Minato Namikaze (波風ミナト, Namikaze Minato), renowned 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"), was a legendary shinobi who became the Fourth Hokage (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage; Literally meaning "Fourth Fire Shadow") of Konohagakure. Following the event of theNine-Tails' attack on Konoha, Minato was able to seal the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, Kurama by separating its chakra into two parts and sealing the Yang half into his son, and the Yin portion within himself before dying heroically.
Background
When Minato was in theAcademy, his class-mate and future wife Kushina Uzumaki thought that he looked "unreliable" and even "girly".[2] He dreamed of being acknowledged by the Konoha villagers by becoming the Hokage, which Kushina considered to be an impossible dream for someone like him.[3]
Years later, however, when Kushina was kidnapped byKumogakure ninja, Minato was the only one to pick up on the fact that she was leaving behind strands of her red hair to mark their path. After rescuing her, Minato explained that he had always admired her hair. No longer seeing him as "unreliable", she fell in love with him.[4]
According to those who knew him personally, Minato was a very talented ninja prodigy — a rare genius that appeared only once in a generation.[5] He graduated from the Academy at the age of ten,[1] and was added to agenin team under the tutelage of Jiraiya,[6] who took a special interest in Minato, and took him on as an apprentice,[7] amongst other things teaching him theSummoning Technique.[8] He even believed Minato might be the Child of the Prophecy, someone who would someday save the world.[9][10]
Konoha's Yellow Flash
In time, Minato was put in charge of a genin team of his own, consisting of Rin Nohara, Obito Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake.[6] During the Third Shinobi World War, Minato led his team on a mission into Kusagakure to destroy the Kannabi Bridge. Because Kakashi had recently become a jōnin, Minato gave leadership of the mission to Kakashi while he went to help Konoha's forces on the front lines. After meeting up with the surviving and out-numbered Konoha ninja, Minato used his Flying Thunder God Technique to kill the opposing Iwagakure ninja. He then returned to his team, just in time to save Kakashi and Rin from another group of Iwa forces, but was too late to save Obito. When Kakashi and Rin recovered from the ordeal, Minato helped them complete the mission.[11]
Before becoming Hokage, Minato clashed with A on several occasions.[12] On what was seemingly their first meeting, Minato, Inuzuka,Akimichi, and a fourth member, confronted A and his team. There, Minato and A had a clash of speed with Minato almost severely injuring the future Raikage before B intercepted the attack. Upon receiving the signal that Konoha was retreating for the time being, Minato lingered to praise B's bravery and told A that he had a good family and followers surrounding him as he did, and also offered A the advice of making sure his brother knew who he was before he became neither human nor jinchūriki. Minato then declared that the next time they met, it would be to put the title of "Kage" on the line.[13] Not one to allow his enemy to escape so easily, A attempted to attack Minato before he left. Believing that Minato would teleport to one of his special kunai, A was shocked to see the Konoha-nin appear behind his brother before realising that Minato had marked him earlier. Impressed by the fact that B had reacted fast enough to pull one of his swords on him, Minato praised B for his skills.[14]
Fourth Hokage
Sometime after the war, Minato, not yet thirty years of age, was chosen to become the Fourth Hokage.[15] At some point during his reign, Minato taught his Flying Thunder God Technique to the Hokage Guard Platoon to better aid them in their duties of serving the Hokage at any given time.[16] While Kushina was pregnant, he read Jiraiya's first book and liked the main character's determination — whom he believed to be just like Jiraiya — decided to name their son "Naruto" in the hopes that he would be just like the main character and, in turn, Jiraiya. Jiraiya warned them that it would make him Naruto's godfather, but they insisted that this was a good thing.[17]
Because Kushina was the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, special arrangements had to be made for Naruto's birth. Since the seal keeping the Nine-Tails within her would weaken during childbirth, Naruto would be secretly delivered in a remote location outside Konoha. ANBU would guard the area and Minato would maintain the seal while Kushina went into labour. Soon after Naruto was born they were found by a masked man who had killed the ANBU stationed outside and infiltrated the cave. The masked ninja killed Biwako Sarutobi and Taji then took Naruto hostage, threatening to do the same to him. Minato was able to take Naruto back, but this gave his opponent the chance to escape with Kushina to break the seal. By the time Minato found a safe place to put Naruto and then teleported to Kushina, he spirited her to safety just as the freed Nine-Tails was about to kill her. With Kushina looking after Naruto, Minato heads to Konoha to defend it from the Nine-Tails.[18]
