The Saddest and Most Heartbreaking Deaths in Naruto

Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. He was one of the crucial characters in Naruto’s childhood who gave him a chance to prove himself and pushed him to improve (in his own way).

His death was unexpected, as it happened pretty early in the series. To make things worse, he died trying to seal Orochimaru, his favorite student, to protect the entire village.

Even though it broke his heart (and arms, literally), he prioritized everyone's safety.

Sadly, he failed in the end as Orochimaru was able to flee, but his decision and death made a huge impact on the village.

Seeing someone dedicated and passionate die like that was definitely such a waste.

Lady Chiyo was a Sand Village elder. She was the grandmother of Sasori, who became a part of the Akatsuki.

Her objective was to end her grandson’s suffering as she believed she was the main reason behind it and the one who taught him the Jutsu he uses.

She had to end her grandson’s life for the greater good. Moreover, to further atone for her mistakes, Lady Chiyo sacrificed herself to save Gaara.

She might not have been a major character, but her death was impossible to ignore.

We can all agree that Neji started as an annoying character. His ideals and attitude truly made viewers irritated at him. But after his confrontation with Naruto, Neji matured and underwent great character development.

A lot of fans were rooting for him, as everyone wanted to see him succeed. He had a great plan for the Hyuga clan, which made him an essential character. Not to mention, his skills were also above average.

However, no one expected his death in Naruto Shippuden Episode 364. He chose to shield Hinata from the Juubi attack and earned fatal wounds that led to his death.

Until this day, some fans still believe that he did not deserve to die.

Fans think Neji could have been a great uncle to Boruto and might've even changed the latter’s perspective about his parents.

It was a shame that Neji missed out on seeing how the Hyuga clan evolved.

Another massive change in character development was seen in Konan, a member of the Akatsuki. Although she was not entirely a bad person, Konan was part of the Akatsuki and died while protecting her friend.

She was facing Tobi, who kept on looking for Nagato’s corpse. Konan did want her deceased friend to be used anymore, so she had to fight Tobi even though it cost her her life.

Her sacrifice deserves a spot on this list as Konan did not give up on protecting her friend.

Zabuza and Haku were memorable antagonists of the Naruto series, aside from the fact that Naruto thought Haku was a girl.

The two were so troublesome that they challenged Team 7's teamwork. In the end, the duo had to die.

But what made their deaths heart-wrenching was the fact that Zabuza started to appreciate Haku towards the end.

He learned from Team 7 that life is not just about violence. It was ill-fated that he accepted this when the two of them were already dying.

One of the best plot twists in Naruto is the fact that Obito did not die during the Third Shinobi World War. Madara saved him and became Tobi to hide his identity and avenge Rin’s death.

After she died, Obito believed that humankind did not deserve free will, and so, he became Madara's greatest pawn.

But when Obito found out the truth about Rin’s death and heard Naruto's "talk no jutsu" (where he convinces his enemies to change by conversing with them), he decided to atone for his sins by sacrificing himself.

It was the only way he believed he could redeem himself. He started by saving Kakashi’s life and taking the side of the Allied Shinobi Forces. What made his death memorable was his emotional farewell to Kakashi.

Obito also got to be with Rin again, which made him feel that everything was going to be alright.

Even though Minato and Kushina died before the series started, their deaths were considered painful by many fans. As Naruto's parents, the couple died protecting their child from the Nine-Tails.

Even though Kushina had just given birth, she faced the Nine-Tails with all her power to save Naruto.

When the Nine-Tails’ claw was about to hit Naruto, the couple shielded their son and ended up getting pierced through their stomachs.

Minato then used the opportunity to seal the Nine-Tails inside Naruto. They eventually died while saying their last words.

No one will forget this tragic scene as it is the core incident leading to Naruto’s hardships.

The two decided to let go of the life they could have had with their son to protect the village.

Another heartbreaking death was that of Asuma Sarutobi. He was known for his ninja skills and impressive ability to bring out the best in his students, even Naruto. His death pushed Shikamaru to grow and push himself to his limits.

Asuma and Shikamaru’s relationship was beyond mentor and student. Asuma consistently trained Shikamaru and taught him about protecting the “King”, which became a life lesson to the latter.

The shinobi could have influenced more characters if he did not die during his battle against Hidan, another Akatsuki member.

Hidan is not a force you can easily eliminate, as he is immortal. But Shikamaru eventually proved that immortality could be beaten.

Earlier, we talked about how Obito’s secret was considered a major plot twist. But the biggest plot twist in the overall Naruto series is from Itachi Uchiha.

From the beginning, Itachi was considered the villain after he decided to massacre the entire Uchiha clan, except for his brother.

He continuously did terrible deeds with the Akatsuki and caused Sasuke to want to get rid of him. But what we didn't know is that he did all those things to protect the village.

The heartless monster in Sasuke’s point of view is actually the one who sacrificed the most in the entire series.

When the two faced off, Sasuke was too convinced that he could avenge his family by killing his brother (though technically, Itachi’s death was caused by his ailment).

But what blew Sasuke’s mind was when he discovered the truth about his brother.

However, it was too late then. Itachi was going to die, and he wanted to die at the hands of his beloved little brother.

Truly one of the most shocking and painful deaths in Naruto is Jiraiya’s. Even though he was considered weird and perverted, we must admit that he did a great job mentoring Naruto.

He was one of the grown-ups who took care of Naruto, which was another reason his death greatly impacted Naruto’s life.

As one of the three Sanin, Jiraiya’s skills and abilities were top-notch. This might be why fans did not expect him to die because of Pain, who was once under Jiraiya’s care.

Both were powerful characters, which explains why the fight took longer than most.

He was able to eliminate three of the Paths but failed to realize that the remaining three were on a different level.

As Pain’s betrayal hurt Jiraiya, the exceptional shinobi finished his mission by leaving a message to Naruto to help the latter finish all Six Paths of Pain.

While viewers might be crying a lot at this point, Naruto’s reaction to Jiraiya’s death and last message was even more heart-wrenching.

We all know that Naruto grew up without his parents, and knowing that a father-like figure such as Jiraiya had to leave him as well, brought the pain to a different level.

This is why Jiraiya’s death is the saddest one in the entire Naruto series.