If Itachi was the Godaime Hokage....

[Murdock]

eeeh 13 year old prodigy? well it doesn't seem like Konoha's style ... for god sakes he wasn't even adult and eligible to sing any documents

[M3J]

Itachi was well known though, he was the prodigy of the Uchiha clan, literally the strongest there was.

As far as we know, among Konoha. Not sure if he was known out of Konoha, but there has been no sign that he was known prior to the Uchiha Massacre.

As for not knowing a lot about the world, that isn't always needed. Hiruzen was appointed Hokage on the battlefield at Itachi's age. Gaara was even younger. And by the looks of things the 3rd Mizukage wasn't that old when he took power. There is a reason why their are elders to help the Hokage.

Where was it said Hiruzen was around Itachi's age? He looked much older. Gaara was powerful though, and the only good choice in the village. PLus, Suna probably selects hokage differently. Konoha still had plenty of other choices, unlike Suna.

Yeah, but the hokage still apparently makes a lot of decisions. Itachi is wise and smart, but the lack of infamy is what probably would hurt him here.

IMO without knowing enough about Shusui I can't say if he would be able to be Hokage or not, but I certainly think Itachi would be. He was strong enough, smart enough, and knew right from wrong and how do deal with things. You say he may be too sacrificial, but I think his intelligence and reason wouldn't make it so he was making bad decisions with the help of his advisers.

I think he'd have been hokage material as well, at least eventually if not at the time. But apparently it takes more than that, like how well-known the person is, and etc. Itachi may not have been as well known out of the village. There's also a likelihood that Itachi was talked about being hokage before the Massacre. Could as very well be Danzou putting his foot down because Itachi was an Uchiha, even resorting to his Sharingan.

Itachi, had the power and means to protect Konoha from quiet a bit. He has Shusui's Sharigan (if Shusui did die) He can use Izamai, and in a one on one fight with anyone powerful (like Orochimaru or Pain) he had the abilities and items (Sword and Shield) to get the job done.

Shisui's Sharingan was usable once per a decade. We dunno when Itachi got Izanami, and even if he could use it, still a bad idea as he'd lose an eye and be less effective as a kage. Against someone like Raikage, Susano'o wouldn't be as useful. Probably so if Raikae didn't know about the Sword, which Orochimaru himself didn't despite seekin the sword.

As for his renown, he was the prodigal son of one of the greatest clans in the world. Not to mention, he achieved the fearsome MS. I don't think for a second anyone wouldn't respect and outright fear him. And here is something to think about. Sasuke would have still idolized him, it's extremely possible he would have wanted to give his brother his eyes so he could attain EMS. And if Tsuande was in the village, Itachi's sickness could have been taken care of. So yea, while those are big ifs (this whole subject is a big if), you would have Itachi in a great position to rule.

What about his reputation outside the village? Tsuchikage indicated that Gaara wasn't as respected as he was still young and if I recall, not as well known. Itachi doesn't appear to be famous out of hte village like Kakashi and Jiraiya were. Even minato was well known for Hiraishin, if nothing else. Every hokage chosen were known out of their village, except for maybe Danzou. We don't even know if Itahci was known out of Konoha at the time.

[Delbi]

Hypothetical:

Al Qaeda is planning to bomb the white house and take over the US.

One of Al Qaeda's members, for whatever reasons (peace loving, ambition to take over senior's position, etc) acts as an informant and passes that plan along to CIA in conjunction with the president. We shall call him "Person X".

Knowing they would be affected greatly by this attack and being unsure if they can prevent it from happening, CIA tries to negotiate with Al Qaeda, but Al Qaeda refuses to stop their plans.

CIA then goes for plan B: wiping out Al Qaeda before they can carry out the plan.

