Exploring the Shortcomings of Sarutobi Sensei
Let’s go ahead and be honest. Hiruzen, as much as I don’t like him, was an excellent Shinobi. At an early age, he was declared the strongest in the Sarutobi clan and taken under the wing of both Tobirama and Hashirama. It has been said that he surpassed the combative talent of Tobirama as a young man. Some referred to him as another God of Shinobi, and his nickname was given due to him learning every jutsu in Konoha. Armed with Monkey King Enma, vast chakra reserves, a compelling intellect, the Will of Fire, and a Ninjutsu arsenal that could rival a small nation – there aren’t many who could have battled him 1v1 in his prime. Acknowledging his strength feats, there is truly no wonder that he was able to do the job well for so long. The problem is that he did the job too long – and he ignored way too many pressing issues. Over time, these mishaps would hurt the village more than anything else. While I can admit that Hokage is one of the toughest jobs in that world, and that he did the job for over forty years, I can’t make excuses for that old man. Hiruzen is easily the worst Hokage of all time. Easily! – and there really five main reasons why that’s the case.
Reason 1 – Danzo
Negligence
We can’t talk about the biggest mistakes of Hiruzen’s career without mentioning Danzo. A lifelong friend rival of Hiruzen, Danzo was always pushing himself to surpass the Sarutobi superstar. While I’m sure the rivalry was healthy early on, there is no reason that Hashirama shouldn’t have been able to sniff out the snake in that sick man earlier. It would ultimately boil down to his weakness as a leader, as a comrade, and as a man. Hiruzen was too nice and emotionally soft to make the tough decisions. The Third Hokage took all the worst parts of Hashirama and then cultivated that idealism into an age where anyone with an emotional connection to him could get away with anything. Had he put his foot down and relinquished the authority that Danzo possessed (authority that Danzo only had because of Hiruzen!), he could have prevented many tragedies. It was Danzo’s corrupt men that allied with Hanzo the Salamander and took the life of Yahiko – which inevitably led to the fall of the original Akatski. It was Danzo who was committing secret atrocities against other villages and worsening relations. It was Root, a special force that only took orders from Danzo, that attempted to murder Hiruzen so that Danzo could take his place as Hokage. It was Danzo who pushed for the Uchiha to be moved to the outskirts of the village. It was Danzo that ordered the execution and genocide of the Uchiha clan. It was Danzo that sold village secrets to Orochimaru for his own personal gain (I wanted to include how Danzo forbid the Anbu from helping the villagers during Pain’s attack, but that was after Sarutobi’s death). All of these are events that happened right under Hiruzen’s nose. He was made aware of almost all of them and did nothing to impose punishment for these heinous crimes. Why? Because they were childhood friends? Because he believed Danzo to offset his own weakness? Either way, he’s just as guilty as Danzo; I consider him the worst kind of accomplice.
Reason 2 – Orochimaru
Complacency
Secondly, we have to talk about Orochimaru. I won’t blame Hiruzen for the fall of his pupil; I think it is apparent that he was fighting demons since his childhood. But I do blame Hiruzen for ignoring the red-flags and warning signs. His dark behavior escalated slowly and Sarutobi allowed himself to be blinded by affection once again. To make matters worse, he literally allowed Orochimaru to walk free after committing some of the worst crimes in Leaf history. After a thorough investigation, Orochimaru was found to have been using forbidden jutsu, curse seals, and kidnapping/killing his fellow Shinobi. The Snake Sage had just experimented on 60 children and murdered 59 of them in the name of his research when Hiruzen discovered him red-handed. “Red-handed” as in he walked into the dungeon where Orochimaru’s victims were hanging from the walls, and the Sannin himself was in the middle of something sinister. Rather than kill him or capture him, his master would freeze up and let the assailant escape. This would lead to many more deaths down the line, including Hiruzen’s own death years later. He did not do what a Hokage should have done.
