Naruto Ending Explained, Who Won Naruto & Sasuke's Final Fight? (2025)

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR NARUTO

Summary

  • After teaming up with Naruto against Madara and the Progenitor of Chakra, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, Sasuke decides he must control the world by himself.
  • The final battle between Naruto and Sasuke surpasses expectations, leading to a satisfying conclusion for both characters.
  • Naruto's impactful words help Sasuke realize the importance of bonds, leading to a heartfelt conclusion as they save the world.

✕ Remove Ads

Naruto's controversial final saga saw many surprises and incredibly satisfying conclusions to long-running character arcs fans will never forget, especially with how the story ends. The story of Naruto began when Masashi Kishimoto successfully published its first chapter on Shōnen Jump in 1999. Since then, 700 chapters and two anime series have told the unforgettable story of an empathetic orphan, a magical ninja world, and his lonely friend whom he never gave up on.

Before the anticipated final battle between Naruto and Sasuke exceeded expectations, the conclusion of the Fourth Shinobi War threatened to tarnish a great series. After years of building tension, the two main characters finally teamed up against the looming calamity that was the Ten-Tails Beast and arguably the strongest ninja ever to live, Madara Uchiha.

✕ Remove Ads

Naruto Ending Explained, Who Won Naruto & Sasuke's Final Fight? (1)

With clever manipulations and overwhelming abilities, it's easy to classify Madara as one of anime's best villains. With his name constantly referenced in the series with intimidation, he seemed like the ultimate challenge for Naruto and Sasuke to overcome. If the series ended with Madara and the Ten-Tails being the final hurdles for the heroes to surpass, it would have been great, but author Masashi Kishimoto and his editors had other plans, some better and some worse.

Naruto and Sasuke Had Been Fighting For Days Before Their Final Fight

Naruto Had Fought Madara, Obito, and All The Tailed-Beasts Before Sasuke Joined The Fight

Naruto Ending Explained, Who Won Naruto & Sasuke's Final Fight? (2)

The Fourth Ninja War lasted for only two days, but in that time, the heroes were fighting against astronomical odds with little to no time to catch their breath. Naruto had been fighting longer than Sasuke and consistently used large-scale offensive and defensive abilities that significantly drained his energy. Things only picked up once Sasuke finally joined the battle. The final battles of the war saw shinobi gods and monsters summoned, even resulting in Naruto and Sasuke technically dying and then being resurrected with god-like powers of their own.

Madara succeeded in his ultimate plan to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, which put nearly the entire world into a soul-sucking dream. Naruto and Sasuke were the only ones with the power to release the spell, and after taking care of the Naruto series's controversial final villain, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, it was a marvel that they could still stand after the war was won. Still, Sasuke decided that there needed to be one more battle before the series could end, and it would be a fight that would contribute to one of the best endings in fiction.

✕ Remove Ads

Brother's Who Had Been Fighting For More Than A Lifetime

Naruto and Sasuke's Reincarnations Have Been Fighting For Hundreds Of Years

Sasuke told Naruto to meet him in the most poetic setting possible at The Final Valley, where they had their first all-out battle. The final arcs of the Naruto storyline revealed that Naruto and Sasuke were the reincarnations of the Sage of the Six Paths' sons, Ashura and Indra. It felt like a betrayal for some fans because Naruto's character once represented hard work compared to Sasuke's natural talent, and the controversial twist made the two characters seem like they were always destined for greatness. Still, the revelation added even more layers to a fight that'd been building for generations.

✕ Remove Ads

The Final Valley is the same location where Madara and Hashirama, Sasuke and Naruto's previous reincarnations, conducted their ultimate battle. There was not a more fitting location for the two to settle their differences. In the narratively symbolic fight, the giant statues of Madara and the First Hokage would become unrecognizable by the time Naruto's final clash was finished. Still, before signature attacks and their most colossal transformations were used, the two brothers in arms laid out their feelings, revealing how far Kishimoto's character writing had come and how much Naruto and Sasuke had developed since the series' first chapters.

✕ Remove Ads

Both Naruto and Sasuke had suffered heartbreaking losses throughout their journeys but had learned different lessons from experiencing such grief. After learning the truth about Itachi's life and the effects of corruption on society, Sasuke felt he needed to use his overwhelming powers to control the world by himself. Naruto's losses taught him the bonds and strength they bring by working together to improve and help future generations grow even further. Fortunately, for fans of incredible anime battles, the two clashing ideals would take more than words to find common ground.

