Hiruzen Sarutobi

Biodata

Background / History

Retaining influence after stepping down

Hiruzen chose Minato Namikaze as his successor and helped him become the Fourth Hokage. He expected to retain control of Konoha from behind the scenes, but Minato’s popularity and policies increasingly displaced his influence 7 26.

He treated Shisui Uchiha as a valuable subordinate, lecturing him about the Will of Fire and assigning him to deliver a letter to Uchiha Fugaku. Unbeknownst to Hiruzen, the transmigrated Shisui intended to oppose both him and Shimura Danzō while maintaining an appearance of loyalty 1 3.

Assessing Shisui and Teacher Chen

Hiruzen watched Shisui kill three Root operatives through his crystal ball. Although Shisui’s explosive speed surprised him, he welcomed the improvement because he believed Shisui remained under his control 5.

He subsequently asked Minato to test Shisui’s true strength. When the fight damaged Hokage Rock and buried nearby shops, Hiruzen ordered civilian evacuations and explained that the Fourth Hokage was assessing Shisui for special missions. He regretted not arranging the test outside the village 9 11.

After Teacher Chen emerged from seclusion, Hiruzen personally investigated and exchanged attacks with his old acquaintance. He encouraged Chen to accept Itachi as a taijutsu disciple, privately hoping that divided training would limit Itachi’s future Sharingan development. Before leaving, he secretly ordered Shisui to monitor Chen and report suspicious contacts 17 18.

Hiruzen also participated in assigning Shisui a mission near Amegakure, briefing him on unusual chakra fluctuations at the border 21.

The Nine-Tails rampage

Following the masked intruder’s first confrontation with Minato, Hiruzen increased village patrols. Privately, he considered whether Minato’s death might allow him to reclaim power 26 27.

When the Nine-Tails escaped, Hiruzen delayed acting while weighing his own advantage. He then assumed emergency command, ordered Anbu to evacuate civilians, and placed the Police Force under Danzō. Although he reasoned that the village’s Uchiha were unlikely to be responsible, he still regarded them as convenient scapegoats 28.

Shisui arranged for Orochimaru to delay Hiruzen using two Wood Dragons and a Wooden Man. Hiruzen and his Anbu fought the constructs while the Nine-Tails continued devastating Konoha and the Uchiha arrived as reinforcements 31.

The struggle over Naruto

After seeing Minato prepare the Reaper Death Seal, Hiruzen hurried toward the sealing site to secure Naruto before Danzō could. Instead, he learned that Senju Ye had subdued the Nine-Tails and that Fugaku already held the newborn jinchūriki. He temporarily allied with Danzō to retrieve Naruto, while cautioning him against immediately attacking the Uchiha 35.

At the Uchiha compound, wounded guards and civilians challenged their authority. Hiruzen gained an audience by claiming to have intelligence about the attacker, but Fugaku refused him access to Naruto. Hiruzen ultimately withdrew rather than force the confrontation 36 37.

With Danzō, Koharu, and Homura, Hiruzen planned to claim custody at Minato’s funeral through his teacher–student connection to Jiraiya and Minato. As a precaution, he also privately approached Fugaku to show goodwill 38 40.

The funeral confrontation undermined that plan. Fugaku revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan, and Hiruzen proposed a compromise: the Uchiha would raise Naruto, Anbu would provide protection, and Naruto’s parentage would remain undisclosed. Senju Ye rejected the proposal and used his Wood Release chakra to force Hiruzen to promise that neither he nor Anbu would interfere. Hiruzen then publicly confirmed Naruto as Minato and Kushina’s son 41 42 43.

Turning against Danzō

Hiruzen had long known about Danzō and Orochimaru’s experiments but had never exposed them. When Danzō’s transplanted Sharingan and Hashirama cells came under scrutiny, Hiruzen distanced himself rather than admit his knowledge 43.

After Hiashi confirmed the transplants, Hiruzen publicly condemned Danzō and ordered Anbu to cooperate with Senju Ye’s operation. Senju Ye’s offer of a possible peaceful retirement made Hiruzen suspect that the campaign would extend to a broader restructuring of Konoha 45.

Hiruzen helped seal off Danzō’s escape route. Shisui’s apparent return briefly restored his confidence, because he still believed the Uchiha prodigy was his loyal subordinate. He then accused Danzō of numerous crimes, including responsibility for the Nine-Tails attack—an accusation Danzō protested as framing—and allowed civilians to beat him 46 47.

That confidence faltered when Shisui obeyed Senju Ye more readily than expected. After Senju Ye defeated the masked attacker, Hiruzen recognized his growing prestige and joined the clan heads in urging him to hear Danzō’s claim that Orochimaru had conducted the First Hokage cell experiments 48 50.

Appearance

• Older man: Other characters repeatedly refer to him as an old man; he contrasts his age and seniority with Senju Ye’s youth 31 43.
• Habitual pipe smoker: Frequently holds a pipe between his lips and exhales smoke rings while observing events or considering political decisions 8 26 38.
• Bandaged left hand and arm: Deliberately displays a previously bandaged left hand while presenting himself as concerned about the Nine-Tails attacker 36.

