- Tenten Naruto Guide - June 15, 2022
- Yamato Naruto Guide - June 9, 2022
- Konan Naruto Guide - June 9, 2022
Tenten is a female ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village. She belongs to the Team Guy and, as such, is often shown alongside Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga during the show. Tenten is a forgettable character. Unlike most other Team 11 ninjas, she doesn’t have much of a backstory or development, making her rather irrelevant.
Although she doesn’t have the same level of mastery as Sakura or Ino, Tenten does her best to improve her skills. Tenten focuses on weapon fighting as well as fuinjutsu. In this Tenten Naruto guide, I will talk more about the character, her backstory, ninja skills, and everything in-between.
Key Info Up Front
Tenten is a weapon master from Konoha. She is a member of Team 11 and Team Guy. During the show, she is often seen with Guy sensei, Neji, and Rock Lee.
Tenten’s Personal Info
Tenten’s Backstory
Tenten always looked up to Tsunade. She wanted to mold her ninja career according to the great medical Sanin. Tenten was so adamant about achieving this goal and would often share it with people around her. Unfortunately, her lack of chakra control would prevent her from becoming a medical ninja, like Sakura or Ino.
When Tenten finished the academy, she joined the Team Guy. Might Guy was the perfect tutor for her, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuga, given his incredible taijutsu mastery. To become genin, Guy told the trio they needed to beat him in melee combat. This was not necessary to analyze their skills, nor did he expect them to win; instead, it was a test of their resolve. All of them passed the test with flying colors.
During this time, Tenten was still trying to master medical ninjutsu. She would practice tirelessly in an attempt to gain the same skills Tsunade has. Among others, she would focus on increasing her physical strength. This vicious cycle was very damaging to Tenten’s confidence.
Mastering Fuinjutstu
Fortunately, she discovered an aptitude for fuinjutsu. She would incorporate this affinity to create a unique fighting technique that would make her stand out from all other Konoha’s ninjas. From this point onward, Tenten realized that she could be her own woman and would stop clinging to Tsunade. Regardless, she never abandoned her dream of becoming the village’s elite kunoichi.
In the later episodes, the trio had the opportunity to participate in chunin exams. However, all three declined it, wanting to focus on their personal development at the time.
Tenten’s Character
Although the show’s creators didn’t give us enough information about Tenten, we still managed to see glimpses of her personality. The female ninja is very inquisitive, paying attention to even the smallest of details.
She is somewhat of a feminist and would often state that girls should have the same opportunities as boys. Furthermore, she publicly challenged Neji when he said that girls are a few tiers below men in their use of taijutsu. Tenten always tries to be tough and hates depending on others. Regardless, she has a mild temper and would always help her friends in their time of need.
Like some other girls in the series, Tenten is very critical of her male teammates and, in particular, Guy and Rock Lee. She would often blast them for their immaturity, which can also be noticed when Tenten was under the influence of Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Tenten’s Relationship with Teammates
Although she has a lot of serious traits, Tenten is very easygoing. A few things that she doesn’t like are traveling for longer periods or training when she’s already exhausted. She loves her free time and does her best to enjoy it.
However, if she thinks that one of her friends is in trouble, she will stop at nothing to help him or her. You can notice this during the chunin exams arc when Rock Lee didn’t report back, so Tenten went looking for him. She likes strong, determined people, which is why she has so much respect for Neji. The two of them often trained together during the show.
As someone who specializes in ninja tools, Tenten loves collecting curious objects from across the world. Later on, Tenten collected so many weapons that she would eventually open a ninja tool store. The female ninja has a curious interest in ghosts and ghost stories.
Tenten’s Appearance
Tenten has dark grey eyes and black hair in manga. However, her eyes and hair are brown in anime. Tenten has a traditional Chinese hairstyle with two buns on the top. There are also short bangs on the front of her face, which she holds in place with a ninja headband. The female ninja retained the same hairstyle during the first two parts of the anime, although she slightly changed her hairstyle during one of the movies.
Besides the hair, her whole outfit pays homage to the Chinese culture. She has a pink Chinese-style blouse in the first part with red sleeves and trimmings. During the second part, she changes this shirt with a white blouse that has a high collar and long sleeves. Similarly, her sandals resemble traditional Chinese wear.
Like all other Team 11 ninjas, Tenten would change her clothing during the Shinobi War, going with a more uniform look. She put on a flak jacket on the top and carried 2 holsters for scrolls.
