I for the most part use a methodical approach that is defined by how closely ninja are to achieving the power of Rikudō Sennin. Typically, this means how close to the powers of Madara or Hashirama at the Valley of End, but there are certain anomalies caused by raw intelligence, as I'm a strong believer that a ninja is made up of equal parts of intelligence and power. Because of this, some traditional viewpoints about strength may be counterweighted.
With Banbutsu Sōzō, Rikudō Sennin could create form from nothingsness, and with a perfect Izanagi, he could escape death perpetually. Make no mistake, the man that invented ninjutsu itself didn't have to die. It was his decision, and given his Buddhist theme, it was almost certainly because he ascended through the Six Paths of Desire into Nirvana, which is essentially the welcoming of individual-nonexistence. However, Nirvana is supposed to be the stage where you cease to be reincarnated, so if certain rumors are in fact true... then the Rikudō, like Nagato, may have instead chosen the seventh path, or Outer Path, which in Buddhism is the reliance of sorcery to extend your life to near-immortality and is generally thought to be an unbecoming and wretched state of existence. Still shrouded in mystery, everything we learn about the Rikudō Sennin bolsters his legend to new, unreachable heights...
Kabuto once claimed that he was closer to the power of the Rikudō Sennin than anybody had ever been, and I believe him. In terms of knowledge and fighting power, Uchiha Madara and many others on this list were his soldiers before his Edo Tensei was released. Moreover, distinct from Orochimaru, who himself had Hashirama as an Edo Tensei, Kabuto took strides to develop his individual power to rival that of even the greatest legends. In terms of Senju ability dealing with life force and bodily energy, Kabuto could breathe his life force into the inanimate and command them as his allies. He had developed bodily regeneration and resillience that surpassed that of Hashirama and Tsunade, and possessed nearly inexhaustible stamina through his perfection of senjutsu. Moreover, he invented many devastatingly powerful and unique genjutsu and ninjutsu with his frighteningly potent sage chakra. His weakness was solely in his mind, and that is ultimately what defeated him.
Make no mistake, there is only one other true Rikudō beside the original Sage, and that man is Uchiha Madara. He is the only other to awaken the Rinnegan. Similarly, no other individual has amassed the raw knowledge that Madara has collected. He is arrogant, however, like Orochimaru to an extent, but just like Orochimaru, he is a scientific genius. Most of the greatness surrounding the modern incarnation of the Rinnegan is, in fact, Madara's personal creation. The black rods used to control tailed beasts and Pain, the Gedō Mazō statue, and the Zetsu army that challenged the united world were all invented by Uchiha Madara. And while it is implied that Hashirama defeated Madara at the Valley of the End, it is also stated that his wife, Mito, helped control Kurama, and thus presumably turned the tides of battle at that point. However, even in a desolate situation, Madara manipulated the cirumcstances into taking his first steps toward godhood.
It was by mere chance that Obito came across Madara, but in him, Madara found a worthy apprentice, one that he taught nearly everything he knew, and entrusted with him all of his crafted tools. In Obito, Madara placed his absolute trust as a partner. He was no pawn. The power of Hashirama flows through his body and grants him prodigious, and nigh unlimited access to his Mangekyō, as well as the legendary Mokuton. Since then, Obito has meticulously added to Madara's armory by contracting the slaughter of the Uchiha clan and collecting dozens, if not hundreds, of Sharingan to be used for their own purposes. Aside from Madara, Obito is closest to achieving the individual power of the original Rikudō by demonstrating remarkable talent in Senju and Uchiha powers, as well as high degrees of intelligence in skill in various, if not all, ninja areas. With his second Edo Tensei version of Pain at his finger tips, and ultra-efficient Izanagi, Obito is an absolute monster.
You'll notice that most of the ninja above have supplemented themselves with Hashirama's power in some form. Incidentally, Hashirama is, in my opinion, the single strongest individual to ever exist (barring Rikudō) to rely on nothing but his own innate power. He is Superman. Implanting just a few of this man's cells has given ninja superhuman stamina and ability. His power is so overwhelming that he could bend tailed beasts to his will, and at one time had the majority of them under his control, similar to how Obito does in the modern day. Moreover, Hashirama was not just a hax meathead, but is implied to have been a devastatingly talented, diverse, and intelligent ninja, as he evidently invented and employed mass-genjutsu so powerful that it had left Sarutobi Hiruzen blind and helpless. Madara said that the Shodai Hokage was the only ninja that he had ever admired, and even to this day, Madara and the common people alike believe that only Hashirama could possibly stop him in battle. Such was his legend, his power.
