There are a lot of powerhouses in the world of Naruto, with many being viable contenders for the strongest shinobi. Between unrivaled intelligence and grand feats like taking on armies by themselves, Naruto has created a lot of debates on just who is the strongest in the series.
Since the manga’s debut back in 1999, Naruto has created many power-scaling wars. These only escalated as more powerful characters were introduced all the way until the end. Now with a sequel out, there are even more powerful characters that have been revealed. For the sake of this ranking list, only characters from the original series, Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, will be considered.
10. Kakashi Hatake
Kakashi Hatake is the only non-Uchiha who managed to wield the Sharingan after getting it from his dying childhood teammate and frient, Obito. During the Fourth Shinobi World War Kakashi awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and unleashed a fully-formed Susanoo while Obito’s spirit was temporarily inhabiting his body. Even without those events, Kakashi has a deadly combination of strength and intelligence that has proven to make him a formidable opponent.
9. Itachi Uchiha
Itachi Uchiha had already shown his unbelievable abilities at a young age, being hailed as a genius and one of the strongest shinobi to come out of Konoha. He graduated from the academy at the age of six and became the Anbu captain at the age of 12. He also mastered the three main ninja skill sets and unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan, which opened up his ability to use Susanoo. His Susanoo was particularly strong because of its use of the Sword of Totsuka and the Yata Mirror, a sword and shield combo that could pierce and block just about anything.
8. Nagato Uzumaki
Nagato Uzumaki was the leader of Akatsuki and for good reason. While his actual body was frail, he had the ability to control other bodies that collectively created the identity of Pain. As Pain, Nagato was able to single-handedly fight against and completely destroy the entire Konoha Village. He had never lost a single battle until his fight with Naruto. A lot of his abilities were attributed to his use of the Rinnegan and his durability as an Uzumaki, earning him the name the “Third Six Paths.”
7. Minato Namikaze
Minato Namikaze was the fourth Hokage on Konoha and was known as one of the most powerful shinobi in history. During the Third Shinobi World War, enemy shinobi were given flee-on-sight orders should they encounter him. He is the creator of the Rasengan, Naruto’s signature move, and one of the only users of the Flying Thunder God Technique, which led to him being dubbed the fastest shinobi ever. With the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato was able to take down entire armies by himself. He is also one of the most intelligent characters, having the highest score on the written portion of the Chunin Exam.
6. Obito Uchiha
Obito Uchiha had a humble start when he was first introduced as a genin and Kakashi’s teammate. However, after being saved by Madara, he grows to be one of the most formidable antagonists in the story. He was able to take on Minato Namikaze and wreak havoc on the village with the 9-tales catastrophe. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, he gained incredible strength that allowed him to easily fight three Hokage simultaneously, and he also has the ability to wipe out the entire Allied Shinobi Forces. However, that was with some temporary power-ups towards the very end of his time in Naruto.
5. Madara Uchiha
Another absurdly strong Uchiha, Madara Uchiha was an infamous person in shinobi history. He was originally one of the founders of Konoha Village and a friend/rival of Hashirama Senju. He did lose to Hashirama but he made sure to push his rival to the limits. Just the fear of his name alone drove the entire shinobi world to band together during the Fourth Shinobi World War. During said war, Madara was able to easily defeat the five current Kage and the tailed beasts.
4. Hashirama Senju
Hashirama Senju was the first Hokage of Konoha and was a legendary figure in shinobi history, being nicknamed the “God of Shinobi.” During his lifetime, he was able to capture eight of the nine tailed beasts on his own and was even able to best Madara Uchiha while he wielded the Eternal Mangekyo Sharigan and controlled the Nine-tailed Fox. Similar to Nagato, Hashirama was compared to the Sage of Six Paths in terms of might.
3. Naruto Uzumaki & Sasuke Uchiha
These two have always been foils to each other, gaining power-ups that balanced them as the story progressed. Ultimately, during their final fight, it was a tie so they are now tied for third on the list. They both wield high-powered abilities respectively and gained sage-like powers from the Sage of Six Paths during the Fourth Shinobi World War, which allowed them to fight and defeat the final villain of the series. Naruto gains a Sage form derived from those powers, Kurama’s chakra, and his Uzumaki heritage while Sasuke inherited the Rinnegan and is able to use it freely.
2. Hagoromo Otsutsuki
Hagoromo Otsutsuki, also known as the Sage of Six Paths, became a legendary god-like figure in shinobi history. He was one of the first Chakra users, gaining the ability from his mother. He defeated the ten-tailed beast and sealed it with the help of his brother, Hamura, along with their mother. He gained many followers due to his exploits who all looked to him as a god. His powers eventually became strong enough to transcend time, allowing him to keep an eye on the world even after his death.
1. Kaguya Otsutsuki
Kaguya Otsutsuki is ultimately an alien who came to Earth to cultivate the God Tree. However, she betrayed her clan and consumed the fruit of the God Tree, giving her Chakra and making her the first person to ever wield it. She has abilities that allow her to trap the entire world in a powerful genjutsu called the Infinite Tsukuyomi. She also can use both the Byakugan and the Rinne Shagringan at the same time thanks to having a third eye on her forehead. It took months of constant fighting for her sons to finally seal her away in the moon.
If you want to see more characters in the Naruto universe be included in this debate, find out who is stronger between Naruto and Boruto.