Tenten’s Appearances in Manga and Anime
Chunin Exams
Tenten has been featured since the beginning of Naruto. Ninjas from Team Guy are one year older than Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and others. They couldn’t participate in the chunin exams the year before, so they joined their younger peers.
Initially, Team Guy’s strategy was to look unintimidating and try to slip to the end of the course. However, Rock Lee inadvertently revealed his strength when he helped Sasuke during his fight with Kotetsu. After the fight, Neji asked Sasuke who he was, to which Sasuke remained silent.
While in Forest of Death, Team Guy devised a strategy to surprise weak teams and take their scrolls. At one moment, the three of them would split up. Neji and Tenten would group up later on, but Rock Lee was nowhere to be found. They went back to look for him only to discover that he was ambushed by Team Dosu. Luckily, they managed to overpower the threat and proceed to the next round.
Elimination Tournament
During the one-on-one tournament, Tenten clashed with Hidden Sand Village’s Temari. Tenten was very aggressive from the get-go, rushing Temari by throwing numerous weapons at her. However, she managed to swat all these objects, and once Tenten was out of weapons, she threw her into the air with a wind cyclone technique.
Ultimately, she landed Tenten on her closed fan, injuring her back. After that, Temari tried to blow away Tenten into her own weapons that were now lying on the ground. But Rock Lee intervened, catching Tenten before she could hit the ground, thus avoiding potential cutting.
Konoha Crush
During the Konoha Crush arc, a team of Kiba, Neji and Tenten went to rescue Hinata. They were ambushed by a pack of wolves that served as a distraction meant to fend off the ninjas. She used a dragon summoning scroll to destroy the wolves, after which Neji and Kiba went to save Hinata.
Upon returning to the village, they realized there was an attack in which the Third Hokage died. Tenten and her classmates attend his funeral afterward.
Kurosuki Family Removal Mission
Tenten and Team Guy are joined by Naruto. Their task is to eliminate Kurosuki family. After taking down numerous clan embers, they eventually arrive at their boss Raiga Kurosuki. Although Raiga has some initial success, the team of ninjas finally takes him down.
Later on, the protagonist fined a young lad called Ranmaru. This crippled boy was forced to work under Raiga. She would help his mental recovery, and the mission was declared a success.
Academy Student Lead Mission
During this arc, Tenten leads a team of academy genins, similar to Naruto and other Team 11 members. They would finish missions and compete against each other. The show creators didn’t tell us much about Tenten’s team. The only information we got is that they performed much better than the Naruto’s team.
Cursed Warrior Extermination Mission
Here is another filler arc where Tenten, Neji, and Naruto go to the Land of the Birds. During these episodes, the female ninja was portrayed as a formidable taijutsu user. At one point, she would go against assassins and the Cursed Warrior.
At one point, Tenten saved her teammates by getting rid of a trap. She was really angry at Naruto but also Neji because they didn’t want to involve her in their combat plans.
Konoha Plans Recapture Mission
After two other filler arcs, Star Guard Mission and Menma Memory Search Mission, Tenten was featured in the Konoha Plans Recapture Mission arc.
During this series of episodes, the story revolves around an old worker called Genno, who infiltrated the village in an attempt to bomb it. Ninjas would eventually foil his plan, and Tenten was crucial for gathering some of the evidence that other Team 11 members overlooked.
Kazekage Rescue Mission
This is the Tenten’s first appearance in the second part of Naruto. Tsunade sends Team Guy as support for Team 7. Their mission is to track down Gaara and rescue him from the clutches of Akatsuki, who previously raided Hidden Sand Village. Team 7 is already on the heels of Akatsuki, and Team Guy, who came a bit later, is guided by Pakkun to the location of the villain’s hideout.
Along the way, they were ambushed by Kisame. The Team Guy would quickly react with Tenten attacking Akatsuki members with a spiked bomb. Kisame easily dodged the attack, after which he went underwater to regroup.
Looking for the best way to fight the group, Kisame decides to isolate the guy. He trapped Lee, Neji, and Tenten in a water prison. The three of them were slowly suffocating, but with nice teamwork, they somehow managed to break free. Meanwhile, Guy managed to beat Kisame. Unfortunately, the team discovered that this was a ploy and that Kisame was never there. Instead, all of that was a ruse meant to stall them from helping Team 7.
