Tsunade

Biodata

Power Progression

History

Departure from Konoha

Tsunade leaves Konoha years before the search for a Fifth Hokage. With Orochimaru having defected and Jiraiya traveling abroad, her absence contributes to the scattering of the Sannin and the village’s shortage of established defenders 55 92.

During her travels, she accumulates gambling debts and repeatedly changes locations. Although renowned as the foremost medical ninja in the Shinobi World, she suffers from severe hemophobia: seeing blood makes her tremble and prevents her from performing surgery. Initially, she believes only her attendant Shizune knows this weakness 127 133.

The Search for Tsunade

After Hiruzen Sarutobi is critically injured, Jiraiya proposes bringing Tsunade back both to treat him and to become Fifth Hokage. Danzō imposes a one-month deadline, threatening to take the position himself if Jiraiya fails 93.

Raito independently searches for her to save Ameyuri Ringo, whose unusual constitution is causing severe cellular deterioration. He finds Tsunade asleep after drinking and offers one hundred million for treatment, paying fifty thousand upfront. After examining Ameyuri, Tsunade confirms that she can be cured, but her hemophobia prevents the necessary operation—even when Raito raises his offer to two hundred million 127 132 133.

Tsunade becomes suspicious when Raito identifies her closely guarded weakness. She initially refuses further cooperation, though his persistence appeals to her sense of duty as a doctor. Jiraiya subsequently finds her and asks her to save Hiruzen; she explains that her inability to operate, rather than unwillingness to help her mentor, is the obstacle 134 135 136.

Sannin Reunion and Abduction

Orochimaru appears during Naruto’s battle with Raito and eventually declares that he has come to kill Tsunade. She attacks with Monster Strength Fist, then directs Jiraiya to prioritize Naruto’s worsening condition 136 142.

When Naruto loses control of the Nine-Tails’ power, he pierces Tsunade’s abdomen. She activates the Strength of a Hundred Seal and Creation Rebirth to heal the wound, but the surrounding blood triggers her hemophobia and leaves her unable to fight 143.

Raito saves her from Kabuto’s attempted Chakra Scalpel attack, then takes her away despite Jiraiya’s opposition. In Kirigakure, he restrains her with a custom seal that suppresses her chakra and prevents escape. Mei Terumi warns that kidnapping and humiliating a Konoha Sannin could provoke war and make Tsunade refuse to treat Ameyuri 146 147 154 155.

Recovery and Ameyuri’s Surgery

Tsunade’s attitude changes when she witnesses Raito produce Wood Release. Convinced that he has inherited her grandfather’s kekkei genkai, she concludes that he is a lost Senju descendant and her last remaining family. Raito gives an ambiguous answer and accepts being called her younger brother on the condition that she treat Ameyuri; the narration explicitly establishes that they are not blood relatives 160.

This belief restores Tsunade’s sense of hope. At the hospital the following morning, she handles blood samples without reacting, confirming that her hemophobia has disappeared. She subsequently completes Ameyuri’s operation successfully 161 170.

Learning that Danzō is close to securing the Hokage position, Tsunade immediately decides to return to Konoha. Before leaving, she promises Raito that he can come to her for protection, prompting an argument with Mei over which of them can claim him as family 170.

Contested Appointment as Fifth Hokage

Back in Konoha, Tsunade determines that Hiruzen is dying, though surgery can restore consciousness for several days. She operates with Shizune and elite medical ninja while Jiraiya guards the operating room. After awakening, Hiruzen appoints her Fifth Hokage and warns her about Danzō 178 195.

The appointment does not immediately settle the succession. Tsunade has support from the clans, while Danzō retains Root, part of the ANBU, and support among civilian ninja. During the deadlock, she receives Raito at the former Senju ancestral residence rather than the Hokage Building 198 201.

The Land of Fire’s daimyō subsequently selects Danzō, but the meeting turns against him when accusations of betrayal and evidence of his correspondence with Orochimaru are presented. Tsunade reads the correspondence and denounces him. Later chapters confirm that she has taken office and is working to consolidate control after Konoha’s internal upheaval 205 226 242.

Tensions with Kirigakure

Tsunade’s personal affection for Raito does not prevent conflict between their villages. When Sunagakure aligns with Kirigakure, she agrees to intercept Kirigakure’s envoys. At the ensuing summit, she treats Sunagakure harshly because of its participation in the invasion of Konoha and subsequent abandonment of their alliance 255 263 264.

After watching Raito defeat Sasori, she challenges him herself. He overwhelms her with combined elemental attacks, forcing her to use Creation Rebirth. Their spar ends when he separates her head from her body inside ROOM without killing her, then reconnects it seamlessly 267 268 269 270.

As Kirigakure’s possession of eight tailed beasts raises the prospect of war, Tsunade urges Raito to surrender them. She also demands the return of Konoha’s Scroll of Seals. Negotiations fail, and Raito declares the Fourth Shinobi World War. During the fighting at the summit, she treats wounded participants despite being injured herself 349 360 361 365.

Pain’s Assault

During Pain’s attack on Konoha, Tsunade recognizes the Rinnegan from Jiraiya’s account of the children he once sheltered in Amegakure. She later senses Jiraiya’s chakra disappear and weeps, but rises to continue defending the village as Hokage 288 298.

She holds off Pain alone until nearly exhausted. Raito interrupts an imminent fatal attack and takes over the battle, allowing her to tend to the wounded. Afterward, she reluctantly authorizes Naruto, Sakura, and Sai to pursue Akatsuki on an S-rank reconnaissance mission, placing Sakura in charge of keeping Naruto under control 300 307.

Ōtsutsuki Attack and Retirement

When Ōtsutsuki clansmen and regenerating puppets overwhelm Konoha, Tsunade orders the population to flee. She insists that Minato protect Naruto, whom she calls Konoha’s last hope 390.

