The Mangekyo Sharingan is, by far, one of the most powerful and iconic abilities in all ofNaruto. As the pinnacle of power a member of the Uchiha clan can achieve by normal means, it brings the already impressive abilities of the Sharingan to their limit while also giving the user new powers, altogether, and everyone who’s ever used it has been among the strongest characters inNaruto, by far.
As powerful an ability as theMangekyo Sharinganis, not every use of it is the same; not only does every Mangekyo Sharingan have different abilities, if they’re even shown to have any special abilities at all, but even the way it enhances the powers of the Sharingan will vary from person to person, the difference usually lying in whether someone has a “straight tomoe” type of Mangekyo Sharingan. Because of that,there’s a definite hierarchy among the Mangekyo Sharingan users inNaruto, and within that hierarchy, the few that stand out as the strongest are all plenty worth highlighting.
7Shisui Uchiha
First Appearance: Naruto Chapter 459 & Naruto: Shippuden Episode 201
Shisui Uchiha was Itachi’s best friend and closest confidant, with Shisui being the only one who knew Itachi was spying on the Uchiha for the Leaf village. Shisui attempted to cast his powerful Kotoamatsukami genjutsu on Fugaku to stop the Uchiha clan’s coup, but Danzo, not believing that to be enough, attacked Shisui and tried to steal his Sharingan for himself. Shisui got away with only one eye stolen, and he then sacrificed himself to entrust his last eye and the safety of the village to Itachi, an act that awakened Itachi’s Mangekyo Sharingan, as well.
As Shisui was dead for years beforeNarutoand wasn’t even revived with the Edo Tensei, not much is known about his overall abilities with the Sharingan or as a ninja, in general, but the Kotoamatsukami is still one ofNaruto’s most powerful genjutsu abilities for its nigh-invincible brainwashing capabilities, and not only was it highly-coveted by Danzo, butShisui’s Kotoamatsukami allowed a zombified Itachi to break free from Kabuto’s control and ultimately remove the threat of the Edo Tensei from the war. Shisui might not have had much presence inNaruto, but that doesn’t make him any less powerful.
6Obito Uchiha
First Appearance: Naruto Chapter 239 & Naruto: Shippuden Episode 32
Obito Uchiha was Kakashi’s former teammate who seemingly died in the Third Ninja World War after being crushed by a rock and giving Kakashi his Sharingan. In reality, though, Obito was saved by Madara and, after witnessing Rin’s death, joined Madara in his plan to trap the world in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. To that end, Obito used the Akatsuki to gather the Tailed Beasts under the disguises of both the quirky new recruit Tobi and Madara Uchiha, himself, and while he eventually had a change of heart, he was killed by Kaguya Otsutsuki shortly after.
As Kakashi and Obito have the same Sharingan, Obito’s Mangekyo Sharingan also lets him use the powerful Kamui technique, and thanks to having more experience and chakra reserves, Obito has a greater level of mastery that allows him to cast it in rapid succession, go in and out of the Kamui dimension, and even displace his body parts to pass himself off as intangible.Obito’s mastery of Kamui was even enough to help everyone deal with Kaguya for a little while, and there’s no way to look at him as anything other than one of the strongest Mangekyo Sharingan users.
5Itachi Uchiha
First Appearance: Naruto Chapter 139 & Episode 80
Itachi Uchihais Sasuke’s older brother who, several years before the story, brutally slaughtered the Uchiha clan before running off to the terrorist organization Akatsuki. In reality, though, Itachi killed the Uchiha clan to prevent a coup that would have thrown the Leaf village into civil war and joined Akatsuki to keep an eye on them, specifically Obito under his Madara disguise, and learning all of this, for better or worse, set Sasuke on his new path for the rest of the series following Itachi’s death.
Itachi’s Mangekyo Sharingan specializes in both the nigh-invincible illusionary techniques of the Tsukuyomi and the destructive capabilities of the Amaterasu, and while Susanoo seems to be a power that’s shared among most Mangekyo Sharingan users, Itachi’s is still special thanks to possessing the Sword of Totsuka, which can trap anyone it pierces in another dimension, and the Yata Mirror, which can instantly change its chakra nature to nullify incoming attacks. Itachi’s abilities are unlike any other Uchiha’s, and overall,Itachi’s illness was the only thing keeping him from being one of the strongest characters in all ofNaruto.
