The identity of Naruto’s father has been the subject of speculation for Naruto fans for a long time. There have been heated debates, even flaming wars on the internet, over the mystery that is Naruto’s father.

The theory of the fourth Hokage

Most people believed that Naruto’s father was the Yondaime or the Fourth Hokage. The resemblance between Yondaime and Naruto is striking: both have blue eyes and yellow hair and even have the same smile. And since Naruto is an orphan and the fourth died fighting the Kyuubi, it all made sense.

Some people even came to believe that Yondaime, although clearly stated to have died fighting the Kyuubi, somehow survived and lived to become the leader of the Akatsuki. They believed that everything from the sealing of the Kyuubi within Naruto to the Akatsuki’s hunting down the Jinchuuruki was part of an elaborate plot concocted by the Fourth Hokage’s genius mind. They believed that what was shown about the Yondaime was just a hoax, in reality he was evil even though all the people of Konoha loved him and he was willing to die for them.

However, there were many people who disagreed with these ‘Yondaime is Naruto’s father theory’ believers because they couldn’t understand why a father would seal something like the Kyuubi within his own child. Some believed that it would just be ‘too obvious’ and that Kishimoto couldn’t write something that obvious, there has to be a twist. Some believed that the Yondaime was Naruto’s uncle, brother, or some other distant relative, but not his father.

There were even people who believed that the Akatsuki leader (who they believed was not Yondaime) was actually Naruto’s father. And, for some reason, he was hunting his own son. This theory was bolstered by the fact that the Akatsuki leader’s shadow appeared to have the same hair as Naruto. And when it was revealed that the face of the Akatsuki leaders also bore a striking resemblance to Naruto, this theory gathered more supporters. And they believed that a Star Wars scene with the Akatsuki leader saying “Naruto, I am your father” was not such a far off possibility.

There were other theories, some so far-fetched and random that you’d have to wonder what the fans smoked to figure it out. But all those theories were dispelled once Chapter 367 of the manga arrived.

The revelation

Chapter 367 is a perfect example of how the simplest answers are almost always the correct ones. It turned out that the obvious was actually true and that the Fourth Hokage really is Naruto’s father. Jiraiya and Tsunade confirmed everything and even revealed that Yondaime’s name was Namikaze Minato.

But if the fourth is Naruto’s father, why is he called Uzumaki Naruto and not Namikaze Naruto? Where does the Uzumaki come from? It turns out that, for some reason, Naruto got his mother’s last name instead of his father’s. And it’s not really ruthless of Minato to seal the Kyuubi inside Naruto since after all it was his dying wish that Naruto be treated like a hero for having to deal with having a monster inside of him. He died believing that the villagers would love Naruto, he had no idea that they would do otherwise. This chapter hasn’t been made into a Naruto episode yet, but it should be revealed in Naruto Shippuden very soon.