176 Fun Facts About Naruto

Naruto's family name, Uzumaki, is the Japanese word for which natural phenomenon?

A whirlpool is what 'uzumaki' means, which is why spirals mark Naruto's clothes; his full name also nods to the Naruto whirlpools, a real tidal spectacle in Japan.

Which village is Naruto Uzumaki from?

Naruto is from Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village, whose leaf-spiral symbol appears on every Leaf ninja's forehead protector.

Which technique does Naruto learn from the Scroll of Seals in order to graduate?

Naruto could not manage a basic clone at the Academy, yet after a brief study of the scroll he mastered the far harder Shadow Clone Jutsu and made it his trademark.

Who is the leader of Team 7?

Kakashi Hatake is the jonin leader of Team 7, which consists of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno.

What tailed beast is sealed inside Naruto?

The Nine-Tails, later revealed to be named Kurama, was sealed inside Naruto on the day he was born, and most of the village shunned him for it.

What is Sasuke Uchiha's primary motivation for leaving the Hidden Leaf Village?

To grow stronger than his brother Itachi, who slaughtered their clan, Sasuke abandons his friends and village to train under Orochimaru.

Who created the manga series Naruto?

Masashi Kishimoto created Naruto, which he wrote and drew for Weekly Shonen Jump across fifteen years and 72 collected volumes.

What color is Naruto's iconic jumpsuit in Part I of the series?

Orange was a deliberate break from stealth: Kishimoto has said a real ninja would wear blue to stay hidden, but a shonen hero who announces himself rather than hides suited a loud colour.

Which Academy teacher does Naruto come to regard as a father figure?

Iruka Umino taught Naruto at the Academy and was the first adult to truly acknowledge him; years later Naruto asks Iruka to stand in as his father at his wedding.

Who is Naruto's mother?

A chakra imprint of Kushina Uzumaki was sealed inside Naruto at his birth, so she meets her son years after her death and helps him master the beast's power.

What is the name of Naruto's favorite food?

Ramen even gave Naruto his name: he is named after the hero of a novel, whose author admits he thought the name up while eating a bowl topped with narutomaki fish cake.

By which nickname is Kakashi Hatake best known to his enemies?

The Copy Ninja is said to have mimicked more than a thousand jutsu with the Sharingan eye he was given by a dying teammate.

Which technique is the signature of Shikamaru's clan?

Shadow Possession Jutsu binds an opponent's shadow to the user's so they mirror every move; Shikamaru traps his Chunin Exam finals opponent with it, then forfeits because his chakra is spent.

Which three ninja make up the legendary Sannin?

Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru earned the name in the Second Great Ninja War, when Hanzo of Amegakure dubbed them the Sannin for being the only Konoha ninja to survive a battle with him.

In the Chunin Exams, who does Naruto fight in the preliminary round?

Naruto faces Kiba Inuzuka and his dog Akamaru in the preliminaries and wins after an accidental fart overwhelms Kiba's heightened sense of smell.

Which chakra nature does Naruto discover is his own while training with Kakashi?

Wind is the nature Naruto was born with; under Kakashi's guidance he fuses it into his signature attack, and the result brings down the Akatsuki member Kakuzu.

Besides drinking, which vice is the medical ninja Tsunade notorious for?

Gambling is Tsunade's vice, and her luck is so bad that she treats a rare winning streak as an omen that something terrible is about to happen.

What does the Akatsuki organization wear?

Black cloaks with red clouds mark the Akatsuki; the clouds stand for the wars that rained blood on Amegakure, the homeland of the group's founders.

Which is the only ninja rank Naruto officially holds before he becomes Hokage?

Naruto never passes another exam after becoming a Genin, so he jumps straight from the lowest rank to Hokage, something Kishimoto found appealing.

What does Rock Lee take off partway through his Chunin Exam fight with Gaara?

His ankle weights look modest until they hit the arena floor and smash craters in it; freed of them, Lee is the first fighter fast enough to slip past Gaara's sand shield.

Which technique, invented by the Fourth Hokage, does Jiraiya teach Naruto?

Rasengan needs no hand seals, only fierce chakra control; Jiraiya breaks it into three steps and teaches it while he and Naruto search for the next Hokage.

What is the name of Gaara's tailed beast?

Shukaku, the One-Tailed tanuki, was sealed in Gaara before he was born; it threatens to take over whenever he sleeps, which left him an insomniac with dark rings round his eyes.

What is the Byakugan's primary ability?

Nearly 360-degree vision is the Byakugan's gift, yet one small blind spot remains at the back of the neck, a flaw its users must guard; the eye also sees the chakra network inside a body.

What does the name of Team 10's trio, Ino-Shika-Cho, refer to?

