Naruto's Abilities

Abilities

Naruto's use of high-ranking ninjutsu such as the Shadow Clone Technique and Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.

At the start of the series, Naruto's ninja skills were either average or sub-par, as seen from his inept ability to perform a basic Clone Technique. One of the only techniques he could do without fail was the Transformation Technique, and his own original variant of the technique called the Sexy Technique; a creative, but almost completely useless diversionary technique.^[54] Throughout Part I, he learns a number of short-range techniques, which are expanded upon during his two-and-a-half years of training with Jiraiya. During Part II, he starts to master longer-range techniques, such as the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken and theTailed Beast Ball. Though Naruto is officially ranked as a genin, (due to not being around to take part in the Chūnin Exams), he has already accomplished many jōnin and even Kage-level feats.

In Part I, Naruto was regularly noted to have a great deal of potential by among some of the strongest ninja likeKakashi, Kabuto, and even the Sannin, proving himself as a very late bloomer. Iruka remarked that Naruto could surpass all of the other previous Hokage, when he saw him use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to defeatMizuki.^[55] When Orochimaru saw him defeat Kabuto, he immediately took back his previous assessment of Naruto lacking potential and tried to kill Naruto for fear of what he would become.^[56] Even Sasuke once began to grow irritated at not only how fast Naruto was catching up to him since the Chūnin Exams by being able to defeat Gaarawhereas he couldn't, but also how he would have most likely lost to him if Kakashi didn't intervene with their match.

Much of Naruto's potential manifests itself during Part II, regularly proving himself a match for the S-rank members ofAkatsuki. His victory over Nagato's Six Paths of Pain has earned him great accolade in the ninja world: Konoha villagers now even believe he is Hokage material after they hear about it, thereby earning status on par with other renown ninja within Konoha.^[57] Zetsu, after seeing the battle, even suggests that Naruto has become stronger than Sasuke, who also showed similar improvement against Akatsuki members.^[58] Shikaku Nara also considered Naruto in a class of his own after learning senjutsu.^[59] Naruto also gained the acknowledgement of other immensely powerful individuals such as Kurama and even Madara Uchiha.^[60][61] With further training and control of Kurama's power, he could hold his own against Kage of both the previous, and current generation on the battlefield.^[62][63][64]In the anime, he was able to easily defeat all of the Sound Four members despite their cursed seals being enhanced by their hatred.^[65] After gaining Kurama's cooperation and further access to its full power, he could overwhelm three tailed beasts with ease while fighting alongside B in his full Eight-Tails form who handled the other two, and then equal the combined power of five tailed beasts with a single Tailed Beast Ball.^[66] Eventually, even the Ten-Tailsbegan to see him as a threat when it start to see how Naruto resembles the Sage from sensing the chakra of the other eight tailed beasts to the point where it powered itself up even more.^[67]