Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers. This page in particular contains (and should only contain) spoilers up to the latest episodes of the anime released, or a bit beyond that at most.
Naruto Characters
The universe of the anime series (and manga) Naruto is a home to the following characters:
Aburame Shino
Shino is a cool, collected, confident Genin who is quite mysterious and always wears sunglasses. He (along with Hinata and Kiba) belongs to Genin team 8, led by Yuuhi Kurenai. As a part of Aburame clan tradition, at birth Shino was infused with a special type of bugs which feed on his chakra and in return attack and do other tasks as he commands.
Akado Yoroi
Yoroi is a part of the three-men team of ninjas from the Hidden Sound Village posing as ninjas from the Hidden Leaf Village, along with Kabuto and Misumi. He possesses the advanced bloodline of Energy Absorption.
Akamaru
Akamaru is Kiba's Nin-dog and a useful companion in the Chuunin exam. Akamaru's heightened senses, such as smell and hearing, along with Kiba's power to communicate with him, make him a powerful tool for gathering and sharing information; he can also sense high amounts of Chakra so he can warn Kiba of a powerful enemy. Akamaru and Kiba almost always attack together and often use Juujin Bunshin no Jutsu (Human Beast Clone Technique) to confuse their opponents.
Akane
Akane is a bully from the Wave Country that steals Inari's pet dog Pochi. Akane teases Inari before finally throwing Pochi into the sea and forcing Inari to follow. Unfortunately, Inari cannot swim, which is what drew Kaiza to save him while Pochi, who Akane renamed "Shooting Star", swam to safety. When Inari regains consciousness, Kaiza says that he has "given Akane a good talking to".
Akimichi Chouji
Chouji, a Leaf Village Genin, belongs to Genin team 10 along with Ino and Shikamaru. He is a great food enthusiast and is almost always found eating something or other; he is usually indifferent until either the opportunity for food introduces itself or he is provoked with his great taboo- derogatory words ridiculing the spatially developed. (heh)
Ami
Ami is a young girl that attended the same Ninja Academy as Sakura and Ino when they were young. During one of the lessons, where the girls were being taught about flower arrangements, she bullies Sakura. However, Ino, who was picking flowers with Sakura, defends Sakura and throws a bunch of what she tells Ami are poisonous flowers in her mouth, telling her that she mistook her mouth for a vase. Ami panics and runs away, terrified- but in actuality, only the roots of the plant Ino used are poisonous.
Baiu
A short, stubby Ninja, he and his team-mates, Sigure and Midare, confront Gaara in the Forest of Death. Not much is known about him, except that he also carries several umbrellas on his back and also, interestingly, what appears to be an oxygen tank. Gaara uses Sabaku Kyuu (Sand Coffin) followed by Sabaku SouSou (Sand funeral) to kill him (and his two team-mates).
Baki
A Jounin level Ninja, Baki is a Shinobi from the Hidden Sand Village. The Sensei of Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari, he seems to have confidence in the ability of all of his team members, although he comments on Kankuro not taking the battles seriously enough. Not much is known about him at this point, but the Chuunin exam isn't the only reason Baki and his team are in Leaf Village.
Demon Brothers
Chuunin level ninjas, they are Missing-ninss formerly of the Hidden Mist Village. Now under the command of Zabuza, another Missing-Nin from the Hidden Mist, they contract out their ninja abilities to paying clients. These shinobis are known to continue fighting no matter what. Each wearing a sharp nailed metal gauntlet on opposite arms which are connected by a chain, they operate in cooperation. Surrounding their opponent with the chain, they are able to constrict the chain to the point of severing their target into two or several more pieces. When they attempt to assassinate Tazuna- who Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were hired to protect- Naruto, it being his first battle, freezes in fear, but Sasuke and Kakashi deal with them easily.
Dosu Kinuta
One of the three Genin from the Hidden Sound Village (along with Kin and Zaku). He enters the Chuunin exam but not for becoming a chuunin, but rather as a part of a mission from Orochimaru to assassinate Uchiha Sasuke (which in a twist turns out to merely be a mission of testing Sasuke's strength, having obtained Orochimaru's curse seal). Dosu is equipped with a special speaker tied to his wrist which serves to amplify sound waves and dramatically strengthen his sound-based attacks.
Orochimaru treats Dosu as largely a pawn, but Dosu is a quite powerful ninja that should not be underestimated, even by Orochimaru.
Ebisu
A Tokubetsu Jounin level ninja, he is Konohamaru's tutor. He doesn't like the fact that Konohamaru idolizes Naruto, because he only sees Naruto as the container of the Kyubi. His opinion of Naruto doesn't change when Naruto defeats him with the Harem no Jutsu (Harem Technique), after the Sexy no Jutsu (Sexy Technique) fails. Later, recommended by Kakashi as a great teacher, Ebisu begins Naruto's one-month training for the Chuunin Selection Exam final. It is during this time that through being with Naruto and seeing the influence he had on Konohamaru that Ebisu realizes that Naruto is more than just the container of a demon, but that he is an outstanding Leaf Ninja. However, Ebisu does not complete Naruto's training, because Jiraiya takes over by summoning a large toad which tongue-whips Ebisu unconscious.
