Sarutobi Hiruzen

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Sarutobi Hiruzen (猿飞日斩)
Alias(es)	Third Hokage; Professor of Ninjutsu; “Grandpa Hokage” to Naruto; “Monkey” to Danzō 12 95 286
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Konohagakure; Sarutobi Clan 186
Occupation/Role	Former Third Hokage; accepts an advisory role during Tsunade’s succession 284 299
Status	Alive; retired from the Hokage position and still involved in village affairs 299 325
First Appearance	Chapter 4 in the supplied material 4

Background / History

Research and covert operations

Hiruzen previously led the destruction of Orochimaru’s human-experimentation laboratory in Konoha. His forces seized research documents and captured researchers; he initially intended to destroy the documents and promised Chisen that the researchers would be secretly executed. A later secret research base was headed by his eldest son, Sarutobi Shinosuke 26 29.

After confiscating Sharingan research from Danzō, Hiruzen sent research materials and three Three-Tomoe Sharingan to Shinosuke’s base. Shinosuke described Danzō as his father’s proxy for dirty work, arguing that Hiruzen tacitly allowed actions he would not perform himself. Hiruzen later acknowledged internally that he had permitted Danzō and Orochimaru to research Wood Style using the First Hokage’s remains 26 286.

Early support for Chisen

Hiruzen initially trusted Chisen’s judgment despite his extreme policing methods. When a Sarutobi clansman reported that Uchiha officers had publicly maimed a civilian, Hiruzen’s concern eased upon learning that Chisen was responsible. He believed Chisen must have had a reason, although he privately questioned whether Chisen valued the Will of Fire or “Absolute Justice” more 4.

He subsequently judged Chisen’s presence beneficial overall: harsh enforcement had discouraged people with ulterior motives. His attempt to compare Chisen’s love for Konoha with Itachi’s was rejected by Chisen as an insult 11 12.

Naruto’s arrest and the first Root confrontation

When Chisen and Danzō fought near Naruto, Hiruzen brought Kakashi and three ANBU squads to intervene. He placed himself and ANBU between the combatants, appealed to village rules against infighting, and characterized the dispute as a misunderstanding. Chisen instead accused him of protecting someone who obstructed law enforcement 15 17.

Hiruzen ultimately backed down rather than risk a fight, tacitly allowing Naruto’s detention. Afterward, he confiscated Danzō’s Wood Style and Sharingan research, seized unimplanted Sharingan, and threatened to remove him as Root’s leader if another incident occurred 20 22.

Shinosuke’s death

Chisen killed Shinosuke and numerous personnel at the secret research base. Hiruzen returned carrying his son’s body but refused Danzō’s demand for retaliation. He stated that Chisen had not killed the wrong people and honored Shinosuke’s dying wish that Konoha not weaken itself through internal conflict 35.

The loss left him exhausted, hoarse, and unable to attend to the documents accumulating on his desk. He later led Shinosuke’s wife, Fuyuko, and son, Konohamaru, to the funeral in the rain 37 41.

Hiruzen also explained his restraint in strategic terms. With Sakumo and Shisui gone and the Sannin absent or estranged, he considered Chisen one of Konoha’s few remaining pillars—a deterrent against both foreign enemies and ambitious villagers 42.

Itachi’s predicted massacre

Itachi reported that Chisen could apparently see future evil and had predicted that Itachi would kill almost the entire Uchiha Clan to protect Konoha. Hiruzen believed the account and suspected that a future coup might lead to the massacre. He urged Itachi to keep the revelation secret, both to protect him from his clansmen and to help prevent that future 54.

His praise strengthened Itachi’s convictions despite his stated wish to avoid the tragedy. When rumors spread anyway, Hiruzen apologized for failing to contain them and recognized that Itachi seemed to regard the massacre as inevitable 54 59.

Danzō’s punishment

Danzō’s renewed attack on Chisen devastated the Yamanaka compound. Hiruzen was furious that Danzō had summoned the Dream Tapir inside Konoha and endangered civilians. After confronting him over his stolen Sharingan, Hiruzen publicly removed him as Root’s leader 63 66 68.

The dismissal was initially intended to curb Danzō’s behavior while reassuring the clans. Chisen rejected it as inadequate, exposed further alleged crimes, and accused Hiruzen of complicity. Under public pressure, Hiruzen escalated the sentence to life imprisonment and confiscation of the Shimura Clan’s illicit gains, while continuing to argue against execution on grounds of village stability 69 71.

Hiruzen and ANBU tried to prevent Chisen from reaching Danzō, but Chisen used his ocular technique despite their intervention. After Danzō’s eventual death, Hiruzen recognized that Root had come fully under his authority and that he no longer faced Danzō’s repeated attempts to seize power 73 104.

Naruto’s disillusionment and the capital crisis

Hiruzen tried to prevent Naruto from joining a murder investigation, citing his age and warning that Chisen’s methods could jeopardize his dream of becoming Hokage. Naruto confronted him over the Nine-Tails, Danzō’s “Demon Fox” rumors, and Hiruzen’s failure to stop the villagers’ hatred. When Naruto’s distress threatened to become dangerous, Hiruzen stopped a forced removal and agreed to accompany the investigation 95.

