Explaining how Kishimoto destroyed Naruto's Hokage dream

This article contains spoilers from the Naruto series.

Key conclusions

• Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage was deeply connected to finding acceptance and filling the void of being ostracized.
• Fans were disappointed with Naruto's portrayal as Hokage, with his inauguration barely shown and overshadowed by other characters.
• The way Kishimoto made Naruto realize his dream as Hokage left much to be desired for fans.

Masashi Kishimoto Naruto The series can be called one of the most successful stories in recent years. Starting to be serialized almost two decades ago, the story ran for about 15 years, and since then, almost a decade after its conclusion, it is highly revered and still a fan favorite. Naruto has withstood the test of time and gained only more appreciation from fans every year.

Naruto was a beloved story in which the main character, Naruto Uzumaki, dreamed of becoming the main character. From the beginning, fans have been told that Naruto wanted to become Hokage and prove everyone who didn't believe in him wrong. At the same time, Naruto wanted the recognition of the people around him that connected the two dreams. While Naruto had definitely achieved his dream, the way Kishimoto handled it left a lot to be desired.

Naruto's dream is to become Hokage

• Naruto Uzumaki had high ambitions
• In the end, Naruto made his dream come true

Naruto's dream is quite complex. On paper, Naruto's dream looks pretty simple. After all, he just wanted to become the Hokage of Konoha, and in doing so, become one of the greatest ninjas to ever live. Naruto wanted 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 very top. However, this was only a surface level dream that Naruto had. Naruto's dream is actually much deeper than just that. The essence of Naruto's dream is to earn the recognition of the people around him, and this is deeply connected to the fact that Naruto was ostracized as a child. Being an outcast for the majority of his life and having no one by his side to support him, Naruto naturally craved company.

In the beginning of the series, Naruto did all kinds of pranks to get people's attention. That was quite clear to the fans, and that was one of the things that made him very relatable. Over time, Naruto's mindset also changed, and given that he was in love with ninjas, specifically the position of Hokage, Naruto realized that by becoming Hokage, he would make everyone recognize his skill, power, and might, and in the same time, received everyone's love and support. Basically, Naruto's dream wasn't to just become Hokage for no reason. Naruto wanted the recognition of the people around him, and because he wanted to fill the void in his heart, he had this huge dream.

It's pretty easy to see that this was a wonderful dream that ensured fans would stay seated for the long ride. Naruto Uzumaki took one step at a time to make his dream come true by defeating Pein, and it's safe to say that he did quite well in that regard. Naruto's dream was also fulfilled at the end of the series, but again, the way Kishimoto went about it at the end was certainly not what fans expected, and in many ways, it left something 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 ended up becoming Hokage and fulfilling his dream, it is necessary to understand one part of Naruto's dream that was fulfilled long before the series ended. Naruto wanted the acceptance of the people around him and his desire to become Hokage was essentially about that. However, this dream of Naruto came true long before the series ended. Generally speaking, when Naruto defeated Pein and saved Konoha, he was recognized by everyone around him, and every single person, from the commoner to the higher ups in the village, recognized Naruto as the hero of Hidden Leaf Village. To Kakashi, Naruto was someone who surpassed even the 4th Hokage. In many ways, he fully believed that Naruto had surpassed the legends. In fact, the vast majority of Naruto's dreams had already been fulfilled.

However, being Hokage isn't just about earning the recognition of the people around you. It is a huge responsibility because everyone becomes their family and looks to them for protection. From that moment on, to realize the burden that rested on his shoulders, Naruto worked incredibly hard throughout the Fourth Great Ninja War. Once again Naruto ended up saving the world in this war and he did it incredibly well. However, in the end, Naruto didn't even become Hokage. It was Kakashi who was chosen as the sixth Hokage of the village, and Naruto was tasked with gaining more experience and learning more about the ninja world in general.

In fact, by the end of the Naruto series, he had already achieved his dream. He was the strongest in the world and had the recognition of everyone. The world hailed Naruto as a hero and protector and all that was missing was Naruto donning the Hokage cloak and officially taking the position. Fans wanted this to happen at the end of the series, but unfortunately it didn't happen the way they wanted it to. In Naruto chapter 700, fans saw a big time skip where Naruto Uzumaki officially took over. Unfortunately, readers didn't even get to see him become Hokage in the manga. He was seen at the Five Kage Summit already as Hokage, while Boruta Uzumaki gained attention, essentially setting the future of the franchise, that is, the Boruta series. Fans did get to see Naruto as Hokage, but it was for such a short amount of time that it didn't go over well with readers. In the anime, it was even worse because Naruto didn't even become Hokage, but instead, at the end of the series, he just married Hinata, which is completely ridiculous in the first place.

However, fans did get an OVA where Naruto eventually became the Hokage. Like the series finale, this part of the story was also pretty amazing. Instead of being at his own inauguration where he would have taken the mantle of Hokage from Kakashi, Naruto was knocked out by his daughter. Instead, Konohamaru used a transformation jutsu to take on Naruto's appearance and take his place.

As fans barely got a glimpse of Naruto as Hokage

The image of Naruto as Hokage is missing

The biggest problem fans have with Naruto's dream is that while he certainly got the recognition of all the people, he never became Hokage when he deserved it. Naruto became the 7th Hokage in the final pages of the series and fans didn't even get to see him affect anything in Naruto's world as Hokage. Sure, Boruta definitely gave fans a chance to imagine Naruto as the Hokage, but there's another problem here, and that's Naruto being removed from the main characters. On one hand, Kishimoto made him a hero in the most beautiful ways, but on the other hand, his dream of becoming Hokage was certainly not fulfilled properly, and it could have been much better.

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