5 ways Kakashi is a good Hokage in Naruto (and 5 ways he is not)
The Hokage's position is a huge role to fill in Naruto, but Kakashi Hatake proved he was up to the task!
As the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi presided over an unprecedented era of peace that had its own set of challenges. From cults to hostage-takers, Kakashi's Hokage era proved to have many things Team 7's Sensei had to overcome.
Here are five ways that prove Naruto's Kakashi Hatake is a good Hokage, and five ways in which he did a poor job.
Note: The article contains spoilers for Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and the prelude to Boruto. The article is only the author's opinion.
5 ways in which Naruto's Kakashi is a good Hokage
1) Redemption opportunities offered and paid off
In Kakashi's first official act as Sixth Hokage, he forgoes the death penalty on fomer terrorist Kahyō because she saved hostages during an attempted hijacking of a cargo transport plane. Kahyō was given life imprisonment in the infamous Blood Prison as its warden and cut the secondary offense rate in half.
Likewise, Kakashi afforded Chino and Nowaki a chance to free enslaved ninjas, which they happily accepted. Sasuke aided Chino and Nowaki out of a revenge plot, helped destroy giant meteors threatening the Hidden Leaf village during Naruto: The Last Movie, and gave an advance warning of the Ōtsutsuki clan's return.
2) Contributing to the Shinobi Union
The Shinobi Union rose to prominence following the Fourth Great Shinobi War and acts as a kind of United Nations for the ninja world. Comprised of each of the five great nations, alongside the Samurai Land of Iron, the organization carries out missions for those who approach it and contribute to peacekeeping efforts.
The organization is vital to sustaining post-war peace, which Kakashi aided by keeping the Land of Fire involved and ensuring representatives get to meetings. Kakashi is largely responsible for the reigning peace that's still in place at the beginning of Boruto due to mutual aid between nations.
3) Swiftly dealing with the Land of Silence
The novel Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness chronicles a mission to the Land of Silence. Led by the evil Genogo, the nation began wrecking havoc on unsuspecting villages. Thus, Kakashi dispatched a special team of ninjas to stop Gengo; including Shikamaru Nara and Sai.
Kakashi’s swift and measured actions resulted in Gengo being unseated before things got dire. Kakashi also requested reinforcements from the Hidden Sand Village, who showed up at the knick of time to save Shikamaru and Sai when they were captured.
4) Stopped an invasion of the Hidden Leaf
After reasoning that an enemy force was using genjutsu to control a variety of ninjas from different nations, Kakashi dispatched many of his former students to stop and apprehend the brainwashed ninja attacking the village.
Zombie-like villagers and ninjas weren't easy to take down, forcing Kakashi to take part in the defense.
While many of the Hidden Leaf Shinobi were caught off guard twice with Pain's Assault and Orochimaru's failed invasion, this time the Hidden Leaf Ninja prevented large scale destruction. It wasn't without effort, but it was expunged thanks to quick thinking and decisive action on Kakashi's part.
5) Work/Life balance (and eventually retiring)
Kakashi seems to understand that people don't exist just to work. This was seen when he gave Shikamaru a week off after the Land of Silence mission and let Naruto and Hinata have the day off for their wedding. As a bonus, Hatake tasked his former students with getting Naruto and Hinata wedding gifts as breathers.
Kakashi also knew when to step down and leave it to Naruto, which he did after a little over a decade. He never really wanted the job but did help the village advance in science and technology. The Sixth Hogake knows when to bow out and that's important for any higher-up position.
5 ways in which Kakashi sucks at his job
1) Root, specifically Sumire
The Root organization was Danzo Shimura's brainchild in Naruto Shippuden, performing every dirty trick to "keep the leaf safe" as Danzo attempted to justify its existence. Once the Fourth Great Ninja War ended and the Hidden Leaf’s reconstruction completed, Kakashi made the decision to expose the organization.
Despite Root's dissolution, no tabs were kept on the former members. This inaction caused Sumire Kakei's mom to die from illness and her father to use her as a tool of revenge. This led to problems in Boruto with Sumire nearly destroying the Hidden Leaf village.
2) Nearly blew the moon up
The evil Koneri Otsutsuki attempted to drop the moon on the Earth and thereby destroy humanity, so Kakashi ordered the construction of a massive cannon to blow it up. In the midst of the construction, Kakashi rallied the Hidden Leaf Shinobi to hold off giant meteors that threatened the people of the village.
This protection included the last resort use of the cannon to destroy the moon. The Sixth Hokage would've done it too if not for Kurama carving the phrase "Mission Accomplished" on the surface. If Kakashi had fired, Naruto and and his team on the moon would've died and the ecological effects would've been catastrophic.
3) Faked a Hokage initiation
Unfortunately for Naruto, he missed his Hokage initiation. Naruto was severely slammed by his daughter, Himawari, after Boruto ripped her stuffed animal while they were tussling and that knocked him out cold. This caused Kakashi to need to improvise since nobody could find the future Hokage for the day.
Kakashi had to undergo a hair-brained scheme to have Konohamaru take Naruto's place in a transformational disguise. Instead of postponing the coronation since Naruto was ill, Kakashi went on with it anyway. It was a tad mean-spirited, considering Naruto's whole dream was to become Hokage.
4) The Ōtsutsuki clan investigation relies solely on Sasuke
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki caused major havoc, opened elemental dimensions, and left a huge trail to follow. The trail gets a follow-up from Sasuke.
Considering that only Sasuke was strong enough if things went awry, which they did, this may have been for the best.
However, what wasn’t accounted for was having a backup plan in case Sasuke gets hurt or dies in the course of his investigation and mission.
Kakashi could've insisted at least one or two people accompany him. It would've probably lessened the burden on the now one-armed Uchiha, seeing as he was constantly communicating with Kakashi.
5) Never wanted the role, accepted anyway
In Naruto Shippuden, when Danzo Shimura died, Kakashi was approached for the position of Hokage. He flatly refused at first. The problem is that nobody else qualified was around. Additionally, Tsunade was in a coma at the time.
When Tsunade awoke, Kakashi was extremely relieved. After being shown that he can do more, especially with Konahamaru still being a kid, Naruto was nowhere near ready, and Tsunade getting too old, Hatake reluctantly accepted after saving a plane full of people.
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