Over the past two decades, Naruto has greatly increased in popularity. Naruto’s universe has some of the strongest characters you will ever see. All the strong characters have overpowering abilities. Most of these abilities are Kekkei Genkai, also known as hereditary gifts.
These abilities cannot be copied by the Sharingan because they are inherited. In this article, we will highlight the strongest abilities of kekkei genkai in the Naruto manga.
WHAT IS A KEKKEI GENKAI?
The kekkei genkai are fictional martial techniques that refer to the shōnen manga Naruto (as well as its adaptation in an animated series). The hereditary technique (血継限界, kekkei genkai?, lit. “technique limited to inheritance by blood”) is a genetically transmitted ability within a clan that in principle cannot be imitated or duplicated outside the clan lineages of a clan.
Strategically, kekkei genkai are often an advantage, allowing the use of new techniques that are more difficult to counter in combat or to gather more information. Ninjas with such particularities regularly use them in order to obtain victory.
Although they are very diverse, we can distinguish two main types of kekkei genkai: the dōjutsu (瞳術?, the art of using the pupils) and the advanced Godai Seishitsu Henka (五大性質変化?, Transformation of the nature of the five elements).
10) YÔTON
The Yôton (陽遁, Yôton, or Yang Chakra) is a chakra nature that exists independently of the five elementary natures already known. Like its complementary element, the Inton, little is known about it. The Yôton uses the body’s energy to control vitality, giving life to inert forms. Hagoromo Otsutsuki was able to combine the Yin and Yang energies to form the Inyoton which allowed him to create the nine jewels.
The Yôton tended to be hereditary within the Senju clan, the direct descendants of Hagoromo. In the Jin no Sho databook, it is said that members of the Senju clan do not, however, use this type of chakra in any significant way. On the other hand, other clans use it through their secret techniques, such as the Akimichi clan, to increase the size of their bodies tenfold.
9) JINTON
Jinton is a chakra nature and a kekkei genkai. It allows its users to use magnetic fields to fight.
This technique is used to handle metals, for example. It can be useful to magnetize a weapon, in order to create a magnetic field around the person that the weapon will touch. The next magnetic attacks will then be automatically directed at him. It can also be used to manipulate metals reduced to dust in order to use them in multiple ways. It can, therefore, be used in defense as well as in attack, for traps, etc… From this chakra come very versatile ways of fighting. These ways of using Jiton are similar to the techniques used by the jinchûriki of Ichibi.
8) SHAKUTON PAKURA EDO TENSEI
The Shakuton (灼遁, Shakuton) is a combination kekkei genkai of elemental natures composed of techniques that mix chakras based on the elements fire and wind to create intense heat capable of heating an enemy’s body to the point where the water inside his body eventually evaporates, killing the victim and leaving the body in a desiccated state.
7) SHIKOTSUMYAKU
The Shikotsumyaku (屍骨脈, Kana: Osteogenesis) Thanks to the calcium impregnated with chakra, he can make his bones grow at will and give them the shape he desires. The style of taijutsu adopted by the holders of this power is often considered the most powerful of all.
Shikotsumyaku is derived from a much more deadly technique used by Kaguya Otsutsuki, who used his own bones to defend and attack. The few descendants of Kaguya who inherited this power were part of a clan whose last representative was Kimimaro. Due to the special anatomy of people who mastered osteogenesis, Kabuto Yakushi, despite his talents as a doctor, was unable to find a cure for Kimimaro’s illness. However, he was able to access Kimimaro’s DNA through the twin demon technique and produce a clone with his bone structure to use this kekkei genkai.
The principle of Shikotsumyaku is to accelerate bone growth by bringing chakra-gorged calcium to the bone tissue to develop. The user thus creates bone weapons that he can make emerge from any part of his body, or even extract them to handle them like knives. He can also increase his bone density tenfold to build up a shell resistant to all types of physical attacks and even fire bone projectiles as penetrating as rifle bullets.
