Naruto was born as the son of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and Kurama's second jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki. Naruto's parents named him after the main character of Jiraiya's first book, thus making the Sannin his godfather.
Prior to Naruto's birth, his parents and the Third Hokage knew that the seal that kept Kurama 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 a secure, secret location with Biwako Sarutobi and Taji as her midwives, a few ANBU as security, and Minato to keep the seal in place. However, immediately after Kushina gave birth, Tobi appeared and took Naruto hostage, demanding that Minato step away from Kushina or he would kill Naruto. He 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, Tobi had already succeeded in releasing Kurama.
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 Tobi.[9] To save the village, Minato sacrificed his life to seal Kurama within Naruto, believing that his son would someday have need of the beast's power to defeat Tobi.[10] Suddenly orphaned, Naruto was left to grow up knowing nothing of his parents, receiving only his mother's last name because the Third Hokage thought that it was best that nobody knew that he was related to the Fourth Hokage.
Naruto as a child.
Before Minato died, he asked that the villagers of Konoha view Naruto as a hero who had helped defeat Kurama. However, only a few of the villagers honoured his request, while most instead resented him for containing the fox 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 by doing this, 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 along with the owner of Ramen Ichiraku: Teuchi and his daughter Ayame to some extent.
Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry during their childhood.
When Naruto first met Sasuke Uchiha in the Academy, they were matched to spar against each other. Naruto was excited at the opportunity to defeat Sasuke and become so popular like him, however he was easily beaten. By looking at Sasuke's eyes, Naruto realised that they were filled with hatred. When Iruka told them to make the reconciliation seal, they both refused.[13] Then, Naruto became determined to beat Sasuke, making him his rival. When Naruto found out that Sasuke was also an orphan, he was secretly happy for not being the only one alone and wanted to talk to him, but couldn't because of his jealousy toward Sasuke's skills.[14] Still, Naruto wished that, someday, Sasuke would acknowledge him as an equal.[15]
Prior to Naruto's birth, his parents and the Third Hokage knew that the seal that kept Kurama 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 a secure, secret location with Biwako Sarutobi and Taji as her midwives, a few ANBU as security, and Minato to keep the seal in place. However, immediately after Kushina gave birth, Tobi appeared and took Naruto hostage, demanding that Minato step away from Kushina or he would kill Naruto. He 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, Tobi had already succeeded in releasing Kurama.
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 Tobi.[9] To save the village, Minato sacrificed his life to seal Kurama within Naruto, believing that his son would someday have need of the beast's power to defeat Tobi.[10] Suddenly orphaned, Naruto was left to grow up knowing nothing of his parents, receiving only his mother's last name because the Third Hokage thought that it was best that nobody knew that he was related to the Fourth Hokage.
Naruto as a child.
Before Minato died, he asked that the villagers of Konoha view Naruto as a hero who had helped defeat Kurama. However, only a few of the villagers honoured his request, while most instead resented him for containing the fox 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 by doing this, 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 along with the owner of Ramen Ichiraku: Teuchi and his daughter Ayame to some extent.
Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry during their childhood.
When Naruto first met Sasuke Uchiha in the Academy, they were matched to spar against each other. Naruto was excited at the opportunity to defeat Sasuke and become so popular like him, however he was easily beaten. By looking at Sasuke's eyes, Naruto realised that they were filled with hatred. When Iruka told them to make the reconciliation seal, they both refused.[13] Then, Naruto became determined to beat Sasuke, making him his rival. When Naruto found out that Sasuke was also an orphan, he was secretly happy for not being the only one alone and wanted to talk to him, but couldn't because of his jealousy toward Sasuke's skills.[14] Still, Naruto wished that, someday, Sasuke would acknowledge him as an equal.[15]
