This article contains spoilers from the Naruto series.
Summary
- Hashirama Senju was unbeatable in strength and power, making him the strongest Kage of his time.
- The cause of Hashirama’s sudden and mysterious death remains unknown, possibly linked to his superior healing abilities.
- Hashirama died young, just before the First Great Ninja War, leaving fans with unanswered questions about his demise.
The First Hokage of Konoha, Hashirama Senju is a character full of mystery in Naruto. Fans have been mesmerized by his strength, and despite all that, Kishimoto has only given readers a few glimpses of this monstrously powerful individual.
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Althea the Fourth Great Ninja War gave fans a glimpse of Hashirama’s life, it was mostly in regards to his relationship with Madara Uchiha, which means that whatever came after their final battle at the Valley of the End wasn’t entirely covered in the story properly. One of the many Naruto mysteries that still remains to this day is the death of the First Hokage, which most certainly happened under mysterious circumstances and has had. Many question marks around it. Kishimoto has never directly addressed Hashirama’s death, but he has laid bits and pieces of information in his story, which, when combined tell the fans what exactly happened to the First Hokage.
The Immense Power Of The First Hokage Hashirama
- Hashirama Senju Was Undebatable
- Madara Uchiha Failed To Beat Him
Hashirama Senju was, quite easily, the strongest Kage of his time. In fact, he was also the first Kage of all time, given that Konoha was the first ninja village to be established in the story. The establishment of Konoha itself was a result of Hashirama and Madara joining hands. As they collaborated to end the Warring States Era, many other smaller clans joined in on this idea, and with that, the wars came to an eventual end. Together, Hashirama and Madara created the Village Hidden in the Leaves, or Konohagakure. Although Hashirama wanted Madara to be the Hokage of the village, Tobirama didn’t allow him to have his way, and eventually, this promise was broken, which led to the defection of Madara Uchiha, eventually giving rise to the Valley of the End battle. Here, the two strongest shinobi of this era, and certainly two of the strongest of all time, collided once again, and this battle led to the death of Madara Uchiha.
Tobirama, I warned you to not mistrust the Uchiha! — Hashirama Senju
Quite clearly, Hashirama Senju was unbeatable during this era. Right from birth, Hashirama had the very powerful chakra of the Senju, and on top of that, he was Asura’s reincarnation as well. These two things combined together made him very powerful. With all five nature transformations and immense control over them, he was a force to be reckoned with. His biggest specialty was Wood Release, which was a Kekkei Genkai unique to him and it allowed him to defeat even the likes of Madara Uchiha.
On top of that, Hashirama also had almost unlimited chakra, and he seemingly never ran out of it. In fact, even his regeneration was absolutely immaculate as he didn’t need any hand seals to heal from the damage that he took quite often. Quite clearly, Hashirama was a monster and Madara was the only one who could ever hope of coming close to matching him in battle. But, after Madara’s fall, Hashirama was essentially invincible. Despite that, however, he died quite young, which is very surprising to a lot of Naruto fans.
When Did Hashirama Senju Die?
Hashirama Senju Died Before The First Great Ninja War
Hashirama Senju was an extremely important figure in the ninja world, yet fans know very little about his death. Kishimoto never bothered to inform the fans about it, even though it’s rather bizarre, especially given his strength. Most fans feel that Kishimoto should have addressed the manner of his death, even though it never was. At the very least, fans know when Hashirama Senju died. It was made clear in the story that the First Great Ninja War was sparked by many smaller barrels, and eventually, ninja villages trying to take resources from one another.
Shinobi are people who endure to achieve their goals. — Hashirama Senju
In the build-up to this, Hashirama Senju tried to stop the wars by distributing the Tailed Beasts that he had collected. This distribution of the beasts certainly was a smart idea, but had its own demerits, such as Tobirama wanting money for the beasts, or the First Kazekage requesting Konoha land and money instead as he already had a Tailed Beast. For the most part, though, these ideas worked, and this was prior to the beginning of the First Great Ninja War. Hashirama was alive at this point, as he was the one who convened the First Five Kage Summit.
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Yet, the stopping of the smaller wars didn’t lead to the wars stopping entirely. Hashirama Senju knew that as well, and even though he wanted peace for the entire world, especially the kids of the up-and-coming generation, he couldn’t stop wars from erupting. When the First Great Ninja War happened, Tobirama Senju was the Hokage. He was personally appointed by Hashirama, and he was also told to never mistrust the Uchiha, which he most certainly did and eventually paved the way for the ostracizing, and the Uchiha Clan Massacre. It was right before the beginning of the First Great Ninja War that Hashirama Senju died.
How Did Hashirama Senju Die?
The Cause Of Death Is Unknown
The cause of Hashirama’s death is unknown to this day, because Kishimoto never bothered to explain it in his manga. A shinobi of his strength could most certainly not have been beaten in combat, that’s for sure. If Madara couldn’t do it, there is absolutely nobody in the whole world of Naruto who could at that particular time. Yet, Hashirama did die, and fans know for a fact that he died young. Just a few years after the first Five Kage Summit, Hashirama Senju was already dead and Tobirama was the Hokage. The nature of this change implies that Hashirama’s death was sudden and didn’t leave room for anyone to adjust to reality. The most likely answer is that Hashirama’s own healing led to his downfall. As explained in Naruto, mitotic regeneration eventually reduces the lifespan of the user rapidly. Hashirama’s healing is very similar to mitotic regeneration, even though he doesn’t need hand signs to heal. But, constant splitting of cells at an abnormal rate for years upon years must most certainly have reduced his lifespan a lot, and that’s why he must’ve died rather young. In other words, Hashirama didn’t die in battle, but was consumed by either an illness, or the side effects of his superior healing in the story. Hopefully, fans will see more of Hashirama’s story later down the line if Kishimoto ever does another Oneshot, or, at the very least, answers the questions of the fans one way or another.
Boruto is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of Boruto, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 19, is set to be February 20, 2025.