Putting Kurama's full power into perspective is not easy. Hiruzen Sarutobi in his prime couldn't even wound Kurama with Konoha at his back. Minato ultimately died in order to counterbalance Kurama's overwhelming power. Nagato was having difficulty suppressing only eight of the nine tails in Chibaku Tensei. Kurama alone countered the bombs from five combined tailed beasts. And yet Naruto's power does not begin or end with Kurama, which is, incidentally, amplified by a perfect Jinchūriki channeling it into sophisticated ninjutsu. Naruto is also a perfect Sage and thus a master of the Senju power, who has also perfected the elemental Rasengan, the apex of spatial and elemental ninjutsu itself. He is an absurdly powerful individual, limited solely by his youth and brash nature.
Nagato was entrusted with Madara's eyes, and while not a genetic Rikudō himself, his bodily power seemed to rival that of Hashirama. Consequently, Madara's eyes have never seemed to exhaust him like most of the eye transplants in the manga. Nevertheless, it was the lack of genetic prerequisites that resulted in Nagato's weakness: he was horribly crippled after trying to access too much of Madara's power. Dozens of black rods were mercilessly impaled through Nagato's body, permanently impairing his ability to move in life, and forever emaciating him. However, seemingly after being unhooked from Gedō Mazō postmortem, Nagato was able to repair his body and absorb the chakra of a tailed beast. In that state, Nagato achieved power that could rival anybody on this list, given his decades of experience with the Rinnegan, but a lifetime of being unable to move still presented an exploitable weakness to his defenses.
"Plus that boy is... special." Everything Itachi did, even the little things, were inexplicably special. He executed basic ninjutsu so quickly that the Sharingan couldn't see it. He threw basic weapon vectors so skillfully that Rinnegan shared vision was blinded. He used his basic genjutsu so virtuosically that he frequently humiliated powerful ninja. Even his basic insight was mistaken for a supersensory ability. Ultimately, he has a x-factor. Kabuto claimed that Itachi's unique mind made him a completely different breed of Uchiha. Obito confessed to being constantly amazed by him. Itachi had many alleged "invincible," "flawless," and "unavoidable" jutsu, but his mind was by far his greatest weapon.
Minato was said to be the fastest man to ever live, and the greatest ninja that the Raikage had ever met, one whom he thought would never be surpassed. The mere memory of Minato holding a Rasengan forced Killer Bee to catch his breath, and many who knew the Yondaime Hokage have expressed a belief that only Naruto can surpass him. Additionally, Minato was easily one of the most creative ninja in history, having reverse engineered the tailed beast bomb to create the Rasengan, and similarly having reverse engineered Uzamaki sealing techniques to create his Hiraishin, an S-rank difficulty jutsu. Unfortunately, not unlike other immense geniuses, Minato chose to sacrifice himself for his loved ones.
Sasuke possesses extremely powerful illusions despite his specialty being ninjutsu, and he has demonstrated ridiculous versatility and inventiveness in his usage of Susano'o, Amaterasu, and raitons. Having created handfuls of A-ranked techniques, as well as an S-ranked technique, and developing unique spatial formations of Amaterasu, such as his Amaterasu orb and sword, Sasuke's creative genius is immense. Moreover, I suspect that he will soon shed his brashness in battle, and return to the genius tactics and mindset employed by his Hebi incarnation now that he is steadily finding peace with Itachi's deception. Combined with his powerful arsenal and potential to awaken perfect Susano'o, he will quickly climb up this list.
Hiruzen was said to be the strongest of the Five Kage during his reign, and he was referred to as the god of shinobi, and the professor. It is probable that these names have the same root meaning, as the god of shinobi is the individual who invented ninjtusu, and Hiruzen was renowned for knowing of all the ninjutsu in Konoha. Regardless, he possessed immense eclectic talent for the ninja arts, and his numerous maximum scores in the databook support his absolute brilliance. His one forgivable shortcoming is that he possessed no special powers, and created no special jutsu like the other Hokages, but was exalted as one of the greatest Hokages purely because of his phenomenal intellect and universal talent. A truly admirable ninja.
