Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-8284722-20141222195100/@comment-8284722-20141223164431

Naruto's body count is rather low, which is to be expected of a manga/anime protagonist, and he doesn't have much kills outside anime fillers (though he actually has more kills than Sakura, who only has one anime filler kill). I actually think he would've kept a no-kill philosophy way back at the beginning of the series, seeing how he has no manga Part I kills at all, so I don't really see Yura as much of an exception (though I think him killing him was a bit of an accident, since Itachi would've easily survived the attack). He did pretty much kill 2/5's of Kakuzu, even if it was Kakashi that landed the final blow. And Naruto and Sasuke were the ones that took the Ten-Tails out of Madara. Naruto also killed a bajillion White Zetsus in a single chapter alone. Ultimately, killing isn't that far out of Naruto's realm of possibility. While it isn't in his moral code, he does cross the line a few times. I see this as no different. The reason I have them killed is because they have no effect on the plot afterwards, and it feels far more conclusive and everyone goes home happi- "But first, I'm going to EXECUTE the Five Kage!" (great, Sasuke, just great). It makes for a more shocking turn and overall satisfying battle conclusion.