4Kakashi Hatake
First Appearance: Naruto Chapter 3 & Episode 3
Kakashi Hatake is the leader of Team 7 and one of the main characters ofNaruto. As the teacher to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, Kakashi is with them through nearly every major event they go through, whether it’s as a mentor or as a colleague, and that reaches its peak when he becomes one of the key players in the Fourth Ninja World War and learns that the person everyone thought was Madara was actually Obito Uchiha, Kakashi’s friend whom he thought died almost 20 years prior.
Kakashi’s Mangekyo Sharingan gives him the powerful Kamui ability, but because of Kakashi’s low chakra reserves, he can’t use it too often, and he especially can’t use it to the same degree as Obito. However, after Obito’s death against Kaguya,Obito temporarily gave Kakashi a complete Mangekyo Sharingan without any of the drawbacks, giving him Obito’s level of skill and the ability to combine it with Lightning Blade and Susanoo, both of which were of great help against Kaguya. Kakashi might not have his Sharingan anymore, but when he had full control of it, few characters could match his power.
3Madara Uchiha
First Appearance: Naruto Chapter 370 & Naruto: Shippuden Episode 130
Madara Uchihais the main antagonist of the originalNarutoseries. Having spent his life knowing nothing but war and discrimination, Madara sought to use the power of the Ten-Tails to trap the world in the Infinite Tsukuyomi and usher in an era of peace for all eternity. Unbeknownst to Madara, however, he was secretly being manipulated by Black Zetsu the entire time, with everything actually being an elaborate plot to revive Kaguya Otsutsuki, thus rendering his efforts entirely moot.
Madara never showed off much of his Mangekyo Sharingan, with the only abilities he ever used being his Susanoo and his increased mobility. That being said, both of those abilities are on a scale that few other characters have ever come close to matching, with Madara even famously laying waste to almost the entire united ninja army with taijutsu alone and only having greater showings of strength from there.Madara’s Mangekyo Sharingan, despite how little of it was seen, still leaves him as one ofNaruto’s strongest characters, and there have been few characters who have ever challenged that idea.
2Sasuke Uchiha
First Appearance: Naruto Chapter 3 & Episode 1
Sasuke Uchihais the first Uchiha introduced inNarutoand, of course, the deuteragonist of the series. Much of the original series is centered around Sasuke’s quest for vengeance, first against Itachi and later against the Leaf village, but even that evolves into him wanting to bring about peace by becoming a symbol of hatred for the world to unite against. Ultimately, Naruto stopped Sasuke and finally got through to him after years of them being unable to see eye-to-eye, and byBoruto: Naruto Next Generations, Sasuke is once again a trusted ally of the Leaf and Naruto’s closest friend.
Not only does Sasuke’s Mangekyo Sharingan give him access to Amaterasu and the ability to manipulate its form with Kagutsuchi, but his Susanoo is one of the most iterations of the ability in the series thanks to its ability to channel Amaterasu and Sasuke’s lightning chakra and its overall power. ByBoruto: Naruto Next Generations, Sasuke has taken those powers to even further extremes, especially when used in combination with the Rinnegan, and overall,Sasuke’s Mangekyo Sharingan is easily one of the strongest simply for the wide variety of abilities it offers him.
1Hagoromo Otsutsuki
First Appearance: Naruto Chapter 572 & Naruto: Shippuden Episode 329
Hagoromo Otsutsuki is the son of Kaguya Otsutsuki and the man known as the Sage of the Six Paths. After working with his brother, Hamura, to seal away Kaguya, Hagoromo split the Ten-Tails into the Tailed Beasts and gifted everyone with chakra and the religion of Ninshu, which formed the basis for the modern-day ninja world, and when Madara nearly succeeded in casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi and unintentionally reviving Kaguya, Hagoromo returned to the world as a spirit and unlocked new power from within Naruto and Sasuke, the latest reincarnations of his children, Ashura and Indra.
While Hagoromo is known for his Rinnegan, as the ancestor of the Uchiha clan, he also possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, although it only ever appeared in the anime. Nevertheless,Hagoromo instantly mastered his Mangekyo Sharingan and could not only use a powerful Susanoo, but he could use his abilities in conjunction with the Rinnegan, as well, all of which were used to tremendous effect and without any visible side effects. Few characters inNarutoeven come close to Hagoromo’s level of power, so it should go without saying that he’s also thestrongest Mangekyo Sharingan user inNaruto, as well.
