Iruka's abilities?

[swallowedhalo.livejournal.com]

Now it might be just me, but it just seems that Iruka isn't really fit to be a chuunin. I mean I just keep thinking about Naruto and gang and about their chuunin exams and how HARD they were and I just can't imagine Iruka being able to last through all of that. I mean maybe he could get through the written and the Forest of Death by chance and without any sort of really outstanding jutsu or ability but the one-on-one battles would be a whole different story. If you look at the chuunin exams shown in the story, those who made it into the final round all had some sort of signature style outside of just the basic academy teachings.

From what we see in Iruka, he's sort of just this guy fresh out of the academy. He knows how to throw shuriken and kunai and do henge no jutsu but that's about it.

So my question is how did someone like Iruka ever became a chuunin?!

Comments

[green-and-warty.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't know, but .. I can't remember the exast arc, however, Naruto's commenting to Iruka about how strong he's gotten, probably as strong as Iruka or stronger. Iruka expresses doubt about this, fairly confidently -- while he did jest to his class about becoming Hokage, this seemed a little more sure.

From what we know of Iruka, he hasn't got anything special, but we also haven't seen him in action outside of class and in the very beginning, when a few things made it difficult for him to operate at (possible) maximum potential. Obviously, Naruto seems stronger, so for me as well, it's definitely hard for me to see HOW Iruka could be competition... I mean, even in the first chapter, Naruto's saving Iruka, technically.

But, again, we haven't really seen a lot of him, and I figure I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

[byakuganchick.livejournal.com]

I don't think you can count the Iruka/Mizuki fight as an actual showcase of Iruka's skills. He takes major damage before it really even begins because he's busy protecting Naruto. I'm fairly certain it'd be tough to fight with a gaping wound on your back and slightly less incapacitating wounds all over the rest of you.

And for the rest of the fight, Iruka actually seems to be more concerned about leading Mizuki away from Naruto than he does about actually standing and kicking the crap out of him.

I haven't seen the fight in the filler episodes since I've got dial up and therefore downloading the episodes is NOT an option, so I can't really offer an opinion about that fight. (But that's what Christmas is for!) But judging from the manga storyline, I'm willing to bet we haven't seen all the skillz that Iruka has.

Besides, they wouldn't let a total incompetent teach their future ninja something as vital as the basics.

[ninja-demongirl.livejournal.com]

Irukas got a huge inheritance and bribed his way through school.

[ninja-demongirl.livejournal.com]

XP forgot this. Hes pretty awesome in the games. like the one move my brother and i call "river dance"

[bl4de.livejournal.com]

lmfao@river dance

[onkei-kun.livejournal.com]

It's possible he has abilities, but Kishimoto hasn't thought of them he hasn't had the chance to show them off. He's really just a school teacher after all, so maybe the opportunity hasn't presented itself.

I also think... during his time, there was a lot of war, right? The situation could have called for ninjas fast, and the exams weren't as strict. I could be wrong.

[memoriez-lost.livejournal.com]

From what I remember, you don't necessarily have to go through the Chuunin exams to become chuunin, there are alternatives too..

[memoriez-lost.livejournal.com]

It should be. Found it here (http://www.livejournal.com/community/jrock_icons/1330262.html). There are 2 other variations too..

[memoriez-lost.livejournal.com]

Whoops wrong one..

There was an icon post here sometime back. I'll go find it..

[memoriez-lost.livejournal.com]

http://www.livejournal.com/community/chuunin/1610637.html

[sitakhet.livejournal.com]

Adding to what the others have said before me, Naruto's generation has alot of kids who have bloodline powers and super-powers (a la Neji/Sasuke and Naruto's Kyuubi). From the verious chuunin/jounin (however that's spelt) we've seen that are generally within the same age range as Iruka, very few of them have things like the Byakugan/whatever that gives them an extra advantage. Therefore, most of Iruka's generation probably got through their exam on wits and strategy alone.

Also, Iruka's a teacher. All he does is teach kids the basics, not any kind of special moves or Chidori style offensive maneuvers. He doesn't go out on missions unless Konoha is running VERY low on qualified ninjas, such as after Orochimaru's attack. Thus why we never see him use any special moves. But, just like in real life, to become a teacher, you have to be GOOD. You have to know what you're teaching, and go through many levels of education, getting various degrees and evalutions along the way.

