Third Hokage

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Sarutobi Hiruzen 4
Alias(es)	Lord Third; Lord Hokage; described publicly as the “strongest Hokage,” a designation Kushina disputes 4 33 263
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Konohagakure
Occupation/Role	Hokage of Konoha; former overseer of ANBU and Root operations 4 40
Status	Active 135 221 267
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Power Progression

Chapter	Development	Details
61	Amaterasu containment	Coordinated containment alongside Jiraiya, ordering the Barrier Team to seal Itachi's black flames after Jiraiya's Fire Sealing Method contained only part of them. 61
103	Five Elements Seal	Applied a Five Elements Seal to reinforce Naruto's Eight Trigrams Seal after chakra leakage, though Orochimaru later removed it with Five Elements Unsealing. 103
179	Enma summoning and Adamantine Staff	During Zhengye's journey to the night of the Nine-Tails Attack, Hiruzen summoned Monkey King Enma and used his extending Adamantine Staff form to knock the Nine-Tails out of Konoha. This demonstrates an existing ability rather than a newly acquired power. 179

Background / History

After Minato's death disrupted his succession plans, Hiruzen returned to the Hokage position to prevent Orochimaru from gaining the office. He believed both Danzō and Fugaku remained within his control, while privately allowing Root to handle Konoha's unsavory work. 4

He cultivated Itachi's loyalty while the boy served in ANBU, repeatedly praising him as uniquely capable of thinking like a Hokage and placing responsibility for Uchiha–Konoha peace on him. Zhengye characterizes this treatment as flattery and indoctrination aimed at turning Itachi into a weapon against his own clan. 2

A future timeline witnessed by Zhengye's group identifies Hiruzen as having tacitly approved the Uchiha Clan's extermination, with Danzō issuing the order and Itachi and Obito carrying it out. During that massacre, Hiruzen reportedly stood aside and watched. 4 5

During Zhengye's later intervention in the night of the Nine-Tails Attack, Hiruzen was rendered unconscious and had his memories of the final events erased. The altered history left him aware that Kushina had disappeared and Minato had died, but unable to remember the missing circumstances surrounding the attack. 181 183

Before being incapacitated, Hiruzen personally led Konoha's defense, summoning Enma and driving the Nine-Tails beyond the village walls with the Adamantine Staff. Zhengye subsequently approached him disguised as an ANBU and used the Mangekyō Sharingan to incapacitate him and two nearby ANBU, causing Enma's summoning to end. 179

The altered aftermath included a longer period of martial law and stricter protection of Naruto, although history gradually returned to its earlier trajectory. 183

Appearance

An elderly man who commonly wears the Hokage hat and keeps a pipe at hand. He appears in combat gear when personally responding to the Uchiha assault on Root. 4 10

• Carries and frequently smokes a pipe. 4 23
• Wears the formal Hokage hat while working from the Hokage Office. 4
• Retains a composed outward demeanor even after public political setbacks. 17
• Continues staying in the Hokage Office late into the night even after Nara Shikaku assumes much of Konoha's administrative burden; by this stage, his late presence is attributed to habit rather than ongoing paperwork. 245
• Wears a formal dark-colored outfit rather than his customary Hokage robes when attending Zhengye's succession ceremony. 255

Personality

Hiruzen is politically calculating and careful about preserving deniability. Rather than directly command Danzō, he guides him through hints, allowing him to distance himself from Root's actions and potentially gain credit afterward. 4

He is deeply concerned with Konoha's stability, particularly the danger that open conflict with the Uchiha could exhaust the village and invite attacks by other hidden villages. This caution repeatedly forces him into concessions when he lacks the military strength to confront the Uchiha directly. 10 23

His concern for Naruto is genuine in presentation: he visits the boy, gives him money, and speaks affectionately to him. However, he also regards Naruto as someone whose values can be shaped through the Will of Fire and has used events around him for political ends. He regretted losing an opportunity to instill those values after Yota erased the children's memories, and later initially opposed allowing a red-haired woman calling herself Liu to become close to Naruto before accepting limited contact as a compromise. 23 33 80 81 84 188

Hiruzen carefully maintains a public image as a leader who respects human rights, even though his political pragmatism leads him to work with morally compromised subordinates and to seek Orochimaru's return when the Uchiha's growth threatens his position. 50 98

