Naruto and its sequel Boruto gives us these examples:
"This world shall know pain."
Original manga and anime[]
- Zabuza Momochi, the "Demon of the Hidden Mist", gained his title after killing over a hundred academy students, proceeding to climb through the ranks and become one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Exiled along with his apprentice Haku after attempting a coup against the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, Zabuza fell into the employment of a crime lord named Gato in order to raise enough money to perform a second coup. Tasked with stopping the construction of a bridge between the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire, Zabuza ambushed Team 7, nearly taking out their leader, Kakashi Hatake, before being defeated. Rescued by Haku and his death faked, Zabuza engaged Kakashi again a week later while letting Haku take care of Naruto and Sasuke, keeping his opponent on the ropes by countering his Sharingan. With Haku's sacrifice, his own brutal defeat, Gato's betrayal and Naruto's speech, Zabuza, despite having suffered grievous injuries, fought his way through Gato's thugs and killed him, before dragging himself over to Haku's corpse and acknowledging him as the son he never had. Despite being an antagonist to him, Zabuza inspired much of Naruto's own philosophy.
- Haku of the Yuki Clan himself, too. He was born into the Land of Water and, from his mother's side, an inheritor of the Ice Release. After killing his abusive father in self-defense and as punishment for him killing his dear mother after finding out their heritage, the orphan child was adopted by the above-mentioned Zabuza Momochi, who raised Haku as a tool. Becoming a master assassin and Hunter Ninja, Haku would defect with Zabuza and dedicate himself to the Demon's goals. Saving Zabuza's life from Kakashi Hatake by faking his death, Haku arrives to face Naruto's team, establishing himself as a brilliant and strategic fighter who only avoids killing Sasuke Uchiha due to targeting nonvital spots upon him. When defeated, Haku even fools Naruto into letting him go to Zabuza's side, timing it so Kakashi unintentionally kills Haku while allowing Zabuza a final strike on Kakashi; his legacy is such that Naruto is even able to breach Zabuza's hardened heart by telling him the true depth of Haku's feelings, driving Zabuza to tears and to his magnificent Last Stand described above. For such a gentle-looking male Yamato Nadeshiko, Haku definitely makes a massive impression.
- Ibiki Morino is the head of Konoha's interrogation unit and a master torturer so renowned that Kisame Hoshigaki killed his own Cipher Corps comrades rather than allow Ibiki to obtain information from them. Applying his talents to the Chunin Exams, Ibiki crafts a masterpiece of psychological pressure for the students by forcing them to cheat on difficult questions and an unrevealed tenth question to first test the students' skill in spying. The tenth question is one where the students are given the choice between taking it or quitting with their team, the consequence being that they will never be able to become Shinobi should they fail. It turns out there is no tenth question and all who remain automatically pass, with Ibiki using his talents in psychology to test the students to see who has what it takes to be a Shinobi. He even goes as far as taking off his bandana, showing them the absolutely HORRIFYING scars on his Bald of Awesome that are the living proof of how many times he was subjected to Cold-Blooded Torture, and yet he managed to stay strong.
- Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, was the more pragmatic of the two Senju brothers and tried to strike a balance between the idealism of Hashirama Senju and the ruthlessness of Madara Uchiha. Inventing many jutsu for pragmatic purposes, such as the Flying Raijin, Shadow Clones and the Forbidden Edo Tensei, Tobirama perfected the art of striking swiftly and pragmatically, leading to him being able to mortally wound the skilled Izuna Uchiha in battle. After the village was founded, Tobirama would develop the Chunin Exams, ANBU corps and Ninja Academy while utilizing the Edo Tensei in the first ninja war as endless bombers, knowing the constructs could never be destroyed. Tobirama also gave the Uchiha clan the role of military police, partially to direct their energies into productive means, partially to keep an eye on them and swiftly deal with any new claimants to Madara's legacy. Upon his revival in the Fourth Shinobi World War, Tobirama proves himself a brilliant and intelligent fighter, able to perform intelligent strikes even on the Ten Tails Jinchuriki and is able to briefly match Madara himself, almost killing the mighty Uchiha with a hidden strike.
- Kidomaru of the East Gate, member of the Sound Four, is a calculating lover of games tasked by his master Orochimaru alongside his comrades to bring Sasuke to the Hidden Sound Village at all costs. After spiriting Sasuke away and maneuvering past Leaf Village ninja, the Sound Four stop to rest, and Kidomaru possessed the wherewithal to set up webs that would alert him of oncoming enemies, which pays off when the Sasuke Retrieval Squad chases them. Trying to buy Tayuya and Sakon time, Kidomaru skilfully uses his webs to halt the squad, but ultimately becomes a hard-fought enemy to Neji Hyuga. Throughout the fight, Kidomaru keeps his distance to ascertain the capabilities of the Byakugan and, through sheer analytical prowess, discovers the Kekkei Genkai's hidden weak spot and pushes Neji to the brink of death.
- Kisame Hoshigaki at first appears to be just another "thug lost in the mist", but is in truth one of the most level-headed and devoted members of Akatsuki. After defeating Killer Bee, Kisame uses a plan to fake his own death with a White Zetsu clone and infiltrates bee's village of Kumogakure, gathering intelligence on the Allied Shinobi Forces. It is revealed later that Kisame was once tasked with eliminating traitors and potential captives in his home village of the Mist, even luring his treacherous teacher to his death to claim his sword Samehada. When exposed, Kisame uses clever tactics to preserve the intelligence and eventually, realizing he is "not such a terrible man" after all, chooses to commit suicide rather than face capture and probable execution, while using his last moments to rig the scroll with a trap that results in the intelligence finding its way to his superiors anyways, his death so impressive and touching that even the incredibly forgetful Might Guy, Kisame's supposed nemesis, vows to remember Kisame for the rest of his life.
