List of Naruto characters

The manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Masashi Kishimoto. The series takes place in a fictional universe where countries vie for power by employing ninja who can use special techniques and abilities in combat. The storyline is divided into two parts, simply named Part I and Part II, with the latter taking place two-and-a-half years after the conclusion of Part I. It is followed by the sequel series Boruto by Ukyō Kodachi, which continues where the epilogue of the first series left off. The series' storyline follows the adventures of a group of young ninja from the village of Konohagakure (Village Hidden in the Leaves).

The eponymous character of the first series is Naruto Uzumaki, an energetic ninja who wishes to become Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure and holds a demon fox called Nine-Tails sealed in his body. During the early part of the series, Naruto is assigned to Team 7, in which he meets his long-time rival/friend Sasuke Uchiha, a taciturn and highly skilled "genius" of the Uchiha clan; and Sakura Haruno, who is infatuated with Sasuke and has Naruto's attention and Kakashi Hatake, the quiet and mysterious leader of the team. Over the course of the series, seeking out Sasuke when he ran away from the village, Naruto interacts with and befriends several fellow ninja in Konohagakure and other villages. He also encounters the series' antagonists, including Orochimaru, a rogue ninja of Konohagakure scheming to destroy his former home, as well as the elite rogue ninja of the criminal organization Akatsuki who seek out Jinchuriki like Naruto and Gaara for the Tailed Beasts.

As Kishimoto developed the series, he created the three primary characters as a basis for the designs of the other three-person teams. He also used characters in other shōnen manga as references in his design of the characters, a decision that was criticized by several anime and manga publications. The characters that Kishimoto developed, however, were praised for incorporating many of the better aspects of previous shōnen characters, although many publications lamented the perceived lack of growth beyond such stereotypes. The visual presentation of the characters was commented on by reviewers, with both praise and criticism given to Kishimoto's work in the manga and anime adaptations.

The English manga published by VIZ Media uses the Japanese naming order, surname before given name, while other English adaptations use the Western order, that is surname after given name.

Creation and conception

When Masashi Kishimoto was originally creating the Naruto series, he looked to other shōnen manga for inspiration while still attempting to make his characters as unique as possible. To complement Naruto, Kishimoto worked on creating a rival that was a "cool genius", as he believed this was "the archetypal rival character". After reviewing different manga for ideas, he ultimately developed Sasuke Uchiha. When creating the primary heroine, Kishimoto admitted, "I don't have a definite image of what a heroine should be". He eventually created Sakura Haruno, emphasizing "her energy and flirtatious spirit" as her primary characteristics. These three characters would be the mold for the other three main Naruto teams.

Kishimoto inserted villains into the story to counteract the lead characters' moral values. He stated that this focus on illustrating the difference in values is central to his creation of villains to the point that, "I don't really think about them in combat". The villains' physical appearances were also embellished to differentiate them from other characters, making it easier for a reader to follow the story and identify the villains, even in heated battle scenes. Kishimoto noted that making the villains "flamboyant" with a "showy costume" is "one of my guiding principles", as well as making them "more memorable".

When drawing the characters, Kishimoto consistently follows a five-step process: concept and rough sketch, drafting, inking, shading, and coloring. These steps are followed when he is drawing the manga and making the color illustrations that commonly adorn the cover of , the cover of the Weekly Shōnen Jump, or other media, but the toolkit he uses occasionally changes. For instance, he used an airbrush for one illustration for a Weekly Shōnen Jump cover, but decided not to use it for future drawings largely due to the cleanup required.

Main characters

Naruto

The protagonists of the Naruto series are Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Kakashi Hatake, who form of Konohagakure. After Sasuke Uchiha's defection and Naruto's departure from Konohagakure at the end of Part I, the team disbands. During Part II, the team reforms as with two new members: Sai, who occupies Sasuke's position, and Yamato, who becomes the acting Captain. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Team 7 reunites to fight Madara Uchiha and then Kaguya Ōtsutsuki when she possesses the former. Once the War is over, Naruto and Sasuke have their final battle that allow them to resolve their issues with their group fully reunited soon after.

Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto Uzumaki (うずまき ナルト, Uzumaki Naruto) is the titular character and main protagonist of the Naruto franchise. He was the first character created by Kishimoto during the conception of the series and was designed with many traits from other shōnen characters. and by Maile Flanagan in English.

Sasuke Uchiha

is Naruto Uzumaki's main rival and best friend. He was designed by Kishimoto as a "cool genius" since he felt this was an integral part of an ideal rivalry. and the two developed a friendship In the Japanese anime, her voice actress is Chie Nakamura, and she is voiced by Kate Higgins in the English adaptation.

Kakashi Hatake

is the easygoing, tardy, smart leader of Team 7, consisting of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Kakashi had a dark past by suffering many significant losses which included Sakumo Hatake, his father who had committed suicide, Minato Namikaze, his mentor who sacrificed himself, Rin Nohara, who Kakashi accidentally killed, and Obito, who died during a rescue mission, although it was later revealed that he was still alive. Kakashi was a very vital key for Naruto's success, training him to be a great ninja. Kakashi succeeds Tsunade as the Sixth Hokage after the Fourth Great Ninja War have ended, with Naruto succeeding him as the Seventh Hokage years later. He is voiced by Kazuhiko Inoue in the Japanese anime, and by Dave Wittenberg in English.

Naruto Shippūden

Sai

is a ninja who joins Team Kakashi in Part II, carefully designed by Kishimoto to stand out as Sasuke's replacement by having the two look similar. A member of "The Foundation" since he was a child, Sai has been trained to not possess or desire any type of emotion or camaraderie, even after he killed his surrogate brother Shin under Danzo's diabolical orders. He consequently gives people labels based on their status, and his label of Sasuke as a traitor antagonizes Naruto and Sakura. After the two discover his past and warm up to him, however, he begins to crave bonds with other people, which becomes his primary goal in the series. Sai's attempts to form bonds turn can be humorous as he tries giving pet names to others; however, he often says what he actually thinks of a person, resulting with him choosing names such as "fatso" for Choji and "ugly" for Sakura. He eventually learns from his mistakes and attempts the opposite approach by calling Ino "beautiful", causing Ino to fall for him. When not making an attempt to bond with others, Sai spends his time painting and drawing, and has produced thousands of works, although he doesn't name any of them. His artistic talents extend to his choice of attacks in battles, as he can infuse chakra with his inking brush to make his drawings come to life. In the series epilogue, Sai ends up marrying Ino Yamanaka and together they have a son, Inojin. Of all the Naruto protagonists, Sai receives the least screen time (since New Era) in the series. Sai's voice actor is Satoshi Hino in the Naruto: Shippūden anime, and his English voice actor is Benjamin Diskin except in Rock Lee and his Ninja Pals, where he is voiced by Lucien Dodge.

Yamato

is introduced during Part II of the Naruto series as an ANBU member who becomes a substitute captain in Team Kakashi. "Yamato" is not his real name, rather a codename assigned for the purposes of joining Team Kakashi. Unlike Kakashi, who was his senior in the ANBU and referred to him as , Yamato believes ninja should be able to look after themselves to the point of leaving behind any he sees as a hindrance. During his childhood, Yamato was abducted by Orochimaru and experimented upon in an attempt to replicate the First Hokage's Wood Style jutsu. In the anime, the ordeal erased Yamato's memories as he was taken in by Danzo to serve as a Root operative under the code name . After meeting Kakashi, Kinoe would leave Root and join the Anbu as Tenzo.

After Kakashi Hatake was wounded during his team's mission to rescue Gaara from the Akatsuki, Tsunade places Yamato in Team Kakashi under the cover of acting leader so he can use his Wood Style whenever the need to suppress Kurama's influence over Naruto arises. For possessing the First Hokage's DNA, Yamato gets captured by Kabuto to strengthen the White Zetsu army for the Fourth Great Ninja War. Yamato is eventually revealed to have been contained by the body of the White Zetsu known as Guruguru, until the altered human ejects him once Madara casts the Infinite Tsukiyomi. In Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, Yamato is among the ninja assigned to keep tabs on Orochimaru. In the anime, Yamato is voiced by Rikiya Koyama in the Japanese version. In the English version, he was voiced by Troy Baker, with Matthew Mercer taking over the role since Episode 230; however, Baker reprises the role in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4.

Boruto

The protagonists of the Boruto series are Naruto and Hinata's son Boruto Uzumaki, Sasuke and Sakura's daughter Sarada Uchiha, Orochimaru's artificial son Mitsuki, and Konohamaru Sarutobi who form . Prior to their series, Konohamaru was a supporting character in the Naruto series while Boruto and Sarada were introduced in the Naruto epilogue.

Boruto Uzumaki

is the titular character and main protagonist of the Boruto franchise, he is son of Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga and the older brother of Himawari Uzumaki. who attends Konoha's ninja academy, inheriting his paternal family's short blond hair, blue eyes, including his father and his grandmother's verbal tic. In the Japanese version, Boruto is voiced by Kokoro Kikuchi in The Last: Naruto the Movie and by Yuuko Sanpei in all subsequent appearances.

Sarada Uchiha

is the daughter of Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. She seems to have inherited traits from both her parents, like her mother's verbal tic and her father's aloofness and reluctance to acknowledge and commend others. Sarada is the central character of Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, searching for her estranged father while mistakenly feeling she and Sakura are not related. Sarada is voiced by Kokoro Kikuchi in Japanese, while the experimentation by Orochimaru allows him to access Sage Mode. He is voiced by Ryūichi Kijima in Japanese and by Robbie Daymond in the English dub. In the English version, Colleen O'Shaughnessey voices Konohamaru's pre-adult self, and Max Mittelman voices his adult self

Kawaki Uzumaki

is a tattooed youth who became a member of Kara after being brought by Jigen from a drunkard father, bearing a tattoo of the Roman numeral IX under his left eye and bestowed a Karma Mark by Jigen to be made into a living weapon for Kara. He was heavily modified with microscopic Shinobi-Ware implanted in his body that give him abilities similar to Orochimaru's Curse Marks and Jugo's Sage Transformation in altering his physiology at a cellular level. For reasons yet to be revealed, Kawaki left Kara and encountered Boruto who brings him to the Hidden Leaf as he lives with the Uzumaki family. The two would end up becoming mortal enemies as hinted in prologue of the Boruto series; an older Kawaki appearing to have perpetrated Konoha's destruction as he confronts an older Boruto while declaring "the age of shinobi has come to an end" before begin the fight. His voice actor in the Japanese anime is Yūma Uchida

Kiba Inuzuka

is a member of Team 8 from the Inuzuka Clan, a group of ninja with canine characteristics who train alongside their partners. In stark contrast to his teammates, Kiba is brash, impulsive, and loud-mouthed, and considers Naruto a rival after Naruto defeats him in the Chunin Exams. Despite this, he is very protective of his teammates, and displays the same loyalty to Akamaru, unwilling to abandon him and putting himself in harm's way for Akamaru's sake. In exchange for Kiba's devotion, Akamaru fights with him in battle; he uses his heightened senses to Kiba's advantage, and helps double-team opponents with volleys of physical attacks. Since Akamaru is naturally better equipped for combat, Kiba usually modifies his own abilities at the start of a battle, growing claws and running on four limbs to increase his speed. He can also drastically increase his sense of smell, and by the second half of the series he can use it to track things dogs cannot. In the series epilogue, Kiba ends up living with Tamaki, the granddaughter of the Uchiha Clan's supporter Granny Cat, and the two house various dogs and cats. Kiba's voice actor in the Japanese anime is Kōsuke Toriumi, and his English voice actor is Kyle Hebert.