The first person they approach is Person X. Why Person X?
- This wouldn't endanger their own CIA agents, people of confirmed loyalty, unnecessarily
- You use one of Al Qaeda to wipe itself out from within and do nothing but provide orders
- You don't even know if Person X is truly sworn to your cause. In case he's just a double agent, sending anyone else in there with his knowledge would just be sending them into the lion's jaw.
- In this regard, this keeps Person X separate from their other backup plans to combat Al Qaeda and/or attempt to prevent said attack from happening. Person X himself is Plan B, and they can have other contingency plans such as C, D, E that cover the possibility of fighting Al Qaeda entirely including Person X (the possible double agent).

In short, having Person X be that one single person to destroy Al Qaeda from within is a 'nothing to lose' tactic. It does not mean they especially trusted Person X to be totally loyal. In stark contrast, it's actually because of mistrust for Person X that makes this Plan B so perfect, you lose nothing at all whether this plan fails or succeeds!

Why on earth would you get rid of the current standing US president and let Person X, a person of ambiguous connection to Al Qaeda, be president in his stead?




A lot of this theory is based on retrospective hindsight.

NOW, today, we know Itachi is fiercely loyal to Konoha without fail.

Back then, during the Uchiha's planning stage, Itachi's allegience was ambiguous.

Hell, none of us saw Itachi's loyalty until Kishi explained it explicitly, and we're neutral audiences. Now imagine what the ruling members of Konoha were thinking when they had their village on the line and had to err on the side of caution.

If any of us had the power of exercising judgment as accurately as it will seem in hindsight, we would be stock market billionaires. We wouldn't even need to finish reading Naruto, we would know exactly what would come next.

This is a terrible example. Like literally the worst you could use.

The Uchiha clan was PART OF KONOHA. Al Qaeda isn't even associated with any country, it's a terrorist organization.

The Uchiha clan was one of the two founder members of Konoha. They made up the entire military police of Konoha, and were a huge part of the village. The entire clan was destroyed save Sasuke. Men, women, children, the elderly, all killed. Did they all need to die?

---------- Post added at 07:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:47 PM ----------

eeeh 13 year old prodigy? well it doesn't seem like Konoha's style ... for god sakes he wasn't even adult and eligible to sing any documents

Itachi was 13 when he joined ANBU, I was under the impression he killed everyone and left the village at 15 but I could be wrong.

---------- Post added at 07:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:48 PM ----------

As far as we know, among Konoha. Not sure if he was known out of Konoha, but there has been no sign that he was known prior to the Uchiha Massacre.

Honestly I fail to see how his renown outside of the village matters. Once it's known he is a prodigal Uchiha with MS he'd recieve all the respect and fear he'd need. That line alone makes him more fearsome than half of the Kages there have ever been.

Where was it said Hiruzen was around Itachi's age? He looked much older. Gaara was powerful though, and the only good choice in the village. PLus, Suna probably selects hokage differently. Konoha still had plenty of other choices, unlike Suna.

I was under the impression that Itachi was 15 when he left the village. Hiruzen didn't look any older than MAYBE 17 or 18 so Itachi was around the same age.

Yeah, but the hokage still apparently makes a lot of decisions. Itachi is wise and smart, but the lack of infamy is what probably would hurt him here.

Infamy has no baring on decision making. Itachi has proved that he was smarter than 99% of people on the planet as he had enacted plans that still worked after his death. I don't think he'd have any problems making decisions.

I think he'd have been hokage material as well, at least eventually if not at the time. But apparently it takes more than that, like how well-known the person is, and etc. Itachi may not have been as well known out of the village. There's also a likelihood that Itachi was talked about being hokage before the Massacre. Could as very well be Danzou putting his foot down because Itachi was an Uchiha, even resorting to his Sharingan.

Possible, but on the one hand we have the crypt keeper Kages like Hiruzen and Oonoki who have made terrible decisions, and due to their age couldn't keep up in some aspects. IMO, Hiruzen has got lucky while fighting Orochimaru and Oonoki needed Naruto and Gaara to help him grow back his balls. Itachi would have never had this problem, and he is strong enough to face nearly any threat the manga could throw at him.

