Naruto has quite a number of impressive villains some of which we all love, thanks to the way Masashi Kishimoto, the author of the series, has created them. Often, fans find themselves backing one villain or another just because they're so cool, and also because their ideologies make sense, especially in Naruto.
However, sometimes, favoritism leads to blind love for the characters sometimes, which is what makes some of them overrated. Like any other series, Naruto has its fair share of overrated villains and we've made a list of 10 of those who we think are the most overrated.
10 Shojoji
Starting off with one of the recent villains in the next generation of Naruto, Shojoji is the antagonist of the Mujina Bandits arc of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. He followed Momoshiki Otsutsuki as the next villain of the series, but turned out to be nothing more than a stepping stone for Boruto and those in his team.
Shojoji's only specialty was the Corpse Clone Jutsu, which some think makes him really dangerous. However, he was easily defeated by Boruto's Team 7, making us wonder if he truly was worth all the hype. Undoubtedly, Shojoji is an overrated character from Boruto.
9 Zabuza Momochi
One of the Swordsmen of the Mist, Zabuza Momochi was quite a powerful guy and he served as the first major antagonist in Naruto. At the time, he fought extremely well against someone like Kakashi Hatake. However, Zabuza, as expected, is overrated to a certain degree.
None of his skills compare to the other powerful Swordsmen, such as Mangetsu Hozuki, or Kisame Hoshigaki. What's more, Zabuza was defeated by a fatigued Kakashi Hatake, which makes him look even weaker. There's no doubt that Zabuza stood out among strong Jonin, but his ability is certainly limited.
8 Orochimaru
Orochimaru is, without a doubt, one of the most overrated characters in the Naruto series. Although they started off as a promising villain, they was soon pushed to the background when Naruto Shippuden progressed more towards the Akatsuki plot.
Orochimaru's power, as a result, wasn't as intimidating as it once was. They were defeated by Sasuke Uchiha (albeit when they was sick), and later one-shot by Itachi Uchiha. In the Ninja War, Orochimaru failed to show why they were one of the Legendary Sannin. No matter how powerful they appeared initially, Orochimaru failed to build upon his reputation.
7 Kimimaro
One of the Sound Five, Kimimaro was quite possibly Orochimaru's strongest henchmen, even stronger than Sasuke Uchiha at a point. His Kekkei Genkai, known as Shikotsumyaku, was quite terrifying, to say the least.
In battle, Kimimaro proved to be too much even for Rock Lee and Gaara, earning him the reputation of a strong foe. Kimimaro may have been formidable once, but as the series progressed, it made Kimimaro's strength appear tinier in comparison to the rest. There's no doubt that Kimimaro had a lot of potential, but since it was never fulfilled, we can't tell exactly how strong he would've gotten.
6 Hidan
A member of the Immortal Duo of the Akatsuki, Hidan was an antagonist who appeared in the Naruto series during Asuma's arc. Although he appeared as an S Rank criminal, there's no doubt that he was the Akatsuki's weak link.
Hidan was not a great fighter and even the likes of Asuma could beat him one on one. The tricky part was killing him, and since he couldn't die, Hidan was given the status of a 'strong foe' by some fans. By himself, he wouldn't have been able to accomplish much and we doubt if his physical ability surpassed even the weakest of the Akatsuki.
5 Kakuzu
Kakuzu was a former shinobi of Takigakure and the guy who partnered Hidan in battle. He had a total of 5 hearts, making it hard for him to die in battle. What's more, his physical strength was immense as well, since he was more than capable of overwhelming Kakashi Hatake in combat.
What's more, Kakuzu even fought against Hashirama Senju and survived. Despite that, his skills barely paint him as someone who was a rival to Hashirama Senju. We suspect that battle didn't exactly go as some might picture it. Fans tend to overrate Kakuzu since he survived a clash against the God of Shinobi, but we don't know the circumstances of the battle, and Kakuzu simply didn't show enough power to be put anywhere near Hashirama Senju.
4 Obito Uchiha (Akatsuki)
Obito's rise to power has always been an interesting topic among Naruto fans. Undeniably, Obito grew to be one of the most powerful characters in the series, but in the Akatsuki days, when he went by the name of Tobi, he was a mixed bag.
Surprisingly, some believe Tobi to be stronger than the likes of Itachi Uchiha and Nagato Uzumaki since he fought the Fourth Hokage at a young age. Unfortunately for them, Tobi himself admits Itachi to be stronger than him. While his Kamui ability was tricky, someone like Itachi could counter it within seconds, just as Minato did when the two clashed.
3 Kabuto Yakushi
One of Orochimaru's subordinates, Kabuto Yakushi grew to be quite powerful as Naruto's story progressed. At a certain point, Kabuto declared himself the strongest in the entire series, which is nothing short of laughable.
Even in his fight against Itachi and Sasuke, Kabuto was toyed with. Although some believe him to be stronger than Itachi, the fact is that Itachi couldn't kill Kabuto since the Edo Tensei wouldn't be undone even if the caster of the Jutsu died. For that reason, Itachi had to hold back and use a different strategy, i.e the Izanami, to finish him off.
2 Itachi Uchiha
Coming over to Itachi Uchiha himself, we're sure that everyone has heard claims of Itachi being the strongest Uchiha at some point. Unfortunately, this is simply not true. Itachi, while strong, has his limits which he is open to acknowledge.
He is certainly not close to Madara Uchiha in skill, especially the Rikudo version. It is possible he could've have become much stronger had he stayed healthy and lived a long life, but that never came to be. Fans who believe him to be a rival to Madara Uchiha are in denial and should accept that he's inferior in nearly every aspect.
1 Madara Uchiha
Finally, the most overrated character in Naruto is one of the strongest, but certainly not the strongest, Madara Uchiha. Madara is often termed as the strongest villain in Naruto when characters such as Kaguya, Momoshiki, and others far surpass his level of skill.
Compared to the likes of Kaguya, Madara is weak, even in his Rikudo form. What's more, he's often termed as the strongest Uchiha, but frankly, that title belongs to Sasuke. The latter has fought and matched Momoshiki Otsutsuki in battle and even overwhelmed Madara himself on occasions. It goes without saying that Madara, too, is overrated to a certain degree.