Bleach - ブリーチ

Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he accidentally obtains the power of a shinigami from Rukia Kuchiki. A shinigami is a Japanese death personification similar to the Grim Reaper. Gaining these abilities forces him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.

The manga has been adapted into an animated television series produced by Studio Pierrot which is still ongoing in Japan as it adapts the story from the manga. The series has also spawned two original video animations (OVAs), three animated feature films, seven rock musicals, and numerous video games, as well as prompted the release of many types of Bleach-related merchandise.

Compilation volumes of the manga have sold over 50 million copies in Japan and reached the top of manga sales charts in the United States. The anime adaptation has been similarly received, rating as the 7th most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006, and in the top ten anime for America from 2006 to 2008. The series received the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen demographic in 2005, and is among the best-selling manga properties in both Japan and America.

Bleach is written and illustrated by Tite Kubo.

Synopsis
The story opens with the sudden appearance of Soul Reaper Rukia Kuchiki in Ichigo Kurosaki's bedroom. She is surprised at his ability to see her, but their conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a "hollow", an evil spirit. After Rukia is severely wounded while trying to protect Ichigo, she attempts to transfer half her powers to Ichigo in order to let him face the hollow on equal footing. Ichigo instead unintentionally absorbs almost all her energy, allowing him to defeat the hollow with ease. The next day Rukia appears in Ichigo's classroom as a seemingly normal human, and informs Ichigo that his absorption of her powers has left her stranded in the human world until she recovers her strength. In the meantime Ichigo shelters Rukia in his home and takes over her job as a Soul Reaper, battling hollows and guiding lost souls to Soul Society.

After a few months of this arrangement, in the sixth volume of the series, Rukia's Soul Reaper superiors interpret her disappearance as desertion, send a detachment to arrest her, and sentence her to death. Ichigo is unable to stop Rukia's capture, but with the help of several of his classmates who also possess spiritual abilities and ex-Soul Reaper Kisuke Urahara, he sets off for the Soul Reaper base, located in the afterlife realm known as Soul Society. Once there, Ichigo and company battle against the elites of the Soul Reaper military, and are ultimately successful in halting Rukia's execution.

It is then revealed that Rukia's execution and Ichigo's rescue attempt were both manipulated by Sōsuke Aizen, a high ranking Soul Reaper previously believed to be murdered, as part of a far-reaching plot to take control of Soul Society. Aizen betrays his fellow Soul Reapers and allies himself with the hollows, becoming the main antagonist of the series, and Ichigo teams up with his former enemies in Soul Society after learning that the next step in Aizen's plan involves the destruction of his hometown. At this point, Bleach chronicles the war between Aizen and the Soul Society, a plotline which has not yet been resolved. According to Tite Kubo, the ending of the series is not yet planned out or written.

Akatsuki

Akatsuki (暁, Akatsuki? lit. "Dawn" or "Daybreak") is a criminal organization composed of ten high-level ninja that have defected from their village of origin. The group receives little attention during the first part of the series, only becoming major antagonists in Part II. Akatsuki members are characterized by their long, dark cloaks bearing red clouds with a chin-high collar. Each also possesses a unique ring, which seems to symbolize one's membership in the organization. Members are partnered together in teams of two, each team sticking together as they traverse the Naruto world. Despite this partnership, members tend to have a strained relationship with their peers, only cooperating enough to complete their assignments and showing little concern when another member is killed. Orochimaru defects from the organization before the start of the series, taking his ring with him, and thus Akatsuki never exceeds nine members during the current storyline.

Akatsuki was founded by Madara Uchiha after he was expelled from his hometown of Konohagakure. Though initially meant only to mask Madara's movements, Akatsuki eventually began taking part in assassinations and espionage. By the start of the current storyline, Akatsuki's ambitions grow to plans of world domination. To mark this more dynamic goal, Akatsuki increases its activity throughout the series as it attempts to capture the nine powerful tailed beasts. Each member is assigned to capture a specific beast or its current host, at which point Akatsuki convenes to extract the beast and seal it away for their grand plan. As the Akatsuki leader, Pain, explains it, once all nine beasts have been captured Akatsuki will be able to harness their great strength to start world wars at their leisure. With the world governments unable to deal with the beasts' power, Akatsuki will be turned to for salvation, teaching the world the meaninglessness of fighting and giving Akatsuki complete control in the process. As of Naruto manga chapter 419, Akatsuki has captured seven of the tailed beasts.

