At the core of the rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke is the fact that they are both good ninja who came to their success through different means. Though Sasuke worked hard at becoming a ninja as a kid, eager to impress his father, he is widely considered to be a genius at it now that he’s graduated from the Academy.
Naruto on the other hand doesn’t have much natural talent, but he makes up for it with his determination and willingness to put in the work. And while Naruto undoubtedly comes out ahead in the overall competition between the two, there are definitely times when Sasuke’s talent has won out, causing him to seem the better ninja.
10 He Takes Action During The Attack Of The Demon Brothers
Team 7 ends up on their first real mission accompanying an architect back to the Land of Waves, due to the fact that he fails to tell them that a gangster is trying to have him assassinated. The Demon Brothers are the first leg of this attack, and Naruto absolutely fails at it, too scared to even move, let alone fight back. Sasuke, however, sees the danger, assesses the situation, and is able to save Naruto’s life by helping to incapacitate the enemies.
9 He Strategizes While Fighting Haku
Naruto wastes a pretty good opportunity to sneak up on Haku and Zabuza during the battle on the bridge, which would have given Team 7 a real leg up in the fight, by shouting out that he arrived. What’s more, he immediately gets himself inside of Haku’s mirrors, even though fighting from the outside might have helped Sasuke escape them. But despite Naruto’s buffoonery, Sasuke still successfully strategizes a way to combat Haku’s mirrors, using both Naruto’s ability to create Shadow Clones and his own newly-awakened Sharingan.
8 He Awakens His Kekkei Genkai
This is something that already gives Sasuke an edge over Naruto as a ninja, because Naruto obviously doesn’t come from a lineage that has a kekkei genkai. When Sasuke awakens his Sharingan, he is immediately able to use it to pretty good effect against Haku, by being able to track his movements with it and counter them.
Naruto, as seen later when trying to combat the Sharingan, doesn’t actually have the skills needed to face something like that.
7 He Has Better Chakra Control
Neither Sasuke or Naruto hold a candle to Sakura when it comes chakra control. However, when they begin the tree-climbing exercise by focusing their chakra in their feet, it’s clear that Sasuke has a better handle on the concept than Naruto does. Naruto has a lot of chakra stamina because of the Nine-Tailed Fox but he is almost completely unable to focus it without a lot of serious practice, while it clearly comes more easily to Sasuke.
6 He Is Better At Ninjutsu
Naruto casually admits on a few occasions that ninjutsu is the thing he is the worst at with regard to ninja skills. While he’s mostly overcome that obstacle through a lot of hard work, Sasuke seems to have this over him. He has mastered at least one of the Uchiha clan’s most recognized jutsu, the Fireball, and he is able to easily create clones or use substitutions during the heat of battle, often without his opponents knowing, whereas Naruto often runs straight at his enemies with his Shadow Clones.
5 He Has A Better Understanding Of Ninja Life
Sasuke comes from a famous Konoha ninja clan, and the Uchihas are actually the people responsible for the founding of the village in the first place. So he has grown up absolutely entrenched in what it means to be a ninja.
When he was a child, he watched his family pursue livelihoods working as law enforcement or in the ANBU black ops, giving him a better understanding of what the job actually entails, as opposed to Naruto who sometimes seems to get caught up in the glamour of it.
4 He Comes The Closest To Passing The Bell Test
Kakashi’s bell test is something of a trick from the beginning, since the test is really about whether or not they can work as a team to pass. While Sasuke fails this test as much as Naruto and Sakura do, he does get the closest to getting the bells on his own, as he manages to touch one of them. Sasuke is also the one who gets the point of the exam first, offering Naruto some of his lunch against Kakashi’s orders.
3 He Recognizes That The Chunin Exam Written Exam Is A Test On Cheating
Naruto might be just about the only person in the written portion of the Chunin Exams that doesn’t realize the test isn’t about the answers to the questions. Rather, it’s about how well they can get those answers by cheating off of the other people taking it. Sasuke realizes this right away, and his Sharingan gives him a leg up in getting the answers, since he can use it to just copy the hand movements of another person in the class.
2 He Makes A Great Entrance At The Chunin Exam Finals
Naruto’s entrance into the Chunin Exams takes place after a goofy running-with-the-bulls shenanigan, and he slides into the arena not looking especially bright or like he’s going to do well in his match. Sasuke shows up very late, almost missing his own match in the process, but does it in style, with a puff of smoke landing him in the middle of the arena. This kind of unexpected entrance is exactly the kind of attitude a ninja should have, taking people by surprise in order to get the upper hand.
1 He Overpowers Naruto At Their Battle At The Valley Of The End
It’s impossible not to acknowledge that Sasuke has a great deal of help in this battle from his Curse Mark. However, a lot of his actual success in this battle comes from his ability to use his Sharingan effectively and to strategize based on the kind of strength Naruto is showing. He doesn’t let his ego get in the way of recognizing how strong Naruto has become, which might have been his downfall otherwise, and he’s successfully able to slow him down with this in mind.