Some of the strongest Naruto characters like Madara Uchiha got their power and abilities from various external power sources. But what if every Naruto character has to rely on their own power? These so-called power-ups can come from different sources. For example from a Tailed Beast, Hashirama cells, external Dōjutsu, or Six Paths Chakra.

You can find the ranking of the 15 strongest Naruto characters without power-ups down below. This way you can decide which Naruto characters truly are the strongest shinobi of all time.

This ranking of the strongest Naruto characters follows different criteria than other lists. To clarify, these characters are ranked solely on their own strength and abilities. All the characters from this list are from the Naruto Shippuden series.

Everyone’s strengths would certainly be much closer to each other. So every fight between these characters is much more of a close battle. These are the factors included to decide the ranking of the 15 strongest Naruto characters without power-ups:

• Ninjutsu
• Genjutsu
• Intelligence
• Stamina/endurance
• Versatility
• Physical strength and speed

Rules

Everyone will be evaluated based on their 1 on 1 skills and the factors mentioned above. So these Naruto characters are ranked based on how they would deal with a fight against the other mentioned ninja. For example, accomplishments like defeating a large number of shinobi or how well you can protect a village are not the deciding factor for this ranking.

However, these factors are important and make up a small portion of the criteria. Further, there are no what-if scenarios for these characters. What do we mean by that? Every Naruto character is healthy and in their prime. So for example, Itachi Uchiha is on this list, and his health issues never happened.

Secondly, there is no prior knowledge of each other’s abilities. So for example, every Naruto character on this list has no idea about the powers and abilities of the others. Further, Edo Tensei is not allowed. So for example Orochimaru cannot use this Jutsu in his battle. Weapons and ninja tools are allowed.

15. A (Fourth Raikage)

A is truly one of the strongest Naruto characters in terms of raw power. And his chakra reserves are comparable to a Tailed Beast. Secondly, his physical prowess are arguably the best in the entire shinobi world. For example, A can break through Susanoo with his physical strength alone, despite it being an absolute defense. A uses different nature transformations like Earth, Lighting, and Water release

A is one of the fastest and strongest characters of all time with his combination of Ninjutsu and Taijutsu (Nintaijutsu). To clarify, even the Sharingan has trouble tracking his movements when A uses his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

His durability is also on an extremely high level when using this technique, as he can withstand extremely powerful blows without being seriously injured. Even cutting off his arm didn’t make him flinch.

Unfortunately, his Nintaijutsu ability is the only technique in his repertoire. A has never used any other Ninjutsu or Genjutsu and has not proven to be a great tactician either. His intellect is quite at a low level for such a powerful character.

However, he was the Fourth Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village, and that doesn’t happen by accident. A prefers to face an opponent head-on and rather thinks with his fists than his head. You can see this in his battle with Sasuke, his head-on charge cost him his arm.

14. Tsunade (Fifth Hokage)

Tsunade is a descendant of the Uzumaki and Senju clan. Secondly, Tsunade is hailed as the shinobi world’s strongest kunoichi and medical ninja. Tsunade is the Fifth Hokage of Konoha and deemed a worthy Kage by Madara Uchiha. The legendary Sannin Tsunade is one of the most physically intimidating shinobi in the Naruto world. She can also break through the Susanoo, even with a couple of hits.

Tsunade is one of the strongest Naruto characters in terms of raw power, even stronger than A. She can easily win a fight against anyone if a single punch from her lands head-on. Tsunade also has the Strength of a Hundred Seal, Creation Rebirth, and can summon Katsuyu.

To clarify, the Strength of a Hundred Seal is a jutsu that allows Tsunade to have access to all her accumulated chakra. This means that Tsunade can multiply her chakra levels up to a hundred times her original levels.

Secondly, this jutsu is very versatile as Tsunade can use her chakra to heal injuries and to transfer her chakra to others. Her stamina is enormous if you combine this with her Medical Ninjutsu skills. She can heal thousand shinobi at once while fighting on her own.

She can also use many different chakra natures such as fire, water, earth, lightning, and Yin-Yan release.

