Verdict: The strongest character in Naruto is Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the source of all chakra, who took Naruto and Sasuke’s combined Six Paths power to seal. Naruto is a close second, followed by Sasuke, Madara and Obito, all of them at their Fourth Great Ninja War peaks.
Updated September 30, 2026 · Ranked from the Naruto and Naruto Shippuden manga (volumes 1–72); Boruto is covered separately below
Who this is for: fans settling the “who’s strongest” argument, and anyone who finished the anime and wants to know how the final arc ranks everyone.
Who is the strongest Naruto character?
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Here’s the full top 5:
| Rank | Character | Peak power |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaguya Ōtsutsuki | The origin of chakra |
| 2 | Naruto Uzumaki | Six Paths power |
| 3 | Sasuke Uchiha | Six Paths Rinnegan |
| 4 | Madara Uchiha | Ten-Tails jinchūriki |
| 5 | Obito Uchiha | Ten-Tails jinchūriki |
How we ranked them
We ranked each character by their peak form in the Naruto manga, based on what they actually did on the page. That means everyone is judged at their strongest, which for all five is the Fourth Great Ninja War. Filler episodes and video games don’t count, and Boruto gets its own section at the end.
5) Obito Uchiha: the first Ten-Tails jinchūriki of the war
Naruto, Vol. 67. Cover: VIZ Media.
Obito absorbed the Ten-Tails and became its jinchūriki, the moment covered in volume 67. With the Ten-Tails inside him, he took on the combined Allied Shinobi Forces nearly by himself.
Why only #5: he was beaten while holding the Ten-Tails, and then lost it. The two Uchiha above him reached the same power and went further.
4) Madara Uchiha: the man who trapped the whole world
Naruto, Vol. 69. Cover: VIZ Media.
Madara became the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki with the power of the Six Paths, and then did what no one else in the series managed: he cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, putting the entire world into a dream.
To fight him, Might Guy had to use his most dangerous move and put his own life on the line, as VIZ’s summary of volume 70 puts it.
Why not higher: Black Zetsu stabbed him in the back and used his body to revive Kaguya. The Infinite Tsukuyomi turned out to be her plan all along, not his.
3) Sasuke Uchiha: the Rinnegan of the Six Paths
Naruto, Vol. 70. Cover: VIZ Media.
Sasuke received half of the Sage of Six Paths’ power in chapter 679, gaining a Rinnegan in his left eye. With it, he and Naruto fought and sealed Kaguya, something no one else in the story could do.
Why not #2: in the final battle at the Valley of the End, both of them lost an arm, but Sasuke was the one who admitted defeat (chapter 698).
2) Naruto Uzumaki: the other half of the Six Paths
Naruto, Vol. 72, the final volume. Cover: VIZ Media.
Naruto received the other half of the Sage of Six Paths’ power, on top of carrying chakra from all nine tailed beasts. Hagoromo, the Sage himself, gave Naruto the technique to seal the Ten-Tails, and Naruto and Sasuke used it on Kaguya.
Then he beat Sasuke in their final fight, which makes him the strongest ninja alive at the end of the manga.
Why not #1: Naruto couldn’t beat Kaguya alone. It took both halves of the Sage’s power, plus Sakura and Kakashi, to seal her.
1) Kaguya Ōtsutsuki: the origin of chakra
Naruto, Vol. 71, the Kaguya arc. Cover: VIZ Media.
Kaguya is where chakra comes from. VIZ’s summary of volume 71 calls her “the very originator of chakra,” and she’s the mother of the Sage of Six Paths himself.
Once Black Zetsu revived her during the Infinite Tsukuyomi, it took Naruto and Sasuke, both carrying the Sage’s power, plus the rest of Team 7, to seal her away in volume 72. She’s the only character in the series who needed everyone at their absolute peak to stop.
Who just missed the top 5?
- Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths: he’s the source of Naruto’s and Sasuke’s final power, but we only see him as a spirit in the story, so there’s no on-page fight to rank.
- Might Guy: opening all Eight Gates against Madara is one of the best fights in the series, but it only works once, and at a huge cost.
- Hashirama Senju: the First Hokage and Madara’s great rival, but in the war he’s a reanimated body, not at his peak.
What about Boruto?
The Boruto era raises the ceiling again. Against Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, Naruto and Kurama combined their chakra into Baryon Mode, the strongest Naruto has ever been. It cost Kurama’s life: Kurama had hidden that the form would kill him, not Naruto. We kept this list to the original Naruto story so everyone is compared within the same series.
Where to read the Naruto final arc
Every fight on this list is in Naruto Box Set 3, which collects volumes 49–72, from the Five Kage Summit through the Fourth Great Ninja War and the final battle. If you’re starting from the beginning, Box Set 1 covers original Naruto. Our manga box set guide compares both on price per volume.
Read the whole Naruto story
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the strongest character in Naruto?
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the origin of chakra. It took Naruto and Sasuke, both carrying the Sage of Six Paths’ power, plus the rest of Team 7 to seal her.
Is Naruto stronger than Sasuke?
At the end of the manga, yes. Both lost an arm in their final fight at the Valley of the End, and Sasuke admitted defeat in chapter 698.
Is Madara stronger than Naruto?
Madara cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi on the whole world, but Naruto ended the story stronger, with half of the Sage of Six Paths’ power and all nine tailed beasts’ chakra.
Next step: if you only watched the anime, the manga’s war arc moves much faster without filler, so it’s worth a reread. For more rankings, see our 5 strongest Green Lanterns, the most powerful MCU characters, and the best manga to read after the anime.
Sources: volume synopses from VIZ Media’s official pages for Naruto volumes 67–72, and chapter references from each character’s Wikipedia entry. Cover images: VIZ Media.
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