How did Hashirama Senju die in Naruto? Explained

The Senju name in the Naruto series is well-known. It was a clan known for its prowess in ninjutsu and overall combat abilities.

Members of the Senju clan were direct descendants of Asura, the son of Hagoromo, as was Hashirama Senju. He is the strongest and most popular member of the Senju clan. His strength and abilities were unparalleled and this earned him the title of “God of Shinobi”.

Despite such tremendous feats, he often clashed with Madara and the entire Uchihan clan. Since the show didn’t provide any information on this, fans always wondered how Hashirama Senju died in the series.

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Naruto: Understanding the nature of Hashirama’s death

Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi (Image via Pierrot)

With someone who has Hashirama's skills, it was obvious that someone was going to challenge him, and there was only one person who could push him to his limits. That person was Madara Uchiha, the pride of his clan.

Madara Uchiha was one of the strongest Uchiha clan members who repeatedly fought against Hashirama, which turned into a massive rivalry. However, there was a point when peace was achieved between the Uchiha and the Senju clan. Following this, Konohgakure was founded.

Madara Uchiha, one of the strongest members of the Uchiha clan (Image via Pierrot)

That being said, the Uchiha clan grew impatient and angry as they felt like their clan was not represented. One thing led to another, and Hashirama found himself battling Madara to death.

This is considered one of the best fights in the Naruto series. Madara had Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and managed to get the Nine-Tailed Beast under his control.

However, his efforts didn’t pay off as Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, managed to beat Madara Uchiha. While most people thought that Madara was dead, he ended up using Izanagi to escape death.

Madara vs Hashirama (Image via Pierrot)

If Madara didn’t kill Hashirama in the Naruto series, then who did? It is important to note that the Naruto series had a ton of plot holes and inconsistencies.

Hashirama’s death was not shown in the series. If that were the case, the most logical answer one could have for this question is natural death. If Hashirama died of natural causes, it wasn’t an important event that needed to be shown in the flashback.

Tsunade and Hashirama (image via Pierrot)

Therefore, it is highly likely that he died of natural causes in the Naruto series. There’s one more fact that could support the aforementioned statement. We know that Hashirama was alive when Tsunade was born. This is proof that Hashirama was old and alive, implying that his death was most probably due to natural causes.

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Final thoughts

There are plenty of minute details such as this that haven’t been covered in the Naruto series. Kishimoto has created one of the most influential anime and manga series, but unfortunately, it isn’t perfect.

There are inconsistencies in the series and therefore, certain questions have gone unanswered. Similarly, the anime and manga series didn’t particularly mention the cause of Hashirama’s death. However, there’s evidence to suggest a death due to natural causes.