A hanafuda card combination: ino-shika-cho is the boar, deer and butterfly hand in the game Koi-Koi, and Ino, Shikamaru and Choji each carry one of the three animals in their names.

Which lightning-based attack does Sasuke learn from his Team 7 sensei?

The Chidori (One Thousand Birds) is named for the sound it makes, which resembles a flock of chirping birds.

Where does the second stage of the Chunin Exams take place?

The Forest of Death is where exam teams fight each other for Heaven and Earth scrolls, and where Orochimaru slips in under a stolen identity to test Sasuke for himself.

Whom does Naruto beat in the first round of the Chunin Exam finals?

Neji Hyuga preaches that a failure can never escape fate; Naruto's upset win, and the truth about how his father died, lead him to give that belief up.

What is Sage Mode?

A state achieved by gathering natural energy, Sage Mode demands absolute stillness to enter, and drawing in too much turns the user into a stone statue.

Which brother helped the Sage of Six Paths defeat and seal the Ten-Tails?

Hamura Otsutsuki, the Sage's twin, fought beside him against the Ten-Tails; his own line went on to guard the moon and to found the Hyuga clan.

Who is Naruto's father?

Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, died sealing the beast inside his newborn son, and left a trace of his own chakra in the seal to step in if it ever began to break.

Why did Itachi Uchiha really massacre his clan?

He was ordered by Konoha to prevent a coup his own clan was planning; Itachi accepted in exchange for Sasuke's safety and chose to be remembered as a traitor.

Which forbidden technique lets Orochimaru move into a new host body?

Living Corpse Reincarnation lets Orochimaru take over a host's body, but only once every three years, which is why he must wait so long for the body he wants most, Sasuke's.

The rogue ninja group that hunts the tailed beasts is called the Akatsuki, a Japanese word meaning what?

Dawn is what 'akatsuki' literally means; the group was founded to bring peace to its war-torn homeland, and only later turned to hunting the tailed beasts.

What summon animal does Jiraiya use?

Toads of Mount Myoboku trained Jiraiya in their secret arts, and their elder foretold that he would one day mentor a child who changes the ninja world.

Which technique raises an army of the dead to fight in the Fourth Great Ninja War?

Reanimation Jutsu binds the dead to its caster's will; Orochimaru unveils it by raising the First and Second Hokage to fight their own successor.

Which trademark catchphrase is Shikamaru Nara's in the English dub?

'What a drag' is the dub's take on 'mendokuse', also rendered 'how troublesome'; for all the sighing, Shikamaru is the first of his class to be promoted to chunin.

Which animal's form does Son Goku, the Four-Tails, take?

A monkey with red fur and a gorilla's build, Son Goku carries the Japanese name of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, written with the very same characters.

Whom does Shikamaru Nara eventually marry?

Temari first faces Shikamaru as his opponent in the Chunin Exam finals; years later they marry, which makes Gaara an uncle to their son Shikadai.

What do Naruto and Sasuke each lose in their final battle?

An arm each: Naruto loses his right and Sasuke his left in the clash that ends their duel; Naruto later accepts a prosthetic, while Sasuke chooses to go without one.

Which renegade instructor tricks Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals?

Mizuki blurts out the secret of the beast sealed inside Naruto; Naruto beats him soundly anyway, and wins the respect of the teacher he had just protected.

Which Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu does Itachi use to trap victims in an illusory world of his own design?

Tsukuyomi lets Itachi bend his victim's sense of time inside the illusion, so they live through what feels like days of torture in a few seconds.

Which Eight Gates taijutsu nearly killed Madara Uchiha in the Fourth Great Ninja War?

Night Guy needs all eight inner gates open, a step meant to be fatal; the kick almost finishes Madara but shatters Guy's own leg, and only Naruto's intervention keeps him alive.

Which former aide of Orochimaru fields an army of revived dead ninja in the Fourth Great Ninja War?

Kabuto Yakushi, once Orochimaru's spy and right hand, revives dozens of dead shinobi for the war; after it, at peace with himself, he goes home to run the orphanage that raised him.

Who is the Sage of Six Paths?

Hagoromo Otsutsuki sealed the Ten-Tails inside himself, becoming the first jinchuriki, and later split its chakra into the tailed beasts; his sons Indra and Asura began the Uchiha and Senju lines.

Who stabs Madara through the chest at the very moment his grand plan succeeds?

Black Zetsu, which Madara took for a creature of his own will, strikes the instant he wins; it had only posed as his creation so it could steer him for years.

Which eye power does Madara Uchiha awaken in hiding, near the end of his natural life?

The Rinnegan came to Madara only as his natural life was running out; before dying he hid the eyes in a young orphan, to be reclaimed when he was revived.

Which tailed beast, an ox with octopus tentacles for tails, is sealed inside Killer Bee?

