Hiruzen Sarutobi

Biodata

Background & History

Appointment and Rule

Hiruzen was a student of Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, whose dying declaration established him as the Third Hokage. Decades later, this precedent prevented Hiruzen from openly rejecting Minato Namikaze’s final appointment of Uchiha Gengetsu without undermining his own legitimacy 5 6 9.

During his rule, Hiruzen placed loyal subordinates throughout Konoha’s departments and cultivated extensive political connections. The Sarutobi Clan controlled key institutions, including the Anbu and Barrier Team, and retained enough influence during Minato’s administration to obstruct Hokage directives 14 67.

Influenced by Tobirama, Hiruzen distrusted the Uchiha Clan and tacitly permitted Danzō’s suppression of them. He also tacitly approved Danzō’s rumor campaign against Hatake Sakumo, a fact later disclosed to Kakashi through a secret document 3 64.

Nine-Tails Attack and the Fifth Hokage’s Succession

During the Nine-Tails’ rampage, Hiruzen could barely delay the beast. When Gengetsu arrived with more than a hundred Uchiha elites, Hiruzen left his strongest Anbu to support them and took the remaining personnel to rescue civilians and wounded ninja 3.

After Minato’s death, Hiruzen joined Koharu, Homura, and Danzō in opposing Gengetsu’s succession. Unable to directly reject Minato’s declaration, he instead argued that Gengetsu was too young to govern a village in need of stability 6 8.

Hiruzen occupied the Hokage’s seat at Gengetsu’s first meeting with the jonin and clan heads. Gengetsu demanded that he move, then revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan. Uncertain that he could win—and conscious of the damage a battle would cause Konoha—Hiruzen relinquished the seat and publicly acknowledged him as the Fifth Hokage 7 8 9.

When Gengetsu shifted blame for the Nine-Tails disaster onto Danzō, Hiruzen ordered Danzō’s arrest. Gengetsu then assigned Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura powerless deputy positions, removing them from the center of government 13.

Administrative Obstruction and the Daimyō

Hiruzen subsequently accepted Danzō’s denial of responsibility for the original Nine-Tails attack, but left him imprisoned until their faction could regain control. He ordered loyal department heads to delay, evade, or refuse Gengetsu’s instructions 14.

The obstruction failed when Gengetsu used the Uchiha to take control of the affected departments. Hiruzen then turned to the Land of Fire’s daimyō, hoping that withholding formal approval would invalidate Gengetsu’s appointment 16.

Hiruzen and the former advisers welcomed envoy Fujiwara Takuya and inflamed his resentment toward the absent Fifth Hokage. Their maneuver ended with Gengetsu attacking the envoy and openly rejecting the daimyō’s authority 18 19.

Following a Root ambush, Gengetsu suggested that Hiruzen had secretly ordered his assassination. This accusation helped shatter Shisui’s idealized view of the Third Hokage, but the supplied account does not independently establish Hiruzen’s responsibility for that attack 22 23.

Attempted Removal of Gengetsu

After Asuma reported that Gengetsu had killed the daimyō, Hiruzen summoned clan leaders and prepared to seize him on his return. Privately, he also intended to eliminate Gengetsu and take control of the Daimyō’s Residence and the Land of Fire himself 26 27.

At Konoha’s gates, Hiruzen declared Gengetsu expelled from the village and ordered Sarutobi elites to capture him. Gengetsu challenged his authority by invoking the Uchiha and Senju’s founding of Konoha, while Fugaku arrived with Uchiha reinforcements 28.

Hiruzen had expected superior numbers to overcome Gengetsu’s youth. Seeing Susanoo convinced him that he had badly underestimated the Mangekyō Sharingan’s power 29.

He next proposed recalling Jiraiya and Tsunade, intending to install one of them as Sixth Hokage and restore his faction’s influence. The Jiraiya plan failed when Jiraiya, already imprisoned by Gengetsu, refused to participate and expressed support for the Fifth Hokage 31 38.

