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.
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 Villagegakure, 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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 Villagegakure. 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.
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.
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.
Yoroi Akado
is a part of the three-man team of ninja from Otogakure posing as ninja from the Hidden Leaf Villagegakure, 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
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
Zouri
is a personal hired mercenary of Gato. Gato ordered the partners Waraji and Zouri to grab Tazuna's daughter as a hostage. They were about to succeed but Naruto showed up and quickly defeated both of them.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Villagegakure 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.
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.
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.
Tonton
is Tsunade's pet pig, often kept in the care of Shizune. She does not speak in any human language, but still manages to get her point across by whining in her own unique tone � which in the original anime sounds like "buhi" (the sound made by pigs in Japanese culture, similar to the onomatopoeia "oink" in English, which is also used in the dub). It seems that Tsunade and Shizune are able to understand what Tonton is trying to say. Tonton's nose also seems adept at tracking things.
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 Villagegakure. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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."
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.
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 zanbat�, 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'�tat 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
