Minato Namikaze

Minato Namikaze is a male anime and manga character who features in Naruto.

Biography

Minato, his wife Kushina and their son Naruto in Naruto v1 #53.

Minato Namikaze (Japanese: 波風 ミナト, Hepburn: Namikaze Minato) was a male human who lived in the village of Konohagakure in the Ninja World. He came to be placed at the Konoha Academy where his dream was to earn the village's respect and recognition by becoming Hokage. Minato proved to be a natural prodigy as a ninja who was said to only appear once in a generation. Around this time, a young girl named Kushina Uzumaki had moved to the hidden leaf where she was placed in the same class as Minato. He came to be immediately drawn to her and found her bright red hair to be beautiful. Around this time, he was placed on a genin team under the leadership of Jiraiya who took a special interest in the young Minato with him taking Namakaze on as his apprentice. Under the Sanin's training, Minato learnt many Jutsu and began developing his own signature abilities as a result. His exceptional skills led Jiraiya to believe that Minato may had been the Child of the Prophecy who was said to be someone that would save the world. Years later, his class came to graduate from the Academy and became ninjas where during this time Kushina was kidnapped by shinobi from Kumogakure. Konoha came to assemble its own ninja to retrieve her but only Minato came to notice that Kushina cut off strands of her hair to leave a trail for others to follow her. Acting alone, Minato travelled to rescue her from her captors where he defeated the enemy shinobi. Taking Kushina back, he came to confess his admiration of her strength and hair which surprised Uzumaki as she thought he did not like her. This resulted in her falling in love with him in turn leading to the two becoming a couple. Their love helped Kushina keep the Nine-Tails within her at bay where the two eventually came to marry. Minato also maintained his training as a shinobi where he developed the Rasengan by observing the Tailed Beast Bomb with this taking him 3 years to create a technique that was considered the height of chakra shape transformation. Over time, he proved himself to be an accomplished and responsible ninja where he was set to take on students. Upon becoming a skilled ninja, he was assigned a team of young shinobi that he was set to train with these being Rin Nohara, Obito Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake. The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi expressed a desire for Minato to help guide the young Kakashi who was ealing with the bitterness of his father's defeat. With this in mind, Namakaze had his 3 students conduct the bell test where he intended them to learn team work. He ultimately passed them though urged them to improve on their ability to work together which was something Rin and Obito took to heart but not Kakashi.

When Konoha became involved in the Third Shinobi World War, Minato's obligations became split between training his students and helping with the war effort. During a mission into Kusagakure to destroy the Kannabi Bridge, Minato transferred leadership of the mission to Kakashi – who had recently become a jōnin – while he headed to the front lines. He met up with the surviving and out-numbered Konoha ninja and single-handedly wiped out the opposing Iwagakure forces. In the anime, his victory in this battle against a thousand ninja convinced the Third Tsuchikage to accept a peace treaty. When he rendezvoused with his team afterwards he found Kakashi and Rin and surrounded by Iwa-nin, Obito having already been lost. He rescued them, helped them complete their original mission once they recovered, and returned to Konoha with them to mourn Obito. Minato's competing obligations would later repeat the tragedy of Obito's death: while he was away on another mission, Rin was kidnapped by Kirigakure and died during Kakashi's attempt to retrieve her. Minato later encountered A of Kumogakure a number of times during the war. During their first meeting, Minato and A fought with their speed, with Minato proving the faster. He received orders to retreat before their competition could resolve, but he lingered to compliment A and his brother, B, a jinchūriki like Kushina; he encouraged A to take care of B and remember he was a person. A pursued Minato, so Minato moved against B, threatening to kill him if A didn't let him and his team go. Minato was confident he and A would someday meet as Kage. For his performance during the War, Minato was chosen over Orochimaru to become Fourth Hokage. He taught the Flying Thunder God Technique to the Hokage Guard Platoon to better aid them in their duties of serving the Hokage at any given time.

On October 10, Kushina was ready to give birth in the night with a special site being chosen where a barrier was in place, midwives ready to help her and Anbu guards stationed around the site. It was then that Naruto Uzumaki was born with the happy couple greeting their son. Minato then made preparations to restore the Nine-Tail's weakened seal but was interrupted by a Masked Man who eliminated everyone at the scene. He held Naruto hostage to prevent Minato from interfering as he intended to kidnap Kushina so that the Masked Man could claim the power of the Nine-Tails. Namikaze managed to recover his son and evaded the paper bombs the Masked Man had put on Naruto's clothing where he took Naruto to a nearby hideout via teleportation. Minato then went to recover his wife where he managed to prevent her from being killed by the Nine-Tails that had been successfully extracted by the Masked Man. Namikaze then took Kushina to their hideout where he reunited her with their son Naruto. It was then that Minato went to confront the Masked Man who had successfully controlled the Nine-Tails. Minato returned to the village in the early stages of the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, arriving in time to teleport away a Tailed Beast Ball before it destroyed the Hokage Rock. He attempted to reach the Third Hokage so that he could inform him of what happened, but was interrupted by Tobi, who tried to warp him away. Minato reacted in time to escape, but Tobi pursued him. Because Tobi was controlling the Nine-Tails' actions, defeating him was of prime importance in order to save Konoha. Minato initially struggled to successfully strike him but, after several failed attacks, he finally hit him with a Rasengan and branded him with a Flying Thunder God seal, allowing him to teleport to Tobi whenever he wanted. He then used a Contract Seal on Tobi to release the Nine-Tails from his control, forcing him to flee.

