Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto the series has seen the introduction of quite a few incredible characters over the years. Kishimoto has written an impeccable story that has given birth to the legends of a multitude of ninjas, many of whom have suffered various setbacks in their lives. However, it was not the adversity that defined them. Quite a few of those who fell came back stronger than ever before with great power-ups. From those who came back stronger, only a handful of characters stand out in the most significant way.
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Orochimaru
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Affiliation: Hidden Leaf Village, Hidden Sound Village
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Ninja Level: Kage Level
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Nature types: All five
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Status: Alive
Orochimaru was a major antagonist in the first part of Naruto and the man responsible for the Konoha Crush. He pulled the strings behind the scenes for this attack and led to the death of the Third Hokage. Orochimaru was also responsible for taking Sasuke away from the village.
Eventually he was killed by Sasuke; however, Orochimaru was still alive because his chakra was in many places. Eventually, Sasuke was the one who brought him back into the war, and this time he was stronger than ever before and gained access to Wood Release. Over the years, Orochimaru has continued to strengthen himself and at the moment he is among the strongest ninjas.
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Gaara
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Affiliation: Hidden Sand Village
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Ninja Level: Kage
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Nature types: wind, earth, lightning
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Status: Alive
Gaara was introduced in Naruto as a villain. He was the Jinchuriki of the One Tail, and was supposed to be part of the Konoha Crush plan. Gaara was used by his village as a way to get what they wanted. But after he was defeated by Naruto, his soul was touched. Gaara spent the rest of his life trying to improve himself and after the time jump he returned as the 5th Kazekage, having become an incredible ninja while he was at it. Gaara is incredibly strong even after losing Shukaku, and in the Boruto era he is strong enough to fight an Otsutsuki as well.
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Sakura Haruno
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Affiliation: Hidden Leaf Village
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Ninja Level: Kage Level
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Nature types: Soil, water, fire emissions
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Status: Alive
Sakura was a very talented ninja from the very beginning. However, she lacked both strength and determination in Naruto part 1. During the time jump she trained with Tsunade and after this period she came back stronger than ever before.
After almost three years, Sakura was no longer weak and had instead leveled up tremendously as a ninja. She continued to gain more strength and by the time of the Fourth Great Ninja War, her strength had reached its peak as a ninja when she gained full control of the Byakugou. She even managed to surpass Tsunade Senju and is much stronger than most Kage that have lived in the history of the Naruto world.
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Minato Namikaze
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Affiliation: Hidden Leaf Village
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Ninja Level: Kage
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Nature types: Fire, Lightning, Wind
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Status: Dead
The fourth Hokage of Konoha, Minato, died on the day Naruto was born. He was the one who saved the village from Kurama by sealing half of it inside his son, while the other half was sealed inside his own body. Minato was brought back in the 4th Great Ninja War, and he did so in quite style, revealing to everyone that he had tamed Kurama's powers.
In doing so, Minato returned stronger than ever before and became an important ally for Naruto and the Shinobi Alliance. With his Kurama strength, he was strong enough to compete with even the likes of godly ninjas like Obito Uchiha.
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Obito Uchiha
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Affiliation: Akatsuki, Hidden Leaf Village
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Ninja Level: Beyond Kage Level
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Nature types: All five
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Status: Dead
Obito is one of the biggest villains in Naruto and also one of the most tragic characters. He was first revealed to fans in Kakashi's flashback, where it was also clear to see that he was completely crushed by a rock and died.
Before his “death”, he handed over his Sharingan to Kakashi. Later in the story, it was revealed that Obito was actually alive and had been taken in by Madara. He raised him to be his successor and the next great threat the Shinobi world faced. During this time, Obito gained a huge power-up. More than that, Obito also gained another major power-up when he became the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails.
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Madara Uchiha
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Affiliation: Hidden Leaf Village, Akatsuki
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Ninja Level: Beyond Kage
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Nature types: All five
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Status: Dead
Madara was a legend when Naruto started, and fans only knew him through stories. But he returned stronger than ever before in the 4th Great Ninja War.
First, he was brought back using the Reanimation Jutsu. But later down the line, he was completely brought back with Rinne Rebirth. Madara also awakened the Rinnegan, and most importantly, he then went on to surpass all limits when he became the Jinchuriki of the 10 Tails. He could have conquered the whole world if Zetsu didn't betray him.
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Sasuke Uchiha
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Affiliation: Hidden Leaf Village
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Ninja Level: Above Kage Level
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Nature types: All five
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Status: Alive
Sasuke only knew one goal growing up, and that was to avenge his clan by killing his brother, Itachi Uchiha. To that end, he sought power in any way he could, even abandoning his own friends and his village for the sake of power.
After the time jump, Sasuke returned stronger than ever before. He had gained so much power that it was believed that he actually doped himself. Sasuke continued to grow after the time warp and eventually became one of the strongest ninja to ever live, rivaled only by Naruto, after meeting Hagoromo Otsutsuki and achieving half of his chakra. As an adult, Sasuke has become even stronger, and it's been really fun for all of us to witness.
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Naruto Uzumaki
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Affiliation: Hidden Leaf Village
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Ninja Level: Above Kage Level
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Nature types: All five
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Status: Alive
Although Naruto did not have much talent as a ninja at the beginning of his journey, he trained relentlessly and gained considerable strength as he grew up. Naruto had quite a lot of strength in part 1 of the story. But when he left on his journey with Jiraiya, that's when he achieved quite a lot of growth.
Naruto returned to the village stronger than ever before and more mature as well. He continued to grow in strength from here on out, until he became the strongest ninja to ever live. In the Fourth Great Ninja War, Naruto formed a bond with Kurama and attained great power. More than that, he met Hagoromo Otsutsuki and attained the Six Paths Powers. Finally, he also gained Baryon Mode in Boruto, making him the absolute strongest.
All episodes of Naruto are available to stream via Crunchyroll.
