Rabbit Teth
Member
Awards
This is an update to a theory on everyone’s favourite spooky eyed captain. Okay he might win that contest by default but I always kind of liked the character. He’s back now… well sort of … but there are a lot of questions about his return.
I think most people would dismiss the character as something of an irrelevance and they might be right. Yamato went missing for more than three years (162 chapters in all). When he did reappear we didn’t even know it was him until Spiral unfurled. Then, before he got a chance to do anything, his return was overshadowed by Kaguya and a certain fated battle between Naruto and Sasuke.
With this theory I thought I’d try and show how Yamato’s return could make a big splash and tie up some loose ends in the story. This theory is at the extreme end of speculative. Please treat this less as prediction than a hypothesis into how Yamato might fit into the bigger picture. Even if this theory proved true, I’m still not sure whether any of it would be addressed before the end of Shippuden. It might be left to form the foundation (pun intended…sigh) of the new era project.
?>Kinoe>Tenzo>Yamato
ROOT
Black Zetsu
I think most people would dismiss the character as something of an irrelevance and they might be right. Yamato went missing for more than three years (162 chapters in all). When he did reappear we didn’t even know it was him until Spiral unfurled. Then, before he got a chance to do anything, his return was overshadowed by Kaguya and a certain fated battle between Naruto and Sasuke.
With this theory I thought I’d try and show how Yamato’s return could make a big splash and tie up some loose ends in the story. This theory is at the extreme end of speculative. Please treat this less as prediction than a hypothesis into how Yamato might fit into the bigger picture. Even if this theory proved true, I’m still not sure whether any of it would be addressed before the end of Shippuden. It might be left to form the foundation (pun intended…sigh) of the new era project.
?>Kinoe>Tenzo>Yamato
Yamato’s story starts with Kinoe, this is Yamato’s first codename. Kinoe isn’t Yamato’s real name but then neither is Yamato. In fact we don’t know Yamato’s true name. The only character left who would know Yamato’s real name is Orochimaru.
Tsunade is the first to use Yamato as a codename that we are aware of. She gives him the name when she appoints him to replace Kakashi on an urgent mission:
Until recently it seemed as though this was just a name that Tsunade came up with for that particular mission. However it was noteworthy not long ago that Edo Hiruzen knew Yamato’s codename despite having died before Tsunade ever allocated the name:
This got me thinking about Yamato. It could just be a mistake on Kishi’s part. There are many amusing instances of Kishi or his editors messing up. You can see where errors have been rubbed out on some panels or amusingly overdrawn to form the background (Minato’s missing arm turned into a mountain range / A’s chopped off reappearing hand). In fact I’ll freely admit that it probably is a mistake that Hiruzen knew Yamato’s name… but Yamato is an incredibly mysterious figure and it got me thinking up ways that his story could fit into the bigger picture. First though, some background…
Yamato starts off as the sole survivor of some experiments Orochimaru abandoned shortly before Oro was forced to flee into exile. Hiruzen uncovered Orochimaru’s secret operations but let his former pupil escape, much to his later regret:
Confrontation
Enma ribbing:
Yamato was ‘rescued’ from Orochimaru’s lab by Danzo, who had actively supported these experiments and become a test subject himself. He took in the young boy with no memory and named him Kinoe. Danzo raised Kinoe as his prodigy, personally taking on Kinoe’s training and inducting him into ANBU. This story is expanded on in Anime filler (351-355) but closely ties in with the manga through some unexpected references.
Kinoe’s tutelage under Danzo did not last. Danzo sent Kinoe to assassinate Hiruzen but instead he fell into a trap set by Kakashi. Recognising Kinoe’s importance to the village, Kakashi let Kinoe walk free. The pair crossed blades again when they ran into each other at the Iburi clan. Kinoe had been sent to help Orochimaru escape, Kakashi had been sent to kill Oro. In the end the pair co-operated to save a girl called Yukimi from becoming a human sacrifice to the snake.