Gaara of The Desert
One of the three genin from the Hidden Sand Village who show up at the Chuunin exam (along with Kankuro and Temari, his siblings). A sand demon was sealed inside Gaara at birth similarly to how the Kyubi was sealed inside Naruto- he shares with Naruto some similarities, such as being rejected and hated by his own village, but unlike Naruto he withdrew into himself rather than attempting to gain attention and appreciation, and was acknowledged by nobody (as opposed to Naruto, who was acknowledged by his Sensei, Iruka). Gaara had lost all emotion and sense of purpose years ago and filled the gap with the unrelenting goal of killing anybody in the world that was not him.
Gatou
Gatou was a powerful ship magnate whose shipping company was actually a front for much shadier activity, such as smuggling illegal goods and dealing drugs. He took control of the Wave Country's shipping routes and created a monopoly by isolating the country from the outside world, preventing free import and export and turning it into an impoverished, hunger-stricken country in the process. He is a cruel, greedy man, also responsible for humiliating and killing Kaiza for being the country's hero, traumatising Inari, who saw Kaiza as a father figure, in the process. Gatou hired Missing-nins from the Hidden Mist Village- including Zabuza, Haku and the Demon Brothers- to assassinate Tazuna and stop him from finishing to build the bridge which would connect the Wave Country to the outside world and allow its economy to recover; however, after Zabuza got his arms broken in battle with Kakashi (who was hired to defend Tazuna, along with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke), Gatou very unwisely assumed that Zabuza would be able to do no damage with broken arms and informed him of his plan to dispose of him since he has "served his purpose". Since Zabuza was still able to wield a kunai in his mouth, this mistake cost Gatou his life. The bridge, dubbed by Kakashi "The country's hope", was completed and named the "Uzumaki Naruto Bridge", after Naruto.
Gekkou Hayate
Hayate was a Tokubetsu Jounin level ninja who served as the judge for the Chuunin exam third stage preliminary matches and suffering from a chronic cough and bags under his eyes, always appeared to be sick. Hayate ended up accidentally eavesdropping on Baki and Kabuto and hearing about the Sound Village and Sand Village's conspiracy against Konoha; he unfortunately was discovered and, while a talented ninja, was no match for Baki, who killed him using Kaze no Yaiba no Jutsu (Wind Blade Technique).
During Haku's childhood, wars ravaged the Water Country, and since those of advanced bloodlines were commonly used as the most terrifying tools of war, many people irrationaly dreaded and hated people of advanced bloodlines. When Haku's father found out that his mother was of an advanced bloodline he killed her and then tried to kill Haku, too, but Haku overpowered him and killed him, instead. He wandered the wave country as an unwanted child until he was found by Zabuza, who agreed to take him in and wated to merely use him as a tool.
In Zabuza's last battle over the great Naruto bridge, Haku sacrificed his life by taking Kakashi's Raikiri no Jutsu (Lightning Edge Technique) which was aimed at Zabuza. Haku said he was fighting for his own dream- making Zabuza's dreams come true- but in the end, he had fought for the dreams of Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura as well, by putting Sasuke in a temporary death-like state like he did to Zabuza, when he could have easily killed him.
In her early school years, Sakura was timid and was occasionally made fun of and bullied. That was until the popular Ino approached her and became her friend. Sakura looked up to Ino's looks and ability a lot; while she appreciated Ino's friendship, she couldn't help the feelings of inferiority she induced in her, as if Ino was a fully-bloomed flower and Sakura only a bud. Their friendship continued until it became clear that both of them liked Sasuke, and Sakura felt that she could never equal Ino, let alone surpass her at anything, while she was trapping herself as Ino's mere sidekick in her mind. She handed Ino her ribbon back and proclaimed that they were rivals from that point on.
And bitter rivals they were, until the second stage of the chuunin exam, where Ino witnessed Sakura cut her own hair- even though it was known that Sasuke liked girls with long hair- to set herself free from her captor. It was the moment that both of them were simultaneously stricken with the fact that there are more important things than teenage romance. Later, when they tied on their battle in the third stage preliminaries, Ino told Sakura that she finally had blossomed, and- each acknowledging the other as her equal- they became friends again, although they snap into bitter rivalry mode again whenever Sasuke is mentioned. After all, old habits die hard.
Sakura's main strengths are her intelligence and her great chakra control. She was able to climb trees using her chakra while it took days of constant training for Sasuke and Naruto to manage it; in the first stage of the Chuunin exam, she knew the answers to a test designed specifically to be so difficult for genin to accomplish that they would have to cheat.
Inside Sakura resides the "Inner Sakura", which ridiculously seems to be much more mean-tempered than Naruto's Kyubi. While serving mostly comedy purposes as Sakura's typical gentle responses are juxtaposed with the inner Sakura's constant "Hell yeah"s and "Damn it"s, Sakura having 'two minds' actually came in useful when Ino hit her with the Shintenshin no Jutsu (Body-Mind Switch Technique), Inner Sakura combatting Ino's spirit where in the case of a regular person there would be no resistance.
