Why Naruto Never Became A Chunin

[@TheChiog]

Tsunade never promoted Naruto because then she'd have to pay him more money for completed missions

[@day7053]

If most people could send someone to do CEO level work for minimum wage, they would, lol.

[@strider_hiryu850]

this would make sense, except that every other member of the Konoha 12 - excluding Sasuke of course - were promoted during the time skip. so...

[@Fang-nu3ml]

Easier to send a genin to a S rank mission and pay the genin a maximum wage of c rank missions

[@King_Mac80]

​@strider_hiryu850 they were promoted during a almost 3yr gap where the village was at peace plus they took the actual chunin exam. Naruto came back and the Ninja world almost immediately became hectic.

[@SageOfSixVidz]

@@King_Mac80Naruto beat neji and then went on to beat gaara and the 1 tailed Shukaku. This Mf should have been made JONIN

[@Andrewwwwwww]

Imagine getting paid as a genin for jounin level tasks. companies are getting away with everything these days smh

[@Ajdin_1103]

smh

[@warandconquest6522]

“You’re not a leaf ninja, you’re an independent contractor so we don’t have to pay your healthcare”

[@Ajdin_1103]

​@@warandconquest6522fr

[@benjaminwinnick1051]

Does your pay depend on your rank or the missions you go on?

[@kopanonyaka4234]

Yes.​@@benjaminwinnick1051

[@theodoresherman5707]

After saving Gaara he DEFINITELY should've gotten a battlefield promotion, Or after Kakuzu, or Pain

[@gtd5626]

No, he mentally wasn't there yet.

[@MrSupperkid567]

Nah fr tho after pain he shoulda been hokage 🤣

[@vapor.6292]

@@gtd5626Nah he was mentally there to be a chunin at least after Kakuzu, and DEFINITELY after beating Pain

[@robertcarson7871]

​​@@vapor.6292I'd argue this is when he should've become Jounin tbh

[@juliodonofreo]

​​@@gtd5626This is actually (a very bad) plot excuse, beating neji and learning how to use kyubi's chakra should be enough. Or will you try to convince me that FUCKING DEPRESSED SHINO is more mentally prepared than naruto? The point is: story itself would be better with chunin Naruto, sasuke would have an actual higher motivation to leave the village and Naruto's involvement with dangerous missions in Shippuden would actually make sense, you don't need to lie to yourself just to create a decent justification

[@AnnHiroCh]

Remember a Genin fought Aliens on the Moon

[@quietguyjosh4643]

I thought he was promoted by The Last I recall he whooped konohamaru I fairly sure naruto was a jonin in The Last

[@AnimeBoy0811]

@@quietguyjosh4643well I did search it a while ago and the answer was yes but sadly he wasn’t really promoted which is said by himself and sarada

[@MuhammadAreeb-qk9zc]

Are you talking about borutrash

[@AnnHiroCh]

@@MuhammadAreeb-qk9zc nope, it's called Naruto the Last

[@BigReuben97]

He wasn't a genin at the time. Naruto was definitely a jonin at that time

[@Grayson-Winchester]

That was one of the biggest pet peeve’s. Naruto not having the ceremony announcing him lord 7th.

[@justinarzola4584]

That was what the series was leading up to yet they messed it up.

[@strider_hiryu850]

they showed this in Boruto. in the anime at least. might not be in the manga but it is in the anime.

[@sbatou87]

@@strider_hiryu850 Yup. Though he was knocked out for the entire day due to his daughter.

[@strider_hiryu850]

@@sbatou87 yes well, it's Naruto. (well technically Boruto: Naruto Next Generations) what'd you expect?

[@mctwist13]

And then in Boruto, it’s Konohamaru filling in for him! It’s so disappointing and disrespectful. Naruto should have gotten his day.

[@vicentecardona8480]

“killing children that are genin level that’s a little more acceptable” 😭 like what 14:26

[@RealLifeIronMan]

Naruto as a series has a ethics shift over the course of the series. In first half, Konoha (and other villages) had no objections throwing away the lives of genin in tests and exams. And you were expected to abandon your comrades to die for the good of the mission and village. In the second half and beyond, that level of brutal pragmatism is never espoused by any non-villain.

[@JohnSmith-ox3gy]

​@@RealLifeIronMan The Second Shinobi World War is pretty grim, the universe is recovering slowly from absolute misery and total war. This dark universe contrasts well with the optimism and goofiness of Naruto.

[@young_raymond47]

That filler episode where Naruto retook the exam was so dumb. The chunin exams are a display of your abilities, battle iq, and adaptability as a ninja. If you have to ban an ability from a participant, they should be getting promoted automatically, not that Sage Mode should even be banned. It's not a contest with one concrete winner being sought. It's meant to see who is worthy of chunin rank, which Naruto clearly demonstrated.

[@normandy2501]

I agree that Naruto should have been step promoted to Chunin at the very least, but I would hesitate to justify Jonin simply because of his experience in actively educating and leading a team consistently. He was essentially written to get stronger with the help of others, then handled the problem largely on his own due to his overall power. Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Itachi were individuals I would still trust to overall lead a strike team with Naruto on it, but then you could expect Naruto to eventually step over their authority because he has sage powers to throw around. That's not exactly leadership, in my opinion.

[@young_raymond47]

@@normandy2501 I understand the argument, but all the missions we see them go on in Shippuden are probably all S rank. The majority of Jonin would be liabilities in them, we just happen to be following the top 1% of shinobi throughout the series. Naruto could 100% look after a team of genin going on C-D rank missions with the occasional B rank. With the way he uses Shadow clones, which is very different to most, he 100% has the strength and experience to look after a group, especially once he learns sage mode.

