Hanabi Hyuga
Hyuga Hanabi (日向ハナビ) is a shinobi of the Hyuga clan of Konohagakure, second heir of the main branch of the Hyuga clan, youngest daughter of Hiashi Hyuga, younger sister of Hinata and also the sister-in-law of Naruto. Finally, she is the aunt of Boruto and Himawari Uzumaki.
As an adult, she is the team leader of Team Hanabi, as she trains Kakei Sumire, Suzumeno Namida and Izuno Wasabi. However, her team gains a new samurai member, Kurogane Tsubaki, when Sumire leaves to work for the scientific ninja army.
Story
Hanabi was born on 27 March, when her older sister was three years old. She is the youngest daughter of the Hyuga chief, Hiashi, and his wife (unknown). She was born a few months after the incident of the Hyuga affair, as she never got to meet her dead uncle, Hizashi.
Although she always admired her older sister, Hinata, and wanted to spend more time with her, Hinata’s obligations as the future heir of the Hyuga clan made it difficult for the two sisters to spend quality time together. Watching Hinata and seeing her so strong yet kind, Hanabi was inspired to be more like Hinata and began training on her own.
While often watching Hinata train in secret, she also spied on her, as she often left the house to visit Naruto from afar, making Hanabi wonder why her older sister admired this young outcast so much.
Later, after seeing Neji harm his older sister during a training session, she saw the Cage Bird seal on Neji’s forehead, among other things. Hanabi was horrified to witness this, to learn of the hatred the clan branch had for the main house, and the use of the cursed Hyuga seal to keep the branch members under control.
During the training sessions between Hanabi and her sister, Hanabi’s talent began to shine through, surprising everyone by being on par with her older sister. Later, as Hinata’s progress began to be questioned after a heavy beating taken by Neji in a training session, the elder Hyuga suggested that Hanabi be trained to be the heir.
Eventually, a duel took place between Hanabi and Hinata to decide the future of their clan. While Hinata found an opening to win the fight, she hesitated to strike her younger sister, allowing Hanabi to counterattack and win the duel, much to Hanabi’s chagrin as she injured her older sister.
Eventually, as Hanabi showed more talent and confidence than her older sister Hinata, their father decided to make Hanabi the heir to the clan, and instead focused his gruelling training regime on her rather than on her sister, whose training he considered a waste of time. As Hanabi continued to train under her father, believing her grandfather’s words that everything was bound to an unchanging destiny, Hanabi became determined to prove herself worthy of being the next leader of the Hyuga clan.
Part. 1
Chunin Exam Arc
In the anime, as Hanabi continued to push herself hard to become stronger, she learned that Hinata was taking the Chunin exams. Later, Hanabi was horrified to learn that Hinata was seriously injured while facing Neji. When Hanabi went to visit Hinata in the hospital, she was surprised to learn that Hinata was determined to change and refused to give up even against a stronger opponent like Neji, wanting to be more like Naruto.
Later, Hanabi watched Neji’s match against Uzumaki Naruto in the final round of the Chunin exams with her father, and was amazed to see that he had learned powerful secret techniques on his own. In the anime, Hanabi was also amazed at Naruto’s determination to exceed everyone’s expectations of him, much like Hinata. It was also stated that she knew nothing about the failed attempt to kidnap Hinata that resulted in Hizashi’s death, mainly because she wasn’t born at that time, as she didn’t know how her father could still be alive after the Land of Lightning had demanded his death.
Filler
Hanabi appears twice more in the anime; at the funeral of the third Hokage. After the invasion of Konoha, when Hanabi was conflicted about the different beliefs of fate, she was shocked to see Neji, a member of the branch who openly despised the Main House, willingly help Hinata train and also express her change of opinion about fate thanks to Naruto. She was also seen at Tsunade’s inauguration as the next Hokage, standing with her cousin Neji and teammate Tenten.
Part 2. Naruto Shippuden
Hidan & Kakuzu arc
In the anime, as Hanabi began to struggle with learning the eight trigrams of the Revolving Sky, Hanabi began to get discouraged. Later, she learned that Naruto had become much stronger against the Akatsuki and began to inspire everyone to follow his example. Hanabi was amazed to see Hinata doing just that, mastering more advanced Hyuga techniques while striving to follow Naruto.
Pain arc
During Pain’s attack on Konoha, Hanabi was on a mission with her father. In the anime, while she and her father were dealing with political issues between the Hyuga and allied clans, they were informed of the attack. When they returned to the village, they were horrified by the level of destruction that followed the attack and even more surprised to learn that no one had died. What really surprised Hanabi and her father was that it was Naruto who saved everyone, after being protected and inspired by Hinata who risked her life to help Naruto. Later, seeing Hinata become so strong and determined while still maintaining her kindness, Hanabi was very happy for her sister to find her own way, becoming determined to do the same. With this in mind, she happily asked her father to train her, which he proudly accepted.
