Description of Kirigakure

Kirigakure

Kirigakure (霧隠れの里, Kirigakure no sato; Literally meaning "Village Hidden in the Mist") is located in the Land of Water. As one of the five great ninja villages, Kirigakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Mizukage. There have been five Mizukage, the current one being Mei Terumī. An unusually high number of missing-nin seem to originate from this village. A unique classification of ninja known as hunter-nin are specifically tasked with eliminating these defectors.

Kirigakure is composed of several cylindrical buildings, with the Mizukage's palace being the widest and the largest. Like its name, the village is surrounded by a thick mist, with several mountains in the background, making it difficult to find by foreigners.

Naruto Cosplay Shikamaru Hidan Kakuzu Black HeadBand

Personality

As a genin, Shikamaru Nara was the sort of unenthusiastic kid who liked to watch clouds. He preferred not to get involved in "troublesome" activities, pretending to be busy to avoid responsibility. He is fully aware of this side of his personality. He even named himself "the number one at running away" or "the number one coward". In fact, his most commonly used phrase is "how troublesome" in the Japanese version, and "what a drag" in the English version.

However, when duty calls, Shikamaru has a strong moral compass and sense of commitment to his comrades. Even though, by his own testimony, he lacks bravery, he will sacrifice himself and face almost certain death, for the sake of his friends and/or villagers without a second thought. Because of his raw leadership skill, he was the first genin from the Rookie Nine to become a chūnin. The weight of the decisions he must make as a chūnin and, thus, team leader have caused Shikamaru to mature rapidly. This was most evident after the death of Asuma. He vowed to protect and later mentor Asuma's unborn child, so that he could grow up to be a "cool adult" like Asuma. Shikamaru's sense of duty and commitment to the future of his village is also reflected in his willingness to enforce Konoha 11's recent decision to stop Sasuke at all costs, even in the face of potential objections on behalf of the original members of Team 7.

Shikamaru loves to play thinking games that older men are usually into, such as shogi and go (His teacher, Asuma, even said at one point "That kid is like an old man. He likes to take things slowly"). He is a brilliant strategist. The Hokage often seeks his advice on defense strategies.Although his former sensei, Asuma Sarutobi, often played against Shikamaru, Asuma had never actually managed to beat him. Asuma became suspicious upon realizing that Shikamaru was so good at board games, despite his abysmal grades. As a result, Asuma administered an IQ test disguised as a game to Shikamaru, which revealed that Shikamaru was beyond a genius, with an IQ of over 200. Sakura once states Shikamaru as being the smartest person in the Land of Fire.During the Chūnin Exams, even the daimyo was impressed by his intelligence and offered him a position as his personal guard.

Shikamaru's most distinctive character trait is that he considers most women bossy and "troublesome", particularly Temari, his mother, and Ino. He usually defines them as aggressive, demanding, and sometimes even scary. Given his mother's tyrannical personality, this isn't too surprising. However, his father shares the exact same attitude, even though he married Yoshino in the first place. When Shikamaru questioned his father about why he would marry such a domineering woman, his father responded that even the toughest woman will show her gentle side to the man she loves.Nevertheless, Shikamaru is generally courteous to women, doing them favors and avoiding fights with them. He feels that men, like him, should be the ones protecting them and not the other way around. Despite the latter point, he exclusively fought against women during Part I of the manga, albeit because of circumstances that were mostly out of his control.

He has expressed a notably mature interest in marriage and raising a family. He hopes to "marry a regular girl who isn't too ugly and not too pretty. Have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after my daughter is married and my son becomes a successful ninja, and spend the rest of my life playing shogi or go. Then die of old age before my wife."

Shikamaru has also shown a little devious side. When he gets food for Chōji while he's in the hospital during the Chūnin Exams, the nurse tells him that Chōji has indigestion and that he can't have food. So, Shikamaru goes to Naruto's room to give him the food. When Naruto tells Shikamaru he wants to eat it in front of Chōji to annoy him Shikamaru states "evil... I like it."

Appearance

To further emphasize his personality, Shikamaru is regularly seen with a lazy or irritated expression. He has fairly long jet black hair tied in a spiky ponytail, narrow brown eyes, and wears ring earrings. During Part I, his attire was rather plain, wearing a fishnet undershirt and a short jacket with his forehead protector worn around his left arm and gray pants. During Part II, he has grown noticeably taller. He has also undergone a costume change, sporting a different undershirt and pants, and changing his earrings from rings to studs, though the placement of his headband is the same place. Since Part II, Shikamaru has been equipped with a chūnin's tantō, which he used to try and decapitate Hidan with in the 'Hidan and Kakuzu' arc. Shikamaru first started wearing a flak jacket when he became a chūnin. In Part II, his flak jacket becomes darker.