Orichimaru

Personality
Orochimaru's various human experiments take place so as to serve two purposes, most prominent of which is his desire to learn every jutsu in the Naruto world. Jiraiya speculates that this is due to the fact that his parents died when he was at a very young age, and flashbacks shown during his battle with the Third Hokage speak to this effect. Perhaps because he wanted to see his parents or as a means of avenging their deaths, he experiments on others to see what kind of modifications the human body can endure and to otherwise harness a subject's unique abilities for himself. Once accomplishing this goal, Orochimaru hopes to be worthy of the title of "ultimate being". Because a human's lifespan does not allow enough time to learn every jutsu, Orochimaru also experiments on others so as to achieve immortality. By living throughout the ages, Orochimaru need never worry about death and thus all the knowledge he gains will never be lost.

Above all else, Orochimaru cares only for himself. He grows bored when there is no conflict or violence in the world, and immediately strikes fear into others when they first meet him. Though he has a number of followers who would do anything for him, Orochimaru treats them as mere pawns. He does not hesitate to send them to their deaths for his own personal benefit, and only finds remorse in their loss if they are unable to properly complete a task. To win over these followers to their disposable status, Orochimaru approaches them with promises of making their dreams, such as obtaining power, revenge, or a purpose to their lives, come true. He applies a cursed seal to many of his stronger subordinates in order to corrode their body and mind, making them more susceptible to his influence and control.

Abilities
Much of Orochimaru's arsenal of abilities deals with snakes. By summoning them to his side during battle, Orochimaru can battle multiple opponents at once and simultaneously keep himself out of harm's way. Through his experimentations he has also been able to add some snake-like characteristics to his own body, such as shedding his body to escape injury or extending parts of his body to great lengths. Of the more common of his snake-related abilities, Orochimaru possesses the Kusanagi sword (草薙の剣, Kusanagi no Tsurugi?, English TV "The Grass Long Sword"), an extendable blade that he stores within a snake that is in turn stored in his own mouth. Though he can wield the sword regularly with great proficiency, it is not uncommon for him to use the sword without ever removing it from his mouth.

The influence snakes have had on Orochimaru is most evident in the results of his immortality research: after years of study and self-modifications, Orochimaru's "true" form has become that of a giant white snake that is composed of many smaller snakes. To live forever and escape death, Orochimaru first finds a new body that will act as his own. He then leaves the confines of the body he is inhabiting, revealing his true form. Once doing so, Orochimaru need only consume the new body and gain dominance over the soul of its current inhabitant, thus gaining complete control and access to all the body's unique abilities. While inhabiting this body, Orochimaru typically wears a mask of his original face, it being both his personal preference and easier for others to communicate with someone they recognize. Orochimaru can only perform this body-transfer once every three years, at which point in time weaker bodies begin to reject him and therefore necessitate he find a new body.

Detail Info
First appearance Naruto manga chapter 45, Naruto anime episode 27
Age 50-51 in Part I, 54 in Part II
Date of birth October 27
Ninja rank Missing-nin

Kakashi Hatake

Personality
Obito's death greatly changed Kakashi, as he adopted many of Obito's traits and philosophies. Most recurring of these is his concept of teamwork: when first forming Team 7, Kakashi gauges their abilities with a bell test in which the three must capture the two bells he keeps on his person. Only by working as a team, regardless of the fact that there aren't enough bells for each of them, are they able to pass, instilling in them the concept of teamwork early on. Kakashi continues to further this philosophy for the duration of Part I upon Sasuke Uchiha, whose drive to get stronger causes him to slowly turn against his friends and teammates. Though Kakashi frequently reminds Sasuke of the importance of teamwork and tries to show him how strength can be found in friendship, he is unable to get through to him before the latter's defection.

Kakashi keeps his personal life separate from his interactions with his students, only going so far as to say that he has a number of hobbies and dreams that are "none of [their] business". He also states that everyone precious to him is dead. What is known of Kakashi's personal life is that he spends much of his free time at a memorial site where Obito's name is engraved. He tends to lose track of time when he is there, and is frequently late to his appointments as a result (another trait adopted from Obito). Similarly, Kakashi constantly keeps the lower half of his face covered, and thus the appearance of his face remains a mystery. Episode 101 of the anime, an omake episode dedicated to Team 7's efforts to unmask Kakashi, implies he is quite handsome, as two employees from the Ichiraku ramen shop (male and female) were left awestruck after he briefly removes his mask to eat. (He actually shows Team 7 that under his mask is another mask at the end of the episode.)

