Mizuki is a minor antagonist in the anime Naruto Shippuden, who first appeared in the original Naruto series as a chunin of Konohagakure and a former instructor at the Academy.
He is best known for betraying the Leaf Village and attempting to steal the forbidden scroll of sealings from Naruto, as well as revealing Naruto’s secret of being the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox. In this article, we will explore Mizuki’s background, personality, abilities, and role in the Naruto Shippuden anime.
Contents
All about Mizuki
[schemas]- Birthdate: October 21
- Sex: Male
- Age: Part I: 27
- Height: Part I: 179.4 cm
- Weight: Part I: 69.4 kg
- Blood type: AB
- Classification: Missing-nin
- Occupation: Academy Instructor
- Affiliation: Konohagakure/Otogakure
Mizuki’s Background
As revealed in the anime, Mizuki was originally a childhood friend of Iruka Umino, who stood up for him until he became jealous of Iruka’s popularity and talent.
Mizuki then pretended to be Iruka’s friend, while secretly trying to sabotage him and make him miserable. Mizuki also developed a twisted sense of justice, believing that he could do whatever it took to achieve his goals, even if it meant killing his comrades or betraying his village.
Mizuki’s ambition led him to encounter Orochimaru, who gave him a prototype cursed seal that enhanced his power and corrupted his mind. Mizuki became a loyal follower of Orochimaru, and sought to obtain the forbidden scroll of sealings, which contained many powerful and secret jutsu. He tricked Naruto into stealing the scroll for him, and then tried to kill him and Iruka, but was defeated by Naruto’s Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Mizuki was then imprisoned in the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility, where he plotted his escape and revenge. He led a prison revolt and sent two of his allies, Fuujin and Raijin, to Orochimaru.
He also underwent a series of experiments that transformed his body into a monstrous form, giving him enhanced strength, speed, and durability. He then confronted Naruto again, hoping to kill him and take the Nine-Tails’ chakra, but was once again defeated by Naruto’s Rasengan.
Mizuki’s Personality
Originally, Mizuki appeared to be very polite and kind-hearted, and was described to be a sweet man by his former fiancée, Tsubaki. In reality, he does not care for anything or anyone beyond his own rise in power.
He takes pride in the fact that he is not bound by things like morals or teamwork, and is willing to sacrifice whatever he has to in order to complete his goals.
His desire for power seems to come from what appears to be an inferiority complex, as he hypocritically cannot stand having anyone look down on him, despite enjoying looking down on others.
Although Tsubaki claimed that Mizuki was a sweet man before meeting Orochimaru, even that was a façade as he already showcased his underhanded and ruthless methods since childhood, as exemplified by his having a manipulated friendship with Iruka for his own benefits, and later murdering a comrade who suffered a minor injury, justifying his actions by claiming he is merely eliminating any potential hindrances for the mission’s smooth success. Mizuki’s defining characteristics are being greatly ambitious and dishonourable.
Mizuki’s craving for power and acknowledgement led him to hate Iruka for gaining more attention than him, and pretended to be Iruka’s friend in order to live off of that attention, as well as discreetly inflict misery on Iruka.
Because of this, during their second confrontation, Mizuki constantly mocked Iruka while refusing to surrender and repent no matter how many times Iruka tried to convince him to.
Due to his disregard for comradeship and friendship, Mizuki detests the Will of Fire, as shown by his insulting it when Iruka tried to encourage Mizuki to look back into it, and dismissing it as irritating nonsense.
In what is perhaps an attempt to make him even more of an antithesis to Naruto, Mizuki’s least favourite food is ramen, which happens to be Naruto’s favourite.
Mizuki also has a particular hatred for Naruto, to the point of seeing him only as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. His avarice even drove him to ignore Tsubaki’s love, having no more feelings for her himself, as he took advantage of her lingering affections for him and used her to benefit himself, and then attacking her when she begged him to stop, even physically tossing her aside later on.
Upon discovering that Naruto gained acknowledgement after risking his life to defend the village, Mizuki grew angrier than ever at him, while refusing to accept the boy’s heroism, and instead accused the villagers of being easily excited.
When Mizuki overheard the Third Hokage and the examination committee suspecting his field of conduct as a reason for not promoting him, he felt that they wronged him for accomplishing a mission no matter the cost, and developed a grudge against the village for feeling they neither appreciate nor understand his powers and efforts.
He reached his tipping point of betraying the village when Orochimaru praised his actions and gave him a cursed seal; Mizuki came to the delusion that Orochimaru truly acknowledged his potential, and held the renegade to high regard.
