The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki

Masashi Kishimoto created the Japanese manga series called Naruto. It also got its anime adaptation in both subbed as well as dubbed versions. The series gained popularity rapidly. In TV Asahi’s latest top 100 Manga Ranking, Naruto ranks 7th on the list. Many anime beginners start their journey with this series because of the feasible and interesting plot.

Let’s explore the plot of the anime:

Naruto was born on the 10th of October to the Fourth Hokage- Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki (the second jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails). To preserve Kushina’s seal while she gave birth to Naruto, the Third Hokage made special arrangements. But a masked man, Tobi tracked and captured Kushina and released the nine-tails from her to destroy Konoha. Minato managed to save Kushina and left Naruto in her care before saving the village. He defeated Tobi and freed the nine-tails from his (Tobi’s) control. When Minato returns to Kushina, he realized that the only way to stop the nine-tails is to seal it within Naruto. Naruto being an infant could not handle such immense chakra of nine-tails so Minato sacrificed his soul by splitting the chakra into half and sealing the Yin half within himself and the Yang half within Naruto. After telling Naruto how much they love him, they both sacrifice their life and succumb to death.

Since Naruto did not have parents or anyone to look after him, the village provided him with a basic amount to afford the daily necessities. People never really liked Naruto since there were rumors among the villagers that he was a jinchuriki. People prohibited their children to play or even speak with him. This made him desperate for attention. So he did all he could to stand out from the crowd but always failed since people feared him. His dream is to become the Hokage one day so that people can recognize and respect him for what he truly is.

After he enrolled himself in Ninja Academy, he believed he could make some friends but failed. Children hated him and called him the weird kid. His teacher’s name was Iruka Umino who initially behaved the same way as the other people of the village but gradually he understood how Naruto felt and acted as his older brother throughout to help him with everything. In the series, he is often heard speaking the word ‘Dattebayo’ meaning Believe it because he believes in his hard work and efforts to become the Hokage one day.

After graduating from the Academy, he becomes a member of Team 7 which is lead by an experienced sensei, Kakashi Hatake. The other two team members were Sasuke and Sakura. He tried to befriend Sasuke but did not succeed. He was jealous of Sasuke since he was very popular among girls and was also good at training. They went together on several missions for the villagers ranging from daily chores, being bodyguards, etc. They did have a bond but never agreed to it. Sakura has always been in love with Sasuke but Sasuke always ignored it. While on the other hand, Naruto had a huge crush on Sakura but she always kept on rejecting him believing Sasuke would notice her efforts one day.

When Team 7 completed many missions successfully, Kakashi sensei allowed them to take Chunin exams for higher ranks and more difficult missions. During this exam, Orochimaru, a wanted criminal, attacked Konoha and killed the Third Hokage for revenge. One of the three legendary Sannin, Lord Jiraiya refused to accept the title of the Fifth Hokage and started his search with Naruto for Lady Tsunade to accept the title of the Hokage. During this search, they came to know that Orochimaru wants to train Sasuke under him because of his ability to use the Sharingan. Sasuke then decides to join Orochimaru so that he could get revenge on his older brother Itachi by becoming strong and difficult to defeat. He then leaves the village. Lady Tsunade immediately sends a team including Naruto and other ninjas to bring Sasuke back but they fail. Naruto and Sakura decided not to give up and continue training so that one day they could bring Sasuke back to the village. So at the end of the series, Naruto is shown leaving with Lord Jiraiya for further training and Sakura becomes Tsunade’s apprentice.

The show is continued after this in the sequel – Naruto Shippuden which contains 500 episodes. In this continuation series, Naruto returns to the village with more knowledge and new jutsus.

The plot is nothing without the use of various jutsus by the ninjas. Some of the famous jutsu of Naruto are:

1. Sexy Technique: This was the only ninjutsu he could perform successfully during the academy. This jutsu was of no use and he used it just to pull pranks on people.
2. Shadow Clone Technique: This was his first trademark technique. He mastered this jutsu and created shadow clones on a large scale which was very useful to outnumber and deceive the enemy.
3. Rasengan: This is his second trademark technique. Lord Jiraiya taught him this jutsu. First, he was taught how to control his chakra. With regular training, Naruto was able to perform Rasengan at a faster pace and also of different impacts.
4. Senjutsu: Naruto was able to balance the natural energy with his chakra which helped him enter Sage mode. It enhanced his Frog Kata Taijutsu style and overall made all his techniques stronger.

I hope you all enjoyed this article and let me know who is your favorite character from Naruto in the comment section below