Abilities

Shikamaru thinking.

Shikamaru does not like fighting, deeming it, as he does most things, "troublesome". His intelligence lends him some help in this regard, such that he is fairly successful at avoiding injuries when he is unable to avoid a battle. Shikamaru's intelligence has earned praise from a number of characters, including the highly experienced Kakashi and Kakuzu. Even the Third Hokage found his abilities to be amazing. By putting his fingers together to create a circle and closing his eyes so he can concentrate, he can quickly think ten moves ahead of his opponent with over a hundred strategies ready to be used. When he does this, he considers everything that has taken place in the battle up to that point, even discerning how an opponent's techniques work. His teacher, Asuma Sarutobi said that he has the ability to become a Hokage, but he also said that he will be too lazy to want to be Hokage.

In the anime, Shikamaru is revealed to have been offered a position as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, though he refused it (despite Asuma's effort of convincing him to take it as a means to widen his perspective) in order to better protect Konohagakure.

Fourth Hokage Cloak

Fourth Hokage

Minato and Kushina.

Some time after the war ended, Hiruzen Sarutobi chose Minato, who was not even thirty years of age, to lead Konoha as the Fourth Hokage.This choice supposedly initiated the decision of Orochimaru, the leading contender to the position and Hiruzen's former protege, to defect from Konoha. During Minato's reign, his relationship with Kushina Uzumaki would bear him a son.

After reading Jiraiya's book, where the main character was named Naruto, Minato said that the protagonist was just like Jiraiya. It was then that Minato revealed that he and Kushina wanted to raise their child to be a shinobi like the one in the book, and for that reason they decided to name him "Naruto" after the main character. Jiraiya pointed out that it would make him Naruto's godfather and asked if they were sure that they would want that. Minato stated Jiraiya was a good example for them all and that he could not think of a finer shinobi than him.

Prior to Naruto's birth, Minato and Kushina knew that the seal that kept the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within her would weaken during childbirth, so they set up a plan to prevent that from ever happening. Kushina was taken a short distance outside of the village to give birth in secret, with Biwako Sarutobi and Taji as her midwives, a few ANBU as security, and with Minato keeping the seal in place. Their location was eventually tracked by Madara Uchiha, killing the ANBU, Biwako, and Taji, as well as holding the newborn Naruto hostage. Madara ordered Minato to step away from Kushina or he would kill Naruto. While Minato was able to save Naruto and protect him from the rigged Exploding Tags, he was forced to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport Naruto to a safe place, letting Madara run away with Kushina.

Madara released the Nine-Tails to wreak havoc in Konoha, greatly weakening Kushina whom would have been killed by the Nine-Tails had Minato not come beforehand to teleport her to where Naruto was. Initially, Minato was able to hold back the Nine-Tails rampage, forcing Madara to confront Minato. After seeing Madara's prowess first hand, Minato deduced who Madara really was. When it became clear that Madara's superior space-time manipulation prowess put him at a disadvantage in direct combat, Minato was able to use a well-timed diversion to subdue him. Minato struck Madara again and placed a Contract Seal to free the Nine-Tails from his control. After their fight, Madara acknowledged that Minato deserves the Hokage title, swore the Nine-Tails would be his again someday and left.

Minato rushed to the village's help, where he and Gamabunta faced off against the Nine-Tails, but the beast's power could not be matched. When the Nine-Tails tried to fire another blast of chakra, he teleported himself and the Nine-Tails away from the village, letting the blast detonate with no one hurt. He met up with Kushina, who then held down the Nine-Tails with her chakra. After hearing Kushina's plan to take the Nine-Tails to the grave with her, if only to buy them time before it revives, Minato made a plan of his own. Having understood what a threat Madara still was to the village, and the threat of the Nine-Tails revival without a host, Minato decided to give him and Kushina a chance to see Naruto again and give Konoha the means to combat Madara if he should ever attack the village again.He used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Nine-Tails into Naruto's body, hoping that his son would someday be able to use its power. When Minato sealed the Nine-Tails within Naruto, he split its chakra in two, the Yin and Yang. Minato sealed the Yang half within Naruto with the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, which used Kushina's chakra, and sealed the Yin half with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal into himself, thus making it inaccessible to Naruto.The act cost Minato his life, and he died as one of the village's greatest heroes.

Minato Namikaze in Naruto

Minato Namikaze

Minato Namikaze (波風ミナト, Namikaze Minato), also known as Konoha's Yellow Flash (木ノ葉の黄色い閃光, Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō; English "Yellow Flash of the Leaf"), was the Fourth Hokage (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage; Literally meaning "Fourth Fire Shadow"), the student of Jiraiya and the teacher of Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin. He was the husband of Kushina Uzumaki and the father of Naruto Uzumaki.