Reason 3 – Naruto’s Childhood
Betrayal
Thirdly, we can’t act like it wasn’t Hiruzen’s job to make sure Naruto was taken care of. Kushina and Minato explicitly asked him to do three things: protect Naruto, have the village see Naruto as a hero instead of a demon’s host, and keep Naruto’s true identity a secret. While most did not know Naruto’s true identity (being the Yellow Flash’s son), I’d argue that the other two requests were more failures. Hiruzen did not change anyone’s perception of Naruto except for maybe Iruka. While Iruka was enough to make a difference, it showcases how little work Hiruzen was willing to do to prove the point. I’ve seen Tsunade snatch the village elders up and square up with the Raikage when it came to believing in that kid. As far as protecting Naruto, I think that it goes beyond sticking him in an empty home and giving him a little allowance for food every once in a while. Having given so much of his duty up to jonin, the elders, and Danzo, what was stopping Hiruzen from being more directly involved in Naruto’s life? Rather than change the villages perception of Naruto through action or leading by example, the Third Hokage barely tried to change anyone’s minds. The only Shinobi he talked to about Naruto’s well being were the ones that he thought he could pass the kid off to. He didn’t try to teach Naruto or take him under his wing. While that isn’t typically a job of the Hokage, I’m not sure why that matters. Hiruzen himself was taught by no other than the First and Second Hokage while they handled their duties. Ultimately, The Professor some-what protected Naruto from starvation or homelessness.. but little else.
Reason 4 – Uchiha Clan
Inaction
Yes – I 100% blame Hiruzen for the Uchiha Genocide. It may not have been his idea, but it was a direct result of him giving or letting corrupt individuals keep too much power. He was the Hokage who presided during that incident. If his peers respected him, they would have included him in the decision. Instead, he found out too late and still didn’t dish out any real consequences. Both Danzo and the village elders retained significant authority after that genocide – and I’d argue that it hurt the Leaf much more than it helped. Had Hiruzen done a better job mediating and come up with a real solution to the rising tension, things wouldn’t have gotten to that point. Again, why not give this situation the majority of his focus? Had the Leaf Village retained the Uchiha presence, they would have been irrefutably dominant. Losing out on a clan with such a distinct, powerful Kekkei Genkai simply because of lackluster leadership and a lack of understanding is a major loss. They traded between 200-2000 Uchiha citizens, police force members, children, and Shinobi … for one old man with 10 sharingan on his arm? Hiruzen is a failure and I truly believe that if had Minato had more time as a Hokage, things would’ve have been different. He wouldn’t have been afraid to stand up for what’s right.
Reason 5 – No Heir
Shortsightedness
This leads me to my final point: that, truthfully, if (after Minato’s sacrifice) the Third had made the obvious choice and nominated Fugaku to be Hokage – ignoring the protests of Danzo and the elders – things would have been much different. It would have been a gamble, but it could have saved the Uchiha Clans’ bond with the Leaf and extinguished the tension. At the same time, it would have equipped Konoha with a powerful, intelligent, and battle experienced Hokage. It was well within his power to do so. Tobirama made the executive decision that it would be young Hiruzen to take his place. Kakashi would set the stage for Naruto. But even if he had the same clan-ist stance that Tobirama did – that “an Uchigger should never be Hokage” – he could have and should have pushed another possible heir to the Hokage role: Shikaku and Jariaya. Either of those jonin could have both been prepped for the role. Shikaku’s intelligence would have led to him being a good Hokage and, as the advisor to the Third, he had prior knowledge of the position. Jaraiya and Tsunade were hesitant to step up, but I believe that if Master Sarutobi forced them to listen to reason, they would have considered it. Tsunade was a great Hokage. Jaraiya would have been a great Hokage.
Sarutobi was too old and weak to even defend the village from the Nine-Tails (resorting to simply pushing it out of the village center), and he would have no doubt lost to the masked man during the attack. So why step back into the role of Hokage? Why keep the position for another THIRTEEN years?? Because the elders and Danzo wanted an old puppet back in power so that they could do whatever they wanted with little resistance. Hiruzen found a way to tarnish what could have been a truly, exceptional legacy.
Let me know what you think of my analyzation of Hiruzen Sarutobi. Do you think he’s the worst Hokage? Why or why not? Respond in the comments.
