Asuma Sarutobi (猿飛 アスマ, Sarutobi Asuma) is the leader of Team 10 and son of Hiruzen Sarutobi. He had a falling out with his father when he was younger, and briefly left Konohagakure in protest. The two had not completely reconciled by the time of the Hiruzen's death. Asuma is usually seen smoking a cigarette, but will temporarily drop the habit when something is bothering him, such as when his father died. Among all his students, Asuma shares a particularly close relationship with Shikamaru Nara, and the two often play shogi or go together. Asuma frequently appears alongside Kurenai Yuhi, leading many characters to assume the two are a couple. Both deny this and promptly try to change the subject whenever it is brought up. During Part II of the series, however, Kurenai is revealed to be pregnant with Asuma's child, making their relationship clear. In battle, Asuma wields trench knives that can be infused with chakra. When infused with his wind-based chakra, Asuma can extend the blades' length and easily pierce through rock. After Asuma is killed by Hidan, a member of the criminal organization Akatsuki, these knuckles fall into Shikamaru's possession, and he uses them to defeat Hidan and avenge Asuma. Asuma's seiyū in the Japanese anime is Jūrōta Kosugi, and he is voiced by Doug Erholtz in the English adaptation.
Kakashi Hatake (はたけ カカシ, Hatake Kakashi) - where Kakashi is literally Japanese for "scarecrow" - is the leader of Team 7 and the sensei of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Kishimoto had originally intended for Kakashi to be introduced earlier in the series than he actually was, and created him as an easygoing person that would be able to keep the members of Team 7 in check. Kakashi treats his leadership position with a detached manner, and is consistently late to meetings as a result. In a gaiden on Kakashi's past, this is shown to be the result of an incident in which he witnessed the death of one of his teammates, Obito Uchiha, who gave Kakashi his Sharingan eye and imparted many of his habits, including his tardiness. With Obito's Sharingan, Kakashi has amassed a reputation as a skilled and powerful ninja, earning the moniker "Copy Ninja Kakashi" (コピー忍者のカカシ, Kopī Ninja no Kakashi). Although he mentors all three members of Team 7 early in the series, he concentrates on training Sasuke as the series continues, teaching him his Chidori technique; however, he is unable to prevent Sasuke from leaving the village to seek Orochimaru for greater power. Kakashi's seiyū in the Japanese anime is Kazuhiko Inoue, and his English voice actor is Dave Wittenberg.
Hinata Hyuga (日向 ヒナタ, Hyūga Hinata) is a member of Team 8 who suffers from a lack of self-confidence throughout the series. She is always reluctant to speak her mind or to do something that might antagonize another character, causing her difficulties whenever she is on a mission. This results in her effective expulsion from the Hyuga clan even though she is the eldest daughter of the clan's leader and thus its heiress. Hinata's inability to stand up for herself caused her father to disown her at a young age, leaving her in the care of her teacher, Kurenai Yuhi. Soon after her introduction, Hinata begins training to become stronger, both to overcome her own weaknesses and to prove her worth to her father. Her efforts begin to prove successful towards the end of Part I, as her father takes a greater interest in her training.
Though Hinata's training has in large part been to prove herself, she also trains to try and win the attention of the series protagonist Naruto Uzumaki. Inspired by Naruto's confidence and determination, Hinata becomes infatuated with Naruto to the extent that she immediately blushes or faints upon seeing him. However, as the series progresses, she goes out of her way to help him. While Hinata is hesitant to openly admit her feelings for him, most characters are aware of her feelings. In the anime, Hinata's attempts to impress Naruto result in her creation of a new ability capable of instantly blocking or attacking anything in her extended field of vision. During Part II, Hinata finally admits her feelings to Naruto while protecting him from Pain; as yet, there has been no follow up to her confession. Her seiyū in the Japanese anime is Nana Mizuki, and her English voice actor is Stephanie Sheh.
Choji Akimichi (秋道 チョウジ, Akimichi Chōji) is a member of Team 10 who is typified by his deep love for food to the extent that he always has a snack with him during the series. Though his habit of always eating gives him a relatively large appearance, Choji insists he is not fat, instead using explanations like being "big-boned". If someone refers to him as fat, Choji instantly becomes hostile and increases his resolve to battle. Shikamaru Nara has never found an issue with Choji's weight, instead choosing to look upon Choji's inner strength. Because of this, Choji regards him as his best friend, stating he would willingly give his life to defend Shikamaru. In battle, Choji can increase the size of his body to improve the amount of damage his strikes deal upon impact. His seiyū in the Japanese anime is Kentaro Ito and his English voice actor is Robbie Rist.
Kiba Inuzuka (犬塚 キバ, Inuzuka Kiba) is a member of Team 8 characterized by a number of dog-like traits such as being very protective of his teammates and super sensitive and extremely keen senses such as smell . Most apparent of his connection to dogs is the constant presence of his ninja dog (忍犬, ninken), Akamaru. Kiba is fiercely loyal to Akamaru, unwilling to abandon him and putting himself in harm's way for Akamaru's sake. In exchange for Kiba's devotion, Akamaru fights with him in battle; he uses his heightened senses to Kiba's advantage, and helps to double-team opponents with volleys of physical attacks. Since Akamaru is naturally better equipped for combat, Kiba usually modifies his own abilities at the start of a battle, growing claws and traveling on all four limbs to increase his speed. He can also drastically increase his sense of smell, and by the second half of the series he can use it to track things dogs cannot. Kiba's seiyū in the Japanese anime is Kōsuke Toriumi, and his English voice actor is Kyle Hebert.
