Inari

Inari has spiky black hair over dark eyes. As a small boy he wore a yellow shirt beneath a green jumpsuit, with plain sandals, and would peer out at people from under the brim of a striped hat coloured blue and white; earlier still he went bareheaded in a plain blue jumpsuit. Reaching his pre-teen years, he let his hair grow out a little and took on clothing close to his grandfather's: a grey V-neck top without sleeves, trousers, and a towel draped around his neck.

At first Inari put up a tough front, a mask that hid the loneliness he carried after losing Kaiza. He spent long stretches shut away in his room, gazing at a photograph, torn between grief and resentment toward the man for dying, even though Kaiza had died protecting their village. He was also a natural contrarian, quick to take the side few others would. Meeting Naruto changed him: reminded of his father's convictions, he came to rally the townspeople against Gatō and wept when Naruto had to leave for Konoha. When the two met again years later, Inari had grown into a steady young man learning his grandfather's trade.

Born to Tsunami, Inari never knew his birth father and is a grandson of Tazuna. After his dog Pochi was thrown into the sea by a bully and Inari was pushed in after him, a man named Kaiza pulled him from the water and became a father to him, growing close to Tsunami as well. When Gatō had Kaiza executed, the cheerful boy soured into a sad and angry child with little hope, blaming Kaiza for failing the vow he had made to shield their home. Naruto's refusal to give up taught Inari that willpower can outweigh fate, and he grabbed his crossbow to lead the villagers in rising against Gatō's thugs, even trying to save his mother from her captors before Team Kakashi drove the criminals out for good. In his pre-teens he came to Konoha with Tazuna as a hired carpenter to help rebuild after Pain's attack, delighted to cross paths with Naruto and Sakura once more, unaware that asking after Sasuke touched a painful nerve. He is later shown pledging to reconstruct Ramen Ichiraku first and reuniting with everyone once the Infinite Tsukuyomi is broken. Some years on, Inari joined the other carpenters of the Land of Waves, hired to rebuild the ruined Blood Prison, and near the war's first anniversary he told Naruto about his grandfather's ambitious airship project, the Tobishachimaru, worrying it would bring unemployment even as it promised prosperity. His name comes from the Shintō deity of rice and worldly success.