There is more to “Naruto” than merely a tale of ninjas and martial skills. The franchise is truly about family, friends, and how the people we hold close to us make us stronger — especially the ones we hold close to us, like Naruto Uzumaki, the main character. Families, or ninja clans, start to take on a bigger part as the series progresses in defining who people are and where their skills come from. Additionally, they start to distinguish between the shinobi, showing that while some, like Rock Lee, can work extremely hard to become among the best in the world, others, like his teammate Neji, have unique talents based only on their bloodline.
Since Naruto is the protagonist of the show, he will undoubtedly have some incredibly ancient lineages. His ancestry can be somewhat confusing, especially if you trace it all the way back to the creation of Jutsu and shinobi. But if you trace it back to that time, you instantly realize why he is so strong. To begin with, though, one must question why Naruto is an Uzumaki and not a Namikaze was given the conventional rules by which a kid is given their father’s last name.
Here is Naruto Family Tree Explained:
Kushina Uzumaki And Minato Namikaze
As the 4th Hokage, Minato Namikaze was revered (and feared) by practically everyone, even the Village Hidden in the Leaves. His mom was Kushina Uzumaki, the final survivor of an almost extinct clan. So many explanations exist for why Naruto did not become a Namikaze. One of the most widely held beliefs is probably that Minato’s notoriety would make Naruto a popular target and that many people desired revenge against the shinobi.
According to legend, Minato killed 1,000 enemy shinobi in a single attack, undoubtedly leaving a long trail of family members who would demand retribution. When Minato knew he wouldn’t live to defend his son, he decided to conceal the boy’s ancestry. Naruto was handed his mother’s name for whatever motive. Until several hundred episodes have passed, neither he nor the audience is aware that his father was the Fourth Hokage. On the other side, as we investigate how far back the Uzumaki family tree goes, we’ll discover that Uzumaki is actually a more prominent last name than Namikaze.
Jiraiya
Minato’s sensei was Jiraiya, and the two remained close throughout Minato’s life. Jiraiya, who also provided the boy’s name inspiration, was among the first to learn that Minato and Kushina were having a child. His debut book, Naruto, was about a shinobi who believed in achieving peace through power and compassion. In fact, Minato and Kushina named their only child after the character because they were so moved by the story.
Later, when the much-derided and orphaned young Naruto meets Jiraiya, he experiences what it might be like to have a father—albeit a “pervy” one who is only occasionally present. However, one of the most moving moments in the series is when Jiraiya divides a popsicle with the boy. Jiraiya had always admired children who got to do this with their fathers. He receives three years of one-on-one training from Jiraiya, who helps transform him from the weakest fighter in the village. Jiraiya’s role as a sort of Godfather deserves attention even though they are not blood relatives, especially as he also taught Naruto’s father.
The Hyuga
The first “people” to be born with the capacity to use chakra are Hagoromo and his smaller twin brother Hamura, who are the sons of Kaguya Otsutsuki. When the older twin confronted Kaguya about her brutality, she brainwashed Hamura into fighting against Hagoromo. However, Hagoromo was able to rescue his brother from her control, and the two of them battled her together until Hagoromo sealed her inside of him.
Both the Sharingan and Rinnegan were created by Hagoromo. Conversely, Hamura received his mother’s Byakugan. According to the “Naruto” storyline, this is the exact dojutsu that serves as the famous kekkei genkai and distinguishing characteristic of the Hyuga clan. This is understandable given that the Hyuga are his offspring. This implies that Naruto and the Hyuga clan are also long-lost cousins. Fortunately, he married Hinata Hyuga, and they had two children together because that happened so long ago that it’s acceptable.
Another Hyuga
Naruto marries Hinata Hyuga at the end of “Naruto: Shippuden,” becoming a legal member of the Hyuga clan. The reunion of clans descended from the two kids of Kaguya Otsutsuki in this manner after countless generations is indeed amazing. Although Naruto and Hinata have brought both clans together through marriage, their offspring are the literal bloodline that reunites these two separate branches of the family.
