Top 10 Smartest Naruto Characters

Yes, he is the smartest Naruto character. Graduating from the academy at only six years old, he was already recognized as having the mind of a Hokage. At eight years old, he defeated an ANBU with his analytical prowess. He was a genius from the beginning.

Joining the Akatsuki was part of his plan, allowing him to leak information about the organization to the village. Even though he killed his clan, he understood it was for the sake of the village and his brother.

His plans excel in analytical and strategical battles. Moreover, his fight with Sasuke was only to free him from Orochimaru's curse, knowing that it would be his last fight. He is a remarkable character: smart, strong, and loyal to his village.

I don't know why people keep saying Itachi is so smart. He failed at keeping the village safe from Pain and failed at changing Sasuke.

I think having an IQ over 200 at the age of 7 is much smarter than having the wisdom of a Hokage at the same age. No Kage in the history of Naruto has had an IQ anywhere near 200. Additionally, the Nara Clan is to superhuman intelligence what the Uchiha Clan is to Sharingan.

It's an ability, not a trait. So genetically, Shikamaru is way smarter than Itachi.

Itachi has first place? You have got to be kidding me. Itachi has first place in almost all of the positive categories because of Itachi fanboys.

Shikamaru is literally remembered because of his insane intelligence. Itachi is remembered because he's an Uchiha, and that gives him an automatic tragic backstory and amazing good looks.

He learned all his power by himself. He has lived more than once. Everything he does has a thought behind it.

Madara is much more intelligent than Itachi. It's not even a contest.

Come on, he planned his revival after death and always had backup plans during the Fourth Ninja War.

He should be a lot higher than this. I mean, he is the father of Shikamaru and he is the one who came up with all of the strategies for the war, and all of them worked.

He is also high up because of his brains!

He planned out strategy after strategy for everything in the Fourth Ninja War. He's extremely smart.

He basically saved the world with his strategy to win the war! He is also the father of Shikamaru.

Come on, this guy knows the ins and outs of everything. He was the genius of his generation and the favored pupil of his sensei, even after turning evil.

The plethora of intel he has cannot be surpassed by anyone, adding to his mastery of almost every ninjutsu. He's the only guy who can join an organization like Akatsuki and come out of it alive even after betraying them.

He has so many labs, is filthy rich, and has a mass of willing followers. He is one of a kind and a true genius, even praised by the God of Shinobi.

Everyone who commented above actually watch and read Naruto. Orochimaru is definitely a genius. I don't know how in the world Sasuke is 6th. Makes no sense.

He's shrewd and cunning. He always had something devious in mind, and it was not our idea of what is good. His ideals were too far-fetched, and he was quite skilled in manipulation.

He is a charismatic character who would use everyone for his own benefit. He was smart enough to learn the ways of the shinobi world and brave enough to crush the system that allowed kids to go to war, even if it meant destroying the village he sought to protect.

He was deviously cunning enough to unleash the Kyubi on the Hidden Leaf Village, causing massive destruction and indirectly leading to the deaths of his sensei and his wife. This, in turn, set the stage for the Uchiha clan massacre, all while he manipulated the shinobi world disguised as Uchiha Madara.

He controlled the leader of Kirigakure, operated in the shadows of the Akatsuki organization, and carefully planned the downfall of the Leaf for a second time.

Kabuto Yakushi was outsmarting the person this list has ranked as number one while that same person was receiving help. He possesses five different chakra natures while most people have two or three. He also knows a very wide range of jutsus.

He was the strategist of the Akatsuki side in the war and was also the first person to perfect Edo Tensei.

He was messing with Kakashi. Orochimaru taught him well, and now he is even stronger than Orochimaru. If Itachi wasn't an Edo Tensei zombie, Kabuto would have defeated Itachi and Sasuke easily.

And since Itachi is at the top of this list, Kabuto should be at least in the first five.

1. Created the ultimate shape transformation. Earned praise for his exploits with the Flying Thunder God from the technique's creator, Lord Second himself. He was able to attain Kyubi mode right after Edo Tensei. These feats do seem to stem more from talent, but without an unnatural level of intellect, they would have been impossible.

2. Minato was very intuitive, observant, and planned strategies in advance. During a fight, he was able to correctly deduce the mechanism of a technique, its pros and cons, often from limited evidence, and use that to his advantage. This was evident during his battles.

3. During a fight, he used to mark opponents with the smallest contacts, showing his strategic nature. He also placed safe houses on the outskirts of Konoha to which he could teleport at will, proving to be a brilliant move during the Nine-Tails attack.

4. During the fight with Tobi, he correctly concluded that Tobi was a harbinger of future trouble. Thus, Minato sealed Yang Kyubi inside his son, giving Naruto the power to protect Konoha in the future. He knew intuitively that Naruto would be able to master that power and not succumb to it directly or indirectly.

Though not possessing a super-normal IQ like Shikamaru, he resembles the Sherlock Holmes of the Naruto universe.

There are more points to be made, but I think I have made my point.

Tsunade, the greatest medic ninja of all time, is well known for healing injuries considered lethal and impossible to cure, as well as psychological damage caused by genjutsu. She likely knows every antidote and concoction known to mankind.

Tsunade created the Strength of a Hundred Seal and Technique, and her Creation Rebirth, which most likely required many years of research and profound knowledge of how the human body works.

