The Untold Truth Of Kushina Uzumaki

One of the biggest mysteries of "Naruto" has to do with the titular character's origins — specifically, his parentage. Naruto Uzumaki is introduced as an orphan who has the misfortune of having the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside of him. But it's not initially clear why or how this happened to him. Eventually, fans learn that Naruto is the son of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and Kushina Uzumaki, the previous host (known as a jinchuriki) of the Nine-Tailed Fox. It isn't until Naruto encounters Kushina's spirit that he fully realizes the major role she played in him being born as the Nine-Tailed Fox's next jinchuriki.

Unfortunately, Kushina's screen time is limited to that brief chat with Naruto and the flashbacks that lead up to her death and her son's birth. This doesn't seem to give fans much time to get to know her, aside from the bare facts of her status as Naruto's mother, Minato's wife, and the Nine-Tailed Fox's jinchuriki. But delving a little deeper into her story reveals a fascinating wealth of detail — and we're here to lay it out for you. This is the untold truth of Kushina Uzumaki.

Kushina attended the ninja academy in Konoha and later married the Fourth Hokage, the leader of the village. It's easy to assume, then, that Konoha had always been her home. But in reality, Kushina moved there from the lesser-known Uzushiogakure, which was the home of many members of the Uzumaki clan before its destruction.

In Episode 247, Kushina reveals to Naruto that she was unknowingly brought over to Konoha to be the village's next jinchuriki. As proved to be the case with Naruto's birth, this was a secret kept between the Hokage and a small handful of others. Kushina herself had no say in whether or not the beast would be sealed inside of her. Since Uzushiogakure and Konoha had strong ties and the previous Nine-Tails jinchuriki was also from the Uzumaki clan, it just made the most sense for Kushina to inherit the role. When Naruto asks why it specifically had to be her over another clan member, his mother explains that she had exceptionally strong chakra, which could keep the Nine-Tails under control. Even knowing this, it's hard not to feel sympathy for the scared little girl forced to leave home.

Even though Kushina despised her distinctive hair, it helped her out in more than one way. In fact, her red mane played a crucial role in saving her life, while also capturing the attention of the love of her life, Minato.

At some point after graduating from the academy, Kushina was kidnapped by several ninja from Kumogakure. As they walked off with her from the village, she intentionally yanked out her hair and created a trail with the long red strands. Kushina's classmate, Minato, noticed this trail of bright hair and easily took out her kidnappers. This was surprising to Kushina, since no one had ever come to her defense since she'd moved to Konoha. Minato explained to her that he'd always thought her red hair was beautiful, but had never stepped in when she was being bullied because he believed she was strong enough to handle herself. From that point on, Kushina found a new appreciation for her hair — and fell in love with Minato.

At first glance, Kushina looks like a loving young mother who probably doesn't get herself into many fist fights. However, she has the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox and Uzumaki blood dwelling within her, making her a true powerhouse — just like her son. As seen in Episode 246's flashbacks, young Kushina was able to take down all of her childhood bullies on her own, earning her the respect of Minato, widely considered to be a ninja prodigy. With her reputation as a fierce fighter established, she went from being known as "Tomato," whom everyone teased, to "Red-Hot Habanero," whom everyone feared. Even Naruto is terrified of his mother as she recalls those fights from her youth.

The full extent of Kushina's strength was made clear on the night of Naruto's birth. She survived having the Nine-Tailed Fox extracted from her body, a process that usually results in the jinchuriki's demise. Despite her near-death state, she was able to use her chakra to chain up the Nine-Tailed Fox long enough for Minato to seal it away within himself and Naruto. As if that wasn't already enough, the Nine-Tailed Fox's giant claw stabbed right through her stomach — and she still had time to say her farewells to her son and husband before finally dying.

Before Kushina became a mother to Naruto, she already had a group of young ninjas to look after. In "Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution," she makes homemade lunches for Minato's team (consisting of Kakashi, Obito, and Rin) during their training. She starts by giving Rin a big, affectionate hug after the young girl compliments her cooking. Then Obito acts stubborn and ungrateful for the food, which prompts Kushina to give him a smack on the head along with a good scolding. But as much as they love to argue, Kushina adores Obito, and even hopes her son will turn out just like him.

Her relationship with Kakashi was less affectionate, but still very important to her. When Kushina became pregnant, Minato entrusted Kakashi with the task of protecting her until the baby was born. As revealed by Episode 350, Kakashi devoted all his time to protecting the mother-to-be, to ensure that nothing bad would happen to her during her pregnancy. Sure, this was partially out of his obligation to follow through with the mission. But Minato wouldn't have put the lives of his wife and baby in Kakashi's hands unless he trusted the bond Kushina had built with his students.

Despite living through a time of war and turmoil, Kushina was not the type of person who easily showed fear. She was such a tough cookie, she bounced right back after being kidnapped. But everyone has at least one thing they're truly and deeply afraid of, and Kushina was no exception.

During her brief encounter with Mikoto, Kushina asked if giving birth was painful with a seriously horrified look on her face. She never got an answer from Mikoto, but she learned that night that her fears were on point. As Kushina experienced labor, Minato grew extremely concerned: He had never seen her in that much pain before. Though Naruto's birth was far from a normal one, Minato and Kushina's concerns were the ones all first-time parents who don't know what to expect when it comes to birthing a baby have. Unfortunately, with the Masked Man and the Nine-Tailed Fox on the loose, labor pains would end up being the least of Kushina's worries on that fateful night. But at least she got an answer to the question she asked Mikoto — and learned she was strong enough to deal with her worst fear.

In the "Naruto" universe, it appears to be customary for children to take the last name of their father. This was obviously not the case for Naruto, though, who got his last name from his mother. The intention behind this decision was most likely to hide the fact that Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage, a political figure with a huge target on his back. But regardless of these efforts to protect Naruto from anyone with a grudge against his dad, the young boy was still an easy target for bullies — and, worse, the infamous Akatsuki, who almost kill him multiple times.

If people had known Naruto was the son of Minato, he might have been in greater danger — but his peers would also have known he's close to one of the most respected ninja in the world. It's likely they would have treated him with a little more respect right from the start. Instead, he was treated like an outsider, just like his mother was when she first moved to Konoha. But despite it all, Naruto proudly bears the Uzumaki name, and earns his clan a lot of respect. It's a very potent way of doing Kushina proud.