Sensei: Yuuhi Kurenai
Team:
-Inuzuka Kiba
-Hyuga Hinata
-Aburame Shino
Team 8
Team 8 is led by Kurenai Yuhi. The team specializes in tracking, causing its members to be called upon when something or someone needs to be found. They also excel in survival abilities, as they are the second team to escape the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams, and the first to obtain the scroll they needed.
Kurenai Yuhi
Age: 271-282 in Part I, 30 in Part II
Current rank: Jonin
Seiyu: Rumi Ochiai
Voice actor: Saffron Henderson (Episode 3), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Episode 20+)
Kurenai Yuhi (Yūhi Kurenai) is the leader of Team 8. Kurenai acted as an Academy Instructor for many years, eventually becoming a Jonin soon before the start of the series. Prior to the formation of Team 8, Kurenai taught a student named Yakumo Kurama. Yakumo's abilities, however, were a danger to herself and those around her, so Kurenai was forced to seal away her ability and as a result took her chance of becoming a ninja. As a Jonin leader, Kurenai is notably kind and supportive of her Genin subordinates, particularly toward Hinata Hyuga. Once Team 8 was formed, Hinata was left in her care, Hinata's father having little use for her. Kurenai has since begun to act as a parent for Hinata and tries to help her in overcoming her own weaknesses.
Kurenai has a long-standing relationship with Asuma Sarutobi, whom she frequently appears with. Despite this, the two deny being an item and try to write off the amount of time they spend together, though numerous characters suspect otherwise. In Part II the revelation that Kurenai is pregnant with Asuma's child makes their relationship clear. Kurenai specializes in genjutsu, and as seen in the anime is very proficient with it. Through the use of Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death (Magen: Jubaku Satsu), Kurenai can disappear and sneak up on an opponent unnoticed. Once she has done so she creates the illusion of a tree growing around the opponent to effectively immobilize them, allowing her to appear from the tree to kill them as she pleases. The Kurama Clan arc shows Kurenai capable of using this jutsu multiple times in a row, as well as being able to create any kind of foliage with which to capture the opponent.
Kiba Inuzuka
Age: 121-132 in Part I, 15 in Part II
Current rank: Chunin
Seiyu: Kōsuke Toriumi
Voice actor: Kyle Hebert
Kiba Inuzuka (Inuzuka Kiba) is characterized by his almost symbiotic relationship with his dog Akamaru, as the two are always seen together. Kiba is extremely devoted to Akamaru, and he is more than willing to risk his own life if it means saving Akamaru's. Kiba has acquired a few dog-like qualities from the time he has spent with Akamaru, such as being able to understand Akamaru's barking and disliking any food that he can't chew on. He is also very loyal, and despite often being overconfident, he cares deeply for his teammates' well-beings. This is most evident in his attempts to remove his teammates from harm's way as well as his constant attempts to avoid hampering his teammates' progress.
Akamaru also acts as a valuable ally in battle, joining Kiba in attacking opponents and using his heightened senses to help Kiba find things. Because Akamaru is naturally better equipped for combat, Kiba typically starts a battle by using Four Legs Technique (Shikyaku no Jutsu, English TV "All-Fours Jutsu") to make himself more animalistic. Predominately, this jutsu increases his speed and strength, lengthens his nails to claw-like quality, and, as the name suggests, causes him to travel using his arms and legs. Kiba also can gather chakra to his nose to exponentially increase his sense of smell, allowing him to pick up on the faintest of scents. In Part II he becomes so proficient with this sense of smell that he can track things down that actual dogs cannot. Once Kiba and Akamaru are on an even footing the two combine efforts to perform Piercing Fang (Tsūga) techniques, spinning taijutsu attacks that inflict multiple wounds to opponents. They often join together in transformation as well, such as using Man Beast Combination Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf (Jinjū Konbi Henge: Sōtōrō) to transform themselves into a single, large, two-headed wolf that can attack others with blinding force and speed. Because Akamaru lacks his own chakra reserves, Kiba must provide the chakra necessary for these transformations.