Shinobi war arc
In the anime, Hanabi was able to proudly wish her sister good luck before she left to fight in the war. Later, when Madaraa trapped almost everyone in his infinite Tsukuyomi, Hanabi appeared alongside a still living Neji in Hinata’s dream, spying on him and Naruto. She was freed from the genjutsu after Naruto and Sasuke ended the war
Once the war was over, Hanabi attended Neji’s funeral
Many years later, in Konoha, his father Hiashi was invited by Naruto and Hinata to attend their wedding. On the day of the wedding, the guests begin to arrive at the ceremony which takes place under the Hokage monument. Hanahi is shown with her father, while approaching Naruto and Hinata as the older couple hold hands. In the anime, she says that her sister looks very pretty in a wedding dress.
Boruto Naruto Next Generations (Anime)
When Naruto, Boruto and Himawari visit the Hyuga estate, Hanabi greets them at the door, first berating her father for pouncing on his grandchildren in such an embarrassing manner, before rushing over to them herself and starting to fawn over them. As Naruto, Boruto and his father meet, Hanabi is playing in the yard with Himawari.
As Boruto claims to have manifested his Byakugan, it is decided to test the theory. Hiashi insists that a sparring match be held with him in order for the speculated Byakugan to manifest. However, out of concern for her father’s back pain and her nephew’s well-being due to Hiashi’s lack of restraint, Hanabi insisted that she train Boruto instead.
While Boruto eagerly agrees, Hanabi quickly dominates the match. While Boruto was able to get Hanabi to fight relatively seriously, he was quickly defeated, with everyone concluding that Boruto did not awaken the Byakugan. Afterwards, it was decided that Naruto and his children would spend the night together, at which Hanabi promptly prepared a meal for everyone.
While Hanabi plays with Boruto and Himawari after hearing that Boruto prefers Hinata’s cooking, she and the two children were about to be scolded by Naruto for eating again. Later, finding her nephew sulking, Hanabi came to comfort him, insisting on continuing to work on things and comforting herself by inviting him to come for help if things get too difficult.
After the end of the Genin exams, Hanabi went to the Ninja Academy, where she became the leader of Kakei Sumire, Suzumeno Namida and Izuno Wasabi in Team 15.
When the Byakuya gang began to gain the support of many Konoha villagers, the villagers began to attack the companies accused of corruption. Hanabi joined her fellow ninja to try to pacify the situation. Eventually, it was discovered that several of the protesters were under genjutsu, which led to her and other shinobi being dispelled.
This, along with Naruto’s speech, helped calm the protests.
As Chunin’s next exams approached, Hanabi continued to prepare her students. Later, they were given the task of capturing all the animals that escaped from Fire Park. Hanabi asked her students to take care of all the small animals, while she took care of the bigger and more dangerous ones.
She was then approached by Sai Yamanaka. Having been informed of the special circumstances surrounding Sumire Kakei, Sai met regularly with Hanabi to discuss Sumire’s development since the Nue incident. Eventually, it was decided to let Sumire reconcile with his friends at his own pace.
Later, when Hanabi went to look for the last creature on her list, a giant white-maned wolf, she discovered that her students were being attacked by it. Deciding to see how the genin would deal with the beast first before she helped it, Hanabi was pleasantly surprised to see them put the wolf down, which Hanabi congratulated them on.
Finally, she presents her students with admission forms to take the exams. On the day of the final exam, Hanabi watched Naruto fight Momoshiki’s Tailed Beast Ball from a safe distance in the tournament arena, alongside Sumire.
Age
- Part.1: 7-8 years old
- Part. 2: 9-10 years old
- Boruto: 26 years old
Personnality
The character of Hanabi Hyuga was not developed much in the manga. In the anime, Hanabi seems to be portrayed as a quiet, polite and respectful girl, although she seems to open up to people a bit more easily than her older sister.
Unlike Hinata in the past, Hanabi is more confident in her abilities. In the anime, from a young age, Hanabi adored her older sister, always wanting to spend time with Hinata and became sad when she learned of the harsh conditions Hinata had to endure.
When Hanabi learned of the harsh nature of the Hyuga’s life and that she was expected to lead her clan, Hanabi gradually hardened, seeing fate as pre-destined and her nature as inescapable, determined not to let her clan down as a future leader.
Later, after seeing her sister rise above everyone’s expectations and become so strong, Hanabi regained much of her former cheerful behavior. Also in the anime, she gained a lot of respect from the social outcast, Uzumaki Naruto. This allowed Naruto to not only change Neji and Hinata’s opinions for the better, but also inspire them.
