As the main character of his series, Naruto has fought and defeated many powerful characters, most of whom were skilled shinobi. That said, he has lost to several characters as well. Some of Naruto's losses were comical, but others were much more serious, and he would have died if other people hadn't saved him.
Most of the Naruto characters who defeated Naruto were Kage level fighters. In fact, one character was an alien being, while another was a vessel for an even stronger being. Many of these losses occurred before the time jump when Naruto was still a Genin, but he also lost a few fights as an adult, even after becoming Hokage and being recognized as one of the strongest ninja in history.
7 Naruto Characters That Would Lose To Boruto Uzumaki
Even Naruto's strongest characters cannot compete with Boruto's level. They would lose to him in a heartbeat.
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Rock Lee
Rock Lee has become one of Naruto's closest friends, but when they first met Naruto wasn't a fan. This meeting occurred before the Chunin Exams began, and it resulted in Naruto challenging Lee to a fight. Naruto didn't like Lee challenging Sasuke to a duel so brazenly, and he was jealous because Lee admitted he liked Sakura. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't last long. In fact, he was very easily beaten.
Lee may not be able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, but he has mastered taijutsu, including the Eight Gates, which is one of Narutos most unique powers. However, he didn't need to use any of the inner gates against Naruto. Lee simply brushed Naruto's punches aside with his fingers and hit him with a Leaf Whirlwind leg sweep that sent him spinning comically into a wall. Fortunately, Naruto's taijutsu improved as the series went on.
8
Tsunade
Tsunade is one of Leaf Village's three legendary Sanin. When Naruto first met her, she was still considered the strongest medical ninja in the world. Possessing a powerful life force and great superhuman strength, she has mastered Mitotic Regeneration, essentially making her immortal during fights. Tsunade became the 5th Hokage after meeting Naruto, but before he became one of them Naruto the franchise's legendary Kage, she had a cynical and disrespectful view of her predecessors and their sacrifices.
Naruto didn't like her attitude and challenged her to a fight. Tsunade agreed and vowed to fight Naruto with a single finger. She easily dodged Naruto's attacks and sent him flying after flicking her forehead. Naruto tried to hit her with the Rasengan, but Tsunade ended the fight by slamming her finger into the ground. This caused the Rasengan to recoil and Naruto got caught in the crack in the ground her finger created.
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Regenerative abilities give these Naruto characters an edge in any fight.
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Kakashi Hatake
Kakashi was considered a generational prodigy, which explains why he became a Jonin when he was only 12 years old. There are very few anime sensei that rival Kakashi as he personally trained Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, all of whom went on to become Kage level shinobi. He also became the 6th Hokage shortly after the Fourth Great Ninja War, and despite no longer having his Sharingan, his strength continued to increase to the point where he could fight other Kage.
Kakashi gave Naruto his first, and arguably most embarrassing, defeat during the clock test. Naruto charged towards Kakashi, who was reading Make-Out Paradise at that time. Kakashi easily blocked Naruto's punch and dodged a kick before appearing behind Naruto and hitting him with the Thousand Years of Death technique. Naruto then tried to overwhelm Kakashi with the Shadow Clones, but Kakashi forced Naruto to attack himself instead. The fight officially ended with Naruto getting caught in a noose in comical fashion.
6
Orochimaru
As one of the legendary Sanin, Orochimaru is one of the strongest ninjas in history. He was one of the few characters from the Leaf Village who was strong enough to become Hokage. When Naruto first encountered him, Orochimaru pretended to be a Genin from the Hidden Grass Village, and they clashed in the Forest of Death during the second phase of the Chunin Exams. At that time, Naruto had just begun to access some of the Nine-tailed Fox's chakra.
Naruto used the Tailed Beast's power to strike one of Orochimaru's giant snakes, then stopped it from attacking Sasuke with a pair of Kunai. While holding the snake back, Orochimaru wrapped his tongue around Naruto and brought him close. Orochimaru then used the Five Pronged Seal to seal the Nine-Tails' power, knocking Naruto out instantly. Naruto was thrown right after, and if Sakura hadn't saved him, he would have died from the fall.
5
Sasuke Uchiha
Naruto and Sasuke are like brothers, but they also had one of the greatest anime rivalries of all time. They fought several times over the course of the series, and these fights usually ended in a draw, but their first battle in the Final Valley saw Sasuke come out on top. This was easily the best match before the skip, ending with a clash between Sasuke's Curse Mark Level 2 empowered Chidori and Naruto's Nine-Tails enhanced Rasengan.
