Naruto: 10 Ninja Who Deserve To Become Chunin (But Never Did)

For the most part, the ninja ranking system within Naruto makes sense and is a good representation of a ninja's strength. However, nothing is entirely perfect or can account for all circumstances, and this system which is used to determine what rank a particular shinobi falls into is no exception.

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There are plenty of shinobi who never end up making it to chunin despite easily possessing the skills necessary to do so. This can be due to all sorts of factors, from a character being shunned from their village and thus having no exam to participate in, to failing once and never re-taking it despite their skills well surpassing what's required to pass. There are also quite a few characters who simply don't have their rank openly mentioned, or end up progressing so far past chunin strength-wise that it's easy to forget they never ranked up.

10 Sasuke Never Completes The Chunin Exam And Doesn't Get Another Chance To After Defecting

During the Chunin Exams arc, Sasuke is one of the most promising up-and-coming genin with many eyes on him. This is reinforced by just how long spectators were willing to wait for Sasuke to show up to his match against Gaara.

Fans are well aware that this round of the Chunin Exams is never completed due to Sunagakure's attack on Konoha, and since Sasuke's match couldn't be completed, his abilities weren't assessed accurately enough for him to be promoted. He then defects, but even after eventually returning to the village, he's never promoted past genin despite having the capability to easily do so.

9 Haku Has To Flee His Village And Is Instead Considered A Mercenary Ninja

Haku never obtains a proper shinobi rank due to the manifestation of his Kekkei Genkai at a young age, and the subsequent ostracization he faces because of it. Living in a village where Kekkei Genkai users are used as weapons of war, Haku's father kills his mother and attempts to kill Haku as well upon learning of their bloodline trait.

In an act of self-defense, Haku is able to produce icicles so potent that they take out his father and the entire mob of angry villagers that were after him. Combine this with the deadly Ice Mirrors technique he's seen using on Naruto and Sasuke, and he's more than qualified to be chunin-level.

8 Kabuto Has To Remain A Genin So He Can Infiltrate The Chunin Exams

Kabuto proves himself to be a highly skilled medical ninja whose combat prowess is nothing to sneeze at, either. He's intelligent enough to come up with combat strategies on the fly, which help him hold his ground against Shizune and Tsunade - though he's no match for the latter once she overcomes her hemophobia.

Thanks to the fabricated backstory that Orochimaru gives him, Kabuto is able to enlist as a genin of Konoha. His skills are easily chunin or even jonin level, but if he allows himself to rank up, he'd no longer be able to infiltrate the Chunin Exams to gather intel.

7 Hanabi Is Given A Team To Lead In The Anime But Is Still Considered A Genin

Hanabi becomes a genin during the Blank Period of the series, and given the fact that she's able to beat her elder sister in combat, it's no doubt that she has the abilities necessary to become a chunin. However, she's never seen participating in the Chunin Exams, and her rank never advances forward.

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Despite this, she's given her own team of genin to lead in the anime. This is a bit strange considering she's technically the same rank of shinobi as her students, and it feels as if her status as a fellow genin either wasn't considered or was forgotten about when it was decided that she'd lead Team Fifteen.

6 Karin's Village Is Destroyed And She Becomes Orochimaru's Underling Before Advancing Past Genin

Karin and her mother take refuge in Kusagakure, and though her mother passes while giving medical attention, Karin still becomes a genin and participates in the Chunin Exams. Her team ultimately fails due to not collecting both of the required scrolls in time, and the village is destroyed before she can re-enter.

She becomes a subordinate of Orochimaru, and thus never gets another chance to take the exam. While she's not much of a physical combatant, her talent for ninjutsu combined with her intelligence easily makes her chunin-level.

5 Fu Was A Skilled Surprise Attacker But Died When Her Jinchuriki Was Extracted

Fu was a genin from Takigakure who was also the host of the Seven-Tails jinchuriki. This automatically put her life at greater risk than most others, and her village's leader took great care to hide her from the world and keep her safe.

However, she was too much of a sociable and hyper spirit to be kept locked away, and insisted on taking the Chunin Exams. She proved herself in combat by single-handedly taking down a giant scorpion, but her participation was also what allowed the Akatsuki to track her down and extract her tailed beast, ultimately ending in her death.

4 Kosuke Is Highly Skilled But Doesn't Feel He Deserves To Be Promoted Past Genin

Kosuke is an incredibly tragic tale of a character whose skills far exceed what's needed to become Chunin-level, but he personally chooses not to rank up any higher. When he's still just a child, he makes a reckless decision while on a mission that ends up costing him the life of both of his teammates.

He decides from this point on that he's not personally worthy of becoming a Chunin. He remains a genin for over fifty years, with others granting him the title of the Immortal Genin.

3 Sen Is An Intelligent Genjutsu User, But The Chunin Exams End Before She Can Pass

Sen is a kunoichi from Sunagakure who's shown to be highly intelligent and specializes in genjutsu, a field all too underutilized within the series despite its uses. She's similar to Temari in that she has fans that she uses for close combat, and she's shown to be able to trap the likes of Team Guy with her genjutsu.

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Sen and her team were supposed to pass the second round of the Chunin Exams and advance forward, but they're sadly ended prematurely. Reports are sent to the village leaders for them to decide who gets promoted, but without being able to truly show off her combat prowess in the tournament round, Sen remains a genin.

2 Izumi Graduates From The Academy A Year Early But Is Killed By Obito On The Night Of The Uchiha Massacre

Izumi is noted to be a highly skilled member of the Uchiha Clan. Even though using her Sharingan puts tremendous strain on her body, she's noted to awaken it earlier than even the prodigious Itachi himself.

She's also noted to be well-versed in taijutsu, and her skillset allows her to graduate from the academy a year early. She easily would have possessed the skills necessary to blow through the Chunin Exams, but she's killed by Obito on the night of the Uchiha Clan's downfall.

1 Ameno Is A Skilled Medical-Ninja But Is Overwhelmed By Sakura And Ino In The Chunin Exams

Ameno is a medical-ninja who hails from Sunagakure, and she's not entirely lacking in the combat department, either. She's noted to be able to perform fine medical surgery involving removing poison, and she's seen doing so even under the intense pressure of the Chunin Exams.

Her and her team are able to last against Ino and Sakura - one of whom had been trained by the legendary Sannin Tsunade herself - for an impressive amount of time before ultimately being overwhelmed. Even after being defeated, Ameno is shown healing even her enemies, showing that she knows how to handle her losses as well.

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