Ranking The Most Powerful Shinobi In Naruto

The shinobi world of "Naruto" is a land both foreign and familiar, full of powerful warriors wielding physical and magical abilities, grounded in both martial arts and Japanese spiritual beliefs. The Uchiha clan's Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo are named after sibling Shinto deities; the hand signs are rooted in Buddhism; and the idea of chakra, life energy the shinobi tap into to gain superpowers, comes from Hinduism and Buddhism. 

It makes sense, then, that the strongest shinobi are godlike. Yet manga artist Masashi Kishimoto also made his superheroes actual, well-drawn humans. They're all plagued by inner demons both physical and mental. They all struggle with commitments to family, friends, love, and duty. It's that paradigm where we find ourselves relating to people who can walk on water and jump tree to tree without falling. So the ability to elevate their power to the point where they can train hard enough to conjure, say, a 10-story super body out of pure energy or shoot electric dragons out of their fists seems somehow feasible.

Shinobi exist in hidden villages funded by lucrative mercenary jobs, but it's still just a job. Kids go to ninja academy, but it's still just school. 

Every fight scene between these shinobi becomes an epic battle full of surprise attacks and counterattacks. It's a fun world to live in, and the best battles are when the most powerful shinobi go toe-to-toe. Yet, the most powerful being in "Naruto" isn't even a shinobi.

Kaguya Otsutsuki orchestrated everything, from dispersing chakra powers to manipulating Madara into ushering forth her power. Her son is the Six Paths sage. But since she's really a celestial, not a shinobi, she's not on the list. So sorry goddess Kaguya, you don't make the list. Shinobi only.

Might Guy, like his protégé Rock Lee, is kind of a geek, bringing comic relief during awkward interactions with his fellow shinobi. When it comes to jutsu, his rivalry with Kakashi is one-sided, since Kakashi is a jutsu master.

Guy Sensei is a taijutsu specialist, a physical fighter in a world of magic. But through focus and hard work, Guy is the greatest taijutsu fighter in the land. He does have one trick that makes him superhuman — the ability to open the Eight Inner Gates of chakra. As he unlocks each, he becomes faster and more powerful. Plus, with open gates, he can launch attacks similar to jutsu solely from the power and speed of his punches and kicks.

Once he's opened the eighth and final gate, Guy is literally on fire, powerful and fast enough to strike blows at Madara — which is especially important since Madara is able to absorb jutsu. In fact, of all the shinobi, Guy is one of the few who impresses the villainous character.

While not as versatile as other shinobi, Guy can hang with anybody using just his body. When taijutsu is the only answer, he is unmatched.

He's known as Kakashi the Copy Ninja, the one who knows a thousand jutsu. He's also the leader of Team 7, and the Sixth Hokage. Whatever you call him, Kakashi is one of the strongest shinobi throughout "Naruto," fitting into the legendary teacher-student lineage that goes all the way back to the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. And Kakashi himself begins "Naruto" as the sensei for our titular hero, as well as Sasuke and Sakura.

He invented the lightning jutsu called Chidori, he wields a Mangekyo Sharingan, and he learns the dimension-tearing Kamui. Between his natural ability and his Sharingan, Kakashi can learn almost any jutsu simply by watching it. Kakashi fights with an intensity that makes every battle dynamite, but he also shows his mental toughness when he endures Itachi's torturous Tsukuyomi without going insane. Regardless of the intensity of the battle, Kakashi is always able to assess the situation calmly. 

Kakashi's knowledge, quick-thinking, and level head lead him to be named Hokage twice, the second time sticking due to his role in the Fourth Shinobi War.

Kabuto is a shinobi whose most powerful form is a gift from another great shinobi. Kabuto himself, however, is a skilled medical ninja and longtime spy whose power lies in deception and his precise scalpel hands.

As Orochimaru's right-hand man, Kabuto learned at the feet of a true master, albeit a twisted one. Kabuto's cold pragmatism is frightening, a product of his childhood as an orphan and his subsequent work as a spy, not to mention his tutelage under the heartless Orochimaru.

After Orochimaru's death, Kabuto takes some of the snake master's cells and uses them to turn into a ruthless serpent-like — a Snake Sage. His ability to control battlefields of reanimated shinobi (a jutsu he learned from Orochimaru) is the cornerstone of Tobi's Fourth Shinobi War. Kabuto's ability to reanimate and control the greatest shinobi of all time is almost as impressive as his ability to hold off Sasuke and Itachi ... well, until Itachi unveils the Izanami, an inescapable time warp.

Kabuto ends his career as a monster, but it's undeniable that this boy from humble beginnings becomes one of the most powerful shinobi the world has ever seen.