Shisui's Sharingan was usable once per a decade. We dunno when Itachi got Izanami, and even if he could use it, still a bad idea as he'd lose an eye and be less effective as a kage. Against someone like Raikage, Susano'o wouldn't be as useful. Probably so if Raikae didn't know about the Sword, which Orochimaru himself didn't despite seekin the sword.

Even still he still had the capabilities. When would Itachi have to use Shisui's Sharigan? The only instance that comes up would be the Pain invasion or the Kage Summit. He was strong enough to defeat Orochimaru, Danzou, and nearly everyone out there that was a threat to Konoha by the time he was in his late teens/early twenties. At 15 he was probably the strongest person in the village, if not the very least tied with Hiruzen who'd he surpass in like a year at most.

What about his reputation outside the village? Tsuchikage indicated that Gaara wasn't as respected as he was still young and if I recall, not as well known. Itachi doesn't appear to be famous out of hte village like Kakashi and Jiraiya were. Even minato was well known for Hiraishin, if nothing else. Every hokage chosen were known out of their village, except for maybe Danzou. We don't even know if Itahci was known out of Konoha at the time.

And again, what does that matter? Anyone who doubted Itachi would need to have but one conversation with the man to realize how much they should fear and respect him. His wisdom is light years ahead of where it should be, and lets not even talk about his raw intelligence.

If people underestimated Itachi all the better, he is a ninja after all that would play to his hand. Those in Konoha would know how smart, skilled and wise he is and that is what matters most.

---------- Post added at 07:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:57 PM ----------

eeeh 13 year old prodigy? well it doesn't seem like Konoha's style ... for god sakes he wasn't even adult and eligible to sing any documents

This is Konoha not our world. Naruto and Sasuke were old enough to live on their own without any parental supervision, and children are apparently eligible for combat at the age of 5 which is when Itachi became a Chunnin.

[M3J]

Reputation outside the village apparently matters since if the kage isn't as fearsome, it could encourage enemies to go after them. Had Minato still been alive, maybe there wouldn't have been an invasion on Konoha led by Orochimaru or aided by Suna because Minato would been more than a match for Orochimaru. Orochimaru would have likely waited to gain the power to stand against Konoha. But because Hiruzen was old, and known to not be as powerful as he once was, Orochimaru took him on.

If Itachi was relatively unknown, then that'd still encourage enemies to attack as they'd wonder why a young, unknown kid was chosen out of many other choices like Kakashi and Jiraiya. Because they underestimate Itachi and don't think he's worth much, they'd likely attack Konoha and attempt to get rid of an enemy.

Of course, I'm deducing all this based on what the people at the meeting for the next hokage said when Danzou was voted, and I think what the village elders said when they wnated Jiraiya to become a hokage.

[hyper_megaman]

This is a terrible example. Like literally the worst you could use.

The Uchiha clan was PART OF KONOHA. Al Qaeda isn't even associated with any country, it's a terrorist organization.

The Uchiha clan was one of the two founder members of Konoha. They made up the entire military police of Konoha, and were a huge part of the village. The entire clan was destroyed save Sasuke. Men, women, children, the elderly, all killed. Did they all need to die?

Is it really the worst example?

Your response is based on:
1) modern humanitarian views established mainly in today's peaceful environment
2) further information based on hindsight that the village heads didn't have when the decision was made
3) your position as a neutral bystander without a village on the line and having to err on the side of caution

Like I said, the moment their to-be mutiny was uncovered, they were enemies. Why does it matter if you think they're founders? Konoha has to keep running regardless of their historical connection.




Let's discuss the relationship between Uchiha and Konoha at the relevant time.

To start off, the Uchiha were always run independent of the village. They did whatever they did without much village interference. Similarly, the village ran itself without Uchiha intervention.

At the point of mutiny, they already had vastly differing views, it did not matter if they were once closely linked together (founder relationship). The mutiny itself is evidence of their differing views to begin with.

It's not surprising the ostracisation occurred the moment their plan was uncovered.

