Throughout Naruto and Shippuden, the stakes rose higher and higher, and the enemies became more fearsome. There have been more than enough scenes where fans feared their favorites dying in battle, and a few times where that fear turned into heartbreak. Fans have been left on the edge of their seats since the beginning thanks to every one of these heart-racing scenes, but some were harder to handle than others.
These scenes rendered the main characters helpless and sometimes depressingly hopeless, challenging them with the overarching theme of "a ninja endures." Fans had an endurance challenge of their own watching the characters from Naruto step a bit too close to death.
10 Naruto and Shikamaru Witness A Bloodthirsty Gaara
Early on, Gaara is twisted with fits of bloodthirst that come and go, which for the young Naruto and Shikamaru is an overwhelming sight in the final part of the Chunin Exams. They already saw a fraction of his murderous tendencies at Konoha's hospital when Gaara tried to kill Rock Lee.
The two Konoha Ninja instantly became targets in that exchange, which is why they, and the audience, wholeheartedly believed they'd be killed after witnessing Gaara kill two other ninjas before his match against Sasuke. Paralyzed by fear, Naruto and Shikamaru stood in place as Gaara passed them by with only the thought of killing Sasuke.
9 Kabuto Makes A Corpse That Looks Just Like Sai
After Kyuubi fights Orochimaru, Sai – the most recent addition to Team 7 – deserts his teammates to begin his real mission, joining Orochimaru. Orochimaru accepts Sai, believing him to be without ulterior motives, unaware of his real mission. On the way to his hidden base, Orochimaru discusses with Kabuto how they're being trailed and need a distraction to slow the Konoha ninjas.
That distraction winds up being Sai. As Team 7 trails Orochimaru, they come across the horrifying sight of a dead Sai. It startles them at first, but they quickly realize that it was one of Kabuto's cadavers that he made look like Sai.
8 Psycho Killer Sasuke Almost Kills Sakura
Sasuke pushes Danzo to the brink, so the old man takes Karin as a hostage. Not caring for Karin, Sasuke fires his Chidori through Karin to strike Danzo. Sakura enters the scene proclaiming she'll join Sasuke, so he challenges her devotion demanding she finish off Karin who is barely alive.
Sakura aims to kill him instead, but she doesn't realize that Sasuke is not in his right mind and that she can't kill the man she still loves. As she pushes herself to end Sasuke, she fails to realize that he's already prepared to strike her down. If it weren't for Kakashi coming in to save her, Sakura would've been murdered.
7 Kimimaro Was About To Strike The Finishing Blow On Gaara And Rock Lee
When Gaara arrived in time to save Rock Lee from Kimimaro, he was in for one heck of a fight. Kimimaro is arguably one of the strongest fighters thanks to his powerful bloodline trait of using his bones in battle.
In the end, it appeared as though Gaara had won, cementing the battlefield with heavy sand, but Kimimaro escaped when the heroes' guards were down and came close to ending Gaara with one final strike. The only thing that saved Gaara and Rock Lee was Kimimaro's illness, which finally took his life in those split seconds.
6 Shikamaru Tricked Everyone In His Battle Against Hidan
Seeking to avenge his teacher, Shikamaru leads Team 10 with the help of Kakashi to take down the zombie duo Hidan and Kakuzu. The two villains are terrifying on their own, so it's no surprise fans were on the edge of their seats in this battle. The real fear is when Shikamaru is alone with Hidan.
Shikamaru's shadow paralysis jutsu doesn't hold Hidan forever and the fiend attacks with a hidden weapon to acquire Shikamaru's blood and finish our hero for good. Hidan uses his killing technique and it appears as though Shikamaru has been done in, but it was all a part of his plan; a relief for everyone watching.
5 Orochimaru Comes A Little Too Close To Taking Over Sasuke's Body
Orochimaru had already taken a body before young Sasuke's arrival, so Sasuke had a few years before he became a target. For that fateful day, Sasuke prepares to kill Orochimaru and leave to accomplish his vengeful goal. But as Kabuto arrived at the aftermath of the battle, it was an eerie question of who had won.
Orochimaru had begun the process of taking over Sasuke's body, then the scene cut to show Sasuke walking away from Kabuto who was anxious to know what happened. He was then shown through a Sharingan illusion that Sasuke managed to take back control and keep his body for himself.
4 Tsunade Is Split In Half After Fighting Madara
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Five Kage fight against a reincarnated Madara with the promise of victory, but that promise becomes harder and harder to keep with Madara unleashing God-like strength that grows more and more insurmountable. Throwing herself into battle after releasing the 100 Healing Jutsu, Tsunade has more than one moment when she's thought to have been killed.
The worst of it all is when she's left for dead along with the rest of the Kage. While the other Kage are bloodied and bruised, Tsunade is split in two from the waist down, still fighting to survive. The frightening sight made it look like Tsunade's end was near, but with her resilience and the help of an old friend, she managed to survive.
3 When Naruto Was Pinned Down By Pain
Even with a sage-powered Naruto and three giant frog warriors, Pain still managed to hold his own in battle. Naruto was close to defeating Pain without any more casualties, but as he leaped to strike one final attack on the last of the Six Pains, Pain's ability to attract and repel any object or living thing returned to push Naruto away.
Pain continued to use this ability to blast Gamabunta and the other Frog warriors away from the battlefield and pull the smaller Frog warrior Fukasaku to his death. With no one else to help him, Naruto wound up pinned down by Pain's chakra rods, unable to move. Hinata was the only one to step in, but even she wasn't able to help. The only one to save Naruto was also nearly the cause of his destruction.
2 Naruto Almost Loses Himself To The Kyuubi
As if it wasn't hard enough watching Naruto defenseless against Pain, to see him lose control of the Kyuubi after watching Hinata's defeat was brutal – though it did give fans one of the most epic fights in the series. On one hand, Naruto was freed from Pain's clutches, but as he steadily lost his senses, it became clear that he still wasn't safe.
Confused and enraged, Naruto was ready to give in to the Kyuubi. The scene is made worse with a bit of body horror as the seal on Naruto's stomach turns into a hole with a river of black flowing out of him. As Naruto inches toward releasing the Kyuubi, a familiar figure leaps out from the shadows to save him. It was none other than Naruto's father, arriving just in time to save and finally meet his son.
1 Sasuke Is Pushed Into A Corner As Itachi Comes In To Steal His Eyes
It was the battle every fan had been waiting for. Sasuke finally tracked down Itachi and was ready to exact his vengeance. Once the repetitive genjutsu brawl ends, the real fighting begins with Sasuke just managing to keep up with his older brother.
In the end, Sasuke had nowhere to run. Itachi's power was overwhelming and he played his role as the evil brother to perfection, scaring the hell out of Sasuke as he approached him like a zombified madman. In the end, Itachi had little life left in him and used the last of his strength to merely poke Sasuke on the forehead, a move that was more wholesome than Sasuke cared to realize at the time.