Overview
The Naruto Shippuden anime series is the second anime based upon the manga series Naruto, created by the writer and artist Masashi Kishimoto. The series was directed by Hayato Date, music by Yasuharu Takanashi and -yaiba-. It's a shonen action series in the tradition of Dragon Ball. It is produced by the Studio Pierrot and has aired in Japan on both the TV Tokyo and Animax networks. It is mainly targeted toward a younger male audience, but does have cross gender appear. The first episode originally aired on February 15, 2007.

After Episode 135 of the original Naruto anime that aired in May of 2005, the series began a constant run of filler episodes that would last till the series end in February 2007. At which point, the Naruto Shippuden series picked up the Naruto manga story from the point of the beginning of a two year time skip and much of the younger cast grew and developed in skill. The series began to air in HD with Naruto Shippuden Episode 54, and switched to a standard widescreen format.
plot
Fifteen years ago the Village Hidden in the Leaves was attacked by a fearsome threat. The Nine-tailed Fox Demon claimed the lives of hundreds and of the village leader, the Fourth Hokage. Years later, the village is at peace and a troublemaking kid named Naruto Uzumaki struggled to graduate from Ninja Academy. His goal may be to become the next Hokage, but his true destiny will be much more complicated. The adventure begins now!

Two and a half years later after Sasuke abandoned the village and the team, Naruto has returned to find that all his fellow ninja have been promoted in rank. Sakura is a medical ninja, Gaara has become the Kazekage, and Kakashi is still the same. He's both grown and fallen behind. Naruto wants to be the best ninja in the land. He's done well so far, but with the looming danger posed by the mysterious Akatsuki organization, Naruto knows he must train harder than ever and leaves his village for intense exercises that will push him to his limits. He must fighter harder, train harder, and not be overcome by the weakening seal that holds the deadly Nine-tailed Fox inside.
Characters




Team 7




Team 7 - Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato
The Team 7 of the Hidden Leaf Village consist of Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and their replacement for Sasuke Uchiha, the enigmatic Sai. It is also known as Team Kakashi, named after their ninja master, Kakashi Hatake. Though Kakashi does not always lead the team. He is sometimes replaced by a fellow Jonin named Yamato, a surviving test subject of Orochimaru. Yamoto was injected with the D.N.A. of the First Hokage.

In the two years time during their training, Naruto was trained by the legendary Sannin of the Hidden Leaf, Jiraiya, the same man who taught Naruto to walk on water, summon frogs, and the power Rasengan. Sakura was trained by the Sannin and Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. Not only was Sakura painstakingly taught all of Tsunade's medical-jutsu, but her skill in hard-to-hand and Chakra control. Thus making her a force to be feared. The newest member, Sai uses a special ninjutsu that allows him to bring life to his elegantly painted creatures. Though, Sai's loyalties are in question due to his connections to a corrupt and power hungry elder of the Hidden Leaf Village, Danzo Shimura.



Team 8




Team 8 - Shino, Hinata, and Kiba
The Team 8 of the Hidden Leaf Village consists of Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka with his dog partner Akamaru. It's also known as Team Kurenai, named after their ninja master, Kurenai Yuuhi. The leader of Team 8 is Shino. Has a member of the Abumare Clan, he has a mastery of specialized ninjutsu that uses insects. Hinata Hyuga is a shy young girl and a member of the renowned Hyuga Clan. She can use a special Kekkei Genkai (genetic trait) called the Byakugan. Though timid and not as skilled as many of the ninja in her clan's main family, she loves Naruto and strives to push forward the way he does in hopes he will see her one day. Kiba is a member of the Inuzuka Clan specializes in having dog partners that they live with and train. Their senses can even equal their canine counterparts. Kurenai is one of the more talented Jonin class ninja. She is a master of the psychological ninjutsu called Genjutsu. With these techniques, she can manipulate what her opponent sees, hears, and even feels.



