Tobirama Senju

Tobirama Senju (千手扉間, Senju Tobirama) was a member of the renowned Senju clan, who, together with his elder brother and the Uchiha clan, founded the first shinobi village: Konohagakure. Throughout his lifetime, Tobirama would work tirelessly to achieve political stability and implement the institutions that made the village system work, thus ensuring Konoha's continuity and prosperity. After his brother's death, he would earn the title of Second Hokage (二代目火影, Nidaime Hokage, literally meaning: Second Fire Shadow).

Contents

 * 1 Background
 * 2 Personality
 * 3 Appearance
 * 4 Abilities
 * 4.1 Chakra and Physical Prowess
 * 4.2 Ninjutsu
 * 4.2.1 Nature Transformation
 * 4.2.2 Space–Time Ninjutsu
 * 4.2.3 Summoning
 * 4.3 Intelligence
 * 5 Part I
 * 5.1 Konoha Crush
 * 6 Part II
 * 6.1 Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax
 * 6.2 Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki
 * 6.3 Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes
 * 7 Legacy
 * 8 In Other Media
 * 8.1 Video Games
 * 9 Trivia
 * 10 Quotes
 * 11 References

Background
Tobirama was born during the Warring States Period, and was the second of Butsuma Senju's four sons. He and his brothers grew up on the battlefield waging constant war with their rivalling clans especially the Uchiha. After the deaths of their brothers: Kawarama and later Itama, Tobirama and his older brother, Hashirama, 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 warring clans. At some point in time, it became apparent that Hashirama got into the habit of disappearing into the forest for extended periods, and as such, Tobirama accepted his father's assignment to follow Hashirama and find out what he was doing. From tracking Hashirama, Tobirama discovered that he was meeting with a boy named Madara: a young Uchiha. After Tobirama reported this to their father, Butsuma pressured Hashirama to lead Madara into an ambush to be carried out by himself and Tobirama. Upon springing the trap, however, they were met by Madara's family — who had similar plans and while their fathers clashed — Tobirama fought Izuna Uchiha: Madara's younger brother. Hashirama and Madara were able to negotiate a temporary ceasefire, allowing all of them to walk away without bloodshed. In the years following their families would continue to clash, Hashirama against Madara and Tobirama against Izuna. On one occasion Tobirama eventually mortally wounded Izuna.

Hashirama, by then the leader of the Senju, tried to use Izuna's fate to broker peace between their clans, but Madara — at Izuna's behest — refused. His refusal increasingly became the minority view, with individual Uchiha siding with the Senju in growing numbers. After Izuna succumbed to his injuries, Madara, wracked with grief, made one final stand against 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. Madara offered to surrender if Hashirama would kill himself or Tobirama. Hashirama agreed to take his own life, and as he made preparations he instructed Tobirama, despite his protests, not to seek retribution. Madara ultimately withdrew his request and agreed to peace.

The Senju, the Uchiha, and all their affiliated clans came together to found Konoha, a village of peace where children would never need to die in battle. Although Hashirama was optimistic about the village's future, Tobirama remained realistic about how that future would be achieved knowing that it was not enough to simply bring all these clans together. He believed the Uchiha — Madara in particular — threatened that future. When Hashirama wanted to give Madara the position of Hokage, Tobirama forced him to open the selection to a democratic process rather than appointing a leader, leading to Hashirama's election instead. Tobirama would continue to act as the voice of reason throughout Hashirama's tenure; during the first Kage Summit, Hashirama wanted to give Konoha's tailed beasts to the other newly-formed villages for free, but Tobirama insisted that the villages pay for the tailed beasts they received.

Under Hashirama's leadership, the new system of ninja villages achieved peace for a time. Eventually, Tobirama started training his own three-man team consisting of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane. Techniques he had created, such as the Shadow Clone Technique and Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation, he outlawed, their use no longer being needed. But peace would ultimately be temporary as Madara challenged Hashirama's authority and the two fought at what would become the Valley of the End. When Madara was killed in the battle, Tobirama took his body in order to study the Sharingan, and then buried it in an unmarked grave. Conflicts would start emerging elsewhere in the world, and it was during one of these that Hashirama would die. Before his death, he passed the title of Hokage to Tobirama and left him instructions to not mistreat the Uchiha.

