The Untold Truth Of Shizune From Naruto

Behind every great woman is, well, an even greater woman. That's certainly true when it comes to the "Naruto" story. The Village Hidden in the Leaves wouldn't have survived if not for the steadfast leadership of Lady Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. However, Tsunade herself may not have been able to carry out her duties if her apprentice, Shizune, wasn't there to watch over her during a difficult period in her life.

Shizune is just one of the many unsung heroes of "Naruto" and its sequels. Tsunade's right-hand woman has extraordinary knowledge of medicine and precise control of her chakra, enabling her to perform the most complicated healing jutsu. Not only that, Shizune's skills as a shinobi are on a jōnin level. She can perform powerful and forbidden jutsu with ease. And, despite her warm personality, she won't hesitate to take decisive action — especially if the good name of Lady Tsunade is at stake. Shizune is also one of the few positive adult figures that Naruto Uzumaki had in his life growing up, and she continued to worry about his welfare throughout his teenage years.

There is plenty that fans don't know about this underrated character, but we've got you covered. This is the untold truth of Shizune from "Naruto."

At first glance, Shizune doesn't come across as the apprentice of Tsunade. If anything, based on how awfully protective Shizune is of Tsunade, the roles appear reversed. Following the death of renowned jōnin Dan Katō — Shizune's uncle and Tsunade's lover — Tsunade left the Village Hidden in the Leaves and Shizune joined her as her attendant and apprentice. However, Shizune often finds herself in the role of caretaker to Tsunade.

Shizune spends a lot of time protecting Tsunade from anyone that wishes to cause her harm and saving her from her own dangerous vices, such as excessive drinking, sleeping on the job, and gambling away their money. The gambling — a habit she picked up from her grandfather Hashirama Senju — is perhaps Tsundae's biggest flaw, as her luck is hilariously nonexistent. Tsunade is so unlucky that she sees winning as a bad omen for the future. Despite her terrible habits, Shizune remains loyal to Lady Tsunade.

Tsunade can be a difficult person to deal with at times. She doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to sharing her opinions, and she has no time for those who act foolishly (even though she's often guilty of that herself). Tsunade can also be quite lazy with her work, falling asleep on the job and trying to trick others into doing the work for her. And she has addiction issues — not just related to gambling, but alcohol too. As bad as these shortcomings may sound, Tsunade is still a woman worth respecting in Shizune's eyes.

A great example of Shizune standing up for Tsunade is in Episode 287 of "Naruto: Shippūden," in which Shizune performs surgery on Karai to remove the insect inside him. As she tries to explain Tsunade's fear of blood to the Kage of the Hidden Cloud Village, Shizune delves into her master's tragic backstory, discussing the losses of Nawaki and Dan Katō. The Kage isn't moved by what he hears. When he makes an insensitive comment about Tsunade's mental health, Shizune throws the bloody insect she just pulled from Karai's body at his feet.

Shizune's biggest asset as a shinobi isn't her skill in combat, it's her ability to heal others. She's an extremely talented medical-nin (a ninja who specializes in medical treatment) capable of performing complicated healing procedures thanks to her refined chakra control. For example, Shizune took the lead in guiding a team of medical-nin performing the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique on Neji, saving his life from the injuries he received during the Sasuke Recovery Mission arc. The difficulty in performing the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique lies in being able to form compatible cells to heal the patient's wounds, which require lots of time, energy, and near-perfect chakra control.

Despite the challenges that come with being a medical-nin, Shizune would never dream of exploiting her abilities for profit. In "Sakura Hiden: Thoughts of Love, Riding Upon a Spring Breeze," the third installment in a light novel series illustrated by "Naruto" creator Masashi Kishimoto, Shizune makes her stance on this issue perfectly clear. She takes offense at Kido Tsumiki's idea of monetizing questionable medications for children, preferring to offer them affordable and highly effective therapy sessions from Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka.

Even though Shizune loves and respects Lady Tsunade, she isn't afraid to call Tsunade out over her judgment as Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Interestingly, when she does call her out, it's usually got something to do with the safety of Naruto Uzumaki. In "Naruto: Shippūden," Shizune expressed concern about using Naruto as bait for the Akatsuki during the new Chūnin Exams. That's not the only time Shizune has appealed to her superior over Naruto. In fact, she once had to go over her head.

During the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission arc, Shizune objects to the idea of sending Naruto to the Tenchi Bridge and even suggests that she and her team go instead of Team 7. After her second plea to Tsunade fails, Shizune takes her concerns about Naruto being constantly pitted against members of Akatsuki to the Konoha Council. Her appeals don't really change anything, but she remains steadfast in her support of Naruto — she's present when Team 7 comes home from the mission.

In "Naruto Shippūden the Movie," Shizune once again expressed her concern over Naruto being sent on a dangerous mission to Lady Tsunade. No matter how powerful Naruto became, Shizune just couldn't help but worry about him.

