The Yellow Flash of the Leaf

Minato Namikaze Preview (No Spoilers)

We all have that special character who stands out from the rest. It can be because of the way he or she looks or simply because they’re totally awesome in some way.

Minato Namikaze is one of those characters and Masashi Kishimoto has done a perfect job of painting the picture of a true legendary character and ninja when it comes to Minato. He is first presented as this mystery leader (Hokage) who ruled over the leaf village. Slowly as the viewers get to know the main protagonist, we get to see little by little a bit more of who this legend was and how powerful he was. But it was always the case that this character was so great and powerful. And even though he’s gone, the people still remember his name, The Yellow Flash of the Leaf.

Minato Namikaze AMV

Minato Namikaze Bio

Naruto Shippuden is the story which follows the ninja Naruto and his friends. Shippuden is the story that continues were the first part of the anime, ‘’Naruto’’ left us. Naruto Uzumaki has grown up and has become a little more mature. Naruto Shippuden is about Naruto who’s barking on a new adventure to save his fellow ninja, Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto makes his way home to the leaf village after being away on training with Jiraiya for over 2 years. But things will not be easy just because of the hard training Naruto has gone through. With the new dangerous enemy Akatsuki, Naruto will surely have to prove that he has gotten stronger to deal with this threat.

Minato Namikaze was the Fourth Hokage of the Leaf Village but is better known as "The Yellow Flash of the Leaf". He is seen as a legendary Ninja because of his speed and the power he possessed. Minato is the father of Naruto Uzumaki and the husband of Kushina Uzumaki. What lead to his death was the Nine Tails attack on the leaf village and because he sealed a part of the nine tails into his newborn son Naruto.

Minato has always been a gifted ninja since a young age. And has, since the ninja academy, had the dream of gaining the people’s respect and to be acknowledged by becoming the head ninja of the village, the Hokage. At the beginning, when Minato was young and had just started to attend the ninja academy, Kushina Uzumaki moved to the leaf village. She attended the same class as Minato and he instantly was drawn to her because of her beautiful red hair. As a ninja Minato was a genius – the kind of genius who only appears once in a generation. When Minato started in a three man team with the leadership of Jiraiya. That’s when Jiraiya saw something special in Minato and made him his apprentice and began teaching him many of his own personal abilities. Not long after that, Minato surpassed Jiraiya and because of Minato’s remarkable skills, Jiraiya started to believe that Minato might be the Child of the Prophecy. A ninja who someday would save the world.

Sometime after they all had graduated from the ninja academy, Kushina got kidnapped by hidden cloud village ninjas. The leaf village’s ninjas tried to find her but it was ultimately Minato who would find her because he noticed a trail of red hair which Kushina had left on the path to mark where they had taken her. All alone, Minato saved Kushina and on the way back to their village, Minato confessed his true feelings for Kushina. Expressing his feelings for her beautiful long red hair helped Kushina realize her love for Minato.

Later, when Minato had grown up and because of the power and intelligence he possessed, it was to no-one’s surprise that he would take the seat of the fourth Hokage of the leaf village. Out on missions, Minato had great respect and was feared by other ninjas. He had earned the nickname, The Yellow Flash of the Leaf. The nickname was quite fitting because of his god-like speed that no-one could match, to the point where other villages had gotten the order to run if they saw him. What eventually lead to Minato’s death was when the nine tailed demon fox attacked the leaf village and he was forced to sacrifice his own life in order to save the village and all it’s people, including his newborn son Naruto’s life.

Minato Namikaze Highlights

1. The Nine Tails Attack on the Leaf Village

This is how we all were introduced to the Naruto saga – with a demon fox named Nine Tails attacking the leaf village. This is an event where Minato’s power truly is shown and as the fourth Hokage, he shows no fear, only the courage and strength to protect his village. Also, here we can see why Minato Namikaze is a favorite among a lot of people. He is one of the first characters shown in the anime and he has always had a big role throughout the anime because a lot of characters speak very highly of him and always refer to him as a true legend. Much because he saved all their lives and the village.

