Naruto: Is Indra Otsutsuki stronger than Sasuke Uchiha? Explored

Indra Otsutsuki is one of the most ancient anime characters from the Naruto series. He is the first son of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the ancestors of all shinobi who created the ninja world, and the forefather of the Uchiha clan. Indra is also the creator of ninjutsu, which makes him a big part of the story.

Even though the story started with no background description of how the world was created, the information about Indra and the ancestors of this world was revealed during Naruto Shippuden. We learned how shinobi used chakra to create endless jutsu techniques, which are still being developed in Boruto (the sequel to the Naruto series).

Despite being the first Uchiha of this world, one does wonder how Indra ranks when compared to one of the strongest Uchiha clan members. To determine this, comparing him to Sasuke Uchiha, one of his strongest predecessors who was the only survivor after Itachi's mass massacre, is justified.

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Naruto: Sasuke's "Sage of the Six Paths" Powers versus the first ancestor of the Uchiha clan

Sasuke & Naruto both awaken their Six Paths Powers (Image via Studio Pierrot)

A miracle happened during the Fourth Great Ninja War when Guy was the only person holding back Six Paths Madara. He opened his Eight Gate of Death (a Taijutsu technique, due to which he reached his limit and was about to die. Fortunately, Naruto arrived at the 11th hour and saved Guy by tagging him out.

He had his Six Paths powers awakened with the help of Hagoromo's (Sage of the Six Paths) chakra, which made him capable of fighting Madara despite not having Kurama inside him. But he was not alone; Sasuke accompanied him as he awakened his powers, thus awakening his Rinnegan.

Sasuke received the "Rinnegan" with his Six Paths powers, and the Rinnegan is what Gods possess in the series. It gives the user a sharp field of vision like none other. It is considered the strongest amongst the basic Doujutsu (the eyes in Naruto)—more than Sharingan and Byakugan.

So, compared to Sasuke, who possesses the Rinnegan powers, Indra is weaker because the former only has the Uchiha powers (Sharingan/Mangekyou Sharingan) and didn't awaken his Rinnegan despite being an Otsutsuki and possessing the Sharingan (as Sharingan has a high chance of awakening into a Rinnegan).

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Sasuke without the powers of the Six Paths

In episode 218 of Boruto, Boruto stabbed Sasuke's eye, which had the Rinnegan. Momoshiki Otsutsuki possessed Boruto at that time, but this resulted in Sasuke losing his Six Paths powers (meaning the Rinnegan).

So, against a Sasuke with no Rinnegan, Indra might have a chance because the former is an Otsutsuki (Otsutsuki is the clan of Gods). This gives him a slight advantage over Sasuke, who has the blood of an ordinary earthling, even though their skills are more-or-less the same.

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Final thoughts

From the very start, the Uchiha clan's fate was to walk alone on their paths. An example of this is Indra, who went rogue after he was not selected as a successor and created the basic ninjutsu, which is still being developed in the Narutoverse.

The same can be said about Sasuke, who also went rogue at a very young age due to stress and the incident of his entire clan getting killed by his brother, Itachi. But in the end, he returned to the Hidden Leaf Village as one of the strongest shinobi. He even refused to get a prosthetic arm as an atonement for the sins he committed.

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