Naruto is — without a shadow of a doubt — one of the most popular shōnen manga series of all time. It's the third best-selling manga series in history, selling more than 220 million copies worldwide and capturing the hearts of millions of fans across the globe. Series writer and creator Masashi Kishimoto has created one of the most fleshed-out worlds in recent memory, and it's no surprise that even after the original series ended its run in 2014, the franchise is still going strong with a spin-off in the form of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. It's a world that people don't want to let go off, and one of the main reasons for this rabid fan following is the masterful story that has been crafted by Kishimoto.

However, it seems that this unfettered love for the franchise has made these fans ignore a large number of plotholes that have stemmed over time throughout the extended run of the series. This is largely due to Kishimoto making up a lot of stories and plot points on-the-go that severely hampered the overall quality of the series... although luckily for him, the fanbase loves the franchise so much that they're willing to look past these grievous transgressions (and sometimes, even ignore it altogether). Here are 25 of the biggest plot holes in Naruto that warrant a closer look.

25 The Akatsuki Rings Are Seemingly Forgotten After A While

The Akatsuki attire clearly holds some importance, and the existence of the rings proves this point (or used to, at the very least). Each of the ten initial members of the Akatsuki had their own specific rings which were extremely important... until suddenly, they simply weren't.

During the initial stages of Shippūden's story, the significance of this ring is always kept at the forefront. After Deidara's battle with Sasuke, he goes back to the battlefield to get his ring back. After Sasori dies, both Obito (Tobi at the time) and Zetsu go back to retrieve the ring from his corpse. It's clear that Kishimoto meant for these rings to have some major significance... but it the end, it all boils down to nothing.

And speaking of the Akatsuki...

24 The Existence Of The Akatsuki Is Completely Unnecessary

The prominence of the Akatsuki in Shippūden certainly provided some memorable moments, amazing battles and satisfying plotlines. However, let's face it — the entire existence of the Akatsuki is pretty much rendered pointless when one looks at the big picture. The fact of the matter is that Obito is powerful enough by himself to capture all the tailed beasts, but due to the ineptitude of the Akatsuki his plans don't come to fruition.

With his Sharingan, Obito could extract the powers of the tailed beasts, and his time-space jutsu meant that he was pretty invulnerable, to begin with. A smaller operation would've also been better since his operations could've been more surreptitious as well, but for some mind-boggling reason, he enlisted the help of criminals with their own hidden agendas.

Since we're on the topic of Obito...

23 Obito's Revenge Plan Arises From A Simple Misunderstanding That Could've Been Avoided

The whole reason why Obito devised his large-scale plan was because of a traumatic scene he witnessed after surviving his accident (which is already a pretty big plot hole in itself). The sight of his rival and ex-teammate spearing his love completely messed up his mind, and in the aftermath of this occurrence, he decided to create a reality where he and Rin would be able to live together.

However, if Obito had decided to stay back a bit and find out exactly why this happened, to begin with, this simple misunderstanding would've been cleared. After all, Rin had a jinchuriki forcefully implanted in her, which would've activated once she reached Konoha. To prevent this fate, she willfully stood in front of Kakashi's Chidori, sacrificing her life to save thousands.

Not that it matters, since...

22 Obito's Eye Of The Moon Plan Is Beyond Stupid

Obito's plan was to create a reality where humans would forsake their free will and get entrapped in a powerful genjutsu. This illusion would work as an infinite dream to remove any conflict present in the world and ensure that mankind wouldn't destroy themselves... but the core concept of this plan is inherently flawed from the onset.

There's one simple question that can be asked which will completely derail the plan — how will Obito ensure the survival of the human race if they aren't able to consummate? After all, if these people are captured in this genjutsu then they'll be unable to perform this basic task, which will inevitably lead to the demise of humanity.

21 Hagoromo Ignored Hashirama And Madara But Helped Naruto And Sasuke

Hagoromo was the father of Indra and Ashura, who got into a brotherly conflict since Ashura preached peace while Indra was consumed by hate. The spirits of these brothers were reincarnated in Hashirama and Madara, and later on in Naruto and Sasuke. However, when Kaguya comes back during the Fourth Shinobi World War, Hagoromo comes out of nowhere and provides Naruto and Sasuke with the power required to defeat her.

This begs the question — why did Hagoromo not interfere in the initial battle between Hashirama and Madara? After all, the First Shinobi World War was also a rather serious affair (obviously), and tons of casualties could've been avoided if Hagoromo had interfered in this war beforehand. It's obvious that Hagoromo's appearance was just so that Naruto and Sasuke could gain massive power near the end of the series.

20 Sakura's Genjustu Potential Is Just Forgotten Later On

When you ask someone their opinion when it comes to the most useless character in the entire series, most people would point their finger towards Sakura. It might be somewhat harsh, but the inherent uselessness of Sakura is certainly one of the most infuriating aspects of the series, and later on she's completely sidelined in order to focus more on Naruto and Sasuke.

