Uzumaki Naruto

image=|caption=Uzumaki Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

Team 7

In order to become a genin, in addition to graduating from the Ninja Academy, one must first undergo an evaluation with a J?nin; if one passes, they will be assigned to that Jonin for training. Naruto, Haruno Sakura (his crush) and Uchiha Sasuke (her crush) are assigned to Team 7 under the leadership of Hatake Kakashi. The evaluation test is simple. There are three members and two bells: the two who manage to put their hands on a bell win and are awarded with food, and the one who is left out remains hungry. Kakashi easily defends himself from all three, and after a while calls a break and points out their flaws in teamwork; he lets Sakura and Sasuke eat so they can all try again later, but forbids them to feed Naruto, who is also tied to a log for good measure. Sakura and Sasuke decide to go against Kakashi's words and feed Naruto anyway, figuring that if the problem is their teamwork this would be a good way to start working on it; Team 7 thus becomes the first group that Kakashi ever passed to be Genin, as this is exactly the message he was trying to get across - caring for your friends is more important than "the rules".

Related Topics:
J?nin - Haruno Sakura - Uchiha Sasuke - Hatake Kakashi - Genin

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Though Genin are only supposed to go on D-Rank missions, Naruto insists on doing something more exciting and the Sandaime Hokage agrees to send them on a C-Rank mission to escort a client. During their mission, the team is attacked by two enemy Ch?nin- something that is definitely not supposed to happen on C-Rank missions- and Naruto panics and freezes; Sasuke however deals with the attackers quite efficiently. Sasuke rubs his one-upping Naruto in by calling him a "Scaredy-cat"; this name-calling, which Naruto would imitate many times later in the series, is a defining moment in the Naruto-Sasuke rivalry. Team 7 also undergoes chakra training in this arc of the manga, another point of rivalry between the two ninja, as they constantly challenge themselves to try to outdo each other, but instead end up helping and motivating each other to succeed.

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Naruto's "hidden power" is also revealed in this arc. In a particularly ferocious battle in which he believes Sasuke has been killed, Naruto loses control and is consumed by Ky?bi's chakra. Its power is so immense that the chakra is visible, all of Naruto's wounds heal near-instantaneously, and Naruto's appearance changes. He completely overwhelms his enemy with this power and speed. Although the power of the Ky?bi is introduced at this point, the full extent of it is not shown yet. Naruto has not communicated with the Demon Fox inside of him; he only subconsciously calls upon this power.

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After his graduation, Naruto gradually becomes more acknowledged and appreciated, as more and more people come in contact with the real Naruto behind the "demon" and "idiot prankster" stigmas. From his previous state of isolation he develops friendships with all sorts of people; his relationship with Sasuke grows into a mix of friendship and rivalry, eventually escalating into very strong friendship and a rivalry of epic proportions, while Haruno Sakura's role slowly develops from that of Naruto's mere crush into that of his important friend.

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