The moment they were ostracised, they were the equivalent of a terrorist clan.

Why on earth would you give the position of kage to someone from this rival family of vastly differing political views, that you knew was planning to destroy you and your political views, and knowing that the someone has ambiguous allegience to begin with.


This is not a strategic move.





And I think your argument of 'killing children and women' is axiomatically rejected. This is a ninja world of utilitarianism, which is what Kishi established from the very start. They'd kill your unborn children if they had to, for the sake of conducting scientific experiments to increase the power of their ninjas.

[Rikudou King]

Hypothetical:

Al Qaeda is planning to bomb the white house and take over the US.

One of Al Qaeda's members, for whatever reasons (peace loving, ambition to take over senior's position, etc) acts as an informant and passes that plan along to CIA in conjunction with the president. We shall call him "Person X".

Knowing they would be affected greatly by this attack and being unsure if they can prevent it from happening, CIA tries to negotiate with Al Qaeda, but Al Qaeda refuses to stop their plans.

CIA then goes for plan B: wiping out Al Qaeda before they can carry out the plan.

The first person they approach is Person X. Why Person X?
- This wouldn't endanger their own CIA agents, people of confirmed loyalty, unnecessarily
- You use one of Al Qaeda to wipe itself out from within and do nothing but provide orders
- You don't even know if Person X is truly sworn to your cause. In case he's just a double agent, sending anyone else in there with his knowledge would just be sending them into the lion's jaw.
- In this regard, this keeps Person X separate from their other backup plans to combat Al Qaeda and/or attempt to prevent said attack from happening. Person X himself is Plan B, and they can have other contingency plans such as C, D, E that cover the possibility of fighting Al Qaeda entirely including Person X (the possible double agent).

In short, having Person X be that one single person to destroy Al Qaeda from within is a 'nothing to lose' tactic. It does not mean they especially trusted Person X to be totally loyal. In stark contrast, it's actually because of mistrust for Person X that makes this Plan B so perfect, you lose nothing at all whether this plan fails or succeeds!

Why on earth would you get rid of the current standing US president and let Person X, a person of ambiguous connection to Al Qaeda, be president in his stead?




A lot of this theory is based on retrospective hindsight.

NOW, today, we know Itachi is fiercely loyal to Konoha without fail.

Back then, during the Uchiha's planning stage, Itachi's allegience was ambiguous.

Hell, none of us saw Itachi's loyalty until Kishi explained it explicitly, and we're neutral audiences. Now imagine what the ruling members of Konoha were thinking when they had their village on the line and had to err on the side of caution.

If any of us had the power of exercising judgment as accurately as it will seem in hindsight, we would be stock market billionaires. We wouldn't even need to finish reading Naruto, we would know exactly what would come next.

That example doesn't work. First of all, the Uchiha clan would be more comparable to a group like the FBI or CIA, not something like Al Qaeda. The Uchiha clan had a present and role in the safety of the village. Secondly, only Sarutobi attempted to negotiate. Danzo and the others didn't believe there was a need to. And thirdly, Itachi's loyalty was known. That's the whole reason they made him an Anbu, the personal force of the Hokage. Not to mention the implication that Shisui was also spying upon their clan.

Apart from that, if they doubted his loyalty, then depending solely on him to handle his clan made no sense since that would mean trusting him to actually go through with it and not merely alert them to attack before Konoha can stop them.

Reputation outside the village apparently matters since if the kage isn't as fearsome, it could encourage enemies to go after them. Had Minato still been alive, maybe there wouldn't have been an invasion on Konoha led by Orochimaru or aided by Suna because Minato would been more than a match for Orochimaru. Orochimaru would have likely waited to gain the power to stand against Konoha. But because Hiruzen was old, and known to not be as powerful as he once was, Orochimaru took him on.

If Itachi was relatively unknown, then that'd still encourage enemies to attack as they'd wonder why a young, unknown kid was chosen out of many other choices like Kakashi and Jiraiya. Because they underestimate Itachi and don't think he's worth much, they'd likely attack Konoha and attempt to get rid of an enemy.

