Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden are packed with influential and fascinating characters. Fans of the shōnen epic get to follow the personal, moving life stories of many of these beloved characters, from the lead protagonists that make up Team 7 to their friends, family, mentors, and even enemies.
However, with so much conflict, personal trials, and overarching themes to cover, some characters are sadly passed over despite their fascinating jutsu, personable attributes, or profound contributions to the ninja world. While this makes sense, as the series’ main focus has always been primarily on Naruto and Sasuke, it’s unfortunate to see so many promising additions to the cast fall to the wayside.
Many of these notable one-off characters definitely deserve more screen time, or spin-offs – similar to the many Naruto light novels that expand on popular character backstories of their own that fans would love to see.
Kagami Uchiha appeared for just a brief moment in Naruto, but the little that fans get to know about him could spin an interesting story. Kagami was among the first few hundred students to graduate from the Ninja Academy after the founding of Konoha. On top of that, he became friends with Danzō Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi when they were younger, as they all studied under the Second Hokage, Tobirama.
Being a trusted Uchiha to the former Hokage, one known to be prejudiced against them, already sets an interesting opening for Kagami’s story. His character provides ample opportunities for world-building regarding the political state of Konoha, and provide further details about everything the Uchiha family used to do for the village before their untimely demise.
Darui could have had a bigger moment to shine during the Five Kage Summit and the Fourth Great Ninja War. As the trusted right hand to the Kumogakure village leader, the audience is quickly clued into his mental and physical capacity. Such as with his unique black lightning technique, a special jutsu passed down from his mentor, the Third Raikage.
Darui’s sufficiency with a sword and jutsu techniques would make him an interesting character to expound upon, as little is explained about his upbringing and accomplishments before becoming the next Raikage. Additionally, his unique set of skills and jutsu would have been an interesting contrast to ninja fans have seen in other parts of the world.
First mentioned late in the series (Episode #200, “Naruto’s Plea”), Yagura Karatachi is grossly looked over to the disappointment of Naruto fans. Yagura stood as a force to be reckoned with, as he was the Three-Tails jinchūriki and the Fourth Mizukage. By possessing a unique summoning power, bijū chakra, and being adept at hand-to-hand combat, he was able to hold his own against two of the strongest Akatsuki members in the entire series, Itachi and Jūzō.
Adding even more intrigue, the young man was known for his tyrannical, merciless rule after being placed under Tobi’s genjutsu. The series’ fans would love to see how Karatachi’s once seemingly diplomatic demeanor slowly descended to ruin with the Akatsuki’s meddling, and how he rose to power in the first place.
Kushina has – rightfully – cemented her place as a beloved Naruto character by having one of the most heart-wrenching stories in the franchise. Fans see lovely snippets of her devotion to family and ultimate sacrifice in the protagonist’s backstory, especially being his mother, but it would be amazing to see more of her history as a kunoichi. Coming from the legendary Uzumaki bloodline, she was known for possessing a great deal of strength, stamina, healing abilities, and sealing powers from a young age.
She learned how to be Kurama’s jinchūriki from the infamous Mito Uzumaki, thus increasing her power and other capabilities. Kushina’s brief backstory is relatively lighthearted, despite the undertones of war, putting a spotlight on her relationship with Minato before their deaths, but it would be a riveting story to see the trials and battles she had to go through to get there.
For as long as Yamato is featured in Naruto, fans get to see his creation, his dark beginnings in the world of shinobi, and his journey to find the light over the years, but his story could definitely use more narrative exploration. His wood release jutsu sets him apart from every other character in the series, and how he came to have it obtain it through his abduction by Orochimaru is intriguing, to say the least. His story also happens to overlap with much of what happens to Kakashi and Itachi during their time in the Anbu.
Despite his silly demeanor when interacting with Team 7 post-timeskip, his compelling nature and somber past is enticing to Naruto fans, especially those interested in what life was like when Kakashi and Itachi were younger.
Konoha’s ‘Yellow Flash’ quickly made a name for himself. Renowned all over the shinobi world for his terrifying speed and deadly accuracy during the Third Shinobi World War, his power and strategy were unmatched. Minato became the Fourth Hokage, and mentored other notable fan-favorite characters like Kakashi, Obito and Rin, and later fathered the series’ protagonist – Naruto Uzumaki himself.
He is used throughout the series, driving Naruto forward and later aiding during the final conflict, but Minato’s life pre-reanimation got cut short, despite the fan hype surrounding him. With such a long list of interesting traits and accomplishments, there would be plenty of information to go off of if Namikaze got his own spin-off arc.
Tobirama Senju is, despite not appearing much in canon material, well-known as an absolute force to be reckoned with. Standing by his brother Hashirama, he helped realize the vision of Konoha village after fighting in a seemingly endless war since childhood. Much of the Hidden Leaf’s stability and institution can be credited to him, as well as infamous jutsu techniques, like the Rasengan, that were passed down and refined by other strong shinobi.
Naruto: Shippuden sadly glossed over Tobirama’s battles, mentoring moments, and even his death. Being the brother to one of the gods of shinobi, an infamous Senju, and a pragmatic leader, seeing more of his story and life could make for riveting battles and conflict, adding layers to the political angle of Naruto‘s world.
Mito Uzumaki is one character that the animated series does not go into great detail with, despite her compelling character traits. Not only was she a figure of the prominent Uzumaki clan and the wife of Hashirama Senju, but she became the first jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails after the Valley of the End battle. This was an unprecedented occurrence at the time and could set up a special plotline to parallel Naruto’s journey with Kurama.
Lamentably, not much is known about her fighting prowess or jutsu, other than her sealing skills. With little groundwork to go off of, Mito Uzumaki’s life could be engrossing for diehard Naruto fans that want to know more about the history and lore surrounding the Uzumaki family.
Sakumo Hatake is yet another unfortunate character whose main note is his death and how it contributes to another character’s growth. However, fans are clued into his loyalty, genius, and ninja talents that were spoken highly of. His reputation was known across many villages, as his white light chakra saber and sword skills earned him the impressive pseudonym ‘Konoha’s White Fang’.