Tsunade (Naruto)
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| Tsunade | |
|---|---|
| (綱手) | |
 Tsunade by Masashi Kishimoto |
|
| Debut | Manga Chapter 139 Anime Episode 85 |
| Seiyū | Masako Katsuki Haruhi Terada (as a child) |
| Profile | |
| Age | 51 in Part I 53 in Part II |
| Date of birth | August 2 |
| Blood type | B |
| Height | 163.1 cm |
| Weight | 48.9 kg |
| Notable relatives | Nawaki (Brother, deceased) First Hokage (Grandfather, deceased) Second Hokage (Granduncle, deceased) |
| Information | |
| Current rank | Fifth Hokage, (Medical specialist) |
| Current affiliation | Konohagakure |
| Previous team | Team Sarutobi (Third Hokage, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade) |
| Signature jutsu/Kekkei genkai | |
Tsunade is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto.
Tsunade is the granddaughter of the First Hokage, grandniece of the Second Hokage, and the kunoichi of the Legendary Three Ninja (伝説の三忍 Densetsu no Sannin?). She also becomes the Fifth Hokage (五代目火影 Godaime Hokage?) during Part I and is the first female Kage ever seen.
The names of Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru come from Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari (児雷也豪傑物語, "The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya"). The Tsunade in this story excelled in snail magic and was married to Jiraiya. The name "Tsunade" (綱手) means "mooring rope".
The word "Hime" (姫, "Princess") is often attached to Tsunade's name because she is the granddaughter of the First Hokage. However, the real reason people call her Princess might be the sense of awe and fear they have for her, or it could even be a tongue-in-cheek mocking of Tsunade's inflated opinion of herself. In Naruto's case, he refers to her as Tsunade-baa-chan, which means Granny Tsunade, because of her age. Tsunade is also known for her ample chest, though during their childhood, Jiraiya referred to her as "flat-chested Tsunade", for which she'd beat him up (this happened twice in two separate episodes).
Contents |
[edit] Background
As a disciple of the Third Hokage, Tsunade is the kunoichi and genius medical ninja of the Legendary Three Ninja that consists of her fellow teammates, Orochimaru and Jiraiya. Even though she is around 51 years old, her Transformation Technique makes it appear as if she were still 20. Tsunade's transformation is somewhat different from a normal transformation as it does not get dispelled when she is slashed or injured, and she apparently does not have to use any effort to keep it up -- it is a permanent transformation that only gets partially dispelled when she uses her Creation Rebirth, as the seal on her forehead is where she stores the chakra for her transformation.
Tsunade's trademark ability is her inhuman strength, which is derived from her excellent chakra control. By storing chakra and releasing it at the point of contact, she can enhance her strength to the point where she can break through boulders with her bare hands and even lift Gamabunta's giant sword.
During one of the Great Ninja Wars, both her younger brother, Nawaki, and her boyfriend, Dan, were killed. Like Naruto, they both had dreams of becoming the Hokage and protecting the ones they loved. Despite being a medical ninja, Tsunade developed hemophobia due to Dan's death. He had been badly injured with several vital organs damaged and was bleeding heavily. Tsunade had attempted to stop the bleeding but couldn't, which led to his death and her hemophobia. She eventually overcame this phobia while protecting Naruto years later, for the sake of those most precious to her. After Nawaki's and Dan's deaths, she left Konohagakure together with her apprentice and Dan's niece, Shizune.
One of her noteworthy possessions was her grandfather's amulet (The First Hokage), a necklace that could buy up to three mountains. She "lost" it to Naruto in a bet she made with him to prove a point by challenging him to learn the high-level technique Spiraling Sphere in only a week. Even though the people she had given the necklace to up to that point had died shortly after, she decided to give it to Naruto who simply refuses to die until he becomes Hokage (incidentally, out of the previous owners, the only ones not to die shortly after acquiring the necklace went on to become Hokage).
Tsunade often looks to Naruto as her little brother, as he looks like her dead brother, Nawaki, and has the same dreams to become Hokage like him. The two also look alike and behave similarly. In addition, Naruto holds many of the philosophies Dan took to heart. In a way, Naruto is a combination of both of her loved ones, and one thing that drove Tsunade to overcome her fear and protect Naruto when he was attacked by Orochimaru was to help Naruto achieve his dream of becoming Hokage, and to prevent him from ending up with the same fate as Nawaki and Dan.
Tsunade is also a compulsive gambler who has the unfortunate disadvantage of having terrible luck. As a result, she has been elevated to a comical status as "The Legendary Sucker" (伝説のカモ Densetsu no Kamo?) for the gross profits others have made off her misfortune and gambling addiction. In her case, occasional turnings of luck and winning streaks are bad omens. The symbol on the back of her coat, 賭 ("kake"), means "gamble," or "wager," as gambling is one of her favorite pastimes.