Expectations Were Surpassed For Naruto's The Final Battle

The Anime and Manga Adapt Naruto versus Sasuke Differently, But Both Are Top-Tier

Originally, Naruto's author wanted the final duel to be more brutal than it was, which is saying something because what fans got was a bloody and highly satisfying conclusion for the two main characters. Chapter #695 features the start of Naruto and Sasuke's conclusive clash, and unlike the anime's slower and arguably more dramatic build-up with progressively complex powers, Sasuke was looking to kill Naruto quickly in the manga. Naruto doesn't take long to unleash his glowing Six Paths form to defend against the mighty force of a fully formed Susanoo.

✕ Remove Ads

As powerful as Sasuke's Susanoo and Naruto's Tailed Beast Mode Kurama avatar were, the final fight saw their transformations evolve again. With Sasuke's fearsome Rinnegan and Six Paths powers, he'd encased each Tailed-Beast in colossal rock spheres and stole each of their chakra to form an Ultimate Indra Susanoo. To rival it, Naruto fused three of his Kurama avatars into one, giving it multiple faces and arms capable of creating two huge natural energy-enforced Rasenshurikens. The clash between those and Sasuke's strongest jutsu, Indra's Arrow, would permanently reshape the landscape and be visible from space.

✕ Remove Ads

The most significant attacks the series had seen did not kill Naruto or Sasuke, but it did leave them incredibly injured and weakened. Still, neither was ready to call it quits. After exhausting most of their energy, the two eternal rivals could no longer use their most extraordinary abilities. The final stages of Naruto and Sasuke's battle progressed into a brutal fistfight and clever combos that nearly gave the young Uchiha the win.

After a final Rasengan versus Chidori clash, the two lay on the rubble of the Madara and Hashirama statues. The hands both used to perform their signature attacks were destroyed and threatened to bleed out. After everything they'd gone through and being battered and horrifically injured, Sasuke was finally in a position to be defeated by Naruto and his words.

✕ Remove Ads

How Naruto Finally Beat Sasuke

Naruto Defeats Sasuke and Changes His Mind In Chapter #698

Naruto Ending Explained, Who Won Naruto & Sasuke's Final Fight? (3)

As the two main characters lay on the ground after beating each other bloody, neither could move with injuries that threatened to end their lives. After hearing Naruto call Sasuke his friend many times over the years, he finally asked the critical question that would change his life forever. "You've said that before, but what exactly does that mean to you?" the stubborn Uchiha asked. "..when I see you take on stuff and get all messed up, it kinda hurts. It hurts inside so much, I can't just leave it alone." Naruto's response was precisely what Sasuke needed to hear to help him understand that he was not alone and that he had gained what he missed the most: a brother.

✕ Remove Ads

Naruto finally proved to Sasuke the benefits of bonds and convinced him that he no longer had to face his troubles or grief alone. Chapter #699 is effectively the end of Naruto and Sasuke's story. After being healed by Sakura, the two shinobi used their powers to undo Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi, freeing the world's population from imprisonment and their false dreams. Although the world was changed by the events of the Fourth Shinobi War, the surviving shinobi returned to their villages to begin a new age of peace. However, Team 7 would not stay reunited for long.

Masashi Kishimoto's ninja epic completed its run with chapter #700, which acted as a perfect epilogue for the series that transitions into the Boruto sequel series. However, in the previous chapter, after Naruto and Sasuke save the world, some time passes, symbolized by Kakashi's masked face appearing on the Hokage mountain. The ending of Naruto's manga sees Sasuke preparing to leave Konoha again but on a path of atonement and exploration. Only after he's stopped by Naruto, who ends the story by giving him the Konoha headband he'd been keeping for him for years.

✕ Remove Ads

Source: Crunchyroll/YouTube

Naruto

Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists' children and returning faces.

Naruto Ending Explained, Who Won Naruto & Sasuke's Final Fight? (2025)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Arielle Torp

Last Updated:

Views: 5347

Rating: 4 / 5 (61 voted)

Reviews: 92% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Arielle Torp

Birthday: 1997-09-20

Address: 87313 Erdman Vista, North Dustinborough, WA 37563

Phone: +97216742823598

Job: Central Technology Officer

Hobby: Taekwondo, Macrame, Foreign language learning, Kite flying, Cooking, Skiing, Computer programming

Introduction: My name is Arielle Torp, I am a comfortable, kind, zealous, lovely, jolly, colorful, adventurous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.