There's no denying the popularity of the anime Naruto. Even after the end of its main saga in 2017, the show, which was launched in 1999, remains one of the most beloved by the otaku public. With so much time on its hands and so many characters featured in the chapters, ranking Naruto's strongest characters is no easy task.
But we've taken up the challenge and selected the thirteen most powerful Naruto characters, and you can check out the list below, from the least powerful to the most unbeatable. Will your favorite character be among them?
Kakashi Hatake
As one of the first really strong characters in the anime, Kakashi deserves his place on the list for having copied over a thousand jutsus with the sharingan he inherited from his friend Obito. As well as being the master of the protagonist trio, the character also managed the feat of becoming the sixth hokage, a title given only to the best ninja in the village.
It's worth noting that the character was already quite powerful before the incident with Obito, and played a key role in the Ninja Wars in which he took part, proving himself worthy of representing Naruto's strongest characters. He was once a member and captain of Anbu, a group of elite ninjas from the Leaf Village, and commanded the Allied Shinobi Forces. He is one of Naruto's strongest main characters, without a doubt!
Shikamaru Nara
Although he didn't seem very strong during his first appearances in the anime, Shikamaru certainly deserves his place on a list of Naruto's strongest characters. But unlike most of those mentioned here, his greatest power lies in his mind and not in his actual combat skills.
Although his shadow possession jutsu is extremely strong and useful in combat, what is most striking about Shikamaru is his ability to think and strategize. He is able to predict the end of a fight before it has even begun and this makes him an extremely important ally in many situations.
Obito Uchiha
For much of the anime, everyone thought that Obito Uchiha had died in the Third Ninja War after being hit by a rock and giving up his sharingan to Kakashi, but there was general surprise when it was revealed that he could no longer be alive. The joker Tobi, the Akatsuki member who was believed to be the weakest, was in fact the Uchiha who was definitely not weak at all.
Obito managed to face Naruto and Killer B, two powerful jinchuurikis, as well as Kakashi and Might Guy, all four at the same time! He also had the Juubi, Shukaku and Gyuuki sealed in his body, showing incredible resistance. However, the war he went through left him with deep traumas and turned him into an imminent danger. It's a shame that this happened before he had the chance to run for the next hokage. He probably would have done well in the post.
Minato Namikaze
Of all the characters in Naruto, the protagonist's father, Minato, has always been undeniably strong. Having held the post of fourth hokage for a short time before his death, the boy even perfected the technique created by Tobirama Senju, the Flying Raijin, the second hokage, to the point of making it his own signature.
Minato was also responsible for creating the Rasengan, a jutsu mastered and perfected by his son in the future, and was also the one who sacrificed himself and his wife, Kushina, to stop the Nine-Tailed Fox during its attack on the Leaf Village twelve years before the initial events of the anime. All this certainly makes him one of Naruto's strongest characters.
Itachi Uchiha
Sasuke Uchiha's older brother has been mentioned a lot since the first episodes of the series, as the boy keeps repeating all the time that he wants revenge on him. However, it is when he first appears towards the end of the classic phase that we can see the extent of his power and how much he deserves to be mentioned as one of Naruto's strongest characters.
Like Kakashi, Itachi was once captain of the Anbu, having joined the organization when he was just eleven years old. He awakened the sharingan in childhood and the mangekyou sharingan in his teens, becoming a sort of "master" of genjutsu. Even the creator of the series, Masashi Kishimoto, ranked him as the strongest ninja in the franchise before other more appealing characters were added to the storyline.
Nagato Uzumaki
Of course, you can't talk about Naruto's strongest characters without mentioning Nagato at least once. Under the alias of Pain, Nagato wreaked havoc on the Leaf Village during part of the Shippuden phase, almost blowing the entire area to bits with his Shinra Tensei.
He is one of the founding members and leader of Akatsuki, the franchise's antagonist mercenary organization, and also possesses an exceptional amount of chakra due to his Uzumaki blood heritage. The fact that he has a rinnegan enhances this, making him easily one of the most powerful ninjas in the series.
While still a child, Nagato managed to master all the techniques for transforming nature, attracting the attention of his master Jiraiya. As an adult, he also mastered a forbidden technique called "Six Paths of Pain", which allowed him to control six ninja corpses as if they were his own. Apart from him, only Obito Uchiha managed this feat, making him one of Naruto's strongest characters.
