Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-26005711-20150717132317/@comment-25977287-20150718124126

Hiruzen didn't do jack in the 4th war. He was struggling to fight spiral zetsu, which Karin was able to own. Suigetsu even got behind him and blew his brains out. There's a reason Hiruzen was barely involved, and why he didn't get to face Madara. Because he was the weakest of the bunch.

Minato on the other hand faced both Obito and Madara and was still standing long after Hashirama and Tobirama had been dealt with. Kishi had to keep Hiruzen away from these fights to stop him from being helpless.