Tsunade

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Tsunade (纲手)
Alias(es)	Lady Tsunade; “Granny Tsunade,” used by Naruto 30 148
Gender	Female 30
Clan / Lineage	Senju Clan; also carries Uzumaki blood through her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki 196 415 416
Affiliation	Konohagakure; the Sannin 30 65
Occupation / Role	Fifth Hokage; medical-ninjutsu specialist; Sakura Haruno’s mentor 30 65 316
Family	Granddaughter of Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki 276 415
Status	Serving as Fifth Hokage in the present storyline; retires in a future shown by the Sky Screen 77 479
First Documented Appearance	Introduced through the Sky Screen’s account of her return as Fifth Hokage 30

Background / History

Tsunade trained under Hiruzen Sarutobi alongside Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Her memories of their youth, the First and Second Hokage, and Konoha’s earlier ideals remain powerful enough to overcome her reluctance to return to village politics 64.

As one of the Sannin, she became famous throughout the Five Great Shinobi Villages for medical ninjutsu and monstrous strength. Veterans remember her as the strongest female ninja in the shinobi world, although many younger ninja initially know little about her reputation 30.

During the Sannin’s encounter with the Land of Rain’s war orphans, Tsunade gave Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan food. She sympathized with them but did not take them in; Jiraiya stayed to teach them 227 228.

She watched Kushina Uzumaki grow up and was addressed by her as “big sister.” Tsunade also respected Minato Namikaze and believed in him as a member of the younger generation 242.

Years of observing Konoha’s leadership left her deeply distrustful of its schemes and power struggles. When Jiraiya first asked her to succeed Hiruzen, she wanted no part in returning to that environment 64.

Appearance

• Long green robe: Worn when she returns to Konoha and confronts its former leadership 64.
• Hokage robes: Worn while preparing to defend the village against the Ōtsutsuki threat 428.

Personality

Tsunade is forceful, blunt, and quick to confront people who hide behind their status. She threatens Danzō directly, rejects clan elders’ attempts to pressure her, and criticizes Hiruzen without allowing their teacher–student relationship to shield him from accountability 65 66 74.

Her governing philosophy emphasizes shared responsibility rather than one person controlling every decision. She argues that Konoha does not belong to its Hokage alone and rejects Hiruzen’s habit of making the village depend on his personal judgment 65 66.

Despite her anger and cynicism, she remains protective of Konoha’s people. She mourns the neglect Naruto suffered, asks that children be spared from his future retaliation, and refuses to surrender Naruto or Sasuke even when the village faces an apparently unstoppable enemy 104 148 432.

She does not regard the Hokage title as a possession. In the future shown by the Sky Screen, she willingly relinquishes it after years of reconstruction, battles, and personal loss, choosing travel and rest instead 77.

Her skepticism extends to revered historical figures. She questions the Sage of Six Paths’ influence over generations of conflict and later criticizes his handling of family and succession, while still recognizing his greatness and relying on his attachment to his sons’ reincarnations 302 414 533 545.

Abilities & Skills

Medical Ninjutsu

Tsunade’s medical ninjutsu is one of the foundations of her international reputation 30.

• Offers a possible means of regrowing Sasuke’s severed arm, while warning that the process is difficult and will take considerable time 30.
• Teaches Sakura advanced medical ninjutsu and precise chakra control during the three-year training period shown by the Sky Screen 250.

Monster Strength and Taijutsu

Her monstrous strength is recognized alongside her medical expertise as a defining combat ability 30.

• Teaches Sakura strength-based taijutsu capable of releasing tremendous force in an instant 250.
• The style’s future legacy reaches Youliangna Uchiha through Sakura 390.
• Sakura uses the Monster Strength inherited from Tsunade to stun Kaguya, creating the opening for Naruto and Sasuke’s sealing technique 281.

Summoning Technique: Katsuyu

Tsunade summons Katsuyu for large-scale rescue and protection 237.

• During explosions across Konoha, orders Katsuyu to divide into smaller slugs and send them to the blast sites 237.
• In the Sky Screen’s account of Konoha’s destruction, spends her remaining chakra summoning Katsuyu, whose divided body protects some of the village’s survivors 258 259.
• Katsuyu preserves lives but cannot prevent the destruction of the village itself 259.

Byakugō

Tsunade possesses Byakugō and considers exhausting it during a desperate defense of Konoha 432.

• Prepares to burn through it for a final stand when Hara threatens to massacre the village 432.
• The confrontation is interrupted by the Sage of Six Paths’ appearance before that final stand begins 432.