However, her skill set is a bit limited compared to other characters, especially offensively. Her brute strength makes up for her lack of offensive ninjutsu. Tsunade is not able to perform any Genjutsu. So because of this is Tsunade a bit easy to counter and her attacks are predictable. However, her offensive power makes her a dangerous opponent and is worthy of her spot for the strongest Naruto characters.

13. Sakura Haruno

Sakura Haruno is one of the most underrated characters of the Naruto series. Her skill set is very similar to Tsunade’s. Her obvious superhuman strength helps her to claim this spot on the strongest Naruto characters list. Sakura is very intelligent and has top-level chakra control. She can heal herself and has a large amount of chakra. She can summon Katsuyu, use the Strength of a Hundred Seal, and has the Byakugō seal. Her destructive power easily destroys several of Sasori’s hundred puppets during their battle.

What puts her above Tsunade is that she slightly has more physical strength and intelligence than her teacher. Her skill and knowledge give her the edge when it comes to Genjutsu. Although she doesn’t use genjutsu herself, Sakura can break out several powerful Genjutsu with ease.

Sakuras medical ninjutsu let hear heal even the most fatal of injuries. By releasing the Strength of a Hundred Seal, Sakura can put her body in a state in which it heals itself. This helps her in a battle, as she does not need to stop fighting and heal herself. 

She doesn’t really have much Ninjutsu that she can use, as she heavily relies on her physical strength. An opponent knows how she’s going to attack and defend, which makes her quite predictable. But her intelligence makes it more difficult for her opponents to approach her.

12. Gaara

Gaara of the Sand, the Fifth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village before the age of 15! He was extremely strong, even as a child. He completed the Chunin Exams at a record time, totally unharmed, and didn’t break a sweat. Gaara was arguably one of the strongest Naruto characters during the Chunin Exams.

He was also appointed as the commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Shinobi World War. Secondly, Gaara has large chakra reserves, even without Shukaku

The nature elements he uses are Lighting, Earth, and Wind release. This helps Gaara in battle, as he mixes the elements with his sand to enhance his speed and increase the area he covers with his sand.

Gaara probably has the best defense besides the Third Raikage and an Itachi with enough chakra. He is top tier in long-range battle, can levitate, and his large chakra reserves help him to perform many Ninjutsu. He also maintains his composure very well and has good intelligence and analytical skills, these are some of the reasons for his position as Kazekage. Secondly, the Desert Layered Imperial Funeral Seal is also in his arsenal.

Gaara’s control of his sand goes beyond the belief of his father Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage. Rasa thinks that Shukaku is controlling all the sand Gaara uses, but it is Gaara himself who does this impressive feat

The offensive arsenal of his sand is quite versatile, as he can create sand shurikens, shields, clones, and swords.

However, he doesn’t do well in close-range combat and only really has one type of jutsu that he uses. So he’s not very versatile overall.

11. Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke Uchiha, the child of the prophecy and rival of Naruto Uzumaki. He is the natural prodigy of the Uchiha clan, like his brother Itachi Uchiha. Sasuke’s Mangekyou Sharingan abilities are very difficult to deal with, with Amaterasu as an example. He can also shape lighting to his will and has excellent Taijutsu, speed, and decision-making. Sasuke can also use the five nature transformations snd Yin release.

He is the most formidable with Lightning and Fire release. The Kagutsuchi Chidori and Kirin are Sasuke’s strongest lighting release techniques. His Fireball jutsu and Blaze release are his strongest fire release techniques. The most powerful jutsu for his defense is the Susanoo, said to be the ultimate defense. When Sasuke uses Susanoo, it can protect him from almost anything.

Sasuke does heavily rely on techniques that require a lot of chakra and he does tend to get over-confident at times. He nearly ran out of chakra before defeating an opponent twice, which is very dangerous to do with his skillset. However, his intelligence in battle is still top-notch and this combined with his powers makes him one of the strongest Naruto characters of Naruto Shippuden.

10. Kisame Hoshigaki

Kisame Hoshigaki is a high-level shinobi, who joined the seven swordsmen of the mist. He later joined the Akatsuki and had Itachi Uchiha as his partner. Kisame also earned the nicknames “Monster of the Hidden Mist” and ” The Beast without a Tail”. This is due to his extremely high chakra reserves and impressive powers.

