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Naruto Uzumaki
Before graduating from the Ninja Academy, Naruto had a fierce desire for attention. As a result, Naruto would prank the villagers and vandalize the monument that depicted the Hokages,[7] Naruto's skill in ninjutsu was very limited at the beginning of the series, his most dangerous jutsu being his "Sexy Technique"; transforming himself into a naked female version of himself simply to stun his male instructors,[8] even stunning the Third Hokage on several occasions.[9] Naruto is determined to achieve the rank of Hokage for recognition.[10] When he graduates and learns under an official ninja master, he becomes the "Number One Loudest, Unpredictable, Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja" of Konoha, as described by his teacher Kakashi Hatake.[11]
Naruto's exuberant personality and fiery desire for self-improvement strongly impacts the lives of those around him. At the beginning of the series, Naruto befriends Konohamaru, the grandson of the Third Hokage, and it is through his brief tutelage that Konohamaru learns that the path to success is through hard work.[12] Despite his brash, headstrong, and even slightly dumb nature, Naruto is a clever prankster who overcomes his opponents through a combination of willpower, clever diversions, and often, dumb luck (though as Kakashi states, luck is very important).
Naruto has a great sense of humor, albeit somewhat perverted in some cases, and smiles and laughs at most times. Despite this at times, he smiles to hide whatever is bothering him so no one worries about him; those who are closest to him see right through it. Outside his world, he's just an ordinary, loud, hotheaded kid with a fierce will and a knack for getting into trouble. Naruto also has a less keen sense of etiquette than many of his peers do, typically saying what he means regardless of how he believes the listener will react to it, and rarely using honorifics for people. While most people call Tsunade "Tsunade-sama", ("Lady Tsunade" in the English dub) he refers to her as "Tsunade-baachan", ("Granny Tsunade", or "Grandma Tsunade" in the English dub), taking a jab at her age.
One of Naruto's hobbies is gardening, even though Naruto was beaten in episode 20 for not knowing the difference between weeds and herbs, though this may have been due to carelessness in his effort to outdo Sasuke Uchiha. He is the one who gives Kakashi Mr. Ukki, the plant seen on Kakashi's windowsill.[13] Kishimoto once described how he had the same plant for a while until he fed it undiluted plant food.[14]
In the Japanese versions, Naruto often ends his sentences with "dattebayo," and as such has a unique style of speech. In manga and anime, characters are frequently given speech quirks (rather than pure dialect/speech variations) in order to make them sound childish, girlish, tough, cute, and the like. The "-ttebayo" suffix is used to emphasize something the speaker already said, primarily as an attention-getting device among children. Throughout the beginning of the series, Viz replaced the ending with the phrase "Believe it!" to mirror the effect, as well as to match the character's lip movements, though they seem to have abandoned its use as of late.
Despite rapidly maturing throughout the series, Naruto retains a naive streak and a knack for childish accessories. For example, his pajamas always conține a comical black nightcap with eyes and teeth.[15] Naruto also keeps his money in a chubby, green-frog wallet he affectionately calls "Gama-chan".
Naruto is an avid eater with an appetite comparable to Choji Akimichi's. His favorite food, ramen, serves as a bond between Naruto and anyone who would treat him to it.[16] In several episodes, he can be seen devouring enormous servings of ramen in a variety of flavors. However, an opportunity to eat any sort of food usually leaves Naruto lying down and exclaiming, "Whew, I ate too much!" with an exaggerated pot belly.
Though Naruto is usually quite dense in most cases, which usually often results in Sakura Haruno hitting him, missing details that are obvious to the viewer and many other characters, he can actually be quite observant when he wants to be, or the subject interests. During their first meeting with Rock Lee, it is Naruto who points out to the rest of Team 7 that Lee's handwraps hide his battered and bruised knuckles, indicating Lee is the type of person who trains non-stop.[17]
Naruto's perpetual determination and refusal to back down has been known to rub onto other characters from time to time. Naruto's cheering has rekindled spirits of fighters in hopeless situations, most notably Hinata Hyuga, whose admiration for Naruto's persistence causes her to develop a crush on him. Naruto's willingness to risk death to save his friends has even carried onto Gaara, a previously impulsively murderous child who also is host to a demon. Under Naruto's positive influence, Gaara has become more aware of lives other than his own, to the point that he would sacrifice himself for his village. Naruto's numerous monologues about the values he holds dear have inspired changes of heart in many more of his opponents, notably Zabuza Momochi and Neji Hyuga.