Tobirama's role as Hokage included helping Konoha's shinobi transition from valuing their clan above all else to valuing the village and everyone in it. To this end he created such institutions as the Academy, the Anbu, and the Chūnin Exams. While largely successful, enough that other villages adopted the same organisations, the Uchiha resisted the loss of their autonomy. Already wary of the Uchiha because of his history with Madara, Tobirama created the Konoha Military Police Force for the Uchiha to run, publicly as a sign of trust but primarily so that the Uchiha could focus their energies into something beneficial. Others, however, would come to see this as a way to marginalise the clan.

Like Hashirama before him, Tobirama tried to foster good relations with the other villages. He planned an alliance between Konoha and Kumogakure, but during a formal ceremony he and the Second Raikage were attacked by the Gold and Silver Brothers and left near death. During the First Shinobi World War, Team Tobirama, as well as Danzō Shimura, Torifu Akimichi, and Kagami Uchiha found themselves surrounded by Kumo's Kinkaku Force. With no way for all of them to escape, Tobirama volunteered to act as a decoy in place of Hiruzen. As he departed, he passed the title of Hokage to Hiruzen, before being killed by Kinkaku.

Personality
Tobirama was a stern man who spoke bluntly about most topics, never sugar-coating facts or the matter at hand. He had a pragmatic approach to life, believing that many of the world's problems could be solved through well-defined rules and laws. Though his words could often come off as rude or insensitive, Tobirama himself was relatively calm and composed, rarely getting riled up or reacting emotionally. It was this that allowed him to act as a sort of counter-weight to his older brother, Hashirama's, ideals: when Hashirama would get carried away with his headstrong optimism, it fell to Tobirama to mediate and force a more realistic alternative in order to achieve those idealistic goals. Hashirama was typically disappointed by Tobirama's intervention, but he usually agreed without much protest. But Hashirama would, at times, push back against Tobirama, often because Tobirama's methods were becoming too forceful; Hashirama's rare displays of anger on such occasions were enough to make Tobirama back down. Despite how often he needed to undermine his brother and his personal opinion that Hashirama was something of an idiot, Tobirama greatly loved and respected him, and if anything wanted Hashirama to respect himself the same way he and others did.

Tobirama was a firm believer in the Will of Fire — a philosophy that held that all villagers of Konoha were part of a family. As Hokage, it was Tobirama's responsibility to protect that family, and any who threatened Konoha were subject to his rarely-seen but unbridled rage. He modelled his own leadership after both Hashirama and Madara Uchiha, trying to strike a balance between Hashirama's indulgent nature and Madara's ruthlessness in order to protect the village. Tobirama wished for the villagers, with their disparate backgrounds, to move away from the tendency to only think about their clan and instead think of the village as a whole. It was for this reason that he came into conflict with the Uchiha so frequently, as he felt they too often valued their own desires over others'; he believed Madara was the worst example of this tendency. Although Tobirama truly hoped that the Konoha Military Police Force would help the Uchiha focus on the village, he was not surprised when they instead took it as an intentional slight, when that in turn led them to plan a coup against Konoha, and when the planned coup brought about their near-extinction. Despite this seeming prejudice against the Uchiha, Tobirama was perfectly happy to cooperate with any Uchiha that could overcome their "Curse of Hatred"; he cited Kagami Uchiha as a prime example of this transcended Uchiha.

Though they only knew each other for a short time, Tobirama and Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, got along superbly. Their mutual respect for each other seemed founded on their similarities: both of them famously moving and thinking quickly on the battlefield. While their actual personalities were quite different, Tobirama was nevertheless amused by Minato's quirks, such as his complicated names for techniques, notably the "Spiralling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Three". With Minato's son, Naruto Uzumaki, Tobirama was more frustrated than anything else: Naruto did not address him with the proper honourifics and failed to recognise him him as the creator of certain jutsu, such as the Flying Thunder God Technique, which Naruto instead believed to be Minato's creation.

Appearance
Tobirama was a fair-skinned man with silver, shaggy hair and dark-coloured eyes (depicted as red in the anime). He had three red markings on his face, one under each of his eyes and one on his chin. In combat, he wore blue armour with a distinctive white fur collar over a simple black suit. This armour was constructed from numerous metal plates, formed into multiple protective guards along his body. Beneath his shoulder armour he wore two extra shoulder guards on each arm. This clothing was accompanied by sandals and a happuri in place of the more traditional forehead protector. The happuri was initially engraved with the Senju's emblem, which was later replaced with Konoha's.