Hinata Hyuga
Age: 121-132 in Part I, 15 in Part II
Current rank: Chunin
Seiyu: Nana Mizuki
Voice actor: Stephanie Sheh
Hinata Hyuga (Hyūga Hinata) is the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan's main branch. She was trained by her father, Hiashi Hyuga, to become the clan's heiress, though in time he came to deem her a lost cause. Throughout her early time in Team 8, Hinata's lack of self-confidence and unwillingness to fight hamper her abilities. Although she trains to improve her skills, she immediately gives up when faced with competition and fails every mission she is assigned as a result. In an attempt to change herself Hinata enters the Chunin Exams, where she is pit against her cousin, Neji Hyuga, in the exam's preliminary matches. Although Neji easily outmatches her and taunts her for the battle's duration, Hinata perseveres in an attempt to prove her own worth, even turning one of his own insults against him. After recovering from the wounds she receives, Hinata continues training to improve herself. Her efforts eventually allow her to acquire a better relationship with her father, who encourages her to continue working on improving herself.
Hinata has a long-standing crush on Naruto Uzumaki, which has been present since their time in the Academy. Her feelings for him are rooted in his determination, confidence, and strength, all of which she feels she lacks. Despite her rather obvious feelings, Hinata has yet to openly admit that she likes Naruto, though many characters have been shown to be aware of it. In a similar fashion, Naruto has remained completely oblivious to Hinata's feelings, though he has come to enjoy her company more than he once did. Hinata tends to break out of her timid mold when around Naruto, such as going out of her way to help him or putting more effort into something because he is nearby. She also becomes more assertive on Naruto's behalf, and doesn't hesitate to defend him, even to himself. Naruto also acts as a key component in her quest to better herself, as she trains so that she can be like him and impress him at the same time. In the anime, her training eventually results in her creation of Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms (Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō), which combines some of the Hyuga clan's more powerful techniques. With it Hinata create blades of chakra that she can use to hit any target in her field of vision. Due to the speed at which these blades move as well as the amount of control she has over them, Hinata can use this technique to attack and defend simultaneously.
Shino Aburame
Age: 121-132 in Part I, 15 in Part II
Current rank: Chunin
Seiyu: Shinji Kawada
Voice actor: Sam Riegel (Episode 23-24), Derek Stephen Prince (Episode 34+)
Shino Aburame (Aburame Shino) is a rarely seen character who has a fascination with bugs; most of his spare time is spent watching bugs and he often makes analogies to bugs when talking. In addition to liking bugs, Shino is characterized by his emotionless, solitary, and collected way of doing things. He speaks very bluntly and never allows emotion to interfere with his judgment, sometimes offending people in doing so. These odd traits have caused people to identify Shino as "creepy" or "weird," and they tend to dislike being in his company. Despite his odd personality, Shino has a very strong sense of connection with his teammates and allies, first seen when he regrets being unavailable and therefore unable to help with retrieving Sasuke Uchiha. From that point further he resolves to work on his teamwork skills, even helping Hinata Hyuga to improve her abilities, and providing her with encouragement. The fruits of his efforts are seen throughout the filler arcs where Shino is able to carry out a mission successfully while keeping others safe. He also proves to be able to understand his teammates' inner workings, as he can sense when the slightest of things is wrong with either of them.
In battle, Shino takes great use of his intelligence, being able to use his analytical and observational skills to make shrewd judgments with pinpoint reasoning. Like Shikamaru Nara, Shino prevails in battles by systematically staying steps ahead of the enemy. Because of this, Shino is fairly confident in his abilities and that he will win a battle, and tends to try to communicate this to an opponent for their own well-being. Still, Shino enjoys fighting and dislikes being denied a chance to battle a skilled opponent. As a member of the Aburame clan, Shino was infused at birth with a special breed of insects called destruction bugs that feed on chakra. In return for becoming a living hive, the insects attack opponents, usually while Shino distracts them, and carry out other tasks as he commands. Shino has found a number of uses for these bugs, and as such has devised a number of jutsu that utilize them for varying purposes, such as creating copies of himself or using bugs for defensive purposes.