Clash with Deidara
When they finally grouped up with the second team, Guy and Kakashi decided to destroy the barrier that was preventing the entrance into the lair. By relying on Neji’s Byakugan, they easily found chakra seals, promptly destroying them. However, this triggered another trap causing copies of themselves to attack our protagonists.
While battling the opponent, Tenten realized that they are similar in terms of techniques but that her copy has infinite chakra. Observing the situation, Lee realized they could push their bodies beyond their previous limits, thus conquering the clones. Tenten utilized a flurry of weapons to defeat her opponent.
After the clash, Team Guy went to rendezvous with Team 7, which went ahead. Once again, they utilized Neji’s power to find Deidara and prevent his movement. Realizing his situation, Deidara decided that the best course of action was to avoid engagement and run.
Tenten utilized one of her weapon scrolls to launch an attack at Akatsuki. Team Guy became restless and almost got itself killed by the villain’s exploding clone. Luckily, Kakashi was quick on his feet, saving the young ninjas. They would eventually beat Deidara and save Gaara. Upon returning to Hidden Sand Village, they visited Chiyo’s resting place, after which both teams went back home.
Three-Tails’ Appearance
During the mission, Tenten is meant to provide support to Team Three as a member of Team Two. Their main objective is the sealing of monstrous Three-tails. They would engage one of the Team Guren Ninja, during which Lee was quickly trapped within a smoke cloud.
The enemy utilizes Lee as a shield, so it was hard for Tenten to intervene and save her comrade. As soon as they freed the reckless ninja, Tenten utilized Twin Rising Dragons to disable enemies, subsequently leading to the team’s victory.
After that, Guren made his appearance on the battlefield. Although Tenten and Lee stalled the evil ninja, Guren would eventually stop the sealing technique. This brief distraction gave Guren’s team enough to recuperate, and, now powered by Orochimaru’s enhancements, they managed to beat Tenten and other Hidden Leaf ninjas.
Pain’s Assault
Like many other ninjas, Tenten was on a mission during Pain’s assault. Once she reached Konoha, she did her best to provide support to her friends.
Five Kage Summit
In this arc, Konoha 11 made a pact to destroy Sasuke and prevent further tarnishing of Konoha’s reputation. Naruto wanted to battle Sasuke one-on-one, but Tenten would go to challenge him, saying that this was a problem for all of them, not just one person.
Naruto was firm in his resolve and would leave the classmates, saying that there was a reason why he was insisting on battling Sasuke. This statement left a deep impression on all of his friends, who didn’t know what to think.
Power
During this arc, Tenten serves as a support for Team Kakashi. Their main mission is to invest in a mysterious place known as The Hole, which is located in the Tonika Village. The site was created by Orochimaru’s sidekick, Kabuto.
For the majority of her appearance, she battled Kabuto’s creations. Meanwhile, Naruto engaged Kabuto’s clone. Although they gained some valuable information, the mission was a mixed success.
Paradise Life on a Boat
Here, Shikamaru and Tenten once again serve as support for Naruto. They are meant to deliver supplies to this hero ninja and would face a few obstacles along the way. Tenten was crucial for preventing the ship’s capture by outsmarting the ninjas.
After the mission, Tenten went back to Konoha and was in charge of supplies as the village prepared for the Fourth Shinobi World War. Tenten decided to take the initiative and would summon all the females for a night out. During the dinner, the girls talked about all the past events and how the group was brought together.
Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation
Tenten was a part of the First division alongside Hiashi Hyuga and Choza Akimichi. They performed the role of a border patrol for the Land of the Lightning. Tenten was very courageous when engaging White Zetsus. She rained wave after wave of weapons on their heads, thus preventing the enemy’s progress.
The female ninja was shocked to learn that one person could cause such massive damage. Later on, she provided support for Ino-Shika-Cho, by attacking Kinkaku with a barrage of projectiles.
She would later stumble upon a powerful weapon called Bashosen, which she used to destroy Kakuzu’s mask. Although very powerful, the weapon demanded a large amount of chakra, so, after battling other enemies, Tenten would eventually collapse to the ground from exhaustion.
The medic warned her not to use Bashosen anymore because she doesn’t have enough proficiency and chakra reserves. She would, later on, join Team Asuma, and you could notice Tenten’s disappointment for not being allowed to use the precious tool anymore.
Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax
Tenten and other Konoha 11 members went to help Naruto and Killer B as they were fighting Madara. Later on, Tenten tried to seal Ten-tails with the rest of the Allied forces. Unfortunately, their joint attempt was a failure. After surviving a few monster attacks, she learned about Neji’s death. Team Guy gathered around his corpse, and you could see Tenten trying to console Lee, who was in tears.
Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki
Reinvigorated by Naruto’s chakra, Tenten and other members of the Alliance rush toward Madara and the monster. A lot of the allies were trapped in the beast’s barrier, but luckily, Tenten managed to escape the entrapment with the help of Minato and Naruto.
Ten-tails changed into his ultimate form and attacked the allies with the chakra absorption technique, which Tenten managed to avoid. Five Kages appeared on the scene and launched a group attack. Tenten, Lee, and Guy provided support.
After receiving a telepathic call from Naruto, Lee and Tenten rushed to his location. Naruto created a large Rasengan and his allies, now empowered by the tailed beast’s mantle, went to obliterate Obito’s protective layer giving Sasuke enough space to destroy the threat.
Fight against Madara
Tenten now joined Lee and Guy. The two of them still wanted to fight despite massive injuries. Tenten would commend their hearts, which couldn’t follow up with their bodies. While lamenting her luck for being forced to remain alone with Lee and Guy, the known knuckleheads, Tenten’s allies, were hit by Madara’s techniques.
The impact of the ability also knocked out Tenten. When she woke up, she realized that Madara had removed Treasured Tools from his body. Lee and Guy proceeded ahead and would later on search for Tenten, who stayed in the back.
The aftershocks continued, and Tenten would fall down one again. This time around, she dropped the weapon scroll that contained two Treasured Tools. The weapons were lost forever when a piece of Madara’s headband pierced through the scroll, forever annihilating the objects within.
Infinite Tsukuyomi
Finally, Madara managed to use his ultimate technique: Infinite Tsukuyomi. This caused the entire world to fall under the influence of illusion, Tenten included. During her sleep, she thought of Lee and Guy and how it would be great if there were more mature. She shared these emotions with Neji, who was still alive.
The fact she had the Treasured Tools in her possessions made it possible for Tenten to recall everything that occurred during the war. At one point, Tenten even realized that she was trapped within a genjutsu. Although the cunning ninja tried to dispel its effect, she had no luck doing so. Tenten made a decision not to talk to anyone within the illusion as these could be Madara’s proxies.
While trapped in genjutsu, Tenten had quite an adventure. She was first branded as a traitor and locked up in prison. She would later be saved from the prison by Menma. The two of them went on to battle Ame-nin, emerging victorious. As a result, they received an ovation from the entire village.
With this, Tenten reaffirmed herself as a valuable member of the village, even if it was only within the illusion.
Kaguya Otsutsuki Strikes
Upon defeating the enemy, all of the ninjas were released from the illusion. Tenten went to Daruo and made sure to release Benihisago. She gave the tool to the shinobi, who taught her how to use Atsui and Samui.
Like all her friends from Konoha 11 and many Hidden Leaf villagers, Tenten attended Neji’s funeral at the end of Naruto.
Tenten’s Abilities and Skills
Although often portrayed as an afterthought and perhaps the most irrelevant member of Konoha 11, Tenten is still a powerful ninja. In the second part of the story, she has become of chunin capable of going one-on-one against powerful Akatsuki members, likes of which Kisame.
Initially, she is lauded for her ability to use weapons and weapon scrolls. As the story progressed, Tenten became apt at using space-time ninjutsu and various tools, puppets, and traps.
Weapon Mastery
There isn’t a weapon that Tenten cannot use. During the show, she is seen with various objects from bos to shurikens, kunai, manriki-gusari, swords, etc. Her understanding of weapons is so advanced that she can utilize even the objects she has no previous experience with.
Besides melee weapons, she is proficient with numerous ranged weapons and would hit her mark in 100% of situations. When she reached adult age, every Hidden Leaf villager considered Tenten as one of the best weapon masters they had to offer.
Fuinjutsu
Tenten can utilize sealing and unsealing techniques. In most of the battle scenes, Tenten uses scrolls for bombarding opponents but also extracting powerful weapons. Often, she would add explosive tags to kunais, shurikens, and other items. Tenten occasionally utilizes string to guide the projectiles but also for gaining other types of tactical advantages.
