It may have ended a decade ago, but Naruto is still one of the most popular anime franchises in the world. Fans enjoyed the ninja battles and wordlbuilding, but they also loved the characters. Like most shonen series, Naruto has plenty of memorable villains, but many of them only appear in Naruto: Shippuden - the anime that covers the second half of the manga. These villains may be memorable, but certain Naruto: Shippuden villains are better than others.
Most of Naruto: Shippuden's best villains were part of the Akatsuki - the criminal organization that wanted to gather the nine Tailed Beasts. Some of the best villains are not part of the official canon, but they still stand out because of their actions and characters arcs. Several of these villains have done terrible things, but from a certain point of view, their actions were righteous.
10 Hidan Was A Monster in Naruto: Shippuden
First Appeared In Episode 71: "My Friend"
Unlike several Naruto: Shippuden villains, Hidan did not have a sad past, and his personal mission was one of death and destruction. HIdan left the Hidden Hotspring Village because he believed its ninja were meant to be killers. He killed his neighbors prior to leaving and then joined the Jashin cult. Jashin believes in outright slaughter, and anything less is considered a sin.
Hidan gained immortality and a deadly curse by studying Jashin's forbidden techniques, and he ventured into the world to spread the religion's message. As a result, Hidan became a homicidal butcher. When he killed Asuma Sarutobi, it was clear that he experienced euphoria each time he delivered a killing blow. Hidan may have joined the Akatsuki, but he had no interest in peace. Naruto tries to humanize certain villains, but Hidan is a legitimate monster.
9 Kazuma Wanted To Bring Stability To The Land Of Fire
First Appeared In Episode 61: "Contact"
Kazuma was the main villain of Naruto: Shippuden's Twelve Guardian Ninja arc, and his plan could have destroyed the Hidden Leaf Village. Kazuma was part of the Twelve Guardian Ninja - an elite group who were tasked with protecting the Land of Fire's Feudal Lord. As time passed, he believed that the Leaf Village's passive approach to peace was a detriment to the Land of Fire's safety and stability.
He decided that things would be better if the Leaf Village ceased to exist, and he gathered some of the other Guardian Ninja to his cause. His comrades died, but he managed to survive and continued to plan for more than a decade. Kazuma may have been a filler character, but he was one of the most determined villains in Naruto: Shippuden. He willingly sealed some of the Nine-Tails' chakra into his son in order to turn him into a living weapon.
8 Sasori Was On A Quest To Find Eternal Art
First Appeared In Episode 2: "The Akatsuki Makes Its Move"
Sasori is one of the strongest ninja that the Hidden Sand Village has produced, and he is arguably the greatest puppet master in history. He was also one of the Akatsuki's strongest members. When Sasori was a child, both of his parents were killed in battle, and he was never able to recover emotionally. Even with his grandmother around, he became distant, to the point that he no longer valued human life.
Sasori went on to become obsessed with his own form of art, which revolved around everlasting creations. This is the reason why he focused on human puppets. He even went as far as to turn himself into a human puppet. Sasori is a perfect example of a villain who only turned dark because of the violent world he was born into. He may have had a warped view of art, but he was still able to find some amount of beauty in the ninja world that took his parents away from him.
7 Black Zetsu Is Responsible For Creating The Violent Ninja World
First Appeared In Naruto Episode 134: "The End Of Tears"
Black Zetsu was born more than 1,000 years ago, just before Kaguya Otsutsuki was sealed away by her sons. He is the physical manifestation of Kaguya's will, and his entire purpose was to revive her. Black Zetsu is the one who corrupted Indra Otsutsuki - the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths. As a result, Indra and his younger brother became enemies, and their families split to become the Uchiha and Senju Clans.
Black Zetsu altered the Uchiha stone tablet to suit his needs. This tablet ultimately led Madara to create the Eye of the Moon Plan, which caused the Fourth Great Ninja War. He even allowed Madara to believe that he was a physical manifestation of his will. By all accounts, Black Zetsu is quite weak, and many fans assumed he was useless, but it was all a facade. In truth, he was the mastermind behind most of the ninja world's conflicts.
6 Guren Has One Of The Best Redemption Arcs
First Appeared In Episode 89: "The Price Of Power"
Guren was one of Orochimaru's most loyal servants. If she had arrived in time, she would have been his third vessel instead of Gen'yumaru. Orochimaru destroyed her village when she was a child, and she agreed to join him because she envied his power. She possessed a rare kekkei genkai called Crystal Release, and she could fight evenly against someone like Kakashi. In order to prove herself, Guren wiped out another village, but she passed out.
She was saved by a woman, but killed her when Orochimaru ordered it. Years later, Guren is ordered to protect that woman's child. She and Yukimaru grow very close. She begins to have conflicting emotions, and her loyalty to Orochimaru wavers. When she learns Yukimaru's true identity, she decides to betray Orochimaru. Guren has one of the best redemption arcs in the series. She committed many crimes while in Orochimaru's service, but she redeems herself by leaving that life behind to become the loving mother that Yukimaru needed.
