One of the central points in the anime of Naruto is that he grew up without parents, and one of the most beautiful moments is when he meets them for the first time. In a TV special, he almost met them, but he had to go to the bathroom.
What is this special? On August 21, 2004, the OVA “Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival” was released in Japan. OVA stands for Original Video Animation. These are special episodes or movies that are not produced for TV or cinema. For well-known series, these are often stories that do not officially belong to the canon but provide a lot of fan service for viewers.
In the 3rd OVA of Naruto, it is about a sports festival where the young ninjas must win various games to get a week off. However, Naruto urgently needs to go to the bathroom, which is why he constantly runs there. But it is always quite crowded.
Absurdly, in this special episode, you can also spot familiar faces that are either villainous characters or important family members that you actually meet much later.
Naruto just ran past his father
What can be seen in the OVA? On x.com, @NarutoDaily_ posted a clip from the OVA. You can see how Naruto urgently needs to go to the bathroom. However, when he sees the line in front of the toilet, he is shocked. For anime fans, the line itself is exciting. You can spot the following characters:
- Gaara
- The
Sound 4
ninjas that Konoha fought to bring Sasuke back - Ebisu
- Kabuto
- Itachi and Kisame, who attempted to kidnap Naruto in the same year
- some Anbu
Especially for Itachi and Kisame, this would be the perfect opportunity to grab Naruto and the Jinchuuriki within him.
Even more bizarre is a later scene. There, Naruto runs again towards the bathroom and passes by the 4th Hokage, Minato. He shouldn’t be alive. However, it must be noted that at that time, despite the visual resemblance, Naruto does not know that the 4th Hokage is his father.
When does Naruto officially meet Minato? In the anime, Naruto meets his father’s spirit through the seal of the Nine-Tails in Naruto Shippuden episode 168. It first aired in Japan on July 15, 2010. The episode is based on manga chapters 439 to 442. Chapter 439 first appeared in Weekly Shōnen Jump No. 16 on March 30, 2009 (via Narutopedia).
One should not take such OVAs too seriously, but it is remarkable that Minato’s anime Hokage design was used so early. The Naruto anime is full of exciting battles. We have listed the most legendary ones from the series here: The 7 most legendary battles in Naruto
