8 Naruto Characters Who Should Be Much Stronger

Published Aug 1, 2026, 11:15 PM EDT Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones). Like any good shonen anime, Naruto is simply jam-packed with powerful characters. From day one, we were shown what sorts of things shinobi of this world could achieve, and it allowed us to dream right alongside Naruto of all those future possibilities. The show didn't disappoint, and between Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, Boruto: Naruto Next Generation, and Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, there has been an absolutely massive development in a variety of ways for several excellent characters. Figures like Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura have just gotten stronger and stronger. Unfortunately, not every character in Naruto has made it through this sort of development. Characters established early in the series suffered from what was previously considered the cap of the power scale. Everyone talked about how powerful they were, but their feats of strength became rather lame compared to what the show delivered later on. These unfortunate retcons are just the beginning, since, with so many characters, it was inevitable that some with great potential would eventually be left behind. So, while Naruto has a lot of stars, there really should have been more. Asuma Sarutobi As a whole, the Sarutobis aren't nearly as impressive as we were led to believe, but more on that later. It was Asuma Sarutobi who proved to be the most disappointing. In truth, this is a great character. He was an excellent mentor in Naruto, and knew just how to organize his team and connect with them. Then there was Asuma's death, which remains one of the most heartbreaking moments in the anime overall. Still, considering the fact that Asuma Sarutobi is the son of a legendary Shinobi and Hokage, there really wasn't much to him. Asuma's chakra blades were pretty standard, and the few jutsu he demonstrated didn't even stack up to much lower-ranked ninja. We love what Asuma did for Shikamaru's story, but as a dazzling fighter, he just wasn't there. Fugaku Uchiha We can certainly assume that Fugaku Uchiha was powerful. Sasuke and Itachi's father was the head of the Uchiha clan and the Military Police Force, was known to possess the Mangekyō Sharingan, and developed the nickname "Wicked Eye Fugaku" specifically for his horrifying genjutsu. Itachi once stated that his father would have been a formidable opponent—but we never got to see it. While there are other characters we never got a chance to see engage in all-out battle, we typically got more specifics regarding their legacy. In the case of Fugaku, the idea was just to accept that he was strong and move on. It's really a shame, since, as a high-ranking member of the Uchiha clan and the father of two genius ninja, the plot here could have been far more fun. Shino Aburame Shino Aburame perfectly reflects what the earlier Naruto episodes were all about. This character had a unique and fairly disturbing ability (with all those bugs), and he used it in clever, tactical ways. This is a genius who could place deadly insects within his opponent without them even knowing. In truth, Shino should have been completely overpowered through every stage of the story. It might have been that Shino Aburame's abilities had too much potential, said and done. Writing for OP characters is quite a challenge, and when Shino could have been the answer to several great conflicts and dilemmas, it was easier for Naruto to basically just ignore him for a while. Then, later, when characters like Naruto and Sasuke joined the god tier, Shino became irrelevant. Orochimaru Orochimaru was the original Big Bad of the Naruto series, and there's no doubt that he was successful at being frightening. His whole schtick was that he was willing to experiment in disturbing ways that others were not, and it made him a dangerous and unsettling threat. However, earlier episodes of Naruto worked harder to balance out this character's strength, and it ultimately ended up ruining him. Orochimaru may be terribly powerful, but between his arms being permanently immobilized and the limitations of having to switch hosts every three years, this villain's threat became pretty dampened. Then, when future villains were introduced in Naruto, Orochimaru came to feel downright laughable. His strength was, ultimately, nothing. Tenten Without seeing anything else in the world of Naruto, Tenten's abilities seem pretty neat. She is a weapons specialist and can support a nearly limitless supply without having to carry around bulky bags. This also worked well for Naruto's initial focus on tactical combat, but it wasn't long at all before Tenten was left behind. The most we really saw from Tenten was in her battle with Temari in the Chunin exams, and it was rather unfortunate for her that this was an opponent whose wind style made projectile weapons pretty ineffective. After the jump to Shippuden, there was a chance for Tenten to have developed significantly, but, for the most part, she had all the same tricks. Sai Yamanaka Sai was introduced as the untrustworthy Sasuke-replacement in Naruto Shippuden, and his arc and abilities were decent enough at the time. This is an ANBU operative—something far beyond what we had seen from the majority of Naruto's peers up to that point. His unique abilities gave him almost limitless potential, but by the time Danzo was exposed, Sai went underused. Once again, Sai's trouble is that his abilities were great for a tactical approach to combat. When Naruto shifted away from that angle, he no longer served a particularly useful purpose. The whole idea of elite-level specialists fell away, since nearly everyone of Naruto's generation became god-like threats by the end. Hiruzen Sarutobi The legacy of the Sarutobi clan came down largely to Hiruzen—the Third Hokage known for his ability to complete every jutsu in the Hidden Leaf. Early in Naruto, this old man was considered the most powerful Hokage of all time, and though the most we saw of his power was during that battle with Orochimaru, he certainly came across as epic enough. The trouble arrived when the Hokage power scale was retconned. When just about everyone ended up resurrected in Naruto Shippuden, the abilities of the past Hokage were significantly increased. Hashirama Senju essentially became a god with titan wood style abilities that went far beyond anything we ever saw from Hiruzen. In the end, this Hokage, Asuma, and the adult Konohamaru didn't live up to the Sarutobi legacy. Rock Lee There are few moments in Naruto as epic as when Rock Lee dropped those weights during the Chunin exams. That was the moment that it became clear that this character should not be counted out just because he lacked all those unique ninjutsu. Lee was just that strong, and the idea of seeing him continue to go up against unimaginable threats like Gaara was absolutely thrilling. Unfortunately, Naruto never circled back on Rock Lee the way that it suggested it would. Sure, this character continued to be a powerful force, but as the power scale skyrocketed, little effort was put in to bring Lee along for the ride. Far more attention was placed on Might Guy, whom, as much as we love him, didn't have that same sort of underdog spirit as Lee. There was so much exciting development here that Naruto never gave us. Release Date 2002 - 2007-00-00 Showrunner Masashi Kishimoto Directors Hayato Date Writers Masashi Kishimoto Franchise(s) Naruto Creator(s) Masashi Kishimoto