NAMIKAZE MINATO/FOURTH HOKAGE

First Manga Appearance: Chapter 1
First Anime Appearance: Naruto Episode 1
Name meaning: Fourth Fire Shadow
Hidden Village: Leaf Village
Real Name: Namikaze=Wind and waves, discord; Minato=Harbor, a name
Rank: Kage
Current Status: Deceased
Notable Features: Nicknamed "Konoha's Yellow Flash"
See also: Third Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, Rin

HISTORY:

The Fourth Hokage, born Namikaze Minato, sacrificed his life to seal the Kyuubi demon inside Naruto.At the age of ten Minato graduated from the Academy. Shortly afterwards he became the student of Jiraiya alongside two fellow team members. Under the Ero-Sennin he would greatly increase his skills and impress Jiraiya with his tenacity. Jiraiya would select Minato to carry on the heritage of toad summoning. His skills would further grow with the development of Rasengan and Hiraishin. The latter technique would grant him the nickname "Konoha's Yellow Flash" because of the way he and his bright yellow hair would flicker out of existence to appear elsewhere.

As the years passed Minato became Chuunin and later Jounin. As a Jounin he became sensei of the team of Hatake Kakashi, Rin and Uchiha Obito. As a gift for Kakashi's advancement to Jounin, Minato gave him a unique kunai marked with one of the Hiraishin transportation markers. Later in one particular battle, this technique allowed four Leaf ninjas to throw teleportation kunai at 50 Rock-Nin. Using the transportation technique, he was able to move from kunai to kunai while they were in the air, to wipe out all 50 with little trouble. After this battle, his student Rin used Kakashi's kunai to bring Minato to her location to protect her and an unconscious Kakashi from Rock ninja. Unfortunately by the time he arrived Uchiha Obito was already dead, he managed to save Kakashi and Rin though. They would later go on to fulfill their mission and help repel the Rock invasion.

In the months to come Minato would be selected by Sandaime Hokage to follow him as village leader. His first choice Orochimaru failed to live up to his expectations. The village was in very good hands however. Minato's love of his friends and the village would inspire all those around him. It was around this time he apparently fathered Naruto with Uzumaki Kushina, a kunoichi from the former Whirlpool Country. Minato then made the ultimate sacrifice when the Kyuubi came calling. Using one final technique he had developed, the sacrificial Shiki Fuujin, he managed to stop the beast and seal its spirit in the body of his newborn son Naruto. Though this resulted in Minato's death, he managed to save the village.

Years later during the invasion of Leaf by Sand and Sound, Orochimaru attempted to use the forbidden jutsu Edo Tensei to bring the bodies of the previous Hokage's back to fight for him. Minato's coffin was apparently close to emerging when the Third Hokage managed to stop its arrival. And with that Minato's heritage could continue to protect the village in the people he inspired and his son Naruto.