Naruto - Konoha's next hokage debate

Before I begin, I'm going to be annoing for the fun of it and inform Pro that in your arguments, your use of images must support your claims. I am aware that there are not to be rebuttals in this round, but this minor detail is so small, I feel that it is valid to note this here. In your first image, the caligraphic characters on his back says that he is the 7th Hokage. You are arguing that he will be the next Hokage, which would be the 6th. Your picture implies that there should be a Hokage before Shikamaru, like say...Naruto!_______________________________________________________________Naruto Uzumaki Brief Biography by Naruto Wikia Naruto Uzumaki ({58;{78;|14;{65;|90;}23;|88;, Uzumaki Naruto) is a shinobi from Konohagakure. He became the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails on the day of his birth, a fate that caused him to be ostracised by most of Konoha throughout his childhood. After he becomes a member of Team Kakashi, Naruto begins working to acquire the village's respect and acknowledgment with the eventual dream of becoming Hokage. In the years that follow, Naruto becomes a capable ninja and eventually becomes regarded as a hero, both by the villagers and the shinobi world at large[1]. Sheer perseverance and willpower allowed Naruto to push past this stumbling block, revealing himself as a late bloomer as his true talent showed itself later, enabling Naruto to develop quickly during Part I, learning several complicated jutsu in a short period of time. His performance during the Ch$3;nin Exams impresses many of the same people that knew him as a failure in the Academy; even Sasuke, who was the top of their graduating class, becomes jealous that Naruto is catching up to him so rapidly. Many prominent ninja, both allies and enemies have noted Naruto's great potential growth, Orochimaru in particular viewing Naruto as a great future threat if left alive. Jiraiya, seeing the same potential that Orochimaru does in Naruto, took the young boy as a student, greatly developing his skills by the start of Part II. Since his return to Konoha in Part II, Naruto continued to go through rapid improvement, mastering increasingly advanced techniques and forms and even devising some long-range techniques to fill the gaps in his repertoire. Through his frequent encounters with powerful shinobi like the Akatsuki, Naruto gains some notoriety, even defeating the leader of Akatsuki, Pain. Konoha has since considered him a hero, which leads his fame to spread to other ninja villages. He is even recognised by the current fiveKage, the four previous Hokage, and the ninja world at large as the only person who can save and change the world. Even shinobi such as Madara Uchiha were forced to take him seriously when he fought Naruto. He has also been noted to have surpassed his father (The 4th Hokage) and has even been compared to Hashirama Senju several times, with Tobirama even noting that he could become a greater Hokage than Hashirama was. Hashirama himself credited Naruto with their near defeat of Madara[1].________________________________________________________________________________________Why Naruto Makes a Great HokageReason 1: Exceptionally Strong "Will of Fire" and the carries the Legacy of Previous HokagesThe will of fire an ideal that claims love is the key to peace. The first person known to have the Will of Fire is Hashirama, the 1st Hokage. Other notable people who has this Will of Fire were the 3rd and 4th Hokage. Naruto also has a strong Will of Fire, and it has been noted by many of his allies and enemies that he carries on the legacy of the previous Hokages. Hokages with a Will of Fire bring unity to the village[2]. Therefore it is neccessary for a Hokage to have an exceptionally strong Will of Fire for the benefit of the village. While many shinobi has a Will of Fire, Naruto's is among the strongest within the village.Reason 2: Knowledge of the Village From Every Point of View-A true leader must understand the people he is leading. This means he must understand the problems peoplei n the lower, middle, and higher class have and be able to resolve them. -Naruto began his life in the lower class as an orphan who was discriminated against and treeted like an animal by his fellow villagers. If he were Hokage, he would understand those who were in poverty like he was and he would bring equality to the village. As he got older, he was able to live in all classes of wealth, therefore he is familiar with every type of person in the village. -Shikamaru began living a relatively good life, with parents and money, in the middle class. He wouldn't understand those in the bottom like Naruto would. Therefore, he could not bring about equality as efficiently as Naruto.