Personality

Hiruzen presents a kindly, reassuring public face while pursuing control through surveillance, personal connections, and carefully framed appeals to village peace. His welcome for Teacher Chen conceals suspicion, and his encouragement of Itachi’s taijutsu training rests on the hope that it will weaken the development of a potentially dangerous Uchiha 18.

His attachment to power outweighs civilian welfare during the Nine-Tails crisis. He dismisses villagers’ deaths as losses that do not personally affect him and hopes the disaster will end Minato’s tenure. He also considers blaming the Uchiha despite concluding that they probably did not cause the attack 28.

He is cautious when facing abilities he does not understand and pragmatic when outmatched. Fugaku’s unknown Mangekyō powers deter him from acting, while Senju Ye’s strength persuades him to abandon his custody demand and sacrifice his alliance with Danzō. He believes conflicts can ultimately be resolved through sufficient concessions of interests 42 43 45 47.

Abilities & Skills

Earth Release

• Earth-Style Wall: Raises a barrier between Teacher Chen and Shisui; Chen breaks it with a kick 17.
• Defensive use against Wood Release: Attempts to block the Wooden Man’s fist, but the construct smashes through the wall 31.
• Earth Dragon Bullet: Forms an earthen dragon head that fires mud bullets to pin the Wooden Man’s foot 31.

Fire Release and combination ninjutsu

• Fire Dragon Flame Bullet: Launches a dragon-shaped fire attack that stops and damages the Wooden Man’s fist 31.
• Fire Dragon Bullet: Coordinates a stream of fire with Earth Dragon Bullet 31.
• Fire-Flow Earth-Flame Bullet: His combination technique restrains the Wooden Man’s foot with mud bullets while continuously scorching it 31.

Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique

• Multiplies a single thrown shuriken into a dense airborne swarm to meet Teacher Chen’s Konoha Dragon God 17.
• Their clash leaves the street damaged and both fighters’ clothing tattered, but neither is decisively defeated 18.

Crystal-ball surveillance

• Observes events within a limited area through a crystal ball 3.
• Watches Shisui’s fight against Root operatives remotely, though he cannot clearly follow the speed of Shisui’s blade 5.
• Shisui believes Hiruzen would avoid spying on Fugaku’s residence late at night while the clan head is present 3.

Command and political influence

• Directs Anbu evacuations, surveillance, searches, and combat operations 11 18 31 41.
• Uses the Will of Fire to rally Anbu into an all-out assault against the Wood Release constructs 31.
• Uses his connections to Jiraiya and Minato to argue for custody of Naruto 38.
• Can call on the Sarutobi Clan for support, but his Anbu forces are restrained during the confrontation with Fugaku and later released to serve Senju Ye’s operation 41 45.

Equipment / Items

• Crystal ball — Tool for remote observation 3 5.
• Smoking pipe — Regularly used during deliberations and confrontations 8 35 38.
• Shuriken — Conceals them in his sleeve and uses them with the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique 17 18.

Relationships

• Shisui Uchiha / Senju Ye — Regards Shisui as a loyal, powerful subordinate while treating Senju Ye as a separate political threat. Shisui maintains this deception through clones and staged reports 3 43 47.
• Minato Namikaze — Chosen successor whose independence frustrates Hiruzen’s plan to retain control behind the scenes 7 26.
• Shimura Danzō — Longstanding rival and temporary ally. Their shared opposition to Uchiha control of Naruto gives way to Hiruzen’s public condemnation of Danzō 35 38 45.
• Orochimaru — Student; Hiruzen knows of his experiments with Danzō without exposing them. Orochimaru secretly helps delay him during the rampage 4 31 43.
• Jiraiya — Student and Minato’s teacher; central to Hiruzen’s proposed claim of a personal connection to Naruto 38.
• Teacher Chen — Old acquaintance whom Hiruzen greets warmly but places under covert surveillance 17 18.
• Uchiha Fugaku — Opponent in the custody dispute over Naruto. Fugaku rejects his requests and intimidates him with the Mangekyō Sharingan 36 41 42.
• Uchiha Itachi — Encourages his taijutsu apprenticeship for reasons intended to limit, rather than strengthen, his future threat to village leadership 18.
• Kakashi — Anbu subordinate entrusted with searches and authorized to respond independently to suspicious Root activity 39 41.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura — Leadership allies who participate in planning how to reclaim Naruto from the Uchiha 38.

Notable Quotes

“Shisui belongs to Konoha. He is one of my men! If you dare lay a hand on him, you know what will happen.” 9

“In terms of personal ties, Naruto's father was Minato, Minato's teacher is Jiraiya, and Jiraiya's teacher is me. It would be perfectly reasonable for me to take custody of Naruto in front of everyone.” 38

“Understood. From this moment on, neither I nor the Anbu will interfere in matters concerning the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.” 43