Before the era of ninja villages, Madara, along with his younger brother, Izuna,
were considered the most gifted members of the Uchiha clan. Even by his
clan's standards, Madara's chakra was especially strong.[3] He grew up constantly competing and training with Izuna and in their efforts to surpass each other, each gained their own Mangekyō Sharingan.
With the power of the Mangekyō the two brothers took control of the
clan, with Madara as its leader. Under his leadership, the clan
conquered all they came across. Because of the never-ending series of
battles of the time, Madara eventually began to suffer from overuse of
the Mangekyō Sharingan, leaving him blind. In order to regain his sight
he took Izuna's eyes for himself, granting him an "eternal" Mangekyō
Sharingan with which he led the Uchiha clan to prosperity. While Itachi Uchiha would later go on to state that Madara took Izuna's eyes without his consent, Tobi would state that Izuna willingly gave up his eyes to Madara for the good of his brother and clan. It is unknown which is true.
Konohagakure is formed.
Over the years, the Uchiha had constantly fought with the equally powerful Senju clan and as such, Madara had an undying rivalry with Hashirama Senju,
the leader of the Senju clan. To bring an end to the constant fighting,
Hashirama approached the Uchiha with an offer of peace. Although Madara
never wanted peace with the Senju, the rest of the Uchiha wished to end
the fighting, and Madara had no choice but to accept. The Senju, the
Uchiha, and all the clans they had conquered came together to form the
village of Konohagakure. Some time after this, Madara ended the Uchiha
clan's alliance with what would become Iwagakure and ordered its future
leaders to follow Konohagakure from then on. Some time later, the
villagers of Konoha selected Hashirama as the village's first Hokage
much to Madara's dismay. Madara feared that Hashirama would oppress the
Uchiha, and tried to rally support for challenging his leadership.
Rather than help him, the Uchiha turned their backs on him, believing he
only desired to rekindle the flames of war.
Madara with the Nine-Tails confronting Hashirama.
Abandoned by his clan, Madara left the village, and sought out Kurama. He later returned in order to challenge Hashirama in battle. They fought at the site that would someday be called the Valley of the End,
where Madara was beaten, despite having Kurama at his side. Control of
Kurama was ultimately taken from him and Madara was believed to have
died.[4] Despite losing the battle he was able to survive and gain a part of Hashirama's DNA with which he was able to use the Wood Release. Shortly before his death Madara awakened his own Rinnegan and is also known to have fought with and defeated Ōnoki shortly after the founding of Konoha.
Decades later, a masked-individual known as Tobi
began operating under Madara's name. Tobi is intimately familiar with
Madara's history, sharing his animosity towards Konoha and the Senju and
even going so far as to claim that Izuna willingly gave up his eyes. It
is, therefore, difficult to say which actions were those of Tobi and
which were those of the real Madara. At the very least, Madara is aware
of Tobi's existence. This masked man is known to have manipulated the Fourth Mizukage,[5] been the cause behind the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, participated in the Uchiha clan massacre, and taken a hand in creating and leading Akatsuki.[6]
While many characters are surprised that "Madara Uchiha" could still be
around so many years after his supposed death, they accept Tobi's word
on the grounds that only Madara would be capable of such actions because
of his strength.
While Madara's reincarnation during the Fourth Great Shinobi World War
lends credibility to the belief that he is actually dead, it has been
revealed that he was not killed during his fight with Hashirama at the Valley of the End.[7] When revived, he assumes Nagato was responsible for it.[8]
Personality
Madara was a very confident and prideful man, witnessed in his
belittlement of Ōnoki both after his reincarnation and in the past,[9] and in his berating of Mei Terumī's technique[10]. Conversely, he isn't above praising the abilities of others as he openly called both Mei and A's abilities an impressive offence, and Gaara and Ōnoki's manoeuvre an impressive defence,[11]
also commending them for being able to stop his first meteorite, as
well as commending Naruto for countering his Wood Release attack.
However he has also been shown to be spiteful, degrading Tsunade
while comparing her to her grandfather, after saying he would kill her
because she's a Senju. Madara is, however, an honest individual and is
willing to admit when he is wrong as after Tsunade tag-teamed him with
A, he admitted she was not weak at all. Madara, however, isn't above
reprimanding others for recklessness or stupidity as he criticised
Tsunade for attacking him without thinking of what the other Kage would
do for treatment if she was killed and criticised the five Kage as a
group for worrying too much about the flowers in his technique and not watching their backs. He also has a habit of referring to fighting as 'dancing'.[12]
Madara has a dark sense of humour, as shown when he surrounded each of
the five Kage with wood clones and asked if they preferred the clones to
use Susanoo or not as well as when he referred to incinerating his
forest as creating coal after knocking the five Kage into it. Madara
also believes power is an actual thing and will is not.
As an Uchiha, Madara possesses an innate hatred for the Senju clan,[13] in what is known as the Curse of Hatred,
which dates back to the early days of the ninja world. This curse led
him to oppose the truce fearing that his clan would be oppressed by
them, and when Hashirama was selected to be Hokage instead of Madara, he
defected from Konoha and attempted to attack the village. His animosity
to Hashirama was particularly strong, going as far as to forbid Ōnoki
from mentioning that name in front of him ever again. Nevertheless
Madara possesses a high level of respect for Hashirama and the Senju
name as seen during the Fourth Shinobi World War where he would praise and curse Hashirama or other members of the clan in the same breath.[14]
He also lamented that he would have taught Hashirama how to resurrect
himself if he had known how much weaker the modern day shinobi would be.[15]
Madara was very competitive with his younger brother, Izuna, but Tobi
also implies that Madara and Izuna were close as brothers.
Seemingly treacherous by nature, as after the alliance with Iwagakure ended, he immediately betrayed Mū
and Ōnoki, expecting them to follow Konohagakure's lead from then on,
and the Uchiha clan believed Madara stole Izuna's eyes by force. He is
also a battle-loving individual, commenting that he had not enjoyed this
view in a long time while surveying the battlefield during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Relating to this, Madara enjoys a challenging fight and said that
anything less than the five Kage against him would be inadequate. Madara
is also very bold when it comes to battle, shown in his ready assault
of an entire platoon of shinobi upon being attacked, despite being
severely outnumbered.[16]
Madara is also something of a show off, as shown in his use of
extremely powerful techniques in rapid succession, all the while,
expressing satisfaction to having done it. He also purposely let himself
get hit by Ōnoki's attack in order to show Hashirama's face on his
chest to lower the moral of the Kage. Due to the times he lived in,
Madara believes it is natural for shinobi to spend their entire lives in
battle. He also thinks that the world can't change from what it was in
the past and believes that as such, mankind would be better served
sleeping peacefully in an Infinite Tsukuyomi.[17]
Madara has been described as being hostile and aggressive by
nature as well as being very ambitious, the latter of which was seen
during his rise to the position of clan leader as well as his desire to
make his clan superior out of what Tobi claimed was Madara's great love for them. Madara also views the tailed beasts
as nothing more than masses of energy and tools too lacking in
intelligence to think for themselves and as such, need to be "guided" by
the Uchiha to learn their purpose and believes that they are but slaves
to those with blessed eyes.[18]
Appearance
Madara as he appeared during Konoha's founding.
Madara was a tall, fair-skinned man with spiky, black hair that had a
slight, blue tint to it. In his younger days, his hair was
shoulder-length and he wore the standard Uchiha clan outfit: a high
collared black shirt with the clan's crest on its back, which Madara
tended to leave slightly open, and blue pants with bandages around his
shins. Around his waist, he had a sash that held a sack, presumably
containing his ninja tools.[19]
During later years, his hair grew out more and his sash was replaced by
a belt, adorned with pouches and various weapons. He also wore another
sash strapped across his shoulders which he used to hold his numerous swords.[20]
By adulthood, his hair had grown to waist-length with
shoulder-length bangs framing the sides of his face, the left side
hanging partially over his left eye. Although still relatively young,
more prominent creases had developed under each of his eyes. In most
cases, his attire took the form of the standard shinobi dress of his
era, consisting of bright red traditional armour — similar to that of samurai — worn over a simple black suit. This armour
was constructed from numerous metal plates, formed into multiple
protective guards along his body, in particular: chest, waist, shoulders
and thighs. Unusually, his chest plate left his back entirely exposed,
presumably so as to better display his clan's crest. This clothing was
accompanied by boots and gloves, as well as his village's forehead protector
after the truce with the Senju and founding of Konohagakure, but this
was discarded upon his defection. During battle, he often carried an
orange-coloured war fan on his back that had a mitsudomoe pattern, coloured bright red, in both of the top corners.
After implanting Hashirama's DNA into his body and Kabuto Yakushi's further experimentation, a replica of Hashirama's face appeared on the left side of Madara's chest.[21]
Abilities
Madara is considered by many notable individuals to be one of the
most gifted shinobi in history and the most powerful that has ever been
produced within the Uchiha clan. He has been noted to have been born
with particularly powerful chakra, which even Kurama claimed to be far more sinister than that of its own. Quantity wise, Madara has shown to have massive amounts,[3]
able to use several high-level and chakra-taxing techniques in quick
succession while remaining unfazed. The fact that he fought and survived
every battle he ever fought with Hashirama Senju,
who was recognised as the strongest ninja in the world in his time,
indicates that Madara was also one of the strongest ninja of his time.
Madara is one of the only shinobi in history capable of summoning Kurama, the other being Tobi.[22] However, its sealing inside Mito Uzumaki and later Naruto Uzumaki have left him unable to do so.[23]
Overall, Madara's fame and status was so much, his name alone was
enough to strike fear, and Tobi was able to use that to his advantage to
instigate a world war.[24]
According to Kabuto, Madara's revived body is special compared to
others that are brought back through Impure World Reincarnation,
claiming that he has been completed beyond his prime. After activating
his Rinnegan and using it in conjunction with his Susanoo, Madara's
abilities led Gaara to wonder if he had the power of a god as he sent a meteorite hurtling towards them.[25]
Kabuto commented that combining Madara's power with Hashirama's, the
only man stronger than Madara, has made him Kabuto's ultimate,
unstoppable trump card. With this combined prowess, Madara has shown to
be capable of holding his own against all five of the current Kage in
unison.
Taijutsu and Kenjutsu
Madara tearing through the Fourth Division.
Madara has shown remarkable strength, speed, and reflexes. With just one roundhouse kick, he was able to repel several shinobi. Madara was also able to easily dodge Gaara's high-speed sand attacks, Mei's close range Lava Release attack, and even guard himself against A's punch while the latter was clad in lightning armour despite noting his speed and not being protected by Susanoo.[26]
By his prime, Madara had become highly proficient in the
practices of both taijutsu and kenjutsu, aptly demonstrated when he
effortlessly disarmed a shinobi of his sword and, after grabbing it, cut
a swath through a considerable portion of the Fourth Division
by just using his mastery in this area alone and at such speed, none of
them could react. His kenjutsu is reminiscent of a graceful dance,
displaying great dexterity even while holding the blade in a reverse
grip, and when combined with the prediction abilities of his Sharingan, this makes it almost impossible to attack him through normal means.
Nature Transformation
Madara using Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation.
As an Uchiha, Madara is a master of Fire Release techniques, having displayed extreme proficiency in the use of techniques like Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation that required the combination of numerous Water Release: Water Encampment Walls to extinguish.[27] and Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction with which he incinerated a large portion of the forest he had created.
After his confrontation against Hashirama Senju at the Valley of the End, he acquired a portion of his DNA gaining the ability to use Wood Release and its component natures: earth and water. Notably, Madara's use of Wood Release is much greater in terms of raw power than that of Yamato's.[28]
With Wood Release, he has demonstrated the ability to instantly create numerous massive trees with which to attack his opponents directly[29] and a dense forest of flowering trees, whose pollen can render a foe unconscious. He is able to merge with and hide within trees while a clone of wood fights in his stead and then launch a surprise attack from within the tree before even revealing himself.[30] Madara can even create a multitude of wood clones by using pre-existing vegetation in the immediate vicinity as a medium.
As a Rinnegan wielder, he possesses the potential to gain mastery over all the standard types of nature transformations.
