Naruto, Vol. 09: Neji vs. Hinata

Naruto [ナルト] #9

by Masashi Kishimoto

Still in the thick of the Chūnin Selection Exams, the student ninja unleash their signature techniques as they spar in a series of one-on-one elimination matches. The heated battles bring out a new side in many of the opponents as they fight to advance to the third stage of the test and, in some cases, struggle to survive! Naruto looses an explosive new move on his foe—but will it be enough to win? And when Hyuga clan members Neji and Hinata are pitted against each one another, will old family grudges make their duel even more vicious than the others?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Action, Shonen

184 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2001

About the author

Masashi Kishimoto (岸本斉史 Kishimoto Masashi) is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series O-Parts Hunter (666 Satan) and Blazer Drive. Two of his former assistants, Osamu Kajisa (Tattoo Hearts) and Yuuichi Itakura (Hand's), have also gone on to moderate success following their work on Naruto.

Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was Karakuri (カラクリ?), which he submitted to Shueisha in 1995. This earned him the Weekly Shōnen Jump's monthly "Hop Step Award" in 1996, granted to promising new manga artists. This was followed in 1997 by a pilot version of Naruto (NARUTO－ナルト－), published in Akamaru Jump Summer. In 1998, Kishimoto premiered as a Weekly Shōnen Jump artist with a serialized version of Karakuri in Weekly Shōnen Jump, but it proved unpopular and was canceled soon after. In 1999, a serialized version of Naruto began publication in Weekly Shōnen Jump and quickly became a hit.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much gender discrimination... Seriously, out of 9 only one girl? I keep waiting for a strong woman to show up... Hope I won't be waiting long.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lesson for all the adults who underestimate their kids and everyone younger to them:

*Kakashi's dialogue to Naruto:
"In this world, there are kids who are younger than you and yet stronger than me."

There's just no point in getting insecure or jealous of your children and the new generation.

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that battle was intense. In the anime I felt the emotions were better shown there. Then again, I did see the show first then started reading the manga. But either way, its drawn pretty good. And near the end there, leading up to the next fight. Can't wait. Series getting interesting.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naruto's fight at least gave him a chance to show off that he isn't *that* stupid to the rest of his old classmates, at least, but it's Hinata's battle that really stuck in my mind. I'm reminded of the Last Naruto movie, thank goodness, where she finally gets her guy. I always thought that she was a bit short-changed in the standard manga, though. She always stood up and took tons of punishment, and never really got the good scenes of real success. The least we could do for her is give her her very own Gaiden where she successfully seduces her man and truly saves the day.

I'm not being sexist. She's always being given the short straw in the manga. I've always wished that she was given enough panel time to transform or give her the depth she really deserves.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, has yet to really shine, even if he successfully defeated his opponent. I always liked him, even if it is such a bother.

[Nonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it and Hinata is one of my absolute favorite girl!! And go Naruto!!! I'm pretty sure I love Gaara xD<3

[T.R. Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neji was one of my favorite characters. Another one that Kishi sadly forgot about post timeskip. Such a brilliant arc he went through. These volumes are golden.

[Ange · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naruto Vol. 9: Turning the Tables
Masashi Kishimoto

Naruto is a popular graphic novel series, that is well known in the world. I chose to read this book because one of my sisters is obsessed about reading it, every day she comes home with a new Naruto book, going on and on about how good it is. So i gave it try, and i loved it! All the action, humour and the characteristics of each and everyday character. So she got me into reading graphic novels.

Why i decided to read this book: I decied to read this book because my sister (Luseane) FORCED me to read this book, and after the first two-three chapters, i enjoyed the book.

My favourite quote: "... because someone told me i was a failure" This is definatly my favourite quote in the book, because not only is it true, it is also very inspiring. During this quote, it was a battle between 'Naruto Uzumaki' and 'Neji Hyuga' who fought at a chunin exam. The Victor was Naruto, by using the power of the nine-tail fox, to regain his chakra.

Something new i learned: i learnt that no matter what anyone has sad to you, good or bad, never quit, because theres always that little percent, that you will succed.

A character: A character i enjoyed through out the novel, was Naruto Uzumaki! a thirteen year old boy, who has no parents, or reliives. He is very funny, lazy, energetic and esspecially goofy. He is one of the most powerfull beings in his era. Its very intersting to see his progress to becoming Hokage of the Leaf village.

I would recommend this book to people, who loves anime.

[Riki (˶˃⤙˂˶) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 💫

Now we cookin'!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cumpliré mi palabra a muerte... ese es mi camino ninja

No sabia cual habia sido la pelea de Naruto en los examenes chunin, su "técnica especial" de tirarse un gas en la cara de Kiba por su olfato desarrollado, me morí de risa (como siempre con el). Y aunque Hinata me caiga mal me dio lástima y creo que ya no la odio porque no me acordaba de su sufrimiento y lo insegura que era, me sigo sorprendiendo lo mal que se llevaban todos los equipos, la maldad de Neji, Temari, y como después cambia todo.

