Initially a devoted Shinobi of Kirigakure, Utakata left the community during the “Bloody Mist” era. He later became the Jinchūriki of the Six-Tails, Saiken.
Utakata studied under Harusame, who instructed him to track and locate a scroll. Utakata retrieved it and returned with a scroll saying a ninja should carry out and complete his mission. Infuriated for doing more than instructed, Harusame got frustrated and stated that Utakata’s life was valuable and that a ninja should neither avoid fighting nor become involved in pointless combat. Later, Harusame came to view Utakata’s beast within him as a burden and took it upon himself to research a technique to extract the Six-Tails (Saiken).
Later, Harusame made an attempt to free Saiken from Utakata since he thought the Beast would only cause problems in his student’s life and that he would be better without it. As a result of the process not going as planned, Harusame pushed Utakata to transform into Saiken and was slain in an effort to stop the tailed beast from being removed, which unknowingly to him would have resulted in Utakata dying. Utakata became disillusioned and doubtful of the master-student connection due to his hazy memory of the incident and sense of betrayal. He started roaming and continually fended off assailants, especially the hunter-nin dispatched from Kirigakure to get him.
Utakata in Tsuchigumo Village
One day, he was attacked again. Hotaru, a girl who was there by chance, believed that the attackers were after her. Utakata was hurt while defending himself from his assailants. Hotaru brought Utakata to her family’s fort for treatment, thinking he had saved her. Hotaru pleaded with him to teach her his ninjutsu when he had recovered, but Utakata was adamant on his decision of not wanting to be anyone’s teacher.
Utakata consented to ensure that Hotaru and her grandfather would successfully impart their secret technique to the village of her clan as a way of paying back the obligation of having his life spared. However, he left after he met Naruto and his team, who were also tasked with guarding Hotaru. He believed that since the Konoha ninja were powerful, he could rely on them to protect Hotaru. He left despite Hotaru begging him to stay and on leaving said he wasn’t a fool to crave the status of “master”.
Later, he was spotted relaxing under a tree. He ultimately nodded off and dreamed about his time spent with Hotaru at the fort, which later developed into a nightmare about his own master’s betrayal. Utakata quickly awoke and decided to investigate a flickering shadow, only to find out Akaboshi’s team, who were discussing kinjutsu. Utakata challenged them and wondered if he should steal the technique for himself as it was so alluringly powerful. He then engaged with them in combat and defeated them. However, they cornered him into a barrier, which exploded with Utakata still inside.
In the forest, Hotaru was surrounded by Akaboshi and his crew. Later, Utakata arrived and freed her. He and Hotaru escaped into a bubble to a neighboring safe location. Utakata was about to abandon Hotaru once more when Hotaru, in an effort to persuade him not to do so, slipped a portion of her shirt off to reveal something on her back that startled him.
Kirigakure Anbu suddenly discovered Utakata and subdued him. Hotaru, whom the captain was holding prisoner, was informed that Utakata was included in their bingo book and was sought for the murder of his master. Naruto and his squad arrived and released Utakata from one of the water whips that were trapping him. Fighting broke out between the two sides, but Yamato and the Kirigakure Anbu chief sorted things over. It was decided that they would stop tracking Utakata while she was safe because Hotaru insisted on being with him; once she was secure, they would start looking for him again. Tsurugi, the leader, asked Utakata to return to Kirigakure. Utakata declined and stated that he will continue to act however he pleases.
Utakata orders Naruto to gather plants for medicine as Hotaru starts to experience pain from an injury acquired during an earlier altercation. Naruto returns and finds out what was done to Hotaru, with the clan's kinjutsu applied on her back. Utakata expresses his utter contempt for people who exploit others' loyalty for their own gains and use them as instruments. Utakata is astonished to discover that Hotaru genuinely asked for the method to be sealed in her as they make their way back to Mount Katsuragi.
Hotaru outlined her desire for her grandfather’s wish to fulfill the restoration of their clan’s glory. Tonbee proposed they burn the kinjutsu to eliminate any threat it could pose after lamenting the fact that the clan had likely lost too much strength to ever regain such a status by this point. Utakata was taken aback that Hotaru’s grandfather had devised a method to remove it from Hotaru’s body without harm. Utakata questioned whether the same was true of his master when Tonbee stated that no true master would carry out such atrocious deeds without a method to undo them. When Hotaru first insisted, he slapped her, later he apologized. Utakata made the decision to seek out Tsurugi once more in order to get some information concerning his late instructor after Hotaru was persuaded to have the banned technique taken out and destroyed.
