Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru

Kiba Inuzuka (犬塚 キバ) is a member of Team 8 characterized by a number of dog-like traits such as being very protective of his teammates and super sensitive and extremely keen senses such as smell . Most apparent of his connection to dogs is the constant presence of his ninja dog Akamaru. Kiba is fiercely loyal to Akamaru, unwilling to abandon him and putting himself in harm's way for Akamaru's sake. In exchange for Kiba's devotion, Akamaru fights with him in battle; he uses his heightened senses to Kiba's advantage, and helps to double-team opponents with volleys of physical attacks. Since Akamaru is naturally better equipped for combat, Kiba usually modifies his own abilities at the start of a battle, growing claws and traveling on all four limbs to increase his speed. He can also drastically increase his sense of smell, and by the second half of the series he can use it to track things dogs cannot. Kiba's seiyū in the Japanese anime is Kōsuke Toriumi, and his English voice actor is Kyle Hebert.


Akamaru  is Kiba Inuzuka's ninja dog, best friend, and constant companion. At the start of the series, Kiba carries Akamaru around on his head or inside his jacket. By Part II of the Naruto storyline, Akamaru grows large enough for Kiba to ride atop his back, but since Kiba spends so much time with Akamaru, he fails to notice this drastic difference. With his heightened sense of smell, hearing, and the ability to detect others' chakra levels, Akamaru acts as a valuable tool for Kiba in hostile situations. To help Kiba keep track of opponents, Akamaru can urinate on them, giving them a strong odor that can easily be tracked. In battle, however, he relies on Kiba to provide the chakra for the combination attacks they execute, which requires Akamaru to transform into a clone of Kiba. In the original Japanese anime, Akamaru is voiced by Junko Takeuchi, who is also the seiyū for Naruto Uzumaki, and Kōsuke Toriumi, who voices Kiba, when Akamaru transforms into a clone of Kiba. In the English adaptation of the anime, Akamaru's vocal effects are provided by Jamie Simone (though Kyle Hebert provided the voice of Akamaru when Kiba performs the Beast Human Clone Jutsu).