“Please let me rest now.” This is what Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of the Naruto manga series, said when he was asked to continue making more Naruto/Boruto movies.
It’s not hard to see why he would want to rest, considering that he worked on a weekly series for fifteen years straight, while working almost every single hour of every day of the week.
Only the most dedicated and talented artists and writers have what it takes to make it in the weekly manga industry.
The rewards are there, as even a mildly successful series can make millions of dollars for its creators. In exchange for the cash and the recognition, you need to work your fingers to the bone in order to churn out eighteen pages of manga every week.
It is due to this grueling schedule that many mistakes crept into the artwork of the Naruto manga. Kishimoto was up against the clock every week, which meant that there usually wasn’t time to fix mistakes before the next issue of Weekly Shonen Jump had to go to press.
The majority of the mistakes seen on this list were later corrected for the collected volumes of Naruto.
We are here today to look at the many errors in the Naruto manga that snuck past the editors, from Orochimaru’s skin (that has the power to regenerate) to the artisans of Konoha who had the power to see the future.
Here are the 15 Mistakes You Completely Missed In Naruto!
Orochimaru’s Regenerating Second Skin
Orochimaru demonstrated some gross abilities during his battles in Naruto.
This was due to his snake theme, which meant that was always spitting out weapons and tearing his flesh off, to reveal another body underneath. Orochimaru was never concerned about the long-term damage to his body, as he could always find another one.
In chapter 292 of the Naruto manga, we see Naruto losing control during his fight with Orochimaru and using more of the Nine-Tailed Fox’s chakra.
This allows Naruto to fire explosions made from pure energy, one of which manages to hit Orochimaru.
Orochimaru retreats, as his left arm has been blown off by the attack.
He then uses one of his techniques to shed his skin, which causes his arm to grow back.
In chapter 293 of the Naruto manga, we see that Orochimaru’s original skin still has its left arm, even though it had been removed in the previous chapter.
Torune’s Mask Holes
Torune was one of Danzo’s personal bodyguards and a high-ranking member of Root. He was also a member of the Aburame clan and possessed the ability to control nano-sized insects, which meant that he had a touch that could kill, as the insects could be transferred into someone else’s body and devour them from within.
Masashi Kishimoto has admitted that Torune’s design was inspired by American superheroes, which is why he wears a dark mask with white eyes.
Kishimoto messed up Torune’s look during his first appearance when Danzo orders him and Fu to remove their Anbu outfits. Torune’s mask originally did not obscure his eyes, which meant that you could see them clearly.
Torune’s mask was corrected in the collected volumes of Naruto.
The Unnecessary Shukaku Cameo
Shukaku was one of the first tailed beasts that we saw in Naruto, even though its true nature had yet to be revealed. Shukaku was later extracted from Gaara and placed within the Gedo Statue, where it was sealed away.
Obito would revive six of the fallen jinchuriki as part of his Six Paths of Pain technique. He was unable to do this with Shukaku, as Gaara was still alive, which meant that he remained in the statue, while the other tailed beasts were returned to their hosts.
In chapter 629 of the Naruto manga, the Ten-Tails is able to see images of the other tailed beasts surrounding Naruto, due to the fact that they had given him their chakra. T
he original version of this chapter showed Shukaku among the other tailed beasts, even though it hadn’t met Naruto yet and had not given him any chakra.
This was changed in the collected volumes so that Shukaku was no longer in the image.
Hidan’s Stolen Forehead Protector
Naruto started out with a pilot issue that was very different from the main series. It was set in the modern day and Naruto was actually the child of the Nine-Tails, which allowed him to take on a fox-like form in battle.
The Naruto pilot made Masashi Kishimoto realize that he should remove the goggles from Naruto’s outfit, as they were a pain to draw repeatedly.
This led to the creation of the iconic Naruto forehead protectors that still see regular use at comic conventions across the world.
Masashi Kishimoto would sometimes screw up when drawing the forehead protectors, as he would draw the symbol of the wrong ninja village for the character who was wearing it.