Kakashi is an avid reader of the book "Come Come Paradise", a romance novel authored by Jiraiya.
A brave Ninja who was responsible for sealing the Nine-tails Demon Fox inside Naruto, and is remembered for his heroic acts on the monument which overshadows Leaf Village. Before he performed the seal which would destroy the Demon Fox and himself, he said that he did not want Naruto to be viewed as the container of a monster but as a hero who saved the Leaf Village from annihilation. He was a student of Jiraiya's, and later the sensei of Kakashi.
When he killed a shinobi from the The Lightning Country who came under false pretenses of signing a peace treaty and was in fact attempting to kidnap Hinata to gain the secret of the Byakuugan, the Lightning country demanded that the body of a Hyuuga clan member be delivered to them as compensation. Hiashi's brother, Hizashi, volunteered to be killed instead of Hiashi, thus saving his life. Hiashi decided not to tell Hizashi's son, Neji, that his father volunteered to die, until he felt that Neji would be mentally ready to accept this over the much more comfortable belief that the Hyuuga main house was responsible for his death. This moment came after Neji's loss to Uzumaki Naruto in battle.
It is made quite clear that Hinata likes Naruto a lot, twiddling her index fingers, blushing and turning suspiciously speechless whenever he is around, but by some miracle of thickness Naruto remains completely unaware of it.
When Hinata finds herself having to fight her cousin Neji in the exam's third stage preliminaries- who has nothing but hatred for her and the main house she technically belongs to, and is considered the strongest Genin attending the exam- he breaks her confidence by ferocious, merciless mind games bordering on brainwash with repeated mentions of "destiny" and "dropouts are dropouts, they cannot change", until Naruto, who is quaking with suppressed rage at the words and what Neji is putting Hinata through, intercepts Neji's umpteenth "you can't change" with the proverbial mighty shout, "You Can!"
During that battle it is revealed that Hinata and Naruto are very much alike, though while he has never lost his self-confidence despite what he has gone through, she is only now trying to mend it. This is eerily emphasised when she borderline channels his spirit and utters the very same quotes that marked his development and determination ("I will not run away anymore!", "I do not go back on my word... that's my ninja way."), even though she was not actually there to witness them.
Neji easily beats her and brings her close to death, yet she stands up again and again, until the Jounins overseeing the fight intercept it to proclaim Neji the winner and give her urgently-needed medical care. Before losing consciousness, her last thought is Naruto-kun... was I able to change a little?
About a month later, while she is training, Naurto- his mind troubled by his imminent fight with Neji, who is an incredibly strong opponent- absentmindedly wanders nearby, his legs carrying him to where he first became a Genin. While still terminally shy, she provides sincere words of support; Naruto, in a rare moment of introspection, understands and confesses what is bothering him. "I may appear strong to you, but... That's only because I act all tough because I'm so frustrated from always failing..." "That's not true," she responds. "In my eyes, even when you fail, you're a proud failure! When I look at you I get an intense feeling in my heart. Because you're not perfect, because you fail, you have the strength to get up. Because I believe that's what true strength is. I..I think you are an incredibly strong person, Naruto-kun."
This monologue shocks Naruto completely because it causes his true strength to dawn on him. He quickly repays the favour, however. "You know, about you... I thought you were a plain-looking dark weirdo... but it turns out a person like you, I really like!"
Which does an excellent job of shocking her back.
When Hiashi killed a shinobi from the The Lightning Country who came under false pretenses of signing a peace treaty and was in fact attempting to kidnap Hinata to gain the secret of the Byakuugan, the Lightning country demanded that the body of a Hyuuga clan member be delivered to them as compensation. Hizashi volunteered to be killed instead of Hiashi, thus saving his brother's life and ending his own.
Neji is particularly bitter about his own destiny, forced on him by the fact that his father- Hizashi- was born into the world after his uncle, Hiashi, even though they were twins. This made Hiashi a member of the main family and Hizashi- and consequently, Neji- a member of the branch family. In his childhood, Neji had nothing against the main family- probably being too naïve to fully understand the implications of being a branch family member, but as he grew up seeing his father feeling nothing but hatred for his own brother and the main family, he gradually came to resent it himself. His resentment only deepened as he witnessed his father enraged first hand while watching Hinata, Hiashi's elder daughter and then the destined Hyuuga main family heir, train with her father; for he knew that his own son, Neji, will never be the heir of his clan. Detecting Hizashi's vibes of animosity, Hiashi activated the Hyuuga Curse Seal, putting his brother in immense pain as his nerves were being attacked. It was Neji's first encounter with the Hyuuga Curse Seal.
It was not until the incident with the Lightning Country's and Fire Country's peace treaty, however, that Neji became truly became who he were when he showed up for the Chuunin exams. The two countries, which were at war with one another, apparently decided to sign a treaty, and for this representatives from the lightning country arrived. In the same day, the very same curse seal that tortured his father was put upon Neji himself; and that night, the ambassador from the Lightning country attempted to kidnap Hinata, revealing that the intention of the "treaty" was all along to get into the Fire country and acquire the secret of Byakuugan. Hiashi detected the intruder and killed him at once, for which the Lightning country, absurdly, requested payback in the form of a Hyuuga clan member's dead body. That day, Neji's father was sent to his death, and Neji grew up believing that his father was sent against his will to protect the Hyuuga clan's secret bloodline.
