Third

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Third (三代)
Full Title	Third Hokage
Title Holder	Hiruzen Sarutobi 9
Alias(es)	“Ninja Professor”; “Strongest Hokage,” a reputation repeatedly challenged by Ling Tian 4 5 95
Gender	Male 9
Affiliation	Konohagakure; Sarutobi Clan 9 91
Occupation/Role	Hokage; teacher of Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade; former student of the Second Hokage 4 8 69
Age	Middle-aged and at the peak of his strength when the White Fang crisis begins 9
Tenure	Eight years in office as of Konoha Year 38 9 69
Status	Alive but politically displaced. His resignation is scheduled for after the war, with Orochimaru chosen as successor; he is ordered to atone through frontline service 91 94 100
First Appearance	Mentioned in the opening chapter; directly depicted in the Hokage’s office later 1 9

Background / History

Hiruzen studied under Tobirama, the Second Hokage, alongside Danzo, Koharu, Homura, Kagami Uchiha, and Torifu Akimichi. After becoming Hokage, he consolidated control over Konoha; eight years into his administration, dissenting voices had largely disappeared 4 9.

His administration depended heavily on Danzo, Koharu, and Homura. Koharu and Homura controlled important institutions, including the Ninja Academy, hospital, prison, and finances. Ling Tian argued that Hiruzen favored them because their limited strength made them easier to control than influential clan shinobi such as Kagami and Torifu 4.

Hiruzen described his rule as a period of prosperity, citing hospitals, orphanages, benefits for the elderly, and support for shinobi families. His justification for restricting powerful clans was that their prestige and military strength could allow them to impose a direction contrary to the village’s leadership 69.

Authority as Hokage

Power	Documented use
Final say in council decisions	Vetoes Danzo and Orochimaru’s proposal to conquer Sunagakure, despite their success in the preceding debate 27.
Military appointments	Selects the Sannin and Fugaku to lead the Sand campaign, requires clan contributions, and refuses Danzo’s request for field command 28.
Control of Anbu	Removes Sakumo from command and appoints Mitarashi Shishō acting captain over his objections 9.
Limits over Root	Root answers directly to Danzo rather than the Hokage, although its initial encirclement of Sakumo proceeds with Hiruzen’s tacit approval 43.
Residual authority after political defeat	Still retains Anbu allegiance before formally stepping down, despite Danzo declaring him unfit to remain Hokage 73.

Personality

Hiruzen presents himself as a guardian of Konoha who must put the village before personal glory. He rejects an expansionist war on those grounds and favors exhausting Sunagakure’s supplies rather than destroying it outright. At the same time, his private conviction that Konoha would be best under his control exposes the tension between his stated duty and attachment to authority 26 27.

He often accommodates wrongdoing rather than confronting it directly. During Sakumo’s disgrace, he prioritizes the advisers’ demands and allows accusations to circulate, even though Sakumo saved his eldest son. His later reflections acknowledge that defending Sakumo would have preserved the very influence he wanted diminished 9 65 72.

His loyalty to family and old companions survives his political defeat. He tries to shield Koharu and Homura by taking responsibility alone, pleads for his son’s life, and eventually regrets assigning that son to Sakumo’s mission. After his elder son is killed, he restrains himself from retaliation because he fears destroying both Konoha and the Sarutobi Clan 73 91 100.

Abilities & Skills

Ninjutsu Expertise

• Known as the Ninja Professor, with a repertoire broad enough to employ combined ninjutsu 4 49.
• Fire Release accounts for his strongest techniques and the largest portion of his arsenal; the Sarutobi Clan’s secret techniques are also fire-based 49.
• Losing effective use of Fire Release against Hongsi reduces his overall strength by at least thirty percent and halves the power of his combined ninjutsu 49.

Water Release

• Joins other shinobi in coordinated Water Release attacks to suppress Hongsi’s enormous fire dragon 52.
• The resulting mist gives Sakumo cover to launch further attacks, making the countermeasure useful to both sides 52.

Clone-Assisted Barrier

• Uses two clones to form a green pyramid around Sakumo 47 48.
• Hiruzen and his clones occupy three points, projecting green chakra from their hands toward a shared point overhead 48.

Summoning: Monkey King Enma

• Summons Enma when he decides to confront Sakumo personally 45.
• Enma transforms into the Adamantine Staff, arming Hiruzen for the confrontation 45.
• Enma initially questions why Hiruzen’s former Anbu commander has become an enemy, then agrees to help stop him 45.

Mobility

• Uses the Body Flicker Technique to reach Danzo after reports of an enemy attack 60.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Adamantine Staff — Enma’s transformed weapon form, used during the battle with Sakumo 45.
• Hokage hat — Hiruzen deliberately puts it on while defending his record and declaring his ninja way 69.
• Tobacco pipe — Frequently used in his office and at leadership meetings 9 25 26.

