Taijutsu

Taijutsu Edit

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.