Naruto/Characters/The Konoha 12

The Konoha 12 consists of Team 7 plus three other squads of genin. The group forms the central cast of Naruto and is noted for being the most gifted class to come along in several years. The three other teams in the Konoha 12 are Team 8, Team 10, and Team Guy (sometimes called Team 9). Teams 7, 8, and 10 were together referred to as "The Rookie 9" during the Chunin Exams Arc.

All provide example of:

 * Freudian Trio:
 * Ego: Hinata, Shikamaru, Tenten
 * Id: Kiba, Chouji, Rock Lee
 * Superego: Shino, Ino, Neji
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: For the boys, with the girls in between except Ino.
 * Blue: Shino, Shikamaru, Neji
 * Red: Kiba, Ino/Chouji, Rock Lee

Kiba Inuzuka
"Heh, I don't know what's going on, but I'm always up for getting wild."

"Voiced by: Kosuke Toriumi (JP), Kyle Hebert (EN), Juan D'Ors (Spain), Enzo Fortuny (Latin America)"



Member of Team 8. Kiba is a wild, untamed ninja from the Inuzuka clan, a family of dog breeders. As such, he's never seen without his loyal pooch, Akamaru. Kiba utilizes him as both a partner and a weapon, and later as a transport.

He treats Hinata like a younger sister, fights with his ultra-serious partner Shino and, after initially mocking him, considers Naruto one of his closest friends.

Kiba fights Naruto in the preliminary rounds of the Chunin exams, which is one of the latter's first big solo fights in the series. Kiba tries a number of attacks and strategies to beat Naruto, but the kid just won't stay down. Later, Kiba is recruited by Shikamaru for the Sasuke Retrieval team, fights and is nearly killed by Sakon, and is saved by Kankuro.

Among Kiba's abilities are a heightened sense of smell, which makes him especially effective at tracking. He is also one of the fastest seen ninja. In battle, Kiba can transform Akamaru into a clone of himself, allowing them to use combination attacks such as the tornado-like Fang Over Fang. He can also make himself more bestial in nature, increasing his speed and strength, and can combine with Akamaru to become a two-headed wolf. In Shippuden, he has developed his sense of smell to the point that it is superior to that of a dog's..

"Sai: "It appears that even your dog is smarter than you.""
 * Beast Man: Fights much like a dog, especially with his All Fours Jutsu.
 * The Beast Master
 * Attack Animal: Akamaru
 * Beast of Battle: Akamaru
 * Canine Companion: Akamaru
 * Head Pet: Akamaru in part 1...
 * Big Friendly Dog: Akamaru in part 2!
 * Horse of a Different Color: Kiba can ride on Akamaru in part 2.
 * Catch Phrase: "Yahooo!"
 * Combination Attack: His specialty is doing these with Akamaru.
 * Cute Little Fangs: Many fans say it adds to is appeal.
 * Determinator
 * Disappeared Dad: He once commented that his dad ran away because he was scared of his wife. May or may not have been joking...
 * Exotic Eye Designs: Dog-like pupils, befitting his overall nature.
 * Facial Markings: Two red triangles on the cheeks in Princess Mononoke fashion, like all members of the Inuzuka clan.
 * Food Pills: Before the time-skip Kiba and Akamaru had to rely on the use of chakra boosting Food Pills to efficiently use their ninjutsu.
 * Fusion Dance: With Akamaru to turn into a giant two headed dog.
 * Glory Seeker:.
 * Handsome In Mink: Wears a fur coat in Part I.
 * Hell-Bent for Leather: In Part II.
 * Hot-Blooded: Very much.
 * Idiot Hero


 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Leeroy Jenkins: Kiba's main fighting strategy. Even when other characters warn him about charging ahead he still can't help himself.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Very strong and very fast. His only problem is his Naruto-like behavior.
 * Mr. Fanservice: Much less than Kakashi or Sasuke, but he still has a dedicated female fandom.
 * The Nose Knows: His most useful ability.
 * Primal Stance / Running on All Fours: His Four Legs jutsu which gives him beast like agility and the ability to move his hands and feet like a dog.
 * Shout-Out: To Princess Mononoke. He borrows many elements from San: his facial marking, his feral attitude, strong bond with canines, complete with wolf/dog riding. Adult!Akamaru even looks like Mononoke Hime's twin young wolves.
 * This Is a Drill: Fang over Fang (Gatsuga) and Double Wolf Fang (Garouga).
 * Unknown Rival: To Naruto. He still can't believe he Can't Catch Up to the dead last in his graduating class. Naruto, of course, has no clue about this.
 * Urine Trouble: Akamaru can mark an enemy with his urine making them easy to pinpoint.
 * Weaponized Animal: Akamaru has a skill which creates a copy of him that is actually a grenade.
 * Wolverine Claws: Kiba's taijutsu style revolves around the use of his claws which are extended with ninjutsu.

Hinata Hyuga
"You make mistakes... but... because of those mistakes... you get the strength to stand up to them... that's why I think you are truly strong."

"Voiced by: Nana Mizuki (JP), Stephanie Sheh (EN), Ana Esther Alborg (Spain), Alondra Hidalgos (Latin America)"



At first, she played the Shrinking Violet role of the main cast, being completely weak and nonconfrontational. Perhaps her most notable trait is her huge crush on Naruto, who is completely oblivious about it. However, it's this admiration that spurs her on to become stronger.

As Hinata was born into the head family of the Hyuga clan, she will one day take it over. Since she started out extremely weak, this did not sit well with many others (namely Neji and her own father, Hiashi, though other extremely complicated reasons made it even worse for her). With the involvement of Kurenai and the aforementioned admiration of Naruto, she gradually develops as a warrior, becoming more confident (though she's still painfully shy around Naruto until chapter 437).

Hinata, like all members of the Hyuga clan, has the kekkai genkai known as the Byakugan, characterized by the Prophet Eyes of its owners. It grants the user nearly-360-degree vision, as well as the ability to sense the flow of chakra in the human body. Hinata uses the Gentle Fist style of martial arts, a special combat style designed to take advantage of the Byakugan's unique abilities.

In Shippuden, she goes out with Team 7 to search for Sasuke or Itachi, but that ends in failure when Itachi dies and Tobi takes Sasuke away. In Pain's invasion, she intervenes to save Naruto from Pain, and finally tells him that she loves him. Pain defeats her and nearly kills her, triggering Naruto going into six-tailed mode, but she survives with Sakura's help. .

