One of the most impactful series of all time, Naruto is a wild ride of mixed emotions for the first time watchers and a nostalgic experience for OG fans. No matter how busted the Talk-no-Jutsu is, we all love the beautiful story that was constructed through the multitude of characters besides the enchanting Naruto himself.

Even though the lands of the Shinobi are filled with powerful individuals, we cannot ignore the presence of the Kunoichi – the female Naruto characters who are ninjas who were always fighting alongside.

In this article, we are going to go through the strongest female characters in Naruto to have stepped into the show, but only from the first half of the story; i.e. from the OG Naruto, before the Akatsuki decided to actively pursue the Tailed Beasts inside the Jinchuriki and declaring war on the world.

So fasten your seatbelts, and let’s venture into the Kunoichi forces.

12. Tenten

We start off the list with the Kunoichi from the Taijutsu master Might Guy’s Team-3, Tenten. She is a very adept and skilled kunoichi, and her squad holds her abilities in high regard. Since childhood, she wanted to become a renowned Kunoichi like Tsunade, one of the three legendary Sanin and she holds a non biased opinion on differentiating strength through gender.

She holds a keen interest in Ninja tools and weapons, and uses scrolls to summon a multitude of weapons ranging in different shapes and sizes. She excels in the use of Bukijutsu, the art of battle using weaponry.

Her proficiency with weapons is unmatched even at a young age, and she is said to be able to quickly adapt to a weapon that she herself has never used before. She is also stated to be an excellent marksman, scoring a full score in the aiming exercise.

As mentioned before, she prefers to store her weapons in scrolls, making her also an expert in Fuinjutsu, the art of sealing in scrolls. She gains a lot of strength throughout the series, but as you may know, weapons are probably the last thing that the fighters use in Naruto when there are concepts such as Kekkei Genkai, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu at their disposal.

Also the fact that she does not have any noticeable achievements in the first part of the story. This drops her at the bottom of the list, but she is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Thus, making her the one of the strongest female Naruto characters during the OG series’ time.

11. Hinata Hyuga

The shy and kindhearted kunoichi from Kurenai’s Team-8, Hinata never had a will to fight with others. Although hailing from the proud and strong Hyuga clan and awakening the Byakugan, that is considered to be one of the three strongest Dojutsu, she prefers to approach things in a less violent way, thinking of others before herself.

But this has caused her to develop a timid and self depreciating attitude which has also affected her ability to fight as a Kunoichi. Her younger sister Hanabi is considered to be a better fighter than her and her cousin Neji is one of the strongest ninja in their time.

But her reason to believe and fight is none other than Naruto, for whom she developed a crush at a very young age, making her one of the few people who actually cared for him during his devastating childhood. Although she does not like to indulge in violence, she fights Neji in the Chunin exams, the latter proving to be much stronger. But she was able to keep up with him, using the ability of the Byakugan.

Like other members of the Hyuga family, she is adept in Taijutsu and she can observe the flow of Chakra within the body. She uses combat techniques such as Gentle Fist Style which can disrupt the flow of Chakra.

Although she has powerful abilities in her arsenal and has the potential to become one of the strongest female Naruto characters, her personality proves to be a hindrance in her ability to fight.

However, she did prove that she can be deadly if she were to fight for real with the help of her Kekkei Genkai. Not to forget she later turns a whole new leaf during the Shippuden arcs making her the one of the strongest female Naruto characters during the OG series’ time.

10. Ino Yamanaka

Ino is the daughter of Inoichi Yamanaka, who was the head of the Analysis division of the Intelligence team. Ino was under the Team-10 led by Asuma, alongside Shikamaru and Choji, paying homage to the Ino-Shika-Cho trio that is present in every generation. She was considered to become the strongest female Naruto characters to have been born in the Yamanaka clan and she was also interested in Sasuke, like every single girl at that time.

She has been stated to have a good control over her Chakra, and her sensory abilities were off the charts. She could sense even the slightest change in Chakra levels in a body and she could transfer information to others about any beneficial advantages quickly during combat.

She also starts learning medical ninjutsu like Sakura but what makes her special is her bloodline ability, the Mind Body Switch Technique.

She can switch minds with her enemy and can take control of their actions by possessing them. Although her own body is left vulnerable, that is where Shikamaru and Choji come in. They protect her body and together, these are 3 are a solid trio.