Mū invented the Kekkei Tōta, and possibly invented the flight and invisibility techniques as well. As such, he is certainly a top tier creative genius, and has been blessed with an immense natural gift for chakra sensing too. His most notable hype is when the Alliance heard of Mū's resurrection. The Kages panicked, and unanimously admitted that only Ōnoki was capable of defeating Mū, largely because Mū had taught Ōnoki nearly everything he knew. Yet when the time came, the invisible Mū taunted that Ōnoki, in his old age, would certainly die if he did not call for help from the Kazekage, and I believed him.
While Mū's arsenal has more finesse, Ōnoki definitely possesses more raw power with clones and enormous Jinton blasts. Against Madara, Ōnoki summoned the strength to release a Jinton of such monumental size that it consumed over twenty clones and their Susano'o, as well as half of Edo Madara's body. With that level of firepower and flight, Ōnoki is a force to be reckoned with, and was rightfully singled out by Madara as being the true problem among the five Kages. However, despite all his experience and firepower, Ōnoki is not without his weaknesses. His back suffers from age, making each strain in battle a gamble of life and death.
Killer Bee is the original perfect Jinchūriki, and he possesses an undeniable genius in battle that his brother bragged about to even Minato. It was, after all, that same ninja-genius that allowed Bee to save both his brother and himself from Minato's initial Hiraishin assaults, which is no easy feat. Additionally, there has likely has never existed a more dangerous swordsmen than Killer Bee, and yet that is the smallest portion of his true power, as he can effortlessly level mountains and forests with his inner beast. When factoring in his internal genjutsu partner, Samehada's ninjutsu resistance, and Killer Bee's massive top tier physical talents, he is easily one of the most powerful ninja to ever exist, limited only by his admittedly silly antics à la Jiraiya.
On one hand, Orochimaru has been humiliated and humbled more than any other ninja in the manga. On the other hand, Orochimaru has survived through it all, and at one point had Hashirama and Tobirama as his playthings. Even without arms, his knowledge and power terrifies ninja, and its Orochimaru's scrolls that can potentially turn the tides of war now. The genius Sannin has invented & mastered more S-rank jutsu than any other barring the original sage, and prime Hiruzen confessed in the second databook that all of his intelligence and knowledge was nothing compared to Orochimaru's raw talent. The genius predecessor and inspiration to Kabuto... and, quite possibly, the final villain.
1. Rikudō Sennin
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With Banbutsu Sōzō, Rikudō Sennin could create form from nothingsness, and with a perfect Izanagi, he could escape death perpetually. Make no mistake, the man that invented ninjutsu itself didn't have to die. It was his decision, and given his Buddhist theme, it was almost certainly because he ascended through the Six Paths of Desire into Nirvana, which is essentially the welcoming of individual-nonexistence. However, Nirvana is supposed to be the stage where you cease to be reincarnated, so if certain rumors are in fact true... then the Rikudō, like Nagato, may have instead chosen the seventh path, or Outer Path, which in Buddhism is the reliance of sorcery to extend your life to near-immortality and is generally thought to be an unbecoming and wretched state of existence. Still shrouded in mystery, everything we learn about the Rikudō Sennin bolsters his legend to new, unreachable heights...
2. Yakushi Kabuto
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Kabuto once claimed that he was closer to the power of the Rikudō Sennin than anybody had ever been, and I believe him. In terms of knowledge and fighting power, Uchiha Madara and many others on this list were his soldiers before his Edo Tensei was released. Moreover, distinct from Orochimaru, who himself had Hashirama as an Edo Tensei, Kabuto took strides to develop his individual power to rival that of even the greatest legends. In terms of Senju ability dealing with life force and bodily energy, Kabuto could breathe his life force into the inanimate and command them as his allies. He had developed bodily regeneration and resillience that surpassed that of Hashirama and Tsunade, and possessed nearly inexhaustible stamina through his perfection of senjutsu. Moreover, he invented many devastatingly powerful and unique genjutsu and ninjutsu with his frighteningly potent sage chakra. His weakness was solely in his mind, and that is ultimately what defeated him.
3. Uchiha Madara
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Make no mistake, there is only one other true Rikudō beside the original Sage, and that man is Uchiha Madara. He is the only other to awaken the Rinnegan. Similarly, no other individual has amassed the raw knowledge that Madara has collected. He is arrogant, however, like Orochimaru to an extent, but just like Orochimaru, he is a scientific genius. Most of the greatness surrounding the modern incarnation of the Rinnegan is, in fact, Madara's personal creation. The black rods used to control tailed beasts and Pain, the Gedō Mazō statue, and the Zetsu army that challenged the united world were all invented by Uchiha Madara. And while it is implied that Hashirama defeated Madara at the Valley of the End, it is also stated that his wife, Mito, helped control Kurama, and thus presumably turned the tides of battle at that point. However, even in a desolate situation, Madara manipulated the cirumcstances into taking his first steps toward godhood.