One pastime that Kakashi makes no attempt to hide from even his students is his fondness for the Make Out (イチャイチャ, Icha Icha?) series of erotic novels. The books, detailing the author's (Jiraiya) experiences in love, are runaway best-sellers within the Naruto world. When asked more specifically about the contents of the books, Masashi Kishimoto explained that Naruto's target demographic was not old enough for him to disclose the details of the plot. Kakashi is usually seen reading one of the books during events that do not require his complete attention, such as his early conversations and training sessions with Team 7. Naruto has on occasion used Kakashi's attachment to the books against him; he threatens to spoil the ending of the latest installment in the series, forcing Kakashi to shut his eyes and ears to avoid learning the secret and leaving him off guard in the process.

Abilities
The Sharingan given to him by Obito is a sticking point to Kakashi's fame in the Naruto world. Granting him the ability to mimic the movements and jutsu of others, the Sharingan gives Kakashi an edge in battle by allowing him to turn his opponent's abilities against them, leading to his nickname of "Copy Ninja Kakashi" (コピー忍者のカカシ, Kopī Ninja no Kakashi?). With his ability to mimic the jutsu of others, Kakashi has added over one thousand different attacks to his repertoire including every type of ninja technique. Because the Sharingan only naturally occurs in those of Uchiha lineage, Kakashi needs to exert much more energy when using his own as well his eye is always active so keeps it covered with his forehead protector. During the gap in time between Part I and II, Kakashi even develops a Mangekyo Sharingan through unknown means. With it he can use a jutsu called Kamui (神威, Kamui? literally "God's Authority") that allows him to send any targeted object to another dimension. Because performing this ability requires extended bed rest afterwards, Kakashi avoids using it unless absolutely necessary.

Although most of Kakashi's abilities were acquired with his Sharingan, Kakashi has two abilities he developed by himself. Lightning Blade, a collection of lightning chakra in one's hand, was created by Kakashi in his youth. By rushing at the enemy and thrusting the Lightning Blade into a target, Kakashi can kill most opponents with one strike. Because of the speed at which the technique is performed, regular eyes experience a tunnel-vision effect when using it and leaves the user open to counterattack. After gaining his Sharingan, Kakashi was able to overcome this flaw, and uses its analytical capabilities to better react to enemy movements. His second unique ability is the pack of eight ninja dogs (忍犬, Ninken?) he is able to summon to his side. The dogs are capable of talking and have presumably been raised by Kakashi since they were puppies. He primarily uses them for tracking purposes, but he can use them as tools in combat as well should he need to locate or hold an enemy down for a finishing attack. Because of his abilities, Kakashi is noted to be an obvious candidate for the position of Hokage, the protector of Konoha, should the position ever become vacant.

Detail Info
First appearance Naruto manga chapter 3, Naruto anime episode 3
Age 26-27 in Part I, 29-30 in Part II
Date of birth Sep 15
Ninja rank Jonin
Ninja team Team 7

Sakura Haruno

Personality
At the start of the series, Sakura has a deep infatuation for Sasuke Uchiha, rooted primarily in his good looks, cool attitude, and prodigious talents. Because of this, many of Sakura's early appearances are dedicated to her continuing effort to win his affection. As the story progresses and she begins to spend more time with Sasuke as a teammate, Sakura develops a concern that Sasuke will someday abandon her and the rest of Konohagakure in his quest for power. When her fears comes true at the end of Part I, Sakura does all that she can to stop Sasuke from leaving, such as professing her love for him and offering to join him. Though touched by her words, they do not stop Sasuke from defecting from Konoha. Since then, Sakura has made her personal goal to bring Sasuke home, which becomes a recurring component of her role in Part II. Although she still worries about his well-being and doesn't allow others to insult Sasuke, Sakura is willing to attack him if it means returning him to Konoha.

Sakura's relationship with Naruto Uzumaki, like with Sasuke, also changes throughout the series. When first teamed up together, Sakura views Naruto as a talentless idiot who deliberately tries to ruin her life. As the story progresses and Naruto continually shows his worth as a ninja as well as his dedication to his teammates, Sakura realizes that her initial perceptions of him were wrong. After Sasuke defects from Konoha at the end of Part I, Sakura pleads for Naruto to bring him back. Having a crush on Sakura, Naruto does all in his power to return Sasuke to her. Although he fails and is left in the hospital afterwards, he vows to someday complete the task she has given him. Realizing the lengths Naruto will go to for her, Sakura spends the two-and-a-half years dividing Part I and II to training so that she can help Naruto during his next attempt. As they search for Sasuke during Part II, Sakura learns of the various hardships Naruto faces: the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and Akatsuki. Saddened by the impact both forces have had on his life, Sakura becomes protective of Naruto and tries to do whatever she can to help him overcome these obstacles.

