Naruto was jonin-level from day one – And defeating the third Hokage proves it

The Naruto franchise might have started its protagonist off a complete loser. One as early as one early scene in the Naruto series showed Naruto Uzumaki was already doing Jonin-level stuff right from the jump.Despite starting his journey as a genin — the lowest of the ninjas’ castes — Naruto was already more than cut out for high-level missions that only the elite ninjas could fend off.After all, in Naruto chapter #1, he had outwitted and destroyed the Third Hokage, at the time the most powerful man in the village. That was only the beginning.In fact, in the very first chapter of Naruto, the young ninja flunks his graduation exam from ninja school because he cannot use the Shadow Clone Jutsu correctly. Just a few moments later, he surprises everyone by pulling off something much more remarkable — he breaks into the Hokage Mansion, steals the fabled forbidden Scroll of Seals, and escapes with it.No, this is not the worst digital gag ever. The Hokage Mansion is supposed to be the most secure building in the Hidden Leaf Village. Even the Third Hokage himself is sent to confront Naruto, but Naruto lures and defeats him with a sneak attack — his trademark “Sexy Jutsu” — and while he escapes.With that single act, Naruto’s stealth, deception, and infiltration skills were established as being much greater than a genin’s. Had this been a real-life ninja operation, it would have earned an A-rank or possibly even S-rank — the type of assignment reserved for elite Jonin-level ninjas such as Kakashi or Might Guy.Naruto’s crafty gambits didn’t end with the Chunin Exam. Only a handful of chapters later, Naruto is able to surprise Sasuke Uchiha, the star pupil of the Ninja Academy. Naruto is able to restrain him easily as part of a plan to switch places and fool his crush, Sakura.Much later, in the Land of Waves arc, Naruto and Sasuke work together to defeat Zabuza, a dangerous assassin with Jonin-level abilities. Naruto employs transformations, clones, and a heightened sense of battle experience to ultimately defeat an enemy that had previously proven too strong for even their teacher Kakashi.These certainly aren’t the moves of a inept ninja. They don’t just speak to a fighter who was previously clear-headed, war-ready, and innovative — things you’d want from a veteran Jonin.An enormous part of why Naruto was written off at the beginning is due to his character design. He’s brash, boisterous, impetuous, loud, over-the-top, hyperactive, gluttonous, crass, obnoxious and a prankster. Yet behind that goofball antics was a true ninja with technical prowess.His stealth, speed of thought, creativity in combat well preceded the formal training he received learning the snazzy jutsu like Rasengan or Sage Mode. As the series progressed, Naruto grew into a world-conquering force. His natural aptitude for subterfuge and trickery was apparent right off the bat.Improperly trained and unacknowledged though he was, he was still going on missions, doing things, and achieving things that most experienced ninjas wouldn’t even want to attempt. That’s the thing that, I think, makes Naruto such an inspiring character — his hard work wasn’t all that made him special in the end, he had it all along even when no one else believed he did.Naruto’s transformation from an outcast to the Hokage is the stuff of legend, one of the most recognizable story arcs in anime and manga. Moments like this first defeat of the Third Hokage serve to remind viewers that Naruto was never weak — only underrated.In this franchise that’s become dominated by massive monster battles and celestial powers, we start to lose sight of what made the early days of ninjas so special with a focus on things like stealth and deception. Just because Naruto started off dressed like an orange jumpsuit-wearing goofball doesn’t mean he wasn’t a highly trained and deadly shinobi deep down.So the next time someone tries to tell you Naruto only got stronger later on in the series, just let them know he defeated the Third Hokage before he graduated even once.