After some initial reluctance, Tsunade agreed to take the title of the Fifth Hokage and lead Konohagakure, and later decided to take Sakura as her apprentice. Though she has never told him this, Tsunade is already convinced that Naruto will someday achieve his dream of becoming Hokage.
[edit] Part I
[edit] Tsunade's Decision arc
Tsunade's first appearance in the series is during the Tsunade's Decision arc. Naruto and Jiraiya had set out on a quest to find her in order to have her become the Fifth Hokage. Orochimaru was looking for her as well, as her skills were the key to healing his sealed arms.
Orochimaru tried to sway Tsunade into healing his arms by offering to bring back to life her deceased brother, Nawaki, and deceased boyfriend, Dan. Tsunade considers the offer at first, especially since Orochimaru is aware of her hemophobia.
After Jiraiya and Naruto arrive to bring Tsunade back to Konoha, she mocks the position, much to Naruto's annoyance. After they get into a short and completely futile fight, Naruto attempts to use an incomplete Spiraling Sphere|Spiraling Sphere on her. She merely shatters the ground beneath him to dodge the attack, then berates Jiraiya for teaching Naruto a move he can't possibly learn. When Naruto insists that he can, she offers to give him her incredibly valuable necklace if he can do so in a week. She's also reminded of her deceased loved ones when Naruto mentions his dream of becoming Hokage.
Jiraiya eventually convinced Tsunade to side with Konoha instead of helping Orochimaru. Instead of trying to heal Orochimaru, she attempted to kill him, but was stopped by Kabuto Yakushi. She then proceeded to battle the pair on her own. While neither was a match for her, Kabuto exploited Tsunade's hemophobia to disable her.
After Naruto steps in to fight Kabuto, using his Spiraling Sphere to disable him, Kabuto severely injures him. Having severed Naruto's heart muscles during the attack, Kabuto insists that Naruto can't be saved. Getting over her hemophobia, Tsunade proves him wrong.
During the fight, Orochimaru had questioned her actions as she stood protectively over an unconscious Naruto, and Tsunade had replied that it was because Naruto was going to be a future Hokage, before determinedly announcing, "Because...from today onwards, I am the Fifth Hokage!" After the fight, she symbolically plants a kiss on Naruto's forehead, as she did with Nawaki and Dan when she gave them the First Hokage's necklace, professing her belief and support of Naruto's dream of becoming a Hokage.
Tsunade appears in several fillers, mostly sending ninjas out on missions. On two occasions she uses a different method each time to assign the ninjas. One involves tokens with faces on them (Naruto, Kiba, etc.), and the second involves cards with faces on them.
[edit] Part II
After the timeskip, trouble begins to loom for the Fifth Hokage. Not only does the Konoha council question how she treats Naruto, but even her attendant Shizune, one of the people she trusts the most, begins to doubt the wisdom of her decisions. However, much like most other people Naruto encounters, Shizune is later swayed to believe that he will one day achieve greatness.
Then there is Danzo, a hawk and fierce opponent of the Third Hokage who doesn't like the fact that Tsunade is now Hokage. It was thought that he was/is even planning a coup d'état with the help of Konoha's mortal enemy Orochimaru and utilizing the ANBU department "Root", which he commands. The Fifth is at least somewhat aware of Danzo's treachery, specifically ordering Yamato to keep an eye out for anything suspicious while on Team 7's mission to the Grass Country.
[edit] Current Arc
In Chapter 312, Tsunade receives news from an ANBU, most likely information about Akatsuki. In a brief conversation with Shizune, she decides to "pay them a little visit". This implies that Tsunade knows where Akatsuki (or some of its members) currently are. In Chapter 317, she orders Shizune to mobilize the Niju Shotai in the wake of the recent attack in one of the temples of the Land of Fire, whose job is to hunt down and capture Akatsuki members. In the following chapter, she briefed the new task force to search for and destroy the Akatsuki. In Chapter 330, she got word that Asuma died on the mission. She was going to tell this to Kurenai herself, but Shikamaru insisted that he should do it, as Asuma had relayed something else Kurenai had to be told. In chapter 331 she stops Team 10 and tells Shikamaru that he is acting rashly and that they shouldn't leave without a captain. Kakashi arrives from the shadows and volunteers to go as their captain, so they head off. Later, Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura are having a meeting to discuss Naruto's training, where Tsunade relays a 24 hour time limit through Sakura for Naruto to finish perfecting his new jutsu, and if he is unsuccessful then Team 7 will not be allowed to provide backup for Team 10.
