Hashirama Senju

Hashirama Senju (千手柱間, Senju Hashirama) was the First Hokage (初代火影, Shodai Hokage; Literally meaning "First or Founding Fire Shadow"). He helped create Konohagakure along with his younger brother, Tobirama, and the Uchiha clan.

Hashirama was originally the leader of the Senju clan. Under his leadership the Senju clan came to be regarded as one of the two most powerful clans in the world, rivaling the renowned battle-oriented Uchiha clan. Because of this, when someone hired the Senju clan, the opposing side would hire the Uchiha clan and vice-versa, causing frequent battles between the two. Eventually growing tired of the constant fighting, Hashirama and his clan approached the Uchiha and offered a truce with them. Allied with Madara and his clan, the two groups founded Konohagakure.
When deciding who should become the leader of Konoha, the villagers selected Hashirama over Madara for the title of First Hokage. Fearing that Hashirama would oppress the Uchiha, Madara left the village, and challenged Hashirama's rule. After an intense battle that included the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, Hashirama defeated Madara; and Hashirama's wife Mito became the Nine-Tails' first jinchūriki by sealing it within herself.^[2] In the aftermath of their battle, Madara was believed to have been killed, and the Valley of the End was created. Madara would later state that he fought that battle in order to obtain Hashirama's abilities. To commemorate the battle, two statues, of Madara and Hashirama, were carved into the earth surrounding the valley.

During his time as Hokage, Hashirama came into possession of a scroll filled with kinjutsu, which he sealed away in order to keep the jutsu within a secret. He also defeated Kakuzu, who had been sent to assassinate him by Takigakure. At some point, Hashirama gained control of several tailed beasts. He spread these beasts to other, newly-formed villages in an attempt to maintain peace and equalize the powers between the nations, but it did not stop the outbreak of the First Great Shinobi World War. Thinking about the future of Konoha, he and his younger brother, Tobirama Senju, trained the young Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hashirama would eventually die during the war, but not before passing on the title of Hokage to Tobirama.

Tobirama Senju

Tobirama Senju (千手扉間, Senju Tobirama)^[1] was the Second Hokage (二代目火影, Nidaime Hokage; Literally meaning "Second Fire Shadow"). He helped create Konohagakure along with his older brother, Hashirama, and the Uchiha clan.

Tobirama was a member of the Senju clan along with his leader and brother Hashirama. When, decades before the start of the series, Hashirama struck a peace treaty with Madara Uchiha, Tobirama helped them create Konoha. When Hashirama, the First Hokage, died, Tobirama was appointed as the Second Hokage. During his reign he was responsible for establishing Konoha's organizational system by setting up various organizations, such as the Academy, the ANBU, the Chūnin Exams and the Konoha Military Police Force which he created as a sign of trust towards the Uchiha clan. However, according to Madara, the Military Police was actually established to distance the Uchiha from the government of the village and place the clan under a tight surveillance under the ANBU.
Tobirama trained a three-man team of his own, Team Tobirama, which consisted of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane. During a mission in the First Great Shinobi World War, on which Team Tobirama performed with Danzō Shimura, Kagami Uchiha and Torifu Akimichi, they found themselves surrounded by twenty elite Cloud ninja, known as the Kinkaku Force. Tobirama, then realized that the only way any of them could escape alive was for one of them to be a decoy and sacrifice themselves; therefore having faith that he had trained his students well, he chose to sacrifice himself after he selected his prized student Hiruzen for the position of Third Hokage. Homura and Koharu would become Hiruzen's advisers. After giving the title of Hokage to Hiruzen, Tobirama went off to fight the enemies where he died a noble death in battle.

Hiruzen Sarutobi

Hiruzen Sarutobi (猿飛ヒルゼン, Sarutobi Hiruzen) was the Third Hokage (三代目火影, Sandaime Hokage; Literally meaning "Third Fire Shadow"). Together with Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, he was the student of the first two Hokage, Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, and the teacher of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.