"Naruto:"
 * Action Girl: As of the war arc in Shippuden, boy is she ever!
 * Adaptational Badass: In the anime, she actually wins a few fights. Even her Curb Stomp Battle with Pain was expanded a bit.
 * Designated Victim: Gets kidnapped a few times in Fillers and once manages to defeat her abducters.
 * Alliterative Name
 * Ascended Extra: In the anime, where she frequently stars in filler arcs.
 * Badass Adorable: So very much!
 * Beware the Nice Ones: If you ever hurt, threaten to kill, or take Naruto away, it is guaranteed she will go after you.
 * Big Eater: In the omake of the episode 95 of Shippuden. She wins an eater competition, eating 46 ramen bowls. In half an hour. What.
 * Cannot Spit It Out: Regarding her feelings for Naruto until Chapter.
 * Combination Attack: She and Neji are able to use one late in part 2.
 * The Cutie: In part 1.
 * Determinator: Her defining trait as of her fight against Neji. She's beaten badly, but after Naruto helps her recover from Neji's Hannibal Lecture, she does NOT give up ever.
 * She reaffirms it when she goes against fully knowing that she might not make it, since she wants to not only tell Naruto that she loves him, but to tell him that it's thanks to him that she's reached the place she is now.
 * Taken Up to Eleven in the anime version of her fight with - in the manga he took her out with a One-Hit Kill, but in the anime she gets up... and gets up... and keeps getting up...!
 * Evil Eye: The Byakugan who's powers include...
 * Aura Vision
 * Vein-O-Vision: To see the chakra points.
 * Super Senses: 360 degree vision and telescopic view.
 * X-Ray Vision
 * Exotic Eye Designs: Byakugan users have pupil-less eyes.
 * Prophet Eyes: As with every other member of the Hyuga Clan.
 * Fan of Underdog: Out of all the kids, she was the only one who always admired Naruto ever since time immemorial. Hinata does not ignore the flaws Naruto has, rather it's because of those flaws that she loves him.
 * Flanderization: Fanfics have constant stutter and faint around Naruto and that EVERYBODY knows about her crush.
 * Foot Focus: The anime team really likes to show her feet, especially in fillers.
 * Form-Fitting Wardrobe: Part 2.
 * Good Is Not Dumb: In her fight with Neji during the Chuunin exams, he says "You really are a naive and spoiled child of the Main House" for attempting to fight him, the prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan. However, she turns the tables on him by saying that he is the one fighting fate.
 * Heiress To The Dojo
 * Hidden Buxom: Most noticeable when Sakura is healing her during Six-tailed Naruto's fight with Pain, though the first instance might be the clothes she wore for the 3rd part of the Chunin exam.
 * Like so.
 * Hime Cut: Part 2.
 * Hollywood Personality Disorders: Avoidant Personality Disorder. She's very shy and rather socially awkward.
 * Honorifics: Uses them for virtually everyone due to her upbringing.
 * Stuffed in The Fridge: Somehow managed to do it twice, by getting beaten almost to death by Neji, and later assumed to have been killed by, but she managed to survive both times. Not that the latter would've mattered much, since ended up reviving everyone anyway.
 * Lady of War: The Hyuuga fighting style is perfect for the trope, since it's based less on brute strength and more on swiftness, chakra blocking, speed and exploiting the enemy's weakness. Combine this with her long floating hair and you get a pretty gracious female fighter.
 * Let's Get Dangerous: In some fillers but sadly subverted in chapter (although not in the anime version).
 * Lonely Rich Kid
 * Luminescent Blush: Happens a lot when she's looking at Naruto. Sometimes her whole face lights up.
 * Martial Pacifist: Dislikes fighting, but willing to go as far as she has to if she has no other choice.
 * Ojou: As one of the two daughters of the Hyuga leader.
 * Plucky Girl: Her defining characteristic.
 * Pretty in Mink: Wears a fur coat in Part 1.
 * She's All Grown Up: Grows into quite the beauty in Part 2.
 * Shiny Midnight Black: Well, Indigo.
 * Shrinking Violet: Terribly shy and lacking confidence. There's a reason why she once provided this trope's picture. Though she slightly gets better.
 * Fragile Flower: Unfortunately, this is often Flanderized in both the anime and in fanfics where Hinata faints at the drop of a hat and can rival Porky Pig with her stuttering.
 * Shy Blue-Haired Girl: Maybe one of the best examples.
 * Shy Finger-Twiddling: She does this a lot when talking to Naruto. Still provides the page pic, which is taken from her first on-screen appearance in the series.
 * Single-Target Sexuality
 * Stalker with a Crush: You really can't deny that she is this to Naruto, what with how many times you see her watching him from the sidelines. However, she's one of the more sympathetic examples out there since she is very clearly shown to truly care about him.
 * Supernatural Martial Arts: The Gentle Fist which provides examples of...
 * Barrier Warrior: For Hinata the Protective Eight Trigrams 64 Palms (anime only).
 * Elemental Punch: Of the Pure Energy, Lion Aura producing variety.
 * Power Palms
 * Pressure Point
 * Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: The Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms (anime only).
 * Sphere of Destruction
 * Touch of Death
 * Superpowerful Genetics: The Byakugan, which seems to be the most dominant of all bloodlines seen so far extending to every member of the Hyuga Clan.
 * Sweet Tooth: According to the databook her favorite food are cinnamon rolls and Zenzai (Sweet bean soup).
 * Tomboyish Sidetails: In Part 1. Subverted, given Hinata is anything but tomboyish. It is rather used to show her innocence and shyness towards feminity and seduction. Compare with Ino and Sakura's long hair, who were much more into seduction in Part 1.
 * Took a Level in Badass: She not only becomes slightly more assertive and much more self-assured, but she starts putting a good use to her abilities.
 * The Unfavourite: Her dad resented her for being gentle and shy, preferring her sister Hanabi as an heiress. They seem to be in better terms after the Chuunin Exam arc.
 * "Well Done, Daughter" Girl: Wants to be acknowledged by her father.
 * Wise Beyond Their Years
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: Has all the physical traits and some of the psychological ones.
 * You Are Better Than You Think You Are:


 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Bonus point for being the only one with this Hair Colors in the all brunette Hyuuga clan.

Shino Aburame
"Even if it's been a while, you should remember your comrades' faces. Why? Because otherwise you will hurt their feelings when they call out to you."

"Voiced by: Shinji Kawada (JP), Sam Riegel (EN, original), Derek Stephen Prince (EN, current), Alejandro Martínez (Spain), Sergio Gutierrez Coto (Latin America)"

Member of Team 8. Shino's body is host to a large colony of chakra-eating insects, as is traditional in his clan. He commands these bugs in combat, in ways ranging from cool to creepy, and everything in between. He shows almost no emotion and hardly ever smiles; this, coupled with his insects, makes him an enigma among other shinobi, and some are visibly creeped out by him. He.


 * Badass Longcoat: Even justified since the coat helps hide the bugs he's not currently keeping in his body.
 * Combat Pragmatist: Very ruthless and creative with his bugs during combat. During his fight with Zaku in the Chuunin Exams he offhandedly mentioned that he stuffed Zaku's arm tubes with bugs before the fight even began.
 * The Comically Serious
 * Cool Shades: And by extension Sunglasses at Night.
 * Creepy Good
 * Creepy Monotone
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Energy Absorption: His destruction beetles.
 * Heroic Host
 * Generation Xerox: Greatly resembles his father in both looks and dress.
 * Genre Savvy
 * Good Is Not Nice
 * In the Hood: In part II.
 * No Mouth: His mouth is almost always concealed.
 * The Minion Master
 * Bee-Bee Gun: Except with Beetles.
 * Beetle Maniac
 * Friend to Bugs
 * Running Gag: That he is never recognized because his entire body is covered. Also his insistence the mission to retrieve Sasuke was a failure was because he did not come along.
 * The Quiet One
 * The Spock
 * The Stoic
 * Not So Stoic: He gets quite upset (although he doesn't show it much) when people ignore him, fail to recognize him or leave him out of things.
 * And his inability to let go of the fact that he was left out on the Sasuke Retrieval Mission that still haunts him every day for the next four years and counting.
 * Also shown to be visibly freaked out by anteaters.
 * The Strategist
 * Synchronized Swarming
 * The Symbiote
 * Verbal Tic: Shino has an interesting way of speaking. What is it? He likes to explain things after posing a rhetorical question that would normally be left unspoken.

