In the Naruto universe, there are things called Kekkei Genkai, which are abilities that are unique to the family or clan that use them. They are passed down genetically and are very powerful in most cases. Today we are going to explain a special kind of Kekkei Genkai – the Sharingan.
Throughout all of Naruto, we learn about many different cultures and abilities. The eye-techniques (jap. Dojutsu) are among the most powerful in the whole series. The sheer amount of possibilities a user has with these techniques can be a lot to take in. The Sharingan is definitely the most complicated one to explain, which is why we're here to help.
The Sharingan – What Is That?
Arguably the most iconic eye-technique is the Uchiha's Sharingan. An Uchiha clan member can awaken its first stage, when they have a highly emotional experience.
Sasuke, for example, awakened his Sharingan after witnessing the death of his clan and Obito got his eyes due to his immense resolve to protect his teammates in the third great ninja war.
The base Sharingan has three stages, which are visible through the numbers of Tomoe in the eye.
In summary, the Sharingan has two main functions. It heightens the user's vision to the point that they can evade attacks perfectly and even copy other people's jutsu, and it can put people under illusions, that can incapacitate and or control them.
But there are two other abilities, that are so powerful, that they are forbidden for Uchiha to use. Izanagi and Izanami.
Izanagi is used to rewrite reality, turning it into an illusion that has never happened. Say, you, a Sharingan user, got stabbed in combat and the wound would be fatal. Then you can use Izanagi, to turn the moment you got stabbed into an illusion that never happened, leaving you unscathed.
The drawback of this technique is, that the Sharingan that was used for Izanagi loses all its power forever.
Izanami is its counterpart. Its user chooses two moments in time and "records" reality in that timespan.
The victim will then be trapped in an illusion that loops everything that has happened between moment A and moment B infinitely.
The victim is basically powerless against this technique, but the user's Sharingan fades away as well.
But wait, there's more!
The Mangekyou Sharingan
This is the Sharingan's ultimate form and is unlocked by the user experiencing an extreme amount of stress or trauma, for example killing a loved one.
The designs of the Mangekyou Sharingan, as well as its abilities, are unique to its users. There is only one technique that all of them share, the Susano'o.
The Susano'o is a massive armor made of chakra that has incredible durability and offensive capabilities. It can devastate armies and withstand damage that would normally destroy cities.
The main drawback of using the Mangekyou Sharingan is, that with frequent use, the user's eyes go blind and lose their power. In contrast to the Izanagi or the Izanami, this doesn't happen instantly.
To really understand the scope of power that these eyes have, one has to look at the unique abilities of the known Mangekyou users in Naruto.
Itachi And His Sharingan
Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan posesses two abilities that are distinct from one another.
The first is the Amaterasu, an inextinguishable black flame that burns for seven days.
The other one is the Tsukuyomi, which is known for being one of the most powerful Genjutsu (illusion technique) in the Naruto universe.
When Itachi makes eye contact with his victim, he can trap them in an illusion where he has complete control of space and time.
Kakashi, who is an elite ninja by the way, got caught in this jutsu and was put in a coma for weeks. In what seemed to be three seconds for his comrades, Kakashi was tortured for 72 hours in Itachi's illusion.
Sasuke And His Sharingan
Sasuke also possesses the ability to use Amaterasu, but his other ability, called Inferno Style: Flame Control (Enton: Kagutsuchi), works in tandem with the black flame.
It allows Sasuke to shape Amaterasu's flames at will, which makes it much more versatile than Itachi's version of it.
It is basically a chakra nature that is unique to Sasuke, since he has combined its power with many of his other abilities, for example the Chidori.
Obito And His Sharingan
Obito uses the Kamui in both his eyes. His right eye is used to transport himself and objects or people he can touch into a pocket dimension. With this, he can phase through attacks without taking any damage.
His left eye, which he gave to Kakashi, can transport far away objects or people into the same pocket dimension. There is only one occurence in the show, where we see the full potential of this ability, when Kakashi is briefly able to use both eyes.
I would say that Kamui, when used with both parts of the ability, is the most powerful of all techniques in Naruto.
Shisui And His Sharingan
Not much is known about Shisui's second ability, but the one we do know is the pinnacle of Genjutsu in all of Naruto. The Kotoamatsukami is pretty straightforward.
It allows the user to completely take control of its victim. Itachi used Shisui's eye on himself to break out of Kabuto's control during the fourth great ninja war.
But of course an ability like this has to have a catch, which it definitely has. Once it is used, it can only be used again after ten years.
Did this explanation help? Do you think the Sharingan is the most powerful Kekkei Genkai in Naruto? Tell us in the comments!