Top 10 Naruto characters who almost died

Masashi Kishimoto doesn’t go easy with the death scenes in the Naruto series. We got some of the saddest anime deaths from Naruto, but there were also times when some of the beloved characters almost died. These scenes were no different from the actual deaths in terms of the shock value. Let’s revisit these ‘almost deaths’ in the Naruto series. 

Top 10 Naruto Characters who almost Died

10. Konohamaru

At the time of Pain’s assault on Konoha, the kids of the village were supposed to evacuate but Konohamaru landed himself in a situation where he was up against one of the Pains. The difference between the ability sent chills down his spine. Konohamaru would’ve been easily killed in that fight.

He decides to hit the Pain in front of him with Rasengan, which was taught to him by Naruto. The final attack saved him in this near-death experience.

9. Kiba and Akamaru

The match between a genin and the jounin-level ninja trained by Orochimaru was an unfair match from the beginning. In the fight against Sakon and Ukon, Kiba and Akamaru fought for as long as they could. Akamaru shields Kiba from their opponent’s attack, getting severely injured.

Exhausting all his attacks and chakra, Kiba sits holding Akamaru waiting for Sakon and Ukon to catch up to them and eventually kill them. They get saved from this dire situation by Kanjuro. 

8. Hinata

Hinata loved Naruto; she was always looking at him and that’s why she was the first person to jump in for help when Naruto was pinned by Pain’s chakra rods. She stood between Naruto and Pain shielding him. As she tried to remove the Chakra rods, she was thrown and stabbed by Pain, getting seriously wounded.

The difference in abilities between the two was apparent and Hinata would no longer be around if the Nine-tails inside Naruto weren’t triggered.

7. Gaara

The Akatsuki hunted down Gaara and captured him. They extracted Shukaku from Gaara which killed Gaara.  It was an unfortunate death as Gaara only recently had detached from his past of isolation to become the kazekage of the same Village. Lady Chiyo revives him by channeling her life force into Gaara. She passed away after saving Gaara.

6. Obito

• Halfway through the Naruto series, it was presumed that Obito was dead but he wasn’t. He almost died but was saved by Madara. Everybody presumed that Obito died getting crushed under the rock.
• The incident left him scarred forever, quite literally. Madara used Obito to make the Akatsuki and capture all the tailed beasts to fulfill his dream. Obito appears as Tobi for half of the series.

5. Sakura

At one point in the manga, Sakura finally resolved to kill Sasuke who was posing a big threat to the village. But she decides to do it alone. It wasn’t just a matter of strength but she was rather inclined and biased towards Sasuke.

Instead of killing or beating him to death in his weakened state, she decided to use a Kunai against him. Sasuke was in his antagonist state of mind and attacked her back. She was saved by Kakashi in the same fight.

4. Kakashi 

Next up on this list is Copy Ninja Kakashi, he died when Pain pushed a nail inside his head with his almighty push. Kakashi got to spend a few moments with his dad during his death. He is brought back to life when Nagato decides to revive everyone who was killed during the Konoha Assault.

Kakashi’s death would have been one of the saddest and biggest losses of the Naruto series.

3. Lee

During the Lee vs Gaara fight in chunin exams, Lee opened up five of the eight inner gates. This caused severe damage to his body. It was an admirable feat, but he could’ve died against Gaara who wasn’t willing to stop. Gaara was fighting against Lee with murderous intent.

The intervention by Guy stops any further attacks by Gaara, saving Lee from his potential death. Although Lee ended up in the hospital with feeble hopes for his future as a shinobi. 

2. Naruto

During his training with his Godfather Jiraiya, Naruto was put in a do-or-die situation. Jiraiya unlocked Naruto’s seal and threw him into a valley. His only options were to utilize the Nine Tails’ chakra and summon a toad or die without being able to perform the summoning jutsu.

This situation pushed Naruto to his limits and he was able to summon the toad saving himself from death.

1. Might guy

Against Madara, Guy opened all eight inner gates of Lotus. The forbidden technique puts the user through severe body damage, bringing them to a near-death point.

• Guy deemed it necessary to use this attack in the fight against Madara and risked his life.
• He was one of the only people who could exchange blows with Madara, Madara also acknowledged this. He was able to survive it only because of Naruto’s chakra. 

Conclusion

Whether it’s a tease or it happens, deaths are no joke in anime. Sad and gruesome deaths seem to be a pattern for the shounen genre. What is way worse than actual deaths in anime is near-death experiences because they cost the same amount of energy for anime fans. Just like the character, the fans go through the highs and lows of the fight too.