The Longest-Reigning Kage In Naruto

Summary

• Naruto achieves his dream of becoming Hokage to ensure peace in the Hidden Leaf Village.
• Various Kage ruled their Hidden Villages for decades, shaping the landscape with their ideals.
• Naruto’s tenure as Hokage faces challenges from new threats, but he works to maintain the peace.

Being Hokage has always been Naruto Uzumaki’s dream, and something he finally achieves after the birth of his son, Boruto, in a peaceful age after a wartorn era. While the Boruto series shows that new threats are on the horizon after the age of peace ushered by the end of Naruto, fans are also shown just how the Kages of the Hidden Villages will work hard to preserve the new joyful era they all helped bring forth during Naruto’s journey.

Thankfully, this dream of peaceful Villages is something shared by many—with some Kage even ruling for entire decades and seeing the evolution of these ideals. While Naruto remains a notable Hokage, other fellow Kage have ruled far longer than he has and shaped their respective Hidden Villages in ways that affected their perception throughout the series.

10

Naruto Uzumaki

Finally Achieved His Dream Of Being Hokage

Introduced in his own series as a mischievous protagonist with a heart of gold, Naruto Uzumaki will stop at nothing to have the Hidden Leaf Village to recognize him as more than the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. While it took Naruto fighting insurmountable odds just to change the minds of his opponents, and even risking his life to protect his friends, Naruto finally managed to achieve his dream some five to seven years after the events of Shippuden, when he formally accepted his role as the Seventh Hokage around the time that Boruto was five and Himawari was still relatively young. This places Naruto at roughly 32 years old when Boruto begins, which by then meant Naruto has spent around seven years as Hokage.

Being the Hokage in a new era meant helping the Hidden Leaf cope with the previous age of constant terror they had experienced, especially with the Akatsuki on the loose and Danzo instilling dread during the eras of Hiruzen and Tsunade. Unfortunately for Naruto, his tenure was challenged with the arrival of Momoshiki Otsutuski and the Kara organization, until it was eventually paused after his presumed death at the hands of the stranger Boruto (as per Kawaki’s role reversal Omnipotence).

9

Chojuro

Mei Terumi’s Former Retainer Proves He Is Worthy Of The Seat

• Debut: Shippuden Episode 199

The bespectacled Chojuro is initially introduced in the Five Kage Summit as one of Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi’s bodyguards. Despite his meek nature, Chojuro is a member of the last generation of the Hidden Mist’s Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, being the designated carrier of the massive dual-blade Hiramekarei.

Having transitioned into the position of Mizukage around the same time as Darui and Kurotsuchi, placing him in the position for around 12 to 15 years, so too did Chojuro’s overall disposition change. Now calmer, more confident, and more determined, Chojuro demonstrates more methodical approaches to solving situations. Unfortunately, Chojuro’s desire for a more peaceful Hidden Mist conflicts with the Village’s inclination towards older ways, something he’s been trying to solve for some time.

8

Darui

The Easy-Going Apprentice Of The Third Raikage

• Debut: Shippuden Episode 199

Despite his laid-back attitude, Darui is a skilled swordsman and an even more skilled shinobi, trained by the Third Raikage himself and constantly partnered with C as per their Hidden Village’s tradition. After the Third Raikage’s passing, Darui and Bee became the Fourth Raikage’s bodyguards. Darui quickly impressed attendees of the Five Kage Summit with his proficiency in Wind, Water, and Lightning Releases—specifically the latter through his use of Black Lightning, the signature technique of the Third Raikage himself.

Such is Darui’s skill with the blade that he’s able to contend with Suigetsu, hailed as the Second Coming of the “Demon” Zabuza of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Although he becomes a husband and a father during Boruto, Darui takes his role of Raikage seriously. With the assumption that he transitioned into the position following A’s retirement post-Fourth Great Ninja War, meaning he’s held the role for at least 12 to 15 years.

7

Kurotsuchi

The Dutiful Granddaughter Of Onoki

• Debut: Shippuden Episode 199

Kurotsuchi inherited the Third Tsuchikage’s fierce loyalty towards the Hidden Stone, as she was at first willing to kill the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to cement her Village’s superiority. When coupled with her confidence and talent, Kurotsuchi is a capable kunochi—considered skilled enough to be assigned as the bodyguard of the Third Tsuchikage, who also turned out to be her grandfather, in the Five Kage Summit. After the events of Shippuden, Kurotsuchi seemingly took the mantle of the Fourth Tsuchikage after her grandfather’s retirement.

She was Tsuchikage during the events of Boruto and presumably still is during the events of Two Blue Vortexes. This places Kurotsuchi as the Kage of the Hidden Stone for at least 12 to 15 years. This is a title she holds in high esteem, as she often mentions her Kage’s honor when helping rescue Naruto, as well as by following orders she doesn’t necessarily agree with if it means keeping the peace in her Village.

6

Gaara

The Former One-Tails Jinchuriki

Previously known as the sadistic host of the One-Tails, a fierce and heartfelt fight with Naruto taught Gaara how to care for the ones he loves, even if the Fourth Kazekage simply wanted Gaara to merely be Jinchuriki instead of a son. It’s thanks to Naruto’s resolve that Gaara started caring more for others, making Gaara into a wisened Fifth Kazekage before he turned 15. Such a promotion made Gaara one of the youngest Kage to ever take the mantle, and he even became an inspiring leader during the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Gaara is still the Fifth Kazekage during the events of Boruto, which take place an estimated 12 to 15 years after the events of Shippuden. He is still the Fifth Kazekage in the events of Two Blue Vortex, which is a three-year timeskip after Boruto. This places Gaara at around 30 to 33 years old, and having held the position of Kazekage for at least 15 to 18 years.

