There are many powerful and skilled shinobi in Naruto, but only a small number are skilled enough to become Anbu. The Anbu handle covert operations like high-risk infiltration, intelligence gathering, and assassinations. They often work directly under the village leader and wear masks to hide their identities. Some of the strongest shinobi in Naruto were once Anbu.
The strongest Anbu in Naruto all possess unique abilities, and they were all capable of taking out multiple opponents at once. Most of these Anbu were part of the Hidden Leaf Village, but the Mist Village has had some fearsome Anbu as well. Some of these Anbu were so strong, they were considered for the role of Hokage, and one former Anbu actually became Hokage.
10
Torune Aburame Was One Of Root’s Most Skilled Members
Root was a secret subdivision of the Hidden Leaf Village’s Anbu. They operated outside the purview of the Hokage and performed missions from the shadows, like assassinating perceived threats who never did anything to the village. Torune was considered one of Root’s strongest members, which is why he escorted Danzo to the Five Kage Summit.
As a member of the Aburame Clan, Torune specialized in using insects during combat, but he utilized the very rare rinkaichu. These nano-sized venomous beetles are transferred onto his opponent’s body, where they rapidly spread and begin to destroy his opponent’s cells. Torune could wipe out multiple enemies with the rinkaichu, and according to the anime, his speed and blade skills could give Naruto’s Nine-Tails Chakra Mode form some trouble.
9
Ao Is A Former Hunter-Nin Who Served As The Mizukage’s Right Hand
Ao once served in the Hidden Mist Village’s Hunter-nin Corps, which is a special Anbu team that tracks and eliminates shinobi who defected from the village. Given how dangerous rogue ninjas are, Ao needed to be a capable fighter. He was the Fifth Mizukage’s right hand and served as her bodyguard at the Five Kage Summit, meaning the village trusted he could hold his own against other elite ninjas.
In many cases, a Kage’s right hand eventually succeeds them as Kage, so Ao was one of the strongest ninja in the Mist Village at the time of the summit. Like most Mist ninja, Ao was well versed with Water Release, but he could also use Yin Release to control others with genjutsu. Ao had a stolen Byakugan in his right eye, and athough he could not use it as well as a Hyuga, he could still identify genjutsu with it.
8
Sai Was Considered The Strongest Root Member Of His Generation
Sai was recruited by Root after being orphaned and was raised to have no personality, feelings, or personal connections. Despite all of Danzo’s best efforts, however, Sai continued to like art. This love of art was the basis of Sai’s ninjutsu, as he would bring various artworks to life to fight on his behalf. Sai could also use these drawings for surveillance, flight, defense, and sealing jutsus.
Danzo himself claimed that Sai was the strongest Root member of his generation, to the point he believed Sai could kill Sasuke on his own. He could stop Sasuke’s normal sword attack with ease, and he subdued Kabuto, an Anbu-level ninja in his own right, without breaking a sweat. In the New Era, Sai is the director of the Leaf Village’s Anbu, making him among the most skilled Anbu in Boruto.
7
Yamato Is A Former Anbu Who Can Use The First Hokage’s Powerful Wood Release
Yamato began his Anbu career with Root, but when he refused to attack fellow Leaf ninja, the Third Hokage and Kakashi were forced to intervene and save his life. Not long after that, he joined the official Anbu and learned a great deal from Kakashi. Yamato is one of the few people in the world who can use Wood Release, the extremely rare Kekkei Gnekai that made Hashirama one of the strongest Kage in history.
Yamato’s Wood Release was not as powerful as Hashirama’s, but it could still subdue Naruto’s Four-Tails transformation. His skills are held in such high regard that he was picked to monitor Orochimaru’s movements after the Fourth Great Ninja War. Wood Release may be Yamato’s signature ability, but he is also an expert in tracking, trapping, stealth, diversion, and combat. His skills with weapons is on par with Kakashi’s.
6
Shisui Uchiha Was So Skilled, Every Ninja Would Flee If They Encountered Him On The Battlefield
Shisui of the Body Flicker was a member of the Leaf’s Uchiha Clan, and he became an Anbu squad captain when he was just a teenager. Like a true Uchiha prodigy, Shisui mastered the Sharingan when he was a child, and awakened the Magekyo Sharingan not long afterward. With the Mangekyo, Shisui could use Kotoamatsukami, a pristine genjutsu that can place anyone under an undetectable form of mind control.
Shisui mastered the Body Flicker Technique to the point he could instantly teleport to another location without a trace. This made him an incredible threat in terms of assassinations. Danzo claimed Shisui was the most talented Uchiha of his generation, which makes sense since veteran ninjas would automatically order a retreat if they encountered Shisui on the battlefield.