Chisen then openly accused Hiruzen of enabling Danzō’s wrongdoing. Hiruzen’s claim that inheriting the Will of Fire meant he could not be a bad person failed to answer the accusation 95 96.

Asuma later deceived Hiruzen to lure Chisen out of Konoha. Hiruzen traveled to the Land of Fire’s capital with ANBU, leaving Kakashi and Guy to watch the Uchiha compound. He arrived too late to protect the Daimyō and found that the ruler’s heir, Goyain Yasuhito, publicly accepted the killing and supported Chisen’s reforms. Rumors subsequently implicated Hiruzen and Konoha in the attack 124 125 126.

Accountability within his own clan

Hiruzen allowed Chisen to arrest Sarutobi clansmen accused of serious crimes and began questioning why such wrongdoing had flourished under his leadership. Sarutobi Sakurako’s suffering also forced him to recognize the compassion behind Chisen’s severity 134.

Following Sakurako’s death, Hiruzen authorized Chisen to handle the matter at the Ninja Academy and permitted the resulting executions. He ordered Sakurako memorialized in the clan shrine, but insisted to Koharu that he had not abandoned the Will of Fire 138.

Fuyuko’s apparent murder briefly reversed his restraint. Sulfur and volcanic-rock fragments pointed toward Chisen, and Hiruzen ordered Kakashi and Yamato to retrieve him while authorizing Root to interrogate his associates and ninja cats. Root seized children at the Academy, including Sasuke and Neji 162.

The investigation instead uncovered a Sarutobi conspiracy involving a Kumogakure spy. Fuyuko had arranged her own death through a Shadow Clone to frame Chisen and provoke Hiruzen into opposing Absolute Justice. Hiruzen chose to publish the truth despite the damage to his clan’s reputation; many Sarutobi subsequently blamed and distanced themselves from him 166 176 177 179.

Loss of authority

Chisen’s rise to Military Police captain gave him institutional authority that Hiruzen feared could reshape Konoha’s laws. When the police demanded investigations into ANBU killings, Hiruzen attempted to shield his covert force by declaring it outside police jurisdiction and unbound by law during missions. Chisen’s public account of civilian victims made continued obstruction politically untenable 179 188.

Hiruzen’s remaining support steadily eroded. Tsunade openly challenged him for the Hokage position, Homura’s neutrality became uncertain, and ANBU began refusing work beyond their shifts. Hiruzen interpreted Tsunade’s commitment to Absolute Justice as a threat to the Will of Fire 196 197.

His attempt to prevent Chisen-aligned ninja from leaving for the Land of Water triggered protests. He eventually permitted more than a hundred ninja to depart and admitted that he expected to lose the election. Rather than risk Tsunade’s supporters splitting from Konoha, he became willing to yield power and serve as an advisor 249 252.

Before stepping down, Hiruzen also confronted Koharu for hiring the Akatsuki to assassinate Chisen. He ordered her back to prison and regretted not disbanding Root after Danzō’s death 261 262.

Succession and retirement

After witnessing Chisen’s battle with Hiashi and reflecting on the deaths of his former allies, Hiruzen concluded that he could no longer restrain Chisen. He told Tsunade to take over as Fifth Hokage immediately and offered administrative guidance and assistance reintegrating Root’s shinobi. Preparations for the jōnin vote continued afterward 282 284 288.

His final concerns as Hokage included Hinata’s possible Tenseigan awakening. Fearing that grief over Hiashi might drive her to attack Chisen, he asked Chisen to spare her and planned to help care for her after retirement 289.

Once Tsunade was in office, Hiruzen no longer had authority to block Chisen’s access to Flying Thunder God. He remained involved in village discussions and later urged Chisen’s return when the Akatsuki’s growing strength raised fears of an attack on Konoha 299 325.

Appearance

Hiruzen is an elderly, short man with a deeply lined face. Grief and sustained political pressure leave him visibly exhausted 37 138 187.

• Pipe smoking: Frequently smokes while thinking, receiving reports, or discussing village affairs 138 174 262.
• Casual dress: Appears at home in casual clothes and wooden clogs 29.
• Mourning clothes: Wears them for Shinosuke’s burial 41.
• Bloodshot eyes and hoarse voice: Evident during the overlapping Fuyuko scandal and Uchiha leadership crisis 174.

Personality

Hiruzen places balance, stability, peace, and prosperity at the center of his understanding of a Hokage’s duty. He repeatedly argues that family revenge or uncompromising punishment must not plunge Konoha into conflict. This position does not eliminate his resentment toward Chisen: he suppresses hatred over his sons’ deaths partly because he lacks the power to confront him safely 146 186 192.