Background

When Minato was in the Ninja Academy, his classmate and future wife Kushina Uzumaki thought he looked "flaky" and even "girly". He nevertheless dreamed of becoming acknowledged by the Konoha villagers by becoming Hokage, which Kushina considered to be an impossible dream. Later, when Kushina was kidnapped by Kumogakure ninja, Minato was the only Konoha ninja to pick up on the fact that she was leaving behind strands of her hair to mark their path. After rescuing her, Minato explained that he had always admired her hair. No longer seeing him as "flaky", she fell in love with him.

Team Jiraiya.

According to those who knew him, Minato was a very talented ninja, having been considered a rare genius that appeared only once a generation. He graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of ten, and was added to a genin team under the tutelage of Jiraiya. Jiraiya took a special interest in Minato, and accepted him as an apprentice, amongst other things teaching him the Summoning Technique. At some point Jiraiya also told Mintato about the prophecy the Great Toad Sage had given him, believing Minato could be the Child of the Prophecy. In later years, Minato was put in charge of a Genin team of his own, consisting of Kakashi Hatake, Rin and Obito Uchiha.

Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto

Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke Uchiha (うちはサスケ, Uchiha Sasuke) is a main character in the series and anime, Naruto. Although he starts off as one of the protagonists, as the story progresses, he becomes one of the series' most dynamic major antagonists. Sasuke is one of the two remaining members of the Uchiha clan, a former member of Team Kakashi, a missing-nin from Konohagakure, and an international criminal.

Background

Sasuke as an infant.

Being the youngest son of Konoha Military Police Force captain and Uchiha clan head Fugaku Uchiha, Sasuke grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Itachi Uchiha. Itachi was an acknowledged prodigy who was viewed by the Uchiha clan as a genius, and whose work would further strengthen the bonds between the village and the clan. Sasuke's father in particular took an active interest in Itachi. Itachi, on the other hand, was rather ambivalent and full of oddly conflicting undercurrents, acknowledging Sasuke by taking interest in his progress as a ninja when even their father did not, but spending little quality time with Sasuke. Even after Sasuke enrolled in the Ninja Academy, he was still unable to escape Itachi's shadow. Despite consistently scoring at the top of every class, Sasuke failed to receive any recognition from his father, who defined Sasuke's success only in terms of his older brother. Itachi acknowledged the rivalry Sasuke felt, telling him, "We are brothers. I am the wall you must climb over, so you and I will continue to exist together."

Sasuke as a young child.

Itachi's relationship with his father deteriorated further after Itachi was questioned by other members of the Uchiha clan regarding the apparent suicide of his best friend, Shisui. As Itachi's behavior became increasingly bizarre, Sasuke's father began spending more time with Sasuke, and began teaching him the Great Fireball Technique, a common family jutsu seen as a sign of coming of age in the Uchiha clan. After only one week of training, Sasuke (age 7 at the time) performed the jutsu in front of his father, proving himself a genius as well in his own right and finally receiving his father's recognition. Sasuke's father told him that he could now proudly wear the clan's emblem on his back. Following this, Sasuke also received a stern warning not to follow in Itachi's footsteps.

Sasuke's Sharingan activated for the first time.

Shortly thereafter, Itachi massacred every member of the Uchiha clan, sparing only Sasuke, saying that he was not even worth killing. In addition, Itachi told him, "You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live... if you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me... and by all means flee, cling to your wretched life." Itachi also revealed to Sasuke where the secret meeting place of the Uchiha was hidden, and suggested that Sasuke go there to learn what the true history and purpose of the Sharingan was. He told him that "To awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, that he had to kill the person he was closest to", and that "When we battle, we should have the same eyes". Sasuke thought he had fainted after this, but later remembered that he had managed to stand back up, awaken his Sharingan, and pursue Itachi. Upon reaching Itachi, he managed to knock off his forehead protector. Itachi was seen shedding a tear as he was picking up the forehead protector. He then proceeded to incapacitate Sasuke, who awoke in the hospital remembering only that which Itachi wanted him to.

Gaara Cosplay Costume

Gaara as he appears in Part II

Gaara adopted a mainly sadistic demeanor and exceptional bloodthirst. His drive to kill is his most fundamental characteristic at the start of the series. After his introduction in the yearly ninja examinations, Gaara has little interest in the actual examination but rather in seeking to kill or seriously maim anyone who makes the mistake of insulting him.As he battles stronger opponents during the course of the examinations, Gaara begins to believe that he must kill anyone he perceives as stronger than him because they are a threat to his existence.

