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 fromShizune would not affect him.[68] However, he was not immune to the effects of Orochimaru's true form's poisonous blood. His training has also given him great skill in fūinjutsu and is also otherwise quite knowledgeable in other seals, such as Orochimaru's cursed seals. As an Uchiha, he is also one of the few who can access the Naka Shrine.
From a young age, Sasuke has repeatedly shown keen instincts and quick decision-making, causing many to consider him a genius. Able to easily learn various advanced techniques or utilise basic ones for crafty manoeuvres, Sasuke already became a stand-out before graduating the Academy. He is a proficient strategist, observing his opponent's skills and deducing their workings with ease and accuracy while remaining calm and composed. He then chooses the most effective means and ninjutsu to counter them.[3] 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.
Sasuke is also a very capable leader, able to form a team from specific ninja after scouting them out and quickly command their respect and cooperation. Furthermore, he can effectively instruct his team to engage an enemy. He also showed the ability to perform a series of precise and coordinated attacks with his brother Itachi with minimal planning despite their previous volatile relationship.
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. In order to defeat his former mentor Orochimaru, Sasuke did extensive research of his various abilities, such as the nature of his snake summons and techniques as well as his unique cursed seals. With this knowledge, he was able to resurrect the Sannin using a combination of Anko's cursed seal, a piece of Kabuto's altered body and a special fūinjutsu.
Even by the Uchiha standards, Sasuke has 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 use many highly chakra-consuming techniques in a day, even recklessly using three different Mangekyō Sharingan techniques plus Chidori multiple times respectively without visible exhaustion; able to continue fighting effectively with plenty of stamina left against the Kage. Also, even when extremely weakened, he could summon Manda, a high level summon (though he may have used Orochimaru's chakra for this). After gaining Itachi's eyes, Sasuke's reserves appear to have grown even further, as during the battle against Kabuto, he was visibly unaffected from using several of his Mangekyō Sharingan techniques as well as his Chidori multiple times.
Quality-wise, Sasuke's chakra is very powerful; its strength is compared to that of Madara Uchiha's, 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 noted Sasuke's exceptional chakra. His chakra's strength was even great enough to break free from Danzō's restraining seal by releasing it from his entire body. Likewise, his chakra control has also grown considerably. With many high-level techniques, usually lightning and fire-based, he can perform them with few to no hand seals, giving his opponents little time to react.
Gradually, as Sasuke continued to sink deeper into darkness, his chakra became noticeably darker.[64] EvenKurama noted that Sasuke's chakra has become even darker than his own, and even similar to that of Madara's.[57]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 second stage Cursed Seal of Heaven,[65] and has since continued to grow even more potent along with the development of Susanoo.[66][67]
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. His Eternal Mangekyō took the shape of his old Mangekyō Sharingan, with a symmetrical version of Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan design in the centre. However, it has later been shown that Sasuke still has access to his Mangekyō Sharingan's original form.[62]
Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Customary of the dōjutsu, Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan damages and gradually reduces his eyesight every time he uses it, causing him to experience great pain and extreme fatigue as well 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 the technique. Although Sasuke initially refused Itachi's eyes, after his conversation with Naruto, he finally had Tobi transplant his brother's eyes in order to escape the Mangekyō-induced blindness and to face Naruto with his full power.
The first technique that Sasuke has displayed using the Mangekyō was Tsukuyomi, allowing him to break a target's will and paralyse them.[63] However, Danzō denounced Sasuke's might with the technique, reiterating Itachi's ability to alter a victim's perception of time while under his Tsukuyomi. Despite this, Tobi noted that Sasuke's resourcefulness and precise timing in its use are able to somewhat make up for the illusion's lack of power. The second technique 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's full Susanoo, complete with Amaterasu orb.
Sasuke is one of the rare few Uchiha who obtained 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.
