Naruto’s journey to becoming the Seventh Hokage was one of the most epic journeys in all of anime. Naruto was made for this role, being the Child of the Prophecy, and thanks to his unique combat and chakra abilities.
Although, while Naruto’s journey to Hokage was clear and obvious to everyone, the Eighth Hokage may not be so clear.
What is clear is that the Boruto plotline does have some ways yet to go before Naruto abdicates his seat at the throne of Konohagakure. Yet, it can be fun and interesting to see who out of the current candidates looks most suited to be the next Hokage once Naruto is gone.
Some are obvious, while others are fun to explore. Let’s explore the potential candidates to become the Eighth Hokage together!
Potentially the most obvious candidate if Naruto were to die or pass the title on, would clearly be Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke and Naruto are pretty equal in their abilities, as demonstrated when they battled at the Valley of Death, and with Sauke now owning a Rinnegan, although not for long, he became pretty close to duping Naruto in power.
Regardless of the historical ‘Sasuke vs Naruto’ debate among fans, if Naruto were to die somehow, then Sasuke would easily become the next powerful shinobi in the village. Moreover, Sasuke has proven organisational and strategic abilities as well as some serious intelligence.
Even in his time as an international criminal Sasuke was pretty meticulous and clever being able to defeat the likes of Orochimaru, Danzo Shimura, and even defeat Killer B in battle.
Sasuke is certainly one of the best at understanding another shinobi’s jutsu and how to defeat it, thanks to his Sharingan.
Perhaps most pertintely, Sasuke becoming Hokage would be the perfect ending to the Uchiha as well as Sasuke’s own character arc. Considering Itachi basically left Sasuke alive to avenge and rebuild the Uchiha clan, Sasuke becoming Hokage could be very important.
Firstly, Sasuke would be the first Uchiha to ever become Hokage. Secondly, becoming Hokage could really demonstrate how Sasuke has turned from good to evil.
If the Uchiha could live in peace with the Leaf village, providing their clan grows, the Hidden Leaf would be more powerful than ever.
Boruto Uzumaki
It seems pretty clear that Boruto is an obvious candidate for Hokage, but whether he could become the Eighth Hokage could be debatable.
It’s worth noting that Boruto is 11 when the first season starts so he certainly has a long way to go to become Hokage. However, this is around the same age Naruto was when Naruto first started.
Whether Boruto will follow the same path as his father to become the next Hokage is unsure but seems possible with his power at this young age.
Yet, through Naruto’s journey to Hokage the title of Hokage changed at least three times, so it could be likely that Boruto may become Hokage in the future, but whether he will become the Eight, specifically, is up for debate. With his Jougan eye, there is the speculative potential that Boruto could lead earth to peace with the Otsutsuki and return the Hidden Leaf to a peaceful existence.
Sarada Uchiha
Sarada is one of only two (not including Kakashi or Shin) who owns the Sharingan in the village, the other being her Father Sasuke. Namely, Sarada is the living legacy of the Uchiha clan, if she were to die it’s up for debate if the Uchiha clan would continue. Although, Sarada is not of pure Uchiha blood.
Her impure Uchiha blood could be an advantage, with the intelligence of both Sakura and Sasuke she could be a form middle ally to the Hidden Leaf Village.
While she is a trained Medical-nin, in combination with her eventual mastery of the Sharingan she could be expertly trained in both her father’s combative and visual skills as well as her mothers medical ninjutsu.
Together she could challenge the previous female Hokage, Tsunade Senju, to be the most formidable kunoichi in the village.
Sakura Haruno
Quite similar to her daughter, Sakura Haruno, now Uchiha, could have the potential to be a Hokage. If anything, Sakura has experienced a lot since her youth and is no longer the struggling kunoichi she once was.
Through her experiences of war and battle alongside her former teammates Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura definitely learned a lot about strategic situations, settling disputes, and politics.
Under the tutelage of former Hokage, also while she was active Hokage, Tsunade. This training led Sakura to take the title of most proficient medical-nin and kunoichi in the Hidden Leaf.
There’s no doubt that Sakura could, now as an adult, perform similar political feats that Tsunade did. Moreover, in her mature state Sakura is a fairly respected combatant, playing small parts in fights against notable shinobi such as Shin Uchiha and Momoshiki.
Konohamaru Sarutobi
Most fans of the original Naruto series will remember Konohamaru as a gregarious, ambitious, and impish young shinobi. Yet, in Boruto, we see Konohamaru grow into a powerful and noble shinobi who is a jonin and academy teacher.
Importantly, Konohamaru is the leader of Team Konohamaru which includes Sarada Uchiha, Boruto Uzumaki, and Mitsuki and is trusted by the current Hokage enough to handle his own son.
