Naruto is the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young boy who lives in a ninja village and aims to become the greatest shinobi of all time to make everyone acknowledge him.
Kishimoto, the author of the story, introduced quite a bunch of powerful ninjas, both good and bad, in the story who took part in high-level fights. With these fights came the risk of deaths and while some were predictable, others completely took the fans by surprise. Kishimoto has never shied away from killing his characters and he demonstrated this in shocking ways throughout the series.
7 Jiraiya
Jiraiya's death was one of the most shocking events in Naruto. He headed to Amegakure with the mission of digging for information on the leader of the Akatsuki, Pain. Realizing that Pain was somehow tied to the students who he trained a long ago in the village, Jiraiya ended up getting involved in the internal affairs of the country and ended up paying for it. In a shocking turn of events, Jiraiya lost his life despite taking down three of Pain's bodies. He used his dying breath to send a message to Naruto.
6 Neji Hyuga
The Fourth Great Ninja War saw all shinobi in the Naruto world fight against the threat of the Akatsuki and Madara Uchiha. Towards the final section of the arc, the Ten-Tails was finally unleashed upon the world and the Shinobi Alliance tried their best to combat it.
Many lives were lost in the midst of this showdown and one of the biggest and most shocking deaths was that of Neji Hyuga, who sacrificed himself to defend Hinata and Naruto from the beast. Neji's death served no real purpose and goes down as one of the many questionable decisions taken in Naruto, however, when it comes to the shock factor, it didn't disappoint.
5 Asuma Sarutobi
Asuma Sarutobi was the son of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha. Although not as strong as his father, he was still a skilled Jonin of the village and quite a handful for anyone to take on in battle. Asuma met his death when he fought against Hidan and Kakuzu of the Akatsuki.
Fans certainly didn't expect him to die such a shocking death as Kishimoto was brave enough to kill him off. His death resulted in some serious character growth for Shikamaru and prompted him to surpass his limits. He ended up taking down Hidan with his clever strategies and enacted revenge.
4 Nagato Uzumaki
Nagato Uzumaki was born in Amegakure and was orphaned during the Second Great Ninja War. He was one of the key pillars of the early Akatsuki and wanted peace for his country, however, Yahiko's death changed him. Nagato created Pain and eventually stood in Naruto's way. His invasion of Konoha saw countless lives being lost.
Surprisingly, after Pain lost to Naruto, Nagato gave his life up for Naruto's cause and put all his faith in him after seeing a reflection of his old self in the young boy. Being the greatest Naruto villain up until that point, it was certainly a surprise to see.
3 Kakashi Hatake
Kakashi is one of the most important characters in Naruto. Introduced at the very beginning of the series as the team leader of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, Kakashi always played a pivotal role in nearly every arc. When Pain invaded Konoha, Kakashi confronted him and fared quite well.
However, not having enough strength to defeat this monster, Kakashi fell in combat and eventually died. His death came as a shock to nearly all fans of the series and was certainly heartbreaking to witness. However, thanks to Naruto, Nagato was able to bring everyone he killed back to life, which included Kakashi.
2 Konan
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Konan was a part of the Amegakure orphans, alongside Yahiko and Nagato. She stood by her teammates throughout her life and even when Nagato wanted to get revenge, she supported him. As a member of the Akatsuki, she was incredibly powerful. However, when Nagato died, Konan went back to Amegakure and watched over the village.
Soon after, she was faced by Obito Uchiha who ended up fighting him in a serious battle. Konan had studied his ability quite carefully and devised the perfect method to kill him. In fact, she even succeeded in doing that. However, having the power of Izanagi meant that Obito was able to stay alive and kill her shortly afterwards.
1 Obito Uchiha
Obito played quite a massive role in the Naruto series. Although he initially wanted to become the Hokage, he ended up serving the role of potentially the biggest villain in the Naruto series. He was primarily responsible for starting the 4th Great Ninja War which led to the loss of countless lives.
Surprisingly, Obito was redeemed towards the end of the war. He spent the rest of his life trying to protect Naruto and Sasuke. Just when it seemed that he would make it out of the war alive to atone for his mistakes, he died in the fight against Kaguya.