Naruto Shippuden Filler List: Every Episode & Arc You Can Skip

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Naruto crouching and doing a hand sign with, Shikamaru, and Sakura on both sides of him.

Updated Apr 18, 2026, 11:40 PM EDT

Naruto: Shippuden was an incredible upgrade even over its classic predecessor, Naruto, with everybody instantly noticing the greater cinematic quality in its 2007 debut. But despite a visual overhaul and the plot steadily descending into darker territory as the Akatsuki threat – alongside a reunion with Sasuke – lurk around the corner, one element remained from the original Naruto: its pacing being dragged down by an enormous portion of filler.

Naruto filler isn't necessarily a bad thing for fans to enjoy, but it undeniably broke the momentum in key moments across the series, with much of it leaving viewers particularly overwhelmed, especially by the final arc.

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Naruto Uzumaki carries an immense burden — a powerful Tailed Beast sealed inside him since birth by the Fourth Hokage. This fox demon’s chakra gives Naruto extraordinary power but also makes him an outcast. What is the name of this Nine-Tailed Beast?

AShukaku BMatatabi CKurama DGyuki

✓ Correct! Kurama is the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within Naruto by his father, the Fourth Hokage. Initially a source of fear and hatred, Kurama eventually becomes one of Naruto’s closest allies. Their bond is one of the most emotional arcs in the entire series.

✗ Substitution jutsu failed! The answer is Kurama. Shukaku is the One-Tail sealed in Gaara, Matatabi is the Two-Tails, and Gyuki is the Eight-Tails sealed in Killer Bee. Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox, is Naruto’s legendary partner.

Naruto’s greatest rival is a prodigy from a prestigious clan who possesses a powerful eye technique called the Sharingan. Consumed by a desire for vengeance against his older brother, he defects from the Hidden Leaf Village. Who is this rival?

ANeji Hyuga BSasuke Uchiha CGaara DRock Lee

✓ Correct! Sasuke Uchiha is Naruto’s eternal rival and best friend. After the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke’s obsession with killing his brother Itachi drives him to leave the village and seek power at any cost. Their rivalry is the emotional backbone of the entire series.

✗ Substitution jutsu failed! The answer is Sasuke Uchiha. Neji is a Hyuga clan genius with the Byakugan, Gaara is the Sand Village’s jinchūriki, and Rock Lee is the taijutsu specialist. Only Sasuke wields the Sharingan and defects to join Orochimaru.

Naruto’s signature jutsu is a spinning sphere of concentrated chakra formed in the palm of his hand. Originally created by the Fourth Hokage and taught to Naruto by Jiraiya, it becomes the foundation for many of his most powerful attacks. What is this technique called?

ARasengan BChidori CShadow Clone Jutsu DSage Art: Lava Rasenshuriken

✓ Correct! The Rasengan is a pure chakra manipulation technique that doesn’t require hand signs. Created by Minato Namikaze and passed down through Jiraiya to Naruto, it evolves into many variations including the devastating Rasenshuriken with added Wind Release nature transformation.

✗ Substitution jutsu failed! The answer is the Rasengan. The Chidori is Sasuke and Kakashi’s lightning technique, Shadow Clone Jutsu is a different Naruto staple, and the Lava Rasenshuriken is a late-series variant. The base Rasengan is Naruto’s iconic spinning chakra sphere.

Team 7’s leader is a mysterious, mask-wearing jonin known as the “Copy Ninja” for his ability to replicate over a thousand jutsu using his borrowed Sharingan eye. He’s always reading a certain novel. Who is this legendary sensei?

AMight Guy BAsuma Sarutobi CJiraiya DKakashi Hatake

✓ Correct! Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja of the Sharingan, leads Team 7 (Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura). His Sharingan was a gift from his dying friend Obito Uchiha. Always cool under pressure and perpetually reading Make-Out Paradise, Kakashi eventually becomes the Sixth Hokage.

✗ Substitution jutsu failed! The answer is Kakashi Hatake. Might Guy leads Team Guy, Asuma leads Team 10, and Jiraiya is one of the Legendary Sannin who later trains Naruto. Only Kakashi is the masked Copy Ninja with a borrowed Sharingan who leads Team 7.

Sasuke’s older brother massacred nearly the entire Uchiha clan in a single night, then joined the criminal organization Akatsuki. It was later revealed he did it all on orders from the village to prevent a coup — sacrificing everything to protect his brother. Who is this tragic figure?

