Narutohas few characters as widely recognized asSasuke Uchiha. From the very beginning of the originalNarutoseries, Sasuke stands as Naruto’s rival—in more ways than one, both as a shinobi of immense potential and as a hopeful love interest of Sakura Haruno. To that end, his romance with Sakura has become an iconic relationship withinNaruto’s lore.
Pushing things even further, the entire plot ofNaruto Shippudenrevolves around Naruto’s efforts to return Sasuke to Konoha after making a promise to Sakura. Sasuke’s dark backstory involving the Uchiha clan and its destruction by his brother Itachi becomes a focal point of the series. Around this ever-dynamic center,Sasuke is shown to be one ofNaruto’s most compelling and fun-to-watch characters.
10Sasuke Creates Team Hebi
In Search Of His Brother, Sasuke Gathers A Gang Of Rogue Ninja
After turning his back on Orochimaru inNaruto Shippuden, Sasuke becomes single-mindedly obsessed with tracking down his brother, Itachi. to do so, Sasuke pulls together several missingnin: Karin Uzumaki, Suigetsu Houzuki, and Jugo.Their initial intentions are to find Itachi so that Sasuke can exact his revenge on his brother.
The way Sasuke pulls the team together is thrilling to watch, and seeing how they execute their plans (and eventually become allies with Akatsuki after Itachi’s death) is a shining example of Sasuke’s vengeful motivation.
9Sasuke And Naruto’s Rematch (And Its Fallout)
The Long-Awaited Second Face-Off BetweenNaruto’s Two Staples Has Major Consequences
Afterthe Fourth Great Ninja Warcomes to an end,Sasuke hopes for a revolution to rise out of the rubbleto overthrow what he sees as the unjust Kage System. This prompts a highly anticipated rematch between he and Naruto as Naruto tries to win Sasuke over to his own ideals. The battle itself is impeccable, and seeing Sasuke’s epiphanies as he comes to realize the selflessness of Naruto’s (and others') pursuit of him is just as rewarding.
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Naruto has too many memorable villains to count, but Madara rises above the rest to become one of the greatest villains in anime history.
After the battle, Sasuke decides to wander alone as he sets things straight with himself. This is one of Sasuke’s most important character developments. What’s more, seeing Sasuke’s personality shift crucially sets the stage forBorutowhile tying upNaruto’s thematic loose-ends.
8Sasuke Appears In The Fourth Great Ninja War
Sasuke Makes An Unexpected Appearance—And Forges Unexpected Alliances
When Sasuke makes his appearance during the Fourth Great Ninja War, it’s hard to know what to expect. His motivations are perfectly clear at this point, andthere’s no doubt he wants to undermine the shinobi world as it stands.
While it isn’t necessarily surprising that he would be willing to join hands with Naruto, the Allied Shinobi Forces, and the resurrected Hokage to bring down Madara, it still is a great moment that foreshadows deeper development of Naruto and Sasuke to come—plus sets the stage for legendary cooperation between the two pillars ofNaruto.
7Sasuke Reveals Chidori During The Chunin Exams
The Chunin Exams See Sasuke Receive A Major Power-Up
In the final fight of the Chunin Exams, Sasuke is pitted against Gaara. The intense battle starts out with Sasuke and Gaara at one another’s throat, Sasuke attempting to beat out Gaara with speed and agility.
Chidori would be the factor solidifying the outcome in favor of Sasuke, and it would become one of his signature jutsu.
When Gaara puts his shield up and starts to transform, Sasuke decides to break through the barrier byrevealing the raw power of the secret technique Chidori, which Kakashi had passed onto him. Chidori would be the factor solidifying the outcome in favor of Sasuke, and it would become one of his signature jutsu.
6Sasuke Tests His Skills Against Killer B
Sasuke Goes Face To Face Against One Of The Strongest Jinchuriki
As part of their alliance with Akatsuki,Taka is tasked with defeating Killer B and extracting his jinchuriki. What results is one ofNaruto’s flashiest battles and highest-stakes confrontations. Sasuke pulls out his full roster of tricks; when, in the end, Taka ultimately fails to subdue Killer B, it’s not for lack of sincere effort on Sasuke’s part. This is when the viewer really starts to see how Sasuke had been growing as a shinobi off-camera.