Kumogakure Conflict

During the confrontation with Kumogakure’s delegation, Hiruzen advocated releasing the captives and surrendering Hizashi Hyuga to avoid war. He argued that Konoha’s losses during the Nine-Tails disaster left it unable to withstand a major conflict. Gengetsu rejected his advice and ordered the delegation executed 41.

Hiruzen and his allies expected the resulting invasion to destroy Gengetsu and leave them able to reclaim Konoha. Hiruzen refused to mobilize Sarutobi ninja, claiming that his clan had suffered crippling losses 43 44.

News that Gengetsu had defeated five thousand Kumogakure ninja and used Wood Release ruined those expectations. Hiruzen instead accused him of stealing the First Hokage’s kekkei genkai and enlisted Tsunade through a letter 52 59.

Arrest and Loss of Title

Hiruzen confronted Gengetsu after his victorious return, surrounding him with allied clan ninja and demanding an explanation for his Wood Release. His accusation collapsed when Tsunade confirmed that Gengetsu had neither transplanted Hashirama cells nor Hashirama’s chakra 60 61 63.

Gengetsu then produced a Land of Fire defense map recovered from Kumogakure’s camp and ordered Hiruzen, Koharu, Homura, and their clans detained. The map had actually been supplied to Kumogakure by Danzō; its presentation against Hiruzen should not be confused with proof that Hiruzen personally handed it over 43 63.

When Hiruzen protested that he was the Third Hokage, Gengetsu formally revoked his title and had him seized. The subsequent exposure of his approval of the campaign against Sakumo further damaged his reputation 63 64 65.

Defection and Escape

Danzō entered the prison and offered to rescue Hiruzen and the former advisers if they would leave Konoha. Hiruzen initially refused to become a rogue ninja, but changed his mind after seeing Asuma and numerous injured Sarutobi clansmen brought into custody. He believed remaining would mean his clan’s destruction 68.

Hiruzen was shocked when Danzō released the Nine-Tails as a diversion. Nevertheless, he used the chaos to escape with his clan and its supplies 69 71.

When the Military Police Force blocked their departure, Hiruzen ordered lethal attacks to break through. Jiraiya witnessed him fighting Konoha ninja and demanded an explanation; Hiruzen ignored him and ordered his clansmen to cover the main force’s retreat 71.

Gengetsu intercepted the fleeing clans at the village gates. Hiruzen directed a sealing barrier and coordinated elemental attacks, but Susanoo broke free. He ordered everyone to scatter toward a secret rendezvous point 73 74 75.

During the pursuit, Hiruzen’s Earth-Style Wall failed to stop Gengetsu’s Wind Release attack. Wounded and desperate to escape, he threw the injured Koharu toward Gengetsu to buy time 75.

In the forest, medical treatment stabilized his injuries. Only a few dozen of the gathered Sarutobi survivors remained able to fight, and most supplies had been abandoned. Hiruzen promised that they could rebuild elsewhere, then led the survivors deeper into the forest alongside a badly burned Danzō 76.

Appearance

• Aged features: A deeply wrinkled face and cloudy eyes 3 6.
• Pipe: Frequently smokes during meetings and political discussions 6 8 31.
• Combat clothing: Wears black combat gear while directing the Sarutobi Clan’s escape 71.
• Escape injuries: Suffers bleeding chest wounds and coughs up blood before receiving medical treatment 76.

Personality

Hiruzen presents himself as a kindly elder, using patient smiles, appeals to stability, and the Will of Fire to reinforce his authority. His Academy speeches left a strong impression on Shisui, who initially found the idea of Hiruzen attacking fellow Konoha ninja inconceivable 8 22 23.

Behind that public image, he is a calculating politician determined to preserve his faction’s influence. He employs administrative obstruction, diplomatic pressure, and accusations of wrongdoing against Gengetsu, repeatedly framing his efforts to regain control as necessary to protect Konoha 14 16 28 52.