Of course, I'm deducing all this based on what the people at the meeting for the next hokage said when Danzou was voted, and I think what the village elders said when they wnated Jiraiya to become a hokage.

I think, that even if his feats weren't well-known, the very fact that he was an Uchiha would have still given him a fearsome reputation, as we've seen with Sasuke. We've seen several times Sasuke being praised due to being an Uchiha, despite him not being a ninja for long. Since Itachi actually had more missions under his name, I would think that he would have his own reputation on top of that of his clan.

Let's discuss the relationship between Uchiha and Konoha at the relevant time.

To start off, the Uchiha were always run independent of the village. They did whatever they did without much village interference. Similarly, the village ran itself without Uchiha intervention.

At the point of mutiny, they already had vastly differing views, it did not matter if they were once closely linked together (founder relationship). The mutiny itself is evidence of their differing views to begin with.

It's not surprising the ostracisation occurred the moment their plan was uncovered.

The moment they were ostracised, they were the equivalent of a terrorist clan.

Why on earth would you give the position of kage to someone from this rival family of vastly differing political views, that you knew was planning to destroy you and your political views, and knowing that the someone has ambiguous allegience to begin with.


This is not a strategic move.


And I think your argument of 'killing children and women' is axiomatically rejected. This is a ninja world of utilitarianism, which is what Kishi established from the very start. They'd kill your unborn children if they had to, for the sake of conducting scientific experiments to increase the power of their ninjas.

Independent? Where did you get that idea from? The Uchiha clan was Konoha's acting police force, they dealt with everything but the highest level of crimes. There was no "vastly different" views. And they were ostracize before the coup was even known. That's the whole reason why they decided to attempt the coup in the first place, because they were being faulted for just being an Uchiha.

And actually no, killing children actually was shown frowned upon. Kiri's graduation test and Danzo's action with his Root ninjas were both considered wrong. I suppose women and the elderly could be questionable, but given the example with the children, doesn't seem likely to be different.

[M3J]

Sasuke has also proven why he deserves to be praised. Even Bee admitted he was being challenged, and Raikage was shocked at Sasuke being able to do a raiton similar to Kakashi's. Itachi may have Uchiha's name, but he'd have to prove why he should be feared as a prodigal Uchiha. Even Uchiha had some bad ninjas like Obito that wasn't kage material, I doubt enemies would just start praising Itachi. They'd be wary of him, but not really think of him as fearsome until he proved it. Even then, they'd still try to attack Konoha or Itachi as they had ways to fight an Uchiha. Outnumber an Uchiha, so if Itachi was outnumbered he might be in trouble.

[Delbi]

Is it really the worst example?

Your response is based on:
1) modern humanitarian views established mainly in today's peaceful environment
2) further information based on hindsight that the village heads didn't have when the decision was made
3) your position as a neutral bystander without a village on the line and having to err on the side of caution

Like I said, the moment their to-be mutiny was uncovered, they were enemies. Why does it matter if you think they're founders? Konoha has to keep running regardless of their historical connection.




Let's discuss the relationship between Uchiha and Konoha at the relevant time.

To start off, the Uchiha were always run independent of the village. They did whatever they did without much village interference. Similarly, the village ran itself without Uchiha intervention.

At the point of mutiny, they already had vastly differing views, it did not matter if they were once closely linked together (founder relationship). The mutiny itself is evidence of their differing views to begin with.

It's not surprising the ostracisation occurred the moment their plan was uncovered.

The moment they were ostracised, they were the equivalent of a terrorist clan.

Why on earth would you give the position of kage to someone from this rival family of vastly differing political views, that you knew was planning to destroy you and your political views, and knowing that the someone has ambiguous allegience to begin with.


This is not a strategic move.





