Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-31337598-20170812163641/@comment-32569165-20170815225658

David Kibasennin wrote: Lorenzo.r.2nd wrote: I don't see hiruzen beating prime tobirama at all, much less prime hashi.

Lol what? No matter the translation, during Danzo's flashback, Hiruzen offers to sacrifice himself as the decoy on the basis that he's the strongest amongst the people present. That's including Tobirama. And he's, what, in his 20s? Point is, until Tobirama intervenes, Hiruzen staying behind is presented as the most logical option, cuz the strongest one covers for the weakest's escape (like with the Third Raikage's death). So, like the prodigy they say he was, he had already surpassed Tobirama by the time he was in his 20's (which isn't too surprising if you think about how Naruto had surpassed a Kage-level Kakashi by the time he was 16-17). You're making assumptions without any supporting evidence. He offered himself as a decoy, that's true. However when he said he has the biggest chance to survive, he was talking about his comrades, not Tobirama. He would never say he has more skill than him, especially in front of other people. I'd argue that Tobirama's tactical genius is on par with Shikamaru or Shikaku. On top of that he has many jutsus in his arsenal, including the Flying Raijin. Anyways, this is for another topic, not this one.