Dōjutsu
Sharingan
Madara managed to master his Sharingan
by a young age, a feat that he received significant praise for. Using
it, he could instantly place a victim under a paralysing genjutsu with
just a single glance, leading those who had faced him to advise others
to not look directly at his eyes, whilst confronting him.[31] He is also able to control the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox with his Sharingan.[32]
Like Itachi Uchiha,
he seems to have reached a stage where he could have his Sharingan
activated for extended periods of time, with minimal drain on his chakra levels.
Mangekyō Sharingan
Madara's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Madara was the first amongst the Uchiha to activate the Mangekyō Sharingan. He and his brother Izuna,
who awoke his own soon after, used this new power to assume control
over the Uchiha clan. However, after his eyesight progressively worsened
to blindness through its use, Madara implanted Izuna's eyes into his
own body, which then awakened a new "Eternal" Mangekyō Sharingan, a
combination of his own and Izuna's Mangekyō. With it, he never had to
fear the risk of losing his eyesight again. Itachi suggests that when he
gained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan Madara seemingly acquired a new
unknown technique as well.
Madara has since used his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to control the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. After his revival, Madara demonstrated the ability to use Susanoo, and is therefore likely able to use Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu
as well, though they have yet to be seen. Unseen in others' variations,
Madara's Susanoo demonstrates two entirely different sides that are
conjoined along their respective spines, with each displaying a pair of
arms and face that are distinct from the other and a complete lower
waist.
Its defensive power is incredibly high even in its ribcage state, where it withstood Naruto Uzumaki's Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan and A's Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop with no damage.[33][34] This is particularly impressive since A's strength was able to damage Sasuke Uchiha's Susanoo quite easily. It wields undulating blades
in the right hand of each side and it appears to be capable of
contributing towards some of Madara's techniques, as it was seen forming
hand seals together with him during battle. Madara is also able to use Yasaka Magatama, creating many magatama and throwing them at the opponent.[35]
Rinnegan
Madara's Rinnegan.
After surviving the devastating battle against Hashirama, and
escaping with a portion of his enemy's DNA, Madara stated that he
awakened the Rinnegan
shortly before his death and possesses the ability to switch between
both it and his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan at will. Like other users,
Madara is able to use the techniques of the Six Paths, including that of the Preta Path, with which he was able to easily absorb the chakra from one of Naruto's Rasenshuriken and even a complex kekkei tōta like Ōnoki's Dust Release technique without any trouble.
When these abilities were combined with his Susanoo, he could pull two massive meteorites towards the battlefield from the atmosphere above.[36]
Even if one was slowed down and stopped, the second one would strike
like a hammer. With this technique Madara devastated much of the Fourth Division and nearly killed Ōnoki.
Equipment
Madara has been shown with a diverse range of weaponry over the years, with him carrying a war fan for most of his life, up until his battle with Hashirama. In the anime, Madara could create powerful gusts with it.[37] In addition to the war fan, he had a kama with him when this confrontation took place.[38]
Madara has wielded various types and numbers of swords, at different
times throughout his life, ever since his days on the battlefield.[39]
Intelligence
As an Uchiha, Madara is a battle-oriented genius. He has shown sharp wit, making use of his near sealing by substituting a wood clone
in place of his actual body in order to hide underground and
successfully impale Tsunade when the latter let down her guard after it
was sealed. He also cleverly used his Wood Release and its scale in conjunction with his Susanoo to catch the five Kage off-guard and overpower them. Madara is highly perceptive and was able to correctly guess the Allied Shinobi Forces had been formed from merely observing their forehead protectors. He has also shown knowledge of his Rinnegan, despite only having awakened it shortly before his death.
Part II
Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
The contents of the sixth coffin.
As Tobi, under the guise of Madara Uchiha, prepared for the war against the Allied Shinobi Forces, he was approached by Kabuto Yakushi. A former associate of Akatsuki, Kabuto requested that he be allowed to assist with the war-effort, under the condition that Tobi turn Sasuke Uchiha over to him following the conflict. He then summoned
five previously deceased Akatsuki members as proof that he could
bolster Akatsuki's forces using reincarnated shinobi, as well as a
mysterious sixth coffin, the occupant of which proved sufficient
blackmail to force Tobi's consent. Though initially unseen, the person
in the coffin was later revealed to be the real Madara Uchiha.
Shinobi World War Arc
Madara is noticed by the enemy forces.
Frustrated when a revived Nagato is sealed by the recently freedItachi Uchiha, Kabuto finds himself forced to use his trump card but it's only after Naruto Uzumaki takes out several more revived shinobi, that he has Mū
summon the reincarnated Madara to the field. Forcefully removing his
coffin's lid before voicing his assumption that Nagato had finally used
the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to bring him back from the dead, Mū corrects Madara, explaining that Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation had been used instead. Somewhat shocked by the manner of his revival, the two confront the Fourth Division.
Upon noticing the forehead protectors of the allied army, Madara asks
who is responsible for the Impure World Reincarnation. However, as Mū
does not know, Kabuto takes full control and, speaking through him,
identifies himself as Tobi's assistant before informing Madara that he
had been restored to an extent beyond even his prime. Finding it rather
dreary to be spoken to through a corpse, Madara questions Kabuto with
what he knew of his prime but admitting his ignorance, Kabuto requests a
demonstration.
Madara unleashes his Susanoo.
Given free reign, Madara begins his assault on the spectating Fourth Division, Gaara, Ōnoki and Naruto's shadow clone. Madara uses the Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation technique, which takes the combined efforts of several shinobi to extinguish. Obscured by the resulting steam as he attacks them directly, he commandeers a sword and proceeds to tear through their ranks. As Naruto attacks Madara from above while Ōnoki raises the ground below him, sending him on a collision course, Madara activates his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and uses Susanoo to shield himself from harm. After Gaara uses lightened sand to separate Madara from his protection and to pull him into the path of an oncoming Rasenshuriken, he activates his Rinnegan and uses the Preta Path's ability to absorb
the attack. When Kabuto tries to take credit for the improvements to
Madara's powers, Madara remarks that he shouldn't get the wrong idea, as
they weren't his creation. Together with Susanoo, he then forms three hand seals and pulls an enormous meteorite down from the atmosphere, directing it towards the battlefield.
Unconcerned by the prospect of destroying himself and Mū, aware
that they'll both reform afterwards, Madara recognises Ōnoki as he flew
towards the meteorite in an attempt to lighten it
and stop its descent. Congratulating his and Gaara's successful
efforts, Madara questions Ōnoki as to how he would deal with a second
one as another meteorite collides with the first, overwhelming Ōnoki and
killing the majority of the Fourth Division. After reforming, Madara
remarks that he hadn't enjoyed a view such as this in a long time, as he
stands amidst the rubble left in the wake of the impact.
Madara using the Wood Release.
After reforming, Kabuto informs Madara that he theorised that he had obtained a portion of Hashirama Senju
during their confrontation, despite losing to him. Madara then proceeds
to check underneath his shirt, after which he complements Kabuto on his
preparation, before asking if he knew of their plan. Notified of Kabuto's uncertainty that the "fake" will act accordingly, Madara attempts to summonKurama but is unable to do so as it is still sealed within Naruto. Learning that Naruto is from the same clan as Mito Uzumaki, he opts to attack using Nativity of a World of Trees instead of pursuing the real jinchūriki, yet this is countered by a Kurama-empowered Naruto who destroys the opposing forest, to which Madara commends him.
Lamenting that he didn't get the opportunity to explore his
abilities further, Madara belittles the still defiant Ōnoki, remarking
that it was natural for shinobi to spend their entire life in battle and
as such, mankind would be better served sleeping peacefully under an "Infinite Tsukuyomi" (無限月読, Mugen Tsukuyomi). Charging towards the few remaining survivors alongside Mū, they are however repelled by Tsunade and A, who had just been transported to the battlefield. Looking on in shock, Madara is confronted by all five of the current Kage.
Madara and Mū face Ōnoki and A.
Deeming this an adequate test of his abilities, Madara leapt upwards to avoid Mei Terumi's attack but was instead intercepted by A, who knocks him into the lava below. Activating his Susanoo to protect himself, he is plunged
even deeper into the molten liquid by A, before being completely
immersed by another torrent of lava. Emerging unharmed whilst sheltered
by his Susanoo, Madara commends A and Mei's respective offensiveabilities, before deciding to assess the Kage's defensive capabilities using Yasaka Magatama. However, when his attack is blocked, Madara breaks through their dual-layered defence with his Susanoo's blades, only for his vision to be obscured as the Kage launch another strategy. Unable to react to the quickly approaching A, thanks to Ōnoki's assistance, their combinedefforts allow A to punch through Susanoo and hit Madara.
The result of Madara fusing with Hashirama's cells.
As the battle continues, Madara repels and destroys Ōnoki's looming golem using Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, distracting the Kage. Ambushing them from behind and knocking them into the forest below with his Susanoo, he sets the trees ablaze, just as the Kage succumb to the effects of the pollen. However, Ōnoki quickly manages to rouse himself and destroy
the surrounding flowers, hitting Madara in the process and exposing a
face formed from Hashirama Senju's tissue, jutting out of the left side
of his chest. Hearing Tsunade's reaction, he questions if she was a
descendant of Hashirama, noting his intention to kill her first if she
was. When Mei retorts his remark by saying that it was a basic tactic to
eliminate the medical-nin
first, Madara corrects her, stating he would do it simply because of
Tsunade's ancestry and that she couldn't delay their deaths anyway. He
then belittles Tsunade further for being a woman who, despite being
Hashirama's descendant, possessed neither Wood Release nor medical ninjutsu
that could compare to those of Hashirama, before declaring that while
weak people were ugly, weak Senju were even more so. Tsunade admits to
most of what was said but rebuffs Madara's opinion that she was weak,
claiming that what she had inherited wasn't just mere strength, but the
undying Will of Fire.
Rebuking Tsunade's belief that this would lead to his defeat, by
saying power was in fact an actual thing, Madara then listens to her
retort of how the will of the deceased allowed her to reform the system
of medical-nin. Hearing all four rules yet unaware of her technique,
he uses his Susanoo to protect himself from Tsunade's punch but when
she easily fractures it, Madara considers how her strength was superior
to A's. When Madara counters, he is instead repelled
by Mei, before his Susanoo is shattered by A and Tsunade. Crashing to
the ground, he admits Tsunade wasn't that weak but reprimands her
recklessness, as her death would trouble the others. Thinking of how he
would have taught Hashirama to resurrect himself if he'd knew how weak
shinobi would become, Madara says that all Hashirama left behind was the
power he held, similar to how Izuna
left only his eyes and their powers. After Tsunade angrily responds,
Madara states that if anything could be passed down, it was simply
hatred. Later struck by a powerful punch from Tsunade that seemingly
allowed him to be bound and sealed, Madara suddenly impales her from below, just as he emerges from within one of the trees. He then reveals that they had instead sealed a wood clone, noting that only he could see through Hashirama's use of the technique in the past due to his ocular powers.
Reflecting on whom to target next, Madara is shocked when Tsunade
instead shatters his Susanoo's sword and then attacks him using the
broken blade. With the blade stuck in his Susanoo's ribcage, he counters and repels
Tsunade, before recognising the similarities between her and
Hashirama's techniques. As he questions whether they thought he could be
stopped with his own technique, Madara is attacked from behind by Ōnoki, but he absorbs the Dust Release
technique and then explains that he deliberately let it hit him
previously so he could expose Hashirama's face claiming that this was
meant to lower their morale, yet he was disappointed to see that it had
the opposite effect. When Tsunade states that while they were outwitted
by the wood clone, it could also be said that he had no other option but
to use it, Madara blames it on fighting five people at once. Denying
that he thought of them as cowards for confronting him together in
response to Mei, he asserts that the current odd was the perfect number
to have fun and proceeds to create multiple wood clones,
sending five to each Kage. Regurgitating Mei's sentiments, Madara asks
the Kage not to call him a coward given who they were, before asking if
they preferred the clones to use Susanoo or not.
