Naruto Uzumaki saw a lot of death, loss, and destruction throughout his life. Despite the way the Konoha villagers treated him, he wanted nothing more than to stop the cycle of death for them and his shinobi teammates. So, he devoted his life to saving his friends and stopping this vicious cycle.
Naruto did not start the series off as a powerful character, but by the end, he was undeniably the most powerful. This was all because Naruto would not give up, even if the situation called for his death. Every time, Naruto survived. Here are ten of those times that Naruto put his life on the line.
10 He Tried To Protect Sasuke In The Pilot Arc
The first mission that Team 7 goes on brings them into the path of two rogue ninjas from the Hidden Mist Village. Haku and Zabuza were both on a power tier far above Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. Luckily, they had their sensei, Kakashi Hatake, to help them.
Still, Kakashi was wrapped up in fighting Zabuza, and this left Naruto and Sasuke to fight Haku, who was still way more powerful than the two boys. When Sasuke went down, punctured by Haku's many senbon, Naruto tried to take Haku on himself. He was saved only by the power of the nine-tailed fox and Haku saved Zabuza by jumping in front of Kakashi's attack.
9 Naruto Chased Sasuke Down And Tried To Stop Him With His Fists
Naruto did not want to leave Sasuke to the care of Orochimaru, a villain known for experimenting on children and who wanted Sasuke so he could take over his body. However, Sasuke was so wrapped up in gaining power that he did not listen to Naruto and left anyway. This led to their final confrontation and a huge fight.
Sasuke had always been more skilled than Naruto, and he also had the power of the Curse Mark to close the gap between his skill and Naruto's fox chakra. He legitimately tried to kill Naruto, and Naruto knew just how far Sasuke was willing to go.
8 He Took On Gaara, Who Was Transformed Into A Giant Sand Demon
When Sasuke chased after Gaara, and Gaara began to transform into the demon, Shukaku, Naruto knew he had to do something. He was confident he could summon Gamabunta to help him, but at first, it did not work out.
Eventually, he succeeded and was able to get Gamabunta on his side to help him fight Shukaku. This was Naruto's first big fight, but it would not be the last time he would fight on such a scale. Still, he was able to prove himself despite the obvious danger.
7 He Fought Orochimaru And Kabuto As A Child
Naruto is infamous for getting into fights with people way older, more experienced, and stronger than him, and when Tsunade was in trouble, Naruto did it again. Not only did he want Tsunade to believe in him, but he also needed her back in the village to save his friends.
So, he fought Kabuto. There was no hope that Naruto would win. Kabuto could heal himself, and both he and Orochimaru were well aware of his fox chakra. However, his efforts were enough to bring Tsunade around and she joined the fight.
6 He Chased Deidara Down To Save Gaara
The Jinchuriki, which include Gaara and Naruto, house the tailed beasts, and because of this, many seek them out to use them as weapons or to extract the tailed beasts from them (which would result in their deaths). So, when Gaara was taken, Naruto had to save him.
When the team finally caught up to Sasori and Deidara, Naruto ran after Deidara, who was trying to escape with Gaara's body. This left Sakura to fight Sasori, and it resulted in a confrontation between Naruto and Deidara that Naruto only held his own in due to his fox chakra.
5 He Went To Orochimaru's Hideout To Find Sasuke Despite Only Having A Small Team
Sasuke did not want to be saved from Orochimaru, and he made this clear to Naruto on multiple occasions. However, Naruto saw this for what it was: hubris. He never gave up on trying to save Sasuke, and he followed him as far as Orochimaru's hideout.
This was life-threatening not only because Kabuto and Orochimaru resided there, but also because Sasuke wanted to kill Naruto, anyway. He was twisted by his quest for power, and killing Naruto was something he thought would eliminate any remaining weaknesses.
4 He Went Before Pain To Try And Change His Mind
Naruto saved the entire Hidden Leaf Village from Pain, and Pain had almost single-handedly destroyed the entire village. Even Kakashi, who was unable to keep up with Pain, was killed. Still, Naruto confronted Pain, sure that he could get through to the villain.
He did just that, and Pain (who was Nagato) was convinced to revive many of the fallen villagers, including Kakashi. The village finally accepted Naruto for the hero he was. It was just a shame that it took so many near-death experiences for them to acknowledge Naruto.
3 He Led The Charge Against Kaguya
Naruto continued to protect the village, his friends, and the entire shinobi world. That is why he fought Kaguya, an Otsutsuki of unparalleled power, when she was awoken. Luckily, this time he had his teammates at his side, and that includes Sasuke, who had finally made a truce with Naruto.
Though the power gap between them and Kaguya was great, the advent of teamwork allowed them to achieve what should have been impossible. It was a long shot, and they almost died, but they succeeded.
2 He Fought Sasuke Again, Trying To Get Him To Return To The Village
One would have thought that after stopping the end of the world as they knew it, Sasuke would have worked together with the Hidden Leaf Village, or at least stopped his murderous rampage against Naruto. However, it took a final battle in the same place their original one had occurred to make Sasuke see the light.
Both characters almost died during this fight, and they both lost an arm in the process. In the end, though, Sasuke acquiesced to Naruto and returned to the Hidden Leaf Village as an ally.
1 He Protected The Entire Village From The Otsutsuki On Multiple Occasions
Fighting in the Fourth Ninja War, defeating Kaguya, and stopping Sasuke were not the last times Naruto saved the Hidden Leaf Village (and arguably the world). He continued his work as the Hidden Leaf Village's Hokage once he reached adulthood.
By the events of Boruto, Naruto was almost consistently fighting the Otsutsuki, beings of seemingly limitless power. He even lost Kurama doing this. However, he continues to put his life on the line for his village and his friends, even after taking a hit to his power levels.