Following the acquisition of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, the usage of this dōjutsu or any of its techniques doesn't appear to affect his chakra reserves nearly as much and his health at all. His Susanoo's final form also 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 second right hand, from which he can produce either a bladeto stab his opponents, or fire several tomoe-shaped projectiles that can incinerate a foe on contact. The bow in its primary left hand also grows in size and takes on a more shield-like appearance.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke possesses the Sharingan, the clan'skekkei genkai. This dōjutsu grants Sasuke all the Sharingan's standard abilities such as analysing and predicting movements, as well as copying enemy techniques into his arsenal. 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 had forgotten he had activated the Sharingan from being traumatised by the incident. He was able to reactivate it during the battle withHaku, where his right eye acquired two tomoe in it. By the time he fought Rock Lee, both eyes had two tomoe. During his battle against Naruto at the Valley of the End, it reached completion with three tomoe in each eye. In developing his Sharingan prowess, Sasuke drastically increased his time periods to which he can maintain it, with little effect to his chakra levels, even in prolonged fights against several high-level opponents.
While making good use of it in Part I, Sasuke also developed a number of more novel uses for it in Part II. During his encounter with Naruto, Sasuke's Sharingan could enter Naruto's subconscious and effectively suppressed Kurama's chakra. In this instance, the tailed beast compared Sasuke's visual prowess to that of Madara Uchiha.[57] In Part II, Sasuke regularly uses his Sharingan genjutsu abilities, which grew considerably strong, to easily hypnotise opponents, replay memories,[58] paralyse his target,[59] and control a mighty summoned creature like Manda.[60]When Orochimaru later tried to take over his body, Sasuke was able to use his Sharingan to turn Orochimaru's technique against the Sannin. He was also able to break out of Itachi's Tsukuyomi after enhancing his Sharingan
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 can also use his firetechniques in conjunction with his weapon skills.
After learning that Sasuke can also manipulate Lightning Release nature manipulation, and 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 most obstacles with relative ease, as well as severely damaging any opponent during most uses. 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 hisLightning 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 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 sword through "chakra flow", giving the bladeextreme cutting power and allowing it to numb anyone it cuts. This is powerful enough to slice through a chakra wave created by a similar sword technique. He can also concentrate it into a sword and solid senbon in order to make more precise attacks. He is also able to infuse shuriken with lightning chakra. Sasuke's most powerful elemental 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 apowerful fire release technique to create thunder clouds. Sasuke then takes control of the lightning, shapes it into akirin, 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 the powers of his Mangekyō Sharingan, 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.[56] After gaining his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he can use his Amaterasu orb to wrap the black flames around his Susanoo's various weapons, even using it to create tomoe-like projectiles that can be fired in a wave.
During his training under Orochimaru, Sasuke learned many of the Sannin's snake-oriented techniques. He became able to summon various-sized snakes to aid him in battle, even hidden from his sleeves to strike or bind his opponents with little time to react. After absorbing Orochimaru, Sasuke gained access to Orochimaru's regenerative powers that allowed him to heal at a much faster rate than usual,[54] and access Orochimaru's chakra as extra reserves, although he preferred not to.[55] He was also able to summon snakes from any part of his body, and could use Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement 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 from snakes to hawks as shown from him summoning a hawk that he used to fly around on during his fight with Danzō, evade his assaults and in the anime perform coordinated attacks with Sasuke. It is currently unknown when he made a contract with them.
Sasuke is also well-versed in weapons use such as kunai and shuriken. 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 shuriken usingwire strings. Due to his Sharingan, he can use an advanced version of the latter technique, the Manipulating Windmill Triple Blades which allows him to control a larger number of shuriken and even use them to ensnare an opponent with the strings. 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 to accurately hit their respective mark.[citation needed]
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 has also demonstrated the ability to increase the lethal properties of the Fūma Shuriken by rigging it to disconnect its four blades and launch them into separate directions. Sasuke has also shown the ability to match his shuriken and Fire Release skills for techniques like Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique or he can infuse a fūma shuriken withlightning chakra for increased cutting power.