It also convinced Hanabi that she could shape her own destiny, while learning that her older sister had been in love with Naruto since childhood. She also supports Hinata’s feelings for Naruto, as she showed two years after the war. In preparing for Naruto and Hinata’s wedding, she reveals that Hanabi is a “fashionable young woman and extravagant in her tastes”.
At Naruto and Hinata’s wedding, she happily welcomed Naruto into the family while holding a portrait of Neji. She even calls Naruto “Big Brother” after he saved her and Hinata from Toneri. In the novel, Hanabi’s playful and childish personality only began after Neji’s death; she was previously very serious and only interested in training.
She is shown having fun with her niece and nephews Himawari and Boruto by throwing herself at them whenever they visit the Hyuga estate. At the same time, she encourages them to be independent and to ask for help with their problems only after they have tried everything else.
Hanabi is also very proud of her cooking and doesn’t like that Boruto prefers Hinata’s cooking to hers. Overall, Hanabi still has great compassion for Boruto, wanting very much to see him succeed: because of this she has developed a strong bond with Sarutobi Konohamaru, who also considers Boruto a younger brother.
As a sensei, she is seen by her students as strict and enthusiastic. She takes the training of her students very seriously and likes to help them. She talks to Sumire a lot, telling her that despite her clan’s history, she sees that time has changed dramatically for her village. However, she is not afraid to reprimand her students for fighting red shinobi or bandits without permission when they are not supposed to.
Including when they hurt themselves a lot more and not just in a minor way. Ironically, she scolded Wasabi and Namida for a long time while her students were on their knees. As the leader of Team 15, Hanabi was extremely strict and harsh with her students, as seen when she asked Namida to perfect her water release skills, and refused to spare the young Kunoichi despite Namida’s pleas for help.
Nevertheless, Hanabi strives to help her students reach their full potential, and enjoys spending time with them, even after hours.
Appearance
In the manga, Hanabi Hyuga has dark black hair like her father. But in the anime, Hanabi has dark brown hair instead. She has long, straight fringes, with a single strand of hair falling over her face. She also has large white eyes, a trait shared by all members of her clan.
In the anime, her eyes have a hint of lilac. In the first part, she was seen wearing a blue sleeveless V-neck shirt with mesh armor underneath and blue shorts and sandals.
In the second part, Hanabi had cut her hair short and was wearing a modified version of her original outfit, as well as a beige jacket with white bracelets on both hands. Her shoes were shinobi sandals with white bands around the ankles.
During the Arc of Pain invasion, when Hanabi was with her father on political matters, she wore a light yellow kimono with light purple painted textures, an orange-red obi with a green cord around it, and white tabi with sandals. Hanabi also had a pink flower hair clip attached to her hair on the left side.
Abilities
Although not much is known about her abilities, her father Hiashi noted when he placed Hinata in Kurenai’s care that Hanabi had shown much more potential than her older sister and was more suited to the role of heiress. Even though she was stronger than Hinata during the first part, Hiashi noted that Hanabi is not that strong against Neji. Her growth rate greatly impressed her entire clan, making them wonder if she should be the heiress even before it was officially questioned.
Later, her talent was even more evident, as while training to become the heiress, she also became a sensei for Team 15, proving her ability to multitask.
Taijutsu
From a young age, Hanabi showed rapid growth and strong instincts in hand-to-hand combat, greatly impressing her clan. Although she did not originally receive extensive training from her father, like her older sister, Hanabi quickly became capable of fighting on equal terms with Hinata through solo training. In the anime, she managed to defeat Hinata in their training duel (though that part was due to Hinata’s reluctance to hurt her sister). Between her raw talent and Hiashi’s rigorous training, Hanabi gradually becomes very skilled in Gentle Fist.
In the anime, during a duel with Boruto, she displays considerable grace and precision, able to effortlessly dodge and parry all of his attacks used alongside her shadow clones. In the anime, she could perform many of her clan’s advanced hiding techniques, able to block or repel anything in her immediate vicinity using the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, or attack a target from a distance using the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.
Byakugan
As a member of the Hyuga clan, Hinabi possesses the Byakugan: a kekkei genkai dojutsu that gives her an almost 360° field of vision (with the exception of a small blind spot), x-ray vision, and the ability to see the chakra path system.
Although a common trait in her clan, Hanabi’s Byakugan is noted by her father as being very powerful, almost as great as that of her older cousin Neji. Hanabi herself is also very confident in her Byakugan, claiming that her perception is as good as that of any adult Hyuga. Otsutsuki Toneri described her Byakugan as “very pure” and specifically targeted her Byakugan to awaken the Tenseigan.
During her duel with Boruto, Hanabi’s Byakugan showed notable resistance to flash bombs, recovering quickly to counter Boruto’s attempted sneak attack.