Fans of the Naruto series are well aware of the sometimes unfair advantages that characters get during fights, with various strategies like the famous "Talk-no-Jutsu" getting the main character Naruto Uzumaki out of more than a few situations. His friend and rival, Sasuke Uchiha, is no exception and oftentimes comes out of lethal situations unfazed or with minor wounds at best.
Even with the second-highest number of recorded fights in Naruto, Sasuke highlights much of his personal growth and power levels by the types of opponents he faces. His conquest for power even leads him to go so far as to murder political figureheads like the stand-in Hokage, Danzo.
10 Sasuke Vs. Deidara
All of the members of the Akatsuki are first and foremost, extraordinarily gifted individuals and S-Rank criminal ninja. Each rogue ninja earned their place in the organization due to horrific crimes or cruelty, and Deidara's abilities can be considered one of the most dangerous. He can not only explode molded clay in any number of ways but can also break down particles of clay that seep into a target's skin.
Detonating this explosion would be a messy end to any fight, forcing Sasuke to virtually electrocute himself to get rid of the particles from his body. If Deidara willed it, he could have just kept sending out particles of clay until he successfully detonated them or Sasuke repeatedly shocks himself until he is rendered unfit for battle.
9 Sasuke Vs. Naruto (The First One)
Much of the Naruto series revolves around the friendship and rivalry of Sasuke and Naruto, often resulting in season-ending fights. The first of these took place in the original series, and both were absolutely brutal in their delivery of attacks and jutsu.
While Naruto was benefited by having the Uzumaki Clan's regenerative qualities, he also had the Nine-Tailed Fox Kurama inside of him that added his healing qualities. Despite these obvious advantages, Sasuke survived many bone-crushing injuries without the same regeneration and simply walked off into the night after beating the Jinchuuriki.
8 Sasuke Vs. Killer Bee
Killer Bee has a naturally comedic personality that puts one at ease, but this doesn't detract from the reality that he very nearly ended the Uchiha Clan during this iconic fight. With the help of his three teammates, Sasuke cornered the Eight-Tailed Jinchuuriki to capture him for the Akatsuki.
Unlike Naruto, Bee is older and spent much more time working with and communicating with his Tailed Beast, creating a mutual understanding between the two. A fully realized Jinchuuriki would really have no problem dealing with Sasuke, especially considering Killer Bee's agility alone was almost too much for Sasuke's Sharingan to follow during battle.
One particular moment in the fight, Killer Bee used a diversion to launch a lariat attack at Sasuke, something that easily crushes bones and regularly decapitates opponents. Instead of aiming for his neck Bee instead hits the Uchiha's torso, something that would have immediately ended the fight and caused irreparable damage had he aimed for the head.
7 Sasuke Vs. Orochimaru
Fighting one of the legendary Sanin of the Leaf Village is typically a last resort, however, Sasuke willingly trained with the snake sage to gain power and then attempted to kill him before leaving. Even in his sickly condition, Orochimaru still managed to constrict his serpents around Sasuke, which could have also easily ended the fight from one of their bites. As discovered in Boruto when Orochimaru faced off against Log, a single bite from any of the sage's snakes completely paralyzes the victim, leaving them incapacitated.
6 Sasuke Vs. Danzo
While the Hokage stand-in may have been getting along in his years, Danzo still possessed a great number of Sharingan and a sharp intellect. The leader of Root would have no issue in cutting loose ends or handling himself in a fight, given he was taught by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Even as an older man, Danzo had several opportunities to end the fight quickly rather than letting it drag on as it did. At one point, Sasuke had been marked by Danzo and gave him the opportunity to paralyze his opponent and instantly kill the Uchiha. Instead, he merely disarmed his sword in a delicate fashion and gave Sasuke the time needed to create a Susanoo.
5 Sasuke Vs. Raikage
Many Naruto fans on both sides of the Sasuke issue were unanimous in their response to Sasuke staging an attack on the Kage Summit: Incredulous. Not only because the five strongest ninjas in the world, samurai, and their high-powered attendants were present, but because Sasuke almost immediately picked a fight with the biggest guy in the room.
At the end of the fight, the Raikage lost an arm to the Amaterasu technique and was willing to lose his leg to kill the Uchiha. Had Gaara not intervened to separate the two, Sasuke's journey would have reached an abrupt end and the Raikage would have lost two limbs in one day.
4 Sasuke Vs. Kaguya
Even with the gift of Indra's chakra, Sasuke was hard-fought to win against the Rabbit Goddess Kaguya. He had a rough day up until that point and was already past his limit. The Uchiha faced off against an army of Madara's forces as well as the Ten-Tails the whole night prior to Kaguya appearing and had his chakra utterly depleted, frozen solid, crushed by high levels of gravity, and wounded several times.
Naruto has his mastery of the Nine-Tails as well as an Uzumaki bloodline to thank for his vigor during the fight, but Sasuke should have been wiped out long before the concluding match ever started.
3 Sasuke Vs. Haku
In one of Sasuke's more lethal encounters, Haku proved to be a deadly opponent using his abilities of ice and needles to nearly kill the two genin. Needles pierced his entire body and sometimes going straight through would have punctured multiple organs and created grievous injuries that would be fatal. Even one that had either pierced or nearly punctured his heart was a seemingly lethal blow, one that only needed some shut-eye and shelter to fix up again for Sasuke.
2 Sasuke Vs. Gaara
The man who has fought more Jinchuuriki than the Akatsuki, Sasuke ended up in a nasty exchange of blows with Gaara of the Hidden Sand Village. While the first match between the two during the Chunin exams was officiated and regulated by Jonin and the presiding proctors of the exam, the second match didn't seem to go as well for the Uchiha. With Shukaku making a prominent appearance in Gaara's consciousness, Sasuke's attacks fell short without being able to break the sand's defenses.
At several points Sasuke found himself being launched through trees and being struck by Shukaku's sand claw, something that could have easily impaled him and ended the fight. Had Naruto not summoned Gamabunta to draw Shukaku's attention away, there is no doubt that the run-in with the One-Tailed Beast wouldn't have gone well.
1 Sasuke Vs. Itachi
One of the most hotly contested fights of the series, Itachi allowed one last fight with his brother before his passing. Had Itachi not been deathly ill, disoriented, going blind, and had feelings of sibling sympathy for his younger brother, this fight wouldn't have gone the same. That being said, Itachi pulled many punches during this fight to encourage Sasuke to push his limits.
The elder Uchiha had a clear battle advantage and experience with the previous fighting and wiping out an entire clan of Sharingan users, and had chosen to spare Sasuke on multiple occasions prior to the final fight. Itachi was a master of genjutsu, and Obito had admitted to him after the fight that Sasuke never once managed to break through Itachi's genjutsu on his own.
There were countless instances in the fight where Itachi gave his brother the upper hand, displaying that the fight was more intended to be a goodbye rather than an actual deathmatch.