The Fourth Great Ninja War concluded with the Allied Shinobi Forces securing victory over Akatsuki, Madara Uchiha, and Kaguya Otsutsuki. Yet, looking past the basic scoreboard reveals a messy power struggle where defining a single "winner" depends on whether you measure success by survival, political dominance, or ideological triumph. While the five unified nations technically won the conflict and stopped the Eye of the Moon Plan, the true victors of the war were specific individuals whose actions rewired the geopolitical landscape of the entire Naruto universe.
Determining who truly prevailed requires stripping away surface-level faction names and analyzing the shifting objectives, betrayals, and tactical turning points that defined Masashi Kishimoto's massive final arc.
The Official Victor: The Allied Shinobi Forces
On paper, the entity that won the war was the Allied Shinobi Forces. For the first time in history, the five major hidden villages—Leaf, Rock, Sand, Cloud, and Mist—alongside the Land of Iron, pooled their military resources under a single banner. Their primary objective was straightforward: stop Akatsuki from capturing the final two tailed beasts, Naruto Uzumaki and Killer B, and prevent the enactment of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
By preventing the permanent enslavement of humanity and outlasting the White Zetsu army, reanimated historical figures, and dual Ten-Tails jinchuriki, the alliance achieved its military goals. Cities weren't permanently erased by the God Tree, and the world survived.
However, calling the alliance a clean winner ignores the heavy cost. The coalition suffered catastrophic casualties during the initial days of combat, command structures crumbled, and the structural integrity of the villages was left fractured. Winning meant avoiding total annihilation, but it was a pyrrhic victory for the regular shinobi who bore the brunt of the devastation.
Individual MVPs: Beyond the Alliance
If you look past the collective faction, several key figures drove the path to victory, carrying the alliance when failure seemed certain.
Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha
Naruto served as the spiritual and physical engine of the alliance. By befriending Kurama and mastering Sage of Six Paths chakra, he turned the tide against Obito and Madara. Yet Naruto couldn't have won alone. Sasuke Uchiha brought the tactical edge, resurrected the previous Hokage via Orochimaru, protected Team 7 from the Infinite Tsukuyomi with his Susanoo, and provided the vital sealing hand for Kaguya. Together, they formed a dual core of power that outmatched every historical threat.
Itachi Uchiha
Though operating from the shadows as a reanimated corpse, Itachi dismantling Kabuto Yakushi's Reanimation Jutsu stands out as the single most critical tactical pivot of the war. Had the Edo Tensei army remained active while Madara and Obito wreaked havoc, the alliance would have folded within forty-eight hours. Itachi saved the coalition from fighting a permanent, regenerating enemy force.
Kakashi Hatake
As the leader of Team 7 and a master strategist, Kakashi was present from the frontline skirmishes to the final dimension-hopping battle against Kaguya. His utilization of Kamui—culminating in the temporary Double Mangekyo Sharingan power-up—made him indispensable in bypassing defenses and landing crucial blows when brute force failed.
The Ultimate Losers: Madara and Obito
Understanding who won requires looking closely at who lost, particularly how the antagonists sabotaged themselves.
Obito Uchiha started the war to reshape a reality filled with despair, but he lost his ideological footing when Naruto challenged his core motivations through sheer persistence. Once Obito was redeemed and pulled away from the Ten-Tails mantle, Madara Uchiha stepped into his place, only to be betrayed by Black Zetsu.
Madara's grand plan—seeing himself as the mastermind pulling the strings of history—collapsed because he was merely a pawn designed to facilitate the resurrection of Kaguya Otsutsuki. Madara didn't just lose the war; he lost his legacy, realizing at the end of his life that trying to control the world through an eternal genjutsu was a hollow fantasy.
The Real Winner: A Unified Shinobi World
The ultimate victor of the Fourth Great Ninja War wasn't an individual combatant, but the systemic shift in how the shinobi nations interacted afterward.
For decades, the hidden villages operated in a paranoid loop of cold wars, proxy conflicts, and deep-seated grudges. The shared trauma of fighting side by side against a god-like threat dissolved those historic boundaries. Villages that spent generations slaughtering each other established open diplomatic channels, shared economic resources, and built an era of unprecedented peace that lasted well into the next generation.
Winning the war meant breaking the cycle of hatred that fueled the first three global conflicts. While Naruto and Sasuke secured the physical victory on the battlefield, the structural peace that followed became the true prize for the entire world.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the final boss of the Fourth Great Ninja War?
While Madara Uchiha served as the primary antagonist for the majority of the conflict, the true final boss was Kaguya Otsutsuki. Black Zetsu betrayed Madara near the end of the arc, using his body to revive the primordial chakra goddess.
Did Madara Uchiha win anything during the war?
Madara successfully cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi and achieved his immediate goal of trapping the world in an illusion, but his victory lasted only a short time before Kaguya took over his vessel. He died realizing he had been manipulated by Kaguya's will all along.
Why did the five ninja villages form an alliance?
The villages united because Akatsuki, led by Obito Uchiha, declared open war to capture the remaining tailed beasts. Facing total annihilation and the threat of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the Kage realized independent defense was impossible and formed the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Who actually sealed Kaguya Otsutsuki?
Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha sealed Kaguya using the Six Paths Chibaku Tensei. They were given this divine sealing power by the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, after surviving encounters in Kaguya's alternative dimensions.
