[Spoilers] How Limbo actually works and why it is Kishi's most creative jutsu (must read)

[blue22]

How Limbo works
(Theres a summary at the bottom but recommend you read as it will make more sense)

I was thinking about how sasuke rinnegan essentially controls space since he can move any object or himself within a set distance and thought to myself “wow it would be cool if the rinnegan could also control time”. I began to daydream about what a jutsu would do when it hit me, the rinnegan does control time in a jutsu already existing, Limbo. I began to research and the more I found the more I believed that in fact, Limbo is a time jutsu and one of the most creative jutsu’s Kishi has ever made.

To understand this theory, we must first talk about parallel dimensions. I don’t know who originally came up with the idea, but some time ago some really smart person believed that everything that happens, every second causes a new dimension to form, simply one second in advance. Basically, all time and every single moment in human history exists in a separate dimension. If you understand this concept, keep reading, if not go research parallel dimensions a little more and come back, its worth it.

Lets break down what we currently believe limbo does.
-It creates one or more versions of oneself from an alternate dimension
-After a certain period of time, the clones return to the original users body, bringing with it any injury the clone received.
-These clones are untouchable unless you’re using sage of six paths chakra
-It is possible for the user to switch with a clone (however I believe this is not a part of limbo and more or less just a simple substitution jutsu)

What I believe Limbo does is it allows the user to summon oneself from a time that previously happened. The versions of oneself that appear are actually the users self from whatever time period he pulled them from. It could range from a couple seconds ago to years before (more on this on another thread im writing).

So now that we have the idea down, let’s talk proof. The trick of the jutsu lies in the meaning behind why the parallel Madara returned to the original. If summoned from another dimension, there would be no reason for why the parallel Madara returned to the original unless, the time that the parallel Madara had been summoned from had caught up to current time. When Madara first used Limbo and we saw the parallel Madara for the first time, he looked just like Madara (jubbi jin). This must mean that Madara had summoned him from a time that was after he became a jubbi jin, which was rather recent. Let’s say he summoned the Madara from 10 minutes before. Then it 10 minutes, the parallel Madara would have reached current time Madara and would have to stop existing, seeing how it had caught up with present time. Since the parallel Madara did in fact look like a jubbi jin, he was summoned from a rather recent time, meaning he would have to return to present time Madara in a rather short amount of time, which he did, in the span of a chapter or two.

The next hint we get is what happens to Madara when the parallel Madara return to the original; Madara receives any injury that the parallel Madara received. This is due to the fact that before, current time Madara did not have an injury. However, by summoning past him and past him receiving an injury, it rewrites the past and when parallel Madara catches up to current time Madara, the injury actually did happen. Think of the butterfly effect. If you go back in time and kill yourself, than you the current you disappears because the past you never grew up into you. Limbo has this effect, meaning that if you kill or damage a limbo clone, than you actually kill or damage the original user once time catches up.

Now that we have talked about damaging the parallel clone, we will talk about why a normal attack doesn’t work. The reason is that in the current dimension, something is there that shouldn't be. We can’t hit our past selves because they aren’t supposed to be in our dimension. Think about when Sakura tries to hit Madara, her hand and momentum stop, as if hitting an invisible wall. She can’t touch past Madara because past Madara isn’t really supposed to be there (of course Kishi lets past Madara hit her because well it would be stupid jutsu if it couldn’t hit you and you couldn’t hit it.

Wait, Naruto was able to damage the clone with sage of six paths chakra what's up with that? I admit this took a little bit of thought but then i realized a key characteristic of so6p chakra, it transcends time. Like how Hagoromo was able to still appear before Naruto and Sasuke because his chakra exists in all forms of time, similar to how Ashura and Indras chakra is still around. Using so6p chakra, Naruto is able to damage parallel Madara because as far as the so6p chakra is concerned, parallel Madara does exist.

The final piece of evidence i have for you is the name, Ringo Hengoku. When translated, it means grave wheel. I believe this is symbolic because like how a wheel spins, time also spins, and if you pull something out from the past than it eventually comes full circle with the present

Using this evidence, now let’s break down what I believe Limbo actually does
-It allows the user to summon himself from a certain time period in the past, multiple can be summoned from different time periods
-Once the time period from where the past self was summoned catches up to the current self, the past self disappears as it no longer exists.
-Any damage received while the past self was there get’s passed onto the user because he received a new injury in the past
-Anyone from the current time period can’t cause damage to the past self because it isn’t supposed to exist there
-So6p chakra can damage the past self because so6p chakra transcends time
-It is also an assumption that the further distance from time you summon, the more chakra it requires. An example would be if you summoned yourself from 10 minutes ago, versus summoning yourself from 10 years ago.

