Here are Some Things I Wish Naruto Did Better (As a Die-Hard Fan)

Last Updated on August 11, 2025 by Dante

Naruto had 220 episodes, and Naruto Shippuden followed it up to 500 episodes. That’s 720 episodes in total, and yet it still wasn’t enough to cover the massirve ninja world Masashi Kishimoto created.

I’ve watched Naruto since the very beginning and cried when it finally ended in 2017. Now that we have the Boruto sequel, I can’t help but think about all the things Kishimoto didn’t have time to cover in the original series.

And, also, I think strongly about the things that made absolutely no sense in the series.

Let’s go over them together.

1. So Many Powerful Characters Were Skipped

Naruto has this bad habit of hyping up certain shinobi and then giving us almost nothing to work with. Take Fugaku Uchiha. Even Itachi, who could body entire squads solo, didn’t want to fight his dad if it came down to it.

We know Fugaku had a Mangekyō Sharingan, but that is about it. Was he Shisui-level with genjutsu? Did he have some kind of clan-wide trump card? We will never know, and that is a shame.

Then there is Sakumo Hatake, “The White Fang of the Leaf.” The guy was apparently so notorious that entire countries feared him more than the Sannin. Personally, I think the “stronger than the Sannin” thing is just hype inflation.

The Sannin got their rep after taking on Hanzō during the Second Great Ninja War. Sakumo probably built his reputation earlier in the war before his suicide, which would explain why people remembered him like a legend.

But imagine a flashback arc with him in his prime, with the speed, the kenjutsu, and the White Light Chakra Sabre cutting through enemies like nothing.

And we cannot forget the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Orochimaru himself admitted he would have lost if Hiruzen had been ten years younger.

That is insane, because even old-man Hiruzen still managed to seal away both of Orochimaru’s arms and two reanimated Hokages in one fight. In his prime, with that monstrous chakra and every jutsu in the Leaf at his disposal, he must have been on another level entirely.

Kishimoto teased us with the title “God of Shinobi” and then never gave us the goods.

It was not just the Leaf either. Other villages had absolute monsters we barely learned anything about. Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage, was a perfect Jinchūriki for the Three-Tails and was manipulated by Obito for years, yet we never saw him cut loose.

The Third Raikage, A, fought a thousand enemies by himself and only died after collapsing from exhaustion, and we got just enough of that fight to make us want more. Ōnoki’s master, Mū, could erase people from existence with Particle Style, but the best lore drop about him is that he and the Second Mizukage killed each other in battle.

Even the founders of each village remain a mystery. We know Hashirama and Madara for the Leaf, but what about the first leaders of the Mist, Stone, Sand, and Cloud? Those are stories that never got told.

2. Wasted Character Development Opportunities

One of Naruto’s biggest flaws was how lopsided the character arcs were. Outside of Team 7, only Shikamaru and his squad really got a meaningful spotlight, and even then it was tied directly to Asuma’s death. That arc was great, but it just reminded us how many other characters never got their moment.

Kiba was introduced like he might be a real rival to Naruto, but by Shippuden he was comic relief. Hinata’s confession to Naruto during the Pain arc was amazing, but that was the first and last time she was allowed to shine in a major fight.

Shino might as well have been a ghost in Shippuden. The guy could control swarms of chakra-eating insects and never got a showcase battle. How do you waste a bug-controlling ninja?

Konohamaru was set up early as Naruto’s loud-mouthed little shadow, but his only real glow-up came in the Pain arc where he pulled off a surprise Rasengan. Then he was quietly sidelined until Boruto, where they suddenly expected us to believe he was Hokage material. A proper time skip arc for him in Shippuden could have fixed that.

Anko was hyped up as a former student of Orochimaru with a mysterious past, but she basically became a background extra.

Kurenai was a genjutsu specialist who should have been a tactical powerhouse in the war, but she was reduced to “Shikamaru’s babysitter” after getting pregnant. Even in the Fourth Great Ninja War, she was nowhere to be found.

It is not like Kishimoto could not write good arcs for side characters. Team Guy got their moment against Kisame, and that fight proved just how fun it is to watch a squad that is not Team 7 carry an encounter.