5
Zabuza Momochi Was A Master Assassin And One Of The Strongest Ninja In The Hidden Mist Village’s History
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Image via Studio Pierrot -
Image via Studio Pierrot -
Image via Studio Pierrot
Before defecting, Zabuza served in the Hidden Mist’s Anbu, and belonged to the strongest generation of the legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Zabuza was one of the strongest ninja that the Mist Village has produced. Even a future Kage would have died to Zabuza’s high-level Water Release if it were not for Naruto and Sasuke’s teamwork.
Zabuza was known as The Demon of the Hidden Mist because he killed over 100 of his classmates before graduating from the ninja academy. This nickname followed him into adulthood. He mastered the Silent Killing Technique, which incorporates the Hidden Mist Jutsu. With it, he could kill most targets before they could react. It got to the point that only a Kage-level ninja or an experienced Sharingan user could survive an encounter with him.
4
Danzo Shimura Was The Leader Of Root And A Hokage-Level Ninja
Danzo was the founder and leader of Root, as well as one of the Leaf Village’s esteemed elders. In his younger days, he was part of the Second Hokage’s elite guard, and despite being in his 70s during the events of Naruto: Shippuden, he was still regarded as one of the Leaf’s strongest shinobi. After Pain’s assault, he represented the village as the Sixth Hokage candidate.
Despite his age, Danzo was able to keep up with Sasuke Uchiha during their battle at the Five Kage Summit. Even powerful ninjas like Kakashi and Itachi were amazed that Sasuke was able to beat him in a one-on-one fight. Danzo was a highly skilled Wind Release user, and he could summon high-level beasts. Thanks to his artificial right arm and implanted Sharingan eyes, he even had the capability to control a Tailed Beast.
3
Orochimaru Is One Of The Hidden Leaf Village’s Legendary Sannin
There are several powerful Naruto characters who do not belong to a clan, and the argument can be made that Orochimaru is the strongest of them all. As one of the Leaf Village’s Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru is widely regarded as one of the strongest shinobi in history. If it were not for his heinous experiments and inner darkness, Orochimaru would likely have succeeded Hiruzen as the Fourth Hokage.
Before leaving the village, Orochimaru spent some time in Root, where he worked alongside Danzo. Orochimaru has mastered thousands of techniques, including forbidden justus that can grant immortality and resurrect the dead. During the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru personally killed the Sand Village’s Fourth Hokage with ease, and he eventually overwhelmed the Third Hokage. Even someone like Kakashi was worried about fighting him.
2
Kakashi Hatake Is A Ninja Prodigy Who Went On To Become Hokage
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Image via Studio Pierrot -
Image via Studio Pierrot -
Image via Studio Pierrot
Kakashi joined the Leaf’s Anbu shortly after the Third Great Ninja War. He was personally selected by Minato, the Fourth Hokage and his former teacher. This appointment came after Rin’s death, and both Minato and Hiruzen believed it would help Kakashi deal with his grief. He killed many enemy shinobi during his time with the Anbu.
Kakashi was known throughout the Ninja World as the Copy Ninja because he copied over 1,000 jutsus with his Sharingan. He was able to fight other Kage-level opponents like Zabuza, Kakuzu, and Obito. Not only did he lead the Third Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces, he was named the Sixth Hokage shortly after the Fourth Great Ninja War. As Hokage, it was said that Kakashi’s power increased to the point he could face an entire nation single-handedly.
1
Itachi Was One Of The Strongest Uchiha In History And The Youngest Anbu Ever
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Image via Studio Pierrot -
Image via Studio Pierrot -
Image via Studio Pierrot
Itachi is the definition of an Uchiha prodigy. He mastered the Sharingan as a child and joined the Leaf’s Anbu when he was just 11 years old, making him the youngest Anbu in history. By the time he was 18, Itachi had already mastered his Mangekyo Sharingan, and was considered a Kage-level rogue ninja. By all accounts, he was one of the strongest Naruto characters who never became a Kage.
Itachi was exceptionally skilled with Fire Release, the Shuriken Jutsu, and genjutsu. He easily defeated Orochimaru, Deidara, Kakashi, and Yagura, a Perfect Jinchuriki and the Fourth Mizukage. Itachi could manipulate a person’s perception of time and leave them comatose with the Tsukuyomi, and he could incinerate almost anything with Amaterasu’s black flames. His Susanoo was considered invincible because it could block any attack and destroy a village with a single attack.
- Release Date
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October 2, 2002
- Network
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Adult Swim