Kurenai Yuhi
"Fool. Anko asked me to buy her some dango."

"Voiced by: Rumi Ochiai (JP), Saffron Henderson (EN, original), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (EN, current), Olga Velasco (Spain), Ilia Gil (Latin America, original), Anabel Mendez (Latin America, current)"

Leader of Team 8.

Kurenai is... well, a kunoichi, who has only recently become a jonin by the start of the series. We don't really learn that much about her in the first series, save that she's a rather cool lady who took Hinata under her wing, skilled in genjutsu and that she's perhaps involved with Asuma. The vast majority of her team's missions seem to not involve her. Her only plot-involved action was to get knocked around by Itachi Uchiha in a short battle, unless you count some of the Filler episodes.

In Shippuden, she appears after the death of Asuma, where we learn that she's carrying his child.


 * Action Girl: To an extent.
 * Cherry Blossoms: Used in some of her genjutsu techniques.
 * Cool Big Sis: To both her team and Shikamaru now.
 * Crippling Overspecialisation: Her specialty (Genjutsu) does not exactly help her much, especially when going up against the likes of Itachi.
 * Faux Action Girl: Really not helped by the fact pointed above.
 * Flower Motifs: Associated with red poppies, especially in the anime.
 * Her Heart Will Go On
 * Hot Mom: Has delivered a healthy baby by the time the war has started.
 * I Want Grandkids: Her father pretty much said this to her
 * I Will Protect Her: Shikamaru now looks after Kurenai and her unborn baby. He visits her everyday in the hospital and later defeats one of Animal Pain's summons to protect her.
 * Master of Illusion: Genjutsu specialist
 * Green Thumb: Her illusion's are typically themed around plant life.
 * Petal Power
 * Out of Focus: Well, her team in particular, she has never been seen together with said team since Shippudden started. She seems to have defected to Team 10 given the number of times she has appeared with Shikamaru.
 * Exotic Eye Designs: Check 'em out.
 * Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Inverted. She's on the side of good.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * Team Mom
 * Satellite Character
 * Someone to Remember Him By: She got pregnant not long before Asuma bites the dust.
 * She Is Not My Girlfriend: She and Asuma once or twice denied being a couple, but her pregnancy made the truth obvious.
 * Widow Woman

Shikamaru Nara
"This is gonna be a real drag."

"Voiced by: Showtaro Morikubo (JP), Tom Gibis (EN), Jorge Saudinós (Spain)l, Javier Olguín (Latin-America)"



Member of Team 10. Naruto's resident snarky Teen Genius and the poster boy for Brilliant but Lazy. The first the viewers see of Shikamaru is a person who complains about receiving any work at all. This, combined with the fact that his test scores were almost as low as Naruto's, cause others to initially think that he's a failure and a loser... a perception that Shikamaru doesn't mind in the least. It's only later that Asuma reveals that yes, Shikamaru is perhaps the smartest person in world, having scored over 200 on an I.Q. test disguised as a game so it wouldn't bore him.

Though, like the rest of his clan, his primary jutsu is the ability to control or attack his enemies by extending his shadow, it's his intelligence that makes Shikamaru the first of the Konoha 11 to be promoted from Genin to Chunin. His fight with Temari impresses the Third Hokage even though he forfeited. His first task isn't an easy one, natch: it's to lead a team consisting of him, Naruto, Choji, Kiba, and Neji to go retrieve Sasuke.

While there, he engages Tayuya, a member of the Sound Four. He almost dies at her hands, but is saved by Temari. Later, after the mission is a failure, he considers quitting, but after some encouragement by his father, decides to stay the course. Through the filler arcs and his early actions in Shippuden, it's shown that he has decided to, if not step it up, then to at least shoulder some responsibility.

Shikamaru's best friend is his teammate Choji, although he also becomes extremely close to Naruto as the series progresses. Through this friendship, he helps Naruto to recover from a minor Heroic BSOD following Jiraya's death, announcing that he's going to take on Kurenai's kid as his apprentice.

In Shippuden, he shows up in the first episode (with Temari, no less). He later becomes an Ascended Extra and stars in his own arc. He first joins the newly-formed Niju Shotai (Akatsuki Hunters) with Asuma. There, he's forced to watch as Hidan, a member of Akatsuki, kills his sensei. This provokes him to chase down and engage Hidan - which he does, culminating in his Crowning Moment of Awesome after he defeats Hidan with surprising little effort. After he returns, he decides that he's going to become a harder worker to honor Asuma's memory. He also was recruited by Tsunade to decode Jiraiya's final communication to the village. .


 * Animal Motifs: Deer
 * Ascended Extra: He's basically became a semi-main character and the most developed of the Konoha 12 outside of Team 7.
 * Badass Bookworm: A particular type (see Book Dumb and Brilliant but Lazy).
 * Big Brother Mentor: Starting with the "Sasuke Retrieval Arc" at the end of Part 1, Shikamaru has taken the role as acting as the foil and giving advise to Naruto. He also does the same with Choji.
 * Book Dumb: Has never shown any interest in cerebral pursuits, preferring to take a nap, despite his high intelligence.
 * Brains and Brawn: With Choji. He's the Brains.
 * Breakout Character: He became unexpectedly popular and thus his role became more and more prominent as the series went on. This is taken Up to Eleven in the latest chapters where
 * One anime's omake lampshades this with Shikamaru suggesting that the series be renamed Shikamaru Shippuden with Temari as his co-star.
 * Brilliant but Lazy: An excellent example, to the point that he's the former Trope Namer
 * Catch Phrase: "How troublesome." ("What a drag." in the English dub.)
 * Character Development: Has a multi-point character arc that unfolds over the course of years. None of it due to interacting with the protagonist, apparently... though in a recent chapter, he admits being with Naruto makes him want to follow whatever path he does.
 * The Chessmaster: Both literally and allegorically.
 * Crazy Prepared: He planned the entire fight with Kakuzu and Hidan before it happened and setup a hole to bury Hidan days in advance.
 * Dark Is Not Evil
 * Casting a Shadow: Combined with Shadow Pin, he uses shadows to great effect, so much so that he is capable of both strangling and stabbing people with them.
 * Combat Tentacles: By Shippuden, his powers have reached this level.
 * People Puppets
 * Shadow Pin
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * He's Back: After Asuma's death.
 * Generation Xerox: Like the other members of his team, he shares many similarities to his father Shikaku in looks, dress and ability, in addition to the fact that both he and his father are/were part of an Ino-Shika-Cho trio, a dynamic that goes back 16 generations.
 * He-Man Woman Hater: Until the Tayuya-Temari incident during the Sasuke Retrieval arc.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Chouji.
 * I Just Want to Be Normal: Not so much wanting to be a non-ninja, but rather just a normal ninja.
 * Improbably High IQ: It's over 200.
 * Knife Nut: Takes Asuma's Chakra Blade's after his death which he uses for his Shadow Pin move. He also has a tanto he attempted to behead Hidan with.
 * The Leader
 * Mr. Fanservice: Like Kiba, Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke, he has a dedicated female fanbase.
 * Like Parent, Like Spouse: Shikamaru is seemingly destined for this. He has defined the three most important women in his life as being aggressive, demanding, and even scary. In fact, they shape his view of women as being bossy and "troublesome". Yet, as his father lampshades about Shikamaru's mother, they all have their sweet sides. The other two are Temari and Ino.
 * Meaningful Name: All three members of Team 10 are named after the hanafuda card trick ino-shika-chou (boar-deer-butterfly). Shikamaru means "deer child," Nara is a city known for its deer park, and Shikamaru's family raises deer for their antlers.
 * Nerves of Steel: Has shown them a number of times. Just recently
 * Oblivious to Love: Clueless that Shiho has a huge crush on him or that Temari may like him.
 * Odd Friendship: With Naruto. Ironically, it might be Naruto's most normal friendship in the manga.
 * Plot-Driven Breakdown: His Shadow Possession jutsu seems to get weaker each time he uses it in a fight, regardless of how much chakra he has at the moment.
 * Putting on My Thinking Cap: Squatting down, closing his eyes, and holding his outstretched fingers and thumbs in a circle at about stomach level.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: the blue to Chouji's red.
 * Shadow Pin: The Nara clan signature technique.
 * She Is Not My Girlfriend: Regarding Temari.
 * The Smart Guy
 * Smart People Play Chess: Well Shogi anyway.
 * The Strategist
 * Sugar and Ice Personality
 * Teen Genius: His I.Q. is over 200. Note that in the real world, only one person has ever been verified to have an IQ over 200.
 * Weak but Skilled: Shikamaru has little direct attacking ability but his cleverness and very productive use of standard ninja tools prove to be more then a match for incredibly powerful ninja.
 * Wise Beyond Their Years: See the speech he gives to Naruto after Jiraiya's death. Also a by-product of his over 200 I.Q.
 * Worthy Opponent: He is called this by none other than.
 * Wouldn't Hit a Girl: He claims that its against his moral code to strike a lady. Unfortunately, he has also had the misfortune of having female opponents for all of his major battles during the first series. However, his style of fighting at that time didn't involve directly hitting to begin with. He exploits a loophole within his own moral code when Tayuya goes One-Winged Angel, allowing himself to attack her directly because she's no longer a human girl.
 * Xanatos Gambit: Loves using these in his strategies. For example using  against him. If this opponent didn't use it then his entire fighting style would fall apart, but if he did it would make his ally vulnerable.
 * Gambit Roulette: He would rather make long term plans than consider if they would actually work.
 * Xanatos Gambit: Loves using these in his strategies. For example using  against him. If this opponent didn't use it then his entire fighting style would fall apart, but if he did it would make his ally vulnerable.
 * Gambit Roulette: He would rather make long term plans than consider if they would actually work.

