Naruto is well-known for its power system. Jutsus are incredibly complex yet easy to understand, which is why the power system has become so recognizable. Even those who have never seen an episode can easily recognize the hand signs used to produce each jutsu.
With thousands of different jutsu available to each character it’s common for characters to introduce a new jutsu during each battle. Fans love when the characters show off new skills; however, this often means the characters aren’t using the most effective techniques, which doesn’t make sense when fighting powerful enemies.
10 Kakashi Hatake
As the Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake is famous for knowing a thousand techniques, which he stole using his Sharingan. Despite the fact that he’s known for having so many jutsu, he only uses his Chidori and Mangekyo Sharingan, especially during the final season of Shippuden.
Unfortunately, the Mangekyo Sharingan, which is his most powerful jutsu, has severe negative effects so he can only use it sparingly. Kakashi temporarily dies during Pain’s attack on the Leaf Village, which just shows how much of a detriment the Mangekyo Sharingan is to his body.
9 Might Guy
Guy doesn’t use ninjutsu or genjutsu like other shinobi, but despite that, he is one of the best shinobi from the Leaf Village. Even the Akatsuki recognize how powerful Guy’s taijutsu is, but that isn’t the only trick he has up his sleeve.
Guy is able to open the Eight Gates, which releases his chakra limiters and gives him a huge boost of power. However, just like Kakashi’s Mangekyo Sharingan, opening all Eight Gates can kill him. Guy has made a rule for himself only to open the Eight Gates when there is no other option.
8 Sasuke Uchiha
After Sasuke abandons the Leaf Village he’s able to surpass most of his former comrades thanks to Orochimaru’s training. He gains the Mangekyo Sharingan, which gives him access to the Susano’o and Amaterasu Fire Release. Sasuke uses these abilities frequently despite the fact that it negatively affects his body.
However, Sasuke has several other jutsu that are just as powerful as the Susano’o and Amaterasu and don’t harm him. Sasuke is even better than Kakashi at using Lightning Release, which proved highly effective while fighting Deidara. Considering how useful lightning is, it doesn’t make sense for him to use techniques with so many negative effects.
7 Sakura Haruno
Sakura tends to get left behind by Sasuke and Naruto, but she’s proven to be a powerful shinobi in her own right. She is one of the best medical ninjas when she becomes a jonin, and even surpasses Tsunade’s skill.
Despite being an expert at chakra control, Sakura doesn’t diversify her techniques, which is fans’ biggest problem with her. Several characters refer to her as a genjutsu-type ninja, but she never uses genjutsu or even learns it. She also uses summoning jutsu a single time, which is ridiculous considering how useful it proves to be.
6 Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi
As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen is one of the most powerful shinobi in the Leaf Village. During his fight with Orochimaru, he utilizes a seal, which sucks out the target’s soul. Hiruzen isn’t able to kill Orochimaru with the seal, but he delivers a severe blow.
By using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal he takes away the use of Orochimaru’s arms, which is the worst thing to happen to a man who values his jutsus. Unfortunately, the seal requires the user to give up their life, so even though it’s almost guaranteed to kill an enemy, it can’t be used unless the circumstances are dire.
5 Sasori Of The Red Sand
Sasori is one of the first Akatsuki members to be beaten by the heroes, but he didn’t go down easy. Both Sakura and Chiyo had to combine their jutsu so they could defeat Sasori‘s endless puppets. Each new technique he pulls out is stronger than the next, which makes fans wonder why he didn’t start with his strongest technique.
Using the Red Secret Technique, Sasori can control 100 puppets at the same time. This is his strongest attack, but it appears to be a last resort for him because he didn’t use it until the end of the battle. If Sasori had pulled out this technique much sooner, he may have actually won.
4 Deidara
Deidara is an explosive shinobi with a love for art. He isn’t the strongest Akatsuki member, but his explosive clay is strong enough to defeat Gaara. His most powerful explosion can extend for several miles and anything that touches this explosion is disintegrated.
It would be easy for Deidara to take out powerful enemies if he could rely on this technique, but the force of the explosion kills him as well. Detonating himself was a last resort against Sasuke, but even that couldn’t bring Sasuke down.
3 Chiyo
Bringing people back to life seems impossible. Orochimaru and Kabuto use the Regeneration Jutsu, but the shinobi they bring back are walking zombies with no agency, meaning they aren’t truly or fully regenerated.
Chiyo develops a jutsu that fully restores a person’s life, which she uses to save Gaara after Shukaku is sucked out by the Akatsuki. Unfortunately, she needs to give up all of her chakra and her life to restore someone else’s, so this technique can only be used one time to bring someone back to life.
2 Kiba
Kiba is far from the most loved character—but that’s likely because he doesn’t get to do much. He has a few cool techniques, but he’s only used his most powerful jutsu a few times, which is to be expected with a character who doesn’t get much screen time.
During the Sasuke retrieval arc, Kiba fights Sakon, who can split himself into two different people. Kiba uses the Double-Headed Wolf Technique to combat this, which proves to be so powerful he is able to dent a Rashomon Gate. Considering how effective this jutsu is, it’s strange Kiba never uses it again.
1 Madara Uchiha
Madara is one of the most powerful shinobi in the world with dozens of techniques that most ninjas can’t even dream of using. Tengai Shinsei allows him to pull in two meteors from space, which he uses to destroy the battlefield and most of the allied shinobi forces.
It would make sense for Madara to use a powerful technique like this more often, but he only uses it once. If he had meteors raining down onto the battlefield, he may have succeeded in crushing the opposing shinobi forces.
