Tsunade

is the of Konohagakure. She took on the position after the death of her teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi. She, along with Orochimaru and Jiraiya, are recognized as The Legendary Sannin of Konoha.

Background


Tsunade is the granddaughter of the First Hokage, and the grandniece of the Second Hokage, leading other characters to call her. She is, along with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, a former student of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. Tsunade is well-known for her large breasts (106 centimeters, according to Jiraiya's estimate), despite the fact that Jiraiya referred to her as "flat-chested Tsunade" during their childhood.

During the Second Great Shinobi World War, Tsunade and her former team-mates fought Hanzō, who gave them the title of Konoha's as a reward for surviving the strife of their battle. On their way back to Konoha, they encountered the Ame Orphans, who Jiraiya chose to train. Throughout the war, she would become famous for frequently counteracting Chiyo's poisoning attempts, earning contempt from Chiyo because of it. Furthermore, according to Jiraiya, Tsunade was the reason Konoha won the war.

At some point throughout, however, on her brother's twelfth birthday, Tsunade gave him their grandfather's crystal necklace in the hopes that it would help him achieve his dream of becoming Hokage. The next day, he died as a casualty of the war, which returned the necklace to Tsunade's possession. Sometime afterwards, Tsunade fell in love with a man named Dan, who also wanted to become Hokage. As a sign of her affection, and in the hopes that it would help make his dreams come true, Tsunade gave him the amulet as well. Dan, too, would go on to die a bloody death during the course of the war, once again returning the necklace to her possession. Dan's death caused her to develop hemophobia (a fear of blood), which made her unfit to take part in any more battles.

With the deaths of the two she loved the most, Tsunade came to lose faith in the title of Hokage, believing that only fools would want such a position. With these changes of ideals, Tsunade left Konoha with Dan's niece, Shizune, taking her in as her apprentice.

Personality
Tsunade typically projects a tough demeanor, even when facing great personal difficulty, and rarely compliments or praises people. She readily criticizes others for their faults, such as Naruto for his immaturity, or Jiraiya for his perversion, though her habits are rarely any better. On occasion, though, Tsunade shows sympathy for others, consoling Shikamaru that, while he failed his mission to return Sasuke to Konoha, all of his team-mates survived. This is also shown when she worked hard in order to help heal Rock Lee, so that he might continue to be a ninja. She also allowed herself to cry when she learned of Jiraiya's death, though not in public.

When first introduced, Tsunade is cynical of anyone with dreams, especially those who want to become Hokage. After meeting Naruto she realizes that this cynicism is insulting to the memories of Dan and Nawaki. She has a change of heart, puts her faith in Naruto, and takes on the mantle of Hokage herself, carrying on the dreams of Dan and Nawaki. As Hokage, Tsunade has shown the same level of loyalty to the village that previous Hokage held; during the invasion of Pain, she released all of her chakra in order to save the lives of hundreds of people within Konoha, at great personal risk. Tsunade also has a great deal of faith in the next generation, and sees the potential that Naruto and the rest of the Konoha 11 hold.

Tsunade is also a compulsive gambler, who has the unfortunate disadvantage of having terrible luck. As a result, she has been elevated to a comical status as because of the gross profits others have made off of her misfortune and gambling addiction. In the rare instances that Tsunade hits a winning streak, she believes it to be a bad omen, and bad things do tend to happen to her or her comrades afterwards. The symbol on the back of her coat,, means "gamble", or "wager", as gambling is one of her favorite pastimes.

In life-threatening or important situations that involve someone she cares in danger, she tends to anger against people who disagree with her plan, such as the restrictions the Konoha Elders put on Naruto, or the argument on whether Naruto or Killer Bee should participate in the Fourth Great Shinobi World War, even calling Gaara a "little punk" once disagreed by.

When she caught Jiraiya peeping on her while she was in the hot springs, she proceeded to break both of his arms, six of his ribs and ruptured several internal organs as a punishment for being a pervert. Ever since then, Jiraiya has been very careful to suppress his perverted ways around Tsunade. Jiraiya mentions that this is one of the two times he has ever been close to death.

