Naruto: The Best Teachers, Ranked

Summary

• Naruto Uzumaki mentors and influences aspiring ninja like Konohamaru Sarutobi, making a significant impact.
• Lightning A excels in teaching, guiding future leaders like Darui and Killer Bee with mastery and skill.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi emerges as the series’ best teacher, training legendary ninja like Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.

Advertisement

When it comes to raising new generations of powerful ninja warriors, that means the world of Naruto has to have some great teachers in it. None of them quite have the same methods, with some being softer and others being ruthless. However, because of those teachers, heroes like Minato, Jiraiya, and Naruto himself emerged. The teams that the young ninja have as teens form them into the people they become. So their teachers are very important. But in a world filled with ninja with very different values, who trains people the best?

As fans of the original Naruto series continue to watch the adventures of the next generation in Boruto, interest in the first generation refuses to die. Some of the best teachers of the series live on in the franchise, while others are long gone, paving the way for new ones to emerge.

As fans have done over progressive re-watches, we’ve re-evaluated all of the examples of teachers that the show has given to add an extra 5 to this list and round out the best of the best, from Naruto Uzumaki to Hiruzen.

20 Naruto Uzumaki Made a Big Impact on One Pupil

Students Include: Konohamaru Sarutobi

Naruto was a student rather than a teacher in the early part of his story, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t show incredible potential for the teacher he could become. In fact, there was someone he taught a few different skills to while still learning himself. Naruto took the Third Hokage’s grandson, Konohamaru Sarutobi, under his wing. Konohamaru learned a lot of complicated jutsu early as a result of Naruto’s influence, including the Rasengan.

Unfortunately, the future Seventh Hokage never truly led a team of his own as he was still a genin when he was promoted to Hokage. Still, Naruto’s impact on Konohamaru and his own son Boruto leaves little doubt about Lord Seventh’s capabilities as a teacher.

19 Ebisu is a Good Teacher Despite His Faults

Students Include: Konohamaru, Moegi, & Udon

The anime audience didn’t get to see a ton of Ebisu’s teaching style as he primarily worked with Konohamaru off-screen. He did, however, briefly train Naruto in a handful of skills. Naruto certainly tested his patience, and eventually, Ebisu stepped down from the role when he knew he wasn’t the best suited for the task.

Sometimes, being a good teacher means knowing that someone else has to help the student at hand. Ebisu, after all, was handpicked by the Hokage to train Konohamaru as a young boy, so he was no slouch.

18 Nagato Taught The World (and Naruto) Pain

Students Include: Naruto Uzumaki

Nagato began his life as a shinobi under the tutelage of Jiraiya, but as fans know, he went on to become one of the world’s most fearsome ninjas. As the leader of Akatsuki, Pain taught harsh lessons to many people, including the incredibly intimidating members of his terrorist organization, Naruto, and even the series audience.

While it’s difficult to imagine Pain in a classroom setting with his fellow rogue ninjas, his perspective that humanity evolves faster after enduring hardship was a lesson that pushed his peers and Naruto to reach new levels of strength. Still, after Nagato told Naruto about his past, Naruto grew into a person who would help save the world.

17 Zabuza Turned an Abandoned Kid Into an Incredibly Deadly Threat

Students Include: Haku

Although the storyline of the Naruto series goes on to large-scale conflicts against Earth-shaking opponents, the antagonist of the first major arc was no push-over. Zabuza posed a threat to the future Sixth Hokage Kakashi, but his mentorship of the young Haku was arguably his most impressive feat.

Haku went from being a discarded orphan with uncontrollable power to a world-class shinobi within the span of only a few years. Zabuza helped teach the young shinobi incredibly precise taijutsu and very effective utilization of both water and wind-natured chakras. His battle against the young Naruto and Sasuke showcased the results of Zabuza’s teachings, but it was Haku’s role in the Fouth Shinobi War as a Reanimation that truely showed how terrorfying they could be.

16 Lightning A is One of Komogakure’s Best Teachers

Students Include: Darui & Killer Bee

As the Fourth Raikage, there was no doubt that Lightning A was a strong shinobi who had mastered many skills. He also, however, taught many skills to shinobi who would even go on to surpass him in skill level.

Not only did he teach Darui, who became the Fifth Raikage, but he also was instrumental in helping Killer Bee hone his skills. Being able to help those students, who would in turn become great teachers, was a great representation of the idea of the Will of Fire in the series.

15 Hashirama Senju Helped Make Konoha What it is

Students Include: Hiruzen Sarutobi

Because the series was set during Naruto’s formative years, it might be easy to forget about the shinobi who came long before him. Hashirama Senju was the first Hokage and one of the best in Naruto history. It’s his ideas that lay the foundation for how generations of ninjas learn their skills.

Not only did the First Hokage deem it important that skills be passed on to the next generation, but he also personally trained Hiruzen Sarutobi. The latter, of course, became the Third Hokage, and one of the most beloved leaders in the series.

