The shinobi villages were established when Hashirama Senju, the leader of the Senju clan, joined forces with Madara Uchiha, the leader of the Uchiha clan. Together, the two fulfilled their dream of creating the first shinobi village in Naruto and named it Konohagakure.
Being the very first village, many powerful clans wanted to become a part of it, which is why most strong shinobi belong to Konohagakure. However, other countries quickly copied their model, and thus the shinobi village system was born. In the coming years, these villages birthed some incredibly powerful shinobi as well.
Updated April 19, 2022, by Rei Penber: Since the majority of the Naruto series is focused on Konohagakure, the ninjas from the rest of the villages often go unnoticed. In fact, some of the most overpowered ninjas have been birthed by shinobi villages other than Konohagakure. With characters strong enough to take on Tailed Beasts and Kage in battle, there is no shortage of incredible ninjas from other villages. Together, they are the best non-Konoha ninjas in Naruto.
14 Sasori
Sasori was one of the most skilled fighters in Naruto. Born in Sunagakure, Sasori was exceptionally skilled in the art of puppeteering. In the Third Great Ninja War, he painted his puppets with the blood of his enemies and this earned him the title of "Sasori of the Red Sand."
After leaving the village, Sasori joined the Akatsuki, where he was recognized as one of the strongest characters in the group. He even managed to kill the Third Kazekage with ease and his power was enough to take down an entire nation alone.
13 Yagura
The Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, Yagura was an exceptionally powerful character, known to be a perfect Jinchuriki, just like Naruto Uzumaki and Killer Bee. With the power of Isobu at his side, he was extremely skilled in combat, as seen when he killed Juzo Biwa, an S Ranked criminal, and even incapacitated Itachi Uchiha for a while.
Yagura's strength was immense and it was great enough to take on multiple powerful shinobi at once, which just goes to show that he was truly a match for some of Konoha's ninjas.
12 Kakuzu
Hailing from Takigakure, Kakuzu was an exceptionally skilled ninja who is often underrated. With five hearts in his body and the Forbidden Jutsu called Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu could only be matched by a select few ninjas in the Naruto series.
At some point in his life, Kakuzu managed to fight Hashirama Senju and lived to tell the tale. Furthermore, he completely overpowered Kakashi Hatake when the two fought and could easily have killed him. Kakuzu's power and versatility were incredible and he's certainly one of the strongest ninjas to have ever lived.
11 Kisame Hoshigaki
Kisame belonged to Kirigakure and was quite a skilled fighter. After leaving his village, he ended up joining the Akatsuki where he teamed up with Itachi Uchiha. With Samehada at his side, Kisame was extremely powerful in combat.
What's more, Kisame even had the power to fight a Tailed Beast and his massive chakra reserves earned him the title of "The Tail-less Tailed Beast." Kisame was a master of Water Release ninjutsu and could take on some of the strongest ninjas such as Roshi, and even Might Guy in combat. Without a doubt, he's one of the strongest non-Konoha ninjas.
10 Gaara
The Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure, Gaara is easily the strongest of all the Kage that Sunagakure has had. He became a Kage during the timeskip in Naruto and has since then kept growing in terms of power. Gaara has the power to manipulate sand at will and his intelligence in battle is praiseworthy indeed.
By the time of the Fourth Great Ninja War, Gaara had strengthened to a point where he could take on several reincarnated Kage in battle. He also fought Madara Uchiha in battle and, when he came back to life, fought him impressively.
9 Third Raikage
The Third Raikage is certainly one of the most powerful ninjas to ever live and a ninja who many believe to be the strongest Kage in Kumogakure's history. He was a powerful user of nintaijutsu and could use the Lightning Release Chakra Mode as well.
In the Third Great Ninja War, he fought 10,000 shinobi at once before finally dying. In his entire life, he only ever received one injury, which he inflicted on himself.
8 Fourth Raikage
The son of the Third Raikage, Ay managed to surpass him in almost every aspect of battle. In his fight against Sasuke Uchiha, he could very well have killed the Uchiha. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, he fought Madara Uchiha and fared well against him, although he couldn't defeat him.
Ay was also the fastest shinobi alive until Naruto Uzumaki surpassed him during the Fourth Great Ninja War. Just like his father, he was a master of nintaijutsu and could use the Lightning Release Chakra Mode as well, making him extremely impressive.
7 Onoki
Iwagakure's Third Tsuchikage, Onoki was quite a skilled shinobi back in the day, and even during his old age, he proved to be quite a fighter during the Fourth Great Ninja War. Onoki was a master of the Kekkei Tota Dust Release, with which he could dismantle anything at a molecular level.
In the fight against Madara Uchiha, he was pinpointed as the main problem due to his incredible experience in battle and his wisdom. At his strongest, he used Dust Release to wipe out several Susano'o at once. His wisdom, combined with his incredible ability, makes him too powerful.
6 Gengetsu Hozuki
Gengetsu Hozuki was Kirigakure's Second Mizukage and quite easily one of their strongest to date. He was known to be a master of Genjutsu and during the Fourth Great Ninja War, he caused all sorts of problems for the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Gengetsu was also a master of Water Release and could easily kill almost anyone with its usage. He died fighting Mu in a battle to the death, however, he also managed to kill him all the same. Gengetsu was essentially an equal of Mu.
5 Mu
The Second Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Mu is known to be the strongest shinobi to ever come from the village. Just like Onoki, Mu was a master of the Kekkei Tota Dust Release. In fact, he was the shinobi who taught Onoki how to use this power. On top of that, Mu was also a user of all five nature transformations, making him one of the few people to be able to achieve this feat.
What's more, Mu could also split himself into two to avoid dangerous blows, essentially giving him a second life. His biggest ability was being able to erase his chakra entirely and camouflage himself with Water Release. Not even the most skilled sensor-type ninjas could detect him. This earned him the title of "Null Man."
4 Killer Bee
Kumogakure's strongest ninja, Killer Bee is an extremely skilled shinobi who is also the perfect Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, Gyuki. Bee's bond with Gyuki is great and together, the two are almost unbeatable.
Bee can easily access his power in human form and can undergo a full Tailed Beast transformation as well. Ay, the Fourth Raikage, openly admitted to Bee being even more special than him, which just goes to show how skilled he truly is.
3 Hanzo
Hanzo the Salamander ranks among the very best shinobi to ever live in the Naruto world. As the leader of Amegakure, Hanzo made his presence known as one of the greatest ninjas ever. During the Second Great Ninja War, he was strong enough to take on Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya at once and defeat them all in combat.
Hanzo was also the man who named them "The Legendary Sannin." Hanzo could use all five nature transformations, however, his specialty was certainly Fire Release. He was also a user of teleportation ninjutsu.
2 Kabuto Yakushi
Kabuto Yakushi started as a rather average shinobi, however, he ascended to great heights as the story continued. By experimenting on himself, he attained several Kekkei Genkai and even gained Orochimaru's power.
More importantly, he became a user of Snake Sage Mode, becoming strong enough to fight the likes of Itachi Uchiha as well. Kabuto was certainly monstrously powerful and had some of the most incredible techniques up his sleeve.
1 Nagato Uzumaki
One of the leaders of the Akatsuki, Nagato Uzumaki is certainly among the strongest to ever live. During his prime, Nagato could defeat even the strongest of ninjas, thanks to his Rinnegan. He could use all the paths of the Rinnegan with great mastery.
Although Nagato was crippled following Yahiko's death, he wasn't weak and could destroy a village with ease. When reincarnated, he wasn't at his strongest but still nearly killed two perfect Jinchuriki at once.