this week in the Sas? Naruto manga, we reach a critical juncture in the battle of Mangekyou Sharingan versus jury-rigged Sharingan. Honestly, the fight in the last few weeks hasn?t been that exciting for me, but this chapter?s action-packed sequences was nice pace changer that built up to a fine climax at the end. Also in chapter 479, the Izanagi technique is explained, and I have to say it?s a pretty badass ability ? its existence brings up a whole slew of possibilities for Naruto theorists to consider.
Danzo starts off the battle with a sense of urgency. As Karin had closely observed, the Izanagi technique he uses has a time limit.
Due to Orochimaru?s help in the past, Danzo?s Izanagi has been extended beyond normal means, but he has been forced to keep the jutsu active for too long in the battle. Part of that is because Danzo can?t leave his guard down even a little bit due to Madara?s presence nearby. With only five of his original ten Sharingans left active, Danzo decides to gamble everything and try to take Sasuke out before his time runs out.
Danzo?s battle experience and knowledge in powerful wind element techniques really start to put the pressure on Sasuke even with his Susano?o. Even though Sasuke is using a more complete version of Susano?o, unlike in the previous battle with the Raikage, this fight is in Danzo?s favor due to fact that they are no longer in a closed environment where avoiding Susano?o?s attacks are more difficult.
Danzo?s summon, an elephant-like chimera called a Baku, is weird looking but does complement his wind element attacks very well.
We?ve seen combo jutsus before with Jiraiya and Gamabunta, but I thought the idea of using a vacuum ability to power-up his wind jutsu was very original. Fortunately or Sasuke, his Fire element is strong against Wind and all he had to do was spit a fireball loogie into the gaping maw of the Baku to put a damper on Danzo?s attack combo.
Like in Sasuke?s previous battles against the kages, his new Susano?o can also be weakened by particular powerful ninjutsu.
It seems like the toughness of Susanoo?s armor is directly proportional to Sasuke?s chakra level: when Sasuke blocks attacks like he did with Susanoo?s shield on page 3 it appears to drain his chakra and weaken him.
The opposite is also true: when Sasuke received chakra from Zetsu after fighting the Mizukage, his Susano?o was able to slowly regenerate. I bet Sasuke probably wants to chomp down on Karin?s arm right now, but there?s no way Danzo is going to give him even a second to recover.
This entire fight, and this chapter especially, felt like a preview for a battle between Sasuke and Naruto in the future. We get to see first hand how Susano?o fares against a powerful Wind technique and witness how Sasuke can use Fire to counter against Wind element, including summons.
In place of Danzo?s Izanagi technique we can substitute Naruto?s shadow clones and in place of Danzo?s Wind element attacks we can replace it with the Rasen Shuriken.
If the strength of Sasuke?s Susano?o armor is directly proportional to his chakra level, I don?t think it will stand up to Naruto?s Rasen Shuriken given how chakra-dense that attack is. The arrows Susano?o shoots would be Naruto?s biggest obstacle since he is best at close range fighting; even Danzo, who is quite fast despite his age, has difficulty avoiding those bolts. But maybe the boost in speed and strength from sage mode will give Naruto more of an edge.
I want to spend the last part of this analysis talking about the Izanagi. So essentially the Izanagi is like the poor man?s Mangekyou Sharingan. For the low, low price of just one Sharingan, the user can perform the ultimate genjutsu on himself by turning his wish into reality ? it certainly feels like a space-time like jutsu that you would expect a Mangekyou user to possess. The big draw back of course is that the user?s Sharingan is closed forever after using Izanagi. But by stockpiling Sharingans, Danzo can potentially use Izanagi for as long as his supply doesn?t run out.
So essentially, every Uchiha (with sufficient training) has two single-use only ?emergency escape? abilities at their disposal. This made me wonder (and many others are no doubt thinking the same) whether the reason Madara is only showing one of his Sharingans is because he had used Izanagi once in the past.
If I had to bet on it, I would probably put my money on his battle with Hashirama Senju at the Valley of the End. It was originally believed Madara was killed in that battle, but perhaps he saved himself with the Izanagi as a last ditch move.
After witnessing this technique first hand, I also won?t be too surprised that Sasuke would want to learn it from Madara; it certainly fits his nature of sacrificing everything for victory/revenge.
I have some other minor points which I?ll list point form below before I finish this post:
- What?s going on in page 13? Karin starting telling Sasuke what she observed but Sasuke blabs it out without even listening. Translation error or was this to make Karin look even more irrelevant?
- Doesn?t Sasuke?s sword summon on the last page remind you of someone (clue: they share the same voice actor in their respective anime shows)
- Last page: it looks like Danzo has the more serious stab wound, but I think both of them are safe. Sasuke appears to use an MS technique (Tsukuyomi possibly) at the last second. Danzo still has one Sharingan left (60 seconds of Izanagi by Karin?s account) before attacking and he might have back-up Sharingans concealed on his body.
