Who gave the Sannin their title, and during which war?

Hanzo the Salamander, leader of Amegakure, during the Second Great Ninja War. After Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru were the only ones to survive his assault, he spared them and ordered them to call themselves "the Sannin of Konoha." The title therefore comes from the enemy.

What happened during the Kannabi Bridge mission?

During the Third Great Ninja War, Team Minato is tasked with destroying the Kannabi Bridge, Iwagakure's supply route. Kakashi loses the use of his left eye there while protecting Obito; crushed shortly afterward under a rockslide and believing himself doomed, Obito gives him his left Sharingan, which Rin transplants on the spot. The mission succeeds and the bridge falls, but Obito does not really die, and Rin will sacrifice herself later in the same war — two tragedies that will change Konoha and Obito forever.

How did Tobirama Senju die?

During the First War. As Second Hokage, surrounded with his squad by Kumogakure's Kinkaku Force, he sacrificed himself as a decoy to cover his students' escape, but not before first naming Hiruzen Sarutobi as Third Hokage.

What turned the tide of the Third War?

The destruction of the Kannabi Bridge, Iwagakure's supply route, by Team Minato, combined with the power of Minato "the Yellow Flash" — Iwagakure issued a flee-on-sight order against him — which pushed Iwagakure and Konoha toward an armistice.

Are these wars the Fourth Great Ninja War?

No. The Fourth (the Allied Shinobi Forces against Madara/Obito's Akatsuki, the Ten-Tails and Kaguya) comes much later. The first three are mainly about the rivalries between the five nations and the rise of legendary figures.

Les Trois Premières Grandes Guerres Ninja

The First Three Great Ninja Wars

July 13, 2026

1369 words | Reading time: 7 min

UniverseGreat Ninja WarsKonoha

Before the final war, there were three others. The first costs the life of Tobirama, the Second Hokage, who sacrifices himself against Kumogakure's Kinkaku Force. The second sees Hanzo, the enemy, personally grant Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru the title of Sannin. The third, the deadliest, plays out at the Kannabi Bridge, where Obito gives his left Sharingan to Kakashi and where Minato becomes the Yellow Flash.

Before the final great war, there were three others: three conflicts that forged the legends in Naruto, from the Sannin to the Yellow Flash. Here are the First Three Great Ninja Wars.

A Cycle of Wars Between Nations
The First Great Ninja War
The Second Great Ninja War
The Third Great Ninja War
The Kannabi Bridge
Summary Table
FAQ

A Cycle of Wars Between Nations

The Great Ninja Wars pit the five great ninja nations against one another in a recurring struggle for resources and territory. Even the distribution of the tailed beasts by Hashirama was not enough to keep the peace.

Not to be confused with the Fourth Great Ninja War, which comes much later: these three are above all about rivalries between villages and the rise of legendary figures.

Five leaders seated around a pentagonal table on which five Kage hats of different colors are placed — The five great nations gathered around a single table: the balance found there was not enough to prevent the wars.

The First Great Ninja War

An often-overlooked fact: Hashirama dies before the First War even breaks out. It is his brother Tobirama, now the Second Hokage, who leads Konoha during the conflict.

Surrounded by the Kinkaku Force of Kumogakure, Tobirama sacrifices himself as a decoy to cover his students' escape — not without first naming Hiruzen as Third Hokage. The war ends in some twenty years of peace.

Two adults standing behind three children: on the left a man with long black hair, arms crossed, on the right a white-haired man resting his hand on the head of the boy in the middle — Tobirama, on the right, and his students as children during Hashirama's lifetime: it is while covering their escape that he will die during the First War.

The Second Great Ninja War

The Second War plays out largely in Amegakure against Hanzo the Salamander. It is there that Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru earn their title of Sannin.

A delicious detail: this title of Sannin is given to them by their enemy, Hanzo himself. It is also during this war that Jiraiya takes in the orphans of Amegakure — Nagato, Yahiko and Konan — to train them.