Imagine if Shino had gotten a one-on-one against a high-level Akatsuki member, or if Kiba and Akamaru had been used for more than sniffing out enemies. Those fights basically wrote themselves.

3. Orochimaru Was Doing Nothing in Shippuden

In OG Naruto, Orochimaru felt like the ultimate big bad. The guy was untouchable, had a creepy snake aesthetic, and a whole army of subordinates who would happily die for him. By the time Shippuden rolled around, though, he was basically just sick in bed waiting for Sasuke to finish his training arc.

What was his actual plan? Because from what we saw, his plot was “raise Sasuke to be ridiculously strong, then fail to take over his body because I caught a cold.”

He only popped out when Sasuke fought Itachi, and even then it made no sense. Why wait until then? Sasuke had just beaten Deidara. That would have been the perfect time to swoop in and take him over.

Instead, Orochimaru stayed in the shadows and let him walk around free. And when he did finally emerge against Itachi, Itachi was already in full Susanoo mode. Why would anyone look at that glowing armored god and think, “Yeah, I can take this”?

Meanwhile, Jiraiya and Tsunade had clear, important roles throughout Shippuden. Orochimaru was the god-tier villain of OG Naruto, but once the Akatsuki came into focus and Kishimoto established that Itachi had him beat without even trying, Orochimaru got hard-sidelined.

It makes you wonder what he was even doing all that time.

And then there’s the wild card: Guren. A completely loyal subordinate who could use Crystal Style, a kekkei genkai we never saw anywhere else.

Where was Orochimaru finding these people? He had the resources and manpower to cause serious chaos in the war, but he just sat on the bench for most of Shippuden. The wasted potential here is insane.

4. Mifune and the Samurai Had No Context

Mifune and the Land of Iron samurai basically dropped into the story out of nowhere during the Five Kage Summit. No build-up, no prior mentions, nothing.

One minute we’re all about ninja politics, the next minute we learn there’s an entire nation of sword-wielding samurai who are somehow neutral in every major shinobi conflict. Where were these guys during the First, Second, and Third Great Ninja Wars?

Mifune himself was hyped up as this wise, battle-hardened leader who could hold his own against Hanzo of the Salamander. That sounds like a big deal… except we never saw him fight anyone at full strength except a reanimated Hanzo, and even that was over quickly.

If you’re going to tell me this man has been relevant in shinobi history, then show me why.

And the whole “samurai” angle could have been way more fleshed out. Do they have their own jutsu styles? Is their chakra use fundamentally different from shinobi? How do they train?

How do they enforce neutrality without getting steamrolled by villages like the Leaf or Cloud? Instead, they were just set dressing for the Kage Summit and later as filler troops in the Fourth Great Ninja War.

It felt like Kishimoto had a cool concept in his head, a non-ninja military power with their own traditions, but by introducing them so late, there was no time to make them feel like an organic part of the world. Mifune got a few lines, swung his sword a bit, and then disappeared back into the Land of Iron like they were never going to matter again.

5. The Many Inconsistencies of Hanzo

Hanzo of the Salamander is one of the most confusingly scaled characters in all of Naruto. We’re told he fought the Sannin to a stalemate in their prime and respected them enough to give them their title. He went toe-to-toe with Granny Chiyo, who was an absolute monster with poisons and puppets.

He even crossed blades with Mifune and held his own. This paints a picture of a legendary shinobi who could hang with the best of the best.

Then Pain shows up and takes him out in about two seconds. Not “after an intense battle” or “with some trick strategy”, just straight up wipes him from existence. And the explanation is basically “Hanzo got complacent.” Really? A man who survived multiple ninja wars and fought some of the deadliest shinobi alive suddenly forgot how to be careful?

His power scaling is all over the place. In flashbacks and historical context, Hanzo is untouchable, a war-ending force who commands fear across every village. In the present timeline, he is basically there to pad other characters’ reputations. Pain killing him was clearly meant to show Pain’s dominance, but it ended up making Hanzo’s entire legacy feel like overblown hype.

If he was truly that strong, we should have seen him go down in a drawn-out fight, not a quick “oh, by the way, he’s dead now” moment. As it stands, Hanzo’s reputation and his actual feats in the story never line up, and it’s one of the biggest power-scaling whiplashes in the series.

