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Jokes aside the idea of Shisui smartly winning a place as Fugaku's right-hand man and using Mangekyō fuckery against ROOT is so cool? Also Fugaku doesn't strike me as someone who would be a super bad Hokage- would he be the best? No. But would he be the worst? I don't think so, especially with Shisui at his side

And who knows?

Maybe with time things will get better and Konoha will accept Fugaku as their new Hokage. I know I would 🤭

- Koto-anon

It depends on how you judge success/badness/goodness specifically towards leadership in Narutoverse!

Disclaimer! This is all my opinion! I don't want to be lectured! I'll keep deleting bullshit!

I'm gonna try really hard not to start spiraling into historical analysis of power structures and perspective bias etc etc but knowing me that's what's going to happen anyway so let's just get into it 🤣

So, fandom usually looks at Hokage candidates by their raw strength which makes sense, considering all the talk of "Strongest in the Village" and looking at who we have in Canon:

Hashirama was the God of Shinobi

Tobirama was a genius with Jutsu and assumed to be a good policy maker too

Sarutobi was 'the professor' and was pretty spry against Orochimaru even as an old man

Minato was a genius sealing master and the 'fastest man alive'

Tsunade could crush mountains and perform healing miracles

Kakashi is a (you guessed it) genius and the man of a thousand Jutsu

Naruto is literally the Jinchuuriki Favourite Child of "God-God" Sage

But, honestly, discounting Tobirama... Who here is actually fit to be a leader and not just...a glorified general?

We need to understand what the Hokage actually does. Jokes about paperwork aside, how does the mantel of Kage fit within the broader sociopolitical framework, what role do their advisors and council play into the system?

So let's make some assumptions.

From examples across time and space, we know that Generals can be just as much in power as a civilian politician or the biological heir to a dynasty. I'd recommend looking at the Hokage as a hodge-podge of these:

The Hokage are all connected to each other. Hashirama-(brother)->Tobirama-(student)->sarutobi -(student's student)->Minato-(sensei's teammates/saru's other student)->Tsunade-(predecessor's student)->Kakashi-(student, sensei's son)-> Naruto

They're military leaders and the power structure of the villages are based on this Shinobi prowess

They are also in control of their civilian population (if there is a civilian council, I doubt they report to anyone but the Hokage) and they mediate with Daimyo etc.

Hashirama was the Senju Clan Head, a mantel that maybe passed to Tobirama but more likely passed to Hashirama's mysterious children.

Tobirama was, at the very least, his brother's closest advisor. That's some political practice, right there.

Sarutobi, we assume but then...maybe not!, was the pretty important to the Sarutobi. And there seems to be a fair few of them looking at that one panel of them all breathing smoke and shit (assuming that they're not just a huge pack of brothers but most are part of their own family unit)

I don't think Asuma has a dozen brothers. Maybe he does but, frankly, I'd be disappointed if they all didn't have daddy issues with the Sandaime as well.

I'm going off tangent🙃

MY POINT is that Sarutobi possibly had some experience with bureaucracy before becoming Sandaime. Maybe Tobirama punished them all with paper pushing, idk

Minato.... I don't know what to tell you but I'm tempted just to...skip... him because frankly his term of office was so short he probably hadn't even redecorated or got the smell of smoke out of the furniture yet! Regardless, being smart with seals doesn't mean he's a good judge of politics, economics, or social welfare! He gets brownie points for being a thinker, tho

(Does Konoha function as a welfare state? Surely with the injuries on a regular basis, as well as the crazy working schedules and the turn over of retiree veterans, they've got to have some impressive infrastructure- No, don't get me started-)

Tsunade. Right, listen, she's a doctor yeah but this woman really had no clan left to learn leadership for and she's been wandering the continent for a decade in a drunken stupor. I love her but there's a reason she's smashing desks and it's because she's been confronted with problems she can't pummel or resuscitate. Tsunade didn't get a medical degree (did she????) just to have to study MORE bullshit. She's frankly wasted here but better her than some of those fuck-wits.

