The hat was just the final signature on a dream already fulfilled. Watch Naruto Shippūden Episode 479 for the emotional closure, then Boruto Episode 18 for the official ceremony. Bring tissues.
In this finale, a post-Fourth Great Ninja War Konoha is at peace. As Naruto walks through the village, everyone—from grumpy elders to children who once feared him—now cheers his name. Iruka, his first teacher, tells him: “You’ve already become a splendid Hokage… in our hearts.” The final shot shows Naruto, now a young man, being lifted onto Kakashi’s shoulders (a mirror of the first episode, where he carved his face on the Hokage monument). But he is not wearing the hat. The title of Hokage is conferred off-screen, between Shippūden and Boruto . in which episode naruto becomes hokage
However, this answer demands significant context, because the series deliberately saves the full, ceremonial inauguration for a different medium. Masanori Kishimoto, the creator, understood that Naruto achieving his dream would be an ending. Yet Boruto is a story about legacy, not closure. So, the actual “becoming Hokage” moment is split into two emotionally potent scenes: one in Naruto Shippūden (the dream), and one in Boruto (the reality). 1. The “Spiritual” Coronation: Naruto Shippūden Episode 476–479 (The Wedding Arc) Naruto does not become Hokage in Shippūden’s final episodes. Instead, the series ends with his wedding to Hinata. But the feeling of him achieving the Hokage title arrives in Episode 479: “Naruto Uzumaki!!” The hat was just the final signature on