Mangekuo

Hoshi Hanabi is Fuji's sixth counter. He reveals it for the first time in manga chapter 364, during the Singles 2 match against Rikkai Dai's Masaharu Nio in the National Finals.

When the opponent hits a cord ball, Fuji responds by launching the ball straight into the sky, out of anyone's field of vision. Due to a certain wind, the ball will then crash land at a very high speed, and with an irregular spin, it will bounce to the side. When first used, the ball bounced to the stadium seating. According to Sadaharu Inui, Hoshi Hanabi can be performed by Fuji because he can read the wind.

Characters
Note - Names are in Western order, with the given name before the family name.

Ryoma Echizen (越前 リョーマ, Echizen Ryōma?)
The protagonist of the series, Ryoma is a first year student at Seishun Academy and the son of Nanjiro Echizen, who was formerly known as "Samurai Nanjiro" during his days as a professional tennis player. He makes his first appearance when he criticizes a high school student about his tennis knowledge in a subway. He often says "mada mada dane" to his opponents, which is directly translated as "You still have some ways to go." in the Japanese manga. He is mainly seen drinking Ponta (Fanta in the manga or grape juice), or sleeping if not playing tennis. Favorite move: Twist Serve and Drive B.

Kunimitsu Tezuka (手塚 国光, Tezuka Kunimitsu?)
Tezuka is the captain of the tennis club and a third year student at Seishun Academy. A National-caliber player and vice-captain the year before the series took place, Tezuka is serious about everything — one of his trademark phrases is "Don't let your guard down." Tezuka puts his captaincy of the team and its performance before anything else, including his own pursuits. Favorite move: Zero Shiki and Tezuka Zone.

Shuichiro Oishi (大石 秀一郎, Ōishi Shūichirō?)
Oishi is a third year student at Seishun Academy and the vice-captain of the tennis club. Along with Eiji Kikumaru, he is part of Seigaku's "Golden Pair," a doubles team that made it to Nationals the year before the series takes place. He is very observant and patient baseline player, cited boring by Eiji. Oishi is a very responsible character and cares deeply about the team. Favorite move: Moon Volley.

Syuusuke Fuji (不二 周助, Fuji Syūsuke?)
Fuji is a third year student at Seishun Academy who is given the title "genius" due to his tactical skill on the tennis court. Fuji is often seen with a calm and content expression on his face, with his eyes seemingly closed from lightly smiling. However, when he is excited, provoked, or when playing seriously, Fuji reveals his sharp blue eyes. Fuji's tennis is counter-style, in which he uses elements of opponents' shots to send usually nonreturnable counter return shots. Favorite move: Triple Counters.

Eiji Kikumaru (菊丸 英二, Kikumaru Eiji?)
Eiji Kikumaru is a third year student at Seishun Academy and is part of the "Golden Pair," along with Shuichiro Oishi. Using his acrobatic play, he can return almost any ball, even those that seem out of human reach. Eiji is also known to have the sharpest vision on the team, with an exceptional talent for seeing fast moving objects. His favorite saying is "hoi hoi". when playing in games he always has a large smile on his face. Favorite move: Acrobatic play.

Takashi Kawamura (河村 隆, Kawamura Takashi?)
Takashi is a third year student at Seishun Academy and, according to the manga series, this is his first year as a regular. He is a shy and a soft-spoken person off the court, though still outspoken and stubborn when he makes a decision. However, he becomes extremely aggressive and loud once he grabs a racket. This change in his personality is marked by him shouting "Burning!!!". As the least skilled regular, he relies mostly on his power and aims to become the National middle school number one power player. Favorite move: Hadoukyu.

Sadaharu Inui (乾 貞治, Inui Sadaharu?)
Inui is a third year student at Seishun Academy. As a highly intelligent player, he plays what is called "Data Tennis," which involves collecting and analyzing data for a player in order to determine their weaknesses to the extent that he can determine the exact probability of certain shots being successful. Inui often manages the team training regimens, which usually involves contests or races of some kind, with many being forced to drink one of Inui's many infamous juice concoctions. Favorite move: Data Play.