6. Obito Trying to Speed Blitz Minato

I still have no idea what was going through Obito’s head when he decided he could speed blitz Minato.

This is Minato Namikaze we are talking about, the man literally called “The Yellow Flash.” Even the fastest shinobi alive knew better than to try to play games with him.

Yet Obito, fresh off Madara’s training and armed with Kamui, thought he could just warp in and tag him like it was nothing.

Obito wasn’t slow, but speed was never his main weapon. His game was deception, positioning, and making you punch air until he could land a fatal blow. Against Minato, he had battle intel, the element of surprise, and one of the most broken space-time jutsu in the series. And still, he got tagged clean and had a Rasengan planted in his back before he even realized Minato had marked him.

From a writing perspective, I get it. Obito was basically a training dummy so we could see how insanely fast and precise Minato was in his prime. And that scene delivered. Minato teleporting mid-Kamui grab is still one of the coldest moments in the series. But from a character logic standpoint, Obito walking in there thinking he could win a pure speed battle was just dumb. If he had hung back, used Kamui more tactically, and leaned into his intangibility, he might have forced a longer fight. Instead, he gave Minato a highlight reel.

7. Kurenai Trying to Put Itachi in a Genjutsu

Lmao.

8. Kabuto Becoming a Sage in One Second

Kabuto’s whole Sage Mode reveal still feels like it came out of nowhere. One second he’s just regular snake-Kabuto with some creepy upgrades, the next he’s flexing Sage Mode like he’s been perfecting it for years. No training arc, no build-up, nothing. Just bam, Sage Kabuto.

I get that Kishimoto probably didn’t know what to do with him after Orochimaru got taken out. So he just slapped on a bunch of powers, sprinkled in some snake DNA, threw in a few reanimated shinobi, and called it a day.

But Sage Mode is supposed to be rare and insanely difficult to master. Even Naruto, who had absurd chakra reserves and frog mentors, needed dedicated training to get there. Kabuto apparently just… did it off-screen in his spare time.

It was clearly meant to raise his threat level for the Itachi and Sasuke fight, and yeah, he looked cool and had some wild abilities. But the actual jump from “that guy who licks his lips and spies for Orochimaru” to “perfected Sage Mode and can hang with two Uchiha at once” was ridiculous.

9. The Foolishness of the Hidden Villages

Sometimes the biggest threat to the shinobi world wasn’t the Akatsuki or some god-tier villain. It was the villages themselves doing galaxy-brain dumb stuff.

The Sand? They literally teamed up with Orochimaru, a known enemy of the Leaf and Suna who once tried to destroy Konoha, to take down Konoha. And surprise, surprise, Orochimaru immediately betrayed them. Who could have possibly seen that coming? Oh right… everyone.

The Hidden Cloud might have the longest record of self-sabotage. Between trying to kidnap Hinata as a child, demanding compensation after their own guy got caught, and constantly flexing on other villages without thinking about the fallout, they were basically begging for conflict.

The Hidden Mist decided their best move was to target Rin, a literal kid, because they wanted to turn her into a Three-Tails time bomb inside Konoha. That plan backfired so hard it ended with Obito’s villain origin story and the death of half a battlefield.

And then there’s the Hidden Stone, whose “usual antics” basically boil down to stirring the pot in every major war, creating grudges with everyone, and somehow still acting like they’re the victims.

Only the Hidden Rain seemed to mind their business… and even that’s debatable when you remember their leader was literally Pain.

10. The Third Hokage Letting Orochimaru Live

I’m not a Third Hokage hater. Hiruzen had one of the hardest jobs in the series, and a lot of the problems he inherited came straight from the First and Second Hokage, especially the mess with the Uchiha.

Even Danzo was a complicated ally-slash-problem he had to manage. But none of that excuses what happened when he caught Orochimaru in the act.

Hiruzen literally walked into a hidden lab full of human experimentation. We’re talking full-on war crimes, bodies in jars, the whole vile “mad scientist” setup. And instead of ending Orochimaru right there, he froze up and let him slip away.