14 Tobirama Senju Surpassed His Brother as a Teacher

Students Include: Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane

It seems unfair to include Hashirama Senju as one of the greatest teachers in the Naruto series if Tobirama isn’t also included. After all, they are two sides of the same coin.

Tobirama was also responsible for some of Hiruzen’s training. Not only that, but he was the Second Hokage, and without him, one of the most organized methods of training young shinobi wouldn’t exist in Konoha. He founded the Ninja Academy that all young shinobi attend to train. Tobirama highly valued education and believed everyone should have the same foundation of skills, whether they had secret family jutsu or not.

13 Orochimaru Was an Evil But Effective Teacher

Students Include: Sasuke Uchiha, Kabuto Anko Mitarashi, Kabuto Yakushi

In a technical sense, Orochimaru is a great teacher. He mixes science and training to augment his students into the strongest versions of themselves. When it came to his own son, he made a very powerful young ninja out of him, able to activate Sage mode before graduating Ninja Academy.

Despite Orochimaru’s evil throughout Naruto, Boruto shows a softer side to the former villain, as his treatment of Mitsuki is much softer than his treatment of previous pupils.

However, Orochimaru loses a lot of points considering he’s just as willing to sacrifice his students. They always were a means to an end for him. Their own lives didn’t matter. Without even blinking an eye, he ran two of his students through to end Hiruzen’s life. While someone could learn a lot from him, his teaching style is ruthless and unsafe.

12 Kurenai’s Greatest Strength as a Teacher is How Much She Cares

Students Include: Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame

While Kurenai cared deeply for her team, that affection struggled to be put in practice. She spent a lot of time agonizing about Hinata’s self-confidence and guilt but didn’t do much about it. The Jonin waited for someone else to inspire her (Naruto). Her sincere and genuine affection for her students (and the other genin) led them to love and care for her and Mirai after Asuma’s passing. Even if she wasn’t the best teacher, she clearly left a strong impact on those even outside of her team.

Though Kurenai definitely had more than a few strong points, she’s ultimately the least developed of the Konoha 13’s teachers. There are hints that she was a good mentor to Team 8, but unfortunately, it’s difficult to rank her much higher compared to Naruto teachers who got a little more time to shine.

11 Danzo Was Horrifically Effective

Students Include: Yamato, Sai Yamanaka, Kakashi Hatake

Despite being one of the franchise’s most irredeemable villains, it’s difficult to argue with Danzo’s effectiveness as the leader of Konoha’s darker side of operations. Being one of the leading mentors of the feared Anbu Black Ops, Danzo, and his lackeys accomplished many horrific deeds ranging from effective infiltrations to the slaughter of countless people, all for the sake of protecting Konoha.

Students of Danzo proved to be incredibly efficient in skills many people often associated with a shinobi and proved to be highly loyal to the misguided elder. The loyalty may be the result of special seals that prevented people like Sai from speaking against their master, but his influence also helped Konoha’s Anbu to reach a level of notoriety and become feared by every ninja village.

10 Shikamaru is One of the Series’ Most Effective Leaders

Students Include: Naruto Uzumaki, Mirai Sarutobi

Shikamaru is a character who started as a loner who did his best to stay out of almost any task requiring any effort, but as the series progressed, that changed significantly. His intelligence helped guide several vital characters to accomplish wonders in more than a few arcs in the Naruto franchise. Those abilities quickly established him as a leader and even promoted him to a Chunin-level shinobi long before any of his classmates reached the rank.

While his ability to plan and read his opponents helped provide many entertaining battles, it was the help that he offered a grieving Naruto where Shikamaru’s effectiveness as an educator shined. After the death of Jiraiya, it was ultimately Shikamaru’s pep talk to Naruto about their new roles as mentors who should start taking care of the next generation that helped push the series’ main character to action. It was also a sign that Shikamaru would be a beneficial asset for the future seventh Hokage.

9 Asuma Proved His With One Noble Sacrifice

Students Include: Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Chōji Akimichi

A powerful shinobi and member of the Sarutobi Clan, Asuma was a laid-back but effective Jonin teacher. However, Asuma relied on his students to organize themselves under Shikamaru a little too much. He never really curbed Ino’s unfounded pride or boosted Choji’s confidence like he deserved. This made Shikamaru a better tactician and leader, which he totally was built to do, but it did leave his own teaching skill some left to be desired. To give him credit, though, he never made Choji feel bad for his eating needs and his team did work very well together.

Despite these flaws though, Asuma proved just how great of a teacher he was when he paid the ultimate price to protect Konoha against the Akatsuki. Naruto has had many deaths, but few were avenged as thoroughly as Asuma’s.

8 Iruka Was the First Teacher to Truly Accept Naruto

Students Include: All of the Original Konoha 9

Sure, Iruka’s job is in no way flashy. However, as a teacher for the Ninja Academy, Iruka wasn’t just dealing with a small team to train; he was trying to bring order to an entire room full of small, stubborn little ninja with big personalities.

He didn’t always do everything right, but in the moments it really mattered, he knocked it out of the park. After all, when he chased after Naruto and saved him, Iruka irrevocably changed Naruto’s life for the better. This man’s love for his students knows no bounds and he deserves all the credit for that.

