Susanoo

The Susanoo is an ability granted by the to those who awaken the powers of both eyes.

It creates a gigantic, humanoid being that surrounds the user. It is one of the most powerful techniques granted to those who have acquired the . It is the user’s tutelary deity, but at the same time, it consumes the user’s life force and stamina.

According to , it’s rare that a user of can activate the Susanoo. The Susanoo is formed by the materialization of the user’s chakra and, as such, differs in appearance and color from user to user. While the user generally remains anchored in the Susanoo, it is possible to move freely within the body, as well as levitate within it. The user can allow others to enter Susanoo, or leave his or her body entirely. While Susanoo serves as a defense against external attacks, everything that leaves Susanoo merely passes through it.

Weaknesses

Like the other techniques granted by the Mangekyō Sharingan, the user’s eyes and body are strained when using Susanoo as it consumes a large amount of their chakra. described it as a pain felt in every cell of his body, which only developed with prolonged use. These negative effects seem to have disappeared with the acquisition of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. As the user can pass freely through the Susanoo, it is possible for an opponent to forcibly remove it; , for example, was able to drag outside his anchored Susanoo using the sand beneath his feet. A sufficiently powerful attack can cause damage to Susanoo, especially during the technique’s development phases, after which the user is left free to attack. The only known methods of attacking the user while Susanoo is active are to pull the wielder out of the technique and then attack, to bind him and restrict his movements, or to break the defense with overwhelming force. Susanoo users are vulnerable to attacks that do not cause them physical damage, such as bright lights and sounds, which can prevent them from maintaining Susanoo, but also to elements such as sound.

The Susanoo of .

Development

Each user’s Susanoo passes through several different forms, which the user can change at will or even leave in a state between forms. The development of these forms was best demonstrated when learning to use the technique, gaining additional forms as his control over it increased. In its earliest form, users can only manifest part of Susanoo’s skeleton. A smaller version of Susanoo’s rib cage is usually produced first which, while offering good defense, can still be fractured or even melted. The user can form other parts of the skeletal structure, such as an arm, to interact with his environment. One of Susanoo’s weapons can be used with the arm, changing its size as required. When first trained, Susanoo manifests itself around the user as an aura.

As the user gains control, musculature and skin begin to appear atop Susanoo’s bones, which gradually complete the entire skeletal structure. It’s only when Susanoo’s growth has reached full maturity and the user is therefore completely surrounded that the vulnerabilities of the skeletal form are eliminated. Eventually, Susanoo develops into a “complete” warrior-like form, where her body manifests itself in its entirety. In its final form, this fully humanoid form is further surrounded by a secondary layer of armor that makes Susanoo resemble a yamabushi. At this stage, it can anchor the user to the ground, preventing opponents from forcibly moving him, unless he can pass through Susanoo’s various layers.

A small number of users, who have achieved perfect mastery of Susanoo, are also able to manifest a stabilized version of the final form, as a result of which Susanoo now resembles a Tengu, with a more streamlined face and a full lower body in addition to the garb of a yamabushi.

Itachi’s version

Itachi’s Susanoo is yellow in the manga, whereas it’s depicted in red in the anime. Of all known Susanoo, Itachi’s is the most human. When seen in its full form, it has a normal face with what looks like strands of hair framing it. The only oddity of Itachi’s Susanoo is an appendage on the chin, reminiscent of a pharaoh’s false beard. Itachi’s Susanoo has two sets of arms, which meet at the elbow; secondary arms appear as required. In its final form, the armor surrounding Itachi’s susanoo resembles a long-nosed tengu wearing a pair of magatama earrings.

In his primary left hand, Itachi’s Susanoo wields the Yata mirror, a shield endowed with nature’s five transformations, enabling him to modify his own characteristics according to the attack he receives, and thus cancel it. With his right hand, he wields the Totsuka sword. The sword is a variant of the Kusanagi sword, also known as Template:Translation, and is wielded by Susanoo’s main right hand, which wraps it in a sake jar held by his second right hand. It is an ethereal weapon with an enchanted blade capable of sealing anyone it pierces, and can cut through opponents and objects like a normal blade. Victims of the sword are trapped in a genjutsu-like “drunken dream world” for eternity. said that Totsuka’s sword combined with the Yata mirror essentially made Itachi’s Susanoo invincible.