Mizuki believed if he went to Orochimaru, he would be granted even more power, and attempted to steal the Scroll of Seals as a means to please him.
Mizuki has proven himself to be sadistic; even as a child, he found satisfactions by watching Iruka wallow in misery of losing his parents, stating that having someone to look down on feels great.
Upon his second confrontation with Iruka and Naruto, Mizuki declared that he intends to kill them slowly and painfully, as payback for having him arrested.
During this, he constantly mocked Iruka’s ideals of comradeship and memories, while derogatorily regarding Naruto as a “monster fox” and “nine-tails brat”.
Mizuki’s Appearance
Mizuki has white shoulder-length hair with a slight hint of blue to it and green eyes. He wore the standard attire of the Konoha-nin before his defection, which included flak jacket and forehead protector that he wore like a bandanna.
Upon being sentenced to the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility in the anime, he wore the prisoner’s uniform of a grey tunic with matching pants, with his prisoner number on the back, and going barefoot.
During this time, he became much more muscular and well-defined in build to the point Naruto didn’t recognise him at first. When Mizuki escaped from prison, he changed into an opened black vest, tight black pants, and a dark brown belt which had a silver rectangular belt buckle.
When Mizuki drank the potion concocted from his cursed seal, he gained tiger-like stripes, which also gave him a more feral look. After the potion’s effect wore off and his cells began a self-destruction, Mizuki shrivelled up into a frail and decrepit old man, his skin darkened brown and his skin heavily wrinkled. However, Tsunade managed to stabilise his deterioration, and even restored his appearance to his original form, before his time in prison.
Mizuki’s Abilities
Mizuki is a skilled and versatile ninja, who has mastered various types of ninjutsu, such as transformation, genjutsu, puppetry, and earth release.
He is also proficient in using weapons, such as shuriken, swords, and kunai. He is especially adept at stealth and assassination, using his speed and agility to surprise and overwhelm his opponents.
Mizuki’s most notable ability is his cursed seal, which grants him a significant boost in his physical and chakra attributes, as well as access to new jutsu, such as animal cursed seal and soft physique modification.
The cursed seal also allows him to transform his body into a more beast-like form, increasing his strength, speed, durability, and senses. However, the cursed seal also has a downside, as it corrupts his mind and makes him more violent and unstable.
Ninjutsu
Mizuki gained mastery of a random assortment of techniques. While mostly improvised, he proved very capable of using them in creative combinations that Iruka just barely survived Mizuki was able to use Earth Release, which allowed him to hide underground and then stretch his arm from below to strike down his unsuspecting foe, and a combination of a binding illusion and controlling a simple puppet that wielded a sword to finish off a helpless target at a safe distance.
Physical Prowess
During his training while in prison, he obtained an extreme amount of raw strength, able to quickly pressure Iruka in their initial clash with a single hand. Also from his time spent in such darkness, Mizuki’s eyesight adapted to fighting in darkness and likewise able to seamlessly move about while keeping himself undetected.
Cursed Seal
Orochimaru granted Mizuki a tattoo which was a formula of a potion to transform one into a musclebound behemoth of himself with tremendous raw speed and strength.
By focusing his chakra, he could further the transformation into a tiger-like being with even greater strength but reduced speed. However, the potion was incomplete and shortly afterwards he was reduced to an emaciated old man.
Although Tsunade managed to save his life and reverse the aging effects of the failed potion, Mizuki would permanently lose his capacities as a ninja.
Role in Naruto Shippuden
Mizuki’s role in Naruto Shippuden is minor, as he only appears in a few episodes of the anime. He is first seen in episode 142, where he escapes from prison and sends Fuujin and Raijin to Orochimaru.
He then appears in episodes 147 and 148, where he confronts Naruto and his team, and reveals his new form and abilities. He tries to kill Naruto and take the Nine-Tails’ chakra, but is ultimately defeated by Naruto’s Rasengan. He is then taken back to prison, where he is presumably still locked up.
Mizuki is one of the first villains that Naruto faced, and one of the few who knew his secret of being the Nine-Tails’ host. He also served as a contrast to Naruto, as both of them were orphans who sought recognition and power, but chose different paths.
Mizuki represents the dark side of ambition, while Naruto represents the light side of perseverance. Mizuki also serves as a foil to Iruka, who was Naruto’s first friend and mentor, and who helped him overcome his loneliness and hatred. Mizuki is one of the characters who shaped Naruto’s early development, and who showed him the importance of friendship and loyalty.
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