Madara's Jutsu list
Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu
This
technique creates small fireballs, which are spat out of the user's
mouth, flying wildly in every direction and assaulting the enemy. In
addition, the flames are controlled one by one with chakra, so avoiding
them all is extremely, difficult. Shuriken can be hid within the flames,
creating an unexpected secondary surprise attack. Like the flames they
can be controlled with chakra. For the most part, however, this
technique is used as a distraction.
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu
A
technique where chakra kneaded inside the body is converted into fire,
and expelled from the mouth in a massive orb of roaring flame. The scope
of the attack is altered by controlling the volume of chakra that is
mustered. The released flames will engulf their target, and leave a
crater on the ground's surface. The fireball is normally blown through a
ring made by the thumb and index finger of the user. However, Sasuke
and Itachi are seen doing this technique without making a ring over
their mouth.
Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame Jutsu
The
user compresses a large amount of chakra built up inside their body and
changes its shape into a dragon-shaped fireball. The user then
skillfully manipulates that great fire, and attacks their opponent. Even
outside of the attack range, its power and reliability are stressed.
The flames have a high temperature, as they can create an updraught
which in turn can give rise to thunder clouds. A master of this
technique can fire off several flames in succession. Anyone caught in
the technique could potentially be reduced to ashes.
Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu
A
ninjutsu where the user conceals themselves underground and drags the
object of their attack down into the earth, robbing them of their
freedom. In addition, they can start another attack. This technique was
originally used for torture, by cutting into the enemy's neck.
Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique
This
technique changes earth into fine sand by channeling chakra into it,
allowing the user to dig through it like a mole. The user can pinpoint
where they are, despite being underground, by sensing the magnetic
forces. They can also sense what is happening on the surface and use
that information to launch a surprise attack on the enemy. One can also
hide deep in the ground, escaping to a depth where the enemy can't
reach.
Mogura Tataki no Jutsu Ninja Art: Whac-A-Mole Jutsu
This
is a technique Madara Uchiha came up with while posing as Tobi. By
using Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique to move around the
battle field, the user pops up in front of their target before whacking
them with a stick. Unlike its parent technique, however, this jutsu is
used to quickly attack multiple opponents in succession.
Shadow Clone Jutsu
Similar
to the Clone Technique, this jutsu creates clones of the user. But
unlike the Clone Technique, these clones are actual copies, not
illusions. The user's chakra is evenly distributed among every clone,
giving each clone an equal fraction of the user's overall power. The
clones are capable of performing jutsu on their own and can even bleed,
but will usually disperse after one or two solid blows. They can also
disperse on their own. The clones will be created in roughly the same
condition as the original.
Clone Great Explosion
The
user lures the target in, using a Shadow Clone as bait. The target,
acting according to the principle of "attack to bring down the enemy,"
falls victim to a powerful explosion. If one can see through the body of
the Shadow Clone, it is possible to evade the blast. However, by
wrapping it up in trick after trick, the target will be guided into the
technique for sure. The size of the explosion is considerably large.
Body Shedding
Used
after sustaining massive injury, or simply to escape from a seemingly
inescapable attack, this technique allows the user to regurgitate a new
body from their mouth, new clothes, complete with any lost limbs and all
wounds healed, much like a snake sheds its skin. This technique
requires a large amount of chakra, as Sasuke's reservoir was drained
greatly when he escaped Amaterasu.
Mind Controlling Dojutsu
Apparently
unique to Shisui Uchiha, this technique allows the user to control the
mind of their opponent. It was a dōjutsu of the highest class, as the
victim doesn't even realize they are being manipulated.
Kamui
By
focusing his Mangekyō Sharingan on a particular point, Madara can force
that point to collapse in on itself, ultimately sending everything in
the vicinity to another dimension.
Madara's Space Time Technique
This
unnamed space time jutsu, centered in his right eye, allows Madara to
teleport himself or anything he touches to another location or separate
dimension, the latter of which is implied to be inescapable.[1] When
observed, it was noted that Madara's chakra would become untraceable
when he phases into objects, and also when he teleports to avoid any
damage. According to Madara, he can locate anyone and teleport to them.
The ability can be used without predefined locations and without hand
seals.
Amaterasu
The jet-black flames of the
Amaterasu, said to be the fires from hell that are as hot as the sun,
ignite at the focus of the user's vision.[3] They're unavoidable as
long as the user keeps their eyes focused on their target. The flames
are capable of burning through anything in their path, even smothering
regular fire techniques with ease. Amaterasu is said to burn for seven
days and seven nights, and cannot be extinguished with water or any
other normal methods. However, the flames burn fairly slowly, allowing
anyone struck by Amaterasu an opportunity to remove whatever clothing or
body parts have been caught ablaze. Use of the technique also puts a
great deal of strain on the user, usually causing their eyes to bleed.
Tsukuyomi
Tsukuyomi
requires eye contact to be performed. When executed, the jutsu traps
the target in an illusion that is completely controlled by the user.
Itachi's prowess with the technique has allowed him to alter the
perception of time with ease within the genjutsu to make it seem to last
for days when in fact it only lasts a few seconds. This allows him to
torture the target for what seems like days on end, causing mental
trauma that will render them unable to fight for an extensive period of
time.
Susanoo
Susanoo is a technique that creates a
spiritual humanoid being. The spirit is gigantic and surrounds and
protects the user. It is the third ability granted by the Mangekyō
Sharingan, after Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi have been awakened. According
to Madara Uchiha, for a Sharingan user to activate the Susanoo is a
rarity
Sasuke is the second and youngest son of the Konoha Military Police Force captain and Uchiha clan head: Fugaku Uchiha, and his wife Mikoto. Mikoto named him after the father of the Third Hokage in hopes that he would grow up to be a great ninja like his namesake.[4] As a child, Sasuke grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Itachi Uchiha
who was an acknowledged prodigy viewed by the Uchiha clan as a genius,
and whose work would further strengthen the bonds between the village
and the clan. Sasuke's father in particular took an active interest in
Itachi. Itachi, on the other hand, was rather ambivalent and full of
oddly conflicting undercurrents, acknowledging Sasuke by taking interest
in his progress as a ninja and spending time playing with him when even
their father did not. Even after Sasuke enrolled in the Academy, he was still unable to escape Itachi's shadow.[5]
Despite consistently scoring at the top of every class, Sasuke failed
to receive any recognition from his father, who defined Sasuke's success
only in terms of his older brother.[6] Itachi acknowledged the rivalry Sasuke felt telling him: "We are brothers. I am the wall you must climb over, so you and I will continue to exist together." Nevertheless Itachi deeply cared for his younger brother and Sasuke looked up to Itachi, wanting to be more like him.
Sasuke and Itachi when they were younger.
The relationship between Itachi and his father deteriorated further
after Itachi was questioned by other members of the Uchiha clan
regarding the apparent suicide of his best friend, Shisui.
As Itachi's behaviour became increasingly bizarre, Sasuke's father
began spending more time with Sasuke, and began teaching him the Great Fireball Technique, a common family technique seen as a sign of coming of age in the Uchiha clan.[7]
When Sasuke first tried to perform the technique, he only produced a
small flame and after that, some smoke. His father said that Itachi was
able to do it on his first try at Sasuke's age, which disappointed him.
Later, with one week of training, Sasuke (age 7 at the time) performed
the technique in front of his father, proving himself a prodigy as well
in his own right and finally receiving his father's recognition.
Sasuke's father told him that he could now proudly wear the clan's
emblem on his back. Following this, Sasuke also received a stern warning
not to follow in Itachi's footsteps any further, surprising him as
before, he was told to be like him; and his father showing he was proud
of Sasuke for the first time the same way as he used to with Itachi.
At some point in the past, Sasuke joined Itachi on a mission to
catch a wild boar. Sasuke was wielding a bow and was told by Itachi not
to hit any vital points. However, Sasuke missed the boar completely.
Eventually they defeated the boar and Sasuke apologised for being so
off, Itachi responded by telling him that he needed to train more.[8]
On one fateful night, Itachi slew every member of the Uchiha clan, sparing only Sasuke, saying that he was not even worth killing. In addition, Itachi told him, "You've
always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live… if
you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me… and by all means flee,
cling to your wretched life." Itachi also revealed to Sasuke where the secret meeting place of the Uchiha was hidden, and suggested that Sasuke go there to learn what the true history and purpose of the Sharingan was. He told him that "to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan," he "had to kill the person he was closest to", and that "when we battle, we should have the same eyes".
Sasuke thought he had fainted after this, but later remembered that he
had managed to stand back up, awaken his Sharingan, and pursued Itachi.
Upon reaching Itachi, he used knives to knock off his forehead protector.
Itachi was seen shedding a tear as he was picking up the forehead
protector. He then proceeded to incapacitate Sasuke, who awoke in the
hospital remembering only that which Itachi wanted him to.
Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry in the Academy.
When Sasuke first met Naruto Uzumaki in the Academy, they were matched to spar
against each other. Naruto was excited at the opportunity to defeat
Sasuke and become so popular like him, however he was easily beaten. By
looking at Sasuke's eyes, Naruto realised that they were so filled with
hatred that it seemed that he wasn't even looking at Naruto. When Iruka told them to make the reconciliation seal, they both refused.[9]
Up until his graduation from the Academy, Sasuke remained a loner and
never acknowledged Naruto's attempts to defeat him, considering him a
hopeless dead-last and as such, someone not worth his time or energy.
Personality
Sasuke's pleasant disposition as a child.
When he was a child, Sasuke was a very kind, loving towards his
parents and older brother and respectful to his fellow clansmen as well
as his teachers. He was even very proud of being Itachi's brother and
Fugaku's son — famous for being devoted protectors of Konoha, and he
desired to emulate them. His original dream was to join the Konoha Military Police Force when he grew up, like his father and as such greatly sought his father's approval and acknowledgement of his abilities.[10]
After Itachi massacred the clan, Sasuke's ideals and personality
changed drastically and he became cold, indifferent, cruel, cynical,
arrogant, and devoted the next nine years of his life to kill Itachi.[11]
When first introduced to Team Kakashi,
Sasuke displayed great indifference to his team-mates as well as
others. Feeling superior to all of them, including his teacher, Sasuke
was unwilling to cooperate with any of his team-mates, as he felt they
would provide him no aid in furthering his ambition to kill his brother;
this attitude had began since he was in the Academy, as he had the
lowest score in cooperation and second lowest in assertiveness.[12]
However over time, as he interacted more with his team mates on a
day-to-day basis, he began to see them as somewhat of a family and
Sasuke started to lose some of his hatred, caring more about his team
than his revenge. Sasuke even admitted to Naruto that he almost thought
that he must forget revenge and instead focused on Team 7. However, Orochimaru branded Sasuke with the Cursed Seal of Heaven during the Chūnin Exams to help push him back into his desire for power and to give him a taste of power. Although Kakashi Hatake sealed away the Cursed Seal, and taught him the Chidori
in the hopes of deviating him from the path of revenge, Sasuke began to
draw more power from the seal in the hopes of getting stronger. And
thus his previous ambition was renewed while causing him to disregard
comradeship once again.
According to Kakashi, Sasuke has both a superiority and an inferiority
complex, as he is unwilling to acknowledge when someone is stronger
than him, but obsesses when he believes that they are. For example, he
was complacent with his rivalry with Naruto when he believed he was the
stronger of the two, but upon noticing Naruto's fast growth, showcased
in his victory over Sunagakure's jinchūriki, Gaara,
who had previously beaten Sasuke, and his own quick defeat by Itachi on
his return to Konoha, all culminated in his defection to Otogakure to seek power from Orochimaru.
In Part II, despite getting stronger, Sasuke seemed unwilling to
needlessly kill in his quest for revenge displaying that he still had
some morals left.[13]
Sasuke, however, retained his habit of underestimating his opponents,
shown in his overconfidence in his battles. Although, Sasuke is not
above admitting his mistakes on such things, as shown after his battles
with Deidara
and Killer B where he acknowledged that the former was stronger than he
thought and that the latter had given Taka a much harder time than he
expected.