With this, I believe we can finally put a close on what Limbo is and what it does. Kishi really put forth a lot of effort to create such a unique jutsu, and he deserves the credit for giving us something so interesting to analyse.

Let me know what you think.

(I will be writing a follow up thread on how Madara may have used a Limbo self to be the one who implanted the rinnegan into Nagato, Ill post the link when its done)

 

[Limbo]

I aint readin all dat though.

Limbo>everything

 

[Kai NB]

You put a lot of work in to this, and it is very much plausible, but I think it's easier to say clones from the Shadow Realm

 

[blue22]

I aint readin all dat though.

Limbo>everything

Using this evidence, now let’s break down what I believe Limbo actually does
-It allows the user to summon himself from a certain time period in the past, multiple can be summoned from different time periods
-Once the time period from where the past self was summoned catches up to the current self, the past self disappears as it no longer exists.
-Any damage received while the past self was there get’s passed onto the user because he received a new injury in the past
-Anyone from the current time period can’t cause damage to the past self because it isn’t supposed to exist there
-So6p chakra can damage the past self because so6p chakra transcends time
-It is also an assumption that the further distance from time you summon, the more chakra it requires. An example would be if you summoned yourself from 10 minutes ago, versus summoning yourself from 10 years ago.

Theres a summary, still a little long but its the best i could do

You put a lot of work in to this, and it is very much plausible, but I think it's easier to say clones from the Shadow Realm

Thanks for the honesty and you're right, but Kishi put a lot of work into coming up with the jutsu so I figured might as well explain all he put into it

 

[blue22]

You put a lot of work in to this, and it is very much plausible, but I think it's easier to say clones from the Shadow Realm

Thanks for the honesty and you're right, but Kishi put a lot of work into coming up with the jutsu so I figured might as well explain all he put into it

 

[OWanime]

Yeah I really like this theory but wouldn't it make more sense that clones are from the future which is why when present madara catches up to the clones that were pulled from one single point in time then he receives the same injury because xd the clones would be possible futures for madara (either that or he has clones in different dimensions that are all connected even though space and time separates them)

NICE explanation though

 

[Brainstorm]

How Limbo works
(Theres a summary at the bottom but recommend you read as it will make more sense)

I was thinking about how sasuke rinnegan essentially controls space since he can move any object or himself within a set distance and thought to myself “wow it would be cool if the rinnegan could also control time”. I began to daydream about what a jutsu would do when it hit me, the rinnegan does control time in a jutsu already existing, Limbo. I began to research and the more I found the more I believed that in fact, Limbo is a time jutsu and one of the most creative jutsu’s Kishi has ever made.

To understand this theory, we must first talk about parallel dimensions. I don’t know who originally came up with the idea, but some time ago some really smart person believed that everything that happens, every second causes a new dimension to form, simply one second in advance. Basically, all time and every single moment in human history exists in a separate dimension. If you understand this concept, keep reading, if not go research parallel dimensions a little more and come back, its worth it.

Lets break down what we currently believe limbo does.
-It creates one or more versions of oneself from an alternate dimension
-After a certain period of time, the clones return to the original users body, bringing with it any injury the clone received.
-These clones are untouchable unless you’re using sage of six paths chakra
-It is possible for the user to switch with a clone (however I believe this is not a part of limbo and more or less just a simple substitution jutsu)

What I believe Limbo does is it allows the user to summon oneself from a time that previously happened. The versions of oneself that appear are actually the users self from whatever time period he pulled them from. It could range from a couple seconds ago to years before (more on this on another thread im writing).

So now that we have the idea down, let’s talk proof. The trick of the jutsu lies in the meaning behind why the parallel Madara returned to the original. If summoned from another dimension, there would be no reason for why the parallel Madara returned to the original unless, the time that the parallel Madara had been summoned from had caught up to current time. When Madara first used Limbo and we saw the parallel Madara for the first time, he looked just like Madara (jubbi jin). This must mean that Madara had summoned him from a time that was after he became a jubbi jin, which was rather recent. Let’s say he summoned the Madara from 10 minutes before. Then it 10 minutes, the parallel Madara would have reached current time Madara and would have to stop existing, seeing how it had caught up with present time. Since the parallel Madara did in fact look like a jubbi jin, he was summoned from a rather recent time, meaning he would have to return to present time Madara in a rather short amount of time, which he did, in the span of a chapter or two.