5

Rasa

Spent Much Of His Tenure Subduing The One-Tails And Its Periodic Attacks

Fans of Naruto who think the Hidden Leaf had it bad when the Nine-Tails unleashed its eventful attack around the time of Naruto’s birth will be in for a rude awakening when they realize that the Hidden Sand Village experienced frequent attacks by the One-Tails around the same period. It was the efforts of previous Kazekage, especially Fourth Kazekage Rasa, that stopped Shukaku from completely destroying the Village. Unfortunately, the Land of the Wind’s Daimyo cut down budget to support the Hidden Sand, which prompted Rasa to prepare his unborn son to become Shukaku’s new vessel—resulting in the death of his wife, Karura, in childbirth.

Since then, Rasa has trained Gaara to be Shukaku’s perfect Vessel, which resulted in the youth becoming sadistic and merciless. It’s safe to assume that Gaara’s elder siblings, Temari and Kankuro, were already born during Rasa’s tenure, making Rasa the Kazekage for at least 15 years before his untimely death at the hands of Orochimaru. However, it can be safely assumed that he may have been Kazekage for much longer, seeing as the Third Kazekage was missing for quite some time before Rasa took the position.

4

Hashirama Senju

One Of Konoha’s Founding Fathers

One of Konoha’s founding fathers, some might expect Hashirama Senju to have an extended tenure. Unfortunately for him, his clan’s pre-existing conflict with the Uchihas at the time meant that any vision of peace he and Madara Uchiha wanted for their new Hidden Leaf Village would never truly last in their lifetime. Regardless, Hashirama is known for making a concerted effort to unite his clan and the clan of his dearest friend, and even took in other clans who wanted to ally under one banner instead of continuing to fight each other during that unstable era.

Unfortunately, not much is known about the “true” length of Hashirama’s tenure, but it could be theoretically calculated given specific events that took place during his life. For instance, it’s said that Madara left the Hidden Leaf Village 66 years before the Fourth Great Ninja War, and that there were 49 years between the First and Fourth Great Ninja Wars. This gives Hashirama an upper limit of approximately 17 years of being Hokage prior to his death.

3

A, Or Ay

The Stalwart Protector Of Kumogakure

• Debut: Shippuden Episode 152

Considered a rival to pre-Hokage Minato Namikaze in terms of speed, A, or Ay, is the son of the Third Raikage, who also had Bee, the Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, as his tag-team partner for their Village’s signature Lightning Release: Double Lariat. Ever an outspoken and decisive individual, A is an extremely rational and militaristic individual—all for the purposes of the Village. Unlike other Kage, A is rash, loud, and arrogant, to the point where Bee had to point out A’s over-protectiveness as the reason why he couldn’t ever reach his full potential.

While Darui eventually replaces A as the Fifth Raikage, A is instrumental in setting up Kumogakure’s might as a Hidden Village. While there’s no direct timeline as to when A took up his father’s place as the Fourth Raikage, it’s presumed that it happened before the attack of the Nine-Tails in Konoha, as he was already Raikage during the tumultuous Hyuga Affair between the Hidden Leaf and Stone. Since this happened when Hinata was three years old, and he continued to be Raikage until the end of Shippuden, the assumption is that A was the Fourth Raikage for at least 20 to 25 years.

2

Hiruzen Sarutobi

The God Of Shinobi Who Ruled For Two Tenures

With a strong Will of Fire that amazed even Tobirama Senju, a young Hiruzen Sarutobi was chosen by none other than Tobirama himself to be his successor near the end of the Second Great Ninja War, making Hiruzen a Hokage in his early 20s. Despite his young age, Hiruzen’s experience in the war and the fierce inter-politicking in the Hidden Leaf Village made him a master politician, having kept the likes of Danzo Shimura from taking full control of the Village while nurturing talent like his Sannin, one of which (Jiraiya) was responsible for helping nurture the Leaf’s Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. It’s estimated that Hiruzen ruled the Hidden Leaf as Hokage for around 40 years.

However, Minato’s untimely death at the hands of the Nine-Tails had Hiruzen once again assuming the Hokage’s post until his own death at the hands of Orochimaru during Konoha Crush. Throughout his tenure, Hiruzen demonstrated remarkable leadership abilities and combat prowess, mastering all Five Basic Nature Transformations as well as Yin and Yang Release—hence his naming “The God of Shinobi.” Although he was only ever directly taught the Sannin, his wisdom from back in his turbulent era provided effective wisdom not just for his successors, but also for the teachers who taught them.

1

Onoki

The Inspiring Rock Of Both Scales Who Faced Madara In His Prime

• Debut: Shippuden Episode 199

Despite appearing as a short man in his late 70s or early 80s in Shippuden, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, is not someone to trifle with. In his youth, Onoki managed to spar on near-equal terms with Madara Uchiha in his prime—sparking a “rivalry” that would lead to the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Stone Villages having a fragile alliance. Onoki became the Third Tsuchikage before the beginning of the Third Shinobi World War, having hired the Akatsuki on occasion and even meeting the Fourth Raikage in his youth.

Considering the age of the people he’s interacted with, Onoki can be considered not just among the oldest Kage in the Naruto universe, but also the Kage with the longest tenure, as he was made into Kage before Hiruzen and died during Naruto’s rule, placing him in the position for well over 40 years. Onoki’s old age has made him proud and boastful, to the point where he even used to insult Gaara due to his youth, and berated Tsunade for being “too old” to become Hokage. It’s thanks to Gaara and Naruto that Onoki started to channel his “youthful” vigor into more meaningful things.

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