Top 10 Best Naruto Villains

This Konoha village elder may not have the screen time or presence of some of the entries to come, but his actions speak for themselves. Danzo is the village’s resident shady government figure, running a black ops unit and performing many morally questionable acts in the name of security - as well as to acquire his own personal power. The most heinous of these is perhaps his ordering the massacre of the Uchiha clan, which set into motion Sasuke’s quest for vengeance; a decision that would eventually catch up to Danzo.

The ultimate villain of the “Naruto” series, Kaguya is an ancient and powerful woman, whose actions essentially introduced chakra, the mystical energy used by ninjas, to humanity. Her return at the climax of the long running war arc spells near certain doom for Naruto and company, as her powers include most of the strongest abilities revealed to that point, and some god-like ones unique to her. Despite being the most powerful antagonist of the series, Kaguya’s convoluted backstory and eleventh hour introduction do drag her down a bit in our opinion; hence why she only made it this far on our list.

Gaara is the first of several villains on our list who acts as a parallel to Naruto, since he is also a host for a demonic beast. Unlike the titular hero though, Gaara’s has driven him nearly insane and causes him to swing wildly between stoic calm and murderous bloodlust. Able to manipulate sand at will, this Sand village ninja is responsible for several deaths and disfigurements during the Chunin exams and one of the best fights in the series against Rock Lee. Although Naruto eventually convinces him to appreciate the lives of others, Gaara’s stay as an antagonist is essentially a barely controlled rampage of selfish, sadistic pleasure that made him a fantastic villain.

This duo were the series’ first antagonists and they definitely left an impression. A pair of mercenary ninjas Naruto and his friends encounter on their first real mission, Zabuza is the older, more experienced leader, whose ruthless brutality and cleverness proved a challenge for even the team’s teacher Kakashi, while Haku is his beautiful , young, male protégé, whose icy abilities put Naruto and Sasuke to the test. Haku and Zabuza’s surprisingly touching deaths hit home the unforgiving nature of the ninja world to Naruto and the audience.

Behind those glasses lurks the brilliant mind of a killer. As a master spy and assassin, Kabuto might be one of the best examples in the series of a ninja and his quest to find a purpose and meaning in his life is very relatable, despite his villainous actions. Primarily loyal to Orochimaru, this duplicitous ninja acts as his right hand man before eventually taking up his legacy upon his master’s defeat. With his prominent role in the story, particularly the final war arc, and his unpredictable nature, Kabuto secured a solid place on our list.

Sasuke’s elder brother and a member of criminal organization, Akatsuki, Itachi acts as his younger sibling’s target throughout most of the story; a challenge Itachi himself set him on after murdering their entire clan as ordered by the Hidden Leaf Council. Seemingly emotionless and apparently driven only by the desire to become stronger, the elder Uchiha is not above torturing his own brother and is a terrifying opponent for him and Konoha. Although his true motives are not exactly evil, Itachi was a truly powerful foe earlier in the series.

Kakashi’s childhood teammate once believed dead, Obito Uchiha is a prime mover for many of the series’ biggest events, having assisted Itachi in the Uchiha clan massacre and caused the death of both of Naruto’s parents; resulting in the nine-tailed demon fox being sealed inside him. Under the guise of Madara Uchiha, he also secretly controlled Akatsuki and instigated a massive war. His masked guise, silly false persona, powerful abilities, and many machinations make him an incredibly memorable villain and, given his strong parallels to Naruto, a complex one at that.

One of the founders, and nominal leader, of Akatsuki, as well as the former student (and killer) of Naruto’s teacher and father figure Jiraiya, Pain is, despite his chosen moniker, doing what he believes is best for the world. Unfortunately, that means making everyone experience so much pain, they’ll never want war again. Able to control and see through six different bodies at once, Nagato’s six paths of Pain wreak deadly havoc on Naruto’s village, killing major characters, such as Kakashi, destroying Konoha, and even causing the eternal optimist Naruto to lose hope and despair.

When a lot of people think of “Naruto” bad guys, one of the first that comes to mind is this mad scientist, with a love of serpents. The series’ first big bad, Orochimaru remains in the role for a good portion of its run, being responsible for many key events, such as the death of the Leaf village leader, and his former master, the Third Hokage, as well as corrupting the mind of Sasuke. Essentially immortal, obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge at any cost, Orochimaru one sinister villain.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Deidara

Hidan

Zetsu

Foreshadowed for most of “Naruto Shippuden,” the Uchiha clan’s founder acts as one of the primary antagonists of the entire series; having orchestrated numerous events for a century behind the scenes, including manipulating Obito, all with the goal of enforcing peace through an illusion. The Uchiha patriarch is as powerful as he is cunning: with near God-like abilities, Madara manages to defeat several of the most powerful characters in the series in some spectacular beat downs. For his impact on the story, extreme strength, and ideological contrast to Naruto, we had to give this titanic figure the top spot.