7 Times Naruto Could Have Died (But Survived Due to Plot Armor)

Naruto Uzumaki is the protagonist of Naruto series and certainly one of the strongest as well. He began his journey as an unremarkable academy student who had little to no talent to become a Shinobi at all. But through years of training and putting his life on the line, Naruto ended up becoming one of the strongest in the world. Over the years, Naruto Uzumaki found himself fighting some of the strongest characters in the entire series, and of course, in doing so, he also put his life in danger on several occasions. In fact, there are many instances in the Naruto series when he could have easily died but was only saved due to plot armor.

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When Minato and Kushina saved him from Kurama

One of the very first cases where Naruto Uzumaki was only saved because of the armor armor was right after he was born. Naruto's birth came with Obito Uchiha's attack on Konoha, where he also unleashed the power of Kurama. Naruto was within Obito's grasp and could easily have been killed with his kunai moments after his birth.

Later in the line, even Kurama tried to kill Naruto. If it hadn't been for Kushina and Minato, he would have most certainly died. Kurama's claw was inches away from Naruto's body and was only stopped due to his parents putting their bodies in danger and dying in the process. Had it not been for these two heroes, Naruto would have most certainly died that day.

When Naruto fought Kabuto

When Naruto fought Kabuto, he suffered quite a lot of damage. In fact, Kabuto even attacked Naruto's heart directly, inflicting incredible internal damage on him. At that point, survival for him should not have been possible. However, he was somehow able to manage. Normally, Naruto Uzumaki would have died, but considering he is the protagonist, he had to somehow live, especially with the help of Tsunade and the potent chakra Kurama.

As Naruto fought against pain

Naruto Uzumaki's fight against Pain was incredibly exciting, and definitely one of the very best battles the series has delivered over the years. In this fight, Naruto utilized the power of Sage Mode to the absolute maximum. But as he watched Hinata die before his eyes, Naruto began to lose control and his Tailed Beast began to take over. Eventually Naruto manifested all tails, meaning he had completely lost control. Despite Pain using the power of Chibaku Tensei on him to seal him, he failed to do so. This meant Kurama would fully manifest, and in the process Naruto Uzumaki would have died.

Naruto was moments away from death at this particular point in the story, however, somehow Minato Namikaze appeared. He had stored some of his chakra in Naruto's seal, reconstructing the seal on Kurama and allowing Naruto to regain a sense of shine, which then allowed him to beat Pain and save the world.

When Naruto was thrown off a cliff

Jiraiya kicks the rock Times Naruto almost died

Naruto Uzumaki faced death almost every time he faced a strong enemy, but one of the most overlooked moments was when Jiraiya trained him. On such occasion, Jiraiya kicked Naruto off the top of a cliff and forced him to evolve in the midst of mortal danger. Naruto's fall into the ravine would most certainly have killed him.

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It was at this point that he mastered the use of the Summoning Jutsu and managed to bring out Gamabunta, thanks to his incredible chakra reserves. Naruto was directly given chakra by Kurama at this point, but considering the fact that Kurama would most certainly have resurrected into the world and been freed if Naruto had died, it almost makes no sense why the beast decided to help him in the first place. This was clearly due to plot armor and something that still doesn't make sense to this day.

kurama extracted Times Naruto almost died

In the Fourth Great Ninja War, Naruto Uzumaki faced the threat of death on several occasions, but he came closest to death when Madara took Kurama from him. Normally, the extraction of a Tailed Beast from the host results in immediate death. But since Naruto Uzumaki is the main character, he could survive much longer.

Naruto was rescued by Gaara and immediately taken to Minatowho tried to transfer his half Kurama to him but failed. Eventually, it was Obito Uchiha who saved his life. While dying, Naruto even met Hagoromo Otsutsuki and gained Six Paths powers from him. What would have killed him instantly ended up giving him even more power, and this was a clear use of rather convenient plot armor.

When Naruto fought Kaguya

Kaguya Times Naruto almost died — Kaguya Otsutsuki against a blue sky.

Naruto Uzumaki fought against Kaguya on several occasions together with Sasuke Uchiha, but at no point did he face her all alone. Even so, Naruto Uzumaki stood up to her when it became clear that her power was incomprehensible, even compared to Six Paths Madara. Logically, Naruto shouldn't have stood a chance against her in battle, but being the protagonist, he suddenly became her equal. Naruto surviving the battle against Kaguya was clearly down to planning armor, but it was still impressive for him to be able to do well against her.

When Naruto used Baryon Mode

In the Boruto series, Naruto Uzumaki fought many powerful enemies, but the strongest of them all was clearly Isshiki Otsutsuki. This enemy was so strong that Naruto Uzumaki couldn't do any damage, even with his Six Paths Sage Mode. To properly stand in Isshiki's way, Naruto had to use the power of Baryon Modewhich pushed his overall powers beyond all limits.

But Baryon Mode was always going to be a double-edged sword. It essentially used Naruto and Kurama's chakra as raw material to create a new form of energy, meaning they would die when their energy ran out. Despite Naruto having much less chakra reserves than Kurama's, he was able to survive Baryon Mode while Kurama ended up dying. Without plot armor, it would most certainly have been Naruto Uzumaki who ended up dying in this battle, with Kurama surviving. At the end of the day, Naruto was still deeply affected by the use of this power, as he became incredibly weak compared to before. He was then sealed away by Kawaki, and to this day has not made an appearance in the series.

Naruto is available to watch on Crunchyroll.