Yukimi:
Yukimi is where we get Yamato’s other name from, Tenzo. She belonged to the Iburi clan who worshipped Orochimaru as the key to their survival. They believed that in order to save their clan they needed to offer up children for his experiments that they thought would save them in the long term (they had trouble holding their shape – the clan’s skill was to turn to smoke but their weakness was any gust of wind).
For a time Yukimi believed that Yamato was her missing brother, Tenzo, who had years earlier been offered up to Oro for his tests. While Yamato and Tenzo were both test subjects, this hope was recognized as forlorn. Tenzo had been offered up three years prior to Kinoe first meeting the clan and had been memorialized with a tree in the clan’s graveyard without Yukimi’s knowledge. The only thing the two boys had in common was their height upon Tenzo’s departure.
While Yamato knows he isn’t Tenzo, he carries forward the name as a reminder of his childhood romance (think Obito and Rin). When not on duty this is the name Kakashi still uses to refer to Yamato:
One other missing child has always been brought up in the same breath as Yamato but is unlikely to actually be Yamato. Nawaki is Tsunade’s younger brother who trained under Orochimaru up until the age of twelve. Nawaki was, according to Oro blown up. When Tsunade comes to identify the body, Orochimaru tells her that there isn’t enough of the boy to recognise him:
Nawaki was about 12 when he went missing while Yamato was 6 when he graduated from the academy. While unlikely, it is still not outside the realms of possibility that Nawaki could be Yamato… at least one of Oro’s Test Subjects reverses age:
…while Nawaki’s sister is famous for hiding her true age:
…and Oro’s experiments are what allowed Madara to come back in his “prime”:
At the very least Nawaki’s death could be connected to Yamato and Orochimaru's experiments given his blood relation to the First Hokage and Orochimaru’s exteneded research into Mokuton:
That all still leaves the mystery of Yamato’s name. If Tsunade didn’t come up with it I thought that one explanation might be that Yamato was named after the secret experiments that resulted in how his now unique talents were reborn. ANBU was the secret Special Assassination and Tactical Squad (Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai - ANBU for short) that operated behind the scenes to protect Konoha. Within this already secretive organization is another even more shady organization called Root. Root’s headquarters are located in a factory where Orochimaru and Danzo used to work together. I imagine that Yamato’s name might be a reference to one of the Foundation’s most secret locations where many of their experiments were conducted… the “Yamato Works”:
Tsunade is the first to use Yamato as a codename that we are aware of. She gives him the name when she appoints him to replace Kakashi on an urgent mission:
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Yamato starts off as the sole survivor of some experiments Orochimaru abandoned shortly before Oro was forced to flee into exile. Hiruzen uncovered Orochimaru’s secret operations but let his former pupil escape, much to his later regret:
Confrontation
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Kinoe’s tutelage under Danzo did not last. Danzo sent Kinoe to assassinate Hiruzen but instead he fell into a trap set by Kakashi. Recognising Kinoe’s importance to the village, Kakashi let Kinoe walk free. The pair crossed blades again when they ran into each other at the Iburi clan. Kinoe had been sent to help Orochimaru escape, Kakashi had been sent to kill Oro. In the end the pair co-operated to save a girl called Yukimi from becoming a human sacrifice to the snake.
Yukimi:
You must be registered for see images
For a time Yukimi believed that Yamato was her missing brother, Tenzo, who had years earlier been offered up to Oro for his tests. While Yamato and Tenzo were both test subjects, this hope was recognized as forlorn. Tenzo had been offered up three years prior to Kinoe first meeting the clan and had been memorialized with a tree in the clan’s graveyard without Yukimi’s knowledge. The only thing the two boys had in common was their height upon Tenzo’s departure.