Tsunade shuns all of Jiraiya's romantic advances throughout most of the storyline. While he is in Amegakure investigating Pain, she bets that he will die so that her terrible luck will ensure he survives. When she finds out he has died, she thinks back on their time together and cries for the loss of her good friend. Thus making her the last living member of Team Hiruzen and the Sannin.

Tsunade took Shizune, her lover's niece, as an apprentice, and trusts her greatly. In fact, Shizune is one of the few people Tsunade trusts with absolute certainty. Tsunade also owns a pig, Tonton, as a pet, and leaves her to Shizune's care.

Appearance
Although Tsunade is over fifty years old, she maintains a young appearance through a constant Transformation Technique. She has a violet rhombus on her forehead, a chakra gathering point known as the Yin Seal. Tsunade has fair skin and brown eyes. Except for her bangs, which are parted in the middle and fall down the sides of her face, Tsunade's long, blonde hair is tied into two ponytails using bands in the same colour as the seal on her forehead.

She often wears a grass-green robe with the kanji for written in black on the back, inside a red circle. Underneath she wears a gray, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a broad, dark bluish-grey obi that matches her trousers. Her blouse is closed quite low, revealing her sizeable cleavage.

She wears open-toed sandals with low heels and nail polish in the same colour as her trousers and obi on both her fingernails and toenails. She used to wear the First Hokage's Necklace in clear view on her chest, before giving it to Naruto Uzumaki.

Abilities
As one of the Sannin and the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade is one of the most powerful ninja that Konoha has ever produced. She excels in medical ninjutsu and hand-to-hand combat. She is hailed as the world's strongest and most beautiful kunoichi. Jiraiya commented that no one could stand equal to her in terms of combat and medical prowess. He adds that Tsunade is the only ninja who could spike a drink without a shinobi knowing it. Tsunade is also well-versed in fūinjutsu, capable of using an S-rank seal as the basis for healing techniques, and in the anime, designing a technique to seal a tailed beast from scratch.

Tsunade can also convert her chakra into electricity. With a quick strike behind an opponent's neck she is capable of sending electric waves into the opponent's nervous system. This then scrambles the electric signals within them and disrupts the way their body moves, such as attempting to move the right hand would cause the left leg to move instead, and so on. It is unknown if this is considered to be Lightning Release.

Taijutsu
Tsunade's trademark ability is her incredible raw strength, which was enough to lift up Gamabunta's gigantic sword several feet into the air and slam it down through the roof of Manda's mouth, effectively rendering him incapable of movement. Her legendary strength is amplified even further with chakra control to monstrous levels. By storing chakra and releasing it at the point of contact, she can enhance her strength to the point where she can effortlessly cause gigantic craters with a simple punch or kick to the ground. Tsunade has even been shown creating a fissure in the earth by tapping her finger to the ground.

Additionally, Tsunade has showcased incredible durability feats, both physical and mental. She was still able to move after having her muscles torn, something Kabuto himself found impressive and praise-worthy. Furthermore, after being stabbed straight through the chest, her left shoulder, and her ribcage, she still managed to deliver a kick straight to Orochimaru's face. Likewise, her mental durability is so great that she was able to overcome her paralyzing fear of blood through willpower alone, something every eyewitness found miraculous.

As a medical ninja, she needs to be a master of evasion to keep herself alive in battle to aid her teammates. She drilled this skill into Sakura while training her.

Transformation Technique
Even though she is in her early fifties, Tsunade's Transformation Technique makes it appear as if she were still twenty (which Naruto calls "living a lie"). She readily alters what age she appears in order to avoid her gambling debts. Tsunade's transformation is somewhat different from a normal transformation, as it seems to be permanent, not getting dispelled when she is slashed or injured, and she apparently does not need to exert any effort to stay transformed. The transformation dispels when she runs out of chakra, reverting her to her natural appearance.

Medical Ninjutsu
Tsunade is renowned as the best in the world for her expertise as a medical-nin. Her knowledge of the medical arts are so great that she can immediately determine what kind of injuries or illness a person has from a single glance. In addition to this, Tsunade seems to have a vast knowledge of poisons and herbal medicine, as noted by Chiyo. During the Second Great Ninja War, Tsunade was the only one capable of countering Chiyo's poisons. Tsunade has also been noted to be capable of making a powerful sleeping potion, an ability that she passed on to her student, Sakura Haruno.