Jiraiya starts off as the goof to Orochimaru's cool, talented young shinobi. However, his recklessness leads him to accidentally transport himself to Mount Myoboku, the toad kingdom, where he undergoes strenuous training, reemerging as the Toad Sage.

Jiraiya's power lands him and his two equally legendary teammates, Orochimaru and Tsunade, with the title of the Legendary Three Sannin. During this period he trains young Nagato, who eventually becomes Pain. He becomes Minato's sensei, the eventual Fourth Hokage.

Later on, during the timeframe of "Naruto," his reputation is such that nobody dares challenge him, even the team of Kisame and Itachi, arguably the strongest of all Akatsuki duos. Yet perhaps his greatest power lies in the first book he wrote, which gives Naruto his name and inspires Naruto and Nagato to find another route for peace. Jiraiya even teaches the slow-learning Naruto the extremely complicated Rasengan, strengthens him during the time jump before "Shippuden," and inspires him forever. As a writer and teacher his impact is unmatched.

Jiraiya is also named Fifth Hokage based solely on his strength, a title he defers to Tsunade, preferring to go on solo missions. He even fights a valiant battle against the Six Pains in Toad Sage mode. Before he dies, he manages to relay important information to the Leaf Village that helps them fight Nagato/Pain.

Few surprises in "Naruto" are as huge as the revelation that the man behind the mask running the Akatsuki is Obito Uchiha, Kakashi's fallen comrade, from whom Kakashi received his Sharingan eye. Admittedly, it's hard to have predicted that considering how Obito is depicted in the flashbacks as the weakest member of Minato Namikaze's team. Yet here he is, almost as powerful as Madara, even briefly taking the name of Madara because it turns out that he is, in fact, partly Madara.

A theme throughout "Naruto" is that our loyalty to those who care for and train us can make us blind to the evilness of our actions. No matter how much of Obito's power comes from himself, from Madara, or from Black Zetsu, he wields that power effectively.

Eventually Obito is a Jinchuriki host to the Ten-Tails, can wield the next-level Truth-seeking Balls, and even gives Kakashi his own Sharingan and chakra AFTER he dies. Since almost no great shinobi became powerful without gifts from more powerful beings, we can forgive how much he got from Madara. There's a reason friendships and alliances are central themes to "Naruto."

He's only down at 6th because if it weren't for Madara reviving him and giving him so much power, Obito would have died as a child.

When it comes to raw power and ability, an argument could be made that Itachi's stronger than Sasuke. His genjutsu is such that he's the only shinobi to escape Kabuto's reanimation jutsu (except Madara). He outmatches Sasuke during their battle, and Sasuke only wins because Itachi allows it. As could be expected, considering Itachi single-handedly wiped out the strongest clan in the Leaf.

Itachi has always been a few steps ahead of nearly everybody. His foresight and abilities enable him to inspire his brother from the lam, coming full circle when he uses his fight with Sasuke as a way to rid his younger brother of Orochimaru's curse. He likely foresaw that he would be reanimated by an Akatsuki member and get a chance to fully explain everything to Sasuke. This foresight probably inspired him to learn the time-loop jutsu Izanami, a necessity for fighting a powerful reanimator. 

Sasuke's slight lead over his brother comes from the fact that not only did he do things his own way, he could change the direction of his and other people's fates. Itachi points out that possibly Sasuke could've convinced the Uchihas not to try and overthrow Konoha, thus preventing their slaughter.

If Sasuke and Itachi had a real battle, it's tough to say who would emerge the victor. Until Sasuke gets Six Paths chakra, the smart money is on Itachi.

Madara co-founded Konoha with his best friend Hashirama Senju, possibly the two greatest shinobi of all time. In flashback, we see him fight Hashirama and we see Madara die. But he'd planned for this. Madara comes back to life using the Izanagi some time later, with Hashirama's flesh in his mouth to add Senju powers to his Uchiha arsenal, a brilliant bit of foresight.

Madara knows how to live long beyond any other shinobi, growing his power and learning to harness Hashirama's wood style and Rinnegan. Then he saves Obito, turning him into the superpower he becomes. He gives Nagato the Rinnegan, foreseeing his part in Madara's plan: Peace through universal enslavement. 

When reincarnated, Madara defeats the Five Kage with his Perfect Susanoo. Reincarnated with his prime of life strength, but the Senju skills he only mastered in old age, his power is such that one wonders if any non-celestial could've defeated him. 

So Madara dies three times and is more powerful than everybody during the Great Shinobi War. He created and controlled the two most powerful Akatsuki members from death. He also briefly becomes the Ten-Tail Jinchuriki. He could have ranked even higher than number 2 — if a good portion of his power hadn't been part of a scheme set up by Kaguya herself.