Rabbit Teth
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Hamura’s Staff
The staffs are among the most easily overlooked powers in the series and yet they are in the very top bracket of those available. Techniques that can wipe out entire battlefields cannot accomplish what these staffs are capable of. They have claimed the most prominent of victims in battle and yet we know relatively little about these objects…or do we?
Piecing together what we know about the staffs can build a clearer picture of the origins of this technique, how it operates and what it conceals. With that in mind, I think that it is easier to start at the end and work backward showing how all the material points in one direction – potential spoilers follow so turn away now if you want to wait for any surprises
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Shape
Other Abilities?
The staffs are among the most easily overlooked powers in the series and yet they are in the very top bracket of those available. Techniques that can wipe out entire battlefields cannot accomplish what these staffs are capable of. They have claimed the most prominent of victims in battle and yet we know relatively little about these objects…or do we?
Piecing together what we know about the staffs can build a clearer picture of the origins of this technique, how it operates and what it conceals. With that in mind, I think that it is easier to start at the end and work backward showing how all the material points in one direction – potential spoilers follow so turn away now if you want to wait for any surprises
Number
I think that there are only two staffs. They belonged to Hagoromo and Hamura. Madara and Obito both achieved a lesser mastery over their staffs but in the end both were betrayed by the technique that they believed they had simply learnt. The staffs never truly belonged to them. First it's worth considering how powerful the staffs are and how complex their usage should be.
When confronted with the technique Hiruzen comments that the staffs are composed of a material that combines at least four elements:
This ranks the staffs as a technique on a level superior to almost any seen before. If the staffs can combine four or more elements that puts them at least two levels above Kekkei Genkai (KKG) which combine two elements or one or more levels above Kekkai Tota (KKT) which combine three.
KKG like mokuton combine two elements:
KKT like Onoki’s Dust Release combine three:
This four element or more combination is identified by Tobirama as the mythical Onmyoton:
Naruto can at best combine two elements thanks to the Bijuu he is playing host to. Naruto’s Wind Release Rasenshuriken is composed of one nature element with shape manipulation (the rasengan part). His new Rasenshurikens would seem to combine two elements with shape manipulation. The Magnet Release of one of his new Rasenshurikens is recognised as a KKG (i.e. two elements) that the third Kazekage had and which Sasori displayed with his puppet of the same:
Shukaku’s Rasenshuriken
Another alternative that has been discussed is that the Black Rods are a Rinnegan power. Certainly Nagato used the black rods in conjunction with his Rinnegan to great effect. Madara and Obito have both also been shown to manipulate the black rods when in possession of a Rinnegan. However the first time that we see Obito use the black rods it is noteworthy that he does not have Rinnegan:
None of these characters have given any indication that they are simply naturally skilled enough to combine the elements because of their prowess.
Madara seemed to have considered the black rods as emanations of his will:
…at least he did, right up until he is stabbed in the back by it:
The Staff remade in the form of Black Zetsu
Stabbed in the Back
Notice also how when Obito reforms his staff so too does Black Zetsu recede from his arm:
Obito like Madara is betrayed by his staff and for a brief while the staff takes control over his will. Notice how just prior to Obito forming his staff his memories are rewritten and he briefly forgets who Minato is):
… Black Zetsu's betrayal (taking command of Obito in order to resurrect Madara):
Black Zetsu is the Staff that was seen keeping the Gedo Mazo and the Lotus imprisoned in Madara’s lair:
…if you can’t see the staff clearly enough then it is worth zooming in:
Hagoromo’s staff is still in the possession of Hagoromo (though Naruto now has the beginnings of a staff thanks to Hagoromo's gift of Yang). I believe that the staff from which Black Zetsu was made is the other one, Hamura’s Staff.
When Black Zetsu claims to have been born as Hagoromo and Hamura sealed the Juubi, he might not be lying:
That particular turn of phrase rules out Black Zetsu being either Hagoromo or Hamura in the traditional sense since both Hagoromo and Hamura are full adults when they face off against their mother. Black Zetsu could simply be talking about being formed from Hamura’s Onmyoton (Yin Yang Technique)::
Hamura’s Staff
…but what about his expression that the Juubi is his mother too? As a staff he would need only his creator, the man who wielded him. This puzzles me. The only idea that I can come up with concerns the nature of the Black Rods. We know that they can emit and receive chakra. It might be possible that Hamura’s staff was hijacked during his fight with the Juubi. Some of the original Juubi’s chakra could have overcome Hamura just as Naruto overcame the chakra rod that Nagato shot in Naruto’s chest:
Note how Naruto resists the urge to give into Hate - Hamura's Staff feeds off it.
That or Hamura was just plain evil...
