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Let's face it, Naruto Uzumaki can be pretty impulsive in battle. From trying to charge Kakashi in the Bell Test to rushing in and getting hurt, the main blonde-haired ninja doesn't have a good track record in some areas. But that does not diminish his abilities or his strategies at all.
For all his dumb decisions, Naruto has made a lot of quick, smarter decisions likewise. Here are five of the dumbest things Naruto did in fights, and five that were exceptionally smart.
Note: This article contains spoilers for all of Naruto and represents the author's opinion.
5 dumb things Naruto did in combat
1) Taking on Kakashi alone during the bell test
A recurring theme in the first Naruto series is fighting alone is death, combined with never abandoning your comrades. This was exemplified during the bell test wherein Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were meant to snag two bells from their Jōnin trainer Kakashi Hatake.
The point of the test was to see whether they can be officially promoted to Genin and therefore go on missions, get sent back to the academy for further training, or get dropped altogether. It was simple: snag two bells from the trainer and those two get to move on, the third would fail.
The test's real purpose was to demonstrate teamwork, patience, and what ninjas do in stressful situations. As an added stressor, they weren't allowed breakfast beforehand, and if they failed, they couldn't have lunch either.
None of them were successful in grabbing the bells for a myriad of reasons. Naruto recklessly engaged Kakashi solo, resulting in him getting beaten and tied up, and later tried to steal food from the only two bowls of lunch prepared. Sakura was more worried about Sasuke and fell for a trap, which knocked her out for the majority of the test. Sasuke arrogantly believed his teammates weren't worth his time, never communicated, and was held hostage as a result.
It was a very poor first outing for team 7 that left Naruto strapped to a log, the one person not allowed to be fed due to trying to steal food. Fortunately, they were allowed to pass after demonstrating teamwork and camaraderie when Sakura and Sasuke fed Uzumaki. This caused Kakashi to reassess and let them graduate to the rank of Genin.
2) Using ninjutsu against Pain
The Pain Assault/Two Saviors arc is legendary for numerous reasons. The first being that it was the second massive assault on the Hidden Leaf village, one that caused far more damage and devastation than Orochimaru's in the Chunin Exams arc.
Pain proved to be nearly unstoppable with his Six Paths technique, his devastating and near-tactical nuking of the village. His body had too much durablility and what seemed like the ultimate defense in absorbing ninjutsu and the Almighty Push technique added to his strength.
The orange clad Uzumaki coming to save everyone with his newly gained Sage Mode was among the many awesome moments that everyone was able to pull off during that arc. The problem was that he also made a faux pas when fighting Pain, throwing a rasenshuriken at him after realizing he could absorb ninjutsu.
To be fair, even Uzumaki himself lampeshaded how stupid that particular mistake was. Admittedly, nobody thinks straight in the heat of battle and it's easy to forget the details. The next time he did so during this fight, it was a misdirect to shatter some of his Six Paths bodies with multiple shadow clones.
3) The end of the Kiba fight
Naruto is tactically-minded, he just lacks followups in his fights. Granted, not everyone is Shikamaru when it comes to fighting. This was demonstrated during the Chunin Exams arc, especially in the preliminary tournament.
The entire arc was a rough one for our blonde-haired protagonist, as it involved a stressful examination where Naruto refused to cheat, a forest of death that saw Sakura having to save him and Sasuke multiple times, and then the excruciatingly difficult preliminary fights.
Kiba Inuzuka was Naruto's classmate and failure as well, having to train alongside his faithful dog Akamaru for years before getting to Genin rank with Hinata and Shino. The two began brawling, with Kiba seemingly having the upper hand thanks to his deceptive clone jutsu with Akamaru and Fang over Fang techniques. Further, Naruto was at a handicap owing to the nine-tailed fox Kurama being sealed by Orochimaru.
it would've been nice if the first real one-on-one fight that wasn't Kurama-assisted ended with something other than flatulance. No joke, Kiba was stunned by said accidental flatulance which caused him to lose the fight since Kiba's nose is extra sensitive. It was still a dumb thing to happen.
4) Reverse Harem Jutsu on Kaguya
The rise of Princess Kaguya Ōtsutsuki at the tail end of the Fourth Great Ninja War was a controversial decision to end the series. The fact that she seemed to come at the last minute was profoundly powerful, and akin to God in Naruto, seen as a diabolous ex machina by many fans. In universe, she was powerful enough to drain Madara of his energy, create multiple dimensional pockets (which still exist as of Boruto) and throw our heroes around like waves in a tsunami.
When it came time to face her, or rather to try landing a hit, Naruto and Sasuke found themselves completely outmatched. So, the two decided on something incredibly stupid: The Reverse Harem/Sexy Jutsu to distract her so they could land a blow!