Takeshi Momoshiro (桃城 武, Momoshiro Takeshi?)
Momoshiro is a second year student at Seishun Academy, known as Seigaku's number one rascal. He is an aggressive power player who uses the court and environmental conditions to his advantage. As the player who is the most open and friendly with everyone, Momoshiro is connected to everyone on the team on some level. Favorite move: Dunk Smash.

Kaoru Kaido (海堂 薫, Kaidō Kaoru?)
Kaido is a second year student at Seishun Academy whose nickname is "Viper," which fits him well as his signature move is the "Snake Shot," a curving forehand that drains an opponent's stamina by forcing them to chase the return. He wears a bandanna and often exhales, making a sound similar to a snake. He is often remarked as the hardest trainer of the team. Favorite move: Snake and Boomerang Snake.

 Notable differences

The anime is quite different from the manga version. For example, in the anime the Seigaku team goes on a field trip to train for the finals, whereas they did not in the manga. However, all the radios, mini dramas, CDs and games make references to this and act as if it had always taken place. Thus, someone who only read the manga might be confused by the different portrayals.

Notable differences include the addition of table tennis scenes and billiard scenes in the anime. Episodes in the anime also deal with Kevin Smith and the U.S. West Coast Team, whereas the American team does not exist within the manga. In the Kanto tournament where Seigaku faces Midoriyama in the manga, they switch the tournament draw in the anime, and put Josei Shonan to face Seigaku instead. Also, Ryoma faces Rokkaku's captain, Aoi Kentaro, in the Prefectural Semifinals, while the manga puts Kaidou against him. Events in the anime also take place at a different time than when they take place in the manga, such as Akaya Kirihara being introduced much earlier in the manga series.

While the manga occasionally attempts to try and explain how some of the seemingly impossible techniques are performed, such as the Tezuka Zone and Kikumaru's Seal Steps, the anime provides explanation and sometimes even exaggerates these techniques to a point where they becomes almost magical. This is possibly due to the fact that the use of animation in anime naturally enhances these effects, but at times the anime seems to deliberately exaggerate the effects in order to parody itself. In the animated movie, Tezuka's skill and power has been compared to that of the meteorite which led to the extinction of dinosaurs in a lengthy clip, a comparison that even the author found it so exaggerated that he found it funny.[citation needed] Another instance is Ryoma's anime-only Cyclone Smash, which blows Sanada away where the powerful smashes in the manga series can only blow away the opponent's racket. However, as the manga progressed, there were less explanations of the new techniques as some of them were either improved versions of previous techniques or new techniques that were based on the same principles.

At Orochimaru's lair, a sick Orochimaru was confined to his bed. As Kabuto exited to get more medicine, a blade made of lightning chakra shot towards Orochimaru through the door. Orochimaru quickly blocked it with his arms, and thought to himself that he did not recognize the shape manipulation, although the chakra itself seemed familiar. The blade belonged to Sasuke, who had stopped by to finish Orochimaru off before he left to take on Itachi. He claimed that he had nothing more to learn from Orochimaru. Then continued by mocking him for wasting his power and time, which angered Orochimaru.

After pinning Orochimaru's arms to the wall, Sasuke attempted to deliver a finishing blow, forcing Orochimaru to abandon his body and reveal his true form: a composite serpent-like entity made up of small white snakes. Sasuke activated his Cursed Seal Level 2, and began to fight Orochimaru. He compared Orochimaru's ambitions to how a snake dreams of flying, and told him that he would only get that chance in the talons of a hawk, as he sprouted his Cursed Seal wings.

After he severed Orochimaru's head from his body, Sasuke believed he had won. However, Orochimaru's poison paralyzed Sasuke, and the former then lunged at him, swallowing him whole. Sasuke found himself inside Orochimaru: the place where the body-transfer jutsu took place. Orochimaru relived a flashback of when he confronted Itachi while in Akatsuki. He found Sasuke's eyes to be similar to those of Itachi's on that day, and anticipated taking possession of those eyes. However, Sasuke took over the dimension with his Sharingan and Cursed Seal, and proceeded to turn the jutsu against Orochimaru. After the fight, Kabuto returned with the medicines, but viewed a scene consisting of Sasuke standing over Orochimaru. Kabuto asked Sasuke which one he was, to which Sasuke replied by showing Kabuto what had happened. Sasuke stated that he had merely taken over.

