Hashirama Senju, Ohnoki, Minato Namikaze, and 7 other strongest Kages of all time, ranked

10) Gara (The Fifth Kazekage)

Gaara leading the troops during the 4th Shinobi War (Image via Studio Pierrot)

From his first appearance, the fifth Kazekage of the Sand has had a very calm and composed demeanor. Gara was the son of the fourth Kazekage, who was the wielder of golden sand. He died at the hands of Orochimaru before the attack on the leaf village.

Being made the Jinchuriki of Shukaku forcibly, his raw strength was far above a jonin. Slaughtering both foes and friends alike was nothing new for him and his sand manipulation ability made him all the more difficult for the opponents to deal with. Even as a kid, he was so strong that Lee wasn’t able to beat him despite opening 5 of the eight inner gates.

9) The third Raikage (A)

The term ‘Beast’ would truly be an understatement for this guy. The Third Raikage of Kumogakure was a force to be reckoned with. He was the father of the world’s fastest shinobi, second only to the likes of Minato Namikaze (Fourth Hokage).

He was hailed as the strongest of all the past and present Raikages that governed the village hidden in the clouds. He sparred with a berserk eight tails countless times and the only scar that the beast could ever inflict on this man came from his own carelessness. His body was so durable that it was also called the “Strongest shield” or “Saikyo no tate”

He was the first user of the black lightning technique in the Naruto series – a technique that he passed on to the Darui, the current Raikage. He died during the Third Shinobi world war, while fighting ten thousand shinobi for three days and three nights consistently in order to give a safe passage to his comrades.

8) Yagura Karatachi (The Fourth Mizoukage)

Yagura was the grandfather of current Mizoukage’s protege. He was one of the select few Jinchuriki that were in complete sync with his tailed beast the three tails Isobu. Yagura was the Kage under whose rule the group Akatsuki was said to be formed. It’s also stated that he was being manipulated by Obito Uchiha.

He was a very skilled user of water-style techniques. Yagura once confronted two of the Akatsuki members who infiltrated his village. These two infiltrators included Itachi Uchiha and Juzo Biwa – a rogue ninja who was the then-wielder of the Executioner’s blade. He was easily able to kill the latter and even Itachi just barely made it out of this battle alive.

7) Gengetsu Hozuki (The Second Mizoukage)

Hozuki was the second Mizoukage of the village hidden in the mist. He was a short-witted and charismatic leader who was never shy of praising a shinobi who showed talent, even if the latter was from the enemy camp. Hozuki had a lifelong rivalry with the second Tsuchikage, Lord Mu, and in the end, both died while killing each other.

He was a very strong shinobi and a genius user of Genjutsu. Gengetsu was from the renowned Hozuki clan, whose members had the ability to completely transform their bodies into water, making them invulnerable to any physical attacks. He also used an oil technique that could destroy the opponent’s bodies from the inside. Anybody who has seen him fighting in his reanimated body could truly attest to how skilled a shinobi he really was.

6) Ohnoki (The Third Tsuchikage)

He was the grandson of the first Tsuchikage of the hidden stone village. From the get-go, he was one of those select few shinobi that were born differently. Everybody knows that every shinobi is born with a strong affinity towards a chakra nature – a few out of those may have a strong affinity towards two chakra nature, but Ohnoki was born possessing 3 different chakra natures: A condition known as Kekkei tota.

Only one other shinobi in the entire Naruto series has this ability, his mentor lord Mu.

He was also a user of particle-style jutsu, which could dismantle any object or being at the atomic level, which meant that he had the ability to erase any being from existence completely.

5) Hiruzen Sarutobhi (The Third Hokage)

The third Hokage was popularly known as The Professor because of his knowledge and mastery of all the different jutsu in the village hidden in the leaf. During his youth, Hiruzen was said to have a large chakra reserve, which gradually diminished during his later years.

He was a student of both Hashirama and Tobirama Senju and a proficient user of all changes in chakra nature, with fire being his primary one. If it isn’t a clan-specific jutsu or a kekkei genkai, nothing is off the table for him. In simple terms, you could think of him as a superior version of Kakashi without any cheat code.

It was said that his proficiency with every jutsu he tried was unparalleled, and even Shimura Danzo, a man who hated his guts, has nothing but praise about his skills as a shinobi.

4) Minato Namikaze (The Fourth Hokage)

The Fourth Hokage of Konohakgakure village was the father of Naruto Uzumaki and the student of Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin. He was also known as the yellow flash of the leaf because of his extraordinary speed. It was said in the anime that he had a genius that comes only once in a generation.

Inventor of the Rasengan, the fastest shinobi of all time, a master of sealing jutsu, and the Gennin who graduated from the academy with the highest marks, Minato did all of that and much more. His overwhelming victory over the Kannabi bridge, where he took down a thousand of the stone shinobi single-handedly, marked the end of the third shinobi world war.

3) Tobirama Senju (The Second Hokage)

He was also known as The Creator as he created more than a thousand Jutsus during his lifetime, including shadow clone, flying Raijin, the water dragon jutsu, and the reanimation jutsu. His intellect and sensory ability were second to none, which he brilliantly displayed during his reanimated state.

Tobirama was also an adept advisor who understood politics and always had the welfare of Konoha in his mind. He was the younger brother of Hashirama Senju and the master of Hiruzen Sarutobhi. He hated the Uchiha clan for slaughtering a number of his brothers and always tried to suppress their power, as he didn’t want a second coming of Madara Uchiha.

2) Hashirama Senju (The First Hokage)

If there was anyone who would fit the title of “God of shinobi” perfectly, then it would be this guy. Hashirama belonged to the Senju clan of the forest and was born in a wartorn era, where peace and prosperity were nothing but wishful thinking. Being a shinobi was not a choice, but an obligation during his time.

Hashirama was the one and only user of wood-style jutsu in the entire Naruto franchise, if you don’t take his imperfect clones into consideration. He could transform a barren land into a forest in the blink of an eye and release pollen that could weaken his opponents. His chakra reserves were many times more than an average shinobi and the Sage art techniques that he possessed made him invincible.

In the words of Madara Uchiha:

“He could heal wounds without weaving any signs. Every jutsu that he attempted he was in class of his own.”

1) Naruto Uzumaki (The Seventh Hokage)

Naruto Uzumaki is the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. For the first part of the anime, the Orange Hokage was just an orphan kid with a monster sealed inside him. Nobody wanted him around and never left a chance to show this to him.

But with time, this started to change, as he started making friends and found a team where he could belong, met a great sage who taught him many things and provided a different outlook on the world around him. He also taught him a valuable life lesson – greater power comes with greater responsibility.

He is the strongest wind-style user alive, possesses endless chakra reserves, and is a perfect sage mode user. He has also inherited Ashura’s strong chakra and possesses the sage of six paths chakra. He has defeated Pain, Obito, Madara, Sasuke, and many other powerful shinobi. The sky is the limit for this character, thereby justifying the naming of the series after him.

This concludes the list of strongest Kages in the history of the Naruto anime series. Who else do you think should have made the list and why?

Let us know in the comments below!