And to anyone who thinks Iruka is a pansy who doesn't like to kill - the only person we have seen him fight is Mizuki, in episode 1 and the later fillers. In these episodes, not only was he injured while fighting, but he was also fighting against his childhood friend, whom he had loved (platonically!) and trusted into adulthood. It would be extremely hard to fight your best friend. (And yes, the Sasuke/Naruto fights are slightly different. But even Naruto found it kinda hard, and Sasuke didn't kill Naruto when he had the chance to, did he?)

I'll stop now, as I'm rambling and lost my train of thought.

[swallowedhalo.livejournal.com]

Still if you consider that every generation has its geniuses...Iruka would still be up against some pretty tough competition. Hyuugas are rather common it seems considering that there are loads of them instead of...1 (in Sasuke's case). Also, if we place him around the same time as Kakashi and friends, there'd still probably be a whole bunch of Uchihas running around. So there might have been Hyuugas and Uchihas in the running. In addition, even if the more powerful bloodlimit clans hadn't joined, there might have still been some clans like Kiba's clan or Chouji's clan that certainly would have joined. Also, people from other nations, people who are older.

Plus, the whole only 9 new genins per year thing really means that there's significant competition anyway. It's not like anyone who graduates from the academy will be a genin. Even if Iruka was totally useless in the prelim genin test (to become a genin, in Naruto and co's case, the bell exercise), someone would have had to have been powerful enough to pull everyone else's weight. In addition, judging from what we've seen of Iruka so far (canonly at least, I haven't seen the fillers), he's not really...that sharp (like Shikamaru) and weak...so it's not like it's that likely he passed despite losing.

Furthermore, chuunin is still chuunin though...I don't think the exam differentiates between what you do AS a chuunin. You have to go through the same exam as everyone anyway (like Naruto could choose to be a teacher, but he'd still have to go through the same process of chuuninization).

And is Mizuki a childhood friend? I don't remember that from the manga (I don't watch the anime).

[pezlady84.livejournal.com]

HAHA! I'm glad I'm not the only one wondering this XD To me, Iruka seems as usful and pre-time-jump Sakura, but to be fair, maybe he has good leadership skills?

Naah, they probably gave it to him b/c he can talk to marine animals like Aquaman.

[kunoichi-jaden.livejournal.com]

I also think that the Chuunin exam we saw in the anime was pretty damn extreme. I mean, look at Team 8, they basically made it to the end of the test without any real problems, aside from getting seriously freaked out by Gaara. Team 10 also made it through, mostly on Shikamaru's intelligence-- they would've made it through rather painlessly if they didn't have to help Sakura fight the soundnin. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura wouldn't have had nearly as much trouble if Orochimaru wasn't lurking around.

Lastly, wasn't it the first Chuunin exam with a lot of rookies? I mean, they're the Rookie 9 after all, in terms of their terms of age and experience, they're the elite. And then we had the sand siblings and Team Gai as well @.@

All 15 of them made it through the forest, which was completely unexpected in itself. Therefore, there probably weren't any elimination matches in Iruka's exam either.

What I'm trying to say is, I don't think Iruka had to deal with an evil sannin and then compete with 15 other extremely powerful genin.

[swallowedhalo.livejournal.com]

Still if you look at it, all of the remaining people who only had basic jutsus or simple-leveled understandings/tatical knowledge of fighting got plowed down eventually (Sakura + Ino). Also, even if you weeded out Gaara, Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto, who were really the only once-in-a-lifetime individuals in terms of skill or circumstances, you'd still have a pretty fearsome lineup. I mean I couldn't see Iruka taking down Temari or Shino. Somehow that's about as good as throwing pretime-jump Sakura against either opponent.

Also Orochimaru didn't really meddle that heavily in the selection process of the finalist roundup. He didn't plant anyone excessively powerful and I suppose sooner or later Gaara + co. would have taken the chuunin exams. Generally speaking Orochimaru didn't effect what fights that did take place excessively and most people that he did plant in were eliminated in the semi-final round (and Dosu was eaten by gaara XD).

[grey-sterling.livejournal.com]

I don't remember if it was ever brought up in canon, but I don't think there's anything that says Iruka couldn't have been older when he became chuunin. I think an intelligent 16-year-old shinobi could outmaneuver and defeat a 12-year-old genin with a bloodline limit by sheer dint of practical experience.

And to look at rookie Shikamaru who became a chuunin, sure he had a signature jutsu, but it was very limited in both range and duration. His greatest weapon was his brain. And we've seen other jounin and chuunin in the series go, "OMG he used Replacement Technique?! OMG Henge?!" so I don't think basic jutsus should be dismissed just because they're "basic".

