Tsunade is the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. She has had a perilous journey in Naruto and ultimately attained the position of the Fifth Hokage, despite initially considering that being a Hokage is a Fool’s Job.
Nevertheless, meeting the protagonist changed her and her ideologies. Her title, The Legendary Sucker, generated due to her bad luck in gambling, made her stand out.
She is extremely powerful and while Hashirama Senju did not pass on all of his abilities to her, there is one aspect that fans suspect Tsunade has.
Tsunade’s Slug Sage Ability and its Origin in Naruto
The Slug Sage Mode allows its user to absorb natural energy and blend it with their own chakra pool. This allows them to make senjutsu. While the technique is being used, face markings appear on the user.
The road to acquire this mode is extremely tough. A person is required to eat a special concoction offered by the Great Slug Sage at Shikkotsu Forest. It is made from a poisonous fungus and once it is consumed, the mind has to undergo intense visual and mental experiences and survive. Only then would the body accept the power without any reservation.
In fact, if the person is not capable enough, then the poisonous drink would shut down each body organ one by one till they die. Tsunade learned this technique, but no one knows how she came upon it. She never mentioned if she went through the poisonous drink procedure or if the First Hokage himself taught the Slug Sage Mode to her.
Did Tsunade Inherit Slug Sage from Hashirama?
Hashirama Senju had one of the most powerful Sage Mode ever encountered in Naruto. Another technique exclusive to him was the Wood Release. It allowed Hashirama to convert his chakra into lifeforce. The technique could have allowed Hashirama to access natural energy. This might have been one of the reasons how Hashirama could use the Sage Mode continuously for an extended period of time.
A theory suggests that Hashirama might have learned his Sage Mode from the Shikkotsu Forest. Hashirama’s medical ninjutsu, vast chakra reserves as well as usage of natural energy might have made him an ideal candidate for becoming a Slug Sage.
Tsunade on the other hand could summon Katsuyu but never achieved Sage Mode. At the end of the day, she is the granddaughter of the First Hokage and must have inherited some of the qualities that made Hashirama great. In fact, she also inherited his Will of Fire. This ability led her to create Ninja Art Creation Rebirth — Strength of a Hundred Technique.
Since Tsunade is a descendant of both Senju and Uzumaki Clans, she inherited their life force and physical energy, which allowed her to battle head-on with villains despite having a comparably frail body. All of these point towards the fact that Tsunade’s heritage indeed helped her summon segments of Katsuyu. Or, it could have been the first Hokage himself who taught her how to control the power.
You can read Naruto on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
