Warning: The following contains spoilers for “Naruto: The Whorl Within The Spiral,” by Masashi Kishimoto, translated by Mari Morimoto, and lettered by Snir Aharon, now available in English byViz Media.
Narutois a series made famous by its depiction of ninjas and their abilities. Masashi Kishimoto did a fabulous job of creating some of the most incredible characters in anime history. Many of them belong to prestigious clans that have a record of producing some of the strongest ninjas of all time.
The Uzumaki Clan falls into the same category. It was once renowned as one of the most powerful clans in the world. The clan was ultimately destroyed, and there was limited information available regarding the incident. But the Minato one-shot did shed some more light on thedestruction of the Uzumaki Clan.
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The Mightiest
The Uzumaki Clan resided in Uzushiogakure, and they became famous because of theirridiculously powerful sealing jutsu. Aside from their sealing jutsu, members of the Uzumaki Clan also possessed very high chakra reserves. They were distant relatives of the Senju Clan, the descendants of Asura Otsutsuki. However, the Uzumaki Clan members arguably had larger chakra reserves and life force. Due to this reason, many of them were chosen to be the jinchuriki of the tailed beasts. In addition to their incredible chakra, the members of the Uzumaki Clan had red hair, which made them easily distinguishable.
They were on good terms with the Hidden Leaf, and it was mainly because of their connection with the Senju Clan. Even the flak jackets of Hidden Leaf have the crest of the Uzumaki Clan on them. This also explains why three members of the Uzumaki Clan became jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. No village would willingly hand over control of their biggest weapon to untrustworthy people. The sealing of the Nine-Tails within Uzumaki Clan members started with Mito, who then passed the responsibility on to Kushina. She would have remained a jinchuriki for a long time if not for Obito’s attack on the Hidden Leaf, which forced Minato to seal the tailed beast inside their son, Naruto Uzumaki. While some may argue that Naruto is a Namikaze, it is hard to deny the similarities between Naruto and the members of the Uzumaki clan.
The Fall
It was stated that the Uzumaki Clan’s strength evoked fear in the hearts of the neighboring villages, and they decided to band together and destroy the clan. But it was never confirmed that the clan was fond of war. So, why were the other nations scared of the Uzumaki Clan? The reason was that the clan had many powerful ninjas in its ranks who were hired by other villages during the time of war.
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It is safe to assume that the side employing the services of the Uzumaki Clan had a massive edge over the rest. When the other nations saw how powerful the clan was, they must have realized the Uzumaki were not to be trifled with. In case the Uzumaki clan decided to fight collectively afterward, the other nations could withstand their power. So they ran the clan into the ground.
The Survivors
The Uzumaki Clan members lost everything, but some were smart enough to try other pastures. They relocated to other villages, where they tried to live ordinary lives. One of the most notable survivors of the Uzumaki Clan was Nagato. Nagato was a kind kid, but Madara planned to use him to further his goals. So, the Uchihaimplanted the Rinnegan in Nagato.
The young Uzumaki had no idea what the eyes could do until he used them to kill the ninjas responsible for the deaths of his parents. Nagato roamed the fields along with Yahiko and Konan, who were also war orphans. Eventually, they were tutored by Jiraiya, who immediately realized that Nagato had a lot of promise and could end up becoming the “Child of Prophecy”. However, due to Danzo’s evil machinations, Nagato strayed from the path of righteousness and sought to bring about world peace by force.
Another survivor of the Uzushiogakure tragedy was Kushina Uzumaki, who was taken to the Hidden Leaf to become thenext jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails. Kushina was a lively individual, but her red hair caused the other kids to bully her. Thankfully, Minato was by her side every single time, and he did his best to keep her safe. The two fell in love and had a kid named Naruto, who would go on to become the most famous ninja in history. As her chakra was sealed inside Naruto, Kushina taught him how to overcome the power of the Nine-Tails and use it for himself.
Recovery
The Uzumaki clan was once on the brink of extinction, but Naruto made sure that it would survive. After his marriage to Hinata, the Uzumaki Clan gained three new members. Currently,the only living Uzumakiare Naruto, Hinata, Boruto, and Himawari.
Boruto is the main protagonist ofNaruto’ssequel, which means another Uzumaki is at the center of things. Presently, he is among the most powerful characters in the series, and a lot of it is down to his lineage. It seems unlikely that any new members of the Uzumaki Clan will be revealed in the future, but it’s not impossible.
