Violence is a regular part of life for Naruto's shinobis and kunoichis. After all, it's what they're trained for from the time they are born. Between one on one battles while out on a mission, to the seemingly unavoidable nature of war, there have been plenty of violent fights in Naruto. In fact, some of the anime's most violent battles play important roles in establishing or furthering major story arcs.
Orochimaru's battle with the Third Hokage, Hirozen Sarutobi, for example, factored heavily into Konoha's future. It launched Naruto and Jiraiya into their search for Lady Tsunade, who would become the Fifth Hokage. It also drove the early rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke to a point of no return. Between the Akatsuki and Madara Uchiha's behind the scenes machinations, several of the series' most violent fights took place during Naruto Shippuden.
10 Sakura and Lady Chiyo Vs. Sasori
During the "Kazekage Rescue Mission" arc of Naruto Shippuden, Sakura and Lady Chiyo came face to face with the relentless Akatsuki puppet master, Sasori. The battle took place across eight episodes, with Sakura demonstrating her improved strength and the medical ninjutsu knowledge she gained after the time skip. During the battle, Sakura punched Sasori so hard it blew his puppet body to pieces.
Of course, that wasn't the end of him, but it did give her a minute to catch her breath before the battle resumed. The fight was as emotional as it was bloody, allowing Sakura to prove her strength and usefulness against a top-notch enemy like Sasori.
9 Orochimaru Vs. the Third Hokage
Battles between master and pupil have been a popular story mechanism since the dawn of time, so it was only natural to see former Hidden Leaf ninja and Legendary Sannin Orochimaru battle the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi during the "Konaha Crush" arc. Their battle was inevitable as Orochimaru forced Hiruzen to face the pupil he let go years prior, despite the heinous crimes he comitted in his quest for immortality.
The violent use of corpses in this battle makes it undeniably awful. Reanimating the bodies of the First and Second Hokages, Orochimaru uses them to battle the Third, revealing once more just how little regard Orochimaru has for others. In the end, Hiruzen's only recourse was to use the Reaper Death Seal to draw part of Orochimaru's soul from his arm, but this also meant his death. Any battle with Orochimaru promises to be violent, bloody and horrifying.
8 Sasuke Vs. Naruto: The First Battle
Sasuke and Naruto were more alike than either of them ever wanted to admit, and early on it was their similarities and their jealousy that created differences between them. On his quest to grow strong enough to take out Itachi, Sasuke accepted Orochimaru's invitation, but Naruto refused to let him go. After Naruto and his team chased Sasuke and Orochimaru's henchman across miles, the final battle culminated between the eternal rivals.
Trading insults and bloody blows, Sasuke came out on top of this battle after using the curse mark Orochimaru bestowed on him. Sasuke wanted to kill Naruto right then and there, but couldn't do it. Instead, he left him unconscious and bleeding for Kakashi to find when he finally arrived too late to intervene.
7 Sasuke Vs. Orochimaru
The irony of Orochimaru's arrogance was delivered through Sasuke Uchiha. Promising to give him the power to defeat Itachi in exchange for becoming the Legendary Sannin's next bodily host, Sasuke paid close attention to every one of his new master's lessons, then he turned the tables on him.
There was a remarkable amount of violence in this fight, but none more shocking than the implication of Sasuke's consumption of Orochimaru in order to gain access to his full power. Orochimaru fostered the monster already growing inside Sasuke, and that monster literally rose up to swallow his master like a snake.
6 Might Guy Vs. Madara Uchiha
Though Might Guy and his faithful student Rock Lee provided a lot of comic relief across the series, no one could deny that Guy was incredibly powerful even though his skill with ninjutsu was severely lacking. A master of taijutsu, he managed to fight off the Six Tails by himself, and would have defeated Madara Uchiha with the Eighth Gate of Death if the bodily pain hadn't distorted his concentration. Despite the violent brutality of this fight, Madara held Guy in very high regard, calling him the strongest taijutsu user he'd ever encountered.
