Naruto has many characters that range from famous ninja to dangerous traitor and anything in between. Whether these characters are heroic ninjas or prideful villains, many of these characters, like Hinata and Neji from the Hyuga clan, have backgrounds that give many of them their reputations.
These Naruto characters are known for their good or bad deeds. Sometimes, their reputations are accurate. Other times, their reputations are unwarranted and the characters are notorious.
10 Naruto Was Considered A Soon-To-Be Enemy
In the beginning of Naruto, Naruto struggled with the villagers' perspective of him. His drive to gain the title of Hokage was based on the fact that Naruto was believed to be a possible enemy. However, the villagers' perspective of Naruto was undeserved. Naruto actually rescued the village when he held Kurama in check.
9 Itachi Seemed Like A Traitor To The Villagers
When most of the Uchiha Clan was ended by Itachi, the village saw Itachi as the villain. In fact, they believed that he betrayed the village and his people when he killed them. Sasuke believed this story about Itachi and this belief caused him to attack the villagers that Itachi had attempted to protect.
Most of the villagers didn't know that Itachi was protecting the village from the Uchiha Clan. The clan was planning to hurt the village, so, when Itachi attacked them, he actually saved the villagers.
8 Shikamaru Was Actually Smart Instead Of Just Idle
When Shikamaru was in class with Naruto, most knew him as an undriven student and later on a ninja. In fact, Shikamaru's sensei realized that he had a hidden talent — Shikamaru lacked drive, but he had the strategy and mental capacity to be a powerful ninja.
Shikamaru's abilities were shown in his first Chunin Exam where he was able to win and gave up. As a result, the opinions about Shikamaru did not consider his strongest talents. His talents, especially his strategy, helped him become the future right-hand man for the Seventh Hokage, Naruto.
7 Gaara Was Hated Because Of His Father's Choice
Like Naruto, Gaara also had a problem with his village. Even though Gaara's father put Gaara and the one-tailed beast together, he soon abandoned his son. As a result, everyone distrusted Gaara. Gaara was a child when he began to be treated like a threat, so he was innocent when the villagers began to hate him. If they had done the opposite of abandoning Gaara, Gaara may have become a stronger asset for the village. After all, he became the leader and changed his relationship with his village, especially with his brother, Kankuro.
6 Sakura Was Mistreated By Sasuke
When Sakura joined Team 7, all she cared about was Sasuke — even if it meant ignoring Naruto, who actually cared for her. Sasuke did not care about Sakure; he lashed out at her as he became more and more obsessed with Itachi and the murder of his clan.
When Sakura tried to help Sasuke, he instead tried to murder her. In the end, Sasuke did return Sakura's love, but it took numerous battles and a lot of growth on Sasuke's part. All the while, Sakura still cared for him.
5 Idate Was Actually Manipulated
After Idate failed to become a Chunin, he was targeted by a traitor in the village. This ninja came to him with a second chance. To gain the title of Chunin, the ninja said that Idate had to snag some artifacts in the village. Idate was actually tricked by the ninja and he turned into an enemy of his home. Like Idate, Naruto was also betrayed with a similar trick. With Iruka Umino's help, Naruto returned to the village without major punishment. After all, both Naruto and Idate were children and tricked by an enemy.
4 Sasuke Didn't Actually Damage The Village & Saved Them
As Naruto fought alongside the Jinchuriki against an enemy, Sasuke entered the battle and aided Hidden Leaf Village. With Sasuke's abilities, Naruto was able to defeat the enemy. However, Sasuke did end up trying to use the tailed beasts in order to attack the village, but Naruto kept him from doing it. As a result of his heroics and betrayals, Sasuke was able to leave the village. Sasuke still stayed away from the village for years even though he saved it and was aiding the Seventh Hokage.
3 Neji's Uncle Was Actually Tricked By His Brother
While fighting Naruto in the Chunin exams, Neji revealed that he despised his clan — specifically, the head. Neji said that his uncle used his brother to avoid getting punished for his actions. Neji naturally blamed his uncle for this death, believing that his uncle made his father die. However, it was soon revealed that his uncle was actually betraying his brother. Neji's father decided to pretend to be his brother rescuing the head. They argued, but the head ended up losing because he got knocked unconscious.
2 Rock Lee Seemed Weak
During Rock Lee's attempt at becoming a ninja, he had to come to terms with the fact that he couldn't use certain Jutsus. People like the younger Neji believed that Rock Lee would not become a well-known ninja.
Rock Lee had to specialize in a Jutsu instead of using all of the types of Jutsus. Despite his capabilities, Rock Lee became a strong ninja, proving that he didn't have to do all Jutsus to become a ninja that the village trusts.
1 Hinata Became A Good Fighter Despite Her Father's Opinion
As the oldest child of the head of her clan, Hinata was at one point considered to be the heir of the clan's head. However, her father decided that she wasn't a strong enough ninja to deserve the job. As Hinata continued as a ninja, she proved that she was also skilled and powerful. Not only did she have the abilities of a good ninja, but she also had good character and her kind heart would have made her a good leader.