How Kishimoto ruined Naruto's Hokage dreams, explained

This article contains spoilers for the Naruto series.

Key takeaways

• Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage was deeply connected to seeking recognition and filling the void from being an outcast.
• Fans were disappointed to see Naruto's portrayal as Hokage, his inauguration only seen and overshadowed by the other characters.
• Kishimoto left a lot to be desired for fans with the way he fulfilled Naruto's Hokage dream.

of Masashi Kishimoto Naruto The series is easily one of the most successful stories in recent years. This story, which started as a serial almost two decades ago, ran for about 15 years and since then, almost a decade after its completion, it is still loved by the audience. Naruto has stood the test of time and, with each passing year, has only received more praise from fans.

Naruto was a beloved story where the protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki dreamed of becoming a hero. From the beginning, fans are told that Naruto wanted to become Hokage and prove to everyone that they didn't believe him wrong. At the same time, Naruto wanted the approval of those around him, which ties these two dreams together. While Naruto certainly achieved his dream, the way Kishimoto handled it left a lot to be desired.

Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage

• Naruto Uzumaki set high ambitions for himself
• Naruto finally fulfilled his dream

Naruto's dream is very complicated. On paper, Naruto's dream seemed quite simple. After all, he wanted to become Hokage of Konoha and, in doing so, become the greatest ninja alive. Naruto aimed to prove the doubters wrong and show everyone that even though he was considered a failure, with hard work and unwavering determination, he could surprise everyone and reach the top. However, it was only a superficial dream that Naruto had. Actually, Naruto's dreams go much deeper than that. The essence of Naruto's dream is to gain acceptance from those around him, and this is deeply connected to the fact that Naruto was ostracized as a child. Having been an outcast for a large majority of his life and having no one around him to support him, Naruto, naturally, craves company.

At the beginning of the series, Naruto did all sorts of things to get people's attention. It was very obvious for the fans to see and this is actually one of the things that made the fans like him so much. Over time, Naruto's thinking also evolved, and, noting that ninjas were fascinated by the position of Hokage, in particular, Naruto realized that by becoming Hokage, he would be recognized by all for his skill, strength, and prowess. At the same time, everyone received love and support. In essence, Naruto's dream wasn't just to become Hokage for no reason. Naruto wanted the approval of those around him, and he wanted to fill the void in his heart, he had this huge dream in his sights.

It's very easy to see that this was a plausible dream and one that would ensure fans stay seated for the long ride. Naruto Uzumaki took one step after another towards fulfilling his dream, when he defeated Penn, and it's safe to say that he did it very well in that regard. Naruto's dream was also fulfilled at the end of the series, but, once again, the way Kishimoto went about it was definitely not what fans expected, and in many ways, it left a lot to be desired.

The day Naruto became Hokage was a mess

Naruto couldn't even attend his own Hokage inauguration

Before talking about how Naruto became Hokage and fulfilled his dream, there is an understanding of a part of Naruto's dream that was fulfilled long before the series ended. Naruto wanted the approval of those around him, and his desire to become Hokage was inevitably tied to this. However, this dream of Naruto was fulfilled long before the end of the series. Broadly speaking, when Naruto defeated Pain and saved Konoha, he was recognized by everyone around him, and every person, from the commoners to the upper echelons of the village, acknowledged that Naruto was a hero. Hidden Leaf Village. To Kakashi, Naruto was someone who surpassed even the Fourth Hokage. In many ways, he fully believed that Naruto had gone beyond the legends. In short, the vast majority of Naruto's dreams had already come true.

However, being Hokage isn't all about earning the approval of those around you. It is a big responsibility because everyone becomes their family and seeks protection from them. From this point, to feel the burden on his shoulders, Naruto worked incredibly hard in the Fourth Great Ninja War. Again, Naruto ended up saving the world in this battle, and he did incredibly well here. However, at the end of it all, Naruto didn't even become Hokage. It was Kakashi who was chosen as the sixth Hokage of the village, while Naruto was tasked with gaining more experience and learning more about the ninja world in general.

In essence, by the end of the Naruto series, he had fulfilled his dream. He was the strongest in the world and was recognized by everyone. The world hailed Naruto as a hero and protector, and all that was missing was for Naruto to don the Hokage's cape and officially assume the position. Fans wanted this to be the end of the series, but unfortunately, it didn't happen in the way they wanted. In chapter 700 of Naruto, fans saw a major time skip, where Naruto Uzumaki officially took the position. Unfortunately, readers didn't get to see how he became Hokage in the manga. He was shown as the Hokage earlier in the Five Kage Summit, while Boruto Uzumaki was primarily focused on setting up the future of the franchise, namely the Boruto series. Fans saw Naruto as Hokage, however, it was for such a short time that it didn't sit well with readers. In the anime, things were even worse because Naruto didn't even become Hokage, and instead, at the end of the series, he only married Hinata, which is pretty ridiculous, to begin with.

That said, fans did get the OVA, where Naruto became the Hokage. Like the end of the series, this part of the story was also weird. Instead of being at his inauguration, where he would have taken the mantle of Hokage from Kakashi, Naruto was ushered out by his daughter. Instead, Konohamaru used a transformation jutsu to take Naruto's form and stand in his place.

How fans got to see Naruto as Hokage

Depicting Naruto in the Hokage's absence

The biggest issue fans have with Naruto's dream is that while he certainly has the approval of all the people, he was never made Hokage when he deserved it. Naruto was made the 7th Hokage in the last few pages of the series, and fans never got to see him affect anything in the Naruto world as Hokage. Of course, Boruto certainly gave fans a glimpse of Naruto as Hokage, but another issue arises here, and that is Naruto being singled out for the main characters. On the one hand, Kishimoto made him the most handsomely behaved hero, but on the other hand, his dream of becoming Hokage definitely didn't hold up well and it could have been much better.

Naruto is available to read on MangaPlus and the Shonen Jump app. Fans can read the official release and support the author by doing so.