Minato became the 4th Hokage right after the 3rd Great Ninja War. He was the Hokage for the village for 12-24 months. After that, the day the 9 tails attacked the village, he sacrificed himself to protect the Hidden Leaf.
Minato Namikaze is one of the strongest, fastest and well-loved characters in the show. He has been considered a genius that comes once in a generation and is also feared by other villages.
Even in the academic part of the Chunin exam, he held record marks matched by none. Later, he was chosen by the village elders to be the 4th Hokage. But, how long was Minato Hokage?
Table of Contents
How Long Was Minato Hokage?
From the very early stage of his life, Minato aspired to be a Hokage. And to become the shinobi that everyone in the village looks up to and acknowledge, you have to become a Genin, then Chunin, then Jounin, and after that, if you are worthy of the title, sooner or later the village elder will entrust the village to your care and name you the next Hokage. Minato climbed the ladder all the way up to become the Hokage.
Even before becoming Hokage, he was feared by all 5 nations. Each village gave their ninjas a flee on sight order if they see Minato on the battlefield. He single-handedly ended the 3rd Great Ninja War by defeating the Hidden Stone village’s 1000 shinobi alone.
That is why he was going to be the next Hokage. After the elders all agreed upon that, they named him the next Hokage. Minato becomes the 4th Hokage.
After Minato becomes the 4th Hokage, he takes Kakashi under the Anbu Black Ops and assigned him as his right-hand man. After some time, Minato’s wife Kushina becomes pregnant. As she was the Jinchuriki of the 9 tails, Minato assigned Kakashi to watch over his pregnant wife.
As the due date came close, Minato release Kakashi from duty. Soon after that, Kushina gave birth to Naruto. The 9 Tailed Fox attacked the Hidden Leaf. And on the birthday of his child, Minato along with his wife died.
So, he had been Hokage from right after the 3rd Great Ninja War to the 9 tails attack. It’s roughly 1-2 years long time period.
As we have already told, after he became the Hokage, he kept Kakashi under his command for some time as Anbu. And then the whole time Kushina was pregnant, so there were at least 10 months more. In total, it is somewhere between 12-24 months.
Why Is Minato the 4th Hokage?
Minato dominated the 3rd Great Ninja War’s battlefield. Other villages issued a flee on sight order if they were to see him. He even stopped the 1000 Shinobi of the Hidden Stone Village all by himself.
Which led to the end of the war ultimately. So, because of his bravery in the war, he was named the 4th Hokage.
Besides, even before that war, people knew he is going to be the next Hokage after Hiruzen. As he was matched by no one at that time. Both in intellect and skillset on the battlefield.
How Old Was Minato When He Became Hokage?
Minato was 22 when he became the Hokage. He was one of the youngest shinobi to become Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi is the only other shinobi who became Hokage at a younger age.
Though he was very young at age, he was smart and wise in decision-making. According to both Tsunade and Jiraiya, Minato never did anything without a good reason behind it.
How Old Was Minato When He Died?
Minato was 24 years old when he died. Soon after he became the 4th Hokage, during the childbirth of his wife, the 9 Tailed Fox attacked the Hidden Leaf Village. While protecting his child and the village at the same time, Minato sacrificed his life.
Conclusion
Minato Namikaze was named the 4th Hokage at the age of 22 and he died at 24. Therefore, he was the Hokage for 1-2 years. He was hoped to bring peace to the Ninja world thanks to his unparalleled skill and intellect and the will of fire.
He was one of the smartest and coolest characters of the show. We all wanted to see him more in the show aside from a few good filler episodes and extra clips from the Ninja Storm 4 game.