Apêx1
Sannin of the Scrolls 📜
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Introduction
Genjutsu has been stated to require a
The Genjutsu Loop
One aspect that makes Itachi almost impossible to fight is his ability to intertwine Genjutsu's. Sasuke kills Itachi in a Genjutsu [
Itachi's Imminent Genjutsu
There are several popular misconceptions around that limit the influence of Genjutsu in certain match-ups. I will clear these misconceptions and present proof for their lack of viability. For starters, Kage Bunshins are weak and useless against a powerful Genjutsu user like Itachi. The Kage Bunshin argument is used extremely often, and is often agreed on due to an absence of understanding regarding the mechanics behind both Genjutsu and Kage Bunshins. It has been stated that Itachi can
Inb4 Clones can't be put into Genjutsu. You can clearly see in the VIZ scans of the fight against Kakashi that such is not the case [
Forgotten Genjutsu
In Sasuke's fight against Danzo, Sasuke was capable of creating Genjutsu solely based around Danzo having one more eye on his Sharingan infested arm [
Another Genjutsu which I barely see people mention is Ephemeral. Ephemeral is not exclusive to Itachi's fingers, I don't even know where this idea came from. Itachi was saying that all he needed is a single finger for Genjutsu. That is not to say he cannot cast Genjutsu with any other body part he desires. He claims it's not just these eyes [
Tsukiyomi
Every now and then, I see people outright denying Manga facts and Databook, claiming Tsukiyomi can be vanquished by a non-Kekkei Genkai user, literally meaning blood inheritance. Kakashi states you cannot break the Tsukiyomi even with the Sharingan [
Edit:
Izanami
Izanami is probably the most complex jutsu that was explained in the manga. That's because it utilises a complex process and the user needs to be intelligent enough to actually replicate two scenarios. Izanami is the direct counter part of Izanagi. While Izanagi connects illusion to reality,
This is the VIZ explanation of how Izanami works [
Genjutsu has been stated to require a
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. The more intelligent you are, the more likely you are capable of creating a more believable illusion to your opponent. Given Itachi has shown some of the greatest intelligence feats in the manga, and attained a 5 in the databook for intelligence, his ability to create credible illusions is unrivalled. His Genjutsu allows him to see through any Genjutsu placed on him, while also enabling him to cast an extremely high-level of Genjutsu. The Genjutsu Loop
One aspect that makes Itachi almost impossible to fight is his ability to intertwine Genjutsu's. Sasuke kills Itachi in a Genjutsu [
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], kills him again within a Genjutsu [
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], and then again [
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]. This is all against a highly intelligent Sharingan user, imagine what he could do to non-Uchiha's. Furthermore, there's implications that Itachi can do this while inside the Genjutsu itself, virtually giving his real world self infinite time to kill off his opponent. Against Naruto, who was in his Ephemeral, Itachi was capable of altering the Genjutsu Naruto was in completely by making a hand seal (his Genjutsu self did it) [
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]. This is all the while Itachi was actually fighting with Kakashi, so it did happen only in the Genjutsu. This means simple counters to it wont work and just make Itachi's Genjutsu that much more difficult to escape.Itachi's Imminent Genjutsu
There are several popular misconceptions around that limit the influence of Genjutsu in certain match-ups. I will clear these misconceptions and present proof for their lack of viability. For starters, Kage Bunshins are weak and useless against a powerful Genjutsu user like Itachi. The Kage Bunshin argument is used extremely often, and is often agreed on due to an absence of understanding regarding the mechanics behind both Genjutsu and Kage Bunshins. It has been stated that Itachi can
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amidst Genjutsu simultaneously without being recognised by high-level sensors. The same sensors who only try to break themselves out after checking on their own chakra flow [
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], while the weaker ones fail like Cee did. The interpretation of Ao's statement varies, with most saying Itachi would place people within his Genjutsu individually. But such seems dubious, as Itachi would never just put people into Genjutsu one by one, shinobi aren't that inept anyways. A better explanation would be Itachi's Crow Genjutsu [
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]. It's already been shown that Itachi's Crows possess Genjutsu. The abilities they use thereafter are solely dependant on Itachi's own choice. For example, Itachi's Transcription technique had its own Databook page [
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]. We can presume that Itachi can pretty much transcript any of his ocular abilities into whatever he pleases, as long as it possesses eyes. He transcripted Amateratsu onto Sasuke to be activated against Obito [
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], he transcripted Genjutsu into his Crow to be cast upon Naruto [
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] and he transcripted Kotoamatsukami for it to be awakened against Itachi's own eyes through Naruto's as a medium [
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]. There's a clear trend regarding this complex ability; and that is the enabling of Genjutsu abilities through his Crow summons. If Itachi were to transcript 10 of them with normal Genjutsu against 10 Kage Bunshins, they'd all be done for at that particular point.Inb4 Clones can't be put into Genjutsu. You can clearly see in the VIZ scans of the fight against Kakashi that such is not the case [
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][
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]. He talks to the clone originally saying he realised Kakashi was already in the Doton, and only then says to the real Kakashi who's coming up from behind him "no wonder my Genjutsu didn't work on you.. this is a shadow doppelganger." Thus he was implying his Genjutsu couldn't affect the real Kakashi rather than the clone. Moreover, there would be no reason for a Shadow Clone to be immune to Genjutsu. They are called clones for a reason. They are intrinsically another you that can die. It still has everything you do, including a chakra network that is required for Genjutsu to work. For the people who argue that Kakashi was capable of grabbing Itachi, that's only because the Genjutsu had finished subsequent to the completing of Kakashi's burning body. Only after that did Kakashi grab, he didn't attack before that or take advantage of his Genjutsu immunity, hence clones are not immune. Long-lasting Genjutsu's would work just fine in keeping clones in check.Forgotten Genjutsu