4. Uchiha Obito
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It was by mere chance that Obito came across Madara, but in him, Madara found a worthy apprentice, one that he taught nearly everything he knew, and entrusted with him all of his crafted tools. In Obito, Madara placed his absolute trust as a partner. He was no pawn. The power of Hashirama flows through his body and grants him prodigious, and nigh unlimited access to his Mangekyō, as well as the legendary Mokuton. Since then, Obito has meticulously added to Madara's armory by contracting the slaughter of the Uchiha clan and collecting dozens, if not hundreds, of Sharingan to be used for their own purposes. Aside from Madara, Obito is closest to achieving the individual power of the original Rikudō by demonstrating remarkable talent in Senju and Uchiha powers, as well as high degrees of intelligence in skill in various, if not all, ninja areas. With his second Edo Tensei version of Pain at his finger tips, and ultra-efficient Izanagi, Obito is an absolute monster.
5. Senju Hashirama
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You'll notice that most of the ninja above have supplemented themselves with Hashirama's power in some form. Incidentally, Hashirama is, in my opinion, the single strongest individual to ever exist (barring Rikudō) to rely on nothing but his own innate power. He is Superman. Implanting just a few of this man's cells has given ninja superhuman stamina and ability. His power is so overwhelming that he could bend tailed beasts to his will, and at one time had the majority of them under his control, similar to how Obito does in the modern day. Moreover, Hashirama was not just a hax meathead, but is implied to have been a devastatingly talented, diverse, and intelligent ninja, as he evidently invented and employed mass-genjutsu so powerful that it had left Sarutobi Hiruzen blind and helpless. Madara said that the Shodai Hokage was the only ninja that he had ever admired, and even to this day, Madara and the common people alike believe that only Hashirama could possibly stop him in battle. Such was his legend, his power.
6. Uzamaki Naruto
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Putting Kurama's full power into perspective is not easy. Hiruzen Sarutobi in his prime couldn't even wound Kurama with Konoha at his back. Minato ultimately died in order to counterbalance Kurama's overwhelming power. Nagato was having difficulty suppressing only eight of the nine tails in Chibaku Tensei. Kurama alone countered the bombs from five combined tailed beasts. And yet Naruto's power does not begin or end with Kurama, which is, incidentally, amplified by a perfect Jinchūriki channeling it into sophisticated ninjutsu. Naruto is also a perfect Sage and thus a master of the Senju power, who has also perfected the elemental Rasengan, the apex of spatial and elemental ninjutsu itself. He is an absurdly powerful individual, limited solely by his youth and brash nature.
7. Uzamaki Nagato
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Nagato was entrusted with Madara's eyes, and while not a genetic Rikudō himself, his bodily power seemed to rival that of Hashirama. Consequently, Madara's eyes have never seemed to exhaust him like most of the eye transplants in the manga. Nevertheless, it was the lack of genetic prerequisites that resulted in Nagato's weakness: he was horribly crippled after trying to access too much of Madara's power. Dozens of black rods were mercilessly impaled through Nagato's body, permanently impairing his ability to move in life, and forever emaciating him. However, seemingly after being unhooked from Gedō Mazō postmortem, Nagato was able to repair his body and absorb the chakra of a tailed beast. In that state, Nagato achieved power that could rival anybody on this list, given his decades of experience with the Rinnegan, but a lifetime of being unable to move still presented an exploitable weakness to his defenses.
8. Uchiha Itachi
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"Plus that boy is... special." Everything Itachi did, even the little things, were inexplicably special. He executed basic ninjutsu so quickly that the Sharingan couldn't see it. He threw basic weapon vectors so skillfully that Rinnegan shared vision was blinded. He used his basic genjutsu so virtuosically that he frequently humiliated powerful ninja. Even his basic insight was mistaken for a supersensory ability. Ultimately, he has a x-factor. Kabuto claimed that Itachi's unique mind made him a completely different breed of Uchiha. Obito confessed to being constantly amazed by him. Itachi had many alleged "invincible," "flawless," and "unavoidable" jutsu, but his mind was by far his greatest weapon.