And I think your argument of 'killing children and women' is axiomatically rejected. This is a ninja world of utilitarianism, which is what Kishi established from the very start. They'd kill your unborn children if they had to, for the sake of conducting scientific experiments to increase the power of their ninjas.

'

It's an awful example because it's an awful example...you used Al Qaeda which is a group that is not associated with the United States. There is no real life equivalent to the Uchiha massacre because no country in human history (to my knowledge) has had to outright slaughter a group of it's own people (a group that had military power mind you) because they wanted to rebel. And no, revolutions don't count.

Not to mention, Al Qaeda "agents" are extremely difficult to find and negotiate with. The Uchiha clan wasn't in hiding by any means.

As for you're idea of strategy, I fully understand that. I also understand that you don't destroy your assets unless absolutely necessary. That diplomacy always first considered in all options before war, even the ninja's in this manga follow this philosophy.

And keep in mind the Uchiha were ostracized long before this coup took place according to Madara. the Coup was a response to that and the fact they felt threatened.

Now, as for why you don't wipe out a group of people who helped found your village, well you don't do it because you have other clans who could ask themselves "are we next"? There is a reason that Konoha put the blame on Itachi, because if the truth came out the village would have been in chaos. It amazes me that this was never touched on more, which could be the reason why so few people still know the truth about Itachi. Ninja in Konoha don't all have the same views, just look how Shikamaru thinks in regard to Sasuke, how Inochi thought about dealing with Nagato.

And you speak of installing Itachi as Hokage as if it was a bad move by putting someone with "ambiguous allegiance" and "vastly different political views" as a bad thing...

1) Itachi's allegiance was to Konoha, he killed off his entire family for his village so don't act like he didn't have allegiance to his village first and formost.

2) Hashirama, the 1st Hokage, had vastly different views than the Uchiha clan and yet they appointed him Hokage over their own leader Madara. Considering there was no Senju left in the village at the time, installing a peace loving Uchiha who would do anything for his village as Hokage might not be such a bad move.

---------- Post added at 01:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:05 PM ----------

Reputation outside the village apparently matters since if the kage isn't as fearsome, it could encourage enemies to go after them. Had Minato still been alive, maybe there wouldn't have been an invasion on Konoha led by Orochimaru or aided by Suna because Minato would been more than a match for Orochimaru. Orochimaru would have likely waited to gain the power to stand against Konoha. But because Hiruzen was old, and known to not be as powerful as he once was, Orochimaru took him on.

If Itachi was relatively unknown, then that'd still encourage enemies to attack as they'd wonder why a young, unknown kid was chosen out of many other choices like Kakashi and Jiraiya. Because they underestimate Itachi and don't think he's worth much, they'd likely attack Konoha and attempt to get rid of an enemy.

Of course, I'm deducing all this based on what the people at the meeting for the next hokage said when Danzou was voted, and I think what the village elders said when they wnated Jiraiya to become a hokage.

Well just think of it this way. When they find out that Konoha's Hokage is a 13-15 year Uchiha, and its NOT Jiraiya, Kakashi or Danzou, don't you think people would think before they attacked Konoha, because it may be possible (and in this case fact) that he is stronger than all of them?

I can't remember the chapter, but it was in the Waves Country Arc I believe. Kakashi told Naruto "There are ninja younger than you, who are stronger than me". Age and renown don't mean all that much. Ninja know not to underestimate their opponents, and when you throw around words like "prodigy of the Uchiha" and "Mangekyo Sharigan" and "once in a generation power" with Itachi's name, and then add in the fact he was put into power over these other well known ninja, you'd have to think he is powerful and it wouldn't be prudent to attack Konoha. Or at least that is how I think.

[M3J]

If that was true, would they still respect Itachi as a hokage? Being too young and not as well known, other kage may not take him or his words seriously because they'd assume he isn't experienced or wise enough. Itachi would still be underestimated in some way, at least before he met any of the leaders out of the village.