Leadership and Threat Analysis

Tsunade combines political authority with practical analysis of unfamiliar abilities 65 186 207.

• Recognizes the danger of Sen’s nearly undetectable mental interference and orders the leadership to monitor one another for inexplicable thoughts or behavior 207.
• Warns that Hidan must never obtain a blood sample from an opponent because of his blood-linked curse 256.
• Proposes that bringing Indra’s yin power and Asura’s yang power to their limits, then combining them, may produce complete Six Paths power; this is presented as a theory rather than an ability she has acquired 186.

Relationships

• Hiruzen Sarutobi — Former teacher and predecessor. She holds him responsible for centralized government and tolerated abuses, but recognizes his willingness to die protecting Konoha 64 66 258 428.
• Jiraiya — Longtime teammate and principal supporter of her succession. He persuades her to return; she responds fiercely to his lechery and later demands permission before he undertakes dangerous missions or intelligence work 64 65 77.
• Orochimaru — Fellow Sannin. Tsunade challenges Hiruzen over the choices that helped shape Orochimaru’s fall, arguing that his rejection as a successor was partly driven by his independence and incompatibility with Hiruzen’s ideals 227 535 536.
• Sakura Haruno — Personal disciple and inheritor of her medical ninjutsu, chakra control, and strength-based fighting style. In the present, Tsunade takes Sakura as her apprentice early to provide training, status, and protection 250 316.
• Naruto Uzumaki — A younger shinobi she repeatedly supports. Naruto remains grateful to her, but she opposes the consequences of his future retaliation against Konoha’s powerful clans 104 148.
• Sasuke Uchiha — Patient and later beneficiary of her protection. In the future shown by the Sky Screen, she rejects demands for his execution and approves his pardon 30 75 76 77.
• Kakashi Hatake — Chosen successor in the Sky Screen’s future. She entrusts him with the Sixth Hokage position and preparation for Naruto’s eventual succession 75 77.
• Danzō Shimura — Political adversary. She strips him of authority, dismantles Root’s independent power, and rejects attempts to excuse his conduct as resentment over being denied the Hokage position 65 372.
• Hashirama Senju — Grandfather and childhood hero. The possibility that his life was manipulated by the Sage of Six Paths provokes intense grief and anger 355 357 359.
• Mito Uzumaki — Grandmother and connection to Tsunade’s Uzumaki ancestry 415 416.
• Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze — Younger people she cared for and respected. Their deaths and Naruto’s subsequent mistreatment deepen her anger toward Konoha’s former leadership 104 242.
• Hiashi Hyuga — Clan leader who places greater trust in Tsunade than in the former administration, requesting Anbu protection for the Hyuga compound 307.
• Uzumaki Elder — A distant ancestral connection. Tsunade respectfully seeks his help against the Ōtsutsuki, but learns that the power of his blade cannot be taught 415 416 417.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Return to Konoha and Government Reform

• Accepting the succession: Following Hiruzen’s resignation, Jiraiya appeals to Tsunade’s memories and fear that Konoha might split apart. She agrees to return and arrives three days later with Jiraiya and Shizune 64.
• Confronting Danzō: She goes directly to the Hokage office, accuses Danzō of feeding the village’s darkness, and declares that she will end its turmoil 64.
• Dismantling Root: She removes Danzō from every official position, ends Root’s independent authority, and orders investigations and reassignment of its members. Those leaving the organization can return to their families, civilian life, or serve in Anbu 65 67.
• Taking office: She assumes authority immediately, backed by Jiraiya and accepted by Hiruzen and the elders. Her public inauguration follows to enthusiastic cheers 65 67.
• Challenging centralized rule: During the handover, she attacks Hiruzen’s concentration of authority and insists that the village’s future should not depend on one person’s decisions 65 66.

Using the Sky Screen’s Foreknowledge

• Naruto’s treatment: She condemns the neglect of Kushina’s son and sees the Sky Screen as an opportunity to make amends before the future repeats itself 104.
• Ancestral danger: Learning that noble blood can fuel the Black Ship, she realizes her own connection to the daimyo could make her usable as fuel. She sets that fear aside to investigate Six Paths power as a defense against the Celestial Dragons 179 180 186.
• Ōtsutsuki ancestry: The Slug Sage confirms that the Senju descend from Asura and ultimately the Ōtsutsuki. Tsunade prioritizes uncovering what happened a thousand years earlier, though her initial intelligence gathering fails to resolve the central mystery 196 197.
• Sen’s interference: After Itachi detects an implanted thought, she turns the incident into a village-security warning and rebukes Hiruzen for the unresolved problems inherited from his generation 207.
• Disaster response: When explosions strike Konoha, she deploys Katsuyu for rescue before rushing toward Hokage Rock 237.
• Unresolved blood debts: She warns that Konoha must address its responsibility for the Uzumaki clan’s destruction rather than rely on Hiruzen’s claim that he never ordered Danzō’s attack 258.