Only Kakashi even bothered to chase him down. That’s it. The rest of the ANBU and Hiruzen himself just… let him go.

This is the same Orochimaru who would go on to assassinate the Fourth Kazekage, destroy half of Konoha, and train Sasuke into the revenge machine we all know. All of that could have been stopped if Hiruzen had pulled the trigger in that lab. And it’s not like he didn’t know what Orochimaru was capable of. He was his student. He knew. Which makes that decision feel less like mercy and more like willful negligence.

11. The Kinkaku Force vs. The Second Hokage

The Kinkaku Force was hyped up as this legendary squad that even the Second Hokage couldn’t handle. We’re talking multiple S-class ninja working together, armed with the Sage of Six Paths’ treasured tools, and they still ended up dead. Yeah, they were strong, but the bigger question is how in the world Tobirama fought that many top-tier shinobi at once, killed them, and still died in the process.

And here’s the thing, Tobirama invented Edo Tensei. He could have literally summoned his own brother back to help him. Imagine Hashirama on the field against the Kinkaku Force. That fight would have been over in five minutes. But no, apparently that never crossed his mind.

Tobirama was one of the most calculating and tactical Hokage in history, and yet this battle plays out like he just decided to Leroy Jenkins his way into a squad of heavily armed killers with no backup plan.

The Kinkaku Force might have been legendary, but this whole scenario feels like the writers just wanted a cool war story without thinking too hard about the tools Tobirama already had.

12. Nobody Helping the Third Hokage Against Orochimaru

When Orochimaru ambushed the Third Hokage during the Chunin Exams, the whole village just… let the Sound Four put up a giant barrier and stand there.

Nobody thought to attack them? We’re talking about the leader of the village locked in a death match, and the only defense between him and help was four guys holding glowing walls.

Kakashi and Guy were both in the stadium. Two of the strongest jonin in Konoha, and instead of rushing the barrier, they were off trading blows with random invaders in the stands.

If they had teamed up, they could have dismantled the Sound Four in minutes and backed up Hiruzen. Instead, the Hokage was left to fight Orochimaru and two reanimated Kage completely alone.

Come on, does anyone remember Sarutobi grabbing Orocihmaru for like six episodes?

And while we’re here, who built that roof? Because whatever contractor Konoha hired must have been working with Orochimaru.

The place took absurd damage in that fight, and yet somehow stayed standing just enough for them to keep going. You’d think a major battle on top of a stadium would be the moment to rethink the village’s building codes.

13. Kimimaro Was a Beast and Was Promptly Killed Off

Kimimaro was one of the coldest characters introduced in the series. Bone manipulation kekkei genkai, insane taijutsu, unshakable loyalty, and the kind of calm menace that made him scarier than half the Akatsuki.

He took on multiple opponents from the Sasuke Retrieval Squad back-to-back and was still about to win… until his sickness kicked in.

And that’s the thing. Every time Kishimoto seemed to create a character who could throw off the balance of power, he made them terminally ill. Itachi was the same way.

We’re told these guys are basically unstoppable, then, surprise, they’re coughing up blood mid-fight. Kimimaro didn’t lose because his opponents outplayed him. He lost because the plot decided his lungs had had enough.

It’s such a waste too, because imagine a healthy Kimimaro in the Fourth Great Ninja War or even as an Akatsuki member. The man could have been a top-tier villain, but instead he was written off with a case of “sorry, he’s too strong for the story to function.”

14. Asuma and Kurenai Getting Worked by Fujin and Raijin

Real ones remember this. Back in the filler days, we got the “Tiger Mizuki with the Curse Mark” arc, and somehow that turned into Asuma and Kurenai teaming up against Fujin and Raijin. These two were basically muscle-headed comedy relief characters, yet they absolutely handed the jonin their asses.

We’re talking about two of Konoha’s top-ranking ninja, cooperating in a fight, and still getting clowned on by guys who had to stop and think about which hand to hold a weapon in.

Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji later went up against the same duo and somehow did better. And the fight ultimately ended with Tsunade grabbing both brothers by the ears like they were misbehaving kids.

It makes you wonder if “jonin” in Konoha actually means “mid-tier with a salary.” Because if these two couldn’t put Fujin and Raijin down quickly, what chance did they have against actual high-level threats?

