Inuzuka Clan

The Inuzuka Clan (犬塚一族, Inuzuka Ichizoku ) is a family of ninja from Konohagakure . They are known for their use of ninken as fighting companions in Cooperation Techniques and their great tracking skills.

## Overview [ ]

Their members are given their own ninken when they reach a certain age and become practically inseparable, thus when they graduate, both the user and their ninken fight using Cooperation Ninjutsu that take advantage of their teamwork and their sharp claws and teeth to perform all their techniques. One of their unique skills is that clan members are able to communicate with their dog companion even if the dogs cannot talk, like Kuromaru.

Inuzuka Clan members have developed accurate perception, with their most trained feature being their greatly enhanced sense of smell. By concentrating chakra to their noses, this sense is amplified to an even greater extent allowing the user to be able to detect, track and monitor targets from a fairly long distance away . It has also been noted that they are essential in tracking missions, thus they are always assigned to search teams . The clan's fighting style primarily revolves around their enhanced speed, strength, and agility granted by the Four Legs Technique and other canine-based attacks, in conjunction with the tactical advantages granted by their heightened senses.

Their most prominent feature are the red face marks on their cheeks resembling fangs, their sharp canines and slit pupils resembling wolves.

## Trivia [ ]

- Inuzuka (犬塚) means "dog hill," and is a reference to the dog samurai Inuzuka from Kyokutei Bakin 's Nansō Satomi Hakkenden .
- The red fang markings of the Inuzuka clan members' cheeks are a reference to the facial markings on San, a character from Hayao Miyazaki 's, Princess Mononoke .
- The majority of the known Inuzuka members are named after a part of the body of a dog (fang, nose, claw, jaw and ear), while their dogs are all named after colors (red, grey and black).
- According to Kiba, his mother, Tsume, was responsible for scaring his father away . It is currently unknown what his father's involvement with the clan was.

## References [ ]