The Naruto story is broken up into a handful of story arcs, and one of the most consequential and exciting story arcs of its time was the chunin exams arc. This was when Naruto Uzumaki really started to prove himself as a worthy ninja, and many shinobi from rival villages made their first appearance.
As the name suggests, this story arc mainly focused on a large handful of genin ninjas and their quest to complete the exams and qualify as chunin or journeyman ninja. Naruto Uzumaki was not yet a true powerhouse, but he was rapidly climbing the ranks, and the competition was fierce—but which genin were the most powerful during this arc?
10 Dosu Kinuta, A Sound Genin Of Orochimaru's
Dosu Kinuta was a member of the Hidden Sound Village and a minion of Orochimaru the Sannin ninja. Dosu and his allies Zaku and Kin were little more than unwitting pawns of Orochimaru's, but that didn't stop Dosu from giving it his all.
Dosu stood out because of that sound-emitting device on his right arm, which could release powerful sonic attacks from the holes. This ability overwhelmed Rock Lee in the forest of death, and this technique easily knocked out Choji Akamichi a little later.
9 Shino Aburame, The Master Of Chakra Beetles
During this point in the series, Shino Aburame had not yet realized his full potential as a ninja, but he did put on a good show when he clashed with Zaku during the prelims. Shino is a rather crafty and methodical ninja who always thinks one step ahead and pays off in most battles.
Shino has adequate martial arts skills backed up by his swarms of chakra beetles, and these little bugs can drain the opponent's chakra or clog up their body. Shino easily defeated Shino by plugging up his opponent's wind tube, blasting his arm apart.
8 Naruto Uzumaki, The Future Hokage
At this point in the story, Naruto himself is strong enough to impress the reader, but not so strong that his battles are tension-free beatdowns on his enemies. By the chunin exams, Naruto was developing his own rhythm as a ninja, and he had the crafty mind of a prankster.
Naruto's taijutsu is what put him on the map, using borrowed techniques, shadow clones, and ninja tools to take the fight to his enemies and win. He can even throw in token transformation jutsu to trick his enemies. However, he could not make proper use of Kurama's chakra during this time, which held him back.
7 Temari Of The Sand Village
Temari is a master of wind, symbolizing the Sand Village's true strength (which was situated in the Land of Wind). She carries a huge fan everywhere and can unfold it to start blasting her enemies away with powerful gales.
Most often, Temari uses her ninjutsu to form sharp, curved blades of air and fling them at her opponent, making it clear that she prefers ranged combat. If the enemy gets close, Temari can use her oversized fan as a shield until she can think up an escape plan. All this worked well against Tenten during the prelims.
6 Kiba Inuzuka, The Dog Ninja
Later in the series, poor Kiba Inuzuka would be left in the dust as his peers grew in power while he stagnated as a token melee fighter. During the chunin exams, though, Kiba ranked among the best melee ninjas, and he had help: his dog, Akamaru.
Kiba can use his chakra to assume canine traits, such as claws, running on all fours, and an ultra-sharp nose. Once Akamaru assumes a humanoid form, the two can perform the Fang Over Fang technique, which was truly devastating at the time.
5 Shikamaru Nara, The Brainiac Support Ninja
Overall, Shikamaru Nara functions best as a support ninja, but he can duel if the situation calls for it. His IQ, as Asuma Sarutobi determined, was over 200, and his shadow control jutsu was a tricky one. All this makes for quite the package.
Shikamaru lacked raw taijutsu strength or advanced tools. Still, he could use his cunning strategies, sharp insights, and shadow jutsu to outmaneuver his enemies and dispose of them, as he did against Kin Tsuchi. And he only lost to Temari because of simple exhaustion in the finals.
4 Neji Hyuga, The Byakugan Prodigy
Neji Hyuga belonged to the cadet branch of the family, and he was rather bitter about that. Despite his natural talents, he was doomed to be subservient to the main branch, including his cousin, Hinata Hyuga. Neji turned this resentment against Hinata during the chunin exams in a terrifying show of force.
Neji can see all around him via his Byakugan eye, and he can use those insights to strike his enemy's organs and vital points with his chakra-enhanced hands to pulverize the enemy from within. His eight trigrams, 64 palms technique has to be seen to be believed.
3 Rock Lee, The Taijutsu Specialist
Rock Lee actually has the edge over his talented teammate Neji if he makes certain sacrifices. Rock Lee's taijutsu, while impressive, cannot fully overcome the power of Neji's style, so Rock Lee can use the inner gates and Reverse Lotus to even the odds.
Rock Lee shouldn't do this too casually, but it's possible, and that's how he can be considered among the strongest chunin exam participants. He can demolish even advanced ninjas with his ultimate moves, assuming he's willing to pay the price later.
2 Sasuke Uchiha, The Rising Star
Sasuke Uchiha was another highly talented ninja in the chunin exams, though Orochimaru's curse mark held him back temporarily. Sasuke had many assets on his side: the insightful Sharingan eye, a clever tactical mind, fire-based Uchiha jutsu, and fierce taijutsu.
Once Sasuke recovered from his cursed mark somewhat, he trained hard for the final leg of the chunin exams and caught up to Rock Lee's level in taijutsu terms and with the benefit of the Sharingan. That's an awe-inspiring package.
1 Gaara Of The Sand, The Bitter Jinchuriki
Not even Neji's or Sasuke's talents could totally match the raw jinchuriki power of Gaara of the Sand. Gaara sent a chill down everyone's spines when he entered the exams, coldly and quietly crushing everyone with his sand-based jutsu. On offense and defense alike, his jutsu is devastating.
Gaara fell behind when Rock Lee used his full power, but Gaara's sand armor and sand clones got him out of trouble, and he crushed Rock Lee's arm and leg. He also held off a souped-up Sasuke in the finals, right before Operation Crush Konoha was launched.
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