Naruto: Kishimoto Confirms A Legendary Ninja Stronger Than The Seventh Hokage

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This article contains spoilers from the Naruto series.

In the Naruto universe, Naruto Uzumaki, the Seventh Hokage, is widely considered the most powerful ninja. His story is inspiring – he started as a struggling underdog and overcame every challenge to become incredibly strong. By the end of the series, only a few exceptionally powerful beings, like Kaguya and Hagoromo Otsutsuki, surpassed him in strength.

Throughout the Naruto series, Naruto consistently stood out as the most powerful ninja, with Sasuke as his only real competition, though still not quite as strong. He eventually became the Seventh Hokage, reaching the height of his abilities, and fans believed no one could ever match his power. However, the Boruto series has shown that Naruto has been overtaken by several ninjas, and the story Kishimoto has created makes it clear that a few characters now exceed his former strength.

Naruto Uzumaki Lost All His Powers In The Boruto Series

Image from Studio Pierrot
  • Naruto Lost His Powers After The Death Of Kurama
  • His Six Paths Powers Aren’t Accessible Anymore

Simply put, no ninja in the series ever legitimately became stronger than Naruto at his peak, even exceeding the power of Six Paths Sage Mode or Baryon Mode – that level of strength is unattainable for any other shinobi. The creators of the series understood this, and instead of boosting other characters to surpass Naruto in Boruto, they chose to reduce Naruto’s power level instead.

Naruto suffered his greatest defeat during his fight with Isshiki. To stand a chance against the incredibly powerful Otsutsuki, Naruto unlocked a new ability called Baryon Mode. While it gave him the strength he needed, it tragically cost him the life of Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Beast.

You be good, Naruto. And try not to follow me too soon. — Kurama to Naruto Uzumaki

It was heartbreaking to see Kurama fall in battle – it really left Naruto drained, weaker than I’ve ever seen him. And it wasn’t just the loss of Kurama’s power; his link to all the other Tailed Beasts just… snapped. What’s even more shocking is that even the incredible power the Sage of Six Paths gave him, which should have stuck around no matter what, seems to be gone too. It’s like everything just vanished with Kurama.

Wow, after that huge power drain, it’s honestly a little heartbreaking to see how much weaker Naruto’s become, even as Hokage! It’s just… noticeable now how other ninja are catching up to him, and some of the really powerful ones? They’ve definitely surpassed him. It’s a tough pill to swallow, seeing the hero we all know struggle like this.

Right Now, Hashirama Senju Could Be Stronger Than Naruto Uzumaki

Image by Studio Pierrot
  • Hashirama Has Powerful Sage Mode And Wood Release
  • His Overall Power Could Be Higher Than Naruto

As a huge ninja fan, I think it’s pretty clear that Hashirama Senju would win in a fight against current Naruto. Hashirama’s from the Senju clan, and his natural life force is just incredible. Now, Naruto used to have a massive boost from Kurama’s chakra, but without that, he’s likely got less chakra overall than Hashirama. We actually saw hints of this during the Fourth Great Ninja War – they even stated Hashirama had more chakra than Naruto when Naruto still had Kurama! It really shows just how powerful Hashirama naturally was.

According to Iruka Umino, Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, was a remarkably powerful ninja, often called the ‘God of Shinobi’.

I’ve always been amazed by Hashirama Senju’s abilities. He had the incredibly rare Wood Release, which made him unbelievably strong. He could literally manipulate the ground around him and even control the Tailed Beasts! I remember seeing how he managed to restrain the Ten-Tails during the Fourth Great Ninja War, and that wasn’t even him at his peak. Compared to that, Naruto Uzumaki, while powerful, relies on Sage Mode as his main special ability – he doesn’t have a Kekkei Genkai like Wood Release.

Naruto’s Sage Mode Pales In Comparison To Hashirama’s

When excluding Kurama’s abilities, both Naruto and Hashirama are strongest when using Sage Mode. However, Hashirama’s Sage Mode is probably better than Naruto’s. Hashirama can enter Sage Mode instantly and maintain it for a longer time. Although Naruto can now enter it quickly as an adult, he still needs to use Shadow Clones to keep it going for extended periods.

Fans also understand that Hashirama’s Sage Mode significantly enhances his Wood Release ability, allowing him to develop incredibly powerful techniques like the Shinsusenju, which is capable of overwhelming even large cities.

Naruto becomes incredibly powerful using Sage Mode, but he lacks a naturally powerful ability like Hashirama’s Kekkei Genkai, which could be amplified to immense levels. What really set Hashirama apart was his incredible life force – he could heal from almost any injury instantly, without needing to perform hand seals. This is what made him such a unique and formidable ninja.

Naruto used to be able to heal quickly because of the chakra he received from Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Beast. Now that Kurama is gone, Naruto can no longer recover from serious wounds. As the story progresses, it’s become clear that Naruto isn’t the most powerful Hokage to ever live – Hashirama Senju would win in a fight against him.

Naruto Desperately Needs New Power Ups

Fans are noticing that Naruto Uzumaki needs to get stronger if he’s going to remain a powerful figure in the Boruto series. It’s disappointing to see other Hokage surpassing him, especially considering all the effort and challenges Naruto overcame to become so strong in the first place.

The Boruto series really needs to feature Naruto Uzumaki again soon. When he returns, he should be portrayed as incredibly powerful – truly living up to his legendary status. While Boruto has made some missteps, it can still improve by handling established characters like Naruto and Sasuke with the respect they deserve.

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex is the continuation of the Boruto story, created by Mikio Ikemoto with supervision from Masashi Kishimoto. It picks up three years after the events of the Omnipotence arc, following Boruto Uzumaki as he tries to protect the world and navigate his relationship with his brother, Kawaki. Chapter 30 of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex will be released on January 20, 2026, at 10 AM EST / 3 PM UTC. Fans can read it for free on the Manga Plus and Shonen Jump apps.

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2026-01-18 14:37