Since bones systematically tear the skin as they leave the body, the skin regenerates automatically and bones lost through extraction are immediately replaced. However, it takes some time for the limb from which the bone has been extracted to become functional again unless the user retracts the bone correctly. By making his bones as hard as diamonds, the fighter can not only create extremely sharp weapons but also make his body practically indestructible: even the sharpest blades cannot damage the user’s bones.
6) KETSURYUGAN
Ketsuryûgan is a hereditary dojutsu, which appears in some individuals of the Chinoike clan. Ketsuryûgan is recognizable by its reddish color, giving a special appearance to the users of this dojutsu, characterized as holders of “eyes as red as blood”. Ketsuryûgan confers abilities to use genjutsu. Its power has earned it a comparison with the Three Great Dôjutsu.
Ketsuryûgan also gives the user the ability to manipulate his blood, or more precisely the iron contained in the blood, allowing the user to manipulate not only his blood, but also any liquid with a high concentration of iron.
5) BYAKUGAN
The Byakugan (白眼, White Eye, meaning literally: White Eye) is the hereditary dojutsu of the Hyuga and Otsutsuki clans, inherited from Kaguya Otsutsuki. It is considered one of the Three Great Dôjutsu (三大瞳術, San Daidôjutsu, meaning literally: Three Great Pupil Techniques), the others being the Sharingan and the Rinnegan.
This dôjutsu generally manifests as very distinctive eyes, characterized by their large white irises without relief (although the anime tends to depict them in a light shade of lavender) without visible pupils. When active, the pupils become more distinct and the veins near the temples swell. Unlike other dôjutsu, Byakugan is normally accessible to its user from birth. On rare occasions, the dojutsu may be awake. Himawari Uzumaki, for example, who is a descendant of the Hyuga clan by her mother, usually has blue eyes. When her Byakugan is activated, she obtains the white, relief-free eyes characteristic of her ancestors.
In the novel adaptation, it was shown that a Hyuga descendant from a distant lineage can eventually awaken this dojutsu in one eye.
The abilities of Byakugan made it highly coveted, as evidenced by the attempts of other villages to appropriate it; Kumo fomented many machinations to obtain Byakugan during what was called the “Hyuga Incident”. Ao de Kiri is the only known foreigner to have obtained a Byakugan from a Hyuga he defeated and he used great means to protect it; when Danzo Shimura, an extremist loyal to Konoha, discovered it, he did the same to recover or destroy it. Unlike other dôjutsu, transplanted Byakugan can be activated and deactivated at will. In order to reduce the likelihood of their eyes falling into enemy hands, Sôke members place a cursed seal on the foreheads of Bunke members, which, among other things, seals the Byakugan upon their death.
4) MOKUTON (WOOD STYLE TECHNIQUES)
Mokuton (also known as Wood Style) is the art of handling wood and trees in general. It was developed by Hashirama Senju. Orochimaru, as part of an experiment, performed a graft of Hashirama Senju’s cells on sixty children, in the hope that one of them would acquire Mokuton. There was only one survivor: Yamato, the main current user of Mokuton but less powerful than Hashirama Senju (First Hokage). Orochimaru used a similar procedure with Danzô Shimura (with his consent this time and in his right arm). However, Danzô used Mokuton as little as possible because this power drained a phenomenal amount of chakra and would quickly take over his body if he ran out of chakra.
It seems that Mokuton has a particular effect on jewels and their hosts: indeed, the nature of wood has the power to inhibit a demon’s chakra by using special techniques. The plants are implacable, the power of the earth combined with the fluidity of water generates an affinity that allows to neutralize ninjas, to infiltrate with finesse, to control a furious demon or to set up an extremely resistant protection. As for the possibilities outside of combat, they are practically unlimited, since the Mokuton allows you to modify the environment.
