10 Naruto moments that changed the story forever, explained

Masashi Kishimoto’s unforgettable Naruto series is filled with countless iconic moments. Whether emotional scenes, significant twists and turns, or epic fights, many events leave a mark on the lives of the main character, his friends, and his enemies. However, only a few led to developments that modified the story’s direction.

Nothing after these moments would ever be the same. These turning points changed the course of the ninja world’s history, eventually shaping it into what it is today. There’s no telling what would have happened if these events had never occurred, as the story would have developed differently.

The 10 turning points in Naruto, listed in chronological order

1) Black Zetsu altering Hagoromo’s Stone Tablet

Zetsu modified Hagoromo’s message (Image via Studio Pierrot)

The physical manifestation of Kaguya Otsutsuki’s will, Black Zetsu, had worked within the shadows to ensure and facilitate the former’s revival. Century by century, Zetsu shaped the events to accomplish his goal, influencing the ninja world’s history.

He even manipulated influential individuals into unwittingly working for him. Among them was Madara Uchiha, who, unintentionally, ended up becoming Zetsu’s most important pawn.

Modifying the contents of the Stone Tablet left by Hagoromo, Black Zetsu tricked Madara into believing that the Eye of the Moon Plan and the Infinite Tsukuyomi would save the ninja world from everlasting conflicts.

This simple yet highly effective act set in motion plenty of significant occurrences, including the resurgence of the Rinnegan, the establishment of the Akatsuki, the outbreak of the Fourth Ninja War, and all the consequences of those events. Compared to the shinobi world’s history, Madara being turned into a vessel for Kaguya to reincarnate into is almost something of secondary interest.

2) Obito seeing Rin’s death

Rin’s death changed Obito’s outlook on life (Image via Studio Pierrot)

As his comrade Kakashi lost his left eye while protecting him from an enemy, the goodhearted Obito Uchiha finally awakened his Sharingan. Shortly after, Obito entrusted his left Sharingan eye to Kakashi and seemingly died, crushed by huge rocks.

From then onwards, Kakashi remembered Obito as a hero and mourned his grave daily. In truth, Obito was saved by Madara and his minions. One day, he witnessed Rin, the girl he loved, dying at Kakashi’s hands during a battle against the Hidden Mist’s Anbu forces.

Unaware of being, in turn, deceived by Black Zetsu, Madara had set up Rin’s death to make Obito sympathetic to the Eye of the Moon Plan. Clueless about that, Obito, with his mind broken, unleashed his Sharingan’s real potential to kill the Mist ninjas. He then returned to Madara and resolved to embrace the latter’s beliefs.

Obito covered his face with a mask and started posing as Madara, carrying out his plan to replace the world with an illusory dream where no suffering could be experienced. As the event that changed Obito’s philosophy forever, Rin’s death indirectly triggered his subsequent actions, such as the attack on the Leaf Village, with all its consequences.

3) Minato sealing the Nine-Tails within Naruto

Minato and Kushina with their newborn son (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Knowing that Kushina Uzumaki, the wife of his former teacher Minato Namikaze, would soon be giving birth, Obito took advantage of the opportunity to extract the Nine-Tails from her. He then used his Sharingan to control the beast, ordering it to destroy the Hidden Leaf.

As Minato tried to interfere, Obito, posing as Madara, confronted him, leading to an epic fight. Initially cornered by Obito’s space-time jutsu, Minato managed to outwit him. Unaware that he was fighting his former disciple, the Fourth Hokage wounded Obito and released the Nine-Tails from his control, forcing him to flee.

The Nine Tails, now roaming free, continued wreaking havoc in the Hidden Leaf. To protect the village, Minato used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal half of the beast’s chakra, but at the cost of giving his own life.

Believing that his newborn son Naruto could be the “Child of Prophecy” who would save the world, Minato sealed the remaining half of the Nine-Tails within the infant and died alongside Kushina. Everything in Naruto’s life derives from that moment, making its importance simply incalculable.

