A story that runs for fifteen years is bound to have many exciting twists and turns. Naruto Shippuden present not only intricate plot threads, but stunning revelations about the world and characters too.
The show had many reveals, but some hit far harder than others. Audiences were shocked, fan theories were proven and debunked, and the world of Naruto became more and more engaging with each one.
Kabuto is a Spy for the Villains' Side
While Kabuto Yakushi's status as a villain may be a given to late arrivals and longtime fans, he was introduced in the Chunin Exam Arc as kind and harmless. With his intelligence and his ninja info cards, he helped the younger and less experienced Team 7 get through the first stages of the exam.
In the episode "Clone vs. Clone: Mine are Better Than Yours!", he is revealed to be a spy for the Hidden Sound Village, giving Orochimaru intel on the exam's participants in preparation for their coming attack. For anyone who thought he was only meant to be an older mentor figure to the rookie shinobi, his true nature was a nasty surprise.
There are Multiple Tailed Beasts
In the first series, the Nine-Tailed Fox is portrayed as wholly unique, a single malevolent beast of destruction that targeted the Leaf Village out of bloodlust. The Shukaku sealed inside Gaara is treated as a similar situation to Naruto's, but the creatures themselves being unrelated.
sealing them into human hosts called jinchuuriki for generations. Later, they are revealed to be not only intelligent, but parts of the same being: the Sage of Six Paths defeated the Ten-Tails and split its chakra into nine new creatures to prevent it from being reborn.
Sasuke Leaves the Hidden Leaf Village
The most significant turn of events in the first series is Sasuke's decision to defect from the village. It's a complete game changer for both the show and the audience. Feeling weak and inadequate, especially compared to Naruto, he leaves to Orochimaru, who has promised to make him stronger. This starts his turn as an antagonist, which continues through the majority of Naruto Shippuden.
Naruto catches up to him at the Valley of the End and fights him in some of best episodes according to IMDb. But shockingly, he loses the fight, and Sasuke escapes while he is unconscious. For the rest of the series, Naruto makes it his mission to find Sasuke and bring him back to the Leaf Village.
Gaara Becomes the Kazekage
In the first series, Gaara of the Sand is both a terror and a tragic outcast from the Hidden Sand Village. His flashbacks show him to have been hated by the entire village and survived numerous assassination attempts as a child. Fighting Naruto made him reconsider the misathropic worldview this gave him.
In Shippuden, it's revealed just how far Naruto's influence took him: in just a few short years, Gaara became the Kazekage, beloved leader of his village. It's such a complete one-eighty in both Gaara's own approach to life and the Sand Village's view of him that even Naruto is surprised, and it's a huge indication of just how powerful Naruto's influence will be as a force for peace.
Akatsuki's Leader is Jiraiya's Former Student
The Akatsuki are incredibly powerful even ranked weakest to strongest. Even as each member is gradually revealed, Akatsuki's leader Pain is still kept in shadow, his motives and identity a mystery until the Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant and Pain's Assault arcs.
Jiraiya tracks down and fights Pain, who is revealed to fight using six different bodies. He kills Jiraiya with this technique, but not before Jiraiya deduces his identity: Nagato, one of the war orphans he had once trained as shinobi, who wants the Tailed Beasts' power to create world peace through fear. The difference between Nagato and Naruto, and what they both took away from Jiraiya's teachings, is what makes this reveal truly shocking.
The Uchiha Massacre Wasn't Itachi's Idea
Sasuke's sole motivation is to kill his brother Itachi to avenge his family. Itachi slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan, telling Sasuke that he did it to test his own abilities, and he only left Sasuke alive to be a potential future challenge. It's only after Itachi's death, in the episode "Fate," that Sasuke and the audience learn that he lied, completely upending their view of who he was.
The Uchiha clan was planning to launch a coup on the Leaf Village, and Itachi was ordered by the village elders to wipe them all out. To avoid war, Itachi did so, sparing only his beloved brother, and let himself be seen by everyone as a heartless villain. Hearing this drives Sasuke to want to destroy the entire Leaf Village to punish them for his brother's suffering.
Tobi Is Obito Uchiha
Tobi was the Akatsuki's odd one out: a cowardly goofball who succeeded only in annoying his teammates. Theories about who might be behind his mask abounded, with many fans certain that there had to be more to him. They were proven correct: "Tobi's" personality was revealed to be a front. He is actually a cold and ruthless murderer, and one of the most intelligent villains in Naruto.
He claims to be the late Madara Uchiha at first, but the episode "Who Are You?" reveals that Tobi's true identity is Obito Uchiha, Kakashi's teammate and the Fourth Hokage's student thought long dead. He is responsible for the Nine-Tailed Fox's attack on the Leaf Village and all the deaths it caused, and he also helped Itachi massacre the rest of the Uchiha clan. The revelation that one person is responsible for so much of the show's tragedy is huge.
Sharingan Cause Their s to Go Blind
Visual jutsu like the Sharingan are some of the strongest techniques in the Naruto universe. They grant their s several special abilities, such as copying any technique they see, and can be evolved into the even stronger Mangekyo Sharingan. But unlike most other eye techniques, it turns out that these powers all come with a terrible price.
The Mangekyo Sharingan can only be obtained through the death of the person the loves most, and if they use it too long, they will go permanently blind. Even worse is the cure for this side effect: stealing the Sharingan eyes of a close relative and transplanting them into their own to obtain Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. These secrets have caused generations of pain and bloodshed among the Uchiha clan.
Naruto is the Fourth Hokage's Son
For the majority of the show, Naruto knows nothing about his parents. Finally, in the episode "The Fourth Hokage," he gets to meet them both thanks to a jutsu set by his father: Minato Namikaze, the legendary Fourth Hokage. Minato sealed the Fox into his son, believing that one day he would master its power and use it to protect the world.
Not only that, but Naruto's mother Kushina was the Fox's previous jinchuuriki, and he is descended on her side from the once incredibly powerful Uzumaki clan. She explains why they chose to seal the Fox inside him and helps him take on more of the beast's chakra. Both Minato and Kushina's reveals hit audiences with massive insights into both Naruto's heritage and the Leaf Village's history.
Kaguya Exists
The final arc sees all five Hidden Villages uniting to protect the ninja world from its greatest threat ever. At first, this threat seems to be Obito and Madara Uchiha, but the ultimate battle turns out to be against Kaguya Otsutsuki, a being from another world who had been sealed in the moon but was freed by Black Zetsu. As Kaguya was a completely unknown and unforeshadowed character, fans never saw her coming.
She is retroactively connected to the rest of the show with the reveals that she is the originator of all chakra on Earth and the mother of the Sage of Six Paths, her sons and grandsons are the progenitors of several prominent shinobi clans, and Sasuke and Naruto are the reincarnations of her grandsons Indra and Asura.