One of her special moves is Twin Rising Dragon, which helped her win numerous fights. The technique sends a plethora of weapons at her opponents. She can also create a fire dragon that triggers upon making contact with a target. Tenten can seal just about anything, including massive structures. This gives her a unique strategic advantage in some situations.
Tenten Trivia
Focused Proficiency
Tenten is unparalleled when it comes to her weapon mastery. As mentioned in the show, there are only a handful of ninjas who can compare to her proficiency, whether in Konoha or someplace else. Aside from having an almost intuitive understanding of weapons and how to use them, she also utilizes sealing and unsealing to overwhelm opponents with weapon barrage.
However, to make the side character balanced, the show’s creators made sure that her other scores were very low. In fact, if we exclude weapon mastery and sealing, all her other techniques are below average.
Strangely enough, her strength and stamina are very low. This means that the female ninja needs to rely on proficiency for overpowering enemies with weapons. Regardless of her low strength, her taijutsu and speed scores are pretty high. Another interesting thing is that her ninjutsu is around average, although she barely uses it in anime.
Fights for Female Rights
There are several instances where Tenten was shown as an avid fighter for female rights. Although these scenes are few and far between, knowledgeable viewers have probably spotted them. For example, she would scold Neji when he belittled girls in one of the episodes.
The character would also take charge of organizing female events. This is best noticed when she took the initiative and called all the girls for a barbeque prior to going to war.
Color Change
What most people don’t know is that Tenten actually has different outfit colors in manga and anime. Initially, the character was meant to have a blue outfit, which later on turned to pink in the anime version. Interestingly enough, it seems that the creators really liked this change, and they would, later on, change her outfit in the manga to pink, as well.
It is hard to tell why they decided to make this change. One of the theories is that the creators wanted to make Tenten manlier, more authoritative, as someone who stands for female rights. Eventually, they changed her color scheme to be more girly, thus resembling that of other female classmates. This was probably done to attract more female viewers to the show.
Her Name
Tenten has several meanings. “Ten” means “heaven,” so Tenten would mean “heaven, heaven.” It can also be “here and there,” “this and that,” or “little by little.” However, it can also refer to English number ten. In other words, Tenten might refer to “ten out of ten” or bull’s-eye referring to her incredible weapon precision.
She Loves Fortune Telling
Although there weren’t many references to this peculiar hobby in the show, Tenten is very fond of predicting the future and other occult things. She loves to hold small sessions with her friend and takes a special interest in everything that is a bit strange.
Probably of Chinese Origin
If you were to transfer them to the real world, most Naruto characters would be Japanese. You can see this through culture, eating habits, and clothing. The only exception within Konoha 11 is Tenten. She is portrayed as a Chinese person, with lots of small references, including her preferred food and clothing.
FAQs
Question: Who did Tenten marry?
Answer: Throughout Naruto, Tenten doesn’t show a clear interest in any of the boys. Furthermore, she doesn’t have a large role in Boruto, so we don’t know if she’s married to someone. The only possible prediction is that she’s married to Rock Lee, someone she cares deeply for. However, this is more of speculation as the show’s creators never made this obvious.
Question: What is Tenten’s power in Naruto?
Answer: Tenten is a proficient weapon master who can also use high-level sealing techniques. In fact, according to lore, she is one of the best weapon users in the world. Although great in this area, her other skills are rather lackluster. She isn’t particularly strong or well-conditioned, nor can she use genjutsu. There are some indications that she can use certain ninjutsus, but the show’s creators didn’t want to put too much emphasis on this.
Question: Is Tenten a strong character?
Answer: Tenten is portrayed as a rather weak and forgettable character in the show. She doesn’t save anyone, nor does she win too many battles. In most cases, she is utilized as a supporting character. Her ranged attacks are often deflected, and she rarely beats anyone in melee combat.
Conclusion
Tenten is one of the members of Konoha 11. She is also a part of Team Guy, featuring Mighty Guy, Neji, and Lee. The character is adept at using various weapons and objects. Her sealing techniques allow Tenten to store various weapons in her scrolls. On a few occasions, she stored massive items within her ninja scrolls, such as ships.
Although Tenten is a strong female character, she also has a soft side for her teammates. She often calls them out for their immaturity and takes care of them like a big sister would.