Hiruzen Sarutobi

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Hiruzen Sarutobi
Alias(es)	Third Hokage; “Professor of Ninjutsu”; “Strongest Hokage”
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Konohagakure; Hokage faction
Occupation/Role	Third Hokage of Konohagakure
First Appearance	Chapter 4

Background / History

Hiruzen initially regards Uchiha Mirai as a promising Academy candidate: Mirai possesses a Two-Tomoe Sharingan, trained under Fugaku, and appears to understand the Will of Fire. Hiruzen chooses to keep Mirai under his own observation rather than permit Danzō to take him into Root. He considers cultivating Mirai into an elite guard while remaining confident that any genius short of Hashirama Senju or Uchiha Madara can be controlled. 8 11

As Mirai’s strength rapidly exceeds Hiruzen’s expectations, Hiruzen and Danzō suspect that he has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Hiruzen rejects Danzō’s repeated demands to place Mirai in Root, fearing Danzō would turn him into a personal weapon. Instead, Hiruzen plans to repeatedly deploy Mirai to war zones, intending to exhaust his Mangekyō ocular power through combat and eventually render him blind. 47 53 63

The strategy fails: Mirai repeatedly returns from battle stronger and in apparently good condition, even after using Susanoo. Hiruzen escalates his efforts by arranging further battlefield assignments, attempting to remove Mirai from the Military Police Force captaincy, and working with Danzō to pressure the Uchiha faction. 63 84 97

When Mirai openly challenges the Hokage faction, Hiruzen attempts to preserve the authority and dignity of his office by personally confronting him. His defeat and capture by Mirai strip him of control over Konoha’s power structure. 108 110

After being released from imprisonment, Hiruzen returns to the Hokage position but focuses on preventing the Sarutobi Clan’s destruction rather than reclaiming real authority from Mirai. During the Chūnin Exams, Orochimaru publicly confronts him with accusations concerning Root, human experimentation, the treatment of Sakumo Hatake, suppression of ninja clans, and wartime conduct. Hiruzen repeatedly argues that his actions were necessary for village stability. 129 130 132 133 134

Personality

Hiruzen values control, political stability, and the public legitimacy of the Hokage office. He prefers indirect measures—surveillance, battlefield deployment, factional balancing, and administrative orders—over openly moving against powerful clans himself. He recognizes that attacking the Uchiha Clan directly would bring him infamy because the clan helped found Konoha. 32 47

He is deeply protective of his reputation and title. Even after losing practical control of Konoha, he remains sensitive to the possibility that the Uchiha will be branded as illegitimate usurpers if he is killed. Public exposure of his alleged crimes affects him more severely than physical danger. 129 134 136

Hiruzen is wary of Danzō’s ambitions and refuses to give him direct control over Mirai, but he still cooperates with Danzō when attempting to contain the Uchiha’s growing influence. 47 83

Abilities & Skills

Five Elemental Transformations

Hiruzen demonstrates mastery over Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water Release, earning recognition from observers as the “Professor of Ninjutsu.” 109

• Uses Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet, Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet, Lightning Style: Roaring Thunder, Water Style: Water Severing Wave, and Wind Style: Wind Scythe in rapid sequence. 109
• Combines elemental releases into Compound Ninjutsu: Earth Dragon Fire Stream and Lightning Water Dragon Bullet. 109
• Performs Five Elements: Great Combined Bullet Technique alongside four shadow clones; the attack damages Mirai’s Susanoo but does not defeat him. 109

Shadow Clone Technique

Hiruzen uses shadow clones to multiply his attacks and coordinate simultaneous hand seals.

• Creates a clone to perform compound elemental techniques in tandem. 109
• Creates four clones to launch the Five Elements: Great Combined Bullet Technique. 109

Shurikenjutsu

Hiruzen fights with giant shuriken and uses the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.

