Summary

While shinobi are popularly viewed as polar inverse to samurai , a new piece of officialNarutoart shows Konoha ’s Team 7 deliver no trouble playing the role of an ancient Japanese warrior when the place or delegacy requires it , make water buff conceive of what would happen if Almighty Masashi Kishimoto was ever to iterate the iconic ninja tale as a samurai classic .

The artwork introduce as a background for a May 2024 calendar was posted toNaruto ’s official X account,@NARUTO_into - en , and offered toNarutofans as a gift .

The piece , which usesthe classic Ukiyo - eastward artistry stylethat was pop during Japan ’s Edo period ( 1603 - 1868 ) , featuresthe members of Team 7- Naruto , Sasuke , and Sakura - wearing the armor and gear of a samurai . The image depicts the team member as higher - ranking samurai as show by the ornate and unequalled mark and medallion on their helmet and headwear .

Itachi Uchiha

Naruto’s Samurai Are as Skilled as Its Shinobi

Samurai Only Play a Minor Role in Naruto’s Story

While historically , the samurai were the more common belligerent used in Japan ’s internecine conflicts , they rarely survive inNaruto . or else , shinobi are the go - to fighting power used for conquest , defense , and security . Indeed , the only relevant - and depicted -samurai force inNarutoare the warrior from the Land of Iron .

Introduced in the Five Kage Summit Arc , the Land of Iron stand out from other Nation by continuing to rely on samurai for security and defense . Unlike other nations - such as Konoha ’s Land of Fire - that move off from this traditional Japanese practice , the Land of Iron not only uphold the dominance of samurai as its military force but also completely vacate the prescribed use of shinobi .

The Land of Iron stands alone as the lone community where samurai reign supreme , and like ninja in lawful Nipponese account , the manpower and charwoman of the Land of Iron hold sort of mystical , otherworldly renown . However , the samurai of the Land of Iron , are not your distinctive diachronic version of the bushi . Like their shinobi vis-a-vis , they also have the power to apply chakra and reach the myriad abilities it cave in users . Generally , their chakra is applied to their swordsmanship - the power that most samurai in real life rely on to stay alive .

Madara Uchiha from Naruto using his Mangekyo Sharingan

Kishimoto Never Wanted the Typical Samurai in His Ninja Tale

Kishimoto ’s setback of the samurai ’s role in Japanese story probably stems fromtheNarutocreator ’s original idea to createa truly " one - of - a - genial " ninja history . While he most carry this point via non - traditional aspects of the shinobi in the story , such as Naruto ’s blonde hair and gamey eyes , another aspect was putting the shinobi in positions of power and influence they never moderate - and conversely , shrinking the power and influence of samurai .

This official artwork , return equilibrate to the Naruto - Verse by depicting the samurai in the diachronic , traditional , and customary frontline posture they held in Japanese refinement and chronicle . It ’s a hypnotize chapeau - tip to the straight past , flippingNaruto ’s non - traditional estimate that the shinobi rule the man .

Narutois available fromManga Plusand onViz Media .

Naruto in a battle pose, throwing a kunai while he holds three more. Behind him, Kaguya and Madara can be seen.

Source:@NARUTO_into - en write up

Naruto Sakura Sasuke post time skip manga colored Team 7 Reunites during the War arc

Colored image from Naruto chapter 181 shows a young Sasuke and Naruto glaring at each other with kunai held in front of their throats with creator Masashi Kishimoto.