Summary
- Initially, Hiruzen Sarutobi was portrayed as the "God of Shinobi" due to his unmatched battle feats and knowledge of all jutsu in the Hidden Leaf.
- However, in Shippuden, this title was given to Hashirama Senju instead, leading to the inconsistency and confusion surrounding Hiruzen's role.
- The retcon was necessary to make the storyline more coherent, as Hiruzen's supposed strength would undercut the power of other characters, such as Madara and Minato.
The revered title of ‘God of Shinobi’ is one bestowed only on those that have acquired an ungodly amount of power, though the series has also implied that only the strongest shinobi of all time could possess this epithet. In part 1 of Naruto, Hiruzen Sarutobi boasts this title, primarily owing to his unrivaled feats in battle and knowledge of every single jutsu within the Hidden Leaf.
While this was initially the case, Shippuden toppled this preset narrative and granted the same moniker to Hashirama Senju, cutting all associations of this title with Hiruzen. There’s no cardinal rule that only one shinobi can be associated with this title, yet it's certainly odd that Hiruzen was stripped of this moniker entirely, making the entire ordeal seem like one of Kishimoto’s many retcons in Naruto.
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Why Was Hiruzen Initially the God of Shinobi?
The early parts of Naruto presented Hiruzen Sarutobi as a shinobi above all, with none that could compare to his unimaginable prowess. The series also furthered the narrative that he had surpassed the previous two Hokage, and his knowledge of every single jutsu within the Hidden Leaf further defined him as an untouchable ninja. However, this notion was set during a time when the Naruto world was in its early stages, since most of the story’s development took place in Shippuden.
It’s obvious that the storyline was hardly concrete by this time, and author Kishimoto was constantly creating new iterations for the plot. Hiruzen’s fight against Orochimaru was the perfect stage to showcase his reverence as the God of Shinobi, as the almost-retired shinobi took on three belligerents simultaneously, even sealing the two Hokage and almost killing Orochimaru in the process. This battle accurately depicted the strength of a Shinobi God, yet it all became void and meaningless in Shippuden when Kishimoto introduced the Senju-Uchiha storyline.
Hashirama’s Place in the Story
Hashirama was initially just an accessory to the plot, with his role primarily tied to Hiruzen and Orochimaru’s fight. Being sealed in the Reaper Death Seal was supposed to be the end of Hashirama’s part in the show, yet Kishimoto rectified this initial premise and made the Senju-Uchiha narrative the main plot, forcing him to glorify Hashirama and deem him the strongest shinobi alive to set the stage for Madara’s arrival.
The Naruto series initially had a theme of the next generation surpassing the previous one, which solidified Hiruzen as a stronger Hokage than his predecessors. However, this idea was scrapped in Shippuden, and Hiruzen was relegated to the sidelines, a fact that is apparent from his lack of significance in the story. The series also took away the title of ‘God of Shinobi’ from Hiruzen, referring to him only with the epithet of the ‘Professor,’ a title that symbolizes his immense knowledge of every single jutsu that exists within the Hidden Leaf.
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Hashirama was essentially retconned into the position of God of Shinobi, and as Kishimoto developed the Warring States Era backstory, Hashirama naturally eased into this title. The cataclysmic fight between Hashirama and Madara at the Valley of the End further cemented his godlike power, and possessing the rare Wood Style Kekkei Genkai added on to his reverence. By the time of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the stage had been set for Hashirama to be considered the sole God of Shinobi, with an expansive backstory to endorse this narrative.
The Reason Behind the Retcon
Since Madara was supposed to be the endgame villain, the story would have become extremely incoherent if the narrative of Hiruzen being stronger had persisted. Considering Hashirama and Madara were near-equal rivals in their prime, deeming the First Hokage weaker than Hiruzen would have undermined Madara’s strength as well, making the entire backstory and endgame fight a muddled mess. This forced Kishimoto to make a few iterations in the storyline, rewriting much of the details laid out in part 1 of Naruto.
The retcon also became a necessity since the series had initially portrayed Minato Namikaze as being stronger than Hiruzen, a notion that defies the Third Hokage’s position as the God of Shinobi. By deeming Hashirama the strongest Hokage of all time, the debate about Minato or Hiruzen being stronger naturally dissipates. Minato’s place in the series was retconned as well, since he was also supposed to surpass the previous Hokage, similar to Hiruzen.
Most of these retcons can be attributed to Kishimoto hastily writing the initial parts of the series, and creating iterations in the narrative along the way to make the story more cohesive. The result is a myriad of plot holes and retconned elements that have botched several aspects of the series, and the title of ‘God of Shinobi’ being shared by two characters is one of many such examples.
Naruto is available to stream on Prime Video.