3) SHARINGAN
The Sharingan (写輪眼, Sharingan, meaning literally: Spinning Copying Eye) is a hereditary dôjutsu, which appeared in some members of the Uchiha clan. It appeared for the first time, along with the Byakugan, in the oldest known ancestor of the Uchiwa: Kaguya Ôtsutsuki. He later became recognized as one of the Three Great Dôjutsu (三大瞳術, San Daidôjutsu, meaning literally: Three Great Pupil Techniques), along with the Byakugan and the Rinnegan. The Sharingan is also called the “Heavenly Pupil” (天眼, Tengan) because of the many abilities it bestows on the user. Tobirama Senju called it the “eye that reflects the heart” (心を写す瞳).
The first form of the Sharingan, the least powerful, has only one tomoe. It can more or less capture enemy movement. It’s still quite practical for those with the rank of student, Sasuke used his sharingan to copy the arm and pencil movements of his neighbor across the street during the exam.
The second form of the Sharingan, usually used towards the rank of genin. It has two tomoe. It allows a better view of the opponent’s movements and therefore a better riposte, as well as a better view of the chakra flow and the counteraction of the genjutsu. It also allows copying the techniques, like Sasuke copying the shadow of Lee’s dead leaf to do the Shishi Rendan, the Lion’s Fury.
The third form of Sharingan, used by adults and sometimes teenagers. It has three tomoes. It makes it possible to predict the movements of the opponent, to copy the techniques of taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu, to counter the genjutsu and to turn them against their thrower if the latter does not possess the Sharingan; finally, the Sharingan also makes it possible to throw genjutsu of extreme power. One can also force the enemy, by looking him straight in the eyes, to reveal things and force him to answer all his questions and as Itachi says, half of the existing jutsu cannot function in front of the power of his eyes.
One of the most powerful forms of Sharingan: the Mangekyô Sharingan. It is far superior to the other forms. According to Fugaku Uchiwa, few have succeeded in developing this pupil, he told Sasuke that it was only a legend and that it could be obtained only under certain conditions. This pupil is extremely chakra-consuming. It allows one to cast very powerful genjutsu spells such as Tsukuyomi (Lunar Arcanum), which plunges its victim into a world of illusions where the caster is master of time and space, the pain is real and the psychological after-effects are very important; Black Flames, another power of the Mangekyô Sharingan (Amaterasu or Celestial Light), which can burn everything and which do not disappear until it has completely consumed its prey or the user absorbs it. There are also certain specific uses of Mangekyô Sharingan, such as Kamui, the divine majesty (Obito and Kakashi) or Kotoamatsukami by Shisui Uchiwa. However, one cannot use it forever because one becomes blind as one uses this technique. There is a third technique that only those who have awakened both eyes to the hypnotic kaleidoscope can use: Susanô. It allows first to create a skeleton around the body to protect oneself, then muscle tissue and the final phase an armor, different according to the user. If the user uses it perfectly well, his Susanô has the same movements as his user, which is practical to defend or attack.
In addition to Mangekyo Sharingan, there is another ultimate form of Sharingan: Eien no Mangekyo Sharingan. In English, this gives Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. The condition to obtain it is to graft the Mangekyô Sharingan of one’s brother (probably to avoid rejection). The only ones to have obtained it in the history of the Uchiwa clan are Madara and Sasuke. The real power of this Sharingan is the fact that one can use it eternally without losing sight.
2) TENSEIGAN
The Tenseigan (転生眼, meaning literally: Eye of Reincarnation) is a dojutsu owned by Hamura Otsutsuki and his descendants. This eye is characterized by a blue pupil and an iris that contains a white floral pattern.
The Tenseigan was first manifested by Hamura Otsutsuki. Using his great power, he brought order and stability to the moon. Even after his death, the inhabitants of the Moon considered Hamura’s Tenseigan a treasure and kept it as a religious object, setting up a program to preserve it forever.
