shikamaru is a genius, but he is not a leader. it's a reason why the smartest people don't always become leaders. it's because it takes more than just being smart to be a leader. most of the time, these people are more in line for advisory roles, like shikamaru would be. for anybody that thinks sasuke, that's just wrong on so many levels i don't even need to get into. although kakashi has lost a lot of his power, he still would be an ok candidate for hokage. But the only true heir to the seat is naruto Uzumaki. not only does he have God like powers, but he has what it takes to run the village. Some may be thinking, but he's not smart enough. that's not really the case, as most of the things he will need to do is signing policies or making peace with foreign leaders. he will have smart enough advisors that will help him with anything he doesn't know. most of all though, he is a leader as shown through his acts in the war. Even with his abilities, he doesn't think he's any better than anybody and will save them if he can. he is everything that an Hokage is suppose to be. Naruto for Hokage!