• Produces dozens of giant shuriken from two originals. 109
• The attack is stopped by Mirai’s Gold Dust. 109

Summoning: Enma

Hiruzen summons Enma, a white-furred monkey capable of transforming into the Golden Staff. 109

• The Golden Staff can extend and enlarge, allowing Hiruzen and his clones to reposition in the air. 109
• Hiruzen later relies on the staff defensively while trapped in Tobirama’s Dark Mist genjutsu. 135

Relationships

• Uchiha Mirai — Initially viewed as a genius to cultivate and monitor; later becomes Hiruzen’s principal political and military threat. Hiruzen attempts to weaken Mirai’s Mangekyō Sharingan through battlefield deployment, but is eventually defeated and imprisoned by him. 11 47 63 110
• Shimura Danzō — Longtime associate and political ally, though Hiruzen distrusts Danzō’s desire to control Mirai through Root. They jointly oppose Mirai’s growing influence. 47 63 83
• Orochimaru — Former student. Hiruzen meets Orochimaru and Mirai after their return from the front; Orochimaru later publicly accuses Hiruzen of numerous abuses and orchestrates his humiliation during the Chūnin Exams. 47 131 132
• Uchiha Fugaku — Uchiha clan head who fears Hiruzen may become dissatisfied with the clan after Mirai defeats Kakashi. 11
• Tobirama Senju — Former teacher. Reanimated Tobirama condemns Hiruzen’s conduct and overwhelmingly defeats him in battle. 133 135 136
• Hashirama Senju — Reanimated First Hokage who learns of the alleged fate of the Senju Clan and witnesses Hiruzen’s downfall. 132 133 136
• Sakumo Hatake — Orochimaru alleges that Hiruzen leaked information about Sakumo’s confidential mission, contributing to Sakumo’s public disgrace and suicide; Hiruzen denies the accusation. 133
• Sarutobi Clan — Hiruzen later prioritizes preventing the clan’s annihilation after his return to office. The clan is subsequently nearly wiped out after Shin’nosuke Sarutobi attempts to flee Konoha. 130 158 159

Story Role / Major Arcs

Monitoring Uchiha Mirai

• Keeps Mirai under his command after Mirai defeats Asuma, judging that Mirai’s apparent understanding of the Will of Fire may prevent Uchiha dissatisfaction. 4
• Refuses Danzō’s request to recruit Mirai into Root and considers grooming him as an elite guard. 11

Mangekyō Suppression Scheme

• Suspects Mirai’s sudden growth stems from the Mangekyō Sharingan after Mirai defeats the Fourth Raikage. 47
• Plans to use frontline deployments to drain Mirai’s ocular power, study his abilities, and prevent him from accumulating excessive prestige. 47 53
• Repeats the strategy after Mirai returns from the Sand battlefield without visible deterioration. 63

Conflict with the Uchiha Faction

• Orders Mirai’s removal as captain of the Konoha Military Police Force after Root operatives are killed. 84
• Works with Danzō to retrieve prisoners held by the Military Police Force, but Mirai defeats the Root operatives sent to enforce the order. 83
• Personally confronts Mirai after the Hokage faction loses support among Konoha’s clans. 108

Battle Against Uchiha Mirai

• Uses shurikenjutsu, all five elemental transformations, compound ninjutsu, shadow clones, and Enma’s Golden Staff against Mirai. 109
• His Five Elements: Great Combined Bullet Technique only cracks Mirai’s Susanoo. 109
• Learns that Mirai’s Mangekyō Sharingan does not suffer the blindness Hiruzen had relied upon, leaving his long-term strategy ineffective. 110
• Is defeated, has his power sealed, and is imprisoned alongside the Anbu. 110

Chūnin Exam Exposure

• Reappears as Hokage but lacks effective control over Konoha, concentrating instead on the Sarutobi Clan’s survival. 130
• Is trapped in Orochimaru’s barrier and accused before Konoha and foreign Kage of approving Root’s human experiments and committing other political abuses. 131 132 133
• Fights reanimated Tobirama and Hashirama to defend his “Strongest Hokage” claim, but is completely overwhelmed and publicly humiliated. 135 136

Trivia

• Hiruzen’s plan against Mirai rests on the assumption that repeated Mangekyō Sharingan use inevitably causes blindness. 47 63
• Mirai reveals that his eyes will not go blind, directly invalidating Hiruzen’s central containment strategy. 110
• Hiruzen is capable of fighting with all five basic elemental transformations and combining them into composite techniques. 109