Akamaru

is Kiba Inuzuka's ninja dog, best friend, and constant companion. At the start of the series, Kiba carries Akamaru around on his head or inside his jacket. By Part II of the Naruto storyline, Akamaru grows large enough for Kiba to ride atop his back, though Kiba comically fails to notice this drastic difference. With his heightened sense of smell, hearing, and ability to detect others' chakra levels, Akamaru acts as a valuable tool for Kiba in hostile situations. To help Kiba beat track of opponents, Akamaru uses scent marking, though in battle he relies on Kiba to provide the chakra for the combination attacks they execute, which require Akamaru to transform into a clone of Kiba. In the series epilogue, an aged Akamaru fathers a litter of puppies, among the assortment of animals living with Kiba and Tamaki. In the Japanese version of the anime, Akamaru is voiced by Junko Takeuchi, also the voice actor for Naruto Uzumaki, and Kōsuke Toriumi, who voices Kiba, when Akamaru transforms into a clone of Kiba.

Shino Aburame

is a member of Team 8 from the Aburame Clan, a group of ninja who formed a symbiosis with a special breed of insects known as by allowing the insects to use their bodies as hives. During a battle, Shino directs his bugs towards an opponent, boxing them in and absorbing their chakra once they have been surrounded. Shino's merciless tendencies towards opponents, as well as his attachment to and collection of insects, have caused other characters to label him as "creepy". Nevertheless, Shino cares deeply for his teammates, being acutely aware of their inner workings and always regretting when he is unable to help them; he is also capable of childish emotions, as shown in the anime when he sulks after Naruto (returning after two and a half years) fails to remember his name or recognize him. In the series epilogue, Shino becomes a Ninja Academy teacher. In the Japanese anime, his voice actor is Shinji Kawada.

Kurenai Yuhi

is the leader of Team 8, a skilled user of genjutsu, particularly skilled with illusions involving plants. Of all her students, Kurenai is closest with Hinata, acting as a surrogate parent in the absence of Hinata's father, and helping Hinata overcome her weaknesses. Whenever Kurenai appears in the series, she is usually accompanied by her childhood friend Asuma Sarutobi, and during Part II of the series, Kurenai is revealed to be pregnant with Asuma's child. Several months after Asuma's death, Kurenai gave birth to their daughter Mirai Sarutobi, who later becomes a kunoichi by the events of the series epilogue. In the Japanese anime, her voice actress is Rumi Ochiai. In the English adaptation of the anime, she was voiced by Saffron Henderson in episode three, and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn in all subsequent appearances. His English voice actor is Tom Gibis. In terms of combat abilities, Ino specializes in mind-altering techniques. Ino can transfer her consciousness to her target's mind, gaining control over their body and actions which she can then use to attack others, to spy or to immobilize/distract. She can also communicate telepathically by connecting minds of people around her, and in addition, she is a sensory ninja, able to detect chakra around her. During the death of her father, it was revealed that Ino was raised to embody the title of the 'Purple Buschlover' represented in the Yamanaka Clan's crest, which is a blunt and candid love that treasures bonds. In the series' epilogue, Ino has married Sai and they have a son, Inojin, and become the head of her clan and the Leader of the Village's Sensory Unit as well as the owner of her family's flowershop. In the Japanese anime, her voice actress is Ryōka Yuzuki, and her voice actress in the English adaptation is Colleen O'Shaughnessey.

Asuma Sarutobi

was the leader of Team 10 and son of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, grandson of Sasuke Sarutobi and uncle of Konohamaru Sarutobi. In battle, Asuma wielded trench knives that he could infuse with his wind nature chakra to extend the blades' length and sharpness. When he was younger, Asuma had a dispute with his father and briefly left Konohagakure in protest, gaining fame as a member of the Land of Fire's Twelve Guardian Shinobi. Though Asuma eventually returned, gaining the resolve to protect Konoha's next generation from his experiences outside his home, he never completely reconciled with his father by the time of Hiruzen's death. Asuma was usually seen smoking a cigarette, but would temporarily drop the habit when something was bothering him, such as when his father died. Among all his students, Asuma shared a particularly close relationship with Shikamaru Nara, often playing go or shogi together. Asuma frequently appears alongside his childhood friend Kurenai Yuhi, denying having a relation before it is revealed that Kurenai is bearing his child. After Asuma is killed by Hidan of the criminal organization Akatsuki, Shikamaru inherited his mentor's ideals as he uses his knuckles to defeat Hidan. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Asuma is brought back with the Reanimation Jutsu to fight for Kabuto before being defeated by his students and sealed until his soul is allowed to return to the afterlife. Asuma's voice actor in the Japanese anime is Jūrōta Kosugi, and he is voiced by Doug Erholtz in the English adaptation.

Neji Hyuga

was a member of Team Guy and a child prodigy of the Hyuga clan, as well as Hinata's cousin. As he was the only ninja of his generation to be promoted to the rank of Jonin during Part II, he frequently acted as leader of his assigned teams and the secondary leader of Team Guy when Might Guy is absent. Though a member of the branch house, Neji displayed his title as a prodigy of the Hyuga throughout the series as a master of his clan's Gentle Fist style of combat that he taught to himself. Originally, Neji believed in a fatalistic philosophy: that one's destiny is inescapable and that a weak person will always be weak.

After being defeated in the Chunin Exams Final Round by Naruto Uzumaki, who defied his own "fate" and used Nine-Tailed-Fox's chakra, Neji had a change of heart once Uncle Hiashi reveals the full story of his father's death, Hizashi Hyuga, as an act of self-sacrifice in place of his twin brother. Neji then abandons his belief in determinism and resolves to get strong enough to never lose a battle and change the fates of his loved ones. As the series progressed, Neji refined his Gentle Fist and devised original variations that either increased their potency or fixed flaws such as the blind spot in his Byakugan. Neji also remedied the estranged relations between himself and the members of the main house, resulting in his training with Hiashi and Hinata at the end of Part I. Neji is killed during the Fourth Great Ninja War as he sacrificed himself to protect Naruto and Hinata from Obito Uchiha's attack, telling Naruto that he made the choice to die protecting those dear to him as his father had. Following the war's conclusion, a memorial was held in Neji's honor. Years after the war, Naruto paid tribute to Neji by naming his son Boruto Uzumaki whose name means "bolt" while Neji's name means "screw". He then named his daughter Himawari after Nejis favourite flowers, Sunflowers. In the Japanese anime, his voice actor is Kōichi Tōchika, and when he is featured as a child, he is voiced by Keiko Nemoto. His voice in the English anime is provided by Steve Staley, and Wendee Lee provides his child voice.

Tenten

is a member of Team Guy. Of all the Naruto protagonists, Tenten receives the least screen time in the series.. In battle, Tenten specializes in weaponry, ranging from projectiles to close-combat weapons and even explosives by the second part of the series. Tenten uses this expertise to help Neji Hyuga train his defensive techniques, and she holds him in high regard since he can always block her attacks. In the series epilogue, Tenten runs her own weapons shop. Her Japanese voice actress is Yukari Tamura, and her English voice actress is Danielle Judovits. When not teaching Lee, Guy is usually found competing with his self-proclaimed childhood rival, Kakashi Hatake. Throughout the series, Kakashi never displays a particular interest in their rivalry, which only further motivates Guy to defeat him. Guy is an extremely capable ninja as seen in his fight against Itachi Uchiha and his recurring confrontations with Kisame Hoshigaki, beating him single-handedly on two occasions. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Guy is forced to use the Eighth Gate in a failed attempt to defeat Madara. Though Naruto uses the power of the Sage of Six Paths to save his life, Guy's right leg is too damaged to be fully healed. Though he is not wavered from his shinobi career, he remains in a paraplegic state by the events of the epilogue.

Series creator Masashi Kishimoto had likened Guy's passionate personality to that of a physical education teacher he had in junior high school, but notes that the teacher was not a model for Guy's character.

Sand Siblings

The are ninjas from the village of Sunagakure and the children of the Fourth Kazekage, the former leader of the village. They come to Konohagakure to participate in the biannual Chunin exams, and serve as antagonists in the subsequent invasion of Konohagakure. Because of their interactions with Naruto Uzumaki, and learning their father was murdered by their supposed ally Orochimaru, the Sand Siblings return as allies of Konohagakure, aiding Naruto's group in their attempts to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha from Orochimaru's forces. Kishimoto changed their costumes for their return due to the difficulty in drawing their original attire, as well as to symbolize their new friendship with Konohagakure. In Part II, Gaara becomes Kazekage with his older siblings serving under him as his bodyguards during the Kage Summit at the Land of Iron.

Gaara

is the youngest of the three siblings, created as a foil to Naruto Uzumaki, with a similar background yet a highly divergent personality.

Kankuro

is the middle of the three siblings. For the first half of the series, he is frequently at odds with Gaara, though he tends to hold his tongue for fear of being killed. In Part II, once Gaara begins to reveal his dreams and motivations to Kankuro, Kankuro becomes very protective of Gaara; he lashes out at anyone who speaks poorly of Gaara and when Gaara is kidnapped, he readily risks his life to save him. Kankuro is a talented puppeteer, normally using his bladed attack puppet and trapping puppet in combination attacks. He also possesses the large puppet that provides him with combination defense and offense. After his puppets were destroyed by their creator, Kankuro gains a new puppet in Sasori's lifeless body and modifies it for his use as a normal puppet. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, after defeating the reanimated Sasori and breaking Kabuto's hold over him, Kankuro is entrusted with the Mother and Father puppets. In the series epilogue, Kankuro continues to serve as Gaara's bodyguard. In the Japanese anime, his voice actor is Yasuyuki Kase, and his English voice actor is Michael Lindsay, until he was replaced by Doug Erholtz in 2013 (after the former retired the previous year).

Temari

is the oldest of the three siblings. Unlike her more combat-loving brothers, Temari values peace, as she questions Sunagakure's justifications for going to war with Konohagakure. This trait carries over to Part II, in which she begins acting as a liaison between Sunagakure and Konohagakure to help the two villages work together. In her time in Konohagakure, Temari is often seen walking with Shikamaru Nara, causing other characters to think they are dating, although both deny this. In battle, Temari wields a giant iron fan that can create powerful gusts of wind capable of leveling the surrounding landscape. As she is skilled at deducing an opponent's strategies and weaknesses soon after a battle begins, she typically uses her winds to remove parts of the battlefield that might be advantageous to the enemy. During Part I of the series, Temari is able to use the Summoning Jutsu, in which she can summon a powerful scythe-wielding weasel called . In the series epilogue, Temari is revealed to have moved to the Hidden Leaf and married Shikamaru, with whom she has a son, Shikadai. Temari's voice actress in the Japanese anime is Romi Park and her English voice actress is Tara Platt. Chocho accompanies her friend Sarada in search of her father, Sasuke, believing the trip to be in search of her "real" father instead. and by Colleen Villard in the English dub.