Although Naruto grew up in isolation, Kakashi notes that he has an ability to make friends with everyone he meets, and often quickly changes how they view him. While Kurenai Yuhi thinks that Naruto has no chance to defeat her student Kiba Inuzuka in the Chunin exam preliminaries, her opinion of him gradually changes as Naruto withstands Kiba's attacks and outwits him, and Kurenai finally admits to herself that Kiba should not be ashamed of losing to Naruto.[18] This ability to find friends sets Naruto apart from others who had lived in isolation, and Naruto suspects that without this ability, he would have become like some of the evil people he faced.
In Naruto: Shippūden, 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 Konoha 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, Kakashi admits that Naruto has surpassed himself
Sakura Haruno
At the series' start, one of Sakura's notable characteristics is her infatuation with Sasuke Uchiha. Initially 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. She grows more worried when Sasuke achieved the Curse Seal form. Sakura also worries about the seal's potential to draw him away from Konoha. 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 was so desperate that she was willing to go with him on his twisted journey. Sasuke, however, gives her a simple "thank you" before knocking her out.
Although it is unknown what her feelings for Sasuke are now, Sakura still wishes for Sasuke's return to Konoha. As such, during their reunion after the timeskip, she willingly attacks Sasuke to make this task easier and to protect others from his attacks. Despite this new mentality in regard to Sasuke, Sakura still worries about his well-being. Regardless of her conflicting approaches to Sasuke, Sakura is still unwilling to let anyone speak ill of him and readily beats anyone who badmouths him in an instant.
Sakura's opinion of Naruto is also one of her earliest personality traits. In Naruto's case, however, Sakura initially sees him to be a talentless idiot whose goal in life is to annoy her endlessly. While she continues to call him an "idiot" from time to time, Sakura abandons many of her convictions about Naruto as the two spend more time together. During each of his battles Naruto proves able to use numerous complicated jutsu in many ingenious ways, causing Sakura to value him as a teammate more with each passing mission. She even begins to find herself envious of Naruto's iute progression but it also encourages her to do better as well. When Sasuke left Konoha, Sakura, unable to join the retrieval team, asked for Naruto to bring him back, believing Naruto to be the only person capable of getting through to Sasuke. Naruto promised that he will bring Sasuke back and made it his "promise of a lifetime". It is with this that Sakura realized Naruto's feelings for her as she cried for him when he is left in the hospital after his failed attempt in retrieving Sasuke. While Naruto still maintains that he will bring Sasuke back someday, Sakura resolves that next time they will bring him to Konoha together.
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 she wishes to prevent him from being captured by the Akatsuki. 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. Yamato observed Sakura's determination to help Naruto in any way she could and was about to explain what kind of feelings those were but Naruto woke up before anything significant could be said. Sakura is generally more accepting of Naruto's personality traits and is much more capable of working well with him, as Kakashi commented. She was also observed by Sai and Yamato, who commented on the close relationship between Naruto and herself and how gentle she can be with him at times. However, she draws the line at his growing perversion, although she can be just as perverted at times.
Independent of her feelings for her teammates, Sakura's holding of herself sees a change during Part I. While she does not realize it at the time, Sakura's initial role is guarding Team 7's object of interest while Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi fight off any hostile forces. It is not until the second phase of the Chunin Exams that Sakura realizes how unfavorable this role is, as she is the sole protector of her defeated teammates during an attack by the Sound Genin. Although she attempts to fend them off with a series of preset traps, her efforts prove futile against the Genin team and Kin Tsuchi is able to grab Sakura by the hair and immobilize her. As Kin condescends her for putting more effort into her appearance than her ninja abilities, Sakura becomes distraught that people are always fighting for her because she can't fight for herself. Deciding to change this, Sakura cuts her hair with a kunai to free herself from Kin's grasp and does all in her power to battle the Sound Genin, buying enough time for reinforcements to arrive. This new resolve remains constant throughout the rest of the series, as Sakura readily comes to the aid of a teammate in need of protecting.
