What She REALLY Looks Like
source: naruto.fandom.com
Tsunade is the fifth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and one of the three legendary Sannin. She is both a brute fighter and a soft and caring leader, making her one of the most complex and mysterious characters in the whole Naruto universe.
But the version of Tsunade you see in most Naruto episodes is not her true form. Who is this mysterious healer? And what does she really look like?
You may be shocked to see the real Tsunade!
We’ll show you her true form below and give you a quick run-through of her past, love interests, personality, and abilities.
What Is Tsunade’s True Form?
Tsunade normally appears as a beautiful woman in her twenties or thirties in Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden. But this isn’t her true form. You can see Tsunade’s true form in the image below.

We’ve only seen a few glimpses of Tsunade’s true form, and we’ve never seen a complete image of her true self. Tsunade would appreciate this, as she avoids showing her true form at any cost. She has only revealed her true form when completely depleted of chakra reserves and unable to use her beauty technique.
What is Tsunade’s Age?
This is a question many fans ask because it’s impossible to tell how old Tsunade is by her looks alone. There is no way someone as old as Jiraya could look so youthful, right? We know that Tsunade hides her real appearance, so let’s get to the point and find out how old Tsunade is.
In the first part of Naruto, Tsunade is around 50 years old. In Naruto: Shippuden, she is 55 years old. Tsunade also appears in the Boruto series, set around 15 years after the events of Shippuden, making her the youngest-looking 70-year-old grandma.
Tsunade’s Real Appearance
Even if she is in her fifties, Tsunade looks like she is around twenty to thirty years old. As a descendant of Hajirama, she has an enormous amount of chakra, which is stored in the Strength of a Hundred Seal (a seal that can be seen on her forehead). She has amazing control over this seal, allowing her to manipulate her appearance.
She demonstrates her chakra control by using the Transformation Technique, allowing her to look younger (except to Naruto, who doesn’t care and still calls her “grandma Tsunade”).
However, if Tsunade’s chakra reserves are depleted, her appearance changes to reflect her true age. This can be seen when she healed the whole village after the fight with Pain ended.
So, why did she look 70 to 80 years old at the end of the Pain arc? The technique she used caused her cells to reproduce rapidly, and since people’s cells can reproduce only so much, this aged her body considerably.
Tsunade’s Origin
Tsunade is the granddaughter of the great Hashirama Senji, the first Hokage, and his wife, Mito Uzumaki. While it’s not clarified in the anime, many fans believe she is related to Naruto because she has Uzumaki blood. The evidence is here, so make your guess.
After graduating from Konoha’s ninja academy, she became a part of Hiruzen Sarutobi’s team along with Jiraya and Orochimaru. The three then worked together and had very successful missions, which eventually led to them becoming the Konoha’s Legendary Sannin.
Tsunade’s Abilities
As one of the strongest kunoichi, Tsunade held her ground and was directly responsible for the defeat of Hanzo. This was one of the main reasons for Konoha’s victory in the Second Shinobi War.
Unfortunately, her brother died in this war. This event motivated her to start advising for the inclusion of medical-nin on all of the squads. She believed that by doing this, many deaths would be avoided in future missions and wars.
As one of the strongest practitioners of medical ninjutsu, Tsunade can summon Katsuyu, a slug from the Shikkotsu Forest. This slug has the ability to divide into multiple smaller slugs that attach to her allies.
By doing this, Tsunade can communicate with her allies while healing them and replenishing their chakra.
Apart from being one of the best medical ninjas in the Naruto series, she is also known for her taijutsu abilities, which are important for keeping enemies away.
Tsunade’s Love Interests
Tsunade’s first and true love was Dan Kato, who was a jonin shinobi. After his little sister died, he started to advise the usage of medical ninjas in every battle. As mentioned before, Tsunade had the same beliefs and shared the same pain with Kato. This shared passion brought them closer together.
When they were together, Kato shared with her his dream of becoming a Hokage so he could protect everyone in the Leaf Village. Tsunade put her whole trust in him and even gave him her grandfather’s necklace to guide and help him as he sought to accomplish this dream.
Not long after this, Dan fought in the Second Great Ninja War, and he was a big part of Konoha’s success. Unfortunately, after being gravely injured, he died in Tsunade’s arms.
To honor his memory, Tsunade took his niece, Shizune, as an apprentice.
Tsunade and Jiraya
Jiraya’s feelings for Tsunade go back to the days when they were working together as a team at the academy and later as the Legendary Sannin. Tsunade, however, was not ready to love again after the two men she loved most died in battle.
During a tender scene in the Pain arc, Tsunade and Jiraya speak with one another, and we can see how strong their feelings are. But, both know that they can never be together. Then, with tears in her eyes, Tsunade watches as Jiraya leaves, knowing that he might never come back.
This is one of the saddest scenes in the series, as it makes Jiraya the third person Tsunade loves to die in battle.
Tsunade’s Relationship with Naruto
We all know that Naruto is loved by many. However, the love Tsunade has for him is special. In Naruto, she saw her little brother’s positivity as well as Dan Kato’s ambition of becoming a Hokage.
Tsunade loved Naruto as if he was her child. This can be seen from the very first time they meet. She was touched by Naruto’s persistence and everything he said to her.
Tsunade didn’t hesitate to put her trust in Naruto when she gave him the First Hokage’s necklace. With Tsunade’s guidance, Naruto never gave up and became the Seventh Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Final Words
Tsunade will always be loved by the fans, as she is one of the most important ninjas, Hokage, and leaders of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Even if we rarely see Tsunade’s true form, we know that what really matters is on the inside—not Tsunade’s outer appearance. She proved herself to be a strong shinobi with great qualities. And, despite all of her traumatic experiences, she was still willing to help everyone.
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