For longer-range attacks, Itachi is able to use the powerful Yasaka Magatama, which can be used as three chakra tomoe linked by a single circular thread and fired as a projectile or several tomoe attached to a chakra rope, which detach and fire individually. Itachi’s Susanoo is also capable of wielding a sword resembling a curved dagger while in its incomplete form.

Sasuke’s version

Sasuke’s Susanoo is purple in the anime. While it was originally dark blue in the manga, later chapters also colored it purple. The development of Sasuke’s Susanoo is marked by intense feelings of hatred; every time he is angry at the words or actions of his opponents, the Susanoo gains in power. His Susanoo is thus much darker in composition than Itachi’s. In its incomplete and complete forms, it has a more demonic appearance, unlike Itachi’s, which has a more “human” appearance, possessing horns, a long chin appendage and a malevolent smile. Like Itachi’s variation, Sasuke’s Susanoo has two right arms, joined at the elbow, and one left arm, although it can form a second left arm if required. In its final form, Sasuke’s Susanoo is encased in tengu-style armor with serrated teeth around its hood, unlike the straight teeth of Itachi’s Susanoo, and wears magatama earrings.

Since entering his incomplete form, Sasuke’s Susanoo is able to manifest a sword, which he wields in his left hand. After entering its complete form, the Susanoo brandishes a bow in its left hand and a globe capable of producing arrows for use with said bow in its second right hand. In its final phase, Susanoo’s orb is made up of Amaterasu’s black flames, which Sasuke is able to manipulate into different forms thanks to the Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi technique, and his bow grows and takes on the appearance of a shield. Sasuke’s Susanoo has demonstrated his ability to wield his black flame orb, no matter what stage he’s in.

After Sasuke obtained the eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, the layer of armor worn by Susanoo’s final form changed appearance. The armor’s mouth took on the shape of a beak, giving it an even more menacing appearance. The skin on the right arm and hand has been covered with additional plating, giving the impression that the skin is peeling off, and the armor itself has taken on a more gruesome appearance. Since then, Sasuke has demonstrated several uses for his orb of black Susanoo flames, including the formation of a blade in Susanoo’s main right hand, which can be used to stab his targets and set them on fire, and the formation of arrows that can be used with Susanoo’s bow. Sasuke can also produce tomato-shaped projectiles from the orb to set his opponents on fire from a distance.

At the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Sasuke was able to create a complete Susanoo with a lower half and greatly increase its size. Sasuke was able to use the Jūgo senjutsu chakra generated by Sage’s transformation to enhance his Susanoo with natural energy, temporarily creating markings reminiscent of the Cursed Seal of Heaven. After obtaining half of Hagoromo’s power, the face of his full Susanoo was slightly modified, and after Sasuke unlocked the stabilized final form, holes now appeared in his cheeks, and he no longer wears a smile. In his stabilized final form, the secondary arms of his Susanoo become wings, making him able to fly. In this state, Susanoo is clad in samurai-like armor. He has a long tengu nose, more accentuated eyeholes, two points above each eye, a slit extending over his mouth and three openings on either side of his cheek and one on his chin. His hair appears fiery, and on his forehead is a large pentagonal prism containing the user of the technique. He wears robes, thick boots and body armor over his shoulders, chest and waist. Overall, he’s largely reminiscent of Madara and d’s stabilized Susanoo, the main differences being the number of spikes above the eyes and the appearance of holes in the jaw. He carries two katana, which were able to pierce the satellites formed by Chibaku Tensei with ease. He has demonstrated his ability to block the light of Tsukuyomi Infinity.

Sasuke was able to equip his armor-stabilized Susanoo for Naruto Uzumaki’s “sage-tailed beast” mode. In this state, his Susanoo wielded a plated sword capable of piercing even Nunoboko’s famous sword.

