How Tsunade Senju quietly became the best Hokage

Few titles or positions are as important and attractive as Hokage Naruto Anime universe. As the leader and #1 defender of the world's most powerful ninja village, the Hokage will have a serious impact on his homeland and, indeed, the entire world. Only the wisest shinobi should be allowed to claim this mantle, and arguably, the wisest and most influential Hokage is Lady Tsunade.

Being a member of the famous Sannin trio, Tsunade always had the potential to become Hokage, and she succeeded in this role even more than her friend Jiraiya. Although Jiraiya was once shortlisted to become Hokage after Hiruzen Sarutobi's death, it was Tsunade who became the Fifth Hokage, and it was for the best. Tsunade may not be the strongest Hokage of all time, but her personality, experience and unique abilities make her the perfect leader to see the Hidden Leaf Village through its most challenging times and become more prosperous than ever.

Tsunade revolutionizes ninja warfare with medical jutsu

It's more than just another weapon

It is more than a jonin with extra authority for Kage-level ninjas to invent, refine, or at least use particularly powerful and prestigious jutsu. Ninjas of this caliber are expected to do something truly special on the battlefield, and in particular, many of these newly invented jutsu are weapons that cause even more harm and destruction to the world. Violence has been the rule of the shinobi world for generations, creating a world where power and dominance are celebrated. Even the most benevolent Hokages can do this, such as Minato Namikaze creating the Rasengan or Tobirama Senju inventing the Shadow Clone Jutsu. All of those are impressive, but in terms of combat and violence, it's just about the same.

In contrast, Tsunade is a Kage who went in the opposite direction: to heal and save lives. This makes sense on many levels, including the simple, practical fact that medical jutsu wasn't part of the mainstream of shinobi warfare until Tsunade made it. Medical jutsu had existed for centuries before Tsunade's tenure as Hokage, but it remained somewhat obscure – or at least, it was not fully appreciated. Healing is just as important as offensive power in combat systems Narutoof, allowing injured or poisoned shinobi to live to fight another day. Branches of medical jutsu, such as Creation Rebirth, can empower shinobi in ways other jutsu cannot.

Thus, Tsunade did more than play games like the other Kage by creating new weapons of war. He did the opposite, the gentle counterpart in the realm of aggressive jutsu, and it meant a lot. It saved many lives and also proves Tsunade's visionary ways, as she is the first leader to advocate a proper medical jutsu system for all shinobi. In doing so, Tsunade had a Hokage-level influence on the combat system and army of the Leaf Village that no one else could have imagined, making her time as Hokage historic. On a more personal level, it speaks volumes about Tsunade's healing side to balance out her warm side – such as her recovery from her own life-shattering grief over Dan and her baby brother Nawaki.

related to

Naruto: Why Shikamaru Nara is the Worst Hokage

Shikamaru may be a great mentor, but he's not cut out to be Hokage.

Tsunade was the first Hokage to seriously support Naruto Uzumaki

Tsunade was like Naruto's godmother

Above all, the Hokage are the administrators and protectors of the Hidden Leaf Village, though some go above and beyond that – or at least try to. Hashirama Senju was a powerful leader as well as a peacemaker and visionary, and Minato Namikaze was a highly effective team leader for Kakashi, Rin, and Obito. As for parental roles, the Hokage does not always step up, as the office of Hokage does not call for it, and some Hokage drop the ball in this regard. Minato Namikaze died before he had a chance to raise his son with Kushina, and Hiruzen gave Naruto an apartment while doing precious work to support the boy. Minato wasn't there, and Hiruzen only made a token effort, so it fell to Tsunade as Naruto's parental figure Hokage.

Find all 10 pairs

Being a heartfelt shonen anime, Ninja is all about personal combat as well as fighting. Naruto The anime needs to do more with Tsunade than make her the next powerhouse Hokage. Critically, she was Naruto's parental figure along with Jiraiya, or at the very least, Tsunade warmly cared for Naruto as a person and made that clear more than once. Other Kage tend to view jinchūriki like Naruto and Gaara as tools or monsters to be controlled, such as Naruto's raspy treatment of his son Gaara during his brief tenure as Sixth Hokage, or Danzo's view of Naruto as a living weapon.

Tsunade was completely different, not as Hokage with the duty of looking after Naruto, but as a good friend and godmother figure. It takes more than a stun jutsu or cool dialogue to make a legend in someone's eyes Naruto Fans, because personal matters are important too. That's how these characters make fans feel As a human, and Tsunade delivered 100% as the Sannin turned Hokage who was always there for Naruto. He saw her purely as a supportive man, so much so that he even gifted her a precious necklace from Hashirama Senju. She was also the one who had complete faith in Naruto to save the Leaf Village when it was attacked by the Six Paths of Pain.

An image of a smiling Orochimaru staring straight ahead at Naruto.

related to

6 Naruto Characters Who Deserved Better Endings

Some characters in the Naruto universe are killed off or sidelined without enough endings to wrap up their story.

Tsunade saw her village through its most difficult trials

Tsunade did more than fight to support her village

Another mark of a good leader is the ability to see his group through one or more crises and the world Naruto There are many crises to offer. Previous Hokages bravely faced extreme danger and made tough decisions when things went wrong, such as Hashirama confronting Madara Uchiha in the Valley of the End and Obito Uchiha attacking the Leaf Village in order for Minato to give his life to defeat Kurama. Those are just the battles, however, Tsunade did so much more.

Physically, Tsunade equaled her Hokage predecessors by participating in battle, such as uniting with her four Kage friends to face Madara and similar threats during the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Naruto Shippuden. Tsunade shared the same battlefield with the likes of Pen and Madara, which is very telling, and she survived every time. But it is not only about fighting and surviving, because it is also about the strength of faith, cooperation and hope. Tsunade not only endured the physical threat of pain as she endured the soul-crushing despair and pain of what Pen had done to Tsunade's village and its people.

Tsunade was undoubtedly devastated, but her spirit was never broken, and she told Pain with a defiant smile that Naruto would challenge her to avenge the village, which Naruto did. Meanwhile, Tsunade joins a five-member Kage team that confronts Madara as a symbol of the fractured shinobi world unity against a threat like Madara, surpassing all other Hokage in terms of teamwork and trust. Granted, the previous Hokage never had the chance to attempt such a thing, yet all the same, Tsunade did, and she made it look good. This made Tsunade a symbol of hope for the world's future support and healing, which is truly the mark of a great leader.