Much of Tsunade's fame comes from her being able to cure injuries that others would consider impossible. She healed the psychological damage caused by Tsukuyomi, the damage done to Rock Lee's spine, and counteracted the effects of the Three Colored Pills. Furthermore, Orochimaru believed she could undo the effects of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, which Tsunade and Shizune made no attempts to refute.

The most extreme example of her medical prowess is her Creation Rebirth, a technique that makes use of the massive amounts of chakra available after using Yin Seal: Release to continuously regenerate the cells in her body, healing any wound and even growing back missing organs. It gives her a form of "immortality" in battle that even Orochimaru expressed envy for. However, because of the rapid cell regeneration, the technique shortens her life. Because of the risk associated with the technique, Tsunade only uses Creation Rebirth in extremely desperate situations. This technique is considered as the absolute pinnacle of medical ninjutsu, and Tsunade developed it under the resolution of protecting those dear to her.

Slug Affinity
Tsunade can summon slugs of varying sizes, although she has only ever been seen summoning Katsuyu. The slugs' primary abilities seem to revolve around spitting acid and splitting into smaller slugs. Tsunade apparently has a mental connection with Katsuyu, as she was able to get reports and send out messages through Katsuyu during the invasion of Pain. Tsunade can transfer her chakra to a large number of slugs over long distances. By having the slugs spread out and attach themselves to wounded individuals, Tsunade is then capable of healing multiple injuries at multiple locations simultaneously.

Search for Tsunade Arc
After his failed invasion of Konoha, Orochimaru sought out Tsunade. Upon finding her, he asked her for a favor, though before he could specify what this favor was, she declined, having already noticed his wounded arms. Trying again, Orochimaru asked her to heal his arms, explaining that the injury was a result of his carelessness when killing the Third Hokage. Shocked by this revelation, Tsunade prepared to kill Orochimaru, though he once again intervened by offering to resurrect her dead loved ones: Dan and Nawaki. Interested in this offer, Tsunade considered it, and was left a week to decide.

Soon afterward, Tsunade was approached by Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki, who wanted her to become the next Hokage. After turning down the offer and ridiculing it, Naruto challenged Tsunade to a fight, enraged that someone could disrespect the title of Hokage. Tsunade accepted, and easily won, though not before witnessing Naruto's attempt at using the Rasengan. Intrigued, Tsunade made a bet with Naruto to master the jutsu in a week; if he won, he would get the First Hokage's necklace, and if Naruto did not master the Rasengan within a week, Tsunade would get all the money he was carrying. Naruto accepted the bet, and resumed his training. As the week progressed, Tsunade kept a careful eye on Naruto's progress, and all the while contemplated Orochimaru's offer. When the week was up, and Naruto appeared to have failed in mastering the jutsu, Tsunade went to meet Orochimaru, first drugging Jiraiya to make sure he didn't interfere.

Upon meeting with Orochimaru, Tsunade asked that he not destroy Konoha when his arms were healed. Orochimaru agreed, and Tsunade prepared to heal him, though was interrupted by Orochimaru's assistant, Kabuto Yakushi. Kabuto, being a medical ninja himself, was able to notice the killing intent of Tsunade's healing jutsu, and as such, knew that she really intended to kill Orochimaru. Her motives known, Tsunade revealed that she knew Orochimaru had lied when saying he'd leave Konoha alone, and that she couldn't bring herself to allow it, due to Nawaki and Dan having loved Konoha until the end of their days. While she had tried to forget this fact over the years, Naruto's determination and desire to be Hokage reminded her of their dreams, and she had decided to do whatever was necessary to protect those dreams.