Minato arrived in the early stages of the Nine-Tails' attack. After protecting the village from the beast's Tailed Beast Ball by erecting a barrier and sending the attack elsewhere, Minato tried to reach the Third Hokage to inform him of what had happened, but was stopped by the masked man, who tried to warp him away. However, Minato flew to another of his kunai, and was quickly followed by his opponent. Analysing his opponent, Minato came to assume that the man standing before him was Madara Uchiha, which he discarded by saying that Madara was dead. When the two began fighting, Minato realised that the battle would be decided by speed, and by carefully timing his Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato was able to strike the masked man with a Rasengan and apply the Flying Thunder God Technique seal on his back as well. This allowed him to teleport directly to the masked ninja and uses a Contract Seal to sever the ninja's hold on the Nine-Tails before he could escape.[19]
When Minato returned to the ruined village, he summoned Gamabuntato hold down the Nine-Tails long enough to teleport it away from the village to Naruto and Kushina's location. Kushina then restrained it with her chakra chains and erected a barrier so that the beast could not escape. Despite knowing that the trauma of resealing the Nine-Tails in her weakened body would kill her, she volunteered to do it so the Nine-Tails would die with her. Minato however disagreed, and instead decided that he would use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on the Nine-Tails to seal the beast into Naruto. Kushina objected since this would mean Minato's death and leave Naruto orphaned. Minato insisted it was for the best since allowing the Nine-Tails to resurrect itself, without a jinchūriki to contain it, would inevitably cause harm to Konoha and the Fire Country. Also, Minato was convinced that Naruto was the "Child of the Prophecy" Jiraiya had once told him about and would need the Nine-Tails' power to someday defeat the masked man. Knowing that the Nine-Tails' chakra was too immense to seal inside an infant, Minato used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal weaken the demon by removing the Yin chakra, sealing the half inside Minato himself. The Nine-Tails realised their intentions and tried to kill Naruto, but Minato and Kushina used their bodies to shield him.[20]
While Kushina gave her final words to Naruto, Minato summonedGerotora, gave him the key to the seal he would use on Naruto, and sent him to Jiraiya. After Kushina told Naruto how much his parents loved him he seconds everything she says and then sealed the Nine-Tails and the rest of their chakra into Naruto so that they would be able to see him again when he was older, ending their lives.[21] Since the Third Hokage had come to help, Minato used his last moments to request that Konoha think of Naruto as a hero, and not the container of the monster that caused so much death and destruction.[22] Before he died, he sealed the rest of their remaining chakra into Naruto so that they could someday see him again too, specifically if ever the seal was about to break so that they could restore it, or help him control Nine-Tails' power.[23][24] Ultimately, Minato's reign as the Hokage was rather short, as Tsunade noted that he "died too early".[25][26]
Personality
Jiraiya and Tsunade pointed out that Naruto physically bears great resemblance to Minato.[27] Minato was calm, collected, and highly perceptive. During difficult events, he was still capable of maintaining his composure, assessing the situation, and devising appropriate plans of action. He did have a playful side, once making a highly convoluted name for a technique combination, before quickly disconsidering it.[28] He also seemed well aware of the terror his reputation inspired in his foes. He appeared to be respectful of those around him; he didn't like freely speaking about others' pasts, and was said to be a very nice person. Minato also referred to Orochimaru as "Orochimaru-san", a polite way of addressing someone, when questioning how Orochimaru managed to reincarnate him and his predecessors. He deeply cared for and loved his wife and child, becoming very nervous because of Kushina's pain during labour and even shedding tears of joy at his son's birth. Minato also deeply cared for the village and all the shinobi, saying that they all are a big family. He also enjoyed reading, and took a special liking to reading Jiraiya's work in particular.