Gyuki, the Eight-Tails, is a giant ox with octopus tentacles; unlike the hosts before him, Killer Bee made a friend of the beast.

Which seal does Orochimaru brand on Sasuke during the Chunin Exams?

The Cursed Seal of Heaven boosts Sasuke's strength but carries a fragment of Orochimaru's own consciousness; Anko Mitarashi, a former pupil, bears the same three-tomoe mark.

Which Akatsuki member sculpts explosive clay and insists that true art lasts only a single moment?

Deidara, a rogue ninja from the Hidden Stone Village, molds clay bombs with the mouths in his palms; his partner Sasori held the opposite view that art should be eternal.

In Kishimoto's original 1997 one-shot, what was the boy Naruto in his true form?

A fox spirit living as a boy is the one-shot's hero; the series turned that inside out, sealing the fox inside a human child.

Which Dragon Ball character, 'more human' than Goku, did Kishimoto say influenced Naruto?

He wanted the hero kept 'simple and stupid', with visible flaws readers could accept.

What fills the last 85 episodes of the original Naruto anime's 220-episode run?

Stories not found in the manga fill episodes 136 to 220: the anime had adapted all of Part I, so the studio wrote its own arcs until the retitled Shippuden picked the manga up again.

In Kakashi's survival test, what must his three new students take from him?

Two bells for three students is the catch: one of them seems doomed to fail, but the real test is whether they will work as a team, and all three pass.

Which Ikimonogakari song is the third opening theme of Naruto: Shippuden?

Blue Bird opened only 24 episodes of Shippuden, yet a 2026 Japanese TV poll of music professionals ranked it second among the greatest anime songs.

Kakashi's father Sakumo Hatake was known across the ninja world by what nickname?

Sakumo Hatake was the White Fang of the Leaf; his suicide after abandoning a mission to save his comrades shaped Kakashi's early rules-first philosophy.

In Naruto, the dying Obito's Sharingan was implanted into Kakashi's damaged eye on the spot by which teammate?

Rin Nohara carried out Obito's dying wish, implanting his newly acquired Sharingan into Kakashi's freshly damaged eye socket; Obito's right side had been crushed in a cave-in on a mission to rescue her.

Which event awakened Kakashi Hatake's Mangekyo Sharingan?

Rin's death came by Kakashi's own hand: she threw herself onto his attack so the enemy could not use her against Konoha, and the shock awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan.

Itachi's habitual sign of affection for young Sasuke is a poke to which spot?

The forehead poke comes with 'Sorry, Sasuke, maybe next time'; after Itachi's death Sasuke takes up the gesture himself, using it with his own wife and daughter.

Which Leaf elder stole Shisui Uchiha's right eye?

Danzo Shimura stole Shisui's right eye; Shisui then leapt to his death in the Naka River, and that loss awakened Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.

Which technique does Itachi use to trap the man controlling the revived dead in an endless time loop?

Izanami locks its target in a loop of the same moments inside his own mind; Itachi uses it to force an end to the jutsu controlling the dead, then shows Sasuke the truth before his soul fades.

Which uncle, the one person young Gaara trusts, tries to kill him on his father's orders?

Yashamaru was the only person the young Gaara believed cared for him; his attempt on the boy's life is what turns Gaara into a killer who trusts no one but himself.

Which village elder gives her life to revive Gaara after Akatsuki extract his tailed beast?

Chiyo had herself sealed the beast inside Gaara before his birth; she gives her own life to bring him back as an act of repentance.

Kishimoto says Sasuke's design and his Sharingan were influenced by which character from YuYu Hakusho?

Hiei was Kishimoto's reference for Sasuke's look and eye power; even so, Sasuke gave him more trouble than any other character, and his early drafts kept coming out looking too old.

Who wrote the first 13 volumes of the Boruto manga before Kishimoto took over the writing himself?

Ukyo Kodachi, who had worked on the Boruto film's script, was contracted to write only the manga's first 13 volumes; when he stepped down, Kishimoto, until then just its supervisor, took over the writing.

In Boruto, which former Naruto supporting character leads the team of Boruto and Sarada?

Konohamaru Sarutobi, who as a boy called Naruto 'boss' and copied his jutsu, grows up to captain the team of Naruto's own son; he still says he will be Hokage only after Naruto has had his turn.

What inspired the red scarf Hinata makes for Naruto in the film The Last?

Kishimoto's wife knitting him one gave him the idea; on screen the red scarf doubles as the red thread of fate, the East Asian belief that an unseen cord ties destined partners together.

Who was the jinchuriki of Matatabi, the Two-Tails?

Yugito Nii hosted Matatabi until two Akatsuki members cornered her; she died when the beast was extracted from her body.

At which landmark do Naruto and Sasuke fight both their Part I and final battles?