In his official Hokage portrait, Tobirama was seen wearing the usual all-white haori with a blue kimono underneath. His casual outfit was a simple, short-sleeved, blue shirt kimono with mesh armour underneath and held closed by a pale yellow sash. This casual attire included blue pants and a bracelet of sorts on his left hand.

As a child, he wore a pair of pin-striped pants and shirt which left his arms exposed. He also did not have the markings on his face. In battle, his armour was constructed from green metal plates that covered his torso, lower behind, and groin alongside fishnet armour around his wrists and shins.

Abilities
Tobirama was renowned as one of the most powerful shinobi in history, earning praise from even his rivals. He was able to kill Izuna Uchiha — Madara Uchiha's brother and equal in both skills and power. Danzō Shimura stated that Tobirama's prowess was unmatched during his time as Hokage. He was able to survive a battle with the Gold and Silver Brothers — a fearsome duo who possessed the Nine-Tails' chakra and wielded the four of the Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths.

Chakra and Physical Prowess
During his lifetime, Tobirama was hailed as the fastest shinobi. He was capable of moving fast enough to both cover a target with explosive tags, as well as mark them for his Space–Time Ninjutsu all unnoticed. In the anime, Tobirama is shown moving equally quickly while underwater. He is adept in taijutsu able to compete against his former student Hiruzen, who is known for his absolute mastery of all shinobi skills.

His chakra reserves were large enough to teleport two Tailed Beast Mode users simultaneously, and strong enough to visibly affect the surrounding terrain when releasing it. His chakra control was advanced enough to perform complex techniques with only one hand seal. His will was also strong enough to overcome the nearly-perfected control of the Impure World Reincarnation.

Ninjutsu
As a Senju, Tobirama was skilled in a variety of ninjutsu forms which included shurikenjutsu as well as barrier ninjutsu. He was skilled with a sword, enough to clash with Izuna on multiple occasions, and in the anime, even mastered wielding the Sword of the Thunder God, a blade with electrical abilities. He also could create multiple shadow clones to aid him in battle perform actions while he was otherwise preoccupied.

Since childhood, Tobirama was an adept sensor. By touching the ground with his finger, he could accurately detect the presence and location of targets in the surrounding area. He could also sense persons countries away, identify a target's ancestry from their chakra signature, and even pinpoint a target's exact location while blinded.

In the anime, Tobirama was shown to be able to cast genjutsu to lock a target in perpetual darkness that even Hiruzen Sarutobi could not dispel. He also mentioned that he had the ability to send his soul to help a dying Sasuke, and would have, had he not been immobilised by Madara's black receivers.

Nature Transformation
Tobirama was able to use all five basic nature transformations, along with Yin and Yang Release. His mastery of Water Release allowed him to create vast quantities of the substance without a present water source, enabling him to use high-level Water Release techniques at any given time; which was by all accounts no easy feat. He could shoot high-pressured streams from his mouth to slice through targets or form needle-shaped projectiles to catch an opponent off-guard while attacking their vital points. He could also create defensive walls or large water dragons to assault his opponent all without a pre-existing water source. In the anime, he could cover an entire battlefield in water and shape it into tendrils to pull targets down with him to drown them.

Space–Time Ninjutsu
Tobirama's skill with various space–time ninjutsu is well-remembered. Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could instantly teleport himself and/or other targets to any location marked with his seal. Should he need to, Tobirama has shown the ability to use another Flying Thunder God user's seal to teleport either himself or others to marked locations by connecting his chakra to their own. Connecting his chakra with others has also allowed Tobirama to monitor a battlefield and individually teleport any number of people, protecting them from harm. By using a marked area or throwing a marked kunai, with precise timing, he could move around an area quickly and strike at the most opportune moment before his opponent could react.

Summoning
Tobirama was especially proficient in Summoning Techniques. His most infamous technique was the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation, which returned the souls of the dead into immortal, regenerating bodies. He invented the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags to take advantage of the revived bodies' natural advantages, using them in kamikaze-like attacks to create near-infinite chains of explosions on a target and was said to use it whenever he needed to clear a map. Tobirama labelled it a kinjutsu in hopes it wouldn't be used by anyone again. It was implied that he never fully-refined this technique as he could only control a small number of reincarnated bodies at once, whose power was limited compared to themselves while alive.