At the start of the series, one of the only techniques Naruto could do without fail was the Transformation Technique, and his own original variant of the technique called the Sexy Technique; a creative but almost completely useless diversionary jutsu, used simply to shock his instructors.[11] Naruto was also able to use simple E-rank abilities.
While under the tutelage of Jiraiya, Naruto's abilities had continued to improve; his prowess in ninjutsu and taijutsu had grown greatly, and he had also been taught some limited skill at dispelling genjutsu. However, the most valuable assets that Naruto had gained in his training with Jiraiya were an increased range of battle smarts and more knowledge of the basics of a shinobi, which he lacked during Part I. This, along with the skills and abilities Naruto has gained over the course of Part II, makes him a much more complete ninja. Unfortunately for him, with the exception of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken and throwing himself with clones (which are both risky moves), he is mainly limited to short-range combat. However, with his mastery of the Chakra Arms, he has a new method for attacking long-ranged.
During Part II, Naruto had regularly proven himself a match against the S-rank members of Akatsuki, Deidara acknowledged how strong he had become, even landing a blow on him; he was able to defeat Kakuzu using a clever strategy and his new Rasenshuriken; and later defeat all of Nagato's Six Paths of Pain, something no one else had ever accomplished. It had been said by Kakashi at different points in time that Naruto had surpassed Kakashi himself, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and his father. He was suggested to be Hokage in Tsunade's place by several villagers following Pain's invasion. Zetsu had noted that Naruto was stronger than Sasuke following Pain's invasion. Even the Nine-Tails, the strongest of the tailed beasts, commented on how powerful Naruto had become when they battled.
Being a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, Naruto possesses incredible stamina and vitality, the former of which is further augmented by the Nine-Tails sealed within him, and he apparently has some knowledge on fūinjutsu, as he knew how to use the key to undo and redo his seal after receiving Gerotora. Jiraiya had left Naruto with the key to help him complete an unknown technique which he, Naruto, and Minato have been working on, but never finished. Naruto stated that he was ready to complete it.
While searching for the Uchiha brothers, Itachi granted Naruto a portion of his power, in case Sasuke ever chose to revolt against Konoha. It is currently unknown what this power is yet.

Sasuke arrived at the Uchiha hideout, and confronted Itachi. The battle began with both of them seemingly using Taijutsu, soon ending with Sasuke cornering Itachi and deciding to ask him one last question before killing him off. Sasuke asked, "Who is he?" Sasuke recalled when Itachi had said that three of the Uchiha clan would have the ability to use the Mangekyō Sharingan, including himself, if Sasuke would be able to awaken his. Itachi explained that the person who had assisted him when he murdered the entire clan was none other than Madara Uchiha, one of the founders of Konoha, and revealed that one of the purposes of the Mangekyō Sharingan was to control the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox which he had done 16 years ago when it attacked Konoha. He also revealed that, once the Mangekyō Sharingan was activated, it would progressively lead to blindness. Itachi referred to Madara is the founder of Akatsuki and his mentor. It then turned out that Sasuke and Itachi's battle so far had been pure genjutsu. Itachi then finally activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, and revealed that the only way to stop the blindness was to take the eyes of another Sharingan user; he stated that this was the reason he had left Sasuke alive, and why he had pushed him to become stronger. After a flashback of his childhood, Sasuke stated, "Finally ... it all ends here." During their talk, Zetsu watched hidden from the ceiling, and his halves began to comment on the battle.

After securing him in place with a Shadow Clone, Itachi then proceeded to rip out Sasuke's eyes. It was revealed that the whole fight so far had been a genjutsu, namely Itachi's Tsukuyomi, which Sasuke had overcome.

