Everything you need to know about the Sharingan eyes!
The Sharingan (写輪眼, meaning literally: Twirling Copying Eye) is one of the three hereditary Dojutsu, or “Pupil technique”, of the Naruto series. It appears in some members of the famous Uchiha clan. Tobirama Senju described this pupil as “the eye that reflects the heart”.
HOW DO WE AWAKEN THE SHARINGAN
Before we start, you should know that being born in the Uchiha clan does not automatically give you the right to have Sharingan as it only manifests itself in certain individuals. This individual must have an intensely emotional experience, bad or good to awaken this famous pupil. The experience may be negative, as when Madara lost her younger brother, or positive, as when Obito felt the strong desire to protect Kakashi.
THE SHARINGAN LEVELS
In this chapter, we will discuss how the Sharingan evolves during the time, what are the different Sharingan levels and states of this pupil and what do they offer to its owner. In the end, we can say that there are 7 levels of the Uchiha eyes, each one being needing specific situations to happen.
At the time of his first awakening, each Sharingan usually has only one tomoe (巴). However, some users have managed to awaken the Sharingan with two or three tomoe at the same time but these cases are very rare and that’s why we won’t discuss too much about it. Through hard training and regular use, the Sharingan acquires a second and then a third tomoe as proof of his evolution and power increasing. Each tomoe strengthens the Sharingan’s abilities.
The two main abilities of the Sharingan are the “Eye of Insight” (洞察眼, Dōsatsugan) and the “Eye of Hypnotism” (催眠眼, Saimingan)
Eye of Insight
« Eye of Insight » (Dôsatsugan) offers the user incredible clarity, allowing him to see people’s chakras, predict an opponent’s movements, and even copy his Jutsu by imitating mudras. However, this technique is not perfect. The Eye of Insight cannot see the chakras as well as the Byakugan. And although you are able to copy most techniques, you cannot perform the hereditary attribute (Kekkei Genkai) of another clan, or use a change in chakra nature that you do not possess.
Eye of Hypnotism
« Eye of Hypnotism » (Saimingan) allows the user to throw powerful Genjutsu techniques on his opponents, and even in some cases, to control them completely. It is thanks to this eye that Madara and Sasuke, among others Uchiha members, were able to control Kyuubi and make him destroy the Hidden Leaf Village at the beginning of the manga Naruto.
In most cases, however, the user must make eye contact with his opponent. Only a handful of users are able to perform Genjutsu techniques without eye contact such as Itachi Uchiha.
THE MANGEKYOU SHARINGAN
HOW DO WE AWAKEN THE MANGEKYOU SHARINGAN?
To awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, the ninja must go through an extremely traumatic event, almost always involving the loss of someone very precious to him. That’s actually where the Uchiha curse of hatred comes from. Many Uchiha killed those they loved the most in order to gain the power of this amazing pupils.
THE MANGEKYOU SHARINGAN CAPACITIES
Each ninja’s Mangekyo Sharingan is unique in appearance and varies in capacity. If a user unlocks the Mangekyo Sharingan with both eyes, he is able to wield the Susanoo, a massive humanoid deity made from the user’s chakra.
From Itachi’s Tsukuyomi, a Genjutsu so powerful that it is capable of disrupting the victim’s perception of time, to Obito’s Kamui, which modifies space-time itself by allowing it to teleport things into another dimension. However, these great powers have an even greater disadvantage: their use more than two or three times a day completely drains the user’s chakra. Kakashi would faint if he used his Mangekyo Sharingan more than three times a day. Continuous use also leads to blindness, as the user can no longer use the Mangekyo Sharingan at all.
THE ETERNAL MANGEKYOU SHARINGAN
Like its old variants, it comes at a price. The ninja must receive a transplanted Mangekyo Sharingan from someone with close family ties, ideally a brother or sister. This has led many Uchiha to kill members of their own family in order to obtain his powers. Obtaining the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan not only cures blindness caused by overuse, it also reverses most of the negative side effects and enhances the abilities of the originals. The transplant of a Mangekyou merges the eye design of the transplanter and the transplanted person into the Eternal Mangekyo.