She went toe to toe against Sakura, another one of the strongest female Naruto characters, about whom we will talk later but she was able to fight her to a draw and she was also able to possess Kin Tsuchi, a member from the Sound Village, who specialized in Genjutsu. She might have some decent feats in her record, but they are not enough to compete with the top 9 strongest female characters in Naruto.

9. Sakura Haruno

Entering into the top 9 strongest female Naruto characters, we have Sakura Haruno, the energetic young kunoichi from Team-7, alongside the main cast of Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, led by the enchanting Kakashi Hatake himself.

A very confident and intelligent fighter, she was never afraid to be overshadowed by Sasuke or Naruto. But her confidence led to ignorance and she was shattered to realize that she was not upto the mark of a Shinobi.

Despite not born in a special clan or not having any special bloodline traits, she had better Chakra control than the likes of Naruto and Sasuke themselves, proving to be able to climb trees in her first attempt while the other two taking the whole night to master it.

Let that sink in, having better Chakra control than an Uchiha with the Sharingan. After realizing that she was nothing more than a hindrance to the team, she decided to train under Lady Tsunade in medical ninjutsu.

In which she worked really hard for over the years and the results can be seen in Shippuden, becoming one of the greatest medical ninjutsu users of all time.

But coming back to her younger days, she drew a fight against Ino Yamanaka, her arch rival but what makes her stronger than her is the fact that she was able to gather confidence and was able to keep up with all three members of the sound village simultaneously for a brief time.

Her decision to cut her hair shows her development, going from Sasuke’s love interest to someone actual useful during battle. The fight was interrupted by a cursed-seal effected Sasuke but her brief actions does give her abilities some weight.

Although in Shippuden, Sakura, post the great Ninja war, becomes the strongest human female Naruto characters of all time.

8. Kin Tsuchi

Kin Tsuchi is one of the three ninjas from the Sound Village sent to participate in the Chunin exams held in the Leaf Village by Orochimaru, to test Sasuke Uchiha’s abilities so that he could use his body for himself. She is confident in her abilities, and she hates people who judge on the basis of appearances.

Although a very minor character in the story, she showed skill enough to prove her worth. She uses Senbon (needle like sharp weapons used as projectiles) as her weapon of choice which she uses to strike at the enemy’s vital spots.

Also a skilled marksman, she enhanced her ability by attaching bells to her Senbon which would cause her enemies to get confused and distracted. She was adept at using sound based genjutsu like her other teammates.

She was able to overpower Sakura completely and was responsible in almost defeating Shikamaru, arguably the smartest character in all of Naruto. Although her ending against Shikamaru was laughable, she is a skilled kunoichi who was acknowledged by the likes of Orochimaru.

7. Yugao Uzuki

One of the members of the Anbu Force, a secret organization which worked in the shadows, Yugao Uzuki is one of the under-rated female Naruto characters amidst the vast world of Naruto. She was the one who found Sasuke, the sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan Massacre and was also the lover of Hayate Gekko, the one responsible for teaching her the way of the blade.

Not much is known about her but the fact that she is a member of the Anbu proves her expertise. She might have completed several missions for the Leaf Village that no one is aware of.

She was so skilled that she joined the Anbu at a very young age, due to her potent Sensory skills and Kenjutsu, the art of using swords. She has displayed skill in Fuinjutsu as well, by sealing corpses in scrolls efficiently and she was renowned to be a deadly tracker.

Her lover Hayate greatly expanded upon her ability to use Kenjutsu, mastering various techniques which can be very difficult for the opponents to react.

It was a shame that Hayate was murdered and their love story was not progressed further, but because of him she was able to climb her way to become one of the strongest female Naruto characters, working in the shadows.

6. Tayuya

One of the members of the Sound Four, Orochimaru’s elite force from the Sound Village, she was sent to the Leaf Village to kidnap Sasuke along side her comrades. She is a deadly Kunoichi, who has proved her strength to Orochimaru by fighting against many prisoners in a battle royale. She is definitely one of the strongest female Naruto characters from the OG series.

She claimed herself to be the second strongest out of the sound four, who are all strong fighters to begin with and it was stated by Shikamaru that her prowess was similar to that of a Jonin. Quite efficient in Taijutsu, her real powers are revealed upon activating the curse seal on her body.

