Naruto has been one of the most popular anime series in the world for decades, and it continues to have a strong legacy. Fans fell in love with the series because of its story, but they also enjoyed the action and characters. Like most successful stories, Naruto has interesting villains, and most of them are strong and highly skilled ninjas who can use various jutsu.
Certain Naruto villains, like Hidan, are evil for the sake of being evil, while others are far more complex. Like other shonen series, Naruto has a tendency of redeeming villains, and in some cases, that redemption is justified and earned. Unfortunately, other villains were redeemed even though they did a lot of terrible things, and worst of all, they did not suffer any real consequences for their actions.
10 Sasuke Uchiha
It is true that Sasuke is one of the strongest ninja in history, and it is also true that he helped to save the world by fighting Madara and Kaguya. That being said, Sasuke became an international criminal all for the sake of vengeance.
He attacked and attempted to capture Killer Bee, the 8-Tails' Jinchuriki. He then attacked the Five Kage Summit, where he killed Danzo – who was the 6th Hokage candidate. He then attempted to kill Sakura and Kakashi. He also wanted to kill the Tailed Beasts and the Five Kage after the war to start a revolution. Sasuke deserved to be punished, but all he got was a slap on the wrist.
9 Toneri Otsutsuki
Toneri is part of the Otsutsuki clan, and he was the main villain of The Last: Naruto the Movie. He was the sole survivor of the clan's branch family on the moon, and he was capable of using the Byakugan and Tenseigan. He could also use Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
He observed humanity for many years, and hated how they weaponized chakra, so he decided to destroy the Earth. Thanks to him, meteors rained down onto the planet, and he kidnapped Hanabi and tried to force Hinata to marry him. He realized he was wrong after his life was saved, and he was allowed to stay on the moon, even though he could change his mind at any time.
8 Kabuto
Kabuto had been a spy since he was a child, and as a result, he forgot who he really was. This allowed him to be recruited by Orochimaru, and he became a villain with unique skills. Kabuto helped to kill the 4th Kazekage, and he performed horrible experiments on Orochimaru's behalf.
When Orochimaru "died," Kabuto continued his legacy, and altered his body to the point he is no longer fully human. He killed dozens of innocent people to create the Edo Tensei army that fought during the war. Thanks to him, hundreds of allied ninjas were killed. He was not punished for his crimes however, instead, he was allowed to run an orphanage.
7 Konan
Konan was the only female member of the Akatsuki, and thanks to Jiraiya's training, she was able to become a skilled and dangerous ninja. Her village was decimated by war, and she watched as the man she loved sacrificed himself to save her.
She was a founding Akatsuki member, and she was willing to collect the Tailed Beasts so that the organization could bring about peace through devastation and pain. She invaded the Leaf Village and killed Leaf ninja in search of Naruto. She decided to leave true peace to Naruto, but she was still an international criminal, and she was allowed to return home instead of being captured.
6 Sasori
Sasori grew up in the Sand Village, and when his parents died, his grandmother introduced him to puppetry to make him happier. It worked for a time, but Sasori ended up becoming cold, and he did not care for human life anymore. He became obsessed with human puppets, to the point that he turned himself into one.
Sasori killed hundreds of people and added them to his collection, including the 3rd Kazekage. He intentionally hurt his village for the sake of his art, and then attacked it years later to capture Gaara. During the war, Sasori entrusted his puppets to Kankuro, and his soul was able to rest, signifying unjust redemption.
5 Rasa
Rasa was the Sand Village's 4th Kazekage, but more importantly, he was Gaara's father. His main duty was to protect his village and its inhabitants, and he thought that the best way to do this was to place a Tailed Beast inside Gaara while he was still in the womb.
Gaara was unable to control his Tailed Beast, and he had to stop it from rampaging numerous times. He ordered Gaara to be killed, and made him believe that his mother hated him. This turned his son into a monster who enjoyed killing. He told Gaara the truth during the war, and his soul was able to rest, but that does not make up for what he put Gaara through.
4 Zabuza
Zabuza was known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist, and he earned that nickname because he killed every student in the village's ninja academy. He was the first threat that Naruto and his team faced, and he is the man who trained Haku.
Haku treated him like a father, but Zabuza viewed him more like a weapon. Zabuza's redeeming act was killing Gato and his men before admitting that he cared for Haku. This would have been fine if Zabuza had not tried to cut through Haku to kill Kakashi, and it does not help that he only killed Gato because the crime boss canceled their contract.
3 Nagato
Nagato lost his parents and best friend to conflict, and these losses pushed him to form the Akatsuki and become Pain. Many consider Pain to be Naruto's best villain because of his backstory and strength, and they also like the fact that Naruto was able to make him see the light.
As Pain, Nagato killed Jiraiya and attacked the Leaf Village. He used the power of the Rinnegan to destroy the village and kill hundreds of villagers just to prove a point to Tsunade. He killed Fukasaku, and impaled Hinata in front of Naruto. In the end, he used the Rinnegan to resurrect every villager he killed during the assault, but this does not absolve him of all the destruction he caused.
2 Orochimaru
Orochimaru is one of most skilled ninja that the Leaf Village has ever produced, and he was as a major antagonist in the first half of the series. He wanted immortality, and in order to achieve this goal, he kidnapped innocent people and put them through horrific experiments.
He attempted to destroy the Leaf Village, which resulted in the deaths of many people, including the Third Hokage. He killed the 4th Kazekage, caused Sasuke to leave the Leaf Village, and turned individuals like Karin and Jugo into test subjects. Orochimaru deserved to be imprisoned, but he is basically allowed to roam free because he provided some help during the 4th Ninja War.
1 Obito Uchiha
When Obito was younger, he was very similar to Naruto, but his life changed when he witnessed Rin's death. He loved Rin, and did not want to live in a world without her, so he agreed to help carry out Madara's Eye of the Moon plan.
Obito was responsible for the Nine-Tails' attack on the Leaf Village. Naruto's parents died because of his actions, and years later, he plunged the ninja world into war. During the war, he killed Neji and taunted Naruto about it. In the end, Obito became a hero and got his happy ending with Rin in the afterlife because Naruto was finally able to get through to him.