Sasuke’s Snake Summoning

When Sasuke joined Otogakure, Orochimaru did not intend for him to be his apprentice in the traditional sense.

Improving and mastering his body, his chakra, and his eyes was all Orochimaru truly needed from him and the training that he gave Sasuke reflected that. Sasuke was never meant to succeed him, only to become the perfect vessel to house his soul once his reincarnation ninjutsu was ready.

Because of this, Orochimaru never offered to let Sasuke sign the snake summoning contract or even teach him the Summoning Technique, preventing Sasuke from using his snake summoning techniques. And the techniques that not were not based on space-time ninjutsu came from the Power of the White Snake which were not skills Orochimaru could teach to anyone who did not possess the same power, even if he wanted to.

Instead, Orochimaru only allowed him the use of summoning scrolls to call forth individual snakes on missions. Aoda was one of the snakes willing to answer Sasuke’s summons and even saved his life on one occasion, the circumstances even leading the creature to choose to enter a personal contract with Sasuke independent of the snake summoning contract. Sasuke accepted the offer even though he wouldn’t rely on Aoda until a few years down the line.

But when Sasuke turned the Living Corpse Reincarnation back on Orochimaru, he took the Power of the White Snake for himself. It branded Sasuke’s arm with the same summoning tattoo as he became a substitute for the summoning contract despite never physically signing it himself. In a sense, he was Orochimaru.

And the skills that his Sharingan had copied from Orochimaru over the past three years were now within his capabilities. He could summon snakes with the same skill as his former master, and even use the unique ability to shed his damaged body for a fully restored one.

However, after Uchiha Itachi tore Orochimaru from Sasuke’s body and sealed him inside the Totsuka Blade, Sasuke was returned to the same state he was in before he absorbed Orochimaru. Without the Power of the White Snake, he lost the summoning tattoo and the connection with the snakes that it represented, his ability to heal from grievous injuries, as well as the Cursed Seal of Heaven.

Aoda was the only snake he could summon due to their personal contract, and the only one willing to work with Sasuke. Aoda made it clear to Sasuke that his choice to sacrifice Manda and one other snake meant that he would never be allowed to sign their summoning contract.

E-Rank Ninjutsu

E-rank ninjutsu are the most basic of all ninjutsu. They can be with only the most rudimentary understanding and control of chakra, which is why they are the first techniques to be taught to those who wish to become shinobi.

Transformation Technique

This ninjutsu can change a ninja’s physical shape and appearance into that of another person, animal or object.

It is one of the most ideal means of disguising oneself, essentially allowing someone to become anyone or anything in an instant. Things like makeup, masks and extra clothes are almost redundant with this ability and it revolutionized espionage and assassination in the shinobi world upon its creation.

The transformation relies on keeping a concrete image of the target in mind to replicate its form. The weaker the image then the more distorted the transformation becomes which makes the disguise less credible. This is one of the ninjutsu’s vulnerabilities when used to disguise the caster as another person since even the slightest difference can be used to discern the original and the fake.

When a ninja transforms, they may change their shape and size but they do not adopt the same physical properties as what they become. For example, they could transform themselves into a shuriken but they wouldn’t be as hard or as sharp as a real one. But an accurate transformation would at least look as if it was.

Shinobi can also tell when someone is transformed through physical contact as they are able to feel the chakra being used to maintain the change. Sensors are even more capable of detecting it as they use their heightened perception to sense it. However those who master the ninjutsu are able to disguise their chakra signature as another’s to further hide their true identity.

Even the Three Great Doujutsu can be fooled by it if they aren’t using their chakra vision to look beyond the superficial appearance.

The final weakness of this ninjutsu is that it requires a constant supply of chakra to maintain it. If that chakra flow is disturbed then the ninjutsu will end. So it could end if the caster runs out of chakra, if their focus is broken by enough pain or even if another individual pushes their chakra into them to break the transformation.

