Kishimoto's inspiration for Naruto's most memorable characters may have come from the 7 deadly sins

The Naruto series has been famous for numerous things, including its exploration of different philosophies while also simultaneously exploring the effects of war and trauma on individuals. But the villains of the Naruto series have been one of the most intriguing parts of the series. Although there are numerous villains in the entirety of the Naruto series, villains like Madara, Orochimaru, and rogue Sasuke stand above all others in overall popularity, depth, and reception.

Due to the abundance of well-written villains, many fans of this series have theorized about how Kishimoto must've taken inspiration from some other group, with most of the prominent villains symbolizing a specific trait or individual of that group.

Disclaimer- This article contains massive spoilers for the Naruto series.

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Naruto: The series' Seven Deadly Sins

Recently, some Naruto and Boruto fans have come up with theories and similarities that relate the Naruto villains to the seven deadly sins. The Seven Deadly Sins have been used as an inspiration in anime many times, including an entire series named "The Seven Deadly Sins." The actual concept of the seven deadly sins includes pride, envy, wrath, gluttony, lust, sloth, and greed, which actually fit the entire character of many Naruto villains.

Sasuke might embody the sin of wrath due to his entire character arc, starting with the sole purpose of taking revenge on Itachi, whom he thought was the perpetrator behind his clan's elimination. His anger and bitterness led him down a dark path. As Sasuke's rage grows, his targets expand beyond Itachi.

Sasuke turns his wrath towards Konoha, believing the village is responsible for his clan's suffering. His anger becomes all-consuming, driving him to extreme measures like joining the criminal organization Akatsuki, betraying those who care about him, and seeking to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village itself.

Momoshiki Otsutsuki, one of the newer Otsutsuki villains introduced towards the beginning of the Boruto series, might embody the sin of sloth simply due to his overreliance on his ability to absorb jutsus and chakra. Throughout his appearances, Momoshiki mostly derives powers from eating chakra fruits and absorbing chakras from others with no effort involved.

All while doing this, Momoshiki deems the shinobi ideals and methods useless. Currently, Momoshiki has sealed himself inside Boruto to actually use the latter's growing strength and later take over his body, which further emphasizes how lazy Momoshiki is.

Indra, the progenitor of the Uchiha clan, might embody the sin of envy. He was one of the two offspring of the Sage of Six Paths and one of the first followers of the ninja way. Although Indra was superior to Asura in matters of skills, Asura ended up inheriting the teachings of their father.

This entire situation gained Indra's envy and hatred, which started a generation-long war between Indra and Asura that would be continued by their reincarnations. The cycle was ultimately broken by Sasuke and Naruto, the most recent incarnations of Indra and Asura, respectively.

Indra as shown in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Madara Uchiha might embody the sin of pride. Madara's entire story started with the death of his brother and the subjugation of his people. Although the Uchiha were integrated into the Hidden Leaf Village, Madara eventually left the village and started his operation towards the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan. All of this was done as an influence of his savior complex while disregarding the opinions and actual insights of any other shinobi other than himself, which can be attributed to his pride.

Rasa, the fourth Kazekage and Gaara's father, definitely embodies the sin of greed. Rasa's entire story revolved around his attempts to accumulate wealth and resources for his declining village while ignoring everything else. Rasa was the one who directed Chiyo to seal Shukaku inside Gaara, his own son.

This ended up causing Gaara's mother to die during Gaara's birth, and later, his treatment of Gaara ostracized him throughout the entire village. Rasa was also responsible for the death of Pakura, who was sacrificed by him during a ploy. Overall, many of the hardships of Gaara and the other Sunagakure members can be traced back to Rasa's greed.

Orochimaru as shown in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

As for the sin of gluttony, Hidan was a minor villain who mainly killed Asuma and served as a character development device for Shikamaru. But he himself was a character used to introduce the depraved Jashin religion and its ways, which involve using humans as sacrifices and conduits for immense pleasure and satisfaction.

Hidan's entire character can be summed up as a perverse zealot who gains immense pleasure by indulging in human sacrifice, bloodshed, and violence. Hidan's nature essentially fuels his unending hunger for bloodshed, making him embody the sin of gluttony.

Orochimaru, the most recurring antagonist in the Naruto series, will most clearly embody the sin of lust. Although his rather cruel and immoral research towards immortality started off due to his genuine fear of death, his intentions later took on a more perverse nature. Orochimaru's pursuit of immortality and jutsu essentially gave rise to an unquenchable lust for knowledge that led him to ignore morality and human decency.

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Final Thoughts

While fans theorize about the Seven Deadly Sins' influence on Naruto villains, the actual inspirations behind them remain unknown. These parallels are intriguing, but they're theories. The Seven Deadly Sins are a recurring trope in many anime, so it's plausible Kishimoto incorporated aspects of them into his villains. However, without confirmation from the creator himself, we can't say for certain. It's fascinating to explore these connections, but they should be taken as speculative.