[@rhuonaChanel]

Sensibly, if they were going to ban sage mode they will have to ban jinchurinki powers too. 😅😅😅

[@Hektols]

The worst thing is that there is no reason to justify that Sage Mode is too powerful for the Chunin Exams, it requires the user to remain still for several minutes while he gathers nature chakra to activate it, you can't say that such technique is unfair for the opponent if it gives such advantage to said opponent, being able to overcome that disadvantage and activate the technique while an opponent is actively attacking you should be considered more than enough merits for a promotion.

[@young_raymond47]

@@Hektols In the filler Naruto enters Sage Mode by accident while on the ground (very dumb). But the charge time doesn't even matter to Naruto, he could easily create a shadow clone out of Konohamaru's vision to have it gather the nature chakra needed. I do agree with you that (amongst other things) it's a clear demonstration of his prowess as a shinobi that he can simply enter sage mode during a fight. The filler completely misses the point of the chunin exam fights. It's not about winning, but demonstrating your skills as a shinobi.

[@SpammytheHedgehog]

Pain killed Jiraiya, Kakashi, destroyed the Leaf Village but lost to a Ramen loving Genin. Lol

[@DaBaseBallZ]

That's nothing Sasori lost to a trash can (although the trash can had lots of help from Chiyo)

[@DromusTH]

​​​​@@DaBaseBallZ Oh, hop off it was a team effort. Sasori was literally untouchable without the antidote Sakura made. Lady Chiyo wouldn't have make it pass his first puppet if it wasn't for Sakura.

[@DaBaseBallZ]

@DromusTH That's exactly my point,A key factor to Sasori's defeat was a trash can,Peak embarrassment

[@BlahstarRecords]

Lost to the 9 tails*

[@tejiriamrasa3258]

@@BlahstarRecords cut the bullsh*t. The ninetails extended the fight, Naruto won it himself the end.

[@robinsarchiz]

Naruto being a genin forever fits in with his declaration to Jiraya that if giving up on his ninja way is what it takes to be wise, then he's gonna be a fool for the rest of his life. He manages to convert Gaara, Nagato and eventually Sasuke, not because he can out-logic them, but because his resolve to his ninja way is so strong that they are inspired.

[@Hektols]

Naruto also said that there are not shortcuts to becoming Hokage.

[@nousername636]

He reached Chunin and Jonin level in combat abilities quickly, but his leadership qualities were suspect

[@kanyeet5162]

Dude they made Sakura Chunin and promoted her later on despite her drugging her team and leaving them in enemy territory

[@Deity_devil]

So tsunade thinks kiba,Ino,choji,Sakura are good leaders?

[@nousername636]

@@Deity_devil Better than Early Naruto

[@nousername636]

@@kanyeet5162 She was still better than Early Naruto

[@MuhammadAreeb-qk9zc]

​@@Deity_devilhow the hell kiba became chunin

[@ivanbluecool]

Naruto should have been promoted to chunnin right before the time skip by tsunade as a way to say he's ready for the next step Jounin when he defeats kakazu or pain since the speed of his growth is beyond jounin at that point already. Then by the end of series he's perfect for hokage. Naruto knew how messed up the ninja world is and was thinking like a hokage as itachi was in seeing this was not how the world should be.

[@TheGreatSalsaMan]

Kages canonically even have the power to do this. The exams are just a formality and a show/display of power to other nations to show theres no favoritism or nepotism in the promotions and the ninja actually deserves the promotion which is why Shikamaru got it after the chunin exam. Sucks nobody important actually saw naruto take down Gaara otherwise that’s worth a promotion straight to jonin. Gaara was someone who was definitely jonin level and his siblings probably at least chunin level but their dad who was the kazekage couldn’t just promote them even if they absolutely deserved it.

[@ivanbluecool]

@@TheGreatSalsaMan best guess is danzo and the village elders didn't want Naruto to be seen as a good boy or hero so they get in the way of things. Meanwhile the kazekage was Gaara while raikage had the 8 tails as his brother. Heck Minato had the 9 tails owner as his wife

[@calvinstraveldreams]

I would have had a mini arc about Sasuke (who in my version had also been field promoted to the rank of Chunin for his acts of heroism in the Gaara fight, but felt discontented with the promotion given that it was a fight he lost-and later given the way Itachi had humiliated him), in the process of defecting, sending a Shadow Clone (having copied the jutsu late in the Naruto vs Sasuke fight at the end of the Sasuke Retrieval Arc) to Tsunade (to make her an offer to infiltrate the Hidden Sound and take down Orochimaru AS WELL AS Itachi-basically to give Tsunade a level of plausible deniability to take down suspected enemies of the Leaf, given her hunch about Orochimaru and Danzo) and genjutsuing her a recording of what he saw in the Naruto vs Gaara fight in order to (successfully) convince Tsunade to promote Naruto to Chunin (given that he saw Naruto exhibiting Jonin or even Kage-level power in that fight, and that the Chunin Exams were interrupted). This would not only affirm that the bond between Naruto and Sasuke isn’t completely dead and that Sasuke is still a good man, but it would further the rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke, given that Tsunade, realizing that she needed to cut her losses from the failure of the Sasuke Retrieval mission (and realizing Danzo might be up to something), effectively entrusted Sasuke with an (unofficial) S-ranked mission and possible fast-track to the Hokage role (just like what Danzo did to Itachi). It would also show that Tsunade, in spite of not being AS jaded as before, is still willing to play along with the cynical principles of the ninja world-and it’s only after receiving the report for the Kazekage Rescue Mission (where Naruto convinced Granny Chiyo to look past her cynicism) that she begins to question it.