Within Sakura resides "Inner Sakura," a manifestation of her inner emotions. In addition to comic relief, Inner Sakura represents Sakura's actual opinion on things when she outwardly displays something opposite. Inner Sakura's appearances are typically marked by an exclamation of "Shānnarō" (しゃーんなろー). The phrase has no literal meaning, but is usually translated as "hell yeah," "hell no," or "damn it" depending on the situation. Viz media replaces it with the word "Cha!" in the English versions of Naruto. Although she appears quite frequently at the start of the series, Inner Sakura all but disappears midway through Part I, her only other appearance being at the start of Part II. Sakura, likewise, now performs the emotional outbursts she once relied on Inner Sakura for, much to the dismay of those who are around her at the time.

Abilities
For the duration of Part I, Sakura's abilities go largely unseen and undeveloped. While she is shown to be very proficient with basic ninja abilities during the few battles she participates in, Sakura lacks any unique traits that set her apart from the rest of Team 7. Her teacher, Kakashi Hatake, notes that Sakura has an excellent control over her chakra early in Part I, but it is not until Part II that she is taught to use this ability to her advantage.

After training under Tsunade for two-and-a-half years, Sakura acquires two abilities that rely directly on her precise chakra control. The first and most common of these two is her ability to heal wounds, giving her the position as her team's medical ninja. Due to the speed and proficiency with which she can heal others, many characters have noted Sakura to be more talented than most medical ninja with far more experience. Because a ninja team relies on its medical ninja to survive, Sakura must both avoid opponents and keep them at bay during battle. This is accomplished through Sakura's second ability: her superhuman strength. By building up chakra in her fists and releasing it on contact with a target, Sakura can reduce most obstacles to rubble with great ease.

Detail Info
First appearance Naruto manga chapter 3, Naruto anime episode 1
Age 12-13 in Part I, 15-16 in Part II
Date of birth March 28
Ninja rank Chunin
Ninja team Team 7

Sasuke Uchiha

Personality
When first introduced during his assignment to Team 7, Sasuke displays a great indifference to his teammates. Feeling that his abilities are far superior to their own, he is unwilling to cooperate with Naruto Uzumaki or Sakura Haruno, as doing so would do nothing to help him kill Itachi. These perceptions are quickly proven wrong, for despite their failings, Sakura is an excellent source of information; while competition with Naruto acts as an effective way to get stronger. While he retains a confidence in himself throughout the series, Sasuke increasingly relies on his friends over the course of Part I. As he starts to get close to others he also begins to risk his own life to save them, even though his death would leave him unable to fulfill his goal of vengeance upon Itachi.

Although Sasuke becomes content with a life of happiness in Konohagakure, he never allows his ambition to gain power to leave his thoughts. During his Part I battles with characters such as Haku and Gaara, Sasuke tests his abilities against those of progressively stronger ninja, in the process discovering the weakpoints he needs to overcome. While initially complacent with his development, Naruto quickly starts to grow stronger at a faster rate. This, coupled with his quick defeat by Itachi during a brief return to Konoha, leads Sasuke to believe that his growth is slowing. In an attempt to reassess his strength, he begins to treat his friends as opponents so as to test his abilities against their own.

Abilities
Sasuke has always been able to grasp most ninja abilities with ease. When Naruto begins Sasuke is highly proficient with the Uchiha clan's signature fire-breathing and weapon-based techniques, talents he continues to hone throughout the series. Of the abilities gained through his Uchiha lineage, Sasuke most commonly uses the Sharingan, an ability manifested through the eyes, that grants him a variety of advantages. Sasuke's Sharingan develops for the duration of Part I, first only allowing him to track fast-moving objects and culminating with his ability to predict the movements of others. In Part II he starts to use his Sharingan to cast illusions, allowing him to manipulate and confuse others. Sasuke's Sharingan reaches its peak after Itachi's death; through the death of the person closest to him, Sasuke awakens his own Mangekyo Sharingan, granting him his brother's Amaterasu fire technique as well as the ability to dispel it.

