Every village in the Naruto world has loyal ninjas who fight till their last breaths to protect their home. At the same time, there exist ninjas who aren't loyal to their village and decide to abandon it permanently. These ninjas leave their village and are immediately branded as criminals.
Consequently, they are put in the bingo book of their village and the ANBU have orders to kill them on sight. It goes without saying that the rogue ninjas in the Naruto world are quite powerful themselves and they've displayed plenty of their powers in the story.
Updated April 19, 2022, by Rei Penber: Throughout Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto has introduced quite a lot of rogue ninjas with most of them being the main villains of the story. These ninjas hold great significance to the plot of the series and thus deserve a lot more attention. With incredible techniques up their sleeves and goals of their own, they make up some of the most compelling characters in the entire series. The strongest rogue ninjas in Naruto also happen to be among the most memorable, as fans of the franchise should already be well aware.
14 Zabuza Momochi
Zabuza Momochi was one of the very first villains of the story. He belonged to Kirigakure but went rogue at some point in time.
Being a member of the Seven Swordmen of the Mist, Zabuza was incredibly skilled with the Kubikiribocho, and he showed that to the fans in his fights against the likes of Kakashi. Although not the strongest ninja in Naruto, Zabuza was certainly fearsome and was known to have the aura of a demon.
13 Haku
One of the true geniuses of the Naruto world, Haku was born in the land of Water as a member of the Yuki clan. He possessed the Kekkei Genkai of Ice Release, with which he could defeat even the jonin level ninjas without too much trouble.
Haku could even use one-handed seals, something that even Kakashi couldn't perform. In combat, he was quite difficult to take down, and, to beat him, Naruto had to use the power of the Nine-Tails. Without a doubt, Haku remains one of the most talented and strongest ninjas in Naruto.
12 Juzo Biwa
An S-Ranked ninja from Kirigakure, Juzo Biwa was also a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist at one point, and, just like Zabuza, he wielded the infamous Kubikiribocho. In combat, he was quite skilled and powerful enough to be recruited by the Akatsuki and be partnered with Itachi Uchiha.
Unfortunately, Juzo ended up dying at the hands of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. His true strength was never really gauged, but it goes without saying that any member of the Akatsuki is almost certainly a skilled fighter.
11 Hidan
Hidan was a member of Yugakure who abandoned the village at some point. His loyalty to Jashin gave him the power of immortality and he immediately went on to become one of the strongest people in the story.
Hidan eventually abandoned his village and joined the Akatsuki, where he became an incredible asset to them. Hidan's immortality was his biggest strength, however, he wasn't lacking in power either. In his fight against Asuma Sarutobi, he fared quite well.
10 Deidara
Deidara was a skilled shinobi from Iwagakure who was approached by the Akatsuki at one point. After losing to Itachi Uchiha, Deidara was made to join their group. He stole the forbidden jutsu of Iwagakure before he left and incorporated it with his Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai.
Deidara's strength was such that even Sasuke Uchiha had a hard time dealing with him. His plethora of techniques, such as C2, C3, and C4 are powerful enough to take almost anyone down.
9 Sasori
Sasori was one of the most skilled ninjas in the history of Sunagakure. He fought for his village during the Third Great Ninja War and he killed so many people that their blood dyed his puppets, earning him the title of Sasori of the Red Sand.
After the war, Sasori left the village and became a rogue ninja. He joined the Akatsuki and immediately became one of the strongest members of the group. With countless puppets and the Third Kazekage at his aid, Sasori was quite strong.
8 Kakuzu
Kakuzu was a shinobi of Takigakure at one point. The elders of his village sent him to assassinate Hashirama Senju once, however, he failed his task, as expected. Kakuzu then went on to steal Earth Grudge Fear and killed his village elders before going rogue.
He eventually joined the Akatsuki as one of their most skilled ninjas ever. In his fight against Kakashi and Team 10, he proved himself to be a massive threat to anyone.
7 Kisame
Also known as the Tail-less Tailed Beast, Kisame Hoshigaki was a shinobi of Kirigakure at one point. He served in their ANBU but later, he was targeted by the government of the Land of Water for his part in a coup. Kisame stole the Samehada and ran from the country.
Thanks to Obito Uchiha, Kisame joined the Akatsuki and then went on to become Itachi's partner. His skill in Water Release ninjutsu made him tremendously powerful, however, it was his skill with Samehada that made him special.
6 Orochimaru
One of Konoha's elite ninjas, Orochimaru was quite skilled as a ninja from the very beginning. By adulthood, he became a part of the Legendary Sannin of the Leaf, showing how skilled he truly was.
Orochimaru held great proficiency in every single nature transformation. He knew countless forbidden jutsu and above all, he possesses what it took to become a legendary ninja. Orochimaru spent some time with the Akatsuki however he had Otogakure to look after.
5 Kabuto Yakushi
Originally born in an orphanage in Kusagakure, Kabuto Yakushi went on to become a spy for Orochimaru. On his journey, he posed as a shinobi of several villages, eventually betraying every single one of them. While he isn't outright categorized as a rogue ninja, Kabuto certainly is one.
In terms of strength, he remains one of the very strongest characters in Naruto, especially after having absorbed Orochimaru, along with the Sound Four. His usage of the Sage Mode was incredible as well, as seen during his fight against the Uchiha brothers.
4 Itachi Uchiha
Itachi was one of the most skilled Uchiha to ever live. At a very young age, he was strong enough to awaken the Sharingan and then gain the Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi was forced to massacre his clan, following which he abandoned the village and joined the Akatsuki.
Itachi's power only ever increased after leaving the village. Although Itachi was ravaged by sickness, he was still powerful enough to defeat the likes of Orochimaru without even looking at them.
3 Sasuke Uchiha
Sasuke Uchiha is easily the strongest known Uchiha in history, however, his time as a rogue ninja hadn't seen him become as strong as he was in his prime. Nonetheless, Sasuke was a user of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, just like Madara Uchiha.
Sasuke was powerful enough to take on a Kage and even defeat them. His skill with the eye was powerful enough to subdue a Tailed Beast and even fight the likes of Ten-Tails Obito Uchiha.
2 Obito Uchiha
Obito Uchiha was always considered to be a late bloomer but the Third Great Ninja War saw to it that he finally became strong. While Obito was considered to be dead, he had actually survived.
After witnessing Rin's death, Obito became a rogue ninja and carried out Madara's project Tsuki no Me. His powers were tremendous enough to allow him to control the Akatsuki from behind the shadows, as expected of a figure as smart as himself.
1 Madara Uchiha
Madara Uchiha was a legendary ninja from the Warring States Era who, together with Hashirama Senju, created Konohagakure. However, after Hashirama's election as the First Hokage and Tobirama's treatment of the Uchiha, Madara decided to leave the village, becoming a rogue ninja.
Madara returned later in an attempt to destroy it. Unfortunately for him, he lost his intense fight against Hashirama Senju and was thought to have died on that day. Despite that, he was easily the strongest rogue ninja in Naruto.