Naruto Uzumaki ran into a plethora of villains during his long and arduous journey to becoming Hokage, but while everyone is familiar with the likes of Orochimaru or Itachi, not every antagonist has been lucky enough to be able to leave as much of an impression on fans. Because of the staggering number of evil individuals and insidious groups that are present within the world of Naruto, it can be all too easy for a villain to become overshadowed.
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This is despite the fact that these people are usually quite important to the world and its characters, including Naruto himself and his own personal development. This has caused a handful of villains to be seen as underrated or underappreciated by parts of the fanbase, so today, it's time to take a look at why exactly these antagonists didn't receive their flowers, and what makes them so interesting in the first place.
7 Jirobo
A Powerful Member Of The Sound Four Who's A Lot Smarter Than He Lets On
- First Appearance: Naruto Episode 68
During the epic Sasuke Retrieval Arc of the story near the end of the original Naruto series, Naruto and is friends run into a powerful group of ninja known as the Sound Four. Out of this peculiar bunch, most people will remember Kimimaro since he gets the opportunity to have a flashy duel with both Naruto and Lee early on in the arc, but the other three also manage to bring something new to the table, including the hulking behemoth known as Jirobo.
On the surface, Jirobo can seem like little more than a meathead who simply acts as the muscle of the group, but during his bout with Choji, it's revealed there's a lot more to him than meets the eye. Jirobo openly mocks Shikimaru's leadership, criticizing the fact he believed the young ninja had betrayed and sold out his teammates, all for the sake of the mission. Not only did this spark outrage within Choji, who was forced to defend his friends' actions, but it also hinted at the ongoing turmoil within Shikimaru which affects him all the way until the end of Shippuden regarding whether he can truly be called a competent leader or not.
6 Doto Kazahana
Doto Is One Of, If Not The Most Ruthless Villain From The Naruto Movies
- First Appearance: Naruto The Movie - Ninja Clash In The Land Of Snow
Doto plays the role of main antagonist in the Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow movie, and it's fair to say, he's a pretty nasty piece of work all things considered. Doto's aim is to seek out a special crystal buried deep within the snowy mountains which he believes could help him amass a giant army to take over the Five Great Shinobi Countries, therefore making him the literal ruler of the ninja world.
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Since the movie villains are only expected to show up for a single film, they need to prove they are intimidating enough to be an antagonist in a short amount of time, and Doto most certainly ticks that box. Not only did he forcefully take the throne in order to become a dictatorial ruler of the land, but he even decided to kill his own brother who he believed would get in the way of his mission. His merciless personality and heinous actions make Doto an unforgivable villain whose cruelty really does know no bounds.
5 Temari
Temari's Cruel And Sarcastic Personality Was Often Overshadowed By Gaara Early On In The Series
- First Appearance: Naruto Episode 20
It can be hard to believe now considering how long she's been Naruto's ally, but before Shippuden kicked off, Temari was seen as more of a villain, alongside Gaara and Kankuro. Out of this deadly sand trio, a lot of people focus most on Gaara since he gets the majority of the screen time, but whenever Temari did get the opportunity to show off, she definitely didn't waste it, demonstrating just how ruthless she can be as a combatant.
The first example of this comes during her match with Tenten, where she is able to use her giant iron fan to bat away any and all projectiles that come her away, before lifting her opponent into the air and crushing her with one final blow. Needless to say, Temari was made to be a big deal, but there were subtle hints that she did still have a soft spot for her brothers, as shown when she stands up to fight Sasuke in order to let Gaara escape, despite probably knowing she would inevitably lose.
4 Mizuki
Mizuki Dropped Small Hints Early On As To Who The Major Villain Of Part 1 Would Be
- First Appearance: Naruto Episode 1
Fans might remember Mizuki as the annoying gray-haired ninja who attempted to ambush Naruto at the end of the very first episode. At first, it can seem like Mizuki is simply a villain of the week, but when digging into his backstory, there's actually a lot more to him, and his relevance in the story. It turns out that, although Mizuki was once a seemingly sweet and kind young ninja, this all changed once he came into contact with Orochimaru. In fact, he would even lose his fiancee Tsubaki, after his personality began becoming more corrupt and evil due to Orochimaru's influence.
As a result, the reason Mizuki tricked Naruto into retrieving the Scroll of Seals at the beginning of the story was so he could steal them and give them to Orochimaru, which planted a small seed as to who the major villain of the original series was going to be, while also referencing his connection to Seal techniques in the process.
3 Moryo
A Demonic Supernatural Entity From Another World Is Definitely A Pretty Out-There Concept For A Naruto Villain
- First Appearance: Naruto Shippuden The Movie
Though the Naruto series has dabbled in the supernatural before, it at least usually tends to stay somewhat grounded in reality in terms of its characters for the most part, but this isn't exactly the case for Moryo, a dark demonic spirit who had arrived in the ninja world from a different dimension entirely. Moryo is technically a kind of demonic entity, but it can also take over other people's bodies to use as avatars if it needs to, which only manages to make it even more creepy and disturbing.
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Moryo's grand plan is to destroy the entire world and all of its inhabitants in order to create a "One Thousand Year Kingdom". Admittedly, there isn't much mention in Naruto Shippuden: The Movie about what this kingdom is and what it entails, but if anything, it adds to the mystery of Moryo, and leaves it up to fans to wonder how terrifying this new world would really be under Moryo's rule.
2 Sakon and Ukon
Sakon And Ukon Don't Get Much Screentime, But Their Abilities And Unique Design Still Make Them Fascinating Antagonists
- First Appearance: Naruto Episode 68
Sakon and Ukon have one of the most fascinating character designs in the entire series. Though they occupy the same body, Sakon and Ukon are almost entirely different people, and while they both like causing chaos, they would prefer to do so in slightly different ways. For example, while Sakon loves nothing more than dragging out his fights so he can play with his prey for as long as possible, Ukon prefers to get the job done quickly so they can move on to the next target.
That's not all though, as Sakon and Ukon also reveal to Kiba in their fight that they are able to make use of a special Kekkei Genkei technique which allows them to separate their bodies at will, making them even more dangerous. By this point, fans had already seen a few examples of a Kekkei Genkei, such as with Neji and Hinata's Byakugan for example, but Sakon and Ukon proved they could be much more deceiving, and incredibly powerful when wielded by such a pair of malicious individuals.
1 Gold And Silver Brothers
Ginkaku And Kinkaku Deserved A Lot More Attention Considering Their Strange Relationship With The Nine Tails
- First Appearance: Naruto Shippuden Episode 267
Despite the Gold and Silver Brothers only appearing in the final arc of the story for a single battle before being put away, they really deserved at least a little more recognition since they do have strange connections with both Kurama and the Sage of Six Paths. Years before the Naruto story kicks off, the brothers, Ginkaku and Kinkaku, were attempting to capture the Nine Tails Fox, only to be consumed by him during the battle.
Miraculously, Ginkaku and Kinkaku managed to survive for a full two weeks by feasting on the beast's flesh, and by the time Kurama decided to puke them back out, they had both accumulated an immense amount of Chakra, causing them to go on a rampage across the ninja world. As mentioned though, these two only get a brief moment to shine in the final arc, despite how insanely powerful they are within the actual lore of Naruto itself.
Naruto
- Release Date
- October 2, 2002
- Creator
- Masashi Kishimoto
- Number of Episodes
- 220
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll , Hulu , Netflix , YouTube
