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Hiruzen Sarutobi (猿飛ヒルゼン, Sarutobi Hiruzen) was the Third Hokage (三代目火影, Sandaime Hokage, Literally meaning: Third Fire Shadow) of Konohagakure. A disciple of the village’s two previous Hokage, Hiruzen was a powerful ninja, hailed as The Professor (教授, Kyōjū) for his exceptional knowledge and skill in the five elemental techniques and is a prodigy at understanding non-elemental jutsu, all bloodline limits, and hiden jutsu to an extent during battle. Though he was only ever directly the teacher of the Sannin, generations of Konoha shinobi benefited from his wisdom during his lifetime.
Background[]
Personality[]
Hiruzen is a firm believer in the Will of Fire, which holds that all the people of Konoha are a family and that the Hokage is responsible for that family’s wellbeing. Throughout his tenure, Hiruzen lives up to the Will of Fire by being available for Konoha’s villagers and shinobi during their time of need, making decisions to the betterment of as many people as possible, and providing his wisdom and guidance whenever he can. His delicate, thoughtful approach to not only issues within the village but also his interactions with foreign powers has given Hiruzen the reputation of being soft, something the Konoha Council spends much of its time trying to rectify. Nevertheless, Hiruzen’s kind and pacifist ways are widely valued by Konoha’s residents and even his rival Kage, and for those reasons his eventual death is regretted by many; however, Hiruzen was not entirely for his softness as he allowed Danzō to form an Anbu faction of his own, to handle the dark side of Konoha’s actions.
Although he loved all of Konoha, Hiruzen held his students especially dear, believing they were the village’s future and, as such, must be cultivated and protected. He favored Orochimaru, seeing in him a prodigy like himself whose contributions to the village could someday be greater than his own. Even when Orochimaru increasingly went astray and then finally defected from Konoha, Hiruzen could never abandon his attachments to Orochimaru,[3] instead blaming himself for not being a better teacher. When he is reincarnated, he reflects on his life and finds it similarly flawed: he feels responsible for Danzō’s taking on of the village’s darkness, believing Danzō would not have turned out so badly had he been more willing to make the tough decisions; he believes that some of the village’s―and even the world’s―problems could have been avoided had he led with a firmer hand.[4] Hiruzen’s own son, Asuma, was defiant towards Hiruzen’s philosophies during his youth, but eventually sees the merits in valuing future generations after Hiruzen’s death.
Despite his reputation and selflessness, Hiruzen is not without faults: He is somewhat lecherous. While more subtle about than his student, he and Jiraiya bonded over their shared desire to spy on naked women and talking to young girls was his favorite “hobby”.[5]
Appearance[]
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The only consistent physical feature Hiruzen has displayed has been his below-average stature, all his other attributes having changed over the years: during his youth he was tan-skinned and had dark brown, spiked hair, adding a small goatee to his look after becoming Hokage; towards the end of his life his skin is lighter, his hair is grey, his face is gaunter, and he has the wrinkles and liver spots of old age. He initially had a single line running vertically under the outer corners of each eye, which stretched down into his face as he aged until they reached his cheeks.
During the First Shinobi World War, he wore grey shinobi battle armor common to the time period, with heavy protection all over his body. He starts wearing much lighter combat attire at some point, consisting of a black jumpsuit, mesh segments over the lower portions of his limbs, and a green gauntlet that covered much of his right arm. He also wore an armored hood with a bandanna-like forehead protector over this, tied with two long straps.[6] Across the back is written “Third Hokage” (三代目火影, Sandaime Hokage, Literally meaning: Third Fire Shadow) which is replaced with the kanji for “fire” (火, hi) during his brief retirement.[7] When not in combat, he usually wears the official uniform — the customary hat and haori with a red, full-length kimono that is tied using a white sash. He often smokes during his spare time.
Abilities[]
Hiruzen using the Shadow Clone Technique.
Hiruzen was a natural prodigy and was the strongest shinobi produced from his clan.[8] His talents made him Hokage at a young age, directly selected by the Second Hokage, having surpassed his teacher in childhood.[9] He became the most powerful of Kage during his lifetime,[10] and once well-considered the strongest Hokage in history.[11] While his battle prowess deteriorated greatly in old age and ultimately contributed to his death, he was able to fend off Orochimaru along with the combined might of the reincarnated First and Second Hokage, ultimately sealing away the Orochimaru’s hands and two past Hokage. Orochimaru openly believed that had Hiruzen been even ten years younger, the Hokage would have killed his former student.[12]
Chakra and Physical Prowess[]
Hiruzen in hand-to-hand combat.