5Sasuke Infiltrates The Five Kage Summit
Sasuke Takes No Prisoners After Obito Uchiha Reveals The Truth Of The Uchiha Clan’s Destruction
Following his failed efforts to retrieve the Eight-Tailed Beast from Killer B,Sasuke plans to infiltrate the Five Kage Summit. The unfortunate (for Taka) failure to complete the Eight-Tailed Beast extraction would lay the foundation for this being Taka’s final mission.
After Sasuke’s infiltration is given away by Akatsuki’s Zetsu,a sequence of betrayals and confrontations play outthat show Sasuke’s sheer devotion to revising the order ofNaruto’s world.
4Sasuke And Naruto Duke It Out For The First Time
The Beautiful “Sasuke Recovery Mission” Arc Ends With A Climactic Battle
After Sasuke first leaves Konoha to join hands with Orochimaru, epic battles against the Sound Four play out as a group assembled from several of Konoha’s young shinobi teamstry to bring Sasuke back to the Hidden Leaf. With the Sound Four incapacitated,Naruto continues his pursuit of Sasuke, finally pinning him down at the Valley of the End.
Here, the two have their first major battle atop the heads of Madara and Hashirama, venting Sasuke’s growing resentment of Naruto’s developing strength and solidifying his decision to leave in search of his brother, Itachi.
3Sasuke Shows His Strength Against Deidara
The Fan-Favorite Akatsuki Member Faces The Last Of The Uchiha Clan
Deidara is beloved for his flamboyant and goofy disposition as well as his unshakable belief that explosions are fine art. In his ultimate goal of pursuing Itachi, Sasuke comes up against the aloof artist,willing to sacrifice anything necessary to pave a path to his brother. Deidara, meanwhile, saw the battle as an opportunity to prove his worth as an artist and fighter.
Flashes abound as Sasuke deploys his lightning-based abilities to defuse Deidara’s clay bombs. The tension rises continually, and the stakes grow higher as the dire stakes of the battle for both become clear.It ends with one ofNaruto’s most spectacular moments of all, as Deidara ignites an explosion of unbelievable scale. Sasuke survives only through an elaborate plan which sacrificed the snake summon, Manda, to escape the shockwave.
2Sasuke vs. Itachi And Its Aftermath
Sasuke Finally Finds His Brother, And Gets More Than He Bargained For
Ever since the moment when Itachi first confronted Sasuke in the original series, fans had been anticipating the moment of their eventual confrontation. In one ofNaruto’s most beautiful and heartwrenching sequences,Sasuke eventually zeroes in on Itachi and the two have an epic battle. The battle ends with a tearful, bittersweet death as Itachi asks Sasuke for forgiveness and tells him that he will love him always.
After this, Sasuke’s fate as a villain is utterly cemented, as Sasuke goes on a rampage seeking the overthrow of Konoha, the Kage System, and the world of Naruto’s established order.
Immediately after this showdown, Sasuke is kidnapped by Obito. Obito reveals the truth behind Itachi’s actions and the destruction of the Uchiha clan—distorted to manipulate Sasuke to his own side, of course. After this,Sasuke’s fate as a villain is utterly cemented, as Sasuke goes on a rampage seeking the overthrow of Konoha, the Kage System, and the world ofNaruto’s established order.
1Sasuke Faces Off With Danzo
After The Five Kage Summit Infiltration, Sasuke Faces Danzo In One OfNaruto’s Greatest Battles
After the Five Kage Summit arc,Sasuke seeks a final confrontation with Danzo. Sasuke had learned from Obito that Konoha was the power which had instructed Itachi to destroy the Uchiha clan. A fight breaks out between he and Danzo after Sasuke tries to question him about it, incensed that Itachi found Sasuke so important and that Sasuke had learned the secret behind the Uchiha Police Force.
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The fight is not just one of Sasuke’s best, but one of the best inNarutohistory. It’swhere Sasuke fully reveals the power of his Susano’o—awakened in its entirety because of his despair over his brother’s fate and the duplicity of the Hidden Leaf. The combat choreography is ingenious, especially Sasuke’s genjutsu where he materializes Itachi for Danzo in an attempt at a surprise fatality. The fight would be the final straw before the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War, symbolizing the fundamental unreality ofNaruto’s geopolitical ideals for opponents like Sasuke.
Naruto
Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists' children and returning faces.
