Naruto fans have argued about one question since the manga first hit Weekly Shonen Jump back in 1999: who is actually the strongest?
This list ranks the strongest Naruto characters from the original series and Naruto: Shippuden, using their peak canon forms and confirmed feats rather than fan theories or speculative power scaling.
Boruto and its sequel manga, Two Blue Vortex, introduced characters who would technically top this entire list.
Rather than mixing two very different eras into one confusing ranking, we cover those characters separately near the end, since combining them would misrepresent what most fans mean when they ask this question.
How We Ranked the Strongest Naruto Characters?
Power scaling debates in anime communities get messy fast, so here is the actual criteria used for this ranking. Every entry is judged on their single most powerful confirmed form within Naruto and Shippuden.
Feats from the manga and anime carry more weight than a character’s reputation or fan popularity. For characters whose peak abilities were only partially shown in direct combat, historical feats and confirmed lore are considered alongside what actually happened on screen.
This means some fan favorites sit lower than expected, and some quieter characters rank higher than their screen time suggests. That is intentional. A character who talks about being strong is different from a character who proves it on the page, or whose canonical history speaks for itself.
Naruto’s Strongest Forms Explained
Before the full ranking, it helps to understand how Naruto Uzumaki’s power evolved, since his name comes up in nearly every placement debate.
Naruto started with basic clone jutsu and grew into Sage Mode after training with the toads on Mount Myoboku. Kurama Chakra Mode came next, giving him full access to the Nine-Tails’ power once he and Kurama became true partners.
Six Paths Sage Mode arrived courtesy of Hagoromo Otsutsuki himself, and it remains his defining form through the Fourth Shinobi World War.
This is the form used to rank him below, since it represents his peak within the Naruto and Shippuden story.Baryon Mode came later, in the Boruto era and is covered in that section further down.
Top 15 Strongest Naruto Characters
| Rank | Character | Signature Power | Standout Feat |
| 1 | Kaguya Otsutsuki | Dimension shifting, overwhelming chakra | Required four fighters working together just to seal |
| 2 | Hagoromo Otsutsuki | Six Paths power | Fought alongside Hamura to seal Kaguya |
| 3 | Naruto Uzumaki | Six Paths Sage Mode | Fought alongside Sasuke and Team 7 against Ten-Tails Madara and Kaguya |
| 4 | Sasuke Uchiha | Rinnegan | Matched Naruto through the entire war arc |
| 5 | Madara Uchiha | Ten-Tails Jinchuriki | Defeated the combined Five Kage |
1. Kaguya Otsutsuki
Kaguya sits at the top because no character in the original Naruto story was able to defeat her alone. It took Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi working together to create the opening needed to seal her away. Her dimension-shifting abilities and overwhelming chakra reserves put her in a category of her own.
2. Hagoromo Otsutsuki
Hagoromo’s placement here rests more on lore and historical feats than direct on-screen combat, since official material shows very little of him actually fighting. He created Ninshu, became the Ten-Tails’ jinchuriki, and fought alongside Hamura to ultimately seal Kaguya. Every major bloodline ability in the series traces back to him in some way, which is why his implied peak power still earns him a top spot even without extensive battle footage.
3. Naruto Uzumaki
At his Six Paths Sage Mode peak, Naruto fought alongside Sasuke and the rest of Team 7 against the strongest enemies of the Fourth Shinobi World War, including Ten-Tails Madara and Kaguya. His chakra reserves, sensory ability, and access to chakra from all nine tailed beasts make him one of the few characters capable of standing in that fight at all.
4. Sasuke Uchiha
Sasuke earned his Rinnegan directly from Hagoromo, and it shows in his versatility. Space time ninjutsu, a perfected Susanoo, and enough raw power to stand toe to toe with Naruto through the final arc secure his spot near the top.
5. Madara Uchiha
Madara alone defeated all five Kage fighting together, one of the most one-sided feats in the series. His resurrection as the Ten-Tails jinchuriki pushed him even further, forcing the entire shinobi alliance to work together just to slow him down.
6. Obito Uchiha
Obito’s Kamui made him one of the most difficult opponents to hit, since intangibility let him phase through nearly any attack. His later transformation into the Ten-Tails jinchuriki pushed his raw power to an entirely different level, making him a threat on both a tactical and massive destructive scale.
7. Hashirama Senju
Known as the God of Shinobi, Hashirama’s Wood Release let him summon forests, tame tailed beasts, and go blow for blow with Madara in their legendary battle at the Valley of the End. His Sage Mode mastery only adds to an already absurd toolkit.