Hiruzen was said to have immense chakra,[13] and even in his old age, his chakra was strong enough to crack stone upon molding it.[14] His reserves diminished in later years as even splitting his chakra between any more than two shadow clones was a great risk for him. His reduced chakra levels were offset with precise chakra control, needing only the minimum amount of chakra to use techniques to their full potency.[15] Despite his old age, his reaction time and sensory perception were still good enough to defend himself, even when robbed of his sight.[16] Hiruzen could even lay explosive tags on high-level opponents without them noticing.[17]
Ninjutsu[]
Hiruzen also was renowned as The Professor (教授, Kyōjū), due to his unprecedented versatility in ninjutsu. Having mastered all the skillsets and combat forms of the shinobi arts. Hiruzen was reputed for his advanced knowledge and skill of all techniques to ever exist within Konoha, including the many Hiden techniques,[18][19] and able to use each of them with the highest level of power and control.[20][21] He could instantly deduce the impending technique simply from the hand seals.[22][23] Even when he encountered something new, as in the case of Truth-Seeking Balls, he could discern their attributes and limitations from a brief observation. Hiruzen was well-noted for having personally created a variety of innovative techniques, preparing himself for any situation and was also capable of using various techniques simultaneously for more versatile and with longer effects.[24]
His most noteworthy skillset including creating a barrier powerful enough to contain the Ten-Tails alongside other Kage-level shinobi and sensing the presence of individuals by their chakra.[25]
Nature Transformations[]
Main article: Nature Transformation
Hiruzen’s clones using all five elements simultaneously.
Hiruzen was one of the few individuals who could perform all five basic nature transformations and mastered them with equal proficiency. He could also use Yin and Yang Release. His prowess could intercept an opponent’s elemental attack and produce the respective counterbalancing nature.[26] He could use Fire Release to create a powerful stream of fire and a barrage of small fire blasts.[27] With Earth Release, he could create a protective wall of mud. He could create a river of mud to knock an opponent off their feet and use the same mud to create a dragon head to shoot a volley of mud balls that can be infused with flames for more damage.[28] He could likewise produce powerful streams of Lightning, Water, and Wind Release respectively.
Bukijutsu[]
Hiruzen utilizing his Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
Hiruzen frequently used shuriken in combat ― both the standard size and the larger fūma shuriken.[29] By using the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, he could create copies of these shuriken, allowing him to bombard a target with thousands of projectiles without needing to carry that many on himself.[30] Hiruzen was similarly shown utilizing his surroundings like shuriken, such as roof tiles.[31]
Hiruzen’s personal summon, Enma, could transform into an extendable and/or expandable staff that was as hard as a diamond. The staff was Hiruzen’s weapon of choice and wielded it with great proficiency, though its weight became a great burden to him in his later years.[32]
Fūinjutsu[]
Main articles: Fūinjutsu and Dead Demon Consuming Seal
Hiruzen using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Hiruzen could perform a suicide-murder technique that will seal away a target’s soul with sacrifice of their own; however, he can bypass this by using a shadow clone to be sacrificed instead.[33] He was also one of few people who could remove seals as powerful as the Five Elements Seal.[34]
Part I[]
Prologue ― Land of Waves[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Prologue — Land of Waves
Ōizumi Village Crisis[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Ōizumi Village Crisis
Chūnin Exams[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Chūnin Exams (Arc)
Konoha Crush[]
Main article: Naruto: A Shinobi Story/Konoha Crush (Arc)
Part II[]
Fourth Shinobi World War[]
Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki[]
Legacy[]
Trivia[]
Quotes[]
References[]
- ↑ Naruto chapter 118, page 3
- ↑ Naruto chapter 94, page 12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 483, page 17
- ↑ Naruto chapter 627, pages 5-6
- ↑ First Databook, pages 117-119
- ↑ Naruto chapter 117
- ↑ Naruto chapter 502, page 9
- ↑ Konoha Shinden: Steam Ninja Scrolls
- ↑ Fourth Databook, pages 170-171
- ↑ First Databook, pages 117-119
- ↑ Naruto chapter 94, page 12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 126, page 10
- ↑ Naruto episode 71
- ↑ Naruto chapter 117
- ↑ Naruto: Shippūden episode 284
- ↑ Naruto chapter 123, pages 3 and 7
- ↑ Naruto chapter 120, page 15
- ↑ Naruto chapter 120, page 15
- ↑ Fourth Databook, pages 170-171
- ↑ Fourth Databook, pages 170-171
- ↑ Naruto Shippūden episode 284
- ↑ Fourth Databook, pages 170-171
- ↑ Naruto chapter 504, page 6
- ↑ Naruto episode 69
- ↑ Naruto chapter 680, page 10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 662, page 5
- ↑ Naruto episode 71
- ↑ Naruto episode 69
- ↑ Naruto chapter 639, page 6
- ↑ Naruto chapter 117
- ↑ Naruto episode 69
- ↑ Naruto chapter 120, page 15
- ↑ Naruto chapter 123, pages 11-12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 166, page 3