[@calvinstraveldreams]

In addition, after Naruto gets promoted and Sasuke is gone (and unbeknownst to his comrades, on an unofficial S-ranked mission), the Genin teams get shuffled around, with multiple Genin who went on the mission also receiving field promotions (in my version, everyone but Sakura went, though the mission still failed due to clever tactics by the Sound Ninja and Kimimaro being a much tougher opponent). Specifically, given that team leader Shikamaru was already a Chunin, the field promotions are as follows: 1. Neji (single-handedly defeated Kidomaru) 2. Choji (single-handedly defeated Jirobo) 3. Shino (going above and beyond, even when Sakon and Ukon were destroying his bugs) 4. Hinata (heroism during the Kimimaro fight-especially as Kimimaro was assessed to be comparable to Kakashi in power) 5. Tenten (heroism during the Kimimaro fight-especially as Kimimaro was assessed to be comparable to Kakashi in power) 6. Ino (using the Yamanaka mind-link to maintain team coordination, and deactivating it to prevent Tayuya from genjutsuing EVERYONE. Also getting Choji and Neji immediate medical attention and SAVING THEIR LIVES). Thus the only 3 Genin that failed to get promoted in Part 1 (my version) are Sakura (due to sulking rather than helping out), Kiba (due to underperforming and refusing to allow Hinata to back him up, and embarrassingly having to be rescued by Kankuro), and Lee (due to recklessly charging into battle against Tsunade’s orders after having just recovered from a healing ritual, and almost getting himself killed). Thus these 3 become the new (temporary) Team 7, and are forced to retake the Chunin Exams a year later (and are all forced to mature, with Lee having to overcome his recklessness, Kiba his arrogance, and Sakura her insecurities (particularly her inferiority complex with Ino and Hinata)).

[@jdrmanmusiqking]

​@@ivanbluecoolYall put more thought into it than kishimoto

[@adrian_veidt]

Naruto beating Gaara should've been already enough for him to get promoted. He risked his life to save the village and his teammates. He's the one who convinced Tsunade and mastered Rasengan. Come on. Someone like Mizuki can get promoted why not our boi naruto 😂😂

[@jakd2962]

I would say that he lacked the maturity and strategic ability to become a chunin at that time. He was strong AF no doubt but he wasn’t the type of guy you could see leading a team.

[@adrian_veidt]

@@jakd2962 Does Mizuki have those criteria? Or those other fodders? Naruto was a crafty ninja. That's one of his underrated quality as a shinobi. He still outplayed Neji and a jounin in Zabuza. I agree he's not the ideal type who can lead a team at that time. But I can see him as a good team player like Kotetsu and Izumo, 2 chunins who're with Asuma and Shikamaru.

[@gtd5626]

He was powerful sure but mentally, he wasn't there yet. He was to impulsive, reckless, and immature. Not someone you'd want leading a team.

[@BillyBlanks-qm5yt]

Naruto relies on the nine tails when things get tough. And back then, all he could do was spam shadow clones

[@randypelow455]

@@BillyBlanks-qm5yt And transformation. Naruto took only two skills and ran miles with them compared to Neji, Gaara, Tenten and Sasuke. Heck KAkashi even told Naruto all he needed was better control over chakra and his basics. And with just control over both his and the ninetails chakra he weas able to beat Neji with shadow clones.

[@kagekun1198]

Personally one of the missed opportunities in Naruto skipping ranks is that we never see Naruto becoming a jonin that takes on students or even an apprentice. Even the three sannins have taken on an apprentice at some point. I know it would be more work for Kishimoto but I wonder how Naruto would be like as a teacher?

[@AnimeBoy0811]

I mean he did teach the kid in the academy taijutsu and he train konohamaru

[@luisfelipeguerreroruiz4110]

Konohamaru, we “see it” in there, but it’s a missed opportunity to make the formal thing

[@joshuarobinson6011]

We could’ve seen it with kawaki in boruto since kawaki knew basically nothing so it would’ve been an opportunity to see Naruto build a student up from nothing. We still could do the whole kawaki/boruto thing but they could’ve shown Naruto training kawaki while sasuke was training boruto before they went into the fight arc

[@Hektols]

Agree, it would have been great to have a movie with Naruto as jonin sensei taking a mission with his students.

[@yharnamiyhill787]

Naruto is that 45 year old Private First Class. He doesn't want to lead, just shoot. 😅

[@vitoc8454]

Imagine if Captain America was never promoted because he thought it sounded cooler than "Major America" or "Colonel America"

[@yharnamiyhill787]

@@vitoc8454 lol. Major America sounds catchy as well.

[@JohnDoe-vv9zp]

@@vitoc8454I mean General America sounds better than captain america but I see your point

[@vitoc8454]

@@JohnDoe-vv9zp "Why don't you want to go by General America?" "I'm an Avenger, not a bank."

[@JohnDoe-vv9zp]

@@vitoc8454 😂😂

[@tommyeliassen2071]

I think part of why he was never promoted is simply because the writer (maybe) thought it was kinda funny for him to make the "official" jump from lowest to highest. As much as I hate Boruto, there was one funny moment in an episode where Naruto was being interviewed and he explained how technically he's still a genin. Although ultimately it's pretty dumb that he was never promoted.

[@DzReacts]

I also think it was already thought about by the writer as a joke and irony that the strongest hokage ever has only graduated one rank and became hokage, compared to one of the weakest hokage (kakashi) who has graduated every rank which shows that rank doesn't matter. What's even more funny is that his son has surpassed him in terms of everything and is now the strongest shinobi all time is technically still a genin 😂😂

[@joshuarobinson6011]

@@DzReactskakashi was also a joinin when he was with obito and rin. The youngest member of their squad was the highest ranked and most skilled 😂

[@treytison1444]

The fight counts, sexy jutsu is literally what defeated kaguya. It was foreshadowing. Naruto was kage level in chapter 1.