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In driving rain, three young ninja stand facing a giant salamander with a man on its back; bodies lie in the foreground — Facing Hanzo and his salamander in Amegakure: the three survivors of that encounter come away with the title of Sannin.

The Third Great Ninja War

The Third War is presented as the deadliest: the shortage of manpower sends children who are barely genin into battle.

Two legends emerge from it. Minato Namikaze, nicknamed the Yellow Flash, terrifies Iwagakure so much that a flee-on-sight order is issued against him. And the Third Raikage holds off ten thousand ninja alone for three days, before losing his life doing so.

Sepia image: seen from behind, a lone man with a huge spiky pale mane covering his head and his whole back, shoulders and arms bare, forearms bandaged, facing a long line of soldiers spread out across a plain in the rain — The Third Raikage alone before the enemy army: he holds it back for three days, and loses his life doing so.

The Kannabi Bridge

The most striking episode remains the mission at the Kannabi Bridge. While protecting Obito from an enemy, Kakashi loses the use of his left eye.

Crushed under a rockslide and believing himself doomed, Obito gives his left Sharingan to Kakashi — a gift, not a theft, since Kakashi is not an Uchiha. And Obito, for his part, does not really die...

Later in the same war, Rin will also sacrifice herself, refusing to become a weapon against her own village. These tragedies will change Konoha — and Obito — forever.

Face of a young ninja pinned under a block of rock crushing the left half of his body, blood at his mouth, his right eye red — Obito crushed under the rockslide: it is in this state that he gives his left Sharingan to Kakashi.

Summary Table

War	Key facts
First	Hashirama dead BEFORE the war; Tobirama (Second Hokage) sacrifices himself against Kumogakure's Kinkaku Force → ~20 years of peace
Second	Fighting in Amegakure; Hanzo (the enemy) crowns Jiraiya/Tsunade/Orochimaru "Sannin"; Jiraiya takes in the orphans of Amegakure
Third	The deadliest; Kannabi Bridge (Obito's Sharingan given to Kakashi); Minato "the Yellow Flash"; Rin's sacrifice
Title of Sannin	Awarded by the ENEMY Hanzo in Amegakure during the Second War — neither self-proclaimed nor given by Konoha
Timeline	Canon dates very vague; the only firm marker: about twenty years of peace between the First and Second wars

FAQ

Who gave the Sannin their title, and during which war?
Hanzo the Salamander, leader of Amegakure, during the Second Great Ninja War. After Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru were the only ones to survive his assault, he spared them and ordered them to call themselves "the Sannin of Konoha." The title therefore comes from the enemy.
What happened during the Kannabi Bridge mission?
During the Third Great Ninja War, Team Minato is tasked with destroying the Kannabi Bridge, Iwagakure's supply route. Kakashi loses the use of his left eye there while protecting Obito; crushed shortly afterward under a rockslide and believing himself doomed, Obito gives him his left Sharingan, which Rin transplants on the spot. The mission succeeds and the bridge falls, but Obito does not really die, and Rin will sacrifice herself later in the same war — two tragedies that will change Konoha and Obito forever.
How did Tobirama Senju die?
During the First War. As Second Hokage, surrounded with his squad by Kumogakure's Kinkaku Force, he sacrificed himself as a decoy to cover his students' escape, but not before first naming Hiruzen Sarutobi as Third Hokage.
What turned the tide of the Third War?
The destruction of the Kannabi Bridge, Iwagakure's supply route, by Team Minato, combined with the power of Minato "the Yellow Flash" — Iwagakure issued a flee-on-sight order against him — which pushed Iwagakure and Konoha toward an armistice.
Are these wars the Fourth Great Ninja War?
No. The Fourth (the Allied Shinobi Forces against Madara/Obito's Akatsuki, the Ten-Tails and Kaguya) comes much later. The first three are mainly about the rivalries between the five nations and the rise of legendary figures.

In summary

Three wars, three generations of legends: it is in that blood and those sacrifices that the Sannin, the Yellow Flash and Obito's tragedy were born — the very roots of the Naruto story.