Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-31278419-20170331010234/@comment-734582-20170401115048

Matthiosy wrote: Why couldn't he have just made the hero one as well? Or the only one, to be precise Thematic confusion, or rather in this case thematic betrayal. The theme set forward by the fight with Zabuza was that Naruto didn't want to succumb to the normal Ninja state of mind. If he lost that (and stayed lost in that) then that would not just be insanely depressing but also betray the very idea of the series. Doing this for a moment is fine (character growth and all this) but Naruto as a permanently depressing and dark figure just doesn't fit the series.

I do think the story would've been much better if Naruto at least outright killed a person (Rather than having this responsibility lifted by others. IE Kakuzu is finished by Kakashi so it's technically not Naruto's kill). Nagato would be the perfect target. It would make for a much stronger parallel with Sasuke.