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Whether due to the bloodline abilities they inherited, their natural-born talent, or a combination of both, some Naruto characters were hailed as prodigies since they were children. These impressively skilled ninjas were a clear cut above the rest, even at a young age.
Here, we have mentioned four exceptional talents who fully developed their powers, honing their techniques and achieving notable accomplishments, and four more who could never fulfill their potential. The characters will be ranked in descending order based on the highest level of power they ever reached in Masashi Kishimoto's original Naruto series.
Four Naruto characters who used their natural-born talent to achieve great accomplishments
4) Itachi Uchiha
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Itachi completed the Forest of Death challenge in the fastest time despite taking the test alone. He awakened the Sharingan at the age of 8 and mastered it soon after, showcasing greater skills than most adult members of the Uchiha clan. His score in the written test of the Chunin exams is the second highest ever recorded.
As a teen, Itachi joined the Anbu and quickly rose through their ranks. To protect peace and stability, he murdered his entire clan, which was plotting a takeover of the Hidden Leaf. He then joined the Akatsuki. Within the organization, Itachi immediately showed superiority over Orochimaru and Deidara, who tried to attack him.
Itachi added the Sword of Totsuka and the Yamata Mirror to his Susanoo. He could also use Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi and was very talented with genjutsu, hand seals, and shurikenjutsu. Despite being weakened by blindness and a fatal disease, Itachi overwhelmed a Cursed Seal-enhanced Sasuke and beat Orochimaru again.
During the Fourth Ninja War, Itachi exploited his reincarnated state, which granted him an immortal body with unlimited chakra to take on Sage Mode Kabuto. Teaming up with Sasuke, Itachi captured Kabuto in Izanami, forcing him to release the Impure World Reincarnation. This accomplishment was crucial to help the Shinobi Alliance.
3) Minato Namikaze
Among all academy students, Minato graduated with the highest marks. After graduating, he passed the written text of the Chunin Exams, obtaining a score that remains the highest ever achieved even today. According to Jiraiya, his teacher, Minato was the kind of natural prodigy who appeared only once in a generation.
When a group of Hidden Cloud ninjas abducted Kushina, Minato found and rescued her before anyone else could. In the following years, he developed his talent, becoming the Fourth Hokage. A testament to Minato's might, enemies of the Hidden Leaf were given flee-on-sight orders should they encounter him.
Owing to the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, Minato could teleport everywhere he put his mark on, which made him famous as "Yellow Flash," a man that even the Raikage couldn't keep up with. He could use the Rasengan, which he created, space-time barriers, the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques, and Jiraiya's toad summonings.
Minato single-handedly defeated Obito and fended off the Nine-Tails, sacrificing his life to seal half of the beast into his infant son, Naruto, and the other half into himself. When his soul was temporarily reincarnated during the Fourth Ninja War, Minato used his jinchuriki powers to help the Shinobi Alliance.
2) Sasuke Uchiha
As the reincarnation of Ashura Otsutsuki, Sasuke was a natural genius since childhood. Jealous of his elder brother Itachi, Sasuke trained hard to receive his father's approval. Unsurprisingly, he graduated at the top of his group in the academy, displaying abilities far above those of his classmates.
Whether to get back at Itachi, avenge the latter by destroying the Hidden Leaf, or become the Hokage in his own way, Sasuke spent most of his life searching for power. He upgraded his Sharingan several times, obtained the Cursed Seal, and, after Hagoromo Otsutsuki gave him a special Rinnegan, even gained the powers of Six Paths.
This chakra boosted Sasuke's Perfect Susanoo. He could amp his Blaze Release via the giant chakra avatar, which he could also combine with Chidori. Moreover, Sasuke's Rinnegan granted him the usage of Amenotejikara, a space-time jutsu that can instantly swap objects and people, although with some limitations.
The Rinnegan also enhanced Sasuke's genjutsu prowess to the point where he could take control of the Tailed Beasts with a single glance. As the strongest Uchiha alive and Naruto Uzumaki's greatest rival and best friend, Sasuke kept up with the expectations for his character.
1) Kakashi Hatake
The son of the legendary Sakumo and the student of the Fourth Hokage Minato, Kakashi is a true elite genius. He graduated from the academy at age 5, completed the Chunin Exams at 6, and became a full-fledged Jonin by age 13. After obtaining the Sharingan, he became a fearsome Anbu captain.
Worldwide feared as the "Copy Ninja," Kakashi was recommended for the role of Hokage several times. He was exceptionally proficient with Shadow Clone tactics and Lightning Release techniques and mastered the Mangekyo Sharingan, becoming able to instantly warp any target into the Kamui dimension.
