When does Naruto become a Chunin?

Naruto Uzumaki is the protagonist of the fan-favorite manga and its anime adaptation, the Naruto series, and its sequel, Naruto Shippuden. Although he manages to fulfill his dream of becoming the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, there is no information available about him ever getting promoted to the rank of a chunin.

The Hidden Villages host a combined chunin exam to test their genin and decide to promote them to the rank of a chunin based on their performance in the exam. According to the information available, Naruto participated in two chunin exams in his lifetime.

In the first chunin exam, Naruto was victorious in his battles but the exam was interrupted and canceled due to the attack on the Hidden Leaf orchestrated by Orochimaru. Only Shikamaru Nara was promoted to chunin from the Hidden Leaf Village.

In the second attempt, Naruto ignored the rules. He used Toad Senjutsu in his battle against Konohamaru Sarutobi, which was banned in the exams, to handicap Naruto so that other participants could win against him.

Disclaimer: This article will contain spoilers for the popular series Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. Readers are advised to read at their discretion.

Chunin Exam hosted by the Hidden Leaf Village

In the first attempt, Naruto managed to qualify for the final round by defeating Kiba Inuzuka in a battle in the third phase of the chunin exam. In the final round, Naruto was paired up against Neji Hyuga, a prodigy of the Hyuga Clan, one of the strongest clans of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Neji possessed a strong Byakugan, one of the Three Great Dojutsu. Although Naruto finds it difficult to fight against Neji in their battle, he manages to emerge victorious with his unpredictability and battle IQ at the last moment.

Later in the exam, Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara of the Hidden Sand Village fight each other. To everyone's surprise, Hidden Sand and Hidden Sound shinobi start infiltrating the Hidden Leaf and launch their attack. Hidden Leaf successfully counterattacks and successfully render their attack moot. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, sacrifices his life to protect the village from the invasion. Because of all the commotion, the chunin exam is canceled, and only Shikamaru Nara is promoted to chunin based on his intelligence and analytic capabilities.

Naruto vs Konohamaru

In an ova, Naruto participates in the chunin exam hosted by the Hidden Sand Village. In this exam, Naruto is paired up against Konohamaru. Naruto decides to give it his all and not go easy on him to respect Konohamru’s resolve. In this exam, the use of Sage Mode is prohibited to give other participants a winning chance to compete against Naruto.

Due to an argument between him and Konohamaru, Naruto doesn’t listen to the rules where the ban on Sage Mode was mentioned. Naruto activates Sage Mode to show that he believes in Konohamaru’s abilities. Naruto is eliminated from the chunin exam for using Sage Mode, and Konohamru is promoted to chunin.

FAQs

Q, Does Naruto ever become a chunin?

A. No, Naruto never becomes a chunin. Although he is appointed as the Seventh Hokage, no information supports the fact that he was ever promoted to chunin.