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Kiba Inuzuka (犬塚キバ, Inuzuka Kiba) is a member of Konohagakure’s Inuzuka clan and a member of Team Kurenai. Despite his headstrong, and at times egotistic attitude, Kiba is loyal to his comrades and will do anything to protect them with his trusted canine companion, Akamaru, by his side.
Background[]
Kiba as a child.
At an early age, Akamaru was given to Kiba by his mother, Tsume, and the two became close soon afterwards. Before entering the Academy, Kiba and Akamaru played together a great deal, resulting in Tsume getting angry because they were not training enough.[1] During Kiba’s time at the Academy, he often cut class with Akamaru, stating that he was not suited to sit still at a desk, or otherwise getting into trouble, along with Chōji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, Shindō Shunsoku, and Naruto Uzumaki. Together, these four would skip class and go to the practice hall (not to practice). They thought that it was fun to also test the patience of Iruka Umino, their Academy instructor. One day, Kiba fell asleep during class and, upon waking, saw Naruto attempting to use the Transformation Technique to turn into the Third Hokage for the first time, and failing twice. This caused Kiba to find Naruto incompetent, and he became among those who ridiculed him.
At some time in the past, Kiba knew his father; but because of his mother’s attitude, Tsume scared him away, leaving him just with her and his sister Hana Inuzuka. Despite this, Kiba stays in a close relationship with his sister and mother,[2] although he seems to agree that Tsume is frightening.
Personality[]
Kiba is often short-tempered and impulsive (in stark contrast to his teammates Shino and Hinata) and can be prone to making mistakes when he becomes agitated in battle. He also enjoys combat even when facing particularly strong opponents. He cares deeply for Akamaru and is willing to do whatever is necessary to protect him. And, despite his rather gruff attitude, many of Kiba’s actions reveal that he is very close to his older sister, Hana, and remains fiercely loyal to his clan and has great pride in it.
Back at his academy days, Shino always considered Kiba a “problem child”, and wanted to be assigned to a team with anyone but him because of how different their personalities were to each other.[3] Even after becoming a team, Kiba often argues with Shino over what course of action the group should take, particularly when Shino advises caution. Kiba often sees himself as the group leader and becomes offended at any of Shino's actions that he perceives as challenging his leadership. It seems that there was a contest for leadership of Team 8 during the Chūnin Exams, as Kiba said Hinata voted for him. Despite his disagreements with Shino, he is very close to him, and respects his fighting capabilities. Shino on the other hand came to consider Kiba his best friend, and a partner whom he could trust more than anyone else by his side.[4] Despite Shino’s own stoic personality, he has shown a rather humorous side of his around Kiba, especially when he occasionally teases Kiba whenever he is boasting about how he is a suitable candidate for Hokage.
Appearance[]
Kiba’s personality and fighting style are further complemented by his wild appearance as, while clearly human, he has several physical traits more akin to animals. Like most of his clan, he has messy brown hair, sharp black eyes with vertical slit-like pupils, pronounced canine teeth, and nails that he can change into claws. He also has the distinctive red fang markings of the Inuzuka clan on his cheeks.
During Part I, Kiba’s attire consisted of dark greyish pants reaching his calves and a grey, hooded fur-lined coat, with the hood usually placed on his head, over an apparent plate of armor and fishnet undershirt seen in his fight with Sakon and Ukon, with a blue forehead protector and blue sandals.
During Part II, each piece of his outfit, including his forehead protector, switched to a black color, with his coat being replaced by what looks like a nowadays leather form fitting black jacket, with zips over the chest and sleeves, along with black pants and sandals, also zipped, matching the jacket. He, along with the rest of the Konoha 13, dons the standard Konohagakure shinobi outfit during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
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Kiba in the New Era.
Two years after the war, he has grown a goatee and his hair has gotten a bit longer, although less spiky. He wears the new standard flak jacket underneath an open fur coat, and black fingerless gloves. He wears grey pants reaching his calves and new sandals with a slight difference to his previous ones. As an adult, Kiba no longer wears his forehead protector. His hair has also gotten longer and is less unkempt. He wears a jacket similar to his genin outfit, with a mesh shirt underneath. He wears grey pants reaching down to his calves and regular shinobi sandals.
