Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden feature many of the most iconic anime characters of all time, and thanks to the ludicrous power levels that its characters reach, they are often forced to survive in incredibly dangerous circumstances. Using chakra, characters in Naruto are capable of everything from superhuman physical abilities to elemental mastery and reality-warping spells.

The Naruto franchise is still continuing with Naruto's son, Boruto, as the protagonist of his own series, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. With so many new characters still being developed and introduced to the franchise, it makes sense to run down some of the most powerful shinobi in Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden lore.

Update on February 10th, 2024 by Louis Kemner: this list has been updated to adhere to CBR's current publication standards so readers can more easily learn about the strongest Naruto characters of all.

35 Zabuza Momochi Was Naruto's First Jonin Opponent

Zabuza Momochi was one of the strongest characters in Naruto in the early days, embodying everything that makes for a deadly, terrifying ninja assassin. Zabuza was seen using mist-based jutsu to cloak the battlefield in a thick fog, allowing him to ambush his enemies and attack with his oversized sword.

Zabuza's strength, swordsmanship, and water jutsu made him even deadlier up close, once he emerged from the obscuring fog, though Team 7 was able to handle him after a tense struggle. Finally, Zabuza met his end when he turned on Gato and attacked all of Gato's men by himself. Early in the Naruto anime, Zabuza was presented as a terrifying example of how powerful jonin can be in a real battle, but he has since been eclipsed by many stronger shinobi, so he ended up last among the strongest ninjas in Naruto.

34 Asuma Sarutobi Led Team 10 Well Until His Death

Asuma Sarutubi was Team 10's beloved jonin mentor. He doesn't rank that high among the strongest Naruto characters, unlike his father Hiruzen, but he's still a formidable Leaf ninja who's worthy of respect. Personally, he's easily likable thanks to his easygoing, caring nature and his warm, paternal ways.

In combat, Asuma can use bukijutsu, or blades infused with chakra to slash his opponents up close. He can also use wind release jutsu to levitate and control those blades from a distance, and Asuma's fire chakra allows him to breathe blistering-hot ash at medium range against any opponent.

33 Neji Hyuga Showed Promise With His Natural Talent

Neji Hyuga was introduced as one of the strongest Leaf ninjas in the chunin exam arc, and one of the strongest Naruto characters of his age, too. Neji may have been born in his clan's cadet branch, but he was still immensely talented and trained rigorously to refine his technique, which totally paid off.

Neji can use his Byakugan to see the enemy's chakra points, then use Gentle Fist to either block those chakra points or damage internal organs without even breaking the enemy's skin. Neji's eyes are equally potent on defense, ensuring he can see any attack coming from practically any angle.

32 Rock Lee Mastered Taijutsu To Become A Splendid Ninja

Rock Lee is one of the strongest Naruto characters who focuses primarily on taijutsu, just like his mentor, Might Guy. Lee cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu of any kind, nor does he rely on weapons or summon scrolls, so he uses just his fists and feet to pummel his opponents into submission.

Rock Lee shone in the chunin exam arc, when he released his leg weights and nearly defeated Gaara with his Primary Lotus move. After that, unfortunately, Rock Lee's importance was diminished greatly, though he did fight Kimimaro well with his literal use of drunk-fu. Looking back, fans might also say that Rock Lee embodied the underdog trope better than Naruto Uzumaki himself did, though Lee's story arc was ultimately doomed.

31 Kimimaro Nearly Killed Gaara & Rock Lee

His time in the series was brief, but Kimimaro was one of the most instantly iconic and dangerous villains introduced in Naruto. As the last scion of the Kaguya clan, he was the sole remaining user of his family's Macabre Bone Pulse Kekkei Genkai, which has the ability to manipulate the calcium in their bodies, allowing them to use their own bones as weapons.

Kimimaro was found by the manipulative ninja scientist Orochimaru, who turned the lost youth into a powerful assassin with the help of his Curse Mark technique. Orochimaru's Curse Mark assistance helped Kimimaro become strong enough to tame the berserker Jugo, assist in the assassination of the Fourth Kazekage, and lead the Sound Ninja Five.

30 Kakuzu Used Several Chakra Elements At Once As An Immortal Warrior

Kakuzu, the short-tempered financier of the villainous Akatsuki organization, found a way to use all five chakra elements, which isn't common in Naruto. Using Earth Grudge, Kakuzu turned his body into a shell held together by hundreds of grey tentacles that allow him to extend his reach and expand his lifespan by stealing and absorbing the hearts of others.

Kakuzu's tentacles also allow him to access the chakra natures of his victims by stealing their hearts. Additionally, Kakuzu is a keen strategist, who is capable of making the best use of his powers in any given situation. Since he technically had five hearts and his body could be restored by his Earth Grudge, he had to be killed five separate times in quick succession. Kakuzu's immortality and diverse chakra types are impressive, but seeing how relatively easily he was defeated, and his low body count in Naruto, he actually doesn't rank that high among the strongest people in Naruto.

