The Naruto universe has had many dynamic and engaging fights to keep the attention of its fans. They define the future of the story, whether proving conducive to Naruto's quest in becoming Hokage or setting him back significantly.

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Though there has seldom been an uninteresting fight, many of them should have had different outcomes when considering the circumstances. Whether through standing up against impossibly more powerful and skilled adversaries or simply succumbing to what should be mundane injuries, there are dozens of encounters that needed different outcomings when put under scrutiny.

10 Neji Was Defeated In A Single Uppercut By Naruto

Neji Vs Naruto in the Chunin Exams

Naruto's battle against Neji should have spelled the young hero's defeat for the grueling punishment he suffered from the trigram technique. Not only was his own chakra cut off, eventually he could not even access Kurama's.

Through a clever ruse, Uzumaki was able to submerge himself beneath the ground and deliver a brutal uppercut that'd send the Byakugan user flying. However, considering how much abuse the hero would have to take for this to be possible (and how little his adversary endured by comparison), it should not have swung the outcome of the fight.

9 Rock Lee Should Have Been Able To Defeat Team Dosu By Himself

dosu kinuta with his sound emitter in the death forest

Though Rock Lee was individually stronger than any of Team Dosu's members, they managed to overcome him when Zaku softened the impact of Lee's Leaf Hurricane against the dirt floor. Given that the taijustu master was already much faster than any of the villains, he didn't need to use this technique in order to defeat them.

If he removed his leg weights and pummeled Dosu with a flurry of attacks, Zaku never would have been able to reduce the force of the impact or target him with his pressurized sound waves. This would have taken the squad's leader out of commission and allowed Lee to focus on his underlings.

8 Kankuro & His Allies Shouldn't Have Been Able To Defeat Deidara & Sasori

edo tensei sasori deidara

Deidara and Sasori were sent out as the vanguard for Kabuto's army. Their Edo Tensei forms rendered them even more powerful than before, as their bodies could rejuvenate endlessly until sealed.

Despite having lost to Sasori not long before their second encounter, Kankuro was able to work alongside Sai in order to trap the villains within his puppets. Considering how their experience overshadows his own (especially on account of Sasori's intimate familiarity with dolls), this never should have been possible.

7 Danzo Had Dozens Of Opportunities To Defeat Sasuke

Saske takes revenge

Danzo's Izanagi arm allowed him to reset whatever damage Sasuke inflicted against him, forcing his opponent to cut him down ten times before dying permanently. Having served alongside Tobirama and as the leader of Konoha's Foundation, he performed much more poorly than his history might suggest.

This was partially for the fact that he thought Obito (who had taken the guise of Madara) was waiting to fight him immediately after Sasuke was finished off. Should he have expended all of his strength immediately, it's plausible that he could have swung the outcome of the fight.

6 Naruto Should've Been Able To Defeat Kabuto On Account Of His Healing & Abilities

Naruto VS Kabuto Reanimated

Naruto's battle with Kabuto ultimately resulted in the latter's success, as he was still able to move after the hero was knocked unconscious. This was in spite of the fact that Uzumaki connected a rasengan point-blank with his chest - an ability that had proven powerful enough to obliterate the backside of a water tower.

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Similarly, the Jinchuriki's Uzumaki healing and Tailed Beast should have allowed him to recover from Kabuto's muscle shredding chakra scalpels much earlier than he did. Instead, he was forced to rely on Tsunade's healing for his survival.

5 Sasori Realistically Should've Defeated Chiyo & Sakura

Sakura Haruno Punches Sasori, Naruto Shippuden

When Sakura and Chiyo joined forces to defeat Sasori, they were ultimately able to overcome him. The former served as a makeshift "puppet" for the latter to control, using her experience to hone Haruno's power and weaponize her physical strength.

However, Chiyo's reflexes should have diminished with her age, negatively impacting how she could manipulate Sakura's body. Moreover, the grandmother herself admitted that Sasori allowed himself to be stabbed by his parent puppets - an inexplicable behavior, given that the villain has shown no remorse for his actions or disdain for his own life up until that point.

4 Rock Lee Should Have Beat Gaara Through Skill & Experience

Lee clobbers gaara

Rock Lee's battle against Gaara should have ended in his favor because of his adversary's low experience. Before then, he had never even been scratched by an opponent and relied on his mother's automated sand in order to protect him.

Considering that the Jinchuriki had never been forced to make sand clones or harden his grainy armor until the encounter, it follows that the taijutsu expert should have dominated him well before he sought to experiment with such versatile and creative strategies.

3 Jirobo Should Have Overwhelmed Choji With Broke Force

5 choji fights jirobo

The fight between Choji and Jirobo should have ended soundly in the latter's favor regardless of the pills Akimichi took. He was strong enough to hoist the youth over his head even when he fully expanded to become as large as much of the forest itself.

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Additionally, Choji wasn't much faster when activating his butterfly state - his punches were simply more devastating. If Jirobo had even attempted to retreat until the spinach pill's effects expired, he would have been able to procure a victory.

2 Obito Shouldn't Have Toyed With Naruto & Kakashi In The Forest

Tobi in forest

When making his debut before Naruto, Kakashi, Kiba, and many other heroes, Obito toyed with them by using his Kamui. Rather than take the fight seriously, he apparated through the dozens of attacks thrown his way and mocked them for their futility.

His cockiness was not without consequence. By failing to take the heroes seriously, he provided them an opportunity to gauge the nature of his abilities and grow stronger during subsequent fights with other opponents. If he fought with all of his might since the beginning, he easily could have disposed of the scouting party and the greatest threats to his master's plan.

1 Might Guy Should Have Killed Madara

Might Guy Punches Madara

Might Guy's fight against Madara was easily the highlight of the Forth Shinobi War. After the Ten Tails Jinchuriki became immune to conventional ninjutsu and genjutsu attacks, the hero's Eight Gates ability was perhaps the only thing that could have defeated him.

Despite overwhelming Madara with enough force to destroy most of his head, he was miraculously able to survive. Realistically, the evildoer should have succumbed to his injuries well before Zetsu had the opportunity to betray him.

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