Top 10 Naruto Characters with the Saddest Backstories or Childhoods

Gaara's mother died almost immediately after he was born. Unlike his siblings, he was targeted by their father, who tried multiple times to kill him. After his mother's death, Gaara was left under the care of his uncle, Yashamaru, who showed him love and affection when no one else would.

Unfortunately, there came a point when even Yashamaru turned on Gaara, leaving him devoid of any love in his childhood. Gaara began to see life as pointless, believing his only reason to live was to kill.

With the One-Tail (Shukaku) sealed within him, Gaara struggled to control it, causing the entire village to fear and hate him. He was abandoned by everyone he knew and loved.

How can anything be sadder than being forced to kill your clan and family, especially since he had always been their pride? Itachi's pain never receded. After Shisui's death, Itachi had no one by his side.

He lived his life as a double agent and met his end at the hands of his little brother. He protected Konoha at all costs, even if it meant that he would be scorned. Itachi is an unsung hero.

Itachi was a rogue ninja from the Uchiha clan of the Hidden Leaf. To tell the truth, I definitely think Itachi should be number two, after Naruto and Gaara. He awakened the Sharingan at 8 and truly loved his little brother Sasuke. But then someone named Danzo showed up and ruined his life. Itachi saw all of his friends and family die right in front of him, and he killed his own parents because of Danzo. Then he had to die right in front of his little brother to help Sasuke avenge his clan.

Naruto was born like Gaara, with a dangerous creature hidden inside his body, his parents gone, leaving him alone, sad, and scared. Everyone hates him, scared that the demon fox will take over his body and attack the village again.

He then becomes the class clown in order to get rid of the pain and hopes to achieve his dream of being the 5th Hokage.

His childhood was so sad and depressing. Moments like this make me think the real villains were the villagers. Had it not been for their prejudice and hatred, many of the characters wouldn't have turned evil.

He was just a broken child who traveled across the country asking for food and water. He wanted someone to care for him, but they all just ignored him.

The villains always have the sadder backstory. The hero ends up getting loved and praised by everyone, while the villain stays alone. Nagato never really turned evil. He was just twisted. After witnessing the death of one of his closest friends, Yahiko, as well as his parents and his pets, his view of the world changed dramatically.

He just wanted the world to have peace, and he made people suffer to make them put themselves in someone else's shoes. Nagato, at that point, thought that true, legitimate peace - where people could truly understand each other - was impossible without knowing the same pain.

If you think about it, friendships are formed through bonds, and bonds are formed through shared experiences. Humans learn instinctually through pain, which is one of the ultimate forms of learning. But he soon let hate take over, and he lost control.

No one ever comes close to making me cry rivers of tears like Obito Uchiha. The Uchiha bloodline is cursed with extreme emotions, which lead them to act irrationally. Obito lost literally everything. He was truly alone - an orphan - and even his body was severely damaged. He was trained and brainwashed by the manipulative Madara at a young age, and the only person who was important to him was taken away all at once.

He lost his moral compass and had no reason to continue living. Even if he returned to the village, Madara would have ensured his death. Poor Obito could never catch a break! His life truly sucks. I hated Madara for what he did! Obito deserved a chance in life, and Madara destroyed it.

I've always believed that Kakashi's backstory is one of the saddest. He knew his father, but then his father committed suicide. It's worse to have known someone and then lose them, than never to have known them at all. You experience their love and then lose it. Obito "died," leaving him with the responsibility of Rin. It wasn't his fault that he killed Rin! Do you think he wanted to kill her? That's absurd! Kakashi was left with the guilt of having failed Obito. Then, to make things worse, his sensei died from the Nine-Tails attack. He lived a lonely life until Team 7 came along.

Kakashi's father killed Sasori's parents in front of him without cause, during the war. Sasori felt great pain from their deaths and even held a grudge against himself because of it.

Sasori escaped from Kakashi's father but ran away with nowhere to go. He soon found his grandma, who took care of him, and he eventually made puppets of his parents to make it feel like they were still alive. Sasori even chose to let himself die at the hands of his grandma and Sakura.

He grew up in a sad and lonely environment. After the death of his parents, he became heartbroken and sad. His grandma took care of him and loved him, but she never gave him the real attention or affection that Sasori wanted.

Sasori was broken after seeing other kids with their families, and all he wanted was for someone to give him the same care that he once had in the past.

I like how the list is, and I think Sasuke should be third. Now, I'm not saying what happened to him and his clan wasn't bad. It's how he was after that which leads me to think he should be third on the list.

Sasuke had admirers and people who wanted to take him in. This kid was a stranger brought to the Leaf Village, and they accepted him right away. While almost everyone wanted to get close to him, he pushed them all away and allowed himself to continue being hurt.