Guy managed to issue a kick that would have killed Madara if his body hadn't started to disintegrate. Even though he managed to survive thanks to Naruto's intervention, Might Guy's body was permanently damaged. Despite spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair, he continued to devote himself to training in order to overcome any limitations that might come from not being able to use his legs.
5 Sasuke Vs. Deidara
It's no surprise that Sasuke features in several of the series' most violent fights. Completely driven by nothing but hatred and vengeance, Sasuke lacked the ability to feel empathy at that time in his life. That made him a dangerous and remarkable foe.
His fight with Deidara not only highlighted his tactical brilliance, but his absolute unwillingness to die until he finished what he'd set out to do. Some of the most violent moments of this battle included Deidara disintegrating Sasuke's body with microscopic bombs and Deidara actually blowing himself up with a suicide bomb Sasuke evaded with the use of Snake Hands.
4 Kakashi Vs. Obito
Considering that Kakashi spent several years mourning Obito and blaming himself for his death, the showdown between these former teammates promised to be epic. More than anything, Kakashi wanted his old friend to see reason, but all that time Kakashi was mourning him, Obito was seething with hatred because of the lies Madara fed him.
The violence in this battle was delivered with a certain amount of finesse, especially when Kakashi came to the conclusion that even though the bond they once shared led to his own growth as a shinobi and mentor, he had to kill Obito. Unleashing a lightning-fused kunai, it pierced Obito's heart, but he teleported away, back to Madara.
3 Shikamaru Vs. Hidan
Team Asuma's encounters with Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu were some of the most violent and emotional moments of Naruto Shippuden's early days. Not only did they have to stand by and watch as their sensei was killed, they had to out-strategize two dangerously violent ninja with abilities well beyond them. Fortunately, strategy has always been one of Shikamaru's strong suits. Shikamaru used his Shadow Paralysis to lead Hidan away from Kakuzu, so he could be more easily dealt with one on one. Hidan was one of the most violent ninjas in the series, taking great delight in torment and death, and Shikamaru used this to his advantage.
Obtaining a vial of Kakuzu's blood, Shikamaru faked an injury that allowed Hidan to believe he was about to be sacrificed to Jashin. Shikamaru set up numerous paper bombs, which he then used to blow Hidan to pieces. Being immortal, Hidan was still able to talk, even after he was in pieces, and though he laughed, promising to return and enact his revenge, Shikamaru buried his remains in a closely guarded pit.
2 Jiraiya Vs. the Six Paths of Pain
Every battle the Six Paths of Pain featured in was intensely violent, with an entire village collapsing in destruction to the way he sent Hinata flying every time she tried to fight for the rod-bound Naruto at Pain's feet. The battle between Jiraiya and Pain is not only another brutal representation of the student rising to slay the master, but the execusion is absolutely awful. There are moments when Jiraiya draws upon his skills as a Sage to gain advantage, but even with help from the toads of Mount Myoboku it's just not enough to defeat his former student.
The worst part is Nagato states that if Jiraiya knew the truth about how he used the Six Paths of Pain, he would've been able to defeat him. Slowly dying, he drifts to the bottom of the sea as ribbons of blood swarm around him, and he reminisces about the end of his story. The impact of his death, while necessary for Naruto to achieve greatness, offered a peaceful solution to war that dawned on the brink of the Fourth Shinobi World War.
1 Naruto Vs. Sasuke: Final Showdown
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At long last, nothing could stand between Naruto and Sasuke in the Valley of the End Part 2. Driven to become the next Hokage to correct the wrongs of the past and shoulder the hatred himself, Sasuke's attempt to take away the one thing that had always been Naruto's dream led them to their final and most violent confrontation. At the height of their power (at the time), they began on equal footing, but at long last Naruto proved himself the most powerful between them.
Not only were both ninjas on the brink of death as they lie side by side and Sasuke conceded, but they both lost an arm. There wounds were so severe that if either of them moved, they would bleed out. They barely even looked human as the unbreakable bond of brotherhood was at long last recognized between them.