In the world of Naruto, a Kage is generally considered to be the strongest ninja in the entire village. They're responsible for looking after the whole village, and protecting every person that lives under their cloak. The Kage system was first created about 74 years before the events of the first chapter of the series, thanks to the combined effort of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Over the years, many other villages adopted this system, and hence the shinobi villages were created. Almost every aspiring shinobi aims to become a Kage, but since the path that they walk is so difficult, not everyone can pull it off. In this list, we'll mention ten Naruto characters who failed to become a Kage.

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10 Kushina Uzumaki

Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto's mom, frowning in Naruto.

Naruto Uzumaki's very own mother, and the kunoichi who went by the name of 'Red-Hot Habanero,' Kushina Uzumaki arrived in Konoha from Uzushiogakure to become the vessel of the nine-tails. At the ninja academy, she openly expressed her goal of becoming the Hokage of the village. Kushina did go on to become a mighty ninja, but her dream of becoming Hokage was never seen out. In her stead, her husband Minato became the Hokage, carrying on her vision for her. Years later, her son, Naruto Uzumaki, became an extension of that dream when he became the village's Seventh Hokage.

9 Fugaku Uchiha

fugaku uchiha with his eyes closed

The last leader of the Uchiha clan and the head of Konoha's police force, Fugaku Uchiha was an able shinobi of his time. His strength had earned him consideration for the position of Fourth Hokage after the third great ninja war concluded. However, he failed bitterly, because not only did the village choose Minato Namikaze over him, they also isolated his entire clan, which later forced him to lead a coup in an attempt to overthrow the village head. Fugaku's failure at becoming a Kage crushed his clan's dream of reintegrating with the village properly.

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8 Kankuro

An excellent jonin and an even better puppeteer, Kankuro hails from the village hidden in the sand. Kankuro is the son of the late 4th Kazekage of the sand, named Rasa. While never in the running for the position of Kage, everyone likely expected Kankuro to take over the mantle from Rasa. Gaara was never considered normal, to begin with, so everyone was looking up to Kankuro to be the next leader of the village, but he never fulfilled those expectations. Instead, his brother, Gaara, was elected the Fifth Kazekage of the Sand.

7 Dan Kato

Edo tensei dan

One of Konoha's elite jonin, Dan's ideals of saving everyone were born after the untimely death of his little sister. Ever since then, he aimed to become the Hokage of Konoha so that he could protect people with all his might. Dan shared his dream with his girlfriend, Tsunade Senju, but never got to accomplish it, as he died in the second great ninja war. Despite his skill and rock-solid conviction, Dan didn't even come close to becoming the Hokage of Konoha, which just goes on to show that becoming a Kage is no easy task. Although he failed, his dreams were later carried on by Tsunade, who was elected the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure.

6 Orochimaru

One of the legendary Sannin, and arguably the strongest shinobi from his generation, Orochimaru was an elite Konoha shinobi back in the day. True to his wicked personality, he was always cruel, and his interest in human life led him to commit some very bizarre and inhumane experiments, which cost him the spot of the Fourth Hokage. His name was put forward by Danzo, but Hiruzen rejected this proposal because he didn't carry the 'will of fire,' and hence, Minato was elected as the Hokage instead. Ultimately, this ended up playing a significant role in his defection from the village and is one of the main reasons why he held a grudge against Hiruzen for so long.

5 Kiba Inuzuka

kiba inuzuka is talking excitedly in naruto: shippuden

Kiba Inuzuka was once a member of Kurenai Yuhi's Team 8. True to the nature of his clan, Kiba was a complete beast in battle, and to date, remains one of the most impressive shinobi from Konoha. Kiba's growing strength made him believe that he was capable enough to become the Hokage in the future. Confident in his abilities, Kiba openly declared his ambition during the fourth great ninja war. Despite his bold claim, Kiba was never taken seriously by anyone, not even his own team-mates. It is safe to assume that somewhere down the road, he gave up on his dream of becoming the Hokage as well.

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4 Akatsuchi

Akatsuchi flying and smiling

An elite jonin from Iwagakure, Akatsuchi was the former bodyguard and assistant of Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage. His skills with earth release are still considered to be top-notch. Despite him being the underling of Onoki, he was never able to solidify his position as a Kage of Iwagakure. One would imagine that the next in line after Onoki would be none other than the man who he trusts most, but no, he didn't get to be a Kage in Naruto. Instead, Onoki's granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, becomes the Fourth Tsuchikage and leads the village to a brighter future in Boruto.

3 Danzo Shimura

Danzo was the head of Konoha's root Anbu, and one of the most noxious men in the entire series. To Hiruzen's light, he was dark. Danzo had been eyeing the position of Hokage for a long time, and he almost succeeded when Tsunade went into a state of coma after Pain's attack on the village. Unfortunately for Danzo, things didn't go too well, as he was soon tracked down and killed by Sasuke Uchiha. Danzo brought misery upon lots of people, and the entire Uchiha clan was his victim. Sasuke felt justified in eliminating such a vile man, and in doing so, he put an end to Danzo's life-long ambition as well.

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2 Madara Uchiha

madara uchiha in naruto

The legend of the Uchiha clan, Madara Uchiha, was one of the creators of Konohagakure, along with the Senju clan's Hashirama. Both of them had suffered in war, and to put an end to it, they created an alliance, which gave birth to the first shinobi village. Together, they created Konoha with the dream of protecting the young generation from the horrors of war. However, both Madara and Hashirama were in contention for the position of Hokage at that time. Madara always carried a cold and dark personality to Hashirama's warm and sunny, which is why he failed at becoming the Hokage of the village. This particular set of events would then lead to Madara leaving the village.

1 Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke Speaking To Naruto With His Rinnegan Activated

Another member of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke Uchiha followed his own path in the story, seeking his answers to everything. After speaking to the four Hokages, Sasuke arrived at the conclusion that he must become the Hokage himself. However, his version of Hokage was to be a protector from within the shadows, much like his brother Itachi. Sasuke wanted to become the next big threat to unite the shinobi world, after Madara Uchiha. Ultimately, he gave up on his dream after losing to Naruto Uzumaki, who convinced him to put his faith in him instead. Nonetheless, Sasuke is still a contender for the position of the eighth Hokage in Boruto.

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