WARNING: SPOILERS FOR NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
Summary
- Epic battles, like Sasuke vs. Itachi, shed light on secrets, evolving characters profoundly.
- Heart-wrenching moments, like Jiraiya's death or Kushina's sacrifice, add depth to Naruto's journey.
- Naruto & Sasuke's ultimate battle showcases years of development, in an emotional showdown with explosive action.
The Naruto Shippuden series is known as one of anime's best time skips, partially due to many of its large-scale epic battles across many amazing episodes; ten, in particular, are better than the rest. Although the franchise has continued with the Boruto sequel series, fans online still share and talk about several moments from Naruto Shippuden on a regular basis due to their epic content and heartbreaking direction.
After Sasuke left the Village Hidden in the Leaves and Naruto also left to do some training of his own, two years passed, and everything changed in Naruto Shippuden. Both characters got much stronger, but so did the threats they would face. Several dramatic arcs saw the immensely powerful Akatsuki group of rogue ninjas killing all in their path and even an epic Fourth Shinobi War that brought legendary dead warriors back to life.
There are many memorable parts of the story throughout the Naruto Shippuden series, including its battles that helped inspire some of today's popular anime, like Black Clover and My Hero Academia. However, the best Naruto Shippuden episodes contain more than incredible fights. While there are many great episodes of Naruto Shippuden that are triumphs to watch thanks to built-up context, some of the best work as emotional short films with their exquisite pacing, art direction, and outstanding voice acting.
10 Best Fights in Naruto Shippuden That Inspired A Generation
Many battles in Naruto Shippuden are filled with poetic drama, while others are just flat-out epic and cool, but only ten can be ranked as the best.
10 Itachi's Secret Causes Sasuke To Soar
Episode 141 - "Truth"
All Naruto fans can agree that one of the franchise's best plot twists was the truth behind Itachi's slaughter of the Uchiha clan. Sasuke's long hate of his brother was a narrative seed planted in the story's first chapters, and it finally bloomed into one of the series' most rewarding clashes and revelations. After Sasuke was the only one left standing from his climactic battle with his older brother, he was healed and rewarded with a epiphany that would alter the course of his life forever.
Naruto's Controversial Final Villain Was Actually Good For The Franchise
Kaguya Otsutsuki's appearance was one of the best things to happen in Naruto's grand finale, despite the backlash following her big reveal.
Akatsuki member Tobi (Uchiha Obito in disguise) took the exhausted and unconscious Sasuke into hiding after his fight with Itachi. After providing medical attention, Obito revealed Itachi's secret to his younger brother, who'd dedicated his life to revenge against the sibling. While Obito had his own agendas and secrets he kept from the young Uchiha, he did shed light on the planned Uchiha coup d'etat against the village, led by Sasuke's father. It was Itachi's love for Sasuke that led to his murdering the entire clan to spare his brother from Konoha's potential genocide of the whole Uchiha clan.
The revelation in the episode is directed beautifully and crescendos with the iconic scene of Sasuke crying and establishing his new team, Taka. However, the episode ends with the glorious shot of Sasuke on the cliff with his newly awakened and determined Mangekyō Sharingan eyes. His freshly established group's sole purpose would again be revenge, this time against the Village Hidden in the Leaves. This action would further set up the conflict between Sasuke and Naruto's characters.
9 Jiraiya's Final Chapter Taught The World Pain
Episode 133 - "The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant"
The death of the closest thing Naruto's story gave him to a father figure hit a lot of fans the hardest. Jiraiya was a character who was first introduced as a tired troupe of a perverted older man, but as the story progressed, so did his connection to Naruto and the series audiences. While the character was hyped up and shown to be one of Konoha's most talented shinobi, his mission to gather information on the deadly Akatsuki's leader would lead to a shocking revelation and a dramatic twist.
"The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant" covered the conclusion of the Sannin's encounter with the Six Paths of Pain. While Jiraiya put up one hell of a battle against the formidable foe, he suffered a dramatic wound after letting his guard down. Still, the beloved shinobi deduced Pain's secret that would later prove vital in overcoming the seemingly unstoppable force. Flashes of Jiraiya's life revealed his connection to Nagato and his friends who'd later formed the Akatsuki group, as well as the strong bond he shared with Naruto's parents.
How Jiraiya Dies In Naruto: Shippūden (& Which Episode It Happens)
Jiraiya’s death was one of the saddest in the Naruto franchise. Here’s how he died and which episode of Naruto: Shippūden it happened in.
Jiraiya's part in the story would evolve into the character growth and lessons Naruto would need to accomplish the many amazing things he did throughout his life. The new flashbacks into his life featured touching scenes of Jiraiya with Minato and his wife Kushina, where Minato revealed that they would be naming their son after the lead character in Jiraiya's first book and making the Sannin his official godfather.
Although he greatly inspired Naruto, his final moments saw Jiraiya rise from a fatal wound because of his last student's will to never give up. With his final inkling of strength, Jiraiya was able to draw a message on his Toad friend, Fukasaku, that'd deliver the message that would help with Pain's defeat before sinking into a watery grave. As he fell, Jiraiya could do nothing but smile, knowing that the final chapter of his life would lead to a happy ending.