Honestly it's really funny to see people call Hiruzen weak. Why? Cause he has no feats. I'll actually start laughing when he actually starts fighting in the war and he displays high power jutsus. Than all of a sudden people will start calling him powerful like they always thought he was. Honestly why can't people wait till the Hokages start fighting to judge their strength. Just because Tobirama and Hiruzen have not shown their feats does not mean their hype is not true. It just means that they haven't had the chance to show it yet. Geez
Honestly it's really funny to see people call Hiruzen weak. Why? Cause he has no feats. I'll actually start laughing when he actually starts fighting in the war and he displays high power jutsus. Than all of a sudden people will start calling him powerful like they always thought he was. Honestly why can't people wait till the Hokages start fighting to judge their strength. Just because Tobirama and Hiruzen have not shown their feats does not mean their hype is not true. It just means that they haven't had the chance to show it yet. Geez
they were called gods because, konoha saw them as gods due to them being leaders of the most powerful village. nagato was also called god because he was a leader.
For some reason, people have took to debating the title of God of Shinobi. Claiming that since Suigetsu/Orochimaru has labeled Hashirama the God of Shinobi, it makes Hiruzen's nickname obsolete. But that's not the case. Why is that?
Well, first of all, if Hashirama being called that cancels out Hiruzen being named God of Shinobi..then it means it also cancels out Rikudou Sennin being called such.
Hiruzen was the first we saw to be called the God of Shinobi -
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Then we learned of the Rikudou Sennin later on in the manga, and learned that Hiruzen shared the name with him:
Can't find the exact page which called him the God of Shinobi, but this says the same thing, just different wording:
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And as of the past two chapters, we learn of Hashirama sharing the nickname:
Using Suigetsu's comment, but Orochimaru's would suffice as well
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So going off the logic of "Hashirama being called it cancels out Hiruzen", that can't happen. As clearly, Rikudou already canceled out that name. Now Hashirama cancels out his.
But no one is going to argue that, right? Why? Because it isn't a part of some silly "argument" over who is the strongest hokage.
The truth of the matter is, all 3 are God of Shinobi. The people who argue who the title should go to are simply being ignorant towards what God can mean, and probably only think of it in the sense of "well, like in Christianity, there's only one God". That's simply not the case here.
God has several definitions, and there can be more than just one. The fact of the matter is, none of the 3 are Gods by the definitions that the majority of people here seem to go by. None of the 3 created the universe they lived in. None of the 3 had supernatural powers(it's arguable with the sage given ninjutsu, but it's something everyone was capable of learning). None of the 3 were immortal.
Outside of the common definition, here are some of the other things being called God can mean. Simply being worshiped and followed can have you referred to as a God. - This definition fits all 3 of the characters who have been named it. The people followed and worshiped the Sage for saving them from the juubi and teaching them ninjutsu. The people followed and worshiped Hashirama for creating a village and keeping them safe. The people followed and worshiped Hiruzen for "taking the torch" from Hashirama/Tobirama and continuing to lead and protect the village.
Another definition? A man who has talents/qualities that make him superior to other men. - This, once again, fits all 3 of the characters. The Sage was the creator of ninjutsu, so he clearly held a talent/quality superior to other men. Hashirama held the ability to use mokuton(and in return control the tailed beast) and is the only one to ever naturally do so, giving him a talent/quality superior to other men. Hiruzen mastered all 3 ninja arts, something no ninja(that we're aware of) has ever done..giving him a talent/quality superior to other men.
On top of those two definitions, let's not forget how loved they were by the people they guided and protected. The Sage wanted nothing but peace in life, and saved them from what most thought was unstoppable. Hashirama created order and safety by developing Konoha. Hiruzen loved everyone in the village as if they were family(and to him they were), and having reigned as hokage for a total of 30+ years(the longest any Hokage has to date), obviously played a role in continuing to protect them.
When you create such a following by doing such loving actions, people will refer to you as superior to everyone else. They will think of you as more than just another human. Thus, earning these 3 their titles. None of them cancel each other out. It's not a fight for who deserves the title. None of that crap. Lets try and keep that out of the already silly strongest whatever debates.
hashirama was called the god of shinobi on account his techniques can create an entire valley and not to mention completey surprass tailed beast.
Hiruzen was most likely called the god of shinobi in his prime on account he can use many highly kage level techniques in quick succession with out any chakra drops as he had strong chakra simillar to hashirama
