Yeah, like I said, head canon. I'm not ever re-reading Naruto again — just makes me angry —so I don't know the fine details as well anymore. But it always felt like if Kishi planned for Kakashi to be the one the 'raise' Naruto, then it makes more sense to have him with the connection.
I remember now that Obito was like the Naruto on the team. But seriously.... the kid turns into a psychopathic killer when he's like 15, 18? And kills both of Minato and Kushina in such a horrific way trying to steal Naruto. It should never have been written that way that she identified with the kid who strung her up and ripped a hole in her stomach just a few years later.
If Naruto were a movie, then young Obito would always be accompanied by 'he might be a villain' music!!
As for Kushina, it's actually pretty disappointing that she wasn't given a more active role. Like, why? She would have been the most powerful shinobi in Konoha right? And yet she can't even get her own team? But Naruto goes on to become Hokage with the same power? Kushina should have been a super bad ass in her own right, standing equal to Minato in terms of village power, and absolutely on her own in terms of lethal power. And it would have been interesting to see her interacting with other hosts. Like maybe there was some kind of peace among the jinchuriki before Obito shattered everything.
And, though I'm not pro-Uchiha anything, I can understand why they would have been pissed that the only guy from an apparently dead clan (Namikaze) gets the Kage role, while this huge clan of powerful shinobis gets passed over.
Didn't the Third want Orochimaru for the role, then Jiraiya. And when Jiraiya backed out only THEN it went to Minato? Which makes it kind of funny the Tsunade has to go back and pick up the pieces. The one who wasn't even asked to do the job!
edit: so much of this is rhetorical too. Just thinking back over the pre-Naruto era really reveals what a mess it was. And Kishi could have tied it all together with Naruto's story – forgave his rival, succeeded where his dad failed, abolished the shinobi system that created these problems, etc. etc. Instead he just made it worse by leaving Naruto like a grown-up kid, with nothing at all resolved.
The big problem again is Kishimoto did not really give much thought to the backstory unless he had to.
...I think I explain this when you asked about Naruto's clan but Kushina didn't really exist to Kishimoto till his wife asked about her. Then to please her he made kushina like her just as Sakura had become like her. Kakashi was already developed long before she was made, so she couldn't really effect his character. Kushina didn't seem to like the Kyuubi and wouldn't use its powers. So she wasn't as strong as Naruto. She fought most likely with her chakra chains and her clans sealing techniques.
Tsunade didn't want it. She wanted either her brother or her lover to become Hokage. The third wasn't going to force it on her. Which left Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and anyone else high ranking enough that wanted the position. Jiriaya had the Old Toad's prophecy to think about as well as his own aversions to the role so he supported his student taking the role instead.