Naruto chose to punch Sasuke's headband instead because he didn't want to kill him, while Sasuke negated the Chidori in time to spare Naruto's life. He still knocked Naruto out. Sasuke went on to become a god-class ninja capable of defeating threats as powerful as Kaguya Otsutsuki, single-handedly. With the eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Susanoo, and Rinnegan, Sasuke can take down all the tailed beasts and the previous five kagi at once if he wants to.
The 7 Most Badass Naruto Battles of All Time, Ranked
Let's take a look at the seven coolest Naruto battles of all time ahead of the 2026 anniversary specials.
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Pain
Nagato, otherwise known as Pain, was the leader of the Akatsuki, and he personally destroyed the Hidden Leaf Village while searching for Naruto and the Nine-Tails. Pain mastered the Rinnegan and all six of its paths, making him the most powerful shinobi outside of the Five Great Nations. As a result, Pain could summon powerful beasts, absorb ninjustu, manifest advanced weapons, manipulate souls, control life and death, and control gravitational forces. Nagato shared these powers between six bodies, all of which shared a field of vision.
Naruto defeated five of Pain's bodies with Sage Mode, Rasenshuriken and Rasengan, while Asura Path was blown to pieces with a single blow. Deva Path proved to be the most troublesome, as it used Almighty Push and Universal Pull to finally pin Naruto to the ground, defeated. If Pain hadn't injured Hinata in front of Naruto, Naruto likely wouldn't have released the Nine-Tails' power and broken free. It's true that Naruto went on to beat Pain, but their first fight ended in Naruto's loss.
3
Madara Uchiha
Madara is arguably the strongest Uchiha in history, and he probably could have defeated both Naruto and Sasuke during the Fourth Great Ninja War with his Six Paths Ten-Tails Jinchuriki form, which is one of the most powerful transformations in Naruto. He was stronger than the Five Kage and wiped out thousands of shinobi during the war with a single jutsu. Only Hashirama Senju, a legendary ninja god, was powerful enough to beat him.
Madara never fought Naruto in a one-on-one fight, which was probably for the best since Naruto probably didn't stand a chance against a Sunsanoo user like Madara who also mastered the Rinnegan and Wood Release. Madara faced Naruto and the nine Tailed Beasts alone, and he successfully sealed the Tailed Beasts in the Gedo Statue. Naruto was instantly knocked out when the Nine-Tails were removed from his body, and he would have died if Sakura hadn't kept him alive with her medical ninjutsu.
2
Momoshiki Otsutsuki
Momoshiki is part of the Otsutsuki clan's main family, and his plan was to use the Nine-Tails' chakra to create a new Chakra Fruit since Kaguya had failed. Unlike Kaguya, Momoshiki was a highly skilled taijutsu user who was able to fight adult Naruto and Sasuke at once for a short while before being overwhelmed.
Momoshiki had the Byakugan, which allowed him to hit a person's chakra points while benefiting from a near 360° field of vision. The Rinnegan in his hands gave him the ability to absorb, amplify and unleash powerful ninjustu attacks. If left unchallenged, these attacks can wipe out an entire village. Naruto was strong enough to beat the base Momoshiki one-on-one, but he allowed himself to be beaten and captured to protect his son and reduce damage to the Leaf Village. It may have been intentional, but a loss is still a loss.
Naruto: 7 Characters Who Can Resist Itachi's Tsukuyomi
Itachi's Tsukuyomi is a deadly genjutsu, but these Naruto characters can potentially resist it.
1
Jigen
As its leader, Jigen was the strongest member of Kara, but he was much more than an ordinary monk. He was actually the temporary vessel for Isshiki Otsutsuki, Kaguya's former partner. Naruto was the 7th Hokage when Jigen showed up in the village looking for Kawaki, and it was clear from the start that Naruto was weaker.
Naruto fought Jigen in another dimension with Sasuke, and they were easily overwhelmed. Jigen took out dozens of Naruto's Shadow Clones, all of whom were using Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. When Jigen got serious, he destroyed Sasuke's complete Susanoo with a single kick. Not only did the Jigen dodge all of Naruto's Tailed Beast Mode attacks, he destroyed the transformation as easily as Sasuke's Susanoo. Jigen ended the fight by impaling Naruto with black rods and sealing him away, while Sasuke fled to warn the village.
- Release date
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October 2, 2002
- Network
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Swimming for adults
