Akamaru's heightened senses, such as smell and hearing, along with Kiba's ability to communicate with him, makes him a powerful ally for gathering and sharing information; he can also sense chakra with his nose, so he can judge an enemy's strength and warn Kiba if they are particularly powerful. In combat, Akamaru typically takes Kiba's form (albeit having a much more feral appearance) upon Kiba's use of Beast Human Clone, or combining with Kiba into a single entity in more desperate situations. Because Akamaru lacks his own chakra reserves, Kiba performs many of the jutsu that Akamaru takes part in, although Akamaru is able to contribute when it comes to physical attacks. Akamaru can also use Dynamic Marking by urinating on a target with great accuracy, allowing either Kiba or Akamaru to easily track the target by scent, particularly when fused together. Akamaru has not been known to talk like the other nin-dogs, but did speak briefly at the end of a special new years episode in the anime. He has also been shown to be adept at setting traps such as exploding tags on his own.Akamaru helped Kiba cheat in the first test, sitting on his head to keep an eye out for proctors and to get information from other exam takers. On their way to the tower during the second test, Kiba had the group stop to investigate Gaara's encounter with Team Shigure. Akamaru was immediately frightened by sensing the strength of Gaara's chakra, and was traumatized by seeing Gaara brutally kill all three Rain Genin. Akamaru fought alongside Kiba against Naruto Uzumaki in the exam preliminaries. He was considered a ninja tool rather than an additional combatant, and was thus permitted to fight alongside Kiba. While Akamaru gave Naruto some difficulty, especially after he transformed into a clone of Kiba, Naruto was able to use Akamaru to trick Kiba, first transforming into Akamaru and coming out of the smoke bomb to ambush him. After Kiba used the Beast Human Clone technique, Naruto turned into Kiba to prevent Kiba from attacking him, and when Kiba saw through his plan, transformed into Akamaru to make him think that he had hit Akamaru. Kiba then punched Akamaru, believing him to be Naruto.
In the finals, Akamaru was knocked out along with Kiba after Kabuto Yakushi, disguised as an ANBU member, healed Hinata Hyūga. In the anime, Akamaru attempted to warn Kiba about Kabuto, having recognized who Kabuto was. However, Kabuto used his medical ninjutsu and knocked Kiba out. What happened to Akamaru was left unknown, as Kabuto didn't come near him but he still passed out.
Sasuke Retrieval Arc Edit
Over time, Kiba and Akamaru developed Dynamic Marking and Double Wolf Fang together. In the mission to retrieve Sasuke, Kiba and Akamaru remained with the group until they retrieved the container, but an exploding tag blew them and Sakon and Ukon into a canyon. Kiba and Akamaru initially struggled against the brothers, and Akamaru realized that they must use Double Wolf Fang. Kiba was hesitant, given the large amount of chakra needed, which would render them vulnerable if they missed. Akamaru bit him on the hand, and Kiba, realizing that Akamaru saw him as pathetic, decided to take the risk. The attack severely wounded Sakon and Ukon, but they blocked the last attack with a Rashōmon barrier, and Akamaru was injured protecting Kiba from their counterattack, but managed to urinate in Sakon's eyes at the same time. When Ukon began taking over Kiba's body, he stabbed himself in the chest in an attempt to kill Sakon to prevent himself from being taken over and harming Akamaru. Kiba attempted to escape with Akamaru, and, after Sakon and Ukon caught up with them, Kankurō arrived and killed both of them.
Kiba and Akamaru's injuries took some time to heal. Kiba, not wanting Akamaru to suffer that much again, vowed to improve himself.
Filler arcs Edit
Akamaru infected with a toxin.
Akamaru accompanied Kiba on his missions with Naruto in the fillers. In the Treasure Hunt arc, his presence was used as Kiba's proof of being the real Kiba, as, while his impostor could imitate his face, he could not replace Akamaru.