His loyalty to the Sarutobi Clan ultimately outweighs his refusal to abandon the village. He agrees to defect when he believes the clan faces destruction, but later sacrifices Koharu’s safety to secure his own escape 68 75.

Abilities & Skills

Ninjutsu

• Known throughout the shinobi world as the “Professor of Ninjutsu” 3.
• Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall: Raises a thick stone wall more than ten meters tall to obstruct pursuit 75.
• Limits: Cannot halt the Nine-Tails alone; his defensive wall is cut through by Gengetsu’s Wind Release: Vacuum Blade 3 75.

Battlefield Command

• Coordinates Anbu support and civilian rescue operations during the original Nine-Tails attack 3.
• Directs clan forces in breakthroughs, covering actions, and a scattered retreat toward a prepared rendezvous point 71 75.
• Orders Sarutobi specialists to combine the Three-Way Seal with Earth, Water, and Fire Release, encasing Susanoo in hardened rock. These techniques are performed by his clansmen, not shown as Hiruzen’s individual abilities 74.
• The combined restraint fails against Gengetsu’s Susanoo 75.

Political Maneuvering

• Maintains a network of loyal department heads, captains, and informants built over decades 14.
• Uses seniority, legitimacy, and the Will of Fire to pressure opponents 6 8 28.
• Attempts to influence Hokage succession through the daimyō’s approval and the candidacies of Jiraiya or Tsunade 16 31.

Relationships

• Tobirama Senju — Teacher and predecessor. His final appointment established Hiruzen as Third Hokage, while his attitude toward the Uchiha influenced Hiruzen’s distrust 3 5 9.
• Asuma Sarutobi — Son. His imprisonment helps push Hiruzen into accepting defection; he later escapes alongside the surviving clan members 68 76.
• Uchiha Gengetsu — Political rival and Fifth Hokage. Hiruzen repeatedly attempts to remove him before losing his title and fleeing Konoha 9 63 76.
• Shimura Danzō — Longtime political rival and intermittent ally. Hiruzen initially leaves him imprisoned, but later accepts his assistance in escaping Konoha 14 68.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura — Closest political collaborators in the campaign to regain power. Both are captured during the failed defection 16 31 75 76.
• Jiraiya — Disciple and intended replacement Hokage. Jiraiya rejects the succession scheme and later witnesses his teacher’s defection firsthand 36 38 71.
• Tsunade — Recruited against Gengetsu over Wood Release. Her examination disproves Hiruzen’s central accusation 52 63.
• Hatake Sakumo — Victim of Danzō’s discrediting campaign, which Hiruzen tacitly approved 64.
• Shisui Uchiha — Admirer of Hiruzen’s Will of Fire teachings whose faith collapses after Gengetsu implicates Hiruzen in an assassination attempt 22 23.

Reputation & Official Record

• Clan favoritism: After his downfall, villagers discuss the Sarutobi Clan’s preferential access to lucrative missions and resources under his administration 65.
• Public accusations: Gengetsu’s announcements identify Hiruzen as a traitor responsible for framing loyal ninja and colluding with the enemy 66.
• Controlled testimony: At the public trial, Koharu and Homura, explicitly controlled by genjutsu, accuse Hiruzen of masterminding the renewed Nine-Tails attack. Hiruzen’s earlier reaction shows that Danzō’s chosen diversion shocked him; the trial testimony is therefore not independent confirmation of those claims 69 77.
• Historical revision: After Hiruzen becomes an S-rank rogue ninja, Gengetsu orders his likeness publicly destroyed on Hokage Rock and his portrayal rewritten in the Konoha Chronicles and Academy textbooks. The new official claim that he stole the Hokage position differs from the earlier account of Tobirama appointing him 5 78.

Notable Quotes

“Fifth, you're right! This seat is indeed yours!” 9

“Whether they pretend to obey while defying him in practice or stall and pass the buck, his orders must not get through smoothly!” 14

“Danzo, I agree to leave Konoha with you!” 68