7 Minato Cultivated Two of Konoha’s Most Powerful Shinobi

Students Include: Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, & Rin Nohara

Naruto’s father had his own team when he was a Jonin. This team consisted of Kakashi, Obito Uchiha, and their friend, Rin Nohara. He taught a group of noble and strong ninja, willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Rin gave her life protecting the village and Obito sacrificed himself to save Kakashi. Though Obito eventually lost himself to the darkness of the White Zetsu, before that, they were a team to be reckoned with. Considering Minato cultivated such a good team from two no-name young ninja and the member of a disgraced but powerful clan, he really was a kind, open-minded, and supportive teacher.

6 Tsunade is One of the Most Skilled Medical Ninja Ever

Students Include: Sakura Haruno, Shizune

Even though she didn’t seem too keen on leading Konoha as its Hokage, or teaching, Tsunade is pretty good at both. Her unique and powerful healing skills made her perfect for building and training a strong force of medic-nin in the village, including one of her strongest students, Sakura. Where other teachers neglected her because of her knowledge, Lady Tsunade saw the healing power in her and fostered it into something greater than ever before. Between the great things she did with the Konoha hospital and Sakura, she’s made a real difference as a teacher of healing.

5 Sage of the Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki Basically Created the Modern Ninja World

Students Include: Asura Ōtsutsuki, Indra Ōtsutsuki , Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha

The Sage of the Six Paths, aka Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, was a figure who was often referred to as a legendary godlike figure in the shinobi world. However, he wasn’t always a mystical deity. Near the end of the series (especially in Naruto Shippuden’s filler episodes), it was revealed that the original Sage of the Six Paths had two powerful sons who learned everything they knew from their father. The two brothers eventually grew into some of history’s strongest shinobi, who would be reincarnated for centuries until Naruto and Sasuke were born.

Before the birth of his sons, Hagoromo traveled the world, giving people everywhere the ability to use chakra, along with his teachings on how to control it and his peace-spreading ideals. His ultimate goal of creating tranquility in a world filled with war wouldn’t be accomplished until Naruto’s lifetime, but his teachings influenced almost every shinobi who ever lived to some extent.

4 Kakashi Hatake Taught Some of the Most Powerful Shinobi Ever

Students Include: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Sai Yamanaka

Kakashi’s Team 7 may have been one of the strongest teams in Konoha, but it’s debatable if Kakashi had that much influence in that. He often wouldn’t pay attention to their training sessions, he actively neglected Sakura’s training, and he put them in dangerous situations far more often than the other team leaders. The strongest point of Kakashi’s teaching was bonding the team together and/or making Naruto and Sasuke rivals, which still had its own complications. Arguably, their rivalry helped lead Sasuke to turn to Orochimaru and their bond made it difficult for Konoha to end Sasuke when he became a dire threat.

Despite these faults though, there’s little denying that he taught three of Konoha’s strongest shinobi. His emphasis on team building and connections would eventually lead to him and his original Team 7 saving Naruto’s entire world, so it’s clear Kakashi was on to something.

3 Might Guy is One of the Series’ Most Dedicated Teachers

Students Include: Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga, Tenten

No matter how goofy he can be, Might Guy is clearly a good teacher. Might is absolutely dedicated to his students, determined to turn every member into their best self. Why else would he spend hours each day training with Rock Lee?

With powerful students like Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga, he has to be doing something right. Even beyond his teaching, he just supports them as humans. He hangs out with them and, in their darkest moments (like Rock Lee struggling with his broken body after the Chunin Exams), is there to support them. He may be silly, and Kakashi may not see him as a rival, but he is a darn good teacher.

2 Jiraiya Was Naruto’s Most Important Teacher

Students Include: Minato Namikaze, Dekai, Naruto Uzumaki

As much of a shady, perverted person Jiraiya is, it’s hard not to acknowledge how he makes a great teacher. He managed to help Naruto push through all his mental and physical blocks to be a better ninja than anyone ever expected. In only a few days, he expedited Naruto’s skill and turned him from a sub-par ninja into something much greater.

The years that Naruto spent with Jiraiya did him very well. And even where Jiraiya failed, like abandoning Nagato and his friends, they still became strong ninja trying to do their best. It’s just that, over time, their morals skewed very, very wrong.

1 Hiruzen Sarutobi Remains the Series’ Best Teacher

Students Include: Jiraiya, Tsunade, & Orochimaru

While there are many impressive teachers and ninja in Konoha, there is one undeniable victor: Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage that trained the Sannin themselves. They were three of the most powerful ninja ever to have lived, each specializing in different, wonderful, terrible things and able to achieve Sage-Mode with their respective creatures.

Tsunade became a great healer and Hokage herself. Jiraiya trained some of the best ninja in the world. Orochimaru, however warped, was a good teacher, a brilliant scientist, and challenged the limits of ninja power in everything he did. Their young years, under his teachings, were vital in making them the powerhouses they became.