Naruto: How Much Has Naruto Changed Since Season 1?

Once described as a "failure," Naruto Uzumaki, the titular protagonist of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, grew into a hero for the entire world, achieving his lifelong dream of becoming Hokage in the process. Naruto's journey from a problem child to a symbol of peace and cooperation between the Five Great Shinobi Countries is an incredible spectacle to experience, and a significant reason behind the franchise's global success.

With the guts to never give up, Naruto's exuberant personality and kindness allowed him to foster strong bonds and push rival nations on a path towards mutual understanding. This ability to draw people towards him helped Naruto overcome the isolation he suffered in his early years, due to his status as the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. In short, his coming-of-age was a central theme in Naruto, and a sign of how much he changes during the story.

The Demon Fox's Jinchuriki

Describing Naruto's childhood as harsh would be an understatement, as he had to bear the collective hatred of the Hidden Leaf village from an early age. Orphaned from birth and isolated from his peers, Naruto grew up desperately seeking attention, and his ultimate goal was to be acknowledged by the entire village.

This manifested in his dream of becoming Hokage, along with the many pranks he pulled, which provoked the ire of his peers and mentors. In the beginning, Naruto was far from achieving his dream as he failed to graduate from Konoha's Academy multiple times. However, an incident involving the Scroll of Seals led him to master the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, which impressed his instructor, Iruka Umino, enough to finally pass him.

From then on, Naruto found allies in Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, his mentor and comrades in Team 7, despite their initial differences. Over time, his perseverance and uncanny knack for developing clever strategies earned the respect of enemies and allies. That being said, he still played into the trope of a dumb shonen protagonist, and often required oversimplified breakdowns to grasp concepts, even though he was quite observant at times.

A Promise That Could Not Be Kept

During Part I, Naruto made huge leaps in his journey as a shinobi by mastering high-ranking techniques such as the Rasengan, which intensified his budding rivalry with Sasuke. Additionally, his warmth and benevolence proved crucial in the Chunin Exams and the Konoha Crush, where he fought and redeemed Gaara by empathizing with him as a fellow jinchuriki who faced ostracization.

This, along with his role in convincing Tsunade to become the Fifth Hokage, were telling signs of how his compassion could bring out the best in others. Soon after, this was put to the test when Sasuke chose to defect from Konoha to train with Orochimaru and attain greater power to avenge his clan.

Unable to accept this, Naruto promised Sakura that he would bring Sasuke back. Along with his allies from the village, Naruto pursued Sasuke and fought him at the Valley of the End, trying to reason with him the entire time. Regrettably, he faced defeat against his rival and could not stop him from leaving. This failure came to define Naruto's journey in Part II, as he refused to give up on Sasuke and still believed that he could fulfill his promise.

Hero Of The Hidden Leaf

After spending two years training with the Sannin Jiraiya, Naruto returned to Konoha and immediately found himself struggling to rein in the volatile Nine-Tails' chakra, to the point where he lost control and harmed Sakura. This incident left a huge impression on him, and he pledged to never rely on the Nine-Tails until he could adequately control it.

Naruto then devoted himself to attaining strength through other means. Eventually, after training with Kakashi, he developed a new jutsu by applying nature transformation to his Rasengan to create Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. This technique was achieved by condensing years of effort into a few days with the aid of shadow clones, in a feat that surpassed the capabilities of both Kakashi and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Soon after, Naruto had to deal with the death of his mentor, Jiraiya, who was killed by Pain, the Akatsuki's leader. Fortunately, he was able to find strength in his friends, who urged him to carry on the Sannin's legacy. Naruto then traveled to Mount Myoboku to train in senjutsu, shortly before Pain attacked the village to capture him. Arriving just after Pain destroyed most of Konoha, Naruto confronted the Rinnegan wielder, using his newly acquired Sage Mode abilities.

This fight featured a poignant clash of ideals, as the two sibling students of Jiraiya outlined how they sought to bring peace to the shinobi world. Whereas Pain sought to overcome differences through fear, Naruto pledged to find a better path, hinging on his ability to empathize with others and share their pain. Even after defeating Pain, Naruto refused to kill him, even though he could not forgive his enemy, as he sought to carry on Jiraiya's ideals. This moment was where Naruto truly came of age, showing signs of the maturity that he had come to embrace over the course of Part II. The aftermath of this battle saw him achieve his dream of being acknowledged, as he was now the hero who saved the Hidden Leaf.

The Child Of Prophecy

When the Fourth Shinobi World War commenced, Naruto was sent away to master the Nine-Tails' chakra, but returned to the battlefield as soon as he learned how to harness it. He fought non-stop for two days and was the beacon of hope leading the entire Allied Shinobi Forces onward. During the battle, his strength grew considerably, after being given chakra by all the tailed beasts while also syncing fully with the Nine-Tails and learning the fox's true name — Kurama.

His most prominent feats ranged from distributing his chakra among the Allied Shinobi Forces, to redeeming Obito Uchiha. Even after nearly dying when the Nine-Tails was extracted from him, Naruto returned even stronger with his newly awakened Six Paths Sage Mode. Fighting alongside Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi, he helped defeat Madara Uchiha, and later, Kaguya Otsutsuki, bringing the war to a close, and fulfilling his role as the Child of Prophecy who would save the world.

Unfortunately, there was still one major battle remaining, as he had to prevent Sasuke from enacting his new twisted vision for the world. The duo fought each other one final time at the Valley of the End, utterly decimating the landscape while losing both of their dominant arms in the process. Ultimately, Naruto was able to get through to his friend and make him see the error of his ways, as the two ended the Infinite Tsukuyomi and pledged to work together to achieve peace.

Konoha's Seventh Hokage

By the time he became the Seventh Hokage, Naruto was just as dedicated to his duties as a shinobi, but far more level-headed than before. As the strongest Kage of his time, he plays a crucial role in keeping the peace between the Five Great Shinobi Countries. Simultaneously, Naruto is also a devoted husband to his wife, Hinata Hyuga, as well as a caring father to Boruto and Himawari, even if his duties as Hokage prevent him from spending enough time with his family. Although he does struggle with parenting due to his own isolated upbringing, he is immensely proud of his children and regards the entire village as his family, upholding the Will of Fire like his predecessors.

Naruto is available to stream on Crunchyroll.