His restraint coexists with selective tolerance of wrongdoing. He overlooked unnecessary ANBU casualties when missions were completed successfully and tried to protect Danzō through a punishment he believed he could manage privately. Conversely, he allowed investigations into his own clan and publicly exposed Fuyuko’s conspiracy despite the personal cost 71 177 188.

As his support declines, he becomes defensive and increasingly interprets dissent as betrayal. Retirement nevertheless revives his intellectual curiosity: discussing Chisen’s chakra combinations excites him, and he hopes to continue exploring kekkei genkai after leaving office 197 289.

Abilities & Skills

Five Chakra Natures

• Possesses all five basic chakra natures 282 289.
• Cannot develop a kekkei genkai merely by possessing those natures; he lacks the necessary chakra ratios and acknowledges little talent for discovering them 282 289.
• Speculates about combining all five natures with Yin and Yang Release to approach the Sage of Six Paths’ power 289.

Ninjutsu Knowledge

• Known as the Professor of Ninjutsu 286.
• Compares the destructive properties of Hiashi’s Tenseigan Rotation to Dust Release 277.
• Recognizes Chisen’s Susanoo-armored Wood Human as an echo of the Hashirama–Madara battle described by his teacher 278.
• Reconsiders Wood Style’s composition after Tsunade identifies Yang Release as part of it, questioning why Yamato’s version lacked Hashirama’s power 286.

Battlefield Awareness and Physical Limits

• Retains a battlefield-trained sensitivity to blood, detecting its smell from hundreds of meters away at the Hyuga residence 274.
• Age reduces his endurance: traveling continuously to the capital leaves him panting, though he conceals the fatigue from ANBU 124.
• Believes his younger self might have matched Chisen’s earlier Kage-level strength, but lacks that confidence in old age 146.

Command and Administration

• Directly commands ANBU and uses them for intervention, surveillance, pursuit, and investigation 15 124 162.
• Holds final appointment authority over the Military Police captain while Hokage, though overwhelming Uchiha support constrains his ability to veto Chisen 174.
• Offers Tsunade practical guidance in managing the Hokage office and reintegrating Root personnel 284.

Equipment / Items

• Smoking pipe and tobacco — His most frequently shown personal possessions 29 138 174.
• Mourning clothes — Worn at Shinosuke’s funeral 41.
• Casual clothes and wooden clogs — Worn at his residence 29.

Relationships

• Uchiha Chisen — Initially a trusted officer, later his principal ideological and political opponent. Chisen judges Hiruzen’s failures serious but not deserving of death, considering imprisonment sufficient 4 188 289.
• Sarutobi Shinosuke — Eldest son and trusted ANBU aide. Hiruzen honors his dying wish against village infighting after Chisen kills him 26 34 35.
• Sarutobi Asuma — Second son, with whom he is not particularly close. Asuma deceives him to arrange Chisen’s departure; his death becomes another source of family resentment 115 124 186.
• Sarutobi Fuyuko — Daughter-in-law and one of his trusted aides. Her self-sacrificial plot to frame Chisen forces him to choose between clan reputation and public disclosure 41 42 176 177.
• Sarutobi Konohamaru — Grandson through Shinosuke; accompanies the family to Shinosuke’s burial 41.
• Tsunade — Student and successor. Her support for Absolute Justice drives their political rupture, but he ultimately offers to assist her administration 138 196 284.
• Jiraiya — Student who reports developments involving Chisen and the toad sages to him 144 196.
• Orochimaru — Former student. Hiruzen’s lingering affection previously led him to let Orochimaru escape, and news of his death causes genuine sorrow 176.
• Shimura Danzō — Longtime associate whose covert activities Hiruzen tolerated. Their relationship includes repeated assassination and coup attempts against Hiruzen 26 104.
• Utatane Koharu — Longtime ally and eventual Root leader. Hiruzen comes to value her loyalty but rejects her assassination plot against Chisen 197 262.
• Mitokado Homura — Advisor who helps publicize Fuyuko’s conspiracy. His willingness to meet Tsunade later contributes to Hiruzen’s sense of isolation 177 197.
• Uchiha Itachi — Highly regarded young shinobi and confidant. Hiruzen tries to protect him from the consequences of Chisen’s predicted massacre 54 59.
• Uzumaki Naruto — Calls him “Grandpa Hokage.” Naruto’s discovery of Hiruzen’s failure to counter the village’s prejudice seriously damages their trust 95.
• Hatake Kakashi — Trusted subordinate whose talents Hiruzen recognized and developed; Kakashi later leans toward supporting Tsunade’s succession 15 215.
• Tobirama Senju — Teacher. Hiruzen initially feels that allowing an Uchiha to learn Tobirama’s Flying Thunder God would betray him 278 299.

Notable Quotes

“If it was Chisen, then he must have had his reasons.” 4

“The village needs stability, and it needs balance. I hope that one day you can look at these problems from my position.” 73

“Balance, stability, peace, and prosperity. Those are what a good Hokage should work toward above all else after taking office.” 186

“Unfortunately, although I possess all five chakra natures, I really have no talent for developing kekkei genkai.” 289