Sasuke has displayed an overbearing sense of pride in his clan's
name and a great sense of loyalty to it and kept wearing his clan's
crest on his back proudly while refusing to wear any other symbols such
as a forehead protector. Despite claiming earlier that he did not care if he had to sacrifice his own body to Orochimaru as long as it served his quest for revenge,[14]
when Sasuke felt he had grown stronger than Orochimaru he thought that
to give himself up to someone weaker than himself was insulting to the
Uchiha.[15] He also views anyone outside of the clan wielding its dōjutsu as an insult, as the eye is representative of the Uchiha clan's powers, showing disgust towards Danzō Shimura
who had ten Sharingan embedded in his arm, and an eleventh one in his
right eye socket and stated that Kakashi should feel grateful to the
Uchiha for the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan.[16] According to Tobi, Sasuke alone is shouldering the entire hatred of the Uchiha clan — a thing which has been passed down for generations within the clan.
After his battle with Itachi, which concluded in the latter's death, the revelation that he had actually been ordered by the Konoha Elders
to eradicate the clan coupled with the new knowledge that Itachi had
truly loved him, Sasuke vowed to kill the elders for using his brother
and ordering him to massacre the Uchiha clan. After he confirmed the
truth, Sasuke quickly grew to loathe the village that he once called
home and vowed to destroy the village, thus separating any connection it
had to the Uchiha clan and purify the clan's name in the process.
Sasuke's hatred overwhelms him as he ruthlessly sacrifices Karin.
As time passed on with this new path of revenge and with further
corruption by Tobi, Sasuke has grown much more cruel and ruthless, with
the remaining morality he showed during his time with Orochimaru fading
rapidly; by the time he launched an attack against the Kage Summit, he
killed anyone who stood in his way, not caring about his team,[17] and after cornering Danzō, Sasuke turned to sacrificing one who got taken hostage to accomplish his goals,[18]
and attempted to kill his former team-mates and teacher whilst
experiencing neither shame, guilt, nor remorse for any of his actions.
Initially, Sasuke still held onto the notion of sparing the innocent and teamwork, witnessed in his creation of a new group of shinobi.[19]
Though, as he became more consumed by his thirst for vengeance, he
showed that he cared for them as no more than tools to achieve his
hatred-fueled goals, quickly discarding them when they were no longer
necessary. This is seen at the Kage Summit
where he leaves Jūgo and Suigetsu behind, taking only Karin with him
who could lead him to where Danzō was, as well as killing many samurai who stood in his way. He would later discard Karin as well, unhesitatingly piercing her just to kill Danzō and then attempted to finish her off to prevent her from being a burden in the future.[20][21]
Even when Sakura's childish crush turned into more serious affection,
Sasuke still did not return the feelings, though before he left the
village, he gave Sakura a genuine thank you.[22]
But would later, after that same battle with Danzō, when he had to
fight with Team Kakashi, where he attempted to kill Sakura twice despite
her showing obvious hesitancy to do the same.[23][24]
Despite his arrogance, Sasuke is not above giving praise to his enemies
as he commended Gaara for the strength and speed of his absolute defence and admitted that Kakashi was very skilled at using the Sharingan for someone who wasn't an Uchiha.
After expressing a feeling of exhilaration that he had never
before felt upon killing Danzō and even declaring that he sees that
killing the members of Konoha as a high priority and satisfaction,
Karin, Kakashi, and Sakura completely lost all hope for him. Upon
receiving his "Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan", Sasuke's cruelty seemingly
reached a new level when he killed White Zetsu simply to test out his new powers.[25]
He's also grown to be an impatient individual and brutal in battle.
Despite Tobi's influence being one of the main sources of Sasuke's
corruption and their same path of hatred and revenge, as well as
believing that Tobi is a fellow Uchiha, Sasuke refused to acknowledge
Tobi as his ally, and even speaks rudely to him at times. He has also
shown great rage whenever someone mentions Itachi in a negative way,
crushing Danzō with his Susanoo for speaking ill of his brother and ready to murder a team of ignorant Konoha shinobi for doing the same.[26]
Sasuke's hatred has also twisted any of his potentially happy memories
of Konoha into negative ones in order to fuel his vengeance.[27]
During the second day of the Fourth Shinobi World War, upon reuniting with a reincarnated
Itachi, Sasuke showed a somewhat more vulnerable side to himself
instead of his usual coldness. This showed just how confused and torn up
he is over Itachi's decision, telling his brother that he did not
understand why he was spared during the massacre and apparently implying
that he would have rather died as a child than have had to deal with
the grief and suffering.[28] Having to live through many lies Itachi set for him, Sasuke wanted to hear the truth from Itachi himself.
Appearance
Sasuke is a fair-skinned ninja who has onyx eyes and black
chin-length hair. His hair is spiky in the back with bangs that lengthen
as the story progresses. As a young child, his bangs hung above his
eyes. Later, they would hang on both sides of his face to roughly frame
his cheeks and later again return to their original style. A recurring
theme in Sasuke's appearance is that he is considered quite handsome by
many girls near his age. At the beginning of Part I, Sasuke's clothing
consisted of a blue, short-sleeved shirt with a raised collar and the
Uchiha crest on the back and white arm warmers, which he stopped wearing
after the Chūnin Exams, along with white shorts. In the last stage of
the Chūnin Exams, he wore a black, one-pieced version of this outfit
with many small arm-belts adorning his left arm and similar bands around
both legs, but eventually went back to his original clothes, due to the
creators having a difficult time drawing the black version on a regular
basis. As the story progressed, the Uchiha symbol became smaller and
smaller until after he defeats his brother.
Initially, Sasuke wore a short blue-clothed forehead protector
with the Konoha symbol on the metallic plate. After suffering a second
defeat from Itachi, Sasuke stopped wearing it for some time. He put it
back on during the latter half of his battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End, only to let it drop off at the end. Since then, Sasuke hasn't worn a forehead protector.
Sasuke's outfit later on in Part II.
In Part II, Sasuke has grown noticeably taller over the two and a
half years and more muscular. He was first shown wearing a white
long-sleeved shirt, similar in appearance to the lavender long-sleeved
shirt worn by Kimimaro
and which was open at the torso, with a smaller version of the Uchiha
crest on his collar. He wore dark blue pants with a blue cloth hanging
from halfway up his stomach to his knees. He also wore grey arm-guards
that covered his forearms and stretched up to reach his upper biceps. He
also wore a purple rope belt around his waist, tied in a bow, in which
he carries his sword. After battling Deidara, he switched to a
sleeveless dark grey shirt. His arm-guards were also removed, and he
started wearing bandages on his wrists, under which he wore special
bracelets with seals where he stores shuriken. He also wore a cloak with
this.
After he encountered and battled Itachi, he reverted to a grey
high-collared short-sleeved shirt similar in appearance to the blue
shirt he commonly wore in Part I, with a zipper usually down to
mid-chest, although after recovering from his surgery, he started
wearing it fully zipped up. He also wears blue wrist warmers. He briefly
wore an Akatsuki cloak along with this. Another noticeable trait is
that, along with this new outfit, Sasuke began letting his hair hang
over his forehead. The Uchiha crest on the back of his outfit has
returned to its original size since his battle with Itachi. While
adjusting to Itachi's eyes at the Mountains' Graveyard, he is seen wearing black Uchiha robes similar to those worn by Madara in his youth with a belt sash around his waist.
During his early childhood , Sasuke wore a simple long-sleeved
black shirt with a raised collar and the Uchiha crest on the back, and
black shorts. When Sasuke joined Itachi on his mission to capture the
wild boar, Sasuke was wearing an ANBU uniform.
Abilities
Sasuke is hailed as a genius, even by the battle-excelling Uchiha
clan's standards at the start of the series, excelling at all that he
does and finding little difficulty in more challenging tasks. Scoring
the highest in the performance tests and one of the highest in written
tests, he easily graduated at the top of his Academy class. His prowess
with Uchiha Fire Release and weapon-based techniques even surprised Kakashi during the bell test.[29]
Overall, Sasuke has become highly proficent in all of his clan's
techniques, despite his lack of formal training by relying solely on his
innate talent and determination. Tobi, Itachi, and Orochimaru have all
stated that Sasuke possesses the unique potential to become much
stronger than Itachi, who was already considered a genius above all
others. Orochimaru even noted that Sasuke is far stronger than he was at
the same age when he was training Sasuke in Part II.[30][31] Tobi has also stated that in time, Sasuke could become more powerful than Nagato.[32]
By Part II, despite officially still being a Genin, he develops
much of his potential, becoming strong enough to fight on par and defeat
several highly skilled shinobi. Sasuke downplays his victory over
Orochimaru, and attributes it to Orochimaru's weakened state.[33]
According to Tobi, Itachi had already determined the outcome of their
fight, and was sick as he was using medicine to prolong his life. This
didn't prevent Itachi from praising Sasuke however, saying if he didn't
use Susanoo he would have been killed by Kirin. Sasuke survived a fight with Deidara, a powerful S-rank ninja, without any handicaps. After receiving his Mangekyō Sharingan, Sasuke proved able to hold his own against at least two Kage
and their respective bodyguards. He was also able to defeat Danzō, a
Kage-level opponent while generally controling the pace of the fight,
even surviving against the elder's use of Izanagi, a feat that later
earned him a praise from Itachi.
Under Orochimaru's training, Sasuke was subjected to the Sannin's
experiments and as a result developed physical enhancements including
an immunity towards most forms of poisons, to a level that the one Sakura learned from Shizune would not affect him.[34]
However, he was not immune to the effects of Orochimaru's true form's
poisonous blood. In his early childhood, Sasuke was trained in archery,
allowing him to fight at mid to long-range (albeit Itachi stated that
Sasuke still needed improvement at the time).[35]
Taijutsu
Sasuke delivers the finishing blow of the Lion Combo.
Although not his favoured combat skill, Sasuke's taijutsu was at a very high level since the start of the series. This was first seen in the bell test with Kakashi,
who was so shocked that he couldn't read Icha-Icha while fighting him
as he needed both hands. His skills improved drastically after his
encounter with Rock Lee. With his Sharingan, he was able to copy several of Lee's moves and from it create the Lion Combo. Under Kakashi's tutelage, he improved his taijutsu further by copying more of Lee's Strong Fist-style matching Lee's combat skills and speed in one month.[36] With this, he overwhelmed Gaara during their initial fight. He was also able to hold his own against the entire Sound Four
for a brief period of time. In their various fights, Sasuke was able to
match and even defeat Naruto in taijutsu. In Part II, Sasuke further
improved his taijutsu under Orochimaru's guidance. With this increased
skill he easily defeated, without killing, hundreds of Oto-nin in a
single battle without sustaining a scratch to himself. He was also able
to keep up with Itachi in taijutsu during their fight. In the anime, he
was also able to hold his own against Kakashi in a taijutsu fight.
Sasuke also has an above-average level of physical strength. He
was able to lift using only one hand and carry a unconscious Killer B
(which was actually a tentacle of the Eight-Tails) despite being
weakened from the fight. He also has high levels of stamina and
endurance as he was able to endure being battered, thrown and slammed
around by a Kurama-fueled Naruto, survived getting hit in the neck by A's Lightning Release Armour enhanced backhand chop (though one of his Susanoo's ribs partially absorbed the blow) and willingly let Danzō stab him with a wind chakra-infused kunai
in order to fatally wound him without immediately collapsing from his
own wound. Even in a near-blind, battered, and visibly exhausted from
his fight with Danzō and overusing the Mangekyō Sharingan, he still had
enough stamina to fight against Kakashi, restrain and disarm Sakura and
later match Naruto's Rasengan with his Chidori.
