Every big city in the world Naruto boasts some truly powerful ninjas who bring the most devastating jutsu to the battlefield. Being so large, Hidden Leaf Village has the lion's share of these powerful shinobi, such as successive Hokage or the likes of Might Guy, but the other villages are not too far behind. The Hidden Sand Village boasts names like Gaara and Sasori, while Kirigakure, or the Hidden Mist Village, also has some notable shinobi.
As the name suggests, Hidden Mist Village is where the world's most powerful Water Release jutsu has been perfected, along with the famous Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and even three different jinchuriki. Each collection of the most potent Mist ninjas will include these two jinchuriki and even two different Mizukage, with one of these Mizukage also being a jinchuriki as a sign of true power.
Zabuza Momochi was the first hostile Jonin Naruto had ever encountered
Zabuza felt like a true ninja in the early episodes
In the long run, even a notorious villain like Zabuza Momochi will be left behind Narutos power scaling, which is how he ended up as the weakest of the eight most notable Mist ninjas. He lacks a Kekkei Genkai or a tailed beast to compete with the Land of Water's most talented shinobi, and that also meant he wasn't much of a threat when revived via Edo Tensei.
That said, Zabuza is no pushover, and he was still dangerous to the weaker members of the shinobi coalition. Jobber ninjas like chunin don't stand much of a chance against Zabuza's trademark ability to disappear into thick fog and ambush his enemies from unexpected angles. In both life and death, that approach made Zabuza feel like a more authentic ninja than those fighting in a skinned Dragon Ball Z combat system.
Haku's Kekkei Genkai makes him slightly stronger than his master
Later, the Kekkei Genkai put Haku's own to shame
By a narrow margin, the mild-mannered ninja Haku was actually more capable in battle than his older, scarier master Zabuza. Oddly, Haku was the more talented but also the submissive of that duo, agreeing to be Zabuza's living weapon in exchange for a new purpose in life. It was a tragic set up, one that Naruto vehemently protested during the Waves Land Arc.
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Before his death, Haku was known to use his Crystal Mirrors to trap an enemy such as Sasuke Uchiha in an array of reflective ice mirrors, but it was not just a prison for the target. Haku could quickly flash from one mirror to another to avoid enemy attacks, all while wearing down the target with repeated needles. Interestingly, Haku was also one of the few characters to use one-hand signs, much to Sasuke's surprise.
Ao surprised Naruto fans with his hidden Byakugan
He was entrusted with the safety of the Fifth Mizukage
It took some time too Naruto to introduce more Mist ninjas, with Kisame Hoshigaki being a major example after Operation Konoha Crush. It took even longer for new faces like Ao to come in Naruto Shippudenwhere Ao is one of two Mist ninjas chosen to escort the fifth Mizukgae to the Kage Summit. Being chosen for that task flatters Ao's character quite a bit.
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Ao had a few surprises in store, like his stolen Byakugan eye to spy on enemies and see the flow of their chakra. He was on par with elite jonin like Asuma Sarutobi at the time, but he fell for Fu's trick with that doll's sealing jutsu. Unfortunately for Mei Terumi, her bodyguard Ao didn't do so well after Naruto Shippudenand in BorutoAo needs advanced technology to remain competitive.
Utakata is known for blowing bubbles in battle
Utakata doesn't rank that high among Jinchuriki
The power levels among all the Hidden Mist ninjas shoot up quite a bit once Naruto fans move on to jinchuriki and Mizukage, where one character is both. Utakata is a jinchuriki, who hosts the Six-Tails' beast, named Saiken. Utakata was not seen very often in Naruto Shippudenalthough the mere reality of him being a jinchuriki makes him stronger than Zabuza, Haku and Ao.
Utakata is a quiet guy known for his use of bubbles in battle to combat his enemies, along with Saiken's massive chakra as one of the Nine Tailed Beasts. What's holding Utakata back is the fact that he hasn't mastered the power of the Six-Tails, so he's trailing the jinchuriki who have total control over the monsters inside them.
