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For a Shonen Manga, Naruto is no stranger to loss. Death is often said to be a part of a shinobi’s life, and while it's always sad to see a character go, sometimes it's just shocking, and not in a good way.
Sometimes it comes completely out of the left field, and sometimes it leaves the fans scratching their heads in confusion. Regardless, this list will be taking a look at the characters who really shouldn't have died.
[This article contains spoilers for the Naruto anime and manga, and reflects the writer’s personal views. Some of the embeds contain depictions of canon-typical violence. Discretion is advised.]
10 Naruto characters who died out of the blue.
10) Rin Nohara
Fridging is the term when a female character gets killed, or is randomly otherwise removed from the story, i.e. ‘stuffing her into the fridge’.
Sadly, this happened to Kakashi and Obito’s childhood friend Rin Nohara. Rin was a kind, plucky girl who brought out the best in both boys, and sadly, that meant she had to go.
Killed in a mission gone awry, Rin’s death left an impact on both Kakashi and Obito, but her character beyond those two boys is not very well developed.
9) Hayate Gekko
Introduced during the Chunin exams arc, Hayate Gekko was first shown having a cough, knowing how to use a sword, and was otherwise mild-mannered. What gets him a spot on this list, however, was that he seemed to be one of the few people with a down-to-earth persona in Naruto, and had about three appearances before getting stabbed.
Hayate had a dedicated fanbase, despite his lack of screentime. It’s a shame he died in the arc after.
8) Mabui
Some people can’t find good help, and sometimes the good help goes away due to a random blast. Mabui is the assistant to the Raikage. Dutiful, skilled, and killed off when her home gets blasted by a Tailed Beast Bomb right into the Shinobi HQ.
Aside from barely getting any screentime, she was killed off unceremoniously. While one might argue that casualties of war can happen, the simple fact of the matter is that her death was entirely random.
7) Karura
If there’s one thing all stories love, especially in manga, it's dead parents. Karura is the mother of Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, and much like Naruto’s parents, she was killed off before the story began.
Supposedly sacrificed and given no chance for any character development, her spirit lived on in Gaara’s sand shield. Until that was taken away as well, killing her off for good. Somtimes, a mother's love doesn't last forever.
6) Gaara
Kind of a cheat, but he died, then came back to life. So technically, it counts. Gaara was a Jinchūriki, was being the operative word there. Due to having his Tailed Beast being ripped out by the Akatsuki, Gaara died, and it was only with the healing arts of Granny Chiyo that he was able to come back. What makes this death so annoying was that, by all intents, Gaara served as the Worf of Naruto Shippuden.
Basically, someone the audience knows is tough just so they can get smacked down.
5) Kimimaro
Making his debut in the Sasuke Retrieval arc, Kimimaro proved to be a surprisingly deadly foe that not even Gaara could beat, despite his own increase in power. Kimimaro’s jutsu can turn his bones into weapons, and despite having his body ravaged by a disease, managed to put one up one hell of a fight against both Rock Lee and Gaara.
What makes his death so surprising is that it happened right in the middle of combat, the last time he wanted it to happen.
4) Kakashi Hayate
The last ‘cheat.’ Kakashi Hayate was introduced well into Naruto’s beginning, and managed to avoid the dreaded Obi-wan curse of being killed off. At least until the Pain Arc, where he was killed, and even had a touching renioun with his father in the afterlife.
But thankfully, thanks to Naruto, he was brought back soon after Nagato was beaten. Talk about Plot Armor.
3) The other Jinchūriki
While Killer Bee, Naruto, and Gaara all make an appearance on the show and are recurring characters, the other Jinchuriki aren’t so lucky. Said to have been killed and having their Tailed Beasts stripped from them, the Jinchuriki had a tough go at life, and it was upsetting that the fans never got to see them before they died.
Especially because the idea of having all nine in one place, and possibly mentoring Naruto, is a fascinating idea that fans wanted to see.
2) Konan
Speaking of fridging, Konan was a member of Akatsuki, specializing in creating paper bombs that can fill a whole canyon and make it go boom. Though she pulled up an admirable fight against the ninja Tobi, she ultimately perished when he used a Jutsu that allowed him to rewrite reality
In other words, he cheated and killed Konan when her back was turned. Ninjas aren't supposed to fight fair, but there's unfair, and then there's this.
1) Neji
If there was one death Naruto fans weren’t pleased with, it was this one. Neji was the cousin of fan favorite Hinata, and despite a rocky relationship between the two, he was one of her favorite family members. Fans also quickly grew to like him after his clash with Naruto in Part 1, and had otherwise had a steady streak of popularity.
Then he died, sacrificing himself to protect Hinata and Naruto from one of Marada Uchiha’s attacks. Fans were displeased to see him go, given that the attack in question was a fairly simple spike shower, the kind that Neji had deflected many times in the past.