In chapter 323 of the Naruto manga, Hidan is seen wearing a Konoha forehead protector, even though he is meant to be wearing one with the crossed out symbol of Yugakure.
The Missing Horn
The Eight-Tails caused a lot of trouble for the Hidden Cloud village, due to the fact that it managed to break free from its jinchuriki and go on rampages that required the strength of a Raikage to quell.
Killer Bee was one of the few jinchuriki to ever make peace with their tailed beast and gain full control of their power, though there were still those in the village who were afraid that he would lose control.
In chapter 555 of the Naruto manga, we see a flashback of the Third Raikage battling the Eight-Tails during one of its rampages.
The Eight-Tails is missing one of the horns on its head, despite the fact that it would not lose this horn until much later.
It may have been possible for the Eight-Tails to have regrown its horn at some point, but the version of the chapter that appeared in the collected volumes changed the panel, so that the Eight-Tails had its horn back, confirming that it was an error.
Itachi’s Switching Eyes
Itachi Uchiha managed to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan in his youth. This gave him access to several powerful techniques, such as Amaterasu, but it came with the cost of slowly ruining his eyesight, to the point where he would eventually go blind.
When Itachi and Sasuke had their final battle, the two of them went all-out and used their most powerful techniques.
Itachi used the Mangekyo Sharingan throughout the whole battle, as he knew that he was near the end of his life.
In chapter 389 of the Naruto manga, there is a page where Itachi suddenly reverts to using the regular Sharingan, even though he always uses the Mangekyo Sharingan in the previous and following pages.
This was corrected in the collected volumes of the series.
Pain Has The Wrong Forehead Protector
Masashi Kishimoto likely regrets the first chapter of Naruto,due to the fact that it introduced the forehead protectors and Naruto’s shadow clone technique, which allows him to make numerous copies of himself.
This means that he has had to draw both Naruto and the Konoha symbol hundreds of times more than he would have if he had just given Naruto the ability to fire energy beams or an adamantium skeleton.
The 420th chapter of Naruto contains a mistake that may have been prompted by Masashi Kishimoto and his assistants celebrating the issue number in the most appropriate manner.
It happens during the battle between Kakashi and Pain, as we see a panel where Pain is wearing a Konoha forehead protector, despite the fact that he should be wearing one with the crossed out symbol of Amegakure.
Kabuto’s Disappearing Glasses
Kabuto is one of the few characters in Naruto who mastered the power of Senjutsu, which is better known as the Sage Technique. Senjutsu users have the ability absorb chakra from nature itself.
It gives users a major power boost and improves all of their physical faculties, to the point where their senses become sharper, as they are more aware of the world around them.
They also gain an ability that allows them to sense the presence of chakra, similar to sensor type ninjas.
It seems that Senjutsu wasn’t enough to fix Kabuto’s eyesight, as he still wore his glasses after mastering the technique.
The exception to this happened in chapter 521 of the Naruto manga, as his glasses disappear in one panel even though they are there the rest of the time.
The Raikage’s Regeneration
It seems as if the Raikage and Killer Bee were created to appease the fans who hated Sasuke.
The two of them gave Sasuke some absolutely brutal beatdowns during their fights with him, to the point where they seemed to take glee in overpowering the Uchiha signature techniques with nothing more than pro-wrestling moves.
The Raikage was forced to cut off his left forearm during his battle with Sasuke, as it had been caught by the black flames of Amaterasu and would have claimed his whole body otherwise.
The final pages of the 562nd chapter of Naruto show the five Kages standing side-by-side and ready for battle.
This is one of the most awesome scenes in Naruto, but it was let down by the fact that the Raikage suddenly had his left arm back. This was corrected in the collected volumes of Naruto.
Orochimaru’s Vanishing Forehead Protector
The Third Hokage finally discovered the truth about Orochimaru’s dark nature when he found his secret laboratory, which contained numerous dead ninjas.
Orochimaru had been performing experiments on Konoha ninjas, as part of the research that led him to the creation of a technique that allowed him to cheat death itself.
