Characters

Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto Uzumaki is a young boy who has the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed within him. Twelve years before the start of the series, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked the ninja village Konohagakure, slaughtering many people. In response, the leader of Konohagakure and its ninja military – the Fourth Hokage – sacrificed his 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, who replaced the Fourth Hokage after his death, forbade anyone mention the attack of the demon fox to anyone else. This included Naruto, who was not aware of the demon inside of him.

Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke is a member of the Uchiha clan, a highly skilled clan of ninjas allied to the village of Konohagakure. His primary motivation throughout the series is to avenge the destruction of his entire clan by killing his brother, Itachi Uchiha, a task he pursues at all costs. While he was initially cold and singularly driven by his revenge, he becomes more empathetic through his relationships with other characters, notably Naruto Uzumaki, whom he comes to consider as a rival.

Sakura Haruno

Sakura has a deep infatuation for Sasuke Uchiha. 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 come 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 it 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 does not 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.

Kakashi Hatake

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 Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke 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 from Konoha.

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) are left awestruck after he briefly removes his mask to eat (although a distraction prevents Team 7 and the viewer from seeing his face). In another omake included with the third Naruto databook, his own pack of dogs struggles with remembering what he looks like: each remembers him as having a completely different face and, after they finally agree about what he looks like, they realize that their description was entirely wrong

Gaara

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.

Orochimaru

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 and his subordinate Kabuto. 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 most of them as mere pawns, save for his right-hand-man, Kabuto Yakushi. 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.