Not only was Konohamaru tutored informally by Naruto, but is also the grandson of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, as well as being related to both Sasuke and Asuma Sarutobi, all of which were notable shinobi themselves.
Konohamaru has a lot to live up to, especially his grandfather’s title, so it could be possible that if Sasuke and Sakura weren’t available for some reason, that Naruto could entrust Konohamaru with the title of Hokage.
Shikamaru Nara
Shikamaru was originally a rather lazy ninja in the original series, but as things get more serious Shikamaru does well to live up to his fathers wishes and become a much more useful and powerful shinobi than he was. This led Shikamaru to become a shadow of his father’s political prowess.
Shikamaru’s father was one of the main leaders of the Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Shinobi World War, he helped organise the Allied Shinobi Forces in a way that effectively allowed them to outsmart their enemy in battle, dealing with the Reanimated Shinobi as well as dealing with the army of White Zetsu Clones.
If Shikamaru is capable of achieving similar strategic feats, then he could easily become the Eighth Hokage.
Choji Akimichi
As with many of the list, original Naruto fans may know Choji as the combat-fearing, dumpling-guzzling, fearful shinobi he was durig Naruto Part I. The events of war, namely, having to battle and defeat his reanimated Sensei, Asuma Saurtobi, Choji finally achieved the potential of his shinobi career.
Yet, In Boruto, we see Choji assume his fateful seat as Sixteenth Head of Akmichi Family. Choji would never have achieved this position without the push his friends and family gave him.
Yet, Choji now, with support, has become a noteworthy shinobi with strong leadership over his entire clan as well as some very unique powers that can be used in Battle, as his clan historically has.
If other candidates couldn’t take the position, Choji already being a leader of part of the village is enough to place him as a serious candidate to the title of Hokage. Choji and Shikamaru, as well as Ino’s sensory ability, would be a serious power in a wartime situation.
Mitsuki
Mitsuki, while a defector from another village, has the potential to be one of the more powerful shinobi from the new pack of characters and students which the series starts with.
Mitsuki is a perfect clone of Orochimaru. Orochimaru was already a serious candidate for the role of Hokage before his eventual defection from the village and was also considered alongside Tsunade and Jiraiya to be one of the legendary Sannin.
Not only is Mitsuki directly cloned from one of the most powerful shinobi of all time, but he is also already a master of Sage Mode at the young age of 12 or 13 that he is when the series starts. Senjutsu has proved vital to defeating the Otsutsuki before, so he could play a large role in the new series.
Moreover, the body modifications on Mitsuki enable him to perform healing techniques flawlessly, regenerating from wounds in a matter of seconds, in addition to having Jugo’s Clan’s Kekkei Genkai which is just the Curse Mark that Sasuke once had.
Lastly, Mitsuki was once of the Otogakure village, allowing him access to their powers also.
All in all Mitsuki is being set up to be a seriously powerful shinobi, almost a ‘what if’ situation if Orochimaru didn’t end up defecting from the village, making him a fan favorite character for these reasons.
Kakashi Hatake
Yeah, we know Kakashi has already been Hokage for a small period, but if something were to happen to Naruto, non deadly, then it could only be an ‘interim’ position for the next Hokage. Even if the next Hokage is a permanent choice, it could easily be Kakashi.
Even though Kakashi may be ‘old’ at this point, he is still Kakashi the Copy Ninja, and if anything his powers may have grown stronger.
If something were to happen to Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi are the obvious candidates. Kakashi has already been Hokage and knows the responsibilities as well as the job well.
While he isn’t suited to the role permanently he could easily take a temporary role once more and reprise this beloved character.
It could be too early for people to trust Sasuke widely in the village just yet, and Konohamaru, another likely candidate, is potentially too young at the time to fill the role.
So, Kakashi isn’t an unlikely candidate even though he remains ‘retired’, he would easily come back if the village needed him.
Final Thoughts
It remains fairly likely that there could be an interim Hokage soon in Boruto as in the manga [SPOILERS] both Naruto and Kurama have been sealed away, this likely means that someone will have to fill the position of Hokage while Naruto is rescued or escapes.
Potential candidates such as Boruto and Sarada won’t likely be considered for the interim role, rather they may be considered as Naruto’s successor rather than his replacement.
This likely means that the more practical and present shinobi could be considered, rather than future or potential Hokage.
For this reason it seems to us that Kakashi, Sasuke, and Konohamaru are probably the most likely candidates for this role, but this information hasn’t been disclosed in the manga or the anime yet, it’s purely speculative at this point.
Although, at the current point in the manga it seems clear that someone may have to take Naruto’s role while he is sealed.