With that, Tsunade attacked Orochimaru, though Kabuto fought her in his place. As the two traded blows, Kabuto began to realize that he was completely outmatched, and decided to use her fear of blood to his advantage, slitting his wrists to paralyze her. As Kabuto began to beat on Tsunade, Shizune and Naruto came to her rescue. While both were easily defeated, Naruto was able to overcome his injuries and continued to protect Tsunade. Although Tsunade told him to run, Naruto refused, and managed to hit Kabuto with a perfected Rasengan in his effort to protect her, defeating Kabuto. As Naruto collapsed, and was left near death due to Kabuto's last attack, Tsunade rushed to his aid and attempted to heal him, not willing to allow him to die. Her efforts were successful, and Naruto claimed the amulet he had now won before losing consciousness. Putting the necklace around his neck, Tsunade asked once more for its wearer to become Hokage.

Orochimaru, worrying about what kind of threat Naruto might become when he got older, tried to kill him, though Tsunade blocked that attack, using herself as a human shield. Orochimaru inquired as to why she was protecting Naruto, to which she replied that Naruto would someday be Hokage, and that she would not allow him to die before that happened. With that, Tsunade accepted the title of Fifth Hokage that she had been offered, and overcame her fear of blood, her first action being to eliminate Orochimaru. Joining forces with the still drugged Jiraiya, the two attacked Orochimaru. After a battle of summons, Tsunade dealt the finishing blow to Orochimaru. Defeated, Orochimaru escaped, vowing to destroy Konoha once he'd healed himself. Once Naruto recovered, the group returned to Konoha, Tsunade ready to take the role Dan and Nawaki so dearly desired, and secretly believing that Naruto would someday become a great Hokage.

Sasuke Retrieval Arc
Soon after arriving in Konoha to take her place as Hokage, Tsunade healed the mental injuries inflicted by Itachi Uchiha's Tsukuyomi on Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha. She also gave a grim prognosis on Rock Lee's condition. She stated that the only procedure that could allow him to return to duty as a ninja was one that she alone was capable of performing, and it only had a fifty per cent chance of success; if it didn't succeed then it would prove to be fatal for Lee.

Not liking the odds of such a dangerous procedure, Tsunade advised Lee that it was best that he retire as a ninja and find another profession. In the anime, while Lee is struggling to decide what he should do, Tsunade looks into ways to improve his chance of survival. Thinking back to how she had seen Kabuto withstand Naruto's Rasengan, Tsunade used Kabuto's technique as an inspiration to expand on the life-threatening operation and improved Lee's chances of survival from fifty per cent to fifty-eight per cent. Lee finally agreed to undergo the procedure and survives.

When Sasuke defected from the village so that he could go to Orochimaru, Tsunade was forced to send out a group of Genin to try and stop and retrieve him. She also used Konoha's reacquired alliance with Sunagakure to call in a favor for reinforcements, hoping to give the retrieval team some back-up. Despite her efforts, the group ultimately failed, and Tsunade helped in healing their fatal injuries, bringing them back to full health. In the aftermath of Sasuke's betrayal, Sakura Haruno asked to become Tsunade's apprentice, which Tsunade gladly accepted.

Pre-Shippūden filler arcs
Tsunade appeared in numerous filler arcs, though she typically did nothing more than sending others out on missions, occasionally trying new ways of deciding who would go on a specific mission. Her goal during the filler arcs was to keep Naruto busy until Jiraiya came back, to prevent him from going after Sasuke himself. When the Legendary Stupid Brothers escape from prison, she convinces them to surrender with a quick display of genjutsu and her strength. In another filler, she summoned Katsuyu to deal with some impersonators of Rock Lee and Might Guy, who had entered the village.

Part II
After Naruto's return to Konoha after the timeskip, the village's elders questioned Tsunade's decision to allow Naruto to go out on missions when Akatsuki sought to capture him. As such, the elders forced Tsunade to allow one of the men of Danzō Shimura, a fierce opponent of the Third Hokage, to be teamed with Naruto. Not trusting Danzō, Tsunade assigned Yamato to lead Naruto, and to keep an eye on Danzō's addition to the team.

