From space bending Taijutsu masters to godlike beings who first wielded the power of chakras, Naruto is an ever expanding story chock full of incredibly intimidating warriors. Some are born into their overwhelming strength, while others train to reach the peak through their own merits. As is usually the case though, this leaves fans wondering: Who is the strongest Naruto character? We’re here to offer an answer with our picks for the top 10 strongest characters in Naruto.
10. Kakashi Hatake
Even in the earliest arcs of the series, it was clear that Kakashi was a step above his contemporaries and ranked among the strongest in Naruto.
A wielder of the Sharingan thanks to an eye-opening experience with his friend Obito, this sensei’s claim to fame comes in his vaunted Copy ability. With it, he can infuriate, bewilder, and overwhelm his opponents in the blink of an eye, which allows him to go toe to toe with even the most fearsome Shinobi around.
His range of Jutsu is broad and versatile, allowing him to strike from any distance he chooses and better control the battlefield. Plus, his unflappable nature keeps him cool and level-headed no matter how dire the odds may become. He is an aspirational jack-of-all-trades with an enviably analytical combat acumen; which also made him perfectly equipped to deal with Naruto’s nonsense for all those years.
9. Pain
You know you don’t want to mess with a guy whose adopted nickname is literally Pain.
The man formerly known as Nagato certainly didn’t have an easy childhood, but his tragic upbringing shaped him in more ways than one. His tutelage under Master Jiraiya helped him master the basics of Ninjutsu by his teens, and his efforts to free the Land of Mist from tyranny only further boosted his abilities.
It’s also worth mentioning that he was gifted with the Rinnegan. Able to wield it almost effortlessly, it allowed him access to a wealth of valuable Paths that make him a formidable fighter in any situation. Where others would be limited in their arsenal of techniques, he had a near bottomless bag of tricks that ranged from summoning to elemental secret techniques. Plus, he can see through most any deception thanks to his flawless perception.
He’s hands-down one of the strongest Naruto characters around, and if not for the others on this list, he would have certainly ranked higher.
8. Obito Uchiha
Though he might not have been on anyone’s shortlists for the most desirable antagonist, Obito certainly rose to the occasion in terms of power.
In addition to the abilities afforded to him through his base Sharingan, he also had the Mangekyo ability of teleporting objects within his sight into a parallel dimension. Through this, he could phase in and out of reality in order to avoid attacks; or, send the attacks into this separate plane of existence in order to negate them entirely.
And this is all prior to his acquisition of the Rinnegan and absorption of the Ten Tails as its Jinchuriki. Following these events, he gained otherworldly powers like near invincibility, an almost infinite pool of Chakra, and near-indomitable strength. This allowed him to go toe to toe with Naruto and his allies for an extended period, and to nearly achieve Madara’s master plan on his own.
The only reason he doesn’t rise higher on this list is simple: He didn’t remain in his strongest form for very long, and instead became a stepping stone for other characters to become more powerful. All the same, it’s an impressive result for a character everyone originally assumed would amount to nothing.
7. Itachi Uchiha
Itachi served as arguably the strongest Naruto character in the series for a decent chunk of its run, and it’s not hard to see why.
Naturally gifted in the arts and techniques of the Shinobi, the prodigal son of the Uchiha clan was able to reach heights as a child that were normally reserved for adults. He was accepted into the elite Anbu Black Ops at the age of 13, and awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan shortly after. This is part of how he was able to slaughter the entire Uchiha clan in order to stop a coup d’état, and how he was able to join the ranks of the Akatsuki right after.
Itachi also possess a power that exceeds the Sharingan itself: the infinite Tsukuyomi, a Genjutsu Technique which allows him to trap others in a near-endless illusion. Itachi’s prowess with the technique allowed him to make a few seconds seem like several days of torture, incapacitating his target simply by making eye contact.
If not for his incurable illness and his desire to keep Sasuke alive, he might have become the strongest Shinobi the world had ever seen. Alas, this wasn’t the case, and so he rests in the middle of our list of the strongest Naruto characters ever.
6. Sasuke Uchiha
The Yin to Naruto’s Yang, Sasuke stands as a particularly powerful Shinobi and one of the strongest Naruto characters around.
The younger brother of Itachi and the only member of the clan spared during its execution, he grew up driven by vengeance and the need to become strong enough to avenge his family. This drove him to pursue power in any form available, whether it be through the Curse Mark offered by Orochimaru or the Mangekyo Sharingan obtained by implanting Itachi’s Eye after his death. All of this is on top of his existing affinity for Lightning-based Ninjutsu and the Genjutsu offered by his Sharingan already.
This resulted in his somewhat excessive arsenal, which included everything from the undying Amaterasu flame to the towering Susanoo. And that wasn’t even the end of his growth: following his battle with Madara, he obtained the Rinnegan and became capable of manipulating space itself. With this, he could alter the positioning of anything caught within his gaze and basically control the positioning of enemies as he sees fit.
Even after his fight with his friend Naruto, he continued to improve more on his techniques, fighting style, and team strategy to become an optimal protector of the Leaf village. However, he still remains a close second behind his friend in terms of power. This is partially due to his being destined to be defeated by Naruto, but there’s also only so much he could do when his eternal rival is gifted with things like a near-infinite pool of chakra and the support of others which he couldn’t measure up to on his own.
