No one could ever hope to surpass Namikaze Minato. Konoha had many outstanding shinobi, more than most villages, but none of them came close to the Yondaime Hokage.
The Shodaime was the founder of Konoha and he was a genius, but he didn't have the ninjutsu skills the Yondaime possessed. The Legendary Sannin were great shinobi, but they were defined by their weaknesses as much as by their strengths. Tsundare was strong, but was also gambler. Jiraiya never gave up, but was a pervert. Orochimaru was brilliant, but desired too much power. Their weaknesses were as big as their strengths. Even the White Fang of Konoha, who was on his way to becoming a legend, deserted a mission and committed suicide because of the disgrace.
It didn't take long for the Yondaime to surpass those before him. It is true that shinobi can keep improving, they gain more knowledge and then perfect techniques, but there has to be a limit. There has to be a point where nothing can be furthered. The Yondaime was that point. He exceeded other shinobi by so much that it would be impossible to beat anything he had done.
The Yondaime's death was a dark day for the shinobi world. Even enemy shinobi understood the loss of the world's greatest shinobi. Everyone viewed the Yondaime as invincible; most shinobi believed that nothing could kill him. In a way, they were right. The Yondaime didn't lose his life that night; he gave it. He sacrificed himself by sealing the Kyuubi into a baby. The world mourned the loss of a great leader. The greatest shinobi was dead before he even reached his thirties. In an instance, the shinobi world's light was snuffed out.
The Raikage shook his head. He had respected the man, and there were so few he could say that about. In the five years since the Yondaime's death the shinobi lifestyle had been about fulfilling missions and getting paid. No one cared about the shinobi way anymore. The light was gone forever.
It was eleven years before Raikage first met the boy. The kid had come to beg him to forgive his friend Uchiha Sasuke for killing B, the Raikage's brother. The kid had even gone so far as to grovel at his feet for the Uchiha's forgiveness. The Raikage was disgusted. This kid had no pride in his life as a shinobi. He was just another piece of worthless trash. It was only after their encounter that he learned who the boy was. Uzumaki Naruto, Kyuubi jinchuurki and son of the Yondaime Hokage. How could this dead last be the son of the Yondaime Hokage?
It was during the Fourth Great Shinobi War that he saw the boy for the second time. The boy had gone against orders and was trying to participate in the battles. He rushed in to attack the kid, thinking that they could just wait for the Kyuubi to resurface to defeat Madara. The kid avoided his attack. Avoided! The only person who had ever managed to be faster than the Raikage was the Yondaime Hokage. Maybe the kid got something from his father. Seeing the kid's determination to protect his precious people, the Raikage let him pass. At least the boy seemed to care about his own shinobi way.
He didn't see Naruto again until the war was over. The enemy had finally stopped moving, which meant that the source of the jutsu had been taken out. In addition, the captured Bijuu had been set free from Madara's control. In a few years they might be a problem again, but this war wasn't about destroying the Bijuu. The Raikage looked at the crater that had been formed from the Rasenshuriken. Madara was at the center of the crater, dead. Naruto knelt on the edge, probably exhausted. All the Kage's made their way over to the crater, but with the Raikage's speed, he beat them by a few minutes. Looking again at Naruto, the Raikage saw that he was smiling. Looking up at him, Naruto spoke, "I wish there had been a way for Madara to find redemption."
"Madara was the enemy. He turned away any chance of redemption a long time ago."
"Still, he was a shinobi. My first mission outside of the village was to protect a construction worker from a terrorist, Zabuza. He was a Mist shinobi that had been trained as a ruthless killer from a young age. He had a boy with him, about my age then. Haku died saving Zabuza, and despite that Zabuza had rescued Haku and trained him, Zabuza didn't seem to care about his death. I asked how he could not care that Haku had died for him. At first he answered that shinobi are merely tools. A shinobi should be ready to give his life at any moment. But you know what Zabuza did just a few minutes later? He cried. A trained assassin cried for the loss of his friend. It was then that I decided my shinobi way would be to protect my precious people and to always keep my promises. But I also learned something else that day. No one is beyond redemption."
The Raikage stared at the boy he had thought had no shinobi way. Somehow this dead last had ended up being their savior. This boy that had been hated his entire childhood, didn't know an enemy. To him, no one was beyond redemption. Not even Uchiha Madara.
It was at that moment, before the other Kage caught up, that the Raikage knew it: no one could ever hope to surpass Uzumaki Naruto.