Born to Sasuke Sarutobi of the Sarutobi clan, Hiruzen was a prodigy who truly stood out in talent. He and his former team-mates, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, were students of Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage. He had somewhat of a rivalry with Danzō Shimura ever since they were children, but Hiruzen always managed to pass milestones before Danzō. During the First Great Shinobi World War, Hiruzen, the rest of Team Tobirama, Danzō, Kagami Uchiha, and Torifu Akimichi were being pursued by enemy Kumogakure ninja. Knowing that one of them would need to distract their pursuers, a task that would result in their death, Hiruzen volunteered. Tobirama chose to be the decoy instead, but before leaving he appointed Hiruzen as the Third Hokage. 

Later in his life, Hiruzen became the teacher of Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, who would go on to become known as the Sannin. In time, he married Biwako and became the father of two children, Asuma Sarutobi and one who has yet to be seen in the series. This unnamed child would later give Hiruzen a grandson: Konohamaru Sarutobi.
While Orochimaru was his student, Hiruzen came to appreciate Orochimaru's natural talent, and often told Jiraiya to be more like him. He also came to recognize an inner malice and a lust for power within Orochimaru, and tried to steer his student away from these personality traits. After serving as Hokage for many years, Hiruzen started looking for a successor to the title. While he hoped to be able to give the position to Orochimaru, it became apparent that Orochimaru was only interested in the role of Hokage for the power it offered. His first choice was Jiraiya, but due to Jiraiya's journeys, Hiruzen instead passed on the role of Hokage to one of Jiraiya's pupils: Minato Namikaze.
Knowing fully well the dangers Minato's wife Kushina Uzumaki (then the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox) would face in childbirth (as the seal holding the tailed beast is prone to weakening at this point in time), he sent his wife Biwako and a few ANBU for security to let her give birth outside the village. Nonetheless, the rogue Madara Uchiha would track them to release the Nine-Tails and order it to attack Konohagakure, while Minato faced Madara, Hiruzen lead Konoha to combat the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. He would then arrive to the scene when Minato decided to seal the Nine-Tails in Naruto, forcing Hiruzen to resume the role of Hokage. He saw to it that the orphaned Naruto would be safe by keeping the identity of his father a secret.^[3]
After reacquiring his title, Hiruzen began investigating a number of disappearances within Konoha. Upon reaching the source of the abductions, he found Orochimaru to be the one responsible. Having used those that he kidnapped as test subjects in his quest to gain immortality, Orochimaru allowed his former master a chance to kill him. Ultimately, Hiruzen was unable to bring himself to kill his former prodigy, allowing Orochimaru to escape.^[4]
Hiruzen was one of four Konoha elders involved in the massacre of the Uchiha clan. He tried to find a peaceful alternative, but negotiations fell through and, against his wishes, Itachi Uchiha was ordered to wipe out the Uchiha. Itachi proved unable to kill his brother, Sasuke Uchiha, so Hiruzen promised Itachi to keep Sasuke safe.

Minato Namikaze

 

Minato Namikaze (波風ミナト, Namikaze Minato), also known as Konoha's Yellow Flash (木ノ葉の黄色い閃光, Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō; English "Yellow Flash of the Leaf"), was the Fourth Hokage (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage; Literally meaning "Fourth Fire Shadow"). He was the student of Jiraiya and the teacher of Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin. He was also the husband of Kushina Uzumaki and the father of Naruto Uzumaki.  

When Minato was in the Ninja Academy, his classmate and future wife Kushina Uzumaki thought he looked "flaky" and even "girly". He nevertheless dreamed of becoming acknowledged by the Konoha villagers by becoming Hokage, which Kushina considered to be an impossible dream. Later, when Kushina was kidnapped by Kumogakure ninja, Minato was the only Konoha ninja 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 "flaky", she fell in love with him.
According to those who knew him, Minato was a very talented ninja, having been considered a rare genius that appeared only once a generation. He graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of ten, and was added to a genin team under the tutelage of Jiraiya. Jiraiya took a special interest in Minato, and accepted him as an apprentice, amongst other things teaching him the Summoning Technique. Jiraiya even believed Minato might be the Child of the Prophecy, someone who would someday save the world.