AMadara Uchiha BItachi Uchiha CObito Uchiha DShisui Uchiha

✓ Correct! Itachi Uchiha is one of Naruto’s most complex characters. A pacifist genius forced into an impossible choice, he bore the hatred of the entire world — including his beloved brother Sasuke — to protect the Hidden Leaf from civil war. His final words to Sasuke remain iconic.

✗ Substitution jutsu failed! The answer is Itachi Uchiha. Madara is the legendary clan founder, Obito is the masked man behind much of the war, and Shisui was Itachi’s best friend. Itachi alone carried out the massacre to prevent the Uchiha coup and protect Sasuke.

From the very first episode, Naruto declares his lifelong dream to earn the respect of his village and prove his worth. He vows to achieve the highest rank in the Hidden Leaf — its supreme leader. What is this title that Naruto dreams of?

AKazekage BJonin Commander CHokage DAnbu Captain

✓ Correct! Hokage is the title of the Hidden Leaf Village’s leader, and Naruto’s dream of becoming Hokage drives the entire series. After years of struggle, he finally achieves his dream and becomes the Seventh Hokage in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

✗ Substitution jutsu failed! The answer is Hokage. The Kazekage leads the Sand Village, Jonin Commander is a military rank, and Anbu Captain leads black ops. The Hokage is the Hidden Leaf’s supreme leader — and Naruto’s lifelong dream since he was a lonely academy student.

Naruto’s father was the Fourth Hokage, known as the “Yellow Flash of the Leaf” for his incredible speed using the Flying Thunder God technique. He sacrificed his life to seal the Nine-Tails inside his newborn son. What is his name?

AMinato Namikaze BHiruzen Sarutobi CTobirama Senju DHashirama Senju

✓ Correct! Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage and Yellow Flash, sacrificed himself using the Reaper Death Seal to seal Kurama inside baby Naruto. His love for his son and faith in Naruto’s potential made him one of the series’ most selfless characters.

✗ Substitution jutsu failed! The answer is Minato Namikaze. Hiruzen Sarutobi is the Third Hokage, Tobirama Senju is the Second, and Hashirama Senju is the First. Minato, the Fourth Hokage, is Naruto’s father who sealed the Nine-Tails at the cost of his own life.

A shy, kind-hearted kunoichi from the Hyuga clan admired Naruto from afar since their academy days. She boldly confessed her love while fighting Pain to protect him, and eventually became his wife. Who is this character?

ASakura Haruno BIno Yamanaka CTemari DHinata Hyuga

✓ Correct! Hinata Hyuga went from a timid girl who could barely speak around Naruto to a fierce warrior who stood against Pain to protect him. Her confession during the Pain arc is one of the series’ most emotional moments. They marry in The Last: Naruto the Movie and have two children, Boruto and Himawari.

✗ Substitution jutsu failed! The answer is Hinata Hyuga. Sakura is Naruto’s teammate who loves Sasuke, Ino is Sakura’s rival from the Yamanaka clan, and Temari is a Sand Village kunoichi who marries Shikamaru. Only Hinata loved Naruto from the very beginning.

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That being said, it's good to have a resource handy so that one knows which episodes are best to skip, with enough information about the most worthwhile filler episodes for those with the time to dive more deeply into Naruto's world.