Within Sakura resides an "Inner Sakura", a manifestation of her inner emotions that, aside from comic relief, serves as a representation of Sakura's actual opinion on things when she outwardly displays something opposite. Inner Sakura's appearances are typically marked by an exclamation of "Shānnarō" (しゃーんなろー). The phrase has no literal meaning, but is usually translated as "hell yeah", "hell no", or "damn it" depending on the situation. VIZ replaced the phrase with "Cha!" in the English anime, similar to what they did with Naruto's "dattebayo" to "Believe it!". Inner Sakura's appearances are fairly infrequent, her last appearance being Sakura's fight during the Chunin Exams (where it is implied that Inner Sakura may be similar to a separate entity in Sakura's mind). Inner Sakura briefly resurfaces later on during one of the anime's filler arcs, in which she fears that she is less observant than even Naruto is, and again at the start of Part II. This large gap between appearances is likely due to Sakura becoming more comfortable with herself, and no longer having what she says contrast how she actually feels.
Sasuke Uchiha
At the start of the series, Sasuke's desire to get stronger is the dominating factor in his interactions with others and takes precedence over all else. As such he is initially unconcerned with the concepts of socializing, be it with his teammates or the many girls in his age group vying for his affection. Likewise, Sasuke is uninterested in working with Naruto or Sakura for the good of the mission, believing himself to be much more talented and that working with them will only make him weaker. Soon after the three set out on missions together, however, Sasuke begins to discover that these perceptions are inaccurate; Sakura is a valuable source of information, and Naruto is an effective ally and incentive to get stronger. As a result of these revelations, Sasuke begins to value his teammates more than he did during their first meeting. While he tries to deny this, his willingness to risk his life to help them even if it could mean never getting a chance to kill Itachi slowly begins to manifest, although this is partly influenced by Sasuke's belief that if he cannot fight in [this] battle, he will never be strong enough to face Itachi. In Shonen Jump's June 2006 edition, Masashi Kishimoto (in Kakashi's voice) remarks that while Sasuke is a genius, he is a little dull to teach because he learns techniques easily compared to the less predictable Naruto.
During the second phase of the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru notices this change in Sasuke's ideals, witnessing first hand Sasuke's valuing of his teammates' safety over his own. Having need for Sasuke's craving for revenge, Orochimaru brands Sasuke with the Cursed Seal of Heaven to give him a taste of the power he can have and steer him back towards the more "favorable" path of vengeance. Although Kakashi does what he can to weaken the cursed seal, discourage its usage, and give Sasuke other means of getting stronger, Sasuke comes to realize the potential the seal allows him. To test his newfound power, Sasuke begins to seek out strong opponents that he can fight, believing each victory he obtains to be an indicator of his growth. As time goes by, however, Sasuke becomes dissatisfied with the progress he is making in getting stronger, largely a result of his quick defeat by Itachi during their brief encounter. All the while, Naruto, someone he finds to be of lesser skill, continues to surpass him in ability, creating a sense of envy within Sasuke.
Ultimately, Sasuke decides to abandon Konoha in order to seek out Orochimaru and gain power. Naruto, sent to stop Sasuke from escaping the country, eventually catches up with him and pleads for him to return. Sasuke, believing Naruto to be his closest friend, decides instead to use the last bit of advice Itachi ever gave him: in order to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan, the highest power of the Uchiha clan, one's best friend must be killed. No longer valuing his teammates over his own self-betterment, Sasuke tries to kill Naruto and meets him in battle. Naruto, unwilling to let Sasuke go, fights with equal earnest, now willing to break Sasuke's body to bring him home. As the battle concludes, Sasuke attacks Naruto with his Chidori first while Naruto cannot make full contact with his Rasengan and merely scratches Sasuke's headband (in reference to Sasuke's claim that he couldn't scratch his forehead). As Naruto lies unconscious, Sasuke considers killing him, though upon realizing that that is what Itachi would want, decides to spare Naruto to find power in his own way. He goes to Orochimaru, ready to do whatever is necessary to gain the power he desires.
