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Every Shinobi in Naruto’s world chose the path of the ninja for a specific reason. This was easy for fans to forget, as not all of the characters in the series talked about their motivations as often as others. Nonetheless, this motivation was the fuel that pushed most of the powerful ninjas in the franchise to surpass their limits and become legends.
These incentives went from the simplest things like money to the grandeur desire to be recognized by their village. No matter how mundane and boring these motives may seem at first, they are what define the most iconic shinobi in the series. In this list, we will talk about ten Naruto characters and the reasons why they chose to fight.
Disclaimer: This list reflects the author's opinion.
Naruto and 9 other shinobis along with the reasons that motivated them to fight
1) Kakuzu – Money
Like many Akatsuki members, Kakuzu joined the organization as it would help him obtain more money. After being betrayed by his village, Kakuzu became disillusioned with the world. He started to assure that the only things in life a person could rely on were themselves and money, as they would never abandon you.
Kakuzu used his time in Akatsuki to act as a bounty hunter, catching and delivering weaker rouge shinobis. Thanks to his ability to harvest the hearts of his opponents, Kakuzu led a long and violent life. Still, he never turned his back on his motivations and died in pursuit of riches.
2) Orochimaru – Evolution
Since he was a child, Orochimaru has been fascinated with the idea of helping mankind evolve in some manner. For him, humans wanted their potential by following the laws of both men and nature. He dreamed of becoming the perfect Shinobi, a being so powerful that he would never die or be defeated.
To accomplish this goal, Orochimaru was willing to go to any lengths without caring who got hurt along the way. The snake Sanin’s methods were questionable at best, but they were mostly successful. By the end of the series, Orochimaru was virtually immortal and had all the time and money to keep furthering his research.
3) Nagato – Justice
Inspired by his teacher’s lessons, Nagato and his friends, Konan and Yahiko, started the Akatsuki organization to bring peace to the world. Sadly, this decision cost Yahiko his life and Nagato his faith in humanity. The young man determined that the only way humans could understand each other and stop killing their peers was through pain.
He adopted a new persona and turned the Akatsuki into a terrorist organization tasked with capturing the Bijuus. Nagato dedicated his life to bringing justice to those whom he considered a threat to his dream of a just and peaceful world.
4) Deidara – Art
For some people, art is a noble passion that nurtures the soul and brings joy to the world. For Deidara, art was a way to show the world the beauty of explosions. Using his explosive clay and unique hands, Deidara created stunning but deadly clay statues that gave the world a taste of what the blonde man considered beautiful.
His passion for the art of explosions was such that he often argued with his partner Sasori, who believed art should not be ephemeral like explosions. These fights normally ended with both rouge shinobi destroying entire buildings, forests, and towns.
5) Madara – Peace
Madara was born decades before the idea of a hidden village was ever conceived. Due to this, he witnessed the deaths of countless members of the Uchiha clan at the hands of the Senju. He became best friends with Hashirama, who convinced him to join his aspiring village. Madara was promised that the Uchiha would be respected if they joined Konoha, which unfortunately was not true.
The Uchiha clan was ostracized because of the fear the people of Konoha felt when seeing them. Madara ended up fighting against his old friend, almost dying in the process. After their encounter, the Uchiha hid for decades, waiting for the moment to unleash the Infinite Tsukuyomi and envelop the world in everlasting peace.
6) Hidan – Faith
Hidan was the only other member of Akatsuki who was considered immortal. His immortality was given to him by his god, Jashin, who demanded blood sacrifices from Hidan every so often. The silver-haired man was more than happy to provide said sacrifices for his deity, as he loved the feeling of inducing pain in others.
The scythe-wielding shinobi considered every battle he was a part of a religious ritual in honor of Jashin. Even moments before his death, Hidan was praising his deity, asking him to give him the strength to defeat his last opponent, Shikamaru.
7) Rock Lee – Self-improvement
Born without the ability to use any kind of ninjutsu or genjutsu, Rock Lee trained hard every day of his life to become just as powerful as his Academy classmates. As just a teenager, Lee was already a master of taijutsu, capable of fighting against geniuses like Neji and Sasuke without much issue.
Nonetheless, this was not enough for Lee, who was always looking for a way to become better and stronger. When Gaara destroyed part of his spine and put his career as a Shinobi at risk, Guy’s disciple trained twice as hard to get his body into a fighting condition once again.
8) Itachi – Love
For the Shinobi World, Itachi was nothing more than a heartless criminal who killed his entire family to obtain power. In reality, everything Itachi did was because of his enormous love for his village and his brother, Sasuke. Itachi knew that if the Uchiha were to rebel against Konoha, a civil war inside the village would be inevitable.
To prevent this, Itachi killed his entire family, minus Sasuke, and asked the Hokage to take care of his brother. While he was a member of Akatsuki, the older Uchiha kept looking out for his younger sibling, even when Sasuke felt nothing but hatred for Itachi.
9) Sasuke – Revenge
Since the first time fans saw him in the series, Sasuke had been talking about getting his revenge against Itachi. The boy spent the entire first half of the show focusing on getting stronger to surpass Itachi and kill him someday. Years later, Sasuke finally accomplished his goal, only to discover that Itachi had been as much a victim as he was.
Instead of letting go of his hatred, the youngest Uchiha decided to shift his target. His hatred for Itachi became a burning desire to destroy Konoha. Mirroring his past self, Sasuke spent the last portion of the series claiming he would get revenge against the Shinobi World for what they did to his brother.
10) Naruto – Recognition
Being the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi was the main reason why Naruto had such a hard childhood. The blonde Uzumaki grew up being abused, insulted, and mistreated by the people of his village. Besides a select few individuals, Naruto was completely alone, without any knowledge of who his parents were or why he was hated.
The boy only dreamed of becoming a respected and beloved ninja of Konoha one day. To accomplish this dream, Naruto trained day and night, despite being neglected by the Academy instructors. The Kyuubi Jinchuriki never let go of his dream of becoming Hokage and being recognized by the village until he was able to fulfill it.
Final thoughts
Being a ninja is a hard job that constantly tests the resolve of the individuals who chose this career. Many characters in Naruto thought about giving up due to the stress and hardships they had to deal with as Shinobi. Yet, many others were able to keep going thanks to their desires.
Regardless of how small a dream might have seemed to others, those ambitions often made the difference between the average Shinobi and the most powerful ninjas. Fans will always remember Naruto as the show that taught them the importance of following their dreams and being motivated to keep moving forward.
