Are you wondering why Naruto is named after his mother? You don't know why Minato Namikaze didn't give him his name? Why didn't we get a Naruto Namikaze? Manga Zone knows the answer and will explain it to you in this blog article! 💡
Naruto's life was always in peril and danger, but he was safer as an Uzumaki than as a Namikaze.
Many questions have been asked as to why Naruto was named as an Uzumaki and not a Namikaze. Since the Uzumaki clan was completely wiped out and this peaceful clan is in danger because they are too powerful, many think it makes sense that Naruto would be given the last name of Namikaze and not the other way around. However, there is actually a logical reason as to why the Third Hokage still chose to use the endangered clan as Naruto's last name. 🍥
The Uzumaki clan
Mito Uzumaki, wife of Hasirama Senju and above all jinchuriki of Kyubi no longer has the strength to keep the nine-tailed fox demon inside her. 🦊 To solve this problem, the Uzumaki clan decided to send a young girl named Kushina. Indeed, the Uzumaki, due to their highly developed sealing techniques and their very specific chakra, are nominated to preserve Kyubi, so it is not surprising that a little girl would take on this heavy task.
Now that Kyubi has changed host, Kushina enters the ninja academy where she will be mocked for her red hair color, a distinctive sign among the Uzumaki. A distinctive sign which will work against her because she will be kidnapped by Kumo ninjas who have directly identified that she is the Jinchuriki of Konoha . But luckily for her a certain ninja named Minato Namikaze saved her and told her that he was able to save her thanks to her hair color.
From then on they always hung out together until even living under the same roof. Minato was very strong, rivaling the Kages without even being one. 💪🏻 Jiraiya said that he was a genius that we only saw every century. Due to this strength and his growing popularity, the Third Hokage decided that Minato would be his successor.
The power of Minato Namikaze
Minato is now Hokage. He is the strongest ninja in the village and known throughout the world, and therefore has a whole bunch of enemies. And that's why when Kushina announced to Minato that she was pregnant, the news had to remain extremely confidential. On the one hand to protect Naruto from Minato's enemies, but also for Kyubi. Indeed, there is only one time when the Kyubi seal weakens, and that is during childbirth. So if ill-intentioned people learn that Kyubi's Jinchuriki is pregnant, we might as well tell you that it's bad news for Konoha.🍃
To deal with this, a system has been put in place, almost no one should be aware of the news. Minato entrusted Kakashi to watch over Kushina and a secret location was made available for the birth.👶🏻 But as you know, on the day of the birth, Kyubi was able to escape because of Obito. There is panic in the village, Kurama destroys everything in his path. Minato must honor his role as Hokage and save his village. But unfortunately he has to involve his barely born child, so he seals half of Kyubi in him and the other half in Naruto. The village was saved despite heavy losses. But one person is the subject of debate: Naruto. Sarutobi made a promise to his parents to watch over Naruto and take care of him. But one question must be answered: what to call this child?
Why is Naruto named after his mother?
During the Third Shinobi War, before Naruto's birth, Minato Namikaze, Naruto's father, was known as the Yellow Lightning of Konoha⚡ , a fast and powerful ninja who single-handedly killed 1000 shinobi in an instant, winning thus war for Konoha and forcing the other nations to accept a peace treaty with him. During this time, Minato had made several enemies willing to risk any opportunity they found to get revenge on him and his family.
During the attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, immediately after Naruto's birth, Minato, the Fourth Hokage, and Kushina Uzumaki both sacrificed their lives to save Konoha and their child Naruto. Half of the tailed beast was sealed inside the newborn Naruto, after which both parents died.💀 Naruto's care was entrusted to the Third Hokage, who gave him the surname Uzumaki.
Why Naruto Uzumaki and not Namikaze?
In the past, after the massacre of the Uzumaki clan, the few Uzumaki survivors were hunted down and captured by people who wanted their powers for themselves, like Orochimaru. 🐍 However, this hunt had gradually reduced over time until it stopped completely. On the other hand, considering the tons of enemies Minato had made due to his exploits during the war and how the ninjas from the other villages were intent on killing everyone close to him if they were spotted, logically, it was much safer to name Naruto Uzumaki rather than Namikaze.
Neither Uzumaki nor Namikaze were ideal surnames, considering the dangers associated with them. Additionally, Naruto was never put up for adoption, because everyone hates him as the host of the demon fox who killed their beloved Fourth Hokage. The Third Hokage clearly wasn't taking good care of himself. As there was no recorded incident of hunting an Uzumaki aside from the massacre, the name was safer to take and the third hokage never revealed Naruto's relationship with Minato, although he did. later discovered the existence of his parents. It was the only way to protect him from his father's enemies. 🐱👤
When Naruto finally found out the truth about his parents, he said it with confidence, despite the risks, because he was strong enough to face anyone who dared to confront him for revenge. By then, he was freed from the dangers associated with surnames thanks to his powers and could tell anyone about his parents.
The Koseki Register
But apart from all that, there is another thing that can be added and which has a direct link with the culture of the manga's author: Masashi Kishimoto. Indeed in Japan there is a national family register called Koseki . In this one everything is there, births, acknowledgments of paternity, deaths, divorces, marriages... 👰🏻 In it you always need only one last name, and generally in Japan, the dominant last name, the one which has the most history and therefore importance must be preserved.
We can therefore imagine that the author favored Uzumaki because the clan is more important than Namikaze even if Minato was the fourth Hokage. And we can see this in other characters such as Sarada who took Uchiha, Shikadai who took Naza or even Inojin who took Yamanaka.
Finally, the choices of last names in Naruto are not that simple , especially in the case of Naruto. There was a real strategic issue for the good of the village and the child. But thanks to Naruto, peace between the villages was signed. ☮ No more need for stratagem, the last names will be based on Koseki. This is why Himawari and Boruto have the name Uzumaki and not Hyuga, because Naruto is the Seventh Hokage. You now have all the information necessary to understand the origin of Naruto's name and more generally, the choice of names in the world of shinobi.