The Valley of the End is where Naruto first tries to stop Sasuke leaving the village and loses; years later they return to the same waterfall for the duel that finally settles things between them.

Which animation studio produced both Naruto anime series?

Pierrot planned four brand-new Naruto episodes for the anime's 20th anniversary in 2023, then postponed them days before the premiere, saying it wanted to raise their quality.

Which North American publisher licensed the Naruto manga?

Viz Media fell so far behind Japan that in 2007 it ran a 'Naruto Nation' push, releasing three volumes a month for four months to close the gap.

Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, is located in which country?

The Land of Fire is the reason its hidden village calls its leader the Hokage: the title literally means 'Fire Shadow'.

How much time passes between Part I and Part II of Naruto?

Two and a half years pass while Naruto trains on the road with Jiraiya; he comes home just as the Akatsuki start seizing the hosts of the tailed beasts.

Which Team 7 member trains under Tsunade while Naruto is away with Jiraiya?

Sakura Haruno becomes Tsunade's apprentice after failing to help her teammates, learning to heal and to fight; the training is what lets her stand up to the Akatsuki puppet master Sasori.

Which ancient princess is revived through Madara's body near the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War?

Kaguya Otsutsuki was sealed away by her own twin sons long before the ninja villages existed; her return shows that Madara, the war's seeming mastermind, was only the last pawn in a plan to free her.

Where does Team 7's first major mission take place?

The Land of Waves mission pits Team 7 against Zabuza, an assassin hired to kill the bridge builder they are guarding; moved by Naruto's words, Zabuza ends by turning on the crime boss who hired him.

On which US programming block did Naruto's English dub premiere in 2005?

Toonami, Cartoon Network's Saturday-night action block, gave Naruto its US debut on September 10, 2005; the network was betting on a series that already had American fans through DVDs and bootleg tapes.

Naruto's sequel anime is subtitled Shippuden, a Japanese word usually translated as what?

Hurricane Chronicles is the literal meaning; the anime took the new title when it reached Part II of the manga, where an older Naruto comes home from his training journey.

Which actress voices Naruto in the original Japanese anime?

Junko Takeuchi won a part the producers first meant for a man: the early audition rounds were open only to male actors, and she says she was shocked to be chosen.

Who voices Naruto in the English-language adaptations?

Maile Flanagan had no idea who Naruto was when she auditioned; only after landing the part did she search the name online and realise how big the series already was.

Which title does Naruto hold in the sequel series Boruto?

Seventh Hokage is the dream Naruto announces as a boy, but the job keeps him so busy that his son Boruto grows up resenting the title that takes his father away.

Which Mangekyo Sharingan technique forms a giant chakra warrior around its user?

Susanoo guards its user like a suit of armour: Itachi uses his to seal Orochimaru away, and Sasuke later wraps his around Naruto's tailed-beast form so the two can fight as one.

What does Sasuke rename Team Hebi when he turns against Konoha?

Taka means 'hawk'; the team began as Hebi, 'snake', formed to hunt down Itachi, and Sasuke gave it the new name once that hunt was over and Konoha itself became his target.

Who voices Sasuke in the English dub?

Yuri Lowenthal had mostly been cast as naive young heroes; he says Sasuke was one of the first dark characters he ever played, a hero of sorts but no white hat.

Which series of novels does Kakashi read constantly, even in the middle of a fight?

Make Out, Icha Icha in Japanese, is Jiraiya's racy novel series; Kakashi is so hooked that Naruto wins a training test by threatening to spoil the newest book, forcing his teacher to cover his ears.

Zabuza's young partner Haku fights with an inherited power over which element?

Ice is Haku's inherited gift, and it cost him his family: his father killed his mother on discovering the bloodline and Haku killed him in turn, leaving the boy an orphan until Zabuza took him in.

Who is Hinata's father and head of the Hyuga main house?

Hiashi Hyuga heads the Hyuga main house; his twin brother Hizashi, Neji's father, belonged to the branch family and died in Hiashi's place.

Which Akatsuki member is Itachi's partner?

Kisame Hoshigaki, a shark-like rogue ninja from Kirigakure, is paired with Itachi; captured while carrying stolen secrets, he summons his own sharks and lets them devour him.

With which weapon does Itachi seal Orochimaru after he emerges from Sasuke's body?

The Totsuka blade is a spirit sword drawn from a sake jar that seals whatever it stabs; the scene echoes a Japanese myth in which an eight-headed serpent is slain with a sword of the same name.

Itachi implants a crow in Naruto containing whose Sharingan?

Shisui's eye carries a single command, protect Konoha; when the revived Itachi is forced to fight Naruto, he calls out the crow and its gaze frees him from the jutsu controlling him.

Which title does Gaara eventually hold in Sunagakure?