Despite not being a Uchiha, Kakashi can be considered the strongest Sharingan user ever. He exploited Obito's eyes and Six Paths chakra and became powerful enough to single-handedly fend off Kaguya Otsutsuki. Kakashi's new space-time techniques were pivotal for Kaguya's defeat, with his feats being praised as godly by the very Sage of Six Paths.
At the time, Kakashi's exceptional abilities surpassed even those of the Six Paths-enhanced Naruto and Sasuke. Shortly after, Kakashi was appointed as the Sixth Hokage. Even though he lost all his Sharingan powers, he showed his talent again, creating new outstanding techniques to compensate for the loss.
Four Naruto characters with prodigious potential who died before developing it
4) Haku Yuki
Haku was born with the Ice Release's dreadful power, which caused people to fear him even if he was just a child. He ended up losing his family and started a life of hardships. Eventually, he ran across Zabuza Momochi, who proposed to him to become his loyal follower. Haku accepted the offer and, from that day onwards, dedicated his life to serving Zabuza like a tool in his hands.
Impressively enough, Zabuza claimed that the young boy was even more dangerous than him. Notably quick and skilled in taijutsu, Haku also had the rare ability to perform one-handed seals. Even Kakashi was impressed by how strong Haku was for his age. Using his Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, Haku overwhelmed Sasuke and Naruto, who had to risk their lives and unlock new powers to finally get the upper hand on him.
In truth, however, he was hiding his real power, which was on a much higher level. Unfortunately, Haku never had the chance to improve even further, as he died sacrificing himself to protect Zabuza from Kakashi's attack.
3) Kimimaro Kaguya
Born with the potential to become an insanely powerful ninja, even as a child, Kimimaro was the Kaguya clan's most talented member. He inherited the Shikotsumyaku, a fearsome bloodline ability that allowed him to release his skeleton from his body and manipulate it.
After his clan was slaughtered, Kimimaro was recruited by Orochimaru, who gave him a new purpose in life. Sadly, the young shinobi became afflicted by an unidentified disease. Deeply loyal to Orochimaru, Kimimaro devoted himself to ensuring the continuation of the former's ambitions.
Despite his poor health, Kimimaro was far stronger than the entire Sound Four combined. Even though he was already on the brink of death, he was able to fend off Naruto, Rock Lee, and Gaara one after another. He overwhelmed Naruto and would have killed Gaara and Lee if his body hadn't succumbed right before he could strike them decisively.
Using his bones, which were harder than tempered steel, Kimimaro was a lethal fighter. He could sprout ten thousand bone blades from the earth, cornering his foes. He could also merge with the bones to come out of them and strike unexpectedly. Kimimaro would have become an extremely dangerous shinobi if it hadn't been for his sickness.
2) Neji Hyuga
Despite being born as a member of the Hyuga clan's branch house, Neji was a prodigy even by the main household's standards. He learned the clan's advanced techniques by himself, including the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, which he could use flawlessly.
Neji's Byakugan and taijutsu skills were absolutely impressive, granting him the potential to become one of the Hidden Leaf's mightiest young ninjas. He also had quite the character development. Based on his father's tragic death and his own existence, Neji was initially convinced that fate was predetermined.
After his fight with Naruto Uzumaki, Neji realized that fate depends on what a person freely chooses to be. Everyone had high expectations for the Hyuga's role in Naruto Shippuden, but, unfortunately, Neji had very little screen time in the story's Part II. His only real major moment was during the Fourth Ninja War when he sacrificed his life to save Naruto.
1) Shisui Uchiha
Since he was a genin, Shisui showcased great talent as a shinobi. Exceptionally proficient with genjutsu, he unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan very early, further confirming his place among the most talented members of the Uchiha clan. Using his eye power, Shisui could cast Kotoamatsukami. This jutsu allowed him to control someone's mind without the target being able to realize anything.
Despite being a Sharingan power, it didn't need eye contact with the target to work. Still, it must be noted that the technique only worked within a range and that Shisui could perform it once every ten years per eye. With time, Shisui would have become one of the strongest Hidden Leaf ninjas.
Unluckily, Danzo ambushed him to seize his Mangekyo Sharingan. Robbed of his right eye, Shisui entrusted the left eye to his friend Itachi, together with the plea to protect both the Uchiha name and the Leaf. Shortly after, he took his own life.
Final thoughts
Some ninjas fully developed their prospective strength, using their powers to achieve exceptional results. For instance, Itachi and Minato protected the Hidden Leaf Village, while Kakashi saved the world.
Even though the Naruto series has a heartwarming happy ending, the shinobi world remains a harsh place, as other great talents failed to evolve their potential for various circumstances.
Luckily, fans were able to see some of these unfortunate prodigies in action once again when they were temporarily brought back via Kabuto's Impure World Reincarnation jutsu. Still, how strong these ninjas could have become, hadn't they died young, will remain a question forever.