Though alarmed by Zhengye's political and military influence, he believes time remains on his side, reasoning that the Uchiha's small population limits the long-term reach of their Mangekyō Sharingan power. Even when Zhengye later declares that the Uchiha do not belong to Konoha and can leave at will, Hiruzen accepts Luhe's counsel not to provoke an immediate conflict. 130 221

Zhengye's Complete Susanoo and destruction of Hidden Stone's encircling force ultimately force Hiruzen to acknowledge that conventional pressure against the Uchiha is no longer viable. He publicly adopts reconciliation and extensive concessions, but privately still hopes to preserve the Sarutobi Clan's influence until Konoha can return to Sarutobi control. 245 250

His willingness to compromise also extends to personal and clan resources: he advances substantial funds from the Sarutobi Clan's reserves to avoid hindering village development through excessive withdrawals from public accounts. 96

He recognizes the diplomatic danger of openly supporting techniques that steal other clans' bloodline abilities. When Danzō promotes Hiruko's Chimera Technique, Hiruzen warns that exposure of Konoha's support could make the village a public enemy of the Shinobi World. 261

Abilities & Skills

Political Leadership

Hiruzen commands Konoha's administrative and military institutions, including ANBU deployments and village-wide emergency responses, though his practical authority becomes increasingly restricted by the Uchiha Clan's rise and the oversight of Konoha's other major clans.

• Ordered ANBU to locate Itachi and Shisui before Root could reach them. 4
• Mobilized ANBU and allied clan forces after the Uchiha attacked Root. 9 10
• Used the threat of outside intervention and internal instability to argue against armed conflict with the Uchiha. 10 98
• Sacrificed his reputation by publicly accepting responsibility for blocking the Police Force from protecting Naruto, preserving ANBU loyalty in the process. 40
• Ordered ANBU to capture or kill Itachi and Shisui after their attack on Danzō's recovery ward. 60
• Directed Konoha's response to Itachi's Amaterasu and led forces toward the Uchiha compound after the two Mangekyō users escaped. 61
• Ordered Konoha's barrier nodes and routes replaced after the masked intruder bypassed both the village's earth-release defenses and spatial sealing array. 56
• Chose to receive Hidden Cloud's supply escort diplomatically rather than escalate Konoha's internal conflict with the Uchiha. 67
• Joined the Uchiha–Hidden Cloud commercial negotiations under the pretext of supporting the arrangement, seeking to bind the Uchiha's economic development more closely to Konoha. 81
• Reviewed black-market intelligence with Luhe and continued monitoring Zhengye's interest in Naruto. 186
• Accepted intelligence concerning Orochimaru's intended Academy infiltrators and, following Zhengye's open rejection of Konoha's authority, prioritized external intelligence gathering over direct confrontation with the Uchiha. 221
• Ordered surveillance of Naruto and Liu after permitting her restricted access to Naruto as a compromise with Zhengye. 188
• Revoked Shisui and Itachi's bounties, withdrew surveillance of the Uchiha, granted the clan additional patrol territory, jōnin positions, and priority for high-level missions, and arranged their formal return to Konoha. 250
• Received the captured Five-Tails jinchūriki Han from Zhengye and used Konoha's custody of him as leverage in negotiations with Hidden Stone. 253 261
• Continued increasing funding for Orochimaru's limb-regeneration research in hopes of restoring Konoha's disabled shinobi and strengthening the village. 267
• Classified the masked intruder as an S-rank dangerous individual under the codename “Void Mask” and ordered the incident kept confidential, particularly from the Uchiha. 56
• Sent Nara Luhe to investigate Hidden Cloud's secret visit to the Uchiha compound and guard against foreign involvement in Konoha's internal conflict. 59
• Examined the captured Yota and compared his condition with records of Impure World Reincarnation, recognizing that Orochimaru had substantially improved the forbidden technique. 80
• Delivered the Ninja Academy's opening ceremony speech to a class containing Naruto and the heirs of Konoha's major clans. 85

Sealing Techniques

Hiruzen is capable of applying sealing techniques to Naruto's jinchūriki seal.