Fifth Kazekage is the title Gaara holds by the start of Part II: the boy his village feared as a living weapon becomes the leader who wins its acceptance.

Which kanji is etched on Gaara's forehead?

Love is the character Gaara etches there with his own sand after someone he trusted tries to kill him, as a vow to love no one but himself from then on.

Who voices Hinata in the Japanese anime?

Nana Mizuki was drilled daily by her father through childhood to become an enka ballad singer; her break came as a voice actress instead, and the shy Hinata is among her best-known roles.

What is the name of Boruto's younger sister, the daughter of Naruto and Hinata?

Himawari looks sweet-natured, but as a small child she awakens her Byakugan in a rage and knocks her father out cold on the very day he is due to be sworn in as Hokage.

Which technique does Rock Lee fight Kimimaro with after a mix-up over his medicine?

Drunken Fist takes over when Lee swallows sake in place of his medicine and turns wildly unpredictable; English versions call the drink a 'potion' or 'elixir' to avoid any mention of alcohol.

What is the name of Rock Lee's son in the Boruto era?

Metal Lee has his father's bowl cut, green jumpsuit and work ethic, but he freezes with stage fright whenever too many people watch him, which wrecks his technique at the worst moments.

Naruto calls Jiraiya by which cheeky nickname?

Naruto dubs Jiraiya 'Pervy Sage' (Ero-sennin in Japanese) for his habit of peeping at women's baths, which he calls research for his novels.

Which ninja village did Orochimaru build for himself?

Otogakure, the Village Hidden in Sound, exists to feed Orochimaru's research: he fills it with loyal ninja who double as test subjects and as pawns for his dirty work.

Which Boruto character is an artificial human created by Orochimaru?

Mitsuki was grown from Orochimaru's own cells, yet he walks out on his creator and heads for Konoha to be near Boruto, whom he calls his sun.

With whom did Madara Uchiha co-found Konohagakure?

Hashirama Senju and Madara were boyhood friends from warring clans who made peace and built the village together; once Hashirama was chosen to lead it, Madara turned against his own creation.

What is the name of the Hyuga clan's signature close-range fighting style?

Gentle Fist looks like a series of light taps, but each one drives chakra into the target's chakra points and shuts them down; the Byakugan lets its users see exactly where to hit.

Which Konoha jonin fights with a pair of chakra-infused trench knives?

Asuma Sarutobi's knives outlive him: after he is killed by the Akatsuki, his student Shikamaru takes up the blades and uses them in the fight that avenges him.

Nagato fights through a group of corpses known as what?

The Six Paths of Pain are six corpses Nagato steers from afar through black piercings embedded in their bodies; one of them is the body of his own dead friend.

Killer Bee hails from which hidden village?

Kumogakure, the Hidden Cloud Village, keeps Killer Bee close as its guardian; when the Akatsuki attack him, he fakes his own capture and slips away to chase a career as an enka singer.

Which three characters founded the Akatsuki?

Yahiko, Nagato and Konan were war orphans from Amegakure who started the Akatsuki to bring peace to their homeland; only after Yahiko's death did it become the criminal group that hunts the tailed beasts.

Which Akatsuki member's abilities come from the Way of Jashin religion?

Hidan, an immortal devotee of Jashin, draws the cult's symbol on the ground and links himself to opponents through their blood, so wounds he inflicts on himself strike them.

Kakuzu extends his life by integrating what into his body?

Kakuzu steals his opponents' hearts, holding up to five at once, each granting a chakra nature; he extracts them with the black threads that stitch his body.

What is the name of Kisame's living, scale-covered sword?

Samehada, 'shark skin', feeds on chakra and picks its own master: in the middle of a fight it grows fond of Killer Bee's chakra and abandons Kisame for him.

What do members of Shino's Aburame clan let live inside their own bodies?

Insects nest under an Aburame's skin from birth and feed on the host's chakra; in return Shino can send out swarms of them to surround an opponent and drain theirs.

Which Konoha jonin leads Team 8, which includes Hinata, Kiba and Shino?

Kurenai Yuhi, a genjutsu specialist, leads Team 8; she sits out much of Part II while pregnant with Asuma's child after his death.

Zabuza Momochi was formerly a member of which group?

The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist took Zabuza after a notorious start: as a boy not yet enrolled, he killed over a hundred Academy students, which ended Kirigakure's fight-to-the-death graduation exam.

Who leads Kirigakure as Mizukage during the Fourth Great Ninja War?

Mei Terumi took over a village still known as the Bloody Mist for its brutal past and set about reforming it; in the war she stands with the other four Kage against the revived Madara.

Which title did Minato earn by perfecting the Flying Thunder God Jutsu?

Konoha's Yellow Flash earned the name by seeming to be everywhere at once: the jutsu, first devised by Tobirama, the Second Hokage, lets him teleport to any seal he has planted in advance.