This chain of events drove him to the point of believing that destiny, what we are born as and our features are decided from birth and there's no way to escape or change them. His pent-up hatred reached the stage of attempting to kill Hinata in the Chuunin exam third stage preliminaries, causing lasting damage- not before mentally crippling her with harsh words manufactured to hurt, scare and unbalance her.
Unfortunately for him, in this he acquired the blood-sworn grudge (no less) of one Uzumaki Naruto, who- in true Naruto fashion- was not at all impressed with Neji's sob story. "I don't know about this whole destiny of Hyuuga hatred, but I know that when you're saying that nobody can escape destiny and people can not change based on only that, you're making a huge mistake!", says Naruto. Neji says "Being marked with this disgusting seal, a seal which you can't remove and haunts you, you can never know how that feels!"
"Ehe.. ehe he he... ...and maybe I do... ...So What?!", says Naruto, who indeed knows- then mentally focuses on his blood-sworn grudge to avenge what Neji has done to Hinata to channel the chakra of the nine-tails and proceeds to pwn Neji.
Realisations and elations rain on Neji that day. Naruto's speeches on the fact that people can change, himself being an obvious in-your-face example for this, combined with his uncle's explanation that Neji's father chose to sacrifice himself for the clan rather than doing it involuntarily, amount to the conclusion that even a bird in a cage, if smart enough and having enough willpower, will open the lock with its beak and soar in the skies again.
Zabuza was the one who picked the lonely Haku off of the cold streets and agreed to take him in if Haku were to serve him, thus gaining his undying loyalty. When Haku sacrifices his life to save Zabuza, jumping in between him and Kakashi's Chidori, Zabuza feels nothing, for he saw Haku as merely a tool; but Naruto, outraged at this lack of emotion, yells at Zabuza that he cannot understand how he wouldn't care at all, and finally understanding what he probably was to Haku, Zabuza has a change of heart.
Zabuza died plunging with a Kunai in his mouth- both his arms having been broken in battle with Kakashi earlier- into the ranks of Gatou's men, and being impaled upon countless weapons- but not before killing many of them, and finally Gatou himself. He asked to be buried alongside Haku.
Shikamaru's specialty jutsu is KageMane no Jutsu (the Shadow Imitation Technique). The increasingly common knowledge that Shikamaru is a one-trick pony causes his opponents to underestimate him and think that they can easily win the battle by avoiding his shadow, only to unexpectedly find themselves unable to move during the battle and realise that they have been, yet again, caught in his jutsu by overlooking details that to most are minutia, but to Shikamaru are tactical assets.
Putting Curse Sealss on his servants that put them in pain and appear when he chooses them to, associating with snakes and seeking immortality, Orochimaru is very much a literary relative of Lord Voldemort.
Sasuke thinks of himself as an avenger; his only goal is to achieve power and be able to kill his brother, Itachi. He is even-minded and a bit arrogant, but has an inner coward he must still overcome.
Naruto dreams of being acknowledged by everyone in the Leaf Village. He is an outcast (nothing like containing the demon that almost destroyed the village to ruin your reputation), and would have ended up with nothing but a desire to take revenge on leaf village had his sensei, Iruka, not acknowledged his ability and that he is different from the demon fox that attacked the village all those years ago. Naruto has a very ambiguous sort of rivalry/friendship/hatred relationship with Sasuke and has a crush on Sakura, who even after starting to respect him still largely cannot stand him. Naruto also likes Ramen. A lot. In fact, Kakashi once thought that Ramen and being Hokage were the only things he thinks about.
While looking like a frivolous idiot on the surface, Naruto- unlike an unignorably large part of the series' characters- has his heart at the right place. It takes a Naruto to dare lecture Zabuza on not caring about Haku's tragic sacrifice for him, or to stand up for Hinata when Neji attempts to reduce her to a mental wreck, or to proclaim that he is going to prove that in this world... heroes do exist.
Giichi
A worker and friend of Tazuna. Giichi quit his job working on The Great Naruto Bridge because he feared the consequences of angering Gatou. He later joins Inari in rallying up the villagers to fight against Gatou and push his thugs out of Wave Country for good.Hagane Kotetsu
He and his comrade, Izumo, attempted to hold their very own Unoffical First Test of the Chuunin exam. Before the Chuunin exam has even begun, they used Genjutsu to change the meeting room's number. After, they tried to persuade the Genin who showed up to quit right there and then. He and Izumo had attempted to pass the Chuunin Exam but failed three times in a row. Now they are Chuunin moderators for the first test. Kotetsu carries two large Kunai-style weapons on his back.Haku
Haku is a former Hidden Mist Ninja, and is a very powerful one at that; he also may be a former member of the Hunter-nin team. In his first appearance, he is masquerading as a hunter-nin from the Mist village, sent to kill/capture Zabuza. Haku comes from an advanced bloodline and has many special techniques, the most powerful being Makyou HyouShou Hijutsu (the Demonic Ice Mirrors secret technique), but he also attacks using Sensatsu Suishou Hijutsu (the Flying Water Needles secret technique) and Senbon. Haku is a master of Acupuncture - he manages to strike Zabuza in such a way that he appears to be dead, but is actually in a death-like state and awakens later.Haruno Sakura
Sakura has a crush on Sasuke. This appears to be her main characteristic up until advanced stages of the series. She's often self-conscious about the size of her forehead and got teased by being called "forehead girl" at school (Ino, Sakura's childhood friend and now rival for Sasuke's affections, continues this honourable tradition).