Intelligence
In battle, Tobirama was calculating, striking only when he's confident of success and without any thought of mercy. Very innovative, he having designed a variety of original and equally advanced techniques, including the Impure World Reincarnation, Flying Thunder God Technique, and Shadow Clone Technique. Tobirama was known for launching surprise attacks on opponents who think they've won and have let their guard down. In order to capitalise on every possible advantage, he pays careful attention to every aspect of a battle, analysing opponents' strategies and techniques to discern their purpose, mechanics, and ultimately their weaknesses. He was similarly knowledgeable of skills he has no training in, being able to recognise a toad from Mount Myōboku and their senjutsu or different types of advanced nature transformations.

Konoha Crush
Main article: Konoha Crush

Orochimaru invades Konoha so that he can kill his master, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Because Orochimaru wants Hiruzen to experience the same thrill of fighting a teacher as he is, he reincarnates Hashirama and Tobirama. Recognising Hiruzen and seeing how old he has gotten, Hashirama realises how long he's been dead. Tobirama, meanwhile, realises that they've been brought back with the Impure World Reincarnation, and therefore will have no choice but to fight Hiruzen. Orochimaru suppresses their personalities and forces them to attack.

Hiruzen struggles to land an attack against Hashirama and Tobirama, their coordination and responsiveness offering him few openings. The few attacks he does land are merely regenerated by their reincarnated bodies. Because killing Orochimaru will not end the Impure World Reincarnation, Hiruzen uses the only option he has left: after creating two shadow clones, he has a clone capture each of the deceased Hokage and use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on them. With their personalities restored, Hashirama and Tobirama apologise for being such troubles to him, just as Hiruzen apologises for the fate he has sentenced them to. He pulls the souls from their reincarnated bodies, feeding them to the Shinigami.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax
Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax

At the request of Sasuke Uchiha, Orochimaru releases the souls of the first four Hokage from the stomach of the Shinigami and then reincarnates them. After taking in their surroundings, Hashirama and Tobirama are excited to meet Minato, the Fourth, and take him as a sign of Konoha's continued prosperity. When Tobirama scolds Orochimaru for his repeated use of the Impure World Reincarnation, Orochimaru instead blames Tobirama for creating it in the first place. He also blames Tobirama for a number of his other actions as Hokage, such as the Konoha Military Police Force that helped foster Uchiha dissent.

Hashirama reprimands Tobirama for not honouring his instructions to treat the Uchiha fairly. When Sasuke threatens to destroy Konoha, Tobirama feels validated in his treatment of the Uchiha and prepares to attack Sasuke, but Hashirama forces him to stop. When they are told of Madara Uchiha's reincarnation and participation in the ongoing Fourth Shinobi World War, Tobirama cannot be reasoned with and only Orochimaru's refined control of the Impure World Reincarnation stops him. Tobirama is forced to standby and listen as Hashirama explains his personal experiences with Madara and the Uchiha, and adds some of his own experiences after Hashirama's story ends. From listening to the four Hokage, Sasuke decides he doesn't want Konoha to be destroyed, as is Madara's current intention. Orochimaru releases the Hokage from his control so that they can help in this goal, and they set out for the site of the Allied Shinobi Forces' battle with the Ten-Tails.

Tobirama arrives on the battlefield shortly after Minato and compliments his speed. Once all the Hokage gather, they combine efforts to erect a barrier around the Ten-Tails to confine it. Tobirama must stay with the barrier in order to keep it active, so he watches as Sasuke and the Allies attack the Ten-Tails. When Obito Uchiha appears on the battlefield and prepares to revive Madara, Tobirama creates two shadow clones to go after Madara. Minato once again beats him to the punch, cutting down Obito before Madara can be revived.

Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki
Main article: Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki

Not only was Madara's revival not his intention, but Minato's attack was too late: Obito seals the Ten-Tails into himself, becoming its jinchūriki. With his new power, Obito rips down the barrier, allowing the Hokage to finally join the fray. While trying to decide how to proceed, Obito cuts through Tobirama and one of Hashirama's wood clones. While the clone restrains Obito, Tobirama tells everyone else to evacuate the area while he uses Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags. The attack has no effect, and Hiruzen and Minato engage Obito while Tobirama regenerates. Once restored, he sends a shadow clone to redirect a Truth-Seeking Ball that's been attached to Minato back to Obito, having earlier branded him with a Flying Thunder God seal.

