Summary
Though theNarutoanime series is extremely beloved and generally considered a great story among most anime fans, one common criticism that often gets thrown at the show is how a lot of the side characters felt underutilized. As the story became more and more focused on a small pool of key characters, primarily those with the most powerful abilities, it meant some of the minor characters didn’t feel all that relevant, though some of these individuals still got a moment to shine and change the course of the story in a big way.
Now and again, a character who was seemingly pretty unimportant, or who at least played only a small role in the story, would end up saving the day or stopping a dangerous enemy out of nowhere. Despite theseNarutocharacters only getting a brief amount of screentime compared to the likes of Naruto and Sasuke, it’s hard to argue that the story at large wouldn’t have gone a lot differently if these characters didn’t get involved when they did. Without further ado, it’s time to rank these individuals in terms of the level of impact they ended up having on the overall narrative.
8Jugo
Sasuke’s Knight In Shining Armor Saved The Uchiha In A Critical Moment
Jugo is often seen as somewhat of an underrated character by a lot of fans, and it’s because, despite being a member of Sasuke’s Taka team, he doesn’t receive as much of a focus as he probably deserves, considering his fascinating origins. As a result, Jugo initially seems like the powerhouse of the group and nothing more, but when Sasuke’s organs are crushed by Killer Bee duringtheir epic battle, Jugo is the one who saves him from being killed.
With Suigetsu busy holding off Bee’s attacks and Karin lacking the Chakra to heal Sasuke’s body, Jugo fused his own skin with Sasuke to restore his body, causing Jugo to revert to being a child in exchange. Though it’s a small moment, it seems highly likely Sasuke would have died here, considering he was down for the count and Bee still had plenty of fight left in him.
7Chiyo
An Old Lady Who Sacrifices Her Life To Save Gaara, The New Kazekage
When Chiyo shows up near the beginning ofShippudento help Naruto and the other ninja save Gaara from the clutches ofthe Akatsuki, it seemed as though she would only be tagging along as an advisor. Though she did have some backstory with Sasori which fleshed out her character, Chiyo initially felt like just another new side character, but then, she ended up sacrificing her own life to bring Gaara back to life after he was killed.
In a way, this was Chiyo’s attempt at making up for sealing the Shukaku inside of Gaara all those years ago, which had been tormenting him ever since he was a child. Needless to say, the story would have been a lot different had Chiyo not decided to make the ultimate sacrifice when she did to restore the Kazekage.
6Ino Yamanaka
Ino Became An Invaluable Asset During The Final War
While many of the side characters in theNarutoseries suffer the unfortunate shared fate of being brushed to the side for large portions of the story, Ino was one of the main victims of this. With the story giving her such little screentime, it made it easy to forget about Ino entirely, especially since her team leader, Shikamaru, receives much more of a focus than she does.
That being said, Ino becomes a crucially important ally for the ninja in the final war, where she is able to use hertelepathic Jutsu techniquesto full effect. Not only was Ino crucial in sealing away the absurdly powerful Kinkaku near the beginning of the conflict, but she would also save Choji’s life multiple times from Asuma. She even managed to take control of Obito for just enough time to prevent Naruto and his friends from being blasted by a Tailed Beast Bomb. She may not have had much of an impact on the previous story arcs, but Ino proved to be a crucially important character in the final saga of the story.
5Fukasaku
Jiraiya’s Loyal Companion Who Played A Crucial Role In The Resistance Against Pain
Though Jiraiya may have met his end at the hands of Pain, he made sure that he didn’t die for nothing by burning a secret code into the back of his loyal toad, Fukasaku. Fukasaku’s code allows Tsunade to realize that there is someone else behind the scenes and that the “real” Pain isn’t among the bodies who killed the mighty Sage. This is why Fukasaku is then permitted to bring Naruto to Mount Myoboku so he can train him to become a Sage.
It goes without saying, but Naruto wouldn’t have stood a chance against the Six Paths of Pain if he hadn’t possessed the speed and ability of a Sage, and Fukasaku is to thank for this. Though he’s only a side character who can be easy to forget about, Fukasaku still had a pretty massive impact on the story as a whole, specifically during thePain arcofShippuden.
4Izuna Uchiha
Izuna’s Death Led Madara Down A Path Of Spite And Resentment
When most people think of Uchiha characters, their minds will most likely go to Madara, Sasuke, or Itachi, with Izuna being somewhat of an afterthought. This does make sense, considering he’s only shown here and there in flashbacks, but Izuna’s hatred for the Senju clan and his death by Tobirama’s blade marks a massive turning point in the history of the series.
Losing his younger brother would cause Madara to develop a burning disdain for the Senju clan while also embracing the Uchiha “curse” of being a clan obsessed with hatred. Izuna would also be the one to gift Madara with his Mangekyo Sharingan, which would contribute to him becoming such an immensely powerful ninja.
3Kabuto Yakushi
Despite Being Little More Than Orochimaru’s Lackey At First, Kabuto Becomes A Significant Threat Later Down The Road
Despite him showing up very early on in the series during the Chunin Exams,Kabutonever really feels like a main villain of the show, primarily because he was always overshadowed by his master, Orochimaru. After Naruto takes Kabuto down with a Rasengan, he starts to fade more into the background, at least until Orochimaru’s life force runs out.
Once Kabuto absorbed Orochimaru’s power, he grew powerful enough to use the Edo Tensei technique to resurrect anyone that he wanted, including the previous Kage. Considering the bulk of enemies the ninja had to go up against in the final war were zombies, including plenty of familiar faces, Kabuto would play a pretty pivotal role in the story.
2Rin Nohara
Little Did She Know It At The Time, But Rin’s Death Would Be The First Spark Of A Fourth Great Ninja War
Even after Obito, a childhood friend of Kakashi and Rin, had half of his body crushed by a boulder during a mission, he still at least held onto some shred of humanity, at least, until he witnessed Rin being struck through the chest by a Chidori from Kakashi. Though Rin’s death was something she asked for due to her not wanting to unleash theThree Tails, which was sealed into her, it was a loss of life that had a devastating impact on Obito and his worldview.
In an attempt to create his own utopia where the cycle of pain and suffering would end, Obito kicked off an entire war, and though Rin isn’t the entire reason why, her untimely demise does end up having a huge effect on the direction of the story. If Rin hadn’t been in the series at all, who knows how Obito would have ended up, and if he would become as corrupted as he eventually does in the main story.
1Black Zetsu
It Turns Out This Minor Antagonist Was Pulling Many Of The Strings From Behind The Scenes
For much of the series, Black Zetsu acts as a kind of helpful assistant to the Uchiha clan, and not too threatening of a villain. However, this is why the sudden reveal that he is actually the will of an ancient being known as Kaguya, and had been moving the chess pieces in order to bring about her resurrection at the very end of the story, was such a jaw-dropping revelation.
As someone who was fueling the fires of theSenju and Uchiha rivalry, alongside nudging Madara to execute his Eye on the Moon plan by editing the Uchiha’s Sacred Stone Tablet, Black Zetsu turns out to be one of the most important characters in the plot. This is all despite him being presented as a minor character for most of the story arcs, especially since the majority of them put a much bigger focus on the more prevalent members of the Akatsuki.