Through the powers of Orochimaru, she obtained the curse seal which when activated grants her increased strength, endurance and Chakra levels. She is also a master of sound based Genjutsu, where she puts Shikamaru in a Genjutsu despite the latter knowing how to break out of Genjutsu.

Her Genjutsu summons three ghastly beasts which are very strong. It was one of the hardest fights that Shikamaru had faced, and it is quite a big of a deal to be able to push him to his limits. Had it not been for the one next up in our list, Shikamaru would have breathed his last.

To note: this is the same Shikamaru who has made a determination to fight and win and not a lazy Shikamaru. Thus proving her prowess as one of the strongest female Naruto characters.

5. Temari

Hailing from the Sand Village, Temari is the daughter of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa and the sister of Gaara, the Jinchuriki of the one tailed beast. She has gone through rigorous training throughout her childhood with her siblings and the results are shown throughout the Chunin exams arc and the Sasuke retrieval arc.

Being a stoic and blunt individual, Temari shows no remorse to the weak. When pitted against Tenten, the ninja tools expert, Temari easily defeated her that too in a dominating fashion.

Being adept in Wind Release Jutsu, she amplifies the effect of her attacks with the help of her large fan, that she can use in a multitude of ways, ranging from defense to offense. She is also a good strategist, leading her to become one of the most trusted people of Gaara when he becomes Kazekage.

She was able to bring out Shikamaru’s true potential by making him use his brain seriously to find out a viable strategy to fight against her. In fact it was technically her win as Shikamaru surrendered. But her true overwhelming strength was portrayed when she saved Shikamaru from Tayuya and used summoning jutsu to kill her.

Thus making her stronger than one of the female Naruto characters who were trained by Orochimaru himself. She has deadly techniques in her skill set making her one of the strongest Naruto characters, and definitely the strongest of all the young female Naruto characters. But it is time for the adults to step into the picture and prove that experience can prove to be more dangerous than anything.

4. Anko

A kunoichi whose skill was recognized by Orochimaru, one of the three legendary Sanin himself. Anko’s raw natural talent was so alluring to him that he taught her many of his secret jutsus.

She is one of the most powerful curse seal users that have trained under Orochimaru’s wing. She is shown to be loud and stubborn, compared directly to the likes of Naruto, the latter being irritated in her presence.

Although many of her feats are a thing of the past, she has the ability to counter Orochimaru whenever required, as shown during the Chunin Exams arc by using the Murder Suicide Ninja Technique, where the user sacrifices themselves to kill the enemy.

She can use the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, the signature move of Orochimaru. Also a skilled tracker, she was assigned to track Kabuto Yakushi, an elusive character and one of the main villains who orchestrated the dreadful events of the story.

She is immune to poison, due to Orochimaru’s training and it is also stated that she can use Fire Release Ninjutsu at will.

After the Fourth Ninja War, she gains the status of a legendary kunoichi and is definitely one of the strongest female Naruto characters from Konoha. She can easily keep up with anyone in terms of agility, ninjutsu or taijutsu, her strongest features being immense strength and stamina.

She was also assigned as the examiner of the second phase of the Chunin exams, due to her reliability and strictness.

3. Shizune

Another disciple of one of the three legendary Sanin, Shizune is also a capable warrior and a Jonin who can assist with any situation. Following Tsunade from a very young age, she took it upon herself to take care of her master and learn under her training, she became a skilled user of medical ninjutsu.

She also acts as the assistant of Tsunade when she becomes Hokage, and also for the next Hokage, that being Kakashi.

Shizune is a level headed and rational thinker, always acting upon the facts and information that is present. She has been shown to be a versatile character, who leads the medical team performing complex operations using her medical jutsu and going up against Kabuto Yakushi, in a fair and equal match.

Kabuto is a deadly opponent, as mentioned before and just to bring in some context, it took Itachi Uchiha himself to use a forbidden Jutsu in order to stop Kabuto’s strongest form.

Fighting off Kabuto in his base form in equal grounds is a big deal, as he easily took care of Anbu level Shinobi in a breeze. She also led a team consisting of the best Jonin Shinobi in the Leaf Village after Tsunade became Hokage.

She has been depicted to be well trained in all forms of fighting styles, even though her main expertise is in medical ninjutsu. Although depicted in a filler, she led a team which was tasked with sealing the three tails Jinchuriki and she also displayed her skills in Fuinjutsu in order to seal it.

