Highlights

  • Selecting the right Kage is crucial for the village's well-being, as their decisions can impact everyone.
  • Some Naruto characters chosen as Kage made terrible choices, leading to economic losses and even deaths.
  • Hiruzen's complacency and Tobirama's prejudice caused chaos, proving that not all Kage were fit to lead.

A Kage plays an extremely important role in the affairs of the village. Often in Naruto, fans have seen a Kage making big calls that affect the entire village. Naturally, it is crucial that the villagers select the right person to represent them.

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Most of the time, the people elect the right individual, but there have been a few exceptions. Sometimes the Kage chosen would end up making rash decisions that would cause huge economic losses. Other times, they would become tyrants and subject people to physical and mental abuse. Given their actions, these Naruto characters should have never become Kage.

6 Hashirama Senju

Left The Village Without A Proper Leader

First Hokage Hashirama

Hashirama Senju was the most powerful ninja of his time. He was known as the "God of Shinobi," which was an indication of his strength. Despite being so strong, Hashirama Senju was a generous and kind individual who always tried to do his best for the sake of other people.

While he was undoubtedly a great person, Hashirama lacked the intellect of a great leader. He did not have foresight to see that his younger brother was full of prejudice toward the Uchiha clan. A good leader needs to pick his successor, which is something that Hashirama didn't do, and it had massive repercussions.

5 Rasa

Was Willing To Kill Innocents

Rasa Fourth Kazekage Naruto

Rasa was the Fourth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand. He wanted his village to be on top, and for that, he was willing to jeopardize the safety of others. Rasa agreed to form an alliance with Orochimaru, who also wanted to destroy the Hidden Leaf. This came to bite him as Orochimaru killed him and took over the forces of the Hidden Sand.

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Aside from making some rash decisions, Rasa was also a very horrible human being. He wanted to kill his own son because he was unable to handle him. Rasa ordered Gaara's assassination six times, but all of them ended in failure. After repeated setbacks, Rasa decided to stop the attempts in the hopes that Gaara would become a useful tool in the future. Rasa was also obsessed with the idea of valuing the lives of people based on their fighting skills.

4 Yagura

His Ideas Led To The Deaths Of Countless People

Yagura Controlled by Obito

Yagura was the Fourth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist. He was the jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, which gave him access to a great deal of chakra reserves. Under Yagura's leadership, the Hidden Mist village came to be known as Bloody Mist. Yagura believed that the dangerous conditions would give rise to strong ninjas.

This led to an increased number of deaths in the village. The students in the Academy fought and killed each other. It was during this time that Zabuza slaughtered over a hundred students and earned the epithet of Demon of the Mist.

3 Hiruzen Sarutobi

His Lack Of Decision-Making Led To A Genocide

Hiruzen Sarutobi in Naruto

Hiruzen Sarutobi served as the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf twice. His first reign was relatively trouble-free, which allowed him to step down from his position and name Minato Namikaze as his successor. Hiruzen came into power again when Minato died protecting the Hidden Leaf from the attack of the Masked Man and the Nine Tails.

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During Hiruzen's second tenure, he committed many errors, but nothing came close to his handling of the Uchiha Clan's coup d'état. He was aware of the issues, but he took a rather laid-back approach. He never took charge of the situation, giving Danzo a free hand at things. Since Danzo had no restrictions, he initiated the slaughter of the entire Uchiha Clan. While Hiruzen would not have gone down the same path, his complacency led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent people.

2 Tobirama Senju

Sowed The Seeds Of Hatred

Hokage-Naruto-Tobirama

Tobirama Senju became the Second Hokage of the Hidden Leaf after the death of his elder brother. Tobirama was drastically different from Hashirama in terms of personality. The latter was more compassionate and always tried to resolve issues by talking. Tobirama, on the other hand, was more realistic and cold-hearted.

While Tobirama did introduce many reforms for the sake of the village, he also did irreparable damage to the Uchiha Clan. He considered them threats and removed them from all positions of power. Tobirama founded the Leaf Police as a means to keep the Uchiha distracted. This led to the Uchiha Clan resenting the elders of the Hidden Leaf. It is safe to say that it was Tobirama's actions that caused the Uchiha to plot a coup d'état, which almost led to the clan's extinction. A person with dangerous ideas should never have been allowed to become a Hokage.

1 Danzo

Ordered The Killing Of Hundreds Of Innocent People

Danzo Shimura

Danzo was never officially named the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, but he seized power after Pain's invasion. Danzo traveled to the Land of Iron to participate in the Five Kage Summit. Danzo was a vicious individual who considered himself to be the protector of the Hidden Leaf.

Danzo was part of Orochimaru's inhumane experiments, and he was the main reason why the Uchiha Clan massacre occurred. Danzo stole Shisui's eye, which the latter intended to use to stop the coup. As the final step, Danzo compelled Itachi to annihilate his entire clan. He ensured that Sasuke would be spared if Itachi did as he was told. Considering his actions, it was for the best that he was not allowed to stay in power. There is no telling what he would have done to the village.

Naruto_ Shippuden
Naruto: Shippuden
Action
Adventure
Release Date
February 15, 2007
Studio
Pierrot
Creator
Masashi Kishimoto
Streaming Service(s)
Amazon Prime Video , Crunchyroll , Hulu