During the Chuunin exam, Sakura realizes that in her infatuation with Sasuke, she has neglected her duties as a team member - this coincides with her chopping off most of her hair (which she grew long because Sasuke apparently likes long hair), which an attacking sound-nin used to hold her by, thus symbolically freeing herself from her previous restraining tunnel vision. She still has a way to go before she fully deals with and reconciles her infatuation, however. Sakura started out extremely disliking Naruto (who has a crush on her much like her own crush on Sasuke), but has slowly started respecting him over the course of their being a team.Hatake Kakashi
Hatake Kakashi, also known as 'the Copy Ninja Kakashi', is a Jounin assigned to look after and train Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto. Kakashi has memorized over 1000 jutsus (probably more), all of which are very impressive, by using his Sharingan; however, because he is not a member of the Uchiha clan, it seems to have been attached in an operation - there is a scar over it, and normally the Sharingan affects both eyes, not just one. Kakashi is a rival of Gai, and according to Gai currently has a record of 49 wins and 50 losses against him- though it should be noted that A. It is hinted that many of those "wins" and "losses" were in games of Rock, Paper, Scissors, and B. Gai is primarly strong in Taijutsu, which acts as the most powerful counter for the Sharingan.Hokage, 3rd
A Ninja who has achieved the name of Kage (Shadow), strongest ninja of a Hidden Village, Hokage is the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village. Sometimes referred to as Sandaime (3rd) because he is the 3rd of four Konoha ninjas to gain the title Hokage; he is also the 3rd face on the monument carved on the mountain overlooking Leaf Village. Said to be the strongest among all the generations of Hokages because of his genius, he was called The Professor. He has a large and impressive arsenal of jutsus which he has learnt over his many years serving the Leaf Village- in fact, he is said to know all of the Jutsu that exist in Konoha. However, his strength has begun to decrease with his old age. Hokage was previously the student of the 2nd Hokage, and the sensei of Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade. Hokage has been refered to as Sarutobi Sensei, his real name, which may mean he is related to Sarutobi Asuma.Hokage, 4th
Hyuuga Hiashi
Hiashi is the twin brother of Hizashi, but was born into the world first, making him a main house member. He has two daughters, Hinata, the elder, and Hanabi, the younger; while Hinata should have been the heir by tradition, he picks Hanabi over her because she clearly seems stronger, and goes to the extreme of all but disowning Hinata completely, putting her under Yuuhi Kurenai's responsability. He was also the one to put the Hyuuga Curse Seal on his nephew, Neji.Hyuuga Hinata
The daughter of Hiashi and a Genin level ninja, she is in Kurenai's team 8. She is a Member of the Hyuuga clan, main house- her father is the leader of the clan, but because she is weaker than her younger sister, Hanabi- despite Hanabi being only 5 years old- she is practically disowned. However, she still posesses the Byakuugan and can effectively use the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist fighting style), having trained on her own. Although a talented ninja, Hinata lacks self-confidence, which is her greatest weakness. Hinata entered the Chuunin Selection Exam so she can change herself.Hyuuga Hizashi
Hizashi is the twin brother of Hiashi, but he was born second into the world, making him a branch house member; this made his emotions torn, caring for his brother on the one hand but feeling separated and the victim of a terrible injustice on the other. As Hizashi's son, Neji and Hiashi's daughter, Hinata matured, the relationship between Hizashi and Hiashi became more tense and resentful, as it slowly dawned on Hizashi that his own son, even if he turned out to be the most powerful Hyuuga of the next generation (which he did), would never lead the clan. Upon seeing the hatred in Hizashi's eyes, Hiashi activated the Curse Seal on His forehead, paining him to no end and bringing him inches from death.Hyuuga Neji
A Genin level ninja, he was the #1 rookie of his Ninja Academy graduating class. He was also considered to be the strongest and most talented of all the Genin who attended the Chuunin exam. A member of the Hyuuga Clan, branch house, Neji can never be leader of his clan and is very bitter and malicious about the discrimination against the branch house. Neji effectively uses the Jyuuken and his Byakuugan is advanced to the point of being able to see the chakra opening points. Neji also has a very powerful defense in the form of the Hakke Shou Kaiten (Heavenly Spin).Inari
The son of Tsunami and the grandson of Tazuna. Inari's Father having died before he got to know him, after meeting Kaiza they became very close to each other. Kaiza took a fatherly role in Inari's life and even became close to Tsunami. But when Kaiza was put to death by Gatou, Inari changed. He became a sad and angry boy, with little hope or optimism. Although after experiencing Naruto's character and finding out that Naruto had a past even worse than his, Inari realized the power of will over fate, and that no risk is too great to protect something precious. He therefore grabbed a crossbow and rallied the townspeople, who proceeded to pwn Gatou's men.Inuzuka Kiba