Choji Akimichi
"Fat!? I'm big boned!"

"Voiced by: Kentaro Ito (JP), Robbie Rist (EN), Alfonso Manjavacas (Spain), Manuel Campusano (Latin America)"



Member of Team 10. Choji is Shikamaru's best friend, and the two hang out together frequently. He's also fat, but this is likely due to the fact that his clan's specialty is a jutsu that converts calories to chakra. He's constantly seen eating to shore up his chakra reserves. But he hates being called "fat" (he prefers "chubby" or "big boned"), so don't call him that.

As a child, we learn Choji was frequently left out of childhood activities and sometimes even bullied because of his large size. Shikamaru stood up for him one day, beginning their long friendship.

In battle, Choji relies on the Body Expansion Technique, which causes his body to both balloon in size and roll into a boulder shape. He then rolls around and tries to crush his enemies. He's later shown using variants on this move, such as the Partial Body Expansion, where he'll just expand his arms.

In the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, he is part of the team sent to retrieve Sasuke. He tangles with Jirobo, who has the upper hand for most of the battle. It's only after Choji uses the three Food Pills of the Akimichi Clan -- a move which nearly costs him his life -- that he can gather enough strength to beat him. In Shippuden, he helped his team defeat Hidan and Kakuzu after they killed Asuma. . -
 * Acrofatic: He might be on the heavy side, but he's still a ninja.
 * All of the Other Reindeer: Nowhere as much as Naruto, but he still was picked on for his size until Shikamaru stood up for him and he became a member of Team 10.
 * Animal Motifs: Butterflies. See below.
 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: One variant of the Akimichi clan's Body Expansion Technique.
 * Badass Long Hair: After the timeskip.
 * Balloon Belly: Worked into his fighting style.
 * Berserk Button: he has a lot:
 * do not call him fat;
 * do not steal the last piece of meat or the last chip under his nose;
 * do not insult his sensei;
 * last but not least, DO NOT INSULT SHIKAMARU.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: as Jirobo found out the hard way. Moreover, he was the first rookie to be shown killing anyone on screen.
 * Big Eater: Of course. Justified trope, though, for his fighting style.
 * The Big Guy: Uses physical attacks more than the other Konoha Eleven.
 * Bishonen Line: The chilli pill has him lose thirty pounds and gain some pretty wings.
 * Brains and Brawn: With Shikamaru. He's the Brawn.
 * Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: after Choji defeats Jirobo, allowing Naruto, Kiba and the rest of the retrieval team to continue on, he staggers to a tree and sags against it in a very moving death scene. Right after he collapses, a blue butterfly passes Shikamaru, who looks dismayed. Doubly significant in that Choji's name means 'butterfly', and that is the form that his supposedly fatal final attack takes: glowing butterfly wings of chakra.
 * In Shippuuden,
 * Deadly Upgrade: The soldier pills.
 * Determinator
 * Facial Markings: A spiral on each cheek.
 * Food Pills: With some overlap with Bottled Heroic Resolve, near the end of part 1 in order to defeat Jirobou Choji has to use the dangerous three colored Food Pills to give him enough power to win his battle.
 * Generation Xerox: Like the other members of his team, he shares a similar appearance to his father Chouza in both looks and ability.
 * Gentle Giant: Kinda dim and always bottomless, but a really loyal and kind friend.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Shikamaru.
 * I Am Big Boned: Or just chubby (which heavily implies being overweight, but never tell him that). This is his argument against being called fat, though it's justified in Part II.
 * Kevlard
 * Lightning Bruiser: After taking the third pill against Jirobo, he is able to outpace him in his Level Two State and defeat him in three moves.
 * Manly Tears: is one of the weepier male shinobi and has a tendency to let his emotions run away with him.
 * Meaningful Name: "Choji" means "butterfly", and his Crowning Moment of Awesome sees him gain butterfly wings made of chakra.
 * Mighty Glacier: Excellent strength and stamina for his age group, but somewhat lackluster speed. Until he takes the final pill against Jirobo, that is.
 * Nice Guy: Often regarded as the nicest and most sensitive of the Konoha 12. Unfortunately he might be a little too nice for his line of work.
 * Power Gives You Wings: Butterfly wings to be precise, a mark of the Akimichi Clan. The first time he needs a Deadly Upgrade. Second time, a symbol of coming of age.
 * Power Palms: Has taijutsu technique like this fittingly themed after a sumo wrestlers open palm slap.
 * Power Perversion Potential: His main power is to expand his body parts... Need I say more?
 * Prehensile Hair: He can make it long and sharp to enhance his Rolling Attack.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: the red to Shikamaru's blue.
 * Rolling Attack: His signature move to which he transforms into a ball, upgraded into a razor ball during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc.
 * Scarf of Asskicking: part 1.
 * Serious Business: The last piece of beef or chip.
 * Sizeshifter
 * Stout Strength
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Chouji was seldom seen without a bag of chips in Part I. Completely vanishes in Part II.

Ino Yamanaka
"There's no meaning to a flower unless it blooms."

