Clearly, Naruto is an anime with a fanbase as large as the show’s own length. It’s divided into two parts, Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden. While the former has 220 episodes, the latter occurs after a time gap and has 500 episodes which include a lot of fillers. In short, the story starts with orphan Naruto Uzumaki, who pulls annoying pranks on the villagers. Naruto dreams of becoming Hokage, the highest-ranking authority in the village, and chases recklessly after that dream. Sometimes more so than he chases after Sasuke, his best friend. As mentioned earlier, Hokages lead the village. They are extremely smart and powerful people who are most capable of handling disasters all on their own. This ability is what gets them appointed as only they can protect the village if all else fails. So far, in the overall Naruto universe, there have been 7 Hokages. Here is a list of them, ranked by strength.
7. Kakashi Hatake
6th Hokage
Kakashi is one of the most loved characters of all time. And we mean one of the most loved characters from all of Anime in general. A legendary ninja known all across the 5 nations for his collection of 1000 Jutsus. Kakashi is the son of the Leaf’s White Fang Sakumo, who killed himself because of social pressure from the other shinobi around him. This impacted Kakashi’s life a lot. He became obsessed with the idea of always following the rules and tried driving himself to perfection. We love Kakashi because he has one of the best character arcs in the story. His story feels very realistic with equal bouts of pain, joy, and then coming to maturity. Don’t get us wrong, we love him, so putting him on number 7 was kind of painful. But after the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kakashi has lost both of his Sharingan. Without those, the Copy Ninja can no longer replicate Jutsu, he can no longer use Kamui nor any other of the Uchiha ability. This Sharingan was a gift from Obito, and they perished with him. This leaves Kakashi at a disadvantage compared to the other Hokage. He is still incredibly strong and very smart, but in sheer strength, it’s difficult for him to match up with the ones coming up. And so, Kakashi is number 7. Read: Top Ten Naruto Arcs Ranked By Popularity
6. Tsunade Senju
5th Hokage
On number 6, we have the Slug Princess and the only female Hokage so far, Tsunade Senju. Tsunade is one of the three legendary Sannin also known very well in all the 5 great nations. No one can stand up against her when it comes to Medical Ninjutsu, it is said that she can heal wounds no one else can. Tsunade is known for always losing her bets while gambling and having a short temper. She originally had no plans of becoming Hokage, in fact, she couldn’t care less as she was never even in the village. Jiraiya and Naruto went looking for her in the first part of the series after the Third Hokage died. Tsunade is a direct descendent of the powerful Senju clan. She possesses monstrous strength and great decision-making ability. What sets her apart, though, is her One Hundred Healings Jutsu. A Jutsu that can revive her body instantly even if dealt with the most fatal wounds. This is the strength she uses up against an Edo Tensei Madara Uchiha. Something she can rely on only once if things go out of hand. And this ace in her deck is what keeps her slightly above in terms of strength.
5. Hiruzen Sarutobi
3rd Hokage
Hiruzen was tutored by Tobirama Senju, who we’ll be talking about later in the article. Hiruzen is on number 5 because of his years of experience and strength. Many have criticized him for some of his choices as Hokage and his inability to handle the Uchiha crisis, after which things fell apart quickly. Hiruzen has great intellect with an ability to quickly respond to problems with appropriate solutions, but it seems that he was too restricted by the politics of the Leaf Village. All things apart, Hiruzen was considered the God of Shinobi in his time. He was powerful and could quickly take out hoards of enemies. One of his most powerful Jutsus is summoning the Monkey King Enma. Partnering with him, he can deal great damage to the enemy. He is also capable of the Reaper Death Seal Jutsu, which was something only he and the fourth Hokage have been shown performing. He stood strong against Orochimaru when he assaulted the Hidden Leaf and successfully took down less powerful versions of the first and second Hokage all by himself. This makes him worthy of the 5th spot.
4. Minato Namikaze
4th Hokage
True to his number as Hokage, Minato stands at a solid number 4 in the list. Master of the Flying Raijin Jutsu, Minato was feared by all 5 nations. Soldiers were literally ordered to flee as soon as they saw the Leaf’s Yellow Flash Minato. Minato’s power knew no end. He could teleport in the blink of an eye and take down a bunch of enemies before they even know what hit them. He could teleport objects as massive as a Tailed Beast Bomb away from the village with his Jutsu. He was a true prodigy, taught by the great legendary Sannin Jiraiya himself. Minato was able to seal half of the Nine Tail’s Chakra in Naruto while sealing a part of his and Kushina’s chakra in him too. At the same time, he sealed the other half of Nine Tail’s chakra in himself. All of this, while he was slowly dying. A true legend by all means.
3. Tobirama Senju
2nd Hokage
Tobirama is one of those who was present when the Leaf Village was established. He is the brother of the first Hokage and a member of the powerful Senju clan. Not a lot is shown about Tobirama’s time as Hokage, but one thing is for sure, the guy created a lot of Jutsu, which were passed down to the next generations of the Leaf. He was a genius with a lot of abilities. Tobirama could create Jutsu, he was a skilled Ninjutsu user with the ability to create the Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu with a single hand sign. He had immense Chakra reserves which could crack a wall even if he placed his hand on it. He could use Genjutsu and work brilliantly with others, adjusting quickly. This guy could do it all. No wonder he was considered one of the greatest of all time.
2. Naruto Uzumaki
7th Hokage
The titular character of the show Naruto Uzumaki is finally here. Yes, he achieves his dream of becoming Hokage which in itself is a great relief for the fans. Our favorite character was able to achieve his dream, what could feel better than that? Well, to add up to that, Naruto is one of the strongest Hokages to ever take office. Again, a student of the great Jiraiya himself, Naruto grew up with the dream only to finally achieve it after a lot of struggle. He is the reincarnation of Asura, the son of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, better known as the Sage of the Six Paths. Naruto naturally has massive chakra reserves because of his Uzumaki lineage, and to add up to that, he has Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox, sealed inside of him. This only gives him more chakra and makes him even stronger. Being able to use Kurama Chakra Mode and a barrage of different Rasengan techniques makes Naruto great at offense. He can even defend the village like it was shown during the Boruto Chunin exams. He is incredibly fast, able to strategize creatively on the go, and has strength only a few can match. This makes him a perfect fit for number 2. Read: Is Naruto or Kurama Dead In Boruto Chapter 55?
1. Hashirama Senju
1st Hokage
And at number one, we have the god Hashirama himself. Now there’s a lot of debate about Naruto and Hashirama and about who’s stronger. In our opinion, it has to be Hashirama because Naruto has to utilize Kurama’s chakra to get to the level Hashirama reaches naturally. In fact, some argue that Hashirama is still a tad bit stronger than KCM Naruto. He established the Hidden Leaf Village after learning from all the past battles. He was the one who decided to establish peace to lead a path away from all the violence. He was perhaps the greatest of Senjus with a fearsome amount of chakra reserves. He was the only true master of Wood Style Jutsu and could create the wood Golem, which could rival the powers of the Uchiha Susanoo. His cells are still scattered all over the 5 great nations because of the sheer power they hold even after his death. That alone is enough to say how strong Hashirama truly was. And this concludes the list. Do you agree with this ranking? Let us know in the comments.