A Genin level ninja, he is a member of Kurenia's Team 8. Always accompanied by his ninken(ninja dog) Akamaru, Kiba is able to communicate with him and gain information from Akamaru's hightened senses of smell and hearing. Kiba himself also has hightened senses, and many of his Jutsu involve canine abilities. For instance, by focusing his Chakra to his nose he can multiply the power of his sense of smell thousandfold. When he battled Naruto at the Chuunin exam third stage preliminaries, he was very much at an advantage until his heightened sense of smell backfired due to circumstances invoked by Naruto and involving Carbon Dioxide.Jiraiya
A Jounin level Ninja, he has grown to the point of achieving the title Sennin. A student of the 3rd Hokage, his teammates were Orochimaru and Tsunade. Having left Hidden Leaf Village for as of yet unknown reasons, he became an author of adult manga- his most popular work being Come Come Paradise, which Kakashi enjoys. When he reappears, Jiraiya is in Leaf Village spying on women bathing as "research" for his next novel. It is at this point that fate arranges for his meeting with Naruto. He removes the Goguofuuin (Five Part Seal) that Orochimaru put on Naruto in The Forest of Death, which prevented him from using Kyubi's chakra and made his chakra unstable. He also gives him special training for the last trial of the Chuunin Selection Exam which includes Naruto tapping into some of Kyubi's strength at will and Kuchiyose no Jutsu (the Summoning Technique).Kaiza
A fisherman who came to the Wave Country, Kaiza became known as the "Hero of the City" in which Tazuna, Inari and Tsunami lived. Kaiza also became a father figure for Inari, and taught him the principles of being a man. Accused of being a terrorist against the Gatou Corp, he was executed publicly by Gatou's men and under his orders. In the death of Kaiza, the source of the city's courage, so too died the bravery within the hearts of the people. It was from this point that Gatou's will truly dominated the Wave country. Kaiza lived, and died, by this belief- "If something is truly precious to you, even if you lose your life, with these two arms you must protect it!".Kankoru
Kankuro is Gaara's brother and a powerful Shinobi from the Hidden Sand Village. Despite his incredible strength, he is still very much afraid of Gaara. He carries a strange thing on his back called "Karasu", which is basically a marionette which he can use in combination with a technique similar to [Naruto jutsus#Kawarimi no Jutsu|Kawarimi no Jutsu]]; he grabs his opponents with Karasu and then transforms Karasu in to whatever he pleases. He then unveils himself from the bandage and finishes his opponent off. Kankoru doesn't have a wide range of jutsus since he always fights tough opponents with the Karasu.KazeKage
The leader of the Hidden Sand Village. Kazekage translates to "Wind Shadow". The father of Gaara, Temari and Kankuro, it was his design that made Gaara what he is. With the military forces of Sand Village being scaled down by the Daimyoh(Lord) of the Wind Country, Kazekage realised that they must increase the quality of each Ninja to maintain a military force. As more time passed, the Daimyoh started commissioning Leaf Village with request he should have been making to Sand Village. On top of this he began cutting back on the Sand Village's budget. Kazekage realized that if he didn't act quickly, Sand Village would be in danger of disappearing. So, joining with the Sound Village, Kazekage plans to attack the Leaf Village in order to teach the Daimyoh a lesson and to re-establish the Sand Village's military force.Kin Tsuchi
A Genin level ninja, not much is known about this Sound Ninja. She is in the Chuunin Selection Exam on a mission with her comrades to kill Sasuke. In the third stage preliminaries she is matched against Shikamaru, who defeats her through his KageMane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) by contracting his shadow and sneaking it under the string attached to a needle she threw; she did not notice that a string at that height should not cast a shadow.Konohamaru
The grandson of the 3rd Hokage, Konohamaru feels he is unacknowledged for that exact reason. Although he is still only in the Ninja Academy, he constantly attempts to surprise attack Hokage so he can defeat him and aquire the acknowledgement of the Hokage name. Tutored by Ebisu, it is only through Naruto's influence that Konohamaru realizes that there will be no short-cuts to becoming Hokage. That is a dream that will take many years of hard work and discipline to realize. Maito Gai
Sporting very thick eyebrows, an exceedingly unconventional persona and a very shiny haircut, Gai is a jounin who is the rival of Kakashi and the sensei of a team consisting of Rock Lee, Neji and Tenten (though he has, by far, bonded with Lee the most- it was under Gai's guidance that Lee started tapping his potential at all, having been subpar in all ninja categories up to then). Gai tends to appear accompanied by Nin-kame, a gigantic red turtle (his summon), and has several weird mannerisms- including, but not limited to
and
Gai claims to have a record of 50 wins and 49 losses against Kakashi, but it is hinted that many of those wins might be in games of Rock, Paper, Scissors rather than in actual battle. He believes that "hard work without believing in yourself is worthless".Mitarashi Anko
A Tokubetsu Jounin level ninja, she is the examiner for the second part of the Chuunin Selection Exam in which Naruto takes part (the part that takes place in the Forest of Death). During the exam she arrives at a confrontation with Orochimaru and it is revealed that he used to be her sensei. It seems she had also received Orochimaru's curse seal, but for an as yet unknown reason Orochimaru's connection to her was severed and the Seal disappeared; when Orochimaru battled Anko, he was able to make her curse seal return, thus incapacitating her with pain as well as ending their fight. Anko knows several forbidden techniques taught to her by Orochimaru, the most notable of which is Souja Sousai no Jutsu (Double Snake Assassination Technique).Mizuki
