Summary
Death is a common literary device that is usually utilized in works of fiction to impact the reader and/or raise the stakes of the story, and the wonderful world of shonen manga is no exception. As one of thebiggest and most influential IPs in the shonen industry, Masashi Kishimoto’sNarutohas also featured many memorable scenes in which important characters meet their tragic end.
After all, this is a story that takes place in a violent world of ninjas that are at constant war with each other, so it makes sense that even its most important key figures can pass away so suddenly and that their deaths end up having an incredible impact on everybody else. While both parts ofNarutohave featured multiple prominent character deaths, the following were definitely themost impactful deathsof them all.
8Zabuza Momochi And Haku
Showed Team 7 How Ruthless This World Can Be
The first story arc in all ofNaruto, simply titledLand of Waves, was a perfect introduction to this world, for both the titular character and the reader. In it, not only did Team 7 get to meet a violent and ruthless villain namedZabuza Momochi, but the reader also got a solid glimpse at how dark a society that depends on shinobi can be. Everything changed, however, when the main antagonist and his loyal friend and underling,Haku, died during a deadly confrontation.
Haku sacrificed himself for Zabuza, showing that he truly cared for his master until the very end. And while he, in turn, tried to pretend that this didn’t affect him, Naruto’s words made him come to his senses, and he tried to avenge his friend with his dying breath. Needless to say, Zabuza and Haku’s final death scene is surprisingly touching since it showed a more humane side of these two villains while also affecting how Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke saw the world they had just started to get involved in. It’s also important to mention that Zabuza was part of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, so his death lefthis deadly signature sword, Kubikiribocho, without an owner, and many other shinobi immediately began looking for it.
7Hiruzen Sarutobi (Third Hokage)
His Sacrifice Changed Konohagakure Forever
Very early on in the series, Konohagakure was suddenly attacked by the evil Orochimaru, and it was up tothe powerful Third Hokage,Hiruzen Sarutobi, to stop him. The legendary Sannin had quite a lot of tricky ninjutsu up his sleeve, including the terrifying Edo Tensei technique, which he used to bring back the first two Hokage to life and force them to fight by his side. Fortunately, Hiruzen eventually used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal Orochimaru’s arms, which prevented him from using hand techniques ever again.
This was an undeniably brilliant move, but it came with a huge cost: Hiruzen had to sacrifice himself to summon this sealing technique’s powerful Shinigami. Konohagure was saved, but they had also lost their respected leader. This tragic death not only cemented Orochimaru as a major threat to the village, but it also forced them to immediately begin looking for Hiruzen’s successor. Jiraiya and Naruto were eventually able to recruit Lady Tsunade, who became the Fifth Hokage and tried to follow in her predecessor’s steps.
6Asuma Sarutobi
Helped Shikamaru Nara Become A Better Ninja
Unfortunately, Hiruzen’s own son,Asuma Sarutobi, also met his sudden end at the hands of an evil ninja. In his case, he was killed by Hidan from Akatsuki, who used his deadly cursing jutsu (in combination with his immortality) to murder the Konohagakure jonin iduring the middle of a mission. The only silver lining to this unfortunate situation is that Asuma was at least able tosay some important final words to his three beloved students: Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi.
The abrupt and unfair death of his master had a huge impact on Shikamaru, and it led to some incredible character development and growth for him. After this, he not only decided to stop being so lazy and carefree, but he also used his impressive intelligence to his advantage and came up with a brilliant plan that he used to defeat Hidan. In the end, Shikamaru was able to avenge Asuma and swore to protect his master’s wife and child for the rest of his life.
5Rin Nohara
Turned Obito Uchiha Into A Soulless Villain
Obito Uchihawas already on the path to becoming a villain, since he almost died during the Third Shinobi World War, and he was being slowly manipulated by Madara Uchiha. But his worldview, his mind, and his entire personality changed the moment he witnessed his beloved friend and crush, Rin Nohara, being assassinated by his other friend, Kakashi Hatake.
In reality, Rin had personally asked Kakashi to kill her, because a bunch of Kirigakure ninjas had kidnapped her and made her the jinchuriki of the Three-Tailed Beast. But Obito had no idea about that, so he quickly became angered and distressed. He decided to lash out against the Kirigakure ninjas that were surrounding him, which resulted ina brutal and violent massacre. This was the precise moment in which Obito decided to become a villain and that he was going to take revenge on the entire world for taking Rin away from him.
