Published May 29, 2026, 11:31 PM EDT
Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy.
Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones).
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Sometimes, Naruto goes so big that things start to look a bit like Dragon Ball. While these are both Shonen anime and, therefore, come with those obligatory and frequent demonstrations of extreme strength, the power scaling between the two isn't quite the same. We see throughout Naruto that shinobi can possess a wide variety of abilities, though the majority of the series is dedicated to tactical combat and strategy. Dragon Ball starts out in this realm, but by the end of Dragon Ball Z and heading into Dragon Ball Super, the scale expands to an interdimensional level.
This skyrocketed growth means that Dragon Ball will forever be associated with a shattered power scale. Comparatively, Naruto is quite grounded. Still, like its Shonen predecessor, Naruto's power scaling has undergone several evolutions. Special hax abilities allowed a select handful of characters to break the rules of the universe, and by the mid-point of Shippuden, Naruto, his peers, and his enemies began to shake the limits. Near the end of the main anime and as it transitions into Boruto: Naruto Next Generation, entire planets and dimensions are put at risk.
Nothing in Naruto is quite as extreme as the universe-rattling feats of Dragon Ball Super, or even the latter part of Dragon Ball Z. Still, as the younger anime series developed its characters, a subtle bridge was formed. Boruto is now expanding into Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, and this next step in the franchise could see that power scale rattled in a similar way to Dragon Ball. For now, however, only a handful of Naruto techniques come anywhere close.
The Fourth Hokage's Flying Raijin
Nartuto's Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had a special teleportation ninjutsu that was unlike anything else in the universe. While some shinobi move so quickly that they appear to teleport, Minato has the actual ability with far fewer limitations. All he needed was for a seal in special ink to be placed wherever he wanted to land. Throw in some strategy (like using a kunai marked with the seal), and this becomes a truly invaluable skill. It's quite similar to Goku's Instant Transmission in Dragon Ball, which requires him to sense a being's ki to teleport. Of course, Minato couldn't quite teleport between dimensions.
Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu
The introduction of the Third Tsuchikage in Naruto, Onoki, brought the series another unique and devastating technique. This Iwagakure leader was known for his Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu, which he learned from the Second Tsuchikage, Mu. The technique traps an enemy inside a geometric shape and disassembles them into dust. All that's left are tiny, microscopic particles. Atomic Dismantling is extremely rare in the Naruto universe. It is about as close as the anime can get to Dragon Ball's Hakai technique, which, rather than disintegrating a target, completely blinks them out of existence.
Strength of 100 Seal
Naruto's fifth Hokage, Tsunade, is the inventor of the Strength of 100 Seal technique, which she ultimately passed on to Sakura Haruna. How it works is that Tsunade would store up her ambient chakra at the center of her forehead, forming a diamond-like seal. There, the chakra is held in reserve until it is needed. When released, the Strength of 100 Seal provides an explosive boost of strength and, when combined with other techniques, can heal and regenerate indefinitely. The whole concept is very similar to one of Goku's most iconic Dragon Ball techniques, Kaio-ken.
Tailed Beast Bomb
The Tailed Beast Bomb is essentially the ultimate attack for any Tailed Beast and its Jinchuriki. It entails compressing a specific ratio of black and white chakra into a ball, which can then be launched to absolutely devastating effect, taking out anything from fortresses to mountain ranges. This technique, in a few variations, becomes Naruto's finishing move, for a time. Once again, the Tailed Beast Bomb is similar to a favored technique of Goku's. Dragon Ball's Spirit Bombs work much the same, though they are capable of destroying whole planets (at the very least).
Eight Inner Gates Formation
Might Guy's Eight Inner Gates Formation is an example of just how much taijutsu should never be underestimated. The technique requires the use of various blocks, or gates, along the chakra pathway system, ultimately freeing the flow to access full physical potential. With all eight gates open, Guy achieved god-like strength and speed, though the cost would have been certain death had Naruto not shown up just in time. The Eight Inner Gates is essentially another dupe of Dragon Ball's Kaio-ken, which also amplifies power at an extremely high cost for the body.
Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands
Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands is a technique invented by the legendary first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, in Naruto. It summons an absolutely massive mountain-sized wooden statue with a thousand arms, all of which deliver a barrage of devastating punches. It was this technique that Hashirama famously used against Madara Uchiha and Kurama, the Nine-Tails, and it was powerful enough to create the Valley of the End itself. There's no immediate parallel between this and Dragon Ball, though a land-form creating technique certainly fits the vibe.
Indra's Arrow
Indra's Arrow is Sasuke's ultimate offensive technique in Naruto, and he's the only character ever to use it. The attack comes in the form of a gigantic, lightning-infused arrow fired from the longbow of Sasuke's perfected Complete Body Susanoo after it absorbed the chakra from all nine Tailed Beasts. Indra's Arrow is conceptually similar to the Tailed Beast Bomb, though it's several times stronger than the bombs without any technical alteration. This naturally makes Sasuke's technique comparable to Dragon Ball's Spirit Bombs, though it's more in league with some of the more devastating variations.
Six Paths: Massive Rasenshuriken
Naruto's Six Paths: Massive Rasenshuriken is essentially the combination of every powerful technique he learned throughout Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. It merges his Six Paths Sage Mode with the chakra of the Tailed Beasts, and the result is an absolutely earth-shattering attack. The Six Paths: Massive Rasenshuriken tied with Sasuke's Indra's Arrow, though it technically had the elemental advantage. Yet again, this chakra-focused attack is most similar to Goku's more extreme Spirit Bomb in Dragon Ball.
Baryon Mode
Boruto: Naruto Next Generation brings the franchise's power scale just a bit closer to Dragon Ball, specifically with Naruto's newest god-like technique, Baryon Mode. This form is achieved with Naruto and Kurama actively fusing their chakra, though it's only used as a last resort. In Baryon Mode, Naruto has unmatched strength, speed, and reflexes, and can therefore take on just about any threat. However, this takes an extreme toll on both his and Kurama's life forces. In this way, it's very similar to Dragon Ball's Ultra Instinct, which grants Goku his own god-like form.
Expansive Truthseeker Orb
Kaguya Otsutsuki's Expansive Truthseeker Orb is about as Dragon Ball-esque as Naruto could get. This technique is a larger version of Kaguya's standard Truthseeker Orbs, which are compact and disintegrate anything they touch. The Expansive Truthseeker Orb is essentially an ever-expanding void that absorbs chakra and has the power to turn an entire dimension into nothingness. The Naruto villain planned to use this to reset and rewrite reality. It's highly similar to Freiza's Supernova in Dragon Ball, which has the power to casually destroy an entire planet.
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First Film Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
Latest Film Boruto: Naruto the Movie
First TV Show Naruto
Latest TV Show Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
First Episode Air Date October 3, 2002
Cast Junko Takeuchi, Maile Flanagan, Noriaki Sugiyama, Chie Nakamura, Kazuhiko Inoue, Nana Mizuki, Hideo Ishikawa, Yûko Sanpei
Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists' children and returning faces.
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Created by Akira Toriyama
First Film Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
Latest Film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
First TV Show Dragon Ball
Latest TV Show Super Dragon Ball Heroes
First Episode Air Date April 26, 1989
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku's never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
English (US) ·