Throughout the many years that it aired, Naruto was a series filled to the brim with characters who were either defined by their genius or their sheer power. In some instances, however, there were characters who perfectly embodied both traits, such as Madara, Kakashi, Nagato and Itachi, among many others. One such character has been greatly underestimated in this regard; Zetsu.

In his introduction, Zetsu was shown as just another member of the powerful Akatsuki gang, and it wouldn't be until much later on in the series that fans would understand that there is much more to this character than previously thought. This is because Zetsu has been a player in the world of Naruto for ages, collecting information and knowledge about the Shinobi world to an unmatched degree, so let's see why he is the smartest character in the entire series.

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Zetsu's Origins Are Ancient and Mysterious

Zetsu has been around in the universe of Naruto for thousands of years and has been influencing events ever since the time of Kaguya and the Sage of the Six Paths. Back when Kaguya was still present on the planet and was looking to enact her plans to steal all chakra for herself, she eventually faced opposition from her twin sons, Hagoromo and Hamura.

She was eventually sealed by her sons as the Ten-Tails, but shortly before that happened, she had secretly created Black Zetsu. This creation was essentially a manifestation of her will and would work tirelessly throughout the centuries to enact a plan to free his mother from her bondage. He would do this by manipulating and pulling the strings behind the scenes until his plan was eventually successful.

Zetsu's Plan Reveals His Intelligence

Zetsu realized quite early on that the key to freeing Kaguya lay in the hands of Hagoromo's blood, which would periodically respawn over generations in new bodies and reincarnations. The first of these were the sons of the Sage of the Six Paths, Indra and Asura. Indra, the elder of the two, was set to inherit everything from their father and become the new leader of the Ninshu, but everything was turned over its head when Asura was named for this position instead.

Upon this, Zetsu began to goad and nudge Indra to begin a war with his younger brother for taking everything that was rightfully his. He decided that Indra's descendants, the Uchiha Clan, would be the main cast of the Shinobi world that he planned to create, even manipulating Hagoromo's tablet to say that the Infinite Tsukuyomi would be the key to the salvation of the Clan.

This influenced Madara to unleash his Infinite Tsukuyomi in a misguided attempt to put the entire world in a dream-like state that would ensure peace and eliminate suffering. What he didn't know, however, was that the Infinite Tsukuyomi was a ruse put into motion by Zetsu, one that would only serve to revive Kaguya.

His manipulations had been continuing for many centuries. Ever since the time of Indra and Asura, Zetsu would manipulate their reincarnations in different ages to awaken the Rinnegan in one of them, which was a central facet of his ultimate plan. On top of this, he also recorded many of the most important events in Shinobi history for his mother, such as Madara and Hashirama's final battle. After this battle, he hid himself within Madara's body to further his agenda before Izanagi could resurrect him.

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Eventually, when the Rinnegan was within his grasp to revive Kaguya, Zetsu acted upon it and was able to fulfill his millennia-long plan. The network of villains in Naruto can be seen to have a chain of manipulation, especially within the Akatsuki, as everyone originally believed Pain to be the mastermind behind the group. Only, it was revealed that Obito was manipulating him the entire time, who himself was following Madara's will. Despite all of this, Zetsu was pulling Madara's strings, as well as influencing events in the Shinobi world.

Is Zetsu Really The Smartest Character in Naruto?

Naruto is a series filled to the brim with intelligent characters such as Itachi, Kakashi and Hashirama, to name a few. However, seeing the depth of his plan and his manipulation ability, it's hard to argue against Zetsu taking the crown of the most intelligent character in the series. He is extremely deceptive and cunning, often orchestrating entire events to sway particular characters who are important to fulfilling his ultimate goal, as is seen by his continued influence over the reincarnations of Indra and Asura.

In order to manifest the Rinnegan, Zetsu is credited with being the reason behind the strife and rivalry between the Uchiha and Senju clans. Madara is a highly intelligent character within the world of Naruto, but even he was made into an unwilling pawn of Zetsu, who was somehow able to convince him that the Infinite Tsukuyomi would help to further his own goals, even going so far as to convince the Uchiha legend that he was a manifestation of Madara's own will and was only loyal to him.

Even being the one behind the Akatsuki's goal of capturing all the tailed beasts and engineering Obito's alliance with Kabuto, Zetsu can be credited with starting the Fourth Great Shinobi War, as he even said that it all went according to his design.

Moreover, Zetsu is also shown as quite a formidable battle tactician when he fought alongside Kaguya when she was resurrected, analyzing his opponents and seeing the perfect countermeasures to take to deal the most damage to them. This analysis of the fight and battle proved to be indispensable and very useful as Kaguya carried out her attacks exactly according to how Zetsu told her to. Even when attached to her severed arm, Zetsu tried using Kaguya's ability to create rifts in space to counter Naruto and Sasuke's continuous onslaught.

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While many characters in Naruto can be credited as being influential, powerful or intelligent, Zetsu embodies all 3 of these aspects in himself perfectly. He has proven himself to be an adept combatant numerous times, but his true strength lies in his intellect, which he has used to manipulate and influence events for centuries to a level that hasn't been reached by anyone else, as his great plan was eventually a success and Kaguya was revived.

Naruto can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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