He didn't have to work to earn those people's trust like Naruto did. He had a family who loved him, unlike Gaara, who was going to be killed by his uncle, who was ordered by his father to do so. So even though Sasuke lost everything he had with the Uchiha Clan, he had the chance to start a new life with people who cared for him, something that Naruto and Gaara always wanted.

I do like Sasuke a bit. He is cool, and his desire for revenge on his brother seems reasonable. He would've been second if he hadn't allowed himself to continue to be hurt. He still could've planned his revenge while trying to make the best of his life, but no, he just wanted to continue feeling the pain he felt.

Honestly, I'm surprised no one has thought about him yet. He sees his brothers and family members die all the time. Then when he finally finds someone to talk to (Hashirama), the two families pull them apart just because of the last name.

Then his only brother left gives him his eyes because he was going to die anyway... so underrated.

He lost three brothers in his childhood. The last brother, whom he loved deeply, was also killed. He truly wished for peace, but his life was ruined by Black Zetsu and Kaguya.

Imagine if he and Gaara could have had each other's backs as best friends and siblings, but he was kept apart from his brother.

I don't see any true fan here. This guy obviously deserves 1st place on the list. Itachi's pain is nothing compared to this guy's burden. Well, he didn't have brother issues anyway. I won't say anything. This guy is the embodiment of paracetamol, in my opinion.

What a sacrifice! A true heroic anime character that gives us a life lesson.

When Haku was a child, he manifested a kekkei genkai, which allowed him to create and control ice. His mother, who was descended from the Yuki clan, was horrified by this. She knew that her clan was subjected to severe discrimination and didn't want anyone to find out where she came from.

When Haku's father found out, he assembled a group of villagers to help him destroy Haku and his mother. Haku survived by using his ice powers to take down his father and the rest of the mob. However, Haku's father had already murdered his mother.

Now an orphan who had to fend for himself in a hostile world, Haku ended up partnering with Zabuza Momochi. He grew extremely attached to Zabuza and was willing to do basically anything for him. But it wasn't until after Haku had sacrificed his life for Zabuza that the man showed he appreciated him.

Kabuto's backstory is actually so sad! When he was thanking his mother constantly, it broke my heart. The fact that the mother doesn't recognize who he was is upsetting because she was the one to give him an identity. To have that taken away again is painful. He has no idea who he is, no identity, nothing. He was alone from the very beginning. All he ever wanted was to find himself, to know who he truly is.

Danzo literally ruined his life by trying to dispose of Kabuto and the mother. How tragic that must have been.

Rock Lee was laughed at by his peers for not having genjutsu or ninjutsu. So what? You shouldn't pick on anybody! I'm glad Lee showed them they were wrong about him.

Has anyone thought of Hashirama? While his story isn't the saddest, it's still pretty sad. It's mostly like Madara's, but Hashirama tries to find humor in most situations. If he can't find any, he tries to do or say something to lift the moods of those around him.

She was alone during her childhood, without any friends or people to talk to until she met Pain. Pain and Konan were both starving orphans from the war.

Konan should be ranked before Karin Uzumaki because she was almost killed. And of course, if Orochimaru had seen her Paper Release when she was still a kid, then maybe she and her friends would be with Orochimaru by now!

Konan is a kunoichi of the Akatsuki and the Hidden Rain. She was a war orphan along with her three friends, Chibi, Nagato, and Yahiko. Though Yahiko and Chibi died, they still continued their organization called the Akatsuki. But instead of Yahiko being the leader, Nagato took over as leader.

Come on, guys, Kimimaro's story is so sad. He was feared by his clan, who kept him in a jail cell, and then they all died. Then he met Orochimaru, who he thought he was important to, but he wasn't in the end. Not to mention that he literally died from a fatal illness.

Kimimaro just wanted to feel wanted.

I felt so bad for her. Orochimaru killed her younger brother and her beloved, and it changed her.

Her life is so sad, and nobody even notices? I knew she wasn't going to be in the top tens, but she should. She's so misunderstood, honestly. Her brother dies, Dan dies, Jiraiya dies, and Hashirama as well. They were really close when she was young, so I had to put her on the list.

She lived most of her life thinking that she was cursed.

Of course, her backstory is nothing compared to Gaara, Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi, but she really had a sad childhood. Do you know what it feels like to have a father that always looks down on you? A father that hates your existence, to the point that it doesn't matter to him if you are dead or alive. Not just a father, but a whole clan that looks down on you. And where is Hinata's mother? She is either dead, which is unfortunate for Hinata, or she doesn't care if her little daughter is treated poorly, which is even worse.

Do you know what it feels like to live every day of your life with a sibling that wants to kill you? Not a blessed life, I guess.

His father was the joke of the village, and nobody respected him. He trained his hardest and kept pushing himself past normal limits to become a respectable shinobi. He saw his father die for something he truly loved and cared for, and he was willing to do the same when he fought Madara.

He is the most relatable character and has realistic motivation for all the losers.