Watching it back then, it didn’t feel like a goofy filler moment. It felt like an accidental reveal that the Leaf’s jonin bench was thinner than advertised.

15. Danzo Was a Good Ninja… and an Idiot

Danzo gets clowned on a lot in the fandom, but if we’re being real, the man had some serious skills.

The dude had an elephant summon (Baku), a hidden seal that scared Obito enough to back off, and wind-style jutsu so sharp and fast they were basically invisible. On paper, he was a nightmare to fight.

But then he went up against Sasuke and decided he could outplay someone whose Sharingan mastery was miles beyond his own. Instead of focusing on his busted wind-style, summons, and sneaky traps, he tried to beat Sasuke at his own game.

The result?

Burning through all his Izanagi lives because he thought he was the smarter Sharingan user.

Danzo was a spymaster, a tactician, and a dangerous fighter but he was also the kind of guy who would throw his best win conditions in the trash because he thought he could flex. He could have taken Sasuke out if he stuck to his strengths, but instead he died proving that ego can kill you faster than any jutsu.

16. Sasuke’s Insane Fight Streak Makes No Sense

I don’t ever want to hear “plot armor” and “Naruto” in the same sentence again unless we’re talking about Sasuke. Kishimoto loved this man. Kishimoto has a framed photo of Sasuke with his wife and kids. This man was basically his favorite child.

Just think about it. Sasuke fought the Kage. All of them. Got worked over, but still walked out alive. Then he turned around and fought Danzo in one of the most chakra-draining fights in the series. Danzo almost sent him to the afterlife multiple times. And after that? Sasuke fought Kakashi right after.

And THEN, because Kishimoto wasn’t done pushing him, Sasuke went blind mid-fight from overusing his Mangekyo. Like… what?

That’s not even normal Naruto-level chakra reserves; that’s “main character with an author who refuses to kill him” levels of endurance.

17. Kushina Was a Baddie and Got Done Dirty

Kushina Uzumaki had all the makings of an S-tier character… and Kishimoto treated her like background furniture. She was literally the last Uzumaki who remembered her village before it got wiped off the map. That alone should’ve been a whole subplot.

The woman was a walking history book of an extinct clan with sealing techniques that had the rest of the world shook.

And yeah, we find out she taught Minato sealing jutsu. That’s cool and all… but what else? Nothing. She pops up for one flashback arc, drops some mom bars on Naruto, and then gets sealed away again like an unused DLC character.

She could’ve been mentoring Naruto in sealing from beyond the grave, guiding him in Uzumaki clan techniques, something.

Instead, she’s just “Naruto’s mom who died”, which is wild because she was an actual kunoichi beast in her youth. Honestly, she deserved a mini-series or even a war flashback moment, but nah… Kishimoto said “Thanks for birthing the protagonist, you can go now.”

18. Kakuzu’s Village and Hidan’s Religion – Dropped Like a Filler Arc

Two of the most interesting backstories in the Akatsuki… and we got nothing.

Kakuzu’s village (Takigakure) straight-up sent this man to assassinate the First Hokage. Let that sink in. That’s like your neighborhood Little League team deciding they can take on the Yankees in their prime.

And to his credit, Kakuzu actually pulled up and threw hands, only to get washed and shipped right back home. Wildest part? They punished him for failing, which explains why he turned around and murdered their elders. Petty king.

Then there’s Hidan. My guy rolled in with a literal cult following a death god, rocking that unkillable voodoo curse, and Kishimoto just… forgot about it. Jashinism could’ve been a whole subplot, a dangerous religion spreading through the ninja world, fanatics trying to recruit people, maybe even hidden temples.

Instead, we get “yeah he’s immortal and prays sometimes” and that’s it.

Bonus points for Hidan thinking the Akatsuki was a rock band. He legit called Itachi the “emo lead singer,” which isn’t even wrong. That’s canon in my heart.

19. Konan vs. Obito: The Victory That Got Retconned in Real Time

Konan had Obito done. Finished. Wrapped up in six hundred billion paper bombs, literal six hundred billion. She studied his Kamui, figured out his five-minute intangibility limit, and set a trap so perfectly timed it looked like she read the manga ahead of him.

