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Of all the beloved shonen anime that debuted in the 1990s and 2000s, arguably none has had a bigger influence on the genre than Masashi Kishimoto’s flagship series, Naruto. The ninja-centric franchise quickly became an international hit after its debut in September 1999, due in large part to its exciting action sequences and larger-than-life characters, none of whom are stronger than the Kage — the individuals who lead each ninja village seen in the series.
Given Naruto Uzumaki’s goal of becoming the next Hokage, it should come as no surprise that the Kage featured throughout the Naruto franchise are some of the most memorable characters in the entire series. However, while every Kage that appears during Naruto’s adventure is impressive, some of them are notably weaker than others. In fact, in each of the Five Great Shinobi Nations has produced at least one Kage that is notably weaker than their peers.
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5
Tsunade Proves That Even the Weakest Hokage Is a Powerhouse
Fifth Hokage Of The Hidden Leaf
The Naruto franchise explores numerous ninja villages during its narrative, but none are in the spotlight more than the Hidden Leaf Village. Naruto Uzumaki’s home serves as the setting for much of the series, so it’s only appropriate that the leaders of the Hidden Leaf Village — collectively known as the Hokage — are among the strongest ninja ever. This even includes the weakest of the Hokage, Tsunade, who is one of the strongest Kage throughout both Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden thanks to her tremendous chakra control and healing jutsu.
To be fair, there is a legitimate argument that the version of Tsunade who serves as Hokage is stronger than Kakashi Hatake when he becomes the Sixth Hokage — especially considering the fact that Kakashi loses his Sharingan at the end of Naruto: Shippuden. That said, at his strongest, Kakashi and his dual Mangekyo Sharingans are leagues above Tsunade, which is why the legendary Sannin ultimately ranks as the weakest Hokage in the history of the Hidden Leaf Village. That said, compared to the weakest Kage from other ninja villages, Tsunade is leaps and bounds stronger than her competition, and were it not for her influence, then the battle against Madara Uchiha and Kaguya Otsutsuki would have gone significantly worse for the series’ protagonists.
4
Darui Lacks the Raw Power of the Other Raikage
Fifth Raikage of The Hidden Cloud
Of all the Great Shinobi Nations, arguably none is more fearsome than the Village Hidden in the Clouds. This settlement is found high in the mountains, and in general, its populace seems even more fiery than the people of the Hidden Leaf Village (who are admittedly much more progressive than most Shinobi Nations). Naturally, this trend is reflected by the individuals selected to be the Hidden Cloud Village’s Raikage, each of whom ranks among the strongest ninja seen in the Naruto franchise. However, as is the case with many of the Shinobi Nations, the ninja world’s shift toward peace means that the most recent Raikage — Darui — was selected for his diplomacy and leadership, rather than his raw power.
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To be fair, Darui is far from a pushover; in fact, the shinobi proves to be a major asset in the Fourth Great Ninja War when he almost singlehandedly defeats the Gold and Silver Brothers. Additionally, Darui also wields Black Lightning, which is an incredibly dangerous technique that was directly passed down to the Fifth Raikage by his predecessor, the Third Raikage. Unfortunately for Darui, the defeat of the Gold and Silver Brothers is the biggest feat that the Black Lightning user has to his name, and in the end, this isn’t as impressive as the Fourth Raikage’s incredible showing during the Fourth Great Ninja War or the Third Raikage’s legendary stand against 10,000 shinobi. This, coupled with the ambiguity around the strength of the first two Raikage, means that Darui has the unfortunate honor of being the village’s weakest leader.
3
Kurotsuchi Doesn’t Have the Same Strength as Her Ancestors
Fourth Tsuchikage of The Hidden Stone
Throughout the Naruto series, it becomes clear that many of the shinobi world’s strongest fighters hail from a bloodline of similarly strong figures. Even more specifically, many of the Kage seen in the franchise are the direct descendants of other Kage, with Naruto, Tsunade and Gaara being related to the Fourth Hokage, First Hokage and Third Kazekage, respectively. Another less prominent example of this trend can be observed in the Hidden Stone Village, where Kurotsuchi — the Fourth Tsuchikage — is the granddaughter and great-great grandaughter of the Third and First Tsuchikages.
Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, is one of the strongest Kage in the history of Naruto, so it’s no slight on Kurotsuchi’s status as a shinobi that she isn’t as powerful as her grandfather. However, her lack of Particle Style jutsu, which is a defining element of the Second & Third Tsuchikage’s strength, instantly makes her a candidate for being one of the most lackluster Kage in the series. To be fair, Kurotsuchi’s use of Water and Lava nature transformations are far, far more impressive than those of the average shinobi, and per the Boruto novels, she is a more talented genjutsu user than any of the other Kage seen in the modern era. Unfortunately, since the First Tsuchikage’s strength us almost a complete mystery, the relatively underwhelming nature of Kurotsuchi’s abilities qualify her as the weakest leader in the history of the Hidden Stone Village.
2
Chojuro Represents the Culture Shift of the Village Hidden in the Mist
Sixth Mizukage of The Hidden Mist
When Naruto begins, the Village in the Mist is arguably the most ruthless group in the Five Great Shinobi Nations. Since its inception, the village has operated according to a very rigid caste system, and over time, this inspired an extremely hostile culture centered around military prowess — the only way to climb the village’s strict social ladder. However, over time (and, more specifically, after the assassination of the Fourth Mizukage), this trend slowly started to shift, opening the door for an empathetic leader like Chojuro to lead the Village Hidden in the Mist by the events of Boruto.
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Chojuro is introduced as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, making him one of the most talented swordsmen to ever earn the position of Kage. However, although Chojuro’s impressive skills with Hiramekarei (his sword) are commendable, they’re not nearly as impressive as the dramatic jutsu used by most Kage — even those used by the Hidden Mist Village’s weakest Mizukages. Neither Naruto: Shippuden and Boruto feature any notable one-on-one fights between Chojuro and other characters, and even during his most impressive moments against Kinshiki Otsutsuki and Black Zetsu, the Sixth Mizukage relies on the help of other shinobi to finish the fight. Were it not for one other similarly-underpowered character, then Chojuro would easily be the weakest Kage featured in the Naruto franchise.
1
Shamon Focused on the Military Growth of His Village Rather than Himself
Second Kazekage of The Hidden Sand
The Five Great Shinobi Nations have all existed for many decades, and as a result, each of these groups has been led by numerous Kage throughout their existence. For the most part, the Naruto franchise shines a light on the majority of these Kage at some point in its narrative; however, in a few cases, very little is known about these influential figures. This is certainly the case for the Hidden Sand Village’s Second Kazekage, Shamon, whose strength and fighting prowess are mostly a mystery even after the events of Naruto & Naruto: Shippuden.
Whereas many of the shinobi who rise to the rank of Kage have landscape-altering levels of raw power, Shamon instead brought something else to the table: strategy. The wise figure played a major role in the widespread militarization of his village, but at no point in his tenure as Kazekage did he prove himself to be stronger than Gaara, Rasa or any of the other Kazekage that followed him. While Shamon’s pioneering of the Puppet Technique — a fighting style that is still used throughout the Hidden Sand Village — is extremely impressive, it’s unknown how proficient he was with the technique. If he was less adept at using puppets than Lady Chiyo or Sasori, then Shamon would certainly be his village’s weakest Kage, regardless of what other techniques he was capable of. As important as Shamon was in shaping the culture of the Hidden Sand Village, it’s clear that he lacks the same level of strength as the other leaders of the Five Great Shinobi Nations.
Naruto
Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous adolescent ninja, struggles as he searches for recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the village’s leader and strongest ninja.
- Created by
-
Masashi Kishimoto
- Cast
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Junko Takeuchi
, Maile Flanagan
, Noriaki Sugiyama
, Yuri Lowenthal
, Chie Nakamura
, Kazuhiko Inoue
, Dave Wittenberg