[@bentencho]

Naruto wouldn't have been promoted to Chuunin after the exam. It was mentioned that both Neji and him wouldn't have been, regardless of who won. Neji made it personal and stated he will kill Naruto, a fellow Konoha shinobi, meaning he was unable to control his emotions. As both literally went all-out to try to defeat each other, that made them fail. Winning an encounter is meaningless if your squad gets killed or you are compromised.... neither were willing to cut losses, thus aren't fit to lead. Shikamaru gave up because he knew he didn't have the chakra to secure a complete victory, thus was more than willing to give up to save himself. A leader knows when to retreat.... Neji and Naruto didn't.

[@KicktheSky34]

Naruto displayed strength and courage, displayed control of his power, and beat a stronger opponent with cunning. I think Naruto would’ve been promoted if Sarutobi had survived, it was the elders who had it out for him.

[@rhuonaChanel]

I think the entire point of this video is that every shooting oceaning out there doesn't necessary possess the qualities at the level shikamaru did. They really just have to meet the bare requirements

[@rdtv5404]

Naruto not graduating is kinda dumb hes op

[@rdtv5404]

probably cause he only took the exams first

[@aceclover758]

It’s not dumb Naruto didn’t have the mentality or experience to be a chunin in part 1

[@AnimeBoy0811]

@@aceclover758yes but in part 2 is a different story he has the fundamental he lead the whole army of ninja to defeat the ten tailed but can’t lead a team is dumb he been assigned to hight level misson it ain’t even about strength anymore he has all the tools to atlesst be a chunin

[@MuhammadAreeb-qk9zc]

​@@aceclover758even in part 1 after naruto vs gara naruto was chunin level

[@gingersnap8543]

@@MuhammadAreeb-qk9zcyes but like they already said, you have to have the mentality to lead others, which Naruto hadn’t really developed at that point. I wouldn’t say Naruto has a leadership perspective until early war arc. Based on power alone, he should’ve become a chunin the moment he beat mizuki, or if you wanna give benefit of the doubt, then gaara. But his mentality was much more important to being a chunin than his power level

[@Kaido1772]

Can you make a video of why konoha didn't help the Uzumaki clan to fight against the 4 major villages.

[@kittypastries2880]

I think it has something to do with the shinobi war were they are weakened and time to recover.

[@JakeHunter-ed4zv]

I think in the inside universe of this, is konoha didn't know that, maybe the 4 major villages have secretly plan to attack the uzumaki clan and by the time konoha find out about this, it was too late.

[@gtd5626]

It wasn't against 4 major villages. It was a surprise attack, but it's never said by who.

[@kodokutamashi1569]

​@@gtd5626The wiki clear stated that Uzushiogakure was destroyed by the alliance of 3 major villages. Kumo was definitely one of them, since they even kidnapped Kushina for breeding.

[@Kaido1772]

@@kodokutamashi1569 I always find it off on why the villages during the attack didn't capture one of them?

[@ivanbluecool]

Next question. Why didn't jiraya teach Naruto ANYTHING in the time skip and kept wasting time on controlling kurama? Where was the sage mode training which would have been way more useful and safer to learn due to the Akatsuki not being able to touch Naruto in the toad mountain area. Where was Naruto learning his Elemental type? Jiraya couldn't take a single second to try the chakra paper trick? Sage mode would have been an all around better use of time. Sage mode would block the itachi genjutsu thing easier by closing his eyes. Stronger bases and when it did come time to try and get kurama in control sage mode can be used forever and imagine both minato and kushina giving him a pep talk instead of just one? Though i get it's probably just kishi didn't think about it but no narrative makes sense of not trying anything to give Naruto a more well rounded skill set.

[@dudesayshi2191]

Ong I don't think JIRAYA is a bad fighter but dear God he's a bad teacher

[@ivanbluecool]

@@dudesayshi2191 part 1. Great teacher fixing Naruto's seal orochi locked. Rasengan and toad summon. Time skip he taught Naruto stuff he'd probably be able to learn himself. Giant rasengan? Really jiraya.

[@justinarzola4584]

Jiraya taught him some wisdom stuff,genjutsu resistance and how to make a bigger rasengan but that's about it, considering how much of a buff Naruto got the first two times he trained with Jiraya pre timeskip he should of been extremely op by the time Shipudden started but for plot to progress and make Sasuke look cooler Naruto had to be nerfed.

[@yarriahgraves4334]

​@@dudesayshi2191he's not a bad teacher he was just bad during the time skip because he taught some of the strongest shinobi in the series

[@jakebrook]

@@justinarzola4584 Naruto was dead last at the Academy for a reason. If you take away Naruto's two greatest strengths the Shadow Clones and Kuruma's chakra he would have died on the Wave mission. Naruto taijutsu skills was atrocious, he had little to no sense in keeping his mouth shut and his stealth skills (how did people not see him painting on the Hokage Mountain?) were forgotten. By the time the Sasuke retrieval arc started his taijutsu skills were probably around Academy student level or frenshly minted genin level. Plus the three year training trip Naruto was train to be a jinchuriki not a shinobi. If you rewatch the beginning of Shippuden on the talks about Naruto training all you will ever hear is how many tails Naruto can safely use. Sure Jiraiya shored up Naruto's basics but Naruto was train to be a hammer instead of a tool box.

[@chineseman6580]

I don’t think it’s funny. I hate dumb comedic trops/gags like this because it’s disrespectful to the quality and intention of the story. Shippuden is saturated with these problems where characters are pushed aside and only ever present if they are to serve as gag characters. Disrespects the setup and intentions of part one’s great writing. In the real, good written Naruto story that only exists logically, he was promoted to Chunin in early Shippuden.