"Voiced by: Ryoka Yuzuki (JP), Colleen O'Shaughnessey (EN), Alicia Sainz de la Maza (Spain), Carla Falcón (Latin America)"

Member of Team 10 and the "Ino" in the Ino-Shika-Cho. Her family runs a florist shop, although her father is also a ninja; she is often seen working there between missions. Personality-wise, she's something of the temperamental type. She and Sakura used to be best friends, but after they learned they both had crushes on Sasuke and Sakura had developed quite an inferiority complex in regards to this and Ino herself, they decided to become bitter rivals. This rivalry lasted until they met in battle in the Chunin Exams, when, after some clever plotting on Ino's part and some grit and determination on Sakura's part, they tied, and their friendship was restored.

Much like her teammates, Ino specializes in one technique: specifically, the Mind-Body Transfer Technique. This jutsu allows the user to switch consciousness with another human, but causes their own body to pass out for the duration. It also has a fairly short range.

At the end of the first series, Ino sees Sakura's growth and decides to become Tsunade's apprentice as well. When Shippuden begins, she has already become a medic, but her medical knowledge isn't quite enough to save Asuma from dying later on, which causes her quite a bit angst. She then goes with Shikamaru and Choji to defeat Kakuzu and Hidan and avenge Asuma. .


 * Animal Motifs: Boar
 * Badass: Perhaps the most fiery and strong-willed girl in the series!
 * Bare Your Midriff: In Shippuden.
 * Berserk Button: Don't call her "Ino-Pig/Ino-Buta".
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: Though she stops after Part 1.
 * Combat Medic
 * Cool Big Sis: She can be seen as a sister to Shikamaru and Choji. Team 10 is that close. And although she is the same age as them, she comes off more as a big sister who provides motivation for Shikamaru and common sense to Choji. Shipping Goggles though will see her as the perfect love interest for either of them because of this closeness. Even her father, as shown in a filler episode,.
 * Dangerously-Short Skirt
 * Deadpan Snarker: Has her moments, particularly at Sakura's expense.
 * Detached Sleeves
 * Exotic Eye Designs: No pupils.
 * Fan Service Pack: Post-Timeskip, she is probably the hottest girl out of the four teams. And contrary to Hinata, she doesn't try to hide her buxom.
 * Faux Action Girl -> Action Girl: The girl was touted as one of the most talented kunoichi, but only now the plot has allowed us to see how mentally and physically badass she can be.
 * Forgotten Childhood Friend: Sakura, but they got better.
 * Freudian Trio: A part of one with Shikamaru and Chouji in which she is the Ego while Shikamaru is the Superego and Chouji is the id.
 * Grand Theft Me: Mind Transfer Jutsu.
 * Hair Decoration: Ino had a hair slide when she was a child, and wears one again after the Time Skip.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Important Haircut: With a twist. She apparently cuts it in the middle of a hissy fit after Sakura taunts her in their fight, but she actually was faking said tantrum and used the discarded locks to trap Sakura and use her Mind Transfer Jutsu on her.
 * The haircut turns out to be temporary when she, unlike Sakura, grows her hair back to its normal length after the Time Skip.
 * Innocent Flower Girl: Subverted. She works part-time in her family's shop, yet she's anything but naive.
 * The Load: Feels like this in the Shiitenshounin Arc and in the Three-Tails arc. In the former, because she feels useless and cannot help Temari and Shikamaru. In the latter, because she has the weakest chakra control of all the sealing team.
 * Long Hair Is Feminine
 * Lovable Alpha Bitch: Her backstory shows that she was the first one to befriend Sakura and not bully her for her Forehead of Doom, and later protected her from Ami, a more standard Alpha Bitch.
 * The Medic: Played up in the anime.
 * Healing Hands
 * Peek-a-Bangs
 * People Puppets: The Mind Body Disturbance skill.
 * Power Perversion Potential: The Mind-Body Transfer Technique. Come now, if you had the ability to take over somebody else's body, what would you do with it?
 * Psychic Powers: Mind Control, Mind Probe, Possession and Telepathy are all part of her families special abilities.
 * Rapunzel Hair
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Sakura's red.
 * Sarashi: Pre-Timeskip.
 * Shipper on Deck: She's the local Asuma/Kurenai "fangirl". In one scene, Ino knows the flowers Asuma wants are for Kurenai before he even tells her.
 * Stripperiffic: Much less post Time Skip, despite actually showing more skin.
 * Support Party Member: Ino admits her abilities are not suited for simple fights and works best in team situations.
 * Team Mom: Asuma asks her to take care of Shikamaru and Choji before he dies.
 * The Tease: Very confident in her seductive abilities.
 * Telepathy: Both Ino and her father seem to have some telepathic abilities.
 * Tsundere: Lovestruck with Sasuke, tomboyish with everyone else. Although after Part 1 ends, she forgets about Sasuke and develops deeper bonds with Shikamaru and Choji as they become her "boys".
 * She does start crying when . Though this might be expected since it was a tough decision for everyone and he was their classmate.

Asuma Sarutobi
"The "kings" are the unborn children who will grow up to take care of the leaf."

"Voiced by: Jurota Kosugi (JP), Doug Erholtz (EN), Iván Jara (Spain), Humberto Solorzano (Latin America)"

Leader of Team 10, Asuma Sarutobi is the son of the Third Hokage. In his teen years, he had something of a falling-out with the old man and decided to travel abroad. He ended up in the guard of the Daimyo of the Fire Country, where he evidently accumulated a large bounty. Later, he returned to the town and became a Jonin.

In combat, Asuma relies on his Wind Chakra, which he channels through his trench knives. This allows him to hit targets from a distance. He can also use his omnipresent cigarettes to generate flames, which can cause third-degree burns.

In the first series, he really doesn't do much besides play Mr. Exposition, take care of his team, get knocked around by Kisame, and get accused of dating Kurenai.

In Shippuden, he plays something of a more expanded role. While Naruto is trying to learn the Wind Rasengan, Asuma gives him the advice needed to complete the first stage of his training. In an anime-only Filler arc, more of his backstory with the Twelve Ninja Guardians (only alluded to in the manga) is elaborated upon. Later, he and Shikamaru mobilize as part of the Niju Shotai (Akatsuki Hunters), where he engages Hidan in battle. Though he successfully decapitates his opponent, it's to no avail: Hidan is immortal. Hidan then completes the ritual that allows him to kill Asuma. It succeeds. After Shikamaru kicks some serious ass in his memory, we learn that Kurenai is carrying his child.

-
 * Badass Beard
 * Blow You Away and Razor Wind: His main abilities.
 * Chess Motifs: Uses lots of shogi motifs referring to Shikamaru as a knight and himself as a gold general and of course his famous line as seen by his page quote.
 * Disappeared Dad: The Third Hokage. Later on, he becomes one himself.
 * Everyone Can See It: His relationship with Kurenai.
 * Former Teen Rebel
 * Generation Xerox: He and his father both had their A Death in the Limelight in episode 80.
 * Knife Nut: His Weapon of Choice.
 * Luke, I Am Your Father: The son of the Third Hokage.
 * Not a Date: With Kurenai
 * Playing with Fire: Uses an ash-based jutsu to try to burn Hidan, and gets fairly badly burned himself when Hidan's jutsu effect kicks in.
 * One Last Smoke: Before his death. In the manga, Shikamaru finishes it for him.
 * Overshadowed by Awesome: Its implied his strained relationship with the Third was due to him being a good ninja living in the shadow of a great one.
 * Power Fist: His knives had one built in.
 * Smoking Is Cool: Even in death. Temporarily stops when especially concerned or upset, though.
 * So Proud of You: When  sees how much Ino, Shikamaru and Choji have grown, he outright states this and the look on his face says it all
 * Spell Blade: His main focus of Razor Wind.
 * Team Dad: To Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji. But especially to Shikamaru, who he acts as a second father to.
 * You Should Know This Already: Can we stop spoilering that he's dead as a doornail?

