Naruto: 9 Darkest Characters

Highlights

Gaara’s dark past and twisted outlook on the world made him a truly monstrous character, capable of extreme violence and murder.
Sasuke’s obsession with revenge led him down a dark path of self-destruction and a complete disregard for the lives of others.
Danzo, a merciless character, committed heinous acts and abused his power and reputation to further his own agenda, often causing terrible events and destroying lives.

While Naruto as a character might be a charismatic and quirky young man who always manages to brighten up a situation, the world of the ninja is still packed full of evil, terrifying, and fairly dark individuals. Sometimes, these sorts of characters possess this malicious personality because of their selfish greed, while others feel like they’re genuinely making the world a better place through their violent actions.

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Either way, these characters have all committed a lot of bad deeds throughout their life, due to their twisted outlook on the world and its inhabitants. Admittedly, Naruto was able to eventually convince the majority of them to step out from their bleak mindest, but others weren’t so lucky. It’s time to take a closer look at these characters to get a better understanding of why exactly they’re considered so dark among the fanbase.

1 Gaara

The Death Of His Mother Made Him Resentful Against The World

By the time fans get to see Gaara reach the status of Kazekage at the beginning of Shippuden, he’s a much calmer and more collected character thanks to the efforts of Naruto and his friends, but in the first series, he was truly a monster. The untimely death of Gaara’s mother made him resent the world around him, and since he was the Jinchuriki of the One Tailed Shukaku, it meant that he had more than enough power to fuel this underlying hatred.

During the Chunin Exams, for example, Gaara uses his Sand Coffin to not only break Rock Lee’s legs, almost killing him in the process, but he even uses it to murder a fellow ninja student during the Forest of Death trial. During his encounter with Sasuke much later in the series, Gaara weeps at the thought of who he once was, and how dark his visions of the world were when he was younger.

2 Sasuke

Let His Obsession With Revenge Alter His Mindset

Throughout nearly the entirety of the Naruto story, Sasuke is driven by one goal; to enact revenge on his brother after the slaughter of their family clan. As with any road of revenge, his journey granted him a very bleak mindset, often seeing those around him as nothing more than pawns who could help him fulfill his main objective.

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He’s also proven on numerous occasions that he isn’t afraid to take a person’s life if they stand in his way, such as during the Five Kage Summit where he went on a literal killing spree. Before he started to have more hope in the world during the Great Ninja War, Sasuke had become a very disillusioned individual whose obsession with revenge drove him down a very dark road of self-destruction and regret.

3 Danzo

On Behalf Of The Hidden Village, He Committed Several Horrible Acts

Danzo with multiple Sharingan in his arm

Danzo has always been an extremely suspicious character in the series, being portrayed as an unlawful rebel who would often be credited for carrying out Konoha’s dirty work. This has led him to commit some heinous acts though, as Danzo has constantly used his power and reputation to purposefully instigate several horrific incidents and events throughout the series.

For one, it was Danzo who even presented Itachi with the idea of killing all the Uchiha in the first place, before then lying after it was done by claiming that Itachi acted out of his own free will. He also stole Shisui’s eye from him, all because he had a slight suspicion that he may have been against his plans, resulting in the young ninja taking his own life not long after. Danzo is a merciless character who abuses his position to take what he wants, often by force.

4 Hidan

There’s Nothing He Loves More Than Torturing His Enemies To The Edge Of Their Lives

While every member of the Akatsuki has their reasons for being so malicious in their actions, Hidan stands out because rather than having a primary reason, he simply kills for the fun of it. Hidan is a worshiper of Jashin, a belief system that isn’t expanded upon too much in the series, but one that seems to be all about merciless killing if Hidan is anything to go by.

He shows absolutely no remorse for those he kills, and would always make sure that his victims were put in as much pain as possible before they passed. His vodoo-like ritual also allows him and his opponent to share the same physical damage, but while the other ninja would always squirm in pain, Hidan seemed to enjoy it. Hidan loves nothing more than racking up his kill count, and it makes him a terrifying and disturbing villain in the series.