4) Itachi murdering the Uchiha Clan

The dreadful night of the Uchiha Clan massacre (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Knowing that only a powerful Sharingan could control the Nine-Tails, the Hidden Leaf inhabitants started speculating that the Uchiha Clan was behind the attack. The tension between the Uchiha and the villagers increased, leading the former to plot a takeover of the Leaf.

Upon learning this information from double-crosser Itachi Uchiha, the Leaf’s higher-ups ordered the latter to eliminate his clan. Aiming to protect peace and stability, Itachi accepted the horrific mission. One fated night, he killed all his clan members, including his parents. He only spared his little brother, Sasuke.

Without the Uchiha massacre, Itachi wouldn’t have joined the Akatsuki, and Sasuke wouldn’t have left the village with Orochimaru. Sasuke’s entire life would have been different, as he vowed to get revenge on his brother until he eventually learned the truth behind his actions and shifted his resentment towards the Hidden Leaf.

The slaughter of the Uchiha brought so much bloodshed and suffering but probably avoided even greater tragedy. Before fading forever, Itachi expressed his fraternal love to Sasuke, who decided to learn the complete truth about the Uchiha massacre by resurrecting the former Hokage.

5) Sasuke leaving the Leaf

Sakura powerless as Sasuke leaves the Leaf village (Image via Studio Pierrot)

After realizing how weak he was compared to Itachi, Sasuke had a mental breakdown, worsened by Naruto’s concomitant growth. From the story’s beginning, Naruto and Sasuke bonded through their childish rivalry, based on the former’s wish to catch up to the latter.

Naruto’s increasing progress made Sasuke feel threatened to lose his leading position. Haunted by his obsession with revenge, Sasuke felt compelled to gain more power and concluded that severing all his bonds would make him stronger. As such, he decided to leave the Hidden Leaf and follow Orochimaru.

Sasuke’s resolution greatly impacted the story, as the wish to bring him back inspired Naruto to become more powerful. Most of the story revolves around the future Seventh Hokage’s efforts to save Sasuke from his dark urges in a crescendo that culminates with their final battle.

6) Jiraiya’s death

Jiraiya died as a hero (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Trying to discover the true identity of Pain, the mysterious Akatsuki leader, Jiraiya, infiltrated the Hidden Rain Village. He eventually realized that Pain consisted of six bodies controlled by his former student, Nagato. Unfortunately, in the ensuing battle, Pain overpowered Jiraiya.

Cornered and fatally wounded, Jiraiya managed to send back a coded message to pass the secret about Pain and Nagato. Jiraiya’s last deed was pivotal for the village, as the information he handed down decisively helped Naruto defeat the enemy.

Jiraiya’s legacy was even more significant than that, as his beliefs guided Naruto into truly becoming the Child of Prophecy. As sad as it was, Jiraiya’s death inspired Naruto to grow into a stronger fighter and a better person. Following the demise of his beloved teacher, the young ninja continued the former’s work and brought peace to the hate-filled shinobi world.

People get revenge while calling it justice, but such violence will only trigger further revenge, which creates the so-called “Cycle of Hatred.” Believing in Jiraiya’s vision, Naruto refused to attack Nagato. This difficult decision paid off, as he finally broke the cycle of violence.

7) Might Guy opening the Eighth Gate to fight Madara

Guy stopped Madara when no one else could (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Inspired by his father Duy, who lectured him about the “Power of Youth,” Might Guy trained vigorously for his entire life. With no other means than his hard work, Guy achieved insane physical prowess and the ability to perform devastating taijutsu moves.

When Guy was a child, Duy taught him that true victory is not achieved by beating a fearsome foe but by protecting a truly precious person or thing. Only in that case would he be authorized to use the Eighth Gate, which would amp his power to unreal levels, but at the cost of his own life.

Many years later, remembering his father’s teachings, Guy used the Eighth Gate to protect his loved ones from the all-powerful Madara. Despite having boosted himself with the chakra of the Ten-Tails, Madara couldn’t keep up with Guy, who overwhelmed him with his superior speed and strength.

Guy struck Madara with a formidable blow, nearly killing the legendary Uchiha, who only survived due to his body featuring Hashirama’s DNA and the traits of the Ten-Tails. Guy’s selfless effort saved the world’s future, as, at the time, no one else was strong enough to stop Madara.