It goes without saying that the reason why Boruto and Himawari are so strong is that they are descended from both Hamura and Hagoromo. Especially Boruto, who is the obvious star of his own namesake anime series. This further demonstrates the complexity of these family trees and the interdependence of their branches. Before the final uneasy peace depicted in the “Naruto” timeline, one has to wonder how many more times the Otsutsuki line had crossed, giving rise to the powerful shinobi who would shape the world for countless centuries.
Naruto’s Ancestors
The Uzumakis originated from Asura Otsutsuki, the youngest child of Hagoromo Otsutsuki and the great-grandson of Kaguya Otsutsuki, the godlike alien who created the tailed beasts and all of the world’s jutsu. Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths, explains that Naruto is the rebirth of Asura as the Fourth Great Ninja War comes to a thrilling conclusion in the last fight with Madara Uchiha. However, Asura’s family is more closely related to the more powerful Senju clan. Perhaps Asura reincarnated in Naruto since the last live Senju known at the time is a female. Or perhaps it was simply that he was at the appropriate age at the appropriate moment. Whatever the cause, Naruto’s connection to the Senju through Asura is further evidence of this.
Naruto is then related to the Senju because the Uzumaki are basically their cousins. This means he has family connections with Tsunade (the Fifth Hokage), Tobirama Senju (the Second Hokage), and Hashirama Senju (the First Hokage). This may help to explain why Naruto, who was at the time a loud-mouthed, arrogant boy without much talent, was the only one who was able to convince Tsunade to give up her life as a wasteful gambler and accept the position of the village leader. She does wonder how much her little brother reminds her of him on a daily basis.
The Sage of Six Paths
Hagoromo Otsutsuki is the dad of Indra and Asura, as was previously stated. Hagoromo is best known as the legendary Sage of Six Paths in the “Naruto” timeline. Throughout his own life, Hagoromo became concerned about his mother Kaguya’s rising desire to conquer the world by reserving the God Tree’s powers for herself and offering human sacrifices to it. Eventually, Hagoromo was forced to imprison her, and he and Hamura then began to teach commoners ninshu, the more spiritually based predecessor of ninjutsu.
Hagoromo divided the nine distinct Tailed Beasts from his mother’s evil Ten-Tailed Beast. When Hagoromo reappears to Naruto, he gives up on the boy his own Sage of Six Paths strength, enabling him to become ready for a battle that, at the time, only he was aware of its impending nature. This also explains why, when Naruto tries to form a partnership with them, the Tailed Beasts welcome him and why they relate him to the first Sage of the Six Paths. Naruto is a descendant of Hagoromo because Hagoromo is the father of Asura, who is recognized as the ancestor of both the Senju and Uzumaki clans.
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Moon Clan
After creating his own Earth clans, Hamura traveled to the moon with the surviving Otsutsuki to keep watch over his mother’s sealed body. The Otsutsuki’s original heavenly heritage was reflected there when he formed the Moon clan. It makes it reasonable that there would be a moon clan. Reflecting a Rinne Sharingan off the moon is necessary to throw the world into the Infinite Tsukuyomi, something Kaguya and Madara both used to enslave people.
The Moon Clan, often known as the remaining Otsuski, lost members throughout time, particularly after Hamura’s passing. Toneri Otsutsuki is the sole person alive according to the “Naruto” timeline. Hamura desires peace, but his final heir, Toneri, misunderstands his intentions and uses his influence to move the moon closer to Earth, setting up what would later play a significant role in the “Boruto” series. Of course, as was previously stated, Naruto and (much more so) Hinata are tied to Toneri through Hamura Otsutsuki, which causes Hinata to be given the responsibility of stopping Toneri.
Black Zetsu
This one is challenging. Although he was in the Akatsuki as a member of Zetsu, Black Zetsu isn’t really a human, and it’s questionable whether he really counts as a real living person. Black Zetsu was a living embodiment of Kaguya’s will that she made before being imprisoned in order to serve as the conduit via which she could reappear, contrary to what Madara believed. Black Zetsu effectively tries to control the Uchiha to the point where Madara believes he has discovered the Infinite Tsukuyomi, only for Black Zetsu to turn on him and admit Kaguya was the one in charge all along.
