The Naruto series is one of the most beloved and most popular anime of all time. The series has spawned three different anime runs, a couple of movies, and a handful of video games. A lot of people fell in love with the series' heart, incredible arcs, and of course, the loveable characters. At the top of the chain of Konoha's ninjas are the Hokages. They are the village's leaders and are often considered to be the most powerful ninjas of the village of their time.

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Every single ninja who has held the title of Hokage is remarkably strong. A ninja doesn't become a Hokage just based on popularity alone. They ultimately have to be the main protector of their village, after all. However, for the sake of argument and entertainment, ranking these powerful characters is a plausible task.

7 Kakashi Hatake

Kakashi Hatake is the Sixth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. Kakashi goes by many monikers, including the Copy Ninja, Kakashi of the Sharingan, and Cold-Bloodied Kakashi. He is considered by many to be one of the most talented Ninjas of his time. He became a Jonin at a very young age and eventually became a war hero at just the age of 12. His chakra mastery was already incredibly impressive even before he possessed the Sharingan.

The only thing that holds Kakashi back is his dislike for responsibility. Yet, this is always something that's placed on him because of his natural talents and his proclivity towards leadership. This is exactly why he was chosen to be Tsunade's successor when she chose to step down after the Fourth Shinobi World War.

6 Tsunade Senju

Tsunade Senju is the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village. She is one-third of Konoha's Sannin and is regarded as the most powerful kunoichi and greatest medical ninja of her time. Tsunade was a valuable asset to the village during the Second Shinobi World War, not only for her strength and skill in combat but also for her medical talents. It is widely believed that Tsuande's efforts allowed Konoha to win the war.

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Tsunade, being a descendant of both the Senju and Uzumaki, is a woman of immense chakra. Most of her jutsus also require incredible chakra control. She is both an offensive and defensive combatant, which makes her extremely formidable against those who would stand in her way. Her medical ninjutsu was very instrumental in the survival of the Five Kages during the battle against Madara.

5 Minato Namikaze

Minato Namikaze, Konoha's Yellow Flash and the Fourth Hokage. He was highly instrumental in ending the Third Shinobi World War. Minato was one of the most powerful shinobi of his time, perhaps even in history. During the war, shinobi from other villages were given flee-on-sight orders should they happen to encounter Minato. This, of course, for the most part, proved futile. At one point, Minato managed to single-handedly eliminate a thousand ninjas. This forced Iagakure to accept Konoha's peace treaty.

Minato was appointed as Hokage for his efforts during the war. Unfortunately, his reign was short-lived. He ultimately gave his life defending the village and his newborn son against the rampaging Nine-Tailed Beast. A lot of fans believe that if Minato had been alive longer, he would have honed his skills more, making him an even more powerful ninja than he already is.

4 Hiruzen Sarutobi

Hiruzen Sarutobi is Konoha's Third Hokage. Hiruzen had the luxury of being trained by both Tobirama Senju and Hashirama Senju when he was young. This was due to his prodigious talents which came to light very quickly when he was still a student. Hiruzen was also the mentor of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, who ended up becoming the legendary Sannin.

Like the First Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi earned the nickname of "God of Shinobi" and "The Professor" because of his mastery of all skillsets, combat forms, and nature transformations. When Hiruzen was Hokage, he was often regarded as the most powerful Kage of his time. Hiruzen was incredibly powerful during his prime. His chakra reserves started to deteriorate as he grew older. Despite then, he was still widely powerful, even being able to keep Orochimaru at bay, who was still in his prime.

3 Tobirama Senju

Tobirama Senju was Kohona's Second Hokage, who succeeded the title after the death of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage. Despite not being as powerful as his older brother, Tobirama was equally, if not more feared because of his tactics and political eloquence. Tobirama ensured that the village's system would become more and more stable during his time as Hokage.

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Tobirama's ninjutsu mastery is nothing short of phenomenal. He was able to manipulate all five basic nature transformations, but his mastery of Water Release was particularly unparalleled. Tobirama also created some of the most powerful, dangerous, and most difficult to master jutsus such as the Flying Thunder God Technique, Impure World Reincarnation, and Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

2 Hashirama Senju

Hashirama Senju is one of the key figures that were responsible for the founding of Konohagakure and the village system in general. He went on to become the village's first Hokage. He was hailed as the "God of Shinobi" for his incredible powers, which was unmatched by anyone of his time. He is also regarded as one of the most powerful shinobi in history. Madara, who even had the Nine-Tailed Beast under his whim, was still unable to defeat Hashirama. Using his unique powers and chakra mastery, Hashirama also managed to subdue eight of the nine-tailed beasts by himself.

Hashirama Senju was a reincarnation of Asura Ōtsutsuki, which gave him a powerful life force and physical energy. At one point during his prime, Hashirama's immense power allowed him to fight for twenty-four hours straight.

1 Naruto Uzumaki

Was there ever any doubt? Naruto Uzumaki, the Seventh Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, is without a doubt the most powerful shinobi to hold the title. Although his earliest years as a ninja were unimpressive, he slowly but surely built more strength and skill through sheer will and determination. Naruto was also able to learn and use powerful techniques that were way above his presumed skill level, like the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and the Rasengan.

Like the First Hokage, Naruto is also a reincarnation of Asura Ōtsutsuki. He is a master of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and senjutsu. Naruto also received powers directly from the Sage of Six Paths, which allows him to use the Six Paths Sage Mode. Naruto's abilities and powers only grew as he became an adult. He is even able to go toe-to-toe against those who are construed as gods in this universe.

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