A Chuunin level ninja, he is Iruka's assistant instructor at the ninja academy. Not a very skilled ninja apparently, he devises a plan to steal the Leaf Village's forbidden scroll using Naruto as a fall-guy, intent upon learning the powerful forbidden Jutsus within. Mizuki's scheme goes according to plan until Iruka gets to Naruto before he does. A fight then takes place which ultimately ends with Naruto saving Iruka's life by creating hundreds of Kage Bunshin (Shadow Replications) and beating Mizuki to a bloody pulp.Momochi Zabuza
Zabuza is a Missing-nin formerly from the Hidden Mist Village. Being a mist-ninja, most of his Jutsus are water-oriented. He is also known as "The Devil of the Hidden Mist" since he once single-handedly killed all of the students in the ninja academy (that is also why the Hidden Mist Village stopped pitting students against one another in battles to the death). Zabuza is a Jounin of large power who holds an even larger sword, as we see in the fights between him and Kakashi, when he was hired by Gatou to kill Tazuna; he actually manages to overpower Kakashi and trap him within his specialty Suirou no Jutsu, and would have won if it weren't for Naruto's clever intervention.Morino Ibiki
A Tokubetsu Jounin level ninja, he is the examiner for the first part of the Chuunin Selection Exam. As the Leaf Village assassination squad's torture and interrogation specialist, the design of the first test is obviously his. Described as a sadist by some, Ibiki can easily make people experience mental suffering brought on by his interrogation skills while not even exerting physical torture. His complete knowledge of human psychology is frightening; by attacking a person's mind he can gain control over their spirit, as their weaknesses all float to the surface. Ibiki bears the physical scars of having been horribly tortured himself, perhaps illustrating his ability to withstand torture without giving up valuable information.Nara Shikamaru
A Genin level ninja, he is in Asuma's Team 10 (with Ino and Chouji). He is the sort of unenthusiastic person who would rather take a nap than get excited over something and likes the sort of thought games older men are usually into, such as chess and go. He's great with coming up with a strategy and Asuma has never actually beaten him. According to Asuma, Shikamaru would make an excellent military leader despite his grades from the Academy having been almost as low as Naruto's. He felt that even moving his pencil in class was a bother and always slept through tests; but his sensei, Asuma, got suspicious of the fact that he's so good at board games despite his grades being abysmal, and administered an IQ test disguised as a game to Shikamaru, which revealed that he has an IQ of over 200. He has a habit of putting his fingers together to create a bowl-like shape (save for the thumbs) and closing his eyes so he can concentrate and come up with a strategy. Once he does, usually the opponent believes to have foiled the plan until it turns out it was all a part of the plan.Orochimaru
Technically a Jounin level ninja, but obviously beyond even a Sennin, Orochimaru is a Missing-nin who has the power to easily defeat a small country on his own. He's a Shinobi that all countries would have wanted when he defected from Leaf Village and posesses many jutsus, forbidden and not, relating to snakes. Leader of his own newly created Sound Country and Hidden Sound Village, Orochimaru's intentions are to be the catalyst for a long and intense battle between all the Hidden Villages; Orochimaru has great interest in Sasuke, who he plans to use as the war's trigger. He was also at one point the student of the 3rd Hokage and the sensei of Anko.Pochi
Inari's former pet dog. He was stolen by Akane, a bully, who renames Pochi "Shooting Star" but later decided he no longer wanted his new pet and threw him into the ocean. Inari can't swim and is afraid to jump off the pier to save his dog, so Akane pushes him into the water. Inari begins to drown as Pochi figures out the doggy paddle and swims to saftey. Inari is rescued by Kaiza- this is how they first meet.Rock Lee
A Genin level Ninja, he is a Taijutsu specialist and Gai's student. Incapable of using NinJutsu or GenJutsu, he spent all his time and concentration on Taijutsu. It is because of this determination and hard working ethic that Lee has become an outstanding Ninja. When in heated battle, Lee removes the extremely heavy weights he wears on his legs. This vastly increases his already amazing speed. After using his trump card and specialty technique, the Extreme Lotus for the first time against Gaara, Lee's body was so beaten up that he could barely even move, yet even after his left leg and left arm were both completely pulverised and he fell unconscious, he still stood up to prove his ninja way. However, because of all of the damage done to his body during the battle, he was told by the Leaf Village medics that he would be unable to live as a Ninja any more. He would not give up and, even with his torn and unusable body, continued to try practicing.Sarutobi Asuma
A Jounin level Ninja, he is the leader of Team 10, including Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino. Not much is known about Asuma, only that he seems very laid back and is always smoking a cigarette whenever he is seen. He also seems to be related to the 3rd Hokage.Tazuna