In Part II, 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
Kakashi Hatake
Obito's death profoundly changed Kakashi, and Kakashi adopted many of Obito's traits. One such trait was Obito's concept of teamwork, which is most clearly seen in the way Kakashi tests newly-graduated students hoping to become a squad under him. He uses the bell test to test his students, which requires the three students to get the two bells he keeps on his person. Only those who get a bell get to pass, which would be difficult even with teamwork, as at least one ninja would fail regardless. However, the rule is only a ruse; the point of the test is to foster teamwork and to teach the students that teamwork is more important than the rules. Team 7 is the only team to realize this, and as such becomes the only team Kakashi passes into Genin-status. Kakashi also inherits Obito's chronic tardiness, due primarily to losing track of time during his frequent visits to Konoha's memorial site, where Obito's name is engraved. Ironically, this very habit is one that Kakashi was often annoyed at Obito about. Obito was supposedly late due to random good deeds.
Despite these changes, some of Kakashi's previous personality remains. He is fairly dispassionate compared to his subordinates and fellow Jonin, almost never showing emotion. He often says things that sound harsh but mean well, such as suggesting that Rock Lee brought his career-ending injuries on himself by using forbidden taijutsu techniques. While Kakashi is willing to help his students, he remains somewhat aloof and unwilling to let anyone get too close to him, noting that he no longer has anyone important to him.
Kakashi's personal life appears to be as much of a mystery as the face behind the mask he has worn for most of his ninja career. He has no living family, or at least none he cares to acknowledge, and he's confirmed that everyone he loves is already dead. He is immediately recognizable as the son of (or mistaken for) his father, the "White Fang of Konoha" (木ノ葉の白い牙, Konoha no Shiroi Kiba?). Though his face has never been seen, episode 101, which is devoted to Team 7 trying to remove their sensei's mask, implies that he is in fact quite handsome. He takes off his mask in front of Team 7 only to reveal another mask, suggesting that his face, like much of the rest of his personality, is something he does not readily share.
Kakashi has an ongoing, albeit slightly one-sided, rivalry with Might Guy, with Guy constantly proclaiming that Kakashi is his rival, and considering his and Kakashi's subordinates rivals. Kakashi, however, seems indifferent to their rivalry, which annoys Guy to no end. Guy randomly challenges Kakashi to contests of skill, and Kakashi has acquired a record of 49 wins and 50 losses in doing so. Given that the contests that make up this figure are so varied (ranging from Rock, Paper, Scissors to sumo-wrestling), this is not much of an achievement on Guy's part. Nevertheless, Guy is proud of his record.
Though he evasively says that he has "many hobbies" when asked about himself, he is commonly seen reading "Icha Icha Paradise" (イチャイチャパラダイス, Icha Icha Paradaisu?, literally "Come Come Paradise", English "Make-Out Paradise"), an adult and probably pornographic novel authored by Jiraiya that is a runaway bestseller in the Naruto world. Kakashi most prominently reads it while training and speaking with his team, and is later seen reading the second known volume in the series, "Icha Icha Violence" (イチャイチャバイオレンス, Icha Icha Baiorensu?, literally "Come Come Violence", English "Make Out Violence"). In Part II Naruto gives him the new "Icha Icha Tactics" (イチャイチャタクティクス, Icha Icha Takutikusu?, literally "Come Come Tactics", English "Make Out Tactics"), which, during their second bell test, Naruto manages to use against him by attempting to spoil the ending. Thus distracted, he is unable to stop Naruto and Sakura from taking the bells.
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Shikamaru Nara
Shikamaru 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" (めんどくせぇ, mendokusē?, English TV "what a drag"). He is fully aware of this side of his personality, even dubbing himself "the number one at running away".
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, 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, most 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.
Chouji Akimichi
Choji Akimichi (秋道チョウジ, Akimichi Chōji?) is a childhood friend of Shikamaru Nara. When his fellow peers would keep Choji from playing with them because of his size, Shikamaru stuck up for him and spent time with him instead of playing with the others. 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 who he would do anything for. Choji is characterized by his love for food, his favorite being Korean barbecue, general snacks and sweets, and basically anything that is edible. His nigh-constant hunger is a constant annoyance for his teammates, as sating himself often comes before other necessities such as stealth and teamwork. Despite his eating habits 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. In Part II he starts to look more muscular than obese, causing him to look like he always claimed he did: big-boned. Also in Part II, his attire is more like his father's red armor. 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 (肉弾戦車, Nikudan Sensha?, Viz "Human Juggernaut", English TV "Human Boulder Jutsu") to tuck his limbs inside his increased mass and roll at opponents at rapid speeds. Choji sees a number of advancements in Part II; the Multi-Size Technique, while still increasing his size, no longer makes him round. This more manageable form gives him better maneuverability, as he can now fight as he normally would only with the added bonus of his increased size. 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.
