*puts on tin foil hat* Mini rant alert! I will always think that this was some unexplored plot point. The scar on the mountain appears in so many official illustrations and manga pages, just what was the intent there? I can’t see Kishimoto drawing that mark and not thinking “wow, doesn’t that look exactly like Iruka?”.
Maybe one of the reasons why Hiruzen had a soft spot for Iruka was that he was reminded so much of his own sensei (Hashirama). When Hiruzen died, his face on the mountain was scarred, a bad omen (Seen by both Iruka and Konohamaru, interestingly enough).
Maybe when Hashirama died, his mountain figure was damaged too? Perhaps Iruka’s scar is actually a birthmark? In any case, it’s really too bad this wasn’t expanded upon, but it’s fun to think about what could have been. Iruka is definitely in many ways, Hashirama’s spiritual successor. (I’ve alway toyed with the idea of having Iruka dressed as Hashirama for school purposes (maybe Kakashi as Tobirama? haha), only to scare the hell of Tsunade when she sees a clone of her Grandfather walking about). Also, I might do another post about Konohamaru and Iruka, which I think is another really interesting, unexplored relationship.
I’d love to hear what you think!
*end of mini rant*
I can't believe it's been nearly 8 years since I posted this but for those interested in the Iruka-Hashirama theories this is for you. By the end of the series, we know Reincarnation is a real concept in Naruto and Kishimoto uses the themes of cycles often. Kakashi and Iruka bear many similarities in design, roles and themes to Hashirama and Tobirama (and still have great relationships with Sarutobi descendants in Konohamaru and Mirai (her name quite literally means 'future').














