5 Naruto characters who died as heroes (& 5 who died as villains)
The Naruto series is arguably one of the most well-known shonen anime and manga series of all time. This series is replete with amazing fight sequences which would be impossible without a great set of characters that are not only strong, but are also well-written in terms of their character traits.
Naturally, in a series such as this, death is frequent and some of it has left a lasting impact on the readers and viewers. Let’s take a look at some of the characters that died as heroes and some that died as villains.
5 Naruto characters who were hailed as heroes
1) Minato
Minato’s death was one of the saddest deaths in the entire series. He saved the village from the attack of the Nine Tailed Beast, and even laid his life on the line for it. He sacrificed his life in order to seal the Tailed Beast into his newborn son’s body, in order for him to harness its powers at a later stage in life.
This man went down fighting one of the strongest beings in the series and managed to protect his son and his village as well.
2) Kushina
Kushina is a strong character and she is a tough woman with immeasurable mental fortitude. She would do anything to save the ones who are close to her. She was the former Nine Tailed Beast Jinchuriki, but it was forcefully extracted.
Moments before she died, she used the Adamantine Chains sealing technique to hold Kurama in place. She was able to do this despite having the beast extracted from her. She died a hero, as she gave everything she had in order to protect her son.
3) Neji
Neji was a valued member of the Allied Shinobi forces. He hailed from the Hyuga clan and fought against all odds to become one of the strongest members of his clan despite being born into a branch family. He defeated tough opponents and was a model student in the academy days.
He decided to sacrifice his life to save both Naruto and Hinata when the Ten Tailed Beast launched a Tailed Beast Bomb. Neji came just in time and took the attack on his back. This later killed him, but he died a hero since he saved his comrades.
4) Jiraiya
Jiraiya’s death was another sad death and most fans were extremely emotional about it. He played a huge role in Naruto’s development and did everything he could to train the young shinobi.
He was more than just a teacher since he was a bit of a father figure to Naruto as well. He died fighting against Pain. The Six Paths of Pain crushed his throat, severed his arms, and the black chakra rods delivered the killing blow. Jiraiya was a hero who everyone cherished and loved.
5) Itachi
Itachi was always portrayed as the villain who Sasuke had to kill since he was responsible for the death of his parents and his entire clan. However, both Sasuke and the viewers weren’t aware of the reasons why he was forced to do this, and the person who was actually responsible for their deaths was Danzo.
Itachi died fighting his brother and moments before dying, he spoke about the way he truly felt about his brother. Itachi died a hero and is one of the most loved characters in the entire Naruto series.
5 characters who died as villains
1) Madara
Madara is one of the most powerful antagonists that has been introduced in the Naruto series. He was a powerful shinobi who was able to push Hashirama Senmju to the limit. He also caused a ton of problems to the Allied Shinobi Forces when he was in the Ten Tail Jinchuriki form.
Madara was killed when the Ten Tail chakra and the Demonic Statue were removed from his body. He died being one of the most powerful villains, someone who nearly disrupted the entire world.
2) Kisame
Kisame Hoshigaki was a great friend of Itachi’s and was one of the members of the Akatsuki, a group that was initially created by Nagato to achieve world peace. He also had a weapon that was used by one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.
Kisame was a powerful foe who gave a tough time to Team Guy during the Kazekage Rescue Mission arc. However, he died to Might Guy who was forced to open seven out of the eight Gates.
3) Hidan
Hidan was another member of the Akatsuki who was immortal and was also part of a cult. He was hated by the majority of the Naruto fan base since he was responsible for the death of Asuma.
Hidan was beaten by Shikamaruy who laid the perfect trap for him. He was able to get Hidan tangled into strings that held the explosive tags in place. That ripped Hidan into numerous pieces which fell into a pit that was created by the explosion by another set of tags. This lead to him not receiving any nourishment and therefore dying at some point.
4) Danzo
Danzo is one of the most hated characters in the Naruto series. He is extremely manipulative and constantly incites violence in the series. He was responsible for the Uchiha clan massacre and even took their sharingans and embedded them into his hand.
He fled the Five Kage Summit and ran into Sasuke Uchiha, who killed him in the end. Danzo’s death did not have a reaction that was similar to that of Jiraiya or Minato.
5) Sasori
Sasori was a shinobi from the Hidden Sand Village. He was a talented shinobi who later joined the Akatsuki. He was responsible for a lot of deaths and was one of the main antagonists in the Kazekage Rescue Mission arc.
Sasori died to Chiyo and Sakura who teamed up to take him down. This battle was fierce, but Sakura and Chiyo’s efforts paid off as they were able to kill him in the end, despite Sasori using the previous Kazekage as his puppet during the fight.
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