As the mighty hero of his own anime, Naruto Uzumaki achieved some of the greatest and most important victories in the Naruto anime. He was the one who defeated Six Paths of Pain v Naruto Shippuden's best arc and also crushed the supposedly immortal Kakuza with his Rasenshuriken. Naruto also played a role in defeating Kabuto Yakushi early on and also fought Gaara to a draw during Operation Konoha Crush. But not every great victory can be traced back to Naruto himself.
Considering how many villains inhabit it Naruto anime, it only makes sense that the rest of the heroes and even some of the villains had to take the flak. Naruto is strong, but he can't be everywhere at once, not even with all his shadow clones. That's why some of the best villains happened when someone else took center stage. Characters like Shikamaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sakura, and even Sasuke are the ones who have ensured that certain villains meet their end.
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Kisame Hoshigaki took his own life to protect his Intel
Even Naruto would have a hard time defeating Kisame for good
Many members of the Akatsuki organization were either defeated by an opponent who was not Naruto or ended their own lives. This includes the gruff, shark-themed Kisame Hoshigaki, who shared quite a bit of screen time with Naruto himself. Kisame instead fought characters like Kakashi and May Guy and did well the whole time. When Kisame was cornered, he was forced to make a difficult choice.
Kisame had valuable information about Akatsuki, so like a true ninja, he decided to put that information before his own life. In a way, it was a call back to the early days Naruto episodes where self-sacrifice, intelligence and stealth were the mainstays of ninja work. As Ibiki Morino would have done, Kisame chose death over revealing his information, so he decided to destroy himself with the water sharks.
Itachi Uchiha allowed himself to die fighting his beloved brother
Itachi's death led to the truth about his strange life
Three of the most prominent and valuable members of Akatsuki were Uchiha, including Itachi himself. He was one of the first members ever to appear and captivated fans with his cool, mysterious manner. However, even if he had once tried to capture Naruto out of duty, Itachi still had more going for his brother.
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Naruto was unable to defeat Itachi during their brief encounters, so it was up to Sasuke to take on this elite villain. The brothers had a great fight to the death with their Mangekyo Sharingan, but it's notable that Sasuke didn't finish the job. It's possible, Sasuke he couldn't they won in a fair fight, but it hardly mattered when Itachi chose to die. Afterwards, Itachi left his legacy to Sasuke, only for Sasuke to transform him into something monstrous with Obito's influence.
Orochimaru met his end when he tried to absorb Sasuke
Orochimaru's death was somewhat ironic
It's common for a shonen hero and an overarching villain to fight to the death and care deeply about each other's presence, but not always. The Orochimaru Sannin only had a passing interest in Naruto at most, while focusing much more on Sasuke himself. Orochimaru wanted the Sharingan's eyes, and if he couldn't get Itachi, he would definitely get Sasuke instead.
This quest for the power of the Sharingan helped contribute to Orochimaru's downfall, which could also be interpreted as another armor plot for the entire Uchiha clan. Orochimaru was kidding if he thought he could power up Sasuke and then devour him because Sasuke doesn't take that kind of thing kindly. Orochimaru ended up being absorbed by Sasuke instead, an ironic twist that made Sasuke much stronger.
Deidara is one of Sasuke's many victims in Shippuden
Deidara chose destruction over defeat at Sasuke's hands
The explosive Deidara is another Akatsuki member who had little business with Naruto Uzumaki, so the two did not clash much. Deidara burst onto the scene when he captured Gaara in the Hidden Sand Village and then, like several members of the Akatsuki, ended up fighting Sasuke. Deidara was sure he could win with his kekkei genkai, but Sasuke's jutsu was too strong.
Deidara ended up being another villain who allowed himself to die, but unlike Itachi who died for personal reasons, Deidara gave his life out of spite. He was determined to destroy Sasuke, hence his ultimate blast, but Sasuke survived thanks to Manda's sacrifice. For Sasuke, it's even more of a plot and a reminder that no villain, no matter how driven, can defeat Naruto's former friend.
Hidan was dealt with once Shikamaru got his revenge
No one will find what's left of Hidan
Naruto personally dispatched half of the Akatsuki 'immortal duo' with his formidable new Rasenshuriken, but it wasn't up to him to defeat the two villains. In fact, it would bother Shikamaru if Naruto defeated Hidan as well, given the newfound vendetta between Shikamaru and Hidan. Hidan killed Asuma Sarutobi, so of course Shikamaru wanted revenge.
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Only with his advanced tactics and jutsu could Shikamaru overcome Hidano's immortality and blood-based jutsu. It was immensely satisfying to see Shikamaru's clever tactics play out again, especially to avenge Asuma's untimely death on the battlefield.
Sasori couldn't resist the power of Sakura's fists
Sasori even gave Sakura a generous parting gift
As a jinchuriki, Naruto was targeted by the entire Akatsuki organization, but did not actually fight most of its members. Other heroes in Naruto instead he took care of it. While Naruto searched for Gaara, it fell to Sakura to handle Sasori with the help of Chiyo, and it was a belated chance for Sakura to shine on the battlefield.
All credit goes to Sakura Haruno and Chiyo for fighting the ultimate puppet jutsu master in this cave. It was a close fight, but Sakura won with her indomitable spirit and strength. Interestingly, and perhaps for plot reasons, Sasori felt generous enough to give the victorious Sakura some information about Orochimaru's planned meeting with him on the bridge. This ensured that the story could continue to move forward and Sakura's victory could count for much more.
Konan died a redeemed hero fighting Tobi
Konan gave her life for the sake of Naruto and Jiraiya
Konan is another Akatsuki member who has never fought Naruto, much less lost to him. Conversely, she gained Konan when Naruto delivered his “talk jutsu” to both Nagata and Konan after Pain's fall. It was a rare and much needed example of an Akatsuki member reviving his inner kindness to believe in something good.
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Tragically, Konan didn't spend much time after her redemption. Switching sides put her in Obito's crosshairs and she couldn't survive it. Konan put up a good fight against Obito but met her end and had to die praying for Naruto to fulfill the dream her mentor Jiraiya once had.
Madara Uchiha got a nasty surprise when Black Zetsu moved
It is uncertain if Naruto could even defeat Madara
Naruto defeated and redeemed Obito Uchiha as the false Madara, but the real Madara Uchiha was a different story. He was beyond redemption as a vengeful, ancient shinobi who could fight an entire army solo, and it was clear that no 'talk jutsu' could get to him. Instead, Naruto had to fight another Uchiha to save the world, and this time it went much differently than any fight with Sasuke or Obito.
Naruto and his friends gave it their all, but their possible victory was destroyed when Black Zetsu made a move at the last moment. This heralded the arrival of Kaguya Otsutsuki as a supervillain who kicked Madara to the side, meaning Naruto never won against Madara. There is a dire possibility that Naruto would never be able to triumph over Madara at all, given his titanic strength.
Naruto
- Release date
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2002 – 2007-00-00
- Showrunner
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Masashi Kishimoto
- directors
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Hayato's date
- Writers
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Masashi Kishimoto