Orochimaru's influence is also a recurring element of Sasuke's abilities. During their first encounter in Part I, Sasuke is branded with a cursed seal, which grants him a brief surge in strength and speed when active. Sasuke's various uses of the seal cause him to crave more of its power as he enters to a second level amplifying the effect and drastically changing his appearance. Itachi removes Orochimaru and the cursed seal from Sasuke's body during their final battle. When Sasuke begins to train under Orochimaru, his physical abilities are greatly enhanced and he learns how to summon snakes so as to help him in battle. In addition to the techniques taught to him, Sasuke gains access to some of Orochimaru's more common abilities during the period he absorbs him into his body; Sasuke is able to recover from injuries in short periods of time and can regurgitate new bodies for himself.

Prior to Sasuke's defection, his teacher, Kakashi Hatake teaches him how to use the Chidori, a collection of lightning-based chakra in his hand that serves as a rapid thrusting attack that severely damages any target. While Sasuke is able to use the Chidori twice per day during Part I, his usage of the attack in Part II is unknown. Instead, Sasuke employs variants of the technique, using the fundamentals behind the Chidori to create a number of new abilities. Sasuke's first display of such an ability involves emitting electricity from his body as a shield and then sending it along the blade of his chokutō to increase its cutting potential. He later proves able to mold electricity into more solid forms such as extendable swords, and even harnesses natural lightning to use it as an attack named Kirin (麒麟, Qilin?).

Detail Info
First appearance Naruto manga chapter 3, Naruto anime episode 1
Age 12-13 in Part I, 16 in Part II
Date of birth July 23
Notable relatives Itachi Uchiha (brother, deceased)
Ninja rank Rogue ninja
Ninja team Hawk

Naruto Uzumaki

Personality
Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage, sealed the dangerous Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within Naruto's body at the cost of his own life, leaving Naruto without a family. As a result of him being the demon fox's container, the villagers of Konoha hold a strong animosity for Naruto. Thus, he never has a source of love or attention during his early childhood. Desiring what he lacks in his early life, Naruto dreams of becoming Hokage, the village's leader, hoping that it will bring him the villagers' recognition and respect. To assist him in gaining this title, Naruto possesses a fierce determination, always confident he can complete a given task with relative ease. Naruto's efforts prove successful as the series progresses; many characters reach the conclusion that Naruto will someday be an excellent Hokage.

Occasionally, Naruto's determination results in those around him adopting some of his traits, such that in Part II his teacher, Kakashi Hatake, notes this to be Naruto's unique power. Gaara, after Naruto defeats him in battle, discovers that true strength is found in fighting for one's friends, not for oneself. These character metamorphoses serve as the moral for the arcs they take place in, and subsequently become the creed for the particular character's life.

Through his ability to change others, Naruto gains the friends he lacks during his childhood. Among the many friendships he forms, none are more prominent in the series than those he has with his two teammates: Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. With Sasuke, Naruto shares a highly competitive relationship which he likens to brotherhood. Though Sasuke betrays Naruto and the rest of Konoha at the end of Part I, Naruto maintains his attachment to Sasuke, readily lashing out at anyone who speaks poorly of him. Naruto possesses a deep dedication to Sakura, rooted in the crush he has had on her for years. Naruto's commitment to Sakura is so strong that he will do anything to make her happy, vowing to someday return Sasuke to Konoha for her sake.

Abilities
Because of the demon fox sealed within him, Naruto has access to its great reserves of chakra, a form of energy which allows ninja to perform supernatural feats. This surplus of chakra allows him to perform ninja abilities that someone of his age would ordinarily be incapable of using.[20] Though portions of the fox's chakra constantly mix with Naruto's own, Naruto can forcibly draw upon its reserves by either submitting to rage or by directly asking the fox for a donation of its strength. Once the demon fox chakra releases, a fox-shaped shroud envelops Naruto, with the number of tails, ranging from one to nine, indicating its current state of release. While each tail drastically increases his fighting strength, Naruto begins to lose his sense of self as more tails appear, completely losing himself once the fourth tail appears. Because the demon fox's power can quickly become a danger to those he cares for in , Naruto has begun to limit his reliance and usage of the power.

Naruto takes advantage of his expanded chakra reserves throughout the series. His first and most recurring example of this is the Shadow Clone Technique, which creates any number of physical copies of the user, but requires a large amount of chakra. Though most ninjas can create only a few shadow clones, Naruto's vast chakra allows him to create hundreds of clones at once without worrying about tiring out. He finds a number of uses for these clones, among them overwhelming opponents, scouting large areas, and training in a short period of time. His ability to summon toads to aid him in battle also relies on the fox's chakra, as he can only summon larger toads with the fox's help. He also learns senjutsu - an ability that greatly enhances his power.