Team 9




Team 9 - Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, and Might Guy
The Team 9 of the Hidden Leaf Village consists of Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Rock Lee. It's also known as Team Guy, named after their ninja master, Might Guy. The members primarily masters in Taijutsu, hand-to-hand combat. The leader of Team 9 is Neji, a member of the branch family of the Hyuga Clan. He is masterful in the practices of the Byakugan Eyes and can use it to target the pressure points of an opponent to eliminate their use of justu. Tenten is a female ninja trained as a weapons master. Through the use of scrolls she can summon a wide variety of weapons. Rock Lee may be completely incapable of using either Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, but he holds a natural gift in his powers of Taijutsu. He was taken under the wing of their master Guy and taught how to unlock the gates of the human body to increase one's power. Might Guy is the self proclaimed rival of Kakashi Hatake and often challenges him to a variety of competition.



Team 10




Team 10 - Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Asuma
The Team 10 of the Hidden Leaf Village consists of Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi. It's also known as Team Asuma, named after their ninja master, Asuma Sarutobi. Though Ino is the self-appointed leader of Team 10, she holds that title because Shikamaru goes to extreme lengths to avoid what he sees as pointless arguments with women. At first appearing to be a lazy young man, Shikamaru is a tactical genius, and the only ninja to graduate from the Chunin Exams. Ino Yamanaka is a skilled female ninja in her clan's jutsu that is focused on mind control. She was at one time close childhood friends with Sakura Haruno, but the friendship turned to hostile rivalry after when both became enamored with Sasuke Uchiha. After the Chunin Exams, their hostilities cooled and became friends once more. Choji Akamichi is a talented and furiously loyal young ninja. He was originally bullied for his weight as a child but became close friends with Shikamaru. Shikamaru refuses to take on missions without his friend Choji. Asuma Sarutobi is one the more talented Jonin class ninja, and chain smoker, master in using Wind Chakra, and the son of the Third Hokage.



Hokage




Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage
The Hokage is the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village who leads the ninja clans. The Fourth Hokage is the first known Hokage of the series and the one who sacrificed his life to seal away the Nine-tails into Naruto and save the village, though the events of that night are shrouded in mystery, After the Fourth's death, the position of Hokage was taken back the man who held it previously, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He led the village from then on but fell in battle at the hands of one of his own former students. Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, was replaced by the grand daughter of the First Hokage, Tsunade. A gifted female ninja and a member of the Legendary Sannin. Her talents in medical jutsu and hand-to-hand combat are equal to her beauty. Though in her fifties, she uses a special jutsu that gives her a younger appearance. After the attack of the Akatsuki leader, Pain, on the village Tsunade was left unconscious with no idea when she would recover. Though Kakashi was seriously considered to take the place as the Sixth Hokage, the village elders selected Danzo Shimura. His reign was short lives when he was killed by Sasuka Uchiha for being the orchestrator of the Uchiha massacre. Tsunade would eventually recover to lead the Hidden Leaf again for the World War to come.



Jiraiya




Jiraiya
Jiraiya is a member of the Legendary Sannin ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village. He was at one time a pupil of the Third Hokage and he trained the Fourth Hokage. He also happens to be a lecher and the author of the popular racy romance novels. He trained Naruto in preparation for the Chunin Exams and taught him the art of Summoning frog spirits. When they both went in search for Tsunade to be the Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya would also teach Naruto the steps to use a special jutsu of the Fourth Hokage, the Rasengan. After Sasuke left the village, he would take Naruto with him to train for two years and guard him from the Akatsuki. Upon their return, Naruto has grown, but the threats only begin when it's discovered that the head of the Akatsuki is a former student of Jiraiya. To save the village, Jiraiya put his life on the line to stop one of his old pupils and use the extent of his Sage Art.



Sand Ninja




Sand Ninja - Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro
The Sand Ninja Team are ninja from the Hidden Sand Village in the Land of Wind, and it consists of Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. The Sand Team are a trio of siblings. The Sand Team are a trio of siblings. Similar to Naruto, Gaara is the living vessel one of Tailed Demons from the Land of Wind, Shukaku. Being dark and violent, he has command over the sand he keeps in the large urn on his back to have the ultimate defense. Temari is Gaara's older sister and uses wind based jutsu with her giant fan. A brilliant fighter on par with Shikamaru. Kankuro uses special puppet master jutsu that allows him to use deadly customized puppets from great distant. After two years, Garra has become the ruler of the Sand Village, the Kazekage; and the Akatsuki are after him for the Shukaku spirit.