When confronted with the technique Hiruzen comments that the staffs are composed of a material that combines at least four elements:
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KKG like mokuton combine two elements:
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Shukaku’s Rasenshuriken
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Madara seemed to have considered the black rods as emanations of his will:
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The Staff remade in the form of Black Zetsu
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Stabbed in the Back
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Note how the hand clears as Obito's staff takes shape
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Hamura with Staff - staff unaccounted for
Hagoromo with Staff (note how Hagoromo's staff also lights up)
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Hagoromo with Staff (note how Hagoromo's staff also lights up)
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Hamura’s Staff
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Note how Naruto resists the urge to give into Hate - Hamura's Staff feeds off it.
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A further detail that is worth noting is how when Black Zetsu works his way into Madara and Obito, he takes the form of either end of Hagoromo’s original staff. If the staff has a natural shape then surely it should be consistent in the form it assumes but instead it seems to change depending on who wields it
I think the reason why the staff takes different shapes is that it is reflecting the bearer’s chakra. The Science team in Konoha is able to perform experiments on a stolen chakra rod. They describe the rod as a chakra receiver. The rods respond to chakra and activate:
Nagato has no special chakra and so he forms no staff. Madara, however, is identified as belonging to one of the generations of Ninja into whom Indra and Asura’s chakra has transmigrated:
I think Indra and his hosts inherited Hagoromo’s Yin Chakra as represented by the Moon end to the staff while Asura and his hosts inherited Hagoromo’s Yang Chakra as represented by the Sun:
Note how the seals on Naruto and Sasuke's hands also conform to this pattern:
Black Zetsu in the hands of Madara assumes the shape of Indra’s legacy …the Moon:
That Obito's Staff is the Sun Staff makes it seem that he has somehow inherited Asura’s / the Sage’s Yang Chakra:
It might make sense that Obito too is able to form a staff because he is half composed of Hashirama’s cells. Hashirama was a host to Asura chakra and so perhaps Obito might resonate with the Sun or Yang end of Hagoromo’s staff as a result.
I’m not too sure about this because Madara also had Hashirama’s cells inside him yet he still only formed the Yin / Moon Staff:
Another explanation is that Obito might belong to another generation’s Asura host. Indeed, this last Week Kakashi talked of receieving the Sage’s power right after being gifted Obito's chakra:
THis might explain why Kakashi has previously been shown with the Indra / Yin / Moon Staff, that would make Kakashi and Obito one of the pairs of the transmigrating brother’s hosts:
What’s more there might be other generations of Yin and Yang brothers that we have met who together make up the complete Yin Yang balance:
This is just speculation though since Madara and Hashriama and Naruto and Sasuke are the only ones actually said to be hosts. The transmigrating chakra though is not necessarily bound to one set of bodies at a time since Hashirama uses his chakra with the chakra from Madara's legs at the same time Naruto and Sasuke are still alive. Normal laws do not necessarily apply to transmigrants.
I think the reason why the staff takes different shapes is that it is reflecting the bearer’s chakra. The Science team in Konoha is able to perform experiments on a stolen chakra rod. They describe the rod as a chakra receiver. The rods respond to chakra and activate:
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I’m not too sure about this because Madara also had Hashirama’s cells inside him yet he still only formed the Yin / Moon Staff:
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Danzo and Hiruzen
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One thing stands out about the Staff and Black Zetsu is that they feed off hatred. When Obito and Nagato both sprout black rods they are full of rage and vengeance. Nagato develops his church organ of black rods when Konan is kidnapped and Yahiko commits seppuku on Nagato’s blade:
Obito grows his first black rods when Rin throws herself on Kakashi’s chidori:
Black Zetsu talks about writing a story with the Ninja World for his mother:
The story he wants to tell is one of hatred:
But there’s more. Hagoromo’s staff is based on real world staffs carried by Buddhist monks in China and Japan. They are called Khakkhara or Shakujō and look like this:
When carried by simple monks they are said to be able to frighten away snakes. In myths about certain Bodhisattva (enlightened beings) they are said to be able to open the way into the Western Paradise that belongs to Amida. This is the heaven that you can escape to once you have transcended the purgatories of the Six Realms of the Pure Land (where Team 7 are currently fighting). In the story I think Hagoromo is supposed to represent Amida and that this is him visiting from his Western Paradise:
If Hagoromo’s staff can open the way into (for want of a better word) heaven then it makes sense that Hamura’s staff can open the way to hell. If there is one deity that rules hell in the Narutoverse then it is going to be Jashin. His triangle represents the three Hell Realms of the Naraka, Preeta and Animal paths.
When shown a vision in Madara’s dream world it is worth noting that the mysterious figure in the Juubi’s mouth has three rings. These three rings correspond to the number of Hell realms and the number of side / corners of Jashin’s primary symbol:
We even have a statue to represent this god … who also carries a three ringed staff:
For more on Hamura…
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