Sexy/Harem Jutsu was fun when it was a kid’s invention back in the original Naruto. It was funny when Konahamaru challenged Uzuamki to a contest to see who had the s*xiest one in Shippuden. It's funny that Kaguya fell for it and allowed them to land a hit! But it's still kinda dumb that this is what allowed them to get some offense in.
5) Rushing ahead in the Haku fight
This is from part one of the series, where even a simple well-placed trap or kunai meant death. During the Land of Waves Arc, while Kakashi dealt with the nortorious assassin Zabuza Momochi, Team 7 were forced to deal with his ice using partner Haku.
Haku was able to separate Naruto and Sasuke from Sakura and Kakashi using dozens of mirrors to surround and go between one and the other super quick. Even if one shattered, another took its place and it was solid ice so it was difficult to pierce.
Naruto decided to try aiding Sasuke with Haku by rushing into the Crystal Ice Mirrors to try shattering them. This nearly got them both. Sasuke, in particular, got pumped full of ice needles from all angles!
Kurama's interference saved them both, and not for the last time. Again, it was a heat-of-the-moment decision. It's not blameworthy trying to help or save a friend, it is when they underestimate opponents.
5 smart things Naruto did in combat
1) Beat Neji with an underground shadow clone
Paying attention to one's surroundings in a fight is extremely important. As is never underestimating your opponent's creativity. Neji Hyūga, the smug genius of the Hyūga clan, had been relentlessly beating Naruto. His defense and pinpoint strikes that sealed off chakra were more than a match for the younger Genin's shadow clones. However, the end of the fight saw Neji outwitted.
Naruto used some of Kurama's chakra to wear Neji down, then shadow cloned himself and dug his way under Neji until the opportune moment. He uppercut Neji by bursting upward from the ground while Neji gloated over the supposedly-defeated body.
A brilliant move, coupled with the fact that he won with the jutsu he failed so many times. It wasn't his first smart move, but it was definitely a highlight of the Chunin Exams arc. At least, it made up for the end of the Kiba fight!
2) Rasengan to Kabuto
So, taking a blade to the hand sounds like a dumb move. That is, until it's the only way to keep an opponent still. Uzumaki trained for a while to learn Rasengan, partly to get stronger, and partly to impress Tsunade to get her to the Hidden Leaf village and become Hokage.
Orochimaru and his fiendish assistant Kabuto had been stalking Tsunade as well, trying to restore Orochimaru's arms after they were rendered useless following an epic battle with the Third Hokage. Jiraya and Naruto fought Orochimaru and Kabuto respectively.
Kabuto had been running circles around both Tsunade, who was paralyzed due to a fear of blood, and Naruto who couldn't keep up with Kabuto's moves. This continued until Uzumaki caught Kabuto's kunai stab with his hand and delivered his first Rasengan at point blank range. It resulted in Kabuto being knocked out, at least for a while. This was smart because it took Kabuto off the field and convinced Tsunade to go with Naruto and Jiraya.
3) The Shuriken Deception on Zabuza
Throughout the Land of Waves Arc, Team 7 was stalked by mercenaries and assassins hellbent on assassinating a bridge builder they were escorting. One of the elites that stalked and ambushed them was Zabuza Momochi of the Hidden Mist.
The elite assassin made short work of the genin and had captured Kakashi and was slowly killing him in a water bubble that was suffocating him. Uzumaki and Sasuke needed a plan to rescue him. So, they imrpovised.
Said improvisation involved flinging a large pinwheel shuriken at Zabuza, which then revealed another. Zabuza caught the real one, but was barely able to dodge the second. The second was revealed to be Naruto, throwing a kunai at Zabuza's back. This forced him to move, breaking his hold on Kakashi and freeing him!
Both Naruto and Sasuke deserve credit for this plan that freed Kakashi.
4) Sealing the Third Raikage using momentum
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, many tough as nails people were brought back to life to serve Madara Uchiha's mad schemes. The Third Raikage was among them.
The Third Raikage's reanimated body was one tough nut to crack. Even the combined forces that Temari brought were not cutting his skin, much less surviving his mighty blows. Naruto tried the brute force method, which failed. After a discussion with Gyūki the Eight Tailed Ox, he realized the answer.
He used a Rasengan to hit the Third Raikage's outstretched arm when it was trying a mighty piercing blow and redirected it to an old scar on the body. It caused the body to finally cease movement and be sealed away.
5) Spreading Kurama's chakra
As the allied Shinobi forces began pushing further towards Madara and Obito at the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the kaiju-like Ten Tails began to be unleashed. Streams of powerful attacks rained down upon the allied Shinobi forces and Neji sacrificed himself to save Hinata and Naruto. Hinata helped Uzumaki out of his depressive spiral and he and Kurama got the brilliant idea: share the Fox chakra with everyone!
It ensured everyone's continued survival and boosted their durability, plus gave them more power to hit the Ten Tails with. At the very least, it helped everyone to fight until Sasuke and the revived Hokage arrived and Team 7 combined their talents to finish the beast!