Gaara's quest for stronger opponents leads to his crossing paths with Naruto Uzumaki. Recognizing Naruto as a formidable opponent, Gaara threatens the life of one of Naruto's friends to force him to fight. He treats his battle with Naruto as a contest to determine whose philosophy is correct: his belief in fighting for himself or Naruto's belief in fighting for his friends and allies. Naruto defeats Gaara, and as a result, Gaara adopts Naruto's philosophy, realizing that fighting for others yields greater strength than fighting for one's self.He makes amends with the many characters he had alienated, apologizing to those he hurt and improving his relationship with his family.At the same time, Gaara's fundamental characteristic becomes the desire to protect as many people as he can, as in doing so he will be able to find true strength. This culminates in his replacing his father as the leader of Sunagakure during Part II of the series, and he states his greatest desire is to give his life for the villagers for Sunagakure regardless of the opinions they hold of him.

Abilities

Gaara's sand shielding him from a needle barrage

Due to having Shukaku sealed within him, Gaara has control over sand. Gaara always carries sand with him in a calabash-shaped gourd on his back, which is in fact also made of compacted sand.To attack his opponents, Gaara uses sand to engulf them, and he can compress the sand, crushing them in the process. When Gaara is attacked, a shield of sand automatically blocks the attack, a result of Shukaku being sealed within him. Gaara also covers his skin with a layer of sand as a precautionary defensive measure.By the end of Part One, Gaara also demonstrates his ability to use sand to carry himself, effectively allowing him to fly.

Like other hosts of tailed beasts, Gaara can manifest aspects of the tailed beast sealed within him. By covering himself in sand, Gaara can take on the appearance of a miniature Shukaku, increasing his speed and strength in the process. As he does so, he allows Shukaku's personality to influence him, making him more violent and bloodthirsty.Once he has completed his Shukaku replica, Gaara can fully bring out Shukaku's personality by forcing himself asleep. Doing so allows Shukaku to control the replica and fight using its full strength so long as Gaara remains asleep.Though he loses Shukaku to the Akatsuki, Gaara maintains his ability to control sand.

Gaara in Naruto

Gaara (我愛羅) is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Kishimoto designed Gaara as a foil to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki, as the two were born through similar circumstances, but develop vastly different personalities as they deal with their troubled upbringing. Initially introduced as an antagonist and Naruto's rival, the two eventually develop a bond as kindred spirits and become close friends as the series progresses.

In the anime and manga, Gaara is a ninja affiliated with Sunagakure, and is the son of Sunagakure's leader, the Fourth Kazekage. As a fetus, his father attempted to turn him into a human weapon by placing a tailed beast into him, and he was ostracized by the Sunagakure villagers. As a result, he develops into a ruthless killer, slaying others without remorse, and treating his siblings Kankuro and Temari with contempt. His battle with Naruto during the series changes this outlook, and he begins to aid others in order to emulate Naruto. In Part II of the series, he becomes Sunagakure's Fifth Kazekage. Gaara has appeared in several pieces of Naruto media, including the second featured film in the series, the third original video animation, and several video games.

Numerous anime and manga publications have commented on Gaara's character. IGN labeled the disparity between Naruto and Gaara as "emotional" and "a tad creepy".Anime News Network called Naruto's fight against Gaara the high point of the entire series.Among the Naruto reader base, Gaara has been popular, placing high in several popularity polls, and always making it to the top ten characters.Numerous pieces of merchandise have been released in Gaara's likeness, including plush dolls and key chains.

Gaara

Character outline

Background

Gaara's background is primarily expanded upon in flashbacks during Naruto manga volume fifteen. Before he was born, Gaara's father had the tanuki-like One-Tailed Shukaku (一尾の守鶴 Ichibi no Shukaku, English TV: "Shukaku the Sand Spirit"), a tailed beast, sealed into his body while Gaara was still in his mother's womb, giving him the power to manipulate sand.The Fourth Kazekage, Gaara's father and the leader of the village of Sunagakure, intended to use Gaara as the village's personal weapon.Gaara was trained by his father throughout his childhood to help gain control over the abilities granted to him by Shukaku.Despite this, Gaara was ostracized by the Sunagakure villagers, who viewed him as a monster for being the host of a tailed beast. Shukaku would occasionally manipulate sand against Gaara's will to harm other villagers, cementing their perception of him.These attacks on the villagers convinced Gaara's father that he was a failed experiment, and he ordered Gaara's assassination. All of the attempts on Gaara's life failed, as Shukaku would always protect Gaara from harm and kill the assassin.Realizing that he had been abandoned by his family, Gaara adopted the belief that he could only rely upon himself and Shukaku, and that he had to kill others in order to confirm the value of his own existence.