8. Might Guy
Guy earns his spot through pure physical power rather than jutsu. Opening the Eighth Gate allowed him to overwhelm Ten-Tails Madara with a level of taijutsu speed and power that few characters could match, even though Madara ultimately survived the exchange.
9. Kakashi Hatake
This ranking uses Kakashi’s temporary Dual Mangekyo Sharingan, the form he gained from Obito specifically for the fight against Kaguya. It let him use both Kamui techniques at once, and his precision and battlefield awareness made him indispensable in that final battle, even though this version of his power was not permanent.
10. Minato Namikaze
The Fourth Hokage’s Flying Raijin technique made him nearly impossible to pin down in combat. His past encounters with the Fourth Raikage demonstrated just how difficult he was to catch, while his Edo Tensei appearance during the Fourth Shinobi World War showed that his Flying Raijin remained one of the most dangerous techniques in the series.
11. Nagato
Through the Six Paths of Pain, Nagato commanded six bodies at once, each with a different Rinnegan ability. His Almighty Push and Chibaku Tensei showed destructive range that few characters in the series can match.
12. Itachi Uchiha
Itachi’s Susanoo, Amaterasu, and Izanami made him one of the most technically skilled fighters in the series. His battle with Kabuto was crucial to stopping the Edo Tensei and ending the reincarnation technique, even while severely weakened by illness.
13. Tobirama Senju
The Second Hokage created the Edo Tensei and Flying Raijin techniques that later generations built entire careers around. His Flying Raijin, sensory abilities, Water Release, and tactical intelligence made him one of the most dangerous shinobi of his generation.
14. Killer Bee
As the Eight-Tails jinchuriki, Bee achieved a level of harmony with his tailed beast that few others managed. His control let him access the beast’s full power without losing himself, something that separates him from most other jinchuriki on this list.
15. Jiraiya
One of the Three Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya’s Sage Mode and toad summons made him a genuine threat to Akatsuki. Although Jiraiya died fighting Pain, the information he gathered about the Six Paths of Pain became crucial to Naruto’s eventual victory.
Naruto vs Boruto Era: How the Power Scale Changed
The Boruto era changes the power scale significantly. Isshiki Otsutsuki overwhelmed Naruto and Sasuke, forcing Naruto to use Baryon Mode as a last resort.
The form fuses Naruto’s and Kurama’s chakra to create a massive temporary boost, but it consumes life force. Kurama took the fatal cost to keep Naruto alive, resulting in his death.
Two Blue Vortex has expanded the scale even further with Divine Tree threats such as Jura, who emerged from the Ten-Tails’ transformation. Because these newer characters have different power levels and many are still developing, they are kept outside the main Shippuden ranking.
Here’s a quick look at the key characters from the newer era:
| Character | Why They Matter |
| Isshiki Otsutsuki | Overwhelmed Naruto and Sasuke together before Baryon Mode |
| Momoshiki Otsutsuki | Major Otsutsuki threat who later fought Naruto and Sasuke |
| Boruto Uzumaki | Significant power growth throughout Two Blue Vortex |
| Jura | Divine Tree threat introduced in Two Blue Vortex |
| Daemon | Known for an unusually difficult defensive ability |
Fans who want to explore every character across both eras, including everyone covered here, can check our complete list of Naruto characters for full profiles and backstories.
Conclusion
Ranking the strongest Naruto characters always comes down to a mix of confirmed feats, historical lore and how a character performs when the story actually tests them.
Kaguya and Hagoromo sit above everyone else for good reason, but the gap between the next ten or so names is thinner than most fans assume.
As Two Blue Vortex keeps expanding the power ceiling in the Boruto era, this is a list that will likely need another update before long.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the strongest character in Naruto?
Kaguya Otsutsuki holds the top spot in the original series and Shippuden. She required four skilled fighters working together just to seal, and no single character ever defeated her in direct combat.
What is Naruto’s strongest form?
Within Naruto and Shippuden, Six Paths Sage Mode is his strongest confirmed form. In the Boruto era, Baryon Mode surpasses it in raw output, though it comes at the cost of Kurama’s life.
Is Boruto stronger than Naruto?
How Boruto compares with Naruto depends on which versions and abilities are being compared. Two Blue Vortex has significantly expanded Boruto’s abilities, while Naruto’s strongest forms come from a different stage of the story.
Who is stronger, Naruto or Sasuke?
The two are consistently portrayed as equals from the war arc onward. Naruto tends to win narrative focus, but their canon fights and team ups treat them as evenly matched.
Who is the strongest Naruto villain?
Kaguya Otsutsuki is the strongest antagonist in the original series. If the Boruto era counts, Isshiki Otsutsuki pushes the bar even higher.
