'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
One of the major focused themes of the Naruto series has always been character development. It gave fans a lot of well-fleshed out characters who they seemed to relate to, while they appeared to detest others just as much.
Among them were some who had to face death too early for their age. There were also some who deserved to die. Although a lot of debate regarding this has occurred, there are some everyone seems to agree on.
Naruto characters who shouldn't have died
4) Neji Hyuga
Neji was a prodigy among the Hyuga, a talent not born in the clan before. Due to family traditions and misconceptions regarding his father's death, he grew bitter in his childhood. However, after his misunderstandings were cleared, he turned into a gentle brother to Hinata, going as far as to help her train.
Neji was a wonderful Leaf Shinobi who cared for his friends a lot and was never afraid to lay down his life for them. That is what happened in the Fourth Great Ninja War when he died trying to protect Hinata and Naruto.
It broke the hearts of the entire fandom as much as it did his peers. He is a must-mention on a list of Naruto characters who shouldn't have died.
3) Itachi Uchiha
Itachi undoubtedly was one of the greatest Shinobi Naruto fans ever came across. Not only his abilities but also his kindness knew no bounds.
He was a true pacifist at heart, which is why it became that much easier for the administrators of the Hidden Leaf to manipulate him into killing his entire clan. He agreed on one condition that the Hidden Leaf had to protect his younger brother, Sasuke.
Under a lot of misunderstandings, Sasuke began to hate his brother and tried to gain powers by any means so that he could defeat Itachi in a one-on-one fight, which seemed to be a part of Itachi's plans. What he wanted to do was die by his brothers' hands in that fight so that the Uchiha clan could be avenged and the clan's name would no longer be tarnished.
With his body frayed by a terminal disease, Itachi fought Sasuke until the parts of Orochimaru that the latter had consumed came out and were destroyed, along with his curse mark. After that, the stress of the fight took a toll on Itachi's body, and he died.
Fans could not stop shedding tears after learning the truth alongside Sasuke, who also ended up awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan. As a result, Itachi seems to be one of those Naruto characters who died too soon.
2) Jiraiya
A member of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya always seemed to be carefree and somewhat perverted. However, he was a loving individual who seemed to care for Naruto a lot. Fans got a taste of his powers during the battle with Pain, during which he also died.
Jiraiya is one of the closest to a father figure Naruto has ever had, and as such, his death shattered his heart. He also seems to be someone the fandom thinks died too quickly.
1) Naruto's parents
Naruto grew up as an orphan bearing the hatred of his fellow villagers. He always got into mischief as a means to gain attention from others. All he seemed to have wanted was for people to acknowledge him.
Although it did happen later, his life would have been entirely different if his parents were alive. Especially as fans later found out that his father was none other than the Fourth Hokage.
They died after an attack on the Leaf Village led by Obito brought Kurama out of his Jinchuriki, who happened to be Kushina, Naruto's mother. Although both tried to protect the village as much as they could, in the end, they had to sacrifice themselves after sealing half of Kurama in Naruto and the other half inside Minato.
This whole event took a toll on the Naruto fandom, and they could not help but think the two died a bit too soon.
Naruto characters who should have died
4) Orochimaru
Orochimaru was a member of the legendary Sannin, although entirely different from Jiraiya. He was obsessed with learning all kinds of Jutsus to find one to help him live forever. Although he managed to find a way, that was at the cost of countless lives.
Orochimaru is more famously known in the fandom for his human experiments, from which even children were not spared. He was exiled from the village for the same reason when the Third Hokage found out about these things.
Although he seemed to have turned a new leaf recently, it does not take away his past actions. As a result, he is one of those Naruto characters who deserve to die if the story so pleased.
3) Madara Uchiha
Madara not only was a terror during his lifetime but even after his death. He used Obito as his pawn and kept his will alive even after dying.
This resulted in countless lost lives across nations. It seems that in the end, Madara only wanted two things in his life.
One was to grow stronger than Hashirama however he could. The second was to create a dream world where everyone would be spared from reality. He wanted to be the savior of the world but failed miserably and ended up causing irredeemable harm.
He, too, is a Naruto character who should have died.
2) Black Zetsu
From Madara's turning to the dark side to the Fourth Great Ninja War, nothing would have happened if it was not for Black Zetsu's manipulations. This came across as one of the major twists to fans of the series.
But it seems that Black Zetsu, with his eons on this Earth, secretly changed the Uchiha tablet to fit his plans. It was a plan that would ultimately revive his mother, Kaguya, and end all life forms on Earth again.
Manipulated by these tactics, Madara ended up following him blindly, although unknowingly, until it was too late. As a result, Zetsu is one of the most detested characters in the Naruto fandom and someone they feel had to die.
1) Danzo Shimura
Danzo Shimura is one of the most hated characters of the entire series. He was responsible for Yahiko's murder, which led to the Akatsuki turning bad.
He was also the one who snatched Shisui's eye to prevent a peaceful negotiation from occurring between the Hidden Leaf and the Uchiha clan.
He would have taken the other eye as well, but Shisui managed to flee from there and gave it to Itachi so he could protect the village in his stead.
Danzo was the one who manipulated Itachi into killing his entire clan, and later, he even took their Sharingan and transplanted them into his body.
He did all of this so that he could become the supreme leader of the Shinobi world one day. One of the most despicable men of the entire series, Danzo should have seen an end.
Even after the series' ending, Naruto is still one of the most talked-about shows in the anime world. The character development, world-building, and storyline keep impacting fans even now.
Boruto is opening new horizons of popularity these days, with new twists and reveals. Keep yourself updated on the same here.
Note: This article reflects the author's views.
