Hiruzen Defenders Are Back—Can They Redeem Naruto’s Worst Hokage?

Every few months, Naruto discourse does what it does best: it circles back to Hiruzen Sarutobi and sets the comments on fire. To some fans, the Third Hokage is a kindly, wise leader. To a whole lot of others, he is the blueprint for how not to run a village. And every time a fresh batch of Hiruzen defenders shows up, the same arguments and receipts crash into each other all over again.

The case for Hiruzen, according to his defenders

There are plenty of Reddit essays trying to rehab Hiruzen. The theme is always the same: he did what he could, and when he didn't, it was for the greater good.

It was better for Naruto to be isolated than to give him more attention.

That line shows up a lot. The idea is that Konoha was so traumatized by the Nine-Tails attack that there was nothing Hiruzen could realistically do to change how villagers treated Naruto. Some also point to his long time in office as evidence he was a strong Hokage. He even came out of retirement to lead again, which they frame as a selfless move.

Here's why that doesn't hold up

• He stayed in power instead of installing new leadership: Hiruzen was reappointed after retirement and then just kept the hat rather than securing a clear successor. Longevity isn't proof of competence, and the fallout from those years hit the village and multiple clans.
• He let Danzo run wild: Calling it "soft-hearted" doesn't fix the reality that a lower-ranked adviser was undermining him and wreaking havoc. Turning a blind eye to Danzo wasn't leadership; it was neglect.
• He failed Naruto, the kid he was entrusted to protect: Minato and Kushina left Hiruzen their only child believing the Hokage would make sure he was cared for. Instead, Naruto grew up alone, fending for himself, while the village treated him like a problem he didn't choose. Hiruzen didn't even put guardrails in place to limit that discrimination.
• He presided over the Uchiha catastrophe: Yes, Hiruzen preferred peaceful negotiations. But Danzo pushed for total slaughter and got his way. If the Hokage's will isn't clear enough to stop his own adviser from greenlighting a massacre, that failure lands on the Hokage too. Calling it "preventable tragedy" isn't hyperbole.
• He let Orochimaru walk: Hiruzen knew his former student was behind mass kidnappings and the killing of children for experiments. He still allowed Orochimaru to escape. Nostalgia and sentiment do not erase those crimes, and they shouldn't have crippled the response.

Why this debate never dies

People mix up tenure with quality. They excuse inaction as kindness. And they argue the village's trauma boxed Hiruzen in so tightly that any outcome would look the same. But the pattern above isn't one tough call gone wrong; it's a string of avoidable failures that left scars on Konoha and everyone in Naruto's orbit.

That's where I land, anyway. If you still think Hiruzen was justified, I'm listening — but you're going to have to explain away a lot.

Naruto is streaming on Crunchyroll if you want to revisit the receipts yourself.