Inojin Yamanaka

is the son of Sai and Ino Yamanaka who attends Konoha's ninja academy.. Inojin uses the Super Beast Scroll technique, following his father, but is also being trained in using his clan's mind-altering techniques by his mother. Inojin is voiced by Atsushi Abe in Japanese and by Spike Spencer in the English dub.

Haku

is Zabuza Momochi's most faithful follower. Before he started working for Zabuza, Haku lived as an orphan. His father killed his mother when it was discovered that Haku possesses a genetic ability, , that allows him to mix wind and water elements to create ice, which was considered a threat. Haku then killed his father. After wandering from place to place, he was found by Zabuza, who recognized Haku's talents and agreed to take him in as a tool. As a result, Haku becomes unquestioningly protective of and loyal to Zabuza, and only by being useful does he find a purpose in life. Haku later meets Naruto (who mistakes him for a girl) while he is training, and the two bond over their connections. On this same mission, Haku ultimately gives his life in his mission to save his master from Kakashi's Lightning Blade, becoming the first casualty in the series. This is not in vain, however, as a saddened Naruto uses Haku's death to redeem Zabuza. Episode 17 of the anime greatly expands on Haku's early life, showing the scene where Haku discovered his powers. Haku is resurrected by Kabuto Yakushi later in Part 2 of the series to fight in the Fourth Shinobi World War until being sealed by the Allied Shinobi Forces. His voice actress in the Japanese anime is Mayumi Asano, and his English voice actress is Susan Dalian. Mona Marshall voiced Haku as a child.

Orochimaru

is an S-ranked criminal who served as the primary antagonist of Part I of the Naruto series, having previously affiliated with the Akatsuki. He was a former Hidden Leaf Ninja and Hiruzen's student alongside his teammates Jiraiya and Tsunade, who are revered as the Legendary Sannin. Orochimaru's desire for immortality, so he can learn every jutsu in existence, led him to experimenting on fellow ninja before establishing his own ninja village, the Hidden Sound Village, as his personal laboratory, to continue his work while amassing a personal army to destroy Konoha. His immortality technique involves transferring his consciousness between different host bodies every few years, with his intent to acquire the body of Sasuke Uchiha being his driving motivations throughout most of the series. Following end of Part II, through kept under watch by Yamato, Orochimaru renounced his personal war against the Hidden Leaf Village. He has since created Mitsuki.

Kabuto Yakushi

is a spy who works as Orochimaru's right hand, though he acts on his own whims. As a child with no memory of his past, Kabuto was found on a battlefield by a nun from Konohagakure who raised him before he was recruited by the Foundation as their spy to infiltrate numerous countries and organizations. But after being labeled a risk to the Foundation for knowing too many secrets, Kabuto becomes Orochimaru's spy after being promised an identity he can call his own. Using his former affiliations, and infiltrating the Akatsuki, Kabuto gathers intelligence on Orochimaru's behalf; for instance, he participates in the bi-annual Chunin Exams as a Konoha representative to gather information on his fellow participants. Highly proficient with medical techniques and genetic manipulation, Kabuto devises means to heal wounds by reactivating dead cells to grow new ones, and can form a scalpel with chakra to deal surgical strikes to his opponents.

In Part II, after his mentor's defeat by Sasuke, Kabuto integrates some of Orochimaru's remains into his body to become powerful enough to not serve anyone again. Kabuto then masters snake Sage Jutsu while modifying his body with DNA samples of the Sound Five, Jugo, Suigetsu, and Karin to increase his abilities further. After perfecting the Reanimation Jutsu, using it to bring back Madara Uchiha as his personal trump card, Kabuto forces Obito Uchiha into a tenuous alliance with him under the promise that he can have Sasuke upon victory against the Ninja Alliance. However, during the second day of the Fourth Great Ninja War, Itachi manages to break free of Kabuto's control and force him to end the Reanimation Jutsu with Sasuke's help. The ordeal of being subjected to Itachi's Izanami genjutsu has Kabuto re-evaluate himself and his life, coming to the conclusion that he should save Sasuke. In the war's aftermath, kept under surveillance by the Hidden Leaf, Kabuto returns to run the orphanage where he was held as a kid, together with his adopted brother Urushi. In the Japanese anime, Kabuto is voiced by Nobutoshi Canna, and his English voice actor is Henry Dittman.

Sound Four

are Orochimaru's elite bodyguards. The group was originally known as the "Sound Five", but after Kimimaro became bedridden due to his unknown illness, the group resumed calling themselves the Sound Four. As a group they specialize in barriers, defensive walls, sealing techniques as well as possessing their own individual unique techniques and Curse Marks that increase their strengths. The group is composed of:

• , a large, and quick-tempered, man who specializes in absorbing chakra and close-quarters combat. He is voiced by Kenta Miyake in the Japanese anime, while his English voice actor is Michael Sorich.
• , a six-armed ninja who can produce spider-webs to fight and specialized in ranged combat. He is voiced by Susumu Chiba in the Japanese anime, while his English voice actor is Peter Lurie.
• are twin brothers who are the strongest of the Sound Four and count as one member due to their ability to merge their bodies with anyone and kill an opponent at a cellular level. Both Sakon and Ukon are voiced by Shunsuke Sakuya in the Japanese anime, while their English voice actor is Brian Beacock.
• , a female flautist who uses her flute for genjutsu and controlling summoned demons. She is voiced by Akeno Watanabe in the Japanese anime, while her English voice actress is Kari Wahlgren.
• , the last of the Kaguya Clan who has his kin's Kekkei Genkai ability to manipulate his bone structure, called the Shikotsumyaku, became the leader after he defeated the entire group in battle. He is voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa in the Japanese anime with Makoto Tsumura voicing him as a child. His English voice actor is Keith Silverstein with Kari Wahlgren voicing him as a child.

The Sound Four do not become a prominent part of the story until sent by their leader to escort Sasuke Uchiha to him. Even with Kimimaro joining the group to ensure Sasuke's passage to Orochimaru, the Sound Five all died in the process: Jirobo and Kidomaru killed in their respective fights against Chōji Akimichi and Neji Hyūga, Sakon and Ukon taken out by Kankuro as they nearly kill Kiba Inuzuka, Tayuya indirectly killed by Temari as she had the upper hand on Shikamaru Nara, and Kimimaro succumbed to his unknown illness in the midst of his battle against Gaara and Rock Lee. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kimimaro is reanimated by Kabuto Yakushi as a pawn to battle against the Allied Shinobi Forces. In the anime adaptation, unaware that Kabuto brought them back instead of Orochimaru, the Sound Four were also reanimated and were allowed to act on their impulse for revenge against the members of the Sasuke Retrieval group before being defeated. It was also at the time of the war's climax that Kabuto reveals that he assimilated the Sound Five's DNA to access their abilities.

Akatsuki

thumb|From left to right: Sasori, Deidara, Konan, Nagato, Tobi, Itachi and Kisame. <br /> Behind: Zetsu, Kakuzu, Hidan and Orochimaru.

The is an organization of criminal ninja that serves as the primary antagonistic force of Part II of the Naruto series. It was founded by Yahiko, Nagato and Konan. After Yahiko's death, it was led by Nagato with Obito as his benefactor. The Akatsuki's goal is world peace through the power of the nine Tailed Beasts, with Nagato assuming it would involve mass destruction giving way to a world without war. To achieve their goal of collecting all nine Tailed Beasts, the Akatsuki recruited several rogue ninja, including Deidara, Sasori, and Hidan, among other notable Akatsuki members, to join their ranks. The real goal is for Obito to enact Madara's , which involves feeding the Tailed Beasts to the Gedo Statue, to revert it into the Ten-Tails with Obito as its Jinchuriki; empowered thus, he would project the Infinite Tsukiyomi on the moon's surface, and bring all life into a utopic illusion. The members of the Akatsuki are ninja who have abandoned their villages, and are considered by their former homes to be S-class criminals, the most powerful and wanted ninja in the Naruto universe. Aside from an attempt by members Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki to capture Kurama (the Nine-Tailed fox sealed within Naruto Uzumaki), the Akatsuki is not prominently featured in Part I. In Part II, they take a more active role, capturing Gaara and extracting the One-Tailed Tanuki, Shukaku, from his body, as well as progressively capturing the remaining Tailed Beasts. Kishimoto called the Akatsuki's members antiheroes as he wished to expand their backgrounds as much as the ones from the series' protagonists, contrasting them with other types of villains.

Obito Uchiha

, also known under his alias is the true leader of the Akatsuki and the primary antagonist for most of Part II of the Naruto series. As a child during the Third Great Ninja War, being Kakashi's teammate in Team Minato, Obito was similar to Naruto in both wanting to become Hokage and unrequited love for his teammate Rin. When he and Kakashi rescue Rin after she was kidnapped by Hidden Stone Ninja during a mission, Obito's right side got crushed in a landslide. Obito believed his death was certain and had Rin transplant his left Sharingan into Kakashi to replace the latter's original left eye. Obito finds himself saved by Madara and outfitted with Zetsu prosthetics, and is conditioned to become his apprentice, the ninja arranging Obito to witness Rin's death as a casualty of war by a reluctant Kakashi to break his spirit. Coming to the conclusion that he can use the Tailed Beasts to destroy the current reality and create a utopia, Obito takes up Madara's name following the latter's death while masking his voice. Obito would then arrange similar events for Nagato with Yahiko's death to create the current incarnation of the Akatsuki. Obito serves a behind-the-scenes role throughout the first half of Part II while revealed to have caused tragedy prior to the series, most notably Kurama's attack on the Hidden Leaf as revenge on his sensei Minato for not protecting Rin. Other than being able to use his right Sharingan to cast Kamui in a fashion that renders him intangible and lets him teleport over great distances, Obito can use Wood Style attacks as his prosthetics possess Hashirama's cells.