No longer being controlled, the Nine-Tails began retreating from the village, though it continued to attack the Konoha ninja that pursued it. As it prepared another Tailed Beast Ball, Minato once again arrived in time to stop it, this time by dropping Gamabunta on top of it. He had Gamabunta keep it restrained while he gathered the chakra needed to transport the Nine-Tails to Naruto and Kushina's location, the farthest from the village he could get. Kushina restrained it and erected a barrier so that it couldn't escape while they decided what to do. To protect the village, Kushina offered to have the Nine-Tails sealed back into her so it would die with her. Minato rejected this, believing the Nine-Tails' power would be needed in the future if and when Tobi struck again. Remembering Jiraiya's words about the 'Child of the Prophecy', Minato decided to believe that Naruto was that child and that he would someday save the world. To prepare Naruto for this, Minato would make Naruto the Nine-Tails' new jinchūriki so he could make use of its strength. Due to the Nine-Tails' chakra being too immense to seal into an infant, Minato used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to cut its chakra in half, sealing the Yin half in himself. Realising what they were planning, the Nine-Tails tried to kill Naruto, but Minato and Kushina used themselves as shields. With his last ounce of strength, Minato summoned Gerotora, gave him the key to the seal he would use on Naruto, and sent him to Jiraiya. Meanwhile, Kushina told Naruto how much his parents loved him, which Minato seconded. He sealed the Nine-Tails' Yang half into Naruto, weaving Kushina's chakra into the seal so that she could someday assist Naruto with learning to control the Nine-Tails and its chakra. He mingled in some of his own chakra, too, programming it to activate if ever the seal was about to break so that he could restore it. Seeing the Third Hokage nearby, Minato communicated to him a final request for the villagers of Konoha: to think of Naruto as a hero and not the container of the monster that caused so much death and destruction. With that, his soul was consumed by the Shinigami, ending Minato's life.

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, Minato Namikaze was a male with blue eyes and spiky, blond hair. Minato also had jaw-length bangs framing either side of his face. According to Jiraiya, Minato was considered to be very handsome. Such was his speed and talent that he came to be renowned all over the world as Konoha's Yellow Flash (木ノ葉の黄色い閃光, Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō, English TV: Yellow Flash of the Leaf). It was his skill that led to him being chosen as the Fourth Hokage (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage). His normal attire consisted of a standard Konoha uniform with two bands on both of his sleeves, a green flak jacket, blue forehead protector, and blue sandals. After becoming Hokage, he started wearing a short-sleeved long white haori over his normal attire, closed in the front by a thin, orange rope. The haori was decorated by red flame-like motifs on the edges, with the kanji for "Fourth Hokage" (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage) written vertically down the back.

Minato was shown to be calm and collected man who was also a natural genius. Very perceptive and shrewd, he was noted as not to do something without a reason.

A natural genius, he was noted for being very perceptive and shrewd with Jiraiya stating that Minato did not doing something without a reason. He appeared to be respectful of those around him; he did not like to freely speaking about others' pasts, and was said to be a very nice person.

He was well-aware of the terror his reputation inspired in rival villages and would take advantage of it at times, but even then he would remain respectful to opponents. During the Third Shinobi World War, flee-on-sight orders were given to enemy shinobi should they encounter him

When faced with an enemy, he could kill in cold blood, and seemed well aware of the terror his reputation inspired in his foes. He was also shown to be very analytical from how quickly he could determine the strength and weakness of Kakashi's new technique. All in all, Minato was known for his unbeatable determination and unbelievable drive, which he passed onto his son.

His devotion to the village and his love for his friends inspired all those around him, and, as a result, he became well-liked by the villagers. Minato was nevertheless understanding, that Naruto might feel hurt by the fact that his own father had sealed a monster inside him.

From a young age, he looked to gain recognition and love of his village by becoming Hokage.

At the academy, he came to meet Kushina where initially she seemed to dislike him. Over time though, the two became romantically involved where she married Minato and took the name Kushina Uzumaki (うずまきクシナ, Uzumaki Kushina). In time, Kushina became pregnant with the couple's son who they came to name Naruto Uzumaki (うずまきナルト, Uzumaki Naruto). The couple named their son after the hero in Jiraiya's story. It was said that Naruto resembled Minato though the boy inherited his mother's temperament.

When he as a young shinobi, he was taken under the training of the sanin Jiraiya (自来也) who took Minato on as an apprentice. He had close ties to his sensei Jiraiya who was friends with his family. In fact, Minato decided to name his son after the hero in Jiraiya's first novel. This saw him and Kushina naming Jiraiya to be the godfather of their son.