[@fire1655]

So I read a manga and watch an anime called kingdom and it has a character who is exactly like Naruto called Shin. And to say at the beginning of the story, he is possibly the stupidest person that you see in the story outside of anything not having to do with military or war would be an understatement. But the difference between kingdom, and Naruto is that they never mix the two aspects of his character. He’s always promoted for his military actions and his ability to lead for his political influence or how much it would affect the upper echelon if a former slave got promoted to high rank. That’s a spoiler so I’ll try and keep the rest of this as spoiler free as possible. What I’m trying to say is that he gets smarter as time goes on in more than just military topics and that’s acknowledged as well but never is held back because he is only military smart or powerful. It’s what I wish they had done for Naruto after reading kingdom. Acknowledge the fact that he’s powerful, and while he is hated for circumstances completely outside of his control, there’s more than enough people in the higher echelon of Kona that can truthfully recommend him for a promotion without seeming bias and are smart enough to notice that he is, more than powerful enough and mature enough by the start of Shippuden it just annoys me now when I go back to read it or watch it.

[@Xfghstryhfghfg]

@@fire1655 YEAH kINGDOM IS AWESOME, NEED TOO BACK TO MANGA,. I STOPPED AT 500TH CHAPTER OS SO

[@Hektols]

@@fire1655 Exactly, characters like Lee or Kiba weren't smarter than Naruto but got promoted anyways.

[@kauswekazilimani3736]

​@@fire1655If Kingdom had the animation quality it has now, or in the previous season, in season 1 it would be so much more popular. A really underrated show!

[@fire1655]

@@kauswekazilimani3736 yeah, season one animation absolutely would’ve ruined my experience with the whole show except for the fact that I came in when season two part of season three had already been dropped so I just went onto season two because it looked better and I’ve never looked back. I tend to just pretend that season one of the anime doesn’t exist and just read the manga as far as that is concerned .

[@lazyalpaca556]

We all know he didn’t get promoted cause kishimoto didn’t want to draw the green jacket on him all the time

[@tonywilliams6294]

He also wanted to lean into that declaration during Naruto's first chuunin exam. Also, we constantly saw Naruto develop as a character during his story arcs... but Kishimoto always reverted him to his Pre-arc self to maintain Naruto's character traits. Kishimoto didn't know how to show his MC maturing and figured it would be more fan-liked if he kept him as he was. He also didn't want to deal with the extra effort of altering character interactions to reflect said character development

[@muffdingo]

He did become a chunnin later on down the road. It was explained in the movie with toneri it’s a prerequisite to becoming hokage

[@JoGoat20]

Official reason for Naruto's lack of promotion to chunin is plot nothing else. Kishimoto thought it would be funny and Naruto-like if he remained genin till adult (hokage) while rest of his friends are promoted to chunin/jonin. Also shippuden became dbz style powerscaling were individual powers and alien demigod plot shitshow took over the Naruto pt 1 influence which was based on ninja command structure and strategies. So much for having superior positions as chunin/jonin, none of Naruto's friends played any major role in plot of shippuden and were wasted as a character. Sakura and shikamaru got some screen fights but thats it. The story became less about ninja and more about uchiha, gods aliens and child of prophecy stuff. Tsunade sent Naruto on literally every S class mission even tho he was just a genin over his friends who were chunin/jonin indicating that ranking doesn't mean shit in Naruto pt 2 and even if it did, Naruto was treated as a special case

[@salt5725]

I like that in the rewrite it's used as comedy

[@edgar-sama642]

Naruto should definitely be a jonin by the time of The Last

[@nathancof]

Naruto was never promoted because higher ranks get paid more for missions. It was all about money; the Leaf was trying to save a few bucks.

[@amberknight7301]

I’m willing to bet even though Naruto became Hokage, Sasuke is still a Genin.

[@VJ87G]

Hokage is not a promotion or a rank. It's a title. Naruto is still a Genin, even if he is Hokage.

[@Hektols]

@@VJ87G No, at the beginning of the series they stated that Hokage is a rank.

[@VJ87G]

@@Hektols Wiki will explain that to you.

[@yodoni96]

Maito Dai was never promoted to chunin and he was an user of the 8 gates. I guess there are people who never reach that state but they are powerfull enough to be sent to missions above their rank because are well known they have the abilities to complete them. At the end, a rank is a name on a paper, Naruto is the best weapon konoha had, doesn't matter if he was a gening or a jonin

[@Emmanuel-wx3cs]

Might Dai wasn't chuoj because he didn't have anything other than 8 gates so it's different from naruto

[@RainSpitter]

I don’t know how Dygoknight manages to talk about Naruto while sounding like he’s talking down to his audience and yet seem more base and down to earth than other Naruto KZbinrs.

[@Sjono]

Imagine being a higher rank than your ninja president

[@RosarianMythos]

"The Chunin Plot Hole" Bro's literally calling ANYTHING a plot hole these days huh 💀

[@AwesomeHairo]

Because there are a lot of plotholes in Naruto.

[@RosarianMythos]

@@AwesomeHairo That's not a plot hole. I don't think y'all understand what a plot hole is anymore.

[@MuhammadAreeb-qk9zc]

Exactly my point

[@MuhammadAreeb-qk9zc]

​@@AwesomeHairoyeah I admit that but this chunin thing is not a plot hole

[@Jet-ij9zc]

​@@MuhammadAreeb-qk9zcit is tho. We already know there are other means to become a chunin and we know the hokage can point them directly (hiruzen offered it to someone)

[@HyujKok]

I don't think anyone in the village would really care if they gave the hero of the village and arbitrary rank. It's not like the ranks really mean anything when he's doing all this S rank shit. That's why he went from genin straight to Hokage.

[@King_Mac80]

To be realistic though Naruto not getting promoted after doing a Kage level feat of beating a tail beast was just bad writing by Kishimoto. There's no way Naruto shouldn't have been a chunin after the Konoha crush arc.

[@gtd5626]

It's not bad writing. Naruto wasn't mentally mature enough yet to lead a team. He's too reckless.

[@King_Mac80]

@gtd5626 you can be a chunin and not lead a team, you've never once seen Tenten, Kiba, or Choji lead a team yet they were still chunin. There's no logical explanation for someone being strong enough to beat a tail beast in a fight and not be promoted.

