Naruto Uzumaki (うずまきナルト, Uzumaki Naruto) is the main character in the anime and manga series Naruto.
Naruto can mean "maelstrom", and is also the name for a sliced stick of Kamaboko with a pink whirlpool design in the middle that is used as a topping for Ramen which is also Naruto's favorite food. The surname Uzumaki is a pun on "spiral" (渦巻), while Uzumaki refers to a three-dimensional spiral, like a whirlpool or vortex. A more accurate translation for spiral would be "Rasen". The Konoha leaf symbol is drawn with an arrow attached to a spiral, part of the seal on his abdomen is a spiral, the symbol on the back of his jacket and shoulders is a spiral, and one of his attacks is Rasengan, which means "Spiraling Sphere".Uzumaki can also mean "whirlpool", in reference to the Naruto whirlpool (鳴門の渦潮), named after the city of Naruto. An interesting fact is that his mother is from the Whirlpool Country.
Naruto's definitive characteristic in battle is his immense amount of chakra. While naturally having a significant amount of chakra on his own, he can summon a gargantuan amount given to him by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.
October 10, Naruto's birthday, was Health and Sports Day ("Taiiku no hi") in Japan when his character was conceived. The holiday, however, was moved to the second Monday of October in 1999.
Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of the manga series, stated in a recent interview with the U.S. Shonen Jump that his childhood was like that of Naruto's years while he was enrolled in the Academy.
Naruto consistently ranked in the top two (taking first place twice) in the first five official Shonen Jump character popularity polls. However, in the sixth character poll, he was ranked fourth.
BACKGROUND
Naruto was born on October 10th to Minato Namikaze the Fourth Hokage, andKushina Uzumaki, a kunoichi from the former Whirlpool Country, and was named after the lead character in Jiraiya's book. As a newborn infant, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, which had attacked the village of Konohagakure, was sealed within Naruto's body by his father.
Despite Minato's wish that Naruto be seen as a hero rather than a container of the demon fox, the villagers of Konoha harbored a fierce hatred for the young child, since he bore the demon fox who decimated their once peaceful village. Naruto wasn't even aware of the presence of the demonic entity inside him until he was twelve years old, leaving him confused for most of his childhood about why the villagers of Konoha hated him so much.
Fortunately, Naruto was befriended by his compassionate ninja instructor, aChunin named Iruka Umino. Though Iruka's own parents perished at the hands of the demon fox, Iruka didn't blame Naruto for their deaths. Instead, Iruka accepted Naruto and empathized with the boy's desire to be accepted, since he too once had the same desire. He may have been the first person to believe in Naruto, and has made a lasting impact on Naruto himself. It is through Iruka's presence as Naruto's only family figure that Naruto learns to overcome his sadness.
PERSONALITY
Before graduating from the Academy, Naruto had a craving for acknowledgment. He would play pranks all around the village in an attempt to be recognized by its inhabitants. This included, but was not limited to, painting graffiti on the monument depicting the first four Hokages, and transforming himself into a naked female version of himself to annoy his instructors. He would also tell everyone who doubted him on a near-constant basis that he would one day become Hokage. As he tells Iruka, he wishes to achieve this rank in order to be recognized by those around him, and to have the responsibility of defending them. Even after graduating, Naruto is still determined to be recognized, and becomes the "Number One Loudest, Unpredictable, Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja" of Konoha, as described by Kakashi Hatake.
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 plenty of hard work. 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 more-often-than-not dumb luck (though as Kakashi states, luck is very important).
Naruto has a great sense of humor, albeit somewhat perverted in some cases, and usually smiles and laughs all round (though 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.
One of Naruto's hobbies is gardening, even though Naruto was beaten in episode 20 for not knowing the difference between weeds and herbs. He is the one who gives Kakashi Mr. Ukki, the plant seen on Kakashi's windowsill (Kishimoto once described how he had the same plant for a while until he fed it undiluted plant food).
In the Japanese versions, Naruto often ends his sentences with "dattebayo," and as such has a unique style of speech. In Japanese, an ending with no literal meaning can be added to make the tone sound tougher, childish, girlish, or many other changes depending on the many existing endings. "-ttebayo," which is not a well-known ending, has no literal meaning and cannot be translated, but carries the connotations of the speaker being uncultured, brusque, and seeming tougher than they really are. In the English anime and video games, he often says "Believe it!" to fit with the mouth movements of "-ttebayo."