Regardless of their differences, Naruto is not without any of his father's personality traits: both have indomitable spirits and fierce ambitions that drive them through all their choices in life. Outside of missions, he would be rather carefree and lighthearted like his son. Both are of unwavering loyalty to Konoha and their loved ones – friends and family – and that devotion inspires all those around them. Like Naruto, Minato had the tendency to create questionable techniques, although in Minato's case, it was the pointlessly longwinded names he came up with rather than the actual technique. This was seen when initially considered "Halo Hair Whole of Jiraiya Inspired by Frozen Dessert Twin Style Sphere" as the name for what would instead be called the Rasengan.

Powers and abilities

Minato Namikaze was a human who had the ability to manipulate chakra allowing him to achieve various feats and allowed him to perform a number of jutsu. He was regarded as one of the most powerful shinobi in history. Since childhood, he showed such prodigious talent such as being able to fight two adult Kumo-nin at such a young age. A number of shinobi considered Minato to be unmatched and he was shown to be one of the few people able to fight a Tailed-Beast head-on. Kurama had even compared Minato's power to that of Hashirama Senju. Minato's fighting style revolved mainly around suddenly appearing and just as quickly taking down enemies, often excluding traditional time-consuming methods like hand seals.

Minato was one of the most powerful shinobi in history. He was prodigy of such talent that, while still a child, he became well-known and regarded across many nations for foiling Kumogakure's kidnapping of his village's Jinchūriki. By adulthood he was considered by the likes of Jiraiya and the Fourth Raikage to be unmatched, and one of very few people able to fight a tailed beast head-on. Kurama compared Minato's power to Hashirama Senju's. During the Third Shinobi World War, flee-on-sight orders were given to enemy shinobi should they encounter him. During the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, it was only from Minato's actions that Tobi and the fox were defeated and the village was saved from destruction. Over a decade later, with the looming threat of Orochimaru to the village, Minato was believed the only one who could stop the Sannin at the time. Minato's fighting style revolved mainly around suddenly appearing and just as quickly taking down enemies, often excluding traditional time-consuming methods like hand seals.

Minato was hailed as the fastest shinobi of his time. While this recognition was due in part to his space–time ninjutsu, Minato's natural speed and prowess with the Body Flicker Technique were immense: he could outstrip three other Kage-Level ninja and engage an enemy or retrieve an ally before anyone realised what he was doing. He could cover a considerable distance in a short amount of time and perform a technique before an opponent could finish theirs. Minato's reflexes allowed him to react to and avoid techniques with no warning. Minato had very large chakra reserves, able to summon the massive Gamabunta, as well as teleport multiple massive targets like a tailed beast and their attacks. His chakra control was very refined, evidenced by his skill and versatility in the Rasengan, which demands very precise chakra control to use, as able to weave hand seals with only one hand. Minato also demonstrated great endurance, able to survive being impaled through the chest by Version 2 Kushina and still fight back Kurama within its seal. He could also withstand being impaled by Kurama and survive long enough to impart instructions unto others before his eventual death.

Among the techniques known to him included:

• Flying Thunder Formation Technique (飛雷陣の術­, Hiraijin no Jutsu) :
• Flying Thunder God Slash (飛雷神斬り­, Hiraishingiri) :
• Flying Thunder God Mutually Instantaneous Revolving Technique (飛雷神互瞬回しの術­, Hiraishin Goshun Mawashi no Jutsu) :
• Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder (飛雷神・導雷­, Hiraishin: Dōrai) :
• Rasengan (螺旋丸­, Rasengan) : a technique created by Minato which he based on the Tailed-Beast bombs and involved the creation of a spinning ball of chakra formed that was held in the palm of the user's hand. It was noted that it took him 3 years in order to create the Rasengan. The highest level of shape transformation, it gives him an edge in combat due to requiring no hand seals to create and being self-sustaining. While it demands very precise chakra control to use, Minato's mastery allowed him to form it with either hand instantly and vary its size from standard to Big Ball Rasengan-sized.

Namikaze made use of a custom kunai called the Flying Thunder God Kunai (飛雷神クナイ, Hiraishin Kunai) that had three blades instead of one and the thicker handle served as the 'marker' for Minato's teleportation ability. Minato also said that these blades were a bit heavier than a normal kunai.

Minato had grown up to be a shinobi of Konohagakure (木ノ葉隠れの里, Konohagakure no Sato, English TV: "Village Hidden in the Leaves" or "Hidden Leaf Village", literally meaning: Village Hidden by Tree Leaves). As a young man, he came to be assigned to Team 6 (第六班, Dairokuhan) under Jiraiya. Upon becoming a jonin, he came to lead his own squad of young shinobi who were known as Team Minato (ミナト班, Minato-Han). By adulthood, his talents led him to assuming the mantle of Hokage (火影, literally meaning: Fire Shadow).

Notes

• Minato Namikaze was created by Masashi Kishimoto where he featured in the setting of the Naruto universe.

Appearances

• Naruto:

External Links

• Naruto Wiki Entry

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