The Naruto universe is comprised of many epic and formidable shinobi. Over the years, they acquired station and prestige among their respective villages and even across the world for how well they performed in battle. However, there are a number of characters whose strength was used to prop others up and to make others look better in comparison.
Despite allegedly being powerful themselves, their entire arcs can be summarized as an excruciating string of defeats. Known as "jobbers," these individuals' numerous failures were not always appreciated by fans due to their charismatic qualities and arsenal of flashy jutsu.
10 Kurama Was Repeatedly Defeated Before Being Sealed In Naruto
Despite being the most powerful Tailed Beast, Kurama was easily defeated. He lost to Hashirama during Madara's betrayal of the Leaf, and his own attack on Konoha proved similarly ruinous several years later.
When Naruto lost control and attacked his allies, Yamato sealed Kurama away almost instantly. This demonstrated that, in spite of the monster's impressive strength, he was a trivial adversary against the right jutsu. Though Kurama may have helped Naruto win numerous fights, he'd be nothing without his host.
9 Mu Failed As A Tsuchikage
Mu was a former Tsuchikage from the Stone Village. Wielding the infamous disintegration style, he had access to the single most destructive ability on the planet. When combined with the strength of the previous Kage, he should have been a force to be reckoned with during the final shinobi war.
However, Mu failed to kill a single person and was ultimately sealed away. Although helping to resurrect Madara, he didn't accomplish anything on his own. The only thing sparing Mu from complete humiliation was the fact that he had little reputation to live up to.
8 Zaku Was Orochimaru's Worst Henchman
Zaku was a surgically enhanced shinobi from the Sound Village. A loyal member of Team Dosu, he represented his people in the Chunin Exams though failed horrendously. Zaku's entire life is full of brutal defeats.
He lost his arms against Shino and nearly his life when ambushing a weakened Sasuke. The villain's only "victory" was against Rock Lee, and he had his teammates assisting him. In the end, Zaku was such an unimportant ninja that Orochimaru sacrificed him in order to resurrect Hashirama and Tobirama.
7 Kiba Squandered What Screen Time He Had
Kiba had more screen time than many other Konoha 11 members, and with it, came great expectations. However, he never lived up to them, losing in almost every instance he fought.
Kiba got eliminated in the first round of the Chunin Exams when Naruto disoriented him with a fart. He also would have been killed by Sakon/Ukon if Kankuro didn't save his life and finished the battle himself. Though Kiba may have been able to damage the Gedo Statue and its spawn, this wasn't particularly impressive given how other shinobi performed similarly well against it.
6 Hanzo Didn't Deserve To Be The Sannins' Nemesis
Hanzo earned his nickname "the Salamander" by summoning a massive, poison-spewing beast. He was a great obstacle to the legendary sannin in a previous war, suggesting that he was a man of skill and experience. However, nothing could have been further from the truth.
Pain assassinated Hanzo without much of a fight, and he also failed against Mifune in the Fourth Shinobi War. Considering that the samurai had no ninjutsu or even standard taijutsu, this was a pathetic end to a well-established villain.
5 Rasa Was An Underwhelming Kazekage
Rasa was the former Kazekage of the Sand Village. Despite his alleged power, Orochimaru killed him off-screen. Considering that he had no visible injuries or even exhaustion afterward, it's safe to assume that the fight was one-sided.
When resurrected to fight in the Fourth Shinobi War, Rasa was hardly any more impressive. Despite being reborn as an immortal ninja, Gaara overpowered the villain's golden sand with his own. Since he'd already lost Shukaku to the Akatsuki by this time, Rasa was utterly humiliated in a fair fight with his own jutsu.
4 Sasori Was Lacking As A Puppet Master
As a member of Akatsuki and the self-proclaimed greatest puppet master in the world, Sasori had high expectations to meet. To his credit, he defeated Kankuro and the Third Kazekage without considerable effort. However, Sasori's subsequent defeat proved how inadequate he really was.
Chiyo and Sakura overwhelmed him with a handful of poison antidotes and a few old dolls. Considering that Chiyo outmaneuvered Sasori to strike the death blow, he cannot be considered the world's greatest puppet master. This was proven even more definitively during the Fourth Shinobi War when Kankuro got revenge against him.
3 Tsunade Underperformed As Hokage
Tsunade's promotion to Hokage was more out of necessity than due to her credentials. She couldn't defeat Orochimaru by herself even in the absence of his ability to weave hand signs. When supported by Jiraiya, the two of them still failed to capture or kill their fallen ally.
Additionally, Tsunade was mostly worthless throughout Shippuden. She overexerted herself in the Pain arc to such an extent that she fell into a coma. Promptly after waking up, she fought alongside the four Kage and lost to Madara Uchiha without weakening him whatsoever.
2 Kisame Wasn't As Scary As He Looked
Kisame may have called himself the "Tailless Tailed Beast," but his fights proved otherwise. The villain was forced to retreat from Killer Bee, Jiraiya, and Team Guy. He couldn't even finish Suigetsu off despite his superior jutsu and swordsmanship.
In theory, Kisame's ability to drain chakra was extremely powerful and made him a serious threat. However, it was fundamentally worthless against taijutsu masters like Rock Lee and Might Guy. The latter ultimately defeated him, and the villain chose to take his own life rather than live through the shame of interrogation.
1 The Fourth Raikage Failed At Every Turn
The Fourth Raikage may have presented himself as an indomitable shinobi, though his track record suggested otherwise. He lost an arm wrestle to Tsunade and was outmaneuvered by Minato, suggesting that he was neither as strong nor quick as he'd like others to believe.
Additionally, the Raikage failed to capture Sasuke even with the assistance of the five nations' most powerful shinobi. He was similarly embarrassed in the battle against Madara Uchiha, with nothing to show for being knocked unconscious. His only noticeable victory was against Kisame. However, he still failed to kill Kisame even with Killer Bee's assistance.