Sasuke shortly lectured Itachi about the tools of the ninja, and how a tool was only as powerful as the ninja who used it. Itachi told Sasuke that he would make his dream, of ripping out his eyes, a reality, and readied the Amaterasu. Itachi and Sasuke both used the Great Fireball Jutsu, and Sasuke held a slight advantage until Itachi used Amaterasu, which burnt out Sasuke's fireball immediately, and melted through his remaining Curse Seal Level 2 wing, as well as scorching his body. Itachi prepared to rip the eyes out of the half-burned Sasuke, but the corpse was shown to be an empty shell left behind by Orochimaru's Kawamari (Shedding Skin) Jutsu, and the real Sasuke had dropped into the floor below. He used a new ninjutsu, named Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique, from down below. Itachi dodged, but it still burnt his arm. Soon it began to rain, and Sasuke said that this new jutsu was unavoidable. Zetsu continued watching the fight, narrating their movements and adding background to mysterious moves.

Tsunade returns to Konoha as the new Hokage. The villagers are eager to have her begin her official duties, but Naruto insists that she help Sasuke and Kakashi first. They run into Shikamaru along the way, who, given his history with women, is unhappy that the Hokage is a woman too. He later reluctantly has lunch with Team 10 to celebrate his appointment as a chūnin, the only advance in rank from the Chūnin Exams. Neji elsewhere tries to locate birds with his Byakugan, but can only see seven of eight. Tsunade heals Kakashi and Sasuke. Sakura is particularly happy with Sasuke's recovery, having stayed by his bedside since his encounter with Itachi. Guy pleads for Tsunade to look at Lee too.

Tsunade examines the damage to Lee's back and finds there are bone fragments lodged in his spine. Although she, and only she, could try removing them, Lee will die if she fails. Since her odds of success are only 50%, she advises he give up his dreams of being a ninja. To Guy's disappointment, Lee accepts his prognosis and leaves. While Team 10 is having lunch, Chōji insists that he get to have the last morsel of food, claiming it is the best. Asuma points out that he should train more and become a chūnin like Shikamaru, upsetting him. Sasuke, still recovering from his encounter with Itachi, thinks about how useless he was and how much Naruto has surpassed him. Orochimaru elsewhere sends his Sound Four to Konoha.

Naruto thinks about his lunch with Iruka. Iruka is happy with Naruto's development, but informs him that he will now need to start doing actual work. After the failed invasion of Konoha, the village is operating with a diminished manpower and ninja are being sent on more difficult missions and more often. Naruto is eager to start doing his part. After Team 10 has lunch, Ino tells Shikamaru that Chōji should go on a diet. Shikamaru defends him. Chōji tells Shikamaru that, now that he is a chūnin, his superiority to Sasuke and Neji is only more apparent. Shikamaru is unconcerned since he only wants to be himself, which he tells Chōji to strive for too. Naruto visits Sasuke in the hospital. Because so many others have shown a special interest in Naruto, Sasuke demands that they fight each other. Naruto accepts.

Over Sakura's objections, Naruto and Sasuke head to the hospital roof to fight. Regarding the battle casually, Naruto asks Sasuke to put on his Konoha headband. Sasuke refuses since that would mean that they are equals, upsetting Naruto for not acknowledging himself as Konoha ninja. Naruto surrounds Sasuke with shadow clones, which Sasuke destroys with his Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. As the smoke clears Sasuke sees that one clone has survived and is helping Naruto form the Rasengan. He uses his own Chidori and they charge at each other. Sakura screams for them to stop.

Being the youngest son of Konoha Military Police Force captain and Uchiha clan head Fugaku Uchiha and his wife Mikoto and named after the father of the Third Hokage, Sasuke grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Itachi Uchiha. Itachi was an acknowledged prodigy who was viewed by the Uchiha clan as a genius, and whose work would further strengthen the bonds between the village and the clan. Sasuke's father in particular took an active interest in Itachi. Itachi, on the other hand, was rather ambivalent and full of oddly conflicting undercurrents, acknowledging Sasuke by taking interest in his progress as a ninja when even their father did not, but spending little quality time with Sasuke. Even after Sasuke enrolled in the Ninja Academy, he was still unable to escape Itachi's shadow. Despite consistently scoring at the top of every class, Sasuke failed to receive any recognition from his father, who defined Sasuke's success only in terms of his older brother. Itachi acknowledged the rivalry Sasuke felt, telling him, "We are brothers. I am the wall you must climb over, so you and I will continue to exist together."