Though not knowing each other for very long, the dynamics between Minato and the Second HokageTobirama Senju is very unique. Both men seem to have a great level of respect for one another, especially since they seem to operate the same in battle in terms of thinking. The fact that they are both users of the Flying Thunder God Technique also seems to factor into this as each has lauded the other's speed and quick-thinking.[29][30] One quirk Minato possess is his tendency to create ridiculous names for techniques. For example, upon seeing Naruto and Sasuke's combination Rasenshuriken, Minato decided to name it Scorch Release: Halo Gale Jet Black Arrow Style Zero, a grandiose title which he himself thought didn't sound good.[31] Later, when he announced he was going to use his Spiralling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Participate Formula, Tobirama stated if they weren't in the middle of a battle he would laugh at such a terrible name.[32] When he later reiterated the name of Naruto and Sasuke's technique, Tobirama exasperatedly dismissed the name, telling Minato to not stop the attack.[33]
Jiraiya said that Minato was a shrewd person, and was not a man who would do something without reason.[34] He was very knowledgeable of the ninja world, concluding that only Madara Uchiha would have the power or the reason to have the Nine-Tails attack Konoha during his battle with the masked man.[35] Minato was known for his indomitable spirit, drive, determination, and fierce ambition which was inherited by 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 is also shown to be very forgiving, as even the revelation that the masked man who was responsible for his and Kushina's deaths was none other than Obito Uchiha wasn't enough to make him show the slightest bit of anger toward his former student, and instead showed great sadness over the fact that Obito ended up like that instead of becoming Hokage and displayed a desire to save him instead.[36]
Upon his reincarnation by Orochimaru, and after Sasuke Uchiha's inquiring about the Uchiha Clan Massacre and the meaning of being a shinobi, Minato confessed himself disappointed in failing to meet the Third's expectations for him, as his reign as Hokage was shortened by his sacrifice during Kurama's attack on the village. He also believed that the Uchiha clan's situation could have possibly had a different outcome, if he had survived.[37]
After becoming Hokage, Minato seemingly became somewhat more prideful as he started using "ore", which is a prideful way of saying "I" or "me", instead of using "watashi", a more formal way of referring to one's self.
Appearance
Minato was a fairly tall, fair-skinned man who on more than one occasion has been compared with Naruto in terms of physical appearance; both have bright, 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.[25]
His normal attire consisted of a standard Konoha-nin uniform with two bands each on both of his sleeves, a leaf 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, decorated by orange flames-like motifs on the edges, with the kanji for "Fourth Hokage" (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage) written vertically down the back, and closed on the front by a thin, orange rope.
During his time in the Academy, he wore a simple white suit of clothing with green trimmings and a hood. After becoming a full-fledged shinobi, he wore a tracksuit with three stripes on the sleeves, mesh under-armour, a pair of black pants and sandals.
Abilities
According to Jiraiya, Minato was one of the most gifted shinobi who ever lived.[25] His abilities were so far advanced that even the Fourth Raikagethought that no one would be able to surpass him.[12] Anko Mitarashi, in discussion with the Third Hokage about Orochimaru's immense strength and his threat to the village, stated that she wished the Fourth had been alive to face him.[38] At a young age, he was able to single-handedly rescue Kushina Uzumaki from three Kumogakure ninja.[39] During theThird Shinobi World War, flee-on-sight orders were given to enemy shinobi should they ever see him appear on the battlefield.[40] Minato was also capable of counteracting the Nine-Tails' attacks to the point that Tobi found it necessary to intervene and stop Minato directly. Tobi was later forced to retreat due to being severely injured by Minato, but not before commending Minato's skills, stating he was worthy of his title of "Fourth Hokage".[41] Upon entering theFourth Shinobi World War after being reincarnated he was able to give Obito Uchiha trouble despite being the Ten-Tails jinchūriki while fighting alongside his son, Tobirama Senju, and Sasuke Uchiha. He even managed to briefly overpower Obito while both himself and Naruto were in their Tailed Beast Mode and Sage Tailed Beast Mode.[42]
Minato's fighting style often excluded time consuming hand seals that give enemies an opening so he often relies on two techniques: the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Rasengan.
