Madara Uchiha is, without a doubt, the most formidable villain in Naruto. He is set up early in the series in hints and clues about who he is and what he’s after, with more information about him being added as the series goes on until, finally, he arrives in the series, a legend resurrected.
And while it can be expected that villains will do horrible things, Madara, like many Naruto villains, ultimately is trying to do what he thinks is best. When he acknowledges that he perhaps made the wrong choice, he can redeem himself. He has also done some potentially unforgivable things, even in a story of redemption like Naruto.
10 He Drops Meteors On The 4th Division
When Madara first appears on the scene during the Fourth Great Ninja War, everyone is surprised to see him and absolutely dreads having to face him in battle since his reputation definitely precedes him. He essentially takes on an entire division of some of the best-trained ninjas globally, fighting them singlehandedly and decimating them. Just as icing on the cake, since most of them are already dead at this point, he uses his Rinnegan to drop meteors on the group, making sure no one survives.
9 He Uses Clones Against The Kage
When fighting the five strongest ninjas in any of the villages, Madara would likely seem like he was at a disadvantage. In fact, one of the Kage even says as much when they face him since it’s five-on-one. But Madara mocks the entire concept of this, creating clones, furnished with Susanoo, to fight the Kage in his stead. This is solely for his own amusement, as he considers the Kage too weak to bother with, showing both his own arrogance and his lack of respect for any living person.
8 He Acts Against The Senju Without Uchiha Consent
Madara becomes the Uchiha clan leader at a pretty young age, which shows his power and strength, but in some ways, he also regularly shows his own youth as well. Particularly, in his resentment of the Senju clan and his feelings of the Uchiha being disrespected, he acts against them without the consent of the people he claims to lead. Indeed, many of the Uchiha are happy in Konoha as things are, and they have no wish to rock the boat.
7 He Starts The Fourth Great Ninja War
Madara is essentially directly responsible for the beginning of this war, as the very invocation of his name and the possibility that he has been revived is enough to bring the Allied Shinobi Forces together.
The war causes a massive amount of death and destruction, and it leaves Konohagakure in ruins. Madara’s role in this chaos cannot be understated because of his legendary power and his ultimate plans for the Infinite Tsukuyomi. All of the following disasters are ultimately on his shoulders.
6 He Becomes The Jinchuriki Of The Ten-Tails
In one of the most truly destructive choices of the Naruto series's entirety, Madara chooses to become the jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails, which he wants to use to complete the activation of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. But what happens instead is that everyone trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi has their power used by Black Zetsu to revive Kaguya, leading to even more death and destruction. While Madara didn’t foresee this outcome, he is ultimately responsible for it.
5 He Didn’t Really Care About The Fate Of The Uchiha
Even though the entirety of Madara’s plan is for the sake of the Uchiha so that everyone can live in peace and there will be no violence between them and others, he doesn’t actually care that activating the Infinite Tsukuyomi won’t actually help them. Everyone in the Uchiha clan is dead, except for Sasuke, and the Eye of the Moon Plan certainly isn’t going to bring them back. But Madara is so far removed from his own reality and goals at this point that he doesn’t really care.
4 He Fights Hashirama
Hashirama Senju reaches out time and again to Madara to broach peace between their clans and create a united Konohagakure. Even though they have been friends for a long time, even though the Senju and Uchiha clans are enemies, Madara rejects these attempts. He ultimately ends up fighting Hashirama for control of the Nine-Tails and the village. It’s one of his earliest betrayals and a sign of the path he plans to walk.
3 He Orchestrates Rin’s Death
There’s always a point when people with good ideas or good intentions turn the corner into doing bad things in the name of their good intentions, and it’s at that point that they become villains.
In Madara’s case, one of the first horrible things he does is orchestrate Rin’s death so that he can convince Obito to join him in pulling off his Eye of the Moon Plan. Manipulating someone into joining your side and lying to them about it are not morally righteous people's actions.
2 He Nearly Kills Sasuke
Sasuke is so vital to the story that it seems impossible for him to die. And in fact, that ends up being the case since Madara doesn’t actually succeed in killing him, since Karin can heal him after he’s impaled. But the fact that Madara claims to be acting in the name of the Uchiha clan and, indeed, has committed countless crimes and atrocities in the name of their protection makes him seem like a hypocrite for attempting to kill the last living Uchiha.
1 He Activates The Infinite Tsukuyomi
It’s incredibly unusual for a villain in any comic to actually succeed in their goals at the end of the story. But Madara does manage to do it. His Infinite Tsukuyomi plans are that everyone will live in a dream-like world where there is no war or death. It sounds nice, but it also removes everyone’s free will, forcing them to essentially live in a daydream where they cannot think or choose anything for themselves. The peace inherent in this is not worth the price.