Which two puppets does Kankuro pair up, one to trap an enemy and the other to stab them?

Crow and Black Ant work as a team: Black Ant swallows the target and Crow supplies the blades. Both were built by Sasori, the Akatsuki puppeteer who later smashes them in battle.

Which weapon does Temari wield in battle?

A giant iron fan lets Temari whip up gusts strong enough to flatten the landscape, and she uses them to strip a battlefield of anything her opponent could hide behind.

Shikamaru's teacher Asuma determined his IQ to be over what?

Asuma tested Shikamaru with shogi puzzles and put his IQ at over 200, though his laziness often stops him using that intelligence.

Under what title did the Boruto manga resume in 2023?

Two Blue Vortex picks up three years on: a memory-rewriting power called Omnipotence has made the world believe Boruto is a traitor, so he defends Konoha alone, as an outcast.

In The Last: Naruto the Movie, who kidnaps Hinata's sister Hanabi?

Toneri Otsutsuki, the last of a clan living on the moon, takes Hanabi as part of a plan to marry Hinata and send the moon crashing into the Earth, his punishment for mankind's turning chakra into a weapon.

Which developer created the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm fighting games?

CyberConnect2, the studio behind the .hack games, calls the 2008 original a turning point: it sold over two million copies and made the Naruto games a worldwide hit.

Which science-fiction manga did Kishimoto write after Naruto, leaving the artwork to a former assistant?

Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru had Kishimoto scripting and his former assistant Akira Okubo drawing; it wrapped up within a year and five volumes, against Naruto's fifteen years in the same magazine.

In which Japanese prefecture was Masashi Kishimoto born?

He was born on November 8, 1974, minutes before his identical twin Seishi.

Which two manga authors did Kishimoto cite as his main influences?

Akira Toriyama and Katsuhiro Otomo shaped him in turn: Kishimoto grew up idolising Toriyama's Dragon Ball, then saw a poster for the film Akira and set about imitating the way Otomo drew.

Which Japanese company is the original publisher of the Naruto manga?

Shueisha ran Naruto in Weekly Shonen Jump for fifteen years and collected it in 72 volumes; when the first worldwide fan poll of its characters closed in 2023, the winner was someone other than Naruto himself.

Which cartoonist wrote the comedy spin-off Naruto SD: Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden?

It ran in Saikyō Jump from 2010 to 2014 and got a Studio Pierrot anime in 2012 that Crunchyroll simulcast.

Which toad, Gamabunta's elder son, becomes Naruto's regular summon?

Gamakichi first turns up no bigger than a real toad when Naruto fumbles a summoning of his father; by the Fourth Great Ninja War he is a giant who answers Naruto's call in Gamabunta's place.

Which studio announced a live-action Naruto film with producer Avi Arad in July 2015?

Lionsgate first attached Michael Gracey to direct; in February 2024 he left the project and Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Shang-Chi, was hired to write and direct with Kishimoto's blessing.

Which prize did Naruto win in the graphic novel category in 2006?

Naruto's seventh volume won the Quill Award for Best Graphic Novel in 2006, a US book prize whose winners were chosen by public vote.

Kishimoto based the hand signs that Naruto's ninja weave before a jutsu on which tradition?

The Chinese zodiac has a long history in Japan, and Kishimoto wove that tradition into the setting of his invented ninja world.

Which movie monster inspired Kishimoto to build giant tailed beasts into the world of Naruto?

Godzilla made Kishimoto want to draw monsters of his own, so he wrote the tailed beasts' mythology into the story as a reason to design them.

An early, unpublished concept for Naruto cast the hero in which job rather than as a ninja?

A chef was the hero of an early concept that never saw print. Kishimoto dropped it and drew a one-shot for a magazine's summer 1997 special instead.

A viral Facebook joke told people to Naruto run past the bullets while storming which US site?

Area 51 was the target of a satirical 2019 event that promised runners could outpace gunfire. The meme spread so far that Nevada police and the U.S. Air Force warned people to stay away.

In early English dub episodes, which phrase replaced Naruto's Japanese verbal tic 'dattebayo'?

Believe it! was chosen partly because it matched the character's lip movements. Later dubbed episodes quietly swapped it for 'You know?'.

Which item did Naruto wear on his head until Kishimoto found it too time-consuming to draw?

Goggles were part of Naruto's look in the early designs. Kishimoto swapped them for a shinobi headband, and for Part II drew it wider so the eyebrows were easier to draw.

What is the name of Sasuke and Sakura's child, who sets her sights on becoming Hokage?

Sarada Uchiha leads a spin-off manga of her own, setting out to find her long-absent father while wrongly suspecting that she and her mother are not related.