ino Yamanaka
Ino Yamanaka (山中いの, Yamanaka Ino?) is a childhood friend of Sakura Haruno who was bullied due to her large forehead, ending when Ino befriended her. She acted like a mentor, being tougher and more confident. Under her influence, Sakura began to develope her own identity. Though close to Ino, Sakura could not help but feel she was in her shadow and upon learning they liked the same boy, ended their friendship so that they could compete for his affection, beginning a bitter rivalry. Ino shed her tomboyish look in retaliation and was more open about her feelings towards Sasuke. The rivalry stays till the Chunin Exam. Nevertheless, they have a competitive relationship. She became somewhat superficial, thinking highly of her looks and has no problem telling people what she thinks, no matter how hurtful, such as telling Choji that he should focus more on his appearance because girls dislike overweight boys. On the surface of things, both of her teammates fit the profiles of people she wouldn't associate with because of her apparent shallowness, but she actually cares deeply for their well-beings and maintains a strong bond with them. It should be noted that while Ino is portrayed as shallow she came to Sakura's aid in the Forest of Death despite their fued. She cares very much about her friends, showing deep loyalty.
As a member of the Yamanaka clan, Ino works in her family's flower shop and has become particularly talented in ikebana. She has been noted to be sharp upon occasion, such as noticing Asuma's affection for Kurenai or using chakra cleverly. The anime's filler arcs show that she's been able to find other uses for her time in the shop and can tell a person's profession by simply glancing at the condition of their hands. Being a Yamanaka has also shaped the mind-altering jutsu she uses. With the Mind Body Switch Technique, Ino can transfer to another's body and use it for a time. The anime explains her farmaceutic abilities. During the final filler arc, Ino finds herself of no use to her teammates and becomes awed of Sakura's skills. As such, Ino becomes Tsunade's second apprentice, hoping to be more useful to her friends. The anime has also shown that Ino has developed her own inner-self named "Inner Ino". She, along with team 10 plus Kakashi, aids in the dispersion of two of Akatsuki's members.
Kiba Inuzuka
Kiba Inuzuka (犬塚キバ, Inuzuka Kiba?) is characterized by his almost symbiotic relationship with his dog Akamaru, as the two are always seen together. Kiba is extremely devoted to Akamaru, and he is more than willing to risk his own life if it means saving Akamaru's. Kiba has acquired a few dog-like qualities from the time he has spent with Akamaru, such as being able to understand Akamaru's barking and disliking any food that he can't chew on. He is also very loyal, and despite often being overconfident, he cares deeply for his teammates' well-beings. This is most evident in his attempts to remove his teammates from harm's way as well as his constant attempts to avoid hampering his teammates' progress.
Akamaru also acts as a valuable ally in battle, joining Kiba in attacking opponents and using his heightened senses to help Kiba find things. Because Akamaru is naturally better equipped for combat, Kiba typically starts a battle by using Four Legs Technique (四脚の術, Shikyaku no Jutsu?, English TV "All-Fours Jutsu") to make himself more animalistic. Predominately, this jutsu increases his speed and strength, lengthens his nails to claw-like quality, and, as the name suggests, causes him to travel using his arms and legs. Kiba also can gather chakra to his nose to exponentially increase his sense of smell, allowing him to pick up on the faintest of scents. In Part II he becomes so proficient with this sense of smell that he can track things down that actual dogs cannot. Once Kiba and Akamaru are on an even footing the two combine efforts to perform spinning taijutsu attacks that inflict numeroase wounds to opponents. They often join together in transformation as well, such as using Man Beast Combination Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf (人獣混合変化・双頭狼, Jinjū Konbi Henge: Sōtōrō?) to transform themselves into a single, large, two-headed wolf that can attack others with blinding force and speed. Because Akamaru lacks his own chakra reserves, Kiba must provide the chakra necessary for these transformations.
