A Kage is generally known to be the strongest and the most capable of a shinobi village. Their strength speaks for itself and, being at the peak of the ninja world, a lot is expected from them. The Naruto world has only a handful of Kage but there is certainly no shortage of powerful ninjas, both good and evil.

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In fact, most of the strongest ninjas in the story aren't Kage at all. Over the years, these shinobi have left their mark on history and some of them are powerful enough to stand alongside the Kage, if not above them.

10 Orochimaru

Naruto Orochimaru

One of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru was once a shinobi of Konohagakure who left the village at some point. He was up for the position of the Fourth Hokage, however, Minato Namikaze beat him to it.

Despite not being a Kage, Orochimaru is one of the greatest shinobi in the Narutoverse. As a master of all the five nature transformations and a user of several powerful forbidden jutsu, few can be compared to the snake ninja.

9 Hanzo

Hanzo the Salamander

Hanzo was a legendary ninja from Amegakure who once stood among the strongest characters in the story. In his prime, Hanzo was powerful enough to defeat all the Legendary Sannin at once without even breaking a sweat.

Sadly, Hanzo grew weaker in the following years and was eventually killed by Pain. Nonetheless, Hanzo was a monster even though he wasn't a Kage and his achievements as a ninja prove that.

8 Nagato Uzumaki

Naruto Nagato Uzumaki

Nagato was the first wielder of the Rinnegan in the Naruto series. Born in Amegakure, Nagato lived quite a difficult life and then ended up being raised by Jiraiya. Under his guidance, Nagato became extremely powerful and he surpassed most characters in the story.

Nagato's control over the Rinnegan was impeccable, as seen when he fought Jiraiya and later even crushed Konohagakure on his own. Without a doubt, Nagato remains to be one of the strongest ever in the story.

7 Itachi Uchiha

Itachi Uchiha from Naruto

The prodigy of the Uchiha clan, Itachi Uchiha was one of the strongest ninjas to ever live. At a very young age, he acquired the power of the Sharingan and his control over this ability only got better with time.

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Itachi also had access to the Mangekyo Sharingan, which made him incredibly powerful. He could take out characters as strong as Orochimaru with a mere glance and defeat Kakashi by just lifting a finger.

6 Rock Lee

naruto rock lee sasuke recovery team battle

Rock Lee is a member of Konoha 11 and one of the masters of Taijutsu in the Naruto world. Thanks to Guy's training, he was powerful enough to match the likes of Gaara in battle, which just goes to show how skilled he was as a kid.

As an adult, Lee has mastered all the Eight Gates and can oven the Eighth Gate of Death as well. Whether his control over this power is as good as Guy remains to be seen, however, he's certainly very strong.

5 Obito Uchiha

Naruto Obito Uchiha Ten Tails Jinchuuriki

Obito Uchiha had loads of latent potential as a kid and it didn't awaken until he was trained by Madara Uchiha. By the age of 14, he had become powerful enough to match the likes of Minato Namikaze in combat, which is quite a feat.

Obito only grew stronger, as did his Mangekyo Sharingan. Further down the road, he gained access to the Rinnegan, and eventually, he became the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails as well.

4 Might Guy

Might Guy Uses The 8th Gate Against Madara

One of the greatest taijutsu users of all time, Might Guy was an extremely powerful shinobi in his prime days. He was strong enough to defeat the likes of Kisame Hoshigaki without ever tapping into his true powers, which speaks volumes about his skill.

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In his fight against Madara Uchiha, Guy was able to utilize the power of the Eight Inner Gates and overwhelm him completely. At his best, Guy had powers that far surpassed that of the Five Kage combined.

3 Kashin Koji

Naruto Kashin Koji fighting against Jigen

A clone of the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya, Kashin Koji was created by none other than Amado, the genius scientist of Kara. Thanks to the Scientific Ninja Tools of the organization, Kashin Koji's body was made much stronger than Jiraiya's, and he's easily one of the strongest in the entire Narutoverse.

Kashin Koji is known to be stronger than Delta, who was powerful enough to push Naruto Uzumaki to use Six Paths Sage Mode. What's more, he can even tap into the power of Sage Mode, making him even stronger.

2 Madara Uchiha

Rinne-Sharingan on Madara's forehead

Madara was a legendary figure from the Warring States Era who rose to the top of the Uchiha clan and helped give birth to Konohagakure. He was renowned across the world for his might and his visual prowess. Madara had the power of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and later, he also gained access to the Rinnegan.

Madara reached the pinnacle of strength after becoming the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails and acquiring the greatest power in the Naruto world.

1 Sasuke Uchiha

Naruto Boruto Sasuke Chibaku Tensei Rinnegan Sharingan Jutsu

Known as the Other Hokage of Konohagakure, Sasuke is the strongest known Uchiha in the Naruto series. Like Madara, he is a user of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. After meeting Hagoromo Otsutsuki, Sasuke was given the Rinnegan along with the Six Paths Yin chakra, making him incredibly powerful.

Even before mastering his ocular powers, Sasuke was powerful enough to fight Madara Uchiha and even Kaguya Otsutsuki to some extent. Years later, Sasuke became much stronger and equaled Naruto Uzumaki in terms of power.

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