Relationships

• Tobirama Senju — Teacher and predecessor. Hiruzen invokes the Second’s legacy when defending his leadership and policies 4 69 100.
• Sakumo Hatake / White Fang — Old friend, former Anbu captain, and potential successor. Hiruzen removes him from command, permits his public disgrace, and ultimately fights to prevent his departure 9 45 92.
• Ling Tian — Sakumo’s younger brother and Hiruzen’s principal public accuser. He demands restitution for the Hatake Clan and later orders Hiruzen to serve at the front as an offender 41 86 100.
• Danzo Shimura — Former classmate, adviser, and rival for the Hokage position. Their longstanding rivalry becomes a decisive political struggle after the White Fang crisis 43 65 72.
• Orochimaru — Student and chosen successor. Hiruzen objects that Orochimaru’s fixation on ninjutsu makes him unsuitable for administration, but loses the succession debate 5 67.
• Jiraiya — Student and favored succession candidate. The council comes to believe Hiruzen prefers him partly because he would be easier to control 65 66 67.
• Tsunade — Student whose trust is strained by the treatment of Sakumo and the Senju Clan 37 41 69.
• Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado — Advisers and old allies. They resist his resignation, and he later attempts to protect them from sharing his punishment 41 73.
• Sarutobi Shinnosuke — Eldest son, whose rescue during Sakumo’s failed mission becomes the center of the White Fang scandal 3 15 94.
• Sarutobi Asuma — Younger son. Hiruzen refuses to retaliate when Asuma attempts to attack Ling Tian after his elder brother’s death 94 100.
• Uzumaki Mito — Senior village figure who confronts him over the Senju and Uzumaki clans and withdraws her trust 69 71.
• Minato Namikaze — Young Anbu guard who defends Hiruzen’s record of improving civilian life 86.

Story Role / Major Arcs

White Fang’s Disgrace

Sakumo abandons an assassination mission against the Third Kazekage to save Hiruzen’s eldest son. Instead of publicly defending him, Hiruzen sends instructions for him to rest at home. Sakumo returns his Hokage sleeve, rejects Hiruzen’s authority, and gives up his ambition to become Hokage. Hiruzen then replaces him as Anbu captain 3 9 10.

The dispute becomes public as Sakumo is blamed for the impending war. Hiruzen’s failure to stop the denunciations damages the trust of the Sannin and clan leaders. Challenged by Ling Tian, he denies knowing about the smear campaign, acknowledges failure as a father, and promises to resign after the war 37 41.

Battle with White Fang and the God Organization

Hiruzen attempts to stop Sakumo by force, deploying Anbu, summoning Enma, and trapping him within a clone-assisted barrier. Hongsi’s intervention prevents Hiruzen from using his fire-based arsenal effectively, while reluctant clan participation and Root’s withdrawal further weaken the village’s response 45 46 47 48 49.

The confrontation expands when Mito and clan reinforcements arrive. Hiruzen helps counter Hongsi with Water Release, but the defenders fail to prevent the enemies’ departure. Afterward, he acknowledges that he has dragged the village into his own crisis 50 52 57.

Succession and Political Collapse

Hiruzen reaffirms his intention to resign, but Danzo and Torifu insist that resignation alone cannot settle the damage. His preferred succession path is defeated when Danzo backs Orochimaru, attacks Hiruzen’s treatment of his students, and wins the support of the assembled leaders 63 64 67.

Danzo then presents seven accusations against Hiruzen and the advisers. The narrative explicitly distinguishes their political impact from their accuracy: some are exaggerated or false, while others concern actions Hiruzen authorized or knowingly permitted. Unable to recover the council’s trust, Hiruzen is reduced to a nominal authority as Danzo reorganizes village leadership 72 73.

Hiruzen does not realize that the original Danzo has been replaced by Ling Tian’s Fifth Baby clone. He interprets the changed man’s campaign as another bid for the Hokage position 60 68 78.

Public Confession and Forced Atonement

Before the next deployment, Hiruzen admits weakening rival clans to prevent challenges to Hokage authority and ordering the Uzumaki’s elimination before other nations could capture them. He frames those decisions as necessary for Konoha’s prosperity, winning sympathy from many villagers but further alienating the injured clans 97.

Ling Tian rejects that defense. After killing Hiruzen’s eldest son, he announces that Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura must atone through frontline service. Hiruzen remains alive, unable to avenge his son without risking wider disaster; Orochimaru’s formal succession is still scheduled for after the war 94 99 100.

Notable Quotes

“Pacifying the Shinobi World is a glory, but as the Hokage, I should take responsibility for the village rather than disregard the villagers for the sake of my own empty reputation. This is what a Hokage is!” 27

“This is my ninja way, the ninja way of Hiruzen Sarutobi!” 69

“This time, I dragged the village into my mess.” 57

Trivia

• His “Strongest Hokage” reputation remains persuasive to villagers even after his misconduct is publicly exposed 95.
• References to the son involved in Sakumo’s mission are inconsistent: early passages identify him as Sarutobi Shinnosuke, while several later passages call him Konohamaru. Another passage identifies the condemned son as Konohamaru’s father 3 91 94.