• Added a Five Elements Seal after Naruto's chakra leaked, intending to reinforce the existing Eight Trigrams Seal. 103
• Orochimaru later judged the additional seal unnecessary, explaining that Minato had deliberately left gaps in the original seal for Naruto's gradual adaptation to the Nine-Tails' chakra. 103
• Orochimaru removed Hiruzen's Five Elements Seal with Five Elements Unsealing while examining Naruto. 103
• Coordinated with Jiraiya and ordered the Barrier Team to contain Itachi's Amaterasu after the flames spread across ANBU, Konoha's walls, and Hiruzen's Adamantine Staff; the passage depicts him delegating the sealing rather than personally performing it. 61

Summoning and Staff Combat

Hiruzen summons Monkey King Enma, who can transform into the Adamantine Staff. During the Nine-Tails Attack, Hiruzen commanded the staff to extend and struck the Nine-Tails in the chest with enough force to drive it through buildings and the outer village wall. 179

• Enma's staff form was targeted by Itachi's Amaterasu during the hospital-defection incident; Hiruzen subsequently reported that Enma had been burned. 61 63
• Zhengye's surprise Mangekyō genjutsu incapacitated Hiruzen during the Nine-Tails Attack, after which the Adamantine Staff's summoning was dispelled. 179

Relationships

• Shimura Danzō — Longtime adviser and covert instrument whose Root activities Hiruzen initially tolerated. Their partnership fractures after Hiruzen realizes Danzō may have intended to use Shisui's eye to control him; Hiruzen disbands Root and orders Danzō's retirement. Despite this, he continues to negotiate over Danzō's care and usefulness against the Uchiha, including obtaining Aburame Ryōma's location from him. Hiruzen initially refuses to continue searching for replacement limbs after Danzō's transplant experiments fail, but later permits Danzō to pursue Hiruko's Chimera Technique and provides limited funds and materials while refusing to protect him from Uchiha retaliation. 4 26 68 135 261
• Uchiha Zhengye — Political opponent whose leadership transforms the Uchiha into a direct challenge to Hiruzen's authority. Zhengye repeatedly exposes Hiruzen's mistakes and forces concessions from him. Their later confrontation confirms the depth of their divide when Zhengye declares that the Uchiha can leave Konoha whenever they choose. After Zhengye's Complete Susanoo devastates Hidden Stone's forces, Hiruzen accepts that he cannot safely oppose him and enters a pragmatic, fragile accommodation with the clan. Hiruzen subsequently attends Zhengye's formal installation as Uchiha clan head. 18 40 49 221 245 250 253 255
• Uchiha Clan — Hiruzen and his fellow disciples of Tobirama maintain longstanding suspicion toward the clan. The emergence of five Mangekyō Sharingan users leaves him unable to suppress them by force. Zhengye's later military display forces Hiruzen to end village surveillance, expand Uchiha privileges, and seek coexistence rather than containment. 23 67 250
• Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui — Former ANBU-linked Uchiha whom Hiruzen initially sought to locate before Root could seize them. After they attack Danzō's ward and defect from Konoha, Hiruzen designates them as enemies and orders their capture or execution. Following their role in capturing Han and Zhengye's rise, Hiruzen revokes their rogue-ninja status, prepares new Konoha forehead protectors for them, and accepts their conditional reintegration. 4 60 63 250 253
• Naruto Uzumaki — Acts as a grandfatherly guardian, visiting Naruto and providing money, while also attempting to influence his development and monitor possible Uchiha involvement with him. He later brings Naruto home with Orochimaru for an examination and reinforces the boy's jinchūriki seal. Hiruzen initially refuses Zhengye's proposal for Liu, a woman who closely resembles Naruto's mother, to care for him, but allows limited access under increased surveillance to avoid a wider conflict with the Uchiha. 23 33 84 102 103 188
• Jiraiya — His former student and trusted ally. Hiruzen recalls him to help handle Konoha's escalating Uchiha crisis, though he is frequently frustrated by Jiraiya's behavior. 30 55
• Orochimaru — Former student whom Hiruzen had driven from Konoha. Under pressure from the Uchiha, Hiruzen invites him back and agrees to fund a forbidden-technique research base in exchange for his support. He later relies on Orochimaru's biomedical research despite its failure to restore Danzō's limb, and is informed by Orochimaru of the latter's intended Academy plants. As Orochimaru's regeneration research advances, Hiruzen continues increasing its funding for Konoha's military recovery. 43 98 133 135 221 267
• Nara Luhe — Hokage Advisor elected after Hiruzen's admission of fault over the Naruto incident; Luhe monitors and challenges Hiruzen's decrees on behalf of allied clans. Despite this oversight, Hiruzen relies on Luhe's advice in handling the Uchiha–Hidden Cloud trade, avoiding a renewed confrontation with the Uchiha, and accepting a limited compromise over Liu's care for Naruto. Luhe also challenges Hiruzen's exclusive supervision of Naruto, proposing joint oversight by ANBU and the Police Force. 40 41 45 48 81 188 221
• Nara Shikaku — A major political counterweight whose counsel Hiruzen increasingly requires as Zhengye's strength reshapes Konoha's position. Shikaku argues that Konoha must acknowledge the Uchiha's military superiority and prioritize cooperation over pride. 245 250
• Monkey King Enma — Summoned combat partner who transforms into Hiruzen's Adamantine Staff. Enma assists in driving the Nine-Tails out of Konoha and is later burned when Itachi targets the staff with Amaterasu. 61 63 179
• Kushina Uzumaki / Liu — Naruto's mother, whose survival Hiruzen does not recognize when Zhengye arranges her disguised return. Kushina becomes hostile toward him after learning of Naruto's mistreatment and suspecting that her family's considerable inherited assets may have been appropriated after her disappearance and Minato's death. These concerns are presented as her and Zhengye's suspicions rather than a documented account of the assets' disposition. She later ridicules Hiruzen's “strongest Hokage” designation and criticizes the Academy's Will of Fire lessons. 182 183 188 263
• Sarutobi Asuma — Hiruzen's son, whose conduct toward Zhengye is constrained by his father's instructions. Hiruzen later assigns Asuma, Kakashi, and Might Guy to meet Shisui and Itachi and escort the captured Han into Konoha. 68 250