Tobirama, Minato, Sasuke, and Naruto Uzumaki coordinate efforts to attack Obito with Flying Thunder God Mutually Instantaneous Revolving Technique, but Obito emerges without damage. What's more, from observing that Minato has not regenerated an arm lost to Obito, Tobirama theorises that Obito's Truth-Seeking Balls can nullify the advantages of the Impure World Reincarnation and all other ninjutsu. In a blind gamble, Gamakichi attacks Obito with the Starch Syrup Gun, which actually seems to have some success. Tobirama and Naruto separately realise that Obito is vulnerable to senjutsu. After Naruto enters Sage Mode, Tobirama teleports him above Obito so that he can attack.

With a weakness discovered, Obito traps the Alliance within a barrier so that he can wipe them out with multiple Tailed Beast Balls. Tobirama and Minato decide that they can't teleport all the balls away in time, but Naruto comes up with a way for him and Minato to teleport the entire Alliance to safety. Impressed by their combined efforts, Tobirama assists them after they enter Tailed Beast Modes by teleporting them to Obito for another attack. Obito blocks it this time and counters by creating the Ten-Tails' tree form. The tree's roots start tearing through the Allies and, after fending off some of the roots, Tobirama teleports Naruto, Sasuke, Minato, and Hiruzen together to figure out a new plan. Naruto and Sasuke, with Hashirama's encouragement, lead the Alliance in their attack while Tobirama busies himself with teleporting shinobi to safety when they need it.

Although Obito is defeated and the Ten-Tails is removed from his body, Madara is successfully restored to life. While Madara prepares to become the Ten-Tails' next jinchūriki, Tobirama launches a desperate attack to stop him. Madara pins him with multiple black receivers and they share their mutual contempt for each other. Using what little mobility he has, Tobirama attacks him with Heavenly Weeping to distract Madara while Sasuke attacks him from behind. Madara blocks the attack and, over Tobirama's pleas to stop, mortally wounds Sasuke. Madara leaves and Tobirama can only watch as Sasuke's life fades. Shortly afterwards, Kabuto Yakushi arrives in time to save Sasuke. Once he's well, Sasuke removes the black receivers from Tobirama's body and has him teleport him to Naruto's location to face Madara.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes
Main article: Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes

Despite their efforts, Sasuke and Naruto cannot stop Madara from initiating the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Tobirama and the other Hokage, being the only ones unaffected, converge at the location of a powerful chakra signature, but find only Madara's lower half. Tobirama contemplates using the Impure World Reincarnation on Madara to ask him what happened, but they are stopped by the Sage of the Six Paths. Combining efforts with the spirits of the other dead Kage, they summon Team 7, Madara, and the tailed beasts back from Kaguya's dimension. Madara, dying, has some parting words with Hashirama, after which the Sage returns all the Kage to the Pure Land. As his soul ascends, Tobirama encourages Hashirama to entrust the future with Sasuke and Naruto.

Legacy
Although Tobirama created the Konoha Military Police Force with the intention of pacifying the Uchiha clan, it only exacerbated their feelings of marginalisation and, in effect, cut them off from positions of influence in Konoha. Dissatisfaction with Konoha grew amongst the Uchiha for decades following, eventually culminating in the Uchiha Clan Downfall.

Tobirama would also be responsible in creating several vital institutions for Konoha such as the Academy, the Anbu, and the Chūnin Exams which would help Konoha bond many of the clans together to fight for Konoha and would also help Konoha foster relationships with the other villages. These institutions were so successful that other villages began implementing their own versions of them in their own nations.

His invention of the kinjutsu Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation would play a major role in the Fourth Shinobi World War and ironically would allow Tobirama as well as the other deceased Hokage the ability to assist the Allied Shinobi Forces in the war after they were reincarnated by Orochimaru at the behest of Sasuke Uchiha. The reincarnated Madara Uchiha himself begrudgingly admitted he was thankful to Tobirama for inventing the technique while fighting the reincarnated Hashirama Senju.