Kakashi. 🥹 Leading the Hatake? No. ANBU? Does Captaincy really count as anything but even more field experience. Result: Why (i love you but SEND THE MAN TO THERAPY AND GO TO THE SPA)

Naruto. Well... They wouldn't let him jump from Genin to the Hokage. Is this because they know he's so uneducated and needs to go back to school or is this purely because you HAVE to climb the pecking order in order to hit the top. Both? Both is good

So there's just... A lot here. And I can speculate to fucking hell and back but there's very little actually elaborated on in Canon. What do they even do in the Hokage Tower? Is it just all mission paperwork or does Konoha function more like... Idk a principality? What is the involvement of the Daimyo?

This is where fanfiction reaaally takes the reigns and I love that for them ✨😤

So what would make a "bad" Kage?

Danzo.

Danzo is a SHIT Kage and not just because I hate him. We're looking at someone who poisoned the previous - relatively successful - leadership, worked with foreign powers to manipulate other nations as well as his own village, orchestrated and then ordered the slaughter of thousands of Konohan citizens, kidnapping and experimentation, sabotaging political rivals (whether they considered themselves rivals is a different matter all together), bolstered social conflict and international tensions, bloodline theft and forming a private army who were indoctrinated and sealed to his will-!

So if that's the "shit" end of the scale, where do the other Hokage line up?

Hashirama: congrats on building the village! However, it's really contested whether you actually met your new allies on equal standing and it's left a lot of social pressure that will explode down the line 🥺 you get points for spirit but the execution (whoops) might prove a bit wobbily

Tobirama: congrats on being the best of an....interesting bunch. You seem to have had a good head on your shoulders and, pre-founding antics aside, you've committed to the bit. Unfortunately, you have an evil student :/ oh, right, and those social issues? You're probably making them worse

Sarutobi: well. You sat there. Congrats on living so long, I guess. You taught a few loose canons big names, you signed your name on the top of the exam, you held onto peace for a good while by the skin of your teeth. Unfortunately any good you mightve done or process made has been massively underscored by allowed your live-in nuclear-weapon-child to be abused and reviled, your students have either fucked off or were chased out after performing atrocities against the population, your teammate tries to get the last student of your (brief) successor to kill you... Yeah. It's a lot. Oh, also your own son flipped you the bird for a decade to go live in the Capitol instead. Oh, yeah, and you must either live in a bubble of ignorance (ignoring that crystal ball you've got going on) or you're wilfully ignoring Danzo squirreling funds to his private army ;/ all in all? Not great signs of leadership control, you rotten motherfucker

Minato. Is it even fair to list him when he martyred himself before anything could happen? All i can say is... Yikes. Also congrats on dying so quickly that you were immortalised as the faultless golden hero of the village ☺️ all in all, Minato is just lucky to be here

Tsunade: um. She fucked off for decades, loudly proclaiming her disgust/revulsion of Konoha and how stupid anyone would have to be to become Hokage, and hasn't exactly been graceful or pleased since being strong armed into taking the job. I'm not saying I don't sympathise but at the same time... Not a good start. Idk about anyone else but if my (dictator?) leader loudly hated the job and the village and had also gone AWOL for years living it up whilst the village was kinda imploding... I would be pretty resentful. Girl Power can only fly you so high 😔✊

Kakashi: I'm sorry that they made you do this 🥹 you are smart and you've seen a lot of shit but... He might be long-suffering for his duty but, like with Tsunade, you've got to weigh up if they'd be better elsewhere. Kakashi is high on the list of Hokage we've got to work with, however. Well. If you ignore that he was hated for most of his life, first for his father and then for being a little brat, and then for being an "eye thief", and then for being a Friend Killer, and then for being a Pervert- well. His reputation abroad is much better but there's a reason most leaders have, at least loosely, a cult of personality (Narutoverse is bad for this, btw). He has similar problems to Tsunade but he wins out on loyalty.

Naruto. I'm not going here because it's Boruto territory and that's a hard pass.

So what makes a bad Hokage? The usual things, I'd imagine:

pathological power grabbing (war mongering isn't good for your own minions and it's not good for international friends)

ignoring the wants and needs of the wider population (revolutionaries 🤷)

Inconsistency (people watch their leaders extremely carefully and so do their enemies)

lack of attention (^^^)

lack of control (you're running a military dictatorship, commit to the bit)

too much control (Danzo, I'm looking at you)

selfishness (it always bites in the ass)

pure ignorance (Sarutobi, I'm looking at you)

a focus on the brute side of things instead of the subtler arts (Sarutobi isn't brute strength but, unfortunately, he's on the other end where appeasement is making things worse)

So, looking at this, what makes a good Hokage?

