Hiruzen Sarutobi

1. 1
   The prodigy

   First of a new generation

   Hiruzen is one of the first ninja raised inside Konoha itself. A prodigy, he is trained by both the First and Second Hokage, who see in him the village's future.

2. 2
   Named Third Hokage

   The hat, by a dying word

   When Tobirama is surrounded in the Second Shinobi World War, he names Hiruzen his successor with his last breath. Hiruzen takes the hat young, and never quite sets it down.

3. 3
   Teacher of the Sannin

   The Professor

   Hiruzen trains Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru — the three who become the Legendary Sannin. His command of every Leaf technique earns him the name the Professor.

4. 4
   The long peaceDebut Arc · Prologue

   The longest tenure

   Hiruzen holds the hat across decades, steps aside for Minato, and takes it up again after the Nine-Tails attack. He is the active Hokage as the new generation of genin comes of age.

5. 5
   Orochimaru's regret

   The student he could not stop

   Hiruzen's deepest failure is Orochimaru — the student he loved most, whom he caught at his experiments and could not bring himself to kill. That mercy comes back to cost the village dearly.

6. 6
   The last stand

   The Reaper Death Seal

   When Orochimaru invades Konoha with the reanimated First and Second Hokage, Hiruzen fights them as an old man — and uses the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, giving his life to seal what he can.

Hiruzen was called the Professor because he could perform every jutsu the Hidden Leaf had ever produced, and the God of Shinobi because, in his prime, few could match him. He commanded all five chakra natures from childhood, fought with a master's weapon skill, and held a forbidden seal in reserve for the day the village needed everything he had.

Play today's Narutodle or browse past answers.

• Who is Hiruzen Sarutobi?+

  Hiruzen Sarutobi is the Third Hokage of Konohagakure. Known as the Professor and the God of Shinobi, he held the longest tenure of any Hokage, trained the three Legendary Sannin, and died defending the village.
• Why is Hiruzen called the God of Shinobi?+

  Hiruzen earned the title for the breadth of his power and knowledge. He could use all five basic chakra natures from childhood and perform every jutsu the Hidden Leaf had ever developed — which also earned him the separate name "the Professor."
• How did Hiruzen die?+

  Hiruzen died during the Konoha Crush, fighting his former student Orochimaru. Orochimaru reanimated the First and Second Hokage against him; Hiruzen defeated them as an old man and used the Reaper Death Seal, sealing away their souls and Orochimaru's arms at the cost of his own life.
• Who did Hiruzen train?+

  Hiruzen trained the three Legendary Sannin — Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru — as their jōnin sensei. His failure to stop Orochimaru's descent into darkness was the regret he carried for the rest of his life.
• What is the Reaper Death Seal?+

  The Dead Demon Consuming Seal, or Reaper Death Seal, is a forbidden fūinjutsu. It summons a god of death to tear out and seal a target's soul — a technique so costly that it claims the user's own life in exchange.
• Has Hiruzen Sarutobi been a Narutodle answer?+

  Hiruzen is in the daily answer pool of 210 characters. The Previous Narutodle Appearances list on this page shows every date he was the Classic answer, each linking to a replayable archive puzzle.
• How do you guess Hiruzen in Narutodle?+

  Hiruzen's Sarutobi clan narrows the board, and his Kage rank narrows it again. His Nature Types column covers all five basic natures, and his Attributes stack Hokage, Edo Tensei, and Summoner.