Naruto Makes a Surprise Appearance at One Fan's Graduation

Naruto has been around since 1999, and the series has certainly grown up with fans. With the title having dropped its anime in 2002, any lifelong fan of the series would be getting ready to enter adulthood, and Naruto Uzumaki can believe it. That is why the ninja made a surprise appearance at one fan's graduation... but not in the way you'd expect.

Over on Reddit, a user known as Michael Roddi hit up netizens to share a special moment they had at their high school graduation. The user put up a photo of him and some friends posing at the event, but the graduation gowns were not what you'd call standard.

You know, since they all bore the dreaded mark of the Akatsuki.

So my friends and I are about to graduate from high school... from r/Naruto

As you can see above, all of the friends are posing together in matching robes which the Akatsuki made famous. The black-and-red robes are hard to mistake, and the graduates did up the look with their own academic accolades. After all, some of the fans are rocking their cords as they set up a Shadow Clone jutsu, and fans are making sure to applaud the choice.

After all, these fans may have very well grown up on Naruto as they navigated school life. College is just on the horizon, and these fans could learn a thing or two about getting ready for dorm life from the anime. Sure, Naruto Uzumaki might not have been the brightest student on paper, but his genius instincts made him into one of the best ninjas the Leaf Village produced. And if you're needing some study inspiration, look no further than Shikamaru Nara and Sakura Haruno. Not even Sasuke Uchiha could best these two, and there's no doubt the pair would be Ivy League material if they stepped into our world!

So, which Akatsuki member do you consider to be the smartest...? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Naruto follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The series ran for 700 chapters overall, and was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex that ran from 2002 to 2017. The series was popular enough to warrant a sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations which is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.