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

While the rest of the Hokage should still 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 a tremendous achievement. He was also pushed to his limit by his rival, Madara Uchiha.

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

Hashirama and Madara formed a complicated relationship through constant encounters. Hashirama's greatest achievements 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 figure like Madara put his strength into perspective.

In his most notable battle, Hashirama managed to defeat Madara. These were all impressive feats, nearly unmatched before the tailed beasts (and jinchūriki) became the target.

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

Did Naruto ever surpass Hashirama?

Naruto's brute strength and endurance may have made him the strongest Hokage of all time. By the end of the series, his increased power meant 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 within him, as well as parts of the other eight tailed beasts' chakra. 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 afterward. naruto shippuden ended. Any feats shown in Naruto's ending were presumably magnified by the time he became Hokage.

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

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

Many of Hashirama's greatest ninjutsu centered around his Wood Style creations and his ability to seal tailed beasts. Naruto is capable of combining his techniques—his Rasengan, Rasenshuriken, and Tailed Beast Bomb are prime 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 became integral parts 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 most physically proficient Hokage.

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

Kakashi and Hiruzen had more knowledge—both mastered over 1,000 different jutsus. When it comes to versatility, Kakashi and Hiruzen are theoretically the best.

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