Naruto Is The Worst Hokage

While last year fans witnessed one of the saddest scenes in the history of Naruto, while revealing at the same time the most powerful form, the latest chapter of Boruto portrays Naruto’s character acting in the worst possible way as the Hokage.

This article contains spoilers for Boruto Chapter 67, so if you’re planning on reading it, proceed with caution.

Tragic Incident

Naruto’s character was totally inverted in the Boruto manga, making him a greater father figure at the expense of his duty as Hokage and as a result, he became one of Konoha’s worst rulers ever.

Kawaki was certainly involved in the death of Naruto’s biological kid and the series’ eponymous shinobi, Boruto, according to Chapter 67 of the manga. Naruto is obviously upset after hearing this awful news. But, unexpectedly (or not), the Hokage of Konoha refuses to listen to his advisor Shikamaru Nara, who advised him to devise a strategy for handling Kawaki’s issue. Especially when the little shinobi appears to be hell-bent on achieving his objectives, even if it means murdering one of his family.

The most important scene occurs when Shikamaru informs Naruto that the village will not accept him making any decisions as Hokage regarding Kawaki because many villagers already have assumptions about Kawaki. Because he treats Kawaki like a member of his family, Naruto refuses to even consider their feelings.

We can easily understand Naruto’s unwillingness to abandon Kawaki due to the fact that he sees in him the young child he himself was, abandoned by the village due to him being a Jinchūriki. He had always wished for the affection and support that Kawaki currently enjoys, which he didn’t have for a long time. Naruto, on the other hand, had long desired to be acknowledged by his village, as well as to become the greatest Hokage, and everything he has accomplished has been in pursuit of this goal. And the most recent judgment of the villagers does not appear to be moving in that direction. Because, as Hokage, Naruto must put aside his personal feelings and traumas in order to put Konoha’s needs first, even if it is a painful option.

Worst Hokage

In some ways, this points to a major fault in Naruto’s Hokage role, as his love for Kawaki limits his ability to lead. When compared to how Boruto originally portrayed Kawaki, Naruto’s reaction to him is an interesting turnaround. Boruto felt neglected since Naruto was first too preoccupied with his duties as Hokage to be a decent parent. Naruto didn’t realize how much his actions had damaged his son until later on in the series when he began to make an attempt to grow closer to him.

Boruto’s dispute with Jigen taught him the importance of Hokage and the need of paying attention to the village. When a boy who is neither Naruto’s biological son nor an inhabitant of Konoha, entered his life, Naruto’s past drove him to accept Kawaki to the point that he almost forgot about his duties as Hokage.

Consider what the previous Hokage has accomplished. Everyone knows, that the Hokage is occasionally forced to make difficult decisions. We can think of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, Naruto’s father, who did not hesitate to sacrifice his child’s childhood and tranquility in order to save the village. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, failed to control Danzo and thus bears a piece of the blame for the Uchiha clan killing.

Naruto will be able to correct this in the Boruto sequel. Initially, he was opposed to Shikamaru’s advice, believing that the boy he had adopted as his own had just murdered his biological son. As a result, once he had time to calm down, he may come to a different decision, preferring Konoha’s interests. Especially now that we know Boruto made it through.