He has Bijuu-level chakra reserves, was able to beat Killer B at full strength, and pushed Might Guy to 7 gates without Samehada. He doesn’t really have a weakness and would push most people on this list to their absolute limit. Not to mention he has one of the most underrated jutsu with the Water Prison Shark Dance Technique. The Great Shark Bullet Technique would also give anyone (besides Guy) trouble as it absorbs an opponent’s Ninjutsu.

Kisame truly is one of the strongest Naruto characters, and also from the Akatsuki. However, there are certain points where Kisame does not excel at. For example, his reliance on Samehada, lack of Taijutsu, and the ability to defend against Genjutsu.

His analytical skills are also below par, as he should have been able to know that guy doesn’t use any ninjutsu and only uses taijutsu. Secondly, Kisame should have known that Samehada liked Killer B’s chakra. He has been caught off guard twice, with the first time nearly killing him and the second time actually killing him.

9. Jiraiya

Jiraiya, part of the Legendary Sannin of the Hidden Leaf Village and one of the greatest shinobi the village ever had, having completed over 1839 official missions! The notable powers and abilities from Jiraiya are summoning jutsu, sage jutsu, Rasengan, high intelligence, genjutsu, fire release, and spiked hair defense. His versatility makes him one of the most difficult Naruto characters to fight against.

His pain tolerance also is extremely high, as Jiraiya can withstand a power kick from Might Guy without barely any damage. Secondly, he can also withstand powerful attacks from giant creatures like Gamabunta.

Jiraiya not only has a variety of offensive and defensive techniques but is also very intelligent and can analyze his opponents very well. He is also able to summon a large number of toads and has large chakra reserves.

He has no real weakness, except for his age but he doesn’t really excel in any particular field like other powerful Naruto characters. It also takes him a lot of time to enter Sage Mode but becomes extremely powerful when in Sage Mode

8. Ōnoki

Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone Village. This Tsuchikage was the strongest Naruto character of the five Kage in the war arc, even Madara stated that Ōnoki was the most difficult to break of the 5 Kage. Secondly, Ōnoki gets this praise from Madara while being a grandpa. Imagine what he can do in his prime.

The nature releases Ōnoki uses are Fire, Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Yang release. Ōnoki can also use Lava release by combining the Earth and Fire release. His Jinton is a release that consists of Earth, Wind, and Fire release. He can turn his targets into dust with Dust Release combined with his kekkei tōta. Ōnoki also can use Earth Release to a high level.

However, his Particle Style jutsu requires a lot of chakra and takes some time to charge. Opponents can take advantage of this because he heavily relies on this technique. If you can find out a way to counter this technique, then you have a good chance of beating him.

The intelligence of this character is also an asset he uses in battle. This also comes from all the experience Ōnoki gained over the years. He is not the type of shinobi who rushes into a battle without a plan as he analyses his opponent first before fighting them.

7. Hiruzen Sarutobi

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. He earned the nicknames “The Professor” and the “God of Shinobi” during his lifetime. Hiruzen is the perfect example of The Will of Fire, as he believes in cherishing others and views all the Konoha shinobi as his family. He would fight anyone to protect Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was hailed as the strongest Kage of his lifetime, making him a good candidate for the strongest Naruto character. His abilities consist of large chakra reserves, master of all 5 basic nature transformations, can also use Yin and Yan release, mastered all of the Hidden Leaf (forbidden) Jutsu, great sensory skills, summoning jutsu and sealing jutsu.

Hiruzen can use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. the most powerful sealing jutsu of all. His summoning jutsu summons the monkey Enma, who is also pretty strong. However, not much information is available about Hiruzen’s strength in his prime, as we’ve only seen him as a grandpa.

. He mastered most jutsu other than Kekkei Genkai. Further, Hiruzen is also highly intelligent and creative in battle and could use many different ninja tools including his monkey-staff Enma.

His only drawback is that he doesn’t have an OP jutsu like most characters on this list besides maybe the Reaper Death Seal, but that’s a suicide move that can fail.

6. Tobirama Senju

Tobirama Senju, the brother of Hashirama Senju, and co-founder of the Hidden Leaf Village. He would later become the Second Hokage of Konoha. Tobirama was able to Kill Izuna Uchiha, who was said to rival Madara in power at the time.