The next hint we get is what happens to Madara when the parallel Madara return to the original; Madara receives any injury that the parallel Madara received. This is due to the fact that before, current time Madara did not have an injury. However, by summoning past him and past him receiving an injury, it rewrites the past and when parallel Madara catches up to current time Madara, the injury actually did happen. Think of the butterfly effect. If you go back in time and kill yourself, than you the current you disappears because the past you never grew up into you. Limbo has this effect, meaning that if you kill or damage a limbo clone, than you actually kill or damage the original user once time catches up.

Now that we have talked about damaging the parallel clone, we will talk about why a normal attack doesn’t work. The reason is that in the current dimension, something is there that shouldn't be. We can’t hit our past selves because they aren’t supposed to be in our dimension. Think about when Sakura tries to hit Madara, her hand and momentum stop, as if hitting an invisible wall. She can’t touch past Madara because past Madara isn’t really supposed to be there (of course Kishi lets past Madara hit her because well it would be stupid jutsu if it couldn’t hit you and you couldn’t hit it.

Wait, Naruto was able to damage the clone with sage of six paths chakra what's up with that? I admit this took a little bit of thought but then i realized a key characteristic of so6p chakra, it transcends time. Like how Hagoromo was able to still appear before Naruto and Sasuke because his chakra exists in all forms of time, similar to how Ashura and Indras chakra is still around. Using so6p chakra, Naruto is able to damage parallel Madara because as far as the so6p chakra is concerned, parallel Madara does exist.

The final piece of evidence i have for you is the name, Ringo Hengoku. When translated, it means grave wheel. I believe this is symbolic because like how a wheel spins, time also spins, and if you pull something out from the past than it eventually comes full circle with the present

Using this evidence, now let’s break down what I believe Limbo actually does
-It allows the user to summon himself from a certain time period in the past, multiple can be summoned from different time periods
-Once the time period from where the past self was summoned catches up to the current self, the past self disappears as it no longer exists.
-Any damage received while the past self was there get’s passed onto the user because he received a new injury in the past
-Anyone from the current time period can’t cause damage to the past self because it isn’t supposed to exist there
-So6p chakra can damage the past self because so6p chakra transcends time
-It is also an assumption that the further distance from time you summon, the more chakra it requires. An example would be if you summoned yourself from 10 minutes ago, versus summoning yourself from 10 years ago.

With this, I believe we can finally put a close on what Limbo is and what it does. Kishi really put forth a lot of effort to create such a unique jutsu, and he deserves the credit for giving us something so interesting to analyse.

Let me know what you think.

(I will be writing a follow up thread on how Madara may have used a Limbo self to be the one who implanted the rinnegan into Nagato, Ill post the link when its done)

''How limbo actual works'' is really misleading considering that this is a theory. kishi never explained it so we will never know.

 

[jiraiya nindo]

I really like this theory. A for effort but if your theory is true, then why didn't madara have the damage from naruto's opening attack on his limbo? If his limbo is him in the past, then when the past caught up to the future madara should have had the same scar on his right arm but the manga never showed that he did.

 

[SSU]

Really nice theory, I read all of it. One quick question though, when you say the past Madara catches up with time what do you mean? If past Madara is 10 minutes old and 10 minutes have pasted, he hasn't caught up with time because time has also gone 10 minutes ahead. Basically past MAdara is always 10 minutes behind and he never catches up. But good read.

 

[wael reda]

Good theory,I enjoyed it

 

[blue22]

''How limbo actual works'' is really misleading considering that this is a theory. kishi never explained it so we will never know.

That's one way too look at it. I have faith that Kishi shows us these things and than wants us to analyze them and find out what they mean. As for the title it really grabs the readers attention better than if the title was "How limbo may or may not work"

Yeah I really like this theory but wouldn't it make more sense that clones are from the future which is why when present madara catches up to the clones that were pulled from one single point in time then he receives the same injury because xd the clones would be possible futures for madara (either that or he has clones in different dimensions that are all connected even though space and time separates them)

NICE explanation though

Interesting idea, thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it

Good theory,I enjoyed it

Thanks for reading the whole thing, glad you liked it

Really nice theory, I read all of it. One quick question though, when you say the past Madara catches up with time what do you mean? If past Madara is 10 minutes old and 10 minutes have pasted, he hasn't caught up with time because time has also gone 10 minutes ahead. Basically past MAdara is always 10 minutes behind and he never catches up. But good read.