5 Madara

His Twisted Idea Of Peace Involved Robbing Everyone Of Their Free Will

Madara is ultimately a character who had very good intentions for his fellow shinobi but was misguided in his ways. His Eye of the Moon plan involved him using an Infinite Tsukuyomi on the moon to trap the entire population in a permanent Genjutsu, and while it would technically stop any conflict or wars from breaking out, it’s also robbing the free will of everyone involved.

Madara also isn’t afraid to use his immense power to decimate anyone who stands in the way of this plan, as shown when he’s resurrected during the Great Ninja War. While he had hope of saving the world, he ruined the lives of many to even get one step closer to his final goal.

6 Orochimaru

His Methods Of Gaining Immortality Are Very Disturbing

There was once a time when Orochimaru was a well-respected member of the Hidden Leaf Village, but this all changed after he was caught red-handed conducting unlawful experiments on members of the village that he had kidnapped. What makes it even worse is these people he had taken were children, showing just how sick and twisted he became after losing faith in Konoha completely.

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He wouldn’t stop there though, as Orochimaru would also manipulate other clans outside of the village to further his experiments, such as the Iburi Clan who could turn into smoke. The clan members were frightened by the dangers of the transformation, and so Orochimaru lied to them by stating that the Cursed Seals were the remedy he could make for them to fix the issue, so long as they promised to give him more test subjects.

7 Nagato / Pain

Believed That Showing People True Pain Would Result In A Safer World

Nagato, also known by his alias “Pain”, believed that peace was never truly sought after by the ninja that occupied the world. Instead, he felt that humans would never willingly put an end to the cycle of death and destruction unless they had a true grasp of what feelings of loss and agony could do to a person. He therefore set out to inflict this pain himself, becoming a leading member of the Akatsuki, purposefully starting a civil war, and unleashing absolute terror on the Hidden Leaf Village.

Pain kills a plethora of beloved characters throughout the series, including Jiraiya, Kakashi, and almost Hinata, to the point where he seems genuinely unstoppable by the time the invasion of Konoha is underway. Despite Nagato claiming to want a world of peace, he is willing to perform an immense amount of needless death and suffering in the process, making him a very disturbed villain.

8 Obito

Killed Thousands Of Shinobi By Commencing The Fourth Great Ninja War

Obito experienced a lot of despair in his life. It was clear that his views on the world started to blur after he was trapped under a boulder when a cave collapsed in on his team, but where he really lost all hope was after witnessing Rin, his first and final true love, being pierced through the heart from a Chidori by Obito’s old ally, Kakashi. After hearing of Madara’s Eye of the Moon Plan, Obito began to subtly influence the Ninja world from the shadows, resulting in a tremendous amount of death and suffering to get one step closer to the ultimate goal.

Not only do fans get to see him mercilessly killing people, such as the guards protecting Kushina, and even Kushina herself to some extent, but he is also responsible for kicking off the Fourth Great Ninja War, leading to hundreds of thousands more casualties. Kishimoto did a lot to try and redeem Obito by the end, but it’s hard to ignore the sheer amount of chaos and destruction caused by him throughout much of the series.

9 Black Zetsu

Purposefully Orchestrated A Lot Of The Story’s Most Horrific Events

Black Zetsu seems like little more than a lackey of the Akatsuki when he first appears, but by the end of the series, he’s revealed to be a truly despicable character who was secretly orchestrating a lot of the story’s major events. Rather than being a manifestation of Madara’s will, Black Zetsu is actually created from Kaguya, who had been defeated by the Sage of the Six Paths.

In an attempt to bring Kaguya back, Black Zestu manipulated Madara into believing in the Eye of the Moon Plan, and as a result, was playing puppet master to both Madara and Obito. If the plan had gone off without a hitch, then the entire world would have been turned into a mindless Zetsu army, something he managed to nearly pull off after all of his devious schemes. Black Zetsu is a manipulative and unforgivable villain who is directly related to the majority of the worst events that have happened throughout the story.