Zetsu

is the only member of the Akatsuki without a bespoke partner, the only nonhuman member, and Obito's right-hand man. Originally, Kaguya created a shadow-like parasitic entity known as to manipulate her grandson Indra and his descendants throughout history for one of them to manifest a Rinnegan and free his creator. Black Zetsu succeeds with Madara, whom he deceived into believing that he had created the entity. was originally part of an army that Kaguya was assembling to fend off her kinsmen, consisting of humans mutated into drones after being assimilated by the Ten Tails during Kaguya's previous Infinite Tsukuyomi. Black Zetsu and White Zetsu operate in symbiosis, Black Zetsu occasionally argued with his easygoing host. As White Zetsu is an extension of the Shinju, he can merge into the ground or vegetation to quickly travel to a new location, and use spores to create clones of himself or whoever he touches. This makes Zetsu not only of use to the Akatsuki as a spy, but also to devour bodies of deceased Akatsuki members or those the organization does not want found. Another of the White Zetsu retrieved from the Gedo Statue, initially referred to as due to the spiral-shaped pattern on his body, later named , served as an exosuit for Obito while the youth got used to his new body. After White Zetsu is killed by Sasuke during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Black Zetsu goes into hiding, later merging itself onto Obito to force the human to resurrect Madara. Ultimately, once the Eye of the Moon Plan runs its course, Black Zetsu reveals his true identity and fuses himself onto Madara to convert the human into a new body for Kaguya to inhabit. Black Zetsu then reveals his role in the conflict between the Senju and Uchiha, while helping Kaguya fight Naruto and Sasuke. He is eventually ripped away from his creator when Naruto severs Kaguya's arm. As Kaguya is sealed away once more, Black Zetsu is thrown by Naruto into the forming moon so he would not make another attempt to free his creator. Tobi, having participated in the war by encasing Yamato to access his Wood-Style, before ejecting him once the Infinite Tsukiyomi is cast, crumbles away after the jutsu is canceled, with his former captive the only witness to his death.

As Kishimoto originally planned the Akatsuki to be a group of individuals with close to no human characteristics, he decided to make Zetsu half black and half white to emphasize his split personality.

Kisame Hoshigaki

is a former ninja of Kirigakure and partnered to Itachi Uchiha, having a unique appearance with pale blue skin, a gill-like facial structure, and sharp acute angled triangle teeth. While he was loyal to Kirigakure, Kisame was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, a group of violent ninja that use particularly large swords in battle. His sword, , is a living weapon covered in scales. Although it was covered in bandage like cloth in the Akatsuki arc (while he was travelling with Itachi Uchiha). That can absorb untold amounts of an opponent's chakra. Only allowing those it sees as worthy to wield it, Samehada can provide the user with the chakra it holds, ensuring him an infinite amount of stamina. Kisame himself has massive amounts of chakra, and by fusing Samehada into him, Kisame can assume a shark-like form that increases his abilities. In battle, he frequently shapes water into the forms of sharks to damage opponents. After discarding Samehada when it chose Killer Bee over him, Kisame is decapitated by Killer Bee and the Raikage using Double Lariat. It is later revealed that the decapitation was just a shapeshifting technique performed by Zetsu; the real Kisame having hidden inside Samehada. After Kisame's supposed death, Killer Bee took Samehada for himself, therefore allowing Kisame to enter the Hidden Cloud Village. After a while, he was discovered by Naruto and Kisame attempts to flee with crucial intel from the Allied Shinobi Force but is defeated by Might Guy and captured. Kisame then commits suicide by summoning sharks and allowing them to eat him, but not before using one of them to steal back the information he had compiled and send it to the Akatsuki. His voice actor in the Japanese anime is Tomoyuki Dan;

Konan

is the only female ninja in the Akatsuki. As such, Kishimoto originally wanted her to have an obscene appearance showing more of her bust.

Nagato Uzumaki

<!--Do not rename this section to "Pain" without establishing consensus on the talk page; that is an alias.-->

, primarily known under the alias of , is the founder and recognized leader of the Akatsuki, he is the partner of Konan, with Obito acting as his benefactor. The "Pain" most often seen in the series is the Deva Path, which is actually Nagato's deceased friend, , one of six animated corpses collectively known as , all controlled by Nagato and using one sixth of his full power. The Pain Paths are all outfitted with a number of body piercings that serve as a means for Nagato to control them and to give them a "more dangerous" appearance in relation to their name's installation. Nagato, former student of the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya, killed Jiraiya when he was in the middle of an infiltration mission. After the skirmish, Nagato decided to invade Konohagakure or the Hidden Leaf Village to prevent them from sending more shinobi to avenge Jiraiya and to collect the Nine-Tails, therefore Naruto. After Nagato used his Deva Path to decimate the entire village and the majority of the population, including Kakashi Hatake, Naruto appeared and defeated all Six Paths of Pain using a newly learnt Sage Mode. Naruto then located the original Pain, meaning Nagato, and convinced him to help Naruto bring peace to the ninja world and, after a change of heart, Nagato used the Rinne Rebirth jutsu, which basically revives recently deceased individuals. Due to the sheer strength to revive almost every single person in the Hidden Leaf, Nagato died from the immense strain after successfully reviving everyone. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kabuto Yakushi reanimated Nagato Uzumaki alongside Itachi Uchiha. Both individuals eventually had a skirmish with Naruto. Itachi Uchiha then broke free from Kabuto's control after casting Shisui Uchiha's Kotoamatsukami upon himself. The Kotoamatsukami basically subtly or directly overwrites the will of a person. After Itachi broke free from Kabuto's control, he successfully sealed Nagato in his Sword of Totsuka.

Itachi Uchiha

is a former ninja of Konohagakure, the older brother of Sasuke Uchiha, and the partner of Kisame Hoshigaki. Though having spent his early youth as the prodigy of the Uchiha clan, Itachi is treated as the antagonist for much of the series. He is initially portrayed as being solely responsible for the killing of his entire clan and family, sparing only his brother, Sasuke Uchiha, with the explanation that he was testing his abilities. Around the time of his death, his villainous role is downplayed; not only is he revealed to offer help to Obito Uchiha in killing the clan, though it is revealed in part two that he performed the massacre under the orders of Konoha's leadership to prevent an Uchiha coup d'état. While battling Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi died in battle due to an unknown illness. Itachi was eventually resurrected by Kabuto during the Fourth Great Ninja War but managed to break free from Kabuto's control, and, together with Sasuke, defeats Kabuto. In the Japanese anime, Itachi's voice actor is Hideo Ishikawa.

Deidara

is a former ninja of Iwagakure, having left the village after bombing it. He was a terrorist bomber-for-hire before Itachi Uchiha forced him to join the Akatsuki. Though he came to embrace the organization, Deidara still holds a grudge against Itachi and all other Uchiha throughout the series, as he feels their Sharingan eyes "look down on his artwork". Deidara, along with his paired-up partner Sasori, nabbed Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage, to attain the One-Tailed Shukaku, though losing his left arm during the battle. Eventually, Hidden Leaf and Sand ninjas try to hunt down the Akatsuki to try to retrieve and avenge Gaara, successfully killing Sasori and Deidara lost his remaining right arm to Kakashi Hatake's Kamui. After successfully getting away, Kakuzu eventually restored both of Deidara's arms and Sasori's position was then replaced by Tobi after his death. Though he was annoyed by Tobi, Deidara becomes somewhat of a teacher to him, and adopts a genuine care for his well-being. Both of Deidara's hands have mouths on them that, by infusing clay or other fine-grained minerals with chakra, create "sculptures", bombs that explode with varying intensities. Deidara's bombs can take any form he chooses, and from the time of their creation to their detonation, he can animate and control them remotely. Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's younger brother, is able to systematically nullify his bombs in combat, and so Deidara transforms himself into a living bomb in a last effort to kill Sasuke and to prove the supremacy of his art, but fails in the attempt. He is later resurrected by Kabuto for the war against the Shinobi Alliance but is defeated by Kankuro. His voice actor in the Japanese anime is Katsuhiko Kawamoto. In his cameo appearance in episode 135 of the English adaptation, he is voiced by Quinton Flynn, and in the anime of Shippuden by Roger Craig Smith.

Hidan

is the immortal, foul-mouthed, and sadomasochistic partner of Kakuzu and a former ninja of Yugakure, the Village Hidden in Boiling Water. He is a member of the religion which worships a deity of the same name and believes that anything less than death and utter destruction in battle is a sin. His religion's experimentations have led to the creation of his unique abilities; by consuming an opponent's blood and drawing Jashin's triangular symbol on the ground, Hidan can create a link with his opponent. Once this link is created, any damage done to Hidan's body is reflected on his opponent, allowing him to kill them by giving himself fatal injuries. Though his immortality keeps him from dying or suffer any impairment, Hidan feels his victims' suffering with an excitement bordering on arousal. After Hidan used this ability to kill Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara fights him to avenge his teacher. Their battle culminates in Hidan being blown up, and Shikamaru burying his still-speaking remains in a forest that the Akatsuki will never be able to reach. As such, Hidan is no longer considered a member by the rest of the Akatsuki. In the Japanese version of the anime, Hidan is voiced by Masaki Terasoma.

Kakuzu

is the partner of Hidan and a former ninja of Takigakure, the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls. Kakuzu is motivated by greed, and joins the Akatsuki to seek out valuable bounties. However, his extreme temperament and fits of rage leading to his eventual murder of whomever he was partnered with resulted in his pairing with the immortal Hidan. When Kakuzu still lived in his village, he was given a very important mission: assassinate Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage. As the strongest shinobi of his time, Hashirama was far too strong for Kakuzu, and the mission failed with Kakuzu barely escaping with his life. Kakuzu returned to his village, and, despite the overwhelming danger and risk he faced, he was dishonoured and severely punished. Gaining a violent hatred for his village because of this unfair treatment, Kakuzu escaped from prison and, in vengeance, stole his village's forbidden techniques, and murdered the village elders (carving out their hearts), becoming a rogue ninja in the process. Kakuzu's body is composed of a large number of black threads, allowing him to reattach any body part, his or another, back onto its owner. The threads are also capable of piercing flesh, which Kakuzu uses to remove the still-beating hearts of his opponents and integrate their hearts into his body to extend his life indefinitely. Kakuzu can store up to four spare hearts in animal masks that are sewn to his back, which can be detached during combat situations to shoot elemental blasts at his opponents, and quickly recalled to his body if he needs a replacement heart. Kakuzu's hearts are systematically destroyed soon after his introduction by a group of Konohagakure ninja. After Naruto Uzumaki leaves his final heart on the brink of failure, Kakuzu is easily finished off by Kakashi. After being resurrected by Kabuto, he is sent out to participate in the war until being sealed. In the Japanese anime, Kakuzu's Japanese voice actor is Takaya Hashi and in the English version he is voiced by Fred Tatasciore.

Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki

is one of the two main antagonists of Boruto: Naruto the Movie and a member of the main family of the Ōtsutsuki clan, intending a planet new Divine Tree as the one his faction used to harvest a previous planet's resources is dying. Momoshiki possesses both a pair of Byakugan and Rinnegan, the latter located on his palms, which he uses to absorb and release ninjutsu. He also consumes red pills that enhances his abilities. Targeting the Tailed Beasts for their chakra, attacking Killer Bee prior, Momoshiki and his partner Kinshiki come to Konohagakure with the objective of capturing Kurama from Naruto. The two manage to abduct Naruto to their dimension after destroying the Chunin Exams stadium, but before they could finish the extraction process, the pair are confronted by Boruto, Sasuke, and the four Kage. Overwhelmed, Momoshiki consumes a makeshift red pill from Kinshiki's body, making him even stronger with another Rinnegan appearing on his forehead. Though ultimately killed by Naruto and Boruto's combined Rasengan, in Part I of the Boruto series makes Momoshiki's final moments to isolate Boruto within frozen time and brand him with the Kama mark so he can take the boy as his new vessel. Momoshiki's attempts to take over Boruto's body become grave enough that Boruto asked Kawaki to kill him so he can stop Momoshiki for good. Momoshiki is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa in Japanese and by Xander Mobus in the English dub.

Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki

is one of the two main antagonists of Boruto: Naruto the Movie. He is Momoshiki's obedient subordinate and a member of the main family of the Ōtsutsuki clan. As with his master, Kinshiki was a member of his clan who came to Earth to steal the tailed beasts' chakra. Having managed to kidnap Naruto for Kurama's extraction, the pair are confronted by a group of ninja arriving to rescue Naruto. Realizing that they are overwhelmed, Kinshiki breaks through his binding by the Kage and turns himself into a red pill for his master to consume, enhancing the latter's powers although Momoshiki is soon killed. Kinshiki is voiced by Hiroki Yasumoto in Japanese and by Wally Wingert in the English dub.

Urashiki Ōtsutsuki

is the main antagonist of the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime series and a member of the main family of the Ōtsutsuki clan, able to siphon chakra with his fishing rod. He joins Momoshiki and Kinshiki on their mission to gather the chakra of the God Tree on Earth, sent ahead of the two to investigate Kaguya's disappearance and subdues Toneri when he attempts to stop him. After Momoshiki and Kinshiki were defeated, Urashiki acts on his own to target the tailed beast chakra by first going after Shukaku. When that failed he learned of the Leaf possess his clan's time travel relic Karasuki and decides to go after Naruto when he was trained by Jiraiya past, only for Boruto and Sasuke to follow after him. In the end, Urashiki is killed by Boruto and past Naruto. Urashiki is voiced by Kazuya Nakai in Japanese and by Benjamin Diskin in the English dub.

Isshiki Ōtsutsuki

is the primary antagonist of Part I of the Boruto series and a high rank member of the main family of the Ōtsutsuki clan. Originally coming to Earth with Kaguya for the fruit of a Divine Tree their clan planted on the planet, Isshiki was fatally wounded by Kaguya in an act of betrayal. He was found by a novice monk named Jigen and took over his body in order to survive, placing a Kāma onto his host. But Isshiki began to prepare a new host as Jigen's body wouldn't be able to bear his chakra and founded Kara to create a new Divine Tree in order to obtain the chakra fruit. He also possesses a dojutsu which can use Sukunahikona (ability to shrink or grow an object to any size). Using Jigen's guise, he becomes the founder of the Kara organization to search for a suitable Vessel, eventually ending up with a failed Vessel in Code, and a successful one with Kawaki. After Naruto takes Kawaki in, Isshiki powers up by taking chakra from a captive Ten-Tails and arrives in the Leaf. Naruto refuses to give Kawaki up, so he takes the Hokage away to another dimension. Sasuke Uchiha arrives, having tracked him to Kara's dimension. The two go all-out and push the body of Jigen to his limits; but in the end Isshiki decisively beats them both, sealing Naruto away. After Team 7 rescues Naruto from Boro, a member of Kara, Isshiki is attacked by Koji Kashin; a member of Kara. Though Koji took advantage of Jigen's weakened state, he is overwhelmed after killing the body of Jigen, which forces Isshiki's revival in his weak body. Isshiki destroys Koji, after discovering that he is a clone of Jiraiya created by Amado, his most trusted confidant in Kara. Isshiki comes to the Leaf to re-mark Kawaki, before his time could run out in the failed vessel of Jigen. Naruto and Sasuke arrive to fight him, after his initial destruction. Sasuke unveils his plan, made with Boruto, as the latter uses his Karma to teleport Isshiki to another dimension. Furious, Isshiki effortlessly beats Naruto and gravely injures Sasuke, before maiming Boruto. After attempting to kidnap Boruto to use for his plan, Naruto arrives, in the Baryon Mode and fights on even terms with Isshiki. His lifespan shortened to five minutes, Isshiki grows desperate, but discovers that the beaten Naruto has a chakra link with Kawaki. He successfully teleports the boy to the battlefield and rebrands him. As he begins turning to dust, Kawaki reveals that he only branded his Shadow Clone, and he stomps Isshiki to dust. Afterwards, Isshiki's soul entrusts Code with a Ten-Tails to continue his work. He is voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda, and by Keith Silverstein in the English dub.

Kawaki Uzumaki

is a tattooed youth who became a member of Kara after being brought by Jigen from a drunkard father, bearing a tattoo of the Roman numeral IX under his left eye and bestowed a Karma Mark by Jigen to be made into a living weapon for Kara. He was heavily modified with microscopic Shinobi-Ware implanted in his body that give him abilities similar to Orochimaru's Curse Marks and Jugo's Sage Transformation in altering his physiology at a cellular level. For reasons yet to be revealed, Kawaki left Kara and encountered Boruto who brings him to the Hidden Leaf as he lives with the Uzumaki family. The two would end up becoming mortal enemies as hinted in prologue of the Boruto series; an older Kawaki appearing to have perpetrated Konoha's destruction as he confronts an older Boruto while declaring "the age of shinobi has come to an end" before begin the fight. His voice actor in the Japanese anime is Yūma Uchida Naruto thinks of Iruka as a father-figure because of the fight against Mizuki, and Iruka, in turn, has immense faith in Naruto's potential to be a great ninja. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Iruka is dispatched by the Allied Shinobi Forces to stop Naruto from leaving the island where he and Killer Bee are being kept safe. However, upon finding out that he was deceived, Naruto abandons Iruka, but Iruka slips Naruto a good luck note into his headband, restoring their mutual faith. In the final episode of Naruto: Shippuden, Naruto asks Iruka to stand in as his father for his wedding. In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations He has become the headmaster of the Leaf Village Ninja Academy. In the Japanese anime, his voice actor is Toshihiko Seki, and his English voice actor is Quinton Flynn in the Naruto and Naruto Shippuden series He, in turn, is followed by one of his students, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who becomes the Third Hokage. After a long rule, the Third abdicates in favor of Minato Namikaze, who takes the position of Fourth Hokage, but reclaims his position after the Fourth gave his life to save the village from Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox. Hiruzen is the Hokage at the beginning of the series, but he dies in battle with his former student, Orochimaru, during an invasion of Konohagakure. One of Hiruzen's students and also Hashirama's granddaughter Tsunade Senju, succeeds him as the Fifth Hokage, becoming also the first female Hokage. Danzo Shimura follows Tsunade, becoming the unofficial leader of Konoha, the candidate Sixth Hokage, after Tsunade enters a coma as a consequence of defending the village from Pain. Before Danzo took office, he ultimately committed suicide after losing a battle against Sasuke Uchiha. Kakashi Hatake was considered to be the Sixth Hokage until Tsunade awakened from her coma, at which point she resumes her duty. After the Fourth Great Ninja War, Tsunade abdicates in favor of Kakashi, who becomes the Sixth Hokage for many years until Naruto Uzumaki succeeds him as the Seventh Hokage. After the presumed death of Naruto by Kawaki, Shikamaru Nara becomes the Eighth Hokage.

Hashirama Senju

, the was the co-founder of the first ninja village, Konohagakure, and the former leader of Senju Clan. He is a respected ninja of his era and is known as the . The only naturally born user of Wood Style techniques, Hashirama is also an incarnation of Asura Ōtsutsuki. Despite experiencing the Warring States period firsthand, Hashirama has a cheerful and happy-go-lucky personality with a desire to end the conflict. As a child, Hashirama forged a friendship with Madara Uchiha before the youth declared them enemies, and they battle on occasion with Hashirama eventually convincing Madara to have their clans make peace while finding Konoha. He later dies through many wars of his era, though is brought back by the Reanimation Jutsu twice by Orochimaru; the first of which to battle his former student Hiruzen, while the second to help Sasuke understand Konoha's history before battling the reanimated Madara in the new war. He manages to make amends with his former friend as the latter lays dying following Kaguya's defeat, and Hashirama is put to rest after helping to transport Team 7 from Kaguya's dimension back to Earth. In the Japanese anime, he is voiced by Takayuki Sugō while Yuki Tai voices him as a child. In the English version, Hashirama is voiced by Jamieson Price in Part I, Peter Lurie in Part II, and JB Blanc in some video games, with Max Mittelman voicing him as a child.

Tobirama Senju

, the , is the younger brother of Hashirama and the teacher of Hiruzen Sarutobi. He is credited as being the Hokage who created the infrastructure of Konohagakure, including the Ninja Academy, Police Force, and the Anbu Black Ops. He is considered as the most powerful Water Style user and is known throughout the Ninja World for creating the , the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and the controversial Reanimation Jutsu, although he abandoned its completion due to its sinister nature. He has high knowledge of the Uchiha anatomy and source of their power. In flashbacks, he disapproves of Hashirama's friendship with Madara Uchiha even after the rival clans had reconciled, eventually leading to Madara's departure. Tobirama's time as Hokage is short-lived as, during the First Great Ninja War, he sacrifices himself to let his team, which included Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, successfully retreat after being surrounded by enemy forces during a mission. He is later brought back years later by the Reanimation Jutsu after it was perfected by Orochimaru and forced to battle Hiruzen, ultimately losing and being sealed away by the Reaper Death Seal. Tobirama is later brought back again to inform Sasuke Uchiha about the Uchiha Clan and to participate in the battle against the Ten Tails. He and the other resurrected Hokage are put to rest after Kaguya's defeat. In the Japanese anime, he is voiced by Kenyū Horiuchi while Kengo Kawanishi voices him as a child. In the English version, Tobirama is voiced by Peter Lurie in Part I, Jamieson Price in Part II, and Steven Blum in some video games, with Benjamin Diskin voicing him as a child.

Hiruzen Sarutobi

, the , has been the longest-ruling Hokage, being forced to return to duty after the death of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Minato Namikaze

, the , is Naruto Uzumaki's father and Kushina's husband. Although Naruto and Minato are noted to have a number of similar physical traits throughout the series, their familial relationship is not revealed until Part II of the series. He was the student of Jiraiya and the teacher of Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara. The entire village respects Minato as a hero of the village, having perfected Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Jutsu, a method of teleportation with pre-made seals, to earn the title of . Before the start of the series, after battling the mysterious masked ninja who released the Nine-Tails Kurama, Minato siphons Kurama's Yin chakra to weaken the Tailed Beast to be sealed into Naruto's body in a sacrificial act so that only his son can access Kurama's Yang chakra. Years later, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Orochimaru releases Minato's soul and reanimates him. Minato and the other Hokage decide to fight alongside Sasuke on the battlefield and defeat Madara Uchiha. Minato reveals his own Nine-Tails Chakra Mode which he later tries to pass to his son. During a battle against Madara, he soon realized that Obito is in fact alive all along and that he was the masked man that was behind Kurama's attack on the Hidden Leaf Village during Naruto's birth. Once the battle is over, Minato is released from the Reanimation Jutsu by Hagoromo and promises Naruto that he will tell Kushina of their son's progress. Kishimoto has expressed desire to make a spin-off series with a younger Minato as the protagonist. In the Japanese anime, Minato is voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa with Miyu Irino voicing him as a child. In the English version, his voice actor is Tony Oliver. In 2023, on the occasion of the global poll held for the 20th anniversary of the manga, Minato Namikaze was found to be the most popular character of the franchise.

