The Sharingan is one of the most powerful Kekkei Genkai in the world ofNaruto. First awakened by Indra Otsutsuki, the first son of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the eye ended up becoming the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha clan. In time, the Sharingan came to be known as one of the Three Great Dojutsu, and spoken of in the same breath as the Byakugan, and the Rinnegan.
The Sharingan has a plethora of powers that it offers to the user, such as the ability to see through all ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu, the ability to copy jutsu that aren’t Kekkei Genkai or Hiden, and above all, the skill to perceive even the most complicated movements that the normal eye can’t track. While all the powers of the Sharingan are special, there are two that are held in legendary status among the members of the Uchiha clan and are evenclassified as “forbidden,” – the Izanagi and the Izanami.
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What Is The Izanagi?
First introduced duringSasuke Uchiha’s fight against Danzo,the Izanagi is a powerful Uchiha genjutsu; perhaps the strongest and the most dangerous of them all, which is why it is termed a Forbidden Jutsu. While a normal Sharingan genjutsu affects the chakra system of the target and creates illusions by targeting it, Izanagi does no such thing. Instead, this jutsu is cast over reality itself, giving the user complete control over it and the ability to change it however they want. The basis of the Izanagi stems from the Creation of All Things – a powerful jutsu used by Hagoromo Otsutsuki to create something from nothing and then breathe life into it. By using the Yin Release, the Izanagi allows the user to create shape out of nothingness, and using Yang Release allows them to breathe life into the new reality that they created. By doing so, the Izanagi makes the user almost invincible for as long as it is active.
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Normally, this jutsu is used to protect the user from death by allowing them to alter the reality where they died and create a new one where they’re still alive. As seen during Sasuke Uchiha’s fight against Danzo, the latter used the jutsu to avoid death on countless occasions. Thanks to the Senju cells in his body, he could make Izanagi last for up to a minute, and having 10 Sharingan on his arm gave him 10 minutes of absolute power. Similarly,Madara Uchiha used this jutsuas a transcript seal and set it to activate after his death. As such, Madara came back to life even hours or possibly days after dying. The Izanagi cannot be maintained for long without Ashura’s lineage power, which is why Danzo had the power of the Senju in his body. Being a forbidden jutsu still, the Izanagi comes at a massive price and takes away the light of the eye that it is cast from. The only way to restore the eye would be to awaken the Rinnegan.
What Is The Izanami?
While not used as often as the Izanagi, the Izanami is quite a powerful jutsu that was created to counter the Izanagi. In terms of power, it is the complete opposite of the Izanagi and acts as a Jutsu to restore balance. So far,only Itachi Uchiha has been seen using this jutsuin the entire franchise and that doesn’t seem like it’ll change any time soon. Simply put, the Izanami is a Jutsu that decides the destiny of someone, just as Izanagi allows one to alter it. The process by which it works is quite complex when compared to Izanagi, however. While the Izanagi can simply be cast on reality and then be used to freely manipulate it, more preparation is needed for Izanami to work.
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That just goes to show that this jutsu is, in some ways, just as dangerous as the Izanagi, if not even more dangerous than it. To make the jutsu work, a set of stipulations need to be set by the user. This is usually done by creating a loop of events and forcing the target into the same movement until a repetitive pattern is formed. This was evident fromItachi Uchiha’s fight against Kabuto Yakushi, where he forced Kabuto to repeat certain movements with the aim of creating a loop of events. Once the process is complete and the trap has been set, the user can activate Izanami and forever trap the target in a loop of events that keeps repeating in their mind until the end of time. While Izanagi can be fought against, as seen on several occasions in the story, if the Izanami is set into motion, it is impossible to stop. Those caught in Izanami stay still as the events keep looping in their heads. The only way for anyone to break out of Izanami is to accept ones true self and accept their real fate, which is what makes it a perfect jutsu to counter the Izanagi. Being a forbidden jutsu, the Izanami leads to the loss of light in the Sharingan that it is used.
Evidently, both Izanagi and Izanami are two of the most powerful Forbidden Jutsu to be introduced in theNarutoseries. With such tremendous power, it is no surprise that they were used sparsely in the story. The power to alter fate and the power to decide it are, by far, two ofNaruto’smost dangerous skills that users of the Sharingan can employ and, once again, goes to show that the Uchiha clan is the most dangerous of the lot in the story.
