In a world of cunning and deceit, the ability to follow a plan is crucial. This is an ubiquitous theme of the Naruto universe, as some of the series' most powerful characters are also its most skilled tacticians and leaders.
However, there are a handful of individuals who have failed to follow the plan at least once. Some are even chronically unreliable to such an extent that there's no point in making a plan that they're involved with at all. By identifying who they are, we gain a better understanding of the series' most reckless characters.
10 Indra Was Livid When Hagoromo's Plan Didn't Include Him Favorably
Indra was the brother of Asura and the son of Hagoromo. After being assigned with helping a local village, both young men were critiqued for their work. Ultimately, Asura's performance was found superior, and he was appointed to gain his father's boon despite the fact that he was younger.
This enraged Indra, causing him to defy the plan laid out by Hagoromo since it didn't favor him. After gathering his disciples, he raged against Asura and forced his sibling to defeat him. Though he was successfully subdued, Indra would reincarnate as Madara and Sasuke, with his descendants forming the Uchiha clan.
9 The Fourth Raikage Almost Wasted The Chance To Use Naruto For The Allied Shinobi Forces
The Fourth Raikage was notorious for his sour disposition and recklessness. During the Fourth Shinobi War, he almost stopped Naruto from entering the front lines since he was too valuable to lose and even forced him to fight in order to prove himself.
He showed equally poor judgment and planning during Sasuke's attack of the Five Kage Summit, where he was willing to sacrifice a leg, along with the arm he already lost, to kill the rogue Uchiha.
8 Obito Flaked Out On Dozens Of Plans
Obito was unreliable in almost every plan he was involved with. His philosophy of putting comrades before the mission made him flaky when handling important tasks, and he betrayed Konoha to Madara shortly after his body was crushed.
Not only did he go against the Akatsuki's plan and mission by usurping it, he also betrayed Madara's goal for the Infinite Tsukuyomi after fighting Kakashi and speaking with Naruto. Unfortunately, Sakura wasn't able to destroy his Rinnegan before Madara arrived and forcefully reclaimed it for his exclusive use.
7 Killer Bee Disappeared For A Prolonged Period Of Time Without Telling Anyone
As the Eight-Tails jinchuriki and a valued asset to the Cloud Village, Killer Bee had an important responsibility to keep himself safe. After Sasuke and his minions attacked, he fled in a fragment of a tentacle and took a prolonged vacation from his home.
Since he didn't tell the Raikage, or anyone else, Sasuke's actions almost caused an international incident and exacerbated the tensions between both villages. After being saved from Kisame, Killer Bee was harshly admonished for his aloofness and inability to follow the simple plan laid out for him.
6 Nagato Abandoned His Organization's Stated Goal Twice
The first stated mission of the Akatsuki was to help those in need whenever possible. After the tragic death of Yahiko at the hands of Danzo and Hanzo, its motives were adjusted toward causing as much harm to the Five Nations as possible so that they could relate to the pain of less prominent villages.
Nagato would abandon his goal again after being defeated by Naruto. The future Hokage reminded him of Jiraiya's teachings and convinced him to undo the harm he had already caused, thereby erasing years of hard work from the Akatsuki's other members.
5 Danzo Refused Shisui's Plan Because He Was Paranoid And Power-Hungry
Shisui's plan was to cast a genjutsu on his own people in order to placate them and end their nascent revolution bloodlessly. While it received the approval of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo was much more cynical.
Realizing that he couldn't sway the Third Hokage's judgment with words, he instead used the Foundation to ambush Shisui and steal one of his Sharingan. Realizing that it wasn't long before his death, the young shinobi gifted his spare eye to Itachi before he could be hunted down and murdered.
4 Sakura Wasn't Able To Control Her Feelings For Sasuke
Sakura's inability to control her feelings for Sasuke have resulted in disaster whenever she interacted with him. Instead of trying to convince him not to leave the village after being ambushed by the Sound Four, she pleaded to go with him, thereby validating his preconceptions that she was weak and clingy.
The medical kunoichi made a similar plea during their second encounter after Danzo's death. However, this failed endeavor was significantly more treacherous, as it nearly resulted in Sasuke killing her outright.
3 Madara Didn't Follow The Plan For Peace Between The Senju And Uchiha Clans
After his brother's death and his own defeat, Madara agreed to make peace with Hashirama, thereby securing a prosperous future between their clans. Together, they established the Leaf Village and procured a fleeting era of peace.
However, Madara slowly grew insecure about his clan's lot in life, especially due to the machinations of Black Zetsu. Although the Uchiha were happy with their conditions at the time, he still betrayed the truce by attacking Hashirama with the enslaved Nine-Tailed Fox. He was promptly defeated and spent his remaining days underground.
2 Naruto's Reckless Nature Makes It Difficult To Strategize Around Him
Despite his prominent role in shaping the Leaf's future, Naruto is much better at organizing his own plans than following anyone else's. He was the only member of the Konoha 11 aside from Sakura to disagree with hunting down Sasuke and almost caused an international incident with the Raikage due to his misplaced loyalty.
Additionally, he saved Toneri's life despite the alien's role in kidnapping Hinata and attempt to destroy the entire planet with meteors. While Naruto's efforts at rehabilitating his foes always work, it's usually due to plot convenience and wouldn't be nearly as effective under realistic circumstances.
1 Sasuke Uchiha Ruins Virtually Every Plan He's A Part Of
Sasuke Uchiha is handily the most unreliable character in the Naruto universe. In his quest for power, he betrayed Konoha and was even willing to beat his own best friend to a pulp to secure his escape.
He was equally treacherous to the villains, having been responsible for murdering Orochimaru, resurrecting the Kage to fight against Obito, and even putting a Chidori through Karin's chest since it was moderately more convenient. There have been few plans that Sasuke has actually fulfilled without an ulterior motive.