Madara’s version

Madara gained access to Susanoo after awakening the abilities of his two eyes. He demonstrated his ability to use Susanoo even without his Mangekyō Sharingan, both by having his Rinnegan activated, and by having no eyes left after being revived.

Madara’s Susanoo is blue and ogre-like. He has four arms, whereas in the anime he starts with two and can manifest an additional pair. He is capable of forming two entirely different faces that are joined along his spine, in which case his four arms give a distinct pair for each face and a distinct face for both. One has elongated canines in its lower jaw support and two tusks growing from this jaw. The other has similar elongated canines in the upper jaw, as well as a single horn protruding from its forehead. Madara may have a lower half with legs and feet. Madara has demonstrated the ability to float inside Susanoo when his body is fully formed.

Susanoo himself seems to be able to contribute to some of Madara’s techniques, as he was seen forming hand seals when he brought down two meteorites. He is able to use the powerful Yasaka Magatama as a ranged attack, creating a chain of magatama that Madara can fire at his opponents. Madara has shown the ability to combine this technique with the multiple wood drop cloning technique to create a multitude of these ethereal warriors.

The final form of Madara’s Susanoo is a huge construct, taller than the wreckage of the meteors he summoned, with its mouth obscured and a body similar to its full form. The outer armor, which only remotely resembles the usual tengu-shaped armor with the trademark pillbox hat on the forehead, is split down the middle from the beak, where the normal Susanoo underneath is revealed. Along this armor, which appears much more fluid than that of other known Susanoo, are holes at the end. It has four plated arms, two of which wield its undulating blades. In this unstabilized form, the two front hands still seem to form the seal of the Tiger hand.

Madara’s mastery over Susanoo has taken him a step beyond the final form he accesses by stabilizing his chakra. In this state, the eyeholes in Susanoo’s armor become more pronounced, with lines down the side rising upwards. He gains the traditional long tengu nose, rather than a beak. The mouth is cut out, with two lines running down to the chin, and he wears robes, pointed shoes and armor over his shoulders and waist. Madara’s Susanoo has “hair” in this form, which is tied at the sides. His back arms, which are always plated, extend upwards like wings, and his front arms, which lose their plating, are a little smaller than the plated arms. The waving blades are replaced by straight katana, held in the palms of Susanoo’s back arms and carried by his forearms. According to Madara, his Susanoo’s offensive power is comparable to that of a tailed beast. Madara has demonstrated his ability to equip Susanoo on Kurama to complement their respective defensive and offensive abilities.

The Indra version

Indra, as the first user of the Mangekyō Sharingan, was able to use Susanoo, which he was able to manifest in its highest form in battles against his younger brother, Asura.

Shisui’s version

In the anime, had access to this technique after fully unlocking the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan. He is green in color, with a wide mouth and elongated lower canines. He has rounded shoulders with blade-like appendages on his shoulders, as well as on the side of his face and along his forearms. Shisui was skilled enough to manifest his Susanoo in full form. He wielded a whirling spear as his main weapon.

Armament

As users gain more and more control over Susanoo, they are able to extend their power by forming weapons. As with Susanoo itself, the appearance and capabilities of manifested weapons vary from individual to individual. What’s more, as Susanoo becomes more powerful, so do his weapons.

Sword

All known Susanoo users are able to manifest at least one sword that the ethereal warrior can wield. Despite their variations, each sword is extremely effective, and in the case of some users, the swords evolve along with Susanoo.

Itachi’s Susanoo wielded a blade of a curved nature that resembled a dagger or tantō rather than a sword. Itachi demonstrated the ability to manifest this blade by forming only the ribcage and arms of his Susanoo. With it, he was able to cut through the bones of , said to be harder than tempered steel.
Sasuke’s Susanoo is capable of using a sword-like blade in its incomplete form, which is wielded by his main left arm. Sasuke was able to use it to cut through several stone pillars with ease
In its complete form, Sasuke’s Susanoo is able to generate an Ōdachi-like blade from the orb in his second right hand, which is able to cut through Shinju roots with ease.
When it reached its final form, the composition of the chakra orb held by the secondary right arm of Sasuke’s Susanoo changed to that of Amaterasu’s black flames, from which Sasuke is able to forge a blade that his Susanoo’s primary right arm wields. This orb of black flames, as well as the blade it is used to produce, could later be wielded even in the earlier forms of his Susanoo.