29 Shikamaru Nara Can Outthink Any Shinobi Opponent

Apart from being the series' most brilliant strategist, Shikamaru was the sole heir to one of the Hidden Leaf's most prestigious clans and inherited from their repertoire of creative abilities. His main technique was the Shadow Possession Jutsu, an ability that allowed him to control his opponents' bodies by connecting his chakra to their shadows.

Shikamaru is easily able to think ten moves ahead of his opponents and quickly weed out the most efficient winning strategy. In his battle with Hidan, Shikamaru was able to predict the course of the battle so well that he ended up manipulating Hidan into helping the Leaf shinobi kill his partner, Kakuzu.

28 Yamato Inherited Incredible Jutsu From The First Hokage

Yamato was destined to be one of the most powerful ninjas in the entire series virtually from birth. As an infant, he was kidnapped and experimented on by Orochimaru, who implanted the baby with living cell tissue from Hashirama, the first Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. Yamato was the only survivor of the experiments and developed the ability to use Hashirama's legendary Wood Style.

As soon as his unique ability generated itself, Yamato was scooped up by the shadowy ANBU Root foundation, an elite black ops team that developed a cult-like group around Danzo Shimura. Under Shimura's direction, Yamato perfected his Wood Style to the point where he could create wooden clones from his own body among other amazing feats.

27 Sasori Of The Red Sand Had A Small Army Of Deadly Puppets

Ninja puppet masters are special shinobi who utilize life-sized weaponized dolls that are controlled through chakra threads. Sasori of the Red Sand was so talented in crafting puppets that he developed the ability to make human puppets, weaponized bodies protected from decay that retained the abilities of the people they once were.

After a few years on his own, Sasori managed the impossible: turning his own body into a weaponized puppet. With his new body, Sasori could connect his puppet collection directly to his chakra system, making the number of puppets he could control at once virtually limitless. With this ability, he conquered an entire country single-handedly.

26 Deidara Can Defeat Kage-Level Opponents With Explosions

Deidara is an Akatsuki member who combines earth and fire release to create explosive clay animals in combat. Deidara can use large bombs for brute-force attacks, including models that can wipe out an entire Hidden Village. Alternatively, Deidara can use smaller, subtler explosives to take out individual targets.

Deidara single-handedly defeated and captured Gaara of the Sand by pressing his advantages, which was impressive. Later, Deidara very nearly defeated Sasuke Uchiha as well when he destroyed himself as the ultimate bomb, though Sasuke narrowly survived by hiding inside Manda the giant snake.

25 Kisame Hoshigaki Is On Par With Any Jinchuriki

Hailing from the barbaric Village Hidden in the Mist, Kisame was a master of water-based techniques, particularly ones that involved the creation and manipulation of shark clones. Kisame was so proficient that he was able to create a giant, mobile water prison by spitting out an entire sea's worth of water to manipulate.

Samehada was a semi-sentient sword capable of eating and absorbing chakra and redirecting it to its master in the form of stamina and energy. Kisame and Samehada were bonded for so long that their chakra signatures eventually became identical, allowing them to merge into an anthropomorphic shark form that doubled Kisame’s strength and speed. Despite all this, Kisame ranks somewhat modestly among the most powerful Naruto characters, since his repertoire is surprisingly limited, focusing mostly on water release jutsu and sharks. Stronger characters have more unique or flexible fighting styles.

24 Mei Terumi Is An Incredibly Powerful Mizukage

Aside from her outgoing, flirty personality, Mei was born of two iconic clans in the Hidden Mist, giving her access to two different Kekkei Genkai, and that makes her one of the strongest Naruto characters of all. With her Vapor Style, she could exhale a giant cloud of highly acidic mist that could melt through everything from flesh to metal to even the impenetrable chakra defenses of the Susanoo.

Mei's other unique ability was the Lava Style technique, a jutsu that lets her spit out bursts or a steady stream of boiling lava, which she can control at will. On top of her more specified powers, she's also a master of lightning, fire, earth, and water style jutsu, making her one of only a few ninja who can use up to four chakra natures.

23 Lady Tsunade Has Mastered Taijutsu & Medical Jutsu

A descendant of the first Hokage, Tsunade Senju was born into one of the most powerful ninja clans of all time, but Tsunade was not meant for war. Instead, she applied her skills as one of the most proficient medical ninjas of all time. Her control over her chakra was so precise that she could stitch together virtually any wound and could even use her hand as a scalpel.

Tsunade was also the first person to realize the combat potential of medical ninjutsu. She was able to divert her chakra to specific limbs, increasing her physical strength tenfold. Her strength was so monstrous that she was able to cause seismic events with her punches. Her most impressive feat is, by far, her Mitotic Regeneration, which allows quick healing but shortens her lifespan.