Shino Aburame
Shino Aburame (油女シノ, Aburame Shino?) is a rarely seen character who has a fascination with bugs; most of his spare time is spent watching bugs and he often makes analogies to bugs when talking. 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. These odd traits have caused people to identify Shino as "creepy" or "weird", and they tend to dislike being in his company. Despite his odd personality, Shino has a very strong sense of connection with his teammates and allies, first seen when he regrets being unavailable and therefore unable to help with retrieving Sasuke Uchiha. From that point further he resolves to work on his teamwork skills, even helping Hinata Hyuga to improve her abilities, and providing her with encouragement. The fruits of his efforts are seen throughout the filler arcs where Shino is able to carry out a mission successfully while keeping others safe. He also proves to be able to understand his teammates' inner workings, as he can sense when the slightest of things is wrong with either of them.
In battle, Shino takes great use of his intelligence, being able to use his analytical and observational skills to make shrewd judgments with pinpoint reasoning. Like Shikamaru Nara, Shino prevails in battles by systematically staying steps ahead of the enemy. Because of this, Shino is fairly confident in his abilities and that he will win a battle, and tends to try to communicate this to an opponent for their own well-being. Still, Shino enjoys fighting and dislikes being denied a chance to battle a skilled opponent. As a member of the Aburame clan, Shino was infused at birth with a special breed of insects that feed on chakra. In return for becoming a living hive, the insects attack opponents, usually while Shino distracts them, and carry out other tasks as he commands. Shino has found a number of uses for these bugs, and as such has devised a number of jutsu that utilize them for varying purposes, such as creating copies of himself or using bugs for defensive purposes.
Hinata Hyuga
Hinata Hyuga (日向ヒナタ, Hyūga Hinata?) is the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan's main branch. She was trained by her father, Hiashi Hyuga, to become the clan's heiress, though in time he came to deem her a lost cause. Throughout her early time in Team 8, Hinata's lack of self-confidence and unwillingness to fight hamper her abilities. Although she trains to improve her skills, she immediately gives up when faced with competition and fails every mission she is 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. Although Neji easily outmatches her and taunts her for the battle's duration, Hinata perseveres in an attempt to prove her own worth, even turning one of his own insults against him. After recovering from the wounds she receives, Hinata continues training to improve herself. Her efforts eventually allow her to acquire a better relationship with her father, who encourages her to continue working on improving herself.
Hinata has a long-standing crush on Naruto Uzumaki, 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 she feels she lacks. Despite her rather obvious feelings, Hinata has yet to openly admit that she likes Naruto, though some characters have been shown to be aware of it. In a similar fashion, Naruto has remained completely oblivious to Hinata's feelings, though he has come to enjoy her company more than he once did. Hinata tends to break out of her timid mold when around Naruto, such as going out of her way to help him or putting more effort into something because he is nearby. She also becomes more assertive on Naruto's behalf, and doesn't hesitate to defend him, even to himself. Naruto also acts as a key component in her quest to better herself, as she trains so that that she can be like him and impress him at the same time. In the anime, her training eventually results in her creation of Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms (守護八卦六十四掌, Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō?), which combines some of the Hyuga clan's most powerful techniques. With it Hinata creates blades of chakra that she can use to hit any target in her field of vision. Due to the speed at which these blades move as well as the amount of control she has over them, Hinata can use this technique to attack and defend simultaneously. Hinata is able to use other variations of the attack, such as creating arc shaped blades to făcute a barrier around herself, creating a dome of chakra to protect herself and anyone else in it, and can rapidly spin to blow away attacks.
Rock Lee
Lee is known for speaking respectfully to others and never using contractions. He also uses formal Japanese, applying proper titles ("-san", "-kun", etc.) to anyone he meets. His relationship with Guy has also caused him to acquire many of Guy's traits. Lee's green jumpsuit and shiny bowl haircut, having already had Guy's distinctive thick eyebrows (leading to the nickname of "Bushy Brow"), are direct results of his modeling himself in his sensei's image. In Part II he even begins wearing a tactical vest like Guy, the only difference being that Guy leaves his unzipped. Guy's influence has also caused the reshaping of Lee's personality, and his dedication to his promises as well as his belief that one cannot dislike food are also characteristics of Guy.
