When did Iruka become a teacher?
I was making an Iruka timeline and realized we don’t have a clear answer, but rather multiple conflicting ones. So I tried to compile the informations somewhere! Here are some different indications as to when Iruka may have become a teacher at the Academy.
The first basic fact we have is this: Iruka would very probably not have become a teacher before he became a Chūnin, which happened when he was 16 years old (birthday May 26th).
IN THE ANIME/MOVIES :
The Childhood episodes show Iruka teaching Naruto’s generation while they are at a very young age, possibly 5 to 7 (see the “Naruto” and “Shikamaru” episodes). This would make Iruka 15 to 17.
In the movie The Last, Iruka is already a teacher in the Academy flashback. The children in this scene are all 7, making Iruka 17.
In the Rookie Instructor Iruka filler arc, a flashback shows Iruka asking to become an instructor. Kakashi is present in this scene and is already back in the field and in jōnin uniform, meaning this is after he left ANBU, which happened when he was 22-23 years old. Kakashi and Iruka have a 4 years age difference, making Iruka at least 18-19. This is already conflicting with the previous anime appearances.
IN THE MANGA :
There are even less indications in the manga than there are in the anime. At the very least, Iruka was not Sasuke’s first teacher (Sasuke entered the Academy at age 6), although nothing indicates whether he was already a teacher or not.
To me, the only reliable clue is in the flashback of Naruto and Sasuke’s fight at the Academy, supervised by Iruka (which spans over multiple chapters, beginning with Chapter 538 and ending with Chapter 697). The flashback is set post-Uchiha massacre, making the Naruto’s generation at least 7 and Iruka at least 17. I’d say that Naruto’s generation looks around 9-10? (compared to their Naruto Part I selves)
(There is also the fact that in Chapter 1, Iruka seems to have been around for Naruto’s two previous attempts at passing the Genin test, which would suggest he’s been teaching Naruto for at least 2 years. But since that’s already an entire problem in itself -Naruto would be 2 years older than his comrades, unless the exam happens multiple times a year like the Chūnin exam-, I’m not gonna use it.)
IN THE DATABOOKS :
Now okay, this is where I’m gonna sound a little crazy, but I’ve tried to calculate a likely age for Iruka to have become a teacher based on his number of Databook missions. Having become a Chūnin at 16, Iruka couldn’t have done A-rank and B-rank missions before this moment (or only on accident, I guess). Given that he doesn’t take missions during his teacher years (at least up to the Konoha Crush), Iruka’s 74 B-rank and 12 A-rank missions must have mostly been completed in the timeframe between his becoming a Chūnin and his taking up a teaching job. Shikamaru, who we see becoming a Chūnin, completes 9 B-rank and 19 A-rank missions in around 2 and a half years. If we assume A-rank missions take longer to complete (which isn’t at all a given but I’m desperate for clues), this gives Iruka around 3 to 3 and a half years to complete his own total, making him 19-20 when he becomes a teacher.
CONCLUSIONS :
My personal preference would be for Iruka to have been 19 when he became a teacher at the Academy. The first two anime indications can be easily discarded: the Childhood episodes are simply cute filler episodes to end the anime, and the Last movie has more than one inconsistency. Iruka being 19 allows for the Rookie Instructor arc to be partly canon, as well as the manga indications: the Naruto vs Sasuke flashback would happen only 2 years or less after the Uchiha massacre, and Iruka would have been Naruto’s teacher for a total of 3/3 and half years (enough to have an initially strained relationship, then a more understanding one, and for Naruto’s memories from the Academy to be mainly associated with Iruka). This gives Iruka around 3 years on active duty as a Chūnin before retiring, and thus enough time for his ‘empathy’ for the enemy to become a worrying trend, if we take the Rookie Instructor arc as canon.
(Also given that Naruto is 18-19 in The Last when he teaches at the Academy, this seems to be not too weird of an age for someone to start teaching.)
So there you have it! Obviously there is still some weird stuff anime-wise ; Iruka progressively becomes more of a Teacher Archetype throughout Naruto’s story, which explains why he’s often put in anime episodes despite being a literal teenager (yeah Konoha is fucked up about age anyway but even them probably don’t want a 15yo with anger issues to teach their knife-yielding middle schoolers).
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