TheNarutofranchise is renowned for its impeccable storyline, in-depth characters, and complex world-building, but that certainly doesn’t bar a series from being riddled with imperfections. One such issue withNarutois its incongruity, resulting in several plot holes that plague the series’ intricately crafted storyline. A prime example is its unmistakable plot hole witnessed duringthe Fourth Great Ninja War, with the Allied Shinobi Forces amassing a colossal army of 80,000 shinobi to take on the two opposing belligerents.
At first glance, the number of shinobi taking part seems adequate for full-scale war, but a closer look reveals how utterly impossible it is to amass such a number. While it’s common knowledge that many series suffer from inconsistent writing, the scale of this plot hole has left a glaring mark on the series, especially with the war arc being one of the series’ best ones yet. AsKishimoto wanted to end the serieson a high-note, it’s obvious that such exaggeration was used for dramatic effect, yet its consequences were not accounted for – a blatant mistake on the author’s part.
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The Number of Shinobi From Each Village Don’t Add Up
A bit of mathematical deduction can give a rough estimate of how many shinobi each village contributed to the war, with 80,000 being the total number. Althoughthe Land of Iron’s Samuraialso took part in the war, their numbers were quite meager, and excluding them from the total count makes for a slight difference. Dividing the total army over the Five Great Nations gives a rough estimate of about 15,000-16,000 shinobi from each village. This begs the question of how each village was able to garner such a high number of shinobi, despite stats saying otherwise.
TheHidden Leaf’s shinobi systemcan give some insight into the matter, as the series has revealed almost every detail of its well-structured hierarchy. For a shinobi to become a Genin, they must graduate from the academy, and though it may seem like a high number of students pass the academy each year, the reality is quite the contrary. During the year Naruto graduated from the academy, only 9 students became Genin. If the graduation takes place yearly, it would take more than a thousand years (or 1,666 to be exact) for the village to gain roughly 15,000 shinobi.
It could be argued that the academy’s graduation exam takes place several times throughout the year, or the year Naruto graduated saw a small influx of students. However, these arguments can be negated by the fact that the village purposely kept its academy output lowsince the Third Hokagewanted to prioritize quality over quantity. Out of 27 students that graduated that year, only 9 became Genin after passing their instructors’ tests. Under such stringent conditions, it’s impossible to garner such a large amount of shinobi even if the graduation exam were to take place every month.
Only Chunin and Jonin Took Part In the War
The number of academy graduates can surely fluctuate between terms, and there’s still some sort of plausibility with how many students become Genin each year. However, the Chunin exams take place after a fixed interval, twice each year, and considering how difficult the exam can be, only a fraction of the participants can actually become Chunin. Moreover, the series’ first Chunin exams resulted in only one participant being promoted, and while that can beattributed to the Konoha Crush, only 8 participants made it to the final round, meaning just 4 shinobi would have been promoted to Chunin.
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Withthe Chunin exams taking placetwice every year, a rough estimate of about 8-10 Chunin are produced each year, a number that can never amount to the estimated 15,000 per village. Promotion to Jonin is even less common, especially with the extreme prerequisites necessary to reach this position. With the war only comprising Chunin and Jonin level shinobi, the numbers certainly don’t add up, amounting to a massive plot hole tainting the series.
Plausible Theories That Justify the Numbers
While no amount of theorizing can cover up the obtrusive plot hole left by Kishimoto’s hasty writing, a few plausible explanations can still try to justify the inconsistency. Since the author never focused much on Naruto’s world-building, there is still much aboutthe Five Great Nationsthat viewers have no information about. Apart from the main ninja villages, each nation also has a number of smaller settlements scattered throughout the lands. It’s possible that shinobi from these settlements and towns were recruited for the war effort. Though it certainly is a plausible explanation, the colossal scale of the Allied Shinobi Forces still remains unjustified, tainting the legacy of one ofNaruto’sgreatest arcs so far.