Body Replacement Technique

This ninjutsu lets a ninja quickly replace their body with a nearby object such as a plant or animal.

It is used to evade an enemy’s attacks, allowing them to escape a lethal blow and gain an advantageous position over their enemy. It surpasses simple speed or reflexes, and the use of a replacement object makes it harder to detect until it is too late.

Despite how it appears, this replacement is not instantaneous. Like the Body Flicker Technique, it is an example of high speed movement that causes the caster (and the target) to move faster than the eye can see. This is what makes it difficult to use at the higher levels of shinobi combat as a skilled enough ninja are able to discern its use, either intercepting it or tracking the caster.

The caster’s chakra latches onto the object they want to replace themselves with, binding the two of them together and slipping them past one another until they reach the other’s original position. The curious nature of this movement means that a ninja can use it even while being restrained or are in mid-air.

This replacement will often create an optical illusion, an after-image infused with chakra, allowing it to change in reaction to the attack and fool the enemy into believing that they had succeeded.

The most common object that ninjas use to replace themselves with are wooden logs. Primarily because they are most convenient objects to swap with, the ideal size and easy to get a hold of. It’s not even uncommon to have them set up on a battlefield beforehand for future body replacements.

The targeted object needs to be within the immediate vicinity for it to be in range of the ninjutsu. And if it is too small or too large in comparison to the caster, then the ninjutsu cannot effectively grasp it.

It is not impossible for the ninjutsu to be cast on another person but it is one of the more difficult ways to use it. Without a certain difference of power and skill between the caster and target – such as a genin and a jounin or a civilian and a genin – the chakra of the other individual can interfere with the body switch to prevent it from taking hold.

Clone Technique

This ninjutsu creates an intangible copy of the ninja’s own body.

It is a three-dimensional image that shares the exact same appearance of the ninja casting it. Typically, the clone will reflect its creator in its movement and move exactly as they move, but they can be directed to move in specific ways.

Lacking physical substance, these clones are completely incapable of interacting with their environment. They cannot cast shadows, leave footprints, disturb the air, radiate heat or any number of things that indicate that they are truly a living being. At most they can at least emulate the original’s voice with chakra, aiding the illusion.

That is why this ninjutsu is only meant to provide a distraction by confusing an opponent’s sense of sight with another version of the ninja, hiding themselves amongst the clones or allowing the clones to draw attention in place of themselves.

Of all the ninjutsu taught at the ninja academy, this one is the most advanced which is why it is so often made the requirement for graduation.

Rope Escape Technique

This ninjutsu unravels physical bindings to allow a ninja to free themselves from restraints.

The caster’s chakra flows into the material of whatever is being used to entrap them, working to loosen the knots and wear away at it from the inside to weaken it. Once it reaches its breaking point, the ninja can break free.

All ninja learn how to undo knots when they are bound by rope or wire, but a well done binding makes this far too time-consuming if not outright impossible. The purpose of this ninjutsu is to aid in escape for such situations.

It is in fact one of the easiest possible techniques to learn, enough so that everyone that learns it is quickly able to use it without a hand-seal. Something that it is a necessity for this ninjutsu to ever be useful as everyone knows to bind a shinobi’s hands first.

Cloak of Invisibility Technique

This ninjutsu can imbue a length of fabric with chakra to give it the ability to act as camouflage.

By holding the cloth over themselves, it changes to create an image of their surroundings with an optical illusion. Even the edges of the cloth meld into the background to make the illusion seem more natural, and any irregularities are nearly unnoticeable unless the cloth is touched. Hidden under the cloth, the ninja is practically invisible to any observers.

Even if the ninja doesn’t have a spare piece of cloth they can use, it’s not uncommon to perform the ninjutsu on their own clothing to hide them blend in though anything left uncovered is still visible.

However the cloak is only able to fool the an enemy’s sense of sight. It doesn’t disguise their scent, body heat, noises or chakra signature which is what makes it the least powerful of all camouflage ninjutsu.

