The list counts down from powerful Kage-tier fighters to reality-bending Otsutsuki. It focuses on clear feats, canon abilities, and direct matchups shown in Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and related films or episodes. Forms like Six Paths, tailed-beast modes, and perfected techniques are included when characters demonstrated them on screen.
Power can shift by context, but battle results, signature techniques, and demonstrated scaling give a fair picture. Each entry notes the tools that make the character a threat, how they win fights, and where they fall short against those ranked above. That way the order stays grounded in what we actually saw in the series.
Third Raikage
The Third Raikage is famed for a body like a spear and shield in one. His Lightning Release Armor boosted his speed and hardened his skin to the point where most blades could not cut him. He once fought thousands for days and only fell after being pierced by his own one-finger Nukite, which shows how hard it is to damage him in a straight clash. Durability is his identity.
He could match tailed beasts and shrug off advanced ninjutsu. The tradeoff is limited range and fewer hacks compared to top tiers with space-time or ocular powers. If you cannot outspeed him, his spear thrust will eventually land, yet against high-end genjutsu or instant relocation he struggles to tag opponents.
In a bracket with users of Rinnegan or Six Paths buffs, the Third Raikage’s ceiling is clear. Still, his raw speed, stamina, and piercing power justify a place among the strongest, especially in one-on-one melee fights.
Orochimaru
Orochimaru’s strength is survival and forbidden jutsu. His white snake body, Oral Rebirth, and body-hopping research let him return from near death and keep learning. He wields the Kusanagi blade at long range, can shed skins to escape, and fields an arsenal of elemental techniques gathered from decades of experiments. Longevity is his greatest weapon.
He also knows and later uses a refined form of Edo Tensei, which can swing battles by summoning past legends. While his base combat stats are not on par with the gods at the top, his utility, summons, and regen make him a nightmare to finish. He wins long games and war scenarios where attrition matters.
Orochimaru lacks eye-based hax like Tsukuyomi or true space-time tools, which limits his ceiling against the apex cast. Even so, his knowledge of seals, curses, and experimentation lets him punch above his weight, especially with preparation.
In a series filled with prodigies, few match his mix of immortality tricks, summoning, and scientific edge. That blend is why he stays relevant across arcs and eras, even after defeats.
Jiraiya
Jiraiya’s power peaks in Sage Mode with Ma and Pa. The mode raises his physical stats, senses, and jutsu scale, while the toad duo adds genjutsu and coordination. His oil, fire, and wind combinations hit hard, and his barrier sensing makes ambushes tough. Versatility is his core strength.
He fought the Six Paths of Pain, cracked their shared-vision secret, and pushed through deadly matchups to pull intel that saved the village. That battlefield IQ plus summons like Gamabunta let him control space in ways few can. He is also deadly in close with Rasengan variants and creative traps.
Jiraiya is not a perfect sage and needs setup to enter the mode, which creates risk against blitz-heavy foes. He lacks the raw stats or reality-warping abilities of top-tier ocular users. Even so, his toolkit covers offense, defense, and crowd control, which keeps him high on any list.
His legacy is training some of the strongest shinobi and proving that experience plus Sage Arts can challenge even god-tier threats. In practical missions and real wars, that balance is priceless.
Measured by what he achieved and who he challenged, Jiraiya stands as one of the series’ most complete fighters, even if others surpass him in pure output.
Killer Bee
Killer Bee is a rare perfect jinchuriki. He fights in tune with Gyuki, launches Tailed Beast Bombs on command, and swaps forms smoothly. His unorthodox seven-sword style is fast and hard to read, which even pressured Sharingan users. Control defines his power.
Bee’s version 2 cloak and full transformation add range and durability, and ink techniques bring surprise utility. His stamina and mental balance help him outlast many elites, which matters in long battles where others risk burnout.
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Against dimension hoppers or top Rinnegan users, Bee’s straightforward kit can be countered. But as a partner fighter and solo threat, he remains one of the best tailed-beast wielders we see on screen.
Itachi Uchiha
Itachi blends speed, foresight, and Mangekyo Sharingan mastery. Tsukuyomi ends fights mentally, Amaterasu punishes line-of-sight targets, and his Susanoo carries the Yata Mirror and Totsuka Blade, a shield-and-seal combo that many cannot answer. His planning is as deadly as his eyes. Efficiency is his hallmark.
