Naruto may be fantastic by his elaborate jutsus and exciting bows , but the moments that most marked the fans’ memories were the tragic deaths of the most beloved characters.
Few characters left us in the classic anime phase, but each loss had a profound impact on shaping our young genins into adults who would face the deepest horrors of war. Remember the saddest deaths in the anime , in chronological order.
Saddest Naruto Deaths
Rin
When we met Kakashi Hatake , he already demonstrated the impacts of having lost his friends to the war. After seeing him being consumed by these memories over hundreds of episodes, it is heartbreaking to watch the tragedy happen first hand: especially the death of Rin Nohara .
The kunoichi asked Kakashi himself to take his life. After being kidnapped, the Isobu Three-Tailed Beast was sealed inside. It was a trap to destroy Konoha and Rin did not want to be the trigger of a tragedy. With no way out, she died at the hand of her friend, unaware that Obito was watching in shock.
Naruto’s parents – Minato and Kushina
Rin’s death leads Obito to an unfortunate cycle of pain that causes many victims: the saddest are Naruto’s parents . The first scene of the anime briefly tells how they died, but Naruto only discovers the whole truth after growing up – in a complicated fight in Naruto Shippuden .
In this exciting reunion, Kushina Uzumaki tells how much she waited for Naruto’s birth and how much he meant not only for her, but also for Minato, the Fourth Hokage . The couple chooses to die, above all, to protect their son from a direct attack by Kurama . The only solution was to seal the creature in Naruto’s womb, but not before a touching farewell that put too much grown man to cry.
Haku and Zabuza Momochi
Haku and Zabuza Momochi are the first opponents of Team 7 , hired to assassinate the Naruto Bridge builder. Even though the Demon of the Hidden Mist was responsible for real atrocities, Haku saw only his qualities and died to protect him in one of the most touching moments of the anime.
Zabuza himself, who until then looked like a heartless monster, was moved and decided to do the right thing at least once in his life – to avenge his pupil even if it meant his death. As a final request, Zabuza was buried next to Haku, showing that everyone has the potential to redeem himself.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen
The Third Hokage was a sweet old man who inspected everything that happened in Aldeia da Folha to ensure that everyone was well. Above all, he was the one who indirectly cared for Naruto during his lonely childhood as an orphan, always covering up the antics of an emotionally injured boy.
That is why his death, after a long battle against one of his pupils, was so suffered. After all that Hiruzen did for Konoha, watching him face his old masters and Orochimaru was heartbreaking. He fought for his people to the end and his death was felt by everyone in the village.
Asuma Sarutobi
We hadn’t followed Asuma’s life so much until Naruto Shippuden , but when we finally got attached to the charismatic teacher, his life is unceremoniously mown by members of Akatsuki .
He had a very close relationship with his students – Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru – and his farewell brought a mixture of mourning and revenge to everyone around him. Especially for Shikamaru, who knew about his romance with Kurenai and the child they both expected. It was a turning point that made the Akatsuki hunt even more personal.
Jiraya
Akatsuki’s next victim has destroyed the emotions of all Naruto fans – I’m talking about the wise pervert Jiraya . The ninja always tried to keep his personal life hidden, but little by little we discovered how much he cared about his godson, Naruto, and a trio of ninjas he met in Vila da Chuva .
The old sannin carried a feeling of guilt, as if he had failed the Rain ninjas, and the final conflict against Pain brought out all his remorse. After the news of his death, Naruto went through a depressing grief along with a legion of fans .
Itachi Uchiha
Itachi was responsible for the genocide of the Uchiha clan , but he never had the courage to hurt his brother. However, for hiding the truth from Sasuke , he grew up harboring a deep hatred that would result in the death of his brother. Itachi died in peace, in yet another attempt to protect Sasuke, but his secret was soon exposed.
Their actions were purely motivated to prevent a civil war. All he wanted to do was protect Vila da Folha and the Hokage used his loyalty to end his own family. And in the end, he died smiling at his brother, with the certainty that he had completed his goal. A noble destination for a very tormented soul.
Konan
Nagato needed to die – after causing the destruction of Konoha, the temporary death of well-loved characters and the definitive murder of Jiraya. But Konan ? There it was too much.
After his friend’s sacrifice, Konan decided to abandon the path of hatred to defend Nagato’s legacy. She didn’t want to see her friend being used to cause wars yet again, but Tobi had other plans. He located the kunoichi and, after an unfair fight, murdered Konan on a whim. It was sad to see someone dying with such loyalty to those he loved.
Neji Hyuuga
At first, Neji was a bitter child who would kill his own cousin to show his power. Many years later, he died defending Hinata from an abrupt end.
Neji’s conflict was always with his destiny and he died on his own terms, protecting the future of his clan. One of Folha’s most skilled ninjas was one of the most painful losses of the Fourth Great Ninja War .
Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka
At the height of the Ninja War, Madara realized that the key to defeating the Ninja Alliance was to nip it in the bud – blow up the command base that coordinated all attacks. Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka , two of the most intelligent ninjas in Vila da Folha, knew they were about to die, but chose to sacrifice themselves for their children’s future.
In their final moments, instead of fleeing, they designed for all Alliance ninjas a final strategy to end the Ten-Tailed Beast . His sons, Ino and Shikamaru, heard his last words when the base went up. But there is no time for mourning in a war. They held back their tears to make the sacrifice of Shikaku and Inoichi worthwhile.
Obito Uchiha
Obito’s story begins and ends in a tragic death. For Kakashi, he was the first ninja to die under his command – completely crushed by a stone when trying to save his friends. But in reality, he survived and saw the world crumble around him.
Years later, all the pain consumed him and he decided to create a world of illusion so that no one needed to suffer again. His past resembles Naruto’s trajectory, but the pain guided him to a devastating path . Only when facing Naruto, he understands all the damage he caused and dies with dignity trying to put an end to Kaguya’s plans