Minato Namikaze was the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure and a legendary shinobi who was renowned across the Naruto world as the Yellow Flash of the Leaf. His most famous act was protecting the village from the Nine-Tails long before the story began by making his infant son, Naruto Uzumaki, the jinchuriki of the beast.
Minato is considered to be one of the very best Hokage that the village ever had and although he died long ago, fans got to see glimpses of him throughout the series and learn more about him in the process.
10 He Earned His Moniker During The Third Great Ninja War
Minato Namikaze was a feared ninja during the Third Great Ninja War despite being quite young. His exploits had earned him the moniker of "the Yellow Flash of the Leaf" during the war. This epithet was given to him because of his incredible speed in combat and, more importantly, his usage of the teleportation jutsu, known as the Flying Raijin. In chapter 240 of Naruto, the moniker was used for the very first time by an Iwagakure shinobi.
9 Minato Namikaze Improved The Second Hokage's Flying Raijin Jutsu
While the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was the inventor of multiple powerful jutsu, Minato was known to have massively improved on one of them. He took the Second Hokage's Flying Raijin jutsu and made it much better.
The usage of this jutsu helped end the Third Great Ninja War. When Minato met Tobirama Senju during the Fourth Great Ninja War, the latter made it quite clear that his usage of the jutsu was inferior.
8 Minato Namikaze Died At The Very Young Age Of 24
Minato Namikaze was one of the youngest Hokage of Konohagakure, but he also ruled for a very short time. Almost immediately after the events of the Third Great Ninja War wrapped up, Minato was made the Fourth Hokage of the village. He spent a few years leading the village and, smart as he was, likely did the job well.
Sadly, his reign didn't last long as Obito attacked the village soon after the war. At the age of 24, Minato fought Obito Uchiha and the Nine-Tails, all while protecting his family — and lost his life in the process.
7 Minato Was Considered To Be An Unmatched Shinobi By Many
Even in his younger days, Minato was known to be incredibly skilled as a ninja. Under his mentor Jiraiya's care, he grew up to be one of the strongest ninjas of all time, and according to him, Minato was a generational shinobi the likes of which isn't seen often in the ninja world.
Ay, the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, thought of Minato as an unmatched ninja. According to him, Minato was a gentle shinobi and a finer ninja than him never lived. Based on these testimonials, Minato was undoubtedly respected throughout the world of ninja.
6 Minato Namikaze Was Once Called The Child Of Prophecy
Jiraiya's destiny in the Naruto series was to find the Child of Prophecy, who turned out to be Naruto Uzumaki. However, before he met Naruto, Jiraiya was certain that Minato Namikaze was the Child of Prophecy.
Thanks to the skill that Minato displayed throughout his ninja career, Jiraiya assumed he'd found the one he was looking for, but the Fourth Hokage instead ended up entrusting everything to his son, Naruto Uzumaki, who went to become the savior later on.
5 Minato Was An Extremely Skilled Sensor Type Ninja
Known to be a master of many skills, Minato Namikaze excelled in the sensor arts as well. During the Third Great Ninja War, Minato was able to detect enemy presence just by placing his index finger on the ground, a feat that no other ninja except Tobirama Senju has demonstrated. What's even more surprising is that Minato was able to count the exact number of enemies surrounding him using this method and even tell whether they were clones or not.
4 Minato Namikaze Had Perfect Control Over The Power Of Sage Mode
As a shinobi, Minato was skilled through and through. At some point in his life, he went to Mount Myoboku and trained in the ways of the Sage Mode. Unlike Jiraiya, Minato achieved complete mastery over this power and could enter Sage Mode in an instant.
The orange pigmentation around his eyes indicated his perfect control over this power. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Minato used it against Madara Uchiha, though he claimed that he couldn't maintain it for long.
3 Minato Namikaze Was The Third Jinchuriki Of Kurama
On top of all the power that he already held, Minato was also a jinchuriki. After the Nine-Tails was extracted from Kushina Uzumaki, Minato sealed the Yin half of the beast within himself using the Reaper Death Seal, becoming the third jinchuriki of the beast in the process after Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki.
Following this, he sealed the Yang half of the beast in his son, making him the fourth jinchuriki of the beast. Minato couldn't access its power because he died shortly after, but after being reincarnated during the Fourth Great Ninja War, he gave the fans a true taste of his full power.
2 Minato Completed A Total Of 847 Missions As A Shinobi
During his time as a ninja, Minato seems to have been quite active. He completed a total of 847 missions, including 122 D-rank missions, 147 C-rank missions, and 216 B-rank missions. When it comes to the most difficult missions, Minato completed 313 A-rank missions and 86 S-rank missions, which is extremely impressive.
What's more, he did all this by the age of 24, making it an incredible feat for a ninja to accomplish. Had Minato lived, he could've easily become the greatest shinobi that Konohagakure had seen.
1 Minato Namikaze Was An Ambidextrous Shinobi
Given that he was a genius, it's no surprise that Minato Namikaze was ambidextrous. This was seen on several occasions in the story, especially during his fights where he showed enough skill to wield a kunai and a Rasengan with both of his hands without any trouble whatsoever. He was also seen using summoning jutsu using his left hand, which implies that he used it to sign the contract. Minato was truly gifted and with all his skills, he became the Hokage in the blink of an eye.