Naruto Uzumaki is one of the strongest known characters in the Naruto series, along with Sasuke Uchiha. From a very young age, Naruto and Sasuke have competed against each other and when they were placed in the same ninja team, this competition grew into an even bigger rivalry.

Over the years, the two have rivaled each other and even fought against the other on several occasions. Having always been close in strength, the two have often topped one another and there have been many times when Naruto Uzumaki pulled ahead of Sasuke.

Updated April 17, 2022 by Rei Penber:Naruto and Sasuke have enjoyed a great rivalry throughout the course of the Naruto series and while there is no animosity between the two in Boruto, they’re still in a healthy competition with each other.

While Sasuke was a born genius, Naruto pulled ahead of him on several occasions throughout the run of the franchise, as mentioned in this list already. However, there are many more instances where the Orange Hokage of Konoha was stronger than Sasuke yet went unnoticed, so we expanded on the list further.

13 When He Went Berserk

The Nine-Tails within Naruto Uzumaki wasn’t always his friend. Whenever Naruto relied on its power, he was hurt considerably, or he hurt those around him. In some instances, the Tailed Beast succeeded in taking over his body and harming all those around him.

At the same time, however, it also granted Naruto tremendous power. When Naruto unlocked four tails for the first time, he was much stronger than Orochimaru and would’ve even given Sasuke a run for his money. In fact, even if Sasuke managed to push him into a corner, Naruto could still increase the number of tails and get even stronger. Without a doubt, when he lost control, Naruto was stronger than Sasuke initially in the story.

12 When He Combined Kurama Chakra Mode And Sage Mode

Kurama Chakra Mode was one of Naruto’s greatest powers in the story that he received in the Fourth Great Ninja War after befriending Kurama. Immediately after doing so, he gained enough power to overwhelm five Tailed Beasts at once, which is something Sasuke would surely have struggled with.

If that’s not enough, Naruto also got even stronger by combining the power of Sage Mode with his Kurama Chakra Mode. Sasuke, on the other hand, didn’t have any Senjutsu boost and had to rely on Jugo’s Cursed Seal powers instead. Evidently, Naruto was stronger than Sasuke at this point in the story as well.

11 When He Received Hashirama’s Prosthetic Arm

Naruto ended the Fourth Great Ninja War being much stronger than Sasuke as not only did Sasuke lose the power of the Tailed Beasts but Naruto also received the other half of Kurama, giving him even more strength and chakra.

What’s more, Naruto also ended up receiving a prosthetic arm made of Hashirama’s cells which naturally helped his chakra levels even further. Sasuke, on the other hand, chose to not take the prosthetic arm because he considered giving his arm up as atonement for his crimes against the village.

10 Naruto Vs. Haku

The Land of Waves arc saw Naruto and Sasuke take on Haku all alone and as expected, the two were severely outclassed by him.

When Sasuke lost to Haku by using his body to shield Naruto, Naruto tapped into the power of the Nine-Tails and absolutely overpowered the shinobi. At that particular time, Naruto was far stronger than Sasuke and could even give Haku a run for his money.

9 Naruto Vs. Gaara

The Chunin Exams arc of Naruto saw several powerful ninjas assemble in Konohagakure, and Gaara was easily the strongest of the lot. As expected, Sasuke had his eyes on him and the two fought during the Chunin Exams.

While Sasuke did extremely well against Gaara, he wasn’t able to defeat him. In the end, it was none other than Naruto who, using his clever strategies and the Nine-Tails chakra, was able to take on Gaara and defeat him in an all-out battle.

8 When He Learned The Rasengan

The Rasengan was taught to Naruto by Jiraiya, his mentor. At the same time, Sasuke learned to use the Chidori from Kakashi.

While both jutsu are powerful in their own right, when the two clashed on the rooftop, it was Naruto whose jutsu appeared to have done more damage. In fact, this frustrated Sasuke quite a bit and forced him to seek even greater power later on in the story.

7 Naruto Vs. Pain

To protect Konohagakure and avenge Jiraiya, Naruto learned the usage of Sage Mode under Fukasaku of Mount Myoboku. After quite a lot of harsh training, Naruto was able to master Sage Mode. Soon after, he clashed against Pain in Konohagakure and managed to defeat him.

At this point in time, Naruto was much stronger than Sasuke who, although had the Mangekyo Sharingan, had no idea about how to use its true powers. Sasuke simply lacked the chakra and strength to take him down.

6 Naruto Vs. Reanimated Kage

The Fourth Great Ninja War saw Naruto take the stage when the war had already begun but once he did, he made his presence known. Using his shadow clones, Naruto spread to every corner of the battlefield and fought the reanimated Kage.

He took down the Third Raikage and even defeated Mu, the Second Tsuchikage. Furthermore, he also stopped Madara’s assault on the Shinobi Alliance with Wood Release and saved everyone. At this point, Sasuke’s Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan wasn’t ready and he was much weaker.

5 Naruto Fought Longer In The War

Naruto’s contribution in the Fourth Great Ninja War was immense as he helped out across the battlefield to stop the Akatsuki from killing people. While Sasuke also joined the war, he did so quite late and was thus fresh.

Naruto, on the other hand, was fighting for days and had expended quite a lot more energy than Sasuke did. Despite everything, he was able to be equal to Sasuke and even get the better of him on occasions.

4 He Shared Chakra With Everyone

Not only did Naruto fight against the Akatsuki and the reanimated Kage in the Fourth Great Ninja War but he also boosted the other shinobi.

Using Kurama’s power, Naruto was able to share great amounts of chakra with people and make them stronger. This drained him quite a bit, however, he still put up a display just as good as Sasuke, which just goes to show that he was stronger than Sasuke.

3 Naruto Defeated Sasuke With Half His Power

Naruto and Sasuke clashed at the Valley of the End for the last time towards the end of the Naruto series.

While Sasuke had the power of the Rinnegan, along with nine Tailed Beasts that he had captured, Naruto had just half of Kurama within him. Despite that, he was able to keep up with Sasuke and even defeat him eventually, as evident from when Sasuke admitted to having lost to him in the end.

2 Naruto Fought Momoshiki Far From Full Power

Naruto and Sasuke had to put quite a lot of effort into stopping Momoshiki, however, they were both far from their full strength. While Sasuke had to transport eight people to Momoshiki’s dimension using his Rinnegan, Naruto had half his chakra drained by Momoshiki.

However, the fight was even more difficult for Naruto as he had absorbed an attack strong enough to wipe out an entire village shortly prior to this battle yet he still did just as good as Sasuke, if not better.

1 When Naruto Used Baryon Mode

The Baryon Mode was the biggest of all the power-ups of Naruto and it was equally dangerous. It was used against Isshiki Otsutsuki by using Naruto and Kurama’s chakra as raw materials to give rise to a greater power.

This power far surpassed that of Isshiki and allowed Naruto to overwhelm him in combat. Sasuke openly admitted that Naruto was much stronger than Isshiki in this state and it goes without saying that at this point, he was far stronger than Sasuke as well.