Abilities[]
Kiba and Akamaru displaying one of their advanced collaboration techniques.
Kiba’s fighting style revolves around collaboration techniques alongside his companion Akamaru, but he can also perfectly synchronize with his teammates, as demonstrated with Naruto during their fight against Tobi. Due to his senses and his partnership with Akamaru, he was the only genin to notice an Anbu stationed in the Chūnin Exams arena. He also favors using military pills to increase his chakra and that of Akamaru’s, and smoke bombs which rob the enemy of their vision, and due to his enhanced smell, has no problem pinpointing them. He could also use the smoke bombs to set up a trap, like creating a fake Akamaru that explodes and releases dozens of kunai, as seen during his fight against Ukon. By adulthood, Kiba is regarded as the closest Ninken-specialist to becoming Hokage, with his skills being respected since he was in the Academy.[5]
Ninjutsu[]
He can use the Shadow Clone Technique,[6] and an advanced version of the Transformation Technique, using them to perform his clan’s techniques. He is also capable of using Yang Release which augments both his body and senses.
Hiden Techniques[]
Kiba and Akamaru using Fang Passing Fang.
Main article: HidenKiba fights and attacks with the ferocity of a beast, utilizing his sharp claws and other attributes he gains from his Four Legs Technique. He can also turn Akamaru into an identical clone of himself so they can use the Fang Passing Fang, attacking the target at high-speed with excellent coordination. In dire circumstances, they can transform together into a two-headed wolf, and attack by using the Fang Wolf Fang, which is almost impossible to avoid, let alone block. By adding a shadow clone, they can transform into a three-headed wolf and use the more powerful Tail Chasing Fang Fang Rotating Fang.[7]
According to the third databook, Kiba learned how to use the Whirlwind Wolf Fang (旋風狼牙, Senpū Rōga) between Part I and Part II. Other than giving him the power to protect someone he cares about, it is unknown what it does or even if it is a weapon or a technique.[8]
Enhanced Senses[]
As an Inuzuka, Kiba has enhanced canine-related senses, his most powerful trait being his sense of smell, surpassing that of a ninja hound.[9][10] By concentrating his chakra to his nose, Kiba can increase his sense of smell a thousand-fold,[11] allowing him to easily distinguish people by their scent. It can clearly determine the physical condition of an individual, even from a considerable distance. Naturally, Kiba is the ideal choice to be included in all reconnaissance and tracking missions, as he can actively keep track of targets, identify traps that others would miss, and detect any nearby enemy shinobi; however, Kiba’s powerful sense of smell cannot detect stuff like a double-edged sword, as being exposed to strong odors can incapacitate him. This weakness resulted in his defeat by Naruto during the Chūnin Exams after the latter farted in Kiba’s face. In his two-headed wolf transformation, his revolution speed is so fast that he cannot see anything, but he can target his enemy with his sense of smell after Akamaru uses Dynamic Marking.[12]
Physical Prowess[]
Kiba using his clan’s fighting style.
Because of his clan’s practiced fighting style, Kiba has a quick reaction time, honed reflexes, and great physical strength and speed. He practices his clan’s famed “hit-and-run” tactics where he delivers powerful attacks to the opponent, moving at speeds that they can hardly keep up with. In Part II, during his fight against Tobi, not only was Kiba the only one able to discover where Tobi had teleported to, but fast enough to surprise Tobi and attack him from behind, without anyone noticing.[13] In the anime, he had shown impressive strength during the Fourth Shinobi World War, being able to take out a disguised White Zetsu clone with only a few blows, despite the latter being extremely durable.[14]
Part I[]
Ōizumi Village[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Ōizumi Village Crisis
Chūnin Exams (Arc)[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Chūnin Exams (Arc)
Konoha Crush (Arc)[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Konoha Crush (Arc)
Sasuke Recovery Mission[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Sasuke Recovery Mission
Part II[]
Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission
Akatsuki Suppression Mission[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Akatsuki Suppression Mission
Itachi Uchiha Pursuit Mission[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Itachi Uchiha Pursuit Mission
Pain’s Assault (Arc)[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Pain’s Assault (Arc)
Five Kage Summit (Arc)[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Five Kage Summit (Arc)
Fourth Shinobi World War (Arc)[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Fourth Shinobi World War (Arc)
Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki
New Era[]
Trivia[]
- The name “Kiba” (牙) means “fang”, while his family name “Inuzuka” means “dog hill”.