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 and respects his opponents, 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.
Lee's attempts to prove and better himself are recurring themes for his actions throughout the series. He is generally optimistic and believes that with hard work and passion, he can surpass natural genius, but can be prone to depression when faced with setbacks. His drive to succeed is initially most evident with his rivalry with Neji Hyuga, having learned from Guy that having a rival will provide incentive to succeed. Neji, a "genius," finds Lee's efforts of bettering himself to be in vain, believing Lee to be stuck as a "failure" for the rest of his life. As such, Lee resolves to prove Neji wrong, and confronts another "genius," Sasuke Uchiha in an attempt to test his worth. While Lee maintains the desire to defeat Neji in a fight throughout the Chunin Exams, after Neji's eventual defeat by Naruto Uzumaki, another "failure", he seems less interested in this goal. Neji's rejection of his previous belief in fate may also have contributed to this, as he now respects Lee, believing that he will surpass the gifted with enough work, and that he would have given up if he were in Lee's situation.
During his battle with Gaara during the Chunin Exams, Lee's attempts to prove himself have terrible consequences for him. Gaara's abilities render Lee's attempts to damage him futile, and Lee's attempts at using his more powerful techniques to defeat Gaara leave his body broken. After Gaara's attacks further damage his body, crushing his left arm and leg, Lee is left injured so badly that he can no longer pursue life as a ninja. Despite this, Lee would often sneak out of his hospital room in attempts to train. When Tsunade offers him an operation that carries a fifty percent chance of returning him to his former state, and a fifty percent chance of killing him, Lee is hesitant to accept the operation. While he can't stand the thought of not living as a ninja, he is scared by the possibility that he will die before he can fully prove himself. Through Guy's encouragement and words of dedication to him, Lee goes through with the operation and survives, causing his resolve to get stronger to only increase.
Shortly after his introduction, Lee reveals that he likes Sakura Haruno, asking her to be his girlfriend and vowing to protect her immediately after they meet. While she does not seem to share these feelings for him and considers him weird, Lee maintains these feelings throughout the Chunin Exams. At one point, he distracts himself from looking for resting Genin groups with a task of catching falling leaves, the success of which would 'prove' Sakura loves him. He purposely abandons this in order to save the life of an endangered squirrel, leading him to find Sakura, also endangered. He comes to her rescue, against three to one odds and uses forbidden techniques in an attempt to protect her, considering her someone dear to him. Sakura becomes more appreciative after this, punching Naruto whenever he insults Lee. Despite this, she does not seem to have any feelings for him, as she refers to him by the more formal "Lee-san", as opposed to "Lee-kun". The only apparent return of his feelings is when she brings him a bouquet of flowers while he is in the hospital to wish him well, catching him when he trips and falls in reaching for them, and in her gentle wishes and telling him that if he ever needs anything all he has to do is ask, which moves him nearly to the point of tears. After the Exams' conclusion, Lee's interest in Sakura goes largely unaddressed. Despite this, when Naruto fights Lee in the Lee's Dojo arc, he transforms into Sakura, causing Lee to forget about the fight long enough for Naruto to attack him, and in Part II, he is especially pleased that Sakura is doing well against Sasori.
Neji Hyuuga
While under the belief that his father died because he was a member of the branch house, Neji concludes that fate is something decided at birth and that no matter what one does, people cannot escape their destiny. Neji often applies this to people he views as weaker than he is, particularly his teammate Lee and his cousin Hinata Hyuga. He dismisses Lee's dream of becoming a great ninja despite his inability to mold chakra as hopeless, and suggests that Lee can never defeat him.
During his match in the Chunin Exams, he tells Hinata that she is unfit to be a ninja due to being too kind and not confident enough. While Hinata is brought to tears by this suggestion, she is eventually able to turn his philosophy against him, telling him that she believes that he is suffering from trying to become worthy of the main house despite his being born into the branch family. Neji is enraged by this and attempts to attack Hinata, but is stopped before he can land a blow that would have almost certainly killed her. While Hinata is left near death after the battle, Neji's only concern is that he could not complete his attack. He disregards Hinata's personal growth in the match, concluding that because she was defeated, "a failure will always be a failure."
