Why did Toneri want Hinata in Naruto? Explained

Naruto fans often question why Toneri wanted Hinata, since it was a sudden plot point that had no buildup during the events of The Last movie. However, while Toneri was created for this film, the people in charge of the project in Studio Pierrot made sure that his interest in the Hyuga heir was heavily connected to the series' lore, which was rebuilding his clan and marrying her.

Toneri is part of the Branch of the Otsutsuki clan, who were introduced near the end of the original Naruto manga and have become a prominent force to deal with in Boruto.

His feelings for Hinata are heavily influenced by the events that took out Toneri's clans, and a desire to bring them back. This theme becomes prominent throughout the vast majority of the movie.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

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Toneri's reason for pursuing Hinata

Toneri wanted Hinata because he was in love with her and also aspired to revive his clan with her help. That was the main plot point of the movie, The Last, and why he eventually took Hinata away from the Hidden Leaf Village, although these two plot points did serve to develop some major traits of the antagonist, the way he views humanity, and his existence.

Toneri spent most of his life isolated on the moon and didn't develop proper emotional maturity, which is why he has a superficial idea of what love truly is, and that is prevalent throughout the entirety of the film. That is one of the biggest reasons why he fails to convince Hinata Hyuga to stay by his side during the events of the film.

On the other hand, since the Hyuga clan descended from the Branch of the Otsutsuki, Toneri also wanted Hinata out of convenience to revive his family. He also stated how the Byakugan eyes of Hanabi, Hinata's younger sister, allowed him to start developing the Tenseigan, which can only happen with this process for a member of the Otsutsuki clan.

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Toneri's goals in Naruto, explained

Toneri as seen in The Last (Image via Studio Pierrot)

As aforementioned, the answer to the question of why Toneri wanted Hinata was that he was in love with her and wanted to repopulate his clan. However, he also had other motivations, and one of them was his general disdain for humanity— mainly due to the fact he claimed that they had wasted "the gift of chakra" and deserved to be punished for such sin.

Toneri even attempts to crash the moon onto the earth to destroy it, because he claims that was decreed by Hamura Otsutsuki several centuries ago. His goal was to grow stronger with Hanabi's eyes to develop the Tenseigan, and then proceed to destroy the entirety of the planet so he could reshape it into something more fitting with his vision.

Ultimately, while Toneri was one of the strongest villains in Naruto, his undoing was his own immaturity and lack of understanding of humanity, and even Otsutsuki lore. That is emphasized in one dialogue with Hinata where she states that Hamura wanted to aid humanity, which enrages Toneri, starting his fall from grace in the movie.

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