As the Naruto universe continued to unfold, there came a massive number of characters for its audience to enjoy and take note of. Many of them have had imperative roles in the story regardless of their relatively minimal screen time.
Unfortunately, they have often been left behind as the plot continues to move forward, whether on account of a logical purpose (such as death) or a narrative one (like being replaced with a more compelling character that serves essentially their same role). Through identifying those that the series has left behind, we can better glean what its been missing.
10 Dan Was Left Behind Because He Was Artificially Resurrected
Dan Kato was the romantic partner of Tsunade resurrected during the Forth Shinobi War. As his reanimated body began to crumble, he raced toward his beloved for a final, tearful reunion.
There are several reasons why he is no longer used in the story. Not only is it against Konoha’s policy to keep undead shinobi around (especially outside of warfare), his presence would have reversed the character development Tsunade already underwent in moving on from his passing.
9 Mifune Wasn’t A Shinobi & Was Primarily Useful For The Five Kage Summit
Mifune was a samurai from the Land of Iron who facilitated the meeting between the Five Great Nations. Since he wasn’t a shinobi, he became the perfect impartial judge to mediate their discussion.
The samurai’s arc was concluded after his victory over Hanzo the Salamander. By convincing him to let go and turn his tremendous willpower into an asset, the Edo Tensei’s bindings came undone by themselves. Ever since this triumph, he has had no arc of his own to fulfill – and therefore, no story presence to complete it.
8 Kiba Had A Promising Start, But Was Left Behind
Kiba Inuzaka had a promising start at the beginning of the series, having proven a formidable match for Naruto and even surviving against a member of the Sound Four. Compared to many of Konoha 11’s other members (such as Tenten and Ino), he had many more direct battles under his belt.
However, he would be sidelined like many of his peers throughout the events of Shippuden since they followed the exploits of Naruto and Sasuke far more closely. Though he would help to destroy the Gedo Statue in the Forth War, he did nothing more than kill a few of its spawn.
7 Choza Was Overlooked As Choji Began To Fulfill His Potential
Initially, Choza Akimichi served as a template for everything his son could be. By using his super expansion form, he helped Konoha stave off the invasion of the Sand village and other similar threats.
Unlike Shikaku and Inoichi, he was not caught in the Gedo statue’s tailed beast bomb and survived to the end of the Forth Ninja War. However, he was still relegated to the sidelines since his son now fulfilled much of his role in defending the Leaf from danger.
6 Kurenai Was Forced Into Retirement By Her Pregnancy
Kurenai Yuhi was the sensei of Hinata’s team and the Leaf’s foremost expert on genjutsu. Despite her failure against Itachi, she was a reliable asset to the village who often staked her life for its safety.
However, she was no longer able to fulfill her duties as a kunoichi after becoming pregnant. Even once Kurenai gave birth, she delegated much of her time to her child rather than returning to her former vocation.
5 Baki Wasn’t Useful After Gaara Matured
Baki was initially to the Sand Siblings what Kakashi was to Team Seven. However, he was also treacherous and directly participated in Orochimaru’s attack on the Leaf.
Once Gaara had matured and become the Kazekage, he was no longer in need of his former mentor’s guidance. Considering that Baki was also relatively weak when compared to the other members of the Sand village (illustrated through his powerlessness to stop either of the Akatsuki who invaded at the beginning of Shippuden), he quickly became irrelevant to the story.
4 Fugaku Was Not Resurrected By The Edo Tensei
Fugaku Uchiha was the father of Sasuke and a member of Konoha’s police force. During the Uchiha genocide, he was slaughtered in front of his youngest son by the heartbroken Itachi Uchiha.
In addition to having little development before his death, Fugaku was not resurrected through the power of the Edo Tensei and did not participate in the Forth Shinobi War. This was likely for the fact that he wasn’t a noteworthy shinobi in life, and Kabuto may have understood the price of drawing the Uchiha brothers’ wrath.
3 Sasori Was Defeated Almost Immediately After Being Resurrected
Sasori was the first Akatsuki member to die both in his human and resurrected forms. This severely limited the presence he had in the story despite the fact that he was among the organization’s most powerful members. Nicknamed “of the Red Sand” for the blood he shed, his poisons were almost always deadly and had no antidote before Sakura created one.
Despite his brief life, his downfall served a robust narrative purpose. Seeing how deftly Kankuro maneuvered puppets gave him the closure he needed to pass on and better illustrated the villain’s priorities for art since the very beginning.
2 Konan’s Story Began & Ended Shortly After Nagato’s
Konan was a loyal follower of Nagato who reflected the trajectory he wished for the Akatsuki. After he redeemed himself and sacrificed his life for the village, she attempted to prevent Obito from defiling his body. This was both out of respect for her friend and to put a stave off the villain’s malevolent objectives.
Unfortunately for her, she was promptly killed after a brief duel since the Uchiha member had the foresight to use his Izanagi. Konan was among the few Akatsuki members (along with Kisame) not to have been resurrected to fight in the Forth War.
1 Jiraiya’s Story Ended After Confronting His Former Student
Despite the massive legacy that Jiraiya left for the series, his story officially ended after being killed by Nagato in the Rain village. Though he would have made for a fantastic servant in Kabuto’s Edo Tensei army, he was never forced to turn against his former student.
While his role officially ended during the Pain arc, his presence is continually felt throughout various points of Shippuden. Tsunade often ruminated about him, and Naruto thought of the sage nostalgically whenever looking back on his past.
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