Rock Lee
"I want to show I can be a splendid ninja as well even if I do not have ninjutsu or genjutsu... I want to prove it to the whole world!"

"Voiced by: Yoichi Masukawa (JP), Brian Donovan (EN), Fernando Cabrera (Spain), Carlos Castillo (Latin America)"

In his early childhood, Rock Lee was frequently picked on by his peers because of his inability to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. He believed himself to be worthless and to have no chance at becoming a ninja at all. Then, he met Might Guy, who convinced him to train exclusively in Taijutsu (physical combat), at which he became a master.

Rock Lee's first appearance in the series is one where he challenges Sasuke. After flawlessly brushing aside Naruto's counter-challenge, he proceeded to just-as-easily beat down Sasuke, before Might Guy stops him just short of a dangerous technique. Later, he tries to save Sakura from the attacking Sound Ninja in the Forest of Death, but was defeated and this helped trigger Sakura's inner change.

His has the most heartbreaking battle in the Chunin Exams. He is matched up against the psychotic Gaara of the Desert, who has never once bled or even successfully been hit with an attack. Though he puts up an extremely good fight, the strain from his overuse of the Eight Chakra Gates allows Gaara to crush Lee's arm and leg; Gaara probably would have killed Lee too, if not for Guy's interference during the exam, and Naruto's and Shikamaru's later in the hospital. This injury keeps him out of action for a long time, and is initially thought to be career-ending - it is not until much later that we see him undergoing surgery performed by Tsunade, and even later that he returns to action.

His first fight after his surgery is against Kimimaro of the Sound Five (during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc), who he begins fighting to give Naruto time to catch up to Sasuke. Though he again puts up a good fight, his injuries still have not recovered enough to allow him his full strength. Fortunately, Gaara shows up and saves him.

Rock Lee is as fast as the human body can tolerate, and is a master of the Strong Fist school of martial arts. He also possesses the forbidden ability to open the Chakra Gates, which removes the body's limits and makes him even more overwhelming, but with high risks and physical costs.

Rock Lee has a very low tolerance for alcohol, becoming a savage master of Drunken Boxing after just one sip.

In Shippuden, he appears in the first major arc, backing Squad 7 up as they try to rescue Gaara from the hands of the Akatsuki. He does not do much, but he does beat a clone of himself. . -
 * Adorkable
 * All of the Other Reindeer: Bullied for his inability to use chakra properly.
 * Always Second Best: The main reason for his tendency to fall under the Worf Effect, as mentioned below. He's not weak, far from it - he just ends up fighting people who are stronger than he is. He mentions this in his backstory by pointing out that despite all his work to try and beat Neji, Hard Work Hardly Works.
 * Asskicking Pose: LOVES these.
 * Bare-Fisted Monk: Specializes in martial arts.
 * Hurricane Kick: Leaf Whirlwind and Hurricane.
 * Meteor Move: His Hidden Lotus technique.
 * Spinning Piledriver: His signature Primary Lotus.
 * Speed Blitz
 * Berserk Button: People criticizing or insulting Guy.
 * Big Ol' Eyebrows: Nicknamed "Bushy Brows" by Naruto.
 * Bruce Lee Clone
 * Funny Bruce Lee Noises
 * Can't Hold His Liquor
 * Charles Atlas Superpower
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
 * Curb Stomp Battle: While his losses later on aren't exactly Curb Stomp Battles, his introduction fights with Naruto and Sasuke certainly were.
 * Deadly Upgrade: The Chakra Gates.
 * Turns Red: Litterally
 * Determinator: Maybe one of his biggest traits.
 * Dogged Nice Guy: He acts like this towards Sakura in Part 1. He somehow manages to combine both types of this trope by being very grandiose in his tokens of affection, but doesn't seem to mind just being friends with her.
 * Drunken Master: Even alcoholic chocolate can induce this in Lee.
 * Dual Tonfas: Has them in the anime, but Kisame breaks them.
 * Dynamic Entry: Like his sensei.
 * Exotic Eye Designs: Huge black irises.
 * Game Face: After opening the third gate.
 * Generation Xerox: Intentional. He modeled himself after Guy after Guy became his teacher.
 * Gonk
 * Handwraps of Awesome: Not just for protecting hands but also for binding his enemy for his Spinning Piledriver.
 * Instant Knots
 * Hard Work Hardly Works: See The Worf Effect, but Guy notices that he's improved considerably from where he was originally, and he does have many abilities usually not achievable except to ninja far more experienced than him.
 * Honorifics: Uses them on everyone except his teammates.
 * Hot-Blooded
 * Large Ham: Especially when he and Guy are in the same scene.
 * Leeroy Jenkins: Tends to run in without thinking or waiting for his teammates, especially to save Sakura or if he has some idea.
 * Lightning Bruiser
 * Love Freak
 * Manly Tears
 * Martial Pacifist
 * Nice Guy: Friendly and nice to everyone. He even has a "nice guy' pose.
 * Plot-Powered Stamina
 * Unconscious Objector: The end of his fight with Gaara.
 * Spin-Off: Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth.
 * Swiss Army Weapon: In the movie his new weights are composed of several metal bars that he can assemble into a Simple Staff, Nunchaku and a Chain Whip.
 * This Loser Is You: The author stated that both him and Sakura were meant to symbolize human weakness.
 * Worf Effect: Never won a fight (except against a doppelganger) since he almost (Might Guy cut it short) defeated Sasuke in his debut. Still manages to impress both characters and readers even when he loses. Hilariously enough, one reader submission to the Naruto fanbook in a section about people who are like Rock Lee says "My friend always starts fights with people he can't beat and loses in under 30 seconds! He is Rock Lee!"
 * Worf Had the Flu: Fought Kimimaro very soon after surgery.

Neji Hyuga
"The heavens will not allow a pawn who can only seek victory at the cost of himself to advance..."

"Child voice: Keiko Nemoto (JP), Wendee Lee (EN), Jorge Saudinós (Spain) Older voice: Koichi Tochika (JP), Steve Staley (EN), Jorge Saudinós (Spain), Jose Gilberto Vilchis (Latin America)"

Neji is hailed as one of the foremost prodigies of his time -- indeed, he is perhaps the greatest practitioner of the Hyuga's fighting style that there is. If he weren't a member of the branch family, he'd probably be heading up the clan someday. However, his pedigree combined with his knowledge of past events fills him with a seething hatred of the main family.

In the Hyuga clan, there is a branch family and a main family. The branch family exists to serve the main family and tend to their needs. When a branch member is young, a seal is placed on their forehead to keep them from trying to kill the main family (also, it will prevent any foreign ninja from operating on their body and learning the Byakugan's secrets).

When Neji was young, his uncle Hiashi -- Hinata's father -- killed an intruder who aimed to capture Hinata. Since said intruder had some prestige in his home country, said country began calling for the head of his killer. The uncle was certain that they would attempt to steal the Byakugan's secret, but Neji's father Hizashi went in his place - first, since he had the seal, and second, to defy his clan's tradition and fight against his fate. Neji didn't know about the last part for a long time, though, and for years he resented everyone in the Hyuga clan.