Hidan and Kakuzu Arc
Later, when two Akatsuki members entered the Land of Fire - namely Hidan and Kakuzu - Tsunade mobilized the Nijū Shōtai to look for and, if possible, capture the Akatsuki duo. While capture never came to be possible, the Akatsuki members were both defeated. Tsunade later performed an autopsy on Kakuzu, and found Naruto's newest jutsu, Wind Release: Rasenshuriken to be too dangerous for use, based on the damage done to Kakuzu's body and Naruto's arm. She explained that the attack had struck at a cellular level, causing extensive damage to the both of them, and regretfully told Kakashi and Yamato not to allow Naruto to use the jutsu again.

Three-Tails Arc
In the anime, after finishing her autopsy on Kakuzu, Tsunade received a report from a deceased ANBU captain about Orochimaru and Sasuke's whereabouts. She called for Kakashi, and put him in charge of Team 8 to investigate. Because the mission involved a chance of finding Sasuke, Tsunade tried to keep Naruto from finding out about it. He found out anyway, so Tsunade didn't hesitate to send him as back-up.

Later, Tsunade received news that Team Kakashi had encountered the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle. Deciding that they needed to capture the beast quickly, as to not let it fall into enemy hands, Tsunade ordered Tenten, Rock Lee, and Ino Yamanaka to aid Team Kakashi in sealing the beast. Before sending them out, Tsunade made a large and special scroll to aid the team in sealing the beast. She also decided to summon and send out Katsuyu for further assistance. When the forces they sent continued to have problems with the sealing, Tsunade called them back to Konoha, and sent some ANBU to replace them. After she heard about the ANBU losing contact with Konoha, and the disappearance of the Three-Tails, Tsunade suspected that Akatsuki were somehow involved.

Tsuchigumo Kinjutsu Arc
In the anime, word reaches Konoha that the Tsuchigumo clan's fort protecting a powerful forbidden jutsu was under attack. With Team Kakashi and Team Kurenai being the closest, Tsunade sent Katsuyu to inform them of their mission to aid the Tsuchigumo clan, in accordance with the peace treaty the Third Hokage made with them. Tsunade later receives word from the teams that they and the clan have considered destroying the jutsu to end the possible danger it can cause.

Invasion of Pain Arc
When word reaches Konoha of Jiraiya's death, Tsunade makes the village's top priority analyzing the clues Jiraiya left behind about Pain's identity. While the likes of Shizune, Ibiki, and Shikamaru are hard at work, Tsunade allows herself and opportunity to cry for her old friend. Naruto, just as badly affected by Jiraiya's death as Tsunade, went away to train, both of them knowing that he was Pain's next target.

When the invasion of Pain began, Tsunade tried to send word for Naruto to return home. She was stopped by the Konoha Council, who feared his capture by Akatsuki. However, Tsunade insisted that they must have faith in Naruto, along with the rest of the next generation, and so they relented. Tsunade began issuing orders for the village's defense, placing extra protection around those still working on Pain's secret. She summoned Katsuyu, and had her divide and seek out every villager so that she could protect and heal them remotely. While sitting in the middle of a seal guarded by ANBU, transferring her chakra to Katsuyu, she was found by Pain's Deva Path, whom she recognized as one of the orphans Jiraiya trained in the past. Tsunade refused to tell it where Naruto was, proclaiming that Akatsuki was just a terrorist group. When Pain discovered Naruto's location through other means, the Deva Path resolved to make Tsunade see what Akatsuki's true goals were.

The Deva Path destroys the village. In the few moments between when the destruction began and ended, Tsunade poured all her chakra into Katsuyu in order to keep the inhabitants safe. In the aftermath, she confronted Pain, who attempted to kill her with his Asura Path. It was stopped by Naruto, who informed Tsunade that he would personally deal with Pain. Having used up almost all of her chakra, Tsunade's elderly form resurfaced, she then falls into a coma and does not see Naruto's defeat of Pain.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
While Tsunade recovered, Danzō was chosen to replace her as the Sixth Hokage. He was killed by the now-international criminal Sasuke Uchiha after the Kage Summit and the village prepared to make Kakashi Hokage, but Tsunade woke up before the appointment could be finalized. Tsunade learned of everything that happened while she was in her coma; the start of the Fourth Great Shinobi World War, the Shinobi Alliance, and the identity of Tobi. After replenishing her chakra levels, she convened a war council to prepare the village for the coming conflicts. Three days later, she traveled to Kumogakure with Shikaku Nara as her bodyguard to attend an Alliance meeting with the rest of the Kage. Upon having her health and position questioned due to her age by the Third Tsuchikage, she retorts saying that she had had enough of his double standards. On the other hand, she learned that the Fifth Mizukage was reassured by her return.