Since the start of the series, Sasuke showed a high level of
speed and reflexes as he was the first of his fellow Genin to react to
the Demon Brothers' ambush and effectively counter them. He later increased his speed further to outrun Gaara's sand and move faster than unaided eyes could follow.[37] After his Sharingan fully develops, he was also able to match the speed of both Naruto's initial jinchūriki form and one-tailed form
during their fight, though couldn't completely dodge the latter's demon
shroud. In Part II, due to Orochimaru's training, Sasuke's already
impressive speed saw a huge leap, able to evade attacks from the
extremely fast Killer B and A,
though he credited the evasion to his Sharingan reading the linear
moves. He also greatly increased his hand speed, able to do many hand
seals in a blur and launch an enormous amount of weapons just as
quickly, as seen during his fight with Itachi. His speed and proficiency
with the Body Flicker Technique
have also grown considerably, able to easily cut his opponents off
without them noticing. When first facing Team Kakashi in Part II, he
showed himself able to cover wide gaps in the blink of an eye, giving
his former allies no time to react. His improvements are so great that
Sakura even suspected that he had been given drugs to improve his
physical capabilities.
Kenjutsu
Sasuke using Sword of Kusanagi: Chidori Katana.
During his stay with Orochimaru, Sasuke was trained in kenjutsu, becoming an expert swordsman. He also received a chokutō,
which became an important element in his fighting style. He is shown
using his blade in every one of his later fights, using it in either a
normal or reverse grip, giving him various attack styles. With these
abilities he was able to incapacitate hundreds of Oto-nin without
killing them nor getting so much as a drop of blood on himself. His
skills with a blade are better shown during the Five Kage Summit where
he was able to easily outfight and kill multiple samurai (who are
trained specifically in swordplay) and even block an attack from Mifune, a famous master swordsman, who acknowledged Sasuke's ability.
Sasuke is also capable of channeling his Chidori through his blade
increasing its cutting power and paralysing anyone stabbed by it. This
is powerful enough to slice through a chakra wave created by a similar sword technique. If for some reason Sasuke finds himself disarmed he can shape his Chidori into a makeshift extendable blade. He has also proven himself ambidextrous, able to skillfully wield two blades simultaneously.[38]
Cursed Seal
An important aspect of Sasuke's growth as a shinobi in Part I was his acquisition of the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
Orochimaru, recognising his potential, bestowed the seal on him as a
gift in order to grant him greater strength, and to entice him to seek
Orochimaru for further power. When activated, the cursed seal covered
his body in black flame-like markings and granted him enhanced speed,
strength, durability and chakra. However, it corrupted both his body and
his mind, giving him a darker personality and making him vulnerable to
Orochimaru's influence. Kakashi suppressed the seal and adviced Sasuke
to not rely on it. Later on however, Sasuke's frustration with his
inadequate strength forced him to rely upon its power in battles.
Sasuke's second level of the Cursed Seal.
Initially, the seal would activate and overwhelm Sasuke if he used
his chakra or became too excited, only able to control it with extreme
focus. After defecting from Konoha, with the help of the Sound Four,
Sasuke advanced his Cursed Seal to Level Two, allowing it to cover his
entire body at will. When fully transformed, the second level of the
cursed seal turned Sasuke's skin dark grey with a black four-point
star-mark between his eyes and across the bridge of his nose, his sclera
turn black, his irides turn yellow (except when using his Sharingan),
and his lips turn blue. He also grows claw-like nails and his hair grows
to waist-length without losing its style. At any time, he is able to
grow large webbed hand-shaped wings on his back that gave him the
ability to fly and hover.
In this form, not only were his physical attributes further
increased, but his techniques were also enhanced by the Cursed Seal's
dark chakra. This granted him power comparable to Naruto's one-tailed form.
However, this form corroded his body at a much faster rate, so he
couldn't use it for prolonged periods. In Part II, Sasuke gained
complete control and mastery over the Cursed Seal, and could even access
its power without fully activating it and even perform partial
transformations at will. He also greatly extended the time he could stay
in the cursed seal level two form. Since Itachi sealed Orochimaru, the
Cursed Seal was removed from Sasuke.
Chakra Prowess
Sasuke's chakra becoming colder and darker.
Even by the Uchiha standards, Sasuke is shown to have exceptionally
strong and large amounts of chakra. At age 7, he was already able to use
his clan's signature fire release technique.
This later surprised even Kakashi, as such techniques usually require
more developed chakra. In Part II, his reserves grew considerably
greater, able to summon Manda,
a high level summon, even when weakened. Sasuke can use many highly
chakra-consuming techniques several times a day, able to recklessly use
his three Mangekyō Sharingan techniques against the Kages multiple times, among other techniques like the Chidori
without becoming visably exhausted; able to continue fighting
effectively with plenty of stamina left. Quality-wise, Sasuke's chakra
is noted to be very powerful. Its strength has been compared to Madara
Uchiha, whose chakra was particularly strong even amongst the Uchiha.
When Sasuke first arrived at the Land of Sound
and gave Kabuto a frightening glare, both he and Orochimaru took note
of Sasuke's exceptional chakra. His chakra's strength was even great
enough to break free from Danzō restraining seal by releasing it from his entire body.
Gradually, as Sasuke continued to sink deeper into darkness, his chakra became noticeably more dark.[39] Even Kurama, the Nine-Tails points out that Sasuke's chakra has become even darker than his own, very similar to that of Madara's.[40] Karin has also mentioned that Sasuke's chakra, as he approached the point of manifesting Susanoo, had become even darker and colder than the corrupting influence of the Cursed Seal of Heaven in its second stage; it has since continued to grow even more potent along with the development of Susanoo.
Ninjutsu
Shurikenjutsu
Sasuke wielding a fūma shuriken.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke is well-versed in weapons use
such as kunai and shuriken as well as wire strings. At the start of the
series, he could use techniques like Shadow Shuriken Technique in which he could hide one shuriken in the shadow of another and the Manipulated Shuriken Technique,
which allows him to control the path of giant shurikens. Due to his
Sharingan, he can use an advanced version of the former, the Manipulating Windmill Triple Blades.
In the anime he was able to perfectly strike a set of multiple targets
(one of which was hidden in a blind spot) and precisely alter his
launched kunai's trajectory by striking them with another tool in the
process.
Since his battle with Itachi, Sasuke started using a bracelet with a special seal that allowed him to instantly summon shuriken,
thus increasing the amount he carries at any one time and launch speed.
He also demonstrated the ability to increase the lethal properties of
the Fūma Shuriken by riging it to disconnect its four blades and launch
them into separate directions.
Summoning Technique
Sasuke's hawk summoning.
After absorbing Orochimaru, Sasuke gained access to Orochimaru's regenerative powers that allowed him to heal at a much faster rate than usual.[41] He was also able to summon snakes from any part of his body, and could use Orochimaru's body shedding
technique to shed his skin and produce a new body, thus repairing any
damage he sustained. After Itachi removed Orochimaru from Sasuke's
being, Sasuke has not used any snake techniques. In addition, the snake
summoning tattoo on his left arm, implying that Sasuke's snake
techniques were a result of absorbing Orochimaru and by extension he
lost these abilities with Orochimaru's removal.
To symbolise his ascension from snakes (i.e. Orochimaru's power)
he changed his team's name from Hebi (snake) to Taka (hawk). It is
revealed that his animal-oriented techniques have also changed to a hawk
as shown from him summoning a hawk that he used to fly around on during
his fight with Danzō. It is clearly unknown when he made a contract
with them.
Nature Transformation
Sasuke activates Kirin.
As a true genius ninja and member of the Uchiha, Sasuke has great proficiency in Fire Release nature manipulation. By age 7, he had already mastered his clan's rite of passage technique, the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
Even Kakashi was amazed at such a feat as, according to him, Genin
usually require much more experience and developed chakra to perform
elemental techniques. He has also shown combining his fire skills with
weapons for techniques like Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique and Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.
After learning that Sasuke can also manipulate Lightning Release nature manipulation, hoping to deter Sasuke from using the Cursed Seal, Kakashi taught him the Chidori,
made more effective when combined with his Sharingan. With this
combination, Sasuke can punch through the strongest obstacles with
relative ease, as well as severely damaging any opponent. In Part I,
Sasuke was limited to using the attack only twice a day, with a third
usage after the initial activation of his cursed seal. In Part II,
Sasuke was shown to be able to use the Chidori several times in one day.
During their battle, A commended Sasuke's Chidori for being able to break through his Lightning Release Armour despite inflicting only minor damage.
Over the timeskip, Sasuke put a great deal of time developing his
lighting-based chakra, having mastered it to create many new techniques
of said type, most of these revolving around his Chidori, which he has
refined. When first seen in Part II, he was able to use channel his
Chidori to emit electricity from all over his body as a shield that stuns those it comes into contact with. He can also channel the Chidori through his new katana through "chakra flow", giving the blade extreme cutting power and allowing it to numb anyone it cuts. He can also concentrate it into solid senbon and a sword
to make more precise attacks. He is also able to infuse shuriken with
lightning chakra. Sasuke's most powerful original technique is Kirin,
a lightning technique that uses natural lightning as opposed to chakra,
allowing Sasuke to perform it even when visibly exhausted. If there are
no thunder clouds available, Sasuke can use a powerful fire release technique to create thunder clouds. Sasuke then takes control of the lightning, shapes it into a kirin,
and then brings the lightning down on his target. The technique is so
powerful that it has the ability to destroy a mountain, as well as break
Itachi Uchiha's Susanoo.
After adjusting to his Mangekyō Sharingan powers, Sasuke has
developed an advanced Fire Release known as the Blaze Release; an
element that draws its power from Amaterasu. Aside from unleashing a
wave of unquenchable black flames that incinerates everything that
reflects in his eyesight, Sasuke can control the movement of the flames
into surrounding him and creating spikes to protect himself. As such, he
was regarded as more skilled with it than Itachi was by C.[42] After gaining his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he was able to wrap Amaterasu around his Susanoo arrows, even using the orb of it to create tomoe-like projectiles that can fire in a wave.
Sharingan
Sasuke's Sharingan.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke possesses the Sharingan, the clan's kekkei genkai. He first developed it at age 7, during Itachi's departure from Konoha after the Uchiha clan massacre, with one tomoe
in each eye, but Sasuke would later forget he had activated the
Sharingan due to being traumatised by the incident. He was able to
reactivate it during the battle with Haku on the Great Naruto Bridge, where he had one tomoe in his left eye, and two in his right. By the time he fought Rock Lee,
it had matured into two tomoe in each eye. It reached completion, with
three tomoe in each eye, during his battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End. Sasuke was able to put the Sharingan to good use in Part I after his brief encounter with Rock Lee.
The dojutsū granted him all the basic abilities that the
Sharingan had to offer such as predicting and movements. Sasuke also
develop a number of more novel uses for it in Part II. During his
encounter with Naruto, Sasuke was able to use his Sharingan to enter
Naruto's subconscious, where he proceeded to suppress a small amount of
the Nine-Tails' chakra. In this instance, the demon compared Sasuke's eyes to that of Madara.[40]
In Part II, Sasuke began using his Sharingan genjutsu abilities, which have grown considerably strong, allowing him to easily hypnotise opponents, replay memories,[43] and to control a summoned creature as mighty as Manda.
When Orochimaru later tried to take over his body, Sasuke was able to
use his Sharingan turn Orochimaru's technique against the Sannin. His
skill with the Sharingan has grown to the point that he was able to
match Itachi in a genjutsu duel and finally overcome the Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu, Tsukuyomi.
Mangekyō Sharingan
Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan.
Sasuke awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan
after the death of his older brother, Itachi. Sasuke's Mangekyō takes
the appearance of three intersecting ellipses. Unlike other Sharingan,
which have a black design and red background, Sasuke's Mangekyō is the
first one that is shown to have a red design and a black background.
Customary of the dōjutsu, Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan damages his
eyesight every time he uses it, causing him to experience great pain
and extreme fatigue aswell as causing eye bleeding with each use. While
resting after his fight with Killer B, Sasuke found that his vision was
slightly blurred and during his battle with Kakashi, unleashing
Susanoo's final form caused his vision to worsen, leaving him unable to
maintain Susanoo.
The first ability Sasuke has displayed using the Mangekyō was to induce paralysis into his victim[44] and brainwash them to follow his orders.[45]
During their battle, Danzō denounced Sasuke's might with the technique,
reiterating Itachi's ability to alter a victim's impression of space
and time while under his Tsukuyomi. Tobi noted however, that Sasuke's
precise timing in its use was able to somewhat make up for the
illusion's lack of power. Since then, his prowess has somewhat
increased, as he was able to override another person's genjutsu with one of his own. The second ability was Amaterasu.