Chakra Enhancement

Shinobi can enhance their physical capabilities with chakra to perform superhuman feats.

Training the body improves the flow of chakra through the chakra pathway system which makes stronger, tougher and faster along with the benefits of physical fitness. As everyone possesses chakra, anyone can develop powerful bodies through physical training even without knowledge of how to use it. But they cannot reach same heights as ninja.

By learning to create and wield their chakra, ninja continually develop their chakra pathways as they increase the quality and quantity of the chakra flowing through their bodies. At the same time, they unconsciously enhance their bodies with chakra to make them physically superior to the average human being in practically every respect. Even children in training have abilities that surpass grown men and allows them to jump over tall obstacles, run across tree tops and scale buildings with ease.

The next level of chakra enhancement is to then consciously focus chakra in different parts of the body which vitalises the muscles to make them stronger and tougher. Focusing chakra into their legs and feet lets them run faster or jump higher, and focusing it into their arms and hands lets them endure greater force or hit harder.

Most shinobi reach this stage once they start learning skills such as tree climbing and water walking as it gives them more awareness and control over their internal chakra flow, even boosting their basic physical abilities from mastering these exercises. At first, it takes concentration to send chakra to the right location – often aided by a hand-seal – but it becomes instinctive with practice until they constantly use chakra enhancement in combat to some degree.

Increasing the amount of chakra magnifies the effects of enhancement but there is a limit on how much can be safely focused in one area. In addition to the loss of stamina, the more chakra used and the longer it is used for then the greater the backlash it has on the body as the excess energy wears on their muscles and nerves. The better developed the shinobi’s body then the more chakra they can safely focus within their limbs because it is more capable of withstanding the additional energy and the force its exerts.

So, a taijutsu specialist would typically benefit more from chakra enhancement than a genjutsu specialist, as their bodies are more physically developed, allowing them to perform feats of strength like uprooting trees or shattering concrete walls.

And as well as strength and speed, chakra can be used to enhance the senses. By concentrating chakra in the right organs or nerves, a ninja can heighten any of their five senses beyond what humans are normally capable of. Like enhancing their sense of smell to discern the scents of different people, their sense of hearing to understand an out-of-sight individual’s movements based on the noises they make, their sense of taste to detect poison within a meal, their sense of touch to find the grooves or gaps of a secret compartment, or their sense of sight to see over a greater distance.

There are even certain ninjutsu that utilize chakra enhancement such as the Four Legs Technique which grants physical alterations and accelerated fighting instincts or the Body Flicker Technique which supercharges the body to enable high-speed movement.

Most Famous Users

Tsunade – She has the recognition of being one of the physically strongest shinobi to have ever lived with chakra enhancement alone.

Using her perfect chakra control and medical knowledge of the human body, Tsunade learned to collect chakra in each and every cell of her fist in a instant to maximise the impact of her punch. And by collecting chakra to the absolute limit of each cell, she could unleash an outrageous level of destructive force with the smallest effort. Doing so allowed her vitalise her muscles to the point that they could unleash the greatest amount of force without damaging them at all, while using exactly the amount of chakra she needs for exactly the amount of time she needs to deliver the blow.

Anyone else who attempted such a feat would be more likely to hurt themselves than achieve anything close to her strength.

Naturally this technique evolved over time through practice and experience as she learned to collect chakra like this not only in her hands but in any part of her body. Knowing exactly how the body worked, she could apply chakra to every muscle used for punching or kicking with perfect timing to increase her damage output. She could even do the same for more complicated actions such as lifting giant objects and wielding them as weapons.

This allowed her to release her inhuman strength with any kind of physical blow she launched as well as perform feats of great strength such as lifting giant objects and wielding them as a weapon.