-This leads to my 3rd reason.Reason 3: Extreme Empathy-Empathy is good trait for leaders to have. And it just so happens that Naruto has a great sense of empathy. He is able to empathize with everyone, including his enemies, which is good. econd image below this text, Naruto empathizes with a villain and offers him a chance to stop being a villain. -His empathy allows him to understand people, and therefore it would make him a good leader/Hokage. Reason 4: He Saved the Village (He's a hero)-Pain infiltrated the village and tried to destroy and kill everyone in it. He almost could have destroyed the village, but Naruto defeated him. -By the way, while he defeated Pain, he also understood why Pain wanted to destroy the village and that in his own twisted way, Pain actually wanted peace. Just like I said, Naruto is good at empathizing with people, which is a good trait for leaders. Reason 5: If he was Hokage, there would be less protests within the village-Naruto has many friends, and they all like and admire him in a way. After he defeated Pain, everyone knew about him and liked him. A good leader has many admirers. If some people in the village like Naruto and others hated him, he'd be a bad leader because there would be protests and riots if he became Hokage. However, everyone likes him now, so there would be no protests if he became Hokage. The picture below depicts how the villagers greeted him after he defeated Pain. Reason 6: Unwavering commitment and loyalty to his friends-Naruto is willing to risk his life for his comrades. He is willing to take on any mission if it is to save his friends and he cares deeply about his team. -I'm not going to post an image for this one because I don't have much time to look through the manga and find the right images. I have to go out soon. But if it is needed, Pro can request me to provide this evidence next time, although I doubt he would because he should know that Naruto would also risk his life for his friends. I literally have 10 minutes left right now.Reason 7: Has the requirements to be a proper Hokage-In the story, technically, there are no requirements to be a Hokage. But one must show whether or not he or she is qualified to be Hokage. -Naruto's qualfications to be Hokage are quite impressive. His master was Kakashi, who was the disciple of the 4th Hokage. He also trained under Jiraiya, who trained the 4th Hokage and was trained by the 3rd Hokage. -He was also taught by the brother of the Raikage and toad sages and became a sage. The fact that he is a sage is notable because the previous Hokages most likely have sage mode. The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Hokage have been shown to have it. While the 4th never showed his sage mode, he likely has it because his master was the Toad Sage and he mastered everything his master taught him. The 2nd also likely has it because his brother the 1st has it. -This leads to my 8th reason.Reason 8: He has Credibility (more than Shikamaru)-Reason 7 gives him a lot of credibility to begin with. He has been trained by extremely skilled and famous masters who were tied to the Hokages. Shkamaru's sensei (master) was the son of the 3rd Hokage, so I guess they are both equally credible in this aspect.-But Naruto also saved the village from destruction, which is very credible.Reason 9: Connections-Naruto has many close friends outside of the village. He is very close friends with the Kazekage Gaara and the Raikage's younger brother. On top of that he's actually met most of the Kages of other villages (like the Raikage and the Tsuchikage) and knows them personally. -It is important for a Hokage or any leader for that matter to personally know the Hokages or leaders of other villages. It is even better if the Hokage knew them before becomming Hokage because it shows that he is close with them.Reason 10: Knowlege -Currently, Naruto is very knowlegeable about his village and his past. His deceased dad's spirit told him a little about what happened long ago at the village that no one else knows. And other people have been telling Naruto secrets that most (including Shikamaru) don't know. For an example, Naruto learned from Madara that Itachi was actually protecting the village and not destroyit. I don't have time to go back and look this up but I don't think Shikamaru knows this right now in the story. -It is important for a leader to know the history of his people and secrets about his village that few people know. Reason 11: it is his goal.-Naruto's lifelong goal was to be Hokage. He'd do anything to be Hokage. Shikamaru's wasn't. He wouldn't care much if he didn't become Hokage, therefore he is not determined to be Hokage. -If Shikamaru has a Hokage-dential election with Naruto, he would simply allow Naruto to be the next Hokage. -I must end here because I have less than a minute to submit.Sources: 1. http://naruto.wikia.com...2. http://naruto.wikia.com...;3. Images from the Manga