[swallowedhalo.livejournal.com]

Yeah I guess Iruka might have passed it when he was older (like Kabuto-ageish or something). How old is Iruka anyway? Isn't he around Kakashi's age? It seems that he would have had a lot of competition if he had taken it when he was 13-15 in that case considering that there would have been Uchiha+Hyuuga in the possible running for chuunin...

[grey-sterling.livejournal.com]

Iruka's early 20s, so he's a little younger than Kakashi.

As far as the Uchiha and Hyuuga, I think that they probably enter a lot of very strong children into the academy regularly, but I don't think they all automatically have the ability to use their clan's bloodline techniques or are necessarily genius level (look at Hinata's skill vs. Neji).

Also, Itachi could activate his Sharingan at a much younger age than Sasuke did, and Sasuke's didn't manifest until he went through some unusually difficult situations that normal genin probably wouldn't have been exposed to.

And I don't want to spoil it for you if you haven't read this part yet, but there is canon evidence that you can be an Uchiha and still be the 'weakest' link on the team. :)

[paxnirvana.livejournal.com]

Iruka deals with kids just learning the joys of transformation and substitution all day long. He kicks ass at the basics.

The problem with Iruka is that his data's been jerked around a bit. Kishimoto originally set his age as 25 (from the first Data Book), but that makes a problem with his obvious pre-genin status in all his Kyuubi-attack flashbacks and the well-established fact that he was an orphan going through the Academy too afterwards. In the 3rd Data Book, Kishimoto adjusts his age back 2 years to 23 at the start of the series. Which means that instead of being 13 and a genin when the Kyuubi attack happens, Iruka is now 11 and NOT a genin.

According to the 1st Data Book, Iruka became chuunin at age 16. Probably took so long because he was acting out as the class clown.

Don't undersell the 'average' shinobi. They need regular troops in Konohagakure too as well as elite. And also, Iruka's intelligence rating (also from the data books) is right up there with Ibiki and Kurenai, and only half a point behind Kakashi and Ebisu. He's smart, well grounded in basics and used to dealing with pranksters and brats. He just doesn't have the massive field experience of some of the others -- but despite that he's still completed 11 A-Rank missions (more than Ebisu!).

Iruka-sensei kicks ass.

(And as someone else pointed out, that Chuunin Exam wasn't exactly a normal one. It was the front for an INVASION. So you can hardly hold it up as an example of what a 'normal' exam would be like. ^^;)

[0x.livejournal.com]

:/ how the hell did Shikamaru ever become a chunnin? He freaking gave up! Maybe Iruka has mad l33t giving up skills. Strategy. I still think he's good enough.

[reservoir.livejournal.com]

They said in the anime, you didn't necessarily have to win your match to become a chuunin-chuunin's aren't about winning all the time. He gave up because it was the smart thing to do. He may have had Temari bound by his shadow jutsu, but he could only hold it for about 10 more seconds, not enough time to really disable her. If anyone deserves to be a chuunin, it's Shikamaru, with his insanely large brain ^_^

[0x.livejournal.com]

so if he was really fighting temari, he would have died. yup, I really want someone who's gonna die to lead my team. Yeah he's smart and good at strategy, but saying Iruka doesn't deserve to be a chuunin but S. does? I can't agree to that.

[grey-sterling.livejournal.com]

The way I look at it, chuunin are genin that demonstrate not just strength and teamwork skills (if you got through the first two trials, you have that), but also *leadership* skills.

I think the judges evaluated Shikamaru as a chuunin who would be leading teams he coordinated with his big sexy brain. I think they were looking for strong yet mature ninja that wouldn't get their teammates killed on B-rank and higher missions, and those who could lead and instruct pre-genin at the academy (like Iruka).

That's my take on it, anyway. ^^

[swallowedhalo.livejournal.com]

Shikamaru had brains though, and they said that his strategic ability would have resulted in a win in the case of a team if in the situation of Temari anyway, which was how he got voted into it. Also, part of the reason he won was because he gave up. Because he was able to weight the pros and cons of the situation and chose to give up instead of pulling a Naruto and fighting until he fainted...

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

Yeah he's smart and good at strategy,

You just answered your own question there.

[0x.livejournal.com]

uhm, no, if intelligence was the only requirement for being a chunnin then people wouldn't be questioning Iruka.

[grey-sterling.livejournal.com]

Not the only requirement, no. They passed *Shika* because of his strategic skill.

But there are a lot of different types of shinobi "jobs", like assassin, infiltrator, medic nin, tracker, meat tank, instructor, etc, etc. that have different requirements, and maybe not everyone is suited for.