[@Emmanuel-wx3cs]

​@@gtd5626in what way was choji,Kiba, rock Lee, and tenten, more mentally mature I'm pretty sure Sakura is more mentally mature then might guy yet she's a chunin and might guys a jonin ur reasoning makes no sense considering other characters

[@supercoffeemug1921]

Naruto literally got screwed by everyone. No one wanted to recognize his skills. They showed so much disrespect.

[@DygoKnight]

LITERALLY???

[@TruuJones]

10:56 Im glad you brought that up, I think Naruto's growth in the time skip is underrated. In part I, Naruto's power feats were already impressive and his future power feats in part II were already a given to be even more impressive. In part I, Naruto was a brawler, relied on that hidden power and his cleverness/ability to think out the box, but that wouldn't be believably enough to deal with the threats he was going against in Part II. Showing that Jiraya's training focused less on strength and more on being a more mature, well balanced person/fighter and more technically skilled was exactly what his chatacter needed at the time to believe he woild actually become the hero he would eventually be. It's a step I felt was lacking in a charavter like Gohan's development during the Cell Saga for example. (Another strong but relatively unskilled character) Gohan after training 3 years with Goku and Piccolo and before achieving Super Saiyan in the time chamber should have shown he no longer had to rely on luck, emotion, and hidden potential to overcome powerful enemies, but that he could actually harness that power. Unlike Naruto (who also had the benefit of being the main character from the jump), I think this is a major reason Gohan was set on the path we got: someone who initially isnt up for the challenge but rises to the occasion through desperation, potential, emotion, and a bit of luck only when the plot calls for it.

[@K-Wxlxy]

12:12 that caught me off guard lol

[@alanthieris4447]

One thing the anime did right was having Naruto sit down and do the paperwork to be promoted straight to Junin. Something anime original that the Boruto anime ignored for the sake of a joke.

[@PowerTrain611]

5:59 Bottom Right, 19:21 Ned Flanders as a ninja

[@alexmikhylov]

it makes perfect sense since there are formal procedures to get a rank promotion and naruto never passed them until the end of the manga. shinobi ranking was never "how strong you are" it's formal military ranking.

[@TRAILLER]

At first Naruto had bad in universe PR "we can't have The Fox become a chunin" until he defeated Pain. Then it became "we can't have our jinchuriki on the front line where he can be grabbed by the enemy. let's keep him a genin" then it became "It's post war time we are reducing our standing army. We will not field promote anyone for a while" then "our chunins are not dying as much as before the exam are enough for replacing the roster" the last four also accompanied by "Naruto is too strong for the exams. he would make salsa out of the competition."

[@kunakarkaria573]

Naruto looking dope in jonin uniform

[@Mephil]

This man doesn't know what a plot hole is

[@DygoKnight]

It's not my fault that thumnails with the caption "plot hole" are 20% more effective. It's you guys' fault.

[@Mephil]

@@DygoKnight Show us your plot hole

[@ptvrussian2]

The answer is simple, even in real life there are blue belts that would massacre black belts.

[@georgeprchal3924]

Village: Well you didn't answer a single question on the written exam. Naruto: Shikamaru slept through the whole exam and gave up on a fight yet you promoted him! Village: Well you still need to oass the written portion. Naruto: Oh c'mon the only one who actually passed that thing was Sakura. Sakura: That test was supposed to be hard?

[@legendarynono1999]

An interesting case about that is Sarada. In the boruto anime, she passed twice the exam and gets promoted as a chunin, yet in the TBV manga it's said she's still a genin

[@OrtexofWill]

The quickest route to defeat is to let your guard down in the presence of an opponent.

[@prettyboyj7482]

naruto needed the knowledge of a jonin to become hokage it wasn’t for a promotion it was prepping him for the role of hokage

[@SilverJakler]

I think Kishimoto just wanted to keep the gag of having his main character be a genin as long as possible 😂

[@igorporfiirio4915]

17:26 "Fucking nepotism, I have to do the chinin exam while Naruto is promoted just because he is Tsunade's favorite and save the village from pain" ~random genin

[@d-gab2864]

Honestly at some point in the anime I wasn't even thinking about Naruto's rank he was just Naruto the child of promise

[@Mstuefen91]

Outside of Naruto himself it feels like the Chunin exams are for people that the villages are like “this genin is good, but I’m not sure if they are ready for chunin level, let’s give them a test to see if they can pass then we’ll make a decision” which would make more sense as to why there weren’t MASSIVE skill differences as if they had put a jonin level shinobi into the test. Compare it to the hunter exam in hxh where nen users can casually walk through the exam you would expect shinobi to have something similar, but by the first fighting test they’re all somewhat comparable.

[@tomaskooo3478]

the man with a moustache is freakin funny, like what is he, like 40 years old xD

[@LealFireball]

I think it's to serve as a sort of statement that hierarchical titles and standing within society or your profession mean nothing when it comes to your ability and how far you can go. Naruto being the stand-in for Kishimoto himself in this dynamic. It's the same with Naruto missing the hokage proclamation ceremony, that stuff ultimately doesn't matter, having a fun story and memories with your family is much more meaningful than to wave at a bunch of people atop of a building. He starts the series looking at this sort of stuff superficially as a way to force people to accept him, but by the end of the story he understands none of that social climbing is actually important.

[@CrownMe13]

Naruto literally went from being a lieutenant to a five star general is insane lol 😂

[@Hektols]

He went from mere private.

