Tazuna

Tazuna (タズナ, Tazuna) is a master bridge-builder from the Land of Waves.

Background
With his daughter's second husband being killed by Gato. Tazuna became a bridge builder, and also being Inari's grandfather. He assigned Shinobi to look after his family, while the bridge was being built. Tazuna would bring up memories of Kaiza, which anger Inari overall. But he told the stories to Team Kakashi to understand more about how the Land of Waves were before Gato came,and took over the village.

Appearance
Tazuna is a grey-haired, bespectacled man with a large beard and dark eyes. When first introduced, he wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, pants and a pair of sandals. He also carried a towel around his neck and wore a pointed hat on his head. When seen in Part II, Tazuna wore the same attire inclusive of the towel; a habit Inari has started to mimic.

Personality
Blunt and sometimes harsh, he has been described as a diligent man. He is also a drinker.

Land of Waves arc
He resolved to build a bridge that would connect the Land of Waves to the mainland to help restore its economic stability, which was against Gatō's interest. He knew that Gatō would try to kill him, but couldn't afford proper protection. It was because of this that Tazuna hired Team 7 under the false pretence of protecting him from bandits (this was considered a C-rank mission, thus reducing the cost). Unlike most of his fellow citizens, Tazuna was brave enough to defy Gatō's interests, although he was perfectly aware of the consequences. In honour of Naruto Uzumaki, and for his example of courage, Tazuna named the bridge the "Great Naruto Bridge" after its completion. He tended to overuse the word "super", which was not reflected in the English version of the anime.

Konoha History arc
Naruto and Sakura meet up with Tazuna and Inari, who came to help rebuild the village. Naruto has a flashback that takes place after Team 7 finished their mission in the Land of Waves. Naruto remembers he had forgotten an Ramen Ichiraku coupon at Inari's house and runs back to go get it. Tazuna finds the coupon and Inari decides to give it to Naruto. On his way, Inari runs into Akane and his friends who try to pick on him with Team 7 gone. Zōri and Waraji hear of this and kidnap the kids.

Sakura and Sasuke, who was ordered by Kakashi to bring back Naruto, learn from Tazuna that Inari had went to meet up with them. Meanwhile, the remnants of Gatō's thugs decide to take Gatō's place and hold Inari and the others for ransom. Naruto finds his coupon and also traces of a struggle. Sasuke also notice cuts on the trees from a sword which Naruto remembers it was from Gatō's two bodyguards.

At the thugs’ hideout, Inari and the others escape from the thugs. Inari decides to distract them while Akane and his friends escape. Inari is chased into a dead end by the thugs but jumps into the water. While swimming away, Naruto and Sasuke find Inari and pull him out of the river. The thugs find him and fight Naruto and Sasuke, who are no match against them. When the thugs were about to flee, the villagers surround them, forcing them to give up. Akane and his friends apologise to Inari for bullying him and they all become friends. Then Inari tells Naruto he left his coupon at his house so then Naruto checks his pocket and wonders why its missing, Sasuke then tells Naruto that it probably drifted while he was at the river pulling out Inari, much to his dismay. The flashback ends and Inari decides to make it up to Naruto by building a new better Ramen Ichiraku for him.

Five Kage Summit arc
On the request of Konoha, Tazuna arrived in Konoha, along with Inari, who is now a carpenter, to help rebuild the village. He and Inari have a brief conversation with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi.

Knownable Relatives

 * Tsunami (daughter)
 * Inari (grandson)
 * Uzumaki Naruto (Surrogte older son)
 * Kaiza (second son in law/decreased)

Trivia

 * In Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival!, Inari and Tazuna were seen in an extremely long line for the bathroom that featured almost every male character.
 * According to the databook(s):
 * His favourite foods are sake, and inarizushi, while his least favourite food is broccoli.

Voice actors
Japanese voice actor : Takeshi Anono (Part l), Shigeru Ushiyama (Part ll)

English voice actor: Kirk Thornton (Part l & Part ll), Kim Strauss  (Naruto : Ulimate Ninja)