Enma: The Living Staff of the Third Hokage

Trapped in Hashirama's wood during the invasion of Konoha, the Third Hokage strikes the ground. The summon that answers does not throw itself at the enemy: it turns into a staff. Enma, the Monkey King, owes his interest less to his size than to what he becomes in his summoner's hands.

An Old Monkey Wearing the Konoha Headband

His full name is "Enma, the Monkey King" (猿猴王・猿魔), where the kanji 猿魔 pair the monkey with the demon. The manga also nicknames him the "Old Monkey" (老猿, Roen): white fur, sideburns and a goatee, a tiger-striped vest. He wears the Konoha headband on his forehead — other summons wear it elsewhere, like Ningame, Might Guy's turtle, who wears it around his neck.

Enma is the personal summon of Hiruzen Sarutobi, and not a contract handed down among the Sarutobi, whose family secret is Fire Release (Katon). His register is not that of a submissive familiar: he speaks to the Hokage as an equal and reproaches him for having spared Orochimaru.

The Staff Is Not an Object: It Is Him

His signature technique, "Transformation - Adamantine Staff" (変化・金剛如意, Henge - Kongo Nyoi), derives from the Transformation Technique. Hence the nuance: the staff is not a weapon the Third owns, it is Enma transformed. The term 金剛 (kongo) refers to the vajra, the Japanese equivalent of "adamantine": the object has the hardness of diamond and lengthens at will — the second databook credits only that lengthening, the thickening being shown in the anime alone. Enma can also make claws or fangs emerge from the staff, and move within it on his own until he returns to Hiruzen.

Despite the technique's name, this staff is not invulnerable, only extraordinarily hard: Enma feels pain in it and admits that contact with the Sword of Kusanagi would leave him aching. His second technique, "Adamantine Prison Wall" (金剛牢壁, Kongo Roheki), multiplies him through Shadow Clone Jutsu into small interlocking staffs, which absorb a massive attack or hold an opponent until he releases him.

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Entering the Fray in the Duel of the Hokage

Hiruzen, pinned down by the Wood Release (Mokuton) of the First Hokage, summons Enma and turns him into a staff to break free, then attacks Orochimaru, who parries with the Kusanagi; the cage comes into play only afterward, against Hashirama's wood.

The setting deserves a correction. Orochimaru raises three coffins with Edo Tensei (Reanimation Jutsu), but only two open: Enma faces the First and Second Hokage, never all three predecessors. The third does contain Minato Namikaze, whose soul, locked inside the Shinigami's stomach, escapes the technique.

What Really Happens at the Fatal Moment

After disarming Orochimaru, the Third begins the Reaper Death Seal on his former student's soul, then finds he no longer has the strength to tear it out whole. The Sannin then recalls his blade from a distance. Enma, restrained, fails to intercept it: the blade lodges in Hiruzen despite his attempt, and he grabs it only after the impact, merely preventing Orochimaru from finishing off the Hokage. Writing that he "protects Hiruzen from the sword" reverses the scene.

That reprieve is enough for the Shinigami to sever the arms of Orochimaru's soul: it is the Hokage and the Shinigami who seal, never Enma. Another correction for anyone rereading the invasion of Konoha: the Hokage dies from the seal, which dooms its user, not from the sword blow. Enma then pulls the blade out of his old friend's body himself, salutes the death of a true ninja, then vanishes taking the Kusanagi with him — and the manga never says how Orochimaru recovers it.

After Hiruzen: The Nine-Tailed Fox, the War, and Enra

Enma already stands at Hiruzen's side the night Kurama attacks the village; the scene where he pushes the Nine-Tailed Fox back beyond the village limits, however, belongs to the anime alone.

His last appearance is not the invasion, contrary to what many articles repeat. Brought back by the Edo Tensei during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Hiruzen summons him again in the manga: in staff form, he destroys the branches of the God Tree to free Naruto. The irony is complete: this return is due to Orochimaru freeing the souls of the first four Hokage from the Shinigami's stomach, undoing the seal that had cost Hiruzen his life. The rest belongs to the anime, including an original Boruto arc where Konohamaru summons Enra, another white monkey.

Sun Wukong and the Confusion with the Four-Tails

Enma is an openly acknowledged caricature of Sun Wukong, the hero of "Journey to the West": tiger skin, an extendable staff with golden end caps. The homage stops at the visual, however. The novel's weapon is called Ruyi Jingu Bang (如意金箍棒), while Kishimoto coins "Kongo Nyoi" (金剛如意) by recombining the elements: reading that Naruto "takes over Sun Wukong's staff" is inaccurate in the strict sense.

That leaves the most stubborn confusion: Enma is not Son Goku, the Four-Tails. The first is a summon bound by contract to a shinobi; the second is a tailed beast whose jinchuriki was Roshi of Iwagakure, and Son Goku presents himself as the "Handsome Monkey King" (美猿王). It is to him that the story attributes a monkey people: no simian territory is ever named, whereas the great summoning contracts have an identified location. His reputation as the most powerful animal summon comes from a fanbook, not from a databook entry.

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Summary Table

FAQ

• Who is Enma in Naruto?
  Enma, "the Monkey King," is the personal summon of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. He is a large white monkey wearing the village's forehead protector, who transforms into a staff with the hardness of the vajra, extendable at will, and enters the story during the invasion of Konoha.
• Is Enma's staff really indestructible?
  No, and that is the most common mistake. The term 金剛 (kongo) refers to the vajra, a synonym for adamantine: the staff has the hardness of diamond, but Enma remains alive inside it and admits that the Sword of Kusanagi would leave him aching. So he is not invulnerable, only extremely hard.
• Are Enma and Son Goku, the Four-Tails, the same character?
  No, they are two distinct characters, despite a shared inspiration. Enma is a summon bound by contract to Hiruzen, while Son Goku is a tailed beast whose jinchuriki was Roshi of Iwagakure. It is to the Four-Tails that the story attributes a monkey people, never to Enma.
• What is Enma's exact role in the death of the Third Hokage?
  He frees Hiruzen from the Wood Release, serves as his staff against Orochimaru, then shields him from the wood with his cage. At the decisive moment, restrained, he fails to intercept the blade recalled from a distance and grabs it only afterward. That reprieve allows the Shinigami to sever the arms of the Sannin's soul.
• Does Enma reappear after Hiruzen's death?
  Yes, and in the manga, not only in the anime. Brought back by the Edo Tensei after Orochimaru freed the souls of the first four Hokage, Hiruzen summons him again during the Fourth Great Ninja War: in staff form, he breaks the branches of the God Tree to free Naruto. Only the Boruto anime then continues the line, with Enra.

In summary

Enma holds a singular place: neither a mount nor a siege beast, but a comrade in arms who turns himself into a tool without ever ceasing to judge the man who calls him. Remembering him as the Third's indestructible staff misses the point: the hardness of the vajra is not invulnerability.