When Sasuke first used it unintentionally on Tobi, his right eye took
Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan form. When he later used it on his own, they
took his own Mangekyō Sharingan form. Various characters have implied
that his skill with Amaterasu surpasses Itachi's, as he is able to both
control and extinguish the flames with his right eye.
Sasuke is one of the rare few Uchiha who obtained the the ability to use Susanoo,
which he can use in the same manner as his Cursed Seal, manifesting
single parts at a time; the technique's development is dependent on
Sasuke's extreme emotion, usually anger. Sasuke initially uses
incomplete versions of Susanoo due to various reasons. During his fight
with Danzō, he uses a more complete version, and demonstrates its
ability to use different weapons. Later on, during his fight with
Kakashi, he perfected his Susanoo into an armoured form similar to
Itachi's. Unlike Itachi, Sasuke's Amaterasu comes from his left eye, and
Tsukuyomi along with his ability to manipulate and extinguish the black
flames from his right eye. The last ability Sasuke demonstrated with
his Mangekyō Sharingan was a technique that manipulates the black flames
of Amaterasu known as Blaze Release.
Sasuke activates his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Although Sasuke initially refused Itachi's eyes, after his
conversation with Naruto, Sasuke finally had Tobi transplant Itachi's
eyes in order to escape the Mangekyō-induced blindness and to face
Naruto with his full power. His "Eternal" Mangekyō took the shape of his
old Mangekyō Sharingan, with an altered version of Itachi's Mangekyō
Sharingan design in the centre.
Following the acquisition of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan,
Sasuke can clearly see in pitch-black darkness. Also, his Susanoo
underwent a new change as the armour's hood gained a beak-like shape,
its hands gained scales and it wields an orb composed of the black
flames of Amaterasu on its third hand, from which he can produce either a
weapon to stab his opponents, or fire several tomoe-shaped projectiles that can incinerate a foe on contact. It also wields another weapon on his primary left hand.
From a young age, Sasuke has been able to easily learn various
ninjutsu, scoring top marks in academy tests and being referred as a
genius by several shinobi. He is a proficient strategist and during
fights, he easily observes his opponents and accurately sees through
their abilities while remaining calm. He then correctly chooses the most
effective means and ninjutsu to counter them. Sasuke can deduce a
technique's elemental property from the seals performed by its user, as
he shows in his battle against Deidara. He is then able to determine the
attack's range from the colour of the chakra.[3]
Likewise, he is capable of outsmarting older and more experienced
shinobi, such as Danzō Shimura during their battle, when he fooled him
into revealing his use of Izanagi and later using a right-timed genjutsu
in order to trick him into believing that Izanagi was still active. His
resolution enables him to pick strategies in which he requires getting
injured in order to defeat the enemy, thereby showing tremendous
endurance and willpower.
His intelligence also allowed him to develop many powerful
techniques on his own, all based on the one technique his teacher taught
him. From the Chidori, Sasuke mastered the principles of Lightning
Release, and created many innovative techniques that are derived from
it. He was also able to combine techniques together to create the right
atmosphere for the Kirin, utilising weather manipulation to create a
powerful thunderstorm. He has also developed a great understanding of
snakes and snake-derived techniques from extensive research done to
defeat Orochimaru.
The official group photo of Team 7.
Upon the formation of Team 7, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were forced
to mingle. Sasuke tried to avoid both of them, but he kept getting drawn
into Sakura's romantic advances and Naruto's attempts at a competition.
Accordingly, Kakashi gave them a bell test, the three of them being
tasked with taking the two bells he kept on his person. Sasuke tried to
take a bell by himself, ignoring Sakura and Naruto, and had more success
than either. He was still unsuccessful, however, and was forced to
regroup with his team. Together, they realised that the true goal of the
test was to learn to place teamwork above the single-handed completion
of the mission, and, in doing so, were allowed to pass.
Land of Waves Arc
Sasuke protects Naruto.
Sasuke's first major mission was escorting the bridge builder, Tazuna, to his home in the poverty-stricken Land of Waves. Soon after setting out, Sasuke showed exceptional skill when attacked by the Demon Brothers,
even taunting Naruto for being shocked and useless during this
encounter. When they later had a tree-climbing exercise to improve
chakra control, he managed to stay ahead of Naruto for a good length of
time, but as Naruto began to catch up, they started to push each other's
limits. His skills improved, Sasuke was almost able to compete with Haku,
who was extremely dangerous because of his extreme speed and dexterity.
It was during this battle that Sasuke reawakened the legacy of his
clan, the Sharingan,
and even selflessly put himself in the way of Haku's attack on Naruto
to protect him. Although he claimed his body had moved on its own, his
actions showed that he was willing to put himself in mortal danger for
Naruto's sake. Although it appeared that Sasuke had died in the process,
it was later revealed that he was merely put in a temporary death
state.
Chūnin Exam Arc
Before the Chūnin Exams started, Sasuke fought Rock Lee, who easily overcame the power of his Sharingan through an amazing display of speed and taijutsu
prowess; for if the user can't physically keep up with the target then
the Sharingan is useless. However, before the finishing blow could be
given, Might Guy
interrupted the match and punished his beloved student for using a
forbidden technique in a normal fight. In the first part of the exam,
Sasuke realised that, to succeed in the written test, it is required to
cheat without getting caught, as the written exam tests a ninja's
information-gathering ability. Sasuke was shown using the Sharingan to
copy the movement of a student in front of him, effectively copying the
answers.
Sasuke receives the Cursed Seal from Orochimaru.
In the second test of the Chūnin Exam in the Forest of Death,
Sasuke was attacked by Orochimaru. Recognising that they were no match
for Orochimaru, Sasuke tried to surrender. However, Naruto stopped him,
attacking Orochimaru regardless of the clear difference in strength, and
taunting Sasuke just as he had earlier taunted Naruto. This spurred
Sasuke into action, giving him the resolve to defeat Orochimaru.
Impressed, Orochimaru put his cursed seal
on Sasuke's neck during the battle as a reward, causing Sasuke so much
pain that he fell unconscious. As the seal attuned to his body, he had
nightmares, and, when he woke up, was immersed in its power. He
immediately saved Sakura from the attacking Otogakure genin, effortlessly defeating them and going so far as to break Zaku's
arms. Recognising that the cursed seal had apparently corrupted him,
Sakura hugged him and pleaded for him to stop. He relented, and the seal
receded. Sasuke was surprised by his own sudden burst of strength.
In Part II, Sasuke is revealed to have saved Karin from a bear during the second phase, but he left her alone since he didn't need her scroll.
Sasuke's match up in the preliminaries was against Yoroi Akadō.
Before the fight started, Kakashi warned Sasuke that, if his cursed
seal got out of control, which would happen if he used any chakra,
he would need to be removed from the competition. The match started
with Yoroi absorbing what little chakra Sasuke had left through his
hands, and with Sasuke being in constant pain from his Cursed Seal.
Having only one option, and remembering his previous encounter with Rock
Lee, Sasuke used the Lion Combo. Yoroi was knocked out, and Sasuke advanced to the next round.
Sasuke in his fight with Gaara.
Following his win, Kakashi took Sasuke away to seal the Cursed Seal,
but made it a point to tell him that the seal would only remain active
as long as Sasuke wanted it to. Not convinced that his words would deter
Sasuke from seeing the Cursed Seal, and Orochimaru, as a source of
power, Kakashi used the month leading up to the final rounds to teach
him the Chidori. At the same time, knowing Sasuke would be facing Gaara,
he helped Sasuke to emulate some of Lee's speed. After showing up late
for his match with Gaara, Sasuke demonstrated the fruits of his
training, even managing to break through Gaara's defences and injure
him. Before the match could finish, however, it was interrupted by the
start of Orochimaru's attack on Konoha.
Invasion of Konoha Arc
With the start of the invasion, Gaara fled the village with his siblings, and Sasuke was sent after them by Genma. Sasuke chased them and, after short battles with Kankurō and Temari,
Sasuke caught up with and fought Gaara. Sasuke used Chidori, once again
managing to wound Gaara, who by now had started to transform into his half Shukaku form.
The form, however, allowed Gaara to quickly recuperate from the attack,
putting Sasuke on the defensive since he no longer had the chakra
reserves to use Chidori again. With Gaara's resolve to kill him growing
increasingly stronger, Sasuke had no choice but to tap into the cursed
seal in order to use another Chidori. However, this had no effect
against Gaara, and Sasuke was left exhausted. Unable to move, Sasuke was
saved by the prompt arrival of Sakura and Naruto. Sasuke watched
Naruto's fight with Gaara unfold, becoming jealous of Naruto once he
claimed victory. Later he attended the Third Hokage's funeral.
Search for Tsunade Arc
Itachi choking Sasuke.
After the failed invasion, Sasuke went to see Kakashi,[46] and later was seen reading the stone tablet in the Naka Shrine.[47]
When he arrived at Kakashi's house to see him again, he found his
teacher in a coma. Although nobody in the room was willing to tell
Sasuke of what had happened, Aoba Yamashiro
soon arrived and let slip that Itachi had returned to the village in
search of Naruto. Determined to find Itachi and to save Naruto (by order
of priority), Sasuke hurriedly rushed outside, tracked his team-mate
down, and found that Itachi was already there. Despite his best efforts,
including the use of Chidori, none of his attacks were able to hit
Itachi. Itachi tormented Sasuke physically and mentally, belittling him
for still being too weak, eventually leaving Sasuke with a broken wrist
and mind. Sasuke then fell into the same coma-like state as Kakashi,
trapped in Itachi's "Nightmare Realm". Guy appeared to take Sasuke back to Konoha, however, it was not until Tsunade returned to Konoha that he recovered.
Sasuke leaves Konoha and joins Sound Four.
Angry that Itachi was still so much stronger than he was, and envious
of the fact that Naruto had got stronger in such a short period of
time, Sasuke challenged Naruto to a fight. Although they were stopped by
Kakashi, their brief exchange was enough to show Sasuke that Naruto's
Rasengan was more damaging than his Chidori. Kakashi lectured him about
using Chidori on his own friends, but, before this could fully sink in,
Sasuke was confronted by Orochimaru's Sound Four,
each of whom had their own cursed seal. Amazed by their abilities,
which they claimed to have received from Orochimaru, Sasuke was left
with their offer of escorting him to Orochimaru so that he could get
stronger.
To gain the power he so desperately wanted, Sasuke decided to
take Orochimaru up on his offer, turning his back on Konoha in the
process. As he snuck out of the village, Sakura found him, and soon
understood the magnitude of what he was about to do. Desperate not to
lose Sasuke, Sakura did anything and everything she could think of,
confessing her love for him and even offering to help exact revenge on
Itachi. Sasuke's cryptic last words before swiftly knocking her out and
departing were, "Sakura… thank you." Sasuke left with the Sound Four,
who soon afterwards advanced his Cursed Seal to its second level, a
process that left him unconscious for most of their battle with the Sasuke Retrieval Team.
Sasuke and Naruto face off.
Soon after Sasuke woke up, he was found by Naruto. Sasuke was glad to
see Naruto; after slaughtering the Uchiha clan, Itachi had told Sasuke
that he would only be able to match him in battle after he had obtained
the Mangekyō Sharingan, which could only be attained by killing one's
best friend, which was now Naruto for Sasuke. Naruto refused to accept
that Sasuke would do this or his other reasons for pursuing Orochimaru,
choosing instead to drag Sasuke back to the village by force if he had
to. They subsequently engaged in battle, with Sasuke initially having
the upper hand thanks to his cursed seal and Sharingan. When he managed
to pierce Naruto's right shoulder with his Chidori, however, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's chakra kicked in to protect Naruto, giving him a massive power increase.
With the Nine-Tails' chakra now active, Naruto easily tossed
Sasuke about in an attempt to knock some sense into him. Sasuke merely
retorted that Naruto could never understand what it was like to lose
family members, as he had never had them to begin with. Naruto reasoned
that Sasuke was like a brother to him, therefore he would not let him
destroy that bond. Sasuke's Sharingan evolved to its final level at that
point, tipping the battle in Sasuke's favour because he was able to
predict Naruto's movements. The Nine-Tails' chakra once again came to
Naruto's rescue, enveloping him in a fox-shaped shield of chakra and boosting his power once more.
