Most fights are determined by a shinobi's abilities and how they use them. Thankfully, the series gave way to power creep eventually, which makes it much easier to figure out which Hokage was the most powerful.

While the rest of the Hokage were still to be recognized for their impactful deeds, one Hokage stood out above the rest in terms of leadership and strength.

What made Hashirama the strongest Hokage?

Hashirama Senju was known as the strongest ninja alive—and for good reason. When Hashirama was growing up, the ninja world was constantly at war over borders.

He became a child soldier in one of the most brutal and unforgiving environments and managed to reach adulthood, which was quite an achievement. He was also pushed to the limit by his rival, Madara Uchiha.

These two prodigies constantly fought each other in border disputes and became the most powerful ninja of their time. Part of this has to do with them being reincarnations of Ashura and Indra Otsutsuki, respectively.

Hashirama and Madara ended up forming a complicated relationship through constant encounters. Hashirama's greatest feats are put into perspective by what Madara could do.

At his peak, Madara could use his Perfect Susanoo to block almost all other attacks. He could also summon and control the Nine-Tailed Fox, which could fire Tailed Beast Bombs powerful enough to level mountain ranges.

Madara could even clad the Nine-Tails in his Susanoo to do something few ninjas of Naruto's time could have defeated – and Hashirama could handle it all.

Not only could he deflect the Tailed Beast's Bombs (albeit barely), but he could also make a wooden statue large enough to dwarf the Nine-Tails.

He was also powerful enough to break through Madara's perfect Susanoo. Hashirama's fights against a powerful character like Madara put his strength into perspective.

In his most notable battle, Hashirama managed to defeat Madara. All of these were impressive feats and nearly unmatched before the tailed beasts (and jinchuriki) became the meta.

Furthermore, unlike Madara, Hashirama never had a chance to directly compare his power to the rest of the ninja world. Once the power creep in the final arc set in, Hashirama was constantly outclassed by Madara, who went from partially revived to fully revived to the new Sage of Six Paths.

Did Naruto ever surpass Hashirama?

Naruto's raw strength and endurance may have made him the strongest Hokage of all time. By the end of the series, his increased power meant that the ninja would need the powers of the Sage of Six Paths to remain relevant.

In Naruto's case, he had half of the Nine-Tails' chakra inside him, as well as parts of the chakra of the other eight tailed beasts. He also gained another power-up directly from the Sage of Six Paths, though he likely lost it before becoming Hokage.

It is implied that Naruto became much stronger afterwards. Naruto Shippuden ended. Any feats shown in Naruto's ending were presumably magnified by the time he became Hokage.

In boruto, Naruto maintains the era of peace he ushered in. He is able to easily defeat threats such as Delta and even entered a new mode: Bayron Mode. This power eventually killed Kurama, but allowed him to defeat Isshiki Otsutsuki.

It is believed that his move was created to nerf Naruto's character. Naruto may also have had more offensive versatility than Hashirama.

Much of Hashirama's best ninjutsu centered around his Wood Release creations and his ability to seal tailed beasts. Naruto is able to mix up his techniques - his Rasengan, Rasenshuriken, or Tailed Beast Bomb are great examples.

What makes the other Hokage's honorable mentions?

To be fair, the other Hokage did a lot to differentiate themselves from each other. For example, Tobirama Senju stood out for developing several abilities—such as Shadow Clones, Flying Raijin, and Edo Tensei—that have become an integral part of the shinobi world.

If it weren't for him, other great ninjas like Naruto, Minato Namikaze, and Orochimaru wouldn't have had some of their best techniques. Minato was the fastest ninja alive.

He was nicknamed the Yellow Flash because of his ability to teleport across various battlefields. Tsunade may have been the Hokage with the most physical prowess.

Her chakra control allows her to shatter stone and split the earth beneath it. She could even break Madara's Susanoo into its smaller forms. Tsunade is probably the Hokage who could do the most damage with her bare hands.

Kakashi and Hiruzen had the most knowledge – they both mastered over 1000 different jutsus. When it comes to versatility, Kakashi and Hiruzen are theoretically the best.

All of the Hokage were the best at something. Each of them did things that made them excellent choices as leaders of the Hidden Leaf Village. That being said, if it's about who was the strongest, it was probably Naruto.