It is possible to awaken a new Tenseigan by combining the chakra of Hamura’s descendants in the Otsutsuki and Hyuga clans. When an Otsutsuki is implanted with the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, the combination of their chakras will transform the Byakugan into a Tenseigan. Once implanted, the Byakugan will gradually synchronize with the Otsutsuki chakra and evolve into a Tenseigan, periodically causing the user to experience painful pulses during the process. Once the last and most painful pulse is experienced, the Tenseigan is awakened.
A millennium after the Hamura Era, one of his descendants, Toneri Otsutsuki, was able to awaken the Tenseigan by removing Hanabi Hyuga and implanting his pure Byakugan, his own eyes having been sealed in the Energy Core at the time of his birth. Concluding that humanity was using the chakra for evil purposes, Toneri was determined to fulfill his clan’s thousand-year-old vow by destroying humanity with the power of the Tenseigan. To achieve this, he planned to bring the Moon down to Earth, trusting that his eye power would be able to restore it. However, shortly after the completion of his Tenseigan, Toneri was defeated in battle by Naruto Uzumaki, causing his Tenseigan to disappear and return to the state of Byakugan. Subsequently, Hinata Hyuga restored her sister’s eyes, leaving Toneri blind once again.
1) RINNEGAN
The Rinnegan (輪廻眼, meaning literally: Eye of Samsara) is reputed to be the most powerful of the “Three Great Dôjutsu”, the others being the Sharingan and the Byakugan. It was said that in times of trouble, he who wields the Rinnegan is sent from the heavens to become a “God of Creation” who will calm the world or a “God of Destruction” who will destroy everything. Rinnegan is characterized by a wave pattern that spreads over the entire eyeball. The appearance of Rinnegan is so rare that Jiraya believed it was only a legend for a long time. Kakashi Hatake, on the other hand, thought it was simply a mutation.
Rinnegan is characterized by concentric circles with the pupil as the center, the iris and sclera being grayish-purple in color. In addition to allowing the possessor to quickly assimilate many techniques, it is capable of mastering the five elementary natures of the chakra, which, according to Ibiki Morino, is equivalent to being able to use all existing techniques. The possessor also has access to the techniques of Rikudô, a unique characteristic of Rinnegan wearers. Just like the Sharingan and the Byakugan, the Rinnegan allows one to see the chakra. According to Konan, the Rinnegan also controls the Seventh Path of Bread, “Beyond Life and Death,” which can bring back to life those who have recently died. The Rinnegan chakra is so powerful that Obito claimed that with just one pupil he almost lost control of it because he was not the original possessor; if the possessor recovers both Rinnegans, then the user has access to the full power of those pupils.
The Rikudo Breads of Nagato, being reanimated bodies, their Rinnegan had been grafted to their bodies by unknown means. By doing so, Nagato could see through the field of vision of each of the bodies, even coordinating them during a fight. Thus, unlike the Byakugan, the Rinnegan does not have a blind spot as soon as the bodies are all looking in all directions, or when at least one body is looking at the target. Because of this advantage, an opponent is forced to blind a body, or use a diversion to get a blind spot. The animals invoked by Chikushôdô also possessed Rinnegan, which suggests that Nagato could control them and see through them as well. Tobi stated that, while the Sharingan and, to a greater extent, the Mangekyo Sharingan, could translate part of the text of the tablet bequeathed by the Wise Man of the Six Paths, the Rinnegan made it possible to read it in its entirety.
Tobi claimed to have given the Rinnegan to Nagato. For this reason, he said he was entitled to have taken the Rinnegan from Nagato’s corpse. He grafted a Rinnegan into his left orbit, replacing the Sharingan sacrificed to use Izanagi against Konan.
The Rinnegan is revealed as an evolution of the Sharingan. In order to awaken to this pupil, it is necessary to possess both the cells of the Uchiwa and the Senju, which Madara obtained shortly before his death, having obtained cells from Hashirama during his fight in the Valley of the End and implanted them. Madara says that he entrusted the Rinnegan to Nagato without his knowledge so that he could be resurrected.