Story Role / Major Arcs

Uchiha Crisis

When Shisui disappears after clashing with Danzō, Hiruzen dispatches ANBU to find Shisui and Itachi first. He also identifies Zhengye as a rising Uchiha radical worth monitoring. 4

The Uchiha's attack on Root shocks Hiruzen into personally mobilizing ANBU and major clan forces. Though furious, he hesitates to begin a full-scale war because of the losses Konoha would suffer and the opportunity it would create for rival villages. 9 10

After Danzō's implanted Sharingan are exposed, Hiruzen publicly denies prior knowledge and promises an investigation. The evidence devastates trust in his administration, forcing him to negotiate over Uchiha compensation, the Police Force's expansion, and internal-defense coordination authority. 11 12 18 19

Hiruzen attempts to intervene when the Uchiha reclaim Danzō's stolen Sharingan, but Zhengye's Susanoo sends him back and leaves him unable to risk a direct confrontation with the clan. 11

The narration confirms that Hiruzen genuinely had not known how many Sharingan Danzō had implanted in his arm. Their public exposure undermines not only his reputation but also the willingness of ANBU and the other clans to support him in the confrontation. 12

Declining Authority

Hiruzen becomes increasingly constrained after the Police Force gains access to most of Konoha's patrol routes and the Uchiha reveal five Mangekyō Sharingan wielders. Unable to move against them militarily, he considers Orochimaru's return as a potential counterweight. 23 26

When Zhengye exposes Hiruzen's order preventing the Police Force from intervening during Naruto's crisis, Hiruzen accepts public blame to retain ANBU support. The incident leads to the selection of a Hokage Advisor, further limiting his unchecked authority. 40

The subsequent dispute over Naruto's protection also challenges Hiruzen's exclusive control of the jinchūriki. Luhe argues that Naruto can no longer be monitored by the Hokage alone and proposes joint supervision by ANBU and the Police Force. 41

Zhengye's public punishment of Jiraiya places Hiruzen in another political bind. To end the standoff and protect Konoha's image, he agrees to fund a power plant for the Uchiha and other residents of Konoha's outskirts. 48 49

Before Danzō's public trial, Hiruzen attempts to limit the political damage by arranging for Danzō to admit to attacking Shisui while denying that he murdered other Uchiha for their Sharingan. 52

