Hiruzen Sarutobi

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Hiruzen Sarutobi (猿飞日斩) 56
Alias(es)	Third Hokage; Ninjutsu Doctor; Professor of Ninjutsu; Strongest Hokage 32 253 1520
Gender	Male 56
Affiliation	Konohagakure; Sarutobi Clan 56 1577
Occupation/Role	Third Hokage; later retired Hokage 56 938
Status	Alive as of his appearance three years after his brain-transplant surgery 1577
First Appearance	Chapter 56 56

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Peak-strength Hokage	251	At 54, Hiruzen is described as being at his physical peak. Tsunade's examination predicts that his strength will begin to decline within two years.
Aging former Hokage	938 1063	After retiring, he still fights to defend Konoha, combining five elemental techniques with chakra supplied by Tsunade.
Rejuvenated peak body	1421 1422 1516	Agrees to a brain transplant into a specially prepared youthful clone, restoring his strength and enabling him to confront a meteor threatening Konoha.
Eight Inner Gates: Sixth Gate	1526	Breaks the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's chains and shatters a third-stage Susanoo with Enma's amplification.
Eight Inner Gates: Seventh Gate; Kaioken	1526 1527	Combines the Seventh Gate with Lightning Armor. His specialized body survives the technique's strain, and his speed overwhelms his opponent's Susanoo.

Background and History

Hiruzen was a disciple of Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, who jointly appointed him Hokage. He later taught Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. His father, Sarutobi Sasuke, died during Konoha's construction 251 938.

As Hokage, Hiruzen promoted the Will of Fire at the Ninja Academy and authorized a special early-graduation assessment for Hyuga Mami, Hyuga Sho, Hatake Kakashi, and Uchiha Tekka. He later thanked Sho for his positive influence on Asuma, Hiruzen's son, and gave him an advanced Taijutsu scroll 56 61.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Hiruzen personally led an offensive against Sunagakure. He planned to face the Kazekage while other Konoha forces dealt with Pakura and Shukaku. His charge at the front was intended both to damage enemy morale and to encourage his own troops 251 252.

Hiruzen resisted fellow leaders' measures against the Uchiha Clan, including a proposed forty-percent cut to the Police Force's budget and calls to kill uninvolved clan members during the coup crisis. He sought Hyuga Sho's plans for resolving that crisis. Later, although he retained the title of Third Hokage, Sho reduced him to a largely symbolic role 723 802 803 835.

After resigning, Hiruzen turned his attention to his orphaned grandson Konohamaru. He nevertheless returned to defend Konoha when Uchiha Madara attacked. During a later crisis, he accepted a transplant into a youthful cloned body; three years afterward, he still retained its peak condition 938 1061 1421 1577.

Appearance

Hiruzen is short and has a face described as both gentle and resolute. Age eventually leaves him with pale hair, age spots, and a frailer appearance; his later cloned body resembles him in his early twenties 56 723 1421.

• Ceremonial dress — Wears a white robe and a Hokage hat marked with the kanji for “Fire” at the Academy 56.
• Battle gear — Wears armor and fights with Enma in staff form when he returns to defend Konoha 1061.
• Rejuvenated body — Looks young after the brain transplant, despite being over seventy three years later 1520 1577.

Personality

Hiruzen presents himself as a kind leader devoted to Konoha and the Will of Fire. He recognizes young talent, rewards Sho's help with Asuma, and remains concerned for Naruto after a dangerous mission 56 61 645.

His leadership is also constrained by politics. He worries about Hatake Sakumo but believes publicly endorsing Sakumo's decision to save teammates over completing a mission would set a dangerous precedent. He grows openly angry, however, when his colleagues' policies intensify the Uchiha Clan's grievances 165 723. He admits to Sho that his reluctance to inherit the previous generation's “darkness” has left others carrying that burden 608.

Abilities and Skills

Ninjutsu and elemental techniques

Known as the Ninjutsu Doctor, Hiruzen is credited with mastering Konoha's ninjutsu apart from Kekkei Genkai. He can use all five basic elemental releases in a coordinated attack 251 253 1063.

• Uses four Shadow Clones alongside his original body to launch a five-element assault 253 1063.
• Uses Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld to trap a large group of Sand ninja 253.
• Follows with a large-scale Fire Release attack, then counters Madara's Great Fire Annihilation with Water Release: Water Pillar 253 1520.
• Knows the Five Elements Seal, which he uses to contain Three 467.

Taijutsu, speed, and Enma

Hiruzen's peak physical abilities extend to close combat: on the Sunagakure battlefield, his gauntleted punches send enemies flying, while his speed lets him charge ahead of Konoha's forces 252 253.

• Summons Enma, who transforms into the Adamantine Nyoi-Bō; with it, rejuvenated Hiruzen breaks an unusually reinforced Susanoo 1520.
• Uses the Eight Inner Gates and Lightning Armor together in a technique called Kaioken 1526 1527.
• Limit: Kaioken damages his cells. The specialized cloned body allows him to withstand a combination that would otherwise kill him 1527.
• Limit: Enma reaches his own limit against the Susanoo's Serpent Sword and withdraws, leaving Hiruzen to continue alone 1527.

Sealing techniques

• Reaper Death Seal — Hiruzen regards this forbidden technique as a last-resort means of protecting Konoha; the passage states that, even in old age, he has the strength to use it against multiple Kage-level opponents 608.

Relationships

• Sarutobi Asuma — His son. Hiruzen thanks Hyuga Sho for influencing Asuma, though father and son later experience growing conflict 61 676.
• Konohamaru — His grandson. Hiruzen makes time to care for him after Konohamaru's parents die in service to Konoha 938.
• Tobirama Senju — His teacher and predecessor. Their reunion is emotional; Tobirama later presses Hiruzen to accept a youthful cloned body for Konoha's defense 1420 1421.
• Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade — His former students. Tsunade assesses his aging and later supplies chakra during a fight; Orochimaru eventually plans to turn reincarnated Hokages against him 248 251 966 1063.
• Hyuga Sho — A young ninja Hiruzen repeatedly recognizes and trusts, from his Academy assessment to the Uchiha crisis. Sho later takes effective political control while leaving Hiruzen as a figurehead 56 61 165 803 835.
• Shimura Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura — Fellow Konoha leaders whose treatment of the Uchiha Clan brings them into conflict with Hiruzen 360 723 802.
• Enma — His longtime summon and partner, who becomes the Adamantine Nyoi-Bō in battle 1520 1527.

Notable Quotes

“It's precisely because you are pressuring the Uchiha like this that they become even more dissatisfied!” 723

“Because I failed to inherit the darkness of the previous generation, I have made you all bear this burden...” 608