8) Obito’s redemption

The last moment of Obito’s tragic life (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Under the guise of Madara, Obito perpetrated many atrocities until declaring the Fourth Ninja War. During the conflict, it was clear that Kakashi and “Madara” used different versions of the same Mangekyo Sharingan jutsu.

Performing his space-time technique quicker than Obito could realize, Kakashi enabled Naruto to land a blow that destroyed the former’s mask and exposed his identity. Still, Obito eventually absorbed the Ten Tails’ power, becoming its jinchuriki.

Despite surpassing even Hashirama’s formidable might, Obito couldn’t break Naruto’s steadfast will. Seeing his old self in Naruto, Obito understood that he merely lied to himself in a desperate attempt to replace reality with an imaginary world. He felt guilty and decided to atone for his misdoings.

After teaming up with Kakashi to protect Naruto from Madara, Obito rescued Sasuke. He then sacrificed his life to save Naruto and died, entrusting all his eye powers and chakra to Kakashi. Without Obito’s help, the members of Team 7 wouldn’t have been able to survive the final battle, much less win it.

9) Kakashi using the strongest Sharingan against Kaguya

Kakashi’s intervention changed the fight against Kaguya (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Finally reconciled, Obito and Kakashi returned to being comrades like in the past. In an attempt to protect Naruto, Obito was fatally injured. Still, his spirit returned from the afterlife to grant Kakashi all the abilities of the former’s Mangekyo Sharingan and his Six Paths chakra.

Moments after, Kakashi materialized a formidable Perfect Susanoo, which he could combine with the Kamui’s space-time techniques. With his new powers, Kakashi became strong enough to fend off Kaguya.

After protecting Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura from the goddess, Kakashi used his amazing Susanoo to neutralize her giant form. He severely injured Kaguya with a new jutsu, Kamui Raikiri, and then used Kamui to overcome the evil deity’s teleportation technique, enabling Naruto and Sasuke to seal her.

Leaving behind the guilt that plagued him for most of his life, Kakashi stood before his students, resolved to save them and the entire world. Kakashi’s actions turned the tides of the battle, resulting in being pivotal for Kaguya’s defeat. Even the Sage of Six Paths was impressed by Kakashi’s feats, proving that he saved the world.

10) Naruto and Sasuke’s final battle

The final battle (Image via Studio Pierrot)

After Kaguya was sealed, Naruto and Sasuke ended up having their highly anticipated fight. Sasuke aimed to sever his greatest bond to destroy and rebuild the ninja world, while Naruto wanted to honor the promise to return his old teammate to the Leaf.

Naruto never gave up on redeeming Sasuke and continued believing he could bring him back despite the latter openly trying to kill him. Inspired by Itachi’s life, Sasuke explained that he wanted to become a Hokage capable of taking charge of other people’s hatred. Following their fates as Ashura and Indra’s reincarnations, Naruto and Sasuke clashed fiercely.

Sasuke empowered himself by absorbing the Tailed Beasts’ chakra, including half of the Nine Tails. He used it to perform an Indra’s Arrow technique, which Naruto matched with his Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken. Nearly exhausted, the two used their remaining energies to clash Chidori and Rasengan one last time.

The struggle, which left both permanently mutilated, concluded in a draw. Under normal circumstances, however, Naruto, who was fighting back but not with the intent to kill, would have been a fair amount stronger.

More importantly, Naruto made Sasuke realize the value of bonds instead of rejecting them. As Sasuke admitted his moral defeat and acknowledged that Naruto was right, the story came full circle, with the two rivals and friends finally understanding each other’s feelings and sufferings.

Conclusion

Kaguya had set her evil plans in motion long before the titular character and his friends were born. She tampered with and played with people’s lives, all to fulfill her vile ambitions of power. Her plans were slowly falling into place and setting the stage for her return; however, quite a few anomalies played a role in foiling her plan.

The biggest anomaly was Naruto, who defied the fate laid out for him and constantly challenged his odds. His dream of becoming the Hokage fuelled his motivation, and he faced every opponent head-on to ensure that nothing threatened the world and all those he loved.