Even if not, the other village would wonder and assume that Konoha isn't in as good a shape because they have a kid who's not old enough to drink sake as their hokage. Wouldn't you assume Konoha lacks good ninja if they chose a kid to be a hokage? Itachi would have to prove himself first, like Minato and Hashirama did before they became hokage. They were known as some of the best ninja and powerful, as well as wise, so the other villages were likely to listen to them adn respectd their power. Itachi being an unknown, the other villages won't be as respectful and might even try to attack Konoha. Despite Hiruzen being known as one of the strongest kage or hokage, it didn't prevent the third World War or even second. Even with Tobirama and Hiruzen fighting, Konoha was still in a war.

[Rikudou King]

Well given the number of missions Itachi had completed, I would think he would have proven what a threat he was to the other villages, especially given the young age he achieved them at. We know at the very least Kumo knew how dangerous he was, though where their knowledge fitted into the timeline of events is unknown. And I may be remembering it wrong, but I believe that one of the things Kakashi was known for was his involvement in Anbu. While not exactly the prefect example, I doubt Gaara would have been any more well known. The same with Mei, considering Kiri's isolationist stance.

[Delbi]

If that was true, would they still respect Itachi as a hokage? Being too young and not as well known, other kage may not take him or his words seriously because they'd assume he isn't experienced or wise enough. Itachi would still be underestimated in some way, at least before he met any of the leaders out of the village.

Even if not, the other village would wonder and assume that Konoha isn't in as good a shape because they have a kid who's not old enough to drink sake as their hokage. Wouldn't you assume Konoha lacks good ninja if they chose a kid to be a hokage? Itachi would have to prove himself first, like Minato and Hashirama did before they became hokage. They were known as some of the best ninja and powerful, as well as wise, so the other villages were likely to listen to them adn respectd their power. Itachi being an unknown, the other villages won't be as respectful and might even try to attack Konoha. Despite Hiruzen being known as one of the strongest kage or hokage, it didn't prevent the third World War or even second. Even with Tobirama and Hiruzen fighting, Konoha was still in a war.

So what, Itachi would have to kill people publicly to become a Hokage? Gaara and Mei didn't make a name for themselves fighting in wars and yet they were appointed to he Kage position (mostly because they were needed as they were the most powerful ninja in their respective villages).

At the time of Itachi's hypothetical appointment, Konoha was considered the strongest ninja village there was. There's a reason they have never lost a war, and have all these famous shinobi. I say again, if Itachi is made Hokage over Jiraiya, Tsuande, Danzou and Kakashi, it speaks volumes for how powerful he must be. If I was from another village I'd be asking myself "what the hell can he be capable of that he's seen as superior to all of them?".

[Uchiha_Blood]

Well given the number of missions Itachi had completed, I would think he would have proven what a threat he was to the other villages, especially given the young age he achieved them at. We know at the very least Kumo knew how dangerous he was, though where their knowledge fitted into the timeline of events is unknown. And I may be remembering it wrong, but I believe that one of the things Kakashi was known for was his involvement in Anbu. While not exactly the prefect example, I doubt Gaara would have been any more well known. The same with Mei, considering Kiri's isolationist stance.

If I remember right, Neji has more high ranking missions that Itachi does, so I don't think that Itachi was well known.
As for Mei, she won the civil war against Yagura controlled by Madara, apparently, and Gaara was a well known Jinchuuriki of Shukaku.
In a desert.
They had a good reputation when they became Kages imho

So what, Itachi would have to kill people publicly to become a Hokage? Gaara and Mei didn't make a name for themselves fighting in wars and yet they were appointed to he Kage position (mostly because they were needed as they were the most powerful ninja in their respective villages).

At the time of Itachi's hypothetical appointment, Konoha was considered the strongest ninja village there was. There's a reason they have never lost a war, and have all these famous shinobi. I say again, if Itachi is made Hokage over Jiraiya, Tsuande, Danzou and Kakashi, it speaks volumes for how powerful he must be. If I was from another village I'd be asking myself "what the hell can he be capable of that he's seen as superior to all of them?".