Since early childhood, Sasuke has displayed great skill and use of various ninja tools which has grown and diversified over time. Sasuke was trained in archery during his childhood.[48] He is also skilled in the use of wire strings, using them for a variety of purposes ranging from rappelling, to manipulating the path of his shurikens, to ensnaring an opponent and setting them on fire. His level with both trap and weapon-based tactics even surprised Kakashi during their first bell test.[49] In the anime, he also used a set of chains to ensnare foes.[50]
Kenjutsu
Sasuke wielding his Sword of Kusanagi.
During his time with Orochimaru, Sasuke was trained in kenjutsu, and became a skilled swordsman. He also acquired a chokutō, and the use of kenjutsu has become a major part of his fighting style. With these kenjutsu skills, he was able to incapacitate hundreds of Oto-nin during his training without killing them.[51] His skills with a sword were better shown during the Kage Summit, where he was able to effortlessly outfight and kill multiple samurai, and even deflect their barrage of chakra blasts.[52] He even skilfully blocked an attack from Mifune, a famous master swordsman, who acknowledged Sasuke's ability with this combat form.[53]
Sasuke's lethal swordsmanship is shown to be very versatile, using impressive speed and precision behind his attacks, leaving little time for enemies to dodge or counter. He can effectively use it in either a normal or reverse grip, giving him various attack styles and the ability to attack or defend from various angles, allowing him to easily change his attack type to suit the situation. He can use his blade as a mid-range projectile with great precision as seen during the battle against Kabuto. Sasuke is also able to adapt his swordsmanship with equal proficiency to his makeshift Chidori blade.
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. Initially, the seal would activate and overwhelm Sasuke if he used his chakra or became too excited, and he was only able to control it with extreme focus. As a result, Kakashi suppressed the seal and advised Sasuke to not rely on it, however, Sasuke's frustration with what he believed to be his inadequate strength caused him to use it in battles. When activated, the cursed seal forcefully absorbed Sasuke's chakra, while replacing it with Orochimaru's senjutsu chakra which covered his body with a flame-like pattern and granted him a number of benefits such as an enhanced chakra capacity, as well as increased strength, speed, and endurance.
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 sclerae 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 chakra. This granted him power comparable to Naruto's one-tailed form. 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.
However, the seal carried some disadvantages. The most notable one was that using the seal for longer periods of time, corroded Sasuke's body and caused him some pain. The other disadvantage was that the presence of Orochimaru's chakra twisted Sasuke's personality somewhat and made him susceptible to the Sannin's influence. However with aditional training, Sasuke greatly extended the time he could maintain his cursed seal active. Since Itachi sealed Orochimaru, the seal was removed from Sasuke
Sasuke delivers the finishing blow of the Lion Combo.
Although not his most used combat tactic, Sasuke's taijutsu was at a very high level since the start of the series, able to outmanoeuvre two chūnin-level Kirigakure missing-nin.[43] Even during the bell test with Kakashi, the elite ninja was shocked that he couldn't read Icha-Icha while fighting him as he needed both hands.[44] His skills improved drastically after his encounter with Rock Lee. With his Sharingan, he was able to copy some 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, roughly matching Lee's basic combat skills and speed in one month.[45] 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 Part II, Sasuke further improved his taijutsu under Orochimaru's guidance. In the anime, he was also able to hold his own against Kakashi in a taijutsu fight.[46]
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 in Part I.[47] After his Sharingan fully develops, he was also able to follow 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 both Deidara's clay explosions at point-blank range on multiple occasions, and attacks from the extremely fast Killer B and A, though he credited the last to his Sharingan's ability to read their 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 down 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.
Sasuke has shown a high level of stamina and endurance; at the Five Kage Summit, he was able to endure a consistent string of battles against the samurai, two Kage and their bodyguards before finally collapsing from exhaustion. In a near-blind, battered, and visibly exhausted state from his latter 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. His raw strength has also become noticeably greater, being able to lift Sakura by her throat into the air with a single hand even while exhausted. His overall improvements were so great that Sakura even suspected that he had been given drugs to improve his physical capabilities.
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