In the fight with the Nine Tails (or his real name Kurama), Minato Namikaze shows just how powerful he is and why he is a legend in the ninja world. He shows off a lot of the different abilities he possesses like the Flying Thunder God Technique which gave him the nickname The Yellow Flash of the Leaf. An ability which allows him to move through space and time. In other words, to teleport at a very high speed.

2. Saving Kushina

This is a moment in the Naruto Shippuden series where we for the first time get to see Minato as a young ninja and how different he is from Naruto even though they have a lot in common, like the yellow spiky hair and similar personalities. Minato has a kind of laid back attitude which can be seen as shy but he explains when saving Kushina from three grown-up Ninja kidnappers that the reason why he didn’t help Kushina in school was because he knew just how strong she truly was and that she didn’t need help from others. After saving Kushina, she asks why he saved her despite always ignoring her in school. Minato answers softly with; "Because I know you’re strong, in body and spirit".

This is not only a scene which shows when Naruto’s parents fell in love but also shows, even as a child, how fast and strong Minato was at such a young age. To be able to take on three adult ninjas and save one of his own is no small feat.

3. The image of Yondaime/The Fourth Hokage

There is something that separates Minato Namikaze from the rest. Not just because he is a truly gifted ninja, but because he acts like a true hero. He is not arrogant and doesn’t take himself too seriously, which is why he acts as the perfect Hokage over the village. But what makes him such a favorite must be because it’s not until late in Naruto Shippuden when fans of the anime get to see his full face. It’s always been like a shadow or spirit when the adults and teachers of Naruto see a bit of his father in him. And as we can see, Naruto truly is the son of the legendary ninja Minato Namikaze.

Another thing that brings out the image of this legendary ninja is the mystery behind him. In the beginning, the only thing he was known for was that he saved the village and that he was a very powerful ninja. Another thing which makes Minato stand out is his special brand of kunai which are triple-edged and marked with the Flying Thunder God seals, which allows Minato to teleport to anywhere the kunai was thrown. As seen in the fight with Nine Tails, Minato had placed out his special kunai in order to teleport himself to many different locations in the case of an emergency or in order to gain the upperhand in a dangerous fight.

4. The Child of the Prophecy/Saviour of this World

When Jiraiya trained to be a sage at Mount Myouboku, the Great Toad Sage foretold that a student which Jiraiya takes on would be the Child of the Prophecy and the saviour of this world. But he foretold that this student would bring a great revolution to the world. This revolution would either be for a great change for the better of the ninja world or for the destruction of this world. Jiraiya thought Minato – who showed himself to have very special skills and intelligence – could be this Child of the Prophecy and took him on as his apprentice.

5. The Bond through Generations

This is a special bond which starts with Jiraiya who trains Minato and years after that, when Minato is grown-up, he trains Kakashi and when a new generation of ninjas come along, Kakashi becomes the leader of Naruto’s group. All of this is something that has great importance throughout the whole Naruto saga. This bond can be seen when Kakashi sees the image of his former teacher in his student when fighting against dangerous ninjas from Akatsuki. This is how Minato’s spirit in the anime is brought up many times and while watching Naruto grow up, we get to know why Minato is such a legend among these people who share the bond of friendship and respect.

Most special is when we get to see Jiraiya training his former student’s son. No-one tells Naruto about this of course, but he quickly learns this when growing-up. But it’s an amazing thing to witness as the creator of Naruto shows everyone how it’s all connected through these amazing characters.

I hope this was an inspiring read about the Legendary Yondaime Hokage.

Writer

Author: Daniel Bengtsson

The name is Daniel and I am a Anime Writer at 'Honey's Anime'. My passion is art perhaps why I love to draw/paint and also why I love anime and manga so much. Originally I come from Sweden but I love to travel. Other great interests of mine are language, philosophy, culture and of course video games and movies. And my motto is ''Vite militia est'' by Dante Alighieri.

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