I'm back. OMG! Guardians of the Galaxy is phenomenally groundbreaking beyond compare. I wasn't expecting the movie to be that superb. I'm definitely watching it again in the very near future.
@Topic: Please bear with me. Okay, in its stationary state, the Totsuka Blade, at least the ethereal liquid from the jar, is NOT physical, and is in fact "intangible." Both the manga and the databook go on to assert this with adjectival statements such as "no physical form" and "ethereal" or even "spiritual."
Now let's closely examine the denotations of these terms along with their synonymical connotations:
In this scan, notice how the databook claims that both the Totsuka and the Yata Mirror have "no physical form" and fail to utilize the term "true" to make the phrase "no true form."
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In the manga, Zetsu said that only the Totsuka had "no
TRUE physical form," which is what KidGamer65 was referring to as "no set physical form," an insinuation that it can change its size in appropriate accordance to the wielder. For instance, if Madara picked up the Totsuka with his PS, the sword would be way bigger than what we've seen it to be. Or, if a normal shinobi were to wield the blade, it would proportionally match the user: Of course that all depends on the person and how far he/she wants to elongate the blade, since both the blade and the wielder are telekinetically connected (more on this later). To substantiate my point, Orochimaru knew full well of the characteristics of the Totsuka and he still went about searching for the blade without harboring Susanoo, which means that if he had triumphantly found the sword, he would be able to equip it to himself and it would be the size of an average sword, assuming he wants it to be kept that way unless he chooses to extend it longer like he does with his Sword of Kusanagi.
However, notice how Zetsu never proclaimed that the Yata Mirror has "no
TRUE physical form." The databook, on the other hand, states that both the Totsuka and the Yata have "
no physical form" as displayed above, with no reappearance of the word "TRUE" anywhere, and instead claims that the Yata is "
WITHOUT a physical form."
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My point is both the phrases "
NO physical form" and "no
TRUE physical form" are two completely different concepts. Both of which are attributed to the Totsuka Blade. "
NO physical form" suggests intangibility and supersensible entities such as spirits, ghosts, and Shinigamis. This also goes hand in hand with the usage of the word "ethereal" to depict both spiritual weapons:
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Now, you may be wondering "but the Totsuka physically made contact with Oro's snakes, Oro himself, and Nagato." The Totsuka is also a magical weapon, as stated by Zetsu and the databook. Because of its magical nature, the Totsuka can supernaturally change from non-phyical to physical when attacking/piercing. It has already been shown and stated that the Totsuka possesses the competence to change its characteristics such as size/shape, as is also the case for its accompanied Yata Mirror. Or, and I strongly believe this, even while it's attacking it can still magically be intangible while still exhibiting physical properties (if that makes any sense). For example, think of Ryuki, the Shinigami from Death Note. He's intangible/spiritual/ethereal etc. Like a ghost, he can phase through people and objects, yet he has this supernatural ability to physically touch the Death Note, carry it around, throw it, etc. If he could do that, does that mean he's actually physical? Does that also mean that while he's holding the Death Note, other people can now physically touch him? I don't think so. All of this are the works of magic, which is a notion that defies traditional laws of science and logic:
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Another thing to consider, the Yata Mirror has been stated that it can deflect astral bodies, which implies that it has the ability to come in contact with ghastly spirits and such, since that's basically what the term "astal body" denotes. For instance, the mental energy/spirit that's exerted from the Yamanaka's Mind Transfer Jutsu is an astral body, and if it came in contact with the Yata, the spirit would be deflected away since the ethereal shield doesn't allow those kinds of entities to pass through. The way the Yata does this is by changing its properties to the properties of what comes in contact with it, and in this exampled case, it would change into the priorly mentioned spiritual state (or just stay as it is since it's already a spirit in that stationary state). Basically, it mirrors the attributes of the Yamanaka's spirit, hence the word mirror, in Yata "Mirror." What I'm saying is because the Yata can come in touch with intangibility, it itself can also be intangible, and that would also go for its counter part, the Totsuka. Both are spirits.
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Furthermore, the reason why Itachi's Susanoo can hold the Totsuka and Yata while they're still not physical is either because the users of the weapons become exceptions to that, or, like I mentioned before, it's just a magical thing that just works that way.
In essence, the Totsuka could phase through Madara's Susanoo. Just as a ghost could phase through it. Just as a Shinigami would phase right through it. Just as the Yamanaka's Mind Transfer spirit body would phase right through it.
Off Topic: Through magical telekinesis, Itachi can bring out the liquid from the Totsuka gourd at will and sheath it right back in. It appears that touching/grasping the gourd grants him that ability.
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