Oh, and don?t forget Danzo also has Shisui?s Sharigan, he needs to let it recover but it?s possible he could use it in an emergency.
Danzo starts off the battle with a sense of urgency. As Karin had closely observed, the Izanagi technique he uses has a time limit.
Due to Orochimaru?s help in the past, Danzo?s Izanagi has been extended beyond normal means, but he has been forced to keep the jutsu active for too long in the battle. Part of that is because Danzo can?t leave his guard down even a little bit due to Madara?s presence nearby. With only five of his original ten Sharingans left active, Danzo decides to gamble everything and try to take Sasuke out before his time runs out.
Danzo?s battle experience and knowledge in powerful wind element techniques really start to put the pressure on Sasuke even with his Susano?o. Even though Sasuke is using a more complete version of Susano?o, unlike in the previous battle with the Raikage, this fight is in Danzo?s favor due to fact that they are no longer in a closed environment where avoiding Susano?o?s attacks are more difficult.
Danzo?s summon, an elephant-like chimera called a Baku, is weird looking but does complement his wind element attacks very well.
We?ve seen combo jutsus before with Jiraiya and Gamabunta, but I thought the idea of using a vacuum ability to power-up his wind jutsu was very original. Fortunately or Sasuke, his Fire element is strong against Wind and all he had to do was spit a fireball loogie into the gaping maw of the Baku to put a damper on Danzo?s attack combo.
Like in Sasuke?s previous battles against the kages, his new Susano?o can also be weakened by particular powerful ninjutsu.
It seems like the toughness of Susanoo?s armor is directly proportional to Sasuke?s chakra level: when Sasuke blocks attacks like he did with Susanoo?s shield on page 3 it appears to drain his chakra and weaken him.
The opposite is also true: when Sasuke received chakra from Zetsu after fighting the Mizukage, his Susano?o was able to slowly regenerate. I bet Sasuke probably wants to chomp down on Karin?s arm right now, but there?s no way Danzo is going to give him even a second to recover.
This entire fight, and this chapter especially, felt like a preview for a battle between Sasuke and Naruto in the future. We get to see first hand how Susano?o fares against a powerful Wind technique and witness how Sasuke can use Fire to counter against Wind element, including summons.
In place of Danzo?s Izanagi technique we can substitute Naruto?s shadow clones and in place of Danzo?s Wind element attacks we can replace it with the Rasen Shuriken.
If the strength of Sasuke?s Susano?o armor is directly proportional to his chakra level, I don?t think it will stand up to Naruto?s Rasen Shuriken given how chakra-dense that attack is. The arrows Susano?o shoots would be Naruto?s biggest obstacle since he is best at close range fighting; even Danzo, who is quite fast despite his age, has difficulty avoiding those bolts. But maybe the boost in speed and strength from sage mode will give Naruto more of an edge.
I want to spend the last part of this analysis talking about the Izanagi. So essentially the Izanagi is like the poor man?s Mangekyou Sharingan. For the low, low price of just one Sharingan, the user can perform the ultimate genjutsu on himself by turning his wish into reality ? it certainly feels like a space-time like jutsu that you would expect a Mangekyou user to possess. The big draw back of course is that the user?s Sharingan is closed forever after using Izanagi. But by stockpiling Sharingans, Danzo can potentially use Izanagi for as long as his supply doesn?t run out.
So essentially, every Uchiha (with sufficient training) has two single-use only ?emergency escape? abilities at their disposal. This made me wonder (and many others are no doubt thinking the same) whether the reason Madara is only showing one of his Sharingans is because he had used Izanagi once in the past.
If I had to bet on it, I would probably put my money on his battle with Hashirama Senju at the Valley of the End. It was originally believed Madara was killed in that battle, but perhaps he saved himself with the Izanagi as a last ditch move.
After witnessing this technique first hand, I also won?t be too surprised that Sasuke would want to learn it from Madara; it certainly fits his nature of sacrificing everything for victory/revenge.
I have some other minor points which I?ll list point form below before I finish this post:
- What?s going on in page 13? Karin starting telling Sasuke what she observed but Sasuke blabs it out without even listening. Translation error or was this to make Karin look even more irrelevant?
- Doesn?t Sasuke?s sword summon on the last page remind you of someone (clue: they share the same voice actor in their respective anime shows)
- Last page: it looks like Danzo has the more serious stab wound, but I think both of them are safe. Sasuke appears to use an MS technique (Tsukuyomi possibly) at the last second. Danzo still has one Sharingan left (60 seconds of Izanagi by Karin?s account) before attacking and he might have back-up Sharingans concealed on his body.
Oh, and don?t forget Danzo also has Shisui?s Sharigan, he needs to let it recover but it?s possible he could use it in an emergency.
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