In time, Minato was put in charge of a genin team of his own, consisting of Rin, Obito Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake. During the Third Great 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 destroy the opposing Iwagakure ninja. He then returned to his team, just in time to save Kakashi and Rin from another group of Iwa forces; he was too late to save Obito. When Kakashi and Rin recovered from the ordeal, Minato helped them complete the mission.


When the war ended, Minato, not yet thirty years of age, was chosen to become the Fourth Hokage.^[2] At some point during his reign he read Jiraiya's first book. He liked the main character's determination, believing he was just like Jiraiya. Since Kushina was pregnant with their son, Minato informed Jiraiya that they planned 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 this would make him Naruto's godfather, but they insisted that this was a good thing.^[3]
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 secretly be delivered in a remote location outside Konoha. ANBU would guard the area and Minato would maintain the seal while Kushina went into labor. Soon after Naruto was born they were found by Madara Uchiha. Madara killed all of the ANBU and took Naruto hostage, threatening to do the same to him. Minato was able to take Naruto back, but this gave Madara the chance to escape with Kushina. Minato found a safe place to put Naruto and then teleported to Kushina. He arrived in time to stop the Nine-Tails, having been removed from her body, from killing her, and teleported back to Naruto. Minato reunited mother and son and then went to help defend Konoha from the Nine-Tails.
Minato arrived in the early stages of the Nine-Tails' attack. After protecting the village from its massive chakra blast, Minato tried to reach the Third Hokage to inform him of what had happened. He was stopped by Madara, who tried to send him away. Minato escaped but was followed by Madara. When the two began fighting, Minato struggled to hit Madara, Madara being intangible whenever he was not currently attacking. By carefully timing his Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato was able to strike him during one of these rare moments and apply a seal for the Flying Thunder God Technique to him, allowing him to teleport to Madara whenever he wanted. He placed a Contract Seal on Madara to remove the Nine-Tails from his control, forcing Madara to flee.

When Minato returned to the village he found it in ruin. He summoned Gamabunta to distract the Nine-Tails long enough to teleport it away from the village to Naruto and Kushina's location. Kushina restrained it and, dying from the trauma of its removal, volunteered to have it sealed back into her body so that it would die with her. Distraught, Minato suggested instead using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on the Nine-Tails to weaken it and then seal the rest into Naruto. Kushina objected since this would mean Minato's death and give Naruto a horrible, lonely life. 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, the "Child of the Prophecy" Jiraiya had once told him about, would need the Nine-Tails' power to someday defeat Madara. After Minato used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on it, the Nine-Tails realized their intentions and tried to kill Naruto, but Minato and Kushina used their bodies to shield him.
While Kushina gave a few finals words to Naruto, Minato summoned Gerotora, 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, Minato sealed the rest of her chakra into Naruto so that she would be able to see him again when he was older, ending her life. He then sealed the Nine-Tails into Naruto. 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. Before he died he sealed his own chakra into Naruto so that he could someday see Naruto again too, specifically if ever the seal was about to break so that he could restore it.

Kakashi Hatake

Kakashi Hatake (はたけカカシ, Hatake Kakashi) is one of the main protagonists in the anime and manga series Naruto. He is a Konohagakure jōnin, a former ANBU, the leader of Team 7, and the only son of Sakumo Hatake. He is known worldwide for his use of the Sharingan, earning him the moniker Copy Ninja Kakashi (コピー忍者のカカシ, Kopī Ninja no Kakashi) and Kakashi of the Sharingan (写輪眼のカカシ, Sharingan no Kakashi).

Kakashi is the only son of Sakumo Hatake, also known as the "White Fang of Konoha". His mother apparently died when he was young. Kakashi has been known since a young age as an extremely gifted prodigy, regarded by many as the best of his generation. He had received top marks and had showed an innate aptitude for the ninja arts while in the academy. This permitted him to graduate from it in a single year at the top of his class at the age of 5, and then becoming a chūnin a year later. Despite his own success, his father fell into disgrace after choosing to save his comrades rather than complete an important mission, causing Konoha to suffer in the war effort. Dishonored, Sakumo took his own life after a deep depression and a drop in his skills, which caused Kakashi to lead his life strictly by the ninja code.
After graduating, Kakashi was then teamed with Obito Uchiha and Rin under the leadership of Minato Namikaze, the future Fourth Hokage. Kakashi's relationship with Obito and Rin was noted to be very similar to that of Sasuke's relationship with Naruto and Sakura respectively, as he is known as the indifferent genius who shared a complicated relationship with his team-mates, that later developed into a close friendship.

