What Is the Meaning of Shippuden in Naruto: Shippuden?
Naruto: Shippūden is an anime adaptation of the second part of the manga, taking place two and a half years after Naruto left Konohagakure with Jiraiya. The plot includes new characters, such as Sai, Yamato, the previously unseen Kage, and the remaining members of the Akatsuki organization, the latter showing a more active role than before in his quest to obtain all the Tailed-Beasts. In this article, we are going to explain what the word “Shippuden” means.
The meaning of “Shippuden” is literally “Fast Wind Chronicles” or, in a more befitting translation, “Hurricane Chronicles.” It fits Naruto well because his primary technique is the Wind Release. The term “Shippuden” is composed of three separate kanji 疾風伝. 疾 is “shi(tsu)”, and means “fast”; 風 is (in this case) “pu(tsu)”, and represents “wind”; 伝 is “den” and means “legend” or “chronicle”. Thus,
In the rest of this article, we are going to tell you more details about the phrase “Shippuden” and how it ties into the title, the plot, and everything else related to Naruto: Shippuden. You’re going to get a detailed explanation of everything you need to know related to the phrase and the plot of Naruto: Shippuden.
What does “Shippuden” in Naruto: Shippuden mean?
Naruto: Shippuden premiered on February 15, 2007 as the adaptation of the second part of the Naruto manga. Unlike the first adaptation, this one had an additional word in the title. Unlike some other titles, the word “Shippuden” was not translated in any country, and thus the second part of Naruto was known as Shippuden around the world. But, just like any other word, “Shippuden” also has a meaning, and we are going to explain it here.
In Japanese, Naruto: Shippuden is spelled – ナルト 疾風伝. The first three symbols are Katakana symbols for the name Naruto (ナ- na, ル – ru,ト – to), while the remaining three are the Kanji rendering of the word “Shippuden,” with each Kanji carrying its own specific reading and meaning; since this is a word composed of multiple Kanji, we have to consider the on-reading of these symbols. They are:
- 疾 – is read “shitsu” in on and means either “disease, sickness,” or “fast, quick, rapid.” In this case, it is obviously the latter meaning that is used.
- 風 – is read “putsu” in this case (actually “fuu,” but the f becomes a p in this word) and means “wind” (the kanji can mean several other things as well, but they are not relevant in this scenario).
- 伝 – is read “den” and has several meanings; the relevant ones, in this case, are “legend, tradition” and “biography.”
As you can see, the therm “Shippuden” is composed of symbols that mean “fast,” “wind,” and “legend.” The literal translation would, thus, be “Fast Wind Legends,” but that is not how translations actually work. If we give ourselves more freedom in this case and also try to decipher the original meaning of the phrase, we could translate it as “Hurricane Chronicles” (or Legends). And that is what the phrase exactly means, and we are going to explain why it is so ideal for the show.
Why is “Shippuden” a perfect title?
As we have said, “Shippuden” is quite a fitting title for the second part of Naruto. Namely, among all the techniques that he knows, Naruto has a natural affinity toward the Wind Release techniques, which is why the title is absolutely perfect for him, as it describes the essence of his powers and techniques and the plot of the series.
What is Naruto: Shippuden about?
At the conclusion of the training period, Naruto returns to the village just as a mysterious organization called the Akatsuki attempts to capture the nine powerful tailed bijū beasts, including the “Nine-Tailed Demon Fox” that remains sealed within him, in order to to create a Jutsu technique that allows them to control the market of ninja wars.
Team 7 and several ninjas from the village fight against the members of Akatsuki, also joining the mission that seeks to rescue their former partner Sasuke. However, he betrays Orochimaru and confronts Itachi in revenge. Although Itachi dies, Sasuke hears a revelation from Akatsuki member Madara Uchiha that Itachi was ordered to eliminate his clan by the higher-ups of the Leaf Village.
Saddened by this and again seeking revenge, Sasuke joins the Akatsuki forces to destroy the village. Meanwhile, several members of Akatsuki are capturing the different containers of bijūs and jinchūrikis. In contrast, two of its members, Pain and Konan, invade and destroy the Leaf Village in search of Naruto. However, Naruto defeats Pain and convinces him to leave Akatsuki.
Pain then uses the last of his strength to revive the inhabitants of the Leaf Village. Immediately after Pain’s attack, the Raikage calls out to the other villages to discuss Sasuke, who attacked the Hidden Cloud Village; this prompts Naruto to head towards the Land of Metal and negotiate the punishment of Sasuke.