Every Filler Episode of Naruto: Shippuden

And Which Are Worth Skipping

Episode #	Episode or Arc Title	Watchability?	Description
28	Beasts! Alive Again!
57 – 71	Twelve Guardian Ninja	Worth Watching	Before the Akatsuki Suppression Mission, Naruto grapples with his wind release training and learns clever applications for Shadow Clones for information gathering, with special focus on Asuma's faction, the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
89 – 112	Three-Tails’ Appearance	Essential	Focuses on the Akatsuki's efforts to capture Isobu, the Three-Tailed Beast sealed within Yagura Karatachi of the VIllage Hidden in the Mist.
144 – 151	Six-Tails Unleashed	Essential	Akatsuki mission to capture Saiken, the Six-Tailed Beast. Additional glimpse of Pain in combat along with a crucial plotline that otherwise goes understated in the main plot.
170 – 171	Big Adventure! The Quest for the Fourth Hokage's Legacy	Skippable	Flashback to the Chunin Exams Arc while Naruto learns his Summoning Jutsu, with a massive red herring in the form of the Fourth Hokage's legacy.
176 - 196	Past Arc: The Locus of Konoha	Skippable	Collection of flashbacks following the Pain's Assault Arc, with interesting glimpses at events just before Naruto Part 1. However, none of the events have bearing on the plot.
223 – 242	Paradise Life on a Boat	Skippable	Transit period to move Naruto during the buildup to the Fourth Shinobi World War, to the Land of Lightning.
257 – 260	Naruto & Sasuke flashback mini arc	Skippable	Recap of events between Sasuke's first meeting, their growing rift after Naruto's immense developments at the Chunin Exams, and climactic Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Skippable entirely if one has already watched Naruto Part 1.
271	Road to Sakura	Worth Watching	Sakura develops amnesia and encounters hijinks as Konoha helps her regain her memory. Ties into Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie and is a Sakura-focused episode, which is not common enough.
279 – 281	Fourth Shinobi World War side stories	Skippable	One-shot stories depicting battles involving Team 8, Kurotsuchi, and Deidara during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
284 – 295	Fourth Shinobi World War side stories	Skippable	One-shot stories during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
303 – 320	Fourth Shinobi World War side stories	Skippable	One-shot stories during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
347 – 361	Kakashi: Shadow of the ANBU Black Ops	Essential	Explores Kakashi's past as part of the Anbu, an underappreciated and underdeveloped black ops force among Konoha's shinobi, with additional focus on Yamato and Itachi and their functions within the force.
376	The Directive to Take the Nine Tails	Skippable	Infamously skippable filler mini-arc featuring Mecha Naruto, an automaton version of Naruto made by Orochimaru to interfere with the Akatsuki's plans to capture the Nine-Tailed Beast.
377	Naruto Vs. Mecha Naruto	Skippable	Same as episode #376, an entirely missable arc.
388	My First Friend	Worth Watching	A touching episode that explores Gaara's friendship with Naruto while giving way for the Tailed Beasts to join the battle.
389	The Adored Elder Sister	Worth Watching	While not essential, it gives an intriguing glimpse into Hinata's position within the Hyuga clan as a contested prospective heiress.
390	Hanabi's Decision	Worth Watching	A follow-up to episode #389, explores Pain's Assault through the Hyuga clan and Hanabi's perspective as she sees Hinata's grit defending Naruto.
394 – 413	In Naruto's Footsteps: The Friends' Paths	Skippable	Follows the events of the second Chunin Exams after Sasuke leaves Konoha at the end of Part 1. Fun to follow the adventures of the Konoha Eleven but not necessary for the plot.
416	The Formation of Team Minato	Worth Watching	Offers context on Kakashi and Obito's past together under Minato's leadership.
417	You'll Be My Backup	Worth Watching	Offers context on Kakashi and Obito's past together under Minato's leadership.
422 - 423	Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki side stories	Skippable	Explores Naruto teaching Konohamaru the Rasengan, connects to events of Pain's Assault, and how Konohamaru saved Naruto's old jacket, later seen in Boruto.
429 – 430	Killer B Rappūden	Worth Watching	One of the chilling and fascinating instances of the Infinite Tsukuyomi conveying excellent filler for those wishing to see more of the Jinchuriki.
431	To See That Smile, Just One More Time	Worth Watching	A rare, focused glimpse at Karin with the Infinite Tsukuyomi as a backdrop.
432 – 450	Jiraiya Shinobi Handbook: The Tale of Naruto the Hero	Skippable	Focusing on Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, seeing Jiraiya's new novel.
464 - 468	Ashura and Indra Arc	Essential	Exploration of Naruto and Sasuke's relationship with Ashura and Indra Otsutsuki, and by extension, Hagoromo, Sage of Six Paths as they fight Kaguya, his mother.
480 - 483	Childhood	Worth Watching	A nostalgic palate cleanser exploring characters paired up, sometimes with unexpected combinations, including Naruto & Hinata, Sasuke & Sakura, but also Gaara & Shikamaru, and Jiraiya & Kakashi.

All in all, filler accounts for 206 episodes out of Naruto: Shippuden's 500 episodes. Though not quite half, that still accounts for 41% of the entire series.