Naruto favors the Rasengan, a concentrated ball of spinning chakra first created by his father. When performing the technique, Naruto creates shadow clones to help him manipulate the chakra into its proper shape. While capable of grinding into whatever it touches and causing great damage, Minato creates the Rasengan with the intention of infusing it with his own elemental chakra. Through repeated training with his shadow clones, Naruto infuses the Rasengan with his own wind chakra. This results in the creation of the Wind Release: Spiraling Shuriken (風遁・螺旋手裏剣, Fūton: Rasenshuriken?), which damages what it impacts on a cellular level, but injures Naruto's hand as well.

Profile
First appearance Naruto manga chapter 1, Naruto anime episode 1
Age 12-13 in Part I, 15-16 in Part II
Date of birth October 10
Notable relatives Minato Namikaze (father, deceased)
Ninja rank Genin
Ninja team Team 7

Naruto

Naruto (NARUTO—ナルト—, Naruto? romanized as NARUTO in Japan) is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto with an anime adaptation. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a loud, hyperactive, unpredictable, adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become a Hokage, the ninja in his village that is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of all. The series is based on a one-shot that Kishimoto first authored in the August 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump.

The manga was first published by Shueisha in 1999 in the 43rd issue of Japan's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine and it is still being released with forty-four volumes. The manga would be later adapted into an anime produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. It premiered across Japan on the terrestrial TV Tokyo network and the anime satellite television network Animax on October 3, 2002. The first series lasted nine seasons, while Naruto: Shippūden, a sequel of the series, began its first on February 15, 2007 and is still airing.

Viz Media has licensed the manga and anime for North American production. The Naruto anime debuted in the United States on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block on September 10, 2005, and in Canada on YTV's Bionix on September 16, 2005. Naruto began showing in the United Kingdom on Jetix on July 22, 2006. It began showing on Toasted TV on January 12, 2007, in Australia, which features the Manga Entertainment TV version and the German-language dub opening, although it could be watched on Cartoon Network in 2006.

Serialized in Viz's Shonen Jump magazine, Naruto has become one of the company's best-selling manga series. As of volume 36, the manga has sold over 71 million copies in Japan.

Plot
Twelve years before the events at the focus of the series, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked the ninja village Konohagakure. It raised chaos and slaughtered many people, until the leader of Konohagakure – the Fourth Hokage – sacrificed his own life to seal the demon inside Naruto when he was a newborn.

Konohagakure, however, regarded Naruto as if he were the demon fox itself and mistreated him throughout most of his childhood. A decree made by the Third Hokage forbade anyone to discuss or mention the attack of the demon fox to anyone. However, this did not stop them from treating him like an outcast and as a result he grew up an orphan alone. However, that soon changed after Naruto graduated from the Ninja Academy by using his Shadow Clone Technique, a technique from a forbidden scroll that he was tricked into stealing, to save his teacher, Iruka Umino, from the renegade ninja Mizuki. That encounter gave Naruto two insights: that he was the container of the demon fox, and that there was someone besides the Third Hokage who actually cared for and acknowledged him. The main story follows Naruto and his friends' personal growth and development as ninja, and emphasizes their interactions with each other and the influence of their backgrounds on their personalities. Naruto finds two friends and comrades in Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, two fellow young ninja who are assigned with him to form a three-person team under an experienced sensei named Kakashi Hatake. Naruto also confides in other characters that he meets throughout the series as well. They learn new abilities, get to know each other and other villagers better, and experience a coming-of-age journey as Naruto dreams of becoming the Hokage of Konohagakure.

Throughout all of the Naruto plot, strong emphasis on character development changes the plot, with very few things happening because of chance. At first, emphasis is placed on Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who are the members of Team 7. Later, Orochimaru, a criminal at the top of Konoha's most wanted list, attacks Konoha killing the Third Hokage as an act of revenge. He also desires to acquire Sasuke Uchiha due to his powerful genetic heritage. Believing Orochimaru will be able to give him the strength needed to kill his brother Itachi, who destroyed all his clan, he goes to him. Naruto fights against Sasuke to make him return, but he fails. Naruto does not give up on Sasuke, leaving Konoha for two-and-a-half years of training to prepare himself for the next time he meets Sasuke. After the training period, a mysterious organization called Akatsuki attempts to capture the nine powerful tailed beasts including the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that is sealed inside of Naruto. Several ninjas from Konoha, including Team 7, fight against the Akatsuki members as well as Team 7 search for their teammate Sasuke.