Someone who knows what they're doing? 🥴

Someone who wants to be there or at least has dedicated themselves to the roll in its entirety without going on a power trip or burning out in a short period? 💀

Dedication

sensitivity

an awareness of social pressure and tensions (literally read the room)

a firm hand to the law (you gotta keep the minions in line)

support for both the backbone of society (Shinobi and Clans) as well as attention to the majority and minority (civilians hold a lot of sway in the every day realities of Konoha, don't let the Jutsu fool you) and knowing when to invest so neglect doesn't bite you in the ass (or rip everything up by the roots - ROOT, lol)

You need intimidation/respect (they are mercenaries after all) abroad as well as devotion and reverence at home (good old propaganda to keep the masses contained)

looking at the various downfalls of previous Hokage, you gotta deal with threats close to you with scary efficiency.

Another disclaimer: this is a profile for a leader in Naruto. I don't want to hear shit about me promoting aggressive foreign policy or totalitarian ideology, omfg

So! Bearing all this in mind, and incorporating an awareness of canon context... Would Fugaku be a good or bad Hokage?

I think he'd be a very important and decisive one. Good? That's a little more nuanced. Let's get into it-

Fugaku has the "good" qualities:

He's Clan Head, so about as much experience as any of the others had, but then he's also Police Chief (ACAB, whoops) so we're dealing with someone with intimate knowledge of the letter of the law, navigating Konohan crime and punishment as well as legal bureaucracy, and he's already a direct authority within the village and - get this - with the civilians.

Fugaku didn't personally want the Coup but he's a leader listening to his clan and they're getting desperate (and, therefore, more explosive). He's managed to hold his own against all these influences around him. Should he have completely shut them down? Maybe, but then what if they tried to usurp him? The Uchiha Clan can't exactly afford to split into fractions

He's called Wicked Eye for a (mysterious Mangekyou) reason. The fact that his skills aren't discussed in canon only gives us even more leeway to make him a total BAMF. He could also, apparently, go head to head with Golden Boy Minato. Am I sensing a badass? I think I am

He's surrounded by trustworthy BAMFS. Hashirama had Mito and Tobirama (Madara too, not to incite commentary, lets stay focused). The others struggled with this: Tobirama's successor is a little bitch and Danzo was devil spawn, Sarutobi was trapped between Danzo and his wild-card/war criminal students, Minato's Kushina died with him and everyone else doesn't seem on the level, Kakashi's bestie is literally a major antagonist, Naruto is (BORUTO REDACTED). Fugaku, however, not only has a bamf Clan who seem pretty devoted to him as a leader (we don't see a lot of dissent) but he's got Itachi and Shisui right there. They had a problem with the Coup, not necessarily with Fugaku himself although I think (looking at their characters) interpersonal strife would be set aside in favour of the bigger picture. All in all, there's a reason why he was thought of as the 'father' of his Clan (but what if you have daddy issues 👀)

Does Fugaku also show signs of being a bad Hokage?

Well, the timing might prove deadly against him. A revolution when the wider population is so anti-Uchiha would tear Konoha in two. But... That's if you're thinking that a Coup would be... Well, what you'd imagine. But if it's performed by Uchiha, the masters of genjutsu and manipulation? Taking liberties with Fugaku's Wicked Eyes and possible OC Uchiha characters, who knows if it would be a seamless transition? (In a fic, maybe Shisui's use of Kotoamatsukami on Danzo and ROOT would be the tip of the iceberg on what happened in the Uchiha Revolution. The Sandaime deciding to united the fractions of Konoha with Fugaku as his successor....?)

Fugaku isn't power snatching and, if he was, it wouldn't be directly for himself like Danzo's is. Danzo might sugarcoat it as an ideological difference, a variation in his vision of Konoha compared to others, but it's really all about him. Fugaku feels... vindicated.

Fugaku wouldn't be unwilling, uncomfortable, under qualified, or underpowered.

Personality-wise? He'd be like Tobirama, who i think was the best previous Hokage. Would this turn Konoha into a police state? Wasn't it always that in some form, anyway?

Overall, I think Fugaku would be a good Hokage, if he was extremely careful and played his cards right (and, considering his dedication and shrewdness, there's no reason to think he wouldn't be)

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