Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto has always featured its protagonist becoming a Hokage which will allow him to leave his legacy and make the people of Konoha remember him as one of the greatest Shinobi. This goal would have been achieved by becoming the Hokage of Konohagakure, the leader of a village who would look after everyone.
Including Naruto Uzumaki, the series has featured eight Hokages, but one is considered to be the worst Hokages to ever exist in the Shinobi series. This is none other than Hiruzen Sarutobi, who is considered to be one of the worst characters ever to exist.
During his tenure, there was a major downfall in the village, but it was his treatment of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki that made the fans despise him. Moreover, a fan has come up with a convincing explanation of how Sarutobi was the reason behind our hero being so stupid.
Masashi Kishimoto Gave His Hero a Major Handicap Using Hiruzen Sarutobi
In Masashi Kishimoto’s Shonen series, fans have often questioned the capability of Hiruzen Sarutobi, The Third Hokage of Konohagakure, primarily because of his intentions and his capability of being a proficient leader.
However, the intense despise for the character stems from his treatment of Naruto Uzumaki, who was entrusted by Minato Namikaze to Sarutobi as he died saving the village from the Nine-Tails’ rampage. Though Uzumaki’s father died a hero, his son grew up isolated, and the villagers hated and resented him for being a jinchuriki.
Moreover, growing up, the protagonist mainly had cup noodles as his food, which added fuel to the fire. As a result, fans would often criticize the character for abandoning his duty, where he allowed the young boy to suffer while he watched from afar.
To cement this notion, a fan shared their opinion, saying that they believe that the neglect of his responsibility as a guardian and a mentor has made Naruto Uzumaki comparatively stupider than other kids in the village.
In r/Naruto, a post was shared that asked, “What is a fan theory so sensible that you can consider it canon?” The fan (@BeardInTheDark) stated that they ardently believe that our protagonist was never “formally taught how to read,” which nearly made him “illiterate.” This notion explains how there has been a massive gap between him and other kids his age.
They further explained that Kanji is quite difficult to learn, and despite having enough books to read, he could not interpret many of the phrases mentioned in the books. Hence, after the time skip, there was not much of a massive power boost, like we have seen in Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece.
Hence, they assume that Jiraiya-Sama found out this shortcoming of his pupil, and spent much of his time teaching him basic literacy and mathematics. This can be a good enough explanation for why the 8th Hokage did not get a “massive training-induced boost in the time skip,” while Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno received a massive boost.
Naruto Fans React to The Fan Theory
Even though in Masashi Kishimoto’s magnum opus, Hiruzen Sarutobi was labeled as a benevolent leader who even inherited the nickname “God of Shinobi,” fans can not forgive him for being passive and allowing villagers to treat the young boy like scum.
Hence, when the user came up with their own theory of the hero’s handicap, it received a massive thumbs up from other Reddit users, as they shared their opinion on the post.
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Be it canon or non-canon, fans can’t forgive the Third Hokage for being so inconsiderate towards Uzumaki and how he faltered his words and could not act decisively, which led to a number of unforgivable lapses in judgment and care.
Naruto can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
