Not to Sound Mean, But Naruto Fans Keep Overlooking the Anime's Greatest Sacrifice

Throughout the Naruto franchise, fans witnessed several brave warriors sacrificing themselves for the greater good. From Minato and Kushina giving their lives to protect their village to Jiraiya fighting to the bitter end to help his pupil defeat Pain, the series has no shortage of emotive and significant deaths.

Yet, when talking about the most important sacrifices in the series, fans often forget one that potentially saved Konoha from certain destruction: Rin’s. While many fans love and appreciate Kakashi’s teammate for her bravery, her death, one of the darkest in the series, is often glossed over by followers of Masashi Kishimoto’s work. This is a true shame, as she is by far one of the series’ biggest heroes.

Rin’s Sacrifice Saved the Ninja World

She Prevented the War From Extending Further

Rin might not be among Naruto’s most popular characters, but her impact on the series is undeniable. She was first introduced in chapter #239 as Kakashi and Obito’s third teammate. Rin was a kind and caring kunoichi, always worried about the safety of her friends and allies. She was by no means the best fighter, but her medical knowledge was more than sufficient to be a valuable member of Team Minato. She was also Obito’s long-time crush, and while she never returned his affections, Rin always tried to make him feel loved.

To destroy Konoha, Madara Uchiha, one of the series’ most powerful and cunning characters, contracted Kirigakure to kidnap Rin and use her as the vessel of the Three-Tails. The idea was to utilize Rin as a ticking time bomb, making sure that she would go back to the Hidden Leaf so the seal would break, unleashing the Bijuu on the innocent citizens. The plan was almost flawless, as the prodigy Kakashi was the one sent to rescue his friend, almost ensuring the duo would make it back home without issues.

Shisui and Kimimaro standing side by side, prepared to fight. Behind them, images of Shino and Ino can be seen.

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What Madara never considered was Rin’s strength and desire to keep her friends safe, which pushed her to commit the ultimate sacrifice. Nohara stood in front of Kakashi as he tried to use his Chidori to kill one of their enemies. By doing so, Rin caused her friend to stab her in the heart, putting an end to her life in one of the franchise’s saddest deaths. Her sacrifice prevented Isobu from destroying her village, while also preventing the already cruel Third Great Ninja War from prolonging itself.

Rin Death Puts the Ninja World Into Question

She Should Have Never Been Forced To Make That Choice

Rin standing in front of Isobu in her mindscape.

Rin’s noble sacrifice is more than just a motivator for Obito to join Madara in his quest to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, it is also one of the first demonstrations of how flawed the Ninja World is. The Uchiha claimed that his work was done in the name of peace, wanting to create a world where no children would have to suffer the loss of a family member. Yet, his actions caused a gentle soul like Rin to choose between ending her life or causing the death of hundreds of her comrades.

The fact that Madara used her death to manipulate Obito is also an indicator of how hypocritical and misguided the Uchiha was. Nevertheless, he is not the only culprit in this horrible crime, as the Hidden Mist Village decided to participate in his plan. There was no reason for an entire community to kidnap Rin and turn her into a weapon besides the desire for power. Her death is a statement of how corrupt and horrible the Shinobi World used to be before Naruto was born.

utakata and kakashi anbu featured image naruto fixed

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Even those who claimed they wanted to create a better world were motivated by anger, pain, and hatred. Others, like Kirigakure, simply wanted power and control, to demonstrate their superiority over their adversaries. Their actions perpetuated the cycle of pain and hatred that plagued their world for centuries. The saddest part about this is that even when Rin was a victim in a twisted game, her death was seen as just another casualty for Konoha. Neither the leaders of her village nor a significant portion of the readers gave Rin the respect a hero like her deserved.

Rin’s Death Was Sadly Another Plot Device

Her Sacrifice Was Included Only To Give Kakashi and Obito Motivation

One of the reasons why Rin is not regarded with the same admiration as characters like Minato or Kushina is because she was killed simply to give her teammates character development. Her death, while undoubtedly tragic, served as Obito’s main motivator to become a villain and join Madara. Kakashi became determined to never let any more of his friends die under his watch, helping him become the deadly ninja fans know and love. Even then, her death continued pushing the story forward, without being directly involved.

Everything Obito did while disguised as Madara was with the intention of one day reuniting with Rin inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi. All the pain and destruction he caused was sadly inspired by Rin’s death, without her being mentioned for several years in the story. Although vital for the story, her sacrifice was hardly ever brought up, and when it was mentioned, it was mainly to make fans empathize with Obito's tragic yet compelling backstory.

Rin Is One of Konoha’s Greatest Heroes

Without Her, Naruto’s Story Would Have Never Occurred

When thinking about Rin’s sacrifice in context, it becomes clear that the Naruto series would never have occurred without her bravery. In a world where Madara’s plan was successful, the Hidden Leaf Village would have been destroyed by the Three-Tails. Even if the ninjas of Konoha had found a way to defeat the beast, their defenses would have been decimated, leaving them vulnerable to an enemy attack. The possibilities of Minato, Kushina, or Naruto dying during this timeline would be outstandingly high. If not for Rin, the story of the series would have ended before it even began.

She might not be the most interesting character in Naruto, but Rin is without a doubt one of the most important and bravest ninjas in the world. Her sacrifice is more significant than most fans give her credit for. She deserves as much recognition as many of the other best heroes in the franchise.