The heraldic crest of Sasuke's clan, the Uchiha, depicts which traditional Japanese object?

A fan known as an uchiwa is the clan's symbol. In Japanese myth such fans drive evil off by blowing it away, which Sasuke later does to the fox's hold on Naruto.

Which follower of Zabuza, whom Naruto mistakes for a girl, dies shielding his master from Kakashi's attack?

Haku can mix wind and water into ice, an inherited gift that was treated as a threat. A grieving Naruto uses his death to reach Zabuza, who then cuts down the employer who betrayed them.

The name of Naruto's son means 'bolt', a nod to which fallen comrade whose name means 'screw'?

Neji died shielding Naruto from an attack in the Fourth Great Ninja War, saying he chose to die protecting those dear to him, just as his own father had.

Which Part II recruit to Team Kakashi brings his ink drawings to life with a chakra-infused brush?

Sai was designed to look like Sasuke, whose place on the team he takes. Raised to feel nothing, he hands out blunt pet names such as 'ugly' for Sakura.

Which stand-in captain of Team Kakashi owes his Wood Style to Orochimaru's experiments?

Yamato is only a codename handed to him for the assignment. He gets the job because his Wood Style can suppress the fox's hold over Naruto.

Which weapons specialist of Team Guy ends up running her own weapons shop in the Naruto epilogue?

Tenten wields everything from projectiles to close-combat blades and, by Part II, explosives, and she helps a teammate drill his defences, since he can always block her attacks.

Which Konoha jonin is the self-proclaimed rival of Kakashi, who shows little interest in return?

Might Guy reminded Kishimoto of a passionate physical education teacher from his junior high school, though he says the teacher was not the model for the character.

Which ninja dog rides on Kiba's head early in Naruto but is large enough to carry him by Part II?

Akamaru grows so steadily that Kiba comically fails to notice the difference. By the epilogue the aged dog has fathered a litter of puppies.

Which word, when aimed at Choji Akimichi, instantly turns him hostile in battle?

Fat is the one word Choji will not accept: he insists he is just 'big-boned'. The insult once fired him up enough to kill one of Orochimaru's elite guards.

What kind of family business is Ino Yamanaka running by the time of the Naruto epilogue?

A flower shop has belonged to Ino's family all along, and by the epilogue she owns it herself while raising her son Inojin.

At which board game is Asuma never able to defeat his lazy but brilliant student Shikamaru Nara?

Shogi is a game the pair often play together, and Shikamaru's unbroken wins show a mind that can plot complex strategies even in the heat of battle.

Which feature, emphasised in Kishimoto's design, got young Sakura teased by other children?

Her large forehead made Sakura a target until Ino Yamanaka comforted her. The two became friends, then fell out once both took a liking to Sasuke.

Which leader of Konoha, nicknamed 'The Professor', taught all three of the Legendary Sannin?

The Third Hokage earned the nickname because he was said to know every jutsu in the village. His favourite pupil later invaded it, and the old man died sealing that pupil's arms.

Which Hokage, a master of Water Style, created Konoha's Ninja Academy, Police Force and Anbu?

Tobirama ruled only briefly. Surrounded by enemy forces on a mission in the First Great Ninja War, he sacrificed himself so that his team could retreat.

In Naruto, Tsunade treats which rare event as a bad omen?

A winning streak worries her because she is a compulsive gambler with terrible luck. Away from the tables she is a medical ninja who heals injuries most others would call incurable.

Naruto was named after the hero of which epic novel written by one of the Legendary Sannin?

Tale of the Gutsy Ninja became a real book in 2009, when a light novel was published as though Jiraiya himself had written it.

Which former pupil of Orochimaru proctors the second stage of the Chunin Exams in Naruto?

Anko Mitarashi was the only survivor of ten subjects he branded with a curse mark. She blames herself for his defection and has made it her goal to eliminate him.

Killer Bee, host of the Eight-Tails, always speaks in which way that made his lines hard to write?

In rhymes is how he delivers everything, and Kishimoto kept the habit despite the trouble. The character even slips away from the Akatsuki to chase a career as an enka singer.

Naruto and Sasuke are reincarnations of which pair of brothers, the sons of the Sage of Six Paths?

Asura and Indra fell out when their father chose the friendly Asura as his heir over the gifted, self-reliant Indra. Konoha's two founders replayed the same feud.

Which relative accidentally knocks Naruto out cold just before his inauguration as Hokage?

His daughter Himawari only switches her Byakugan on when she is angry, and one such moment floored him. The fox sealed inside him came away with a lasting fear of her.

In Naruto, Killer Bee's tailed beast takes the form of which sea creature topped with an ox-like head?

An octopus suits a beast likely based on the Ushi-oni, a yokai of Japanese folklore. Its host survives having the beast extracted by clinging to a piece of severed tentacle.

