Naruto Honors Sasuke’s Birthday With New Artwork

The Naruto series marks Sasuke Uchiha’s birthday as July 23rd, and so fans and industry figures alike are taking the day to show love and celebration. We’ve already posted Viz Media’s birthday tribute to Sasuke, now we have a tribute from one of the Naruto mobile games, which released a pretty awesome piece of artwork.

Check out a rare depiction of Sasuke, the “Shadow Hokage” basking in the sunlight!

At this point, Sasuke is one of the most popular (arguably *the* most popular) character in the Naruto franchise, and there’s a lot built into his character saga that fans love and celebrate. Sasuke’s quest of vengeance against his brother Itachi remains one of the most beloved arcs of the original Naruto series, while his “Fated Battle Between Brothers” arc with Itachi was one of the most thrilling and harrowing arcs in Naruto: Shippuden. Since cementing his loyalty to, and friendship with, Naruto by the end of that latter series, Sasuke has re-emerged in Boruto as the quiet protector of Hidden Leaf, and Naruto’s greatest enforcer.

The exact age of Sasuke is unknown, but various clues from throughout the Naruto saga point to Mr. Uchiha being somewhere in his mid-thirties. He may have lost a few pieces of body in his long quest out of the darkness into the light, but what he’s lost in form, he’s made up for in function. The adult Sasuke has mastered some key jutsus, like a Rinnegan advanced enough for him to travel between dimensions, and bring other along.

Right now, the main arc of the Boruto manga has a key role for Sasuke. The shadowy shinobi has made the chilling discovery that a new faction of the Otsutsuki Clan has targeted Hidden Leaf and Boruto – including the patriarch partner of the late Kaguya Otsutsuki. Now Sasuke has to race back to Hidden Leaf in time to let Naruto know what the threat is, just as the Otsutsuki patriarch, Jigen, steps out of the shadows to battle Naruto!

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Narutofollows 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.