Politics, charisma and personal influence are all important to the Hokage of the country Naruto anime, but what fans care about the most is combat power. All of the Hokage are truly Kage-level ninja who stand as the most powerful fighters of their time, and that means they pack some serious ninjutsu to keep the Hidden Leaf Village sage at bay.
The various Hokage are sometimes seen using common jutsu or weapons such as the shuriken and the summoning jutsu, while their most powerful and unique jutsu is what makes them really stand out. Notably, some Hokage invented their own top-ranked jutsu or were the only known users of their special fighting styles during their heyday. It makes it easy to pick out what each Hokage's ultimate jutsu is and sort them by pure power and tactical application.
Minato Namikaze: Flying Thunder God Technique
S-Rank Jutsu
Like his predecessor Tobirama, Minato Namikaze is a Hokage best known in the fandom for innovating one jutsu while having another jutsu as his top technique. In Minato's case, he is known for inventing the Rasengan technique that his son and Jiraiya both used, but his single best jutsu is actually the Flying Thunder God technique. Minato was able to take advantage of the Rasengan, but he was unable to innovate on it like Naruto later did.
The Flying Thunder God Technique is at the core of Minato's speed-based fighting style, contributing to his legendary status as the Yellow Flash. With it, Minato could instantly teleport to any desired location through space-time manipulation. This allowed him to surprise any enemy combined with his unparalleled fighting technique to actually deal damage. Curiously, the young Fourth Hokage was not the only Hokage to use the Flying Thunder God technique, as Tobirama created it first. This jutsu may rank last among the ultimate jutsu of the various Hokage, but it is still a formidable threat on any battlefield.
Tsunade: Creation Rebirth
S-Rank Jutsu
The Fifth Hokage, lady Tsunade of the Sannin, was able to deal serious damage with her chakra infused punches and kicks to showcase her overwhelming taijutsu. She could also summon the giant slug Katsuyu to aid her in battle, while Tsunade's best move was Creation Rebirth. This is the ultimate expression of Tsunade's focus on healing and strength, although it is not something even she will use casually.
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By forcing extra chakra into her body, Tsunade can increase cell division to instantly heal wounds, thus keeping the user in the fight longer. In a way, this makes Tsunade immortal as her body quickly creates new cells to replace damaged tissue, but this is not without cost. The extra cells and tissue don't just appear out of nowhere, as they count against the body's natural limit of cell division. Tsunade shortens her lifespan using Creation Rebirth, so she cleverly saves it for dire circumstances.
Hiruzen Sarutobi: Reaper Death Seal
S-Rank Jutsu
A number of jutsu are not only powerful, but expensive or even inhuman to use, so they don't appear on the battlefield very often. Even Hokage like Hiruzen Sarutobi would much rather use “honest” jutsu as summoning jutsu to fight the enemy, and only use the likes of Reaper Death Seal if pushed. The user must pay with their life to use this jutsu, so it is only for emergencies.
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As Naruto fans watched with mixed awe and horror in the original anime, this nightmarish jutsu can directly attack the opponent's soul with a terrifying spirit. It can kill an enemy when the soul is extracted, and if necessary, the user can content himself with removing the soul from the enemy's body parts. That's how Hiruzen robbed Orochimaru of his arms and thus his jutsu, though Orochimaru later escaped that problem, something Hiruzen would have been saddened to learn.
Kakashi Hatake: Kamui Lightning Blade
S-Rank Jutsu
The official Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, wielded an astonishing amount of powerful jutsu throughout Naruto anime. Fans hardly know where to start, between his Mangekyo Sharingan and full-body Susanoo to his Kamui ability or Lightning Blade. In the end, Kakashi's best technique is a mix of his best move, which is the Kamui Lightning Blade.
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It's almost exactly what it sounds like, with the dimension warping power of Kamui mixed with the melee jutsu Lightning Blade. While using this amazing technique, Kakashi can attack anyone at high speed to send them to the Kamui Dimension, a clever way to neutralize almost any threat.
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Tobirama Senju: Edo Tensei
S-Rank Jutsu
The stern Second Hokage made history when he innovated the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which went on to become a personal staple of Naruto Uzumaki a few generations later. That alone made Tobirama Senju a legendary figure, but he did even more than that. He also created Edo Tensei, the grim jutsu that cheats death at a price.
In a twist of fate, Sannin Orochimaru used the same jutsu to revive Tobirama during Operation Konoha Crush, while his brother was revived right next to him. Living people must be sacrificed in exchange for the revived ninja, which is why hardly anyone has the courage to use a devastating jutsu like this. It's no wonder the villains are in Naruto tend to use Edo Tensei rather than the heroes, as no current Hokage or other authority figure would want it used.
Hashirama Senju: Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands
S-Rank Jutsu
As the legendary co-founder of the Hidden Leaf Village alongside Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju wielded some of the most powerful jutsu of his time – or ever. Hashirama could do many things in battle, with his Wood Release being his most notable and effective fighting style of all.
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Hashirama's Wood Release caused a number of later ninja to emulate his abilities through science, but none could match what the First Hokage himself was capable of. Foremost among his wood-based jutsu was True Several Thousand Hands, which dominated the battlefield like a titanic Buddha-like statue with countless arms. The statue will move and do whatever the driver wants, acting as an extremely tough defensive layer. Even the tailed beasts are like small pets when the True Several Thousand Hands Jutsu handles them.
Naruto Uzumaki: Six Paths: Ultra Big-Ball Rasenshuriken
No known rank
Like his former mentor and predecessor in the Hokage's office, the Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki boasted a remarkable arsenal of jutsu for almost any situation. His power scaling was even more aggressive than Kakashi's, with Naruto combining “normal” jutsu with Kurama's chakra and Sage Mode. Naruto continued to transform and invent new jutsu at a breathtaking rate, meaning his #1 jutsu kept shifting from one move to another.
Eventually, Naruto fans feel confident in saying that the Six Paths: Ultra Big-Ball Rasenshuriken is the most devastating move Naruto has ever brought onto the battlefield. This move blends all of Naruto's finest forms and techniques to become the ultimate expression of Naruto's fighting style and power levels. It's Naruto's natural endgame, and it was the kind of jutsu he would need to fight someone like Kaguya Otsutsuki. That's how the Six Paths: Ultra Big-Ball Rasenshuriken became the most powerful jutsu ever wielded by a Hokage.
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