Itachi's relationship with his father deteriorated further after Itachi was questioned by other members of the Uchiha clan regarding the apparent suicide of his best friend, Shisui. As Itachi's behavior became increasingly bizarre, Sasuke's father began spending more time with Sasuke, and began teaching him the Great Fireball Technique, a common family jutsu seen as a sign of coming of age in the Uchiha clan. When Sasuke first tried to perform the jutsu, he only had a small flame come out and after that, some smoke. His father said that Itachi was able to do it on his first try at Sasuke's age, which disappointed him. Later, with one week of training, Sasuke (age 7 at the time) performed the jutsu in front of his father, proving himself a genius as well in his own right and finally receiving his father's recognition. Sasuke's father told him that he could now proudly wear the clan's emblem on his back. Following this, Sasuke also received a stern warning not to follow in Itachi's footsteps any further, surprising him as before, he was told to be like him; and his father showing he was proud of Sasuke for the first time the same way as he used to with Itachi.
Sasuke activates his Sharingan for the first time.JacceAdded by Jacce
Shortly thereafter, Itachi massacred every member of the Uchiha clan, sparing only Sasuke, saying that he was not even worth killing. In addition, Itachi told him, "You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live... if you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me... and by all means flee, cling to your wretched life." Itachi also revealed to Sasuke where the secret meeting place of the Uchiha was hidden, and suggested that Sasuke go there to learn what the true history and purpose of the Sharingan was. He told him that "to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan," he "had to kill the person he was closest to", and that "when we battle, we should have the same eyes". Sasuke thought he had fainted after this, but later remembered that he had managed to stand back up, awaken his Sharingan, and pursue Itachi. Upon reaching Itachi, he managed to knock off his forehead protector. Itachi was seen shedding a tear as he was picking up the forehead protector. He then proceeded to incapacitate Sasuke, who awoke in the hospital remembering only that which Itachi wanted him to.

Kakashi's personality is further emphasized by his generally lazy expression, aloof manner, relaxed voice, and minimalist attitude. In serious situations, however, he is shown to have a very stern and intense look. He is almost always seen in his Konoha ninja uniform, along with iron guard gloves reminiscent of his ANBU days. The cover page for chapter 16 also shows him wearing a chain necklace. Another noticeable feature to Kakashi, other than his unique left eye, is the thin scar running over it and down to his cheek. He is a tall, fit ninja, is characterized by his tall and spiky white hair, forehead protector regularly covering his scarred left eye, and his chronically visible mask. He was once mistaken by Chiyo for his father Sakumo Hatake, who he is considered to greatly resemble.

While it has yet to be revealed why, he has, since a young age, always been seen concealing the lower half of his face. What he looks like remains a point of interest for his students, who try to find out what he looks like in various omake specials in the series. Episode 101, which is devoted to Team 7 trying to remove their sensei's mask, and suggests that he is in fact very handsome, as seen from Teuchi and Ayame's reaction to seeing his face. In the few instances that he is seen without his mask, it has been seen that he has a narrow jaw-line; in these instances the parts of his face normally covered by his mask are obstructed from view.

Kakashi is the only son of Sakumo Hatake, also known as the "White Fang of Konoha". His mother apparently died when he was young. Kakashi has been known since a young age as an extremely gifted prodigy, regarded by many as the best of his generation. He had received top marks and had showed an innate aptitude for the ninja arts while in the academy. This permitted him to graduate from it in a single year at the top of his class at the age of 5, and then becoming a chūnin a year later. Despite his own success, his father fell into disgrace after choosing to save his comrades rather than complete an important mission, causing Konoha to suffer in the war effort. Dishonored, Sakumo took his own life after a deep depression and a drop in his skills, which caused Kakashi to lead his life strictly by the ninja code.
After graduating, Kakashi was then teamed with Obito Uchiha and Rin under the leadership of Minato Namikaze, the future Fourth Hokage. Kakashi's relationship with Obito and Rin was noted to be very similar to that of Sasuke's relationship with Naruto and Sakura respectively, as he is known as the indifferent genius who shared a complicated relationship with his team-mates, that later developed into a close friendship.