Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-25531508-20140923043228/@comment-9782468-20140924012645

Hashirama wasn't in the team, I'm saying that Hiruzen was stronger than Tobirama. Madara said that in life, Tobirama was equal to himself (Madara) in strength. Chapter 661.

Edo Tensei shouldn't matter, they were all Edo Tensei, so the gulf in skills remained the same. And considering How much older Hiruzen was compared to the rest, that gulf wasn't too wide.

Orochimaru was defeated. Hiruzen took his ninjutsu away. For a guy who wanted all ninjutsu for himself, Orochimaru was down for the count. And this was after fighting two Hokage.

And I'm sure it was stated he could utilize every technique. Anyone can memorize theories, but I think the fact that he could use them all is what set Hiruzen apart.

And before you come at me with the old Kakashi rebuttal on "why doesn't he use more ninjutsu then?" He only used techniques that suited his fighting style. Like Kakashi being able to use shadow clones, but not using it in battle because he had average chakra reserves.