When Sasuke equipped his final stabilized Susanoo in Kurama, he wielded a plated sword which, although improved by the , defeated Nunoboko’s sword.

When in his stabilized form, Sasuke’s Susanoo brandishes a pair of katana, which he uses to cut satellites formed by Chibaku Tensei.

Madara’s Susanoo can create distinct, undulating kris-like blades. The blades were held by the right arm on both sides of his Susanoo in its incomplete and complete forms, and Madara could materialize one while surrounded only by the aura of his Susanoo, able to hurl it like a projectile. In the anime, Madara could manifest swords in the four arms of his Susanoo; the blades left trails of blue fire in the ground after impact and could unleash huge shockwaves capable of obliterating hundreds of shinobi in a single blow. They proved powerful enough to block a caught tail-beast bullet, pushed against them by the wooden golem of .

When Madara stabilized the final form of his Susanoo, the blades looked more like the traditional katana, with sheaths. These scabbards were held by the back of his Susanoo, arms plated, while the swords themselves were held by his front arms. Madara could use them to cut a mountain range in the distance with a single swing. The blades could be split into a ball of tailed beast during his training, giving him cutting power. Madara did this to prevent Hashirama Senju from catching the Tailed Beast Balls with his Wood Release: Human Wood Technique.

Crossbow

In its completed state, Sasuke’s Susanoo is capable of wielding an unusually shaped crossbow, which manifests itself on his left arm. In his second right hand, his Susanoo holds a globe capable of creating arrows that can be grasped by the Susanoo’s front right hand and fired through the bow at such speed that it’s almost impossible to avoid them. The crossbow can serve as a shield strong enough to withstand attacks capable of leveling the ground in Susanoo’s immediate vicinity. The arrows, whose thickness seems to vary according to the user’s discretion, move at very high speed and possess considerable piercing power, enough to easily shatter a tree created by Wood Release. Even Kakashi Hatake, a ninja known for his speed, complemented by the acute perception of the Sharingan, was unable to dodge the arrows and was forced to use Kamui to make them go away. Only , while using the extrasensory abilities of Sage mode, has managed to dodge one of these arrows so far.

As Sasuke’s Susanoo enters its final phase, the crossbow gains noticeably in size, looking more like a shield. Entering this phase, Sasuke gained access to an orb composed of black flames, which could manifest in any form of his Susanoo. Sasuke then demonstrated his ability to produce arrows composed of black flames from said orb, which can also be used with Susanoo’s bow.

Influence

Like other Mangekyō Sharingan abilities, Susanoo is drawn from Japanese mythology: Susanoo is the savage god of the sea and storms, brother of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. He was born of Izanagi by washing his nose. Susanoo inherited his father’s sword, Totsuka no Tsurugi, which Izanagi used to kill his newborn son, Kagu-Tsuchi, after his birth burned his mother, Izanami, to death. After his exile for relentlessly harassing Amaterasu, Susanoo redeemed himself when he used Totsuka to kill the serpent Yamata no Orochi and obtained Kusanagi’s sword from the monster’s corpse. He then gave the acquired blade to Amaterasu as a peace offering.

The Susanoo designs are based on Template:Translation, well-known yokai that are associated with the ascetic practice of shugendō. In their final form, the Susanoo are dressed in the clothes of shugendō practitioners, known as yamabushi, and wear hoods that resemble tengu masks, with Itachi’s and Madara’s appearing as long-nosed Hanataka Tengu and Sasuke’s as raven-beaked Karasu Tengu. In Japanese myth, Susanoo produced the Amanozako monster, said to have been the ancestor of the Tengu.