Tsunade Senju

, as well as her former teammates Jiraiya and Orochimaru, is a former student of Hiruzen Sarutobi. Despite looking like a beautiful and buxom woman in her twenties, Tsunade is actually an older woman in her fifties who uses a transformation technique to maintain her youthful appearance. Tsunade is also the granddaughter of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki with many referring to her by the Japanese honorific "hime" (princess). Despite her connections to the first three Hokage, Tsunade hates the position when she is first introduced. After her boyfriend Dan Katō and brother Nawaki Senju die in pursuit of their dreams to become Hokage, she loses faith in the title and the concept of dreams. She regains her faith in both after meeting Naruto Uzumaki, who consistently overcomes any obstacle in his own dreams of being Hokage. As a result, Tsunade accepts the position of to protect Konohakagure on behalf of everyone she has loved, also later taking Sakura as her apprentice, much like Orochimaru with Sasuke and Jiraiya with Naruto. By the end of the series, Tsunade retires at the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War and bestows the Hokage title to Kakashi. She is last seen in the epilogue attending a meeting with other recent Kage that have also retired.

Despite the importance of her position, Tsunade tends to laze around and avoid her everyday duties, instead leaving them for her assistant Shizune. She does however take her role very seriously in situations where Konoha is in danger, and throughout Part II leads the village in combating the Akatsuki. Tsunade is a compulsive gambler with terrible luck, though with a rare winning streak perceived by her as a bad omen. Despite her odd personality, Tsunade is a highly talented medical ninja who can heal injuries that most others would consider incurable, and also possesses superhuman strength that allows her to reduce buildings to rubble. The pinnacle of her skills is the Creation Rebirth jutsu and its derived technique, the Strength of a Hundred Technique, which she taught to her disciple Sakura. This way, both Tsunade and Sakura use mitotic regeneration to make them nearly unkillable in battle. In the Japanese anime, Tsunade's voice actress is Masako Katsuki, and her English voice actress is Debi Mae West. In some of the video games, however, her English voice actress is Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, starting from Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 to Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja 4, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 and only Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 1.

Jiraiya

was a Konohagakure ninja, being not only Naruto Uzumaki's teacher but also Minato Namikaze's teacher. Kishimoto has commented that out of all master-pupil relationships he has created in the Naruto series, the bond between Naruto and Jiraiya is his favorite, noting that it makes drawing them "worthwhile". As a child, Jiraiya was under the tutelage of Hiruzen Sarutobi, along with his teammates, Tsunade and Orochimaru. Jiraiya is known throughout the Naruto world as the due to his toad-related jutsu and knowledge of Sage Jutsu. Prior to Naruto, Jiraiya also trained other pupils like Minato and Nagato due to a prophecy he heard that his pupil would be great man. Although still affiliated with Konoha, Jiraiya is usually traveling to watch over potential threats to his home. Jiraiya's personality is openly lecherous, proudly describes himself as a "super pervert" while authoring a series of best-selling adult romance novels. He also wrote the epic "Tale of the Gutsy Ninja", with Naruto named after its protagonist. During Part I, he takes Naruto as his student, and returns him to Konoha in Part II before leaving to investigate the Akatsuki. However, finding Nagato leading the organization, Jiraiya dies fighting his former student's Paths of Pain while sending a message to the village, believing to have done enough for Naruto. In the Japanese anime, Jiraiya is voiced by Hōchū Ōtsuka, with Toru Nara voicing him as a child. His English voice actor is David Lodge, with Brad MacDonald voicing him as a child; Richard Cansino and Wally Wingert also voice him in some video games.

Anko Mitarashi

is a kunoichi from Konohagakure and a classmate of Team Minato's. She was assigned to a team under the tutelage of Orochimaru. The two became fond of each other, and Orochimaru ultimately decided to give Anko some of his research. However, this resulted in Anko being the only survivor of ten Cursed Seal subjects, and also develop various snake-like abilities. After Orochimaru abandoned his village, Anko blamed herself and made it her personal goal to eliminate him. At the start of the series, she is a loud, brash tokubetsu jonin and the proctor of the second part of the Chunin Exams. After prematurely arriving to take the examinees to the Forest of Death, she ends up frightening Naruto when he complains about her "exaggerations" of the forest. She also fights Orochimaru in the forest alone when she discovers he is in there. During Part II, Anko is sent by the Allied Shinobi Forces to find and locate Kabuto. However, Kabuto ends up defeating her in battle, and uses her Cursed Seal to fuel his Reanimation Jutsu while she is unconscious. Sasuke and the Taka later finds her and uses her Curses Sealilng to release Orochimaru, causing the Cursed Seal to be cured. In the epilogue, Anko is an instructor at the academy, having become rather fat. In Japanese, Anko is voiced by Takako Honda. In the English dub, she is voiced by Julianne Buescher until Episode 169, when Laura Bailey takes over; Anko is also voiced by Kari Wahlgren in Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 and is also voiced by Cherami Leigh in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

Shizune

is a Konohagakure ninja introduced in the series as Tsunade's assistant. She leaves Konohagakure with Tsunade after the death of Tsunade's boyfriend, Dan Katō, and Tsunade teaches her medical techniques over their years away from the village. Many of her attacks in the series are poison-based, including using concealed poisoned needles or emitting toxic gas from her mouth. In Part II of the series, Shizune's concern for details causes her to question Tsunade's judgment, creating interference with Tsunade's plans and temporarily straining the relationship between the two. During Pain's attack on Konohagakure, Shizune is briefly killed when her soul is stripped away as the Human Path interrogates her about Naruto's whereabouts, though she is revived at the end of the invasion. She continues to serve as the Hokage's personal assistant well over into Naruto's leadership as the Seventh Hokage in the series epilogue. In the Japanese anime, her voice actress is Keiko Nemoto, and her English voice actress is Megan Hollingshead.

Killer Bee

is a ninja from the village of Kumogakure and the Jinchuriki of Gyūki — the Eight-Tails. He is also the adopted brother of Ay, the Fourth Raikage, and as such, is expected to be the guardian of the village. In battle, he uses its great strength to increase the lethality of his professional wrestling-styled attacks, something Kishimoto's former editor proposed.

Hagoromo Otsutsuki

, known as , and his twin brother Hamura are the sons of Kaguya. Having unintentionality inherited fragments of the Shinju's chakra while in their mother's womb, Hagoromo and Hamura ended up fighting Kaguya upon learning the truth of the utopia they were born into. After the brothers defeated Kaguya following her transformation into the Ten-Tails, Hagoromo become the first jinchūriki and use the chakra to establish a practice known as ninshu, which eventually evolved into ninjutsu to his dismay, Hagoromo started a family while considering an heir to his legacy between his sons, Asura and Indra. While Indra was naturally gifted and self-reliant, Hagoromo ultimately decided on Asura due to his ability to befriend others and peaceful ideologies. This would cause a rift between the brothers, Hagoromo unaware of Black Zetsu's role in turning Indra against his family. Hagoromo later uses the last of his strength to create the Tailed Beasts before dying and seal the body of the Ten-Tails into the moon. Despite his death, Hagoromo's spirit observed Asura and Indra throughout their reincarnations, including Hashirama and Madara, before his sons' current incarnations as Naruto and Sasuke. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, realizing Madara's intentions, Hagoromo intervenes to give Naruto and Sasuke the power to defeat Kaguya and later bringing Team 7 back from Kaguya's dimension with the deceased Kage. Hagoromo eventually departs as Naruto and Sasuke proceed in their final duel. Hagoromo is voiced by Mitsutaka Tachikawa in Japanese and Michael McConnohie in the English dub for anime until Shippuden episode 463, where he was replaced by Doug Stone, while in game version voiced by Fred Tatasciore in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 and his younger self was voiced by Keith Silverstein.

Himawari Uzumaki

is the second child of Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga, inheriting the latter's hair along with her father's blue eyes. She also inherits her maternal family's Byakugan, which allows her to do the Gentle Fist technique capable of blocking the target's chakra points with one hit, although she only activates them when she is angry. Like her mother, Himawari is kind-hearted and is fond of her brother Boruto even though he has a fear of her if Himawari actives Byakugan, though she has a temper like her late-paternal grandmother that terrifies Boruto if she is pushed too hard. One such moment resulted in Himawari accidentally knocking Naruto out before his inauguration as Hokage with Kurama developing a phobia of her from the near-death ordeal and giving Naruto Syngenesophobia. She visits Neji's grave with her mother during the epilogue. During the events of Boruto, following the timeskip, Himawari is revealed to have become the Jinchuruiki of the assumed dead Kurama when he tricked Naruto into sacrificing him to assume Baryon Mode in their fight against Isshiki. Himawari reveals her Jinchuriki status while fighting Jura, who sensed Kurama within her.

In the Japanese version, Himawari is voiced by Yūki Kuwahara in The Last: Naruto the Movie and Saori Hayami in Boruto: Naruto the Movie. In the English version, Himawari is voiced by Stephanie Sheh in The Last: Naruto the Movie and Melissa Fahn in Boruto: Naruto the Movie

Kagura Karatachi

is the grandson of the Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi. Kagura was killed by the revenge-seeking Funamushi of the Funato Clan. Kagura is voiced by Keisuke Kōmoto in Japanese and Bryce Papenbrook in the English dub.

Other characters

Sunagakure

Chiyo

was an elder advisor to Sunagakure introduced at the start of Part II, initially mistrustful of other ninja villages because of the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars. During those wars, she played a role in formal treaties while strengthening Sunagakure's military might with her knowledge of poisons despite her efforts being nullified by Tsunade's antidotes. As a skilled puppeteer, Chiyo takes Sasori in after his parents died at the hands of Sakumo Hatake, the father of Kakashi. She teaches him everything she knows before his departure. When Gaara is captured by the Akatsuki, Chiyo joins Team Kakashi to rescue the Kazekage. Confronting Sasori, Chiyo is able to kill her grandson after Sasori purposefully does not avoid an attack. Despite their efforts, Gaara dies before they can rescue him. Touched by the genuine bond formed between the Sand and the Leaf, Chiyo gives up her life to revive Gaara, hoping that the relationship of peace might be continued. However, by the Fourth Great Ninja War, Chiyo is brought back by Kabuto's Reanimation Jutsu to fight against the combined Ninja army. She is eventually put back to rest after Itachi cancels the technique. The character is voiced by Ikuko Tani in the Japanese anime,

Kumogakure

Darui

is a Kumogakure ninja who serves as one of the bodyguards for the Fourth Raikage during the Kage Summit. In contrast to his master, he is easygoing and tends to apologize, which the Raikage chastises him for. He is taught by the Third Raikage on the arts of black lightning, shaping it in the form of black panther, and also possesses the Storm Style kekkei genkai, a mixture of lightning and water elements that forms flowing lightning. During the Fourth Ninja War, Darui leads the First Division specializing in mid-range battles. Sometime between the war's end and the series epilogue, he becomes the . During Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Darui goes to the Leaf Village to oversee the Chunnin Exams. He is voiced by Ryota Takeuchi in the Japanese anime and Catero Colbert in the English dub, though Ogie Banks replaces the latter for the Ultimate Ninja Storm series of video games.