The judges would have to evaluate each individual on their strengths and weaknesses, not a cookie cutter ideal. They probably aren't going to look at Chouji and focus on the fact that he might suck at stealth and infiltration. They'll look at his amazing power and stamina. And Ino's probably not going to muscle a lot of ninja to the ground, but someday she will be OMG amazing for infiltration jobs. So even if someone loses the fight, you have to look at how they handled themselves in the battle, and project that into how they would compliment a team, or how well they'd do in a specialized career.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

Not the only requirement, no. They passed *Shika* because of his strategic skill.

Thanks for saving me the trouble there. I'm rather surprised anyone's questioning Shikamaru's advancement. Knowing one's limitations is just as - if not, smarter than - a person's willingness to figh to the death (see: Naruto). Honestly, if I were given the choice of a team leader, I'd pick Shikamaru over anyone else in the "kid" group in a second. At least I know my chances of getting home alive are drastically improved.

[misterbubbles87.livejournal.com]

Easy. He slept with the judges. Now he's trying to get into Kakashi's pants.

[swallowedhalo.livejournal.com]

I never understood KakaIru...do they even interact for more than 2 seconds in the manga?

[0x.livejournal.com]

They don't interact, that's true. It's more about the good pairing of their personality. It fits a heck of a lot more than Gaara/anyone and seems more cannonically possible than sasunaru. And from sasuke's mouth I will NEVER be able to believe sasusaku. It's also a refuge of adults. As much as I like reading naruto pr0n, it gets freaking WEIRD when it's always about kids half my age. o_o

[swallowedhalo.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'm a fan of uke!Naruto + anyone he's saved from personal darkness. I can see GaaNaru, especially with the whole 'omg let's save Gaara' and the 'i owe naruto everything!' I, however, can't see: gaaneji (do they even talk to each other?!), gaalee (nothing says I love you like almost crushing your dreams and your limbs), shikaneji (where does this come from?!), nejisasu (do they really even talk?), kakashika (o__o''), nejilee (they're rivals but...I don't see it), itasaku (!?!??!), nejisaku...

SasuNaru could possibly make sense, and it did until the whole battle at the valley of the end, in which case it sort of floudered there for a bit. The real problem is that no one knows where Kishimoto's going with Sasuke so all fanfiction is really slightly AU when Sasuke was dragged back or came back or never went away. However, SasuNaru has a lot going for it, plus they interact which beats most of the pairings above by...a lot.

And I refuse. Under ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. To see SasuSaku. T_T.

I like reading future anbuish fics. When they're legal XD

[0x.livejournal.com]

yeah sasunaru makes sense, I just can't see it happening. Sasuke just doesn't seem interesting in ANYONE. Whereas at least kakairu could secretly be happening off screen XD
gaanaru...erg..I just can't anyone whose motto is "love hurts!" going for anyone at all. I don't considering him or neji "saved" by naruto.

yay for anbu! The outfits are so hot.

[misterbubbles87.livejournal.com]

Nah, they don't. It's just something the slash community thought up for some random reason. I don't see it either, but whatev. I think its just fantasy. >.>

[panksters.livejournal.com]

We called it. We rule. Oh yes.

[panksters.livejournal.com]

Iruka is one of my favorite characters, so naturally I have been wondering about that.
My solution: Sex with the instructors.

[treat.livejournal.com]

Iruka's power question is comparable to Rukia's power question in Bleach. One day we'll know....or not. XD

[shuqra.livejournal.com]

not to mention you can switch the letters in Iruka around to spell Rukia... o.O coincidence?

[treat.livejournal.com]

WTF FTW CONSPIRACYY

[shuqra.livejournal.com]

-nods-

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

And everyone will be stunned when Iruka throws the hell down on somebody. Well, everybody except ME! Cuz I always knew Rukia could kick ass.

[superheroine]

This is a world where people can become ninja at age SIX, as I think was the case with the Legendary Sennin. Somehow, while I don't doubt their power, I do doubt some issues - for example, the fact that the world was undergoing a war and such.

Notice how in our world, when a world war starts up, there are drafts pulling people, who are sometimes barely 16, into wars? Well, if the Naruto universe was to slip into that... where is already sociably acceptable to send twelve year olds out to murder... imagine how how the ages would dip. And, even so - imagine how desperate they could be for people to be qualified ninja.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of nin were promoted merely so that they would have higher ranked members, and would be allowed to send them on such missions not because of their skill, but because of their official rank.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_bradybunch/]

good point.

see: when kakashi got promoted to jounin