Just as shinobi learn to focus their chakra into their limbs instinctively, Tsunade did the same with her own version of enhancement until every blow had the potential to deliver incredible destruction. Yet she was perfectly capable of restraining herself to avoid causing unnecessary harm as well which, in many ways, made her seem even more dangerous to her enemies.

Finally, her extensive knowledge of the human body and mastery of medical ninjutsu allowed her enhance the development of her musculature through specialized training. She continually pushed her muscles through a cycle of destruction and rebirth to build their strength while carefully optimizing them for their purpose, essentially remodeling herself into the incarnation of physical strength.

Haruno Sakura – Of all the ninja Tsunade trained to become medic-nin, Sakura was the only one to possess the chakra control needed to replicate her fighting style. She learned directly from Tsunade how to instantly collect chakra into her fist, feet and other body parts to massively amplify her strength.

Her signature Cherry Blossom Impact unleashes chakra of the highest intensity from her right fist, pulverising her target into particles that scatter like flower petals. She proved herself capable of destroying giant boulders, crushing armoured puppets, punching huge blocks of iron and killing summons in a single blow.

And once she completed the Strength of a Hundred Seal and no longer needed to reserve her chakra, she proved to be capable of superhuman strength that surpassed Tsunade herself long before she had reached her prime.

Sensors and Sensing

Everyone can perceive chakra. Ordinary people aren’t even aware of it, just just like the chakra that flows through their own bodies, but ninjas hone that perception in training so that as long as they are close enough, they can feel chakra. This can be vital for detecting nearby enemies, incoming techniques, the influence of genjutsu or even when someone is transformed. They can even differentiate between people through the unique pattern or signature of their chakra like with fingerprints.

Unfortunately, the average shinobi can barely feel chakra outside of their immediate proximity and it works best when physically touching the person or object. They can only feel it from a distance when it exists in large enough volumes such as ninja raising their chakra level to extremes, a clash between powerful enemies or a large-scale battle of shinobi.

This perception is also why people can feel killing intent of another indivudual. Killing intent is one’s desire to harm or kill being projected through their chakra into their surroundings towards the chosen target to incite fear with its threat. This can paralyze the victim, encourage suicidal impulses or even make them so afraid that they hallucinate their own death. The greater the malice and more powerful the individual then the greater the psychological effect it can have on the target. And not even seasoned jounin are entirely immune to this fear.

Even animals can feel chakra and are actually more sensitive than humans due to their animal instincts. Ninjas have taken advantage of this by training their animals to utilize this sense for their benefit e.g. messenger birds seeking out their target through their chakra signature, or ninja dogs detecting chakra through their sense of smell.

Now sensors are the small selection of people gifted with an innately superior level of chakra sensitivity known as sensors. They do not just passively feel chakra but can consciously sense it far beyond what most are capable of, both in distance and detail, by moulding their chakra to enter a state known as sensory mode.

In sensory mode, they can pinpoint someone’s exact location, differentiate between people by their chakra, judge how powerful someone is, recognize changes in chakra level or its absence, divine a person’s nature, and even identify their family or native country. The extent to which a sensor can detect chakra depends on the individual’s talent and skill rather everyone having an equal level of ability.

Some sensors will transmit their sensing through their surroundings to enhance its accuracy such as touching the ground with their finger, allowing them to sense anyone in contact with the ground in more details.

Similar to this, there is a skill known as contact type sensing that can be used by sensor and non-sensors. By imbuing a physical substance like sand or rain with chakra, a ninja can control it with ninjutsu and use their connection to that chakra to detect anything it comes into contact with. Sensors may use this type of ninjutsu expand the range and versatility of their sensing and non-sensory use it as one of the only ways to sense individuals from a distance.

Sensors are automatically aware when they have been sensed by someone which can save them and their allies from being caught off-guard by an enemy’s reconnaisance or ambush. The only way to counter chakra sensing is to suppress one’s chakra to prevent them from being sensed. Most ninja unconsciously learn to hide their chakra for stealth, lowering the amount of chakra flowing through their pathways and make themselves less distinctive so they can slip past the senses.

