Who is stronger, Naruto or Sasuke? It depends on when you ask. At the end of Part 1, Sasuke beat Naruto. At the end of the story, Naruto beat Sasuke, and Sasuke admitted it. So if you are in the middle of this argument with a mate, you are both right, just about different fights. We went through each stage of their rivalry so you can settle it with the facts of what happened. Spoiler warning: this covers the whole of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, plus a note on Boruto.
The short version
- Part 1: Sasuke. He wins the first Valley of the End fight, then spares Naruto's life.
- Shippuden: both grow. Naruto picks up sage techniques and teams up with Kurama. Sasuke trains with Orochimaru, gets the Mangekyo Sharingan and later the Rinnegan.
- The final fight: Naruto. Both lose an arm, Sasuke admits defeat and the two reconcile.
- Boruto: the series does not give a clean answer, because Sasuke is sealed as a tree and Naruto is implied to be dead or missing.
Stage 1: the first Valley of the End (Sasuke wins)
Sasuke wins their first big fight, and it is not close in the way you might hope.
Sasuke leaves Konoha to become stronger, believing Orochimaru's training will make him more powerful. Naruto follows him, Sasuke refuses to come home, and they fight. That fight is in chapter 234 of the manga, volume 26. Sasuke wins but spares Naruto's life.
Why was Sasuke ahead? He had a head start in training. Orochimaru's Cursed Seal boosted his physical abilities, and Kakashi had taught him Chidori. Naruto, meanwhile, was a genin still working out how to use the power sealed inside him.
It is also worth noticing what Sasuke did not do. He could have finished it and he didn't. That is the first hint that this was never a normal rivalry.
Stage 2: the time skip (both get stronger, in different ways)
After Part 1 the two of them head in opposite directions, and both come back far stronger.
Naruto trains for about two and a half years. After Jiraiya's death he learns toad-style senjutsu, a way of gathering natural energy that also helps him perfect the Rasenshuriken. His chakra becomes tangled up with Kurama's, he trains under Killer B, and he ends up cooperating with the Nine-Tails rather than fighting it.
Sasuke also trains with Orochimaru for two and a half years. After Itachi's death his Sharingan evolves into the Mangekyo Sharingan, and later he inherits the Rinnegan from the spirit of Hagoromo.
Why does this stage matter? Because it is where the argument gets unfair. Naruto's growth is about teamwork and control: working with Kurama, learning from Killer B. Sasuke's growth is about raw dojutsu power. Neither of them is simply "more" than the other. They are different kinds of strong.
Stage 3: the final fight (Naruto wins)
Naruto wins the last Valley of the End fight, and Sasuke is the one who says so.
After Kaguya is sealed, the two fight alone over their clashing views on the future of the ninja world. In the manga that duel runs around chapters 692 to 698, in volume 72. Both of them lose an arm. Sasuke loses his left arm, admits defeat and reconciles with Naruto.
Why does "admits defeat" matter more than any power level? Because this fight was never only about winning. Sasuke is the one who has the Rinnegan and the better-known techniques, and he is still the one who stops. Naruto later receives a new arm made from Hashirama's cells and becomes the Seventh Hokage.
Stage 4: what Boruto does to the argument
Boruto does not give you a fair comparison, so we would not use it to settle anything.
In the Boruto story Sasuke loses his Rinnegan to a surprise attack by Momoshiki. Later, Code's Ten-Tails clone devours his chakra and he is sealed and turned into a tree. Naruto, in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, is implied to be dead or missing. With one of them out of action and the other absent, there is no fight to compare.
Naruto vs Sasuke at a glance
| Stage | Who comes out ahead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1, first Valley of the End | Sasuke | Cursed Seal and Chidori; he wins, then spares Naruto |
| Shippuden build-up | Neither | Naruto gains senjutsu and Kurama; Sasuke gains the Mangekyo Sharingan and Rinnegan |
| Final fight | Naruto | Sasuke loses his left arm and admits defeat |
| Boruto | No clean answer | Sasuke is sealed as a tree; Naruto is implied dead or missing |
Common questions
Who wins in the end, Naruto or Sasuke?
Naruto. In the final fight both lose an arm, but it is Sasuke who admits defeat and reconciles with Naruto.
Did Sasuke beat Naruto in Part 1?
Yes. Sasuke wins the first Valley of the End fight, chapter 234 in the manga, and spares Naruto's life.
How long do I need to watch to see both fights?
The first fight is in the original series, which has 220 episodes. The final fight is in Naruto Shippuden, which has 500 episodes. Check your streaming service for what is available to you.
Was Sasuke only winning because of the Curse Mark?
The Cursed Seal boosted his physical abilities, and he also had Chidori from Kakashi, so it was one part of a bigger head start rather than the whole story.
What to do next
If you remember one thing, make it this: Sasuke won the fight that mattered to him, and Naruto won the fight that mattered to the world. Both are true, and that is why the argument never ends. If you want to see where both of them sit among everyone else, read our strongest Naruto Shippuden characters ranking. And if you are picking a side, you can find tees, runners and more in our Naruto collection. Every fight above is sourced from the character pages for Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki.