In the world of Naruto, mentor figures have an incredibly large role to play in the titular character's life, seeing as how he never had parents of his own to guide him. Kakashi, his team leader, is a somewhat harsh mentor to Naruto, as he knows how cruel the world can be and wants to make sure his students are properly prepared for the dangers they'll face. While Jiraiya originally seems uninterested in taking up this role, he ends up being a crucial figure in Naruto's life as well, dishing out some of the best advice of anyone in the entire series.
Naruto's first mentor figure who deserves more credit — and, admittedly, screen time — than he's given is Iruka Umino. He's the first adult who pays attention to Naruto upon realizing how tragic his past and situation is, takes him out for ramen, scolds him when necessary, and is even willing to nearly give his own life just to protect him.
10 He Never Actually Goes Up To Jonin Level, Instead Remaining A Chunin
With how Iruka takes on a similar guiding role to that of Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Yamato in Naruto's life, it makes sense to assume that he has to be a jonin. After all, he's an instructor to up-and-coming genin at the Academy and later takes on the role of headmaster.
However, Iruka is actually still a chunin, and he's never shown to progress any higher than this throughout the story. One potential explanation is that jonin are often sent out on more dangerous, higher-ranked missions, and Iruka needs to remain at the Academy with the next generation of shinobi.
9 He Doesn't Resent Naruto, Despite Losing Both Of His Parents To The Nine-Tailed Fox Attack As A Child
Iruka is the very first character shown in-series who's not afraid of Naruto and doesn't treat him like a monster because of his status as a jinchuriki. This becomes incredibly surprising once Iruka's past is revealed.
Both of Iruka's parents perished during the initial fight against the Nine-Tails. Despite this, Iruka never once blames Naruto or shows any shred of hatred towards him, proving how kind and forgiving of a heart he truly has.
8 He Actually Considers Mizuki A Close Friend Before The Latter's Betrayal
The first real taste of danger Naruto experiences is against Mizuki, who attempts to kill him when he refuses to hand over the scroll Mizuki tricked him into stealing. Iruka takes a near-fatal blow from Mizuki, all while his ex-friend is ranting about how all of the positive attention he gave Iruka was a lie.
In actuality, Mizuki had always been jealous of Iruka and how the Third Hokage seemed to favor him more. His words and actions deeply hurt Iruka; before this, he believed that he and Mizuki were good friends who looked out for one another.
7 He's The Main Reason That Naruto Doesn't Turn Out The Way Gaara Does
When fans are first introduced to Gaara, he's the furthest from mentally sound out of all the characters introduced in the series thus far. He isn't even capable of caring about his siblings, those who should be closest to him.
Naruto notes that he easily could have ended up the same way, if it weren't for the love and support of those around him. And even in Naruto's flashback, it's acknowledged that the very first person who supported him, the one who initially ensured that Naruto didn't succumb to this same fate, was none other than Iruka.
6 Iruka Understands Naruto's Habit Of Acting Out As A Child Because He Did The Same Thing
Naruto has a habit of running around the village playing all sorts of destructive, childish pranks in order to get attention. No one seems to understand the deeper root of this issue — except for Iruka.
This is because back after Iruka lost his parents and was orphaned, he did the exact same thing. Playing pranks isn't meant to be disrespectful, but rather a lonely cry for someone to notice him, which is something that Iruka can personally relate to and understand.
5 Iruka And Naruto Have The Same Favorite Food
One day, after Iruka supervises Naruto cleaning up one of his vandalism pranks, he offers to take his student out for ramen, much to Naruto's delight. It's well-known that ramen is Naruto's favorite food, but it's actually Iruka's favorite too. It's possible that both of them love it so much because it's the main way that they're able to bond and spend time with one another, especially after Naruto graduates from the Academy.
4 The Third Hokage Is The Reason Why He Values The Next Generation More Than Anything
Iruka's main motivation for becoming a teacher is because he wants to pass the Will of Fire onto the next generation. He has immeasurable hope in the future of the village and the children who will become the next generation of shinobi.
The main reason he feels this way is because of the Third Hokage, who becomes a pseudo-mentor and father figure for Iruka after his parents pass. He teaches Iruka that the Will of Fire burns bright within all Konoha shinobi, and that it can be a source of comfort and strength in hard times.
3 His Official Statistics List Him As A Well-Rounded Shinobi With High Intelligence
Thanks to the official databooks that exist for the series, it's known exactly how each shinobi's statistics square up on a scale of one to five. And Iruka's stats are nothing to sneeze at; his intelligence ranks quite high at a four-and-a-half.
He's rather well-rounded otherwise, with his genjutsu, strength, and speed all coming in at two-and-a-half. His stamina is a three, while his ninjutsu and taijutsu are a three-and-a-half. Finally, his proficiency with hand seals is also above average, sitting at a respectable four.
2 He's Willing To Risk His Life To Protect The Next Generation
Iruka risks his life to protect Naruto after being moved by how similar the two are. However, this isn't something unique to Naruto, as it's revealed that Iruka would gladly give his life without a second thought to protect any shinobi-in-training.
During Orochimaru's invasion on Konoha, it's Iruka who's tasked with leading the kids out of sight where they'll be safe. When the children pick up on the fact that something's wrong and understandably become fearful, Iruka reassures them that he'll protect them — even at the cost of his own life.
1 He Consistently Ranks Within The Top Ten In Popularity Polls Despite Not Having Much Screen Time
Although he doesn't make nearly as many appearances as Naruto's other mentors, Iruka's impact on fans is quite profound. He still manages to rank within the top ten on most popularity polls.
In each poll, Iruka ranks fourth, third twice, fifth, fourth again, fifth again, and fourth once more respectively. It's only in the final popularity poll where he drops slightly in the ranks to eleventh place, but that's still impressive considering how underutilized of a character he is compared to most.