5 Kakuzu's Backstory Makes Him A Sympathetic Villain
First Appeared In Episode 71: "My Friend"
Kakuzu was part of the Akatsuki, and he was a bounty hunter by trade. Thanks to him, Naruto fans got a glimpse of the ninja world's black market. Kakuzu's backstory was not thoroughly explained in the anime, which is a shame because it makes him somewhat of a sympathetic villain. He grew up in the Hidden Waterfall Village, and the higher-ups ordered him to assassinate Hashirama Senju - the First Hokage.
Hashirama was a literal ninja god, so Kakuzu failed the assignment. He was lucky to survive the encounter, but when he returned home, the village stigmatized and imprisoned him for failing. Kakuzu was a loyal ninja, but the treatment he received caused him to hate the village. As a result, he broke free, killed the elders, and stole a forbidden jutsu. Kakuzu only became a heart-stealing bounty hunter because of archaic ninja rules.
4 Obito Wanted Did Not Want To Live In A World Without Rin
First Appeared In Episode 32: "Return Of The Kazekage"
Obito seemingly sacrificed himself to save Kakashi during the Third Ninja War, but he was actually rescued by an elderly Madara Uchiha. He was able to heal and train, but he left Madara's hideout when he learned that Rin and Kakashi were in trouble. When he got to the battlefield, he witnessed Rin's death, which filled him with murderous rage. Obito loved Rin more than anything, and he refused to believe that a world without her was real.
As a result, Obito returned to Madara and agreed to carry out the Eye of the Moon plan, which would have created a fake world where Rin was still alive. Obito helped to create the Akatsuki, and he tried to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village with the Nine-Tails - which led to both Minato and Kushina dying. He orchestrated a world-wide war and killed hundreds of people just so he could see Rin again. Obito's entire character arc shows that people will do just about anything for love. In the end though, Obito redeemed himself when he sacrificed himself to save Naruto.
3 Danzo Did Terrible Things For The Sake Of The Leaf Village
First Appeared In Episode 32: "Return Of The Kazekage"
Danzo was a Leaf Village elder, and he commanded his own Anbu division - which performed dishonorable deeds. He was responsible for turning Kabuto into Orochimaru's right-hand man, and he basically sealed the Uchiha Clan's fate when he attacked Shisui and stole his Sharingan. Danzo is the man who convinced Hanzo to destroy Yahiko's Akatsuki - which means that he created the Akatsuki that caused destruction throughout the ninja world.
Danzo was a very ambitious man, and he refused to send his Anbu to help the Leaf Village during Pain's assault because he believed the turmoil would allow him to become Hokage. For many fans, Danzo is the most evil villain in Naruto: Shippuden, but he did all those terrible things because he cared about the Leaf Village. In his mind, his actions helped to protect and strengthen the village from the shadows. His loyalty was made abundantly clear in his final moments, when he destroyed his own body to make sure Shuisui's Sharingan could not be used against the Leaf.
2 Madara Wanted A World Without War And Death
First Appeared In Episode 130: "The Man Who Became God"
Madara is one of the strongest ninja of all time, and he nearly killed both Naruto and Sasuke. He set up Rin's death, and he implanted his Rinnegan into Nagato. He was willing to sacrificing thousands of lives in order to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi - which would have placed the entire world under a powerful genjutsu. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, he intentionally wiped out an entire division simply because he wanted to test some ninjutsu.
Madara set the entire ninja world into a tailspin, and his actions destroyed an entire generation of ninja, but it was all for a seemingly righteous cause. Madara grew up during the Warring States Period - which was filled with constant fighting. Children were forced to fight and die on the battlefield, and Madara lost all of his siblings as a result. Madara wanted to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi to bring peace to the ninja world, and in doing so, no child would have to die in war ever again.
1 Pain Wanted To Bring Peace To The Ninja World
First Appeared In Episode 128: "Tales Of A Gutsy Ninja ~Jiraiya Ninja Scroll~ Part 2"
Many Naruto fans consider Pain to be the franchise's best villain, and for good reason. His backstory is filled with loss, and it started when his parents were killed right before his eyes by Leaf ninja during the Second Great Ninja War. He grew close to Yahiko and Konan, to the point that Yahiko became like a brother. When Konan was kidnapped, Yahiko stabbed himself on Nagato's kunai in hopes of saving her. This was the moment Nagato became Pain.
Pain wanted to collect all of the Tailed Beasts so he could use them as weapons. The plan was to force the ninja world to endure a continuous cycle of pain until peace was the only option. Countless people would have died, but those who survived would never want to experience such pain again. Pain's plan would have killed countless people, but it did have merit, and until Naruto came along, it was actually one of the better options to bring about peace.
