Hashirama Senju was the First Hokage (Shodai Hokage, Literally meaning: First or Founding Fire Shadow) of Konohagakure. He was famous in life as the God of Shinobi( English TV: The Supreme Shinobi) for his unmatched ninja prowess. Despite that, Hashirama only wanted peace, and to that end founded Konoha with his childhood friend and rival, Madara Uchiha. Although he was not able to achieve peace during his lifetime, his legacy would live on, continuing to shape the village for decades after his death.Hashirama's past
Hashirama was born during the Warring States Period, the eldest of Butsuma Senju's four sons. Hashirama and his brothers grew up on the battlefield waging constant war with the Senju's rivals: the Uchiha. During his infrequent downtime, Hashirama met a boy his own age named Madara. The two quickly developed a friendly rivalry, be it skipping stones or urinating in rivers, with Hashirama typically winning their contests.[6] Though a gifted shinobi, Hashirama did not approve of this practice of sending children to fight and die, believing it would only increase the bitterness between the Senju and Uchiha, thus causing more deaths.Hashirama family
Hashirama and his family attend Kawarama's funeral. After the deaths of their brothers, Kawarama and later Itama, Hashirama and his remaining brother, Tobirama, decided a new shinobi system would need to be implemented to end the cycle of child deaths, a system that would require an alliance between the Senju and Uchiha. Like Hashirama, Madara was also a shinobi who had lost brothers on the battlefield. Together they imagined a world where children like themselves wouldn't need to fight and where their brothers would be safe from harm.[7] As a precaution, Hashirama and Madara did not divulge their family names, but nevertheless discovered each other's identities: Hashirama was a Senju, Madara was an Uchiha; it was their duty to kill each other. Hashirama set this duty aside, unwilling to take his friend's life. Madara, however, decided their dreams of a peaceful world were impossible, and therefore ended their friendship so that they could kill each other without reservation.
Over the following years Hashirama and Madara continued to meet in combat. Hashirama could never bring himself to kill someone he still considered a friend, and Madara could never defeat Hashirama's superior abilities. In time, both Madara and Hashirama became leaders of their respective clans. Under Hashirama's leadership and extraordinary prowess, the Senju began to best the Uchiha Clan. However, unable to find the resolve to kill his childhood friend, Hashirama tried sent Madara a cease-fire request to broker peace between them and finally make their childhood dreams a reality. Although some Uchiha found the offer increasingly tempting, Madara was unwilling to accept after Tobirama killed his last remaining brother, Izuna.[9] Wracked with grief, Madara made one final stand against Hashirama and the Senju and was summarily defeated. Tobirama attempted to kill Madara to finally end the fighting, but Hashirama stopped him, knowing that would only renew hostilities between the Senju and Uchiha. At Madara's suggestion, Hashirama offered to kill himself in order to achieve a peaceful resolution. As he was about to end his own life, Madara stopped him, moved by the gesture, and assented to peace.
The Senju, the Uchiha, and all their affiliated clans came together to found a village of peace, where children would never need to die in battle. Hashirama and Madara, rekindling their childhood friendship, called that village Konohagakure. Although Hashirama created much of the village's infrastructure with his Wood Releaseabilities, it was his wish that Madara become Hokage, the village's leader and protector.[11] At Tobirama's insistence, the Hokage position was opened up to a vote by Konoha's villagers, and it was Hashirama that they elected into office.[12] Hashirama wanted Madara to become his adviser so that he could improve his standing among the villagers and someday succeed him as Second Hokage. Madara felt that position would inevitably go to Tobirama, which would in turn end badly for the Uchiha. With his position in Konoha rapidly diminishing, Madara decided the village was a failed experiment and abandoned it, intent on someday returning to face Hashirama in battle yet again.
For a time, things were peaceful: Hashirama helped train one of Tobirama's students, Hiruzen Sarutobi; he got to spoil his first grandchild, Tsunade;[14] he locked away the Scroll of Seals, the kinjutsu it contained no longer necessary in the world he'd made.[15] Konoha's successes led other countries to create their own villages.[16] Eager to form a lasting peace with these new villages, Hashirama convened a Kage Summit so that he could share the tailed beasts Konoha had acquired with them, thus balancing power amongst them. But cooperation would not be so simple as Hashirama intended it to be, first by Tobirama's demand that the other villages pay for the tailed beasts they received, then by the First Kazekage's counter-request of money and territory in lieu of a tailed beast. As unrest began to grow, Hashirama shared his fear that any agreement they made would only be temporary, but also that future generations could forge a lasting unity.[17]
True to his promise, Madara eventually returned to Konoha with the Nine-Tailsunder his control, challenging Hashirama to one final contest.[18] The Nine-Tails' power, as well as Hashirama's efforts to capture and contain it, devastated the landscape, carving out what would later be called the Valley of the End. Hashirama spent the duration of their battle trying to reason with Madara, but Madara continued fighting until he was too tired to keep even his Sharingan active. This enabled Hashirama to distract him with a wood clone while the real Hashirama stabbed him in the back. Madara collapsed and, before dying, noted how much Hashirama had changed from when they were children.
