Kakashi Hatake is the most underrated Hokage in Naruto and everyone ignores it

Masashi Kishimoto, the author of Naruto, had shown ingenuity while writing and illustrating the character of Kakashi Hatake. From being a talented shinobi admired and respected by all to becoming the Sixth Hokage of Hidden Leaf Village, fans have witnessed the greatness of this character unfolding throughout the story's narrative.

As a teacher, the Copycat Ninja of Konohagakure taught Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura the fundamentals of teamwork and what it meant to be a shinobi. Even though his personality prompts him to shrug off responsibilities, Kakashi Hatake shouldered the obligation of being a Hokage after the Fourth Shinobi War.

As a true leader, he strove to build the foundation for the village to prosper. However, it's true that despite his feats, Kakashi is still considered an underrated Hokage.

Kakashi Hatake brought prosperity and advancement as a Hokage after the Fourth Shinobi War in the Naruto-verse

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Ever since the news of Shikamaru becoming the Eighth Hokage in Boruto surfaced, fans cannot stop talking about Kakashi Hatake, the Sixth Hokage of Hidden Leaf Village, and his contributions as a leader.

Following the conclusion of the Fourth Shinobi War in Naruto, Konohagakure faced a void of leadership with Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, retiring. As a result, it was imperative to appoint someone with astute knowledge, skill, leadership capabilities, and experience.

At some point in the story, it was unanimously decided that Kakashi Hatake would be the ideal candidate to shoulder the responsibility of leading the village to greatness. Since the Fourth Great Shinobi War had left the entire village in shambles, Kakashi had to use his leadership skills and rebuild the village from scratch.

Unlike the other Kages, who resumed their duties following the Great War, the Sixth Hokage's first task was the rehabilitation of Hidden Leaf Village, and he evidently was successful in his venture. Moreover, Kakashi's experience as a shinobi and his leadership qualities endowed him with the strength to supervise this process.

Within a short period of time, the entire village was reconstructed and brought to stability. Besides, following this massive task, Kakashi strengthened the diplomatic ties with the other villages within the Naruto-verse.

Even though he was a Hokage during an era of peace, the silver-haired shinobi brought all of his skills to the fore and prevented any conflicts from arising further. Slowly but surely, Kakashi Hatake's administration modernized Konoha and brought a scientific revolution to the village.

Root as seen in the anime (Image via Pierrot)

He wanted to ensure that the next generation wouldn't have to suffer anymore. That's how he ushered Konoha into a technological era in Naruto. As such, it wouldn't have been possible if his administration hadn't strengthened the ties with other villages and countries.

Most importantly, despite becoming a Hokage in Naruto, Kakashi didn't shy away from venturing into battles. One of the major contributions he made as a Hokage was to eradicate the remnants of Danzo's Root Foundation, which caused many problems within Konoha in the past.

Kakashi's strength as a Hokage in Naruto

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Even though he lost his Sharingan during the Fourth Shinobi War, Kakashi Hatake still possessed insurmountable strength to lead the village and bring prosperity. While his feats and strength weren't explored in either the manga or the anime, he had grown exponentially as a powerful shinobi post the Great War in Naruto.

In fact, it was explicitly mentioned in the Kakashi Retsuden novel that his combat abilities as a shinobi had significantly increased from the time he fought against Madara and Obito Uchiha.

Kakashi as seen in the anime (Image via Pierrot)

On the other hand, fans might remember that in the Fourth Shinobi War, Kakashi was able to tackle direct hits from two-tailed beasts and fought on par with Obito. Additionally, Kakashi was exceptional at taijutsu in Naruto.

However, the copycat ninja didn't stop honing his skills even after the war. There's a misconception that Kakashi had grown weak after losing his sharingan, but on the contrary, he became stronger than before. Both Kakashi Hiden and Kakashi Retsuden novels have been the testaments to this fact.

Sometime within the canon narrative, Kakashi had developed a fire release even greater than Madara's. In addition, he crafted a fire jutsu that overturned the elemental disadvantages. He also unveiled his Purple Lightning that caused a thunderstorm at its max potential. So, as a Hokage, Kakashi didn't only have the intelligence and experience but also the strength to rise up to the occasion and battle if necessary.

Stay tuned for more anime news and manga updates as 2023 progresses.