If Konoha would appoint a 13 years old nobody over 2 Sannins and Kakashi, I believe the other nations would think that Hiruzen would have finally lost it and gone senile, hell Kakashi was appointed a Jounin at the same age, which is a higher grade than ANBU anyway.
Also at the time we don't know if Itachi was effectively stronger than the Sannins, Kakashi and Hiruzen.

[Rikudou King]

If I remember right, Neji has more high ranking missions that Itachi does, so I don't think that Itachi was well known.
As for Mei, she won the civil war against Yagura controlled by Madara, apparently, and Gaara was a well known Jinchuuriki of Shukaku.
In a desert.
They had a good reputation when they became Kages imho

Why wouldn't Itachi be well-known, since all his missions were completed before he was 13 years old? Not to mention the whole Anbu Captain thing. And we were talking about reputations outside the village. None of the other villages knew of the situation with Yagura and I don't believe Gaara was a well-known Jinchuuriki.

[kkck]

Well, we have little to go on regarding how well known gaara or mei were before being made kage. Gaara strikes me as the sort that could make a name for himself quickly though. Son of a kage himself, a jinchuiriki and the ability to throw a desert at whoever he is fighting. Ultimately he was made the kage because he was the strongest in his village. No clue on what mei's heritage is but at least 2 KG are likely to make her well known and we have to assume that at least she was the strongest at the mist village.

Itachi might have been well known but even if he did have that going for him we do know for a fact that at least 2 other people were better candidates than him. How would sarutobi ever justify making itachi the kage if the other 2 sannin who had far more experience, better resumes and were insanely famous were still around? Its not like itachi was even a man, he was not even the age at which gaara was made kage. Itachi was 13, just that. Even with all his gifts there is no way to guarantee he would have gotten a shred of support from the jonnin if they could have easily concluded jiraiya and tsunade were infinitely better candidates. Its not like either of them were secret ninjas, jiraiya was feared throughout the land and his rants about the chosen one were even known by the current raikage.

There is also the consideration that by the time that such a consideration would have been made itachi did not yet have MS and even if we select a time at which he did there is no guarantee that he had mastered it due to the short time he would have had it for. Basically this would be a younger itachi without a huge chunk of experience and without his most powerful techniques. Itachi was strong however there is no actual logical (and not even illogical) good reasons to justify appointing itachi at the time as kage nor for the jonnin to vote for him.

Even making itachi the kage wouldn't necessarily have fix things. The whole point of the uchiha making a coup was to take power for themselves. It was not about grabbing their fare share of political power, it was about an actual takeover of a military organization. Itachi being made the hokage would entail that the uchiha would not have all the power for one thing. More so, the kage himself does not have absolutely authority, the advisors and danzo have proven to have their own share of actual authority which the kage has to respect. So how is making itachi the kage a solution? These guys were willing to start an all out civil war in the village and we are to assume they will settle with a fraction of the power rather than all of it? If they were to accept the kage thing, why have the 13 year old brat taking the kage position rather than the actual head of the clan which they were already following? What happens when itachi turns out to be doing the job the way he is supposed to be doing it when the uchiha expectation was that he would be turning more and more power towards them (we already know they were willing to start a war and die to get leadership in the village). Itachi might have had an impressive record for his age however it is not quite unheard of for ninja to become chunnin young nor perform difficult missions at such a young age. All the uchiha were elite ninja, for all we know plenty of people had his records (specially fugaku considering that he was too an elite ninja and was significantly older than itachi).

[M3J]

Look at the way Gaara was treated by Oonoki, though. Itachi could be treated like that as well, little to no respect at all. The kage may acknowledge him as powerful, but they won't show him as much respect considering how young Itachi would have been. Even Gaara wasn't that young when he became a kazekage, assuming he's the same age as Naruto. Plus, at the time, he was a jinchuuriki, which would have made him one of the most powerful.

Though to be fair, Gaara did gain more respect when he showed how wise he is.