In Sasuke's fight against Danzo, Sasuke was capable of creating Genjutsu solely based around Danzo having one more eye on his Sharingan infested arm [
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]. This alone one the fight according to Obito, indicating how big of an effect such a small and almost unnoticeable illusion can have on an opponent. Itachi can replicate an enemies surroundings and perceptions at an even higher level than Sasuke could. He could change one small factor in a fight changing everything. For example, if he were to fight Hidan, he could make Hidan think he took some blood from Itachi, and then watch Hidan stab himself futilely while Itachi chops his neck off. If Minato throws 20 FTG Kunai's, he can make the placement of these kunai's different then their actual location, thus having an effect on Minato's Hirashi. The amount of options are infinite, and these aren't necessarily the best examples. Such a small Genjutsu could change a fight entirely without notice. Nobody is going to randomly Kai when everything is looking completely ordinary.Another Genjutsu which I barely see people mention is Ephemeral. Ephemeral is not exclusive to Itachi's fingers, I don't even know where this idea came from. Itachi was saying that all he needed is a single finger for Genjutsu. That is not to say he cannot cast Genjutsu with any other body part he desires. He claims it's not just these eyes [
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], meaning it can be anything at all. This is evident by saying "if I just have one finger, that is enough" insinuating that a finger is the least amount required for him to initiate a Genjutsu. Hence unless you can fight without gazing at Itachi's body once, you are almost bound to lose. Inb4 this would be too haxed, no, not really. Kurenai can put multiple high level opponents like Kisame and Itachi into Genjutsu by merely initiating the jutsu. Itachi merely saw through it because the eye's clairvoyance sees through all [
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]. With Ephermal Itachi becomes a one shot machine. He's already shown a single Genjutsu is all that is required for him to pretty much win a fight [
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]. Coupled with the fact people think the only way for Uchiha's to cast Genjutsu is their eyes, Itachi makes 99% of his opponents eat look like idiots [
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].Tsukiyomi
Every now and then, I see people outright denying Manga facts and Databook, claiming Tsukiyomi can be vanquished by a non-Kekkei Genkai user, literally meaning blood inheritance. Kakashi states you cannot break the Tsukiyomi even with the Sharingan [
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], and suggests it is unstoppable to Chiyo and Naruto, meaning Kai/Chakra flow disruption is futile [
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]. Having a Bijuu inside you to disrupt your chakra won't do anything either, because it cannot be defeated by non-blood related opponents. It is an instant one shot Genjutsu which both
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and
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have praised. The ability to alter time however, is only one of Tsukiyomi's abilities. Tsukiyomi can also be cast on people who are already within Genjutsu [
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]. That means anyone who is vulnerable to any of Itachi's Genjutsu's, which are impossible to evade, is also vulnerable to Itachi intertwining it with Tsukiyomi. He also uses it for a completely different purpose, he uses it to force the opponent to do whatever Itachi wants him to do. And the aforementioned circumstances still apply, nobody can make this person stop doing what Itachi wants him to do until Itachi himself decides to stop. So in a 2v1 situation working against Itachi, Itachi can make it into a 2v1 in his own favour by controlling that person. It almost makes him, too OP. Dat Itachi.Edit:
Izanami
Izanami is probably the most complex jutsu that was explained in the manga. That's because it utilises a complex process and the user needs to be intelligent enough to actually replicate two scenarios. Izanami is the direct counter part of Izanagi. While Izanagi connects illusion to reality,
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. I will use VIZ scans for the most part as they make it easier to clear misconceptions.This is the VIZ explanation of how Izanami works [
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]. You can see that it suggests Itachi only needs to grab an action made by his opponent and snap a record of all senses both parties feel through his Dojutsu. You are then supposed to recreate those feelings once again. It does not require physical contact at all. However, you have to be capable of guaranteeing that your opponent will replicate two actions. Anyways, I will get back to that after I explain what happened against Kabuto (I know a tonne of people who couldn't comprehend what Itachi said). Point A was this [
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] whereas point A' was [
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]. Itachi would only need to record what he felt being stabbed while recording what Obito felt after stabbing him. Everything inbetween that time would then be taken into account and recreated to link the loop from A to A'. Hence Izanami works on the physical senses of you and your opponent [
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]. Thus as long as Itachi can recreate such a situation, he is bound to win any fight. IE if Itachi puts you in his Genjutsu twice, and makes you experience physical sensations that are the same twice, you're under his Izanami. I know how broken that sounds, but that's how it is because
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This was merely an impossibility against Kabuto, and Itachi was forced to resort to more difficult methods like having his Karasu Bunshin stabbed twice. Another point I'd like to make is the fact that people like to claim it's not usable on anyone barring people who don't accept their own fate. Itachi gives perspective on what 'not accepting your own fate' could mean
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. It insinuates anyone who can't forgive themselves is vulnerable to this jutsu. That would mean Naruto not being able to capture Sasuke, Obito and Kakashi with their Rin problems, Hiruzen having allowed Orochimaru to live, etc. The list can go on and on on who's a viable target for Izanami.
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Comparing Itachi's jutsu to Infinite Tsukiyomi. Oh my sides.
