Highlights

Sasuke and Madara, both descendants of Indra Otsutsuki, were two of the most powerful shinobi in Naruto history due to their lineage and unique abilities.
Both Sasuke and Madara showcased exceptional talent and skills in the Uchiha clan's fighting traditions, excelling in various forms of ninjutsu and strategic combat.
While Madara possessed formidable abilities like the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki form, Sasuke's superior Mangekyo Sharingan and Rinnegan techniques give him a slight edge as the strongest Uchiha in history.

Sasuke and Madara Uchiha are the two strongest members of the Uchiha clan in history, tracing their lineage back to Indra Otsutsuki, the son of the Sage of Six Paths. Both individuals played huge roles in Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, with the former serving as the rival of the series' protagonist, and the latter being one of the main antagonists of the Fourth Shinobi World War.

During their lifetimes, Sasuke and Madara were the only Uchiha to awaken both the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the Rinnegan. Eventually, they were counted among the strongest shinobi in the history of the world of Naruto alongside the likes of Hashirama Senju and Naruto Uzumaki himself. Considering the similarities in their fighting styles, is there any way to discern who was the stronger shinobi?

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How Are Sasuke And Madara Similar?

The Uchiha clan was known for producing fearsome ninja, but generational talents such as Sasuke and Madara were rare. Madara grew up during the Warring States Period when rival shinobi clans were constantly battling against one another for supremacy. In such harsh times, his genius blossomed, and he was able to take down adult shinobi from the rival Senju clan before even awakening his Sharingan.

Similarly, Sasuke was likely the best student in his year at the Konoha Academy, able to use Nature Transformation ninjutsu while only a genin. A class apart from his peers, Sasuke excelled in shurikenjutsu, taijutsu, and Fire Release, which led to many regarding him as a prodigy whose skills were beyond his years.

The two shinobi were also excellent strategists who ardently observed enemy techniques to develop countermeasures. Sasuke's tactics were quite risky, but he had a knack for finding ways to win fights. Madara's approach was a bit more measured but no less aggressive, and his capacity to master techniques rapidly, provided him with a lot of options in combat. Interestingly, this was only the start of the similarities between them.

Burdened By The Uchiha's Curse Of Hatred

As reincarnations of Indra Otsutsuki, Madara and Sasuke fell victim to the Uchiha's Curse of Hatred due to the great losses they endured. Despite secretly harboring dreams of creating a world free from war, alongside his childhood friend Hashirama, Madara swore revenge against the Senju clan after the death of his younger brother Izuna, and he grew increasingly desperate in his bid to attain greater power.

While he did set aside his anger to create Konohagakure alongside Hashirama, the Uchiha clan's gradual ostracization from the village's governance, coupled with the Senju's dominating influence, led him to abandon the village. His inability to let go of his resentment mirrored Indra's own dissatisfaction with being overlooked as the successor of ninshu, in favor of his younger brother Asura, whose will was carried on by Hashirama.

As long as the concept of winners exist, there must also be losers. The selfish desire of wanting to maintain peace causes wars and hatred is born to protect love.

Alternatively, Sasuke was forced to witness the massacre of his entire clan — including his own parents — by his elder brother Itachi. He then dedicated his life to avenging his fallen clan members, training intensely to defeat his brother and restore the Uchiha's honor. In his quest for power, he abandoned Konohagakure and sought out Orochimaru — a decision that Naruto, as the reincarnation of Asura, struggled to undo.

What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone.

After defeating Orochimaru, Sasuke finally faced off against Itachi in a fated battle that resulted in the latter's death. Subsequently, he learned of the truth behind Itachi's actions, and set his sights on taking down Konohagakure's higher ups, who were responsible for his brother's fate. His hatred consumed him as his power grew, and he eventually attacked the Five Kage Summit and killed the Sixth Hokage Candidate, Danzo Shimura. Sasuke even attacked his former comrades in Team 7, but was redeemed by Naruto after their final battle.

A Contest Between Legendary Shinobi

Possessing innately large reserves of chakra, Sasuke and Madara were highly skilled in taijutsu, able to easily deal with many opponents on their own. They were also very proficient in various forms of bukijutsu, with Sasuke specializing in swordplay and shurikenjutsu. In turn, Madara was an expert at wielding many weapons, from a kusarigama or swords, to his trademark Uchiha gunbai.

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These skills were supplemented by their respective ninjutsu arsenals. Like most Uchiha, both had a natural affinity for Fire Release, and effectively utilized the clan's Great Fireball Technique, although Madara's was on a much larger scale than Sasuke's. That being said, Sasuke was an exceptionally powerful user of Lightning Release, with the many variants and shape transformations he created with Chidori, which he also infused into his sword.

Both shinobi were among the few who could use all five chakra natures and Yin and Yang Release, although Madara could even use senjutsu and Yin-Yang Release after becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki. Later, Sasuke was given some of the Six Paths Yin Power by Hagoromo during the Fourth Shinobi World War, and this augmented his abilities to the point where he could keep up with Madara's jinchuriki form.

The Uchiha's Most Powerful Sharingan Users

Central to both shinobi's combat styles was the Uchiha clan's kekkei genkai dojutsu, the Sharingan. As they matured and experienced greater loss, both of them awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and finally, the Rinnegan, through different means.

Madara usually relied on his Susanoo, the ultimate technique of the Mangekyo Sharingan, when taking on powerful opponents, and he could materialize a Complete Body — Susanoo, which towered over the surrounding landscape. His Susanoo wielded a massive katana, which could level entire areas with a single strike.

When Madara awakened his Rinnegan, he made use of the Six Paths Technique, predominantly employing the Deva and Preta Path's abilities. Lastly, as the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki, Madara could summon clones of himself in the invisible world of Limbo, heal virtually any injury, fly, and manifest Truth-Seeking Balls, becoming a being that transcended the limits of shinobi.

When it comes to visual prowess, Sasuke does have a slight edge, as his Mangekyo Sharingan could wield the black flames of Amaterasu — the highest form of Fire Release — and shape them with Kagutsuchi. Like Madara, he could also manifest a Complete Body — Susanoo, and unleash short-range attacks using its sword or fire arrows augmented with Blaze Release.

In terms of his prowess with the Rinnegan, Sasuke mainly used the Deva Path's abilities, along with his unique space-time ninjutsu Amenotejikara. With it, he can swap places between objects or instantly teleport to a point within a certain range. He has even used his Rinnegan to create portals to other dimensions during his investigation of the Otsutsuki clan.

In his final battle against Naruto, Sasuke was able to channel the tailed beasts' chakra into his Susanoo with such efficiency, that Kurama compared his skill to that of Hagoromo. Sasuke's knowledge of ninjutsu only continued to grow in adulthood, even after the loss of his arm.

Who Is The Strongest Uchiha In History?

What makes this a compelling match-up is the many parallels in Sasuke and Madara's abilities, along with their journeys as shinobi. However, Sasuke was able to fight on level footing with Madara during the war, and he was later shown holding even Kinshiki and Momoshiki Otsutsuki at bay as an adult.

It remains dubious whether Madara was on par with members of the Otsutsuki clan, even in his Ten-Tails' jinchuriki form, considering how he fared against Naruto and Sasuke. This, along with Sasuke's superior Mangekyo Sharingan and Rinnegan techniques, keener understanding of chakra, and his Six Paths Power, are enough to give him a slight edge as the strongest Uchiha and Sharingan user in history.

Naruto is available to stream on Crunchyroll.