Despite rapidly maturing throughout the series, Naruto retains a naive streak and a knack for childish accessories. For example, his pajamas always include a comical black nightcap with eyes and teeth. 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 that of Choji Akimichi's. His favorite food, ramen, serves as a bond between Naruto and anyone who would treat him to it. In many 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.
Even though Naruto is usually quite dense in most cases, which often results inSakura or someone nearby hitting him, he can actually be quite observant when he wants to be, or the subject tweaks his interest. During their first meeting withRock Lee, it is Naruto who points out to the rest of Team 7 that Lee's hand wraps hide his battered and bruised knuckles, indicating Lee is the type of person who trains non-stop.
In Part II, and a two-and-a-half year time skip, Naruto shows physical growth, sports a new outfit, and appears to not only have increased in strength, speed, and techniques, but intelligence as well, Kakashi even said that Naruto has become very cunning. However, Naruto is still a Genin, since he hasn't had a chance to take the Chunin Exams again. According to Tsunade, Naruto is also slowly adopting some of Jiraiya's perverted traits. During his apprenticeship under Jiraiya, Naruto was able to read 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.
It seems Naruto's feelings for Sakura have matured. He still has a massive crush on Sakura, however, he is much more mature about it. They have a very easy time communicating with each other, despite the nearly three-year separation. They are capable of having a casual conversation together. They also now seem to like spending time together. Naruto is now noticeably taller than Sakura (in Part I, he is made fun of for being shorter than her), even Kiba states that Naruto has become a "giant"
Main article: Naruto Jinchūriki Forms As the host of the demon fox, both Naruto's body and occasionally his mind are influenced by it. Physically, Naruto has some of the demon fox's characteristics, such as whisker-like marks on his cheeks and larger than normal canines. His eyes are also somewhat slitted like a fox. He also has increased stamina and healing ability, which allows him to recover from major injuries within a day and minor injuries within a few seconds. Mentally, Naruto remains largely unaffected, save for a few animalistic traits that slip through, such as his occasional tendency to leap between trees on all fours. Since the demon fox was sealed inside Naruto at birth, it is unclear just what parts of his personality it has had an effect on; however, it could explain Naruto's devilish side for pulling pranks to gain attention, as well as his stubbornness to never back down from a challenge. These traits become more pronounced as he draws upon the demon fox's chakra.
Naruto's normal chakra level is considered extremely high, partially because of the demon fox. Even without directly drawing upon it, a small amount of the demon fox's chakra is always mixed with his own. His body instinctively rejects the bulk of it due to the damage it would cause. Ebisu implies that Naruto's poor chakra control stems from this, as a portion of his chakra is used to reject the demon fox's overwhelming chakra. According to Kakashi, Naruto's regular chakra level is about double that of Kakashi's own. As such, he is naturally suited to jutsu that use a large amount of chakra, such as his signature jutsu: Shadow Clone Technique. While most ninja are only capable of creating a few clones safely, due to the jutsu's hazard of equally dividing the user's chakra among the clones, Naruto is able to create upwards of two thousand while maintaining a decent supply of chakra in each one.
The demon fox's chakra usually comes to Naruto during life threatening or other stressful situations, given to him by the demon fox itself to ensure its survival. Naruto eventually learns to contact the demon fox and demand some of its chakra, which it seems to comply to out of amusement. The reason Naruto is able to access its chakra is because of the unique way in which it was sealed. Though the demon fox remains trapped within Naruto, its chakra can leak out through the seal and mix with Naruto's. The demon fox's near-limitless supply of chakra becomes an invaluable weapon for Naruto, often turning the tide of a difficult battle in his favor. The demon fox's chakra increases every aspect of Naruto's physiology, making him a nearly unstoppable force. His speed and strength increase far beyond that of any normal human, and even beyond that of most ninja. It also increases his healing rate, allowing him to regenerate even major wounds in a few seconds. His stamina is also increased beyond its normal level, allowing him to fight without tiring. Finally, if the chakra shield is summoned, it is capable of acting on its own as a separate entity, making it difficult to predict Naruto's movements. Naruto can usually suppress the demon fox's chakra by himself before his tailed transformations begin surfacing. Beyond that, the demon fox's chakra seems to increase in intensity with time. Several external methods can be used to suppress it once this occurs, such as Jiraiya's sealing talisman orYamato's sealing techniques.
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