A (Third Raikage)

is the . He is known as the greatest Raikage who dueled Eight-Tails and faced an army by himself. One time during the Third Great Ninja War, he and his team was surrounded by an army of 10,000 shinobi. To allow his comrades to escape, he decided to hold of the entire enemy forces for three full days to let his team escape. He soon died after exhausting all of his chakra. Years later, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, he was reanimated by Kabuto Yakushi alongside other prominent Kages like Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, Mu, the Second Tsuchikage, and Gengetsu Hōzuki, the Second Mizukage. The Four Kages eventually had a skirmish with an Allied Shinobi Force division led by Gaara. A was defeated by Naruto Uzumaki specifically and was sealed away. He is voiced by Naoki Tamanoi in Japanese, and in English by Beau Billingslea in his initial appearance, before he was replaced by Neil Kaplan from episode 282 to 301, where Billingslea reprises his role as A once again. In the English dub of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, he is instead voiced by Fred Tatasciore.

Karui

is one of Killer Bee's subordinates, a part of Team Samui. She is greatly worried by her teacher's disappearance following his fight with Taka and visits Konohagakure with her team in order to find him. A passionate and bold young woman, she quickly becomes involved in an altercation with Team Kakashi, blaming them for befriending and defending Sasuke Uchiha. She even proceeds to brutally punch Naruto in the face repeatedly after he allows her to do so as compensation for not giving up information on Sasuke. Karui is assigned as part of the Second Division during the Fourth Ninja War. Sometime after the war ends, she moves to Konohagakure and marries Choji Akimichi, giving birth to their daughter Chocho, who is an academy student in the series epilogue. Karui is voiced by Yuka Komatsu in the Japanese anime. In the English dub, Danielle Nicolet voices the character in Naruto and Sascha Alexander in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

Kirigakure

Mei Terumi

is the of the Kirigakure. She possesses two kekkei genkai: the Lava Style, a combination of fire and earth elements that allows her to spit lava, and Vapor Style, which mixes fire and water to create corrosive mist. She is apparently relatively new to the position and does not remember the previous leadership, which conducted witch hunts against kekkei genkai users like her, fondly. During the Kage Summit, Mei acts rather dodgy when asked about rumors that the Akatsuki formed in her village, and when she finds out Danzo is capable of mind control she suspects him of using it on the previous Mizukage. She manages to nearly kill Sasuke during the meeting and initially helps guard the daimyō of the Shinobi Countries during the preparation for the Fourth Ninja War. During the war, Mei fights the revived Madara Uchiha with the other Kages, though despite their impressive teamwork, they still end up losing to Madara's might. Years after the war comes to an end and during some point at the epilogue, Mei passes down her title to her former bodyguard Chōjūrō. Despite being a beautiful woman in her thirties, she is never married, and the status of being one pains her. She is voiced by Yurika Hino in the Japanese anime, and by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn in the English adaptation.

Chojuro

is one of Mei Terumi's bodyguards, with the other being Ao. He is one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, carrying the sword , but after Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki are killed, he becomes the only real one left of the Swordsmen; in addition, he is the only one affiliated with the village at the beginning of the series. Chojuro frequently annoys Ao because he stutters and seems to lack self-confidence. After accompanying the Mizukage to the Kage Summit, he helps her guard the daimyō of the Shinobi Countries, and is able to gain enough self-confidence to help Naruto defeat Black Zetsu. He later becomes the sometime after the war. In the Japanese anime, he is voiced by Kouki Miyata, while Brian Beacock provides his voice in the English adaptation.

Ao

is one of Mei Terumi's bodyguards. He is a middle-aged ninja who wears an eyepatch on his right eye, a Byakugan he acquired from a main house Hyuga, and is often critical of Chōjūrō's indecisiveness due to his upbringing during Hidden Mist Village's "Blood Mist" days. When Mifune suggests Danzo Shimura to lead the inter-village effort against the Akatsuki, Ao reveals his Byakugan to confirm that Danzo's eye and arm belonged to Shisui Uchiha, whom he fought and aware of the Uchiha's ability to covertly manipulate others. Ao then goes after Danzo's group when they flee during Taka's attack, only to saved by Mei and Chōjūrō when he fell into a trap that Danzo's men set up in an attempt to retrieve his Byakugan. Ao serves in the Allied Shinobi Forces as captain of the Sensor Division stationed in the Shinobi Alliance Headquarters in Kumogakure, barely surviving the Ten Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb when it obliterated their base. Later revealed to have survived in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, his body has been augmented with Shinobi-Ware prosthetics that include a Type-3 Shinobi Gauntlet replacing his left forearm. Ao had become a sleeper agent for the Kara. He engaged Team Konohamaru and Katasuke, using one of the latter's inventions to kill Mugino. A revenge-driven Boruto manages to outwit and overpower Ao, sparing the man's life, and making him return to the Shinobi side. Ao ends up sacrificing himself to save Boruto from being crushed by Kashin Koji's Boiler Toad. He is voiced by Tadahisa Saizen in the Japanese anime, while Steven Blum voices him in the English adaptation.

Gengetsu Hozuki

was the of Kirigakure. A very tall mustached man with large poofy hair, curious way of dressing and with no eyebrows, he was laid back and very charismatic leader concerned with the welfare of his village. He loathed the Second Tsuchikage and their final confrontation with each other resulted in their mutual deaths. Gengetsu is brought back to life by Kabuto's resurrection technique alongside other prominent Kages like Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, Mu, the Second Tsuchikage, and A, the Third Raikage to face the Shinobi Alliance in the Fourth Ninja War. The Four Kages eventually had a skirmish with the Allied Forces and was defeated. Like other members of the Hozuki clan, he mastered hydrification technique, which manifests itself as an oily, water like substance. He is voiced by Hideyuki Umezu in the Japanese anime, while Jamieson Price voices him in the English adaptation.

Yagura Karatachi

Yagura Karatachi was the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure or the Village Hidden in the Mist. He was a short and pink-eyed character who was the Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails Isobu. A while after becoming a Jinchuriki, Yagura was confronted by Obito Uchiha, Pain (Nagato Uzumaki), and Konan, and Obito placed Yagura under a powerful genjutsu, essentially enslaving Yagura as his will was basically being overwritten by Obito. Due to Yagura being enslaved and manipulated, he forced his village to entered the Bloody Mist era where students are forced to fight each other to the death to be able to graduate if they survive. After years of secretly being controlled by Obito, Ao finally discovered the genjutsu manipulating Yagura after he used his Byakugan. Ao eventually dispelled the genjutsu but Yagura died shortly after, subsequently killing the Three-Tails as well. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kabuto Yakushi reanimated Yagura Karatachi. A while later, Kabuto was forced by reanimated Itachi Uchiha to cease his Reanimation jutsu. Subsequenly, Yagura was released from the Reanimation jutsu. Yagura was voiced by Miyu Irino in Japanese and Johnny Yong Bosch along with Nicolas Roye in English.

Iwagakure

Onoki

was the of the Iwagakure, the grandson of the First Tsuchikage Ishikawa, and a protege of his predecessor Mu with longest reign as Kage that allowed him to personally meet many figures long dead in the present, including Madara Uchiha. He possesses the Particle Style, a kekkei tota that combines Fire, Earth, and Wind elements to create three-dimensional shapes capable of disintegrating anything it touches, as well as the ability to alter gravity, enabling him flight. He is very proud, despite his frailty, and shows little respect to those much younger than him. During the Kage Summit, he admitted to have frequently hired Akatsuki members. While Onoki justify hiring the Akatsuki as necessary in protecting his village during its demilitarization, both it and his advanced age kept him from being named leader of the Shinobi Alliance though Sasuke's intrusion and Gaara's conduct cause Onoki to regain some of more noble traits from his youth. Later, he goes out to find Kabuto and prevent him from finding Killer Bee and Naruto and succeeds in protecting them, although Kabuto does successfully capture Yamato, Naruto's bodyguard. Throughout the war, Onoki's techniques proved instrumental in keeping Alliance members alive and he becomes the de facto leader in the assault against the real Madara Uchiha. Years later, Onoki retires due to his failing health and passes down his title to his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi. In the Boruto series, following an attack on his village by a rogue ninja a decade after the Fourth Great Ninja War that took the life of his grandson Kozuchi, Onoki began to develop the Akuta as a defense force to keep people safe and unharmed. He continued perfecting the process after receiving a White Zetsu's remains, improving on the Akuta while creating Fabrications like his partial clone son Kū as he orchestrated Mitsuki's abduction to refine the process. But upon seeing the extent the Fabrications would go to see his ideals realized, Onoki helps Boruto stop the artificial humans at the cost of his life. Onoki is voiced by Tomomichi Nishimura in the Japanese anime The inclusion of the fox spirit was also inspired by Godzilla.

In the Japanese anime, Kurama's voice actor is Tesshō Genda, and in the English adaptation, he is voiced by Paul St. Peter.

Gyūki (Eight-Tails)

Gyūki (牛鬼), is known as the Eight-Tails (八尾, Hachibi) of the Tailed Beasts. It was most recently sealed inside Killer Bee of Kumogakure. Gyūki is an octopus with an ox-like head. It is likely based on the yōkai Ushi-oni.

In the Japanese anime, Gyūki's voice actor is Masaki Aizawa, and in the English adaptation, it is voiced by Matthew Mercer.

Chōmei (Seven-Tails)

Chōmei (重明), is known as the Seven-Tails (七尾, Nanabi, Shichibi) of the Tailed Beasts. Prior to the Akatsuki's hunt of the Tailed Beasts, it was sealed inside Fū of Takigakure. Chōmei is a Japanese rhinoceros beetle.

In the Japanese anime, Chōmei's voice actor is Kenichi Suzumura, and in the English adaptation, it is voiced by Steven Blum.

Saiken (Six-Tails)

Saiken (犀犬), is known as the Six-Tails (六尾, Rokubi) of the Tailed Beasts. The beast was sealed inside Utakata of Kirigakure. Utakata was later nabbed by the Akatsuki, specifically Pain. Saiken is a slug.

In the Japanese anime, Saiken's voice actor is Miyu Irino, and in the English adaptation, it is voiced by Todd Haberkorn.

