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Naruto’s Shinobi World used to be a lawless place where death and suffering were at the order of the day. All the ninjas in the series were aware of the fact that any mission they took could be their last. Still, they ventured on to make sure that the new generation would never have to suffer the way they did while growing up.
Although most of the time this was a success, there were some instances in which characters ended up having traumatic and horrible childhoods either way. In this list, we will talk about five Naruto characters who were able to enjoy their childhoods, as well as five whose infancy was full of abandonment and suffering.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s opinion. Sportskeeda does not claim ownership of any media used in this article unless otherwise specified.
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Ino and four other Naruto characters who grew up as happy children
1) Sakura Haruno
While most other students in Naruto’s class were part of a prominent Shinobi clan, Sakura was not. Her parents were simple civilians who led happy and calm lives before their daughter enrolled into the Academy. As such, Sakura was never afraid of her parents going out and dying while on a mission.
After she became a Ninja Academy student, Sakura’s happy life continued uninterrupted. She had a best friend who would protect her from bullies, loving parents who supported her dreams, and was one of the best pupils in her class.
2) Ino Yamanaka
As the daughter of one of Konoha’s most important clans, Ino was able to enjoy her childhood to the fullest. Due to her last name Yamanaka, she was respected and admired by her classmates, which boosted her confidence greatly as a child.
For most of her childhood, all Ino had to worry about was looking good for Sasuke, as he was her biggest concern. Her parents loved her, gave her everything she needed, and protected her from all the dangers of the outside world.
3) Kiba Inuzuka
Unlike Naruto, who acted overconfidently to hide his constant fear and pain, Kiba’s arrogance was developed due to his blissful childhood. He is a member of the Inuzuka clan, meaning he too received respect from his peers thanks to his family's last name.
He was also always accompanied by Akamaru, his loyal and adorable little puppy, who was there for him even during his worst moments. Kiba’s mother may have been a little rough with his training, but there is no doubt about how much she loved and cared for her children.
4) Shikamaru Nara
The Nara clan is a family of the laziest Shinobis that the world of Naruto has to offer. Yet, one thing the Naras excel at is to raise their children in a loving and stimulating environment. No matter how much Shikaku would complain about having to help Shikamaru from time to time, he would always be there for his son.
Shikamaru’s childhood was filled with happy moments playing in the park with Choji or learning strategy from his father in a game of Shogi. His major concern was finding a soft spot to watch the cloud go by before taking his nap for the day.
5) Choji Akimichi
One of the most important factors in a child’s development is having a balanced and healthy diet. Choji was born in the Akimichi clan, so he had sufficient meals every day of his life. If he ever felt hungry, he could always count on the bags of chips given to him by his parents.
Choji was raised to be one of the kindest and most cheerful kids inside of Konoha’s walls, thanks to the amazing parenting skills that Choza and his wife possessed. Choji’s only concerns as a child were people calling him fat or finishing his supply of snacks for the day.
Haku and four other Naruto characters with the worst childhoods
1) Gaara
Sunagakure’s harsh environmental conditions made it hard for the village to sustain itself without any kind of Shinobi work. On top of that, the Daimyo of their land caused the village to go through a major economic crisis. To show potential clients how powerful his village was, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, used his own son as a Jinchuriki experiment.
Rasa thought that showing the world how powerful his son was would help with their village's economy. However, all the Kazekage managed to cause with his reckless actions was to subject his own son to a childhood of pain and isolation. Most villagers hated Gaara, he was constantly tortured by the Ichibi inside of him, and his father saw him as nothing more than a broken weapon.
2) Haku Yuki
Yagura’s Bloody Mist will forever remain as one of the darkest period in Naruto’s history. Any individual in possession of a kekkei genkai would be haunted and killed because of their bloodline. If anyone was lucky enough to survive, they had to hide their powers from the people around them.
For a few years, Haku’s mother was able to keep her Ice Release a secret from her husband. Unfortunately, it didn't make Haku’s childhood happy, but at least it was bearable.
This all changed after his father found out Haku’s mother had a kekkei genkai, a revelation that prompted him to kill his wife. Besides the trauma of witnessing his mother's death, Haku had to live with the guilt of killing his father in self-defense.
3) Kimimaro Kaguya
The Kaguya clan, the only direct descendants of Kaguya Otsutsuki, were known for being extremely aggressive and violent individuals. Some of their members were feared for having access to an ancient and dangerous kekkei genkai. This technique allowed the user to turn their bones into weapons harder than steel.
Kimimaro was born with this power, which terrified his fellow clan members. Their fear caused them to treat Kimimaro as a beast, locking him up almost every day and only allowing him out to fight. He was saved from this cruel fate by Orochimaru, who just wanted to use the child as a guinea pig for his experiments.
4) Karin Uzumaki
During the Third Great Shinobi War, many villages allied themselves to siege Uzushiogakure, the home of the Uzumaki clan. Most members of Naruto’s family were killed during the attack, with the few that survived running away and hiding in villages that granted them entry. However, not all the villages accepted the Uzumaki survivors as an act of goodwill.
Since she was little, Karin had to see how the wounded ninjas of her own village would have to bite and hurt her mother to be healed. They went so far as to kill her mother without any care for their actions. Shortly after her mother’s demise, Karin had to take her place as the village’s main healer, even though she was still a small child at the time.
5) Naruto Uzumaki
All Naruto fans are aware of the horrible and traumatizing childhood our protagonist had. Naruto was hated for being the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki, and was treated like a monster by most people inside of Konoha. They would deny him service, force him to be alone, and remind him every day of how much of a failure he was.
Some even tried to outright murder Naruto, thinking this would avenge the people killed by the Kyuubi. However, the protagonist spent his years trying to understand why people hated him so much for simply existing. Unfortunately, many years would have to pass before someone answered his questions.
Final thoughts
Although most Shinobi in Naruto’s world work day and night to keep children safe, the dangers of the world are often too hard to stop. Many children did grow up in loving and caring families that gave them the best childhood possible, but not everyone was as fortunate.
Negligence, fear, unjustified hatred, and even plain cruelty were the causes of great suffering for many children in Naruto. However, times change and people learn from their past actions and memories. On that note, maybe it is a good thing that people like Naruto and Sasuke are now in charge of creating a better world for the future generations of Konoha.