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book was pretty awesome!!!!!!!!!!! My friends sometimes tell me "Why are you reading PICTURE BOOKS!?" Then i say picture books are for lil kids. ITS CALLED MANGA PEOPLE!!! GET IT RIGHT!!! haha well anyways, it was really good, and easy to read. (IT TAKES PRACTICE TO READ MANGA BOOKS) My favorite character in the book is Hinata, which has a somewhat similar personality. Mostly the withdrawn part.

[marialena_ios · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part was Hinata's fight as she is my favourite female character! We see her character development and how she matured because of Naruto's influence!

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a while since Naruto was given the opportunity to be serious instead of being straight-up goofy, but his fight really demonstrated his wit, humour and perseverance! Love that he's a quick-learner and his latest combo really shows it.

And then there's the Hyūga fight that unveils some mysterious bloodline war. The best part of it is seeing what Hinata is capable of in front of adversity. There's clearly so much more to their story and I look forward to finding out the details of it all.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Odo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5.0

[Bandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rock Lee, my beloved <3

Megfigyeltem, hogy nincsenek kifejezetten balanszban a kötetek egymással, illetve egy kiemelkedő kötetet mindig egy Bekötő Fejezet hangulatú kötet követ. Ami szükséges, viszont emiatt itt ismét laposabb kissé a sztori és csak felvezeti a feszültséget a továbbiakhoz. Manga business is just business too after all.

[Kulwinder Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

"𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣. 𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙬𝙚'𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 "𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚" 𝙖𝙣𝙙 "𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙚." 𝙄𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙬𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨, 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨... 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣."

Naruto's unintentional farting technique saved the day. Hahaha, I completely forgot about that part. 😂 I was bowled over by the Naruto vs Kiba match. It was a very strategic bout till the end. On the other hand, Hinata's ferocious fight with Neji was something else entirely. It was like she completely transformed into a whole another person. Hinata was doomed from the start, but hat's off to her superb effort. She was the epitome of courage and immense positive change. Neji may have won the fight, but Hinata won the hearts of us readers. As the preliminary rounds are progressing towards the end, the bouts are becoming more brutal than ever. I'm eagerly awaiting Gaara's combat with Rock Lee now!

P.S. - How can one tell whether Kakashi is winking or just blinking with his headband already covering one eye? 🤔

[saroyami ˚₊۶ৎ˙⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

hinata's glowing uppp damn 😻

[Waldmar1000 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sasuke somehow wins his fight, despite having his curse mark. With that, the 3rd exam continues. However, a family fight starts: Neji vs Hinata. This, fight will bring alot of tension for both fighters. (oh, and me say now that Neji is a J-E-R-K=JERK)

Iknow I already said this before but........IT'S MASTERFUL! THE DRAWINGS ARE AS AMAZING AS MAGNA CAN BE! THE STORY IS GREAT, AND IT EVERYTHING. IT HAS COMEDY, ROMANCE, ACTION, SADNESS, EPICNESS, AND EVEN A LITTLE BIT OF DRAMA. THIS BOOK SERIES IS INCREDIBLE, AND I WOULD RECOMDMEND IT TO ANYBODY AT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH MASAHI KISHIMOTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ino and Sakura keep battling it out and it comes to a draw. Naruto finally battles Kiba and his dog- we are Naruto grow as a fighter yet again. Then, surprisingly, my favorite battle was between Neji and Hinata. She pulls her strength and determination from Naruto, her crush, but Neji is a formidable opponent. She is severely injured and there is a rush to get her stable. We end with the intro to a new battle- I'm dying of anticipation! Gaara vs. Rock Lee. I LOVE Gaara and his creepy psychopathy!

[Alec · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga was amazing! I love this series so much and each one keeps getting excitinger, awesomer, complicateder, and emotionaler.

Also, 3 different cliffhangers!
Can you please give me volume 10 now?



who can resist that face?



I guess he can.

[Dominique "Eerie" Sobieska · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the preliminary rounds continues, a confrontation between the Hyuga cousins ends with high emotions from its audience. And the anticipation of numerous onlookers waiting for the final Sand Genin, Gaara, to reveal his mysterious abilities as he faces of Rock Lee.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great installment! The chunin exams are getting ever more dangerous and intense as the volumes go on!!

[clea · Rating 5 out of 5]

part 1 naruto is just too pure i understand why hinata likes him so much I AGREE 👍👍👍

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Read as part of the 25 Days of Manga challenge for December 2020.*

The ante keeps getting upped with the chunin exams, and this isn't an exception at all! Between the ending of Sakura and Ino's battle, the fight between Naruto and Kiba, the fight between the Hyuga cousins, and the volume ending with the glimpse at the upcoming fight between Rock Lee and Gaara, this has got to be one of my favorite volumes so far.