Even after Orochimaru's return stabilizes the immediate situation, Hiruzen remains wary of Zhengye's reshaping of the Uchiha from a purely military force into a politically organized rival. 130

At a later meeting, Zhengye openly states that the entire Uchiha Clan considers itself independent of Konoha and may leave whenever it chooses. Though angered, Hiruzen follows Luhe's recommendation to tolerate the clan's arrogance rather than force a confrontation he cannot safely win. 221

Zhengye's subsequent victory against Hidden Stone, including his fifty-meter Complete Susanoo and the collapse of a four-thousand-man encirclement, finally removes any realistic prospect of coercing the Uchiha. Hiruzen recognizes that Zhengye's power may continue growing for decades, while Hiruzen himself has limited time and no comparable champion to cultivate. 245 261

Defections and External Threats

After Itachi and Shisui attack Konoha Hospital and defect, Hiruzen orders ANBU to capture or kill them. Their escape and Amaterasu's destruction leave Konoha's leadership fearful of the Uchiha's actual military potential. 60 61 63

The ensuing leadership review records sixty-three ANBU deaths, seventeen seriously wounded personnel, and six shinobi disabled and removed from active duty. Hiruzen also reports Enma's burns, while the council debates whether historical accounts of Madara's enormous Susanoo might be accurate. 63

When Hiruzen leads a force to confront the Uchiha following the defections, Zhengye denies any clan involvement while the Uchiha compound outwardly continues its ordinary activities, denying Hiruzen evidence for direct retaliation. 62

After the masked intruder evades Konoha's barriers through an unfamiliar space-time technique, Hiruzen orders a complete replacement of the village's barrier nodes and prohibits personnel from confronting the individual alone. 56

He later chooses a diplomatic response to Hidden Cloud's supply escort, hoping to demonstrate Konoha's tolerance and prevent further internal conflict with the Uchiha. 67

Ōnoki later threatens war unless Konoha recalls Zhengye from the Land of Wind battlefield. Before Hiruzen can settle on a response, Morino Ibiki's report reveals Zhengye's overwhelming victory, prompting an urgent meeting with Shikaku, Koharu, and Homura and a reconsideration of Konoha's entire Uchiha policy. 245

Orochimaru's Return

Seeking time and military leverage against the Uchiha, Hiruzen recalls Orochimaru to Konoha. He offers extensive support—including funds, equipment, personnel, and research materials—for a forbidden-technique research base, even stating that he would relinquish the Hokage position if Orochimaru demanded it. 97 98

His intended counterweight is not an immediate head-on battle between Orochimaru and the Uchiha. Instead, he wants Orochimaru to rebuild his own faction, develop promising recruits, and discourage the Uchiha from taking an extreme course; he also views Naruto's eventual combat strength as another potential restraint on the clan. 98

Hiruzen permits Orochimaru to focus on live-tissue cultivation and limb-regeneration research for Danzō. After Danzō's impatience causes a transplant to fail, Hiruzen agrees to stop seeking limbs for him while allowing Orochimaru's long-term research to continue. 133 135

As limb-regeneration research begins producing practical results, Hiruzen sees its potential to return disabled Konoha shinobi to active service. He consequently increases Orochimaru's funding while treating the technology as a strategic secret that other villages must not learn before Konoha can capitalize on it. 267

The scale of Konoha's investment is visible in Orochimaru's expanded laboratory, which becomes connected to Konoha Hospital and incorporates increasing numbers of medical personnel into life-sciences research. 265

Naruto Seal Incident

Concerned that the Uchiha may have interfered with Naruto, Hiruzen allows Orochimaru to examine the jinchūriki after bringing Naruto home from the Ninja Academy under ANBU escort. 102

During the examination, Orochimaru identifies Hiruzen's Five Elements Seal as an unnecessary addition to Minato's Eight Trigrams Seal and removes it, leaving Hiruzen unable to object despite his initial caution. 103

Yota Incident and Uchiha–Hidden Cloud Negotiations

After Yota rescues Naruto and the other children before erasing their memories and disintegrating, Hiruzen arrives to inspect them. He recognizes that the memory loss has also prevented him from using the incident to shape Naruto's understanding of the Will of Fire. 81

Before Yota's escape, Hiruzen had already examined the boy's talisman-based body and identified him as a subject of Orochimaru's improved Impure World Reincarnation. He recognizes the considerable value of the technique's advances. 80