And then… Kishimoto must’ve been mid-panel like, “Oh wait… I still need Obito for the war arc.” Suddenly, Obito whips out some last-minute Izanagi he apparently had in the back pocket the whole time.

Never mind that this wasn’t foreshadowed for him, never mind the chakra cost, never mind the fact that Konan was seconds from blowing him to pieces. Plot said “nope.”

It’s extra insulting because Konan was one of the smartest, most tactical fighters in the series. She survived Hanzo’s regime, co-led the Akatsuki with Nagato, and nearly erased one of the big bads. But instead of letting her be the one to permanently end Obito’s story, she got stabbed in the ocean.

Konan deserved better. Honestly, she was this close to being the Shikamaru of the Akatsuki, the ultimate strategist. Instead, she’s another “almost” in Naruto history.

20. The Uchiha Coup That Was Never Going to Work

Let’s be real. The Uchiha Clan got completely wiped out by two people. Itachi, who was 13 at the time, and Obito, who wasn’t even using his full kit because he was still half in “creepy masked man in the shadows” mode.

That’s it. No army, no drawn-out battle, no casualties on the other side. Just two dudes walking through the compound and deleting the entire bloodline in a single night.

And yet, Fugaku really thought the Uchiha could overthrow Konoha. Konoha, a village stacked with ANBU, multiple Jonin with broken jutsu, and at the time, two Hokage still alive.

What exactly was the plan here? Kakashi and Gai alone could have taken turns clapping the rebellion.

Not to mention Root, Danzo, and the fact that Hiruzen would’ve just dropped a summon and said, “Alright, I’m too old for this, Enma, handle my light work.”

The wild part is, Itachi wasn’t even going all out. Obito was mostly there to mop up stragglers. The Uchiha didn’t even take down a single notable Leaf ninja. But somehow, Fugaku thought this was going to end with him on the Hokage’s desk. Lmao.

21. Shisui Got Hyped Just to Get Packed Up

Kishimoto built Shisui up like he was that guy. “Shisui of the Body Flicker,” fastest ninja in the world, master of Kotoamatsukami, a genjutsu so broken it basically lets you rewrite someone’s will without them knowing. Dude was supposed to be untouchable.

Then what happens? Danzo hits him with the meanest four-piece combo we’ve ever seen in this series: blindsides him, snatches an eye, forces him to give the other one to Itachi, and leaves him to jump off a cliff.

That’s it. No grand battle. No real showcase of why every ninja supposedly feared him. He didn’t even get to Body Flicker one person before the plot came calling.

Shisui went from “fastest man alive” to “fastest man to lose both eyes and a will to live” in under five minutes of screen time. We’ll never know if he was actually on par with the legends, or if he was just another victim of Kishimoto’s “hype them up, then delete them” writing style.

22. Neji and Hinata Got Done Filthy

Neji was a straight-up dog. Prodigy of the Hyuga, Byakugan so sharp he could pinpoint tenketsu like he was flipping light switches. In the OG Naruto, he was one of the scariest genin to fight: precision, speed, and a lethal fighting style.

Then Shippuden came, and what do we get? A couple of decent missions, a blink-and-you-miss-it role in the Sasuke retrieval redux, and that’s it until the war arc where he gets… well, we know what happens.

This man could’ve been a nightmare for the Akatsuki. Deidara’s clay explosives? Gentle Fist shuts down chakra flow. That makes his bugs useless. Neji could’ve danced circles around him and shut down his hands before a bird even got airborne.

He had all the tools to be an S-tier assassin for the Allied Shinobi Forces, but Kishimoto decided “nah, he’s background now.”

And Hinata? Invented a whole new Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists technique, put her life on the line against Pain, and then got relegated to moral support duty.

This is the heiress of one of the strongest clans in the Leaf, and you mean to tell me we only see her go full power once? The Hyuga clan should’ve been front-line threats in the war. Instead, they became spectators to the Uchiha-Senju drama show.

23. Danzo During the Pain Assault? Where the Hell Was He?

Pain rolls into the Leaf and literally erases the Hokage Tower from existence. Buildings are leveled, bodies everywhere, and the whole village is fighting for its life. Where’s Danzo? Not rallying ANBU. Not protecting the Daimyo.