THE RINNEGAN EYES
HOW DO WE AWAKEN THE RINNEGAN?
Rinnegan is the final evolution of the Sharingan, and can only be awakened by gaining the chakra of the Sage of the Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. To do this, you need the Sage to share with your a part of his chakra it directly or reproduces it by combining the chakra of his two sons, Indra and Asura. Given all that is necessary to achieve this final transformation, only two Uchiha, Sasuke and Madara, were able to unlock the Rinnegan.
WHAT DOES THE RINNEGAN DO?
With it, the user can use all the abilities of the Sage of the Six Paths and the five natures of the chakra. Each individual user also has access to his or her own Rinnegan abilities, such as Sasuke’s ability to switch places with any object within his or her reach or Madara’s ability to create invisible clones.
WHAT ARE THE MOST FAMOUS SHARINGAN ABILITIES?
1. BETTER VIEW
Just like the Byakugan, the Sharingan gives its user the possibility to see the chakras. This allows them to feel irregularities in another person’s chakra, such as when they are under a genjutsu. They can also see the chakras through barriers such as walls.
It allows you to track fast-moving objects, read the mudras in an opponent’s hand to determine the type of technique they will use and, in the case of prodigies like Sasuke, see objects at the cellular level.
Sharingan users also have the ability to copy different types of jutsu from their opponents. The most famous user of this feature is Kakashi Hatake, who is known as the “Copy Ninja” for the thousands of Jutsus he stole from various opponents.
2. HYPNOTISM
The Sharingan can throw powerful Genjutsus on humans, animals, and even on jewels. It is capable of complete brainwashing or controlling enemies, and has been widely used by Itachi and Shisui Uchiha.
The Mangekyou Sharingan has improved techniques far superior to those of the ordinary Sharingan, but it is highly damaging to eyesight and in the case of Itachi, can even make the user ill from overuse. The Mangekyou is known for its unique design that varies according to the user and its powerful techniques.
3. SUSANÔ
Susanô is an invoked avatar that can be used by anyone that posses both Mangekyou Sharingans. It creates a humanoid figure around the user and can be used for both offensive and defensive techniques.
– The rib cage of the Madara’s Susanô is used mainly for the defense or preservation of the chakras during battles.
– Sasuke’s Susanô, the most powerful known form of the series. It is used to fight other great avatars such as when Naruto is in Kurama mode.
4. AMATERASU
The Heavenly Illumination (Amaterasu) is a fire release juice that produces black flames in a specific area. Amaterasu flames cannot be extinguished for seven days and seven nights unless the user wishes to do so. Itachi and Sasuke (Indra in the anime) are the only known users of this technique. It can be changed into different forms during the fight thanks to the Katsuguchi technique.
5. KAMUI
Kamui is a space-time jutsu that allows the user to interact with matter and manipulate it in two dimensions (real world and Kamui space). It can be used to transport a target from one dimension to the other, to teleport, or to become “intangible” by applying the technique on oneself. It is used by Obito and Kakashi (Who took Obito’s eye).
6. BETTER GENJUTSUS
Extremely powerful genjutsu such as Tsukuyomi (Itachi) and Kotomatsukami (Shisui) can be used with Mangekyou Sharingan. They can alter the perception of others to such an extent that a moment can seem to last for decades, and are capable of causing such mental damage that the victim may die.
Itachi’s Kotoamatsukami raven (actually Shisui’s, it’s a long story) frees him from the control of Kabuto, previously thought infallible.
Itachi uses Tsukuyomi in the anime to torture Kakashi for “days”. Kisame was surprised that his mind was still intact after having endured such a technique).
Sasuke Uchiha Rinnegan is the last form of the Uchiha pupil and is an original dojutsu specific to Kaguya Otsutsuki and his creation, Jubi. The user exercises the Sharingan and the Rinnegan powers and has the power to throw the infinite Tsukuyomi by reflecting his eyes on the Moon.