At the age of 13, soon after becoming a jōnin, Kakashi was assigned to lead Obito and Rin on a mission that would benefit Konoha in the ongoing Third Great Shinobi World War. They were to destroy a bridge being used by Iwagakure forces to move into Kusagakure. This would also be Konoha's first huge offensive move in the war. On their way to the bridge, Rin was kidnapped by two Iwagakure ninja named Kakkō and Taiseki. Obito immediately suggested that they rescue her, but Kakashi disagreed on the basis that they needed to complete their mission, opting not to make the same mistake his father did. Obito would not hear of it and stubbornly left to save Rin, but not before mentioning that he believed Kakashi's father, the White Fang, was a true hero. Shortly after parting ways, Kakashi reflected on Obito's words and Rin's prior kindness. He realized that his father was not wrong after all, which prompted him to join Obito in the rescue effort.
Kakashi arrived in time to save Obito from Taiseki, using his father's blade to combat him. Despite the 2-to-1 disadvantage, Taiseki was able to attack and damage Kakashi's left eye, who took the blow that was intended for Obito, giving him a permanent scar. In sheer terror and desire to protect Kakashi, Obito finally awakened his Sharingan, allowing him to see through his opponent's camouflage jutsu, kill the attacker, and continue on to Rin. Once they located Rin and Kakkō, Kakashi and Obito teamed up to defeat the latter. Kakashi and Obito freed Rin, but just as Kakashi's team was about to leave, Kakkō attempted to trap them with a crushing technique, causing a cave-in.
While trying to escape, Obito pushed Kakashi out of the path of a falling boulder, causing himself to be crushed beneath it instead. Knowing his life was at an end, Obito instructed Rin to implant his left Sharingan into Kakashi's damaged eye. Rin complied, and as soon as the surgery was completed Kakashi used the Sharingan and his Chidori to kill Kakkō. He then returned to Obito to see if there was anything he could do for him, but the place was turning into shambles, forcing Kakashi and Rin to leave him behind. With the help of Minato, they ultimately completed their mission, allowing them to mourn Obito's death.

Following the success of his first mission as a jōnin, Kakashi became well-known among all five great countries for the extensive use of his Sharingan, gaining him a reputation as "the man who has copied over a thousand jutsu," hence his nickname. Kakashi joined the Konoha ANBU a few years later. He later left for unknown reasons, but maintained strong connections with the ANBU. He once had a mission wherein one of his team-mates, Iruka Umino, was injured, paving the way for the latter to become an instructor at the Ninja Academy. When Iruka was having doubts at being assigned to be the homeroom teacher of Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi served to remind him of his real reasons for wanting the post in the first place.
Kakashi eventually became a team leader, and tested many genin. As the Third Hokage told Iruka, Kakashi had never passed any of them due to their inability to live up to his expectations of working as a team.

Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke Uchiha (うちはサスケ, Uchiha Sasuke) is a main character in the series and anime, Naruto. Although he starts off as one of the protagonists, as the story progresses, he becomes one of the series' most dynamic major antagonists. Sasuke is one of the two remaining members of the Uchiha clan, a former member of Team Kakashi, a missing-nin from Konohagakure, the leader of the now-disbanded Taka, an associate of Akatsuki, and an international criminal.