Neji displays similar efforts to condescend others during his match with Naruto Uzumaki who, despite being repeatedly struck down, continues to try and fight him. While Neji tries to show Naruto that fate cannot be fought and that someone who is weak will always remain weak, Naruto is unwilling to accept this mindset, arguing that Neji, for all his belief in fate, has not accepted his own destiny. Naruto taps into the power of the demon fox sealed within him and fights Neji, regaining his access to his chakra. Using a shadow clone to feign defeat, Naruto surprises Neji and knocks him to the ground with an uppercut. Neji lectures himself for falling for Naruto's signature jutsu, but Naruto tells him that creating even regular clones was once his worst technique, but he was able to master an even higher level of cloning by practicing. Neji was told by Naruto that if a "failure" like him was able to change his destiny, he could do so as well.
Tenten, Lee, and Neji in Part IIWith this example of overcoming "destiny" as well as finding out the truth about his father's death soon afterwards, Neji abandons the concept of inescapable fate. No longer bound by the idea that he is stuck at his current status, Neji resolves to become strong enough to never again lose a battle. To do so he begins putting more emphasis on working well with his team, and starts to value a mission's successful completion and his teammates' safety over his own betterment. 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 is glad Naruto was able to influence him to change.
Tenten
Tenten (テンテン, Tenten?) is the least seen member of the primary Konoha 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.
Tenten specializes in weaponry, and according to Guy she can hit a bullseye 100 out of 100 times, although her more powerful enemies can often block her attacks. Tenten's accuracy seems to have allowed her extra benefits, as the anime's Konoha 11 arc shows her to be a keen observer that can pick up on facts others overlook. In battle she summons varying types of weapons from the scrolls she carries with her. In Part I she has many scrolls that serve this purpose, but in Part II she has consolidated her arsenal into a single large scroll. The weapons predominately consist of steel projectiles and an assortment of close-combat weapons, though she is seen using a crossbow in the anime and even a spiked bomb in Part II. Tenten's most powerful technique is Twin Rising Dragons (双昇龍, Sōshōryū?, English TV "Rising Twin Dragons"), which rapidly summons dozens of weapons that she can throw at opponents in quick succession. She frequently uses this ability to help Neji train with his Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin.
Asuma Sarutobi
Asuma Sarutobi (猿飛アスマ, Sarutobi Asuma?) is the son of the Third Hokage and the leader of Team 10. After having a falling out with his father during his younger years Asuma left Konoha to pursue his personal interests. Prior to returning to Konoha to resume active military duty, he accumulated a bounty of 35 million ryō, something he seems to be particularly proud of. Once getting back he begins 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. After the creation of Team 8 Asuma begins to spend much of his free time playing Shogi or Go with Shikamaru Nara, though Asuma has never been able to beat Shikamaru.
Asuma is 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. His use of cigarettes is further mirrored with his Fire Release: Ash Product Burning (火遁・灰積焼, Katon: Haisekishō?), which creates a lingering cloud of superheated ash capable of causing third-degree burns. Asuma's primary weapon in battle are his 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 (飛燕, Hien?), he can extend the blades with his chakra to injure an enemy several feet out of the physical blade's range. Asuma's abilities are of no avail during his battle with Hidan, who is able to cause any damage to him to be transferred to Asuma. After Hidan fatally injures himself, doing the same to Asuma, Ino Yamanaka tries to heal his wounds. Knowing he can't be healed, Asuma leaves his young students some parting words before dying.
Kurenai Yuhi
Kurenai Yuhi (夕日紅, Yūhi Kurenai?) is the leader of Team 8. 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 Hyuga. 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. Despite this, the two deny being an item and try to write off the amount of time they spend together, though numerous characters suspect otherwise. In Part II the revelation that Kurenai is pregnant with Asuma's child makes their relationship clear. Kurenai specializes in genjutsu, and as seen in the anime is very proficient with it. Through the use of Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death (魔幻・樹縛殺, Magen: Jubaku Satsu?), Kurenai can disappear and sneak up on an opponent unnoticed. Once she has done so she creates the illusion of a 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.
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[~]Some day I’ll show you a shining world[~] |
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