[@failurextreme7084]

I still can't believe that after beating Neji using clever tactics and ingenuity that they didn't promote Naruto in the ACTUAL CHUNIN EXAM. The reason they promoted Shikamaru was quick thinking and clever application of his skills, but Naruto, who was considered the underdog in his fight did the same thing and pulled actual ninja tactics then didn't get promoted. He blended into a crowd for surprise attacks, used his surroundings for advantage, and found a method around an (at the time) insurmountable ability/skill by hiding. Those are some of the most ninja things he probably ever did in the entire series. Not to mention, not 2 hours later, he went and defeated (and reformed showing a lot more maturity) a terrorist bent on killing everyone practically on his own. Not only was he not promoted, but his efforts were barely even noticed because the Hokage went and died. Not that it stopped them from promoting Shikamaru.

[@dagothurik1815]

The only tactic Naruto used that showed genuine ingenuity was popping out of that hole. The rest of that fight was him charging in like an idiot with his shadow clones. If Neji was as serious as he was against hinata, Naruto dies flat out.

[@anvos658]

Keep in mind being the host of a tailed beast likely also meant Naruto wasn't held to the same standards as others, given you're essentially your village's living nuke, so being a liability to push yourself until you could be killed isn't a good trait, and would make people worried your personality is influenced by the tailed beast. Not to mention when we get filler about the others Naruto wasn't really that impressive for a jinchuriki at that stage.

[@Emmanuel-wx3cs]

​@dagothurik1815 did u not watch the fight he literally tricks neji like 3 times first he made neji believe that his shadow clone was the original and used 2 other clones to blindside neji but neji used rotation, then when neji blocked his Chakra points naruto utilized the 9 tails, he shouldn't have to hsve shikamarus iq to be promoted what leadership skills does might guy have to be a jonin

[@Emmanuel-wx3cs]

​@@dagothurik1815neji was serious the whole fight what are you talking about if neji tried to end it early then nsruto would've just went 9 tails much earlier and won

[@dagothurik1815]

@@Emmanuel-wx3cs The leadership skills implied by his rank. Stories don’t need to show 100% of the details for aspects to make sense. Naruto was too impulsive, thought with his emotions too much, and didn’t fight smart. Also where did I say Neji wasn’t being serious? You need to go back to school man

[@canalphi2673]

only jounin can become hokage, so he was given chunin and jounin by kakashi and them pointed to hokage

[@ceejayps1749]

naruto wasn't promoted because he didn't want to change his clothes

[@LiktechTz]

After pain arc nobody would complain about promoting naruto and to jonin too.

[@albertoalves1063]

The fact that Naruto could one shot the world but still a gennin is the most absurd thing in Naruto verse

[@xXxTrickyNinjaxXx]

I always assumed that he was never promoted above Genin so that he would always be part of a team if sent on missions - to make sure he was guarded as the nine-tails jinjuriki

[@calebsulzberger8761]

I vividly remember him being like. Testing? Ill stay a genin. Im good

[@XeraliK]

Don't forget the eternal genin, the old man who cooked food for team 7

[@LauraRose-q3n]

Naruto didn't get promoted because he never retook the exam he had more important thing to do

[@anvos658]

In the anime I could have sworn he was just given the promotion over a bowl of ramen by one of his mentors early on (during Shippuden) in a blink and you'll miss it scene.

[@swavy653]

They wanted him to have his own drip💧

[@junraywardleuterio2014]

possible reason 1. he has no time to take an exam, as he busy in a lot of mission for Team Yamato/Kakashi 2. Chunin exam needs a 3-man cell, but since Naruto is the sole genin that time, he cannot take the exam himself 3. There are a lot of series of events that hinders Tsunade to promote him, especially during the time she become comatose

[@TheDeathmail]

I think the real reason was just because it didn't matter. Like, it would be a lot of legal paperwork and could leave holes that could be exploited if they made an exception for Naruto... it could put out a bad precedent.... But at the same time, it'd be a waste of time just to put Naruto through the tests... So the simple answer is just keep him as a genin. Naruto reached such a height that his rank actually doesn't matter anymore. He himself is now a legend. It's like how nobody cares about Jiraya's rank. Sure, he's a jounin, but the way he's respected and obeyed, even people of equal rank obey him. Naruto is in a position where the rank is just an empty word and won't actually change anything.... he's already a leader....

[@hydregyoutube7630]

19:04 **shows a manga panel with mustachioed man in the foreground** 19:21 "There's this one guy who has a mustache and looks old, but it's a like a funny meme. I don't even know if that guy is present in the manga."

[@DygoKnight]

Lmao

[@travisgames6608]

What i found weird was that Naruto is the only one to pass his fight. He even settled Sasuke's fight AND saved the Leaf. Naruto earned the rank of Chunin.

[@Kakashi10ist]

When Naruto came back with jiraiya. He was chunin level at that moment. When he master Sage mode he was Jounin level.

[@anvos658]

Jounin you can at least argue he didn't possess the other qualities needed until later.

[@phadestonkaneki9861]

I honestly think that being the jinjuriki host to the nine tails would affect your emotions, causing you to have more outbursts of anger due to the influence of the demon beast.

[@shadow3746]

Naruto does become a chunin off screen, taking the exams and whatnot. In order to become hokage cause everyone wanted him to, he HAD to do the proper rank progression.

[@markg1537]

I think we see evidence of other ninjas who arent promoted per se to keep them more secret assets, and eventually in the end he reached a point where rank is essentially meaningless. It is in some ways easier for him to remain outside the rank system. And i expect he was rarely just hired out either.

[@johnballard3403]

. At this point, I'm convinced Naruto just wasn't promoted because Konoha's higher ups didn't want their weapon thinking it could get away with barking orders. Hell, I was sure Hiruzen's two backwards fossils of teamates had to be dead before Naruto became a Kaga. That it would only be once those two stopped whispering the wrong answer to every problem into everyone's ear, that people would notice what Naruto's actually done and rush to correct his rank.

[@PlaguedByEden]

The plot hole only comes from the fact that at the end of Shipuden Kakashi grants him the rank of Jonin but he had to study. But in Boruto he tells Boruto he's still a Genin. Thats it. Besides Shikaku told Shikimaru after he returned to fight Pain "If Naruto has truly mastered Sage mode, hes in a league of his own."