Being the youngest son of Konoha Military Police Force captain and Uchiha clan head Fugaku Uchiha and his wife Mikoto and named after the father of the Third Hokage, Sasuke grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Itachi Uchiha. Itachi was an acknowledged prodigy who was viewed by the Uchiha clan as a genius, and whose work would further strengthen the bonds between the village and the clan. Sasuke's father in particular took an active interest in Itachi. Itachi, on the other hand, was rather ambivalent and full of oddly conflicting undercurrents, acknowledging Sasuke by taking interest in his progress as a ninja when even their father did not, but spending little quality time with Sasuke. Even after Sasuke enrolled in the Ninja Academy, he was still unable to escape Itachi's shadow. Despite consistently scoring at the top of every class, Sasuke failed to receive any recognition from his father, who defined Sasuke's success only in terms of his older brother. Itachi acknowledged the rivalry Sasuke felt, telling him, "We are brothers. I am the wall you must climb over, so you and I will continue to exist together."
Itachi's relationship with his father deteriorated further after Itachi was questioned by other members of the Uchiha clan regarding the apparent suicide of his best friend, Shisui. As Itachi's behavior became increasingly bizarre, Sasuke's father began spending more time with Sasuke, and began teaching him the Great Fireball Technique, a common family jutsu seen as a sign of coming of age in the Uchiha clan. After only one week of training, Sasuke (age 7 at the time) performed the jutsu in front of his father, proving himself a genius as well in his own right and finally receiving his father's recognition. Sasuke's father told him that he could now proudly wear the clan's emblem on his back. Following this, Sasuke also received a stern warning not to follow in Itachi's footsteps any further.
Shortly thereafter, Itachi massacred every member of the Uchiha clan, sparing only Sasuke, saying that he was not even worth killing. In addition, Itachi told him, "You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live... if you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me... and by all means flee, cling to your wretched life." Itachi also revealed to Sasuke where the secret meeting place of the Uchiha was hidden, and suggested that Sasuke go there to learn what the true history and purpose of the Sharingan was. He told him that "To awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, that he had to kill the person he was closest to", and that "When we battle, we should have the same eyes". Sasuke thought he had fainted after this, but later remembered that he had managed to stand back up, awaken his Sharingan, and pursue Itachi. Upon reaching Itachi, he managed to knock off his forehead protector. Itachi was seen shedding a tear as he was picking up the forehead protector. He then proceeded to incapacitate Sasuke, who awoke in the hospital remembering only that which Itachi wanted him to.

Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto was born as the son of the Fourth Hokage; Minato Namikaze and the Nine-Tails' second jinchūriki; Kushina Uzumaki. Naruto's parents had named him after the main character of Jiraiya's first book, making the Sannin his godfather.^[4]
Prior to Naruto's birth, his parents knew that the seal that kept the Nine-Tails within Kushina would be in danger of breaking during childbirth. To prevent that threat. Kushina was taken a short distance outside of the village to give birth in secret, with Biwako Sarutobi and Taji as her midwives, a few ANBU as security, and with Minato keeping the seal in place. Immediately after Kushina gave birth, Madara Uchiha appeared and took Naruto hostage, demanding Minato to step away from Kushina or he would kill the newborn child. Madara then used a clever diversion that forced Minato to transport the baby to a safer location, allowing him to escape with Kushina. By the time Minato could intervene, Madara had already succeeded in releasing the Nine-Tails.
Fortunately, Kushina (who survived the extraction thanks to her strong vitality) was saved by Minato and brought to Naruto, leaving the weakened mother to care for the sleeping Naruto while Minato went to combat Madara. To save the village, Minato sacrificed his life to seal the Nine-Tails within Naruto, believing that his son would someday have need of the demon's power to defeat Madara's threat once and for all.^[5] Suddenly orphaned, Naruto was left to grow up knowing nothing of his parents, receiving only his mother's last name since the Third Hokage felt that it was best that nobody knew that he was related to the Fourth Hokage.
Before Minato died, he asked that the villagers of Konoha view Naruto as a hero who had helped defeat the Nine-Tails. However, only a few of the villagers honored his request, while most instead resented him for containing the monster that had destroyed their home. In light of this, the Third Hokage decreed that nobody should ever speak of the truth about Naruto, hoping that their children would not resent him as they did. The children, however, followed their parents' lead, despite not knowing why. Apart from the Third Hokage, Iruka Umino was the only one who acted as a surrogate family to the young Naruto.