- Pictured above: Nagato Uzumaki, better known under the alias of "Pain", is the most visible leader of Akatsuki. Deciding that the world must know pain in order to know peace, Pain has the Akatsuki corner the war market in times of peace with Akatsuki acting as mercenaries in order to strengthen his group and weaken the military power of the villages. Secretly leading a rebellion in his home village of the Rain, Pain conceals his victory and projects an aura of mystery and power so as to be seen as a god. Secretly plotting to merge all the Tailed Beasts into a superweapon that will terrify the world into peace, Pain kills his former mentor Jiraiya and proceeds to attack Konoha with a series of ruthless, brilliant tactics that leave the village all but helpless against him. Finally facing down his cousin Naruto, and provoking him into almost completely letting himself be taken over by the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside him after forcing him to watch his prospective Love Interest Hinata Hyuga get fatally impaled right in front of him, what truly saves the Leaf from total destruction is Pain acknowledging his former idealism and sacrificing himself to revive everyone he's killed. With unmatched charisma and drive for his version of peace, Pain remains one of the most memorable and driven villains in the series.
- Obito Uchiha, AKA "Tobi", is the true mastermind behind the Akatsuki, who poses as Madara Uchiha. Saved from death as a child by Madara himself and witnessing his childhood crush Rin Nohara commit Suicide by Cop at the hands of his best friend Kakashi Hatake, Tobi plans to revive the Ten-Tails and use its power to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi in order to create a dream world where death does not exist. Starting by attacking the Hidden Leaf Village to gain control of the Nine-Tailed Fox, he uses the Akatsuki to capture Jinchuriki and drain them of their life energy so he can collect the Tailed Beasts sealed within them, and committed numerous atrocities in order to recruit Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. Tobi observes the Akatsuki's missions while pretending to be a useless idiot before eventually "revealing" himself as "Madara", in the process manipulating Itachi's brother Sasuke into joining his side and in the end declaring war on the Five Great Nations to gain control of the Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails. After the real Madara is reanimated by Kabuto, Obito successfully revives the Ten-Tails and manipulates Kakashi into destroying the seal that Madara implanted on his heart and becomes the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. Ultimately only stopped by a forced change of heart, Obito joins the fight against Madara and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, even sacrificing himself to help stop them, reuniting with Rin in the afterlife and winning Naruto's eternal respect.
- Shisui Uchiha is a true prodigy of the Uchiha clan and one who views the village as primarily important. Shisui is a genius ANBU and assassin who once fell to envy and hate when he allowed a friend to die, awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan. In the days of the Uchiha coup, Shisui helps to train his best friend Itachi, deciding on a scheme to use his Mangekyo power "Kotoamatsukami" to control Itachi's father Fugaku and end the coup. When Danzo steals his eye, Shisui instead uses his suicide to awaken Itachi's own Mangekyo to ensure he can protect the village, dying silently to entrust the future to his friend.
Boruto[]
- "Sumire Kakei", true name Sumire Shigaraki, is a seemingly shy, sweet young lady who is actually the daughter of a ROOT ninja named Tanuki Shigaraki and seeks revenge for her family's deaths by destroying the Hidden Leaf Village. Playing herself off as an innocent schoolgirl, Sumire infects others with negative emotions to harvest their chakra for her creature, the Nue, manipulating all around her and even using an attack to injure herself and deflect suspicion. Sumire manages to outwit and elude even other veteran ninja while summoning the Nue to destroy the village, only being stopped by Boruto Uzumaki helping her to realize how much she loved the mask she created and the friends she gained along the way.
- Ao was a former Hidden Mist Shinobi who became known as the "Byakugan Killer" after he killed a member of the main Hyuga family and took his right eye as his own, concealing it beneath an eyepatch with which he used to foil the plots of both Tobi and Danzo. Sustaining horrendous injuries during the Fourth Shinobi World War, Ao joins the terrorist organization Kara as one of the members of its "Outer Circle", befriending the inventor Katasuke while also manipulating him via genjutsu to give over vital technology for Kara's benefit. Utilizing scientific ninja tools to deadly effect and proving himself to still be a deadly warrior utilizing them, Ao ends up saving Boruto's life at the cost of his own when the boy reaches him by using a final ninjutsu to proclaim his identity as a Shinobi to the very end.
Naruto Hiden[]
- Kakashi Hiden: Lightning in the Icy Sky: Kahyo, a member of the Armament Alliance of Terrorists, is a grieving mother who lost her son due to no doctors being available thanks to the Fourth Shinobi World War. Sneaking aboard an airship with her brother Rahyo to free the Alliance's leader, Kahyo implants her powerful ice upon ninja and even Kakashi Hatake himself before the hijacking, using the hidden ice to kill and disable other shinobi while even matching wits and skills with Kakashi. Upon realizing Rahyo's extreme brutality, Kahyo sides against him and accepts her punishment to become warden of the notorious Blood Prison, but not before facing the Fourth Raikage in an exhibition match and out-maneuvering him before the watching Kages.