In the fictional world created by Masashi Kishimoto – the world of Naruto – each of the five hidden villages is guarded by a leader known as a Kage. The Kage are usually the most powerful fighters in each of the villages and the title is passed over to the next best fighter after some time. The Kage of Konohagakure, Naruto’s village, is called a Hokage and in today’s article, you’re going to find out whether Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto’s main rival and one of the most important characters in the franchise, ever became Hokage. He was skilled enough to become one, but whether he did or not… well, you’ll just have to read our article to find out!
Despite being skilled enough, Sasuk Uchiha never became Hokage in the Naruto franchise. Seeing how he turned evil at one point and had to be pardoned for his crime, it’s only logical that the village would not choose him as their leader, despite his redemption.
Today’s article is going to introduce you to the character of Sasuke Uchiha, after which we are going to tell you about his connection with the title of Hokage. You’re going to find out whether he became Hokage and if so, when, how and why. We have prepared an interesting article for you so keep reading.
Sasuke Uchiha and his powers
Sasuke Uchiha is Naruto’s rival in anime and manga. He was designed by Kishimoto to take the role of the “cool genius”, since he felt this was an integral part of an ideal rivalry.
Sasuke is a member of the Uchiha Clan of the Hidden Leaf Village. His entire family was murdered by his older brother, Itachi Uchiha, who spared his life, judging him to be unworthy of being killed. When he is introduced to the series for the first time, he is assigned to Team 7 to fulfill various missions; he shows great indifference to his teammates. Seeing that his extraordinary abilities are superior to those of his colleagues, something that made everyone call him “genius”, he at first becomes reluctant to cooperate with Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki, but over time he finds them useful.
During his training, Sasuke begins to control the Sharingan, an inherited ability of his clan that manifests itself through the eyes and allows the user to predict opponents’ movements and imitate their jutsus. Although he is content with a happy life in Hidden Leaf Village, he never lets his ambition for more power leave his thoughts.
During the battles of the first part of the series, he arrogantly tests his skills against progressively stronger ninjas, with the intention of discovering their weaknesses and using them. During the Chūnin Exam, Sasuke meets Orochimaru, who manipulates him and puts the cursed seal on him, which gives him a brief moment of strength and speed while active and which at a more advanced level drastically changes his appearance.
Kakashi Hatake teaches him the Chidori, a technique that produces a set of lightning bolts made from chakra and which are manipulated by his hand, which serves as a way to avoid the continued use of the cursed seal, which could harm him. However, after Itachi’s brief return to Hidden Leaf Village and his immediate defeat, Sasuke becomes dissatisfied with what he learned as a member of Team 7.
Believing that Orochimaru is able to give him the power necessary to kill his brother , he seeks him out, breaking his bonds of friendship with the people of the village. Naruto follows him in an attempt to stop him, and the two confront each other. Although he had the opportunity to kill him during the fight, Sasuke hesitates to do so, and instead continues on his way to Orochimaru’s hideout.
After two and a half years, convinced that he learned everything he needed from his new master, Sasuke turns against a weakened Orochimaru before he steals his body. Although he tries to take his body by force, Sasuke is able to reverse the process, and absorb it. The character forms his own team, “Hebi”, to assist him in the search for Itachi. When they manage to find him, Sasuke faces him alone. During the confrontation, before dying, Itachi removes the cursed seal and Orochimaru from Sasuke’s body.
After the battle, he is captured by Tobi, who reveals that Itachi only murdered his clan, as he was under orders from the commanders of Hidden Leaf Village and that he saved him out of love and that he, later, allowed Sasuke to kill him. Saddened by such a revelation, he meets with his team members, and renames it “Taka”, changing his goal, which is now to take revenge on his former village. The death of his brother also allows him to reach a new stage of the Sharingan, the Mangekyo Sharingan, which allows him to perform one of his most powerful techniques. In the meantime, Sasuke agrees that his group will work with Akatsuki to capture the host of the eight-tailed bijuu, Killer Bee, who almost kills everyone and manages to escape.
Then, with his group, he decides that he will kill Danzō Shimura, one of those responsible for the massacre of his clan and the current Sixth Hokage Candidate. After killing Danzō, he has to face Team 7. After a brief confrontation, he and Naruto agree to have a final battle in the village; to prepare, Sasuke lets Tobi transplant Itachi’s eyes to perfect his Mangekyo Sharingan, since it was making him blind.
After his recovery, Sasuke sets out to fulfill his goal. After helping Itachi, who was revived, to stop Kabuto Yakushi’s army, Sasuke decides to investigate further about his clan to find out what he should do in his future. For that, he revives Orochimaru and revives the only people who can give him answers: the first four Hokage. After discovering that the death of his clan resulted from the actions of Tobirama Senju, the second Hokage, Sasuke asks several questions to Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage. After hearing the story of Hashirama and Madara Uchiha himself, he decides that he will protect the village and not let his brother’s death be in vain, going to the battlefield.
Does Sasuke become Hokage?
As we know by now, the Hokage is usually the strongest and the most experienced shinobi in a village, whom the villagers also trust. As far as the first element is concerned, Sasuke definitely fulfilled the requirements to become Hokage, since he was one of the most powerful shinobi in the whole series.
His powers are extraordinary and ever since he was a child, he was exceptionally talented. He also had a very strong lust for power, which was – in part – fueled by his constant need to take revenge upon those he thinks have done him wrong. By all objective standards, Sasuke Uchiha was stronger than Naruto and although he admitted defeat to the future Seventh Hokage, there is really no reason for us to think that Sasuke was unable to become Hokage. Yet – he never did. He wasn’t even a candidate. Why?
Why didn’t Sasuke become Hokage?
The question of why Sasuke Uchiha never became Hokage is related to his story within the franchise. Sasuke was a good leader, but he was never really a leader the people wanted. He had wanted to become Hokage so he could organise things according to his own wishes, but due to his revenge-fueled behaviour, we do not think that he would’ve been a good Hokage.
He has that protective nature – which is why he is often dubbed the Shadow Hokage, as he protects the village secretly, from the outside – but he also has a very destructive side to his character, a side that alienated him from all of his friends until his ultimate redemption. His character is the main reason he never became Hokage and we agree with Kishimoto, as we also think that it would not have been a good decision and that Sasuke’s character arc is awesome just the way it is.
And that’s it for today. We hope you had fun reading this and that we helped solve this dilemma for you. See you next time and don’t forget to follow us!