I would say that the strong points show up in each of the two central battles of this volume. The fight between Naruto and Kiba is fantastic, because it's a very nice look at Naruto's continued growth as a creative fighter and should stand as a testament to the fact that this isn't entirely the same Naruto we were introduced to in the first volume. He's a very hands-on sort of learner, and I don't think that that's regarded as often as it should be. And that isn't to say that Kiba doesn't show some of his own formidable skill in this fight either; but Naruto is the one who really shines in their bout.

I also really appreciate now more than I did in the past how the battle between Neji and Hinata unfolds. Neji uses a lot of his anger and perception and observation to his advantage in the start of the fight to psychologically mess with Hinata, which I don't often see people bring up. While I'm not here to say that he was necessarily justified in the way he tore her down on an emotional front, I do think it's a good look at his ability to incorporate tactics of psychological warfare into such a situation. Likewise, it's nice to take a look at Hinata's desire to overcome her own shortcomings through sheer willpower, and I love the way her final words to Neji pointing out his own unhappiness dig just a little at the plot there regarding the way the Hyuga family is so deeply messed up. Everything about their fight is so intense in a different way to a lot of the other fights up to this point, and I don't think it's given enough credit.

Of course, I'm just as eager for the next volume with the iconic fight between Lee and Gaara. That's it's own category of intense, and it'll be nice to revisit the manga version of the fight after all these years.

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the entire series.

Once upon a time, the spirit of an evil Nine Tailed Fox wreaked havoc on Konohagakure; the Village Hidden in the Leaves, killing hundreds of honorable ninja in the skirmish and leaving many children without homes or parents. The Fourth Hokage (leader of the village) unleashes a forbidden jutsu (magic spell/ninja ability) to seal the spirit of the evil fox into the body of a newborn baby named Naruto at the cost of his own life. He did this in the hopes that the boy could one day learn to master the power of the demonic spirit and use it to protect the village and become a great hero of the people.

Unknown to the citizens of the Leaf, the Nine Tailed Fox was being controlled by an even more powerful adversary, a legendary rogue ninja that plans to wage war against the entire world from the shadows. The identity of the mysterious ninja that attacked the Leaf Village using the Nine Tails died with the Fourth Hokage, and he used what remained of his life to gift Naruto with the power of one day being able to stop this evil ninja and a clan of outlawed S-rank criminals called the Akatsuki from committing mass genocide against the many hidden villages and clans of the world.

Because of the evil spirit sealed inside him, Naruto grew up hated by the other children of the village because they believe him and the Nine Tails to be one and the same. They believe he’s a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, waiting for the perfect moment to kill them all just like the Nine Tails killed their parents and families. Shunned, dehumanized and treated like dirt, Naruto vows to become the greatest hokage the world has ever seen so that he can receive the love and acknowledgement he never got as a child.

On top of the Nine Tails power and the will to never quit, Naruto also possesses the uncanny ability to turn everyone he meets into a potential comrade. He brings out the best in his peers and tries his hardest to make his enemies see the errors of their ways. He disobeys the rules and ignores cultural traditions to try and make changes to the world and break the eternal cycle of war and hatred through his own methods. His determination is infectious to friend and foe alike. He earns himself the respect he deserves by overcoming one impossible obstacle at a time.

Naruto encounters many fascinating and terrifying ninja over the course of his journey to become hokage. Among them are Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto’s best friend and rival who is driven by the vengeful lust to murder his elder brother after he wiped out their own clan in cold blood. Sasuke warms up to Naruto, but his hatred and trauma are dangerous forces that threaten to break his moral code as a ninja and destroy his reputation among his peers.

Kakashi Hatake is a notorious copycat ninja that survived one of the most brutal and devastating wars in history as well as the Nine Tails attack on the Leaf Village. He becomes Naruto and Sasuke’s mentor and teaches them a great number of valuable lessons about surviving in the dangerous world of rogue ninja, bloodthirsty assassins and clans ruled by corruption.

Jiraiya is a perverted yet wise sage who taught the Fourth Hokage everything he knew and he’s regarded as a god among shinobi that’s famous for his heroic actions in the second great ninja war. He takes an interest in Naruto and raises him as a father figure to carry on the legacy of the Fourth Hokage to prepare him for the many dangerous people that want to use his power for their own nefarious purposes.

The Akatsuki is one such group of wicked ninja. Among them are Sasuke’s brother Itachi who murdered his clan and possesses many dangerous techniques involving illusions, psychological torture and elemental manipulation. Sasori who controls poisonous puppets with magical threads, Orochimaru who mastered the forbidden arts of reanimation and quasi-immortality, Deidara who fights from afar using detonating clay and many other deadly foes.

