10 smart Naruto characters who made dumb decisions

Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto has some brilliant characters in Shikamaru, Minato, and others. They are careful with their decisions and always think twice before committing to anything. However, acting on impulse and making some weird choices is not out of the ordinary.

It is true that, at times, plot armor comes to the rescue and liberates them. However, at other times they must face the consequences. These weird decisions tend to do more harm than good and confuse fans. Here's a list of Naruto characters who made some odd choices.

10 intelligent Naruto characters who made baseless decisions

1) Kurenai Yuhi uses Genjutsu against Itachi Uchiha

Kurenai Yuhi was the leader of Team 8, consisting of Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. She was a Jonin and known to be quite skilled at Genjutsu. However, despite knowing Uchiha's visual prowess, she still attempted to use it against Itachi. While that was a brave move on her part, it was still arguably unintelligent. Itachi easily countered and trapped her.

2) Hiruzen Sarutobi not thinking of the consequences

Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Leaf's Third Hokage and the longest-serving one. Known to possess several abilities and a sharp intellect, he was also at the helm during the Leaf's darkest times.

He could have prevented the Uchiha Clan massacre by turning to negotiations but did not do so. He turned a blind eye to the assassination attempt on his life by Danzo's group known as the Root and retained him as an advisor. Despite promising Minato, he did not properly care for Naruto and let Orochimaru escape the Leaf Village scot-free.

3) Orochimaru challenges Itachi Uchiha

Orochimaru established himself as a cunning, powerful, and formidable foe with the number of jutsu he learned and the experiments he conducted. He found a way to keep himself alive by changing bodies for as long as possible. However, his genius made a big mistake while at the Akatsuki - He tried to take Itachi's body.

Marveling at the Uchiha's powers and visual prowess, the former Sanin attempted to steal Itachi's body while they were members of the Akatsuki. Needless to say, it went badly for him. Itachi retaliated by putting him under Genjutsu, which compelled him to cower in fear and leave the group immediately.

4) Tobirama never warmed up to the Uchiha

Tobirama Senju was Naruto's Second Hokage. He was a prodigy, to say the least, inventing the Flying Raijin Jutsu and many other jutsu during his time. However, there was nothing that could convince them to make peace with the Uchiha. It was highly improbable to establish questionable policies against them and, second, set up the Uchiha Leaf Police and isolate them to the village's outskirts.

5) Sasuke Uchiha can be over confident

Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto's friend and teammate was the incarnation of Indra Otsutsuki. A vast range of abilities and techniques aside, he had a high battle IQ and was sharp when it came to making tough decisions.

However, at times, he would become over-confident in his abilities. Unintelligent, but he thought himself powerful enough to take on the Five Kage. He infiltrated the Summit and challenged all of them at once, ending in him losing and getting saved by plot armor.

6) Sakura Haruno was too focused on getting Sasuke back

Throughout Naruto, Sakura Haruno has always been termed "useless" despite undergoing significant character development and acquiring monstrous strength from Tsunade. Out of Team 7's members, she was the sharpest academically and even in real situations.

However, one of her most significant flaws was her weakness toward Sasuke. More often than not, she would act impulsively due to this fact and make choices that would put others around her in potential danger. Such an instance was during the Sasuke retrieval mission, she put her teammates to sleep to pursue him herself but failed in her attempt.

7) Jiraiya choosing to stay back and fight pain

Naruto's Jiraiya was arguably one of the Leaf's strongest shinobi. He was the one who taught Naruto the ways of a ninja and to see the world from a different perspective. Also, he was one of the members of the Legendary Sanin alongside Tsunade and Orochimaru.

However, there was a time when his decision cost him his life. He blended into the Hidden Rain Village to investigate Pain. Events led to him confronting Pain in battle. Even when he was getting overpowered, he chose to stay back and fight despite having a clear opportunity to escape. If he had escaped, he could've briefed the Leaf on the information he gathered and prepared for Pain's assault.

8) Itachi Uchiha decided to follow Danzo's plan

Itachi Uchiha was another one of Naruto's main characters. A born genius, he possessed some of the show's strongest abilities and developed a very mature outlook on life at an early age. However, he made a big mistake. After reporting his clan's situation to Danzo, he followed the elder's plan rather than reporting to Hiruzen. This would have prevented the Uchiha massacre.

Also, his modus operandi for Sasuke to get stronger was rather harsh. Aside from the bashings he gave Sasuke when they fought, he used Genjutsu on his younger sibling to show him how his parents' slaughter 518,400 times.

9) Mizuki attempted to frame Naruto Uzumaki

Mizuki was Naruto's first bad guy. With no special abilities or redeeming qualities, he plotted to steal the Scroll of Seals and frame Naruto for it. However, this turned out to be silly on his part, as Iruka came to defend his student.

In addition, Mizuki unintentionally gave Naruto the secret to the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Using that, the blonde-haired Genin beat Mizuki and graduated from the Academy.

10) Naruto Uzumaki has made some questionable decisions

The Seventh Hokage of the Leaf has also made some questionable choices. Growing up in Shippuden, the blonde acted impulsively at times and let his emotions overpower him. In his anger, he would lose control of the Nine Tails and possibly end up hurting the ones he cares about.

One of his silliest decisions was to take responsibility for Sasuke's actions and allow the Hidden Cloud shinobi to beat him to a pulp.

About the author

Casey has been an anime writer at Sportskeeda since almost a year. Being drawn into the world of animanga after watching the Dragon Ball series almost a decade ago, Casey's interest in the genre, along with his love of crafting plot theories influenced his writerly endeavors. Presently pursuing a Master's degree in International Business, Casey worked for Uneake and FootballExpress for 1.3 years before joining Sportskeeda.

Casey's writings reflect his commitment to producing the most reliable content, evidenced by his flair for in-depth reporting. He places a high value on meticulous research and complete factual accuracy.

Although it was legendary Akira Toriyama’s magnum opus that influenced his love of animanga, Casey soon branched out and explored other titles. The unique ways in which mangakas express ideas, as well as their far-reaching effects, have inspired Casey in his creative pursuits.

When not busy writing, Casey enjoys working out, listening to music, strumming the guitar, and playing football.

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Edited by Sayati Das