Every village in theNarutoworld has loyal ninjas who fight till their last breaths to protect their home. At the same time, there exist ninjas who aren’t loyal to their village and decide to abandon it permanently. These ninjas leave their village and are immediately branded as criminals.
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Consequently, they are put in the bingo book of their village and the ANBU have orders to kill them on sight. It goes without saying that the rogue ninjas in theNarutoworld are quite powerful themselves and they’ve displayed plenty of their powers in the story.
Updated July 07, 2025, by Rei Penber:Throughout Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto has introduced quite a lot of rogue ninjas with most of them being the main villains of the story. These ninjas hold great significance to the plot of the series and thus deserve a lot more attention. With incredible techniques up their sleeves and goals of their own, they make up some of the most compelling characters in the entire series.The strongest rogue ninjas in Narutoalso happen to be among the most memorable, as fans of the franchise should already be well aware.
14Zabuza Momochi
Zabuza Momochi was one of the very first villains of the story. He belonged to Kirigakure but went rogue at some point in time.
Being a member of the Seven Swordmen of the Mist, Zabuza was incredibly skilled with the Kubikiribocho, and he showed that to the fans in his fights against the likes of Kakashi. Although not thestrongest ninja inNaruto, Zabuza was certainly fearsome and was known to have the aura of a demon.
13Haku
One of the true geniuses of theNarutoworld, Haku was born in the land of Water as a member of the Yuki clan. He possessed the Kekkei Genkai of Ice Release, with which he could defeat even the jonin level ninjas without too much trouble.
Haku could even use one-handed seals, something that even Kakashi couldn’t perform. In combat, he was quite difficult to take down, and, to beat him, Naruto had to use the power of the Nine-Tails. Without a doubt, Haku remains one of the most talented andstrongest ninjas inNaruto.
12Juzo Biwa
An S-Ranked ninja from Kirigakure, Juzo Biwa was also a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist at one point, and, just like Zabuza, he wielded the infamous Kubikiribocho. In combat, he was quite skilled and powerful enough to be recruited by the Akatsuki and be partnered with Itachi Uchiha.
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Unfortunately, Juzo ended up dying at the hands of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. His true strength was never really gauged, but it goes without saying that any member of the Akatsuki is almost certainly a skilled fighter.
11Hidan
Hidan was a member of Yugakure who abandoned the village at some point. His loyalty to Jashin gave him the power of immortality and he immediatelywent on to become one of the strongest people in the story.
Hidan eventually abandoned his village and joined the Akatsuki, where he became an incredible asset to them. Hidan’s immortality was his biggest strength, however, he wasn’t lacking in power either. In his fight against Asuma Sarutobi, he fared quite well.
10Deidara
Deidara was a skilled shinobi from Iwagakure who was approached by the Akatsuki at one point. After losing to Itachi Uchiha, Deidara was made to join their group. He stole the forbidden jutsu of Iwagakure before he left and incorporated it with his Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai.
Deidara’s strength was such that even Sasuke Uchiha had a hard time dealing with him. His plethora of techniques, such as C2, C3, and C4 are powerful enough to take almost anyone down.
9Sasori
Sasori was one of the most skilled ninjas in the history of Sunagakure. He fought for his village during the Third Great Ninja War and he killed so many people that their blood dyed his puppets, earning him the title of Sasori of the Red Sand.
After the war, Sasori left the village and became a rogue ninja. He joined the Akatsuki and immediately became one of the strongest members of the group. With countless puppets and the Third Kazekage at his aid, Sasori was quite strong.
8Kakuzu
Kakuzu was a shinobi of Takigakure at one point. The elders of his village sent him to assassinate Hashirama Senju once, however, he failed his task, as expected.Kakuzu then went on to steal Earth Grudge Fearand killed his village elders before going rogue.
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He eventually joined the Akatsuki as one of their most skilled ninjas ever. In his fight against Kakashi and Team 10, he proved himself to be a massive threat to anyone.
7Kisame
Also known as the Tail-less Tailed Beast, Kisame Hoshigaki was a shinobi of Kirigakure at one point. He served in their ANBU but later, he was targeted by the government of the Land of Water for his part in a coup.Kisame stole the Samehadaand ran from the country.
Thanks to Obito Uchiha, Kisame joined the Akatsuki and then went on to become Itachi’s partner. His skill in Water Release ninjutsu made him tremendously powerful, however, it was his skill with Samehada that made him special.
6Orochimaru
One of Konoha’s elite ninjas, Orochimaru was quite skilled as a ninja from the very beginning. By adulthood, he became a part of the Legendary Sannin of the Leaf, showing how skilled he truly was.
Orochimaru held great proficiency in every single nature transformation. He knew countless forbidden jutsu and above all, he possesses what it took to become a legendary ninja. Orochimaru spent some time with the Akatsuki however he had Otogakure to look after.
5Kabuto Yakushi
Originally born in an orphanage in Kusagakure, Kabuto Yakushi went on to become a spy for Orochimaru. On his journey, he posed as a shinobi of several villages, eventually betraying every single one of them. While he isn’t outright categorized as a rogue ninja, Kabuto certainly is one.
In terms of strength, he remains one of the very strongest characters inNaruto, especially after having absorbed Orochimaru, along with the Sound Four. His usage of the Sage Mode was incredible as well, as seen during his fight against the Uchiha brothers.