Sasuke clasing with Naruto.
With the Nine-Tails' chakra shield, Naruto was again more than Sasuke
could handle, even with his Cursed Seal active. To counter Naruto's
power, Sasuke activated the second stage of his cursed seal, becoming a
demonic figure with a pair of huge, hand-like wings sprouting from his
back. Naruto attacked with his Rasengan (enhanced by the Nine-Tails' chakra) and Sasuke with his Chidori
(empowered by the Cursed Seal). Upon impact, a massive dome of black
energy formed around them. Sasuke punched Naruto in the chest at the
last second (instead of impaling him with what was left of his Chidori)
and knocked him out, while Naruto opted to scratch Sasuke's forehead
protector, something Sasuke had said he wouldn't be able to do at the
start of the fight.
After the energy dome dissipated, Sasuke was shown to be the
victor, now standing over an unconscious Naruto. He considered killing
Naruto, but couldn't find himself to do it. He also realised that doing
so would be exactly what Itachi wanted him to do. Leaving behind his
scratched forehead protector, which had fallen off after Naruto's last
attack, Sasuke made his way to Orochimaru. While doing so, Sasuke
resolved to surpass Itachi in his own way, instead of relying on the
same skill Itachi used.
Part II
Sasuke and Sai Arc
Sasuke's début appearance in Part II.
Sasuke débuts in Part II during a meeting with his replacement in Team 7, Sai.
When Sasuke shows a lack in interest for knowing who Sai is, the latter
inadvertently provokes him by stating that he might be able to get
along better with Sasuke than he did with Naruto, and Sasuke traps Sai
in a genjutsu exuding a large amount of killing intent.[48]
Sai is amazed that even an emotionless person such as himself was
affected by Sasuke's gaze, channeling through his Sharingan. When Sai
comments on how Naruto and Sakura have been searching for him, Sasuke
once again regards him with indifference in attitude.
Later, when Team 7 infiltrates one of Orochimaru's hideouts successfully under the leadership of Yamato,
Sai, acting on his own, locates and enters Sasuke's room while he was
resting in a bid to assassinate him as ordered by his superior in
Konoha's Root faction, Danzō Shimura.
However, after spending quality time in Team 7, especially with Naruto,
Sai comes to understand the meaning of bonds of friendship, and
disregarding his original secret mission of killing Sasuke, he states to
the latter that he wants to repair his and Naruto's bond. Enraged on
being disturbed, Sasuke destroys the room, drawing Naruto, Sakura and
Yamato to their location. Despite this being the first time in nearly
three years that they had seen each other, Sasuke expresses his usual
indifference towards his former team.[49]
Unperturbed in the prospect going home to Konoha with them, Sasuke
engages them in battle, showing off his increase in speed and improved
abilities.
Sasuke's encounter with the Nine-Tails.
The new Team 7 are little match for him, mostly due to the team's exhaustion with Naruto's four-tailed form
(that he had previously used to battle Orochimaru), causing Naruto to
begin struggling with the Nine-Tails' chakra in his mind. To the
surprise of both Naruto and the Nine-Tails, Sasuke uses the heightened
prowess of his Sharingan to enter Naruto's subconscious to meet the
Nine-Tails itself, finally discovering the true source of Naruto's
strength. The Nine-Tails appears to be impressed with Sasuke's growth
and ability, but as it criticises his chakra being as "sinister" as Madara Uchiha's,
Sasuke coldly dismisses any relation to that person and uses his
Sharingan to suppress the Nine-Tails back into its sealed cage. The
Nine-Tails concludes that this was probably its last meeting with
Sasuke, so it warns him not to kill Naruto, for he would only end up
regretting it. Back outside, Sasuke decides to finish off his former
team-mates, starting with Naruto, only to be stopped by Orochimaru.
Paying heed to Orochimaru's plan to use Team 7 and other Konoha shinobi
to thin Akatsuki's numbers, Sasuke leaves with him and Kabuto.
Sasuke defeats Orochimaru.
Sometime later, Orochimaru tests Sasuke's abilities by having him
battle hundreds of Otogakure ninja with no compassion or mercy, a task
he completes without taking a scratch and without killing any of them.
When inquired about the latter part of the scenario, Sasuke remarks that
the only person he wants to kill is his brother, Itachi, and leaves to
his training room. Soon afterwards, as Orochimaru reaches the limit of
his present "vessel" containing his soul, which starts degrading his health, he is notified by Kabuto that the time for his ritual
to take over Sasuke's body is near. As Kabuto leaves to get some
medicine, a vulnerable Orochimaru is unexpectedly attacked by Sasuke,
who announces that there is nothing else that he could learn from
Orochimaru, and that he is unworthy of having his body or the Sharingan.[50]
Although Sasuke appears victorious after a brief scuffle with
Orochimaru's true snake-form, he is nevertheless brought to Orochimaru's
subconscious for his body-stealing technique.
Having severely underestimated Sasuke, it is Orochimaru, in turn, who
is absorbed to a dormant state within Sasuke, who is able to reverse the
process using his Sharingan and hence, gains access to all of
Orochimaru's abilities.[51]
With Orochimaru gone, Sasuke goes ahead with his plan to locate
and kill Itachi, by first recruiting some of Orochimaru's former test
subjects - Suigetsu Hōzuki, Karin, and Jūgo - on the pretext of granting them virtues for their themselves after the success of their mission (Suigetsu wants to obtain Samehada by killing Itachi's Akatsuki partner, Kisame Hoshigaki;
Karin wants to be with Sasuke due to her massive crush on him; and,
Jūgo wants to see if Sasuke was indeed worth of his dear friend, Kimimaro's sacrifice), and dubs their team Hebi.
And immediately afterwards, Sasuke had his team split up and learn of
Itachi's potential whereabouts. While searching alone, Sasuke is found
by Akatsuki members, Deidara and Tobi, with the former wanting to kill him for defeating Orochimaru himself. Using his Sharingan and lightning-based techniques, Sasuke manages to counter most of Deidara's attacks,
fueling his pre-existing hatred for the Sharingan, stemming from his
past encounter with Itachi, even further, which to him could not see or
admire his "art". As a last ditch effort, Deidara uses C0
to try blowing himself up along with Sasuke in a titanic explosion,
which obliterates everything in the nearby vicinity. Sasuke, however, summonsManda
in time and uses his Sharingan to have the great serpent shield him
from the explosion, at the cost of his life, later admitting to Karin
that he only defeated Orochimaru because he was already weakened after
the latter shows disbelief that he could have. After recovering from his
wounds, Hebi continues onto one of Akatsuki's lairs, where Sasuke finds
a crow clone of Itachi which expresses admiration over Sasuke's growth in power and tells him they will have their battle at the Uchiha Hideout, leaving the rest of Hebi behind to deal with Kisame.
Sasuke and Itachi battling.
Once inside the Hideout, Itachi tells Sasuke the cursed history of their clan, of Madara Uchiha being still alive as another Uchiha besides themselves, and his desire to obtain the flawless Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan
by taking Sasuke's eyes. Once he finishes, the brothers first fight in a
battle of genjutsu, where Sasuke demands the location of Madara so that
he can kill him too, but after Itachi declares him to be "immortal", he
ensnares Sasuke in a Tsukuyomi, from which Sasuke breaks free, much to Itachi's surprise, due to his immense mastery of the Sharingan. With Zetsu
witnessing (and "recording") the battle, Itachi appears somewhat weaker
to dodge some of the simplest attacks from Sasuke and even coughs
blood. Notwithstanding Itachi's condition, Sasuke unleashes a fireball, provoking Itachi to do the same. As Sasuke's fire gains on Itachi's, the latter resorts to using his Mangekyō Sharingan technique, Amaterasu, which ignites the area in the undying black flames, and almost burns Sasuke. But Sasuke survives using one of Orochimaru's techniques, and in his cursed seal second state, launches Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique, which creates an artificial weather condition
around them, perfectly suitable for Sasuke to attack Itachi with his
final lightning technique that uses the power of natural lightning
itself: Kirin. But Itachi barely survives, only by his use of the third and final Mangekyō technique, Susanoo.
The conclusion of Sasuke's battle with his brother.
Having used the last of chakra on Kirin, Orochimaru, who has been
absorbed and suppressed by Sasuke's chakra, uses this opportunity to
reappear in the outer world through one of his eight giant snakes in a last attempt to take Sasuke's body for his own.[52] However, before this could happen, Itachi has Susanoo use the Sword of Totsuka
to seal him permanently in a genjutsu realm, thereby removing every
tint of Orochimaru's being from Sasuke, including the Cursed Seal of
Heaven. Cornered by an incoming Itachi, Sasuke watches in horror his
brother inevitably aiming for his eyes, but is flabbergasted when,
instead, Itachi says a few words and collapses to his death, after
poking him in the forehead- something Itachi would regularly do to
Sasuke when they were younger. Shocked and exhausted, Sasuke too passes
out, albeit with a smile due to the accomplishment of his lifelong
mission.
Sasuke wakes up in a cave in the care of Tobi, who quickly
exposes himself to be Madara Uchiha. As Tobi tries to befriend Sasuke by
removing his mask and revealing his Sharingan, he somehow triggers Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan to form in Sasuke's left eye
and launch an Amaterasu onto him, causing him to retreat into the
darkness of the cave. After dispelling the black flames with ease, an
unscathed and masked Tobi appears again and begins to muse about how
Itachi never ceased to amaze him.[53]
As Sasuke asks what he was talking about, Tobi reveals that Itachi had
most likely implanted a one-shot Amaterasu in Sasuke's eye to attack if
and when he saw Tobi's Sharingan. As Sasuke complains that he is making
no sense, Tobi makes startling revelations that it had been to protect
him, and, when Sasuke still didn't believe him, Tobi said how it must
all sound crazy, but assured him that he was telling the truth, and
introduced himself as the man who had helped Itachi to slaughter the
entire Uchiha clan.
Sasuke mourning the loss of his brother after learning the truth.
Tobi reveals to Sasuke the "truth" of Itachi, that he killed his clan by orders from Konoha,
how he joined Akatsuki to keep an eye on the organisation from the
inside, and how in the end his only goal was to keep his village, and
his brother safe. And that everything he had done was to make sure
Sasuke grew strong. Remembering his childhood of how Itachi really was a
kind, good brother, Sasuke developed his own Mangekyō Sharingan. He
renamed Hebi to Taka and vowed he would destroy Konoha after crying over the memories of his beloved older brother.
Invasion of Pain Arc
Sasuke and Killer B clash.
Before Hebi, now renamed Taka, could attack Konoha, Tobi convinced them to start working with Akatsuki. He sent them to the Land of Lightning to capture the Eight-Tails, where they found its host, Killer B.
The capture attempt got off to a bad start, as Killer B easily defeated
both Suigetsu and Jūgo, prompting Sasuke to face B one on one. Sasuke
is unable to read Killer B's unique kenjutsu
and B ultimately stabbed Sasuke with six swords. Sasuke was rescued and
healed by Karin, and the team decided to all attack at once. While they
had more success, Killer B released a great deal of the Eight-Tails'
chakra and created a chakra cloak. When Sasuke attempted to use genjutsu
to knock B out, the Eight-Tails broke him out of it and B retaliated
with great force, using the Eight-Tails' power to blow Sasuke's neck and chest apart.
While Sasuke was down, Killer B fully transformed into the beast sealed within him, leaving Taka outclassed. Jūgo
heals Sasuke by fusing some of his own flesh with Sasuke's. Suigetsu
then allows the team to flee and protects then from Killer B's Tailed Beast Ball. Fearing the deaths of he and his team-mates, Sasuke unleashed his new Mangekyō Sharingan and Amaterasu to capture Killer B.
Sasuke delivered Killer B to Tobi before regrouping with Taka. While resting, they dealt with J,
who had been following them. However, when Sasuke tipped over a glass
of water, he learned that his eyesight was already starting to
deteriorate. He opted to keep this revelation from the team.
