The 12 Strongest Naruto Characters, Ranked

Naruto's power ceiling moves three times across the series — from Kage-level shinobi, to Sage-tier legends, to literal goddesses — which is why every "strongest" argument dissolves into which era you're measuring. This ranking uses end-of-Shippuden peaks (Boruto-era upgrades noted where they matter), ranks by feats plus portrayal, and gives every entry the specific ability that justifies the seat. Twelve names, from the progenitor of chakra down to the man who opened all eight Gates.

The ranking at a glance

Rank	Character	Peak power	Defining feat
1	Kaguya Otsutsuki	Progenitor of chakra	Required both heroes + sealing jutsu to stop
2	Naruto Uzumaki	Six Paths Sage Mode	Fought Kaguya, Madara and Sasuke back-to-back
3	Sasuke Uchiha	Rinnegan + EMS	Space-time Amaterasu warfare; matched Naruto blow for blow
4	Madara Uchiha	Ten-Tails Jinchūriki	Soloed the Five Kage and the Allied Shinobi Forces
5	Hashirama Senju	Sage Mode Wood Release	The only man Madara ever called his equal
6	Obito Uchiha	Ten-Tails Jinchūriki	Kamui — a decade of being unhittable
7	Nagato (Pain)	Rinnegan, Six Paths of Pain	Flattened the Hidden Leaf single-handedly
8	Itachi Uchiha	Mangekyo Sharingan	Izanami, Susanoo, and a legend built while terminally ill
9	Minato Namikaze	Flying Raijin + Sage Mode	Out-sped everything alive; beat masked Obito mid-crisis
10	Tobirama Senju	Creator of forbidden jutsu	Invented Edo Tensei, Flying Raijin, Shadow Clones
11	Might Guy	Eighth Gate	Pushed Ten-Tails Madara to the brink with taijutsu alone
12	Jiraiya	Sage Mode	Died fighting six Pains — and nearly won with intel

1. Kaguya — the source of everything

The Rabbit Goddess who ate the God Tree's fruit and became chakra's origin point sits above the system because she is the system. All-Killing Ash Bones deletes what it touches, her dimensions replace battlefields wholesale, and she absorbs any technique thrown at her. The honest criticism — she appears late and fights without personality — is why this list needs a #2: she's the strongest, but Naruto vs Sasuke is the real summit.

2–3. Naruto and Sasuke — the reincarnated rivals

End-of-series Naruto stacks every resource in the setting: Six Paths Sage Mode, all nine tailed beasts' chakra, Kurama avatars, truth-seeking orbs and shadow-clone action economy no opponent solves. Sasuke's counter-kit is sharper if narrower — a Rinnegan with instant-swap Amenotejikara, portal mobility, Amaterasu and the Indra Susanoo. Their Valley of the End rematch ends in a literal draw with both at half power, which is the series' own verdict: pick your winner by preference; the story refuses to. (The chakra explainer covers the system underneath all of it.)

4–5. Madara and Hashirama — the previous summit

Madara gets the single most feared feat in the series: revived at full power, he fought the entire Allied Shinobi Forces and the five Kage simultaneously — and was visibly bored. As Ten-Tails jinchūriki with dual Rinnegan and Limbo clones, only divine intervention ended him. Hashirama, the God of Shinobi, was the one man who beat prime Madara straight-up: Sage Mode Wood Release on a scale that reshaped valleys (the faces at the Valley of the End are their monument). Madara ranks higher only because of the Ten-Tails ceiling; man against man, Hashirama kept winning.

6–8. Obito, Nagato, Itachi — the Akatsuki tier

Obito's Kamui made him functionally untouchable for a decade of villainy — intangibility on demand plus his own pocket dimension — before the Ten-Tails power dwarfed even that. Nagato's Six Paths of Pain performed the series' most iconic villain feat: erasing the Hidden Leaf from the map, alone, then reviving everyone as the exclamation point. Itachi ranks on quality over quantity — Izanami (a loop that defeats concepts, not bodies), the Totsuka blade that sealed a legendary Sannin's jutsu, and the detail the fandom never forgets: he did all of it terminally ill, holding back, and undefeated in on-screen canon.

9–12. Minato, Tobirama, Guy, Jiraiya — the human ceiling

Minato earned "Yellow Flash" by winning a war largely alone — Flying Raijin teleportation plus flawless combat judgment beat the masked Obito on the worst night of Konoha's history. Tobirama is the great inventor: Edo Tensei, Flying Raijin, Shadow Clones — half the top ten fights with tools he designed. Might Guy owns the list's most legendary moment: the Eighth Gate against Ten-Tails Madara — pure taijutsu pushing a divine being to genuine fear ("the strongest," by Madara's own admission, of the taijutsu era). And Jiraiya closes it with the death that still stings: Sage Mode against six Pains, alone, no intel — and he still solved the mystery and sent the answer home. Kakashi, Tsunade, Kisame and the Raikage headline the honourable mentions; on another day the last two seats are theirs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the strongest Naruto character ever?

Kaguya Otsutsuki by raw power; Six Paths Naruto among shinobi, with Sasuke half a step behind by the story's own final draw.

Is Naruto or Sasuke stronger?

Their final battle ends dead even — Naruto has more raw resources, Sasuke the sharper kit. The series deliberately refuses to pick, so every answer is a preference.

Is Itachi really that strong, or is it hype?

Both: his kit (Izanami, Totsuka, Yata Mirror) is elite and he never lost on-screen — but he was also sick, dying and holding back, so his "true peak" is a permanent fan debate.

Who is stronger, Madara or Hashirama?

Alive and man-to-man, Hashirama won their duels. Revived Madara with the Ten-Tails outscales anyone from their era — different questions, different answers.

Where do Boruto-era power-ups fit?

Baryon Mode and adult Sasuke shift the details but not the podium — this list ranks the original story; the sequel's escalations deserve their own ranking.