Naruto isn't a series known for its smart characters, but it should be. There are characters so smart in the series that they might as well be dubbed geniuses for their abilities to see into the future or figure other characters' intentions out. Some characters in Naruto are so smart, they can start entire wars by themselves. While other shōnen anime series might feature villains winning their fights through sheer strength, some villains in Naruto can level the playing field through their intelligence alone.

Naruto treats intelligent characters well by adding them to both sides of the story. Characters like Shikamaru, Minato, and more use their mighty brains for good, allowing the citizens of Konoha to live in peace. Other characters, like Kabuto and Madara, use their vast intelligence for evil, orchestrating massive battles at the cost of many innocent lives to satiate their desires.

8 Kabuto Yakushi

Orochimaru's Assistant Turned Starter of a War

Kabuto Yakushi is Naruto. He started the series as a mere underling to Orochimaru before becoming one of the most villainous around. He was a pivotal player in the Fourth Great Ninja War, using the reanimation jutsu on several Kage from different villages to nearly fight the entire war on his own. He reanimated Kage from the past from numerous different villages, controlling them all to do his bidding.

If it wasn't for Itachi seeing through his plan, nobody knows what Kabuto would have accomplished. Kabuto is also one of the few characters in Naruto to pull off Sage Mode, the only form that Naruto actually earned by himself. Not only is Kabuto a genius, he's also one of the strongest fighters in the series.

Kabuto incorporates some of Orochimaru's last cells into his own body to gain the Power of the White Snake. He also uses the research Orochimaru used on his numerous test subjects to enhance his own body, allowing him to use Sage Mode while he's moving and a ton of different jutsu not many characters in the series can pull off.

7 Orochimaru

A Megolomaniac Turned Dad

Orochimaru is another character who initially used his intelligence for evil before changing his ways. He used the reanimation jutsu to reanimate both the First and Second Hokage when he attacked Konoha early in the franchise. He's so strong, he was able to kill his former master and Third Hokage Hiruzen during the attack. Even as a child, Orochimaru was known to be a genius, standing out from both Jiraiya and Tsunade based on his raw intelligence alone.

In order to gain more power and knowledge, Orochimaru decided to experiment on powerful people in the ninja world. While his experiments were certainly unethical, they also worked, granting The White Snake Sannin a ton of new powers. Even Sasuke recognized how smart Orochimaru was and went to study under the legendary Sanin when he defected from Konoha in order to gain the power needed to take down his brother Itachi.

6 Kakashi Hatake

The Sixth Hokage

Kakashi Hatake is easily one of the smartest characters in anime. He's calm and collected because he can be. As the Copycat Ninja, he's able to copy nearly any jutsu the first time he sees it, one of the strongest abilities in all of Naruto. Like Orochimaru, Kakashi was a genius from an early age. He became a Jonin before most of the kids his age were even Chuunin, and ed the Black Ops ANBU of Konoha early on as well.

Using his Sharingan, Kakashi has a host of abilities any ninja would be jealous of. He's so smart and level-headed that he was an easy choice to become the Sixth Hokage. His intellect also allows him to be a great teacher to both Sasuke and Naruto. He's able to deal with Naruto's temper better than any other Jonin, and he worked hard to figure out a way to bring Sasuke back to the Hidden Leaf in one piece. If it wasn't for him, Konoha would be all the worse for his absence in multiple areas.

5 Minato Namikaze

The Fourth Hokage and the Yellow Flash

Most of the Hokage are pretty smart, and none are as quick on their feet as they are mentally as the Yellow Flash himself. Minato isn't just a beast on the battlefield; he's also a careful thinker outside of it. He shows how intelligent he truly is during the Third Great Ninja War in a key fight against the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuuriki. Even though he's heavily outnumbered, Minato is able to see a path to a draw at the very least.

He litters the battlefield with his kunai that allows him to teleport, and even secretly places one on one of Bee's octopus legs. Instead of fighting to the death, however, Minato remarks that both the Raikage and Killer Bee aren't as bad as they seem. Not only does this prove that Minato is an excellent judge of character, but it can also be seen as a key moment that leads to the end of the Third Great Ninja War and begins a path to peace and friendship between the two villages.

4 Madara Uchiha

Smart Enough to Orchestrate an Entire War

Madara Uchiha is one of the best villains in anime and easily one of the best in Naruto. He's a walking one-man-army who can take out entire battlefields of enemy soldiers on his own. While this feat is a testament to his strength as a ninja, it's also a testament to his intelligence as well. When he first arrives at the battlefield in the desert, he looks through his enemies like he's looking through glass. The Allied Shinobi Forces throw everything they can at him, but it doesn't change a thing.

Madara uses his Mangekyou Sharingan so well, it's like he can see into the future. He's able to bob and weave through attacks as if he tells his enemies what to throw at him. He's also smart enough to realize he can't take everyone on as he is, so he works to unlock the full power of the Tailed Beasts by stealing it and becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuuriki instead.

3 Tobirama Senju

The Second Hokage and Arguably the Smartest

Tobirama Senju is the smartest Hokage there ever was, and that's not an easy feat. With Minato, Kakashi, and even Naruto to compete against, Tobirama stands head and shoulders above them in the intelligence department. Not only was Tobirama smart enough to lead his village during the First Great Ninja War, but he's also the creator of some of the strongest Jutsu in all of Naruto.

To name a few, Tobirama created the war-starting Reanimation Jutsu, the Flying Thunder-God Jutsu later popularized by Minato, the Shadow Clone Jutsu used famously by Naruto, and many more. When Tobirama was reanimated during the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Allied Shinobi Forces were all the better for it. Sure, his brother and First Hokage Hashirama Senju is also a force to be reckoned with while they're fighting, but there aren't many characters in all Naruto smarter than Tobirama.

2 Itachi Uchiha

The Smartest Uchiha

Itachi Uchiha's long-term intelligence is second only to the Nara clan in Naruto. He's able to see into the future metaphorically on several key occasions in the story. Not only is he smart enough to see the future outcome of a civil war between his clan and the village at large, but he's mature enough to make the hardest decision in the series when he decides to slaughter his clan almost entirely on his own. He's also wise enough to threaten Danzo before leaving the village, ensuring his younger brother Sasuke's future.

To say a spin-off series about Itachi would be interesting is an understatement. Itachi is one of Naruto's most mature, mysterious, and self-sacrificing characters who threw his own life away to protect Konoha from his own family/clan. He even had the wherewithal to use one of Shisui's impressive eyes after his death, releasing himself from the Reanimation Jutsu and stopping Kabuto in his tracks.

1 Shikamaru/Shikaku Nara

The Most Intelligent Characters in Naruto

It's hard to tell who is exactly smarter between Shikamaru Nara and his dad, Shikaku. Early in the series, Shikamaru is in a league of his own around his fellow Genin and later Chonin, but his dad is an adult with a fully developed brain. In the war arc, however, it can be argued that Shikamaru is on the same level as his father intellectually, surveying entire battles and calling shots like an excellent leader.

One of the most emotionally intelligent scenes in anime occurs after Shikamaru's Team Leader, Asuma Sarutobi, dies defending his students from Hidan and Kakuzu of the Akatsuki. Shikamaru hasn't been able to process his leader's death and blames himself, which his father finds out during a game of shogi. Shikaku knows his son well and tells him to let it all out in a cathartic and heartbreaking conversation. Shikamaru is finally able to cry, letting out an incredible scream and proving how wise his father really is.