In Naruto, which follower of Sasuke can heal anyone who bites her, at the cost of permanent marks?

Karin belongs to the same Uzumaki clan as the hero himself. Each bite lets a patient absorb her chakra, a risk she can only take once a day.

Which wife of the First Hokage hosted the nine-tailed fox before it was passed to Naruto's mother?

Mito carried the fox for two generations after it was beaten at Konoha's founding and sealed inside her. Her granddaughter is the legendary medic Tsunade.

The Five Kage Summit that Sasuke infiltrates in Part II of Naruto is held in which country?

The Land of Iron is guarded by samurai rather than ninja, which makes it neutral ground for the five Kage, and its leader Mifune chairs their meeting.

Which squad of Orochimaru's elite bodyguards is sent to escort Sasuke Uchiha to their master?

The Sound Four all die on the mission, as does their former leader Kimimaro, who leaves his sickbed to make sure Sasuke gets through.

Which US children's channel premiered the English dub of Naruto: Shippuden in October 2009?

Disney XD aired the first 98 episodes before dropping the show in 2011. The dub later resurfaced on Adult Swim's Toonami block, starting again from episode one.

Which fighting-game series lent a guest character to Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2?

Tekken lent Lars Alexandersson after Kishimoto drew an alternate costume for him in Tekken 6, a design that impressed the Storm games' designer Hiroshi Matsuyama.

What is the combined army of the five great nations called in Naruto's Fourth Great Ninja War?

The Allied Shinobi Forces numbered about 80,000 fighters, and the five Kage at first tried to keep the hero himself from learning that the war had begun.

Besides reanimated ninja, the Akatsuki's wartime army consists of 100,000 clones of which being?

White Zetsu can sprout copies of himself from spores and sink into the ground to travel, which also made him the organisation's spy and its disposer of bodies.

Which Japanese network aired both Naruto anime series, from October 2002 to March 2017?

TV Tokyo counted the ninja saga as its top-earning anime franchise until Pokémon overtook it in 2011.

Which Heian-period folktale about a visitor from the moon inspired Naruto's Otsutsuki clan?

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter tells of an alien princess from the moon who visits Earth, and the manga's final villain borrows her name.

In Naruto, which ally of Sasuke can turn any part of his body into water if he stays hydrated?

Suigetsu was the first recruit to the team, and he came with a dream of his own: collecting every blade of a famed band of Mist swordsmen in memory of his brother.

Into which vessel do the Akatsuki feed the captured Tailed Beasts in order to rebuild the Ten-Tails?

The Gedo Statue is the husk meant to become the Ten-Tails again once every beast is inside, giving its host the power to cast an illusion over the whole world.

Which 2012 film, the first with a story by Kishimoto, shows Naruto a world where his parents live?

Road to Ninja drops the hero into an alternate Hidden Leaf, forcing him to choose between the family life he always wanted and his parents' real legacy.

In Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, Team 7 guards a princess posing as what?

A film actress called Yukie Fujikaze turns out to be Koyuki Kazahana, a princess from an island nation. Kakashi has the team watch one of her movies as mission prep.

Which voice actor plays Gaara, the youngest of the Sand Siblings, in the English dub of Naruto?

Liam O'Brien's take on the character has been singled out for praise by reviewers. Akira Ishida voices the role in Japanese.

Which actor took over as Itachi's English voice after the character's first two Naruto episodes?

Crispin Freeman replaced Skip Stellrecht, who had played the part in episodes 29 and 30, and has said he was pleased to keep returning to the role.

Which Monkey King, who can become a long rod, is the personal summon of Hiruzen Sarutobi?

Enma answers to the longest-ruling Hokage of all, a peace-loving leader who was forced back into office when his successor died.

What name does Kurenai give the child she bears several months after Asuma's death?

Mirai never met her father, who was killed before she was born, yet she has become a kunoichi herself by the time of the epilogue.

Which tattooed youth, made a living weapon by Kara, is taken in by Naruto's family in Boruto?

Kawaki bears the Roman numeral IX under his left eye. The sequel opens by hinting that he and its young hero will end up as mortal enemies.

Which technique does the dying Itachi implant in Sasuke as a trap meant to kill Tobi?

Amaterasu was set to go off if Tobi ever approached Sasuke to reveal the truth about their clan's slaughter. Like its sister techniques, it is named after a Shinto deity.

Which exclamation is the verbal tic of Sakura Haruno, a habit that her child goes on to inherit?

Cha! passes from mother to child, while the father's side of the family supplies an aloof streak and a reluctance to praise anyone.

Which Akatsuki member from Sunagakure turned his own body into a puppet in his desire to become art?

Sasori kept only a core of living flesh in his chest. His grandmother, who taught him puppetry to console him after his parents died, finally struck it.