I really don't care who is stronger, honestly. I think this argument is pointless, but there is a reason Kishi said that about both of them. He didn't forget that he did, he hasn't shown prime Hiruzen except in a brief dialogue flashback. If he wanted to have him come back as an Edo (yes I know it is impossible logically), but if he did, he could easily level him up to match his hype, just as he did for hashirama.
As for the RDS. It was his only option to defeat his three adversaries. He was facing a reanimated Hashirama AND Tobirama, and the only way to defeat them is to seal them. He was also facing Orochimaru who admitted to him that he can not be destroyed, that his soul was forever bound to that realm. Even if he killed him he could simply come back in another body and still be a threat. RDS was the only way to defeat all three of them. It would seal the four of them away forever, never being able to be revived, forever eliminating the possibility of any them, including himself, to be a threat to Konoha. PLUS it was Kishi's way of giving us a little taste of how Naruto and the Kyuubi came to be. When I first saw that spiral on his stomach I was like " OH ISH! Is that how Naruto had the nine tails put inside him?!"
It was a last resort because he had no other choice to guarantee victory and safety for Konoha. I don't care what you guys think, I think Hiruzen went out like a BOSS!!! Defeating his senseis and pupil in one fell swoop.
I would like to see how boss-like Hashirama's death was. I bet it was epic.
As for the RDS. It was his only option to defeat his three adversaries. He was facing a reanimated Hashirama AND Tobirama, and the only way to defeat them is to seal them. He was also facing Orochimaru who admitted to him that he can not be destroyed, that his soul was forever bound to that realm. Even if he killed him he could simply come back in another body and still be a threat. RDS was the only way to defeat all three of them. It would seal the four of them away forever, never being able to be revived, forever eliminating the possibility of any them, including himself, to be a threat to Konoha. PLUS it was Kishi's way of giving us a little taste of how Naruto and the Kyuubi came to be. When I first saw that spiral on his stomach I was like " OH ISH! Is that how Naruto had the nine tails put inside him?!"
It was a last resort because he had no other choice to guarantee victory and safety for Konoha. I don't care what you guys think, I think Hiruzen went out like a BOSS!!! Defeating his senseis and pupil in one fell swoop.
I would like to see how boss-like Hashirama's death was. I bet it was epic.