Jinchūriki Transformations
Main article: Nine-Tails Chakra Mode
Due to sealing the Yin half of Kurama into himself before his death, once he was reincarnated he was able to use a cloak similar to Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode which overlays his mantle.[43] It seems to take some skill to activate this, as Naruto was amazed, and even the Yang half of Kurama complimented his sealing skills for using the cloak.[44] In this mode, he was seen using a chakra arm to grab the chakra of the tailed beasts.[45] He also showed the ability to enter a Tailed Beast Mode, one of near-identical appearance to that of his son, albeit with a darker colouration. In this form, Minato could still use his regular techniques, such as the Rasengan, albeit on a much larger scale. He could also use other techniques that come with the form such as the Tailed Beast Ball in conjunction with Naruto.[46]
Physical Prowess
One of Minato's trademark attributes was his immense speed and near instantaneous reflexes, able to react fast enough to catch an infant Naruto mid-fall to prevent him from being stabbed by Tobi and teleport away before attached explosive tags went off.[47] He could also respond to Tobi's Kamui technique quickly enough to escape it.[48] He is often referred to throughout the series as the fastest shinobi who ever lived, with the speed of the currently fastest living shinobi often being compared to his own, such as A or Naruto in his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, with the former admitting that even with his Lightning Release Armour enhancing his already immense speed and reflexes was still outmatched by Minato.[12] Combined with his great proficiency in the Body Flicker Technique, he could easily react and reach in time an ally to save them from enemy attacks.[49] and likewise well-outstrip Tobirama Senju's, the fastest shinobi of his era, own usage of the technique.[50] In the anime, when Minato went to save Kushina from abduction, he managed to swiftly defeat four Kumogakure shinobi in closed ranged combat, all of them almost twice his size. [51]
When fighting, he mainly employed the use of his unique kunai, wielding them proficiently and taking advantage of their particular form, which made them even more suitable for close range combat than standard kunai. Using this type of kunai, he was able to nearly sever one of the Eight-Tails' tentacles when B moved to save his brother from Minato's counter-attack despite having nearly no leverage, showing that he possessed a great deal of strength.[52]
Ninjutsu
Rasengan
Minato spent three years creating the Rasengan by observing the Tailed Beast Ball.[53][54] It is the highest level of shape transformation and it does not require hand signs to be performed. Instead, using precise control of one's chakra to concentrate and spin it, forming a sphere in the user's palm. It is able to inflict immense damage to its target upon contact. The lack of elaborate preparations needed for the Rasengan gave Minato an advantage over other technique users in battle. During his fight with Tobi, he is able to form a Rasengan right after throwing his marked kunai, allowing Minato to land a devastating blow immediately after performing the Flying Thunder God Technique. As its creator, Minato had great mastery over the Rasengan, able to form it in either hand and even make it larger than any other user's Rasengan (roughly the size of the Big Ball Rasengan).
He had intended to combine the Rasengan with his own nature transformation, but the task was too difficult to complete before his untimely death.[55]
Space–Time Ninjutsu
Minato was famous for his use of the Flying Thunder God Technique, later even gaining praise from Tobirama Senju, the creator of this technique, for his skilled usage of it. It is a space–time technique applied through the use of special seals, which essentially allowed him to teleport to any location with untraceable movements. By throwing kunai that had the seal attached to them behind enemy lines, Minato could wipe out an entire platoon in the blink of an eye.[56] Minato could teleport to his special kunai even as it travelled through the air, through this method, he was able to outmanoeuvre Tobi's Kamui.[57] He was also capable of applying the seal to solid surfaces with his bare hand, allowing him to tag opponents and give himself an easy way to track and reach them.[58] He also incorporated this seal formula into Kushina's seal so he could always come to her aid, at any time.[59] Minato is also capable of simultaneously transporting multiple people to different markings, without accompanying them.[60]
For defensive use, Minato was capable of implementing space–time barriers to counter large attacks such as a Tailed Beast Ball, sending the blast to a distant area away from the village.[61]
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