Orochimaru
Orochimaru was one of the most terrifying villains introduced in the classic phase of Naruto and sent a shiver down the spine of many viewers. Along with Tsunade and Jiraiya, he is one of the legendary sannins and has a huge number of jutsus in his repertoire of techniques.
One of the main reasons why Orochimaru is among Naruto's strongest characters is his immortality. He is able to transfer his soul to other bodies through the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique, which makes him live much longer than a normal person.
In addition, Orochimaru can manipulate his physical form to attack, defend himself against an opponent or even heal himself. He was also responsible for the death of Sarutobi Senju, the Third Hokage. Being Orochimaru's enemy is no easy feat! Thankfully, in Boruto, he's currently on the side of the good guys!
Sasuke Uchiha
At the end of the anime's main saga, both Sasuke and the protagonist received some extra skills that ended up putting him ahead of the other Uchihas mentioned above and many of Naruto's other main characters. Sasuke managed to learn chidori, the lightning technique, when he was under Kakashi's care and later left the village to be taught by Orochimaru and become more powerful for the sake of his revenge, thus striving to earn his place among Naruto's strongest characters.
Sasuke also managed to awaken the power of the Magekyou Sharingan, also manifesting the black flames of Amaterasu through it. Later, the boy also received the chakra of the Six Paths, causing the Rinnegan to be granted to his left eye. The protagonist's eternal rival and friend is also very good at taijutsu and using swords, as we see throughout the series.
Hashirama Senju
A list of Naruto's strongest characters would not be complete without the presence of Hashirama Senju. Known as "The Shinobi God", Hashirama was primarily responsible for founding the Village of the Leaf together with Madara Uchiha, thus assuming the post of First Hokage.
Although techniques involving wood were his specialty, Hashirama was able to master various jutsus. His ability was so remarkable that after his death his cells became the object of study by ninjas all over the shinobi world.
Madara Uchiha
If anyone should appear among Naruto's strongest characters, it's Madara. The character has mastered the most diverse techniques at their maximum level, such as taijutsu and senjutsu, as well as mastering both the Sharingan and its Mangekyou form.
Madara also managed to awaken the Rinne Sharingan form, a precursor to both the Rinnegan and the Sharingan itself, making him insanely strong in the use of doujutsu. He was one of the most difficult opponents to face during the Fourth Ninja War arc and gave the Shinobi Alliance a hard time. Picking a fight with Madara isn't recommended for everyone, even if this person is also listed as one of Naruto's strongest characters!
Naruto Uzumaki
The Uzumaki has always had the power of protagonism at his side, so it's clear that he would be among Naruto's strongest characters. Naturally, the boy already had a greater chakra reserve than the others because he was an Uzumaki, and adding that to the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside him, his potential could only grow.
Throughout the anime, our protagonist managed to train hard to prove his worth, just as he wanted. He mastered various ninja techniques, received part of the chakra of the Sage of the Six Paths together with Sasuke and saved the world from the machinations of Obito and Madara. And, most importantly: he finally managed to assume the position of hokage, which he had longed for since the first episode of the series! An example of overcoming and determination!
Hagoromo Otsutsuki
This is the famous Sage of the Six Paths. He is known and respected among the ninja as a kind of deity because of the size of his power and the strength of his ideals. He is responsible for the creation of the shinobi world and ninja techniques involving chakra mastery.
Harogomo can also be considered the first jinchuuriki in history because he sealed his mother, Kaguya, in his body after her transformation into the Ten-tailed Beast. As a deity, he is clearly one of the strongest characters in Narutosecond only to Kaguya, his mother.
Kaguya Otsutsuki
Kaguya Otsutsuki is widely accepted as not only one of Naruto's strongest characters, but also the strongest character in the entire franchise. She was the first living being to possess a network of chakra flowing through her body after eating the forbidden fruit of the Divine Tree.
She is able to change space-time, read thoughts, cross dimensions, absorb techniques, devour chakra and also masters the three main forms of doujutsu: Byakugan, Rinnegan and Sharingan. She was the final enemy shown in the main Naruto series and gave the protagonist and Sasuke a lot of trouble. Even Hagoromo couldn't deal with it on his own, having to call on his twin brother Hamura to seal it away beforehand.
But what about that? Did you feel like watching the final events of Naruto after this list? Check it out where you can watch the anime after you've caught up with what's already available in the Netflix catalog! And of course, don't forget to let us know if you've found your favorite character here among Naruto's strongest characters! Would you make any changes? We want to know your opinion too!