Killer Bee




Killer Bee
Killer Bee is a ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village and one of the Jinchuuriki and he is also the younger brother of the Raikage. He is the vessel for the Eight-Tailed Octopus. The man raps all his words and underwent special training to the Bijuu spirit sealed with in him to call on it's power at will. He took Naruto to a special island for training to tame the Nine-tailed Fox and control it's incredible chakra.



The Kage Alliance




The Kage Alliance - Ei Yotsuki, Mei Terumi, Onoki, and Gaara
The Kage Alliance was formed of the five great shinobi villages across several nations. The members consist of the Fourth Raikage, Ei Yotsuki; the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi; the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki; the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara; and the Nation of Iron's Samurai leader, Mifune. They had originally gathered to meet on the issue of the growing threat of the Akatsuki and how to handle the issue of the Jinchuuriki vessels. Sasuke attacked the Kages, and Madara Uchiha made demands the surviving Junchuriki's be turned over to him. When they refused, Madara declared the beginning of the Fourth Shinobi World War.. After Tsunade recovered from a coma, she joined the alliance just before the start of the conflict. The five nations would unite under a single symbol to repel the Akatsuki army or the resurrected dead.



The Akatsuki




The Akatsuki
The Akatsuki are rogue ninjas all considered S-rank criminals and ninjas from the various villages from across the nations have been instructed to kill them on sight. In the original anime their motives and goal was unclear, but in the Naruto Shippuden series they became the primary villains Each member wears a black cloak covered in red clouds and their forehead protectors are marked with a slash through their village symbol, a common practice of proudly rogue ninja. The Akatsuki are paired into teams when they are sent on their missions. The goal is to gather all the Jinchuuriki (human vessels) that house the Bijuus (Tailed Spirits) for an unknown goal.It turns out they are gathering the Bijuus to fuse them into their original form the Ten-Tails.

The original founder of the Akatsuki is a ninja of mysterious powers named Pain, but the true force behind their deeds is a legendary ninja who has been pulling the strings of events for generations in the Land of Fire and released the Nine-tailed Fox to the world,Tobi.



Team Hawk




Team Hawk
Team Hawk was the team formed by Sasuke Uchiha after he abandoned and killed Orochimaru. The team is formed up of Suigetsu, Karin, Juugo, and led by Sasuke. Each member has unique abilities to assist him in his goal to kill his brother Itachi. Jugo is the being whom Orochimaru extracted the curse filled blood from. He is the source of curse cursed and thus can access level two curse seal with ease. He is also ravenously blood-thirsty, with Sasuke as his only control. Karin who is a rare seeker type ninja, can sense the Chakra of other nearby ninjas and has the ability to replenish chakra through drinking of her blood..Suigetsu, who is made of water, wields the deadly zanbato sword of the demon Zabuza.

After the death of Itachi, Tobi, who reveals himself as Madara Uchiha convinces Sasuke to join the Akatsuki. Though originally hesitant and confused, he accepts once Madara reveals the truth about Itachi's defection from the Leaf Village and the conspiracy that inspired the slaughter of the Uchiha Clan. The rage that was once targets solely onto his brother is now aimed at the people of the Leaf Village.

Kabuto fused with Orochimaru's remains.
is one of the legendary Sanin of the Hidden Leaf Village, and once a member of Akatsuki. He left in order to gain more power and immortality for himself. He originally wanted the body of Sasuke Uchiha as his latest vessel, but was betrayed and killed by his newest pupil. Later his remains were merged with the body of his disciple and Right-hand Kabuto. He would join the Akatsuki for some unknown reason and use Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu to create an army to rival the power of the greatest ninjas in history.