Yamato (Naruto)
One of the more talented members of
ANBU, Yamato is
Kakashi Hatake's replacement as the leader of Team Kakashi while Kakashi is recovering from a previous mission. Because Team Kakashi will not be going on an ANBU mission, he is forbidden to wear his ANBU mask and has been assigned the codename 'Yamato'; his real name is actually
Tenzo (テンゾウ). Yamato was chosen as the leader of Team Kakashi because according to the
Fifth Hokage, he had the best performance record in ANBU while serving under the
Third Hokage. He seems to have great respect for
Kakashi, and even worked with him during Kakashi's time in ANBU.
Yamato is able to use Mokuton Ninjutsu, which was previously thought to only be used by the
First Hokage. It is revealed that Yamato's abilities stem from an experiment done on him and 59 other children by Orochimaru. In this experiment, the DNA of the First Hokage was forced into the children in an attempt to give them the First's ability in Mokuton jutsu, as well as an unquantified ability to "control biju" (which the First himself apparently also possessed). Yamato is the only one of the children who survived.
Yamato is able to perform
a jutsu that forcibly reverses a biju transformation, and has used it on Naruto once.
As befits a top member of ANBU, Yamato projects a calm, stoic demeanor even in stressful situations. He also is not above using his powerful wood jutsus to create creature comforts, as when he creates an entire house for his team to "camp out" in while on a mission.
While being consistently good natured so far, Yamato claims to be a different sort of leader than Kakashi, one who is not above "ruling by the use of terror" when his team misbehaves or makes him impatient. Aside from his obviously intimidating skills as a ninja, however, this "terror" has so far primarily consisted of casting a creepy, "ghoul-eyes" expression at his charges, which seems more humorous than terrifying... though it does seem quite effective at shocking Naruto.
Despite his dark origins as a test subject, Yamato has not displayed a dark side or revealed much about his personality or any thoughts on his own history. He has instead stayed selflessly focused on his missions and protecting his young charges.
Assigned to meet with Sasori's spy and gather information on Orochimaru, Yamato leads his team to the World Bridge on foot. He chooses to use this travel time to let Sai, Naruto, and Sakura get to know each other a little better and bond before the main mission. Later in the arc, Yamato takes Naruto aside and tells him about the true cause of the damage done to the surrounding environment and the cut on Sakura's arm, that it had been caused by Naruto's four-tailed form, instead of Orochimaru, as Sakura had told him. She had lied about both in order to protect Naruto. However, Yamato tells him the truth due to the fact that he believes that Naruto will be stronger even with the Kyubi's chakra sealed off. Although using Kyubi's chakra may allow Naruto to rescue
Sasuke Uchiha faster, relying too much on it will hurt Naruto and all of his friends. Yamato decides to completely seal off Kyubi's chakra, stating that Naruto will not lose any power due to this because his true power comes from his own chakra, not that of the Kyubi.
Prior to the meeting at the bridge, Yamato went through Sai's belongings to find out about the mission given to him by
Danzo. Yamato's suspicions had been confirmed as his
Moku Bunshin (Wood Clone) spotted Sai leaving with Orochimaru. Following them, he discovered what appeared to be the deceased body of Sai but determined it to only be a fake created by Kabuto. Realizing that this meant that the enemy knew that he was following them. Yamato then had to decide whether to continue following them or call for backup. He decided to continue pursuit and his Moku Bunshin followed Orochimaru and his retinue back to their hideout.
Outside the hideout, Yamato revealed he was able to track Sai by slipping 'wood' pills into Sai's meal beforehand. These pills, even if crushed or smashed, would still allow Yamato to track it as it responds only to his chakra. He then gives Naruto and Sakura a pill each before they enter the hideout.
