8 Characters who could have been great Hokage.
In Naruto, the Hokage is the leader of the Hidden leaf village. To be chosen as the Hokage, the character need to be really powerful and need to have the quality to lead the village. Before choosing the characters who could have been good Hokage, let us first discuss the term Hokage and meaning behind it.
What makes a Hokage great or bad? Danzo became a temporary Hokage and even Orachimaaru was once a Hokage candidate. The power of characters plays the primary role as qualification for being a Hokage. Though power is important it doesn’t necessarily make a Hokage a great or bad. There is a reason why Tobirama made Hiruzen as the Hokage and Hiruzen made Minato as the Hokage declining Orochimaaru, the reason being the “Will of Fire“.
Will Of Fire
The Will of Fire is a recurring element throughout the series. It is an ideal rooting from Asura Otsutsiki’s belief that love is the key to peace. It would eventually become the philosophy which Hashirama founded the Hidden Leaf. Entire village is like a large family unit and every shinobi with the Will of Fire loves, believes, cherishes, and fights to protect the village, as previous generations had done before them. So coming to the question, What makes a Hokage great? The character need to cherish the “Will of Fire”.
There are many characters throughout the series in the Hidden Village who were really powerful and suitable for becoming Hokage. But very few of them had the conviction to carry on the “Will of Fire”.
8.Might Guy
Because why not? If Naruto, Third Raikage, Fourth Raikage can become a Kage then surely Might Guy can have a shot at it. From being a below average user in Ninjutsu in his childhood to being declared the strongest shinobi by Madara, Guy Sensei is nothing sort of inspirational. Being a proficient user of Taijutsu and Hidden lotus techniques, Guy defeated several strong opponents.
He lead the war in the final stages along with Kakashi fighting in frontline. He decided to sacrifice himself to save everyone by opening the eight gates to defeat Madara. Though he doesn’t possess great intelligence, his selflessness and his power will make him a great Hokage.
7. Kagami Uchiha.
Next on our list is Kagami Uchiha. Kagami was noted to be greatly dedicated to the protection of Konoha. His sense of loyalty was so great, he never fell victim to his Uchiha’s Curse of Hatred. For this reason, he was one of the few Uchiha that Tobirama believed in, and was one of the six people Tobirama chose to work directly under him.
Not a lot is known about him with his skills and abilities but the series throws few clues about them. In the anime, his visual prowess was praised by Danzō for saving his life many times. Kagami’s descendant, Shisui, who was hailed as the strongest Uchiha of his time and a wielder of the Mangekyo Sharingan, openly admitted he was inferior to his ancestor. Hiruzen also noted that Shisui reminded him of Kagami. These cases shows that Kagami Uchiha is suitable for becoming a Hokage.
6. Shikamaru Nara
Next on our list is Shikamaru, the current personal adviser of Seventh Hokage Naruto. Unlike every other person in this list, Shikamaru has a realistic chance of becoming a Hokage in the future. He has a strong moral compass and has dedication to his friends.
Being part of the Nara clan, Shikamaru is able to manipulate his own shadow. He had abilities of various shadow techniques and he can do them even without hand signs. Having an IQ of above 200, he is one of the most intelligent character in the series. He used that intelligence to defeat even more powerful ninjas throughout the series. Asuma believed that he had the qualities to an Hokage. Being an great strategist with leadership quality, he can be a great Hokage.
5.Sakumo Hatake
Known as the “White Fang”, Sakumo was hailed as a genius shinobi. As Minato notes that his powers were said to be on par with even those of the Sannin. The mere idea of facing Sakumo brought fear to his enemies, as shown from the reaction of a shinobi who mistook Kakashi for him.
Sakumo was a very kind, loyal and a humble man despite his fame. He had a deep devotion to Konoha and an even greater commitment to his allies and loved ones. These characters make him an ideal candidate for becoming a Hokage. He may have been ridiculed and hated for abandoning a mission in order to save his teammates. But we have seen Kakashi who had the same ideology as his father become a successful Hokage.
4. Shikaku Nara
Shikaku Nara was the head of Nara and was also the Jonin commander of the Hidden Leaves. Like other members of the Nara clan, he had mastered many of his clans secret techniques which revolve around the use of shadows. Above his ninjutsu skills, Shikaku was even more renowned for his intellect. He regularly defeats Shikamaru in Shogi who himself is a genius with an IQ of over 200.
He was appointed the Chief Strategist of the Allied Shinobi Forces and showed himself to be a shrewd tactician and strategist. His skills and reliability garnered him high respect from other powerful ninja, such as the five Kage, especially A and Ōnoki,the former trusting him enough to lead and command the entire Allied Shinobi Forces. Even Kakashi notes that Shikaku’s talents would make him a highly-capable Hokage.
3. Itachi Uchiha
Next on the list is everyone’s favorite Itachi Uchiha. He is one of the strongest characters in the whole series. He is exceptionally talented in ninjutsu and genjutsu. At the age of 13 he became the captain of Anbu. He studied the history of Shinobi as a child and it was noted he thought like a Hokage at a young age of 7. He was shown as very intelligent as he was capable of thinking several steps forward. He was also very unselfish and was willing to sacrifice everything for the the Hidden leaf village and his brother.
He tried to bring peace in the village as animosity rose between Uchiha and other members of the village. Having no easy options left, he decided to kill the whole Uchiha clan to prevent the coup. His pessimism might be a problem but with proper guidance he may turned out to be different. Only if there was no Danzo, he might have really became a Hokage.
2. Jiraiya
Next on the list is Jiraiya, who is one of the legendary sannin. He even had the opportunity to become Hokage but declined it. He felt that his personality quirks render him incapable of being Hokage. Famed as a hermit and pervert of stupendous ninja skill, Jiraiya travelled the world in search of the child of prophecy to bring world peace. He mentored both Minato and Naruto, both of whom became Hokage.
Jiraiya was known throughout the world as a strong shinobi. Having mastered Senjutsu he was known as the Toad Sage. He was exceptionally skilled in infiltration and could follow the tracks of Akatsuki and Orochimaaru. He was well respected throughout the village. He even sacrificed himself battling Pain for the sake of the Hidden Leaf village.
1. Shisui Uchiha
On top of our hypothetical list is Shisui Uchiha. Shisui was a very humble and down-to-earth individual. He was never arrogant about his own talent or accomplishments. Shisui was also a deeply compassionate man, even to enemies. He was very perceptive from a young age, able to see through the emotional nature of others and likewise able to notice the smallest details around him. Shisui was known to the strongest Genjutsu user with Kotoamatsukami which can manipulate anyone without them realizing. He had teleportation and was known famously all over the world.
Shisui taught Itachi that a true shinobi is someone who protects peace from within the shadow. Itachi believed that had Shisui been alive during the Uchiha’s downfall, he would have protected both the clan and the village to the very end. The above qualities prove that Shisui could have been a great Hokage. Also, an Uchiha becoming a Hokage would put an end to the animosity within the village and made the village better peacefully.
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