Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-23788748-20140815034107/@comment-4031545-20140821030913

ItachiWasAHero wrote: I never said she wasn't a genin in her life time, I said there is no proof she was genin or chunin right before becoming a kage. I think there are numerous characters in the Naruto universe where it is difficult to pin down their rank, especially once all these ninja started being reincarnated. You are right, there is no proof that Tsunade was not a chunin or jonin, but the one thing I do point out is when the Sannin fought against Hanzo just before he gave them their title, they seemed to be operating as a three-man team, which in my personal opinion states that they were at least above Genin rank by that time. In fact, in the Sannin article, it states that they received Genin rank from Hiruzen by completing the bell test, who was already Hokage, and then "When the three shinobi were promoted, as customary, the team disbanded." This infers to me that they were at least Chunin rank. I do not know of anything that specifically declares any of them Jonin, but I would say with confidence that they are at least Chunin, aside from being titled Sannin.