[@Jamstaro1]

I mean. From a marketing point of view. If ya send a genine to do a jounin level mission and he completes it... It highly incentivizes people to hire your villages ninjas. Because if a genine from your village can do that shit. What can a chunin get done? Money wise the village made bank off narutos shenanigans

[@Jet-ij9zc]

That doesn't work when it's 1 genin out of 40k+ ninja. (Alliance had 80k without any genin, the leaf is the biggest village. Rough estimate the leaf has 30 to 40k ninja including genin)

[@Fixti0n]

So in other words, Naruto didnt get promoted because of bureaucracy.

[@DygoKnight]

I guess

[@khalilwilson2586]

I think the perfect 8-10 chapter for the Naruto universe would be following a jonin on a mission that goes wrong. It should be one who is not named before the mini series and show new jutsu and what the ninja look like outside of the main cast that are basically gods

[@samuelcarlson1012]

I would argue from the very beginning of the series Naruto had one of the highest battle IQs out of anyone.

[@dariomerisio24]

It looks so cool in the green Vest 😢

[@basedcommentor]

Bro getting a genin pay as Hokage

[@markuswithak5084]

To be fair,the whole ninja ranking system kinda flew out of the window and became a VERY big non factor in Shippuuden. No one really cared anymore.

[@anime-channel7209]

I imagine Kishimoto just forgot the whole thing

[@PURPLE_G0J0]

This video reminds me of my favorite filler episode, the eternal Gennin

[@King_Mac80]

Of all the things that are plot holes in this universe I don't think Naruto not getting promoted is a plot hole. Naruto never mentioned it to anyone and so many things were going on in the village by the time we get to Shippuden I don't think Tsuande or her assistants were thinking about his Ninja rank.

[@pachucodrive7861]

I think Naruto just lacked the mental maturity during the chunin exams

[@gtd5626]

Exactly. And it continues through early Shippuden. He ignores Kakashis' orders and chases after Deidara, leaving Sakura and Chiyo alone to face Sasori, he turns 4 tails when Orochimaru mentions Sasuke and is an absolute jerk to Sai.

[@DarkEclipse23]

@@gtd5626totally chuunin material to these folks. 😂

[@richdurbin6146]

You put a lot more thought into this than Kishimoto ever did. I don’t believe he really thought out the promotion system, especially how it breaks down when you have 80 thousand ninja. He never that off that in part 1. Sort of how the One tail originally came out of a tea pot. Kishimoto hadn’t even worked out the tailed beast system at that point.

[@wyzeinfinity7243]

The ranks signify power and knowledge not just one or the other knowledge is preferred though hence why shikamaru passed because he understood his limit instead of trying to over power tamari which showed maturity vs naruto he's just strong he doesn't have chunin level knowledge he's just doing what he's told chunin level ninja can command genin and so on. This is why he needed to study to be hokage because power wasn't enough to become hokage and its why shikamaru became hokage after because he had everything it took to become the next one so yea knowledge OP

[@Fixti0n]

Naruto's ability to perfectly tailor his strategies to defeat the opponents he knows is uncanny. If i were to fight my friends, much less my boss, i woudnt be able to come up with a plan as perfectly tailored towards them. Both 3rd Hokage and Kakashi was defeated by a strategy that would only work on them, and a strategy Naruto thought out then and there. I believe that if Naruto was better at collecting information, he would be an unbeat....unbeatabler ninja.

[@megamario3696]

I mean, it's pretty simple, you have to pass the chunin exams to become a chunin or show incredible skill within them and get a pass from the proctors. Plus, it makes sense for Naruto to be a genin, because maybe the author didn't want to do another tournament arc and just wanted to get on with the story. Or maybe it's symbolism with what how Naruto is. He's the unwanted underdog that surpasses expectations and proves to others that they're more than what people think they are. Idk, but that's what I think anyways.

[@SubWaySpiderman]

I think it’s a story reason considering being promoted he would probably have to leave team 7 to lead his own team on separate missions that Sakura wouldn’t be allowed to join but considering at that point if the story Naruto already left the team to join Jiraya and Shippuden already was starting since in canon the last arc was the saskue rescue mission right after the crush khonoha arc.

[@dianeadkins1281]

Naruto didn't become Hokage til after Boroto was 12 and he had to take the necessary tests after he became Hokage

[@ANexus21]

are we just going to forget the guy who stayed a genin through multiple hokage? they guy who served under tobirama and two other kage's reign who did it on principal?

[@KenZaracki]

He DID become a chunin! Iruka made him go through all the steps before he would sign for him to become a jonin.

[@HihiouZabimaru182]

My theory is that in the time lapse between Naruto and Shippuden, he was already jounin level from episode 1, and all power ups and skills acquired after were just adding to his frankly ridiculous arsenal of skills. I'd venture a guess that by the time Pain invaded the Leaf Village, he was easily high level Hokage comparable, if not even better, and assigning him a traditional rank was meaningless. It simply wasn't designed to quantify someone of his level.

[@Yorgos_B]

"Because his was hating them or something..." ITACHI: WTF?

[@raulvitorlucenamelo6213]

When in doubt, blame Danzo

[@georgplatzer8213]

He did not get promoted because he lacked in knowhow. First he needed to study and we all know how much Naruto likes to study and THEN he can get promoted

[@orimoreau3138]

Their system reminds me a bit of catholic structure. Yes, in most cases priest becomes bishop becomes cardinal and those cardinals usually elevate one of themselves to the Pope role but technically they can vote in a new Pope every male on planet.

[@Aylivmo]

Art imitates from real life cool

[@orimoreau3138]

@@Aylivmo true, I've also heard they remade Hokage Rock with some lame dudes with no powers