Tsunade runs the village and chooses specific teams for specific missions. She created the Medical Ninja system. Known for her ability to diagnose a person's ailment just by looking at them, she has taught Shizune and Sakura, making them the next two greatest medical ninjas from Konoha.

Quick to pick up on an opponent's fighting style by observing their body, she is a master at evasion thanks to her quick learning and thinking as the greatest medical nin in the series.

We didn't see much of Izuna, but I could tell he was very bright! He mastered most combat skills, sword fighting, and the Sharingan as a child!

Although I hate this guy with a burning passion, he seems very smart.

Trained Itachi. Trained Sasuke. Studied with the Third and Fourth. Advised the Fifth on many matters. Kakashi had unrestricted access to Konoha's library. The man invented techniques based on theoretical principles that actually work.

Side note: Does anyone else in the manga even read besides Kakashi? I acknowledge Minato and Jiraiya as readers, but they are dead, and the Fifth reads scrolls along with Orochimaru. Although Kakashi spends his free time reading kissing tactics - ah, I didn't make a good point there... but he is a real smart aleck!

Tobirama needs more credit for his brains and IQ level. Without him, Konoha wouldn't be a thing, and this guy came up with and made new jutsus that people like Naruto have.

He created academies, and he's the reason why the Chunin Exams exist.

Easy Top 5... way too much bias from people here. Not only is he the creator of so many Jutsu, but he is also the creator of Konoha as a functioning society.

He seems to have knowledge of seemingly every jutsu he sees, including even jutsu used by the Sage of the Six Paths. He has knowledge of the ninja world (like identifying the toads of Mount Myoboko) and knowing about the Sage of Six Paths.

Finally, he is shown time and again to develop tactics and strategy on the fly and to work with others to utilize them.

How can you possibly say Sasuke is an idiot? He's clearly smart. He had great strategies even as a kid. He gave his teammates a code in the Chunin Exams because he knew Naruto wouldn't get it.

Orochimaru tried tricking him, but it didn't work. Sasuke knew Orochimaru was after him because Itachi was out of Orochimaru's league. He used Orochimaru to get stronger and took advantage of him when he was sick. He even outsmarted Itachi on some occasions, such as when he threw the fireball into the sky to use Kirin, making Itachi waste chakra by using Amaterasu.

Sasuke has great calm, analyzing, and judgment skills, as stated by Madara. Madara and Minato both called him a genius. In his fight with Deidara, every move he made was calculated, and he outsmarted Deidara. He also did this against Danzo as well.

He's recognized as a genius in puppet-making and combat strategy. He created some of the most powerful and complex puppets in the series, including himself, which was a huge feat that made him practically immortal.

Sasori's strategic skills are also evident in battle, as he's able to anticipate his opponents' moves and control multiple puppets at once. He even defeated and killed the Third Kazekage, known as the strongest Kazekage of his time, which required a high level of intelligence and skill.

Sasori's knowledge of poisons and medicine also highlights his intellect, as he created potent toxins that were nearly impossible to cure. His strategic thinking is evident in his combat style, where he manipulates puppets to confuse and outmaneuver opponents. Sasori's intelligence, combined with his skills and innovation, made him one of the most dangerous members of the Akatsuki.

Alright, I'm going to get a lot of hate for this, but Kaguya, even though she is so hated, was a boring final villain, and lost as soon as she was on-screen, was pulling the strings on everyone. I mean, Madara, Pain, etc.

Without him, Naruto itself wouldn't exist. Hashirama created and planned everything. He was the reason why the world was still there.

Saving the world a hundred times and controlling all of the tailed beasts is actually impressive.

She is definitely one of the smartest characters in the series. From the beginning of the Akatsuki, she knew what would happen but stayed only because of Nagato/Pain. When he died, she immediately left the Akatsuki. She was aware that Tobi/Madara would come and try to get the Rinnegan.

And then the fight. She knew exactly how and when he would attack and prepared the perfect counter-attack. I believe that she might have even been able to beat him if she had seen Izanagi and all his techniques before. But she didn't, and that led to her demise.

This shows how amazing a strategist she is, and compared to the others, even number five would be underestimating her.

Deidara has a lot of tricks up his sleeves! He knows how to trick and trap most of the people he's against. Unlike Tsunade, Temari, and Choji's pathetic attempts to fight Madara, Deidara thought outside the box and actually injured him.

Choji and Temari were both foolish, as they tried to jump at him. Madara even found Temari weak as hell and said that her and Choji's attacks didn't do a thing! At least Tsunade wasn't being stupid, but Madara still whooped her.

Deidara stole a forbidden jutsu from his village when he defected, and it allowed him to mold clay with mouths on his hands and chest.

He used those mouths to mold the clay into animals and other things that he was able to control and detonate. Because of these clay creations, he was able to trick and misdirect his opponents.

I think he could be ranked a bit higher. The guy has always found ways around issues. He might not be the best at long-term planning, but in terms of quick thinking and decision-making in the moment, he can be incredibly pragmatic.

He comes up with plans nobody else would think of. Hence, his title as "The Number One Ninja at Surprising People."

Naruto is amazing at making strategies, even if he looks like an idiot sometimes. If Naruto focuses fully on a fight, he could be as smart as Sasuke and make surprising plans.

Also, Naruto is incredibly lucky, so yeah...