22 Gaara Of The Desert Is The Master Of Sand

At his birth, Gaara became the unwilling vessel of Shukaku, the one-tailed demon of the desert. Though the demon gave Gaara incredible powers, it also whispered violent advice. By the time he was introduced to the series, Gaara's control of sand was so precise that his go-to combat method was simply to encapsulate his enemy in a coffin of sand and crush them to death.

In a worst-case scenario, Gaara could give control to Shukaku and even transform into the giant demon to wreak havoc on his opponent. Even when Shukaku was eventually removed from his body, Gaara had access to a plethora of powerful abilities, such as a third eye made of sand that could connect to his optic nerve.

21 The Fourth Raikage, A, Has Powerful, Electrifying Wrestler Moves

A is the Fourth Raikage of the Village Hidden in the Clouds and a master of lightning style. A could use his chakra to surround his body with an electric aura that enhanced his speed exponentially, even compared to the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who could teleport with a space-time technique. He's so fast that he was able to use his speed to beat Tsunade at arm wrestling.

Through both his speed and his incredible physical strength, A developed his own combat technique that Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto based largely on real-life professional wrestling moves. With his supernatural speed, A can move faster than the eye can follow and deliver devastating attacks before his opponents even know he's there.

20 Killer Bee Has Seven Swords & His Biju Cloak

When Killer Bee is introduced in Naruto: Shippuden, it's very easy to be taken aback by his aloof personality and constant rhyming. However, beneath the layers of his boisterous personality is a massively overpowered shinobi — one that even rivals the strength of the Raikage.

Killer Bee is the host of the Eight-Tails, but rather than resent his circumstances, Bee instead formed a close-knit bond with the creature. This enables him to perform feats of massive strength and speed, and as evidenced by his clash with A, he is firmly on the level of other Kage. Killer Bee's mastery of his eight-tailed beast and his sword-based fighting style makes him rank comfortably among the strongest characters in Naruto in the top 20, though he falls short of various Kage and some members of Team 7 because he doesn't have as many tricks.

19 Ohnoki The Fence-Sitter Fights On A Molecular Level To Dispatch Any Opponent

As the third Tsuchikage, Onoki is naturally a powerful ninja. However, his ninjutsu abilities start to break the physical laws of the Naruto world. Using his expertise in Earth Style jutsu, Onoki can make himself so light that he can achieve flight or make his enemies so heavy that they sink into the ground. He's also able to create rock golems, giant humanoid boulders that he can send into battle for him.

Onoki's ultimate technique — the Particle Style Jutsu — was handed down to him by his predecessor. By using three elemental types at once, Onoki can disassemble his opponents on an atomic level. As a Kage, Onoki helped to break through Madara's impenetrable Susanoo and even helped Gaara to stop the Shattered Heaven technique, which calls down a pair of meteors to strike a specific point.

18 Jiraiya The Toad Sage Can Use Rasengan & Fights With Powerful Toads

The only person to turn down the Hokage title, Jiraiya was one of the three legendary Sannin along with Tsunade and Orochimaru. They represented the best shinobi of the Hidden Leaf during the Second Great Ninja War. Jiraiya was also the Toad Sage, a powerful shinobi capable of using sage chakra to enhance his strength and speed.

Outside of Sage Mode, Jiraiya was extremely proficient with ninjutsu and had several unique abilities, but his most powerful technique was learned from his student, the Fourth Hokage: the Rasengan. This swirling sphere of pure chakra was capable of cutting through solid wood, blasting enemies several yards away, and became the signature move of both Jiraiya and Naruto.

17 Danzo Shimura Stole All Kinds Of Advanced Jutsu To Fight

In battle, Danzo is a master of Wind Style techniques, specifically vacuum-based suction attacks. The Sharingan implanted in his right eye was an evolved Mangekyo Sharingan which gave him the Kotoamatsukami ability, the power to cast an illusion so subtle that it can alter the will of its victims without them even realizing it.

Danzo was also capable of summoning a powerful chimera beast to fight for him in desperate situations. He could even use Wood Style Jutsu, though he didn't have good control over it. His most powerful technique, however, came from the Sharingan in his arm, which allowed him to use the reality-warping Izanagi.

16 Hiruzen Sarutobi Is The Professor Of Ninjutsu

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, was the most powerful ninja in the village for multiple generations. He was made Hokage as a young man who then devoted himself to being the protector of his people and learning how to protect them as best he could. Legend says that Sarutobi learned every non-Kekkai Genkai jutsu created in the Hidden Leaf Village, making him one of the most knowledgeable shinobi of all time.

In his youth, Sarutobi was revered as a veritable god among shinobi. By the time Naruto starts, however, Hiruzen was well into his old age, and his abilities had deadened somewhat, but he was still able to hold his own in a fight against Orochimaru. He also demonstrated his unique summoning technique, calling the Chinese folklore character the Monkey King to fight at his side.