Throughout Konoha's history, several Hokage have been hailed as the "Strongest Hokage." The Third Hokage was one of them.
He was also famously known as the "Professor" and the "God of Shinobi."
To sum up his sheer badassery in a single sentence: he was the direct disciple of both the First Hokage (Hashirama Senju) and the Second Hokage (Tobirama Senju), and he had mastered every single jutsu in Konoha outside of Kekkei Genkai and exclusive clan secrets.
Mastered...
Think about Kamishiro for a second. Even with his terrifyingly fast comprehension and learning speed, how many jutsu had he actually mastered so far? From that perspective, the Third Hokage truly deserved the title of "God of Shinobi."
But as for his title of the "Strongest Hokage"... well, that was debatable. Especially after the First Hokage's completely broken, game-crashing power levels were revealed later on in history, Hiruzen's "Strongest" title felt a bit like a running joke.
But even if he wasn't the absolute strongest, no one could deny that he was incredibly powerful.
Looking at the official databook stats: at sixty-nine years old, long past his physical prime, his Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Intelligence, and Hand Seals were all still maxed out. Only his Strength, Speed, and Stamina had severely decayed due to old age.
So, what about the Third Hokage right now? A man barely in his fifties, still standing at the absolute zenith of his ninja career?
Simply put, this was a man who could easily score a perfect 80/80 on the stat chart.
He was a master of all five basic chakra natures. His ability to weave composite ninjutsu was unrivaled in the entire ninja world. Mastering all five natures... that was one of Kamishiro's ultimate goals.
Years later, his prized pupil—Orochimaru of the Sannin—would say of the Third Hokage: "If you were ten years younger, you would have killed me effortlessly." Orochimaru might have been acting arrogant, or he might have just been stating a terrifying fact.
During the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars, the Third Hokage was a walking nuclear deterrent.
Right now, this version of the Third Hokage had vast reserves of chakra and could spam ultimate jutsu without breaking a sweat. And this very Hokage was about to step onto the battlefield—not as a commander in a tent, but as a combatant.
"Before the Sand has time to redeploy or reinforce their defenses, we will launch an all-out assault on their entire defensive line within the next three to five days. Our strategic objective: push directly into the Land of Wind and force the Kazekage to sign a surrender treaty."
The Third Hokage traced a rough invasion route across the hanging map as he spoke.
"Lord Hokage, isn't that timeline a bit rushed?" Minato Namikaze asked.
Minato usually operated on the Stone and Cloud fronts, where the pressure was heaviest, but after Kushina's crisis, he had temporarily relocated here. Since the Hokage was determined to decisively end the war on this front, Minato stayed to help.
His concern was valid. Throwing thousands of newly arrived Konoha reinforcements into a massive offensive almost immediately felt hasty.
However, the Third Hokage saw it differently. "Your concern is valid, Minato. But this is an opportunity we cannot miss. We might not be perfectly prepared, but the essentials are in place. We have roughly 5,000 combat-ready ninja right now. The Sand forces opposite us can match that number at absolute best. It's a perfect window to strike. If we sit around waiting until we are perfectly ready, the enemy will use that time to recover as well."
"To put it simply, the enemy is weak and we are strong. Now is the time to strike."
"Understood." Minato nodded, raising no further objections.
The aura of the Third Hokage on a battlefield was completely different from the mild-mannered old man sitting in an office in Konoha.
"Furthermore, Tsunade will assume full command of this operation," the Hokage declared.
"Me?" Tsunade was visibly stunned. "Why me? What about you, Lord Third?"
Konoha operated under an absolute dictatorship. The Hokage was the supreme authority. By all rights—experience, status, and morale—the Hokage should be commanding this final battle.
"Because when the operation begins, I will be in the first vanguard plunging into the enemy lines. I need to shatter their formations the moment the battle starts."
Tsunade, Minato, and the rest of the commanders exchanged bewildered looks. Did they hear that right?
The Hokage was giving up his command to lead the frontline charge?! No one doubted his strength, but acting as the tip of the spear was not the Hokage's job! It was insanely risky. What if something happened to him in the chaos of a massive battlefield? Frankly, winning this specific battle wasn't nearly as important as keeping the Hokage alive.
"Lord Hokage, that's far too dangerous. The Sand will throw everything they have at us to survive this battle. If you are leading the vanguard, it's a massive security risk..." Minato pleaded.
They all remembered how violently the Sand had swarmed Kushina the moment they realized she was a Jinchuriki. Multiply that suicidal frenzy by ten, and that was how hard they would swarm the Hokage.
"It is exactly because this battle is so crucial that I must take the field personally. I need to crush them as quickly as possible," Hiruzen replied firmly. His tone left no room for argument.
It wasn't about playing the hero. He knew his massive, AoE destructive ninjutsu could instantly obliterate the Sand's formations, crippling their ability to counterattack. By doing so during the initial clash, he would save countless Konoha lives.
Konoha wanted to break the Sand and end the war, not engage in a mutually assured destruction meat grinder. The elite ninja Hiruzen had brought were Konoha's absolute last reserves. Every life saved mattered.
If one ninja died, the Hokage could bear it. But what about a hundred? A thousand?
Konoha needed an unstoppable spear to pierce the enemy's heart instantly. And there was no spear sharper than the Third Hokage himself.