- His family name is a reference to the dog samurai Inuzuka from Kyokutei Bakin’s Nansō Satomi Hakkenden.
- According to databook(s):
- Kiba's hobby is to Template:Dog walking. Kiba also eats with Akamaru, and personally prepares Akamaru’s food. He also bathes with Akamaru, and lets Akamaru sleep in his bed with him, and while on missions, Kiba used to let Akamaru sleep in his sleeping bag — these days Kiba will just huddle up with Akamaru and share a blanket with him.
- Kiba wishes for a rematch with Naruto Uzumaki.
- Kiba’s favorite foods are beef, steak, jerky, and cartilage, whilst his least favorite foods are anything that is not chewy.
- Kiba has completed 50 official missions in total: 21 D-rank, 19 C-rank, 8 B-rank, 2 A-rank, 0 S-rank.
- Kiba’s favorite word is “Akamaru” (赤丸).
- According to Hyō no Sho, while in the Academy, Kiba had an A in taijutsu and positivity, a B in ninjutsu, and a C in genjutsu, cooperation, and classroom attitude.
- Kiba was ranked as 15th most popular character in the sixth and most recent Naruto character popularity poll. He was 12th in the fifth poll and 17th in the fourth.
- Kiba shares the same birthday with Akamaru, which is also the day when Tanabata starts in Japan.
- While stating that he hasn't noticed the increased size of Akamaru, in an omake of the Naruto: Shippūden episode 94, Kiba did admit to noticing Akamaru needing more shampoo for baths, accumulating more loose fur while being brushed, and a painful experience of the larger Akamaru jumping on Kiba’s head.
- On the back of Hyō no Sho, Kiba was seen wearing a light orange jacket and having light orange markings on his cheeks instead of the usual red ones and the grey colored jacket with black fur.
- Studio Pierrot has consistently given him the height of 168 cm at 16yrs, instead of 169.1cm as his Databook profile gives him.
Quotes[]
- (To Akamaru) “Yahoo! Akamaru, let’s do this!”
- (To Naruto) “You? Hokage? You can’t even beat me! No-one's deluded enough to think that you have what it takes to become the next Hokage, not even you! Tell you what, though…I’ll become Hokage in your place!”
- (To Ukon) “Let’s die together.”[15]
- (To Akamaru) “Akamaru…you fought well. We were able to delay them for quite a while because of you. We even managed to wound them. It’s all-right now, I’ll protect you.”[16]
- (To Shikamaru) “Heh, I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m always up for getting wild.”
- (To Tobi) “Don’t think you can run away from my nose.”[17]
- (About the war) “If I kick enough asses, I might even end up Hokage!”[18]
References[]
- ↑ Naruto episode 121
- ↑ Naruto chapter 429, page 8
- ↑ Konoha Hiden, chapter 8
- ↑ Konoha Hiden, chapter 8
- ↑ Retracing the NARUTO Anime's Ninja Way No.1
- ↑ Naruto chapter 633, page 2
- ↑ Naruto chapter 633, pages 3-4
- ↑ Third Databook, pages 20-21
- ↑ Third Databook, page 230
- ↑ Naruto chapter 364, pages 13-14
- ↑ Naruto chapter 76, page 19
- ↑ Naruto chapter 204, pages 3-7
- ↑ Naruto chapter 395, page 12
- ↑ Naruto: Shippūden episode 321
- ↑ Naruto chapter 204, page 19
- ↑ Naruto chapter 205, page 9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 395, page 12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 515, page 18