While Yamato knows he isn’t Tenzo, he carries forward the name as a reminder of his childhood romance (think Obito and Rin). When not on duty this is the name Kakashi still uses to refer to Yamato:
You must be registered for see links
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Root is one of my favourite loose ends in the Manga. They come up again and again but they appear to have been inactive since Danzo died. After Sasuke killed their commander some of Root’s forces have simply rejoined the village and look to Kakashi for leadership, as one of their former commanders turned good:
However Root has suddenly become a big question mark in this conflict. The organization had an obsession with with trees. They see themselves as the warriors who work in the shadows to make sure that the tree continues to stand. This is reflected in their manifesto:
Unknown Nara Root
… Danzo’s final thoughts
and Sai’s tree fetish before he had any friends or emotions:
(Sai giving a title to something is supposed to represent him becoming more normal – don’t ask…):
In theory they are supposed to defend Konoha but in practice they seem to have another agenda. When Pain invaded Konoha it was incredible how they stood to one side hoping that the village would be destroyed so that Danzo could emerge as a saviour once the fighting was over:
We don’t know a great deal about this organization. We do know that Yamato was the result of years of their secret experiments in an effort to replicate Mokuton (Hashirama’s Wood Technique):
Orochimaru went through 60 children before one was found that was compatible with the First's cells:
All in all they seem to be a very secret, very bloodthirsty collective with a fixation on trees. Root might not have been around in the story for a while (since Kabuto’s flashback) but out of nowhere a Holy Tree has become a very important plot point. I think that the Shinju and its once every thousand years fruit has a big part to play before the manga finishes:
Orochimaru indicates that his plans for Yamato should be put on hold until Naruto and Sasuke fight again (the fight that’s about to begin) – despite Yamato being right there:
Yamato could be very important to Orochimaru in any designs Oro might have on the fruit of the Shinju. In order to grow a new fruit or pick it, it might be necessary to have a wood user like Yamato, who recently received Orochimaru’s mixed blessing of the cursed seal. As much as I want to see Yamato return to Konoha unscathed, a little part of me really wants to see what a stage 2 Cursed Seal version of Hashirama Clone would look like:
Root gets very little attention in the Manga but in the Anime, Root became an intrigue packed filler arc. According to the filler Danzo wanted Orochimaru to get the title of Hokage and lobbied the elders and Hiruzen on his behalf. Root was heavily involved in the Uchiha massacre … eliminating Uchiha Shisui before he could enact his plan to genjutsu the clan into abandoning their coup plot. Root was also involved in the formation of Akatsuki, making sure that an alliance between Hanzo and Akatsuki was scuppered. These developments have been hinted at in the manga but only recently developed…making me think the organization has some cards to play yet:
Hokage:
Shisui:
Akatsuki:
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Unknown Nara Root
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Hokage:
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You might ask why I’d even bring up Black Zetsu in the same breath as Yamato. The two have never really been seen together. Still there is a connection to be made there. When Yamato was taken prisoner he was planted in a very unique spot:
Last place we saw Yamato before he emerged from Spiral:
This is the same spot that Black Zetsu emerged from before Madara is supposed to have refashioned him into Black Zetsu:
We now know that Madara was being played for a fool by Black Zetsu who was neither Madara’s will nor even Kaguya’s despite his declarations:
Madara’s will
Kaguya’s will
The second point worth noting is how Black Zetus is able to operate in several places at once by dividing his body. Black Zetsu can form a complete body:
… a half body:
… or even a quarter body:
When he really needs to, BZ can overwhelm his host’s will he can but it seems there is a limit to the control whether in terms of time or in how strongly the host’s will rejects him:
Obito
Obito resisting
However the BZ that was thrown into Chibaku Tensei was not his complete body:
Chibaku Tensei
At least a chunk of BZ was being pinned to the ground by Chojuro on another battlefield when IT was launched:
While another chunk might have transferred into Spiral Yamato in the same way that a chunk had remained hidden in Obito’s White Zetsu half waiting for Madara’s instructions:
Spiral Obito
Which should have been easy given how Yamato and WZ are supposed to be more or less the same (albeit Yamato is stronger) both being the results of tinkering with Hashirama cells:
There is a distinctly dark tinge to Yamato’s eyes after being released from Infinite Tsukiyomi:
Heir to the legacy of Root, Orochimaru’s new Cursed Seal toy or BZ’s new host. Yamato is unlikely to be all of these, indeed he may be none of them, but I’m looking forward to seeing how normal Yamato is once he comes back into the fold.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Madara’s will
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Obito
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Chibaku Tensei
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
