Naruto Makes Surprise Appearance During Viral Volleyball Match

Naruto might not have much of an opportunity to play sports thanks to his current position as the Seventh Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, but that isn’t stopping the Shonen franchise from finding its way into numerous real life sporting events. With the ninjas of Konoha getting nods in the likes of the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, and the UFC, it seems that the jutsus of the ninja world have found their way into the volleyball games of Brazil. 

Darlan Ferreira Souza is a volleyball player in Brazil, who took the opportunity to throw out some hand signs that, in the world of Naruto, would usually release a fireball or lightning attack spawning from the fingertips of the ninja throwing out said sign. To this day, in the sequel series of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, there are still countless ninjas that call upon these hand signs to pull off their techniques, though with the power of Karma being implemented by heroes and villains alike, sometimes the jutsus may take a back seat to some wild attacks that are spawned from the celestial clan known as the Otsutsuki or technology spawned from the mind of Amado. 

One Reddit User was able to capture the moment that blended the worlds of anime and volleyball together, with Souza being unafraid to show off his love for the Hidden Leaf Village and the story of the Seventh Hokage that has continued in both the medium of anime and manga for decades:

The guy doing Jutsu to go serve in Volleyball 😂 Lol. Naruto is too culture…
byu/hi-high-hiy inNaruto

Currently, Boruto’s manga and anime are at two very different stages for the journey of the newest incarnation of Team 7, with the printed story continuing to see the Hidden Leaf face off against the Kara Organization. Of course, Kara is now under new management with Code leading the charge following the death of Jigen. As Code assembles a new group of rogue ninjas to help in avenging his master, it seems that Konoha is seeing some major benefits from adding Amado to its ranks as well.

What is your favorite anime reference in the world of professional sports? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Hidden Leaf Village.