Neji's life experience, at first, makes him something of a Nietzsche Wannabe, as he constantly mentions that fighting fate is useless. Interestingly enough, this doesn't stop him from fighting his fate. He clobbers his cousin Hinata in the Chunin Exams, and is matched against Naruto in the first round of the finals. While he expects an easy win, Naruto quickly proves more resilient than he thought, ultimately defeating him. After Naruto's victory, he convinces Neji that fate can successfully be fought, marking a positive change in his character.

He later shows up in the Sasuke Retrieval arc, as part of the team led by Shikamaru. He engages Kidomaru of the Sound Four, who fights him using ranged attacks. He takes some serious, life-threatening damage in the process, but he manages to win.

Neji is a close-range specialist. He uses the Byakugan, which gives the user nearly-360-degree vision and the ability to see the flow of chakra in the human body, to hit pressure points, blocking off his opponent's access to their chakra. He can also create an impenetrable shield of chakra by rotating quickly; this is normally a technique reserved for the main house, but Neji reverse-engineered it.

In Shippuden, he is the only member of the Konoha 11 to become a Jonin. He later tags along with his team to back up Squad 7 in the Rescue Gaara Arc.. -
 * Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: At first.
 * Awesome By Analysis: Learned and mastered a technique that only the clan head and clan's heir are allowed to know on principle alone. This is the equivalent of a slave teaching himself to read and then, say reading The Bible cover to cover.
 * Big Brother Instinct: Has shades of it over Hinata after his fight with Naruto, fitting given he promised his father he would always protect her. This is played Up to Eleven in Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth and of course Hilarity Ensues.
 * Bishonen
 * Break the Haughty: Being defeated by the once in-universe poster child of "failure" completely changed his views about life (which, to be fair, he wasn't himself completely convinced of deep inside).
 * Combination Attack: With Hinata.
 * The Comically Serious: After his Heel Face Turn, he frequently acts as a straight man foil to Guy & Lee's insane enthusiasm, however sometimes Neji proves to be Not So Above It All leaving Tenten as the Only Sane Woman.
 * Defeat Means Friendship
 * Disappeared Dad: Hizashi, who actually decided to die willingly for the sake of his village and to fight against his destiny.
 * Evil Eye: The Byakugan who's powers include...
 * Aura Vision
 * Vein-O-Vision: To see the chakra points.
 * Super Senses: And other abilities such as 360 degree vision and telescopic view.
 * X-Ray Vision
 * Exotic Eye Designs: No pupils, as a Byakugan user.
 * The Fatalist: At first
 * Freudian Excuse: Much of his hatred for the main house and belief in destiny is the result of his belief that they were responsible for his father's death. Once he realizes the truth, he revises these beliefs.
 * Hannibal Lecture: Tries this on Hinata and Naruto about how there is no point in struggling against what you were born to do, both of whom turn it back on him by pointing that he is doing exactly that.
 * Heel Face Turn: After losing to Naruto.
 * Heir to the Dojo: Inverted. Neji is exactly this type of character but he is explicitly not allowed to inherit the Hyuuga clan. Before his Heel Face Turn, much of his bitterness stems (indirectly) from this.
 * Japanese Honorifics: Always refers to Hinata as Hinata-sama in the Japanese version.
 * Jerkass: Especially to Hinata and Naruto, prior to his Heel Face Turn
 * Pet the Dog: Even at his most jerkish, Neji still respected Lee in his own cold aloof way. He was about to rescue him after his fight with the Sound genins when Sasuke woke up to curb stomp Zaku.
 * Kimono Is Traditional
 * Long-Haired Pretty Boy
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Man in White: Especially in part 2.
 * Mr. Fanservice: He has many female fans.
 * No Swastikas: His Swastika-shaped seal was edited into a simple X-cross in the anime.
 * Not So Above It All: Especially in Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth.
 * Prophet Eyes: Inherent to all members of the Hyuga Clan.
 * Hellish Pupils: Also they have no pupils
 * Restraining Bolt: The cursed seal on his forehead.
 * Shipper on Deck: Seems to be this for Naruto and Hinata, encouraging his cousin to see Naruto off before the time-skip.
 * The Stoic: He becomes even more composed after his Heel Face Turn.
 * Supernatural Martial Arts: The Gentle Fist which provides examples of...
 * Barrier Warrior: For Neji the Rotation
 * Finger-Poke of Doom: Sixty Four of them. 128 of them in the anime and 361 in the game.
 * The Paralyzer
 * Power Palms
 * Pressure Point
 * Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: The Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
 * Touch of Death
 * Superpowerful Genetics: The Byakugan, which seems to be the most dominant of all bloodlines seen so far extending to every member of the Hyuga Clan.
 * Tall, Dark, Handsome AND Snarky
 * Warrior Therapist: Perfectly fitted this trope before his Heel Face Turn.
 * Weak but Skilled: As far as physical strength goes, he's pretty average, but his mastery of the Byakugan makes him much more lethal than his strength indicates because with the Jyuuken style, strength is actually the least important attribute. The only reason why it would be necessary would be to improve raw speed and even then, raw muscle is not necessary. This is because the style is based on using chakra to attack the internal organs and it does not take any strength to use when even the slightest touch is enough.
 * You Can't Fight Fate: Believes this until his Heel Face Turn, although Naruto argues that if he truly accepted his destiny, he wouldn't have tried to kill Hinata.
 * You Can't Fight Fate: Believes this until his Heel Face Turn, although Naruto argues that if he truly accepted his destiny, he wouldn't have tried to kill Hinata.

Tenten
"Amazing... The brilliance of the blade... the design. They're all beautiful! I want to take them all home!"

"Voiced by: Yukari Tamura (JP), Danielle Judovits (EN), Olga Velasco (Spain), Gaby Ugarte (Latin America)"

Weapon specialist. Like her teammates, she is vaguely Chinese-themed. That's pretty much it.

The anime Filler attempts to develop Tenten more. She seems to have an attraction to pretty boys and falls for a few. Even one that later turned out to be a girl! She also forms a comedy team with Rock Lee during a number of filler appearances, always playing the Straight Man.

In Shippuden, she goes with her team to help rescue Gaara. With the.