Thanks I know it was a lot of text in plain black and white ink so I appreciate that, eventually I'll need to find a way to make posts look more appealing to read. To answer your question it doesn't catch up to actual Madara, but the time at which Madara summoned the clone.

The timeline kinda works like this,
the clone can be summoned from any time in his past, lets go with the example of 10 minutes
at the time when madara summons the clone, everything that has happened before is considered his past and any point past that is his future
since madara is in his own universe, he can continue to go about his existence in the future
the clone however is operating from the past, and can not go further than the present point it was summoned

to rephrase, when madara summons the limbo of himself from 10 minutes ago, the limbo clone can only exist for 10 minutes because as far as time is considered to the clone, when it hits 10 minutes it has caught up to the time where madara initially summoned it, meaning it is no longer part of the past so it returns to madara in the present

I really like this theory. A for effort but if your theory is true, then why didn't madara have the damage from naruto's opening attack on his limbo? If his limbo is him in the past, then when the past caught up to the future madara should have had the same scar on his right arm but the manga never showed that he did.

I see your point. I figured it was never brought up because when we perceived the Limbo clone his gloves were white and the wound on the arm was black, then when it returned back to the real time Madara, Madara's glove was black so I don't know how he would show the wound. It was also relatively small.

 

[blue22]

I really like this theory. A for effort but if your theory is true, then why didn't madara have the damage from naruto's opening attack on his limbo? If his limbo is him in the past, then when the past caught up to the future madara should have had the same scar on his right arm but the manga never showed that he did.

I see your point. I figured it was never brought up because when we perceived the Limbo clone his gloves were white and the wound on the arm was black, then when it returned back to the real time Madara, Madara's glove was black so I don't know how he would show the wound. It was also relatively small.

 

[blue22]

Really nice theory, I read all of it. One quick question though, when you say the past Madara catches up with time what do you mean? If past Madara is 10 minutes old and 10 minutes have pasted, he hasn't caught up with time because time has also gone 10 minutes ahead. Basically past MAdara is always 10 minutes behind and he never catches up. But good read.

Thanks I know it was a lot of text in plain black and white ink so I appreciate that, eventually I'll need to find a way to make posts look more appealing to read. To answer your question it doesn't catch up to actual Madara, but the time at which Madara summoned the clone.

The timeline kinda works like this,
the clone can be summoned from any time in his past, lets go with the example of 10 minutes
at the time when madara summons the clone, everything that has happened before is considered his past and any point past that is his future
since madara is in his own universe, he can continue to go about his existence in the future
the clone however is operating from the past, and can not go further than the present point it was summoned

to rephrase, when madara summons the limbo of himself from 10 minutes ago, the limbo clone can only exist for 10 minutes because as far as time is considered to the clone, when it hits 10 minutes it has caught up to the time where madara initially summoned it, meaning it is no longer part of the past so it returns to madara in the present

 

[blue22]

Yeah I really like this theory but wouldn't it make more sense that clones are from the future which is why when present madara catches up to the clones that were pulled from one single point in time then he receives the same injury because xd the clones would be possible futures for madara (either that or he has clones in different dimensions that are all connected even though space and time separates them)

NICE explanation though

Interesting idea, thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it

 

[blue22]

Good theory,I enjoyed it

Thanks for reading the whole thing, glad you liked it

 

[jiraiya nindo]

I see your point. I figured it was never brought up because when we perceived the Limbo clone his gloves were white and the wound on the arm was black, then when it returned back to the real time Madara, Madara's glove was black so I don't know how he would show the wound. It was also relatively small.

Okay, that actually makes sense to me. Madara was wearing the all black gloves and the limbo world was inverted which is why the damage was visible. Cool beans.

 

[SSU]

Ah thanks for clearing that up. If Kishi didn't have an explanation for the jutsu, he could use your's.

 

[Jako98146]

To much wordz
Me no read

 

[Listz]

Oh dear, what a theory. And i couldn't believe i did read the whole thing.

I like it, i mean, it's the most plausible one for now, since Kishi's not here to explain in detail
If there's some tags for this, i'll say 'karma', 'parallel dimension', 'time & space manipulation', 'reincarnation'. Now that when i rethought about it, Kishi loved to play with time when it came to his story plot and jutsu, especially sharingan/rinnegan. Was it safe to say that Obito's ms had something to do with time as well? If it was, then the full Susanoo by Kakashi had a few clearings on how it was done.

 

[Your Creepy Stalker]

No, it's invisible shadow clones that are immune to things that aren't sage powers, because bullshit reasons. Otherwise madara would have been stomped before he would be juubi jin.