4Jiraiya
A Heroic Sacrifice That Gave Naruto The Upper Hand In The Battle Against Pain
The heroic sacrifice ofJiraiyais definitely one of the saddest and most memorable moments in all ofNaruto.The legendary Sannin traveled to Amegakure to find information about the Akatsuki, only to end up confronting their leader, Pain, who looked just like one of his former students, Yahiko. They clashed in an incredible battle in which both of them got to display some of their most impressive techniques, but Jiraiya was eventually overwhelmed by the six different bodies that his opponent was controlling.
Right before Pain dealt the final blow to him, the Sannin figured out exactly how Pain’s technique worked and was able to write a secret message on the back of Fukasaku. With this crucial information, Naruto Uzumaki and the rest of Konogakure were able to defeat Pain by finding the body of Nagato, who was remotely controlling the six paths. Of course, that was not the only impact Jiraiya’s death had, as it also motivated his friends and students, like Tsunade and Naruto, to become stronger and keep their fight against the powerful Akatsuki leader and anybody else who threatened the peace in their village.
3The Uchiha Clan
A Massacre That Shaped Sasuke’s Life Mission
Few historical events inNarutowere as important and shocking as the infamousUchiha Clan Massacre. As the tension was slowly rising betweenthe clan and the Hashirama Senju-influenced government, Sasuke and Itachi’s father, Fugaku Uchiha, began planning a coup to take over Konohagakure. to prevent a violent civil war, Danzo Shimura and Obito Uchiha (who was posing as Madara) decided to kill the entire clan from the inside and finally put an end to their plans.
Itachi agreed to work for them to save the village and the life of his little brother. But, of course, Sasuke didn’t know about any of that, and he had to witness his beloved older brother murdering his parents right in front of him while Obito killed all of their relatives and friends in the other houses. The trauma of this event turned Sasuke into a lonely and cold person, unlocked his Sharingan, and motivated him to dedicate his entire life to taking revenge on Itachi, no matter what it cost him.
2Itachi Uchiha
Suddenly Turned Sasuke’s Whole Life Upside Down
Sasuke Uchiha spent most of the story working towards one goal: tokillItachiand avenge his entire clan. After many trials and tribulations, he was finally powerful enough to confront his older brother, which resulted in a spectacular battle filled with some of the most impressive ninjutsu in the whole series. But, much to the surprise of Sasuke and the audience, Itachi suddenly died of a terminal illness, and he used his final moments to say goodbye to his little brother.
What happened? Why did Itachi seem so happy to see his brother before dying? Sasuke immediately got answers to these questions via Obito, who told him the truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre and how Itachi was actually the unsung hero of the tragic story. This was yet another traumatic event that had a huge impact on Sasuke, since it unlocked his Mangekyo Sharingan and inspired him to take revenge on Konohagakure for what they did to his clan and his older brother.
1Minato Namikaze And Kushina Uzumaki
The Main Character Owes His Life To His Incredible Parents
Naruto Uzumaki was an orphan child who spent his entire life hearing about how his parents,Minato NamikazeandKushina Uzumaki, sacrificed themselves for him and sealed the Nine-Tailed Beast within his body. But he still had no idea how exactly that transpired, until he learned the truth from the spiritual vestiges of his parents, who were residing within the Nine Tails.
Twelve years before the beginning of the story, a mysterious masked man (later revealed to be Obito Uchiha) took Naruto hostage just after he was born, in order to release the Nine-Tailed Beast from the body of its jinchuriki, Kushina, and force it to destroy Konohagakure. While Minato was able to defeat the masked man, he and his wife had to sacrifice themselves to stop the monster and partially seal it inside Naruto. There’s no denying thatMinato and Kushina are single-handedly responsible for the entire plot ofNaruto, as their selfless actions saved the life of the titular character (and their village) and left him with a powerful beast inside his body. Sadly, this also meant that they were not there to help him face all the discrimination he suffered because of what happened, which greatly affected his personality while he grew up.