 * A-Cup Angst: In a Filler episode expanding on her past. When she asks Guy what makes Tsunade legendary, he jokes that she is known for drinking and gambling. When both the local bar and the local gambling joint throw Tenten out for being underage, she yells that she will one day be legendary like Tsunade. The owner of the gambling joint states that Tsunade is known for her legendary breasts. Cue Blue with Shock.
 * Action Girl: Out of the Konoha 12 kunoichi, Tenten is the most competent combatant.
 * Adaptation Expansion: The anime tries to give her more screentime.
 * A Day in the Limelight: After over 300 episodes, they finally gave her a focus episode.
 * Badass: Shows herself to be one during the war.
 * Butt Monkey: Mostly in the Fandom, though there's a Running Gag of her being the most put-upon by Guy & Lee's insane self-imposed challenges. She was even forgotten in the first version of the High School AU ending only later being added sitting in the Corner of Woe forgotten in the final group shot. She is the go-to person to be used as an example of sucking by some fans, either jokingly or not.
 * And then came the war. Who's laughing now?
 * Chinese Girl
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Determinator: The majority of her central episode was spent in a flashback about how she wanted to become like Tsunade, and the lengths she was willing to go to were sorta...illegal.
 * Fingerless Gloves
 * Flat Character: While the anime has done more with her character, she still remains the least developed of all the Konoha 12.
 * Flechette Storm
 * Hyperspace Arsenal: Uses scrolls both big and small as a Bag of Holding for her many, many weapons.
 * Summon to Hand
 * Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: Textbook case with her and her team.
 * Improbable Aiming Skills: Of the Informed Ability variety.
 * More Dakka: Her entire strategy is to use her vast array of ninja weapons against opponents, and if they don't go down, she simply hasn't used enough at once. The only time it has ever worked was the time she fought a clone of herself.
 * Multi Melee Master: Skilled with weapons such as swords, staves, nunchaku and sansetsukon but her skills are primarily as a...
 * Multi Ranged Master: Specifically for throwing weapons, if she can hurl it she will. Including but not limited to kunai, knives, shuriken, Fuma Shuriken, Kusari-gama, spiked grenades, needles and even weapons not meant for throwing like flails and swords.
 * Odango
 * Only One Name: The only one of the Konoha 11 never to be given a last name.
 * Plucky Girl
 * Satellite Character: Along with Shino, she is the least developed of the Konoha 11. We don't know her last name or anything about her background.
 * Got a background story of sorts in Shippuden's Episode 237 where she was inspired to become a replica of Lady Tsunade, but this fell apart and she became a weapons specialist instead.
 * Straight Woman/Only Sane Woman: Tends to complain about the logic behind Guy and Lee's bizarre training methods.
 * Took a Level in Badass: She used the banana fan several times without dying, which is a weapon that would kill normal people with one use
 * Tsundere: A Type B since she is usually a very friendly character, but occasionally loses her temper. Once she put a two-ton iron doll on Rock Lee because he was doing push-ups when she was trying to talk to him.

Might Guy
"Look deep into my eyes and accept my sincere apology! Also notice my handsome manly features!"

"Voiced by: Masashi Ebara (JP), Skip Stellrecht (EN), Manuel Bellido (Spain), Gerardo Reyero (Latin America)"

Leader of Team Guy, Might Guy is the epitome of hard work. Through blood, sweat and tears, he became one of the strongest ninja there was in Konoha, becoming a rival of Kakashi in the process. He serves as both Kakashi's opposite and his Unknown Rival. Like his student, he's a pastiche of Bruce Lee.

His number one student is Lee. While their interactions are often very... odd, to say the least, it's very clear that Guy cares deeply for his student, and views him as the son he never had. He taught him how to open the Eight Chakra Gates (which isn't exactly a cakewalk).

In the first series, Guy shows up sparingly, usually protecting Lee or stopping him from beating someone up. He does however save Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai from Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, the former of the Akatsuki duo identifying him as one of the most dangerous ninja in Konoha.

In Shippuden, his team backs up Kakashi's team as they try to rescue Gaara. He fights a clone of Kisame -- for some reason, he doesn't remember the Akatsuki member. He opens the Sixth Gate and kicks his ass. .

-

"Naruto: He's got even bigger brows than Lee's! As if they had life of their own!"
 * Awesome McCoolname: His name is intended to draw vibes of 'Mighty Guy'. But dig in even deeper, and you realize that his name is an amalgamation of the first names of Nobuyuki Hiyama-voiced Brave Series protagonist: Might Senpuuji (from Might Gaine) and Guy Shishioh.
 * Badass: Holy shit. He is one of the most badass characters in the series. So far, he has never lost a fight.
 * Badass Teacher
 * Bare-Fisted Monk
 * Animal Battle Aura: His Afternoon Tiger technique takes this trope and runs with it.
 * Elemental Punch: His Morning Peacock technique sets his punches on fire.
 * Hurricane Kick
 * Pure Awesomeness
 * Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Morning Peacock is a standard use of this.
 * Berserk Button: Hurting or threatening his students is a very bad idea.
 * Big Ol' Eyebrows:


 * Bruce Lee Clone: Complete with nunchaku.
 * Funny Bruce Lee Noises
 * Captain Obvious: He makes such observations that Kisame's sword is his weapon and there is something strange about Gaara's gourd.
 * Subverted actually. During his fight with Kisame, he comments that Kisame only thinks that the sword he carries is his weapon. This is because the person he fought wasn't really Kisame, but a mook posessed by Kisame. This is also why he didn't recognize him.
 * His comment on the gourd could also be a subversion, seeing as the gourd itself could turn into sand, something that completely changed the outcome of Rock Lee's battle with Gaara.
 * Charles Atlas Superpower: To emphasize: While most ninjas around him summon giant sharks, call lightning into their palm or have all-seeing vision, Gai remains among the most powerful ninjas in the series and his most powerful move is... a punch. It is so hard that . And it's not made of chakra at all. That's right, he shapes the air.
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Constantly going on about the power of youth and getting ignored by his "lifelong rival" Kakashi. Most of the time, people are either creeped out by him or laughing at him, because he's just that ridiculous. At the same time, he's also the foremost taijutsu user of Konoha, can use at least seven gates without suffering anything more than a severe winding, and trained Rock Lee into a badass. In fact, he is the only living character who hasn't lost a fight on screen.
 * Double Jump: Might Guy demonstrated the ability to do this by summoning a tortoise mid-air and using its shell as a springboard. In keeping with the law of physics, said tortoise was promptly hurtled toward the ground at immense speed.
 * Dynamic Entry: The Trope Namer.
 * Epic Fail: Once tried to use it to attack Itachi when he infiltrated Kohona- only to show up moments after he had fled, booting an unsuspecting Jiraiya to the head. Hilarity Ensues. Laugh it up.
 * Oh Crap: The expression on his face afterwards is PRICELESS.
 * Exotic Eye Designs: Same as Lee, weirdly.
 * Fighting with Chucks: Nunchaku are his Weapon of Choice.
 * Game Face: After opening the third gate.
 * Generation Xerox: The reason he's very kind towards Lee.
 * Gratuitous English: Dynamic Entry is just that in the original, and his name was transliterated from "Engrish" ("Maito Gai") to correct English.
 * Hot-Blooded
 * Large Ham: The most memorable of the series.
 * Let's Get Dangerous: Can be very badass when he needs to.
 * Lightning Bruiser
 * Love Freak
 * Manly Tears
 * Martial Pacifist
 * Nice Guy: With this and all the other tropes, it's small wonder he and Lee are so close.
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: To Kakashi.
 * Papa Wolf: To Lee, Neji, and Tenten. His devotion to them is unquestionable and he will destroy anyone who hurts them.
 * Playing Against Type: In Latin America, he's voiced by Freeza of all people.
 * Plot-Powered Stamina
 * Rated "M" for Manly
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Kakashi's Blue.
 * Rock-Paper-Scissors: Might Guy sees even this as Serious Business, and believes that if he punishes himself for losing, he not only gains incentive to win the next time, but also becomes stronger in the process.
 * Spell My Name with an "S"
 * Team Dad: More to Lee than to Tenten and Neji, although this is mostly due to his insane antics, which the latter two try to avoid getting roped into whenever possible.
 * Turtle Power: His summon is a ninja turtle. We've seen it only twice. The second time is in mid-air.
 * Unknown Rival: Kakashi pretends to not hear him when he talks about their being rivals. Ironically enough, he, albeit unintentionally, gives this treatment to Kisame.
 * Worthy Opponent: To Kisame.