5. Naruto Uzumaki
As the namesake hero and the eventual Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, most wouldn’t be blamed for seeing the titular protagonist as a contender for the strongest character in Naruto.
Though he started off as one of the weakest characters in the series, Naruto devoted his life to training hard and becoming the strongest around. This helped him gain the attention of several prominent Shinobi like Kakashi and Tsunade, who helped him to better understand the elements necessary to become a top-tier ninja.
Of course, he had plenty of his own natural-born advantages too. As a Jinchuriki, Naruto had an absurd amount of chakra to pull from thanks to the Nine Tailed Beast within him. He was also able to master the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu almost as soon as he learned it, allowing him to augment most any other technique or training he took on with it. This allowed him to better iterate on the Rasengan, Sage Mode, and other techniques in ways that would be impossible for anyone else.
And yet, despite all this, Naruto still isn’t the strongest in the series, and he only overcame some of the others on this list by working together with others. But then, he was meant to be the symbol of how one can’t do everything on their own and should instead work with others to attain a better future for everyone involved.
4. Hashirama Senju
You can’t base everything on a nickname, but when someone is heralded as the “God of Shinobi”, you can expect that they’ll be able to back up such a lofty title.
A benevolent leader who would be anointed as the First Hokage of Konohagakure, even Madara himself fell short of Hashirama’s mastery when he was at his peak. His adeptness in all things ninjutsu allowed him to survive even the most harrowing encounters on the battlefield, emerging victorious with the added benefit of limiting the casualties suffered by his side.
He was also host to a variety of rare and powerful techniques. His unique chakra nature affinity allowed him to mold Earth and Water together to make Wood, resulting in his ability to create vast forests or titanic wooden giants at his leisure. Also of particular note was his access to Sage Mode, which augmented all of his abilities by instilling them with Senjutsu Chakra.
Had he gone down a darker path, the world of ninjutsu would have assuredly been brought to its knees. The Ninja world can only thank its lucky stars that this grim timeline never took place, and that he instead dedicated his life to establishing a more peaceful existence for those that would come after him.
3. Madara Uchiha
Madara is the big baddy of the wider series who showed us how insanely powerful a single ninja can become with the right amount of effort.
Born into an age of war and bloodshed, Madara Uchiha was a friend of the First Hokage who turned foe after trying to claim power over the Hidden Leaf Village. Like Hashirama, he was blessed with a natural affinity to Chakra and developed exceptionally powerful techniques using his Sharingan. These ranged from the Susanoo to his exceptional Taijutsu, which made him near-unkillable and a sure-fire way to suffer casualties as his enemy.
He firmly believed that the only way to ensure peace was through dominance, and that an age of pure peace would only devolve into more conflict. This led him to cut ties with his former friend Hashirama and leave the Leaf Village, after which he gained as much power as possible in order to try and crush Hashirama so that he could direct the Leaf Village how he saw fit. Luckily, he just barely failed, forcing him to go into hiding until his death.
This alone would have made him suitable for being one of the strongest Naruto characters, but his revival during the Fourth Great Ninja War only bolstered his powers. Madara gained the Rinnegan, which granted him an even larger pool of Chakra to work with and enhanced ocular abilities respectively. He likewise was infused with the cells of Hashirama via a clone he had created, making him quite literally invincible in all but the most specific of situations.
The only thing stronger than him would be the gods of Ninjutsu themselves. Unfortunately for him, that’s exactly why he doesn’t make it past the top two slots on this list.
2. Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki
We’d be remiss to make a list of the strongest Naruto Characters without Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki near the top.
The son of the first wielder of Chakra, Hagoromo dedicated his life to the study and understanding of this all-powerful energy. Also known as the Sage of the Six Paths by his followers, he is the person responsible for spreading and teaching the ways of the Ninja so that the wider world might make use of it to better their lives.
Hagoromo was the first Jinchuriki as well, having sealed the Ten-Tailed Beast within himself in order to defeat his mother Kaguya. This would split it into the Tailed Beasts which the world would come to fear, but his kindness toward them would stand as a testament which would later help them to realize they can live in peace with mankind.
His exploits are the stuff of legend, and even when considering the wealth of talented ninja who have come and gone, he still stands the test of time as one of the most impressive warriors to have ever lived.
1. Kaguya
It’s only fitting that the strongest character in Naruto is Kaguya, the Macguffin from space who was designed specifically to dethrone Madara as the strongest antagonist in the series.
After eating the fruit of the god tree, Kaguya became the first person to wield Chakra and gained mastery over the foundational techniques of the Shinobi. She also possessed the Byakugan on both of her main eyes and a Rinne Sharingan on her third eye, which gave her the edge in almost every kind of situation.
She used her gifts to end the wars which plagued her time and bring peace to all, and she was worshiped as a goddess for her efforts. Unfortunately, she became obsessed with gaining even more strength following the birth of her two sons, devising a way to absorb their chakra for herself. Fortunately, she was outsmarted by her offspring and sealed away, serving as a grim reminder that even ambition should have its limits.
Aside from the fact that she was a literal god of Chakra and Ninjutsu, Kaguya also takes the crown as one of Naruto’s strongest characters through the merit of being near-indomitable. She was only ever defeated by multiple Shinobi teaming up against her, and said shinobi are scattered throughout this list. Even if she is a Deus Ex Machina, she earns her crown as the strongest character in the Naruto anime and manga.