In the aftermath of the battle, Tobirama hid away Madara's body and Hashirama's wife, Mito, sealed the Nine-Tails within herself in order to contain its great power to Konoha's benefit.[20] But the peace Hashirama had worked so hard for was starting to unravel; at some point Takigakure sent Kakuzu to assassinate him.[21] Although he defeated Kakuzu, other wars began to break out, and it was during one of these that Hashirama ultimately died.[1] Before his death he passed the title of Hokage to Tobirama, but also instructed him not to mistreat the Uchiha
Personality
Hashirama was an excitable man with a boisterous personality. He loved meeting new people, having friendly competitions, and gambling. Headstrong and often impulsive, it fell to others – such as his brother, Tobirama – to be more responsible or realistic about things that Hashirama had gotten carried away with.[23] When taken down in this way, or even when simply presented with information that troubled him, Hashirama could do a near-immediate about-face, going from a laughing goof to a brooding sulk. These moping periods were typically brief, though, and he'd quickly go back to his usual high-spirited nature.[24] Later generations, upon meeting him, tend to remark that neither extreme of his personality is very fitting for a "God of Shinobi".[14]
Despite the first impression he may give, Hashirama was capable of being serious when it came to matters that were important to him. He spent years opposing the practice of sending children to war and dreamed of a shinobi system where a child could be around others his or her age, never needing to "grow up" prematurely on the battlefield.[7] To that end he became very devoted to Konoha upon its foundation, as it was the realisation of his dream for peaceful childhoods. He wanted the rest of the village to cherish what Konoha represented just as much as he did, encouraging them to regard every villager as part of one large family that should always look out for each other. As Hokage, his job was to protect that family at all costs, even if that cost was his life. This philosophy, known as the "Will of Fire", would become a cornerstone of Konoha teachings for decades after his death. Because Hashirama was too soft and somewhat of an idiot as noted by Tobirama, his reign as Hokage was effective in part due to Madara's ruthlessness and Tobirama's realistic personalities balanced Hashirama out.
Hashirama offers to take his life without hesitation.
The Will of Fire is demonstrative of Hashirama's general optimism when it came to other people; he believed a village-first loyalty would naturally break down the mentality that shinobi had to look out for their clans.[25] Hashirama lived by this philosophy long before Konoha's founding, having no qualms about killing himself if it meant peace between the Uchiha and Senju clans. He always saw the best in others, either trusting that they acted in good faith or that they could, through non-violent means, be reasoned with. He was humble, not above lowering his head to his fellow village heads[26] or claiming inferiority to those he'd never met but whose actions he approved of.[27] If nothing else, Hashirama was kind, placing the needs of others before his own: he was willing take his own life if it would help create a world where his friends and family wouldn't need to die unnecessarily.[28] It was on these points that Tobirama disagreed with Hashirama most ardently, as Tobirama felt that Hashirama should have a greater value of himself and a greater suspicion of others. It was, similarly, on these points that Hashirama was at his most forceful, asserting his views over Tobirama's; though Tobirama did not often agree, he knew better than to oppose his brother.[29]
Hashirama had a lifelong friendship and rivalry with Madara Uchiha, eventually considering him a brother.[30]As children, they would spend much of their free time together, talking, playing, and planning for a future that they weren't sure would ever come. Both were willing to oppose their own fathers by refusing to kill each other, but only Hashirama kept up this refusal into adulthood;[31] even as enemies, Hashirama would go out of his way for Madara, restraining himself (and Tobirama) so as not to hurt him and indulging Madara's desires at his own consequence.[32] When they were able to rekindle their friendship by making Konoha, Hashirama placed a great deal of trust in Madara by desiring him to be Hokage, believing it was the best way for Madara to recover from the loss of his brothers. When this ultimately failed, Hashirama respected Madara's opinions and dissatisfaction with the village, but would not permit him to move against Konoha, killing him in the end with sadness and reluctance in order to protect what they'd made together.[33]Despite everything, Hashirama considered Madara his friend to the very end.[34]
Appearance
Hashirama was a tall man with tanned skin and dark eyes. He had waist-length black hair typically styled in a centre-parted fringe that framed his face. He often wore the standard shinobi dress of his era, consisting of dark red armour worn over a simple black suit with sandals. This armour was constructed from numerous metal plates, formed into multiple protective guards along his body; each collar of his shoulder guards bore the Senju symbol. Prior to Konoha's formation he wore a white coloured cloth bearing his clan's symbol on his forehead,[35] which he later replaced with the village'sforehead protector.
