10 Reasons Why Naruto Shouldn’t Be Hokage Again

In Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, the Seventh Hokage is having a rough time at the moment. Thanks to being trapped in an alternate reality by his adopted son Kawaki, both Naruto Uzumaki and his partner Hinata have been absent from the Hidden Leaf Village during one of the locale’s darkest hours. Of course, since he is trapped in limbo, Naruto can’t exactly fulfill his duties as the Seventh Hokage, and maybe this is for the best. Here are ten reasons why it might be time for Naruto to give up the crown and let someone else dictate Konoha’s future.

Shikamaru Is Way Better At It

Let’s get one of the easiest reasons out of the way: Shikamaru is the best choice to be Hokage at the moment, and we’re already seeing this fact in Two Blue Vortex. Now that Naruto is trapped in another dimension, the shadow ninja is picking up the slack and putting in the work when it comes to making sure Konoha is still ticking. This couldn’t come at a better time as the Divine Trees are putting their terrifying plans into motion, and Shikamaru’s tactical brain might be one of the Hidden Leaf’s biggest assets. You won’t find many who disagree with the idea of Shikamaru remaining on as the eighth Hokage.

The Nine-Tailed Fox Has Jumped Ship

Thanks to his fight against Jigen of the Kara Organization, Naruto had to make a wild sacrifice to ensure victory. The seventh Hokage had to split from the Nine-Tailed Fox to use the power of Baryon Mode, a fact that ended up killing Kurama in the process. While the beast would eventually return, surprisingly revealing itself to be now linked to Himawari, Naruto is now missing a major component of what made him such a skilled fighter. It’s a weakness that several opponents of Konoha could take advantage of.

Family Time

Even though Naruto has the ability to create shadow clones that he often uses to be a father to his family, the future will most likely require the Seventh Hokage to give up his title to be a permanent full-time father. With Himawari struggling with the Nine-Tailed Fox’s power and Boruto dealing with losing his allies thanks to Eida’s spell, should Naruto and Hinata return from their exile, they’ll need to do some serious work on their closest loved ones.

Keep An Eye on Kawaki

Naruto’s responsibilities clearly came with a pretty big price when it comes to Kawaki, who was more than willing to kill his own brother and change the world to eliminate the Otsutsuki entirely. If the Seventh Hokage was there to offer more sagely advice and simply stop Kawaki from putting some of his wild ideas into motion, Naruto might still be a part of the Hidden Leaf. Even if Kawaki manages to settle his differences with Boruto, the former vessel still needs a watchful eye.

Interacting With Other Villages

Of the many things that Naruto is able to call himself, a politician is not one of them. Konoha is not an island, as there are many other villages that make up the ninja world. When it comes to negotiating and simply talking with allies and enemies alike, the Seventh Hokage has to rely far more on Shikamaru. Why not just cut out the middleman and see Uzumaki take another role within the Hidden Leaf?

Naruto is Too Forgiving

Considering the horrific things that Orochimaru has done in the past, do you think most ninjas outside of Naruto are happy to know that he is still lurking around their village? The snake ninja might have said that he’s left his evil behind him, even giving Konoha one of their strongest ninjas in Mitsuki, but the fact that he never really paid for his crimes is almost unbelievable. The sheer number of victims the former villain has claimed is probably beyond belief, and it still doesn’t feel quite right that he was able to skate past accountability in the Boruto series.

Needs to be Training

Now that Kurama is no longer sharing a body with Naruto, it’s time for the Seventh Hokage to hang up his hate to work on his chakra. While he still has the Toad Sage abilities and many of the moves he learned from the likes of Jiraiya and Kakashi, he’s going to need to up his game for the threats that are only getting more powerful. At this point, there’s an argument to be made that Boruto and Himawari are stronger than their dad, so keeping up with his offspring should be a priority. Time to leave the office and get back into the field, Naruto.

Naruto Doesn’t Work in an Office Setting

While Naruto becoming Hokage feels like the ultimate acceptance by Konoha, taking a different route would feel better for the character. Working as something akin to his sensei Jiraiya, wherein he can travel and help those he comes across, would make a lot more sense. If anything, outside of Shikamaru, Sakura following in the footsteps of Tsunade to become the next Hokage would make a lot more sense than the titular character. Seeing Naruto behind a desk simply never looks right and goes back to the idea that he doesn’t quite work as the leader of Konoha.

Lacks a Killer Instinct

While Naruto could certainly be scary when he wanted to, usually thanks to Kurama’s influence, the Seventh Hokage doesn’t seem like the type who would be willing to let people die and/or kill people to achieve a goal. Again, this is right up Shikamaru’s alley, but Uzumaki would attempt to figure out a far more peaceful solution to everything, potentially leading to disaster if he is taking on the likes of Kara and/or the Divine Trees. This doesn’t mean that Konoha ever needs another Danzo running the operation, but somewhere in the middle might be the best route to take.

Naruto’s Simply Bad At It

At the end of the day, Naruto simply isn’t that great of a Hokage. Sure, he can steer the ship when the seas are peaceful, but the overall response to Jiren and the current threat to the village has been dire. Boruto: Two Blue Vortex has created some interesting stories, though the ninja world is currently at a low point thanks to it. Should Naruto Uzumaki return, it is time for him to hang up his hat and move on to greener pastures, as there are more than enough reasons for him to stop being a Hokage.

Black Clover Goes Full Naruto With Asta’s Impact on the World