Mei Terumi incinerates the resistance with lava and steam
Mei is also the most likeable Mizukage
Three different Mizukage rank high among all the strongest Mist ninjas, which comes as no surprise. Kage are almost always the strongest ninjas of their time, from Tsunade to Gaara of the Sand, A and Onoki. Rounding out this elite group is Mei Terumi, a kunoichi who succeeded the nightmarish Yagura as the Fifth Mizukage.
True to her title as a Kage, Mei is quite powerful and can even use two different Kekkei Genkai, making her a standout even among all the Kage. She can use lava and boiling steam to exert massive offensive power, an unusual contrast to the idea of cool, flowing water. Water is often associated with cold or even ice, but Mei is the windy opposite, and that gave her a chance to fight a mega-powered Sasuke Uchiha and of course Madara Uchiha himself.
Yagura terrorized the Hidden Mist Village as a bloody Mizukage
Yagura is also one of the most skilled Jinchuriki
Like his Hokage counterpart Naruto Uzumaki and his Kazekage counterpart Gaara of the Sand, Yagura is both a Kage and jinchuriki. He was also the one who threw the Hidden Mist Village into a dark era, where that place was known as the Bloody Mist. Zabuza was a product of such times, though he tried and failed to overthrow Yagura before he went rogue.
In terms of his actual fighting power, Yagura is truly terrifying as the host of the three tails, named Isobu. Unlike Utakata, Yagura is a Mist ninja who tamed and mastered his tailed beast, giving him greater control and precision over the superhuman power that resides within him. If that wasn't enough, Yagura is known to use the Water Release jutsu to simply reflect the opponent's attacks back at them with watery mirrors.
Gengetsu Hozuki stands as the most formidable Mizukage of all time
Gengetsu wins even when he tells his enemies how to fight him
Mei Terumi may be the current Mizukage, and Yagura is the only known jinchuriki Mizukage, but the most powerful ninja to ever hold this rank is actually Gengetsu. He debuted late Naruto Shippuden as an undead ninja fighting for the villains, and interestingly enough he actually gave the coalition ninjas advice on how to fight him. Regardless of that effort, Gengetsu won easily when facing the Fourth Division, a testament to his overwhelming power.
Gengetsu's taijutsu is astounding, including his kicks, and from a distance Gengetsu can fire watery bullets from his fingers to penetrate even the toughest clones. As for clones, Gengetsu put a bizarre twist on this familiar type of ninjutsu by creating a kind of water circuit with his own clone, making it an eternal weapon that is difficult to stop. Few ninjas have gotten this far with clones, with most ninjas only using them as meat shields or to distract the enemy.
Kisame Hoshigaki is the Tailless Biju
Kisame was assigned to fight Itachi, just in case
Kisame is neither a Mizukage nor a jinchuriki, but he can easily take on ninjas of either or both types as the most powerful Mist Village ninja ever seen in Naruto. Kisame is known as the Tailless Bijun, a shark-like man whose own chakra reserves can rival anything a jinchuriki can muster while gaining even more chakra through Samehada's many fangs. Kisame is the one who can nullify the jutsu by feeding it to Samehada, a tactic not too dissimilar to the Six Paths of Pain with the Preta Path.
That alone makes Kisame competitive with most powerful ninjas, but he's capable of much more than gobbling up enemy chakra with his living weapon. Kisame also has some of the toughest taijutsu around Narutoalong with conventional yet devastating Water Release jutsu, and he can even fuse with Samehada to both heal and strengthen. It's worth noting how the Akatsuki assigned Kisame as Itachi Uchiha's partner as a check on Itachi's heavy reliance on chakra-based moves like the Fireball Jutsu and Mangekyo Sharingan. Not just anyone can counter a prodigy like Itachi, but Kisame sure can.
Naruto
- Release date
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2002 – 2007-00-00
- Showrunner
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Masashi Kishimoto
- Directors
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Hayato Date
- Author
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Masashi Kishimoto
