5 Things Naruto Fans Didn’t Know About Sasuke

When it comes to Naruto, there are few characters who can outdo Sasuke Uchiha. The stoic character is one of the franchise’s leads, and Sasuke has become an icon to otakus worldwide. Still, there are some things which fans may have overlooked about the Uchiha heir.

Created by Masashi Kishimoto, Sasuke Uchiha officially debuted in Naruto‘s third chapter back in 1994. The character grew up within the Uchiha clan, one of Konoha’s most powerful families thanks to their bloodline limit. However, Sasuke has his life turned upside-down as a child when his older brother Itachi murders the clan. The younger boy becomes obsessed with revenge following the massacre, and Sasuke decides his only true goal in life is to gain enough power to kill Itachi.

As Naruto progressed, fans learned there was much more to Sasuke than just overt vengeance. The Uchiha did hold a protective place for his Team 7 comrades, and his choice to abandon Konoha was as frustrating as it was intriguing. Sasuke’s teenage years saw him shift into a full-fledged criminal in his hopes of killing Itachi, but fans have since learned Sasuke ends his Naruto tenure as an unsuspecting hero.

Underneath Sasuke’s veneer, there are some highlights which fans may have never seen before. You can check out some lesser-known facts about the Uchiha in the slides below!

He’s Fun To Draw

Sasuke may have gotten flack during his younger years for being emo, but that doesn’t mean his style was a drag to draw. Masashi Kishimoto has said before that Sasuke is his favorite character to draw out of all the story’s cast. The character has had several iconic looks, but his attire under Orochimaru may be the hero’s most famous look of all. After all, the get-up does include one massive purple belt.

He Got His Own Spin-Off Manga

There are not many characters in Naruto who’ve gotten their own spin-offs, but Sasuke can say he is one of those lucky ones. The ninja got a one-off manga in October 2014 under Kenji Taira. Sasuke Uchiha’s Sharingan Legend was released in Shueisha’s Saikyo Jump and follows the heir as he gets Team Taka into some hilarious hijinks.

He’s Ridiculously Popular

You can blame it on Sasuke’s good looks; The character is just way too popular for his own good. According to Naruto popularity polls, the Uchiha is a character fans just love to hate. Every poll conducted for the franchise has seen Sasuke rank in the top four positions. And, according to the third Naruto databook, Sasuke is the series’ most popular character over all polls with over 33,000 votes.

His Mangekyo Sharingan Is Unique

The Mangekyo Sharingan is a terrible power to wield, and Sasuke learned the true weight of its power once he got it. The Uchiha was gifted the final Sharingan tier after his brother Itachi passed away, and Sasuke’s is different than any other Mangekyo Sharingan out there. Instead of three points, Sasuke’s eye has six points thanks to its overlapping ellipses. Not only that, but Sasuke’s Sharingan also bares inverted coloring; The boy’s eyes appear to be black with red accents rather than red with black designs.

He’s Done A Lot Of Missions

Team 7 may have once bored Sasuke, but his position on the Kakashi-led team let the Uchiha in on plenty of missions. The ninja has officially completed 16 missions for Konoha in his life: 7 were D-rank while 6 where A-rank. He has no S-rank put to his resume, but Sasuke did complete 1 C-rank and 2 B-rank as well. The stats are impressive considered Sasuke’s tally stopped being counted once he defected the village for Orochimaru, and there’s no telling what kind of missions Sasuke got up to with the twisted Sannin.

More Naruto News

You can check out Viz Media’s synopsis of Naruto below:

“Naruto is a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He’s got a wild sense of humor, but Naruto is completely serious about his mission to be the world’s greatest ninja!”

MORE: Naruto Creator Reveals His Favorite Female Character

Author/artist Masashi Kishimoto was born in 1974 in rural Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Like many kids, he was first inspired to become a manga artist in elementary school when he read Dragon Ball. After spending time in art college, he won the Hop Step Award for new manga artists with his story Karakuri. After considering various genres for his next project, Kishimoto decided on a story steeped in traditional Japanese culture.

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His first version of Naruto, drawn in 1997, was a one-shot story about fox spirits; his final version, which debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, quickly became the most popular ninja manga in the world. The series would also spawn multiple anime series, movies, novels, video games and more.