She mainly incorporates poison in her attacks and has been shown to make up to 36 shadow clones. Being such a reliable kunoichi, putting her in the top 3 of strongest female Naruto characters is a no brainer.

2. Kurenai

The Sensei of Team-8, Kurenai is one of the few female characters to reach the level of Jonin, that too a strong one. A brave and caring woman, she wishes to see the growth of her students, especially of Hinata to become more of a confident fighter.

She was also the lover of Asume Sarutobi, another Jonin teacher and the son of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage of the Leaf Village.

Being promoted to a Jonin at a very young age, she was a highly talented Kunoichi. She was a prodigy in Genjutsu, and was considered to be the strongest genjutsu user of the village, not counting the infamous Uchiha clan.

Kakashi himself was confident in sending her to clash against the deadly Akatsuki duo, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, even though she had been promoted recently.

In fact, her skills were recognized and acknowledged by Itachi, who himself is arguably the strongest Genjutsu user in the series, when she trapped the Genjutsu master in between branches of a tree while proceeding to stab him.

Although the result was not in her favour, anybody else other than Itachi would have succumbed to defeat.

Also showing supreme levels of agility, she was able to realize that her Genjutsu had been countered by Itachi, and proceeded to block his incoming attack. Surviving against Itachi and living to tell the tale is grand feat in your resume.

In the anime, she has been shown to enter the mind of the enemy and seal their Kekkei Genkai, using her Genjutsu. Theoretically speaking there is no counter to this move. Although she adopts to more of a side role in the later stages of the story, Kurenai at her prime is easily one of the strongest female Naruto characters introduced in the story, but one still remains who is miles above any character.

1. Tsunade: The Strongest Of All Female Naruto Characters

Lady Tsunade, the one who tops our list, the one who has a gambling addiction second to none, the one who is considered not only to be the greatest medical ninjutsu user, but also the strongest female Naruto characters of all time, training the likes of Shizune and Sakura, she needs no introduction.

Ample in every way possible (106 centimeters, if you get the reference), she is the grand daughter of Hashirama Senju, arguably the strongest Shinobi to ever exist in the history of the Shinobi world.

As mentioned above, her medical ninjutsu is so potent that she found a way to never look old, even if her numbers start hitting the 50s. She is one of the legendary Sanin, trained by the third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, along side the mighty Jiraiya and Orochimaru. She has participated in countless battles and her experience knows no bounds.

She was also the one who proposed the idea of having a kunoichi in the group of three people who can focus to implement medical ninjutsu if ever required in the middle of battle. Although she developed psychological disabilities such as Haemophobia after losing her lover Dan.

She was forced to reconsider her cynical behaviour after meeting Naruto and proceeded to take the mantle of the fifth Hokage, as suggested by Jiraiya.

Speaking of her skills, where do we even begin? Firstly, she belongs from the Senju clan, giving her immeasurable amounts of Chakra supply, alongside immense life force and physical energy.

She can use the Strength of the hundred seal, which has only ever been achieved by a few handful shinobi, where her life force and strength levels increase massively. Her Taijutsu levels are at the level of the Might Guy himself, if not greater.

Her perfect Chakra control allows her to break buildings and concrete roads in single punches. Although her true Taijutsu abilities are seen in Shippuden, such as cracking Madara’s Susanoo ribcage. The same Madara whose name started a world war and is one of the strongest characters to ever live in the entirety of Naruto manga. she is also an adept summoning jutsu user like her fellow Sanin members.

She can summon Katsuya, a slug which can separate into smaller slugs which are then used to heal others. Her healing powers are unmatched, as she can easily heal the after effects of Tsukuyomi, one of the strongest Genjutsu techniques in existence. She also easily overpowered Kabuto.

She is master of all types of jutsu, practicing the art of Lighting, Fire, Water and Earth release and her abilities are unmatched when talking about the strongest female characters.

Conclusion:

Although there are many strong characters in the Shinobi universe of Naruto, we cannot leave the brave and strong female Naruto characters behind who play an important role in shaping the story. Ranging from natural talents to experienced veterans, the story does not lack or fall behind when writing such badass female Naruto characters!

Image Copyrights: Viz Media/Studio Pierrot/Masashi Kishimoto/Shounen Jump/Shuiesha/Aniplex