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

11zeeshha wrote: AsianReaper wrote: I think Hiruzen really was stronger than Hashirama.

For one, Hiruzen said he was the strongest out of the team Tobirama was leading, when Tobirama was right there. And Tobirama didn't dispute it.

So what if he was the strongest out of the team tobirama was leading? how does that make hashirama inferior to him? When has it ever been said that hashirama was a part of team tobirama? Heck when hiruzen said that hashirama wasn't even around.

Madara said that Tobirama rivalled himself when they were both alive, so Hiruzen was stronger than Madara too (only in life though).

when did Madara say that? I don't remember.

And come on, Hiruzen held his own with the other Hokage as a 69 year-old man. that's gotta stand for something right? Even at that old, he spearheaded the fight against Guruguru too. The guy was a beast.

He's an edo tensei. Of course it's going to be easier to keep up. Even then compared to tobirama and minato, hiruzen was mostly in the background until guruguru came in, which brings me to the next point. Guruguru is just a weak hashirama clone. He's nothing compared to Hashirama himself. While hiruzens jutsu was extremely impressive, I hardly think guruguru is an acceptable replacement for hashirama.

He even defeated Orochimaru (albeit dying in the process) When Orochimaru attacked Konoha; right after fighting both his predecessors! (Albeit they were weakened).

Exactly they were weakened and severely at that. Also he didn't defeat Orochimaru. It was a stalemate at best. Of course he was 69 but that's still not proof that he could defeat hashirama even in his prime. severely weakened hashirama and tobirama + orochimaru who practically just watched does not equal hashirama in his prime.

I think he was the most powerful back in the day. Not to mention he knew every Ninjutsu known to Konoha (unless I'm mistaken). That's why they called him the Professor.

So what? back in his days hashirama was the most powerful. And that's a time where there were few or no fodders. Also knowing a jutsu and being able to use it are 2 different things. One can understand the mechanics or theory w/o being able to use them. Even if you are able to use them, it doesn't mean you're any good at using them.

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.