Tsunade proceeds to inform the Alliance that her people are investigating a possible enemy base, but since the possibility of it being a trap remains, they will have to do more intelligence-gathering. Moments later, when Ōnoki brings up the matter of hiding the jinchūriki, Tsunade becomes infuriated, claiming that Naruto Uzumaki and Killer Bee were major assets to their combat strength, and that hiding them away was preposterous. She does not underestimate Madara Uchiha, and is prompt to say that if they don't strike hard with their full powers, they might not get a second shot at victory. Ōnoki explained to her that putting them in the front lines would be dangerous, as they are the enemy's target in the war. Also the Fifth Kazekage reminded her that it wasn't up to her to make decisions unilaterally. Gaara proceeds to speak about Naruto and his tendency to do absurd things for the sake of his comrades, which was certainly the main problem. She agrees in the end and the jinchūriki are hidden away. Afterwards Ōnoki complimented the "impudent Slug Princess" for her energetic testimony.

Creation and conception
Tsunade's name is taken from the character of the same name from. The Tsunade in that story is vastly different in terms of personality, along with the fact that unlike her manga counterpart the original Tsunade was married to Jiraiya, however both were known to greatly excel in slug magic.

Trivia

 * The name means "mooring rope".
 * Tsunade shares the same blood type with her former team-mates, Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
 * Tsunade was the first female Hokage, as well as the first female Kage seen in the series.
 * Tsunade is first mentioned when Might Guy questions Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten about their goals as Genin. Tenten says that she wants to become a great kunoichi and follow the footsteps of the legendary Tsunade.
 * According to the Naruto databook:
 * Tsunade's hobby is gambling.
 * Tsunade wishes to fight Naruto.
 * Tsunade's favorite foods are chicken breast and sake, while her least favorite food is liver sashimi.
 * Tsunade has completed 1,256 official missions in total: 40 D-rank, 236 C-rank, 467 B-rank, 418 A-rank, 95 S-rank.
 * Tsunade's favorite phrase is, referring to getting rich without much effort.
 * While Tsunade's English anime voice actor is Debi Mae West, in most games she is voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, who is Kurenai Yūhi's voice actor. The few games where she is voiced by her anime voice actor are Naruto Shippūden: Legends: Akatsuki Rising, Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2, Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution and Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3. In Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, while being voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn through out the story-line, during game-play, most of Debi Mae West's voice-overs from the first game are still used.
 * The Yin Seal on Tsunade's forehead was modelled after the one on her grandmother's forehead.

Quotes

 * (When about to fight Naruto) "One of the Legendary Sannin taking on a snot-nosed Genin... I oughta be ashamed of myself."
 * (To Jiraiya about Naruto) "Jiraiya, are you the one who taught him the Rasengan? Are you acting like a teacher by teaching him something he can't master? Don't give him any ideas! That's why this kid likes to daydream that he's going to become Hokage someday."
 * (To Orochimaru) "Why am I putting my life on the line? Because now... I am the Fifth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!"
 * (To Orochimaru about Naruto) "I will die before I let you touch him!"
 * (To Shikamaru) "Grow up... Death comes with being a shinobi... There are times when death is hard to accept, but if you don't get over it, there's no future..."
 * (To the advisers) "People like Jiraiya... and Sarutobi, and Elder Chiyo of the Sand possessed something you two sorely lack. Do you know what that is!? ...Faith! My grandfather, the First Hokage, believed in you and entrusted you with the village. Now it's your turn to believe in these children and entrust it to them!"
 * (To Pain) "I am the Fifth Hokage... You've trampled on our ancestors' treasure... their dream... And you will pay the price! As the Hokage, I will put a stop to you here and now!"