His chakra control was advanced enough to perform complex techniques with only one hand seal, like Haku. Tobirama is the founder of many Jutsu such as the Flying Thunder God, Edo Tensei, Shadow Clone Jutsu, and more!

Has a huge arsenal of different jutsu including the Flying Thunder God, many water-style jutsu, and is said to have mastered all 5 basic elements and Yin and Yan release. He has great sensory skills, has huge chakra reserves, and is highly intelligent making him one of the strongest Naruto characters.

We haven’t really seen him in battle though, and we don’t know if he has a jutsu powerful enough to break through powerful defenses. But other than that he doesn’t truly have a weakness.

5. Obito Uchiha

Obito Uchiha, a member of the Uchiha clan and was a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village.

This version of Obito has both of his Sharingan, and thus gives him the ability to use Kamui at both long and short distances while also being able to summon Susanoo. We assume his Susanoo has the same abilities as Kakashi’s in the battle against Kaguya, although it won’t be in its complete form. This means it has swords and Kamui Shuriken. Obito has shown to be a highly intelligent character and unpredictable in battle.

The one thing that remains unknown is how much stamina he will have without Hashirama’s cells and how often he can use Kamui. However, we assume it will be similar to Kakashi, so about 5 times. This means Obito will have to be very selective when he’s using the technique both offensively and defensively.

The second thing he lacks is a jutsu that can damage an opponent other than his Kamui. This jutsu is one of the best jutsu in the series, but it doesn’t have the destructive firepower other abilities have. His strongest attack would probably be an attack of his Susanoo, but we think that the people on this list can counter that.

4. Minato Namikaze

Minato Namikaze, the 4th Hokage of Konoha and called the “Konoha’s Yellow Flash“. His name alone put fear into his enemies, as shinobi got orders to flee on sight when encountering him. Minato defeated an army of 1000 Hidden Stone shinobi all by himself. His arsenal consists of summoning jutsu, Rasengan, sealing jutsu, Sage mode, and the  Flying Thunder God Technique.

Minato is the fastest ninja in the world using his Flying Thunder God Technique. Besides that, he also has great instincts, reaction time, high combat intelligence, and quick decision-making skills. He is probably the strongest shinobi when it comes to close-range combat. Secondly, he can also defend against long-distance techniques with his sealing, markings, and summoning jutsu. Minato is without a doubt one of the strongest Naruto characters of the series and Konoha.

Minato is a very difficult opponent in a 1 on 1 battle for any opponent because you have to somehow manage to land a hit on him. His only weakness is that he only has short-range attacks and a lack of a really powerful technique, as his strongest jutsu is probably Rasengan.

His fighting style is perfect for this though, and Rasengan can do a lot of damage. However, this jutsu isn’t always capable of instantly defeating an opponent.

3. Itachi Uchiha

Itachi Uchiha, member of Konohas Uchiha clan and captain of the Anbu. He later joined the Akaktsuki.

Itachi’s offensive abilities consist of some of the toughest techniques to counter. His Susanoo is the strongest out of all Uchiha with both the Yata Mirror and the Totsuka Blade. His Mangekyou abilities (Tsukuyomi, Izanami, and Amaterasu) are extremely unpredictable and can instantly kill an opponent.

Tsukuyomi will give opponents problems in particular, especially opponents without a Sharingan. Itachi also has a version of the Shadow Clone with his crows. Secondly, he is a formidable Fire release user, as he can use the Great Fireball Technique.

Itachi Uchiha is also one of the most intelligent Naruto characters of the story and has high-level Taijutsu and speed. This version of Itachi also isn’t terminally ill and he’s trying to kill his opponent. Had Itachi never been sick, then it would be interesting to see how truly powerful he could become.

Despite him being healthy, we still believe that he will have low stamina and endurance compared to other characters on this list. However, the raw power of his techniques and his intelligence still give him the edge against people ranked below him.

2. Hashirama Senju

Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village and hailed as the “God of Shinobi”. He was famed as the strongest ninja ever. Even Madara stated that he was inferior to Hashirama during their battle. Hashirama can use all 5 basic nature transformations, along with Yin and Yang Release.

