Author Masashi Kishimoto has put several big obstacles in the way of his hero in the manga and anime Naruto. Among them are some really nasty villains. We have ranked the most powerful among them here in the power ranking.
Warning, Spoilers: In this article, you will read spoilers about the entire story of Naruto.
How did we choose the villains? We focused here on the antagonists who are not just Naruto’s opponents but are also truly evil. Haku and Zabuza from the first arc, for example, are simply ninjas hired by the opposing side – they were basically just doing their job.
We also did not consider an Itachi Uchiha here. He ultimately turned out to be a hero who made himself look like a villain to protect what he loves. Additionally, victims of manipulations by greater baddies, like the Oto Quintet from Otogakure, are excluded.
We also ruled out final boss Kaguya: She only enters the game at the very end, and she is actually not a human (anymore). For this reason, we also excluded Zetsu from the selection.
But to make a long story short: Let’s get into the ranking!
If Naruto and Sasuke had already had all those abilities shown in the video in their battle against the villains ranked here, they would have had no problem with them:
Rank 6: Tobirama Senju
Tobirama Senju is not a villain in the sense that he killed many people or committed war crimes. But his hatred for the Uchiha and the structures he implemented in Konohagakure because of it are the reason for many problems that Naruto has to deal with:
- Tobirama was the loudest opposing voice when it came to whether the Uchiha, as losers of the war, should be granted equal status alongside the Senju in Konoha.
- As Hokage, he established the Konoha police, which he tasked the Uchiha with as their primary responsibility. This way, he wanted to keep an eye on the clan permanently. He did not offer them other important positions.
- Moreover, he allocated settlement areas to the Uchiha in Konoha that were located outside the village core.
These measures led to the Uchiha becoming increasingly isolated over the years. The clan itself did not cover itself in glory either and bullied the villagers. However, without the structures created by Tobirama, the clan’s coup plans would never have emerged, which were abruptly ended by Itachi Uchiha.
Rank 6 in the power ranking of villains was secured by the second Hokage not only through his politics but also through his high fighting power: He is a master of all three arts – Tai-, Nin-, and Gen-Jutsu. He even killed Madara Uchiha’s younger brother Izuna. Although he cannot compare to his own older brother Hashirama, only a few in this ranking can.
Tobirama is particularly known as the genius (?) behind Edo Tensei
, the jutsu that can revive and control the dead.
Rank 5: Danzo Shimura
Just before Tobirama and ranked fifth is Danzo Shimura. He is one of the elders in Konohagakure but performs his role more in the shadows: As the leader of the actually dissolved ANBU subgroup Ne
or Root
, he leads a squad of absolutely loyal shinobi.
Under his leadership, the ninjas primarily carried out undercover missions and assassinations. However, Danzo did not only manipulate his (political) opponents but also his own people – as Kabuto Yakushi had to experience firsthand.
In fact, Danzo always wanted to become Hokage and repeatedly tried to secure the position through coup attempts. Tsunade, as the fifth Hokage, is a thorn in his side as she is the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju and follows the teachings of her old master, the third Hokage. When Tsunade is briefly incapacitated, he finally takes power for himself.
As an old man of about 72 to 73 years, one might think Danzo could have left his best times as a shinobi behind him. In fact, however, he remains an incredibly powerful opponent: In the battle with Sasuke after the conference of the five Kage, he not only reveals that he possesses the powerful Sharingan of Shisui Uchiha, but has plastered his arm with ten additional Sharingan.
Additionally, Danzo conducted experiments on himself and transplanted cells of the first Hokage with Orochimaru’s help. As a result, he even masters the rare Moku-Ton
, which only Yamato can otherwise master among the living characters.
Sasuke Uchiha ultimately defeats Danzo. However, the battle is no easy one, and Danzo pulls out all the stops. A well-deserved fifth place.
On the next page, we continue with ranks four to two.
