Highlights

Shinobi in Naruto hone their swordplay skills early on, with some specializing in kenjutsu using Lightning Release chakra to enhance their blades.
Characters like Zabuza, Kisame, and Killer B demonstrate exceptional swordsmanship skills in the series, each with unique fighting styles and abilities.
Ultimately, Sasuke Uchiha emerges as the best swordsman in Naruto, combining speed, strength, and diverse techniques to defeat powerful foes.

Quite a few shinobi in Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto employ bladed weapons in tandem with their practice of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. This school of shinobi combat arts, also known as bukijutsu, can be further subdivided into additional classes based on the nature of the weapons involved. Among them, numerous ninja have displayed a preference for swords, as practitioners of kenjutsu.

Swordplay is prominent among Naruto's main cast, with some collectives, such as Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, focusing almost exclusively on its various tenets. The broad gamut of swords in the series, varies from conventional blades like those used by Sasuke Uchiha and Mifune, to the more outlandish weapons of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Observing all this variety in the series' swordplay, is there anyone who stood out from the rest as the best swordsman in Naruto?

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How Do Shinobi Utilize Swordplay?

Shinobi are taught how to use bladed weapons from an early age in the Academy, and certain villages such as Kumogakure and Kirigakure encourage budding ninja to hone their swordplay. Kirigakure's case is unique, as most young shinobi aspire to join the ranks of the village's fabled Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Beyond this, the entire military force of the Land of Iron consists of samurai, who exclusively rely on their blades in combat. Instead of molding chakra for ninjutsu, the samurai in Naruto infuse it into their swords, to expand their cutting range and empower their slashes.

Apart from conventional swordplay, which lends itself well to short-range combat, kenjutsu users often employ ninjutsu and taijutsu to devastating effect. One common application of this is observed in how Sasuke Uchiha and many Kumogakure shinobi, coat their swords in Lightning Release chakra, which augments the weapon's cutting power. On average, the world of shinobi kenjutsu is dominated by traditional katana, tanto, or ninjato, although some very well-known blades do not fall into these categories.

Swordsmen Who Were A Cut Above The Rest

To narrow down the scope of this comparison, only shinobi or samurai who employ kenjutsu as their default style of combat will be considered. Consequently, characters such as Orochimaru, Kakashi Hatake, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha are exempted, since they are all versatile combatants who can expertly wield any weapon, but do not rely on kenjutsu as their primary fighting style.

Moreover, it is difficult to evaluate the skill levels of characters who were not given much screen time, and only prominent supporting characters, or those revived in the War Arc will be included. Keeping these constraints in mind, the list of contenders can be narrowed down to Zabuza Momochi, Kisame Hoshigaki, Mangetsu Hozuki, Chojuro, Darui, Killer B, Mifune, and Sasuke Uchiha. Each one of the aforementioned individuals displayed exemplary proficiency in kenjutsu, with some even becoming Kage during their lifetimes.

A Clash Between Exemplary Sword Users

Zabuza Momochi was the first of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to be introduced in Naruto. His proficiency with Kubikiribocho was such that he was said to have killed many of his opponents with a single strike. As an expert user of Water Release ninjutsu, and an exemplary assassin, Zabuza could strike down opponents with the aid of the Hiding in Mist and Silent Killing Techniques.

Kisame Hoshigaki was a monstrous swordsman who wielded the sentient blade Samehada. His aggressive swordsmanship was as unconventional as it was effective, and the blade was loyal to him alone. Combined with his Water Release mastery, Kisame was a formidable shinobi described as a "Tailless Tailed Beast" due to his immense chakra. He could recover from injuries and restore his chakra reserves by fusing with Samehada, which enhanced his physique and provided him with gills to breathe underwater.

Mangetsu Hozuki's presence was limited in comparison to the others, but he was known to be the only member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen capable of using all seven blades. He was afforded the privilege of carrying the seven swords within a scroll, but was unable to master them all during his lifetime. Additionally, Mangetsu combined his kenjutsu prowess with his clan's secret Water Release technique, which allowed him to liquefy his entire body.

Chojuro is revered as a master swordsman who wields Hiramekarei, and was appointed as the Sixth Mizukage years after the end of the war. With Hiramekarei, he can form constructs of chakra ranging from a hammer to a longsword, or even a copy of his own sword for the purpose of dual wielding. Testaments to his strength can be seen in how he was able to knock Sasuke Uchiha backwards through a wall when the latter was protected by his skeletal Susanoo, and fight on par with Kinshiki Otsutsuki.

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Similarly, Darui was a student of the Third Raikage and was eventually made the Fifth Raikage in the New Era. His weapon of choice was a massive, broad cleaver-style blade, which he imbued with Lighting Release. Darui's feats in the series include almost effortlessly beating Suigetsu Hozuki, as well as disarming and eventually defeating Kumogakure's Gold and Silver Brothers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

As a perfect jinchuriki, Killer B could harness the chakra of the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, but where he truly excelled was in his unique style of kenjutsu, Acrobat. Rooted in his Disturbance Taijutsu technique, Killer B juggled seven blades which created avenues for him to attack from unpredictable angles and overwhelm opponents. The speed, precision, and erratic nature of the attacks was enough to confound even a skilled Sharingan user like Sasuke Uchiha. He could also manifest one of the Eight-Tails' tentacles for surprise attacks or coat his blades with Lightning Release. Lastly, Killer B inherited Samehada after Kisame's death, and incorporated its power into his fighting style quite effectively.

Mifune was the General of the Land or Iron and the nation's strongest swordsman, specializing in a style of kenjutsu known as Iaido, centered on repeatedly drawing, slashing, and sheathing his sword. Wielding the famed katana Kurosawa, Mifune's attacks were so swift that it was impossible for enemies to form hand signs, as he could instantly close the distance between them. Like other samurai, he was capable of channeling chakra into his blade to lengthen its range or send flying slashes over longer distances.

Finally, Sasuke Uchiha was the series' deuteragonist and a legendary shinobi whose approach to swordplay, known as Uchiha Style Kenjutsu, smoothly blended offense and defense to great effect. Using a chokuto sword, Sasuke could seamlessly switch between standard and backhanded grips mid-fight, to cut through swarms of opponents without much effort. His visual prowess with the Sharingan and ability to infuse Lightning Release chakra into his blade were great assets, and he was able to fight evenly with the likes of Kinshiki Otsutsuki and Mifune.

Who Was The Series' Best Sword User?

Looking at the characters from this list, it is safe to say that Darui, Kisame, Mifune, Chojuro, and Mangetsu were all slightly stronger than Zabuza in their prime, despite the latter not being a slouch in any area. That being said, Killer B may have surpassed them in certain areas, due to how effective his Acrobat technique was against even the Sharingan's Eye of Insight. Mangetsu does get points for how diverse his kenjutsu style was, but he may not have been able to compete with the likes of Mifune, Darui, or Chojuro if they went all out.

However, there is a fairly obvious favorite who battled the series' strongest antagonists, including Orochimaru, Madara Uchiha, Kaguya, Kinshiki Otsutsuki and even Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke Uchiha's speed, strength, diverse arsenal, and incredible swordsmanship grew to an entirely different level during the war and into adulthood, to the point where the others simply cannot compete anymore. As a result, it is no real surprise that he is decidedly the best swordsman in Naruto.

Naruto is available to stream on Crunchyroll.