Upon becoming Hokage, Hashirama tended to wear the traditional Kage attire consisting of the customary brown and white hat and haori over a full-length brown and white gown, along with a simple red headband.[36] Otherwise, he wore a light-brown, short-sleeved, kimono shirt with mesh armour underneath, held closed by a red sash, and navy blue pants. In his Hokage portrait, he is seen wearing a kerchief.[37]
As a child, Hashirama's hair was more bowl-cut in style, hanging around his face. His usual attire consisted of a dark kimono shirt, a short light green jacket with darker green linings, a white scarf around his neck, traditional pinstriped kimono pants of his clan, and a dark green sash around his waist.[38]
Abilities
Hashirama was famed as the strongest shinobi of his era, reputed as a "God of Shinobi".[5] Kabuto Yakushi claimed during the Fourth Shinobi World War that Hashirama's power was so great that it had still yet to be matched.[39] Madara admitted inferiority to Hashirama since childhood,[40] and even with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and the Nine-Tails, he could never defeat Hashirama in their lifetimes.[41]
Chakra Prowess and Life Force
Hashirama's chakra was remarkably strong, so dense that it could crack stone when moulded.[42] This is partly because he was an inheritor of Asura Ōtsutsuki's chakra.[43] During the Fourth Shinobi World War, after seeing Naruto Uzumaki distribute the Nine-Tails' chakra to the entire Allied Shinobi Forces, Hashirama compared the volume to his own.[44] His chakra control is advanced enough to perform large-scale techniques with only one hand seal. Chakra aside, he has the stamina to fight nonstop for a twenty-four hour period,[45] and a will strong enough to resist the control of the nearly perfected Impure World Reincarnationwith relative ease.[46] His body was brimming with vitality, granting him considerable regenerative powersthat could mend most injuries with no residual effects, an ability that only Tsunade has come close toemulating.[47]
Ninjutsu
Hashirama could use Summoning: Quintuple Rashōmon to protect himself from nearly any attack.[48] He demonstrated skill and knowledge with barrier ninjutsu.[49] He had unprecedented skill in medical ninjutsu, able to heal wounds without forming hand seals. Hashirama would sometimes carry scrolls into battle, within which he stored several different types of swords. He wielded them with enough skill to fight on par with Madara, himself a talented swordsman.[50] In the anime, he could use the Contract Seal to break Madara's control over the Nine-Tails.[51]
Nature Transformation
Hashirama using Wood Release.
Hashirama was proficient in all five basic nature transformations, along with Yinand Yang Release.[4] He was most famous for his use of Wood Release, a combination of earth and water-natured chakra. By converting his chakra into the source of life, he could create wood and plants from the ground or his very being of various sizes that he manipulated to his purposes. This ability was apparently exclusive to him, as it is not known to have occurred naturally in anyone else; attempts to replicate it in others have been noticeably weaker than Hashirama's capabilities.[52] In the anime, he was shown performing Wood Release techniques without hand seals.[53]
Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands.
Hashirama could create wood constructs for any number of purposes. His most versatile and perhaps most infamous is the ability to make wood clones to aid him in battle, which are nearly indistinguishable from himself. He could also makeflowering trees whose pollen rendered opponents unconscious, protective structures able to withstand Tailed Beast Balls,[54] giant wood hands to apprehend large targets,[55] as well as a giant humanoid creature strong enough to clash with Madara's Complete Body — Susanoo.[56] In the anime, he could use roots to wield his swords, allowing him to attack from multiple angles.[51] When Hashirama enters Sage Mode, his Wood Release techniques become considerably more offensive in nature and capability, as seen with his largest creation, the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands: by using it to deliver an enormous barrage of punches, it could strip Susanoo from the Nine-Tails and, in fact, was chiefly responsible for the formation of the Valley of the End.[57]
Hashirama's Wood Release also granted him a method of subduing and controlling the tailed beasts. He could create wood dragons to wrap around a beast and absorb its chakra. Once it was weakened enough, he would use the Hokage-Style Sixty-Year-Old Technique — Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Handsto put the beast to sleep.[58] He acquired several tailed beasts in this way and was able to maintain control over all of them at the same time.
Senjutsu
Hashirama in Sage Mode.
Because of his large chakra reserves, Hashirama could use senjutsu by enteringSage Mode, a feat he could perform instantaneously.[4] In this mode, he gains red (black in the anime) markings around and under his eyes as well in the middle of his forehead. While it is not known where he learned it, Hashirama proved formidable in its usage, riding about on his wood techniques as a means to be mobile in battle while maintaining the stillness of one's self needed to continue building up natural energy to keep this mode activated. His different wood techniques become much stronger while he is in Sage Mode. Hashirama could also perform the Sage Art: Gate of the Great God to bind targets, even those as large as the Ten-Tails.[49]
Other Skills
As a Senju, Hashirama is trained in a variety of shinobi skills. In the manga, he performs a genjutsu to lock a target in perpetual darkness for the technique's duration.[59] He is similarly knowledgeable of skills he has no training in, being able to recognise the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.[60]