Naturally this limits their ability to mould chakra which, at the very least, minimizes how much they can use while keeping their chakra hidden so it forces the ninja to stop the suppression when they need to attack or defend. Just as sensors can sense on a level beyond anyone else, they can essentially make themselves invisible to anyone else’s sense of chakra at the cost of not being able to use their own chakra sensing.

Examples of Sensory Ninjutsu

Telescope Technique – This ancient ninjutsu uses a crystal ball to track a particular individual anywhere they are. As long as the caster knows the chakra signature of their target, they can focus that feeling into the crystal place to create an image of their current location regardless of distance, making it an invaluable tool for spying.

It is restricted by the sheer difficulty of learning this ninjutsu, how intimately the caster needs to be able to recognize a particular chakra signature, as well as the target potentially causing interference by hiding their chakra, being disguised by barrier ninjutsu, casting their own ninjutsu or even changing the nature of their chakra.

Sensing Barrier & Sensing Water Sphere – This intertwined pairing of ninjutsu are used to protect the village of Konoha. The Sensing Barrier is a dome-type barrier erected around the village which detects every single chakra signature that passes in our out of its boundaries. The barrier is linked to the Sensing Water Sphere which changes shape and appearance in response to the chakra passing through the barrier, its response changing depending on whether a suspicious person is trespassing.

Mind’s Eye of the Kagura – The supreme sensory ninjutsu of the Uzumaki Clan.

Elemental Kekkei Genkai

This is one of the three branches of kekkei genkai – along with corporeal and visual kekkei genkai – which creates advanced chakra natures. These are chakra natures that belong to a higher tier of ninjutsu and cannot be created by transforming one’s chakra alone. The ninja must create and release two different chakra natures simultaneously to combine them into a new one.

While any ninja can learn to transform their chakra’s nature, and even transform it into different natures consecutively, it is impossible for them to transform two at the same time regardless of talent or effort. Only those with the genetic abilities of these kekkei genkai have a chakra system capable of double nature transformation.

The exact origin of these kekkei genkai varies. Some are genetics mutations from the union of two individuals with an affinity towards different chakra nature, some stem from the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths, and others belong to the Tailed Beasts that were passed on to their Jinchuuriki. Because of this, there can be ninja from different parts of the world that nevertheless share the same kekkei genkai.

It is even possible for an individual to have more than one advanced chakra nature as long as their parents have one that shares a composite element. Ordinarily, they would only inherit one of the two or none at all but as long as they share an element, it’s possible to inherit both.

Those who awaken this type of kekkei genkai can transform their chakra into its advanced nature without hand-seals or training, giving them a unique advantage over other ninja. However, they find it more difficult to use the basic chakra natures that their advanced one is composed of because their bodies intuitively wants to combine them. For example, the average ninja with Ice Release would take much longer to master nature transformation for water and wind than the average ninja without that kekkei genkai would.

Overall, there are ten types of advanced chakra natures that can be created from two basic chakra natures. Each one possesses the properties belonging to its composite elements but manifests them in an entirely unique form.

Types of Elemental Kekkei Genkai

• Wood Release – The simultaneous creation of Earth and Water chakra to create wood, trees and plant life.
• Lava Release – The simultaneous creation of Earth and Fire chakra to create lava and volcanic substances.
• Ice Release – The simultaneous creation of Wind and Water chakra to create ice, snow and frost.
• Boil Release – The simultaneous creation of Water and Fire chakra to create steam.
• Explosion Release – The simultaneous creation of Lightning and Earth chakra to create explosions.
• Scorch Release – The simultaneous creation of Fire and Wind chakra to create heat.
• Storm Release – The simultaneous creation of Water and Lightning chakra to create light.
• Magnet Release – The simultaneous creation of Wind and Earth chakra to create magnetism.

And more…