Not leading counterattacks. No, the man was probably sipping tea underground in Root HQ like, “Yeah, this is the perfect time to make my move.”

Then, the dust settles, Naruto saves the day, Kakashi dies on the battlefield buying time like a true hero, and bam, here comes Danzo crawling out from whatever hole he was hiding in to suddenly become the “logical” Sixth Hokage candidate.

And the Daimyo just nods like, “Yeah, this guy makes sense.” Really? Kakashi’s résumé is spotless, the man died fighting Pain, and he’s already trusted by every major player in the village. Danzo? He’s the shadowy guy with a missing arm and more war crimes than Orochimaru’s lab.

The fact that the Leaf’s leadership thought this was a good idea says everything about the political IQ of the Daimyo. If Kakashi had gotten the hat then, we probably could’ve skipped half the dumb political drama that followed.

24. The Konoha 11 Were MIA During the War

The Fourth Great Ninja War was supposed to be everyone’s moment, the ultimate chance for the younger generation to show they could hang with the legends. Instead, it turned into the ninja equivalent of dusting off some old VHS tapes just to watch the previous generation get hyped up… and then promptly get mopped.

Where were the Konoha 11? Shikamaru had some leadership moments, sure. Lee got to punch Madara one time. Hinata had a nice emotional beat with Naruto after Neji died.

But the rest? Ghosts. Kiba? Irrelevant. Shino? Apparently allergic to screentime. Tenten? Pulled a literal background weapon rack cameo. Even Choji and Ino, who had their Asuma redemption arc earlier, were basically afterthoughts here.

Instead of focusing on Kakashi, Guy, and the resurrected Hokage for half the war, we could’ve given the Konoha 11 some hype moments, actual wins against notable enemies, coordinated team fights, even strategy plays to show growth since the Chunin Exams.

Instead, they were spectators in what was supposed to be their proving ground.

25. Choji and Ino Were Dead Weight Against Kakuzu

The Kakuzu and Hidan arc was a perfect setup for the next generation to prove themselves in a serious fight… and Choji and Ino completely whiffed. Kakashi might as well have had “MVP” stitched into his flak jacket because he carried that battle so hard he probably left with back problems.

Kakuzu was tossing Choji around like Thanos giving Hulk the business in Infinity War. Choji’s size advantage meant nothing when Kakuzu’s tentacle arms turned him into a training dummy. And Ino? We love her, but what was she doing?

She had the Mind Transfer Jutsu, which could’ve been clutch for locking down Hidan, yet somehow never got the setup to even try it.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was out here juggling lightning blades, saving Naruto, countering Kakuzu’s elemental combos, and reading the battlefield like a chess master. The man fought two Akatsuki members at once while his supposed backup was either face down in the dirt or yelling encouragement from a safe distance.

27. The Nonsense of Hashirama Cells

Hashirama Senju died decades before the series started. His body should’ve been under lock and key like a national treasure. You’d think the most powerful Hokage’s remains would be sealed in a vault deeper than Area 51, right?

Nope.

Somehow, everybody in the series had a stash of Hashirama cells. Orochimaru had them. Danzo had them. Madara had them. Kabuto had them. The Akatsuki probably had a group chat about them.

Where did they all come from? Did Hashirama’s funeral double as a yard sale? Was his DNA just sitting in an unlocked fridge somewhere in the Leaf’s basement?

And how did Orochimaru, a known rogue ninja with a rap sheet a mile long, manage to keep a supply? The man’s lab should’ve been raided the second he skipped town.

By the time Shippuden hit its midpoint, Hashirama cells were the ninja world’s duct tape. Slap them on anything and suddenly it’s stronger.

Missing an arm? Hashirama cells. Want to survive being bisected? Hashirama cells. Need a plot excuse for immortality?

You guessed it. It became the biggest “just go with it” in the series, and the more you think about it, the less it makes sense.

28. Kabuto Perfecting Edo Tensei

Somehow, Kabuto, yes, that Kabuto, perfected Edo Tensei, one of the most broken jutsu in the series.