Protecting the Next Generation

• Hyuga security: Investigates the unfamiliar Byakugan users and Hinata’s “Byakugan Princess” title; later, Hiashi seeks her protection after the Tenseigan revelations make his daughters targets 248 249 286 307.
• Sakura’s protection: After an assassination attempt exposes the danger surrounding Sakura’s future family, Tsunade orders elite Anbu protection equivalent to Naruto and Sasuke’s and formally accepts her as a personal disciple 310 316.
• Growth versus concealment: Rejects hiding Naruto and Sasuke from the Ōtsutsuki threat. She argues that they must endure hardship to become the future’s protectors and believes Hagoromo will intervene rather than allow his sons’ reincarnations to die 414.
• Refusing Hara’s demand: Will not surrender either boy, even under threat of Konoha’s annihilation. The defenders prepare for a last stand before the Sage of Six Paths appears and Hara withdraws 432 433.
• Itachi’s access: Personally authorizes Itachi to move throughout Konoha without checkpoint or barrier restrictions because of his special status 479.

Leadership and Ancient History

• Hashirama’s legacy: The Sky Screen’s account of Hashirama and Madara’s childhood turns her admiration into anger at the possibility that their lives and power gains were orchestrated 355 357 359.
• Succession bias: Compares Hagoromo’s choice of Asura with Hiruzen’s preference for Minato over Orochimaru, arguing that powerful leaders favor successors who reflect their beliefs 535 536.
• Final assessment of Hagoromo: Recognizes the greatness of his hopes for peace while criticizing his stubbornness and the consequences of his decisions 533 545.

Futures Shown by the Sky Screen

These events belong to futures broadcast by the Sky Screen, rather than an uninterrupted account of Tsunade’s present tenure.

Event	Chapter	Tsunade’s role
Return as Fifth Hokage	30	Returns with Jiraiya and offers Sasuke a possible means of restoring his arm.
Conflict with Akatsuki	254 256 257	Orders squads to pursue Hidan and Kakuzu; later sends Naruto to Mount Myōboku both to learn Sage Mode and to conceal him from Akatsuki.
Destruction of Konoha	57 258 259 265	Uses her remaining chakra to summon Katsuyu and save survivors; severe injuries leave her comatose, enabling Danzō to seize the Acting Hokage position.
Postwar dispute over Sasuke	74 75 76	Rejects Sarutobi Mu’s execution demand and accepts a pardon justified by Team 7’s wartime achievements, while decreeing that Sasuke remain a genin for life.
Retirement and succession	77 285	Hands leadership to Kakashi, with Naruto intended to succeed him once prepared; urges Naruto to study administration.
Naruto’s planned clan purge	147 148	Warns that action against the Sarutobi, Utatane, and Mitokado clans could fracture Konoha. When unable to stop Naruto, asks him to spare Konohamaru and some Sarutobi children.
Search for an Ōtsutsuki countermeasure	415 416 417	Asks the Uzumaki Elder to teach his sealing power and suggests Karin as a student. Touching his blade exposes her to the anguish of the clan’s dead; its soul-based nature proves the power cannot be reproduced as ordinary ninjutsu.

Notable Quotes

“Your Hokage is back!”
“I'll put an end to all of this!” 64

“Remember! Konoha has never belonged to you alone, Hiruzen Sarutobi!” 66

“My grandfather... was never your test subject!” 359

“A sheltered upbringing won't produce saviors who can shoulder the Shinobi World! They must choose their own path, walk it themselves, and bear its burdens!” 414

Trivia

• Konoha’s former elders acknowledge that Tsunade does not particularly care about the Senju–Uchiha feud, briefly exposing the contradiction in their own hostility toward the Uchiha 50.
• Learning that both Hashirama and Naruto are Asura’s reincarnations leaves her wondering what that makes Naruto in relation to her; Jiraiya immediately teases her about it 276.
• Her willingness to retire prompts Hiruzen to question his attachment to authority, while Danzō resents seeing others casually relinquish the position he coveted 77.