Following her rescue, Tsunade requires sustained medical care. Raito heals both her immediate injuries and longstanding physical damage, after which she resolves to fight the Ōtsutsuki. Asked to muster Konoha’s surviving fighters, she describes the mobilization as her final order as Fifth Hokage 411 413.

She later fights alongside Mei Terumi in the battle at Kirigakure, where the resurrected Second Tsuchikage and Second Mizukage oppose them. In the recovery period, Tsunade works with the reincarnated First, Second, and Fourth Hokage to administer Konoha. By the end of the twenty-year sealing period, she has willingly passed leadership to Naruto, the Sixth Hokage, despite remaining physically healthy 423 441.

Personality

Tsunade is proud, forceful, and quick-tempered. She responds furiously to humiliation and political provocation, at one point smashing her desk over Sunagakure’s demand for equal standing in negotiations. Her gambling and drinking also remain visible habits during her travels and after returning to Konoha 127 132 154 201 263.

Her early refusal to practice medicine stems from helplessness rather than indifference. She regards herself as someone who gambles and runs from reality, questioning whether she deserves to become Hokage. Nevertheless, a sincere appeal to save a life reaches her even when the patient belongs to another village 135 136.

Once she believes Raito is family, she becomes openly affectionate and protective. As Hokage, however, she still challenges his policies and demands the return of Konoha’s property. Her medical ethics remain firm even in battle: while injured herself, she insists that treating others is her duty as long as she can still breathe 160 170 360 365.

Abilities & Skills

Medical Expertise

• Recognized as the foremost medical ninja in the Shinobi World, with extensive clinical knowledge and experience that Raito’s Analysis cannot simply copy 133 134.
• Diagnoses and successfully operates on Ameyuri’s severe cellular deterioration 127 133 170.
• Restores the critically injured Hiruzen to consciousness through emergency surgery, though she initially judges his remaining life to be very short 178 195.
• Rapidly heals multiple wounded fighters during the Kage confrontation 365.
• Former limitation: Hemophobia prevented her from holding a scalpel or fighting effectively around blood until her recovery in Kirigakure 133 143 161.

Chakra Control and Monster Strength Fist

• Uses exceptionally fine chakra control to concentrate destructive force into her punches; Raito describes her precision as reaching a micrometer-level degree of delicacy 268.
• Shatters the ground with a single strike and breaks through Raito’s thick ice wall 142 268.
• Tears a massive iceberg from the ground and throws it at Raito 269.
• Limitation: Practicing Monster Strength leaves hidden physical damage over time, which Raito later removes 413.

Strength of a Hundred Seal and Creation Rebirth

• Releases the seal to produce purple-black markings across her face and body and unleash a massive surge of vitality 268.
• Uses Creation Rebirth to close a large abdominal wound inflicted by the rampaging Nine-Tails and heal numerous injuries during her spar with Raito 143 268.
• Can continue fighting through serious injury, but prolonged battle still leaves her exhausted 300.
• Her survival after Raito’s apparent beheading is caused by ROOM’s spatial separation, not demonstrated regeneration of a severed head 269 270 368.

Close-Quarters Combat

• Combines combat intuition, speed, and taijutsu to advance through a dense barrage of high-pressure water drills 268.
• Specializes in close-range hand-to-hand fighting, making Raito’s swordsmanship particularly difficult for her to approach safely 269.
• Remains vulnerable to attacks that interrupt bodily control: Raito uses lightning-induced numbness to set up a follow-up strike 268.

Relationships

• Gekkō Raito — Initially her prospective employer and then her captor. She later claims him as her younger brother after mistaking his Wood Release for proof of Senju ancestry. Their affection persists despite serious political disputes between their villages 133 154 160 349 360.
• Jiraiya — Fellow Sannin and close ally. He searches for her, protects her, and organizes an expedition to retrieve her from Kirigakure. His death deeply affects her 93 142 162 298.
• Orochimaru — Fellow Sannin turned enemy. He injures her mentor and attempts to kill her during their reunion 136 142.
• Shizune — Personal attendant and trusted medical assistant. She initially keeps Tsunade’s hemophobia secret and later assists with Hiruzen’s surgery 133 178.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi — Mentor and predecessor. Tsunade operates on him, and he designates her as Fifth Hokage. Later access to classified records makes her deeply critical of his administration 136 178 195 340.
• Hashirama Senju — Grandfather and First Hokage. His Wood Release underlies her mistaken belief that Raito is family. After Hashirama’s return, she briefs him on Konoha’s history 160 340.
• Naruto Uzumaki — Shinobi under her authority and eventual successor. She protects his future during Konoha’s fall and later entrusts the village to him 307 390 441.
• Sakura Haruno — Student. Tsunade entrusts her with restraining Naruto’s recklessness during Team 7’s Akatsuki mission 307.
• Ameyuri Ringo — Patient whose illness brings Tsunade into contact with Raito. Tsunade performs her lifesaving surgery and later receives her for a follow-up examination 133 170 201.
• Mei Terumi — Fellow female Kage and rival over their respective claims to Raito as a younger brother; later a battlefield ally 170 423.
• Shimura Danzō — Rival for the Fifth Hokage position. Tsunade condemns his dealings with Orochimaru and his betrayal of Konoha’s allies 195 198 205.

Notable Quotes

“It's not that I don't want to save him. I truly can't perform any treatment anymore. My hands... are useless!” 136

“If anyone gives you grief in Kirigakure, come find me in Konoha anytime. I'll have your back!” 170

“As a medical ninja, as long as I have a breath left in me, healing you is my duty!” 365

“This will also be my final order as the Fifth Hokage.” 413