It seems as if Orochimaru also learned other secret techniques during this period, such as one where he is able to make his forehead protector disappear at will.
In the 122nd chapter of the Naruto manga, we see a flashback to Sarutobi and the Anbu confronting Orochimaru in his laboratory.
Orochimaru is wearing his Konoha forehead protector during this scene, except for one panel where it has vanished.
The forehead protector then returns in Orochimaru’s next panel.
The Mirror Errors
Itachi Uchiha made his official debut in the 139th chapter of the Naruto manga. He made a huge impression during his initial battles with the Jonin of Konoha and Jiraiya, to the point where many fans believed that he may be the most powerful ninja in the entire series.
It seems that Masashi Kishimoto may have been a little too excited when he was drawing Itachi’s first battle, as he made two big mistakes on the same page.
These errors occurred in the 142nd chapter of Naruto, during the fight between Kakashi and Itachi. There is a page where we see that Itachi is wearing a regular Konoha headband, instead of the crossed out one that members of Akatsuki wear.
The panel to the right of this one has an image of Kakashi where he is missing the scar over his left eye.
Naruto’s Vanishing Whiskers
Naruto Uzumaki has six marks on his face that resemble whiskers. It was speculated for a long time that this was a byproduct of Naruto being the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, as Gaara had similar facial markings to Shukaku.
It was later revealed that this wasn’t the case, as both Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki lacked the same markings, though this may be due to the fact that they became jinchuriki at a later point in life.
It seems that it took a little while for Masashi Kishimoto to become used to drawing Naruto’s whiskers.
There was a point early on in the run of Naruto when he forgot to draw them several times in the same issue. This happened in the 33rd chapter of the Naruto manga, during the sequence when Naruto is leaving the Land of Waves.
His whiskers vanish and reappear several times throughout the chapter.
Sasuke’s Incorrect Sharingan
The Mangekyo Sharingan offers amazing power, at the cost of the eyesight of its user. The only way to prevent the deterioration of the user’s eyesight is by implanting the eyes of a close relative.
Itachi originally claimed that this was the reason why he was keeping Sasuke alive, though this was revealed to be a lie.
Sasuke would claim Itachi’s eyes for his own, which unlocked the power of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
This combined the patterns of both his and Itachi’s original Mangekyo Sharingans into one.
It seems that Masashi Kishimoto forgot about this new design, as Sasuke manifests his original Mangekyo Sharingan during his encounter with the four Hokages in chapter 619 of the Naruto manga.
This was later corrected in the collected volumes so that he used the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan instead.
Kakashi’s Amazing Healing Scar
Kakashi lost the sight in his left eye while protecting Obito from an attack. Obito would later return the favor by allowing Rin to implant one of his Sharingan into Kakashi’s wounded eye.
Kakashi still had the scar over his left eye, which never fully healed. The Sharingan is later removed from Kakashi’s eye, though Naruto is able to restore the original eye using his Six Paths chakra.
In the 460th chapter of the Naruto manga, we see Kakashi interacting with Tobi, who he believes to be Madara Uchiha.
It is during this encounter that we see Kakashi’s scar has been miraculously healed, as it doesn’t appear during a close-up of his face.
The scar would disappear in another panel later on in the issue.
The Time-Travelling Hokage
The 599th chapter of the Naruto manga was called “Obito Uchiha” due to the fact that it focused on the life of the character named in the title.
This chapter caused major continuity errors, especially when it came to the ages of certain characters, due to a scene set during a Chunin Exam which contained entrants who should have still been at the Academy.
The biggest error in chapter 599 happens during a panel where Obito looks back towards the Hokage monument.
The problem with this panel is that it shows the Fourth Hokage’s face… even though he hadn’t become the Fourth Hokage yet.
The Kakashi Gaiden storyline confirmed that Minato had yet to become the Hokage before Obito’s supposed death, so his face shouldn’t be carved in stone.
The Fourth Hokage’s face was removed from the monument in the collected volumes of Naruto.
Can you think of any other obvious mistakes in Naruto? Sound off in the comments!