Kokuō (Five-Tails)

Kokuō (穆王), is known as the Five-Tails (五尾, Gobi) of the Tailed Beasts. Prior to the Akatsuki's hunt of the Tailed Beasts, it was sealed inside Han of Iwagakure. Kokuō is a horse-dolphin.

In the Japanese anime, Kokuō's voice actor is Mie Sonozaki, and in the English adaptation, it is voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn.

Son Gokū (Four-Tails)

Seiten Taisei Son Gokū (斉天大聖孫悟空), is known as the Four-Tails (四尾, Yonbi) of the Tailed Beasts. Prior to the Akatsuki's hunt of the Tailed Beasts, he was sealed inside Rōshi of Iwagakure. Son Gokū is a gorilla-monkey, likely based on Sun Wukong.

In the Japanese anime, Son Gokū's voice actor is Hiroki Yasumoto, and in the English adaptation, he is voiced by John Eric Bentley.

Isobu (Three-Tails)

Isobu (磯撫), is known as the Three-Tails (三尾, Sanbi) of the Tailed Beasts. The beast was once forcefully sealed by Hidden Mist ninjas into Rin Nohara. Kakashi Hatake accidentally killed Rin, killing Isobu in the process, when she purposefully jumped in front of Kakashi's chidori when he tried to attack the Hidden Mist ninjas. The beast was eventually reincarnated and soon sealed inside Yagura Karatachi of Kirigakure before Yagura died, resulting in the death of Isobu again. After Isobu was eventually and naturally reincarnated in a lake, Hidden Leaf ninjas, Orochimaru's henchmen, and the Akatsuki, specifially Obito and Deidara, tried to nab and seal the beast. However, the Akatsuki emerged victorious, managing to nab the beast. Isobu is a turtle, likely based on the yōkai: the Isonade.

In the Japanese anime, Isobu's voice actor is Shigenori Sōya, and in the English adaptation, it is voiced by Chris Edgerly.

Matatabi (Two-Tails)

Matatabi (又旅), is known as the Two-Tails (ニ尾, Nibi) of the Tailed Beasts. It was sealed inside Yugito Nii of Kumogakure, before she was nabbed by Hidan and Kakuzu, both of which were Akatsuki members. Matatabi is a tiger-like cat, likely based on the yōkai: the Nekomata and/or the Bakeneko.

In the Japanese anime, Matatabi's voice actor is Ryōko Shiraishi, and in the English adaptation, it is voiced by Cristina Vee.

Shukaku (One-Tail)

Shukaku (守鶴), is known as the One-Tails (一尾, Ichibi) of the Tailed Beasts. It was sealed inside Gaara of Sunagakure, before Deidara and Sasori, both Ataksuki members, nabbed Gaara and sealed the beast in a vessel. Shukaku is a tanuki, likely based on the yōkai: the Bake-danuki.

In the Japanese anime, Shukaku's voice actor is Hiroshi Iwasaki, and in the English adaptation, he is voiced by Kirk Thornton.

Taka

, originally named , is a group of shinobi formed by Sasuke originally to locate and kill Itachi Uchiha, but later allied with the Akatsuki to destroy Konohagakure. Each of them were forcibly taken in by Orochimaru and forced to serve under him as Otogakure shinobi along with Sasuke, ultimately seeking redemption by allying with Sasuke. The group gets split up after their attempt at terrorizing the Five Kage Summit, but they later reunite as part of the Allied Shinobi Forces. Following the war, they went back to Otogakure along with Orochimaru.

Suigetsu Hozuki

is the first member to join. Originally from Kirigakure, his goal is to claim all of the swords wielded by the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and from there reform the organization in memory of his late brother Mangetsu, who was a member himself. Although his dream was initially cut short by Orochimaru, after Sasuke freed him he managed to claim Zabuza's sword, but lost it while battling the Kage. Suigetsu tends to have a sadistic personality, constantly fascinating about cutting things and consequently getting on Karin's nerves, yet sees himself as normal in comparison to most other people. His clan has the ability to turn any part of their body into water, but must stay hydrated to do so. Suigetsu is voiced by Takashi Kondo in Japanese and by Grant George in the English dub except in Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals, where he is voiced by Todd Haberkorn.

Karin Uzumaki

is the second member of Taka and a member of the Uzumaki Clan that Naruto, Kushina and Mito belongs to. She was originally from Kusagakure and later another unnamed village, but after the latter was destroyed she was taken in by Orochimaru, eventually becoming a loyal servant to him. After briefly encountering Sasuke during the Chunin Exams, she became addicted to him and decided to join Taka to be at his side. Karin was critically wounded by Sasuke during his battle against Danzo, and after he left her behind, Karin was arrested by Kakashi, in turn meeting Naruto for the first time. She later met up with Sasuke to confront him, but instead immediately forgave him. Sometime after, she moved on from Sasuke due to wanting him to be happy and helped deliver Sasuke and Sakura's daughter, Sarada. Karin is a Sensor Type, able to sense other's chakra and feel a person's aura that way, such as seeing Naruto's chakra as "bright and warm". She also can heal people if they bite her, which causes them to absorb chakra, leaving permanent marks all over her body, but due to the risks involved she can only use it once per day. In Japanese, Karin is voiced by Kanako Tōjō up until Episode 485, when Toa Yukinari takes over. In English, she is voiced by Ali Hillis except in Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals, where she is voiced by Michelle Ruff.

Jugo

is the third member of Taka. His clan has the ability to use senjutsu, but due to the severe amount of natural energy they absorb they are prone to fits of extreme violence, with additional side effects being that they can revert to a childlike form if they use it the wrong way. Because of this, in childhood, Jugo was an outcast, eventually finding solace in Kimimaro whom he saw as an older sibling. After meeting Sasuke, he tried to refuse being part of Taka and used his abilities, but Sasuke managed to calm him down. As Kimimaro was the only other person who could do this, Jugo decided to follow Sasuke in the belief that he was Kimimaro's reincarnation. Jugo is voiced by Shuhei Sakaguchi in Japanese and by Travis Willingham in the English dub except in Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals, where he is voiced by Patrick Seitz and is also voiced by Kyle Hebert in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

Danzo Shimura

is one of the oldest villagers in Konohagakure, and a moderately cantankerous war hawk who was Hiruzen's rival whom he consequently opposed along with the other Hokage for placing world peace above their village's best interests. As Hiruzen obtained the Third Hokage title, Danzo uses the Root and his own personal Root black ops to secretly oversee their village's security along with his personal goal to become a Hokage. This led to Danzo being responsible for events that included Kabuto's defection and orchestrating the Uchiha Massacre. The latter event result in him having the transplanted right eye of Shisui Uchiha, along with having Orochimaru using Shin's genetic makeup to graft Danzo's right arm with a large number of Sharingan eyes and Hashirama's cells. Following Pain's attack devastating Konohagakure, Danzo took advantage of Tsunade's coma in convincing the Fire Country's feudal lord to make him Acting and uses his position to decree Sasuke a wanted criminal before attaining the Five Kage summit to convince the formation of the Shinobi alliance with himself as its leader. But the plan fails when Sasuke Uchiha infiltrated the meeting place and the other kages figured out that Danzo possesses Shisui's right eye. While attempting to flee the area, he ultimately committs suicide after he battled and lost to Sasuke. He then uses the last of his strength in an attempted sealing jutsu on Sasuke and Obito. Though the jutsu failed, Danzō destroyed Shisui's Sharingan to ensure Obito would not obtain it. With Danzo's death, the Root ended in the aftermath of the Fourth Great Ninja War with its members allowed to live in peace while integrating back into society. In the Japanese anime he is voiced by Hiroshi Ito and in the English version he is voiced by William Frederick Knight except in Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals, where he is voiced by Richard Epcar.

Rin Nohara

is a female member of Team Minato and the teammate of Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha, appearing only in person during the Kakashi Gaiden act. She acts as a medical ninja and had a crush on Kakashi, though she is unaware that she herself has the affection of Obito. When Team Minato is sent to sabotage Kannabi Bridge during the Third Great Ninja War, she was kidnapped by the Iwagakure ninja before the resulting rescue mission ends with Obito's apparent death. Sometime afterward, she is captured by the Kirigakure ninja and made into Isobu's Jinchuriki as part of a Trojan horse scheme to destroy Konoha. Rin realized the scheme while being rescued and jumped in the way of Kakashi's Lightning Blade to save the village at the cost of her life, which is later revealed to have been orchestrated by Madara to break Obito's spirit. Obito later learns upon his death that Rin's spirit has always been waiting for him, and later guides him to the other side after he metaphysically helps Kakashi one last time in his team's battle against Kaguya. In the Japanese anime, Rin's voice actress is Haruhi Nanao, and her English voice actress is Stephanie Sheh.

Kushina Uzumaki

is the mother of Naruto Uzumaki and the wife of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze. She is a host of Kurama, immediately preceding Naruto. While Naruto physically resembles his father, Minato, he inherits most of his personality from Kushina, who is brash, temperamental, likes ramen, and even has the verbal tic, which both her son and grandson inherit. Being a member of the Uzumaki Clan, Kushina possesses a special chakra that was distinguished even among her peers, causing her to be sent from her homeland to Konohagakure to be the host of Kurama, replacing Mito Uzumaki. In Konohagakure, Kushina met with Minato who became Kushina's love after he saved her from a kidnapper, leading to their marriage. During her pregnancy, she had to be sent to a secretive place during labor to prevent Kurama's seal being broken. However, the place was subdued by Obito Uchiha, and he released Kurama who ran rampant on Konoha. She and Minato both sacrifice their lives to seal Kurama to Naruto after the tailed beast is weakened from losing his yin-chakra, while also placing some of their chakra to their son as a fail-safe if he would break the seal. In Part II, Kushina's chakra appears during Naruto's subconscious battle with Kurama, helping her son to seal the fox and to tell him the truth behind Kurama's attack sixteen years ago. Before disappearing, she thanks Naruto for forgiving her about the whole ordeal of the sealing of Kurama. In the Japanese anime, Kushina is voiced by Emi Shinohara. She was voiced by Cindy Robinson in the English version before Laura Bailey took over the role since episode 246 and onwards.

Reception

The characters of Naruto have received both praise and criticism from publications dedicated to anime, manga, and other media. Active Anime lauded the characters for not being "simple cardboard cut-out characters" due to their "fleshed out personalities" and "underlying dramatic motivations", and praised the "deeply moving emotional trials" they undergo over the course of the series. Adam Cook of Anime Boredom agreed with this assessment, extolling the characters as "well rounded" and "imaginative", and celebrated how the characters allowed the series to successfully incorporate comedy, action, and drama together in a believable manner. A review from Derrick Tucker, also of THEM Anime Reviews offered a positive view, commenting that Naruto Uzumaki combined the finer values of his shōnen predecessors, but lamented how the characters' personalities tended to fall between Naruto's "charisma and coolness" and Sasuke's "blandness", making it difficult to think about the characters on "any deep or meaningful level".