An expert bridge builder, he is a resident of the Wave Country. He resolved to build a bridge that would connect the Wave country to the mainland to help in restoring its economic stability, which was against Gatou's interest, and he knew full well that Gatou would try to kill him. It is becuase of this threat that Tazuna, under false pretenses of wanting to merely be protected from bandits (reducing the costs- he doesn't have a choice), acquires the services of bodygaurds from the Leaf Village. A brave man, Tazuna doesn't hesitate on his path to create a bridge that will bring back hope into the city he loves. In honor of Naruto, for his example of courage, Tazuna names the bridge "The Great Naruto Bridge" after its completion.Temari
Daughter of Kazekage, she is Gaara and Kankuro's sister. She carries a huge fan on her back which she uses as a powerful Ninja tool; she is also good at fighting from a distance, and a keen analyst (though not of the same calibre as Shikamaru.Tenten
A Genin level ninja, she is a student of Gai. Not much is known about her techniques, other than that she uses dozens of various types of weapons in battle by raining them on her opponent. That technique proved totally useless against Temari, who repeatedly blew the weapons back using her fan.Tsunami
The daughter of Tazuna and single mother of Inari. Having lost her husband several years ago, when Kaiza entered her life showing such love for her son, she couldn't help but invite him into her home. Like everyone else in the City, Kaiza's death broke her spirit. In the years following she has tried to protect Inari from the painful memories of the loss of his friend and mentor. Tsunami is a woman of strong will. When Inari is in danger, she threatens to commit suicide, which would have left no hostage for Gatou's men to take.Tsurugu Misumi
Technically a Genin level ninja and pretending to be from the Leaf Village, he is actually from the Hidden Sound Village, acting as Leaf Ninja in order to gain information. To be more efficient in the gathering of information, his body has been altered to be able to fit into any space. This ability also has its benefits in battle, Allowing Misumi to get impossible to escape holds on his opponent, with the ability to then constrict like a snake.Uchiha Itachi
Official ninja level unknown; unofficial ninja level "ridiculously powerful". A Leaf Village Missing-nin, He graduated top of his Academy class at age 7, had mastered the Sharingan by age 8, became a Chuunin at 9 and was previously an Anbu captain at the age of only 13. Now 17, he is feared even by Orochimaru. He left the Leaf Village some years ago, after killing his whole clan except for Sasuke, his brother. His whereabouts are currently unknown.Uchiha Sasuke
A Genin level Ninja, Sasuke is the natural genius offspring of the powerful Uchiha Clan. One of the most outstanding clans in Leaf Village, the Uchiha's advanced posess the power of the Sharingan. Sasuke's talent is not only confined to the Sharingan; before this ability even awakened he was considered the #1 Academy Ninja and the #1 rookie Genin. It is becuase of these abilities that Orochimaru is interested in Sasuke and puts his curse seal on him; Sasuke turns out to be strong enough to survive the 9/10 chance of immediate death and regains consciousness. Just by releasing Chakra the curse becomes active and forcibly pulls out more Chakra, stealing his mind. At this point the the small mark on the neck grows to wrap around Sasuke's whole body. Sasuke's willpower is surprisingly strong enough to hold back this curse and after Kakashi performs his Evil Sealing Method on him, it becomes even easier for him to control it and use his Chakra normally.Umino Iruka
A Chuunin level ninja, he is an instructor at the ninja academy. Introduced as Naruto's sensei, he and Naruto have a special connection. Iruka sees himself in Naruto because he also grew up as an orphan and was around Naruto's age when his parents were killed by the Kyubi. Naruto cares for him because Iruka was the first person to acknowledge him as a precious person. Worrying that Naruto is being pushed too hard, Iruka often underestimates Naruto's abilities during his trials to become a great ninja. He is now Konohamaru's teacher.Uzumaki Naruto
The main character of the series, he is naturally impetuous, hyperactive and tends to rush into combat without thinking. However, he is capable of devising some quite clever plans by creative usage of his jutsus, most notably Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, when necessary. Inside Naruto is the sealed nine-tails demon fox, and when Naruto is under great stress or when his friends are severely threatened it the demon's power begins to force its way out. While seemingly uncontrollable, the demon inside Naruto- while not exactly nice whenever Naruto subconsciously faces him- is surprisingly cooperative and when truly necessary, such as in a life-threatening situation, The Kyubi's chakra will almost always lend itself to him.Yakushi Kabuto
Technically a Genin level ninja, Kabuto is in Leaf Village as a spy acting for Orochimaru. Having intentionally failed the Chuunin exam repeatedly and made himself seem an unimpressive ninja, he is actually on the Jounin skill level, Capable of matching even Kakashi in battle. As a young boy he was brought back from a battle, an enemy child, he was found and raised by a Jounin member of the Leaf Medical Unit Squad. Since then he has been hiding in his fake self. Described as Orochimaru's right hand man, Kabuto's role was to keep an eye on talented ninjas that Orochimaru could recruit, specifically Sasuke, in order for the next stage of Orochimaru's plan to take place.