9. Namikaze Minato
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Minato was said to be the fastest man to ever live, and the greatest ninja that the Raikage had ever met, one whom he thought would never be surpassed. The mere memory of Minato holding a Rasengan forced Killer Bee to catch his breath, and many who knew the Yondaime Hokage have expressed a belief that only Naruto can surpass him. Additionally, Minato was easily one of the most creative ninja in history, having reverse engineered the tailed beast bomb to create the Rasengan, and similarly having reverse engineered Uzamaki sealing techniques to create his Hiraishin, an S-rank difficulty jutsu. Unfortunately, not unlike other immense geniuses, Minato chose to sacrifice himself for his loved ones.
10. Uchiha Sasuke
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Sasuke possesses extremely powerful illusions despite his specialty being ninjutsu, and he has demonstrated ridiculous versatility and inventiveness in his usage of Susano'o, Amaterasu, and raitons. Having created handfuls of A-ranked techniques, as well as an S-ranked technique, and developing unique spatial formations of Amaterasu, such as his Amaterasu orb and sword, Sasuke's creative genius is immense. Moreover, I suspect that he will soon shed his brashness in battle, and return to the genius tactics and mindset employed by his Hebi incarnation now that he is steadily finding peace with Itachi's deception. Combined with his powerful arsenal and potential to awaken perfect Susano'o, he will quickly climb up this list.
11. Sarutobi Hiruzen
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Hiruzen was said to be the strongest of the Five Kage during his reign, and he was referred to as the god of shinobi, and the professor. It is probable that these names have the same root meaning, as the god of shinobi is the individual who invented ninjtusu, and Hiruzen was renowned for knowing of all the ninjutsu in Konoha. Regardless, he possessed immense eclectic talent for the ninja arts, and his numerous maximum scores in the databook support his absolute brilliance. His one forgivable shortcoming is that he possessed no special powers, and created no special jutsu like the other Hokages, but was exalted as one of the greatest Hokages purely because of his phenomenal intellect and universal talent. A truly admirable ninja.
12. Mū
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Mū invented the Kekkei Tōta, and possibly invented the flight and invisibility techniques as well. As such, he is certainly a top tier creative genius, and has been blessed with an immense natural gift for chakra sensing too. His most notable hype is when the Alliance heard of Mū's resurrection. The Kages panicked, and unanimously admitted that only Ōnoki was capable of defeating Mū, largely because Mū had taught Ōnoki nearly everything he knew. Yet when the time came, the invisible Mū taunted that Ōnoki, in his old age, would certainly die if he did not call for help from the Kazekage, and I believed him.
13. Ōnoki
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While Mū's arsenal has more finesse, Ōnoki definitely possesses more raw power with clones and enormous Jinton blasts. Against Madara, Ōnoki summoned the strength to release a Jinton of such monumental size that it consumed over twenty clones and their Susano'o, as well as half of Edo Madara's body. With that level of firepower and flight, Ōnoki is a force to be reckoned with, and was rightfully singled out by Madara as being the true problem among the five Kages. However, despite all his experience and firepower, Ōnoki is not without his weaknesses. His back suffers from age, making each strain in battle a gamble of life and death.
14. Killer Bee
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Killer Bee is the original perfect Jinchūriki, and he possesses an undeniable genius in battle that his brother bragged about to even Minato. It was, after all, that same ninja-genius that allowed Bee to save both his brother and himself from Minato's initial Hiraishin assaults, which is no easy feat. Additionally, there has likely has never existed a more dangerous swordsmen than Killer Bee, and yet that is the smallest portion of his true power, as he can effortlessly level mountains and forests with his inner beast. When factoring in his internal genjutsu partner, Samehada's ninjutsu resistance, and Killer Bee's massive top tier physical talents, he is easily one of the most powerful ninja to ever exist, limited only by his admittedly silly antics à la Jiraiya.
15. Orochimaru
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On one hand, Orochimaru has been humiliated and humbled more than any other ninja in the manga. On the other hand, Orochimaru has survived through it all, and at one point had Hashirama and Tobirama as his playthings. Even without arms, his knowledge and power terrifies ninja, and its Orochimaru's scrolls that can potentially turn the tides of war now. The genius Sannin has invented & mastered more S-rank jutsu than any other barring the original sage, and prime Hiruzen confessed in the second databook that all of his intelligence and knowledge was nothing compared to Orochimaru's raw talent. The genius predecessor and inspiration to Kabuto... and, quite possibly, the final villain.
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