Looking at the list completely, it's easy to see where the team behind the anime ran into speed bumps when adapting the manga, with the series mostly avoiding filler until around the hundred-episode mark, where things get a bit more dire.

Both Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden are infamous for their filler content, with the original series also having around 40% of its episodes be filler. Luckily, Boruto fares quite a bit better with only 10% of that series being filler.

Why Naruto: Shippuden Has So Many Filler Episodes

Naruto Amazed with a Boruto poster in the background.

The biggest reason that Naruto: Shippuden was so reliant on filler is that it was a necessary step to avoid the anime overtaking the manga.

When Shippuden was airing, new episodes aired every week with very few exceptions. This means that the staff at Studio Pierrot would frequently need to give the manga a few weeks to complete a story arc or fight.

While this undoubtedly made the anime a bit uneven to watch when it was first airing, it helped ensure that the canon material was a fairly faithful adaptation of Masashi Kishimoto's manga.

Of course, this method of adapting manga is mostly outdated in 2026. Shorter manga runs make it far easier to adapt hits like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen on a seasonal basis. The result is a trade-off. Modern anime are better produced and feature more consistent quality, but are released less frequently than series like Naruto: Shippuden did.

When Boruto's timeskip is animated, all signs point to it abandoning the weekly release model, possibly meaning the next Naruto anime will abandon filler altogether.

Filler Could Be a Relic in Naruto's Anime Future

Boruto and Naruto Timelines broken future

While the saga of Naruto Uzumaki was one plagued with filler, it is now over, with fans fully equipped to see the anime with as much or as little distraction as they choose. But his son, Boruto, has his own set of troubles as laid out most clearly in the events of the next anime to conclude Boruto: Naruto Next Generations and carry into the plot of Two Blue Vortex. Pierrot has aggressively adopted a seasonal model to ease the burden of production on their staff, and max out the quality of episodes for their biggest premium anime. With Black Clover being the latest case in point for the studio's update model improving season 2 drastically, Boruto is sure to follow, leaving its filler and weekly slate behind.

Naruto's Next Anime Is Going To Save The Franchise

Naruto's anime franchise needs more than its promised four episodes, with its true brightest future hiding in plain sight.

The biggest positive point to a seasonal model for modern anime fans is that it promises virtually no filler, with the closest thing to that being padding of episodes to flesh out battles or key moments from their corresponding manga panels. Boruto: Two Blue Vortex has had a fairly singular focus in its story to date, with 33 chapters as of April 2026 on top of Naruto Next Generations' 80 to spell out an enthralling yet terrifying story of the Seventh Hokage's son, rejected by his village after a mass brainwashing, only to return just as a new Divine Tree threat emerges. It's all the more encouraging that, in a model that leaves filler in the past, Boruto's story is as exciting as ever.

Where to Stream Naruto: Shippuden in 2026

Naruto Shippuden anime visual featuring Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura

All 500 episodes of Naruto: Shippuden are available to stream on Hulu and Crunchyroll. Both services also offer every episode of the original Naruto, Naruto Spin-Off: Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals, and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

Hulu has both the original Japanese language version and the English dub, making it the best option to stream Shippuden currently.

Unfortunately, though the original Naruto series and a handful of the movies are streaming on Netflix, the streaming giant lacks Shippuden.

Luckily for fans, Naruto: Shippuden is fairly easy to watch in 2026, ensuring that the hit anime franchise remains accessible for new generations to discover.

Release Date 2007 - 2017-00-00

Network TV Tokyo

Directors Masaaki Kumagai, Naoki Horiuchi, Kazunori Mizuno, Yuki Kinoshita, Kazuya Iwata, Hiroyoshi Kishikawa, Yusuke Onoda, Hisashi Ishii, Yoshihiro Sugai, Shu Watanabe, Akitaro Daichi, Takuma Suzuki, Kiyoshi Murayama, Tsuneo Tominaga, Kunitoshi Okajima, Kenichi Nishida, Hideki Takayama, Masaharu Watanabe, Akira Shimizu, Ayataka Tanemura, Hiroaki Nishimura, Atsushi Nakagawa, Kentaro Fujita, Masayuki Matsumoto

Writers Yasuyuki Suzuki, Shin Yoshida, Junki Takegami, Katsuhiko Chiba, Yuka Miyata, Satoru Nishizono, Kento Shimoyama, Daisuke Watanabe, Hideto Tanaka, Masaya Honda