This is the same guy who used to be Orochimaru’s errand boy, mixing test tubes and playing nurse. And yet, we’re supposed to believe he took Orochimaru’s half-baked version and cranked it up to “god tier”? Nah.

Orochimaru was smarter, more experienced, and had a way deeper jutsu library. He literally invented the version we saw during the Konoha Crush arc, so if he couldn’t perfect it, how in the world did Kabuto pull it off in, what, a couple of time skips?

It’s painfully obvious this was Kishimoto’s way of cleaning up a plot mistake. Sarutobi beating the First and Second Hokage in Part 1 made them look weaker than they were supposed to be, so Edo Tensei needed a glow-up for the war arc.

Don’t get me wrong, Edo Madara was hype. Edo Itachi was hype. But Kabuto being the guy to make all that happen? That’s like turning the class note-taker into the final boss.

29. Edo Pain and Edo Itachi Were Way Too OP

Edo Pain and Edo Itachi were pure nightmare fuel. Kishimoto basically looked at the war arc roster, threw them in, and then immediately realized, “Oh crap… I just broke my own story.”

Edo Pain could’ve casually wiped out entire divisions with zero cooldown on the Rinnegan. Edo Itachi? Man was already a cheat code before you gave him infinite chakra, no fatigue, and the ability to spam Susanoo like it was nothing. These two together could’ve speed-ran the war before Naruto even finished tying his headband.

So what happened? Kishimoto hit the panic button. Cue “Itachi conveniently snaps out of it” and Pain being written into situations where he doesn’t just delete everyone on sight. It’s one of those moments where you can almost see the author looking at the chessboard and thinking, “Yeah, I gotta save Naruto’s ass or this series ends in 20 chapters.”

30. Madara Was a Dog, We Know This

Madara was a straight-up menace. We already knew he was going to body everyone, so why drag it out for dozens of chapters? Let the man show up, fold the Hokage like laundry, drop a few cold one-liners, and call it a day.

This video got 15 million views. We were waiting like 15 years to see this.

Instead, Kishimoto had him hanging around like he was just winging it back there, chilling in the war like it was a company picnic. Every time you thought he was about to end it all, he’d just smirk, throw out some vague philosophical line, and keep the plot moving at 10% speed.

And of course, he was armed with the ultimate plot device: Hashirama cells. At this point, they were basically the duct tape of the Naruto world. Got a wound? Hashirama cells. Need infinite stamina? Hashirama cells.

Want to summon a meteor for no reason?

Yep…

Hashirama cells. Madara didn’t even feel like a character after a while, more like a walking “You can’t win” screen.

31. Sakura’s Love for Sasuke

Now, they’re a cute couple now: domestic life, a kid, all smiles in the Boruto era. But let’s not rewrite history. In Shippuden, Sakura’s love for Sasuke was straight out of a “What are you doing, sis?” moment.

Sasuke was actively trying to kill her, not “he might,” but literally mid-swing before Kakashi and Naruto stepped in. She even lied to Naruto’s face about loving him just to try and get Naruto to stop chasing Sasuke. It was manipulative, sad, and desperate all at once.

And then, after all that, Sasuke still gutted her with a lightning-infused chidori in the final arc before running off to throw hands with Naruto. If that’s “relationship goals,” I’m scared to see what the bar is.

32. Jiraiya Gets No Flak

I love Jiraiya. He’s my favorite character. But we roast the Third Hokage for not taking care of Naruto while running the village and yet, nobody calls out Jiraiya. Where was he? And don’t say “spying.” Yeah, he was “spying”… part-time. The rest of the time? Writing romance novels and collecting research for them.

He literally saw Naruto early on, knew Orochimaru had slipped a seal onto him, removed it, and then waved goodbye like, “Alright, kid, don’t get kidnapped.” Sure, he popped in here and there, taught Naruto some moves, and built a bond but he was never actually around when Naruto needed a real guardian figure.

If his mission was to watch over Akatsuki, fine. But let’s be honest: for the first 12 years of Naruto’s life, Jiraiya was MIA. He wasn’t training him, protecting him, or even checking in regularly. Amazing mentor later, sure but for those early years? Jiraiya was basically a ghost.