He fought through illness and still dismantled high-level threats with minimal motion. Edo Itachi, free from his health limits, showed how far his ceiling goes, countering reanimation control and solving complex fights with calm precision.
His drawbacks are stamina and range against reality-warping opponents. Susanoo drains him, and top Six Paths foes can resist or ignore some of his kit. Still, his ability to end fights quickly keeps him above many with better raw stats.
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Itachi’s mix of lethal genjutsu, sealing, and quick reads makes him one of the series’ most decisive duelists, especially in sudden encounters.
Tobirama Senju
Tobirama is a strategist with a creator’s mind. He invented Flying Thunder God and Edo Tensei, and refined sensory and water-style combat to a razor’s edge. His instant movement lets him place tags, split teams, and pick targets before they react. Positioning is his weapon.
Water Release without a nearby source shows his control, and his team tactics scale in wars. He can open with surprise kills, then chain teleports to dismantle formations. Against slower powerhouses, this tempo decides the fight fast.
His direct destructive output is lower than the top five, but his space-time mobility and battlefield reads close that gap. Few leaders shaped shinobi combat as much as he did, and that design sense shows in every move.
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Tobirama’s genjutsu defense, tagging game, and clone traps make him a consistent threat. Even when outgunned, he creates windows for a checkmate.
Measured by influence and on-screen feats, Tobirama sits above many who boast bigger beams but lack his control of the field.
Minato Namikaze
Minato perfected Flying Thunder God and invented the Rasengan. He marks space, kunai, and even opponents, then appears where he needs to be with little warning. That speed scales cleanly into both duels and rescue ops. Timing is his edge.
As an Edo, he displayed Nine Tails Chakra Mode and top-tier sealing, which boosted both speed and durability. He can counter big threats by redirecting them or sealing them away, which is why he thrives in crisis fights.
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He can be overwhelmed by wide-area control or reality-level hax, but his mix of space-time, seals, and instant burst makes him one of the hardest shinobi to touch.
Nagato
Nagato’s Rinnegan grants the Six Paths techniques. Through the Paths of Pain he split abilities into bodies with shared vision, bringing crowd control, absorption, summons, and instant push-pull in one kit. With Shinra Tensei he leveled Konoha, and with Chibaku Tensei he created a satellite prison.
His true body paid a cost in mobility, but as an Edo he regained movement and showed how dangerous full-access Rinnegan is. He commands outer path chains and can rip souls, which bypasses many defenses.
Limitations appear against top space-time and Six Paths counters. Still, the ability to delete areas, absorb ninjutsu, and revive with the Outer Path keeps Nagato in the highest tier of practical threats.
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In coordinated fights he is even scarier, because shared vision and role-split make it hard to land a clean finisher on him.
Kakashi Hatake
Kakashi blends elite IQ, copied ninjutsu, and Kamui. With one Mangekyo he snipes targets into another dimension or warps attacks away. Briefly with both eyes, he used Perfect Susanoo and Kamui-enhanced strikes that bypass many defenses. Adaptation defines his style.
His core strength is reading the field and winning with the right move at the right time. He matches pace with faster foes through feints, clones, and line-of-sight breaks, then lands a decisive Kamui window. That is why he shines in team settings and rescue missions.
Stamina is a limit in long Mangekyo usage, and against god-tiers he needs setup or support. But his toolkit reaches well above most Kage, and his leadership makes squads punch higher than their weight.
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He also brings steady fundamentals: lightning blade variants, counters to genjutsu, and smart use of terrain. The result is a fighter who can beat stronger opponents through planning and precision.
“Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.”
That mindset shows up in his battles, where protecting allies and shaping the field matter as much as raw power.
Hashirama Senju
Hashirama’s Wood Release controls battlefields and tailed beasts. He matched and defeated Madara while restraining the Nine Tails, and his natural regen lets him fight on while others slow down. Area control is his specialty.
Sage Mode expands his reach with giant constructs that bind or crush. Against non-Six Paths foes, he dictates pace and shuts down summons with living forests that keep spreading. Few can push through that pressure.
At the highest god level he can be outpaced by space-time and reality-level hacks, but in most matchups his binding and healing secure wins.