This kind of sucks, since it had been established early on that Sakura had some talent when it came to genjutsu. However, instead of strengthening this skill, Sakura ended up inheriting the talents of Tsunade when it came to medical ninjutsu and brute strength. It's a damn shame, since it would certainly have been very interesting to see Sakura whip out some amazing genjutsu during the course of the series.

19 Hashirama's Death Is An Unresolved Mystery

Hashirama is touted as one of the most powerful ninjas of all time. His conflict with Madara is the stuff of legends, and his power level can be clearly seen when he gets resurrected during the Fourth Shinobi World War. A solid argument can be made that Hashirama is perhaps even more powerful than Madara... and yet, his death is a complete mystery.

Hashirama was built up as a bonafide legend, and his stories echo across the houses of Konoha. Yet somehow, during the First Shinobi World War, he simply perished — presumedly, at the hands of an inconsequential ninja whom no one remembers. If Hashirama is as powerful as shown in the series, then the name of the person who caused his death should've been etched in time as well. This is certainly not the case, which makes his death a massive plothole.

18 Just What Was Jiraiya's Actual Power Level?

Jiraiya is one of the most memorable characters in Naruto, and his unforeseen death is a tragic event that brought tears to the eyes of many fans. However, when it comes to his true power, the explanation is rather lacking.

According to the series, Jiraiya is the weakest member of the Sannin (which comprised of him, Tsunade and Orochimaru, in case you wanted a refresher). Now, Orochimaru was able to hold his own against 4-tailed Naruto — without his arms, no less — while Jiraiya almost died against 3-tailed Naruto. However, when Itachi confronted and defeated Orochimaru, he declared that both him and Kisame could only hope for a draw with Jiraiya.

What?

17 Might Guy Can Perform A Summoning Jutsu Even Though He Can't Mold Chakra

Might Guy is one of the most endearing characters in Naruto, and his taijutsu is an absolute spectacle to watch during his many fight scenes. In fact, his melee technique is so good that there's no need for him to use any ninjutsu or genjutsu — not that he could, since he had no ability to mold chakra... or did he?

After a certain point in the series, it is revealed that Guy can use the summoning jutsu to bring forth Ningame, a massive tortoise (turtle?). However, one must wonder — just how can Guy even perform a summoning jutsu to begin with if he can't mold any chakra? It's not like he's just performing a basic summoning jutsu — his summon is extremely powerful, which makes this all the more unbelievable.

Now, let's focus on Might Guy's pupil...

16 How Did Rock Lee Pass His Exams If He Didn't Know Any Ninjutsu Or Genjutsu

Rock Lee is the protege of Might Guy, and true to form his taijutsu is also absolutely spectacular to boot. There's no questioning his skills — especially when he's introduced at the start of the chūnin exams, where he absolutely wipes the floor with Sasuke. However, one must ask this crucial question — how did Rock Lee even pass his ninja exams, to begin with?

After all, the reason Naruto fails his exams two times is that he's unable to mold his chakra effectively and form a clone. For Rock Lee, this should be absolutely impossible since — just like his mentor — he's unable to mold chakra at all. One might argue that his case might've been taken into account during the exams, but that's just unfair to the rest of the students who had to pass legitimately.

Since we're on the topic of Naruto's exam failures...

15 Naruto Gave The Ninja Exam Three Times... But Somehow Had All His Classmates Graduate With Him

When we are first introduced to Naruto, he's showcased as an inept, bumbling fool who can't perform a single technique properly. In fact, his failure to perform a clone jutsu leads to him failing the third exam that he gives. Thankfully, he later manages to pass by performing the Shadow Clone Jutsu, a superior technique that qualifies him to become a genin.

However, during the course of the series, we see multiple flashbacks where Naruto is hanging out with the same classmates, with whom he later gives the chūnin exams as well. How is this possible? If Naruto was giving the exam for the third time running, shouldn't his classmates have passed out before he did?

14 The Anbu Are Supposed To Be More Powerful That Jōnin... But Are Absolutely Useless

In the series, the Anbu are built up as a super-secret assassination and tactical squad, that is meant to carry out the Leaf Village's hardest missions. They are apparently supposed to protect the village from exceptional threats, conduct high-risk missions into enemy territory, and deal with extremely strong ninja as well... but this is certainly not what one would think when they watch the series.

After all, there are multiple times when the Anbu get infiltrated or beaten up rather easily, which defeats their entire purpose. These agents are supposed to be stronger than jōnin, which is extremely hard to believe, especially when one considers the fact that Kakashi himself is a freaking jōnin who could easily take care of an entire Anbu squad.

13 The Sand Village Managed To Stay Stable For Two Years Without A Kazekage

During the Chūnin Exam Arc, it's revealed that the Sand Village was in a considerable amount of debt. In order to increase the business that they get from missions, Orochimaru struck a deal with the then-Kazekage to eradicate the Leaf Village — following which the former promptly killed the latter. This was followed by the attack on Konoha, and once the Sand Village found out that their Kazekage was dead, they just apologized and stayed for two years without a leader.

