Character History
CHARACTER HISTORY:
Almost since birth, Naruto has been seen as a menace to the people of his village. The day he was born, his father (the Fourth Hokage of the village) used his small body as a container to host the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox which the Fourth ended up sacrificing his own life to kill. Even though his dying wish was to have the people of the village acknowledge Naruto as a hero to them, quite the opposite happened. Instead of praising Naruto and taking care of him, the village ostracized him, fearing the demon inside of him, believing that it would one day escape his body and destroy them all.
Spending his entire childhood alone not understanding why he was treated the way he was, Naruto spent most of his time playing pranks on the villagers, vandalising public property, and trying to find any possible way to become something to the people who didn’t believe in him. When this was unsuccessful, Naruto made a promise to himself. A dream of sorts. He vowed that he would become the Hokage one day, the most powerful person in the village. That he would force the people who had never believed in him to acknowledge him.
After finally graduating from the ninja academy, Naruto found himself with three people who were to become very important to him and the way he lived his life from then on out; Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. They became like a kind of family to him: Sakura, who he’d had a crush on since early childhood; Sasuke, who he’d marked as a rival, the only person who could even begin to understand what it was like to grow up without parents; and Kakashi, who was to serve as a father figure of sorts.
As a team, the three of them accomplished a lot in their year together, including their first time experiencing the near-death of a teammate, witnessing the death of an ‘enemy’, the death of the Hokage they’d all known since birth, and the Chuunin exams which had to be cut short. When Naruto had the chance to meet Jiraiya, the man who would eventually become more than a father to him, he was given the opportunity to learn about the demon inside of him and how to try to harness the power of the Nine-Tails.
When confronted by Uchiha Itachi shortly after this, Naruto was made aware of the fact that his life was tangled up with that of the Nine-Tails, and that the organization known as Akatsuki was after the power of the demon. At Sasuke's request, Naruto did not interfere with the fight between Sasuke and Itachi, but was present when Sasuke was wounded and taken back to the village.
The effect Itachi had on Sasuke in turn affected Naruto’s life as well, forcing him to chase after his friend who had decided to leave the village. Seeing how this had affected Sakura, Naruto made a promise that was to hang over his head for the remainder of the series (so far). He promised her that no matter what it took, he would bring Sasuke back to her.
The battle at the Valley of the End was perhaps the turning point in Naruto’s life, forcing him, at that moment, to grow up. His childish ideals were swept away by Sasuke, who finally admitted to Naruto how much their friendship had meant to him, moments before shoving his arm through Naruto’s chest.
This was the first time that Naruto really gave his body over to the demon inside of him, his power growing quickly with the release of the Nine-Tails’ chakra. With the release of even this much of the demon, Naruto’s inhibitions were lowered and he attacked Sasuke with all that he had, desperate to keep Sasuke with him, to keep his promise and to prove to Sasuke that there was more than just power overcoming him, making him stronger than he’d ever been.
Unfortunately, his inability to actually kill his friend left him the loser of the battle, and when he woke up back in Konoha, Sasuke’s forehead protector clutched in his hand, it was already too late; Sasuke was gone to Orochimaru and Naruto had lost one more thing that he had worked so hard to gain.
Still, though, his promise to Sakura lingered, and he promised anew that no matter what it took he would find Sasuke and bring him back.
After two and a half years of training, Naruto was finally able to go looking for Sasuke. Following a lead, he and his team made their way to Orochimaru, and Naruto was forced to face this man, this snake that had taken first the only person he’d ever had from him and then Sasuke, too, with lies and promises of power and success. By this time Naruto had learned to filter the demon’s power into his body and he managed to hold his own against the man right until the end of the battle.
Finally making it to Orochimaru’s hideout and face to face with Sasuke, Naruto felt so very close to his goal. The years away from his teammates had served Naruto well and he confronted Sasuke, asking, "How can one become Hokage when they’re unable to save one person?", suggesting that he had put aside his lifelong dream to become the Hokage until he could save Sasuke.
After this, Sasuke left them again, and Naruto returned to the village determined, doubly now, to return with Sasuke.
After finding out that Sasuke had managed to kill Itachi, Naruto’s first goal had been to chase after the other. Unfortunately, the members of the team he’d been with insisted that he return to the village, and reluctantly Naruto followed.
Upon his return to the village, Naruto was told that Jiraiya, who had played the role of father, teacher, and friend to him, had been killed on his last mission. One more thing that the enemies of the village had taken from him.
His goals now? To bring Sasuke back to the village and to do whatever it takes to avenge his teacher.