When he was unable to locate Tsurugi, a messenger pigeon carrying a note for him is discovered. Even though Hotaru is the one who found Shiranami, Utakata is still apprehensive and believes something is off. When he arrives at the place Hotaru mentioned, he discovers that Shiranami is the real gang’s leader. Additionally, he discovered Akaboshi and his crew had Naruto trapped in their net. The robbers are subsequently made to flee by Utakata using his demon chakra to frighten them. He and Naruto then pursue Shiranami to Hotaru’s village, where they learn that Shiranami used his method to seize control of it. Yamato and others show up to prevent people from advancing while Utakata and Naruto continue to save Hotaru.
When they arrived, Shiranami had already bound the two Jinchūriki with his Character Bind Technique while using Hotaru to acquire raw chakra required to use Fury. Both, however, released their ties using the chakra of their tailed creatures and launched attacks, only for Shiranami, who is in charge of the kinjutsu, to utilize Fury. He was hurt by Fury, but he managed to survive. As Naruto engaged Shiranami, Utakata moved to protect the kinjutsu which was performed a second time. Utakata subdued the explosion by transforming into Saiken after pleading with him to grant strength to save Hotaru. Utakata accepts his position as Hotaru’s teacher when Shiranami is vanquished and Hotaru is secure, but not before he departs to ask Anbu for authorization to travel and train with his new pupil.
Utakata’s Death
Utakata came across a bloodied Anbu mask on the way and encountered the Six Paths of Pain. Utakata is attacked by Pain, causing him to assume the Version 2 form. Utakata managed to defeat two of the Six Paths of Pain as they started their assault, but finally, Utakata was overpowered by the other Paths of Pain. He gives Hotaru, who was oblivious of his imminent doom, a plethora of bubbles before being carried away, expanding his sight through them so that he can see Hotaru one last time. Utakata was killed as a result of the Six-Tails being extracted out of him.
Utakata During the Fourth Shinobi War
Utakata’s DNA was discovered in advance of the Fourth Shinobi War, and he was resurrected by Kabuto Yakushi to battle the Allied Shinobi Forces before being called up to survive alongside the other deceased former Jinchūriki. It was discovered that Tobi had transformed the reincarnated Jinchūriki into his own customized Six Paths of Pain, each of which had a Rinnegan and Sharingan in place of their left and right eyes, respectively, as daylight broke on the second day. Additionally, the Jinchūriki had chakra receivers implanted in each of their bodies and their respective tailed monsters resealed into them.
Later, Utakata and Tobi traveled together in search of Naruto Uzumaki and Killer B. Tobi sends the reincarnated Jinchūriki into combat with the two Jinchūriki after colliding with Naruto. Utakata surrounds Naruto and B with his Water Release : Bubble Technique after Yagura had driven them away. Utakata mentally interacted with Naruto while he was still aware of his activities, telling him what had happened to him since their last meeting. Utakata thanked Naruto for listening as his last moments of awareness vanished, he told him how he truly felt about Hotaru and regretted how things turned out.
Utakata released a burst of bubbles that encompassed the vicinity at the snap of his fingers. When his initial assault failed, he, like others, materialized the first of the tailed beast’s tails to unleash the power of its tails. After being incapacitated by the Eight-Tails’ powerful blow, Utakat was detained by B using his sealing technique. He was able to flee by changing his Version 2 form before the technique was finished, but when he assaulted the Eight-Tails, the beast captured him. The Eight-Tails’ hand was burned in the process as Utakata used his Leech Gap method to escape the crushing hold. Utakata moved towards other Jinchūriki to regroup with them. When Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy intervened, Utakata charged towards them. He deflected Kakashi’s blow before rejecting both with his tails until Tobi forcibly changed him into his full Six-Tails form.
He releases a large amount of poisonous gas from the beast’s mouth which is dissipated by Guy. Tobi then decides to go all out from this point forward ordering the Jinchūriki to change into their respective tailed creatures after Son Goku is released into the Demonic Statue of the Other Path. The Jinchūriki resorted to a direct assault, unleashing a Tailed Beast Bomb, only to be repelled by Naruto’s Tailed Beast Mode. The jinchūriki combine again to release another Tailed Beast Bomb which gets canceled out against Nine-Tails’ Beast bomb.
In the ensuing blast, Naruto enters the collective consciousness of the tailed beasts, where he encounters Utakata as well as the other Jinchūriki and their respective Tailed Beast. Like others, Utakata introduces himself and his beast, Saiken, before talking about how they promised Son to stay here so that he could tell Naruto something. Utakata and the other Jinchūriki were killed as their Tailed Beasts were released into the Demonic Statue. Later, after the discharge of Impure World Reincarnation, Utakata and others were wrapped in a light of sorts before their bodies began to disintegrate and his soul returned to the afterlife.