In the world of Naruto, it's impossible for there to be such a massive gap of power for such an extended period of time. Why didn't the Sand Village go bankrupt? Who made the major decisions before Gaara became Kazekage? And — most importantly — how did no other territory make a move when they knew the Sand Village was in such a weak state?

12 The Hyūga Clan Curse Mark Is Freakin' Stupid

The main purpose of the Hyūga Clan Curse Mark is to keep the branch family members under control and preserve the secret of the Byakugan. This is made possible since the curse mark ensures that the Byakugan of the user is disabled when he/she dies. But if preserving the secret is all that important, then shouldn't the main branch members also receive this seal as well?

After all, the Hyūga Clan failed to protect the Byakugan completely, as evidenced by the fact that Ao from Kirigakure killed a main branch member of the Hyūga clan to obtain his Byakugan eye. It's a pretty massive oversight from Kishimoto's side, who should've devoted more time to this particular aspect of the Hyūga Clan.

11 Nagato's Rinnegan Is Just A Massive Deus Ex Machina

The Rinnegan is touted as the most powerful eye technique in Naruto, but the entire concept is just so poorly explained that it's laughable. Take the example of Nagato — his Rinnegan awakens after his parents die, but later it turns out that Tobi gave them to him (what?).

Then there are the multiple bodies of Pain that had the Rinnegan as well. Just how was that possible if the Rinnegan is one of the rarest eye techniques in the world of Naruto? Did Nagato actually experiment around in a lab of sorts in order to create these Rinnegan (which seems highly unlikely)?

There are just too many questions that arise when one talks about the Rinnegan, simply because the eye technique itself doesn't have a very satisfactory explanation.

10 Orochimaru Could've Used The Shinigami Mask To Regain The Use Of His Arms

The battle between The Third Hokage and Orochimaru during the Chūnin Exam Arc was one of the fiercest battles in Naruto, that pretty much set the tone for the epic battles of the series. The aftermath of the battle involved the death of The Third and the loss of Orochimaru's arms, which put the latter in one of the most debilitating conditions he'd ever been in.

However, it's later revealed that there's a Shinigami Mask in the Uzumaki clan's temple that could be used to release the spirits that are captured by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Orochimaru used this mask to regain the ability to use hand signs, which implies that he knew how to restore his arms all this time. It's stupid how long it took for him to do so in the first place.

9 In Case You Missed It, Sasuke Can Summon A Hawk... Because Reasons

Summoning Jutsu requires complex incantations that take a ton of time and effort in order to fully master. One of the requirements to perform a great summon is to form a bond with the creature through the creation of a contract. This is a pretty complex procedure... but for some reason, Sasuke (who already has a quality summon in the form of Aoda) can randomly summon a hawk as well.

This power is revealed during his fight with Danzō, and — for some reason — is never used anytime else in the series. It's like Kishimoto just expected readers and viewers to simply accept the fact that Sasuke was so brilliant that he had the ability to summon a hawk too, which (while somewhat feasible) is a very poor explanation.

8 Naruto Randomly Gets Healing Powers Out Of Nowhere

The transformation of Naruto and Sasuke at the hands of Hagoromo is certainly one of the coolest moments in the series, providing both these characters with god-like powers that they used in order to defeat Kaguya once and for all — and also set the stage for the final battle between these two friends. This entire sequence is insanely satisfying to watch — aside from one mind-boggling moment when Naruto randomly manages to heal Kakashi's eye.

The worst part is that Sakura (a certified medical ninja) isn't able to heal Kakashi, which kinda makes her character look all the more useless. The explanation for this phenomenon is predictably lacking, and doesn't even help later on since Naruto isn't able to restore Guy's legs or the arms he and Sasuke lost at the end of their fierce battle.

Speaking of Kaguya...

7 Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Return Is Completely Shoehorned

The concept of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki coming back as the ultimate villain near the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War is certainly an epic way to set the stage for the final battle against evil. After all, the way she's built up certainly makes her look like an imposing figure (even though this backstory is delivered somewhat hastily). However, the plan to bring her back to life is just hopelessly convoluted.

Basically, Kaguya left her evil aura in the Black Zetsu, and relied on an absolute crapload of stuff to somehow fall perfectly into place so that her reincarnation would be possible. Even capturing the Tailed Beasts was something that the Akatsuki lucked into, and at the end of the day, it can be safely said that Kishimoto just wanted an excuse to bring back this figure as the final opponent for both Naruto and Sasuke.

6 Why Are Women Still Allowed To Be Jinchūriki

The story of how Naruto lost his parent is — without a doubt — one of the saddest moments in the series. One thing that's cleared out through this arc is that having jinchuriki is not the smartest course of action, since the seal will inevitably get weak during childbirth, which — needless to day — can get extremely risky.

However, for some reason, this precautionary measure hasn't been taken even after this revelation. At the start of Shippūden, there are two jinchuriki who are women, which just boggles the mind. Of course, it could be possible that these women have taken a vow of celibacy, but this will simply not be necessary if it's already pre-decided that the jinchuuriki will be men, to begin with.