As the "Naruto" franchise is blessed with so many memorable and entertaining characters, Shizune didn't have a lot of opportunities to show what she was really made of in the anime series. That was a real shame because Shizune is a way stronger fighter than most people seem to realize. With her rank as a jōnin and her position as an apprentice to Tsunade, Shizune is more than capable of holding her own, proving as much against formidable foes like Kabuto Yakushi.

In Episode 97 of the original "Naruto" anime, Shizune even shows how she's capable of performing the same forbidden Shadow Clone Technique jutsu as Naruto Uzumaki himself. What really sets Shizune apart is her use of poisonous attacks. She has been known to coat her senbon and kunai with a poison that can debilitate and paralyze someone with a scratch. Shizune's deadliest attack, however, is her Poison Mist. She can emit poisonous gas from her mouth that causes anyone who breathes it in to die immediately. As we said, she can definitely hold her own.

While "Naruto" doesn't constantly bring back killed-off characters like some similar franchises (see: "Dragon Ball"), it has been guilty of this on occasion. Shizune is one of the characters in question. During the Pain's Assault arc in "Naruto: Shippūden," Shizune was one of the unfortunate victims of Nagato, better known to fans as Pain. Her fate got sealed when she discovered the black receivers on the body Jiraiya captured, before Pain killed him.

Shizune would soon fall victim to the Human Path. Once a shinobi, he was turned into one of the Six Paths of Pain by Nagato. After probing her mind for the whereabouts of Naruto, the Human Path removed Shizune's soul from her body, killing her instantly. Thankfully, her body was kept safe and she was able to come back to life when Pain performed his reincarnation ninjutsu, Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.

Shizune's role in the sequel series "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" isn't as pivotal as the one she played prior to that, but she's still an important character in the franchise as a whole. She has a strong connection to Sakura Haruno (who trained under Lady Tsunade) and her daughter Sarada. When Sarada began having questions about the legitimacy of her birth, she turned to Shizune for help, asking her if Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha were really her parents.

Shizune told Sarada about how hard Sakura has worked as a medical-nin and that she should be proud of her mother's accomplishments. When Sarada ran off to search for Sasuke, Shizune visited Sakura at the hospital and assured her that Sarada would be alright. It's also implied in the "Naruto Retsuden" light novel series that Sakura would leave Sarada in Shizune's care when she was away from the village. Shizune is essentially an aunt figure for Sarada.

Before Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga tied the knot, the knuckleheaded ninja was involved in an awkward hot spring incident with Shizune. The two had a surprisingly intimate scene together in "Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3" for the PlayStation 2, one that the creators played for laughs.

In the video game, Naruto can bathe in the hot springs with various male and female characters from the series. One such scene has Naruto soaking at the hot springs, only to hear Shizune and realize it's a mixed bath day (meaning men and women can bathe together).

The cutscene is pretty funny, with Naruto freaking out and Shizune taking it all in her stride. She even offers to wash his back, though Naruto is just too embarrassed. There are two other cutscenes where Naruto has lunch with Shizune, listening to her rant and rave about Lady Tsunade.

Tonton may seem like a character made with the sole intention of selling plushies, but Tsunade's pet pig is actually Shizune's greatest weapon — at least, in the "Naruto" video games. In games like "Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2," Shizune can actually throw Tonton like a shuriken by initiating a move called Hog Release: Tonton. This move makes the pet pig (who Shizune is often left to look after in the anime) attack her enemy from various directions, launching them into the air by spinning underneath them.

Tonton can even be used as a partner to Shizune in games like "Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja 4," in which the pig transforms into a mirror image of her owner and distracts the enemy from Shizune's main attacks. In "Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2," Tonton can be used as a tool to break rocks in the player's path, reminiscent of HM usages in the "Pokémon" games. She's a loyal and endlessly useful companion to Shizune in the world of "Naruto" video games.

Shizune is often quick to scold Lady Tsunade when she drinks excessively, but this is something she's been known to do herself on occasion. As it does with so many people, the booze tends to turn Shizune into a different character, amplifying her less favorable traits. Following Episode 77 of "Naruto: Shippūden," an omake (a short, bonus episode) featuring Shizune aired. She's heavily intoxicated and deep in conversation with Kurenai Yūhi. The short shows a completely different side to the usually friendly Shizune — she's clearly jealous of Kurenai and her relationship with Asuma Sarutobi.

After complaining to Kurenai about only having met creepy men on her journey, Shizune starts to openly worry about missing her chance to get married, like Lady Tsunade did. When Shizune realizes that Lady Tsunade is right behind her as she says all this, she quickly sobers up from her drunken state. The attitudes on display may be a little dated, but it's a funny short that gives viewers a window into a lesser-seen side of Shizune.