Yamato decided to infiltrate Orochimaru's hideout by using a Doton (Earth Element) jutsu to get underneath it. Once they are underground, Team Kakashi discovered that the hideout is surrounded by rocks. Naruto suggested using his Rasengan to break through the rocks, but was vetoed due to amount of noise it would make. Instead, Yamato simply exerted pressure on a crack in the rocks using wood summoned from one of his fingers, creating an entranceway large enough for the three of them. Once inside, he announced that the team would track down Sai first. Using the seed he planted on Sai, he led the others to where Sai was being held in a locked room. Forming a wooden skeleton key from his fingers, Yamato unlocked the room, allowing them to confront Sai. When asked about Danzo's intentions, Sai remained emotionless with his eyes closed until he smiled and replied that their assumptions about Danzo are incorrect. However, Naruto recognized Sai's fake smile for what it was and yelled that he was lying. Sai then stated that his mission was a failure and revealed that Danzo was indeed planning an attempt at the destruction of Konoha as it exists today.
Confronting Sai about his supposed lack of emotions and his attachment to his art book as a link to his brother, Yamato recounted that Danzo had special training for Ne operatives to eliminate emotions. This training was similar to the former
Genin graduation exam in
Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village), where fellow students, or in this case family members, fought each other to the death, implying that Sai killed his brother. Sai has denied this, stating that his brother died of an illness and that the art book was meant to be a gift for him. The center page is blank because Sai forgot what he was going to draw there after his brother died.
After they return to the surface, Team Kakashi has tied Sai up. Yamato states that Sai will need to remain there, watched by one of his Moku Bunshins, while they go after Sasuke. However, before they can set out, Kabuto appears and frees Sai. Before a battle could develop, Sai, moved by Naruto's words and hoping to understand his relationship with his own brother, shocked everyone by helping Yamato immobilize Kabuto.
Once tied down, Kabuto was very forthcoming about the layout of the lair, although he provided no information about Sasuke's location. Team Kakashi split into two pairs: Naruto with Sai, and Sakura with Yamato, for their search inside the lair. Yamato told the other pair that if they found Sasuke, all they had to do was concentrate their chakra and he would know where they were due to the "seeds" he had given them earlier.
After Team Kakashi ran into Sasuke in Orochimaru's lair, they attempted to subdue him. However, Sasuke used a new ability,
Chidori Nagashi (One Thousand Birds Current) to stun both Sai and Naruto as they moved to attack him. Sakura attempted to attack Sasuke, but Yamato saw his counterattack coming, and pushed her out of the way. Sasuke's hiltless variant of the Kusanagi sword easily cut through the kunai Yamato attempted to parry with and stabbed him through the shoulder. Sasuke then sent Chidori Nagashi though his sword to spread numbness through Yamato's body.
After Sasuke apparently seals the Kyubi's power, Yamato uses the brief distraction to perform a wood jutsu that forces Sasuke's Kusanagi out of his shoulder. This catches Sasuke momentarily off guard and gives Yamato the chance to use his
Mokuton: Moku Joheki (Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall) jutsu in an attempt to enclose and capture Sasuke. However, Sasuke recovers in time to blow a large hole in the wood wall and escape.
It would seem that Yamato would return leadership of the team to Kakashi, having debriefed him of the recent events, and return to his regular duties as an ANBU member. However, though the last part of the manga shows Kakashi conscious, he still appears to be injured. When Naruto tells Sai of Team Kakashi's new mission, a picture shows Naruto, Sakura
and Yamato waiting, suggesting that Yamato is still leading the three young ninjas; however, it is still speculation.
Currently, Yamato is helping Kakashi train Naruto with his chakra's elemental affinity, wind. He is also there to help restrain the Kyubi, should its chakra get out of control. During this training, it is revealed that Yamato has elemental affinities for both water and earth. His altered DNA allows him to use both water and earth simultaneously, which creates his specialized wood-based Mokuton Jutsus. Yamato appears to control the Kyubi's chakra by sitting inside a special circle surrounded by dragon-headed wood pillars. He sits holding out his hands towards Naruto with a seal mark on the palm of one of his hands.
When Kakashi asks him how he's holding up maintaining the seal, Kakashi calls him Tenzo. Yamato then asks Kakashi to not call him by his real name, telling him to use his codename instead. Naruto has completed the first step in manipulating the nature of his chakra. Yamato has created a waterfall for Naruto to train with for the second step.
