The Moving Way Masashi Kishimoto Was Influenced In Writing Naruto

In episode 168 of "Shippuden," Naruto finally meets his father, Minato (Toshiyuki Morikawa), in his subconscious. With a long-awaited punch and plenty of tears, the father-son reunion is probably one of the series' most raw, honest, and emotional moments. This scene allows Minato to say one of his most important lines in the series. With his son questioning himself, he tells Naruto he has faith in him. "To be a parent is to have undying faith in one's child," Minato adds. It's a scene that only could have occurred because of Masashi Kishimoto's personal life.

In an interview with Viz, Kishimoto noted that while working in the manga industry, he got married and became a parent: This led him to take stock of what was important to him. He added that his perspective vastly changed compared to when he was single, directly impacting the story of "Naruto." Without this change in Kishimoto's life, it's doubtful we would have had such notable moments as the one we see in episode 168. "Since I became a parent, I truly believe (although there might be a few exceptions) that parents all over the world always love their kids," Kishimoto shared. "When children can truly understand the love from their parents, it greatly helps them find themselves. So I really wanted to give Naruto that experience."