His abilities consist of high stamina, large chakra reserves, Wood release, summoning jutsu, medical ninjutsu, senjutsu, sealing jutsu, high-level taijutsu, and genjutsu. This makes him almost undefeatable!

Hashirama Senju was able to defeat Madara even with his EMS and Kurama summoning. The only way to beat Hashirama is by basically using his own cells. Every one of the strongest Naruto characters ever would want to fight against Hashirama, besides his rival Madara Uchiha.

This guy has it all: stamina, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, intelligence, huge chakra reserves, and extremely powerful Ninjutsu. He also has perfect Senjutsu to enhance all of his already powerful abilities.

1. Might Guy

Might guy, shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, and the master of Taijutsu, nicknamed ” The Leaf’s Noble Green Beast. Despite his lack of ninjutsu skills, Guy still manages to show a lot of potential with his taijutsu skills and hard work. His potential for recognized first by no other than Sakumo Hatake. His powers got recognized by some of the strongest Naruto characters in Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, and Madara Uchiha.

The powerful abilities guy uses is called the Eight Inner Gates. Guy is more capable to fight against Genjutsu users than other characters because of his many battles with Kakashi. Secondly, Guy can use the summoning jutsu to summon Ningame. His ability to use ninja tools like the nunchaku and Sōshūga are of high level.

The overall powers and abilities of Guy are not what makes him so strong, but his ability to open the 8th Gate of Death makes him so powerful and dangerous. Guy was able to briefly dominate Madara using this technique, who was the Jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails at the time. His attacks Evening Elephant, Morning Peacock, Daytime Tiger, and Night Guy are the reason for this.

Not even Hashirama would probably be able to survive Guy in this form. And since it’s Taijutsu that Guy uses, Itachi’s Yata Mirror for example would also be useless. Therefore, Guy is ranked #1 on this list of the strongest Naruto characters without powerups.

Strongest Naruto Characters: Honorable Mentions

• Naruto Uzumaki
• Madara Uchiha
• Kakashi Hatake
• Shisui Uchiha
• Gengetsu Hōzuki
• Mū
• Hanzō
• A (Third Raikage)

You can find some Naruto characters here that were not included in the list of the strongest Naruto characters without powerups. You can find the explanation down below for why these characters are not included in this list.

Naruto Uzumaki

Let’s start with Naruto Uzumaki, the most obvious one. He is a character whose power is hard to measure without Kurama. Further, his development as a ninja takes a very different road without him since his childhood. Some powers and abilities of Naruto like Senjutsu, Summoning Jutsu, Shadow Clone Jutsu, and his high chakra levels would most likely still happen without Kurama.

But a lot of Naruto fights and moments would take a different turn then, so there is not enough information about this possibility. Let’s assume Naruto has the same power as when fighting Pain, then he ranks at #11.

Madara Uchiha

The same can be said about Madara Uchiha. His Mangekyo Sharingan abilities remain unknown, as he took the eyes of his brother Izuna Uchiha to complete his Mangekyo Sharingan. The possibility of Madara obtaining the Limbo ability remains for speculation. Secondly, the possibility of Madara obtaining Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan is also up for question. And even if Madara obtained the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he can still go blind before mastering the perfect form. His physical abilities and chakra reserves also are hard to measure now.

To clarify, many of his Jutsu rely on the Hashirama cells in his body and the modifications Kabuto executed on Madara’s body. His probable ranking would be in the top 5. But it is hard to give him an exact position on this list because of all the speculations about his possible powers without all the “powerups”.

Kakashi Hatake

Kakashi Hatake is another character where it’s hard to measure his powers without the Sharingan. His talent and brilliance as a shinobi started from a young age. Further, his potential as a shinobi would still be quite interesting to see even without the Sharingan. He can still use all five basic nature transformations, and the  Yin Release and Yang Release. Kakashi is also highly intelligent, possesses great taijutsu, quick decision making, and can summon his Ninja Dogs.

Other Naruto characters

The other characters like Shisui Uchiha, Mū, Gengetsu Hōzuki, A (Third Raikage), and Hanzō also have their case of being on the list of strongest Naruto characters without powerups. However, their role during the series was too minor compared to the other characters and their powers are difficult to scale against the others.