Five Kage Summit Arc
Once Taka recovered from their battle with Killer B, they headed for
Konoha, but are intercepted by Tobi. He informed Taka about the
destruction of Konoha and their failure in capturing the Eight-Tails
which had been revealed to be nothing more than a transformed tentacle.
He also told them about Danzō Shimura becoming Hokage and the Kage Summit. Taka was led to the Land of Iron, where the summit was held, by White Zetsu.
Sasuke and A clashing.
Taka managed to infiltrate the summit without being detected, but
their cover was blown by Zetsu, on orders from Tobi. Forced out of
hiding, Sasuke engaged the samurai guards and slaughtered them despite his previous strict no-kill policy, revealing how deep he has fallen into darkness. The Fourth Raikage,
still under the impression that Sasuke has killed his younger brother
Killer B, confronted Taka together with his escorts. The ensuing fight
was interrupted by the Fifth Kazekage
and his escorts, but not before the Raikage had lost an arm and Sasuke
was near exhaustion. After seeing how dark Sasuke had become, the
Kazekage continued the fight, but Sasuke used his Susanoo to create a
distraction and escaped with Karin, leaving Suigetsu and Jūgo to fend for themselves.
Karin guided Sasuke to the room where the summit was held, but
before he could engage Danzō, Sasuke was confronted by Mifune. In the
meanwhile, Danzō managed to escape, but the Fifth Mizukage prevented Sasuke from pursuing him. Sasuke was ready to pass out, but was reinvigorated by Zetsu's Spore Technique. He escaped from the Mizukage, only to be confronted by the Third Tsuchikage.
He was just barely saved by Tobi, who pulled him and Karin into another
dimension using his Sharingan, where Karin nursed Sasuke back to
health.
Sasuke and Danzō strike each other simultaneously.
Tobi brought Sasuke out in front of Danzō. Sasuke, overtaken by his
lust for revenge, advances Susanoo to a form able to fire arrows. Danzō,
using Izanagi,
avoids fatal injury and goads Sasuke about Itachi all the while. Each
determined to kill the other, they clash again, Danzō relying on Izanagi
to save him. Sasuke, however, had used a genjutsu
to only create the illusion that Izanagi was still active, allowing him
to mortally wound Danzō. Danzō takes Karin hostage in an attempt to buy
time, but Sasuke had no hesitations in fatally wounding Karin in order
to finish off Danzō.
With his revenge against Danzō fulfilled, Sasuke declared his
plans to go to Konoha. However, Tobi pointed out that Sasuke was
exhausted and near blindness. He also told Sasuke to kill Karin
if she was no longer of any use, before leaving himself. As Sasuke was
about to kill Karin, Sakura suddenly appeared and interrupted him. She
told him that she was willing to follow him, even if it meant abandoning
and even destroying Konoha. Sasuke was sceptical and told Sakura to
kill Karin to prove she was sincere. However, as Sakura hesitated,
Sasuke attempted to kill her with his Chidori,
only to be stopped by Kakashi. Sasuke laughs at their continued
attempts to convince him to return to Konoha and attacks Kakashi, with
the intention of killing him. Taking Kakashi's attempt to remind him
about his former comrades in Konoha as an insult to Itachi, Sasuke's
Susanoo gained a layer of armour. However, this form was short-lived, as
much to Sasuke's horror, his eyesight deteriorates instantly, to the
point of seeing a blurred haze at most, and Sakura uses the opportunity to try and strike him down.
Sasuke and Naruto about to clash.
Sakura ultimately cannot bring herself to kill Sasuke. Though
near-blind, Sasuke senses her and nearly killed her, but she is saved by
Naruto.
Naruto sympathises with Sasuke's motives, to which Sasuke cynically
counters with his pleasure of revenge, as well as revealing his crime of
murdering Danzō. When Naruto restrains Kakashi to keep him from killing
Sasuke, Sasuke uses this opportunity to try once more to kill Kakashi
with Chidori, but Naruto counters with Rasengan. As the two collide, he
tells Naruto that his only options are to kill him or die. Naruto
rejects both, stating he has a third option. As their clash sends two
flying back, one of White Zetsu's clones
appears and cushions Sasuke's fall. Tobi then appears and prepares to
take Sasuke away, but he tells him to wait so he can hear what Naruto
has to say, which is that if they fight again, they will both die
together. Sasuke then becomes angry and demands Naruto to answer why he
cares about him so much, to which Naruto replies he is doing it because
he is his friend, leaving Sasuke shocked. Despite this unperceived
event, Sasuke firmly states he refuses to go back on the path he walks.
So, before leaving away with Tobi, Sasuke says that they must have a
talk.
At their hideout, Sasuke asks Tobi to replace his eyes with
Itachi's eyes, as his vision is almost faded due to his reckless overuse
of his Mangekyō Sharingan from battling Killer B, A, Danzō Shimura and Team 7
as he wants to defeat Naruto with his full power. After transplanting
Itachi's eyes, Tobi claimed that Sasuke would need time to recuperate
from the operation and adjust to the new Mangekyō. Sasuke however
remarked that it felt perfect and that he could feel Itachi's power
flowing into him.
Shinobi World War Arc
Sasuke tests out his Susanoo after transplanting Itachi's eyes.
Sasuke recovers from his surgery, and asks Zetsu
if he could take off the bandages. Zetsu told him not yet, but when he
does, he'll be looking at a whole new world. After some time passes,
Sasuke attacks White Zetsu with his Susanoo and sets him ablaze with Amaterasu,
saying that his eyes could see just fine in the dark so he should try
it outside. He then removes his bandages, revealing his Eternal Mangekyō
Sharingan. Back at the Mountains' Graveyard,
Sasuke carves an opening through the roof with his sword — and dressed
in his old garbs — mobilises. Later, as Sasuke walks to the battlefield
in the middle of a thunderstorm, he looks behind him and grins
ominously.
Sasuke meets up with some of Zetsu's clones,
and uses a combination of Susanoo and Amaterasu to destroy many of
them. Using genjutsu on one of them, he discovers that Tobi has started a
war, in order to capture B and Naruto. Sasuke wonders if Naruto forgot
what true strength is. Sasuke decapitates the hypnotised clone and
decides to go kill Naruto, and finishes off the remaining Zetsu clone
using Amaterasu. He then reminisces about his brother and resumes his
way to the battlefield. As he notices something coming by the forest, he
takes his sword and goes to investigate, only to find his brother, much
to his surprise. Sasuke chases after him and tries to catch him with an
arm of Susanoo after he calls out to Itachi, but Itachi counters with
his own. Positively identifying Itachi, Sasuke asks what he is doing
there since he was supposed to be dead, to which Itachi reveals Kabuto had reincarnated him with Impure World Reincarnation.
Sasuke bombards Itachi with a slew of questions and retorts his
brother's later statement that since he was dead, he would not talk
anymore by saying that even in death he was running away from him.
Itachi then tells Sasuke that he wasn't running away but rather was
focusing on doing important tasks like ending the Impure World
Reincarnation.
Sasuke joins forces with Itachi to defeat Kabuto.
Still pursuing his brother — who even goes as far as to summon a flock of crows
in order to blind him — he manages not to lose sight of him and follows
him right to Kabuto's location. After seeing him, Kabuto lets out a
maniacal laugh and states that his luck was finally changing. After
seeing Kabuto's form, Sasuke mistakes him for Orochimaru, but after
hearing Kabuto's voice, he realises it's not Orochimaru. Kabuto then
tries to take advantage of Sasuke's hatred to help him defeat Itachi.
Sasuke, however, having learned the truth about Itachi, sided with his
brother over Kabuto, stating that anything left of Orochimaru was his
enemy as well and then told Itachi that when this was over he was
supposed to keep his promise and talk to him about everything
afterwards.
Sasuke and Itachi vs. Kabuto.
As Kabuto covers his face up entirely claiming that introverts
weren't used to so much attention, Sasuke surmises that it's because he
wanted to protect himself from the brothers' ocular-based genjutsu.
Informing his brother of some of the abilities of the snake, he watches
on vigilantly as Kabuto's snakes grow in size and attack them.
Activating his Susanoo alongside Itachi, he beheads the snakes that
attacked him. As Itachi cautions him to not be so rough, Sasuke tells
his brother that with Orochimaru's powers it'd take more than that to
kill him. After Kabuto manages to elude them, Sasuke listens as Kabuto tells him that the experiments on his former team-mates had allowed Kabuto to acquire new abilities. Firing an arrow
at Kabuto which the latter narrowly dodges, Sasuke watches on as Kabuto
emerges from the mouth of one of the snakes and declares that after
finding the Ryūchi Cave and learning the way of the sage from the White Snake Sage, that he had transcended to a dragon.
Sasuke's arrow pins Kabuto to the roof of the cave.
As Kabuto's technique
is initiated, Sasuke covers his ears and closes his eyes in pain,
realising that he can't maintain his Susanoo. As the technique ends,
Sasuke opens his eyes to see Itachi's Susanoo protecting him. Kabuto
tries to implant doubt and mistrust amongst the two brothers, but Sasuke
doesn't fall for them and attempts to hit him with his Chidori Sharp Spear,
but fails. As Kabuto tells them that a mismatched pair like them could
never defeat him, Itachi tells him that they'd be going with an attack
pattern they had used in their youth against a wild boar. Forming his
Susanoo arrows, Sasuke is able to hit Kabuto's snake-tail with his
arrow, effectively pinning Kabuto to the ceiling of the cave. He later
realises that Kabuto was moving to use his discarded sword
to seemingly sever his snake-tail. Itachi intercepts the swing however.
As Itachi returns to Sasuke, he tells him that beating a giant pig like
that was probably no problem for him now, to which Sasuke replies that
dealing with the snake before them was the more pressing issue.
Noticing the strong teamwork between the two brothers, Kabuto
admits that he surprised by it. Sasuke explains that he merely wants to
know the truth from Itachi's own mouth. Realising that Sasuke heard
about Itachi's secret past, Kabuto mocks Sasuke for trying to get the
truth from Itachi when he has been lying to his younger brother all his
life. Kabuto goes on to say it is foolish that Sasuke is helping Itachi
when their personal goals are so different; Itachi's being to protect
Konoha while Sasuke wants to destroy it. Pointing out that he and Sasuke
share similar goals of destroying Konoha, Kabuto again tries to
persuade Sasuke to join him. Ultimately, Itachi tells Sasuke not to
listen as Kabuto is an even better liar than him. Itachi then admits to
Konoha's dark side, but still firmly considers himself a Konoha ninja,
greatly shocking Sasuke. Admitting to his own faults for how Sasuke
turned out, Itachi promises to tell him something important after the
battle, which he intends to finish with "Izanami", the partner technique to "Izanagi". As Kabuto attacks, Itachi blocks it, telling Sasuke the technique has begun and to stay near him.
As Kabuto attacks once again, this time incapacitating Itachi, Sasuke creates a ring of Amaterasu
flames around himself and his brother in order to prevent Kabuto from
getting any closer. As Kabuto begins chastising the Uchiha, Sasuke
lashes out at him, but is stopped by a now-regenerated Itachi. Growing
impatient, Sasuke questioned Itachi about whether or not they really had
to keep him alive as it was hampering them. Seeing that Kabuto was
prepared to attack one more, he asks Itachi again if Izanami was ready
as yet. As their Amaterasu barricade is broken by Kabuto's use of Jirōbō — who had emerged from the base of his navel snake — the two brothers incinerated the onslaught on web produced by Kidōmaru. With no time to retaliate, as Kabuto produced Kimimaro to barricade
their exit with bones and more web. Realising that they were boxed in
the brothers activate their Susanoo with Sasuke using his Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi to destroy the web that was in front of them once again. Retreating further into the cave, the brothers are afflicted by Tayuya's auditory genjutsu. Using their own genjutsu to break each other free from the technique, the brothers are able to stop the white snake form
of Orochimaru from attacking them. However, Kabuto uses this
opportunity to emerge from the mouth of the snake and bisect Itachi,
much to Sasuke's shock.
