Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto series is set in the world of ninja where several powerful shinobi exist. Konohagakure, the most important shinobi village, is where the most powerful characters hail from, however, the other villages in the story are mighty powerful too.
Over the years, they've given rise to some terrific fighters who have made quite a name for themselves and become legends in their own right. These shinobi often go under the radar, however, they're exceptionally skilled and rank among the very finest to have ever graced the series.
8 Ay
The Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, Ay is an exceptionally powerful ninja who took the reins of the village after the fall of the Third Raikage in the Third Great Ninja War. Over the years, he built up his strength immensely and gained power great enough to combat a Tailed Beast itself.
Ay is a master of nintaijutsu and using it, he could even put Sasuke Uchiha on the back foot with ease. His lightning-style armor makes him immune to most attacks and increases his speed to that of lightning. Ay is, without a doubt, an incredibly powerful ninja.
7 Onoki
The Third Tsuchikage of Iwagkure, Onoki was one of the longest-reigning Kage to have ever lived. He led his village during the Third and the Fourth Great Ninja War. Being from Iwagkure already made him an exceptionally powerful user of the Earth Release, however, his true strength lay in the usage of Dust Release Kekkei Tota.
With it, Onoki could turn anyone into dust by breaking their bodies down on a molecular level. He also had tremendous wisdom and experience and, thanks to that, he became the rock for the Kage during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
6 Mu
Mu was Onoki's teacher and the Second Tsuchikage of Iwagkure. Just like Onoki, he had tremendous skill in the usage of Earth Release and Dust Release Kekkei Tota at the same time. Interestingly, Mu held an advantage over Onoki because he could also completely erase his presence, earning him the title of Null Man.
At the same time, he could even split his body up, which gave him quite an edge in combat. Mu is widely considered to be the strongest Kage in the history of Iwagkure. He might be, however, lacking in experience when compared to Onoki.
5 Gengetsu Hozuki
Gengetsu Hozuki was the Second Mizukage of Kirigakure and an incredibly powerful shinobi. In combat, he was known to be just as strong as Mu as the two managed to kill each other in combat.
Gengetsu was the strongest Mizukage of Kirigakure and his immense skill with Water Release along with his power of Genjutsu made him a threat to anyone he fought in battle. His exploits made him etch his name in history and become a legendary figure in the world of ninja.
4 Killer Bee
The Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, Killer Bee was introduced in the series as one of the very few people in Naruto with perfect control over their Tailed Beasts. With the power of the Eight-Tails at his side, Bee possesses tremendous strength that even a Kage would struggle to rival. According to Ay, Bee has much greater skill than him, which is a testament to his powers.
At his full power, Bee could prove to be troublesome for even the likes of the Akatsuki fighters, as seen during his fight against Kisame Hoshigaki. Over the years, his relationship with Gyuki has only gotten stronger and he's likely improved as well.
3 Hanzo
A legendary figure in the Naruto world, Hanzo was from Amegakure and grew up to be one of the most powerful ninjas to ever live. In his prime, he was stronger than the Legendary Sannin combined and was able to defeat them all at once.
His strength lay in the usage of Fire Release and the teleportation ninjutsu, however, he was also a master of the nature types. Although Hanzo died at the hands of Pain, he was already old and brittle by that time.
2 Kabuto Yakushi
Kabuto was one of the main antagonists of the Fourth Great Ninja War and was responsible for it to a great degree. After Orochimaru fell to Sasuke, Kabuto took it upon himself to achieve great strength and he did that by creating what he considered to be the perfect body.
He learned the Snake Sage Mode from the Ryuchi Cave and evolved into what he called a dragon. At the same time, Kabuto also infused several powers into his body, such as the Kekkei Genkai of Sakon and Ukon, Kimimaro, and even Jugo.
1 Nagato Uzumaki
Undoubtedly, the strongest fighter not from Konohagakure in the story is certainly Nagato Uzumaki, the leader of the Akatsuki. Born an orphan of Amegakure, Nagato rose to great heights due to the Rinnegan that he possessed and, in time, gained enough power to bring the world to heel.
Although Yahiko's death made him into a villain, his strength was still phenomenal. In his prime, he nearly killed two perfect Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki and Killer Bee, at once with his Rinnegan abilities.