Does Sasuke Become Good in Naruto? (2023)

One of the most notable characters in the Naruto series was Uchiha Sasuke. From a burdened boy to missing-nin and enemy of Konohagakure, Sasuke went through a lot in the Naruto series. Frankly, some of his actions weren’t justifiable, which prompted some fans to proclaim him the real villain in the Ninja World. However, we see The Last Uchiha in the epilogue and post-Naruto series, mostly away from the Hidden Leaf, and that made us curious – does Sasuke become good in Naruto?

Uchiha Sasuke definitely became good, which is hinted at at the end Naruto series and confirmed in Boruto: Naruto Next Generation. Sasuke is mostly away from Hidden Leaf, away from his family and friends, wandering the Ninja World, “fixing” the mistakes he made in his vengeful youth. In the end, his biggest supporter and friend, Naruto, brings him back to Konohagakure and shows him the way to good after the hard faithful battle in the Valley of the End.

We will discuss this topic more by mentioning why Sasuke became evil, what happened in that period, and analyze his redemption arc post-Naruto. If you are interested in this topic, stay with us until the end of the article.

Is Sasuke a villain in Naruto?

Ninja World in Naruto is full of danger, and since the first episode of the series, our heroes are constantly fighting against something or someone. The children of the Hidden Villages are under constant pressure, preventing them from enjoying their childhoods.

Uchiha Sasuke is the best (or worst) example because his life was destroyed when his brother massacred their clan, including their parents. Young Sasuke didn’t know what his brother Itachi had to do to protect him and why he had to kill everyone. From that point on, Sasuke sought revenge against his brother. Sasuke had to become the best shinobi possible to fulfill his goal because Itachi was a prodigy and generational talent. To do that, a young boy needed to get the best possible mentorship.

Before that, Sasuke had to live with a vicious trauma left by his own blood and go through the Academy as if everything was alright. Enter Uzumaki Naruto, a larger-than-life boy who hid grief and despair behind his big smile, and Sakura, a girl who immediately developed a crush on young Uchiha.

The trio couldn’t be more different, but the graduation brought Genin teams, and Team Seven with cold and aloof Hatake Kakashi was formed. Sasuke found himself in a strange situation – an overeager girl who wanted to be noticed by him and an overeager boy who wanted to prove to him he was the best.

Despite his teammates showing him affection in their own way, Sasuke never reciprocated, which led to him leaving Konohagakure in the end. With the eagerness to get better and become stronger than his brother Itachi, Sasuke left his village and his friends and reached out to a missing-nin and criminal, Orochimaru.

Orochimaru used young Sasuke for his experiments and his own gain while “poisoning” his mind with hate. Over the years, each member of Team Seven was mentored by Konoha’s legendary Sannin, and two and a half years later met again. Sasuke has changed – he became even colder and showed no hesitation in killing Sakura and Naruto.

Sakura, Sai, and Captain Yamato realize Sasuke has changed, but Naruto still hopes he will get his friend back. While Team Seven are dealing with their problems, Sasuke finally meets his older brother Itachi again. They have a fated battle that changes Sasuke’s perspective on everything – Tobi even tells Sasuke a skewed truth about what happened to Itachi.

Sasuke has a new mission – to avenge his brother and destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. This moment marks Sasuke’s true”villainy” in the Naruto series – despite being a missing-nin all this time, Itachi’s death triggers worse feelings for Sasuke.

While Naruto was uniting the Ninja World with a Will of Fire and love, Sasuke spread violence and danger, which made him enemy number one. Everything escalated during the Five Kage Summit story arc when Danzo Shimura revealed his evil deeds and usage of Itachi to control Konohagakure behind the scenes. Moreover, the leader of the notorious Root revealed his collection of Sharingan eyes that he took harvested from dead Uchiha members for years.

Revenge and grief have no boundaries, and after defeating Danzo, Sasuke reveals to his former teammates his goal – to destroy Konoha and everything in it, and that nothing can stop him. Sasuke became a true villain in that moment – an unhinged individual that strongly reminded us of Madara Uchiha.

Now that everyone knows Sasuke’s goal and his insanity is at the ultimate high, does Sasuke ever become good in Naruto?

Does Sasuke ever become good in Naruto?

After the reveal that his brother was used by the village (indirectly) and that Danzo Shimura is behind his clan’s massacre, Sasuke is on the warpath against anything connected to Konoha. His former teammates, especially Sakura, finally realize that Sasuke is far too gone, but Naruto still hopes his friend has something good in him.

After that event, the Fourth Shinobi World War is on the horizon; Tobi reveals his true face, and years of planning and sneaky doings are finally in the open. Obito and Madara Uchiha plan to take all Tailed Beasts and awaken mythical Ten-Tails.

While that’s happening, Killer B and Naruto are hidden from danger, and Sasuke finally realizes that there is more behind Tobi’s skewed story – he awakens Orochimaru, who uses Edo-Tensei for deceased Hokages.

However, his brother Itachi is resurrected as well by Kabuto. After helping him defeat Orochimaru’s pupil, Itachi tells Sasuke the full truth, which the younger Uchiha interprets in his own way.

Eventually, the war starts, and Naruto joins the fight against Obito and Madara Uchiha. Sasuke puts his revenge “on pause” and joins the Allied Shinobi Forces to fight. Now, this is where it gets interesting – Sasuke reveals to everyone that he will become a Hokage and save the Ninja World, which implies that he, once again, misinterpreted what Itachi said to him.

This is not uncommon for Sasuke, who, frankly, didn’t have anyone to guide him. Naruto had Iruka-sensei, while Sasuke was too burdened with relying on anyone. The final fight continues, and our heroes experience grief, loss, and violence never seen before. After a gruesome fight that saw many casualties and the revival of the goddess (Kaguya), who Team Seven defeated, seemingly good Sasuke turns against his friends one last time.

Sasuke wants to kill all Tailed Beasts, its jinchuuriki’s, and Kage because these are the biggest evils of the world, and with them gone, the Ninja World will find peace – with him at the helm. Once again, Naruto is against that and tells Sasuke that the vicious circle of violence needs to stop.

After Sasuke dismisses Naruto’s philosophies, the battle in Valley of the End begins, resulting in missing limbs and, finally, a “sane” Sasuke. Young Uchiha finally understands what his brother and Naruto want to achieve – peace without violence.

Sasuke finally realizes that he was wrong and that his friends never gave up on him, and he decides that violence and drive for revenge needs to stop – young Uchiha finally returns to Konohagakure. Of course, Sasuke is on trial for his crimes, and with the help of Team Seven, he is released. In the epilogue of the Naruto series, Sasuke is seen departing Konoha to travel the world and fix all his wrongdoings.

He still has a missing limb, which he uses as a punishment, and he travels the world while spreading the peace Naruto started. Sasuke is finally good in the Naruto series. Personally, this is actually the first time Sasuke is truly good in Naruto. But why?

Since his youth, Sasuke carried a huge burden that included a determination to kill his brother and revenge for his clan’s extermination. Despite his Team Seven supporting him, especially Kakashi, Sasuke never showed that much compassion towards other people and declined any help sent his way.

After the battle in the Valley of the End, for the first time in his life, Sasuke finally found a positive purpose – to heal the world from the pain and protect the village for newer generations. In Boruto, Naruto is a Hokage and the leader of the peaceful world, and Sasuke acts like his protector from the shadows. It helped Sasuke find peace with Sakura and their little family, which is why Sasuke is truly good post-Naruto for the first time.