Black Zetsu is, therefore, either Kaguya’s creation, Kaguya herself, or most likely both. He is more closely associated with Naruto because he is her creation and resembles Hagoromo in a brotherly way. He is still linked to Naruto as Kaguya, just one more generation removed. He is either Naruto’s extremely distant uncle or his whatever-great-grandmother.
Uchihas
Because the Uzumakis are related to the Uchiha family through Asura Otsutsuki, Naruto also has some familial ties to them. The two sons of Hagoromo were Asura and Indra. Asura was always in Indra’s shadow because he had more inherent talent. Asura then started to appreciate his friends, whereas Indra started to treasure power. This eventually caused the brothers to split apart and sparked a rivalry that would last for many generations, even after Indra and Asura had all but been forgotten.
This explains why the Uchiha and Senju clans are physically separated. Hashirama Senju’s concentration on peace and compassion caused Madara Uchiha, despite the fact that they were friends who actually founded Konoha together, to become increasingly power-hungry, and the two fell out as a result. Eventually, Hashirama was forced to battle and, in his opinion, kill Madara. The division between the Uchihas and the remainder of the village resulted from this. It also implies that Sasuke, the Indra-reincarnate, and his formidable sibling Itachi are distant cousins of Naruto.
Kimimaro
The Kaguya clan, named after Hamura’s mother, was the other Earth line of Hamura Otsutsuki. By the time of the “Naruto” storyline, the Kaguya are all but extinct. Kimimaro is the only surviving member that we can see, but he is armed with the clan’s rare kekkei Genkai, which Kaguya herself passed down. Kimimaro has complete control over his own physical nature and can shape-shift his bones into anything from a missile to spikes to a shield. As a result, he is able to kill the Kazekage well before Konoha Crush and, a little later, almost destroy the terrifying Gaara when he is still a jinchuriki. Kaguya’s ruthlessness, though, was another quality the clan received from her.
Because they merely favored war for war’s sake, the Kaguya clan had split by the time of the series. Fighting nonstop to satisfy your bloodlust and show your dominance is no guarantee of longevity. When the clan imprisons its most powerful members (like Kimimaro) out of respect for their strength, it is extremely dangerous.
Karin
The Uzumaki clan’s survivors dispersed when the others destroyed their town. However, Karin, who has the distinctive red Uzumaki hair, is at least one of Naruto Uzumaki’s modern cousins. She is first seen when Sasuke freed her from one of Orochimaru’s camps (after Sasuke kills Orochimaru). Karin possesses the legendary life force and skills of the Uzumaki. She is able to detect others by their unique chakra signatures and can refuel another shinobi’s chakra by allowing them to bite her.
This is both a gift and a curse because it makes her young life painful, and, in the anime, it makes a harsh village elder bite her mother to death and drain her of all her energy. Karin is an incredible kunoichi who plays a significant part in the lives of Naruto, Sasuke, and the other shinobi in “Naruto: Shippuden” and other works. Furthermore, studying the Uzumaki family tree reveals that the clan is one of the most honorable to have ever lived.
Sakura
Another marriage-related link has now been added to Naruto’s family tree. As said, Hagoromo’s offspring are how the Uzumakis and Uchihas are related. Because they are the reincarnations of Hagoromo’s sons Asura and Indra, Sasuke and Naruto are virtually brothers. In other words, Sakura, the woman Naruto has desired since he was a young child and with whom he and Sasuke were in a type of romantic triangle, is now his sister-in-law or distant in-law cousin.
Additionally, this implies that Sarada, the child of Sasuke and Sakura, and Boruto and Himawari are linked through their marriage. Due to this, the initial animosity and rivalry between Boruto and Sarada become a kind of continuation of the lengthy family feud that has been passed down through their family lines since the very beginning. One of the many factors that contribute to the “Naruto” series’ immense appeal and fascination is this intricate and enduring relationship. It makes sense that it has almost a thousand episodes and continues to grow.
Also Read: Why Does Boruto Hate Naruto? Naruto And Boruto’s Relationship Explained
