asuma knows he can't be healed and leaves his young students some parting words before dying.

all about naruto

hitler_jko77@yahoo.com (jacob) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:02:00 -0700