Hiruzen Sarutobi (猿飛ヒルゼン, Sarutobi Hiruzen) was the Third Hokage (三代目火影, Sandaime Hokage, literally meaning: Third Fire Shadow) of Konohagakure. A disciple of the village’s two previous Hokage, Hiruzen was a powerful ninja, hailed as a “God of Shinobi“. Though he was only ever directly the teacher of the Sannin, generations of Konoha shinobi benefited from his wisdom during his lifetime.

  Hiruzen is a firm believer in the Will of Fire, which holds that all the people of Konoha are a family and that the Hokage is chiefly responsible for that family’s well-being. Throughout his tenure, Hiruzen lives up to the Will of Fire by being available for Konoha’s villagers and shinobi during their time of need, making decisions to the betterment of as many people as possible, and providing his wisdom and guidance whenever he can. His delicate, thoughtful approach to not only issues within the village but also his interactions with foreign powers has given Hiruzen the reputation of being soft, something the Konoha Council spends much of its time trying to rectify. Nevertheless, Hiruzen’s kind and pacifist ways are widely valued by Konoha’s residents and even his rival Kage, and for those reasons his eventual death is regretted by many. However, Hiruzen was not entirely for his softness as he allowed Danzō to form an Anbu faction of his own, to handle the dark side of Konoha’s actions.