The entire series chronicles Naruto and his fellow ninja comrades growing through countless trials and tragedies. There are hundreds of unique jutsus, clans, and techniques which lead to some very intense, creative and strategic battles between skilled ninja with diverse abilities that don’t always match up evenly. There are clan based abilities such as the Aburame clan’s ability to control insects, the Yamanaka clan’s ability to jump into other people’s minds and control their bodies and the Inuzuka clan’s ability to bond with wolves that learn to mimic their master’s battle skills. Then there’s ocular genetic abilities such as the sharingan which allows the user to create psychological illusions, copy their enemy’s abilities and manipulate elemental energy. The byakugan allows the user to read their enemies vital points and detect their spiritual energy from faraway. The rinnegan grants control over space and gravity and so on.

On top of having countless unique abilities, nearly every character has a tragic backstory that makes them sympathetic and relatable, even the nastiest of the villains have well-explored reasons for following the paths they do and becoming the way they are. One of my favorite aspects of the series is how well it explores the physical, emotional and psychological effects war can have on society and culture as well as the survivors and future generations that are forced to live in them. How it breeds racism and cultural disputes, how it inspires hatred in orphaned children and war veterans robbed of their homes toward foreign nations, as well as how this eventually leads to further death, war, poverty and destruction. Learning to forgive the ones you hate to prevent further conflict and damaging the world for future generations even further is a major theme throughout the story.

Being a massive 700 chapter series, it’s not too surprising that there’s some plot holes and consistency issues. A rule might be stated regarding the requirements and usage of a certain jutsu or ability only for that rule to be repeatedly broken 400 chapters later. Sometimes the characters and rules contradict themselves, sometimes the chronology of certain events and historical facts don’t match up perfectly, the lore and general backstory go through several retcons that change the philosophy and power scaling of the characters and the scope of world-building; the final arc especially drags on and breaks a lot of the logic and rules that the story spent the whole series setting up, etc...

Naruto’s far from perfect, but I remember it very fondly for being one of the first series that introduced me to things like manga and Japanese entertainment in general. It was one of those childhood classics like Dragon Ball, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin. The series grew up with me and I can’t help but feel grateful to it for introducing me to hundreds of other franchises that I’m still a huge fan of to this day and I continue to find many new ones on the regular. Naruto's journey from a clownish, disrespected outcast into a talented, well-loved and admired hero is a memorable one.

[Kaoyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy buen tomo en que se ha visto las peleas de dos de mis personajes favoritos. He empatizado mucho con Hinata y admirar, querer y respetar mas si cabe a Kurenai porque parece una madre que se preocupa por ella, y debo decir que en caracter yo suelo ser como Hinata pero cuando me enojo tengo mas de Sakura. Neji es un gran guerrero pero por ahora me parece un presumido con su idea de que la gente no puede cambiar. Naruto es el ejemplo a seguir de Hinata y no podría haber escogido mejor y el padre como puede hablar asi de su propia hija, ni que fuera un estorbo.

Ya estoy empezando a shippear algunas parejas.

Con ganas de ver el combate de Lee y Gaara.

[Michael Neno · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second of at least three volumes covering the elimination matches of the Journeyman Ninja Selection Exams, Naruto Vol. 9 features several intense and clever battles between the few surviving students. While featuring less characterization and insights into Naruto's complex world and history than usual, "Neji vs. Hinata" is a masterclass in cartooning, with superb pacing, detailed textures, explosive lettering and top-notch choreography and composition.

[Molli B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eventually we'll get through the trials! But it seems like it might be a bit longer :)

Lots of stuff happened here—I'm not really sure what this means for Sakura and Ino. Hinata's fight was tough. :\ Naruto's was good stuff, but I'm surprised it wasn't the final one! And the two remaining face-offs should be good........

[Elif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Naruto’nun dövüşü biraz hayal kırıklığıydı. Ben Garaa’yla karşılaşmasını beklemiştim nedense.
Hinata çok tatlı bir karakter ve çok güçleneceğini hissediyorum umarım diğer ciltlerde görünmeye devam ediyordur, utangaç olduğunu Naruto kalın kafalısı bir türlü göremiyor ama belki işler değişir bu ciltten sonra. Terlikle dövüşüyor olmaları bana çok komik geliyor.

[Keita Yata]

I thought both of Neji and Hinata are intelligent characters and have technical ways of fighting. The people who looked down on Naruto were surprised at his growth, and I wanted to cheer very much. The battles of each character were finally squeezed, and I was nervous again. The relationship between Hinata and Naruto was very good. Each character appeared their strength clearly.

[Sarah Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It’s precisely because of the unchanging nature of humankind the differences between people are born.

...Don’t you know?

Even the sweetest girl needs a hard center, or she’s not gonna make it out there.”