On Luhe's advice, Hiruzen attends the Uchiha–Hidden Cloud negotiations after Zhengye returns with the trade convoy. He frames his involvement as support for the commercial arrangement while seeking to tie the Uchiha's growing infrastructure and business interests more closely to Konoha. 81 82

Uchiha Reconciliation and Han Negotiations

After Zhengye's Complete Susanoo shatters Hidden Stone's forces and Shisui and Itachi capture Han, Hiruzen convenes an emergency council. Accepting that Konoha cannot oppose the Uchiha militarily, he orders the removal of Shisui and Itachi from the rogue-ninja list, ends Uchiha surveillance, grants new patrol territory and jōnin slots, and prioritizes Uchiha access to high-level missions. 250

Zhengye creates additional political pressure by instructing Deidara to claim that the Third Hokage commissioned Han's capture and ordering Shisui and Itachi to display their prisoner publicly. This attribution is Zhengye's manufactured account, not evidence that Hiruzen actually ordered the mission. 249

When Zhengye brings Han to the Hokage Office as a political gift, Hiruzen accepts Konoha's custody of the Five-Tails jinchūriki rather than attempt to weaponize him. He agrees that Konoha should exchange Han for strategic supplies, accepts Uchiha demands for a share of the proceeds, and begins negotiations with Hidden Stone from a strengthened position. 253 261

Konoha's decision not to extract and retain the Five-Tails reflects the risk of upsetting the balance among the great villages. Hiruzen and the leadership fear that Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud could attack before Konoha turns a second tailed beast into usable combat strength. 253

Although he outwardly presents these measures as sincere coexistence, Hiruzen privately intends to preserve Sarutobi influence through the changing political order and hopes that Konoha will eventually return to his clan's control. 250

Five days after Zhengye announces his succession, Hiruzen attends the ceremony alongside Konoha's major clan leaders and officials. His presence forms part of the village's public acknowledgment of the Uchiha's restored strength and Zhengye's new political standing. 253 255

Nine-Tails Attack and Altered History

During Zhengye's journey into the past, Hiruzen leads Konoha's resistance to the Nine-Tails and drives it outside the village with Enma's extending staff. He later reaches the barrier surrounding Minato, Kushina, and the beast but cannot enter, concluding that the couple intend to handle the sealing themselves. 179

Zhengye, disguised as an ANBU, offers a supposed way through and takes advantage of Hiruzen's unguarded eye contact to incapacitate him and two ANBU with the Mangekyō Sharingan. Hiruzen consequently does not witness Zhengye's intervention in the sealing and Kushina's rescue. 179 180 181

When Zhengye returns to his own era, Hiruzen's final memories of the attack are missing. Kushina is remembered as having disappeared, and the village's immediate response had involved extended martial law and stricter protection of Naruto. 183

Academy Education and Continuing Influence

Hiruzen delivers the opening speech when Naruto and the heirs of Konoha's major clans begin attending the Ninja Academy together. The class represents an unusually concentrated gathering of the village's future political and military leadership. 85

Nearly two years later, Zhengye and Kushina discuss Hiruzen's continuing attempts to bond with Naruto and criticize the Academy's Will of Fire curriculum as political conditioning. Kushina also mocks the public designation of Hiruzen as the strongest Hokage and his acceptance of it. These judgments reflect their opposition to his influence rather than an impartial assessment of his abilities. 263

Trivia

• Hiruzen personally advanced money from the Sarutobi Clan's reserve funds to support village needs, rather than draw excessively from public accounts. 96
• He initially believed Danzō had planned to use Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan against Fugaku, but recognized from Danzō's evasive reaction that Hiruzen himself had likely been the intended target. 26
• In the altered timeline created by Zhengye's intervention during the Nine-Tails Attack, Hiruzen is left with a gap in his memory concerning the final events of that night. 181 183
• Zhengye acknowledges Hiruzen as a capable leader who contributed greatly to Konoha's development, even while identifying him as the Uchiha's principal political opponent and urging Shisui to exploit his mistakes. 22
• After deciding on reconciliation with the Uchiha, Hiruzen extinguishes the lights in his office and remains seated in the moonlit shadows, continuing to smoke while contemplating the Sarutobi Clan's future influence. 250