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In Naruto, one of the most important individuals apart from the Kage and village elders is the Daimyo, who is the political leader of the village. Each of the five Great Nations in Naruto has a Daimyo who looks over the financial budget, maintains good relationships with allied nations, and has the power to appoint a new Kage for the Nation.
Being the most important individual in the nation, they remain at high risk from their enemies. However, they’re assisted by a group of highly skilled shinobis, whose sole purpose is to protect the Daimyo. In Naruto, one of the most renowned and powerful individuals is the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire.
Exploring the Twelve Guardian Ninjas in Naruto
The Twelve Guardian Ninja in Naruto is a group of twelve highly skilled shinobis who were appointed as the bodyguards of Land of Fire’s Daimyo. Throughout the series, only seven members of Twelve Guardian Ninjas were unveiled in Naruto and the rest remains a mystery to date. The job of these selected individuals is to protect the Daimyo, even at the cost of their own life.
After they got appointed as the bodyguards of Daimyo, they were prohibited from meddling with the affairs of their village. Each of these shinobis came from a different village in the Land of Fire, with Konohagakure, or the Hidden Leaf, being the most powerful.
Six members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja were unhappy with the fact the military and financial resources were taken by Konoha, whilst their own villages were suffering from a shortage. Due to the injustice, they wanted to bring together all the villages of Land of Fire under the leadership of the Fire Daimyo.
They conspired to overthrow the current Hokage and destroy Konoha. However, the six loyal members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja comprised Asuma Sarutobi, Tōu, Chiriku, Kitane, Seito, and Nauma who were ordered by Daimyo to execute the traitors.
Out of the twelve, only Chiriku and Asuma managed to survive the battle, and on the opposite side the leader of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, Kazuma. After Kazuma was defeated, he escaped from the grasp of Asuma and Chiriku, who survived the battle. Later, Kazuma reincarnated Seito, Tou, Kitane, and Nauma for his evil plot, but remained unsuccessful.
The sole reason for reviving the four members was to use them as puppets to perform Limelight, a powerful lightning-based technique capable of turning everything to dust within the range of the four members.
Known members of Twelve Guardian Ninja in Naruto:
1) Asuma Sarutobi
Asuma was the son of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and a member of the Sarutobi clan, which is regarded as one of the most powerful clans in Naruto. His terms with his father were not good, which is why he left Konoha and later joined the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
In this group, Asuma developed a strong friendship with Chiriku, whom the former considered his brother. After the group disbanded, Asuma returned to his village and took on the responsibilities of Jonin. Despite leaving the position of Daimyo’s bodyguard, Asuma still retained a bounty of 35 million Ryo in the underground black market.
2) Kazuma
Kazuma was the leader of the Twelve Guardian Ninja in Naruto and was the main perpetrator of conspiring the coup d’etat against Konoha. He wanted to overthrow the Hokage with the help of five members of the group who agreed with his idea. After Asuma defeated Kazuma, the latter went into hiding to continue his evil schemes.
Later, he revived the corpses of Tōu, Kitane, Seito, and Nauma for attacking Konoha. With the help of his son Sora, he fought against Team Yamato and Asuma but was defeated yet again.
3) Chiriku
Chiriku and Asuma maintained a strong friendship between them and had each other's backs. After going against the six conspirators of Twelve Guardian Ninja in Naruto, only he and Asuma managed to survive in their group. After the team disbanded, Chiriku became the monk of Land of Fire’s Temple.
He was one of the most powerful members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, who managed to retain a bounty of 30 million Ryo’s, which he wasn’t proud of like Asuma. Chiriku's most dominant feat was his Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder.
4) Kitane
Before his death, he was friends with Asuma Sarutobi in Naruto. Kitane was known for his battle intellect, where he used the recklessness of his enemies as an advantage, as he didn’t like to lift his finger without giving a thought. Along with Nauma, Tou, and Seito, he was recognized as one of the greatest Lightning users.
His capabilities were so terrifying that his corpse was hidden safely out of the reach of those who would resurrect him for evil means. Similar to Asuma, Kitane was also proficient in combining Kinjutsu with his elemental affinity. Even after being reincarnated, Kitane didn’t lose his charm.
5) Nauma
Not much is known about Nauma, but he was a member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja in his lifetime. Nauma was one of Daimyo's loyal bodyguards and after being ordered to execute the traitors, he didn't back off. During his fight with Kazuma and his group, he was killed. Later, Nauma was reincarnated by Kazuma, who used his body as a puppet.
6) Tou
Tou was the only Kunoichi member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja who was loyal to Daimyo and followed his orders without question. Like Seito, Nauma, and Kitane, she was also proficient in Lightning-based attacks. After Tou was ordered to execute the conspirators, she alongside her teammates fought Kazuma and his group but lost her life in the process.
7) Seito
Similar to Nauma, Kitane, and Tou, there is not much known about Seito. However, he is said to be one of the most powerful Shinobi members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja in Naruto. Seito respected Daimyo and was loyal to the Land of Daimyo, which is why he fought Kazuma and his group to stop them in their pursuit, but was killed by Kazuma.
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