In the wacky world of Naruto, epic battles are as frequent as shots of the protagonist chomping down on ramen. With its fusion of action and appetizers, Naruto became synonymous with ninjas and the phrase ‘Believe it.’ It takes fans back to the simpler era of anime and manga when the only thing sharper than a sword is the humor on the show. Almost everybody on the planet has at some point heard of Naruto, the ninja with a hairstyle as wild as his dreams and a bottomless belly.

Whether he was chasing after Sasuke or devouring ramen, Naruto’s fans drew inspiration from everything the quirky ninja did. And it turns out the writer behind the Jujutsu Kaisen, Gege Akatumi, was one of those fans that followed the anime religiously.

Naruto creator does not even remember this character

Anime Senpai reported that in an interview where the Naruto creator Kishimoto was also present, Gege revealed how the protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen Satoru Gojo came to be. He divulged to his fans that Gojo, who was the focus of Season 2 of the anime, was based on Tobitake Tonbo from Naruto. What was most amusing about this was that Masashi Kishimoto himself did not remember the side character that inspired Gojo!

Later Kishimoto even tweeted about this and put rest to claims about the fan-favorite theory about Kakashi inspiring Gojo. This theory was so widely accepted that even Gege addressed them in the interview. Saying that Gojo is not “on the same level as Kakashi-sensei”, he revealed that Tobitake’s “bandages and blindfolds” gave rise to Gojo’s design.

But some keen observers of Jujutsu Kaisen noticed other connections between Gojo and Kakashi. Especially the friendships they share with certain allies.

Kakashi and Gojo have other similarities

When Season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen came out in July, the story started revolving more around Gojo’s backstory with Suguru Geto. While both of them seemed to not have much in common, they formed a close bond. Later, Geto betrays Gojo and meets a rather fateful end. If fans of Naruto feel like this sounds familiar, it is because Kakashi and Obito’s friendship takes almost the exact same route.

With Naruto references as obvious as the ones Michael B. Jordan made in Creed III, Kakashi not being the reference for Gojo is surely shocking. The creator may feel that Gojo is not at par with Kakashi, but many disagree as his character arc gradually makes him stronger.

Did you notice the design similarities between Satoru Gojo and Tobitake Tonbo? Share your thoughts in the comments.