After this, Madara arrives at the meeting of the Five Great Nations, explaining that he intends to obtain the power of all the bijūs and use them in his “Eye of the Moon” plan, which consists of creating an illusion on a global level, powerful enough to control humanity, through the Moon. Given this, all the leaders of the five ninja villages, refusing to support him, unite to confront him, for which Madara declares the fourth ninja world war to satisfy their ambitions; therefore, they hide the last two jinchūriki inside a secret island in the Land of Lightning.
There, Naruto meets Killer Bee, a shinobi who contains the “Hachibi” within him, and Naruto asks him to help him train him to control the “Nine-Tailed Demon Fox” chakra properly. After arduous training, Naruto manages to control the fox’s power with the help of his mother’s spirit, Kushina Uzumaki. With a new ability, the boy discovers Kisame Hoshigaki.
He flees with information about the place where the last two beasts are hiding; He commits suicide but manages to send his message successfully. Meanwhile, Madara goes looking for the eyes of Nagato (who controlled Pain), killing Konan in the process, and commands Kabuto to capture the two remaining ninjas.
Thanks to Orochimaru’s knowledge, Kabuto uses a forbidden Jutsu called Edo Tensei created by the second Hokage and revives famous ninjas to use them in the coming war. At the same time, the Shinobi Alliance prepares in the same way. From among the resurrected dead, two brothers possess part of the demon fox’s chakra, and because of this, Naruto is alerted to what is happening.
Once the boy realizes the war, he runs away with Bee. On his way, he meets Tsunade and the Raikage; the latter persuades them not to interfere in the battle, but Naruto refuses, finally convincing him to fight the Akatsuki. The two jinchūriki, with the help of various shadow clones of Naruto, fight an army of Zetsus, beings created from the DNA of the first Hokage (Hashirama Senju), which gives the Alliance forces an advantage; meanwhile, Gaara and the other shinobi confront the revived ninjas.
After that, Itachi and Nagato, who have been revived, meet Naruto and Bee. They start to fight; the Uchiha manages to free himself from the resurrection technique and helps the others defeat Nagato. Shortly after, the second Tsuchikage Muu, through Kabuto, revives his most powerful warrior, Madara Uchiha; this reveals that the true leader of Akatsuki, Tobi, actually used that name to intimidate his opponents.
Madara’s force corners Ōnoki and Gaara, so the remaining Kages arrive to balance the situation; with the help of the Rinnegan, Tobi creates an ambush against Naruto and Bee since he has under his mercy the six corpses of the former jinchūriki with their respective beasts sealed in them. The battle against Tobi intensifies. At that moment, two elite ninjas from the village arrive as reinforcements, very attached to Naruto.
After discovering Tobi’s special Jutsu, they reveal his true identity, a former partner of Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, who was supposed to be dead and who had given his left Sharingan to Kakashi. Immediately, the real Madara Uchiha arrives at the battle after defeating the five Kage; the rest of the ninja army arrives in support of Naruto.
At that moment, Madara and Obito revive the ten tails, also known as Jubi, who, unlike the other beasts with tails, do not think or feel. The fight continues with the arrival of the former four Hokage and Sasuke Uchiha, who has decided to support Naruto. During the series of battles, Obito takes control of the power of the ten tails, absorbing it inside himself and thus becoming its second jinchūriki.
After a series of events and the death of some of the characters, they take away this power and release it to the tailed bijus, which are taken again by Madara, who seriously wounds Naruto when he extracts the nine-tailed fox, and Sasuke, who fit his sword. With the help of the newly redeemed Kabuto and Obito, they return to battle, now with increased powers provided by the sage of the six paths, son of the Goddess Kaguya Otsusuki.
Madara launches the infinite Tsukuyomi with which his plan is realized. Everyone on earth except Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura, Obito, the revived Hokage, Madara, and the Zetsu remain inside the delusion. Later Madara is betrayed by Black Zetsu, who is Kaguya’s son. He uses Madara to bring his mother to life, who wishes to recover all her power, absorbing the chakra of those trapped inside the illusion.
Still, after a long and powerful battle, it is sealed by Naruto and Sasuke along with black Zetsu, and the world is freed from the illusion. At that point, Sasuke tries to kill the five Kage, arguing that he wants to form a new world without the ninja system, revealing that what he wants is a revolution. Naruto defeats him in the final battle of the story.
After this, and with Kakashi as the Sixth Hokage, Sasuke will redeem himself by starting a journey of atonement for his crimes. After a few years, Naruto, already married to Hinata and with two children, would fulfill his dream of becoming Hokage and be recognized by everyone in the village.