Tropes A to K (Berserk Button, Big Brother Instinct, Bowdlerise, Broken Aesop, Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass, Famous Last Words, Hypocrite, Jerkass, Jerkass Has a Point) | Tropes L to Z (Nice Guy, Ship Tease, Shout-Out, Took a Level in Kindness, Wham Episode, Wham Line) | Anime and Others
- Orochimaru was the one who gave Tsunade the idea of starting a unit of medical ninjas to minimize battlefield casualties, though that was way before he turned to full-blown villainy. He was a recognized hero of Konoha, pegged to be the next Hokage and genuinely her friend at the time. The trope still somewhat applies as he was still at least a bit creepy, but not a jerk per se.
- Overlapping with Villain Has a Point and Hypocrite Has a Point(since he was the first person shown using the jutsu), Orochimaru is also completely right when he states that Tobirama should have never created the Edo Tensei, let alone revealed it to the world. Not only did Orochimaru nearly destroy the Hidden Leaf Village with the help of the First and Second Hokages, but Tobi managed to use the jutsu to create an army so strong that the Five Great Nations were forced to band together to fight him
- Sasuke gets this from time to time in Part I.
- Shortly after Team 7 is formed, when Sakura complains about Naruto and says that he is a Bratty Half-Pint because he has no parents (which definitely strikes a nerve for Sasuke), Sasuke tells Sakura that she has no idea what Naruto went through, and after he leaves, she decides to start being nicer to Naruto.
- Shortly before the Chunin Exams, he tells her that she's as annoying as Naruto is and in terms of skill, even weaker than he is. During the Forest of Death, when Naruto and Sasuke are incapacitated, Sakura realizes that despite thinking herself superior to Naruto, she can't do anything when it counts, and goes through Character Development as a result.
- Sakura got to be this in the Forest of Death as well, calling Sasuke out for always having such a superior attitude while talking to Naruto, and yet now was frozen in fear while Naruto fought for their lives.
- Kin Tsuchi gets one when she taunts the badly-beaten Sakura and comments that Sakura was too busy looking after her hair instead of training to be a better kunoichi. This point is so good that Sakura realizes she's right, acknowledges she's been a Faux Action Girl and cuts off her long hair to protect Naruto and Sasuke. Even though she's overpowered by the Sound Genin and gets bailed out by Team 10, this marked a turning point in Sakura's overall attitude as a ninja.
- The Fourth Raikage is often depicted as arrogant, stubborn and somewhat hypocritical. When he contemptuously refuses Naruto's request to spare Sasuke, and declares that Naruto is weak for making the request, Naruto agrees to the extent that he has to either save or kill Sasuke himself.
- Played With in the case of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, when Naruto heads out into the Fourth Ninja World War. In a conversation in his subconscious, Naruto declares that he will end the war himself, and won't let anyone down, The Nine-Tails points out that hatred and grudges have shaped the way of the world for as long as there have been shinobi, and the war is just another example of that hatred being brought to the surface, asking him how he expects to overcome it, if he's expected to use it. He then gets specific and mentions Naruto's failure to turn Sasuke, and noted that he has carried that hatred even as far back as their first meeting as children. While Naruto makes it clear what he will deal with Sasuke, and end the war, he has met a number of foes have largely been Zetsu copies, and zombies of legendary ninja who want to rest in peace, before another example of this trope, Itachi, points out that taking it all on yourself can make you arrogant and no better than Tobi. So, in one sense, Nine-Tails was onto something...
- Another example with the Nine-Tails. When the resurrected Minato blames himself for all of the damage Tobi/Obito has caused because he never realized Tobi's true identity, Kurama is quick to point out that Minato had no way of knowing that Obito was still alive, and even if he had, it wouldn't have changed a thing; Kurama still had to be stopped, and the Obito Minato knew was long dead by then, so it would have been pointless to try to reason with him.
- Also, the Second Hokage, Tobirama, comes off as a bit of an asshole with his opinion on the Uchiha. However, given their actions (Uchiha being responsible for a past attack on Konoha, the current war, and most of Akatsuki's actions), he had reasons to be wary. And while definitely an ass about it and obviously acting under the premise of Keeping the Enemy Close, he never actually caused them any harm. Nor did he have a problem trusting individual members of the clan who he felt had proved their loyalty.
- Sasuke points out that the five ninja villages only united because of a greater threat, to justify his far more extreme plan for world peace—killing the Five Kages and using the Sage's powers to unite the world against him. Naruto doesn't contest that assertion, even if he refuses to accept that Sasuke's plan will solve the problem.
- Sasuke pointing out that the only reason Sakura loves him is because they were on the same team for a little while over three years ago and she had a crush and that she's willing to overlook multiple counts of willing atrocities and attempted murders for a guy she knows pretty much nothing about. We even see early in the story through a flashback that it was basically Love at First Sight and she was so insensitive that she didn't realize insulting Naruto for not having parents just might also offend Sasuke "entire clan murdered down to two" Uchiha. It's blatantly clear to see the distinction in comparison to Naruto, whom Sasuke does acknowledges as his best friend because they mutually understand each other's lonely pasts.
- Neji is quite the Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy at first, but his dismissive attitude towards Lee and Hinata does make sense. Lee is at a severe handicap due to only being able to use taijutsu, as well as a Dangerous Forbidden Technique that causes exponentially greater harm to him the more he draws on him. Hinata's kind nature and lack of self-esteem also hold her back, as does her difficulty in going against her teammates, to the point Neji utterly thrashes her in their fight. Of course, while Neji's not wrong to feel the way he does, he also is unwilling to accept the possibility of people changing for the better until Naruto defeats him.
- His initial belief that Hard Work Hardly Works also just gets more and more justified as the series goes on.
