The world is filled with great anime and manga series, and Naruto happens to be one of the most popular series of all time. The series focuses on a young ninja who dreams about becoming Hokage, and over the course of his journey, he ends up fighting a multitude of villains, some of whom are far more powerful and dangerous than others.

RELATED: 10 Ways Naruto Has Impacted The Shonen Genre

One of these villains is Madara Uchiha, a ninja who is synonymous with power and skill, and the very mention of his name was enough to start a war. Obito Uchiha is another important villain, and this is because he set many events in motion as the secret leader of the Akatsuki. Both of these villains played a significant role in the story, to the point that they can both be considered the best villain in the series.

10 OBITO: He's The Reason Why Naruto Lost His Parents & Grew Up Ostracized

minato kushina naruto

The Obito that fans see at the end of the series is capable of beating some pretty powerful shinobi, including Minato,  but when the two first met in serious combat, it was the Fourth Hokage who emerged victorious. That fight occurred on the day Naruto was born when Obito kidnapped Kushina and extracted the Nine-Tails from her.

Minato went on to become one of the greatest Hokage in history when he stopped the Nine-Tails' rampage by sealing half of it into his newborn son--an act that forced Minato to sacrifice himself, and Kushina died after she defended Naruto from the Nine-Tails. If it wasn't for Obito, Naruto might have grown up with both his loving parents, but instead, he was forced to live as an ostracized Jinchuriki.

9 MADARA: He Was Ultimately Trying To Save The World

young hashirama and madara in Naruto

Madara grew up at a time when children were forced to fight on the battlefield, and when he met and befriended a young Hashirama Senju, the two dreamt about ushering in a new era of peace where children didn't have to fight in wars. Madara decided that the best way to achieve this was through the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

RELATED: Madara: 5 Anime Villains That Should Be Able To Beat Him (& Why They Can't)

The purpose of the Infinite Tsukuyomi was to trap the entire world in an endless dream world where war and death did not exist. The irony is that Madara caused a lot of conflict and death in order to enact this plan, but these were all considered necessary sacrifices since everyone who died would live again in the dream world.

8 OBITO: He Killed The Original Akatsuki Members & Steered Nagato To His Cause

The Kyuubi Inside Him Gave Him Too Many Enemies

The original Akatsuki was composed entirely of Rain Village ninja who wanted to end the war that had ravaged their homeland. The group was led by Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, and they were all betrayed by Hanzo of the Salamander who allied himself with the Leaf's Danzo Shimura.

When Obito learned of this conspiracy, he intercepted and killed the original Akatsuki members who were trying to rescue Yahiko. In the end, Yahiko died, and Obito used Nagato's grief to steer the Akatsuki in a new direction. This led to a new Akatsuki composed of rogue ninja, whose goal was to capture the tailed beasts and establish world peace through fear and conquest.

7 MADARA: He Toyed With The Five Kage

Madara Revealing His Hashirama Cells in Naruto

The Five Kage are five of the world's strongest ninja, but there are still characters like Madara who are stronger than them. At first, Madara liked the idea of fighting the Five Kage, but he was left disappointed because he expected them to be much stronger.

He actually forced each Kage to fight five Susanoo-wielding clones because one Kage mentioned that he was technically outnumbered five against one. He also toyed with them when he revealed that the only reason one of their attacks hit was because he wanted to show them that his body contained Hashirama cells.

6 OBITO: He Pretended To Be Madara & Tobi

obito naruto masked man

Some of the best villains are capable of hiding their true identifies extremely well, and Obito exemplified this by pretending to be someone who was pretending to be someone else. Before the world thought he was Madara, only Pain, Konan, Kisame, and Itachi believed that he was the legendary former leader of the Uchiha.

RELATED: Naruto: 10 Things Fans Learned From Kakashi Hiden

He managed to hide his fake identity by pretending to be Tobi, a playful, happy-go-lucky, and even goofy character who no one could take seriously. Obito played the part so well, that he ended up being part of two of anime's biggest plot twists.

5 MADARA: He Was More Powerful Than Anyone Could Imagine

Madara Uchiha as the Ten Tails Jinchuriki in Naruto.

Madara has fought some of the strongest characters in the series, and he has managed to defeat them all. By the end of the series, Madara became the strongest being on Earth, as evidenced by the fact that he wiped out thousands of ninja singlehandedly when he made his debut on the battlefield of the Fourth Great Ninja War.

The legendary Uchiha was able to cancel the cancellation of the Reanimation Jutsu, and when he finally revived himself, he successfully took on all of the Tailed Beasts at once. He obtained even more power when he became the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, and this allowed him to take on Sasuke and Naruto with ease. He even laughed in the face of death while fighting Might Guy who was using the Gate of Death.

4 OBITO: He's The Reason Why Neji Died

Neji dying in Naruto's arms (Naruto: Shippūden)

A lot of fans liked Neji Hyuga, and those same fans balled their eyes out when he sacrificed himself to save Naruto's life. This happened when the allied shinobi forces took on the Ten-Tails while it was being controlled by Obito and Madara.

Prior to this battle, Naruto told Obito that he would never let any of his comrades die, and Obito responded by making the Ten-Tails launch several barrages of spear-like projectiles at the shinobi army. Neji used his body to block several of these spears from hitting Naruto, and as he lay dying in Naruto's arms, Obito taunted him for making a ridiculous statement.

3 MADARA: His Eye Of The Moon Plan Actually Succeeded

Madara Trapping The World In The infinite tsukuyomi

The majority of villains do not get to see their master plan come to fruition, but Madara happens to be one of the exceptions. It may have not lasted long, but Madara still managed to complete his Eye of the Moon plan by casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

For a brief period of time, most of the world was at peace, which is what Madara always wanted. In reality, the Infinite Tsukuyomi was slowly transforming everyone into mindless White Zetsu clones who would serve in Kaguya's army, but none of that was ever part of Madara's plan.

2 OBITO: He Eventually Redeemed Himself

obito uchiha with white hair in naruto shippuden

Many great villains end up redeeming themselves by the end of the story, and that is exactly what happened with Obito. The only reason why Obito agreed to carry out Madara's plan is because he wanted to see Rin again in the dream world created by the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

RELATED: Naruto: 10 Weakest Ninja The Heroes Lost To

As the Tailed Beasts are being extracted from Obito's body, Naruto is finally able to get through to him, and the misguided Uchiha finally realizes that he was wrong to chase after the Infinite Tsukuyomi. After coming to terms with the fact that he's been living a lie for years, Obito vows to use whatever life he has left to help Naruto put an end to the war.

1 MADARA: He Manipulated Obito Into Becoming A Villain

madara kakashi killing rin

Obito may have been a good villain, but at the end of the day, he was just someone was got manipulated by Madara. The elder Uchiha was close to death when he found Obito, and he saw in him the perfect candidate to carry out his Eye of the Moon plan.

In order to make Obito join his cause, Madara arranged to have Rin kidnapped by the Mist Village, and he made sure that Rin was turned into the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki. Rin didn't want to be used as a weapon, so when Kakashi came to save her, she impaled herself on his Chidori. Madara even timed it so that Obito would get to the battlefield in time to see Rin die. Of all the horrible things that Madara has done, this truly stands out.

NEXT: Attack On Titan: 10 Anime Characters That Should Have Died But Didn't