Who is the father of Naruto? by Henry Hsieh

The identity of the father of Naruto has been the subject of speculation for Naruto fans for a long time. There have been heated debates and even full-blown internet flaming wars about the mystery that is Naruto's father.

The Fourth Hokage Theory

Most people believed that the father of Naruto was the Yondaime or the Fourth Hokage. The resemblance between the Yondaime and Naruto is strikingly similar. They both have blue eyes and yellow hair and they even have the same smile. And since Naruto is an orphan and the fourth died fighting with the Kyuubi which it all made sense.

Some people even went so far as to believe that the Yondaime, though it was clearly stated that he died fighting the Kyuubi, somehow survived and lived on to become the Akatsuki leader. They believed that everything from the sealing of the Kyuubi inside Naruto until the hunting of the Jinchuuruki by the Akatsuki was all part of an elaborate plot concocted by the genius mind of the Fourth Hokage. They believed that what was shown about the Yondaime was just a hoax, he was actually evil despite the fact that all the people of Konoha loved him and that he was willing to die for them.

However, there were many people who disagreed with these believers that Yondaime is indeed the father of Naruto theory simply because they could not understand why a father would seal something like the Kyuubi inside his own son. Some believed that it would just be way too obvious and that Kishimoto cannot possibly write something so obvious and that there has to be a twist. Some believed that the Yondaime was an uncle to Naruto, or brother, or some other distant relative relative just not his father.

There were even people who believed that the Akatsuki leader (who they believed was not Yondaime) was actually the father of Naruto. And, for some reason, he was hunting his own son. This theory was reinforced by the fact that the shadow from the Akatsuki Leader and it looked somewhat like he had the same hair as Naruto. And when the Akatsuki leaders face was revealed to have a striking resemblance to Naruto too, this theory gathered more supporters. And they believed that a Star Wars scene with the Akatsuki Leader saying Naruto, I am your father was not such a far off possibility.

There were other theories and some so farfetched and random that you would have to wonder what the fans smoked in order to come up with it. But all those theories were dispelled once Chapter 367 of the manga came.

The Revelation

Chapter 367 is a perfect example of how the simplest answers are almost always the right ones. It turned out that the blatant was actually true and the Fourth Hokage really is the father of Naruto. Jiraiya and Tsunade confirmed it all and even revealed the name of Yondaime turned out to be Namikaze Minato.

But if the fourth is the father of Naruto, then why is his name Uzumaki Naruto and not Namikaze Naruto? Where does the Uzumaki come from? It turns out that, for some reason, Naruto got his name after his mothe surname instead of his father. And it is not really heartless for Minato to seal Kyuubi inside Naruto since it was, after all, his dying wish that Naruto be treated as a hero for having to contend with having a monster inside him. He died believing that the villagers would love Naruto, he had no idea that they would do the opposite. This chapter has yet to be made into a Naruto Episodes, but it should be revealed in Naruto Shippuden pretty soon.

About the Author

Henry Hsieh has multiple interests and he enjoys talking about them. As a fan of anime, he likes to watch Naruto & Sasuke battle, discuss them in Tailedfox Forums, and listen to Naruto MP3 at tailedfox.com the best Naruto Shippuden site with the newest Naruto Episodes out first.